Before I tell you all about this fantastic new craft I’ve
discovered, I’m going to start with a disclaimer: I’ve always had mixed
feelings about subscription boxes. I’m all for a lovely surprise every month,
but as a self-confessed control freak, I like to know – and choose – where my
money is going. That said though, I’m also a craft slut. Why buy it for £10
when you can spend £87 on all the materials and have a go yourself?!?
And this is where Craftiosity come in. Moira started her
business to free people up to be creative and try out new things in their own
time, in their own home. She has scoured the web for the most modern techniques
(or modern projects using traditional techniques!), and brings them to us monthly,
in a smartly designed box containing all the materials plus instructions. No
massive outlay, and no need to spend hours researching – unless of course you
get hooked, having had the opportunity to try something you’ve been interested
in for a while, but never had the chance or excuse to get started!
That out of the way, I was super excited to receive my
Craftiosity box, and it was such a treat to unwrap. Beautifully packaged and
put together, with small glassine parcels to explore (it’s all mostly
recyclable too, which is obviously another big thumbs up), I was like a kid at
Christmas!
I knew in advance that it was going to be a ‘cyanotype’ kit,
and that it would be something to do with making images using the sunlight, but
the postcard inside explained that the process was invented by scientists back
in 1842, and then soon after repurposed by botanists and architects. I would be using special chemicals, mixed
together and ‘painted’ onto a set of greetings cards. I’d then pop some bits
and bobs on top, and expose it in the sunlight to create a silhouetted print.
As well as the necessary chemicals and equipment, the kit
contained some skeleton leaves, string, and small wooden pegs – just some
examples of items that would produce some clear/interesting silhouettes.
I had some good fun looking around for things that I thought
would produce a crisp, clear shape, and decided to go for a crafts theme… I’m nothing
if not predictable on-brand! Paintbrushes and rolled up paint tubes, some
ornate scissors, a large needle, crochet hook, pliers, buttons, and some
laser-cut charms. Ready!
Then I read the instructions. Nope. Not ready.
First I needed to do the sciencey bit and prepare my cards
with the chemicals, and leave them to dry in a dark place for a few hours. I
donned my protective gloves and cracked on, feeling like Doc Brown or Albert
Einstein or similar, and then hid my freshly painted cards (and some A4
watercolour papers – I got carried away) in the utility room Cupboard Of Doom overnight.
Right! Ready again! Faff around styling all my objects,
checking Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration (cards and paper still in Cupboard
of Doom, as I was utterly paranoid about accidentally exposing them ahead of
time). Realised it was only 15 minutes until I had to leave to pick up my
daughter from her first day at pre-school, and decided to try again later.
Agh! Right. Finally! The sunshine was out and I had nowhere
to go for an hour or two. I was mostly excited to try out the crochet themed
objects, so rather than go slowly and use the provided items first, I jumped
straight in. I soon found out that (surprisingly), the tips in the instruction
booklet were pretty bang on: ‘If your object is pressed down onto the paper, you’ll
get sharper lines. If it comes away, you’ll see a fuzziness where the light
gets underneath’. My objects were all different thicknesses, so when I sandwiched
them between my piece of glass and the greetings card, my crochet hook rolled
around, and my teeny granny square wasn’t pressed down firmly enough. The
scissors looked great though, as they were heavy enough to not allow much
sunlight to get underneath.
This craft is actually really good for me, as I like to see
quick results (no delayed gratification here, thank you very much), and so 10
minutes of bright sunlight later, I was able to take my print inside to give it
a quick wash. All of the area that had been exposed to the sun had turned a
gorgeous shade of indigo – my favourite colour – while the bits underneath my
objects were a greeny yellow from the remaining chemicals. Once I’d rinsed the card a couple of times though, the
beautiful contrast between the white card and the indigo print became clear.
Spurred on, I went back to my collection of crafty bits to decide what to print
next! I’d learned from my first print that the items that didn’t lay flat
wouldn’t produce such a clear print, so I discarded the paint tubes and a
couple of other things, going instead for some sewing-related objects: a
needle, safety pin, and some buttons. This probably ended up being one of my
most successful prints, but I still wasn’t put off from experimenting with a
more fibre-based theme… see if you can guess what this is:
I used large and small granny squares for the A4 papers, and
think I’m actually going to do a few more of these, once I’ve really got the
technique down: I wish I’d been less impatient and used blocked squares, which
are stretched out and lie flat, and would have produced much crisper lines. Also
I’ve found that I like to see more of the indigo colour, with a rougher edge, from
when I’d originally treated the cards with the chemical mixture. The kit
contained more than enough chemicals for the pack of greetings cards provided,
and so I still have a few more pieces of watercolour paper prepared for another
day, hurray!
All in all, I’ve really enjoyed the whole Craftiosityexperience, from the initial unwrapping, to the process (and the ways in which
I could combine my own ideas with the instructions), results, and even the
follow-up – I’ve just joined Moira’s ‘Creative Adventure Tribe’ Facebook group!
Previous months kits have included screen printing, bath
bomb making, embroidery, and book binding; and inspiration aplenty can be found
on Craftiosity’s social media pages! Boxes can be ordered singly (great for a
control freak like me!), or on a fixed term or rolling monthly subscription.
They’d make a fantastic gift for anyone who struggles to find something really
original for their loved ones (ha, don’t we all?!)
My Craftiosity cyanotype kit was gifted to me, but this
review was unpaid, and all words and opinions are my own.
