2017/11/30

Art Journal: Exhaustipated! - VLVS!

Exhaustipated - VLVS!

Hi friends! It's my turn over at VLVS! blog today to share a creation. It's almost december and all the year end holidays are coming up and for me it's always such a tough month. The business of the festivities, hustle and bustle to buy presents (buyer's stress) does not mix well with my Seasonal Affective Disorder, so I just feel sooo tired just thinking about all these busy days ahead and dealing with the lack of sunlight which is a much needed fuel for my body. Often people think I am a real Grinch when I let these feelings out, but it's not about not wanting to celebrate. Being forced to be happy about the holiday season while I'm dealing with some tough things on a physical and emotional level, sometimes just takes its toll and I rather be honest about it than fake going through being "happy camper" about "this festive season".

Anyhow, I didn't had a word for this feeling until the brilliant people at VLVS! came up with this awesome word stamp "Exhaustipated: too tired to give a shit." and OH MY what a relief it was to create this art journal page about what I am feeling! So cathartic and meditative. Also this woman stamp is just my avatar around these winter days. To see the process of this page, I invite you to go to my blogpost at VLVS! HERE which also includes a list of other VLVS! stamps I used. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and if you have any sort of similar feelings about this topic, let me know, so we can support each other in solidarity. Wishing you a wonderful day!



2017/11/29

SDC287 - Thankfulness

SDC287 Thanks a latte

It's the second week of the Stampotique Designer's Challenge theme of Thankfulness and I have this fun and quirky thank you card to show you. It's definitely a fun one to send out to fellow coffee lovers :) The base is a piece of scrap paper on which I have made some coffee rings with actual coffee. Then added color with Distress Oxides vintage photo, antique linen, walnut stain and black soot. Stamped some texture with Kate's texture stamp and splattered some brass metallic distress stains over it with a brush.

SDC287 Thanks a latte

The main image is Cocoa Bird which I colored in with promarkers on a piece of sticker paper. The sentiment is a die cut from Stamplorations which I got earlier this year along with a coffee cup die cut. I am glad I got them when I did because they don't seem to be available anymore. Anyhow, the little stem the bird is sitting on is the bottom part from the cup and I've cut them all out from the paper I left in my spray box. So many spatters and glitterly shines are on the words and stem.

We would love it if you would share your creations fitting the theme with us. Share your projects HERE (please read the rules before doing so) and you could be in the running to win some wonderful stampotique rubber stamps at the end of the month.

I would also like to enter this card in the Stamplorations Giving Thanks bloghop party
with gratitude that they are giving a chance to win items from your wishlist this month if you link it up with a project you made. 

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!


2017/11/28

Shopping Highlight: a stationery tour through Berlin

Berlin 2017
Last month we had a little city trip to Berlin, Germany with my husband and in-law family. Of course I also had to look up some great stationery stores there and in this post I would like to share the ones I visited. It's going to be picture heavy visual tour from here out which I hope you will enjoy.

2017/11/23

Heartfelt Thanks!

Heartfelt Thanks
Any day is a good day to show gratitude and I'm sharing this handmade watercolor card made with this gorgeous Heartfelt Rose stamp set from Stamplorations.

Heartfelt Thanks
I've embossed the image and sentiment with gold honey pearl WOW embossing powder on watercolor cardstock. Then colored it in with Sennelier watercolors and handmade watercolors from Cloves and honey. Matted it onto grey card stock and rounded the corners. Then adhered it onto a 4x6 notecard on which I have adhered a piece of gelli printed paper. I like how the design comes together.

Heartfelt thanks 💖 A card made with @stamplorations stamps and @pfeifferartsupply and @clovesandhoney watercolors. Have a great thanksgiving to those whom celebrate it 💖 _________ #thankyou #thankyounotes #thankyoucards #he
If you tilt the card into the light you can see the shimmering of the watercolors in the rose. 

Over at Stamplorations is a wonderful bloghop and annual wishlist linky party going on in which new designs are being showcased and you could potentially win your wishlist if you link up and share projects! So come and join the fun :) Want to know what's on my wishlist? Take a peek here (and I just keep adding things to it because there are just so many new wonderful designs!!) 



