christytomlinson

Behind the Art! A new Mixed Media Tutorial!

wow! it's been a while since i have done a video tutorial! Since January I think!! Crazy!

First off, BEFORE I start in on that.. I TRULY HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU!!!! for the HUGE HUGE HUGE response and support of my products we debuted last week in the Scarlet LIme Store! HOLY COW!! It was INSANE CRAZY! I mean CRAZY.. we sold out of products 4 different times during the weekend and I had to call pink Paislee and make SURE we could get more! I kept ordering a ton thinking it would be FOR SURE enough to not only get me through the sale but for months. and then 6 hours later I would get an email from one of you.. that stuff was out of stock again! I was like.. what? are you sure? I just entered more! I felt bad. sorry it was so crazy for you guys!! Hope you all got what you wanted by the end of the weekend! 

here is a picture that ben took of the orders he printed Friday morning.. not even 24 hours after the sale started.. 

 

  I don't think he quite knew I was doing such a big sale in the store. (keep in mind he is the one who runs the store, prints order, pulls them, ships them. )..

I kinda  sorta maybe.. mentioned to him earlier in the week I was going to maybe do a sale.. I think I did. I was pretty sure I said maybe something about it. :) :) :) But I am guessing maybe he didn't hear it. lol.

so he sent me that picture friday before he left work and said something like " um.. would you mind explaining this please?"

I was like... what? I'm pretty sure I told you I was going to do a big sale? Lol. oh I just love him. He's been working night and day since then to just even print, sort and combine the rest of the orders that came in the rest of the weekend! Yesterday we shipped kit club stuff and today we are shipping all the free kits that went to people who signed up for all three classes!  So they will start filling those orders tomorrow. PLEASE be super patient. This is going to take us at LEAST 10-14 days working non stop night & day to get them all out. So please just know it's coming. :)

Seriously Crazy. You guys. YOU ROCK! I owe you so much!! I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you! Just so blessed for the support you give my family and ME! Someday I hope I get to hug each and everyone one of you!! (getting tear-eyed as we speak).

OKAY! onto The tutorial!! xox

So last week I spent an afternoon at the studio, creating projects with the February Mixed Media kit we offer in my online website www.scarletlime.com . Its part of the monthly kit club (and when we have some left we list them in our store). 

SOME months, when I have time and energy, I like to have fun and play with the kits too and when I do i try and do a video with them, so you can see what I do with the products in the kits.

THIS particular month (february's kit) I KNEW right away I wanted to do a video because I had a certain vision on mind for those products lol.  Most of the products we include are just fun mixed media products you can include in ANY of your mixed media stuff you create. Whether its on canvas, or art journaling, or whatever. Those products are designed for you to use in what you are creating. But For this kit, I wanted to really show you what I used them for and why I included them. :)

SO here is the kit!



As you can see its FULL of alphabets and words. Kinda different huh? I mean totally use-able on canvasses and art journals.. all the time. You always need words and titles on them, so these work great. BUT i wanted to show you some fun and different ways you use them. you might not think about!

So I came up with these (and more!)

Im not going to write step by step what I did, hence the video lol (it explains it all)

but here are come upclose shots of the projects I made using contents from this kit!
(note the videos are at the end)

 

So thats it! Actually there are a couple of more projects I didn't take pictures of.. just too much!

AND guess what else? I try to keep my videos under 30 mins.. so they aren't too boring to watch lol But I did SO many different projects with this kit, it ended up being an hour! even with me on super fast mode (you can tell I am rushing through each one to give you AS MANY Ideas as possible! LOL).

So make sure you watch BOTH Part one and PART TWO!! 

again hope you enjoy!!

xoxo

 

PART ONE

 

Part Two

 

xoxox

something to share..

so as promised I wanted to share with you some of the things I made this past week at the

Nurture your Creative Seed Retreat!
Our First class was with the very talented Ms. Jeanne Oliver and I immediately fell in love with her collage lessons! First thing we did was collaged 6 watercolor pages, with vintage wallpaper, vintage ephemera, paints, and more! We were painting them to make them into a handbound journal at the end of the retreat.. this was SO much fun!

So we spent the morning creating those.. then in the afternoon Jeanne shared her techniques for painting her beautiful girls!

This was the one Jeanne painted for us! I took this picture during the process so she wasn't quite finished.. but I still love it!

So then I went to town.. finding my courage to create too! and this is what I finally ended up with..

I actually had put the patterned paper down on her hair and had planned on painting over it.. so I just had the pattern under the paint.. but once I got it down, i actually fell in love with the look and decided to leave it just as it was! I love those happy unexpected things that happen with art as you are just going with the flow!

So then we had the evening to just work on our journal pages some more.. but I had had so much fun doing girls.. and since girls is kinda of my thing, I decided to use my journal pages as 'backgrounds" for painting some more girls instead!

So I spent the rest of the night and ended up with these fun girls.

I don't know why but my girls all ending up on the right side of the journal page? lol

But I had so much fun just exploring and painting All night! I would have stayed up and painted the last three.. but I knew I would be tired and hurting the next day and didn't want to miss out on Mindy's class! Can I just say Jeanne was SUCH a fun teacher! oh my gosh.. that girl is SOO funny! I have been friends with her for years and I know she is that way for me all the time.. but during class she just has this awesome way of making you feel RIGHT at home and really making you feel comfortable! She is a great teacher too! helping you feel confident in what you are doing! LOVED taking a class from a dear close friend! What a fun thing to do. I mean I have painted with her many times.. but to actually take a class from her, was beyond my expectations! LOVED IT!!

WHich by the way.. I LOVED how different both classes were! Jeanne's is obviously VERY vintage and classic.. and Mindy's style is just whimsical and fun!

So the next morning we started out with the very sweet, adorable and tall (why I always thought mindy ws short. i don't know? lol) Mindy!  OH be still my heart! LOVE THIS GIRL!!

