The Letter of the Day Is ...

We'll be decorating a wooden letter at my upcoming Scraps and Prayers class (March 12) and I'm excited to see how these will look when we're all finished.  If you're planning on signing up, your time is running out.  You'll need to be sure you bring your wooden letter to class with you.
 
For me, the letter of the day is 'H' ... for Horton.  Yes, it's like 'Horton Hears a Who' but I don't live in Whoville.  I have decorated many letters over the past several years.  I've done several versions of H and I've spelled out words --- ART, JOY, SNOW.  They're easy and lots of fun to do.  Basically, you're dressing up a letter in your favorite colors and media materials.   

Here's my latest 'H' project.

This letter was decorated with a base of layers and layers of paints.  Embellishments were added last, once the paints were all dry.

I've also decorated a lot of letters using layers of printed tissue papers or colorful designer papers, attached with clear Gesso or Mod Podge.
The embellishments can be whatever you have in your 'odds and ends' stash.

Please do keep up with my posted classes that I have scheduled.  I'm counting on enjoying a lot of creative times with you.

MARCH HOSTESS CODE:

3DXZ62JF

Click to see info on free class using Stampin' Blends.

Upcoming classes and events:

March 12 / Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / $15.

We'll be doing a Mixed Media project --- decorative wooden letters.  Bring the letter of your choice with you and I'll provide all the remaining supplies.  If you'd like the sides of your letter painted, you should try to do this at home, prior to the class OR drop your letter off and I'll paint it for you.  I'll need your letter ASAP, to have it ready for class.  If you have any special embellishments you'd like to add to your letter, bring those with you.  I'll have various embellishments here, as well.

March 18 / Spring Open House / 2:00-5:00

Come and join in on the fun, see displays and demonstrations of our new Stampin' Blends and Brusho products.   RSVP by March 16, to help me prepare for our super fun party.  Use my March Hostess Code to order along with our party orders.  Online orders placed using my Hostess Code will be sent directly to you!

April 9 / Scraps and Prayers / 5:30-7:30 / $15.

We'll be making some beautiful Spring cards, using some fun coloring techniques on them.  You'll love them!

April 21 / Saturday Stampers / 1:00-4:00 / $20.

Brusho!!!  We'll make a Swatch Book and a couple of beautiful cards using this gorgeous new product.

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world.

- Come back often for more creative inspiration.

- Let's create something beautiful today.

Mixed Media Artist Canvas

I have found a new love ... mixed media art.  I've shared several of my projects recently and today I have another one.  I love working with mixed media.  We are making this one at my Saturday Stampers class this Saturday.  (July 16)  I still have openings if you'd like to join us. 

I love my little bird!

This mixed media project involves a layer of Tim Holtz tissue wrap paper over an artist canvas.  I painted it with Gesso before adding the paper.  Once it dries, it's a matter of adding layers and layers of inks, then adding stamped or die cut 3-D items, as well as random stamping over the canvas.

There is no right or wrong to this kind of project.  Each one will have a completely different look to it.  That's part of the fun.

To me, working with mixed media is fun, an opportunity to relax and let your creativity take off on its own and, if you don't like the results, you can keep going until you do.

I still have several spots available and I really hope you'll join us.  Come have some creative fun with friends!!!

- Thanks for stopping by my corner of the blogging world. 

- Click on the tab at the top to see my class schedules. 

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- Come  back often for more creative inspiration. 

More Details About my Butterflies Mixed Media Art Canvas

As promised in my last post, here are more details about my Butterflies canvas.  Again, I must say how much I enjoyed creating this project.

I've used several of our antique brads and metal buttons.  I snipped the prongs off the backs of the brads and hot glued them to the canvas.

I stacked one antique brad on top of a metal button.  After hot gluing it into place, I burnished it a bit with inks.

The pretty little shiny flakes that you see are bits of beautiful mica.  The smallest butterfly has pearls down the center.  I burnished them with inks, to give a more vintage look to them.

I've covered the canvas with bits of torn papers, lace, lots of layers of paints and inks and even did some stamping in random places.

There are 2 butterflies embedded in the canvas and then 2 are attached by just the middle, so their wings are very dimensional.  All the butterflies are die cut from our Brushed Gold CS, so they're quite sturdy.

All in all, a super fun .. and actually easy ... project.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Mixed Media Art Canvas with Butterflies

Here's the canvas we'll be making at my March 21 Mixed Media Art Canvas class.  I loved making this one!  I cannot begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed taking time to really get into working with Mixed Media Art.  I love it so much.  It is easy.  It is fun.  It is fulfilling my need to work in new creative ways as an artist.  And, yes, it may be addictive.  The only difficult thing about it is deciding that you need to stop and call the project finished.  I can't wait to start another canvas.

In my next post, I'll share more details about my canvas.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

... and then there were 4 ...

Here, once again, are all 4 of my Art Journals.  I'm ready to dig in to working on some inside pages.  Which one do you like the best?   

Yesterday, I finished all of my Perpetual Birthday Calendar.  It was really fun making it.  I'll be sharing it as soon as I can find a good place to do my photo shoot.  I usually use my front porch because the light is so good.  With our recent big and beautiful snowfall, I don't know if that will work right now:)  I also have a bunch of new cards to share with you, so be sure to come back soon.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Art Journal #4... Because I Needed One More

Yes, here's another journal to share with you.  This one is full of large, blank pages... just waiting to be filled with creative goodness.  Oh the joy!  It is actually designed for using as a Mixed Media Art Journal, so I feel like I can get a bit of crazy goodness going and it can take it.  Here's the cover:

The photo does not do this one justice.  It is gorgeous in real life.  This one involves lots of paints, spritzes, sprinkled and heated EP, and lots of messy fingers work.