I'm also entering this in the Stamplorations Never Ending Anything goes challenge

I hope that all of you whom are celebrating Thanksgiving today are having a wonderful time with your loved ones. Thanks so much for stopping by and hope to see you again soon :)



2017/11/20

Mail Art Monday: Autumnal Greetings

Autumn Mail Art Monday

Not sure if you have noticed but my Mail Art Monday section has been quiet lately but today I finally had some mojo back to decorate an envelope as I also finally was getting some snail mail ready for a friend. So I thought I would share it right away as well, seeing the last days of autumn are nearing...it's getting colder and slowly the grey tones are taking over from these lovely amber tones. The base is an ivory envelope and I took a few autumn leaf stamps with a script stamp and just build from there.

Autumn Mail Art Monday
And this is the back of the envelope. I used a few distress oxides to blend inwards and added come accents with a gold marker. I edged the envelope with memento cocoa ink and called it done. It took under 15 minutes to make, a nice and quick envie to get my mail art juices flowing again.

Autumn Mail Art Monday
These are stamps and tools I used. Only think missing is the script stamp from Paper Artsy. From top to bottom the stamps are from Impression Obsession, Inkadinkadoo and Hero Arts. 

Thanks for stopping by and hope you all are enjoying the last days of autumn as well. 



2017/11/15

WIP: Watercolor Practice

Work in progress, autumnal fairy girl with #janedavenport #watercolorpaint in a @moleskine_world watercolor pocket book.

The past weekend I have been working with my water colors again and sharing some work in progress today.  I took out my Jane Davenports Neutrals and Brights sets and went to work in my Watercoloringbook (A pocket moleskine I stamped some fun rubber stamp images in) This cute little fairy is from Sweetpea designs and I wanted her to have a fun autumnal look. I really loved working on the hair and stripey socks on this one :)

More #watercolorpractice on scrap papers.
On a scrap piece I colored this fairy from VLVS! and used a lot of glittery watercolors from Cloves and Honey. You can see the finished art journal page HERE.

On my desk, watercolor practice = a happy relaxed saturday 😄 What are you working on to today? __________ #mailart #mailartist #mixedmediaart #mixedmedia #mixedmediaartist #artistsofinstagram #ATC #creativejourney #createeveryday #rubberstampart #ru
And another fun VLVS! design and she has an ATC format. A little sneak peek to a future post where I turn this into a little inspiration ATC card.

I absolutely LOVe working with my water colors and I have found that coloring my rubber stamped images with them really brings so much joy :) Sharing these desk shots over at Julia for WOYWW today. Looking forward to catch up with you all. 

Thanks for stopping by and hope you all are having a wonderful day. 


2017/11/14

Art Journal: Whimsical Sparkly Fairy - VLVS!


Hi everyone! It's my turn today over at VLVS! blog to share a project I made. If you have been following me on my instagram, you perhaps have been seeing this process in my stories and some sneak peeks on my feed. This Whimsical Fairy Lady from the newest releases from VLVS! is a cutie for sure and she does leave a sparkle everywhere she goes :) 

To read more about how I made it and which stamps I used, I'm inviting you to go over to my blog post at VLVS! for more close up and process pictures. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day! 


2017/11/10

Art Journal: Spiritual Journey

Art Journal: Spiritual Journey

Today I would like to share another Art Journal made with a lot of movement, color and soul.

This piece started on a gelli printed paper which I have applied color on with distress ink pads to give it a Galaxy color theme. Then stamped the wonderful Journey Collage stamp from Stampotique Originals with Jet Black Staz on ink. I stamped Scribble Circle from VLVS! in the middle and around the edges with Royal Purple Staz on and Versamark and applied gold embossing powder over it. After that heat set I added gold and white spatters. I love how this resembles fire flames from a sun. 

Art Journal: Spiritual Journey
The Text "we are on a Spiritual Journey" from that Journey Collage Stamp and the Face from Impression obsession became my focal points. The text was stamped on a left over piece of gelli print on which I have used a Prisms stencil by Stamplorations and I have added accents to it with a Tombow marker and a gold marker. Then adhered to the page in the composition you see here.

Art Journal: Spiritual Journey

I really love how this piece came together and while there is still so much going on, there is still some harmony over all.

I would like to enter this piece in the following challenges: 

This journal piece represents a fire within, a calm and peaceful flicker of a candle I always have during my meditation sessions and carry with me wherever I go. 