She had us start  the day be creating two our own handmade paper.. and then  backgrounds on canvas..

with Mindy giving us some really fun prompts to do! Fun things like "draw your favorite word but with your non dominant hand.. or scribble with your eyese closed with a watersoluable crayon. It was REALLY fun actually! She is an awesome teacher for getting your playful, let your hair down.. side out! We finished the morning by painting a cute little whimsical bunny! I couldn't get my page to feel right, so instead of trying to make my background mesh and fit.. I just created a second animal friend from the background.. and it seemed to work! lol

Mindy was TRULY an awesome teacher! It was SO so relaxing..

then after lunch we worked on the second canvas, and moved onto to creating a girl! (she started us with the bunny so we weren't so apprehensive about doing faces.. which was a VERY smart thing! lol.. it kinda helped ease us into it!)

So here is the girl..

she isn't quite finished. I didn't spend any time creating later that night because it was our last night and I wanted to talk and hang out with the other women there as much as possible! So she still needs some words, and some background issues and texture fixed.. but again.. Mindy just was so much fun!

so that's my fun weekend! Jeanne and Mindy were both amazing teachers. and like i said earlier this week was JUST so wonderful! I really want to go back! Like next week! lol (Serena can't you just plan another one for this spring? Lol)

anyhow.. just had a great time! Thanks again for letting me share!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
xoxo

 

Christy

 

Simple Pencil Sketches.. Angel Series

Hey friends! just a simple post for today.. (going in a few minutes for a out patient procedure).. so keeping it simple for today..

I LOVE sketching.. and sometimes I love to go REALLY extravagant and have fun with details and hair, etc.

But some of my FAVORITE sketches are the simple ones, done with a mechanical pencil and my charcoal pencil. Infact I LOVE just using charcoal. It's one of my favorite things. It can give SUCH deep lines and shadows and dimension without even hardly trying..

so I wanted to share with you a few sketches.. simple ones, I did recently.. hopefully to inspire you to sketch! We are doing a lot of fun sketching in the She ARt no. 3 Workshop (started tuesday and holy COW LOVING what is coming from these women taking the course!) 

So here are a few of mine..just simple. VERy simple.. but the way I use the charcoal helps give it more depth.I call this my "angel" line.

(She was an angel then)

 

(she knew she was made to love)

 

(her wings grew with time)

 

(she was a simple soul)

 

SO Simple.. but with a few great placements of the charcoal.. SUCH depth and meaning. By the way.. some of you have asked.. my favorite charcoal pencil is a #2b Soft. MY FAVORITE.. The brand I am using right now is Generals. WE actually carry them in our online store Scarlet Lime . (they come more in a pack with 3 different types, pencil sharpener and charcoal sticks. We also carry white charcoal pencils.)

Anyhow.. just love sketching. I have a little pocket book (3"x5" in size) and carry it around with me everywhere I  go. Just never know when I will have moments of inspiration or need something relaxing to do. Right? 

Speaking of the store.. ben just listed like 100 new products last night! Holy cow the man is awesome! We got some new paints & Sprays into the store!
Tim holtz new line, new Studio Calicos, and Dylusions.

Plus we also have new stencils from Crafters Workshop, Donna Downey, SC and Prima!

AND I don't have a picture.. but TONS Of new texture stamps (and only 2.99!!) From KasierCraft! As well well as a ton of new 6"x6" paper pads! I think it's time to raid the warehouse :). Who wants to join me? lol

okay.. enough talk. I better get going.. gotta leave shortly for a very annoying procedure.. but one that has to be done! See you back here Monday! Hoping to have that February mixed media kit video for you! It's SUPER fun! Just need to get it edited!

Happy Thursday!
xoxo

She was a silent fighter...

sweet friends! wow.. what a week last week. Im not even going to say it because if you have been reading my blog.. you know EXACTLY why i didn't get another blog post in last week... lol. But I can say.. I HAVE started using essential oils and wow... they have been AMAZING for the pain! It's not a CURE.. but it's sure a sweet relief! I will talk on a more personal note later about my struggle right now with Fibro. It's something that latley, makes Me VERY emotional.. but I have decided to just embrace it, overcome it and love what I am learning about myself from it.

I have a couple of fun things to share today..

first off.. did you know that SHE ART WORKSHOP NO. 3 STARTS TOMORROW!!!!

 YES! it does! wahoo!!! so this is just a "final" reminder the class starts tomorrow and I would SOO SOO LOVE to have you join me!  I think this class.. well I am HOPING this class will change the way you create art. Will change the way you look at yourself and others. Help you Embrace all aspects of who you are and paint like you've never painted before! That is my wish! Can't wait for it to start!! If you want to sign up you can click HERE to find out more!

and speaking of She Art..

This weekend, Ben's sister Jenni (whom i love love love to death).. Came and visited us for a few days. She is always so fun to have come because she just has this bright vibrant spirit about her! my KIDS adore her. She is their second mom! Not only is she simply fun, she also has this amazing energy! All day saturday (while I worked).. she helped ben lay sheetrock and tape and texture the new/old house. She is just that way! She can FIX anything, she loves to help with ANYTHING. She is truly super women.
Then yesterday after an amazing soul filling day at church, we headed over to the studio to just hang out. She hadn't picked up a paintbrush to play in years, but I know how creative she is.. so I pretty much made her get messy. lol.  and OH MY GOSH was she amazing!! I mean like in minutes she had painted this gorgeous beautiful woman with this magical depth!

 

I just was standing there in awe! I had planned on just laying around, napping, reading books, etc. and after seeing her painting, I was SOO inspired to get up and paint myself! So i did.As I sat down to paint, I just kept feeling this overwhelming feeling that this fibro was not going to get the best of me.. that I was STRONG.. I was a fighter.. and so I just started to paint what was in my heart.. and this is what came  out.. 

