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!

 

Wool Poinsettia Stocking!

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

Stocking Favors!

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!

Morning Glory

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:

• Nat


• Vicki


• Martha


• Cuchy

Here's my story for December .......

____________________________________________

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

  

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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!

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

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!

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!

  

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.

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.

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.

Creative Jumpstart 2014!!

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

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!

Playing with Letters and Lettering

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

Thanks for stopping by, have a GREAT weekend!

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!

Thank you for being so very thoughtful!

Hello, 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.

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

 

• 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.

• 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.

• 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

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

• 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.

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


 Thank you for joining me today, have a great rest of your week!

Guest on the Crafting Journals

 

 I'm a guest over on the Crafting Journals today -- take a peak and see how I made these fun ornaments!

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

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!