mini..... {fido}

working in my mini art journal yesterday lead me to fido.

i made this art journal with "found" papers within my studio and i love the map image at the bottom of the paper and how the previous page shows as well. that is the far left edge- is actually the previous page.

the red/ pink strip is actually artpop tape (woodland collection) available at paperbag studios. 

the stamp at the top of the page is the inked rubber stamp set.

happy monday. 

xo. kristin

creative houses

 i had been inspired by a recent purchase to paint some houses......they are whimsical to me. my initial plan was to do them in black and white....but, as you can see- that is not the path that my fingers and heart took....

 i used acrylic paint and stencils for the circles and doors and trim were made with my favorite stamps from paperbag studios.

 i also used pencil and glimmer mists.....have i inspired you? leave me a comment so i can come and visit you!

positive influence

painting yesterday lead to quite a few things.....including this trio of paintings with a message that will hopefully speak to someone- certainly had spoke to me yesterday...

 these are on 4x4 deep dish canvas- these are a nice size to warm up on, and if people like your art, but, cannot afford a larger piece- these should definitely be within almost everyone's budget....acrylic paint, overpainted scraps, ink, stamps (have you gotten your set yet?! i seriously love these stamps.....), and some happy words.

 i will be so sad when the book i am using is finally so used i cannot use it any more....but, i have to say, it has been a wealth of inspiration and delicious words on many things for me! happy monday!

i have a winner....

i was so excited to see the wonderful comments left for the paperbag studio/ mixed media essentials give away!! and my winner is.......April Cole!! Congratulations April!

I used the randompicker to draw for the give away.



thank you so much to everyone that left such nice comments- it was greatly appreciated and i hope i inspired you to purchase your own set of these wonderful stamps and to stop back and see what else i have been up to!

mixed media essentials blog hop

 i was fortunate enough to have been selected to the Mixed Media Essentials- Paperbag Studio design team....we are doing a blog hop to help showcase some of the possibilities these stamps can be used for....check out the other team members in the blog hop participants.

the designer is Roben-Marie! 

if you are looking for easy to use stamps that can be used for backgrounds or as a main focal point- these stamps have got to be in your studio's arsenal of creating tools! you can purchase your own set of stamps here at Paperbag Studio.

i loved all of the stamps and their versatility! i made journal pages, cards, tags, and collages....i stamped them in colors, or simply in black-and could still add some color accents.

Blog Hop Participants:

April Cole:  http://aprilmariecole.blogspot.com/

Carissa Paige:  http://carissapaige.blogspot.com/

Cynthia Shaffer: http://cynthiashaffer.typepad.com/

Danielle Donaldson:  http://danielledonaldson.com/

Jen Osborn:  http://identityseven.typepad.com/themessynest/

Kristin Peterson: http://alteredstatesstudio.blogspot.com

Lorraine Bell: http://serendipitystudios.squarespace.com/

Roben-Marie Smith: http://www.robenmarie.com

Sandi Keene: http://sandi-keene.squarespace.com/

to help celebrate the launch of these stamps, i am doing a give-away  of my original bird collage below. if you are interested please leave a comment on this post with an email address so i can contact the winner. you have until  5pm, CST on friday, may 3 to enter this give-away. i will then draw for a winner and contact one lucky person. thanks for visiting- hope you will stop back some time, and good luck!

weekend collage fun

this weekend i got some much needed studio time....and i felt like i was kinda on a roll....

 loved my bird collage....i had gotten new papers (the gold polka dot) and a new roll of washi tape (the pink...), some stitching, acrylic paint, and of course my new stamps from Paperbag Studios- the mixed media essentials (these are available starting may 1). i was so lucky to be asked to be a part of the design team- check this out....

 for this one below i used yupo paper....it is a plastic type paper and does not behave like anything else...the background piece and the heart are yupo. i also used inks, acrylic paint, stitching and stamping....

 one of my goals this year was to re-open my etsy shop...so, this weekend i decided to give etsy one more whirl and posting some of my new pieces there.

sad that the weekend is over.....

studio time=magic with acrylic paint

i got to play in the studio yesterday and found my color rhythm with acrylic paint, and book pages.... and some special words to pull the whole thing together.

magic is what this girl thinks she found....

many layers of acrylic colors, a small chunky layer of book paper- rubbed back off (that is in the circle portion- texture), ink, and stamping- (the circles are the stamp: mixed media essentials from Paperbag Studio, which will be available on may 1)

sympathy card

i had a dear friend lose her father this past week- (we are too young to have to start this and she is much younger than i am....). i made a card to give to her at the visitation.

the cool thing about this card, is not only did i get to use my new stamps, but, i found the best paper with the perfect message. i the past few weeks, i have been creating with my new stamps from Paperbag studio and had been doing different things, and apparently had started this for something and set this paper aside and had not used it.

so when i starting making this card, i had gotten the paint down and stamped on it, and was trying to decide what i was going to do next, when this paper with the perfect message stood out, begging to be used on this card.

rolodex file card art- one more

i got new rubber stamps recently, and have been creating up a storm.....

 

i painted the file card with black gesso first. i added the washi tape and folder tab to the top. i used my new rubber stamps- (mixed media essentials from Paperbag Studio; release soon!) with a white craft ink and finished with red acrylic paint dots and a little sewing.

oh- and i found the perfect statement about my file card art in a book- "satisfactory work." done....

friday fill-ins

and...here we go!

1. I used mixed media essentials from Paperbagstudios. (they are rubber stamps and if you are a mixed media artist- you are gonna want these! they are available soon)
2. sixteen candles is one of my favorite movies.
3. It's track time!
4. studio time please!
5. I said "oooh, my art order came today", and then he said "a second order this week honey?"
6. hot coffee with a little splenda is what I'm craving right now!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to some time in my studio, tomorrow my plans include going to a track meet and Sunday, I want to will be going to a volleyball tournament (although i really do enjoy watching)!

worn, distressed background

i had originally started on these canvases a long time ago.....these have actually seen many colors already. then, they reached that ugly phase, which was really exceptionally ugly this time, and i could not get past it, and put the canvas aside. when my studio got wet a few weeks back, it is amazing how many things i "found." those so-ugly canvases were amongst that stuff....i am thinking that i may have pulled this canvas at least back to the realm of something that i like again.

on friday, i posted that i had gotten mail.....- as i worked with those new stamps (which are the best!! and will be available very soon at Paperbag Studio), i was putzing on the canvas above as well.