A NUtcracker in Mixed Media and a Giveaway!

Hi friends! I hope you are having a nice weekend. We just got back from my daughters’ holiday concert at their school. Since they are seniors it will be the last one and it was just wonderful to hear the kids sing and play. They are so talented and all of their hard work paid off! Before we get to today’s project I wanted to give you a heads up that I am teaming up with Derwent for their holiday giveaway over on Instagram. Check out my giveaway post with the picture of the amethyst in colored pencils and leave a comment on that Instagram post for a chance to win a Derwent Lightfast set of 72 pencils. I will pick a winner from Intagram comments on 12/14/21 at 6pm so you have till then to enter. Only comments left on that Instagram post will be entered in the drawing. Full rules are also on the giveaway post. Good luck to all that enter!

My video for today tho used another set of pencils by Derwent as well as markers and gouache. It was so much fun to create this artwork and I hope it inspires you to paint a favorite Christmas ornament or nick-knack you own. You can find a real-time version of this tutorial (along with 70 other in-depth art lessons) in Critique Club.

Supplies (affiliate links used)

That’s all for today! My mom took us all to dinner after the concert so I don’t even need to make supper so I am going to head down to my workshop and get some Christmas projects done! Enjoy the remainder of your Sunday and til next time happy crafting!

A Mother’s Day Card & More! Free SVG Cut File too!

Hi friends, Mother’s day is this Sunday so why not make mom a lovely card!

My mom (and sister) have a green thumb so we usually buy them some sort of plant from the greenhouse. They all open up around here about a week before mother’s day and there are always so many choices. Luckily mom can keep any plant alive so we can choose what looks pretty! I thought it might be fun to make some cute plant markers to customize the gift.

They would also make pretty bookmarks and I have a free SVG cutting file you can download if you want to make some. I cut them as is from white cardstock and then I cut them with a shadow on kraft for a matting layer. That way they would be sturdier and have a nice finished look. Check out the video to see how I made these and then dig through your stash for similar products and give it a try!

Supplies (affiliate links used)

I hope you enjoyed this fun DIY and til next time happy crafting!

Woodless Watercolor Pencil Techniques & Giveaway!

Hi friends! Today I am going to share many ways you can use watercolor pencils. I am using the new woodless watercolor pencils from Altenew but you can use what you have. This post is part of a blog hop. To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 2 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by 10/28/2020 for a chance to win. We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $15 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list under the video. All winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 10/30/2020.

In today’s video I am using the new Woodless Watercolor Pencils set of 24 from Altenew and the Paint a Sunflower stamp. They are available in a money saving bundle as well. (affiliate links used)

Woodless watercolor pencils are easy to use and versitile and I will show you 3 ways to use them for differnt effects.

The neat thing about woodless watercolor pencils is that there is no waste, you can use every bit of the pencil!

Watch the video to learn how to use these pencils!

Now that you have seen my project with the Paint a Sunflower stamps and Woodless watercolor pencils check out the other designers in the blog hop and be sure to comment on all of their blogs for a chance to win!

Altenew Card Blog 

Nicole Watt

Amber Rain Davis

Kelly Griglione

Erum Tasneem

Lindsay Weirich *You are here!

LauraJane

Nathalie DeSousa

Jenny Colacicco

Virginia Lu

Tenia Nelson

Lilith Eeckels

Emily Midgett

Norine Borys

Mindy Eggen

Tania Ahmed

Dana Joy

Jaycee Gaspar

Laurie Willison

Maryam Perez

Nenette S. Madero

Svitlana Shayevich

I hope you enjoyed today’s tutorial and good luck in the giveaway! Happy crafting!

Altenew Blog Hop & August Release (Prizes Too!)

Hi friends and welcome to folks finding my blog from Amber Rain Davis‘ blog. I was thrilled to be able to participate in the Altenew blog hop this month. With how crazy this year has been it has been nice to make some fanciful art!

Click the pic to see all the new goodies!

I found a pack of 5 cotton face masks at a local department store and thought they would be perfect to alter!

I stamped the new Beauty Within stamp set from Altenew on the fabric mask with Obsidian pigment ink and then heat set it. I also die cut the flowers and leaves to make masks (you could also stamp extra images out and hand cut them if you don’t have the dies) so I could create an image with several stamps. Then I painted the design with Inktense blocks because they are permanent when dry, even on fabric! I added accents with textile paint (I didn’t want to do this all in fabric paint because I thought it would make the mask hard to breathe in) and I also added some depth with Tulip fabric markers. I heat set the mask with a embossing heat gun when it was dry but you could also use an iron. Tip: If you find it hard to stamp on the mask stretch it over a large acrylic block and clip in in place with binder clips. If the stamped image is missing some parts you can fill them in with a black fabric marker. I recommend washing the mask by hand separately the first time you wash it in case any dye transfers. Mine washed beautifully!

