exploration and play time

on friday i got to hang with my mom for a bit. she is in a local high end interior show that is put together by interior decorators that chose art from local artists to showcase with their furniture. so i went over to see the show. it was super cool and she was featured just inside the front door.

when we were done, we grabbed a coffee and headed to a store neither of us had been in. it was fairly trendy and had cool things. i was reading the signs, and found one that was perfect for each of us.....

isn't this the truth?!....yes- a perfect fit for each of our studio spaces! how about you? :)

when we were done shopping, we headed up to her studio space for a little play time. i grabbed a sheet of watercolor paper and her new stencil, and started playing..... the paper already had something on it half finished, but, those are perfect to start with.....i love painting in her space- we have very similar color palettes, yet- different; so at some point, i am forced to use a color i have not painted with before and be pushed just outside of my comfort zone.

what have you done to be pushed outside of that comfort zone?

TGIF- rolodex card art anyone?....

gelli'd strip, book paper with walnut ink, inked/ stamped rolodex card

mailart- thank you

a short time ago i did a give away and sent postcards and envelopes to blog friends that left me a message. when i sent their postcards, i included an extra postcard and envelope so they could mail-it-forward and send one on to a friend.

i received a postcard thank you back and was so excited- thank you Connie! i loved her stamp that she used on the postcard. i am a recovering stampaholic and am not sure that i have seen this stamp before. i love getting mailart!

gelli plate and stenciled backgrounds- love....

i have been making additional backgrounds in my art journal and thought i would share these additional backgrounds. check these out....

 i love the colors and shape on this one....i had simply cut a piece of card stock to block out the shape found on the right hand side. each time i have used the shape, it gathers a little more color and i keep thinking i will actually use it in my art journal and cut another one- but, it continues to be "seasoned" and look even cooler with each use.

 this one i used paper scraps i had on my counter to block out when printing- love the bold shapes in the red. the yellow was printed onto the page and the green i used a stencil.

this last one was the end stage printing....the red was probably the third print off of my gelli plate onto the previous layers. the circle is actually a stamp. i stamped off onto this page when using it for something else i was making. sometimes it is dangerous to decide that you want a lighter version of a stamp- because i tend to "stamp"it off onto anything that is handy. i love the big circles though with the little polka dots peaking through the layers. great fun!

art journal girl- yet another

i did sneak a little time this morning to play in the studio. have i mentioned how thoroughly i have been enjoying my gelli plate for making back grounds?......blank art journal page + print, print,print + face= HAPPINESS!

i have been layering the prints until i am happy and then, drawing a face on top. i have several more backgrounds ready to go and had bought a new pencil to try out.

i have several charcoal and sketch and wash pencils, and i was looking for something in between. i found a pastel pencil and thought i would give it a try. i liked that it was more stable than my charcoal and sketch and wash pencils when adding paint- like at her eye; but, will wash out and blend with direct contact- like at the lips.

TGIF- gelli'd rolodex

gelli plate, mixed media essentials stamp, rolodex card, book paper, pen

birthday wishing

yesterday was our youngest son's birthday. 15.....15 years old. and that is our baby. how do they keep growing and getting older and i stay the same age?....hahaha! delusional.....i know; say what you will, but, the sky in my creative world is purple.

i, of course made his favorite supper which is homemade pizza rolls. this is seriously a super yummy recipe and a family favorite since i pinned it. we, also had an ice cream cake and of, course, presents.

and when it is your birthday, you have to have a birthday card to open....and who better to make that card for him, but, his mom.

i started with a piece of orange cardstock- cutting it down to size to fit my envelope. i then, used my gelli plate to put down some color- some olive green and white. i decided i need a pop of color and pulled the turquoise blue; making sure it was really wet and loose. i then, pulled a personal favorite- one of the mixed media essentials stamps from Roben-Marie. my final piece was to stitch this card up. 

and this is how i wish a happy birthday! do you have a birthday in september? let me know, and i will send you a birthday wish (even if it is past- belated wishes are still good!).

one little word- "do"

i was selected for the design team for one little word last month. a team member picks a word and then we create something that fits with that word. words are so powerful.....we each got to pick a word; in fact my turn isn't until march, 2014....but, our word for september was "do."

i like the fact that we have creative freedom. we can make anything that our creative hearts desire....scrapbook page, art journal page, tag, whatever.

i always have to think a bit and let the creative process work its' course. i normally, start and work on other things and an idea will emerge. and that was exactly what happened with this month's word. while i was looking for other words/ phrases, i found some key thoughts and pulled those out to put together. check out below.....

 i loved the permissions......take a moment today and day dream; do some merry-making, and let your vivid imaginations run wild!

 this is a view of my whole project for "do."

and here is a bit of a close up....i played on yupo paper with acrylic paints, ink, paper, and sewing. i loved the colors.

do you want to play along? there is a link at the bottom of the post there to play along. if you do- please make sure to let me know so i can take a peak!

gelli printing....paper stacking

i played in the studio with my gelli plate this week. painting, layering, printing, stacking.....

 what i have discovered is that i really like to print on patterned paper. do you have scrapbook paper that you no longer use?.....(come on....i know you do! i have a ton!!) so, get it out and print onto that.

see this light green paper with the swirls in this corner? i liked it when i bought it; still like it, but, am probably not going to use it. so i gelli printed onto it! and now i really love it because it is painted, and, i can still see the pattern. now i will cut it up to put into something else. you can see i will print onto almost anything....scrapbook paper, newspaper, deli paper, and below....patterned envelopes.

