class {weekend}

so this past weekend i was the pupil. and what a treat! we made stamps and tinted papers on friday. above is one of the stamps i made.

and i am just gonna say.....love it!

then, on saturday we made papers. and made papers. papers.

did i tell you that we made papers?!....oh- cuz we made papers. i came home with a stack of papers that i cannot wait to use. (in fact, i think i feel a cold coming on....maybe i better stay home....)

so above and below are a portion of my papers i made.

and the studio space we worked in........aaaaahmazing! it is filled with her art and these totally adorable little gardens.

there is just cool stuff there.....fabulous art to look at, lovely plants, interesting and colorful mixed yarn blankets, a pile of art books and this wonderful pillow below, and windows to die for.

simply said, a wonderful space to create.

below was our instructor Jennifer Stone. 

she is the best. great demos and explanations and plenty of help while you are working to keep you on track and be successful!

thank you Jennifer for the best weekend!

xo. kristin

class-time {pupil}

there is something about packing up your art supplies preparing to go to class isn't there?!.....it is hard though, because don't you just want to pack everything? i take my favorites and undoubtedly think, oh, i what i need is this- 

and that is for sure back at the studio. and there you are..... 

but, for the sake of the positive side, it forces you to sometimes try other options that you may not have otherwise chosen. and thus, pushing you outside of your comfort zone; forcing you to learn.

and grow as an artist.

this class i am taking is about making stamps and creating papers. 

the stamps above are the instructor's stamps- and they are wonderful!! she said that we could borrow anything to use, but, one stamp says if you don't return you will die. 

not sure i want to tempt fate, but.......i am just saying...maybe she wouldn't miss just one. 

cannot wait to see what we are going to do today.....

happy saturday. 

xo. kristin

file folder tag {repurposed}

i love re-purposing old used file folders. 

and no- i am not talking about whiting out the tab with the name of the file to update it to whatever else you are going to put into the file and forget about..... i am talking about painting them and cutting the file up for tags. 

i gesso'd the file to begin with; not perfectly and not completely to all of the edges. just in general. then, i grabbed a oil pastel. one color i had not used before. trying to step out of my comfort zone..... 

it was a bit of an olive green and i remember thinking....oh shit. what color is going to go with that?!

 so i of course quickly retreated back to the comfort zone and grabbed the seafoam green/ blue that i almost always use. and immediately felt better. 

i spied a grey along the edge of the counter and really liked that on the file as well. i was liking what i had but it needed a pop of color and the orange spray ink and a stencil was just the ticket.

a little more scribble with the pencil, some payne's grey and i am good to go. 

this tag is actually an edge and the really good stuff of course fell into the middle; but, i added a doodle of soft pastel in a light seafoam green and really liked the long unusual shape and the colors. 

added this original tag in with my latest art doll sale as a thank you note.

tgiw.

xo. kristin

teabag art {girl}

had saved my used teabags for printing girls and decided to mount the better ones on watercolor paper. 

the faces would still be there from the printing, and when the teabags dried, the bags would become fairly transparent. 

this one on top.....she would be different from the others for sure. mainly because her face was not behaving....she would require more. 

the other two are a bit more simplistic. and only need a black line to define. 

happy monday.

xo. kristin

watchful {art doll}

she would forever be beautifully watchful. 

able to see the smallest act of kindness.

and the essential details of life.

tgif.

xo. kristin

words {art journaling}

the spoken words will float into the air on a continuous ribbon of noise. lost.

written words will float on the paper. a vomit of words.

written, layered, hidden, shown.

the message is never intended to be read. 

just out of the soul; out of the head; out.....

xo. kristin

art journaling {returned}

happiness is having my art journal returned after being published.....i was super excited to mail it in to Stampington for possible publication, but, it was a little scary knowing i was mailing it away; so i was happy to have the journal safely returned on friday.

it was interesting to see which faces Stampington chose to publish in their magazine. i am going to be honest......some of those faces....(yikes). this was years worth of work for me. years of lessons and trying. 

so the first third to half of this journal.....was a bit sketchy; before i really started catching my rhythm. 

i love the collage papers that are tucked into the pages. those were mainly there to prevent me from working through the thin paper.

thank you so very much Stampington for this opportunity! grab your copy of the magazine below. it is full of goodness!! 

happy monday.

xo. kristin

tgif joy {art journal}

tgif- wishing you joy this weekend.

xo. kristin

meeeeow {art doll}

i see you. meeeeow.

latest art doll coming to my store soon.

xo. kristin

letters {joy}

making "joy".....not gonna lie- i have a little colorlust going on for these letters. 

a layer of ephemera collage, paint, ink, pencil, charcoal and a little thread = joy.

i know it is monday, but, hopefully your weekend brought you some joy.

happy monday.

xo. kristin

a short video- artjournal peek {for your saturday}

paging through.....

happy saturday. 

xo.kristin

love {tgif}

love you friday. 

tgif.

xo. kristin

machine wash cold {morning selfie}

morning selfie.......

she would need to be washed in cold as sometimes she may give a blunt comment and be too honest; with gentle cycle, of course,  because truth be told, she was still a doll; but separately or only with like colors because she would always be different.

happy thursday.

xo. kristin

etsy crushes

have you surfed etsy lately? need to get some ideas for the holiday gifts for family and friends? (feel free to add me to your list!).....let me share some of my favorite artists.

• tina jensen art- love her collage and textile artwork. she just flooded her store with awesome postcard size work at a really reasonable price- already have a package coming my way.

• wonder works by mystele- love the whimsical magic of any and all of her pieces. she is also currently teaching her annual "gut" class.

• true living studio (sabrina ward harrison)- just love her playful messages and voice; and who couldn't use more of this in their life? 

• charderouin- love her handmade journals from vintage papers and collage. maybe you need a notepad for your purse? or one for your bedside? don't the best ideas come when you should be sleeping?! 

• leigh viner- simply love her ladies....period.

will be adding more items to my own store so be sure to stop back frequently.

happy tuesday. xo. kristin

teaching....

Do you have a creative itch that needs to be scratched? Join me for Art Journaling Statements on Saturday, November 12 in Sioux Falls, SD. Mixed Media is the medium and the cost is $70. Email or message me for more information!