samples..... {teaching}

made up some samples for the class i will be teaching coming up in march. 

information about the class and how to register: click here.

i promise it will be a good time.

happy monday.....

xo. kristin

stencilgirl....love {video}

don't you just love it when your package from stencilgirl is waiting for you when you get home from work?! i do!!

i had new stencils arrive the end of this last week and couldn't stand not taking them down to the studio.

here is a quick peek of how i like to use my stencils to tame a busy background from my youtube channel.

happy monday. 

xo. kristin

tag makin' {new stencils}

i had started making tags out of recycled manilla folders and of course my first folder turned out awesome and i loved it; but, this second one.....well, let's just say-i wasn't feeling the love for this poor thing.......

that is until....my new stencils from Rae Missigman had come this week! i knew when i had first seen the new stencils that i really, really liked them and would have to order at least one....

the folder had turned into a bit of a hot mess, but, the light paint through the new stencil helped pull it back and provide some desperately needed lights and some shaped distraction.

below are the stencils that i ordered from Rae. click on the new stencil high-lighted above to find all of the new stencils and sizes that are available.

happy thursday.

xo- kristin

stencil love {postcards}

last week i participated in a postcard swap. the focus was on stencils and all work needed to be done using stencils......

so i layered up lots of stencil love to make each of these postcards.

i also decided that these postcards needed some gold ink and a little stitching....so hard to always stick to the exact instructions sometimes.....

art journal page {documented life project}

painting in my art journal last night trying to keep the Documented Life Project challenge in mind, which this week is stencils, stamps, and masks. sometimes that transition from current projects back to more playful work seems like a struggle. i have been doing a lot of my printing and studio princesses which are small, tight, and confined within the tea bag and paper; so to go back to painting on even a large piece of paper- is a transition.

i started with a journal page that already had something down on the paper and no gesso this time; but, this pic is fairly far into my play at this point. i had used stamps and a stencil.

i love the juiciness and color lust of this pic.

i had a bit of a hot mess and needed to tone this page overall. i had glued some papers down, but, ended up ripping those back off revealing the white and original page underneath.

ended up with a bit of a mess, but, felt good to just play....happy tuesday!

art journal- warm up

i did find just a few moments on saturday in the studio this past weekend, even with the holiday. i love walking into my space to find my paint brushes and pens and pencils all lined up waiting for me.

i worked in an art journal to get warmed up and then, on a couple things that were due. i had gotten a new turquoise paint that i am really loving.....

for this journal page, i used a little acrylic paint and my spray inks and of course, stencils.

i had gesso'd the pages before i began and i love the variation of the paint and inks when it sits on the gesso and then finds just paper. if you have not experimented with this- you should really play in a journal with gesso and how it affects your work and the products that you use.

happy monday!

a look back #DLP {when not to stop}

looking back through my Documented Life Project art journal, i realized i had made pages that i had not shared those with you.... (what the heck?....) so these pages are actually from the When Not to Stop back in february; and as you will see....i should have maybe asked myself, "should you stop now? or maybe now?!...." i will let you decide.

i did gesso the both pages to begin with and then started my layers. there are many layers on these pages and i had great fun with stencils as you can see on my pages.

happy wednesday!

art journal pages {backgrounds} #printmakingunleashed

i purchased the PrintMakingUnleashed. Traci does a great job of explaining her process and how to play with it. i love some of her techniques and have started regularly using some of the homemade stamps and stencils i created while playing along.

i have been making additional backgrounds in my art journal and thought i would share some of my favorite page right now.

happy friday....

stacking up the thank yous

i had have a few thank yous that were due and carved out a little time to create some cards to send.

the cards are a pleasant combination of stencils and spray ink with a dab of acrylic paint, some paper scraps on my counter....then, stitched up with some love.

check out my foam crown stamp i made- love it! and really like using it for my signature especially on cards.

 thank you for stopping by! happy tuesday!

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!!

collaging/ art journal- feeling creative

i was on a roll yesterday afternoon/ evening and was grabbing and gluing paper tidbits off my counter as fast as my eye was spying them....this is the start of one of my new art journals that i purchased from Kasia over at czekoczyna. she made this amazing journal with eclectic papers for me. she makes very inspiring pages!

i was loving the vintage hangar paper- "lord baltimore" ....you don't see those much any more; or maybe it's because i don't use the dry cleaners much. i am a wash n go girl...maybe i shouldn't be if they still give you those cool papered hangars.

i am still very much in love with my stencils...the diamond shape, and i had picked up the circles- which i also love! the other side of that page is a conversation with our daughter- it was very funny. she likes to add things in the middle of a conversation that mean absolutely nothing- like "pink larry bananas." i love her carefree whimsy that she still has at age 15 by some grace of the good Lord.

i love the little blue edge of paper off to the left. it was a painting that i had cut up and i couldn't bear to throw away any scrap from the painting away (silly,i know)...the vintage pic of the ladies was screaming for some hats, which of course must mean that they are important- thus the queens. everyone wants to be a queen for a day. the back ground falls onto the next pages which are not finished, but, i wanted to show this page anyway- the queens were making me laugh.

this is beginning collage in my other art journal. i was loving the vintage "work" papers that were lying around in my studio and had to put them to good use. i can't hardly throw away any vintage paper- every scrap must be used for something. i think this page needs some color now that i see it in a pic, but, has a good base.

here is a sneak peak at my new painting. my best friend and i scored these wooden board things, and i of course took a pile. i left some at her studio space and only brought home a small stack. i did confess to my husband when he took them out of the back of my truck that i had another pile and he offered "of course you do sweetie." 22 years....he knows everything. :)