winter art classes

call me crazy but I like the stillness after a snowfall...everything is white and shimmery.  The snow we've had lately has been very light and fine.  It looks like someone dumped a bottle of diamond dust glitter over everything.  Perfect time to enjoy some studio time. 
Except I'm busy writing gardening articles and preparing for a spring lecture.  I write about 12 months of articles in Jan and Feb for my business.  I try to get all the writing done now because, well, for the gardening season I'd rather be outdoors than in.  Writing, writing, writing.  Cabin fever hasn't set in yet (that doesn't happen until end of Feb) but I'm in need of a break.  My hands want a break from typing and they want to get into some ink. 

If you're looking for a break I'd recommend adding some art to your day.  I invite you to take a look at these upcoming classes at Artist & Display: 

The first class is January 26th at 1:00pm.  We'll make a cool (pun intended) snowflake card.  I'll be going over basic rubber stamping techniques and we'll get to play with alcohol inks, punches, and stickles. 

 

Next class is February 1st at 10:00am.  In this class we'll make a trio of Valentine themed treat boxes.  These mini boxes can be filled with a small note or some sweet treats.  It's an easy template to work with and the best part is all of the supplies we get to use to decorate them! 

 

Finally there's a FREE make-n-take on Sunday February 2nd from 1-3pm.  Come anytime during these hours to make a Valentine card using (drum roll please) alcohol inks!  (really, you didn't see that coming?)

 

here's a link to the store for all of the details. Artist and Display

 

already planning some studio work tomorrow...but for now I'm heading back to article writing.

 

 

Christmas Glitter Ornaments

I didn't create this technique but thought it looked so cool I just had to try it.  And it's super easy!  Keep this project in mind if you are looking for quick, inexpensive, handmade ornament gifts.

Here's the supply list: clear glass ornament (the ball shapes are easy to find but I found this neat light bulb shape at JoAnn Crafts), Glossy Accents, water, small container for mixing, and glitter.  Any kind of glitter will work.  I used Martha Stewart glitter - the colors I used for this project were Turquoise and Golden Beryl.

First mix some Glossy Accents and water.  Glossy Accents is a clear dimension gloss medium - also can be used for glue and sealer.  I used about a teaspoon of Glossy Accents to a half teaspoon of water. You just want to thin it down a bit.  After it is mixed take the top off the ornament and pour in the liquid and swirl to coat the entire inside.

After it's coated let it drain out for a few min.  Then pour in glitter and move the ornament around while you are pouring. After that set the ornament aside to dry for about an hour.

While waiting I decided to take alcohol inks and color the silver top of the ornament.  I picked Sailboat Blue and Gold to go with the ornament colors.  To put alcohol ink on an object (not glossy paper or flat surface) wad up the felt and squeeze a lot of ink on the tip of the felt.  Then dab over the surface.  Note - your fingers will get really inky so you may want to wear gloves. 

I took the inked felt and dabbed it around the silver top.  I let this dry.  And when the ornament was dry I replaced the top and hung it on the tree. 
One of the best things about this project is the glitter is on the INSIDE of the ornament and won't rub off!  Cool huh?

Wishing you a sparkley Christmas!

December card making classes

People that know me know that I love making my Christmas cards.  Sometimes the hardest part about creating a Christmas card is the design.  After I have the idea I'll do a few samples and then it's assembly line time. 
If you want to make your own cards this year and don't know what to make you may be interested in these two holiday card making classes.  I'm teaching these classes at  Artist and Display in Milwaukee.  Please check with the store to sign up.

First one is Sunday December 8th and the main product used here is alcohol inks. Alcohol inks are so easy to use and they dry very fast so these cards will be very quick to make...but they look like they took a lot longer! With a plethora of ink colors available you'll be able to customize the ornament and tree any way you like.

Second class is Saturday Dec 14th and involves heat embossing and rubber stamps (shown below). I'll  go over the basics of using embossing powders and the heat gun.  The stack of presents card is really fun to color in. 

