Farmer’s Markets & Upcoming Projects:)

Hello friend! Anyone else having a busy summer? I have already seen my friends counting down the days til school begins on Facebook so I am thinking yes. 🙂 I’ve been having a fantastic summer, the weather has been really nice after a long cold winter and spring so I want to be outside all the time! I had a chance to participate in an outdoor farmer’s market last weekend. Want to know how I did? Watch the video:

So…if no farmers attend a farmer’s Market is it still a farmer’s market? It kinda reminds me of the scrapbooking crop I went to a few months ago and nobody else showed up LOL! Speaking of scrapbooking I will be doing a week of scrapbook tutorials next month (August 4th-9th…maybe the 3rd-10th depending on how many tutorials I make LOL!) so if there is anything you would like me to cover let me know as I am filming the tutorials over the next few days. I am finding that keeping it simple is hard, I have too many doo-dads that would be just the perfect touch LOL! I hope people find the scrapbook tutorials encouraging and helpful and not overwhelming. We will see. I mean I don’t want to bore someone with just the basics, I want to share techniques and ideas too. I am going to try to start the pages off simple and build up and if someone does not want to see the fru-fru they can bail out on the video when they think it is done. What do you think? Leave your scrapbook wishes in the comments below and I will take them into consideration when I film the tutorials. Speaking of videos, did you know I put a new video tutorial up almost every day? If you want to see what you are missing check out my YouTube channel (and subscribe so you don’t miss any tutorials!) Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Life is a Bowl of Cherries {to Paint!}

Howdy friends! The other day while making lunch for the kids I snagged a handful of cherries, they were too pretty not to paint:

I used Prismacolor colored pencils to draw and paint these on a scrap of creamy yellow mat board. Watch the video tutorial for step by step instructions:

Will you give it a try? Be inspired by whatever surrounds you, whether it is a landscape, a flower, the people in your life or even your lunch. Make time for art everyday, even if it is just for a few minutes. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Let’s Draw and Paint a Lady Slipper in Colored Pencil!

Hello friends! Wow, I could have used an extra 8 hours in this week! I was right out strait it seemed. I am looking forward to some relaxing this weekend (between scouts and softball that is!) If you have some downtime this weekend why not try something new? Like sketching and coloring with your colored pencils. This is a viewer request of how to paint a lady slipper in traditional colored pencils. I used Prismacolors but try whatever you have before buying new:)

I really like the way it turned out plus pink and green is one of my favorite color combos. Thanks so much for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Mixed Media Fun #2: Lettering!

Happy Saturday friends! I took my girls to a roller skating birthday party today and I decided to skate too! What a fun time, it makes you feel like a kid again (however after the roller-limbo game I was back to feeling like a middle-aged broad ha ha!) Creating also makes me feel like a kid again, especially in the no fear, playful arena of an art journal:

In today’s video I will offer some tips and ideas for hand lettering on you pages even if you don’t love your penmanship.

I love this quote because it reminds us that we are wrong sometimes. We might think that we can’t paint, draw, cook or garden. Maybe we can but have not taken the time to learn. We think things that are untrue all the time, but then you gain experience and learn more. That is life and life is like art. The next time you think you can’t do something try it anyway! I want to thank Oriental Trading Company for supplying the Canson XL Mixed Media Journal and Micron Pens I used in today’s tutorial. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Rub on Resist!

Hi folks! Just popping in quick to share a quick and easy technique using supplies you probably have in your stash and if not I’ll tell you how to substitute!

Thanks for watching! Have a great Sunday and til next time happy crafting!

Let’s Draw a Reindeer!

C’mon, why not? I will be teaching the 4th graders at my kids school how to draw a reindeer as well as make a reindeer craft next week so I thought I’d practice with a video tutorial for you. I used a slightly textured lightweight paper, a vine of charcoal and a kneaded eraser but please feel free to substitute with pencil or chalk or crayon. Let’s draw!

