craft ideas Archives - CLEVERcreating

Gelli-Printing Magazine Pictures for Beautiful Results

June 13, 2024June 13, 2024 by Hannie Mommers

When I started making Gelli prints, I used lots of stencils and all kinds of objects to make textures. I also printed some photos which worked quite well.

This was definitely a matter of beginner’s luck because they all failed when I tried to print pictures a few months after that. 😉

So when this year’s 100-Day Project came along, I sunk my teeth into making loads of prints and discovering how I could make sure the results were more consistent.

Read my tips for Gelli-printing magazine pictures in this article.

7 Creative Ideas with Waste Materials to DIY or Together with the Kids

December 15, 2023December 15, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

The best waste is of course no waste, but as long as that is a utopia, there is nothing better than coming up with creative ideas with waste materials.

One of the most beautiful sayings I ever saw was: Waste is only waste if you waste it.

And once you get used to thinking in terms of reusing and not wasting stuff, a huge flow of ideas will start, I can assure you.

In this article, I list a number of ideas for inspiration or imitation.

12 Tips to Find Inspiration to Make Art when We Are Stuck

September 29, 2023September 29, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Usually, we find inspiration to make art when we are not looking for it. We are in the shower or preparing dinner and ideas pop into our heads. We walk through nature or in a city and are inspired by what we see or experience.

Then we are so in the flow that we do not need extra inspiration. At other times we have to consciously search for it because we want to create but just don’t know how and what. We’re stuck.

To get the inspiration process going, I’ll give you 12 tips in this article.

What is Gelli Printing and What Makes it so Amazingly Easy?

August 25, 2023August 25, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Gelli printing is a form of monoprinting. Each piece of work is unique and usually depends largely on chance.

A Gelli print can be created in different ways. In this article, I describe a number of pure Gelli printing methods and combinations with other techniques.

It is great fun to experiment with this technique. For me, that is the biggest charm of Gelli printing. For starting hobbyists, the advantage is that the learning curve is really low.

3 Ideas for DIY Valentine Cards that are Simple and Beautiful

January 30, 2023January 30, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Even if you consider yourself as non-creative, as a lot of people unjustifiable do, it’s pretty simple to make something.

These 3 ideas for DIY Valentine cards will inspire you to have a fun afternoon beforehand and a great day on February 14th.

Valentine’s Day used to be about secret love, yet has turned into a commercial fest. Personally, I don’t like that. It’s so simple to go to a store and buy all kinds of stuff, or even order it online.

How to Smooth the Surface of your Clay Object – 3 Affordable Tips

January 9, 2023January 9, 2023 by Hannie Mommers

Ceramics can be produced in several ways. Each method will result in a different surface.

You can press the clay in moulds, hand-build an object, or merge slabs.

Depending on completion or decoration it can be necessary to smooth the surface as best as possible.

How to smooth the surface of your clay object? I’ll explain my methods in this article.

Attractive Combining Handmade Frames with Photoshop Editing

May 9, 2022March 19, 2022 by Hannie Mommers

Combining Handmade Frames with Photoshop Skills

In this article, I explain how to make a handmade frame and combine it with layers in Photoshop in an easy way. The end result appears to be the outcome of masking, but it is actually the result of selecting and deleting.

In the starting years of the availability of computers for everyone, I met a professional illustrator who said he had bought a computer and some illustration programs because he was sick and tired of getting dirty hands while drawing.