I know I know.. so many of you saying right now.. what?? christy you hardly ever paint faces on your girls.. and I know it's true! But lately.. it's been calling me. I feel like i have a story to tell and when I do, I need it to be known.

That is where the face comes in. I talk alot.. ALOT about this in the She ARt 3 Workshop. There are beautiful reason to for both.. to leave the face blank.. or to paint in the features.. and i actually enjoy BOTH of them. (I finished  second painting last night as well and left her face blank.. but it just FIT her)..But this sweet girl.. she needed her story told. NO questions as to what it was she is trying to say.

She is a strong silent fighter this one. Don't underestimate the determination she has..

You will see in She Art 3, that I don't like perfection when it comes to faces. I LOVE texture and I LOVE it when paint just kinda plays and falls where it ends up. Love the yellow flecks in her right eye.. soo not planned but TOTALLY wonderful!

 

I love how her neck and shoulder are so strong but also "soft" too. It's like they have this story to tell and they are saying.. yes I have been through alot, I have had many burdens placed upon me.. but I am still holding my head up strong!

I think right now, she will go in my bedroom.. on my nightstand.. to remind me every morning of the fight I have left in me. Yep. She is a strong one.. that girl of mine :).

Speaking of STRONG girls..

I wanted to let you all know that my SWEET dear friend Kelly Barton (who you may remember from the 2011 artsy ornaments workshop).. just re-opened her etsy store and her new art is just STUNNING!

I LOVE how it's evolved over the last year! seriously that is what I LOVE about this crazy messy beautiful thing we call ART! 

I love how it's forever changing, and we are growing constantly and it's SOO important to listen to whats in our heart.. not try and paint what we think we are expected too.. but paint what MOVES us.. not moves anyone else.. ONLY US. because then and only then is it real and true.Sometimes is scary to change listen to that new discovering.. it's so much easier to stick to what we know.. but I can tell you from experience that when I finally am Brave enough to just get up and let go.. holy cow I am amazed at what comes from it.. That's all I will say for now.. I share SOOO much more of this in the She Art Workshop 3..  can't wait to share it! Hope it will help you find your voice as well!

(love this piece by Kelly Barton too..so fitting). Make sure to check out her ETSY store!!

anyhow! I hope you have a happy monday! Let's see what the week brings us shall we?  xoxox

Masking Tape Artsy Project..

hello hello! wow.. I am feeling refreshed and ready to start a new day! Yesterday I was in the studio filming ALL day! CRAZY!! I can't remember what I have shared in the past.. but my Fibro lately has been kicking my butt. I have to be honest and say it's been VERY depressing. Only feeling well enough to work.. 5 days out of the last 13, is SO frustrating,specially for me, when I am used to working EVERy DAY.. and usually from 8 am.. all day long, and then again after my kids go to bed from 8 pm until like 1 or 2 am! So for me, to be in so much pain that I am in bed, and laying around.. oh so depressing. But I am starting to work through it. I have a lot of great things I can do to help me get through the pain days. ANd I guess I should clarify. I am in pain EVERYDAY.. and take medication for that so I can be at least out of pain enough to work. But the 13 days I have been in bed.. the meds didn't even TOUCH It. Neither did hot baths, or lotions, or massages, or anything. The one thing that has worked ease everything are prayers. HUGE help! So thank you for all of you that have been praying!  Anyhow.. so i am also kinda a "schedule girl" I schedule out my days and weeks about 1-2 months in advance. I have to or things get crazy. So like for instance my mondays and tuesdays are always spent at home working.. doing emails, blog posts, website stuff, etc. Wednesday and thursday are filming days.. and fridays are pick up the slack on whatever else i didn't get done (usually it's alot lol).  I have learned over the past two weeks.. almost three now.. that I don't get to be on a schedule anymore. Like yesterday, I woke up and knew I was to work at home.. I had emails to respond too, refunds to process, blog post to write, film to edit.. etc.. but when I woke up and took my meds and within a half hour my pain was not only manageable but i mean I felt NORMAL.. I was like.. oh ive got to get to that studio and film! lol. So i literally, didn't even sit down to look at my emails or computer. I got dressed and headed straight to the studio, to take advantage of my day. I can always answer emails and write blog posts from my bed or the couch.. lol.  ANd so yesterday was amazing! I filmed from around 10 am and was at the studio until after 9 pm! CRAZY! and it's sad I say that now, because three weeks ago I would have just said.. yes, so that is normal.. lol. But NOW.. with this new "bump" in the road.. for me is' Crazy awesome and crazy good and SUCH a huge huge blessing and soo soo grateful to my Father in Heaven for yesterday. I have to admit, today is not bad either.. a little ache, but I bet i could film some later this afternoon. It has my spirit in high hopes :) Great reminder to always be thankful for my trials.. it helps me appreciate what comes from them.

Anyhow.. just a little look into my private life and what's going on with me right now. not that you probably wanted to know! lol

So onto to some creative fun! oh wait but FIRST off! just a reminder that you have less than ONE WEEK to sign up for the 3 Class Spring Special. That deal closes on the 12th of February. It includes $15.00 off my three new spring classes as well as a $20.00 kit that is mailed to you! Cut off date to sign up for that special and  receive that exclusive kit is NEXT Tuesday! You can use THIS link below to sign up for it! OR read about in last weeks blog post HERE.

