Add Some Creative Variety to Your Paintings! Merle Rosen offers dozens of tips & techniques for artists who want to add layers & variety to their paintings in this DVD-version of the artistsnetwork.tv workshop. Youll learn how to create your own stamps using recycled materials, incorporate printmaking into your painting, mix different gels & paints for special effects, & use common household items for mark making. Running time: 73 minutes ...

: If you loved Nancy Reyners book Acrylic Revolution, then youll enjoy seeing the most popular acrylic techniques in action. In her new video, Nancy shows you how to make your paintings unique, exciting & contemporary by layering different techniques one on top of the other. Discover how to simulate watercolor & oil effects & learn about many techniques such as washes & staining on unusual grounds, building up with opaque paint & glazes, transparency, varnishing & many helpful tips. Put it all together to paint a landscape with sky, lake, & luscious autumn trees. Running time: 45 minutes ...

With this DVD, viewers can enter the studio & watch first hand the creation of a vibrant mountainlandscape painting in acrylic. It

Includes:: choosing colours, setting up your palette, mixingneutrals, using complements & finishing the work. Using acrylics on paper, without gels or mediums, Stephen Quiller shows how fun & easy it is to paint with this exciting medium (using transparent, translucent & opaque effects) with a mountain landscape from sketch to finished painting. Running time: approx 57 mins

...

While many small needlecraft & cross stitch projects can be stitched by just holding the canvas in your lap, using an embroidery hoop or frame to hold the work area tight for stitching can make the sewing work go more smoothly & easily. Mounting the canvas or fabric on a frame that holds the work area tight for stitching can be helpful in a number of ways: A taut fabric makes stitches easier to see & count. Both hands are free to guide the needle & thread, which makes stitching go faster. When the fabric is taut, stitches are more even, with more uniform tension on the yarn, which greatly reduces the need to block the project once it's completed to straighten distorted areas. Fabric on a frame needs less handling, so there is less wear & tear on the thread & the project stays clean even if it's worked on over months & years. This adjustable lap stand makes cross stitching & embroidery even easier by freeing up the hand that otherwise would have to hold the frame in position for stitching, allowing you to work sitting with both hands. May be used as a tabletop frame. Comes complete with an 8" x 24" (21.6cm x 61cm) scroll frame to fit fabric up to 21" (53.3cm) wide & holds work 8" (21.6cm) between rods. ...

This is a delightful advent calendar with cardboard gatefolds which open to reveal a busy street scene with masses of things to colour. Behind each die-cut window theres little picture to colour in every day in the run-up to Christmas. Youll find Santa with a pile of presents, busy elves, skating mice, an angelic angel, a skiing penguin & lots, lots more. It stands independently, so will make a fantastic Christmas display too. ...

Adventures in Needlework If the word needlework makes you think of grannies, great-aunts & twee samplers then prepare to be proved wrong with this book of bright & funky designs that show how stitching has become seriously stylish. Adventures in Needlework brings embroidery bang up to date using traditional techniques alongside bold colours, graphics & striking contemporary ideas. From cute cushions to gangster bling, these unique projects bridge the gap between craft & interior design, embracing the revival of homemade things as something to be proud of. Four main techniques of canvas work, appliqu, silk shading & goldwork are covered, with three projects progressing in difficulty for each. All the tools, materials & stitching techniques needed are carefully explained, along with general instructions for making up cushions, bags & framing canvases. Complete beginners will be able to get started straight away, whilst more experienced stitchers will be inspired & challenged. About the Author Jessica Aldred trained at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) & then went on to work in costume production at the Royal Opera House. Now Education Coordinator at the RSN, Jessica runs day classes, tours & exhibitions. She also teaches, assesses & is a volunteer for Fine Cell Work, a charity that teaches needlework to prison inmates & sells their products. In 2008, Jessica was invited to be a needlework hand double for the actress Abbie Cornish in the film Brightstar & went on to become the needlework consultant on the set of the film. Www.jessicaaldred.co.uk Emily Peacock specialises in needlepoint & cross stitch, her designs are bold, graphic & modern. Emily is a regular contributor to Cross Stitcher, her work has appeared in numerous high-profile magazines, the national press & she has recently taken part in the popular Channel 4 television series Kirsties Homemade Home aired in Spring 2010. www.emilypeacock.com ...

Adventures in Needlework If the word needlework makes you think of grannies, great-aunts & twee samplers then prepare to be proved wrong with this book of bright & funky designs that show how stitching has become seriously stylish. Adventures in Needlework brings embroidery bang up to date using traditional techniques alongside bold colours, graphics & striking contemporary ideas. From cute cushions to gangster bling, these unique projects bridge the gap between craft & interior design, embracing the revival of homemade things as something to be proud of. Four main techniques of canvas work, appliqué, silk shading & goldwork are covered, with three projects progressing in difficulty for each. All the tools, materials & stitching techniques needed are carefully explained, along with general instructions for making up cushions, bags & framing canvases. Complete beginners will be able to get started straight away, whilst more experienced stitchers will be inspired & challenged. About the Author Jessica Aldred trained at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) & then went on to work in costume production at the Royal Opera House. Now Education Coordinator at the RSN, Jessica runs day classes, tours & exhibitions. She also teaches, assesses & is a volunteer for Fine Cell Work, a charity that teaches needlework to prison inmates & sells their products. In 2008, Jessica was invited to be a needlework hand double for the actress Abbie Cornish in the film Brightstar & went on to become the needlework consultant on the set of the film. Www.jessicaaldred.co.uk Emily Peacock specialises in needlepoint & cross stitch, her designs are bold, graphic & modern. Emily is a regular contributor to Cross Stitcher, her work has appeared in numerous high-profile magazines, the national press & she has recently taken part in the popular Channel 4 television series Kirsties Homemade Home aired in Spring 2010. www.emilypeacock.com ...

African Cross Stitch Collection The African Cross Stitch Collection is the culmination of years of work & research on African life & its fascinating customs. The works show the wonderful abundance of scenic, plant, bird & wildlife that so naturally subsist in the sunshine filled environment of Africa. Trish Burr has designed a collection of cross stitch projects, depicting enchanting images of everyday African.life in a semi-realistic, bright, colourful & vivid way, from sunrise to sunset, & has added little folklore stories to accompany some of the designs. The projects progress form quick & easy designs towards more challenging projects for the advanced stitcher. An additional alphabet chart & motif library are included so that readers can design their own projects. About the Author Author of the wonderful Redoutes Finest Flowers in Embroidery, Trish Burr is a self-taught embroiderer who hungrily consumes all aspects of this fine craft. Over. the years Trish Burr has endeavoured to share her interest with other needle workers throughout Southern Africa, by designing the Stitches For Africa range, & making available the use of imported materials that are largely unobtainable in a failing economy. ...