New Art Journal class coming Friday....

On Friday I'll be teaching another installment in my

Creating an Art Journal page series over at

The Art Studio.

Do you collect mists and stencils like there’s no tomorrow? Want to use them in your art journal but aren’t sure how to where to start? If so, then this class is perfect for you. Part of the ongoing Creating an Art Journal series, this one-hour class will take from the start to finish in creating an entry for your art journal. And you’ll use up the stencils and mists you keep buying, along with a little bit of paint, to create a page when you can truly leave your mark.

Warning: You’ll get messy in this class!

  The class, as with all in the series, will be $5.99 and include step by step instructions as well as videos taking you from a blank page to finished piece.


If you missed the first 2 in the series they are still available as well...


Play

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Top 10

   So come on over, learn some new techniques, play with your supplies and create some fun art with me.

  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Don't be Sorry....

Flying Unicorn has an art journal challenge every month.

Usually it is a free for all no theme just play but this month we were given the task of using the word "live" someplace on the page.

I have been experimenting with some techniques for an upcoming Art Journaling class over at 

The Art Studio  and cam up with this page.

There are a ton of stencils again (I've found that by keeping my box of them out I am using them now more than ever) and Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst Sprays (still my favorite mists on the market).

The quote is a favorite of mine by Kerouac.

Some closeups...

My only complaint...The small stickers I used for my quote DID NOT STICK!

I had to go back and glue them all down after I thought I was done, hence the smudges on the letters.

Talk about frustration, it really drives me crazy when something you spend money on doesn't work the way you want or expect it to.

  Well that is it for today.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Sleepovers and Gelli Art play

Last night my 13 year old daughter was having a sleepover and wanted to "make art".

After offering several suggestions as to what they could do, they finally explained they wanted to make Gelli Prints. They had been looking at the ones I did the other day and thought it was just the coolest thing.

The fantastic thing about Gelli Printing....It's easy enough that I could set them up and with little guidance from me, they were able to create over 25 prints in just under an hour.

They had a blast deciding on colors and patterns and trying different things on the plate.

I set them up with a bunch of paint and my overflowing box of stencils and they went to town!

Here is my daughter working.

And here are a bunch of prints they made.

We used stencils from Crafter's Workshop, Donna Downey, and Stencil Girl products

They also used stencils from Club Scrap and various pieces of punchinella and lace die cuts from Basic grey for texture.

  It was another successful art filled sleepover. Now to decide what they will do with all their prints....That might be another sleepover.

  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Street art in Amsterdam

Art is everywhere, in museums, art galleries, you know, the expected places;

and sometimes you stumble across it in places you wouldn't think.

Case in point.

In the summer of 2011 we took the girls to Germany with a side trip to Amsterdam. 

We planned on looking at the canals, the Van Gogh museum (where we would find our art), the Anne Frank house etc.

It started out just as planned...

We saw the sights, wandered along the canals, and with my husband reading the map; inevitably got lost (it's a standard thing on our vacations lol).

What getting lost resulted in was us stumbling across one of the biggest and most wonderful displays of street art I have ever seen.

We turned the corner onto a street that was most definitely NOT where we wanted to be, yet as a whole we stopped, completely in awe by what was before us.

Both sides of the street, every single building, THERE WAS ART EVERYWHERE!

Colors...

Black and white...

Simple....

and profound...

   By the end of the street despite the setting sun I wanted to walk back. I was afraid I had missed something, that maybe I had imagined it.
  As a testament as to how truly lost we had been we tried to find it again the next day. Just to walk it again. No luck.

  But in the end I guess it was ok, for the moments we were there-standing in awe, we were truly surrounded by art.


Thanks for stopping by and have a great day

There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for....

As one of the new Design Team members at Scrapping Everyday Miracles I get to share a new mixed media piece every month.

This month I went with an art journal page.

If you head on over to Scrapping Everyday Miracles you can see exactly how I created this page using everyday scrapbooking supplies

Below are a few closeups of the page.

The butterflies are from Martha Stewart, stamps from Kaisercraft, and the mists are Lindy's Stamp Gang & Tattered Angels.

I also used one of my new stencils from Stencil Girl stencils (oh my I am in love) and gesso to get a bit of added texture. As the gesso dried it pulled the color from the mists subtly blending it in with the page.

   So head on over to SEM, check out the step by step and let me know what you think.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Laughing in Paris

One of the challenges this month at Flying Unicorn is to create your own background.

I have this photo of my 2 oldest girls from a family trip to Paris several years ago. I have to say again, I am SO lucky that they are always willing to pose for my pictures lol.

Almost everything used for this layout came from the Flying Unicorn kits

I really enjoy taking pattern paper and then essentially turning into a new piece of paper by adding all sorts of mediums.

For this layout I started with a piece of Fancy Pants patterned paper and used Modeling paste, a Crafter's Workshop stencil, Dylusions mist and some Kaisercraft stamps

Some closeups of the paste & stencil. I stamped lightly over it with a text stamp from Recollections.

The butterflies are from FabScraps. I misted with the same Dylusions mist I used on the background then covered with clear embossing powder for some shine.

Holding the mist close to the page and spraying heavy I was able to get a lot of drips (I love drips). You can also see more of the Kaisercraft stamping coming out from the photo.

    Next time you have a piece of paper that needs "more" try adding to it from your stash of mists, stamping on it or maybe even pulling out a new medium. Each can add alot to your page.

   Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Scrapping Everyday Miracles Challenge #27

   
  It's time to reveal April's main challenge over at Scrapping Everyday Miracles


     For this month's main challenge we would like you to create a project inspired by your pets.  Even if you arent animal person or dont have any pets you can still be inspired by this challenge.  You can create a project inspired by any animal in God's creation. Your projects can even be about an animal related experience like a day at the zoo or a farm. What is important is that we see that God is blessing us with everyday miracles using both the animals within our families and those outside our homes.  

SCRAP TWIST: USE AN ANIMAL RELATED QUOTE SAYING OR EVEN BIBLE VERSE ON YOUR PROJECT.   

This is the layout I created for the challenge. We don't have animals at our house. Our schedule is so hectic that it wouldn't be fair to them. Lucky for us though we have many friends who have let us "adopt" their pets as our own.

This is my youngest and Nico. She has claimed him as here own and looks so forward to the time they get to spend together. You would think little as she is something large as Nico would scare her but from the moment they met she was in love.

Here are a few closeups. The banner is actually Prima canvas but I covered it with tissue tape after I couldn't get it to the color I wanted. I used my sewing machine to attach them to the page giving a look of a real banner.

The quote, printed out, inked and edged with a white gel pen.

Modeling Paste was used to blend the edges of my photo into the background paper. Ink was applied after it dried and then a Crafter's Workshop stencil and Paint dabber to add more pattern and texture to the page.

Head on over to Scrapping Everyday Miracles to link up your own creation celebrating the pets in your life.

Doing so will also enter you into a drawing for this awesome prize package from Leena.

Leena has sponsored it us with a wonderful prize that you could win by linking up a project to our April Challenges!  Wanna see it? That is $40 worth of flair buttons!  WOW!

from this month's sponsor

Blog - findingnana.com

Shop - findingnana.bigcartel.com

Facebook Page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Findingnana/419824088062873

Twitter - https://twitter.com/findingnana

Instagram - username is "findingnana"

All entries MUST BE submitted by April 30th. So head on over to SEM and link up your project

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.