Creative Jumpstart 2021

Creative Jumpstart 2021
Join me for the 10th Anniversary of CJS2021

Saturday, December 28

Creative JumpStart -- it's coming!

It's getting to be that time of the year again -- the Creative JumpStart time. If you are in a place where you find you need some inspiration, maybe some new techniques to get you started then Creative JumpStart is definitely for you! It can help get you out of a rut. Or it can be a place to get to know some amazing artists and designers.
Before Creative JumpStart 2014 gets here (coming soon -- I promise) I thought I'd share my Jumps from the last two years with you, so you can see what this is all about if you are new to Jumping with the Creative JumpStarters. If you've seen these before - I hope they'll give you a little refresher at some of the awesome things that are in store for you next MONTH!

Here's my Creative JumpStart from 2012:



And my Creative JumpStart from 2013.



For a sneaky peaky at Creative JumpStart 2014 -- which is coming soon -- watch the PREVIEW Video that Nat created!



For more Information and to Sign up, go to Nat's Website here!

All signed up but not sure what to do now? Watch this:



That's all for today, thanks for stopping by. Happy NEW YEAR to you and yours!

 

Monday, December 23

Wool Poinsettia Stocking!

Sizzix Wool Stocking with Poinsettia Decoration by Catherine Scanlon

One last holiday project -- so click on over to the Sizzix blog today and see how I created this beautiful Poinsettia!

Thursday, December 19

Stocking Favors!

Stocking Favor by Catherine Scanlon for Sizzix
You'll want to fly on over the the Sizzix blog for an easy tutorial on how to make these beautiful felt stocking favors! Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!

Sunday, December 15

Morning Glory

the WHATEVERS 2 A
It's that time of the month -- you know the one -- when we have new stories for our Whatevers! Take a minute and check out what everyone else is telling this month:
Here's my story for December .......

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December Whatevers by Catherine Scanlon

Morning Glory wanted to design hats. Big, colorful flowery bonnets that made you think of spring even on the coldest day of the winter.

 December Whatevers  by Catherine Scanlon 

She started small, designing hat for local society ladies. Each bonnet was unique – created with silk flowers and ribbons and decorated with unique and exotic beads. She had so many customers she started hiring young women to help her with each creation.

December Whatevers 2

When a customer told her she should source her silk flowers from the markets in Thebes she hopped on a Ocean Liner and made the long trip to purchase enough for hundreds of hats.

December Whatevers 5

That was when she met Winston. The instant their eyes met she forgot all about hats and silk flowers.

December Whatevers 4

Here is how it works

  • Vicki, Cat, Cuchy (Carmen), Martha and I and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
  • Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.
  • If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you to download and show us your version of The Whatevers. The photo will be posted at the end of our blogposts- not on Facebook!
  • There are no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER There are no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER
  • There are no rules on the artform you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an artjournal page – WHATEVER
  • Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.

  • These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission
  • If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.

december whatevers

You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page And you can also share your pages with this Linky List:




Wednesday, December 11

Brunswick 10 x 10

I forgot to share these 10 x 10 pieces of art I created for a show in September.....but if you live locally you haven't missed out -- you can see them at the Little Dog on Maine Street, Brunswick from now until the end of the month!


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Thanks for dropping by today, have a wonderful rest of your week!

Tuesday, December 10

Countdown to Creativity

Tim Holtz has pre-leased three new dies ahead of CHA- Jumbo Tattered Florals, Garden Greens, and Spring Greenery that are available to pre-order!  You can read all about them on Tim’s blog: http://timholtz.com/new-jumbo-tattered-florals-more-from-sizzix/ and you can also ask your local stores to pre-order these items!

Countdown to Creativity Catherine Scanlon 2

These dies are so amazing -- I used them to create a no sew Valance using some old corduroy, canvas, burlap, a table runner, felt, buttons and a hot glue gun. The best part is it only took about an hour, from start to finish!

 Countdown to Creativity Catherine Scanlon 3  Countdown to Creativity Catherine Scanlon 4

I did have to adjust the width of the table runner to fit inside my window. I chose to sew that, but I think using a hot glue gun would also work for that part! I cut all the pieces from the various stack of fabrics and layed them out in place on the table runner.

Countdown to Creativity Catherine Scanlon office 2

When I was happy with the plalcement, I used the hot glue gun to attach them permanently to the valance. I did pick it up now and again to make sure all the leaves and petals at the top were attached securely to the canvas.

