Day 2: Filming (part 1)

Howdy folks, today we filmed. Let me tell you that it was quite a different experience from my typical YouTube shenanigans. LOL!

And that is all of the photos I took today! We got 4 out of the 6 lessons filmed today and tomorrow is filming the final 2 lessons, intro and promotional head shots. I’m feeling kinda famous right now:) I’ll post more tomorrow, happy crafting!

My office this week…

Hi friends! What an amazing day! As many of you guessed correctly I am in Denver to film a class for Craftsy. Today was rehearsal day and I film tomorrow and Friday. Here are a few pics from their amazing studio. Please excuse the lighting, these were taken with my phone:)

The studios are in an old taxi company hence the motif in the dining area.

And look, I get to have my hair and makeup done by a pro! I can get used to this!

I’ll let you know how the first day if filming goes tomorrow, til then happy crafting!

Safe and sound in Denver!

Hi friends! Just a quick post to let you know that I am safe and sound in Denver and ready to film a class! Woohoo!

This pic is from the lobby of my hotel. More exciting pics to follow:) happy crafting!

Layered Gelli Prints: Make a fun pocket book!

Hi friends! I am just about to head to the airport but I wanted to share a fun project before I leave. Also I have 3 videos scheduled to post on my YouTube channel this week while I am away so make sure you subscribe to me over there too so you don’t miss them (There will be a travel art kit, DIY “gelli” printing tools and watercolor tutorial posting in my absence.) and hopefully I can bring some of the fun of my working trip to you here on my blog. Here’s hoping for free wi-fi LOL! OK, enough of that silliness, here is a peek at today’s project:

This is a great beginner gelli printing project. You will learn how to layer and use supplies you probably already have to create interesting prints and a very useful project. I plan to use this during summer road trips to collect memorabilia.  What would you use yours for?

Video!

If you can’t find the open top report card envelopes just get 6″x9″ manila envelopes from any office supply store, you can cut off the flap and use a circle punch to make the notch if you like but it might be nice to have the flap, it’s your call!

Supplies:
Envelopes (I recycled manila report card envelopes)
deli paper (or scrap paper)
Rubber/Foam stamp & Stencil kits: Stampendous
Acrylic Paint
Stencil and sponge brushes
Soft Rubber Brayer
Gelli Plate (A homemade gelatin plate will work just as well)
Binding machine and comb (you can use a hole punch of you don’t have a binding machine)
glue
Tools like a silicone spatula and hair combs for the dollar store.

More info with video tutorials:
Homemade gelatin printing plate recipes:
Temporary Gelatin Plate Recipe (You only need unflavored gelatin and water, freeze to preserve for long periods)
Permanent Gelatin Plate Recipe (see recipe in description of video)
More printmaking tutorials
How to use comb bindings with or without a machine
More bookbinding tutorials

Thanks to Lava Soap for sponsoring this video, thank YOU for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

 

Pastel Lessons Coming Soon!

Hi friends! I am excited to announce that I will be starting a pastel series here for FREE next month. To kick it off here is a video explaining the types of pastels and what they are used for so you can plan any purchases accordingly.

Video!

Soft pastels come indifferent firmness. The harder pastels should go on the first layers or a painting and work with softer ones as you build up layers.

• Hard/Firm pastels: NuPastel, Conte Crayon, Prang Pastello, Carvin
• Medium/regular pastels: These are softer than the hard pastels and good for most applications. Many name brand pastels fall in this category.
• Softest soft pastels: These are the top layer pastels best for finishing layers on pastels. Schminke and PanPastel are examples of this.

OIL Pastels:

• Traditional oil pastels are soft and creamy and can be blended with your fingers or paint thinner. These are water-resistant. These make a great under painting or sketching medium for oil paintings as well.
• Water-soluble pastels (like Crayola Portfolio or Prima) can be blended with your fingers or water.

Paper:

• You want a paper with some texture or “tooth” to it so it can hold the layers of pastels, I like Canson Mi Tintes or Strathmore art paper. You can even use watercolor paper but pastel paper it typically less expensive. BUT, do not let a lack of supplies stop you, you can use a brown paper grocery bag and still learn and enjoy the process:) Basically any rough paper will work fine:)

I will be using different pastels throughout this series so you can get a good idea of what is best for you. I suggest you use what you have or start off with one of the student grade supplies I mentioned so you can see if you like the medium before spending a ton of money on supplies, for instance it is better to realize that you can’t stand the feeling of chalk on your fingers after spending $15 on a set of pastels rather than realizing it after dropping $150 on artist pastels. You would be better investing in PanPastels in that case but you don’t know until you try:)

I plan on kicking off the pastel series in a little over a week. I will be traveling this week to film a class in Denver (wish me luck) and I plan to blog from the road if I can manage it on my phone. You can follow me on Instagram if you want some behind the scenes sneak peeks too. I am trying to think of something small and artsy I can bring to do on the plane so if you have any ideas leave them in the comments. I have not flown in 15 years so I am a bit nervous. Have a happy Easter and til next time happy crafting!

