Scrapbooking

See larger image or Download Craft Class (right click to save as)

Firstly my apologies for not being able to add any posts to the website mid week, however i am excited to announce that the reason for this was the fact that i have been busy preparing the first ever Hungry Heffy Crafts free craft class.

‘What is a HHC craft class?’ i hear you say.

These are step by step tutorials which you can download to use personally or print copies to use in a craft group. The file is in PDF format, so should be quick and easy to use, and you can save it to your computer in case you want to save it for later. The craft classes will feature a variety of topics: scrapbook layouts, card making techniques, origami and paperfolding instructions, and also general crafts such as felting and stitchcraft. In addition, they will vary in difficulty so that beginners and professional crafters alike will find something for their amusement and pleasure. It is a brand new addition to Hungry Heffy Crafts, so let me know what your thoughts are, and as usual, requests are always more than welcome!

The first ever HHC free craft class is based upon the theme of Halloween. There are some great halloween themed products available now from well known manufacturers such as K & Co and Doodlebug, however for the first HHC craft class, i wanted a layout that didn’t rely on buying fancy papers, but rather something that you can most likely make using the papers and cardstock that you have at home. The instructions guide you through the makings of a fun interactive element which adds interest and intrigue to your layout, and although in this example this element takes the form of Frankenstein’s head, the same technique can be used to make similar interactive elements in different shapes and sizes: a house with a removable roof, a present that opens to reveal it’s contents… only your creative thinking will limit the list of possibilities! Of course, these would look just as great on a card as a scrapbook layout, so why don’t you have a go.

This first step by step tutorial is quick and easy, and therefore great for beginners, and as it is downloadable, you don’t have to feel the pressure that some beginners feel when in a craft class group. So why don’t you give it a try.

This class is completely free, the only thing we ask you to do is share it with your friends on facebook, twitter etc by using the buttons below. Thanks!

Download the first ever HHC Free craft class here (right click to save as)

See larger image

A couple of years ago i was at a small country village fair in the South of Ireland, and amidst the field of tractors, chicken pens and antique knick-knacks, there was a handful of quaint little craft stalls. Most were selling jewellery and hand carved wooden products, but one little stall caught my eye: an array of brightly coloured felted goods. Handbags, belts pencil cases, placemats… you name it, it was there. As i had already spent most of my money on silly Fun Fair attractions i bought the only thing i could afford – a pen which was covered in blue felt that had a pink and yellow felted flower on the top. Ever since that day i have been fascinated with felted products. I love the vibrancy of the colours and the texture that just begs you to reach out and stroke it. Of course being the crafty person that i am, i wanted to try this new craft technique myself, but unfortunately could not seem to be able to find a retailer that sold the fibers needed for felting. Two years later, during a visit to Brighton, i stumble upon a craft shop that sells fibers, equipment and even a dvd of ‘how to’ instructions – Yipppeeee!!
My first attempt was a heart. A pink heart, felted using needles. It took me half an hour and it looked so cute and sweet, i was very proud of my first felted product. “This would make a perfect scrapbook embellishment”, I said. But Miya had other ideas. “This would make a perfect kitty toy” she said, as she swiped my creation from my hand and tossed it around the room, chasing, hunting and pouncing. Being the opportunist that i am, instead of reaching out to retrieve my embellishment, i reached for my camera.

This layout was inspired by an article in a magazine, in which photos were cut to emphasize lines as a design feature.  I loved the idea and wanted to reproduce it using my own style.  These pictures were perfect as the photos had a lot of empty space.  Normally i would just crop away the empty space so that the photo just focused on the subject.  I didn’t want to do that in this instance as all my photos would have been different shapes and sizes in the end, which can sometimes be distracting in a multi photo layout.  I made one of my photos slightly larger to act as the focal point and decided not to cut into it like i did for the other three, as this would also make this particular photo stand out as being different.  Due to the fact that the photos were quite dark, i placed these on a white background to contrast, and added an ’embellishment sneeze’ which leads the eye from the top left to the bottom right corner of the page, crossing the path of the focal photo. 

I was super pleased with the finished layout as from a design point of view it has good structure and the white space around the edge acts as a border, giving the page definition and balance.  But more importantly, see out what Miya thought of this layout here.