3 Spring Workshop Special

So last summer I had painted this fun little canvas.. I don't know if you remember it.. but I posted it here on the blog.. (the canvas is 12"x36")

Well after I did that blog post, I worked on it some more and the more I added just kinda seemed to muddy it up a little. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the canvas. Leave it like that, or add some kind of big element like a flower or something to it? So I just put it aside and left it until last week. One night  last week we were at the studio.. Me, Ben and some of the kids.. and he was working on some canvases (which by the way.. holy cow that man is TRULY becoming an amazing artist! If you have Instagram, you should follow his work. it's pretty fun). Anyhow.. I wasn't feeling great, but good enough to do something and while I couldn't film because he and the kids were there,  I decided to work on something for the studio wall. (yes if you can image, I still have  blank wall in my studio). So I pulled out this canvas and just kind stared at it.  Then I remembered THIS canvas and post I had seen on Pinterest a few months back.. and decided that is what I wanted to do with this canvas! I actually found a couple like this! (here is the link to the posts)

  I LOVED the design and could see it on the wall, with other art surrounding it.. like she art girls, or other canvases. Just kinda  of a collage of fun canvases. But this one would be a fun focal point.

So I asked ben to borrow  some of his painters tape, and then I went to town. I have to say.. I am USUALLY NOT a person who measures anything. I just cut and go, but I found quickly after I got about 4 rows on, I needed to start over and actually measure at least a line, that I could have to follow as I went down.  Like the canvas I was using as inspiration, I liked how not all of the arrows were there. Some were missing. REALLY liked that. So I skipped a few lines too.  Ben was so proud i measure things out (he is a VERY precise person lol). So here was my process..

 First I measured a line about 3" from the right side (I just used tape because I didn't have a ruler).. and I marked it all the way down with a marker, Just a loose light line, but  so I could find it after I pulled the tape away. (after it's all said and done you don't notice the line from the marker). The tape you see on the side of the canvas was just pieces I had already cut and wanted to keep. so they really aren't there for any reason.

Next I starting cutting pieces for the v's. I also loosely measured these as well. Just to kinda have them all the same size. And then I just went to town masking them down on the line. creating a v pattern all the way down the canvas. Keep in mind you can do this with ANY Size of masking tape, or painters tape. I used a 2" size because I wanted as much as the background to show through as possible. Also between the tape, I just left around a 1/4' border.. but not always.. sometimes I couldn't, so I just went with what looked straight. In the end you can't tell if some of the white lines are thicker than others.. just matters that they "v" was straight coming down. That was my only goal

 

Next I did the same with the other side, measured a line and then placed tape all the way down in a V pattern. Once my tape was secure, I used both cream and white paint and just dabbed the paint on (not swiped, but more stenciled effect, I also made sure my paintbrush was very dry). I did this all over the canvas making sure to get it between the tapes to cover the exposed canvas.

 

Once I was done with all of that, I let it dry a little.. well not really, I was too impatient, but you could let it dry lol. And then I simply just pulled back the tape! EASY PEASY!

once I was done.. I had this SUPER fun canvas

I was kinda nervous at first to cover up all the fun stuff I had put onto the canvas,

but actually now you see it even more because your eye is drawn to the color and all the texture because of the white space! LOVE how it turned out!

 

SO if you have a canvas that you kinda love.. sort love.. but totally don't love the background.. or even maybe you painted a girl on it and just aren't feeling it.. think about doing THIS type of thing to the canvas.. instead of just starting over! You can do just about ANY type of shapes or designs! You could do circles, hearts, flowers, lines, squares, hexagons, Octagons, Birds, butterflies, plaid, arrows, feathers, you NAME IT! Anything you can cut out of tape.. you can do. You could even do WORDS! just use your Cricut or Silhouette to cut out any kind of fun shape or words and then lay them onto the canvas with some tacking glue.. and then paint and peel off the paper!( We just printed them off the computer and handcut them out.) I will be posting another blog post in the next couple of weeks where we did this similar thing in December using glitter and lots of different shapes. It was fun!

So just a little something fun to be creative :)

anyhow.. oh i wanted to let you know.. that I only have ONE spot left in the Mexico retreat with Junelle and I, but the other September She Art Retreat, is sold out. So if you are wanting to come.. we have ONE! but I have a feeling it won't last long.. since  I only announced this monday and it's already practically full. So don't delay!  Here is the link for that again!

She Art Matters December Mexico Retreat with Junelle Jacobsen & Christy Tomlinson

ALSO remember to come join me at Studio Crescendo!  This will be my ONLY teaching event this year I will be doing (except hosting my own mexico retreat).. but this really is my only event I am doing this year with another studio! It's in beautiful California and such a great price too! Only 2 days.. so more manageable for some that can't do the week long retreats! I will be doing more of a blog post on that MOnday but until then.. if you want to get a jump start! here is the link!!

She ARt Studio Crescendoh

Thanks for letting me share today!!

Happy Wednesday!

 

December Mixed Media kit fun!

well hello hello from warm and cozy Mexico! I hope everyone is doing well.. hAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Here is to a WONDERFUL 2013!!! 

I have a fun treat today.. A video i did using the Scarlet Lime Mixed Media kit for December! Super excited about this kit because  I included some funky stuff and REALLY wanted to teach you some new things I recently discovered when trying to make my own "clay" look.

This month's kit included a fun configuration box from Tim Holtz, as well as lots of other goodies.. but I wanted to use it in a non conventional sort of way. Most of what you see if also very "distressed".. and I wanted to create something fun and bright with it!  So here we go!

I wanted to make sure that EVERY part of the pieces in the kit were altered in some way of another.. just not "adhered" onto the "canvas". I really wanted EVERy piece to be it's own artsy point of interest.

The clips are from Maya road and were originally grey wire. of course I painted them.. added a book paper behind them and then shaded it and doodles on it.

 

Included some fun embellishments that we altered as well. Painted, stitched, doodled

 

 

 

Even the key was painted and doodled on. really wanted to keep this entire thing BRIGHT! But the best part of it all? Making your own "clay" out of tin foil and book paper!