 

Pretty for Easters or Weddings

Hi friends! First of all I want to thank everyone who took the time to leave a supportive comment on the last post, they say shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half sorrow  so thank you for easing my burden. It is still hard but I know I am not alone:) Now let’s share some joy, here is an Easter favor I made the other day:

It could be for weddings, or bridal showers too. Watch the video to see how it is made (it is quick and easy just in time for Easter!)

Supplies (sponsored by Papermart)
6″ round paper doilies
Bakers twine
Ribbon
Vellum paper
Buttons, pearls, flowers
Hot glue

Directions:
1. Cut a quarter circle of vellum slightly larger than your doily. Adhere both together.
2. Roll the doily into a cone and secure with glue.
3. Add a ribbon for hanging.
4. Embellish as desired.

I hope you enjoyed this project and I wish you all a very happy Easter. Til next time happy crafting.

Our Heartbreaking Weekend

Hi friends, we had a very tough weekend. Our beloved dog Hazel passed away. She was the perfect dog, she spent almost every minute of her day by my side so it broke my heart when my vet told us Friday that she only had a couple of days to live. We had taken her to the vet the week before because she was tired and suddenly did not want to eat, they did blood-work and an exam and they thought she had a cold/flu or had eaten something strange that had been hidden in the show like an old rodent (snow melt sickness is common in dogs I guess) but when she did not respond to the antibiotics and other medications they put her on I brought her back in and they re-did the blood tests that a week before were in the normal range and her levels were off the charts. We had x-rays and ultrasounds (cancer) and the only humane option was to have her put to sleep. We brought her home, with some steroids that would buy us a couple of days and made the most of the time we had. She got to have 4 good days, she declined a bit each day and today I knew it was the last good day and my sweet girl only deserved good days. Here is a photo from her woods walk Saturday, she spent the weekend with family and friends, yesterday was a snow day so the kids got an extra full day with her and she spent today with me trying not to be a blubbery mess because I did not want to burden her more. She was such a good dog.

My heart goes out to anyone who has lost a pet, Hazel was a member of our family. I am sad, heartbroken and shocked but at least we got 4 good days. Give your animals a hug for us and take care of each other.

Top 10 Tips for Fast & Frugal Cards!

Here are my top tips for make fast and frugal stamped greeting cards!

Video!

Tip #1: Use limited supplies like a waterproof black stamp pad and watercolor pencils

Tip #2: Pick a light source to make coloring easier and use the same light source for all the stamped and colored elements on your card.

Tip #3: Choose line work images because you won’t need a bunch of inkpads (you can stamp in black and color them!)

Tip #4: Select your pattern paper first and use the colors from the paper to guide your coloring, it is sometimes hard to find paper to match after you color.

Tip #5: By prefolded cards and envelopes, they are very convenient and cheaper then buying cardstock and making your own in many cases.

Tip #6 Use 6″x6″ paper packs or 4″x6″ matstacks because you will have less waste and your patterns well be scaled smaller for cards.

Tip #7: Use a paper trimmer to cut squares and rectangles

Tip #8: Adhere the trimmed stamped image to pattern paper and then trim the mat.

Tip #9: Embellish with patterned paper

Tip #10: Invest is good tools like microtip scissors for fussy cutting.

Supplies:
Stamps (stampin Up)
Ink Pad (Ranger Archival)
Watercolor Pencils (Spectrum Noir)
Watercolor Paper
Paper (BoBunny 6×6 pad)
Cardbases (Pack of 80 from Michaels for $5)
Brush #4 round Ebony Splendor (Jerry’s Artarama)
Microtip scissors (cutterbee)

I hope these ideas helped you use the supplies you already had or gave you some tips in investing in some really useful ones. Happy crafting!

Paint Roses in a Mason Jar LIVE today!

Hi Friends! At 12:30pm Eastern Time today we have another live painting tutorial, we will paint this:

If you want to chat with us make sure you watch on the YouTube watch page. Don’t worry if you can’t make it live because as always a reply will be available.

Supplies:
Turner Watercolors (or whatever you have) in Yellow Ochre, Ultramarine Blue, Rose Red or Magenta, Sap Green and Burnt Seinna

Watercolor paper

Brushes: 1″ flat, #6, #12 or larger rounds

Credit card scraper, paper towels, water bucket, hairdryer (optional)

Reference Photo by Wretha (sketch it out freehand or trace the photo)

I hope you can paint with us live today, what a great way to start the weekend! Special thanks to Jerry’s Artarama for sponsoring todays broadcast. See you at 12:30 ET! Happy Crafting!