about craft

A craft is a branch of profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.

Development from the past until today

Historically, craftsmen tended to concentrate in urban centers and formed the guilds. Trade occupation and the need to be permanently involved in the exchange of goods also demanded a generally higher level of education and in societal hierarchy the craftsmen were usually in a more privileged position than the peasantry.

The households of the members of the society occupied in trade professions were not as self-sufficient as of those engaged in agricultural work and, as such, had to rely on exchange of goods.

Once an apprentice of a craft had finished his apprenticeship, he would become a journeyman searching for a place to set up his own shop and make a living. After he set up his own shop he could then be called a master of his trade.
This system of a stepwise approach to mastery of a craft which invokes the obtainment of a certain amount of education and the learning of skills, has survived in some countries of the world until today, although craft has undergone deep structural changes during the era of the Industrial Revolution in which mass production of goods of the industry has limited craft to areas of life which the industry could not satisfy - due to its modes of functioning - or in which mass-produced goods would not meet the preferences of potential buyers. Moreover, as an outcome of these changes, craftspeople increasingly make use of semi-finished components or materials today, and accomplish and adapt such a kind of ware to their customers' demands and, if necessary, to the environments of their customers, taking it in hand, in case fitting-work is needed, and thus augment what the industry already had produced - through participating in a certain division of labour between industry and craft.

Handicraft: The "traditional" main sector of craft

Street handicraft: metalwork in India

Main article: Handicraft

Main article: Outline of crafts

The Arts and Crafts Movement

A product of handicraft: a relief of a house façade

Main article: Arts and Crafts Movement

The term crafts is often used to describe the family of artistic practices within the family decorative arts that traditionally are defined by their relationship to functional or utilitarian products (such as sculptural forms in the vessel tradition) or by their use of such natural media as wood, clay, glass, textiles, and metal.

Studio crafts

Crafts practiced by independent artists working alone or in small groups are often referred to as studio craft.

Studio craft includes studio pottery, metal work, weaving, wood turning and other forms of wood working, glass blowing, and glass art.

Craft fairs

A craft fair is an organized event to display crafts by a number of exhibitors. There are craft shops where such goods are sold and craft communities, such as Craftster, where expertise is shared.

Craft as a classification

In English, to describe something as a craft is to describe it as lying somewhere between an art (which relies on talent) and a science (which relies on knowledge). In this sense, the English word craft is roughly equivalent to the ancient Greek term techne.

Folk art follows craft traditions, in contrast to fine art or "high art".

this article from : http://en.wikipedia.org/

Decoupaged Glass Plates tutorial

Hello all,
Well, today I am going to jump in and try my hand at showing a tutorial. The project is super simple with the right tools and product.
Don't even talk to me about doing a video!

Decoupaged Glass Plate Tutorial:
you will need:
   clear glass plate clean, oil free (fingerprints, etc.)
   ModPodge matte, gloss or glitter!
   sponge brush
   glass of water for glue brushes
   plastic lid or plate to pour glue into
   damp rag/paper towel for finger clean up during project
   newspapers to cover your craft surface
   craft mat or placemat size rectangle of waxed paper
   pretty napkins
   sharp scissors

Step 1
  Spread newspapers, wax paper etc. to cover work surface
  Get damp rag and place in a bowl or on plastic plate/lid
  Prepare napkins:
      remove extra plies so you have only one ply of decorated napkin. You can use the leftover white napkin plies in later steps and also use them as napkins!

Step 2

   Cut motifs from napkins. Cut many more than you think you will need!

Very Important: lay out your napkin cuttings frequently so you have an idea for placement. Continue to do this as you cut.



Do your final placement layout.



Now is the time to trace and cut out a background sheet of tissue paper or napkin. This is when the other napkin plain plies will work well.

Set aside.

Step 3
   Pour a glob of ModPodge onto plastic lid.
   Place clear glass plate FACE DOWN.
   Spread a little glue to cover where you want to put your first napkin cutting.
   Place napkin cutting FACE DOWN, and dab more glue on with brush.

tip: remember that you will be placing your motifs down from the front to the back.
Example - if you are gluing down a watering can full of flowers, you will first place the watering can down. Then you will place flowers on top of that, so when finished the flowesr will be inside (or behind) the can. Then you will place any clouds/sky on top of the flowers, so the finished scene will look like clouds in the back, flowers in vase.

   Continue spreading a little glue, placing napkin motifs and dabbing with more glue until all your first pieces are in place.



Problem?  It is very easy to tear the thin napkin pieces. You can smoosh some of them together with the wet glue. Hate it? Remove it quickly and do another piece instead. Or, make the tears part of your overall look, and be sure to do more of them. Think crackled Venetian vases or old paintings.

tip: make sure all the napkin pieces are covered with glue.