 

So.. here is the 30 min video that shows you the entire process from start to finish! Hope you enjoy!! can't WAIT to see what you do with the kit! AND YES.. if you are wondering.. WE DO have these kits left in our store! Check out our store www.scarletlime.com  the store part! We have them in the mixed media kit section!

Scarlet Lime STORE

Off to go paint some more with Ben and Jesse Reno! xoxox

 

Snow Globe Craze.. let's get crafty!

happy 12.12.12!!! sooo cool!! how can you not be excited about today?? I can only imagine there are a LOT of weddings going on today... :)

 

Well if you are following me in instagram or facebook.. you might know that this past weekend, Allie and her friends.. and Ben and my son Preston.. had a "craft night" saturday night. Allie had seen on Pinterest,  a deer glittered on canvas.. that she REALLY wanted to make. Not for herself.. but she said she knows I LOVE deer anything right now.. and she wanted to make it for me for my Christmas Decor. I had seen the fun pins going around on Pinterest of the simple waterless snow-globes.. and I knew I wanted to try my hand at that too! I figured BOTH would be super fast and easy projects.. we could definitely get done in one night. And I was right. SUPER easy and fast.

This week I wanted to share with you what we did and maybe give you some ideas that you could do for all year long!

The first one I am going to share is the snowglobes.

These are waterless snowglobes, so they don't require anything super fancy. Just a few simple things, you might already have around the house.

First you need empty jars.. they can be canning jars, empty pickle jars, jelly jars, mayonnaise jars, etc. ANY Kind of jar will work. Ben washed them for me really good and we pealed off the labels (Magic Eraser works good for that. Or just soaking it in warm water for a bit). I even used some super small jelly and mustard jars.. you know the kind they give you at restaurants or in your hotel room when you order room service? And salt and pepper shakers (got mine at the dollar store). 

You also need some type of snow. You can find different types of flakes and glittered snow at ANY Craft store and even Walmart in the Holiday Section. I also used super find glitter with some of the smaller globes because the pieces were so small, the other flakes just overpowered them. So keep in mind Glitter works too!

 

The girls even used some of the colored glitter lightly mixed in with the snow flakes.. just to give it a TINY bit of color. Not too much though. I kept mine to mostly white.

Then you need to gather things to put inside. This is where the fun part begins. There are NO rules to what you can put inside your globes!

Some things I found just around my house (I collect lots of birds, and I use old goblets turned upside down, to set them on).. So I thought those would be fun inside! I also gathered a bunch of small figurines that people had given me over the years.. it kids got at school.  Some of them I found at craft stores , but most I found at thrift stores. Most were like .25 cents to .50 a piece. Ornaments work GREAT too! ANY type. I used the Nesting Doll ornaments I made in the 2012 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas class.

 

Make sure to keep them small.  They have to fit inside the opening of the jar mouth. My FAVORITE thing to put inside are the small sisal trees. Bottle Trees as they are called. You can buy packs of them at Michael's. Usually 12-20 in a pack and they range in price from  $6.00-$8.00. BUT right now everything is on sale.. so i know you can get them cheaper. Joanns, Michael's, Hobby Lobby and even Big Lots carry them. I think Target does too.

 

They come in different colors but usually the white ones or colors BESIDES green are more expensive. SO it's EASY to color your own (I show you how in the Pumpkins and Cider workshop).. You simple soak them in bleach and water (half and half) for just a few minutes and it removes all the color. Then you can leave them cream.. OR you can re-color them the color you want using Sprays and Mists (like color wash from ranger, studio calico spray, etc)! (or spray paint). This is where you could change it up depending on what your color scheme is. OR even go outside the box and make these for different seasons and holidays! Like think about coloring some pink and red for valentines day and making a valentines snowglobe, Or a spring one.. or easter. Fall, Halloween, etc. These are a set of trees I did for fall.Some are in globes and some I just used in trays.I made these in the pumpkins and Cider workshop. I showed how to do patterns on them.. stripes, polkadots, etc.

 

 

These are kind fallish.. BUT image if your tree is pinks and greens! How fun for snowglobe!
This is a set I just glued to the top of an old book cover, for Halloween but NEXT year I will be moving it into a jar..

Wouldn't that be just TOO cute in a big canning jar? with orange glitter? I Say YES! :)

 

Okay.. so enough with the trees lol.. 

YOu also need some type of adhesive. I just used hot glue. Not gonna lie. Im too impatient to wait for E600 to dry, but that would work too if it's a heavy object and you need it to REALLY be secure. HOWEVER there were some things that I didn't want to "adhere" and make permanent in the snowglobes. That I wanted to take out and use later for other things. So those I didn't glue down (like my birds and goblets and my girl nesting doll ornaments)
So you can certainly make them without making them permanent. Then you just go to town!

Then you just go to town! You glue the items to the inside top of the lid of the snowglobes. Then you add the glitter and snow to the jar side.. and then carefully put the lid onto the jar, and then turn upside down and the snow falls down onto all the fun things you glued onto the lid! Now if you find you put too much snow on it. No worries. Just unscrew it and take some out. Easy Peasy!

One MORE thing to note. my jars had all different colors of lids. BUt for ME i like that I like that they are jelly lids or mustard lids and they say words on them and are colorful. That is my studio.. and I like also incorporating things that are "real" or authentic.. so keeping them looking like they are homemade by not changing the lid color worked for me. Even with the canning jar lids. I tried to actually use the ones that were old and discolored.  HOWEVER if you are doing it for say a room that is all cream and gold.. you wouldn't want all the different mixes of colors and you might want it to look a bit more professional. So first you would want to paint the lids before you start. I suggest just using good old fashioned spray paint. Paint them all cream or silver and you are good to go!