Prizes:

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $50 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog by 8/17/2020 for a chance to win. 

We’ll also draw a winner to receive a $20 gift certificate from the comments left on each designer’s blog on the blog hop list below. 

All winners will be announced on the Altenew Winners Page on 08/20/2020.

Here is the entire blog hop list in case you get lost:)

Altenew Card Blog

Jaycee Gaspar

Laurie Willison

Vicky Papaioannou

Nathalie DeSousa

Nicole Watt

LauraJane

Svitlana Shayevich

Lydia Fiedler

Maryam Perez

Amber Rain Davis

Lindsay Weirich You are here!

Erum Tasneem

Lilith Eeckels

Dana Joy

Therese Calvird

Tania Ahmed

Norine Borys

Lydia Evans

Reiko Tsuchida

Jessie Banks

Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate before heading to the next stop on the hop Erum Tasneem‘s blog! Good luck and happy crafting!

Did Somebody Say Marker Giveaway…

6/3/20 Thanks to everyone who entered! I have emailed the 15 winners so please check your inbox to claim your prizes. Thanks for entering the giveaway!

Hi friends! Today I have a really awesome giveaway from Mother’s Day! I’ve teamed up with our sponsor Bianyo to give away 15 sets of alcohol markers to some lucky moms in the audience! I will draw 15 winners at random on June 1st and notify the winners via email. This giveaway is open to USA residents due to shipping constraints so to enter simply leave a comment including the state you live in before May 30th. Also if you want to order the markers I am using today Bianyo is offering 20% off through May 20th!

Today we are going to make a pretty mother’s day card and I will show you a very easy way to color glass with alcohol markers!

Watch the video to see how!

This video is sponsored by Bianyo, save 20% on the alcohol markers featured in this video here 20% off deal valid until 05/20/2020 11:59 PM PDT.

Other supplies:

Good luck to everyone entering the prize draw! 15 winners will be drawn at random on June 1st and contacted via email. 5 lucky winners will get 72 count marker sets and 10 winners will get 36 count sets! Have a happy Mother’s Day and til next time happy crafting!

*It might take a while for your comment to appear if you have not commented here before as I have to approve all first time commentators. Rest assured if you left a comment will be recorded:)

Topflight Birthday Blog Hop Giveaway!

Hi friends! This video is part of the Topflight Stamps Birthday Blog hop, You can find a list of other hoppers further down in this post and learn how you can win some exciting prizes! Also Topflight Stamps has 25% off everything in celebration, no coupon code needed!

This birthday card has a fun fold and interactive elements but it is fairly quick to make and it fits in a standard 5″x7″ envelope.

The majority of time on this card is the coloring of the stamped images so feel free to color them as you choose!

Learn how I made this card in today’s video!

Supplies

Want more inspiration?

Check out all of the stampers on the hop! Make sure to comment on this blog post for a chance to win a $15 gift card to Topflight stamps and then visit the other stops on the hop for more chances to win and get a chance at the $50 gift card grand prize!

Follow along here and if you get lost you can always start at the Topflight Stamp Blog

GIVEAWAY DETAILS Of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday celebration without prizes!  Topflight Stamps is giving one lucky winner a $50 Gift Certificate to the store. But wait, there is more, each stop on the hop has an additional $15 Gift Certificate up for grabs for some lucky commenter.  For a chance to win, make sure to visit every stop on the hop and leave a comment by March 28th. Winners will be announced on the Topflight Stamps blog on March 31st.  Good Luck!

Thanks to Topflight stamps for sponsoring this post and thank you for visiting my blog and the other artists on the hop. Happy Crafting!

Brush Style Painting Techniques with Genuine Crafts Watercolor Brush Pens & Giveaway!

***Giveaway closed, here are the winners: barbara a brown, gpfrench, Brandi Reed, americanartsroadtrip and Donna Brawner! Congrats! Winners are notified via email with instructions on claiming their prize. Thanks to all that entered!

Hi friends! Today I have a fun technique that will give you a bit more use from your watercolor brush pens. I’ll even be giving some brush pens away! For a chance to win a set of watercolor brush pens just leave a comment on this post and I will draw 5 lucky winners for a set of 20 Genuine Crafts watercolor brush pens. Winners will be notified via email one week after the publication of this blog post.

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Watch the video to see some fun ways to use watercolor pens!

This tutorial is sponsored by Genuine Crafts! Save 20% with a coupon code you can get on their website.