Roben-Marie was the one who turned me onto looking through the junk mail for cool patterned envelopes. like i needed one more paper thing to collect....but, i do love them! i also printed into my art journal to use as backgrounds for other drawings and what have you....check these out below.

 while printing in my art journal, i was working on multiple pages and discovered that if i used plastic 3-ring dividers that i could put those between the pages and keep working and printing. they work great and the pages won't stick together.

once you start printing you can end up with a stack of papers....i have been cutting mine up and using some of them to put in other art, like my bird below....

see my arrows? both of those paper strips are gelli printed patterned paper that i cut up to use with this painting. i also did a little sewing add texture and interest. i then, used ink to paint in the sewing and washi tape to distinguish the head.

Incite Dreams Realized- certainly my dream is.....

almost a year ago i took the plunge and put myself out there and attempted to be published in a book that was calling for mixed media artists.

 if you have been following for a while you will know that one of my artistic goals was to be published for the past several years. this of course requires me to actually submit something however and to accept the possibility of hearing those words that you did not make it in; you were not chosen.

i finally submitted last fall and figured i was out because i had not heard anything yet and low and behold....i received an email message saying i had been chosen!! it has been a long wait, but, today i am a step closer to seeing my work published.

check out this link! i was even more excited when i was checking out the link and my work was one that was chosen as a preview (i am the last one....Dayzees)- holy cow...seriously, it is a good thing i am sitting down right now cuz i could be pushed over with a feather.....

art journal- doodle and stencil

i have started a new art journal and discovered i really like the size of the pages. it was one i picked up on sale. i am sure we have all done that....picked up something on sale or clearance at the art store? and then discovered something about whatever that was that was a little off...a little wonky? correct?!

this one has a cover that is a little weird- but, being a mixed media artist- make a better cover...done.

the only other thing i have noted now that i have done several pages and worked back to back, is that the pages are a little thinner than what i would like. i definitely have to gesso the pages because depending on what i have used on the backside-some of that may have bled through. sometimes that is no big deal, but, other times you don't want to see whatever is on the backside...so, again, just because it is on sale does not mean it is a good deal, but, this is probably not going to stop me at the art store in that clearance section.....

still loving my girl which is a homemade stencil.....i think because she seems to have an attitude. check out my process on how i made my stencil here.

and this was a quick doodle with charcoal and pen and had used my gelli plate to create the back ground for this one. still loving my gelli plate! do you have one yet?....they are so much fun, they are addicting!

art journal post

the weekend was busy, but, i managed to sneak away and go play in the studio with my mom....i had taken my art journal along to work in.

i gesso'd the pages and started  in.....i used several stencils and a little bit of everything from ink to watercolors and some acrylic paint for good measure. and topped it all off with my girls face in charcoal.

i have been so intrigued and inspired by all of the drawn faces i have seen lately. i was really hoping to play along with the 29 faces this month, but, with school starting and sports now going in full swing, i will just have to play and draw faces when i get the chance.

i also wanted to say thank you to Connie, Leslie, and Mary for their comments on friday's post. instead of picking between you three....all of you will receive a notecard via snail mail! thanks for following!!

TGIF- notecard mailing

doesn't it seem like the weeks with a holiday on monday are almost worst? first of all tuesday is now monday and that throws off the rest of the week. i can't seem to keep straight which day is which- but glad today is friday.

 if you are having this same type of week- leave me a note on this post and i will pick one person and mail you the homemade notecard below. comments will be taken until sunday, 9/8/13, at noon, cst.

my notecard is inspired by Roben-Marie- it is a re-purposed bingo card painted with gesso with a gelli plate printed paper i cut out to fit. 

Roben-Marie is the guru of mail art. she recently posted about stickers that you can purchase and make your own notecards! shop her wonderful etsy store!

rolodex file cards/ inspiration

do you know Tammy over at Daisy Yellow? i loved her blog post about circles....i was so inspired that i had to make some circle art of my own on some rolodex file cards.

 i used a polka dot stencil, washi tape, and some paper scraps and sewing for above. below, i used a stamp and my gelli plate and then, punched the circles out of a larger sheet.

permission

last day of your long holiday weekend....what have you done? i give you permission....

if you have day-dreamed, did merry-making, or let your vivid imaginations run wild, leave me a message so i can come and visit!