 

So fun! Some of the snowglobes I did opposite. Like the hanging ornament. I glued the string to the lid.. and then place the jar right side up. So it hung down from the lid. So you can do it either way! Once you have them made.. then you can create "scenes" with them. You can put them all together in  the center of the table, or you can spread them out here and there throughout your house. YOu can also stack them on things. like candlesticks or cake stands, etc. to give different heights to them as well. Here are just a few of the shots I took.

Keep in mind you can keep some of your figurines, trees, etc.. OUTSIDE of the globes and place around them. WHich is fun when creating a table centerpiece.

 

 

 

I even used some of the pine cone ornaments i made in the 2012 Artsy Ornaments workshop. TRULY the possibilities of what you can put inside are endless.

I also had the idea, that you can make ANY type of snowglobe. Doesn't have to just be in a "jar" or a globe. I had an old birdcage I bought.. big and tall and didn't I thought it would be fun to put a "setting" inside of that instead of just a regular candle like most people would do.. look how FUN it turned out!

So think outside the box when creating globes!

I just have to say.. I LOVE pinterest. It's such a WONDERFUL place to get ideas and learn and be inspired by other people. TRULY! if you aren't apart of it.. you will have so much fun if you are! It's free and just a great place for inspiration!

anyhow.. can't wait to see what you come up with too! I bet it will be FABULOUS!

Thursday I am going to show you the deer glitter canvases we made.. HOWEVER i am also going to show you some ideas for other shapes you can do as well! 

AND I keep forgetting to remind everyone.. the LIFE BOOK 2013.. Starts in just 3 weeks!!!! It's an online art journal workshop that goes for 12 months!

I along with 12 other FABULOUS teachers are teaching this workshop! Effie Wild, Melody Ross, Danita (from Danita Art), Julie Balzer, Mindy Lacefield, and SO SO Many others! I am actually the first teacher of the year.. Mine journal page and technique video goes up in Janaury.. SO COME JOIN US!!! it's a pretty cool book. YOu make an entire art journal. Over the course of 12 months. And finish it off with  Tammy showing you how to bind your journal and make it a beautiful keepsake! SO fun!

Click here to view more details

anyhow.. just something fun to start off the new year :)

I will be posting more about my own new classes.. starting in January (I have two).. in the next couple of weeks. One is a fun basic mixed media course. with EVERYTHING you need to know about mixed media technique. The other will be a year long class as well. Each month a new canvas and project. It's gonna be really really personal and a workshop that I hope will help you grow both creatively and  as an individual! More on that in a few weeks!
OH and for those of you who are on the "waitlist" for my art retreats i am having here at the studio in may.. I will be emailing you in the next week or so about those. I started thinking maybe i should give you the info NOW so that if you wanted to ask for it as part of your Christmas present.. you could! lol. It's a good way to have the hubby pay for it.. instead of it coming out of your own "craft" stash lol.

So if you are on the waitlist I will send that out to you first! We will have two different retreats in May. Back to back weekends.

(if you aren't on the waitlist, email me. It's first come first serve. I am only accepting 7 people per weekend and the waitlist is already over that amount, but I will email those on the waitlist before I put it on the blog. The waitlist doesn't mean you have to sign up, just means you get the information first :) )

So anyhow.. lots and lots of fun things for 2013!!!

Now let's get back to crafting and creating for 2012! We still have time.. gonna make some more ornaments tonight! !! :)

Happy tuesday! See you back here thursday! xoxox

Homemade Christmas ideas.. paperclay goodies...

I thought today it would be fun to post some handmade christmas ideas.. in honor of the 12 Artsy Ornaments of Christmas workshop starting today!

Allie and I and a couple of her friends, had a "girls night" at my new art studio.. this last friday. After much thinking, we decided it would be fun to pre-watch the videos for the Ornament workshop, that started today.. and make some of them during our girls night! (which lasted until 4 AM!!!!.. holy cow I am not as young as I used to be.. it took me 2 days to recover from that! Lol)

The two they picked were Chrissy's Clay Ornaments (they also loved Alisa's as well).. and Jamie's Coffee filter wreaths..  You can see them here getting their artsy on..

I gave them the supplies and they went to town and I decided to just make some of Chrissy's paperclay ornaments.

I LOVE paperclay and I had also seen another paperclay idea on pinterest I wanted to try as well.  I wanted to share with you what I (we) ended up making!

 First off, I  LOVE paperclay because it is SOOO much easier to work with than Polymer clay. It's soft and lighter. It air dries.. so you do have to wait overnight to paint them, but it's worth the wait! And usually I get away with letting it dry for only about 30 mins before I paint it and then let it dry the rest of the way overnight.

Chrissy teaches in the class how to make your own paper Airdry clay too, with flour and some other ingrediants. There is a trick to it.. but she shares it, so its  SUPER easy.. which also makes it SUPER cheap!  So I thought it would be fun to not only make ornaments, but also make some "take what you need" hearts.. BOTH as gifts AND for when people come to visit the studio.

If you haven't heard of that idea.. Here is a link to that story. Someone made this simple sign on paper and then wrote words on the bottom and cut them into strips. Placed them around her town as an act of charity. SHe called it the "Word" movement.

  I thought it would be fun to have a bowl of these handmade clay hearts, so when people leave, they can take one with them to not only remember their time there, but also take what they are in "need" of at the particular moment in their life. To remind them to have courage and faith.. to remind them that  they are wonderful and beautiful and life is good!

THIS would also be so fun as a christmas gift. Make 20 or 30  differ nt hearts and put them in a small Pint size canning jar and put a note and ribbon attached to the jar that reads

"when you are having one of those "days", and I can't be there to help or lend you a hand or shoulder to cry on... take what you need from the jar and know I love you and will ALWAYS be there in spirit!" i love you! xoxox" 

You may think 30 hearts sounds like a lot of time. but with the paperclay.. it takes a matter of MINUTES. Seriously minutes. ANd if you don't want to handstamp each one, you can print a paper out with a bunch of words on it and put fun white little word blocks on them instead.  I started with just plain ones.. Simple gorgeous cream ones. OH these would be so cute on a burlap and cream christmas tree! Chrissy's were so beautiful I had to just make some plain colored ones!

