The Art Chain

I had two friends tag me last week for the #artchain and today I thought I'd share the art I shared and why I wanted my friends to know the story behind each piece.

Day 1.  I am inspired by both of these ladies in so many ways -- Martha for her sense of color and free style and Jennie with her lovely attention to detail and sweet vintage style.
Choosing favorite projects isn't easy for me, but this one comes to mind. One because of my love for flowers, another because it reminds me to be inquisitive in art because I discovered this technique completely by accident and lastly because when I went to sell it my husband asked me not to because he likes it. 

________________________________ 

Day 2 of ‪#‎theartchain‬ and I'm sharing this fun one. While it may not look pretty to you -- this was the very first art journal page where I started exploring and playing with mixing florals and quotes -- way back in 2011. Whenever I see this I will always remember how excited and jazzed I was at how it turned out and the possibilities I saw and felt for artistic and personal growth. ‪

________________________________

 

Day 3 of ‪#‎theartchain‬ and I'm sharing this little love. When Nathalie Kalbach spoke these words to me during a skype chat the clouds parted and the angels sang. I have not forgotten the lesson and have been working towards being the flower and cultivating my own garden.

________________________________

Day 4 of the ‪#‎artchain‬ and I'm sharing this colorful gem. One of my earlier illustrations that really spoke to me -- and when I really realized what adding black to my designs really does. This image never ceases to make me happy and reminds me of that aha moment!

________________________________

Day 5 of ‪#‎artchain‬ and I'm sharing this painting. Another major break through that day. This large painting (20 x 30) went from a fussy and overpainted bowl of pears to this through frustration after several sessions of trying to get it "perfect". I realized that while it's nice to be able to paint in a photo realistic manor, I never will. It says on the bottom "bloom" because I certainly bloomed when I painted it!

Thanks for dropping by, have a great week! 

The Craft + Hobby Association

I meant to share this earlier, but I changed my password and couldn't remember what I changed it to! Oh the joys of growing old. I've been going to the Craft + Hobby Association Meetings for about 10 years now. Originally there were 3 various meetings a year associated with crafts but now it's whittled down to 1 where most manufacturers go and a 2nd where some go.

I always LOVE to see what the manufacturers come up with, this year the Lion Brand Yarn Booth had this super cool HUGE iPhone. I think it's the iPhone 47 -- cause by the time that one comes around I'll be about blind and need it. This one even has a lovely yarn cozy. LOL

I was at the show this year with Art-C and they were giving out these sweet bags. I incorporated them into my demo to make them a little more colorful.

My colleague and friend Mandy Collins from Pearl Maple spent many hours hatching great plans for future issues of Mixed Media. The 5th will be coming out at the end of March so stay tuned!

One of my favorite things to do in Anaheim is go to PF Changs. They let you take the chopsticks home and the food is so good.

I even got my picture taken with the Duck Dynasty people!

All in all, it was a great week of connecting with old friends, making new ones and seeing the new products that are in the pipeline!

Have a great weekend and thank you so much for stopping by.

The Positivity Project

I finally had a minute to photograph and put together a little video slide show of pages from my Positivity Project Journal using my stamps from Art Gone Wild.

You can see a tutorial for some backgrounds here, on the Ranger blog, you'll recognize some of the pages. I'll be posting some detailed instructions for some of the uncolored pages as soon as I find a minute or two to add some color (plus I'm waiting on some cool new paints to play with!) so you can see how I do that.

You can easily pause the video if you want to spend more time looking at the images or need the stamp set information!

And finally, if you are interested; you can purchase stamps from my Etsy shop.

And, if you're interested, here's a fun video I created at the Craft and Hobby Association meeting last week in California!

THANKS for dropping by, have a great day!

Positivity -- My #OLW!

The first week of January I spent every moment working on my grid pages for my Artful Life Planner, I really wanted to seal the word positivity into my brain and heart. You know, activate that muscle memory.

Honestly though, I need to get back on the wagon. With all the travel and work I haven't done much for a week. As each day passes it feels easy to fall into the trap of negativity, and honestly; I don't want to go there.

I think I'll spend the rest of the week playing as much as I can on some new pages, in my planner and my new journal to renew and revive my dedication to positivity for 2015.

One of the things I've been doing, because I haven't been able to dedicate any time to drawing and quotes -- to try and keep the positivity alive and well is, when a person asks me how I am I reply, I am awesome, thanks for asking. How about you. Even when I don't feel awesome, I really think it works and the conversation that starts is usually pretty uplifting.

