Feathering Decoupage

I thought I'd mention feathering. It's an easy technique to master and improves certain decoupaged pieces, although once or twice I've made a cat or teddy look positively scary by feathering in the wrong direction [can even cause nightmares in the more sensitive person].

I don't always feather the bottom layers, I temporarily layer up all my cut out decoupage then decide which bits need feathering & then just feather the bits that will show - ie the bits on top, unless I'm in a feathery mood then it's a case of 'no paper is safe' 'because it will be feathered, David has commented a time or two at the state of the TV magazine when I've been practising ... it's a shame I'm never in a housework type mood, just think what I could achieve then, oh well.

I've found that the best feathering scissors I've got were some cheap ones. I thought wrongly that my decoupage scissors would be ideal but fortunately when I wanted to use them for feathering someone else had got their mits on them [more about that in another episode], so I used another pair & was pleasantly surprised, they're bigger than my decoupage scissors so probably easier to do the quick, angled snipping required.

I feather most cats, dogs, teddys, birds, Christmas trees, etc. Feathering is also useful because I don't really like to see any white bits on decoupage, I cut as close to the outline as I can, but sometimes it's just impossible to cut round every tiny detail without bits of it dropping off.
With feathering, especially round the furry bits of Santa's hat, cuffs and coat you can be a bit more forgiving of yourself & cut a little further out from the detail because when you've feathered it, it won't show. Well not if you squint anyway.

Here's a couple of feathery decoupage pictures, you can see the bottom layers as I took the photo's at an oblique angle to avoid the flash glare, then stretched them back into shape, I play a lot with my photos, I can make myself look quite thin but am still having problems with the bags under my eyes. Anyway, I digress, where was I? Oh yes photo's of feathering -




Of course with practice, feathering gets easier, you can get it finer too, it all depends on the angle you hold the scissors & the speed you cut. I start at the topmost place I want to feather from & slide the paper into the scissors with the top blade leaning to the left, then cut & pull down very slightly & carry on, the feathered paper curls up a little, more so the finer you feather.
There's no need to cut in too far, I barely graze the edge of the paper. You just have to remember which way the fur/hair/tree needs to be feathered & turn the paper over accordingly [or not if you like the scary look].

Don't be afraid to cut into feathers on birds & feather both edges, as you won't see that there shouldn't have been a cut because the feathering will hide it.


I've tried my best to make a short video of the feathering technique with the help of my other half [between races].
Luckily I've managed to edit out all the swearing by me plus the throwing down of scissors & paper in frustration when buttons weren't pressed quick enough on the camera although they were arguably the best bits.



Hopefully this gives some idea of how to achieve the feathery look, hmm looks like I need a bit more practice but I was virtually looking up my own nose whilst giving instructions to the cameraman [technically challenged] & balancing on one leg ...

Opening of 'The Manor' & David's Birthday

Everything was packed ready for our return to our 'summer residence' All except my crafting stuff & new 'all in one printer' that I'd bought with my birthday money for finishing off cards with personalised inserts, rather than me having to take them home to finish them [in a big rush], then to take them back again next time we went; in the hope that whoever wanted them would also be at their caravan.
"There's no room for it in the car, it'll have to wait until next time" said my other half.
A bit selfish really in my opinion ... if he hadn't decided that he was going to spend his Birthday at the caravan then we wouldn't have to take 2 carrier bags full of his cards & presents.

It's horrible opening the caravan after winter [AFTER, HA!] You walk in, it's cold & clammy, there's dishes of salt in every room, some rock hard & crusty where they've dried in the sun & others with dead things floating in the salt water, mostly spiders, which I find sad because I like spiders, I try to shoo them all out when we're locking up at the end of the season; knowing they'll die if I don't.

First thing I do is demolish the teepee in the middle of the living room, [we have to put the table there & stack all the seating round it to prevent damp]. Then I clean the windows & put the net curtains up, lovely job, I've got a little piece of coloured cotton sewn on a top corner of each similarly sized net so I know which window it's for [theoretically], using all the colours of the rainbow only I forget every year which window to start at & which way round the caravan to go; all in all there are 11 nets!
Only then do we start bringing in the things we have to take home at the end of the season - tv, video, sky box, etc. That I suppose may have been another reason there was no room in the car for my important stuff.
Phew, time for a cuppa before starting on our bedroom [also wigwammed & salty]
Actually I've forgotten one thing, before I did any of the above; I had to feed the cat who then watched me do all the hard work. I'm definitely coming back as a cat in my next life!
David went shopping as he only gets in my way.


Anyway it's done for this year so I'll stop moaning about it. All I'll say now is that it was COLD & windy for 3 days, then it snowed. I LOVE snow, [which you can tell from some of the Christmas cards I make] but it didn't last, as soon as it stopped snowing it thawed & was gone.

I suppose I'd better mention David's cards at some point, he got some really lovely crafted [but bought] cards, obviously mine was hand made ...




... & Shannon made one for him, I think it's terrific for an eleven year old, she's been card making for a couple of years now & really enjoys it, also she thinks about the person she's making the card for so that it's just right for them. I may have mentioned her Grandad's love of horse racing a time or two.

How It All Began

Apart from updating my blog this weekend I've managed to complete a few decoupaged pieces. I know they don't look much yet but by the time they're on the cards with matting & layering & suitable background papers they'll look different again.