But then of course.. you know me. I HAVE to have color! Actually depending on the person I am giving it to.. they will either be in color, or plain. Some of my friends are totally into the vintage neutrals look.. so the cream ones work out perfect for them! But me.. im a color girl myself! lol.

NOt only did I paint them, but I used my Scarlet Lime Doodle Pen to add a little doodling to them as well.

So after I got done with that project.. I realized how much I TRULY love paperclay. Honestly. If you haven't ever tried it.. you TRULY should! I saw on pinterest this cute tutorial on how to make your own bird ornaments out of clay as well. It's from a Couple of years ago.. via Jessica Jane!

Again Hers were polymer clay. Oven baked. But man oh man that stuff is SO hard to roll and manipulate and I honestly am too impatient to kneed it over and over to make it flexible. Paperclay.. yea it's perfect for me! lol.

This is the tutorial on her Website.. (Her other things are AMAZING too! her little clay houses and owls!! oh my goodness so cute!)

So after looking some more on pinterest for a bird shape I liked..  here is what I came up with..

I liked them cream.. but then of course I had to color them. lol

 

I have to say, THESE were a little harder then hearts. I am not very patient as I said, and it does take some patience to smooth out all the sides and make both side symmetrical, etc. SO my bird are a little more "organic" and me. They aren't perfectly shaped all the way around, so they don't sit very well, Some do, Most don't. So if I make them again, I will be more mindful of making the bottom a little  more "even" so they can sit better. These i made for ornaments, so I put holes in them, and plan to hang them, so it doesn't quit matter they aren't so perfect. But still.

 

again just used simple stamps, and printed words. Use my acrylic paints and walla!

Some of them I plan to leave as birds and just tie to the top of gifts. Others I plan on putting around my studio.  We had a lot of fun making clay stuff. The next day, Ben and I had some errands to run and so we took the boys over the studio and let them hang out with Allie and her friends (who had slept there and were STILL there making stuff).. and when we came back with movies and snacks for a family night.. Noah, preston and ethan had all made their own clay things! Noah made two hearts, Preston made a number 8 ball, and ethan made a bunch of hearts as well. THen allie surprised me with an ADORABLE owl she had made for me (she knows I LOVE owls)..

SO CUTE!! so I asked her to make me two more. so I could have an owl family..I will have to share when she gets them all painted!

if you want to do MORE with clay.. I show you how to make THIS adorable Nesting Ornament.. in the 2012 Artsy Ornaments of Workshop.. (you can still sign up!) It's with clay and a light bulp! AND SO easy!

Anyhow.. just a fun post I had to share. THursday I have a post planned to share with you some of the personalized gifts I am giving my friends and family this year.. All that I purchased on etsy.. LOVE buy handmade if I can't make it myself. So check back for that!

Happy Tuesday!
xoxox

 

 

Behind the Art video.. October MM project!

Hey friends! how was your Halloween? Ours was full of fun and business! Holy cow I filmed all day yesterday for the upcoming Christmas workshop (gonna show you sneak peeks on monday!)

and then trick or treating.. and then went to the warehouse and worked on the studio until 4 AM THIS MORNING!! (WHICh i A MOVING IN NEXT WEEK!!)

wahoo! I will post pics and a video!)  Ben and I both did! By the time we were done.. we were so hungry we decided to go to breakfast at Shari's.. had some good old fashioned pancakes and hasbrowns and walked in the door around 6:00 AM when our kids were just starting to wake up to get ready for school. So we went back to bed for a few hours.. yea.. Im a walking zombie right now! lol

Anyhow.. sorry for not getting this October video posted in OCTOBER.. holy cow.. that whole video editing thing is kicking my butt! I normally use my Imovie program to edit and it was just NOT working and so I finally decided to use my PC and downloaded Sony Vegas Platinum program. While it's pretty cool program.. it was DEFINITLY not straight forward like imovie is.. it took me hours watching youtube videos from other people.. on how to just add music, and pictures, and cross fades, and fast forward. holy cow you would have thought I had never edited videos before! I have been doing it for 2 years.. and it took me forever to figure it out. But now I know and now it should go smoother. Luckily I have hired my brother VK, to help me edit all my upcoming videos for my workshops.. that will help out a ton (since we always do like 15-20 videos per workshop! at least!!)

Okay... so onto today's video! before I start.. wanted to say first off.. THANK YOU for your freaking awesome support of my etsy Store! And an update on the store.. we just got in yesterday all the new Carson products (another manufacturer I worked with).. and So I have added those to the store.. and they were just starting to pull orders at the warehouse from last thursday and friday's orders and I said. wait! give it a day or two.. because I was thinking some of you may want to purchase some of these new things.. and this way I can combine shipping for you and refund some of the shipping and ship them together! So if you want to get some of the things below. I am going to wait to ship orders until Monday of next week.. and if you purchase anything else during that time.. I will ship it all together and refund overpayment of shipping! Just fyi.. okay.. so I have to show you what is new!!!

The absolute favorite thing.. (okay tied with the last thing I am showing you).. are the sketchbook journals! They are about 6"x8" in size.. and have brown kraft paper inside.. oh so in love!

Gorgous new Mugs.. (there are actually only four new mug styles.. but this pictures shows the mugs pretty much all the way around. Carsons did a great job with these! two are girls and two are different scenes (the last mug on the right has a girl on it.. but the picture doesn't show it)

 

 I love shapes of these mugs and that they have so much going on.. but the best part is the little surprise inside..

 

 

 

Dinner Plates! ( or you can use them for cookies, cupcakes, to hold supplies on.. anything really!

