Teeny-Tiny Art Journal & Video!

{3.5 x 6.5 Teeny-Tiny Art Journal}

"Someone once said it's the good girls who keep diaries because the bad girls never have the time.

 Me? I just wanna live a life I'm gonna remember even if I don't write it down."

- Anon

Hellloooooo! 

I hope this finds you happy, well, and in the throws of stuffing your face full of candy. (Oh wait, that's me). . . . ANYway, I had the time to play this week, and wanted to share what I did. 

Truth be told, I knew I wanted to create a video, but I had absolutely no idea what to do. It was only when I took out a big piece of watercolor paper to cover my work space for filming, that it occurred to me to create a Teeny-Tiny art journal from a scrap of it. 

So I got out my ruler and wax thread and started making a bitty book inspired by artist Teesha Moore's Amazing 16 page Journal. It's a really small version, but it was fun, easy and done within an hour.

Thank you for watching! I hope you like it and maybe even create a Teeny-Tiny journal of your own. If you do, please let me know! I'd love to feature it on my Facebook Page. 

Kristin xo

"Ghosting" with Drawing Gum & A Halloween Stencil!

9 x 7 Hot Press Watercolor Paper

"When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, 

the moon laughs and whispers, tis near Halloween"

- Unknown 

Things are getting a bit spooky over here!

Check out the following video to see what I did with removable masking fluid and Jessica Sporn's brand-spanking-new stencil that was just released for Halloween. . . .

With Candy Kisses,

Kristin xo

"Frightfully Fall" Blog Hop & Giveaway!

"Boo"

8 x 8 Mixed Media on Wood

Helllloooo & Happy Fall! 

To celebrate all things crisp, cool and Pumpkin Spice-ish, I'm thrilled to be playing along with the Jessica Sporn Designs Creative team for our very-first-ever Blog Hop! October's theme is "Frightfully Fall," and I for one, can't wait to see with everyone did with it!  

Check out all the players here:

Jessica Sporn

Denise Alloca

Marit Barentsen

Sherry Canino

Lizzy Wurmann

Anddddddd while you're hoping, be sure to leave a comment on each post! There's a fabulous giveaway up for grabs, and every comment counts. There will be one lucky winner to win both the Cascading Leaves Stencil and the Tree of Life Stamp. . .

Cascading Leaves Stencil

Tree of Life Stamp

For your chance to win, simply leave on comment here and on every post you visit. All comments on all the blog hop participants count, so be sure to leave your love by Monday, October 10th. Comments close on 10/10/16 at 9:00 PM EST, and the winners will be announced on Jessica's blog the next day.

Wanna see what I did?

I played with the Horned Owl Stencil and created an Owl for an Owl, of sorts. Anywho, I hope you like watching along . . .  

Frightfully Yours, 

Kristin xo

Out Of Practice. And A Video to Prove It. . . .

"My big thesis is that although the world looks messy and chaotic, if you translate it into the world of numbers and shapes, patterns emerge and you start to understand why things are the way they are."

- Marcus du Sautoy

I learned something last time at bat in the studio. As you may have guessed by my lack of posts or art or really anything of creative value this Summer, I've been totally absent. Absent from painting, absent from drawing, and absent from the very room that I usually long to play in. {Although, having said that, I did spend weeks - literally weeks - transforming that hot mess of a room into a real working space with proper storage, organization and a new YouTube set up, so that was exciting}.

I think my absence in part comes from the fact that this was the first Summer that I didn't have The Summer of Color, an annual art event I hosted for 5 years, keeping me busy. And I think in part because of all this time I had on my hands, I just froze. Like a deer in headlights. But like, one that's holding art supplies and stuff. 

So back to what I learned. For me, when I'm out of sorts or out of practice, I find myself waffling when I get back to it. And my waffling, turns out, comes in layers. Many, many layers. I don't know if its insecurity that makes me want to throw every trick or technique or color that I ever learned, used or bought to the table, or honestly, if my picker is just off. You know, that voice that tells you when enough is enough. Maybe that voice is just quiet right now. Or, I guess there's always the opposite, that this page just didn't want to stop being played with.

Either way, I filmed the process and you can be the judge. If you too have been absent from creating, I hope my lack of direction in the above video inspires you in some way. After all, sometimes all we really need is a bit of messy & chaotic to get us back in the game . . . .

With love,

Kristin xo

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At Your Fingertips: Organizing Your Stamps & Stencils!

"When you start recognizing that you're having fun, life can be delightful." 

- Jane Birkin

Helllllooooo! 

I hope this finds you happy, well and hopefully, with your hands covered in some sort of fabulous neon paint. . . .

Speaking of paint - and neon - I played with a bit (or okay, a lot) of both for the above project that was filmed for the new Jessica Sporn Designs Creative Team. 

Just pop over HERE to watch the video and help us celebrate the beginning of what I know will be a throughly delightful year.

Kristin xo

Exciting News!

"Creativity is contagious. Pass it on." 

- Albert Einstein 

Hellllllllooooo! 

I hope this finds you happy, well and in the throws of creating something fabulous. . . .

Speaking of creating - and fabulous - I have exciting news to share! I along with 7 other artists from across the globe (six countries actually, how cool is that?!) will be representing the ever-so-talented  Jessica Sporn and her beautiful line of stencils and stamps from Stencil Girl & RubberMoon. 

Starting this September, you can expect weekly posts and projects from the Creative Team (many of which will be filmed) as well as occasional guest bloggers and blog hops to keep us all inspired!

Wanna know more? Head over HERE to meet the artists & learn about the Creative Team Celebration GIVEAWAY happening right. this. moment. (Seriously. You don't want to miss it).

Good luck and we'll see you back sooooooooon for some stencil & stampin' fun! 

With Colorful Kisses,

Kristin xo

Turning Old Collages into New Mixed Media!

Turning an old collage into new mixed media

"I curled closer to May, comforted by her warmth."

-- Kiera Cass

Hi there! I've missed you so. 

The last several weeks have been a whirlwind around here, and I'm happy to have found time to play a bit. Actually, it was a few tweens that got me back into the studio! I assist in an art journaling class for kids every Friday, and last week I brought - along with several other collage materials - some colored copies of my old work. I hoped they would like the bright colors and perhaps some of the images, but what I didn't expect was how much they liked the idea of using old art in new ways and, moreover, how much I would learn from them in the process! They completely inspired me to try new things and to look at my own art in a different way. Sooooo, I decided to see what I could do with one of the same copies I'd given them and filmed the process.

In the end, I used copies of one old collage (wayyyyyy back from the first Summer of Color!) and created two new pieces with them: both a loose art journal page & an altered brie box. 

Loose art journal page 

Altered brie box

Wanna see the process? It's all here, and below, and all under 10 minutes . . . 

Thanks for popping by.  Happy May & happy creating from our crazy house to yours.

With colorful kisses,

Kristin xo