Supplies:

  • Genuine Crafts Watercolor brush markers
  • Watercolor paper (trim to 5″ circle and 4.5″x6″ for a postcard size panel)
  • Waterbrsuh (or #6 round brush and a cup of water)
  • Non-porous mat, plate or piece of plastic to use as a palette(you can use the packaging your markers come in for this)
    Your choice of rubber stamps (I use stamps from Local King Rubber Stamps)

Below are some of the practice sketches I did with the pens.

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I had so much fun playing with the technique to create other motifs. You can find a lot of inspiration online and the library by searching for Chinese brush style paintings.

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Use the many tips and tricks form the video to create hundreds of more projects of your choosing! And remember to have fun and til next time happy crafting!

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Easy Beginner Garden Gate in Watercolor and Giveaway!

6/13/19 Giveaway closed. The winners are: Dixie, MaryEdna, Kathie, Bonnie Bornstein Fertel and Wandersy. I have emailed you with the email address you use for commenting. Congratulations. 

Hi friends! Today we are going to paint this lovely scene in a relaxed manner!

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Watch the video and have fun!

Very Easy Garden Door Real-Time Watercolor Painting Tutorial for Beginners
This video is sponsored by the Pottering Artist Magazine by Alison Fennell. You can purchase the magazine here. For a chance to win a copy of the Pottering Artist Magazine and an 8×10 watercolor print simply leave a comment on this blog post. Five lucky winners will be selected and notified on 6/13/19

Supplies (Affiliate links used)

  • Watercolors: Paul Rubens NEW floral set of 24 colors used: Rose red PV19, ultramarine PB29,*burnt umber PBr7, *Cobalt teal PB36, Permanent Lemon (PY3 Hansa yellow light), Hookers Green (PG17), *Yellow Ochre
    * indicates common eastern name, all signal pigment colors **I will be reviewing this paint set after I do a few paintings with them, so far I like it and it’s a great value!
  • Paper: Paul Rubens 140# hot press block 7.5″x10
  • Brushes: Zen tulip set sizes: Rigger 2, Round 8,10, Flat 8, ¾”, Cat’s Tongue ¾” *Great all around value set!
  • Ceramic palette *any white ceramic plate will work nicely or any palette you prefer
  • Watercolor pencil in grey, I use “gunmetal” in the Spectrum Aqua range *You could also use water-soluble graphite, just choose a lighter color and go easy with it.
  • Other: 2 water buckets, paper towel or rag, patience and an open mind!
  • Reference photo

I hope you enjoy painting this and if you do share this post with a friend! Happy crafting!

 

Coffee ATCs & Stamp Show Ticket Giveaway!

Edit: the 6 tickets have been awarded for the Heirloom Stamp Show, thanks for playing! Discount presale tickets are still available if you are going and want to save a few bucks. I hope to see you there!

Hi friends! I am delighted again this year to be able to give away tickets to the Heirloom Productions Stamp Show & Paper Arts Festival happening in West Springfield MA May 31-June 1st. My only requirement is that I want to give the tickets to people who will use them so the first 6 people to leave a comment saying “I am definitely going to the Heirloom Show in MA and would love a ticket!” will get one.  So if you are going and want a tick comment now before reading the rest of the post so you don’t miss out! If you do want to go but missed the giveaway you can still preorder tickets at a discounted rate or sign up for classes on the Heirloom Productions website through May 28th. I’m not teaching this year, I am going to play and shop! I hope to see you there! Stamp shows are so much fun! I always meet good people and see interesting products that you don’t see in stores or online. I love the demos and being around energetic, creative people! Every year the folks at Heirloom have an Artist Trading Card contest and I always submit one. This year I made extra to trade! The theme is coffee:

allATCcoffee

These were a lot of fun to make! I’m a coffee drinker (I bet you couldn’t tell!) and I have collected quite a few coffee themed rubber stamps over the years! Many were too big for ATCs which must be 2 1/2″x3 1/2″ but that demure size had me stretch my creativity and it was fun! Watch the video to see how I made these and if you go to the Heirloom show and make ATCs find me so we can trade!

Supplies:
Stamps *If ordering from one of these awesome small companies please let them know where you heard about their products! Thanks:)

Other Supplies (affiliate links used)

Remember, the first 6 people to comment telling me that they are going to the show and want tickets will get them. After that, you can purchase advance discount tickets on the Heirloom Productions website through the 28th OR pay admission at the door (it’s cheaper to buy tickets ahead of time.) I am doing it this way instead of a random draw so that I can get the winners names to Heirloom soon and people won’t have to wait around for a name to be drawn and miss out ordering online. I hope that all makes sense LOL! Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!