5 benefits of learning to paint

It's true that the world of crafting has enjoyed much more attention in the last few years; maybe thanks to celebrities like Kirstie Allsopp and maybe thanks to the economy. It is certainly true that many crafters have embraced the up cycling trend as we begin to think outside the box instead of buying what we need straight off the shelf.

While many dabble with paper craft and card making, some delve in to baking and others decide to try their hand at sewing, many are often hesitant to learn to paint.  At each show we do, we hear so many people saying 'Oh I couldn't possibly paint' followed by their exclamations that they haven't got an artistic bone in their body...they failed art....they were told many years ago they were just not good enough. The list goes on.  The thing is, we are no strangers to these excuses, we've all said them but it made us wonder, why do we persevere? Why should we learn to paint? In all honesty, there are so many reasons why we should get out of our comfort zone and create but here are our top 5 reasons why we love to Folk It!

1.  It takes us away from the 'real world' When we paint, whether it is with our dotty tool or paint brush, we relax.  We don't have space to worry about the other things that are going on in our lives because we are busy concentrating on creating beautiful patterns or improving our brush strokes. There is no better feeling of 'being in the flow', that wonderful state where the hours seem to fly by.  We are not surprised when we hear that scientific studies have found that learning to paint can help us feel calmer, alleviate depression and keep our brains sharp.  For Folk It founder Carol, it is a form of meditation, a way of relaxing and even after 20 years of painting, she says there is no better feeling than the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment that comes with painting a new design or completing a new project.

2. It allows us to re-discover our creative side.  For children, being creative is part of their daily lives but as we grow up, it becomes harder to hold on to that creativity.  Whether the enemy of creativity is outside (family, an unsupportive teacher or a friend) or within us (the critical voice that often seems to get louder the more we try to do something for ourselves), by the time we reach adulthood, we've often lost or damaged that creative part of us.  Being creative can help us become creative in other areas of our lives - to think outside of the box, to solve problems easier, to see the lighter side of life.

3. It helps co-ordination and dexterity.  Hand-eye co-ordination is so important and one of the activities children are encouraged to do when they are developing this skill is art.  By picking up a paintbrush or a dotting tool, it strengthens these abilities, improves these skills.  We love to hear stories from customers who have learnt to Folk It and found that it has helped them maintain mobility in their hands when they are struggling with medical conditions or that it has been a fun activity to help them rehabilitate their arms and hands after a stroke or accident.

4.  It is economical. Our main purpose for starting our Folk It journey was to teach people to paint, to help them realise that they can be creative...that it is not a magic skill only for a chosen few.  Once our customers got their hands on our kits however, they began to use our designs to breathe new life in to home decor they had fallen out of love with.  In a society where we are often looking for ways to be more frugal, You Can Folk It can help transform the most tired of possessions and personalise a gift.

5. It brings people together.  This is probably our favourite reason, especially in a world where many of us spend too much time on our phones.  There is nothing better than painting with a friend or loved one.  We cannot tell you how much we love our Ambassador courses because it is fantastic to see people inspiring each other.  Painting together starts natural conversation, stimulating learning and sparks so many ideas.  In an environment like that, you can't help but have fun.

Above all else though, learning to paint should never be taken too seriously.  The fantastic thing about Folk Art is that anyone can learn to master the skills with practice.  There's nothing worse than putting pressure on yourself for your work to be perfect straight away.  The fun is in the journey, the practice you do.  So grab your painting kits, get together with a friend, pop in the DVD and learn to Folk It.

Happy Folking,

The You Can Folk It team x

5 mistakes you're making when painting comma strokes and how to fix them

When we meet our customers at shows or at our Ambassador courses, they will often say that they love to complete our dotty designs made popular by our Starter kits and Dotty collection but that they just can't get the hang of comma strokes.  For many, it seems like a huge leap of faith to suddenly swap your dotting tool for a paintbrush and it can be easy to become disheartened with your progress if we don't get it right first time.  Sound familiar? 

The thing is, not everyone will experience these 5 issues, some may only be missing one of them but each factor can make the difference between a wonky comma stroke and the brush stroke you've always dreamed about painting.  The great news is that each one of them is a minor thing and we see them time and time again but we also see that with awareness, practice and perseverance, these issues can be overcome and anyone can create the perfect comma stroke.  