Step 4

Set aside on wax paper. Let dry.

Now is the perfect time to start on another glass plate or bowl, while your first is drying a bit.

Here, my lovely assistant Pam is starting on a small bowl. She has cut out a few pansy motifs from one napkin, then has taken another blue striped napkin and torn it into small strips.

Remember! You are gluing napkin pieces face down onto the bottom outside of the bowl.

Pam has glued a few pansy motifs first, and is then applying blue strips on top of them.

Step 5

Pick up your dry/wet glass plate carefully.

Get the set aside one large piece of tissue paper/napkin that you have cut out.

You can now apply the covering "back" layer. This usually goes on top of all your glued pieces, but doesn't have to. Play around with looks, but do this BEFORE you start gluing things down! It is very difficult if not impossible to remove motifs once the glue has started to set (which is within seconds sometimes!)

Remember your steps: Put down a layer of ModPodge first, being careful not to tear or smoosh the already glued down motifs. Then place tissue paper/napkin on top and dab glue to cover it all. If you don't get glue everywhere on this step, it will leave a dry spot that is okay but doesn't look great!

This plate is drying. After first layer of napkins, I am now adding a layer of yellow behind the lion, and torn strips of light blue and white napkins around the edge.

Step 6
Set aside to dry thoroughly.
Go back to your second bowl, plate or whatever, and apply finishing touches.
Here is a Happy Birthday bowl that I made.
Here it is done, but drying:

Here it is dry, and shows you the unfinished edges where the tissue paper is sticking up. I actually did this on purpose, to give a finished edge when I am done .

 

Here I am holding the bowl up to the light so you can see it at a different angle.

I used a mixture of matte ModPodge, and glitter ModPodge.



Step 7

Finish up any decoupaged pieces you have more steps to do.

If you want to do a small piece now you can decoupage small candle cups, or in this case, we used mini clay pots:

Here are the finished products:

In the above 2 photos you can see the mini bowl and the bunny plate still need their edges finished.

Step 8 Final
Take an old emery board or file. File off the tissue edges that are sticking up away from the rims. Smooth the edges with the file, as needed.

Well, just hmmmm. I have no idea why this particular picture is tipped wrong. It isn't in my saved files that way! Sorry, guess you will just have to turn your head or hold your monitor up sideways!

Here are our finished samples:

 Oh just ick. Guess that is what learning new things is all about! I will have to play with this photo issue, but I do want to get this wonderful and easy craft to you, so please just bear with me, and do that crooky neck thing!

This is the plate I did years ago:

front:

back:

 laid down on  white napkings to show detail:

Yes! Those pansies and leaves are from a napkin!!

Here are some last minute finishing tips:

These are decorative plates and not meant to be washed. If needed, you can wipe the glass surface with a damp cloth, and dry immediately.

They are NOT food safe unless you spray with food safe finish.

The back side can often feel 'sticky', even after it is dry. Use a clear acrylic spray to eliminate this. I like Kryon.

Check and see, I believe there are food-safe sprays that you can use! After spraying with this kind of spray, you can put food on the plate, but still only hand wash with very mild soap and rinse with a damp rag.

If you can't find the food safe spray, or just want to use the clear acrylic spray, that's fine. You can put wrapped candy on you plate if you wish. You could use it as a serving plate for pre-wrapped tea bags, or 3 little tea cups. How about a creamer/sugar set?

I think the birthday bowl would be a great place to anchor some birthday balloons!

I hope you have enjoyed my first tutorial.

Print these out on sticker paper, and have fun decorating cards, lunch boxes or Easter eggs!

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com





Day 3 Irish countdown, Barbies, Decoupage and Vintage song sheet graphics

Welcome!

Today I would like to share with you one of my passions -

Barbie, Barbie, Barbie!
Yes, it's true. I am an adult (so my age says) and I collect Barbies! I love the fancy dresses and costumes. The outrageous hair.  All the glitter and glam.
The fantasy of it all.
Here are a few examples of Irish Barbies that Mattel has produced:

"It's just a Barbie kind of world...."

Here are some great vintage song sheets, from Indiana's Music Libraries. See side bar for the link.

So, what can you do with these great images except just admire them?

DECOUPAGE!!

Decoupage is such an easy project to do, and the results can look so professional.

My favorite decoupage medium? The standard Mod Podge is still one of the best. I have tried several others, which all seem to work fine. I do really like Aleene's products. She has a reverse decoupage glue and a napkin decoupage glue among many others.

Simple decoupage project:

Pick out an item. Some ideas:

   a frame with glass (use Aleene's reverse decoupage glue)

   a side table

   a frame with a large border

   a mirror with a large border

   a trinket box

   a wood stool

   a plaque

really, just about anything you want.