If you want more drawing tutorials just let me know, this was fun to film, I don’t know why I never made one before. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

A Quick Folded Christmas Tree Card! {video!}

Wow, how did it get to be December 3rd already?!? My husband subtly hinted that we need to be getting out Christmas cards out soon. Well, this quick and easy design can be made in a flash with inexpensive supplies from Papermart and it is flat enough not to require extra postage! Watch the video to see how it is done!

I used the Tinsel Wire and Corrugated paper in Lime green. I love how when you buy from Papermart you get a large quantity for little cash, it is perfect for mass producing items such as Christmas cards or making stuff for craft fairs and it is even better for supplying classroom art projects.  To save on shipping costs I suggest you plan ahead for other items you might want and if the quantity of an item is too great ask friends if they want to split it with you. That reminds me, I’m running low on the clear bags I display my handmade cards in at craft fairs! I don’t want to run out of those! I hope this project had inspired you to send handmade Christmas cards this year. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Make a Minion Card!

Howdy Friends! Last week when I made my nephews monster card I thought the oval monster body from the Make a Monster set by Stampin Up looked like a minion from Despicable Me, then I got to thinking about the crazy purple evil minions and I just had to make a card:

It was easy, you just need to add a few lines with a pen. I’ll even show you how to draw a minion if you do not have this stamp set in today’s video:

These cards will be great to have on hand. I decided to try and find some funny sayings and quotes that could go with these minions…minion memes LOL!

• Families are like fruitcakes…mostly sweet with a few nuts.
• Friends: They know how crazy you are and still choose to be seen with you in public.
• Good friends don’t let you do stupid things…alone!
• We’ll be friends until we are old and senile…then we’ll be new friends!

Birthday:

• You’re only young once but you can be immature for a lifetime!
• It’s nice to be young, healthy and full of energy. Can you remember?!
• Old enough to know better…Young enough to still do it.
•  You are only as old as you act.

I have been struggling with weather or not to do my videos in real time (like this one and most of mine are-see you can make a card in 20 minutes!) or if I should try and chop it down shorter. I seem to have no problem chatting for 20 minutes strait and hopefully you find the tips and hints worth the length. Let m know what you think please! well, that’s it for me today! Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

It’s Stamp Giveaway Time & a Watercolor Letterpress Tutorial!

Hi folks! Another busy summer week around here, whatever happened to the lazy days of summer? Anyway, this week I will be giving away this beautiful pansy collage stamp from About Art Accents. Leave a comment and next Monday I will pick a winner. Easy as pie!

I love using my watercolor markers to stamp! You can be specific with your coloring then all you need is a damp brush to give it a painterly feel. Watch the video to see how I made this card. You can also see my homemade letterpress in action!

I know you are going to ask so the paper I used is Rives BFK, it comes in 22″x30″ sheets and most art supply shops will carry it for about $8 a sheet but it is cheaper to get it online from Cheap Joe’s Artstuff (5 sheets/$22.) The paper is smooth, thick and soft but it handles water very well so you can stamp, watercolor, and letterpress on it. I always loved the look of letterpress (although try to get  a decent photo of it!) so when I started seeing the expensive Lifestyle Crafts plates go on clearance everywhere I snagged them for about $5 a kit. I guess it was a trend that never took off for the home crafter.

Here are the homemade letterpress tutorials I mentioned:

Home Letterpress Part 1

Homemade Letterpress Part 2

You can open an embossing folder and use it with the Rives BFK to letterpress too, it is the same plastic as the plate , well near enough anyway, the plates a bit more rigid. Another cool thing about using markers to stamp is that you can get 2 impressions from one inking! In the next example I misted the stamp with water and restamped, look how much ink is still on the stamp. Get more stamping for your effort!

Here are close ups of the cards:

Be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win this beautiful stamp from About Art Accents and if you decide to shop you can use my coupon and save 10% on your regular price order: Lindsay10% Good luck and til next time happy crafting!