Exciting News...

I have exciting news! I'm actually going to be teaching a class for a scrapbooking retreat in September for Scrapista. I'm still working on what I'm going to teach but it's going to involve utilizing paper scraps, paint and a canvas. I think it will be a lot of fun and hope my fellow scrapbookers will too. I'll post more about it later. Last weekend I spent some time working out what the project will be but have to iron out some kinks. Waiting for paint to dry is one issue.

Speaking of last weekend, it was so lovely. I spent a lot of time taking craft tissue and making art papers with them to use in future collages. I mentioned before that I bought a dvd art class by Carrie Burns Brown. She has lots of great ideas on papers to create so I've tried a few and am having a lot of fun with it. The pictures below are some samples but I've lots more to try. Of course then I need to actually do something with them. So many ideas swirling around in my head. I just hope I can manage to create some of them.

While waiting for paints to dry I watched YouTube videos by mixed media artists and found Gary Reef. He has some wonderful videos on some techniques to try. Also check out his web site and a social group, Art from the Heart.

Overall it was a wonderful three day weekend of relaxation and creativity. I'm so ready for another weekend like that. Today was supposed to be a creative day but alas, I became a couch potato and posting on my blog is as far as I've gotten. Must have needed it. Time to go back to uselessnes now. Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend.

Tagged - Happy Things...

I've been tagged by Haley to do a list of 6 things that make me happy. Of course that is a tall order to narrow it down but here goes.

My kitties, Scooter and Tigger, expecially when they purr.

Spending time hanging with my family and friends.

Laughter.

Listening to the sound of rain on the leaves.

Paint brush in hand and playing with creating something.

Knowing that I am loved by my God, my family and my friends.

I'm supposed to pick 6 others but I'm going to let you choose who you are. Make a comment that you are joining in and I will add a link to your blog in this post.

Special Announcement...

My very good friend Rebecca is embarking on a new adventure of hosting scrapbook retreats. Her maiden voyage is September 26th and it is going to be a ton of fun so check out her site for Scrapista and come join us.

Here is the scoop:

Our events are all about you! We want to make this the most comfortable, relaxing scrapbooking weekend ever.

Each guest will have their own table. No sharing! And we won’t take up valuable real estate with table decorations. Your reserved table space – a full six feet long – has plenty of room, and our table setup means that no one has to sit in the middle. Everyone has an end seat!

When you arrive in the morning, you’ll receive a special gift, as well as tickets for door prizes.

Once you’ve settled in, check out our class table. All classes are taught by experienced scrapbookers and maybe even a famous one! We offer classes at all skill levels and you’ll find that they are reasonably priced.

Scrapista knows that the majority of scrapbookers really just want to be able to concentrate on their projects. So, we won’t interrupt you every hour with games and competitions.

You won’t have to spend valuable time searching for food, either. Saturday’s lunch and dinner, and brunch on Sunday is included. This means that once you check-in the morning of the event, you don’t have to leave until the event ends!

After long hours of scrapbooking, make an appointment with our massage therapist on site to loosen up tight muscles so you feel refreshed and invigorated.

Just imagine what you will have accomplished at the end of this event. Projects and gifts are ready to wrap, layouts and albums are complete and hopefully, you’ve made new friends. All in a friendly, creative atmosphere designed with you in mind.

Playing with paint...

This a continuation of my previous post so to speak. While the girls were napping I was painting away the whole weekend and actually have some things to show for it. A few months ago I ordered some dvds from Creative Catalyst Productions and am loving them. The first one I watched was on mixed media collage by Jacqueline Sullivan. I had so much fun playing with it and learned a valuable lesson on how to utilize cheese cloth better (instead of in my previous lumps). I still haven't decided if this is a finished piece or if I want to utilize it in collaging. I have a feeling I'll just have to make another one to play with. I've even thought about using it for a journal cover.

I've seen a number of posts about using paper towels to use up left over paints and this is one is in the Traci Bautista style and is almost done. I'm thinking about stamping on top and using it for collaging. We shall see. I have her Collage Unleashed book and love it and bought the dvd which I haven't viewed yet.

The next two are me just playing with water color paper and paints.

This is one where I tried to recreate a piece in one of my many books and failed miserably. There is so much to learn! I'll still use this somehow or else continue working on it.

More playing but also trying out the clear tar gel and airbrush paints on water color paper.

The other dvd I watched over the weekend was Water Media Collage by Carrie Burns Brown. I only had a partial piece of patterned tissue left so only played with painting it black and then stamping on it for collaging. I have to say the papers she made and the subsequent collage was very exciting. I can hardly wait to play with it more.

This is another along one playing with color and stamping in molding paste. I'm not done with it yet.

This one I started with painting the canvas green and then last weekend added some oriental paper and corrugated cardboard and then applied a layer of crackle medium. Can't see the green paint anymore though. I'm tempted to leave it but it is meant to just be the start of something more. We shall see. May have to replicate this too to decide which part of the progression I like best.

Thanks for looking!

I miss vacation...

A long weekend plus a large soft couch equals nap time. The girls didn't know it but I snuck in a shot while they were ensconced on the couch taking a nice long nap. Rebecca's boss was kind enough to let her take a small group to his vacation house in North Carolina so off Rebecca, Misti, Lisa and I headed and we had a wonderful time. As you can see there was no pressure to do anything in particular although we did call it a scrapbooking weekend.

This is Misti,

and you can't tell it but this is Rebecca.

I was smart enough to not take any naps. None of us had the energy though to document anything else about our time there. I finally took some shots of the things I worked on and will have pictures for my next post.

Blogging is going to be a bit spotty for me for a while because I have a project at work that is requiring a lot of extra time. I keep hoping to get caught up on my blog reading too but that isn't going well either so if I make a comment long after you've posted something please forgive.