Place and Time!

I don't know about all artists, but there are times when I question why I do what I do. And, lately -- being in a creative rut certainly hasn't helped with finding answers and the question seems to pose itself in my head daily.

Sometimes hourly....

I know why I do what I do. Because it's who I am. Because if I don't I'll probably go mad. Because I have so many ideas and thoughts and drawings that just scream to get out, that I close my eyes and see them -- usually. Because I can't help myself really. Paper + Pen + My hand = a doodle or sometype of drawing.

Sometimes though, giving it up seems like the easy thing to do when really just staying the course and getting through the rut is the logical and hardest thing. I think I need to pay attention to ALL the Creative Jumpstart Videos this year! Have you signed up yet?? There's still time, more details here:

http://nathaliesstudio.com/shop/online-workshops-ubermedia/creative-jumpstart-2016/

Everyone Loves Fresh Flowers

Who couldn't be inspired by this?

 So many little details, aren't we lucky to have flowers!! 

What are you inspired by?

Capture Life's Moments

I share this care a LONG time ago for the Crafts n' Things Newsletter, but thought since it's winter I should share how I created this sweet glittery card! 

• Stamp your image on cream cardstock with black StazOn ink. Use Sakura Koi Watercolor Paints and the small round paintbrushes to paint the image. Let dry. Trim image and distress edges if desired.

• Layer papers for your card base and a doily and stitch together.

 

• Add a mat and the painted image and embellish with snowflakes and ribbon. 

• Tie the sentiment embellishment on with twine. 

 

And you're done!

Thanks for dropping by today, have a great day! 

Sneak Peak #1!

New stamps coming soon -- and this is one of them! 

What are you dreaming of today!

Lasting Beauty

Have a great day!

Merry Christmas!

Sending Christmas Blessings to you and yours! Thanks for dropping by!

Too Beautiful Not to Share

I leave pretty early some days to drive an hour and a half to work, this beautiful sight started my day a few weeks ago. I am happy that I took a few seconds to stop and take a picture on this day!

Have a great day, thanks for dropping by! 

Repost: Snowflake Ornament

Here's another Ornament Tutorial I thought I'd share with you while you still have time to get creative before Christmas -- this one is from way back in 2009! 

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I've been thinking about snowflake ornaments ever since I went to my art group a couple Sundays ago. I saw a pretty one here, and she was kind enough to share where she purchased her large snowflakes from. Even though I ran right out and got some, I didn't end up using them on the ones I made the last couple of days.

I think the layered, different colors and textures really look nice, it gives the flake lots of weight and substance. The beaded wire really adds a lot of prettiness to them too. I realized though, after I was done - that I need to spray the backs of them. The bazzill snowflakes I used as the base are chipboard color on the backside.

To make them I had two sizes of Bazzill Snowflake chipboard, green and silver glitter, one wooden snowflake from Joann's, two snowflake punches from EK Success - one extra large and one small - I think a Martha Stewart one, beading wire and beads, a long brad - one of them was decorative and a couple pieces of bling - oh and some vintage music paper and cream chipboard.

1. Apply glitter to the snowflakes, two were silver and one was a sea foamie green.
2. Drill a hole in the center of the snowflakes when the glitter is dry.
3. Punch the large EK Success snowflake punch on music sheet paper, then also on cream cardstock. Glue the two together using Gel Medium or a glue stick.
4. Punch a small EK Success snowflake from the cream cardstock.
5. Punch a hole in the center of the two paper snowflakes.
6. Add all the snowflakes to the long brad, starting with the small paper one, then the the next largest one and so on until you've added them all to the brad. Position them so the brad closes on the backside, and close it. Give it a couple wacks with a hammer to make sure it doesn't come open when it's hanging.
7. Apply a decorative gemstone to cover up the ugly brad, if it's an ugly one :-)
8. Add a piece of beading wire, about 7" long to the largest snowflake, the Bazzill Chips that you put on the brad last and secure it with a crimp bead.
9. Add a pretty selection of beads.
10. Add another crimp bead and close the wire, leaving a loop to hang the ornament with and you're DONE! That's wasn't so hard, was it?
    
    

    

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great DAY!

Creative Rut

About that creative rut:

Once all struggle 

is grasped, 

miracles are

possible. 

Mao Zedong

Thought I'd re-share this tutorial from 2013 -- so you don't have to go searching!

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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!

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.

 

I started by priming the sides of the house with gesso and letting it dry.

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.

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.

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!

Snowflake Pallet Project

You all know how much I LOVE to make Christmas ornaments right? Here's another one I created for the company that I design for in Portsmouth, NH. I do a lot of fun things for them, and this is just one of them that I love so much!

This snowflake ornament was made with items you can purchase at your local Michael's Craft store.

Watch the video to see how easy it was to make!

Here's another shot of it, straight on: 

Thanks for visiting today, have a wonderful day!

In a Rut!

I've been in such a creative rut lately -- well mostly a drawing rut -- and that's why my blog has been so neglected and quiet.

This is the last coloring page I drew -- and I think it was over a month ago now. I've been feeling so uninspired. I had a big project to do and it took me FOUR completed projects (and videos) to get something decent.

Hoping it goes away soon, I don't like not having something to so.

Creative Jumpstart 2016

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 2016 gets here (coming soon -- I promise) I thought I'd share my Jumps from the first three 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. I almost didn't share it here, but hey what the heck -- it's nice to see the progress I've made since then.


Creative JumpStart 2012 from Catherine Scanlon on Vimeo.

And my Creative JumpStart from 2013: These are still some of my favorite rut-busting techniques!


Creative JumpStart 2013 from Catherine Scanlon on Vimeo.

And my Creative JumpStart from 2014: I haven't played with my Gelli Plate for so long, after watching this again maybe it's time to get out of my rut and try some old fun techniques!


Creative JumpStart 2014 from Catherine Scanlon on Vimeo.

So, what are you waiting for?? Sign up for Creative Jumpstart 2016 Today!

Oh Christmas Tree!!

Hello and sorry for the long absence! Today I wanted to share a NEW Christmas Ornament inspired by a Christmas Tree.

Super fun, right?

Visit the DecoArt Media Blog for a link to the video and see how you can make them too!

Creative JumpStart

Did you see my post from the other day? Make sure to check out Creative Jumpstart, it's going to be an amazing January! Click on the image to head on over to Nat's website for more details!

Getting Ready to Jump !

 

I'm excited to announce that I'll be participating as an artist in Creative JumpStart (CJS) 2016, run
for the 5th time by Nathalie Kalbach. If you're not familiar with CJS, it's a one-of-a-kind online event to guarenteed to kick your creativity into high gear in January 2016. This is my 5th Year and I'm so excited about the theme and the supplies!

For the month of January you will learn techniques, discover new materials, and connect with hundreds of artists and crafters.

Throughout January participants will get 25 downloadable videos from 24 featured artists. And I'm super happy and excited to be one of those artists, called “JumpStarters.” See for yourself:


Creative JumpStart 2016 Teaser from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

Do want to play along? All you need to do is head on over to Nathalie's website to sign up and get more details:

http://nathaliesstudio.com/cjs

Here's how it works, sign up by December 31, 2015 and get 25 DOWNLOADABLE videos for just $45 (USD).

But wait – it gets better: as my valued reader, you’ll get $5 extra off today. Just use this coupon code during checkout:
 

cjs2016

*This is a limited offer valid from 10:00 am Dec 4, 2015 to 11:59 pm EST on Dec 11, 2015.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up here nathaliesstudio.com/cjs, and apply the coupon code during check out process. I can't wait to share my jumpstart with you!