The National Art Pass

Have you heard of the National Art Pass? I hadn't!

I was making plans for some nice days out and looking at the website for a local museum when I noticed a bit of small print saying people with a mysterious thing called a "National Art Pass" got free admission. "I wonder what that is?" I thought, and Googled it. It turns out the National Art Pass is a great scheme run by the Art Fund that gives you free entry to lots of museums, galleries and historic houses across the country plus money off lots of exhibitions. Cool huh?

You buy an annual membership, and then you can use your pass as much as you like during the year. Since I'm going on lots of day trips at the moment I decided to treat myself to a membership, and my Art Pass arrived last week.

The welcome pack includes this year's guide to venues across the UK with connections to the Art Fund.

All the venues that offer free or discounted entry to Art Pass holders, or discounted exhibition tickets are clearly marked. The Art Fund website also has a really useful guide to current exhibitions, many of which are 50% off with an Art Pass.

I am already making mental lists of exhibitions I want to see this autumn now they're going to be so much more affordable. I'm especially interested in seeing Elizabeth I & Her People at the National Portrait Gallery, Facing the Modern at the National Gallery and Pearls at the V&A.

And, of course, I'm looking forward to getting free or discounted entry at lots of interesting places throughout the year - many of which were already on my list of places I wanted to visit, including: The Courtauld Gallery, Red House, Kew Gardens, Bletchley Park, The River & Rowing Museum at Henley, and Kensington Palace.

I'm also hoping that making the most of my year's membership will prove an added incentive to stick with my plan of weekly nice days out!

Book Review: Scissors, Paper, Craft

Today I'm reviewing a yummy craft book - Scissors, Paper, Craft by Christine Leech.

Christine is a very talented lady! She co-authored Everything Alice and Everything Oz and wrote Felt Sew Good, all of which I enjoyed very much so I was really looking forward to seeing her newest book.

Spoiler alert: it's lovely :)

 

Scissors, Paper, Craft includes 30 paper projects. It's part of Quadrille's "Simple Makes" series so, as you might imagine, the focus is on achievable, unintimidating projects. Some of the projects are very quick and simple - perfect for beginners or anyone looking for a quick papercrafting project - and others are a bit more detailed (involving more time) or slightly more complex (involving learning a new skill). 

The book itself is a lovely thing, with nicely styled photos of the finished projects and fun decorative details like bits of coloured tape for the page numbers and these post it notes on the opening pages.

 

The introduction includes information about all the cutting, fixing and measuring skills you'll need to complete the projects in the book as well as information on different paper types and some general tips for working with paper. There's a lot of useful information in this section and all the tips are written in a personal, friendly way, e.g. "A dried-up ballpoint pen works well too - though I always worry that it's going to come back to life and ruin my work".

Each project is illustrated with a photo of the finished design and lots of step by step photos to accompany the instructions. Some of the templates do need enlarging, but most are actual size.

The projects range from mobiles, garlands and wall displays, to gift ideas to ideas for cards and gift wrapping. They also vary in size, from little origami forest animals to large cardboard deer.

 

There are a few trendy touches to the projects (there's a feather mobile, owl gift boxes and notebooks bound with bakers twine) ...

 

... and to the styling (like these neon pink touches) but overall the book feels fresh and modern, in an "I'm going to be making stuff from this book for years" kind of way rather than an "oh, that is so on trend in 2013, this stuff is all over Pinterest at the moment!" kind of way.

 

I love the idea of using leftover wallpaper to make oversized rosettes - they're used as wall decorations in the book but how amazing would these look on top of a large gift?

 

I also completely adore these water lily table centres (with battery-operated tea lights in their centres). I pretty much want to organise a nice party just so I have an excuse to make some of these!

 

There are a lot of projects in this book which I'd love to make. If you fancy giving paper crafting a try, or are looking for some fun new project ideas, I think you'll enjoy this book. 

Scissors, Paper, Craft is published by Quadrille. RRP £12.99. It's available from Amazon UK, The Book Depository and many other bookshops.

