Happiness

It's amazing what color does to an ordinary image.

I suppose color alone is a reason to be happy. But, when you have gorgeous flowers and bright colors, there's no reason to be unhappy!

This art journal page was made with my Words of Wisdom #2 Stamp set from Art Gone Wild and colored with DecoArt® Media Fluid Acrylics. If you scroll down a few days you'll find the Creative Masking video I created showing how I stamped this page.

Thanks for dropping by, have a wonderful day.

A Garden on Paper

Hello -- and HAPPY FRIDAY! 

Just wanted to share a few journal pages I've been working on and am finished with, or nearly finished with from my Summer 2015 stamp release with Art Gone Wild.  I am really loving comparing the first release from 2013 to now.

I feel like I've found my footing and am really excited about the possibilities. And, I'm furiously at work for the next set of stamps for Winter, 2016. 

You can order all of these stamps (as well as any past designs) directly from Art Gone Wild. They recently unveiled a new website -- and it looks AMAZING! 

Thanks for dropping by, have a wonderful weekend!

Creative Masking with Just One Stamp

I hope you're having a GREAT day so far -- and enjoying the stirrings of your morning. Coffee is involved with that, I hope. Today I thought I'd share a a super quick video (with no talking) that I made showing how you can get creative with just one stamp and a little creative masking.

I don't think this video needs any explanation, except that I'm cutting 2 post-it notes when the video first starts to create 2 masks at once.

I'm using the Words of Wisdom 2 Stamp set from my newest release from Art Gone Wild, you can find that here.

Here's what the page looks like after a little lettering and fill-in doodling.

I'll share how I color this fun page in another video! THANKS for dropping by, hope your day is creative!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Carrie Tuttle -- you are the winner of this round! Leave me a comment with you email and I'll contact you to get them sent out! Woohoo!

Words of Wisdom from Art Gone Wild

 

Hello and Happy Wednesday. Wow, this month is just flying by! Today I wanted to share a quick little video I created -- it's all about creating cool backgrounds for me these days.

Here's the journal page that I finished: the stamp set I used is from my newest release with Art Gone Wild, and it's the Words of Wisdom set.

 

This next piece of art was created from the drippy, left over paint.  I ended up trimming it to 4 3/4" x 6 3/4" and matted it on a piece of navy patterned paper before I mounted it on a blank card. I used colored pencil and a few markers to add some light color to the leaves and background, that really made the flower pop out. Oh, the flower is from Words of Wisdom 2.

THANKS for dropping by today, have a wonderful day and rest of your week.
PS. It looks like you can get FREE SHIPPING on the NEW Art Gone Website for orders over $75.

Mixed Media Haunts Challenge

Halloween is almost here and the DecoArt Media Team is getting spooky with DecoArt Media products to inspire your Halloween crafting. Click on the Haunts Challenge image above to see what the challenge is all about and WHAT you could win!

 

I'm not much into Zombies, Goblins or Witches, so I thought repurposing a cheesy little pumpkin decoration to make it dark and ominous would be a good move. And I love the results. Honestly, I wasn't sure how it would turn out when I started, but I had a vision and it ended up great! 

For this project I used two of my favorite DecoArt Media products, the Black Gesso and the Gold Metallic Fluid Acrylic. The gesso is AMAZING to work with -- and even watered down the Gold Fluid Acrylic is sparkly and delicious!  

Watch my video here to see how I transformed a cheesy little pumpkin door decoration into an elegant black Pumpkin that I love so much.  

Thank you so much for joining me today, I hope that I have inspired you to repurpose an old decoration rather than take it to the dump or recycle it at Goodwill. On a side note, I am sure you could find a cool item to repurpose at Goodwill, Salvation Army or other place items are donated!

Happy crafting, have a GREAT week.

PS. You can find the Groove Tool that I used to sand the pumpkin here, here or here. 

Arts are Elementary

The 10 x 10 Exhibit to benefit Arts are Elementary just uploaded the slide show of all the art they received for this year, you can see my two pieces under the first presentation, at their website which can be found by following this link: http://artsareelementary.org/

I love being able to create art that benefits the kids in my community! If you are interested and live locally, the ONE DAY show and SALE EVENT will be on Friday, September 25, 2015 from 6 - 8:30 p.m.

Favorite artists and paintings tend to go early, so be there early for the best selection. 

Happy Accidents Bonus Video

Hello friends and Happy Friday!!

Today I wanted to share a little video I hobbled together from the unused parts of a video I created for DecoArt Media. The original post went up yesterday, you can see that post and video here: http://decoart.com/mixedmediablog/

This video doesn't have the best sound quality, which is why it didn't make the cut on the video for DecoArt, but I thought you'd like to see how I finished this page.

Thank you so much for dropping by, please don't hesitate to ask questions if you have them! Enjoy your weekend!

Hello Sunshine!