So, what are you doing that is throwing your brushstrokes off track? 

When we are painting, it is easy to become so focused on the act of painting that we don't consider the fact that we might be doing something differently to what we have seen others do.  The next time you sit to paint a design from one of our Series 1 add on kits, we would like you to become aware of these issues and, if you see that these are something you do, work on improving them.  

1. Thinking too much

Well of course we need to concentrate, we are learning a new skill! Right? To a point.... Yes, we need to think about how we are sitting, where our paintbrush is pointing but once we have mastered those, we should let the brush do the work rather than our minds.  So often we become so hung up on creating the perfect curve, the neatest point, that we try to control the direction our brush is going and flick the bristles or pull the brush away too quickly from our paper.  

We will let you into a little secret here..... if you position your brush on the paper correctly and move your brush slowly, you will find you get a much smoother stroke.  It does not matter if each practice stroke is not perfect, what matters is that you sit back, relax and enjoy the process.  The funny thing is that once your paintbrush knows you're more relaxed it will work with you instead of fighting against you! 

2. Loading your brush with too much or too little paint.  

When you load your brush with too much paint, you will find that as you paint your comma stroke, the comma will not be flat but will have two ridges of paint on each edge of the stroke.  If you do not load your brush with enough paint, no matter how you move your brush to create the point, your brushstroke will fade away and disappear before you can finish it.  

To see how to load the correct amount of paint onto your brush, take a look at this video (you will have a similar demonstration on your DVD included with the add on kit you've bought). 


3. Holding your brush too flat. 

When we are striving for the perfect brushstroke, we want to get it right and it's easy to think that if we hold our brush flat meaning the handle is close to our practice paper, then it will help us to control the brush more when in fact it often makes it harder to use. 




To overcome this, you need to forget about the brushstrokes and the outcome and perfect the way you hold the brush. To help you paint the best comma stroke, sit upright and hold your brush in the hand you feel most comfortable using (Right handed people are no more successful at Folk Art painting than left handed people, everyone is on an equal footing when they first begin painting).  Without using any paint to begin with, simply place your brush on the paper and point the top of the handle towards your shoulder.  For example, if you are left handed, the handle should point slightly towards your left shoulder.  This means that your brush should be almost upright rather than pointing to a wall.  If you are right handed, your paintbrush should be pointing up and tilted towards your right shoulder.    

4. Holding your brush too high up. 

For many of us, when we have painted in the past, as a child or later on, no one has shown us how to hold a brush as there isn't necessarily a correct way to do so.  If you find that your brushstrokes are not coming out the way you would like them to, check where you are holding it.  If you grip your brush higher up on the wooden area, you are not alone and you need to reposition your grip now.  

To correct this mistake, you need to think of your brush almost like a pencil.  You should be holding your paintbrush close to the ferrule - the metal area of your brush.  Holding it here still allows you to see your comma strokes as you create them yet it gives you much more control when you are painting.  

5. Not putting enough pressure on your brush.  

It can be so easy to be scared of putting pressure on your brush when creating this lovely brushstroke and many new folkers tend to put just enough pressure on their brush for the bristles to touch the paper.  Doing this has a tendency to create thin, wobbly brushstrokes.  

To help you paint a confident, rounded comma stroke, as you hold your brush pointing towards your shoulder, press your brush towards the paper so that the bristles lay almost flat on the paper (but do not allow the metal ferrule to touch the paper) you will see the bristles spreading out slightly as you do (this helps to create the nice rounded shape at the top of the comma stroke).   Once you have added this pressure, to complete the stroke, slowly drag your brush and lift at the same time.  It is the process of removing this pressure and lifting the bristles away from the paper that helps to create the point at the end. 

It may seem daunting to try to tackle these issues but just as when you learn anything new, it will get easier and with enough practice, it will become automatic.  As you practice, you are teaching your body how to carry out these actions, building muscle memory until eventually, your body and hands will help you create confident brush strokes without you having to consciously think about it.  Whether you have already perfected this skill or have some way to go, the fun is in practicing.   For us, completed projects are wonderful but nothing can beat sitting down and just painting and not worrying about the outcome.  