[Disclaimer: Quadrille sent me a free review copy of this book. The Amazon & Book depository links in this post are affiliate links]

How To Write a Craft Tutorial for Your Blog: Photos & Illustrations, part one

My series of posts on writing craft tutorials for your blog continues today with some tips on taking and editing photos. I've split this topic into two blog posts as there's lots to talk about!

How Many Photos?

As well as step-by-step instructions, your tutorial needs some photos. You need some nice photos of the finished project - to show everyone how the finished result turns out and to provide an appealing photo that will catch peoples attention if your project is added to a Pinterest board or featured on a blog.

Photos from my blog, on Pinterest

You also need step by step pictures to show how the project is made. Some tutorials are quick and simple and only need a few clear instructions and some photos of the finished project, but if your project has more than a couple of steps I'd recommend taking some step-by-step photos if you can. I have to admit that I have been lazy in the past and not bothered with step by step pics but if you can make the effort it's definitely worth it!

Tutorials with step by step photos are much easier to follow, and can also be enjoyed by people who don't speak the same language as you - even if Google Translate slightly garbles your instructions, your international readers will still be able to follow the steps. Step by step photos can also make your job as a writer easier as it's much easier to write instructions that accompany a photo than writing text-only instructions and the photos you take will also serve as a good reference for you when you write up your notes. I think it's also much better to end up with some photos you end up not including than it is to realise you missed out a step or that you're struggling to describe it without being able to refer to an accompanying photo

You can take photos for the step-by-step pics, or draw illustrations... or use a mix of both. Sometimes an illustration can be much clearer than a photo, especially when it comes to things like showing a line of black stitching on some black fabric. They can also be great if you've made something that's tricky to photograph or when you've made something in the past and now want to share a how-to for it but don't want to re-make the project itself. (I'll talk about illustrations in more detail later).

Taking The Photos.

I am not at all an expert on photography and don't use any fancy equipment to take my photos - I've got an ordinary, inexpensive digital camera and don't use a lightbox or a tripod or anything like that. For years I actually took all the photos for my blog and online shop with a super cheap digital camera that I bought to be a temporary replacement when my previous camera stopped working the day before a photoshoot! While my photos aren't the best in the world, I think they do the job pretty well.

I take most of my photos on the windowsill in my studio. If I'm photographing something small I usually use a pile of white copier paper as the backdrop. For larger items I have a huge bit of card and a selection of white and pale coloured sheets of paper the same size (if I'm making a project that involves lots of white, I try to use a coloured backdrop). I prop the card up on the windowsill (with my choice of paper on top) and hold up the other side with the back of my office chair. Classy set up, huh? :)

Where I take photos

I then stand on my tip toes or on a little step/stool so I can photograph the project from above. I sometimes curve one side of the large sheet of paper (the edge nearest to me) upwards so it reflects a bit of light back towards the windowsill, or I curve one side upwards so I can photograph items that don't lay flat on the paper.

Your photo "studio" doesn't have to be anything like mine, but I've shared mine to show you how you can take decent photos without a lot of space or fancy equipment.

If you want some more detailed advice for improving your photos, head to Google and search for something like "how to take better product photos" or "how to improve your product photos" - even if you never want to sell anything online, the tips in these kinds of articles will apply to tutorial photos as well as product pics. But since this is a how to guide, here are my three photo taking tips...

1) Use natural light - try and take your photos in good light (near a window is great) but not in direct sunlight (you don't want strong shadows) and turn off your camera's flash. Taking photos gets a bit trickier in the winter months as you can have very dark days and, of course, it gets darker earlier. There are lots of tutorials available online for making DIY light boxes and using daylight bulbs but so far I have managed without one... although in the winter I sometimes have a very late lunch because I need to finish taking my photos while the light is still good!

2) Use the macro setting on your camera - on most cameras this is a button with a picture of a little flower. Remember that you can edit your photos if needed, so if you're making something small and there's lots of empty space around it you can crop that out later. Also make sure to check that there aren't any specks of dust or other small marks that will suddenly look huge in a close-up photo (it is super annoying when you only spot this afterwards!).