Now, just follow the directions on the bottle! I'm not going to repeat them here, they are so simple.

Hint: before you start, remove all surface dirt with a good scrubbing if needed, or remove wood dust with a tack sheet.

To use the Irish song sheets, click on the image. Copy and manipulate to the size desired. Watch for the pixels. That means if you blow it up too much it will be very grainy, or 'pixeled'.  Print. Wrinkling the printed paper can help some to disguise the larger 'pixels'. Lightly swipe a dark brown ink pad over the wrinkles to age it even further.

For a very distressed aged look, tear the edges. Practice! Then sponge on some of that great dark brown ink you have.

Apply decoupage glue as directed on the jar/bottle.

Fun hint: At this "wet" stage you can sprinkle on glitter! Try a little green sparkle, or some irridescent glitter!

While these examples are not done using song sheets, it will give you some ideas on how a copied picture can look:

Garden Shrine by inkspired

Here is an example of how decoupage glue can be used to glue

recycled paper scrap - in this case catalog pictures of book covers and then heavily sprinkled with glitter:

Fairy Book Box with closeup of inside by inkspired

Share your completed projects!

Found any tips that will help the rest of us?

Write and let me know!

dominoes@myinkspired.com

Here is a great little paper doll book by Tom Tierney:

http://www.amazon.com/Irish-Dancer-Paper-Doll-Tierney/dp/048640370X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1300209876&sr=8-1

"May the good Lord take a liking to you...

but not too soon!"

- Irish proverb

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com

Butterflies, Fairies and Shamrocks

Hello!

"May the roof above us never fall in.

And may the friends gathered below it never fall out."

- Irish Blessing

I am starting a 10-day countdown to Saint Patrick's Day, March 17.

We'll be doing a bit o' green each day!

This front cover of sheet music is from one of my favorite web sites:

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/inharmony/welcome.do

Bit of Irish History

Paragon Publishing Book, ISBN0-75256-139-1

Around AD600 the Irish imported books and copied them in their monastaries. They also took these books with them wherever they went.

An important library was established at Bobbio AD613.

If you are still working on your fairy wing mobile from March 6th blog, here is a web site that has MANY full color butterflies to be inspired by and to gaze upon:

http://www.insectframes.com/ButterfliesThumbnails.htm

Here is a vintage Irish fairy for you:

If you would like to give a live shamrock plant for the holiday, here is a site I found on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Shamrock-PlantFlowersOxalis/dp/B000NUB2HM/ref=pd_bxgy_ol_text_b

I have always loved the delicate shamrock plant with white flowers. Browsing around, I have found there are several different types of shamrock plants. So, do some shopping and pick which one you like best!

image from:

27249-irish-womans-hand-holding-a-green-shamrock-clover-by-the-stem-over-a-white-background-stock-photo-image-by-anastasiya-maksymenko[1]

Altered Paper Doll Wing Project:

Let's make an Irish Fairy Altered Paper Doll!

Take a look at the butterflies on the web site mentioned above.

Put  your Green Oz Glasses on, and envision them in green!

Here is a base doll to get you started:

This is one of Tom Tierney's paperdolls from Dover Publications.

http://store.doverpublications.com/index.html

Here is a dress to go with her:

BUT....I want you to turn her into an Irish Fairy!  So, get out those pictures of wings, and play. What style looks best on her? How about detachable wings so she can have new wings for every day of the week?
I bet velcro would work? A sewing hook and eye?

Do I want to make the wings glittery? Refer to the tutorial on Fairy Wing Mobile and apply the glitter/paint suggestions.  Ranger's Stickles would also work great!

Have fun with your Irish fairy altered paper doll. Add some green crepe paper. Add a bit of green lace, or an interesting button. Cover her in shamrock stickers!

You can print out the base, and glue it onto a sturdy piece of cardboard (yeah - cereal boxes!).
What about gluing the base doll to a thin piece of balsa wood? You can cut this with your x-acto knife fairly easily. Balsa wood can be found in Hobby Lobby, or other craft stores.
OR -
Use just the outline of the doll to get you started. Now you can make the face or clothing style any way you want. Give her wild red wire hair!!! Give her dried moss for hair, and twigs for her arms and legs!  Add tiny white silk flowers at her wrists and ankles.  Does she need a proper white lace shawl around her shoulders? Use a bit of an old handkerchief with lace border.

I would love to see your Irish Fairy Altered Paper Dolls. Send me a picture!

Stamped  with Peddler's Pack rubber stamp.

I am so looking forward to getting a new printer/scanner soon. Right now I can't scan any of my projects to show you; I am relying on "old" pictures and clips.  Ah, such a reliance on the electronic age. Once you have it, you think you can't live without it. And perhaps we can't...