 

Both of these are short classes (1 hour and 1.5 hours) so they can easily fit in to busy holiday schedules. And a great way to give yourself a break and create something fun.  

Make Your Mark event @ Artist & Display

This Saturday I'll be at Artist & Display doing a hands on demo for their Make Your Mark event. At this twice a year event the store is filled with demo tables.  People can go from table to table to try out some neat art supplies and make a project or sample at many of the tables.  And best of all it's free!

Saturday, November 9th

11am - 3pm

Artist and Display

 

At my table we'll be coloring some stenciled stained glass images with tri tone colored pencils and marvy le plume markers .  The pencils and the markers would also work well for coloring in a rubber stamped image.   This event is great for kids and adults.  Hope to see you there!

 

Halloween tags (part boo)

The Tim Holtz Sizzix "Apothecary Bottles" die was the main item used to make this tag.  The mini glass bottle is from Tim Holtz Mini Corked Vials (Idea-olgy series) and contains newt eggs (aka green glass beads). 

So my fellow Hogwarts/Harry Potter fans, when creating these bottles I was thinking of what bottles would possibly be in Professor Snape's Potion 101 class.  Please note that these Spider Webs are (of course) 100% organic.  Only the finest materials used at Hogwarts!

 

I used the die to first cut the bottle shapes out of patterned paper.  Then I cut them again out of vellum.  I glued the vellum onto the paper shapes to give the bottles a frosted bottle look. The die cuts the bottles, labels and corks separately.  I used Distress Inks "Vintage Photo" on the edge of the bottles to give them a "been on Professor Snape's shelf for a long time" look. 

for this next tag I used the coolest product ever...spider web in a spray can! Okay so it's a type of spray paint but it looks like webbing.  I used "spider silver" on black paper.  I purchased the paint at  Artist and Display.  Honestly, once you get this paint you'll want to cover lots of stuff. It's soo fun to work with!

 

 

For the final look I didn't want to cover up the background at all (like I did with the apothecary bottles) so I painted a spider on the tag.  When the spider was dry I used Glossy Accents to give his body a dimensional look. 

 

Halloween tags (part 1)

Getting in the spirit of Halloween with these two tags.  I like the whimsical look of the Cauldron Tag.  The frog and the potion bottle were buttons - I cut off the button part on the back so they would lay flat. The background was done with Distress Inks and then splashed with water.  A pack of patterned paper (Recollections "Haunted Manor" paper pad) was used for the mini tag embellishment and the words.

The same patterned paper book provided the background paper in the Skeleton Tag as well as words cut from one of the papers.  The skeleton key and skull are grungeboard pieces painted with Distress Paint-Brushed Pewter.

Patterned paper is a great way to create embellishments as well as borders for your cards/tags in addition to just being a background paper.

Another Halloween tag is in the works...with a Harry Potter movie as my inspiration...

Celebrate Autumn Tag

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons of the year and I just had to make a tag to celebrate. 

 

The quote used here is a rubber stamp from Whipper Snapper Designs and is one of my favorite quotes about autumn.  The tree branches rubber stamp, used for the background, has been in my collection for many year and is from Rubber Monger.

 

The leaves were cut using a Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves Die. I used alcohol inked paper for most of the leaves - love all of the color combos you can get with the inks. 

 

Also found some old needle point canvas and since the odds are slim that I'd actually use the canvas for needlepoint I decided it would make great leaf material.  This is also where the "don't throw anything out 'cause you might need it!" comes into play. Although I try not to let the studio supplies get out of hand (emphasize "try") I find it helpful to keep boxes of odds and ends to use for embellishments...or leaf material!

 

I colored the canvas leaves with Distress Ink Vintage Photo. Distress inks were also used to color the background of the tag and color the edges of the quote piece.

 

Next on the agenda is getting in the spirit to make some Halloween tags...stay tuned!