3) Custom set the white balance - your camera's manual should tell you how to do this. On my current camera, I have to use it in "program" mode rather than on automatic in order to be able to adjust the white balance, but I leave all the other settings on auto so the camera is still easy to use. Custom setting the white balance will help the colours of your project come out true, and will make sure that white backgrounds don't end up looking blue-ish or yellow-ish. You may need to adjust the white balance several times during a photoshoot as the light changes. Also make sure you're not wearing a colour that will reflect on what you're photographing and affect the colours - for example, swap that bright red sweater for a black one!

Here's an example of how adjusting the white balance can improve a photo. The first photo shows the "before" and the second (which shows the true colours of the felt much better) is the "after".

This violets brooch is a design I used to sell in my shop

Taking Step-By-Step Photos.

First up (if you want to) take a photo of your materials. I don't often do this, but when I'm writing felt tutorials I often include a photo of all the cut out pieces that make up the project.

Pieces ready to sew a raincloud brooch

Then work through the steps of your project, taking a photo (or a few photos from slightly different angles) of each step. You'll also be making notes as you go through this project (see the previous post on taking notes).

Your note-taking will help you decide how best to photograph each step - is there a detail that you need to show? or would it be best to show an overview of the whole piece? For example, in this first photo you can see the whip stitches being used (a closer-in photo would have shown this even more clearly)...

 ... and in the second you can see how the whole project looks at this point.

Adding elastic to a felt crown

Sometimes I take both kinds of shot and decide later which is the most helpful image to include... or I just include them both! This is one of the great things about writing tutorials for blogs instead of books or magazines - you can include as many photos as you need as there's no space limit.

You can take action shots for each step - showing how the project looks as you're part-way through the step.

Example #1. In this photo the sewing is half-finished and the needle is roughly in the correct position for the next stitch.

Sewing on a brooch clasp

Example #2. In this photo, two of the hearts have already been stuck in place and you can see how I've cut and positioned the double-sided tape ready for the final heart to be added.

Sticking embellishments on a gift tag

Or you can take a photo that shows the reader what the project will look like when they have completed the current step.

Adding wings to a felt owl

For simple how tos, often just a couple of photos are needed. This photo from a card tutorial has the glue in shot (so you can see the pieces have been stuck in place with craft glue) and I've not yet erased the pencil writing (so you can see how it's a good idea to write the text in pencil first).  

Making an owl-themed Valentine

For this snowflake gift-wrapping tutorial I just took a photo of the wrapped parcels...

... and then the same parcels but with the paper snowflakes glued on. Simple!

You may want to include materials and tools in the shot as well as the project itself - e.g. the reel of thread you're using, the scissors you just used to cut out some pieces of felt, or the reel of tape you just tore a strip from:

Adding washi tape to a gift tag

You can include your hands in the photos if you want to but for most steps you probably won't need to do this. Hands can end up looking a bit weird in step by step pics and can get in the way of the piece you're making (especially if it's small) and if you don't have a tripod or a friend to help you it can be quite difficult to get a good shot (it is very tricky to take a steady photo with one hand while crafting with the other!) 

Sewing the felt owl together

If you do include your hands in shot, make sure you've moisturised and that your nails look neat - it's amazing how gross dry skin or scruffy nails can look in close-up!

Next time: Photos & Illustrations, part two.

Lots of Free Christmas Tutorials!

Have you started your Christmas crafting yet? :)

Now it's starting to get dark early, and the weather's getting colder and all the sparkly seasonal stuff is starting to appear in the shops I'm beginning to really look forward to Christmas!

I'm working on a whole bunch of festive crafty projects to share with you guys over the coming weeks but in the meantime you can get your Christmas craft on with some free tutorials from my blog archives. I've written lots of seasonal tutorials and crafty how tos over the years, and have also shared some great projects from lovely guest bloggers. 

You can make felt Christmas ornaments for your tree...

... choose from angels, baubles, snowmen, owls, candy canes and more!

There are also tutorials for lots of other festive stuff: from advent garlands to Christmas crackers, and from snowflake coasters to an embroidered angel.

And of course, you need to make some Christmas cards and wrap your gifts, right? Check out my card and gift wrapping ideas for lots of ways to make your gift-giving extra special.

Over in my main Crafty Tutorials section you'll also find tutorials for lots of great gifts like brooches, felt jewellery, lavender sachets and hair accessories.