"There are only two kinds of people in the world -

the Irish, and those who wish they were!"

- Irish saying

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com



Kirigami, Rubber Stamping and How to build a Spray Box

Hello!
Welcome to my inkspired musings!

Here are some rubber stamping tips to get us started:

TIP: I love using egg cartons and glass custard cups to hold all my little embellishments while I'm creating. The cups have a wide enough base that they don't easily flip over or tip.
I have the custard cups from Pampered Chef, and they come with lids!

TIP: Keep a shoe box full of blank cards, prefolded. These are ready to grab and add a pre-stamped image or word....good to go!

TIP: Keep a shoe box full of stamped images that are ready to use as is or in need of coloring. I grab my shoe box and sit in front of the TV watching old westerns, and color quite a few of them at a time.

"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters

cannot be trusted with important matters."

 - Albert Einstein

Here are some examples of using kirigami and rubber stamping together:

HOW TO BUILD A SPRAY BOX

Okay, you are going to think me ridiculous, but here goes...

Get a big box, slightly larger than a paper reams box!



HOW TO USE A SPRAY BOX

You need newspapers. Plenty of newspapers! If you are any bit messy, you want to cover your floor where you will be spraying. Sprays have a way of getting where you don't want them, so make sure any over spray will be onto newspapers.

The one time you are in a hurry, and don't want to put newspapers down will be the one time you have a humongous mess, and you'll be regretting it. So put the newspapers down!

Place box on top of newspapers, on its' side, with all flaps open to give your more controlled space.

TIP: you need a well ventilated area - garage, porch, patio, driveway, etc.

If you are spraying inside, be sure to open a window or two.

Things you will need:

Small spray bottles- My friend Shelly uses the small travel size  hairspray bottles; when empty she cleans them and has a perfect spray bottle!

Paper to spray on to - stationery, cardstock, blank paper, stamped paper or cardstock, brown bags, lunch bags, blank boxes...

Stencils - KIRIGAMI!! Opened and laid flat.

Paper doilies of all sizes and patterns.

Skeleton Leaves. Vintage keys. Dried flowers.

You can also find a number of rubber stamping sites that sell delicate patterned frosty plastic stencils that are just gorgeous.

Things to spray with:

Just a few ideas: 

Acrylic paint watered down and in a spray bottle

Glimmer Mists, as many colors as you can afford!

http://mytatteredangels.com/

A mixture of water, powdered pearl ex, a bit of arabic gum (no you don't chew it, it's powdered!)

Spray webbing, sold at many craft stores

Diluted re-inkers, of the dye variety, not of the pigment family.

Okay, let's play!

Place your desired paper inside the box, on top of the newspapers. Place your kirigami cut out on top of paper. Let it hang over the edge. Start with one color of, let's say, Glimmer Mist. Do a light passover spray to get the hang of how the bottle sprays, where the spray lands, etc.

Be a bit more aggresive, and spray over your paper a couple of times. Not too much though, we are going for a light, misty look here. Just enough so you can see the outline of your stencil.

Remove your kirigami carefully. You can now add a couple of skeleton leaves or part of the edge of a paper doiley.  Choose a different color of Glimmer Mist, and again do a light pass over with the spray to get the feel of the bottle. Spray until you like the look, but remember:

If you spray over the first stencil too much, it will disappear. So keep a light spray hand! Just think about coloring Easter eggs - you dip once for allover color, then dip again for a second color or stripe. You put stickers on your egg before dipping, and after the dip, you peel the stickers off, and reveal the original color of the egg below. But if you continue to dip again and again, you end up with a brown, muddy looking Easter egg.

TIP: When layering colors of ink, always start with the lightest color. Then the middle color and last just a bit of dark color.

TIP: Choose no more than 3 colors to combine. Any more and the colors just get muddy.

Okay, you're done with that sheet, set it aside to dry. On the newspapers is ideal in case any of the ink wants to puddle. Your paper will want to curl up. That is okay, as long as the sprayed side is not touching itself.

Time to play some more!

Oops, there goes an hour!

How time flies when you are having fun crafting, or getting messy!

Once your papers are dry, you can set them under heavy books - like big dictionaries - and leave them overnight. 

Still curly? When you are ready to use them, you can use a dry iron to smooth out the sheets more.

You should have quite a pile of beautiful papers, card stock, and whatever else you chose to spray on.

After you return from the store to get more spray bottles and Glimmer Mist, you will be well supplied to use your spray box whenever you want!

Here are a few more picture examples of how to use your kirigami with rubber stamping:

Here are a few more kirigami patterns to inspire you:

with tip pointing up.

with tip pointing down.

That's all for today. Let me leave you with a favorite quote:

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments

when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

 - Thornton Wilder