Sharing a quick little Fast forward video I created using my new stamps! Don't forget, I've got a giveaway going on over on this post: Elegant Flower Frame + a Giveaway!

Thanks for dropping by, have a wonderful day!

Visit my YouTube Channel

I'm working on new videos this week and wanted to make sure that you all have the link over to my YouTube channel so you can visit and see what I'm sharing. My user name is CatherineMS, or you can click on the image below to visit!

THANKS for dropping by, have a great day!

Elegant Flower Frame + a Giveaway!!

This Elegant Flower Frame has so many possibilities. You can use it for a journal page, card or even for a Project Life Pocket. I love that, with the change of a few colors here and there this could look so different.

Or, add some layers and a sentiment stamp and maybe a coordinating die-cut shape to create a sweet and elegant handmade card.

This is the last of my top three stamps from this release...and in honor of that I've decided to give away one of each of these sets to ONE lucky winner!

All you have to do to be eligible to win is leave me a comment here on this post saying which of these three stamps is your favorite!

THANKS for dropping by, have a wonderful day -- and GOOD LUCK!

Hello Sunshine!

Yesterday I mentioned I'd post about my favorite stamps from this latest release, and I thought this one was it too. I do love everything about it -- and again -- imagine the possibilities of it. You could change the color combinations and achieve so many different looks with it.

 This might be my second favorite, definitely one that I can't wait to create something with! 

You can find the sunshine stamp here:

http://artgonewild.com/catherine-scanlon-cling-mount-stamp-sunshine-agc3-2770.html

THANKS for dropping by, have a wonderful day!

Fun Mushrooms Stamp!

One of my friends asked me which stamp from the latest release of new stamps from Art Gone Wild was my favorite, and I really had to think about it. I can't really choose just one - but this mushroom stamp is in my top 3.

It's also a super fun stamp to color too! Imagine all the possibilities! Check out this stamp, and the other new releases here: http://artgonewild.com/new.html

THANKS for dropping by, have a wonderful day! 

Today is a BIG DAY!

 I am SO EXCITED to share a few things with you!! The first, Art Gone Wild has been working super HARD since January to update and change their website to make it consumer friendly -- so you can now order my STAMPS directly from their website.  (Here's a link, http://artgonewild.com/)

The site looks amazing, they've done such a great job, I'm sure that you want to see it, but first, stick with me!! I've got more fun stuff to share!

Here's a sneak peak to hold you over until you get to the bottom here. Don't peak....not yet.

Not only will you be able to find EVERY SINGLE stamp that I have illustrated for AGW since 2013 -- but you'll also be able to purchase my very latest line, which is launching TODAY! This release is VERY near and dear to my heart as I worked for quite some time to perfect all the designs.

And....the best announcement of all: I've also got a SAVINGS code for you to use when you place a new order for in stock items! Well, there may be something better, but stick with me.

When you place an order for ANY of my stamps from the Art Gone Wild website, use code NewAGWSite15 and save 15% off your entire in-stock order. And, the coupon will be valid from today through October 1!

To top things off, I'm going to be having a GIVEAWAY next week in Instagram! I've got a WHOLE set of the latest release to let loose in you!

THANK you all for sticking with me. make sure to stay tuned for more sneak peaks and some tutorials using them in the NEAREST future!

Life's Memories and More

What a crazy summer it's been. While I haven't posted much here, I can say I've been getting around and getting things done. I made a trip to Life's Memories and More on August 1st and taught a couple of super fun Gelli Printing classes.

My students were VERY happy and created some amazing projects that day!

Look at these beautiful faces! That's creativity in bloom right there!

There are some GREAT things coming, TOMORROW to be exact, so be sure to drop by for a link to save on my stamps and MORE great news! THANKS for sticking with me through a super busy summer!

I'm in the heART Journal Magazine

Guess What!?! I was just published in heART Journal Magazine! To celebrate heART Journal Magazine has a given me a free issue bonus code to share with others.

You can get a free issue of heART Journal Magazine today!

Simply download the app on iTunes https://bit.ly/heARTMag or Google Play http://bit.ly/Heartjournal Then on your device follow these directions using subscriber code : Fall2015 (case sensitive)

• Install the App on your device
• Launch the Magazine
• On the Home Page, Tap on the Yellow subscribe button
• Tap on the Current Subscribers button
• Enter this: Fall2015 (case sensitive)

or go to our cart for a pdf version choose the Sept 2015 Issue and use coupon code Fall2015 in the check out process.

You will now be able to access your free issue. Remember, the code is case sensitive. For help with the coupon code, email heartjournalmag@gmail.com This code is good until Oct 15th 2015.

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Oh, there's a little surprise inside! Carla has included a link for you to download this coloring book page that I created for National Coloring Book Day inside! 

THANK you for dropping by today, have a wonderful FIRST day of September.