Honestly though, these days I've been feeling pretty awesome, but the additional reminder brings to mind some pretty awesome things I have in the works. So many people try to drag you down, for no reason other than the fact that they are miserable, or jealous -  and having positive mantras and quotes to look at and recite helps keep a positive mind and get rid of those turkeys.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by, I hope you have a positive week!

My Artful Life Planner

I haven't had as much time to work on My Artful Life planner as I like in the last week or so, but thought I'd share some of the pages I've  colored -- in the effort to try to get a bit caught up. I always use a mix of watercolor paints, markers, colored pencils and Gelly pens. They all look so lovely together!

To purchase a completed planner, visit my Etsy Shop, link to the left. To purchase the download and free class, visit my on-line class website, Merrymeeting Art House. 

Enjoy your weekend, thanks for dropping by!

Not a Fan of Waiting...

I'm not very patient, and waiting in the ER for our turn to be seen when it's busy isn't my idea of a fun time.

Bringing my positivity journal and some markers really helps pass the time! Thankfully there were no broken bones and we only had to wait a few hours to find out.

Have a great day -- and be prepared for anything with a travel kit always at the ready!

Crazy Christmas Packages

 

Now that Christmas is over, I thought I'd share a fun way that I "wrapped" up a money gift for my Dad.  I'm not a fan of giving gift certificates or money, but when someone has everything they need, it kinda makes sense.

This year, to make it interesting I bought a can of beans, cheap ones and used that to wrap the cash we gave my Dad. I used a can opener to open the bottom, the kind that leaves no sharp edges and washed it out.

Then I put some rice in a plastic bag inside the clean can, added the cash and used craft glue to glue the bottom back on.

In order for him to open it, he had to use a can opener.  It was kinda funny because he had a little trouble with the can opener and my Mom had to get involved.

It was a fun way to make opening a boring gift like money a little exciting. Thanks for dropping by, have a great day!

Where ever…

Sharing a quick sketch I did for a friend. Can't wait to see how she colors it.

Where ever we are, it is friends that make our world. 

Have a creative day, thanks for dropping by!

Merrymeeting Art House Winter Camp

Last week I held the first ever kids camp at the studio, and it was an amazing day. The girls arrived ready for a creative and fun day. It really could not have been any more fun or better !

They made necklaces, journals and a painting.

Each one created beautiful art -- and they weren't worried about what any one else created.

It was lovely to see them smile and really get creative with color.

I don't know about them, but I'm looking forward to the next camp day!

Have a great day all, thanks for dropping by!

It's my TURN -- Creative JumpStart 2015!!

If you haven't signed up for Creative JumpStart 2015 yet you should!! Today's my day, so be sure to head on over and see what all the buzz is about! 

My Artful Life Planner

Good morning, and happy 5th of January. Today I wanted to share some of the pages I've been working on in "My Artful Life Planner". (I have a few kits left and available in my etsy shop, you can follow the link to purchase a kit or click on the link to my store on the left side of the page.)

Here's the introduction page -- where I've combined my OLW for 2015 -- "positivity" in the space in the center of the flower. This space could be used for journaling, a photo or whatever. I used Tombow Dual Tip markers, colored pencils, and Gelly Roll Pens to color this page in.

Here's the first page after the 2014-2015 Calender. I used watercolor paint for the background and Sakura Gelly Roll pens for the lettering and other details.

I really love the way some of the Hobonichi Planners look, but didn't want to start ANOTHER book for little drawings. Since My Artful Life planner has plenty of blank space, I decided to make them grid pages where I'd mix little drawings with my OLW 2015 Quotes.

Here's the first in-progress page.

 
And the first completed Grid Page. I used a lot of different things for coloring these little gems in.  

And the second in-progress grid page.

 

There are only 2 kits left in my Etsy shop that include everything you need to create your own planner, and they're on sale. I've decided not to reprint this planner this year, so you should get one while supplies last. 

For more inspiration, check out Tina Walker's blog and 2015 Challenge here: A Dog's Life: A new Monthly Art Journal Planner.  She's off to a great start!! 

Thanks for dropping by, have a lovely day! 

I don't know….

When it rains, 

look for rainbows.
 

When it's dark, 

look for stars.  

When you are happy, 

draw flowers!

Have a great day, thanks for dropping by today!

Creative Jump Start -- starts TODAY!

Happy New Year friends! This year I'm going to make creativity and positivity more of a priority -- and one of those ways is by trying to share more creative projects I'm involved in. Which brings me to Creative Jump Start.