Happy Folking! 

Go dotty for our brand new kits!

 We've all been there haven't we? That place when you see something creative and automatically think to yourself, 'There's no way I could do that. I'm not artistic"  Some projects, some crafts seem so complex we think we would never be able to master them.  

Just as Kandinsky once said, “Everything starts from a dot” our gorgeous new collection of painting kits do just that.  Using nothing more than a dotting tool and dots of paint, each kit gives you everything you need to create not one but 6 gorgeous designs. 

Step by step, we want to help others re-discover the joy of creating.  Watch something beautiful emerge from a series of dots as you forget your worries and enjoy relaxing as you learn to paint.

What you get in each kit...

3 1oz bottles of Acrylic paint 

6 designs/pattern sheets to trace (there is no freehand drawing involved!) 

Full Colour, step by step instruction booklet 

A link to an Online lesson 

6 colour mount shapes - perfect for turning into gift tags, personalising books and journals or decorating gift bags. 

Transfer paper 

Dotting tool 

We passionately believe everyone should have to opportunity to create beautiful things. So whether you prefer the beautiful Sweetheart designs, classic wreath patterns or festive baubles, there is a kit for everyone.   Even if you believe you can’t paint, you can! 

Welcome to the first step on your creative journey. Take time out from your day to have fun and dot it! 

Start with one dot and see where the dots will lead, after all, it’s about the

journey, not the destination.

Happy Painting

The You Can Folk It! Team x

Five Folky up-cycling projects we love

It's true that we see so many projects from our lovely customers and while many favour making cards and gift bags with our designs, some transform an unloved item into something beautiful: to fall in love with a boring object once more, to show a sentimental item a bit of TLC or to up-date a piece of furniture that no longer fits into new decor. Here, we have chosen a few projects that we love, for their transformation, for the stories behind them and their creativity. 

1.  Up-cycling projects come in all shapes and sizes and we just adore this apprentice dresser Anthea has folked up for her daughter to play with. Tiny furniture and dot roses? What's not to love!

Anthems daughter now has the prettiest dresser to play with! 

2. If you have seen our Storage and Organisation board on Pinterest, you know we love great ideas for displaying our bits and bobs and we love this handmade photo frame Rose has created. Using an old picture frame, twine and mini pegs, she has created this beautiful dot rose photo frame.  

Rose saved money by turning an old picture frame into a quirky photo frame using the supplies and techniques from our Series 1 Starter kit. 

3.  One of our Folkers had a rather unloved Elephant in her possession but as it once belonged to her Mother she was reluctant to pass it on. After she discovered Folk It, she saw a perfect opportunity to give him a little makeover.  Using our Series 1 Starter kit, she added a few dot roses and eyes.  Now, despite the damage he has received after all the years he was loved, he is loved once more. What a great story! 

The elephant was first decorated using deco patch before adding a few roses  from our Starter kit. 

4. After she gave her daughter's room a facelift, Anna decided to do the same for the old chest of drawers that was in there too. Bought in the 70's by her parents, the dark brown wood made the drawers a functional item, but certainly not a beautiful one. After searching Pinterest for a bit of colour inspiration, she opted to create this beautiful ombre effect by adding some pink paint she used to paint the bedroom to some DecoArt Chalky finish paint in Lace. Using our dot rose hearts from our Series 1 Starter kit, she added detail to each drawer and finished the top with our Series 2 Oriental blossom. 

Anna used DecoArt's new Rose gold metallic paint and warm white to paint the roses. 

Anna used the same Rose Gold metallic paint and blended it with a pink shade she mixed from our Series 1 acrylics to create the shimmery blossom she painted on the top. 

 5. Faye has had this great desk in her room for a while but she thought it lacked something. She loves our Vintage Rose kit and after creating her own custom made templates to fit the table top and drawers, she got to work. We think the desk is now a work of art!

We teach you how to paint beautiful roses and leaves in our kits which contain, not only a comprehensive instruction booklet, but a DVD too. 

Creating beautiful pieces of furniture was one of the reasons Folk Art was created and we love the fact that, centuries later, people are using our kits to create re-loved items for their home.  If you have an up-cycling project that features a bit of Folk It, please do let us know. 

Happy Folking, 

Carol & the team xx