Take It, Make It Challenge

Moo Mania - Make it Feminine 



Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

2017/11/08

SDC286 - Nature

SDC286- nature

It's another Wednesday and that means a new challenge is live on the Stampotique Designer's challenge blog. This time the theme is nature and I've made an art journal page with a magic ink technique and a mushroom stencil and some wonderful Stampotique stamps; Alice by Janet Klein and a wonderful quote from phrases cube 3 by Terri Richardson.

SDC286 - nature
I used a few flower die cuts from Tim Holtz and DieNamics to create the psychedelic magical forest she is in. Also I just love the amount of snark this quote gives Alice, also she isn't lying, she actually was down a rabbit hole visiting the center of the universe ;) 

Hope this inspires you to play along with the challenge this week. You and link up your project HERE, but please do read the rules before doing so, and if you enter you have the chance to win some cool rubber stamps :) 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!


2017/11/06

Art Panel: From ugly duckling to ballerina swan

Ballerina swan in roses

In september I had the amazing opportunity to attend a workshop by Nika Rouss (aka Nika in Wonderland)  at ArtChicks Studio. Since the site only updates the newest workshop, I'm sharing the flyer that was posted about it.
Image may contain: 6 people

I attended the Saturday midday workshop and I honestly didn't know what to expect, except awesomeness, because Nika is pretty awesome! The workshop was "intuitive painting with roses" (like this video) and this is how I started my canvas
rose experiment
We took some modeling paste mixed with paints and the pallete knife to form the image of a rose bouquet. But there were some well unforeseen circumstances in the day - it was hot and humid and the "peeks" of the roses would not dry.  So it took a chunk of the lesson time to dry which was unfortunate. In the end we had to hurry to finish up the piece and this was what I went home with (next to awesome times with the other workshop participants and Nika, of course!)

rose experiment

The end result I had made was really not to my liking and I worked on it at home to create something that was more true to my own style and imagination. As Nika said, There are no mistakes! If you don't like it, Gesso over it and try again! So that is what I did at home.

Ballerina swan in roses
I turned the canvas to the left and took apart the drywall tape and applied some heavy coats of black gesso over it. Then started to add some colors and layers of paints with Deco Art Media and paper Artsy fluid acrylics paints. But alas I forgot to photograph the coloring process (I was in a really good flow!) but I do have images of the next stages when I used the Alpahbet Spagetti stencil from Ady Skunner (decoarts mixed media)

Ballerina swan in roses
I rolled on some lighter paint over the stencil.

Ballerina swan in roses
And this was the colorful result. So much better and happier at this point! I wanted to tone it down just a little bit so I glazed some blue paint over and around the edges.

Ballerina swan in roses
The blue glaze made the roses pop out more and this is where I was fully happy with the background. So then I added my focal point.

Ballerina swan in roses
The ballerina swan (a magazine cut out)! I added more depth to the piece with caran dáche neo oil pastels and spatters with a white posca paint pen. The sentiment is a part of a Viva Las VegaStamps! sentiment ...

Ballerina swan in roses
"tired of trying to cram into society's beige square holes" I thought it was powerful to add this piece of text over the square shaped drywall tape. And combined with the swan, it makes the piece complete.

Ballerina swan in roses

Now I am 100% happy with the finished piece! I do want to thank Nika for the inspiration and fun workshop and all her YT tutorials helped with understanding certain techniques. She isn't afraid to share her mistakes and also show how you can correct them, which is the biggest inspiration of all. So that would be my biggest take away from this workshop. 

Hope this got you inspired to work on a piece you gave up on initially and create from that ugly ducking a beautiful swan yourself!

I would like to enter this piece in the following challenge:
Take It, Make It Challenge
Craft Stamper take it make it november 2017

CURRENT CHALLENGE
MMW#30 Anything mixed media goes
Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!


2017/11/03

Art Journal: Be Mine (Stampotique November 2017 new release)

SODT novemeber new release

Continuing with the Stampotique Originals november new release showcase today with another art journal page. It's valentines day inspired and these cuties are new designs by Daniel Torrente, Moses and Sara - don't they look cute together? A bit early season, but there is a fun Valentines Day phrase stamp out as well, which is where the "Be Mine" sentiment is from. I have also used Daniel's hearts in the background over the gelli printed page.

SO new release november 2017

I used a bit of digital image editing to form the heart around the cute couple. They are just super cute!

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!