I'd only completed a few cards last year [end of September] when the first 'prospective' customer saw them. We'd had our caravan 4 years and had got to know just about everyone on our site [OK, Caravan Park if we're being posh]. The conversation had started on the sea-front by us 'ladies' discussing what we did on rainy days; which we had in abundance and was the very reason I started decoupaging in the first place.

Let's face it, what do you do when it's bucketing down? you're in a glorified tin shack in the middle of an old turnip field surrounded by other tin shacks [some positively of the hut standard & others a bit more upmarket]. Also when it rains we end up with our personal moats & not everyone can say they've got their own moat!

OK, picture it, I've done all the logical, sudoku & kakuro puzzles my brain can cope with, I've read every book twice. The television, for some bizarre reason only gets the horse racing channel in the daytime [I think that's more to do with someone else hanging on to the remote control than any actual fault].
The games on my laptop have started to bore me, I've got no t'Internet or rather I'm not paying the extortionate prices 'She Who Must Be Obeyed' wants to charge for her 'hotspot'. I've cleaned everything & rearranged the cupboards [now that alone shows true desperation, anyone who knows me knows my aversion to housework].

Anyway, it must have been between races 3 years ago that I found the tv remote stuffed behind a cushion [I was straightening it, see last paragraph] while his lordship had gone to the throne room, hmm methinks, what's on the other channels? I know of some that sell jewellery [also a passion of mine or would be if I were as rich as I was meant to be] then from there I flicked up one number.

Ooooh, I like that, wonder what it's called? it looks easy. Yes, they were decoupaging & I was so fascinated that I took the details of the website & ordered a kit as soon as we went home. Obviously the actual decoupage sheets [Christmas] that I wanted had sold out but I bought some others plus a few other bits of essential paraphernalia & so a 'Craft Goddess' [me ... yes ME!] was born.

Now I have a room that you can only walk sideways through as it's full of craft stuff ... and I'm keeping it all, I've got bulging files of different coloured card for matting & layering, in fact silver & gold have got a file each but I'm not using them, oh no, I've got other colour coordinated files with scraps in & I must use them first before I go into my stash of pristine cards, oh & papers; same problem, you can't waste them so I hoard them in a proper miserly fashion.
I have since discovered that this is normal crafting behaviour & I'm not about to change now...

People with Birthdays are a Nuisance

Well here I am, almost as good as my word; decoupaging Christmassy things... I sooo need to be in front this year with the threat of more customers.
Who should appear at my elbow? David my other half.

"Um, can you make me a card? a flattish one to go through the post?" He hasn't forgotten the extra pennies he had to pay to send his sisters' birthday card because now the post office charge for thickness as well as weight, so mean tsk tsk.

Aha, a challenge, flat decoupage ... "no, bugger off"
"Please, just make me a nice card for a lady [sister-in-law]. Any sort will do"

I hate making flat cards, It's just not me; but at a push I can be persuaded, then I may make a waterfall card [flattish] or a shaped card [couldn't be bothered] failing that I generally go for 'full-on' GLITTER!
Alas this time it wasn't to be on the menu as this card is for a more refined lady of a certain age [why not I ask? I love glitter on everything & I'm getting on a bit].
So when all else fails I resort to some flowery stuff that comes in little pots, it pretties things up a bit without being bulky & I enjoy sprinkling it about, it can really bring a dull, boring, flat card to life [even better with glitter mixed in].

Anyway, here is the result, I'm not entirely satisfied with it, left to me I'd pay the extra postage & make it at least an inch thicker with decoupage [and 2lb heavier as silicone is quite heavy]

The image is one I downloaded from the Internet [OK for personal use, I checked]
I sprinkled every other flower in the border, a few in the main picture and some of the leaves.
I then made a matching insert as I do with all my cards.



Righto, now I've done that it's back to my Christmassy decoupage ... glitter, sparkle, twinkle ...

Never too early for Christmas

Note to self...

I know just the thoughts of preparing for next Christmas this early will send many people in search of comfort food [chocolate, yum] but Christmas decoupage is something that can be started now & stockpiled for bunging on a card later... you know when I mean; the 3rd week in November when you finally drag your card lists out, peruse it, panic a bit while thinking "Ohhh, they sent us a really posh card last year, I'll have to beat that!". [been there, done that]

Well being prepared early means you can beat the amazing card you were sent, and look smug while doing so as you haven't had to stay up all night with vital bits of paper siliconed to your hair & soles of your slippers, but most importantly you don't sparkle from head to toe because you sneezed while glittering the snow scene [remember it was a really posh card you had to beat]

OK, so really I'm starting my Christmas decoupage early because I sold all my Christmas cards last year whilst we were at our caravan at Skegness, I wasn't left with one!
Just imagine it, I've showed off my talents [any crafter that isn't a proud show-off is a liar] so successfully that people I'd never even met knocked on the caravan door saying "so-and-so's shown me the cards you made for her, have you got any spare ones?"

And then before I knew it, the caravan had just closed for the season, therefore it's the beginning of November [yikes] & I've got no Christmas cards left, plus I've got 10 on order for friends at home that I've promised will be ready... soon.

Obviously you end up with the scenes described earlier ... siliconed hair, glitter... hmm?