This is the 4th Year that I've been invited to play with Nathalie Kalbach in this fun project -- and you don't want to miss this one! If you haven't signed up yet, it's not to late.  Take a minute to head on over to N*Studio, watch the trailer and sign up today so you don’t miss it – it is going to be awesome and filled with lots of Mixed Media Creative Fun! And did you know that if you signed up for Creative JumpStart 2015 that you can access the welcome page and explore a bit more about it?

CJS starts today -- so head on over and sign up so you don't miss anything! 

Thank you for dropping by, sending the best of wishes to you for a happy and successful 2015.

Merry Christmas Friends!

Today I'd like to send out warm and joyous Christmas Greetings to all my family and friends that celebrate the Christmas season!

For those of you that celebrate something else, I send you best wishes and Happy Holiday's greetings to you as well!

Thank you all for reading my blog, enjoy your day! 

From BLAH to Ahah!

As an artist I have come to the realization that my art has various stages it goes through -- and they range from beautiful to ugly -- each and every time. I start each piece with grand ideas of what I want to create -- always having hope of what it might be. No matter how it starts, and how many I love this stages it has -- it ALWAYS gets to a super ugly stage, where I really don't like it.

Kinda like this.

This is a critical stage, I think where many artists abandon the piece they are working on. When really, all you need to do is walk away for a day or two or ten years -- and come back to finish what you started with fresh eyes and a different perspective.

 

After a while, you end up loving what you do, and it might end up looking like this and making you super happy!

All these pages needed were some details -- some black and white lines to make them interesting and beautiful.

These two also had the same "ugly stage" but now they make me happy.

Thanks for dropping by today, have a great week!

Guest over on the Ranger Ink Blog

Good Morning friends, just dropping by to let you know you should check out the Ranger Ink blog today for a fun tutorial using Distress Paints.

Enjoy and thanks for dropping by!

Mixed Media 4 -- the Holiday Edition

I have been working hard to get the last touches put on the latest Volume of Mixed Media -- and I'm happy to say it's finally done. You can download and read it over on ISSUU -- but I have to say this is the best one so far. With 3 guests and lots of amazing inspiration, recipes and projects -- I think there is something for everyone! 

Click on the image, or here to go directly to ISSUU and see all FOUR Volumes. Sign up for my Newsletter, link to the left -- to be the first to know when Mixed Media is out -- and lots of other fun announcements.

Have a great weekend!

Three Things...

Today I wanted to share another art journal page made with my Art Gone Wild Stamps. This page was created using the Clematis stamp -- I framed the page and then finished up the lines with a marker.

For color I used Peerless Watercolors (Geranium Pink) and added color to the flowers and stems with Tombows Dual Tip Brush Markers and Caran D'Ache colored pencils.

The background is a little wonky because my waterbrush was contaminated with yellow watercolor paint - so the geranium turned a little orangey in areas -- but I love it. The color was also quite a bit brighter than I anticipated so I toned it down a little by drawing the leaves in the background with a white acrylic paint marker.

In the end, I thought it was going to be a disaster when I painted the geranium in the background but I think I love it. Here's to sticking with the uglies.

Have a great day, thanks for dropping by. 

Evolution of an Art Journal Page

Yesterday I worked on my Positivity Journal and thought I'd share how I create a stamped and painted art journal page.

I'm disappointed with the video quality....hopefully I can find a new program for making quicky little slideshows that works better than iPhoto. Do you have any recommendations?

Thanks for dropping by, have a great day!

Inspiration for You

I've got a crazy busy week, so sharing this little art journal page. Not finished, but I hope to inspire you to create something today!

In the end, there will always be flowers. 

Thank you for stopping by, have a lovely, creative day.

Creative JumpStart 2015

I'm excited to announce that I'll be participating as an artist in Creative JumpStart (CJS) 2015, run by Nathalie Kalbach. If you're not familiar with CJS, it's a one-of-a-kind online event to fire up your creativity in Jan 2015.

 

By participating in CJS15 you will learn fun techniques, discover new materials, and connect with artists and crafters across the globe.

Throughout January participants get 25 videos from 23 featured artists. I'm proud to be one of those artists, called “JumpStarters.” Watch the video and see for yourself:

Creative JumpStart 2015 Trailer from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

Head on over to Nathalie's site to sign up and and find more details about CJS15: 

http://nathaliesstudio.com/shop/online-workshops-ubermedia/creative-jumpstart-2015/

You get 25 videos for just $25 (USD).

But wait – it gets better: if you sign up today you’ll get $5 off. Use this coupon code during checkout:

cybercjs

*This is a limited offer valid from 9:00 am Dec 1, 2014 to 8:59 am EST on Dec 2, 2014.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up here, and apply the coupon code during check out process

CJS 2015 is proudly sponsored by Liquitex.