Wall plates and platters (again the wall plates could totally be fun to put cookies on, or your mug.. don't have to hang them on the wall.. USE them! lol)

And the my most FAVORITE thing from their line.. (okay.. this and the journals are pretty close..)

the She Art  resin figurines!  They are so cute and have demensional pieces all over them. The words, the flowers, butterflies.. they all are demensional pieces. These can hang on a wall, or they free stand. Just love em!

SO that's fun!  I wasn't able to list the art bags! They came in ( my own company was priting those) but they only printed side?? lol.. I was like.. um no.. these aren't going to work. So sending them back to have the other side printed. AND then guess what! So many of you have asked.. I ordered IPhones cases for the Iphone 5! So those are coming soon too!  We sold out of a lot of things.. Magnets, mugs, mouse pads, frames.. a lot of things.. so those are on re-order now too.

So THANK you friends for your support! oh and since these products just came in.. I am extending the 10% off sale!  the coupon is SHE12  use it at checkout! HEre is the link to the Etsy Store!

okay.. onto the video for October!!

I had envisioned in my mind this fun Fall but bright and bold flower pieces.. I know I love flowers pieces and do them a lot.. but I couldn't get this one out of my head.. (don't worry next month it's NOT flowers.. well and last month wasn't either? so we are doing okay! lol)

Anyhow.. Here is what I came up with..

this kit included fun banner from Glitz, washi tape from glitz (the chevron I used on the stems) and these awesome fun kraft flowers too (which by the way could totally be used as stencils!!) and so much more! I show in the video what is included!

So that's it! Super fun! The canvas isn't included.. it's a 6"x12" deep edge.. but you can use just about anything!

So anyhow.. onto the video! Thanks friends again.. for all you do and ALL your birthday wishes!!!!! truly i freaking LOVE YOU ALL!!! xoxoxox

Happy Thursday!

 

 

She was created... a new she art girl..

hey friends! it's friday.. I was going to do this post yesterday and gosh darn it all to heck.. I am having MAJOR problems with my video editing software! It all of a sudden has chose NOT to work. Annoying.. and so after much frustration.. I decided to just post this fun she art girl without the video (sorry :( but when I get it done.. I will SURLEY share it! )

I wanted to give you a quick update. I posted this week about my new line with Carson and Midwest. If you are a retailer and want to carry their products, email me and I will send you their address! As for those of you just wanting to purchase something for yourself.. I have a huge order coming in the next two weeks.. that will include; mugs, magnet boards, the lamps, aprons, wood boards,
magnets, resin girls, clocks, art bags (for brushes or other art studio products), IPHONE covers and mouse pads! I know I am forgetting something.. but there will be a lot of stuff! so I can't wait to share! It will be listed in my etsy store and should be listed by end of next week!

So let me tell you about my week.. last week Ben's wonderful parents come to visit. They were here a FULL week and while they were here, Granny Annie (Ben's mom) organized and cleaned and dejunked my entire art studio! The one in my garage! It was the biggest blessing ever! I didn't ask her too and when she first got here she said" now Christy I know you will say no.. but I would
love to organize and clean your studio for you.. I know you hate letting people do stuff for you, but I love organizing, so can I please do it for you? " I sat for moment and wanted to say no..because I truly have issues with letting people serve me.. it's more because I feel dumb than anything. But in my HEART i knew I needed the help. I knew in a couple of weeks that I would be moving into my new studio.. and would need my current studio organized enough that I could easily move it. And let me tell you it was a MESS! lol. Does that surprise you? probably not.

So I let her... and can I tell you.. she did the MOST AMAZING job!!! I mean she sorted everything! and put them in their own baskets or boxes.. perfect ready for me to move into the new studio where I have lots of furniture with lots and lots of organized drawers for everything to have it's place!

Well later in the week she came and asked me if she could have one of the she art originals I had in my studio.. and unfortunately it was one I had already made for someone else.. and had actually borrowed it back and needed to return it! lol

So I said.. why don't you let me make you one JUST for you? And I was so glad when she said yes! So we decided to do a portrait of her! She is in her 70's and has the most gorgeous gray/silver hair.. she is really tall and lean. (opposite of me.. but totally where my husband Ben and my daughter allie get their height and long legs from). We walked about her colors, and where the canvas would go. We
talked about her life and what she wanted it to say and words she had in mind. She even picked out some of the papers I used. Then she said in a chair and watched as I went to work on her very own She Art girl. I can't tell you HOW humbling and fun that experience was! It was a little nervous.. because I wanted it to be perfect for her.. but I truly enjoyed the process. So I wanted to share with you the canvas I created for her!

but before I do.. I wanted share something else with you!

So.. after this process, i started thinking about how fun it was to just create something for custom for someone. I have never done a custom piece before, where they had input on the girl.. as I said.. and while I was super nervous.. I ended up loving the process! I thought to myself.. how fun it would be to
offer this to my own friends, customers and blog readers! Soo.. Just to let you know.. i have added NEW originals to my etsy store again.. just a few this time.. BUT also have listed a custom She ARt girl original for anyone who wants me to paint one especially for them.

This custom canvas would also include a skype or phone call sesion with me.. as I would LOVe to get to know you and the reason I am creating the peice for you! I want to learn about your story and your heart.. things that move you.. colors you love. Words or phrases or scriptures that inspire you. I want this to be a TRULY custom piece! So if you are interested in that! Check out my etsy store!!

and also check out all the new originals I Just listed!

My Etsy STore

 

so without further wait.. her is the She Art girl I created just for Granny Annie.. silver hair and all. what a beautiful lady she is!

 

Well that's it! Thanks again for letting me share! I hope you have a wonderful day!! and remember.. Bless this mess online workshop starts in just a few days! Hope you join me and Junelle for Wild Art no. 2!!

have a wonderful weekend!