The elastic slips around to the spine side, when you want to open the journal.  You keep it like this and it keeps the journal closed, even if your pages get a bit bulky.  It opens up pretty flat and there are no spiral rings to work around which, after doing my other 3 journals, I really like not having to deal with them.

I used 2 sizes of our Butterfly Thinlits Dies to cut the butterflies.  I attached them with a layer of gesso and then put a couple of layers of gesso on top of them.  I absolutely love how they look on the cover.

I did not do the back cover yet on this one.  Sadly, I have to set it aside now and work on some other class prep.  I'll dive back into it soon and look forward to sharing the results with you.

 I actually got one more little journal in the mail and it has Kraft pages, so that will be an entirely different story... which may not even be mine to tell, because Aaron has his eye on it and he kind of knows how to give me that puppy dog look.  I have a hard time saying no to books or art supplies for kids.
SCRATCH THAT.  HE NOW HAS IT AND HAS FILLED UP SEVERAL PAGES ALREADY... USING MY NEW OIL PASTELS.  He is so creative.  He keeps it mostly at my house but begged to take it to school yesterday to show a friend who also has an art journal.  This makes my heart sing!

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Art Journal #3... a Journal With a Secret

This is my third Art Journal... for experimenting and just playing around, creatively.  This Art Journal has a secret!  It's our Stampin' Up! This and That Journal ('Documented') and I wanted to see how it would be to use it as an art journal.  I think this is going to be a ton of fun.  This journal will truly be a 'This and That' journal.  I'll share inside pages as I work on them.  For now, here's a look at the covers.

This cover started out with a couple layers of gesso and a sprig die cut from CS.  I used gesso to attach the sprig and then went over it with a couple more coats of gesso.  It worked beautifully.  After that dried, it was a matter of playing with spritzers until I got the look I wanted.  To make the leaf sprig stand out more, I outlined the leaves with our gold Stampin' Dazzle marker.  I added bits of shading with the marker and by dripping bits from the spritzer and then blending parts with my finger before it dried.  Talk about fun!!!  Working with your fingers can be really messy, but necessary, and just adds to the fun, really.  After I felt like it was totally finished, I added the Scrabble Tiles for a title.  I 'aged' them with some Distress (Vintage Photo) Ink.

Here's a look at both covers, front and back:

Here are all the This and That journals that Stampin' Up! has available now.

Because this journal is kind of unique, being a This and That Journal, I realize that I will still need at least one more journal... with big, blank pages... for larger projects.  No problem.  It just came in the mail a few days ago.  Yes, another project awaits me.  Life is good!  The cover is almost finished already, so I'll be sharing it very soon.

I really like how this one turned out and can't wait to share the next one.  Come back soon and check it out.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Art Journal #2... A Small One

Here's my second art journal.  This one will be used for experimenting with smaller art projects.  Is my cover finished?  It is for now... but I may decide to do more later with it.  Time will tell.  For now, I love it.

This cover included bits of paints, spritzes, stencils... and again, it was...
SO MUCH FUN TO CREATE.
This cute little blank journal is one I had left in my 'stash' after it retired from our product line.  I'm so glad I kept it.

I love these little 'findings' I added to the cover.

After completing the inside of the front and back covers using black gesso, I decided that I'll keep this entire journal with black pages.... maybe...  Whatever I decide, I know it will be really fun.

I think gesso is my new best friend.  I can't believe how wonderful it is to work with this product.  It takes the spritz, paint and anything else I can throw at it.  I've always loved spritzing my projects, so this is a win/win situation.

I used part of a stencil to get the 'coffee rings' effect on the back.  There's no right or wrong way to do projects like this, so it's always fun.  If I really didn't like it, I could always gesso over it all and start all over again.  No fear... only fun!!!

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.

Creating an Art Journal ... Getting Started

If you've been following my blog, you know that I've started in a slightly new direction.  In keeping with one of my goals for 2015, I have promised myself to spend more time in my studio just creating... for the sheer joy of creating.
I decided that, in order to do this, I should start an art journal.  If you know me at all, you know that I don't usually start small on anything.  So... I have been working on several journals.  I decided that I should have a larger journal, to explore and create larger projects and a smaller journal, to explore and create smaller projects.  I felt that I still needed a third journal, as well.  Because Mixed Media often involves experimenting with new products, I wanted to keep a journal of samples of types of products and their colors, as well as brief notes on techniques for using them. 
Here's a look at the journal I'll be using for my color samples.

This is a left-over journal from when we carried the large, blank journals.
The front cover involves a layer of gesso, paint daubers, spritzing, stenciling, and more painting and spritzing.  I may add a title later.  I'm sure I may think of more I want to do with it, but I like it for now and it was SO MUCH FUN TO CREATE!!! 

Here's a close-up of the focal pieces on the front cover.  The butterflies were cut from our Butterfly Thinlits die.  I love the dies and have used them so much since I got them that they haven't even been put away yet.

I love the little 'findings' that you can attach to it.  I tried attaching them with our Crystal Effects and let them dry overnight.  We'll see if they hold up to frequent use and handling of the journal.  It's pretty strong, so I think they'll be fine.

Here's the back of the journal.

Here's a little peek at the first inside pages.  These show a sample of 2 spritzes I used.  I've labeled them, so they make for an easy reference.  I will later add some art work.  Even though the journal is for color and technique samples, I still have plenty of room for a little art play.

I hope my art journals will inspire you to try spending some time creating... just for the joy of creating.  I actually have several journals going right now, so I'll have lots to share as I explore various creative ideas.

- Click on the tab at the top of the page to see my class schedules and registration policies or click on the left for sneak peeks. 

- Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.

- Come back soon and come back often for more creative inspiration.