Countdown to Creativity Catherine Scanlon

When it was done I placed some clips with rings evenly spaced across the top to attach the tension rod and added it to the window. It's a beautiful valance that doesn't darken the bathroom and it was so easy! I think I might make a set for my office!

Many of the other Sizzix Design Team members will be sharing projects using the new dies over the month. Make sure you check the Sizzix blog for links to all the other beautiful projects the team will be posting!  You can find more details about the new dies here and here.

Monday, December 9

Creative Jumpstart 2014!!

CJS2014Lable

I'm excited to announce that I'll be participating as a JumpStarter in Creative JumpStart (CJS) 2014, run by Nathalie Kalbach. If you're not familiar with CJS, it's a one-of-a-kind community event to inspire your creativity.

If you find yourself needing a little help getting your creative mojo going in 2014? CJS can help.

Throughout January participants will get 23 videos from 21 featured artists. I'm proud to be one of those artists. It's an amazing event where you can learn new techniques, discover new materials, and connect with other Mixed Media Artists and Scrapbookers.

Head on over to Nathalie's site to sign up and for more details: Nathalie's Studio. Creative Jumpstart costs just $20 for the 3.5 hours of video content. That's less than $1 per video -- a great deal.

Here's a short video for more details:


Creative JumpStart (CJS) 2014 Teaser from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.


I do hope you will join me and the 20 other amazing artists this January for CJS 2014!

12 Days of Home for the Holidays

Holidays2aa_edited-1

I'm a guest over on D's Paper Studio's 12 Days of Home for the Holidays sharing some holiday traditions and my favorite recipe for chocolate truffles today! You should give them a try, they aren't as hard as you think!

Make sure you take a minute to see what some of the other amazing artists and designers are sharing during these 12 days!

Catherine Scanlon Designs Truffles 2

Saturday, December 7

Playing with Letters and Lettering

Lettering by Catherine Scanlon www.catherinescanlon.com


 Sharing a few things I've been working on here and there.


Lettering by Catherine Scanlon www.catherinescanlon.com


Lettering by Catherine Scanlon www.catherinescanlon.com


Thanks for stopping by, have a GREAT weekend!

Friday, December 6

Quick and Easy Holiday Tags!


Check out the Sizzix blog today to see the rest of this cute tag and a few others I created using the Envelopes + Inserts Mini Correspondance Bigz! They turned out so cute!

Thursday, December 5

Thank you for being so very thoughtful!

Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 8Hello, today I thought I'd share this tutorial I created using my Paisley Stencil from Art Gone Wild! I've been meaning to post it for the last few weeks....and you know how that goes :-D

The completed card size is 5” x 7”, but you could make it any size or use it for an art journal page!

Tools and Supplies I used for this card:

  • 400 Mixed Media Paper 6 x 8

  • Art Gone Wild! Paisley Stencil by Catherine Scanlon CSSTL-002

  • Spellbinders Mega Ovals

  • Hero Arts Sending Smiles CL-490

  • Sakura Koi Watercolor Paint

  • Splash of Color: Silks Acrylic Glaze in Orange

  • Gelli Pens, Colored Pencils

  • Permanent Marker

  • Pencil

  • Black StazOn and Brown Distress Ink

  • Sewing Machine

  • Cardstock: Black, Cream

  • Kraft Blank Card Base

  • ½” Foam Tape

  • Permanent Adhesive


Here's how you can make one like this using the Paisley Stencil:


  • Trim the Mixed Media Paper to slightly smaller than 5” x  7” to create the card panel.

  • Position the stencil on top of the paper and use a pencil to trace the design that falls on the card panel.

  • Use the pencil to add hand drawn doodles on the design as shown in the example.


Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 1

  • Remove the stencil and use watercolor paints, Silks and whatever form of coloring mediums you like to work with to color the design.


Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 2 Close Up  Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 2a




  • To complete the focal image on the card panel, trace the pencil lines with a permanent marker. Use a white eraser to erase any pencil lines that show.


Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 3 Completed

  • Stamp the sentiment on cream cardstock using Black StazOn ink.

  • Use the Spellbinders Mega Ovals set to cut the sentiment into an oval. Emboss the edges and distress with brown ink if desired.


Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 4

  • Trim 2 pieces of black card stock to: (1) 4 7/8” x 6 7/8”  (2) 3/8” x 6”

  • Trim the painted design to 4 ¾” x 6 ¾” and round the corners if desired


Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 5

  • Mat the painted design on the Black Card Panel using your choice of permanent adhesive. 


Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 6

  • Add the strip of black card stock, referring to the sample for placement.

  • Attach the panel to the blank card base.

  • Use a sewing machine to stitch around the edge to secure the panel the card base together.

  • Attach the sentiment over the strip with the ½” Foam Tape.


Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 7

 And that completes your beautiful Art Card using my Just Add Color Paisley Stencil from Art Gone Wild!

Art Gone Wild Paisley Stencil Card Step 8
 Thank you for joining me today, have a great rest of your week!

Wednesday, December 4

Tuesday, December 3

Be the Flower....still working on that!

Be the Flower Art Journal

Just a quick blog post today to share a doodled art journal page. I used watercolor paints to paint some color! I haven't painted in so long, I've been missing it!!

Thanks for dropping by -- I'm back to my to-do list!

Monday, November 25

Tiny Houses!!

I had a few requests from people to make these for them since last week so I made a few extra to share here. They are the cutest little things, about 1 1/2" x 2 1/2" and made of Maine pine. The sweetest thing is the wood was originally a tree that stood where my house is now. We cut a ton of huge pine trees down and hired a man to come in and mill the trees into lumber. Whenever I need a fun project like this my Dad cuts the shapes out for me and I know it really WAS MADE in the USA!

What's so great about these sweeties is they can be used as package toppers as shown in the image on the far left in the collage below, or as a table decoration as shown on the far right. You can also use them to decorate your tree or give in an ornament exchange.
Tiny Houses by Catherine Scanlon

I have very limited quantities (I took a lot of them to my consignment shop in NH over the weekend) so when these are gone, they are GONE as I don't know if I will have time to make more. If you are interested in purchasing one, click on the links below to go to PayPal where you can process the order.

If you are interested in purchasing the snowflake, I have 4 of them -- they are plain on the back and say "for joy" on the front.  
Snowflakes are $10.95
Tiny Houses -- Snowflake by Catherine Scanlon


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If you are interested in the Keys, I have 4 of them and they say "for joy" on the front. 
Keys are $10.95
Tiny Houses -- Key by Catherine Scanlon


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If you are interested in the Frozen Charlotte, I only have two of these. They say "peace" on the front of the ornament. 
Frozen Charlottes are $11.95

 Frozen Charlotte



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Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions, but be sure to leave your email for a prompt reply!

Thanks for stopping by today, have a great day!

For the LOVE of Wool Felt!

Wooi Skates created by Catherine Scanlon for Sizzix

Check out these sweet wool skates I made over on the Sizzix blog today -- you'll also find a quick tutorial!

Wednesday, November 20

Mini-House Ornament How-To!

Well, hello Wednesday! I can't believe how it snuck up on me, and I certainly can't believe I've been neglecting my blog so much lately. Oh well, today is a new day and I've got a super cute, easy and fast Christmas Ornament you can make! And, you only need a few supplies, even better!

Mini 25 House Ornament by Catherine Scanlon

Here are the things I used: a small wood house cut for me by my Dad, some vintage text, some polka dot paper, a bell, a Tiny Frozen Charlotte, Block Talk Alphabet Die from Sizzix, gel medium, gesso, 2 screw eyes, bead chain, sanding block and a paint brush.

Mini 25 House Ornament by Catherine Scanlon
I started by priming the sides of the house with gesso and letting it dry.

Mini 25 House Ornament by Catherine Scanlon

Then I used gel medium to collage the papers on each side and sanded down the edges of the block on all sides to remove any paper that hung over.

Mini 25 House Ornament by Catherine Scanlon

I cut out 25 from black card stock and used gel medium to attach them to the patterned paper side of the house and added a screw eye at the top and at the bottom.

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To finish them off I added the bell to the bottom screw eye, the bead chain to the top and the frozen charlotte to the other side. I also used keys, mini Christmas trees and snowflakes for a little variety. That's it, a super easy, super fast, and SUPER cute ornament, and yet another way I love that Sizzix Block Talk Bigz XL Die!

Thanks for joining me today, have a lovely Wednesday!

Tuesday, November 19

Sizzix Wool Felt Heirloom Ornament

Sizzix Wool Felt Ornament by Catherine Scanlon

Hello, jumping in on this fine Tuesday to share my latest creation for Sizzix -- a beautiful wool felt ornament. For complete instructions, click on over to the Sizzix blog!! THANKS for dropping by, have a great day!