This One's for You, JOE!

Hi, Everyone,

What a fun Young Artists Class yesterday!
The kids were very energetic . . . & full of questions.  Especially Mr.
Mr. Joe that is, who always has to leave before I take my photos of the class.
Joe is so enthusiastic & inquisitive & his art is beautiful.
Mr., this one's for you!  You finally made it into one of my photos!  It is fun having you in my class.  I am very proud of the amazing art you create.

We were blotting with Distress Stains & the kids had a blast.  They accented their pages with various colours of washi tape & a funny "oops!" stamp.

I absolutely love Jaena!  (If I misspelled your name, I'm sorry.)  Jaena is fun & has a fantastic sense of humour.  Her love of colour speaks volumes in her art.  I am very proud of the stunning art she creates! 

Yes my little princess, Zoe, is wearing her crown!  She is a sassy little girl with a mind all her own.    There are no rules in Zoe's art . . . other than having fun & being original.  I am very proud of the unique art she creates!

Teaching children & adults to create & allowing their imagination to break free on their pages is so rewarding.  My Young Artists & my Young Artists at Heart all warm my heart & bring me such joy.

Thanks to each & every one of you.

Have fun creating!

Creating with Colour

Hi, Everyone,
Creating with Colour!  Now that's Very outside my vintage box.  My vintage monochromatic colour scheme box that is.  I took a one day Colour Wow class with Dina Wakley & discovered how important the Colour Wheel is to creating, especially if you don't want mud.  My Young Artists like bright & fun . . . my ladies like vintage.

Memorizing the Colour Wheel or having one at your fingertips is key.  I won't ever create without one now.  What I've come to realize is that by referring to the Colour Wheel, your art will pop.

I like my backgrounds to be calm so my focal point pops.  In order to do that, the background needs to either be either:
1.  Monochromatic (varying shades of the same colour); or
2.  Analogous (neighbouring colours on the colour wheel)
with some white area.  Then in order for the focal point to pop, it must be Complementary (opposites on the colour wheel).  By following this method, your art will pop every single time, guaranteed.

*(If you've ever created a piece of art & something just isn't right, it's probably that your colours are not in sink with one another.  Pull out the colour wheel & have a look.)*

I purchased Dina Wakley's book, Art Journal Freedom, How to Journal Creatively with Color & Composition.  It is a good read & very informative.

Have a look at the Easel Canvas I am creating for Treasured Memories Kid's Camp this July & August.  It's not finished yet, but I absolutely LOVE it!  Thank you Dina Wakley for opening my eyes & allowing colour into my art.

The canvas is gessoed then partially collaged with antique book paper (you will never take the vintage out of this girl).  I added mesh tape to create texture, then Micro Bead Texture Gel through a large triangle stencil, then Modelling Paste through a small triangle stencil.

For the background, I chose neighbouring colours on the colour wheel (orange & yellow-orange sprays).

Take a look at the Micro Bead Texture Gel.  Isn't it great!

For the bird focal point, I chose the opposites on the colour wheel (turquoise, blue, & violet) highlighting the bottom of the bird with their close opposite (yellow).  The bird & words are also popped by shading underneath them.  Don't you love the mesh tape & Modelling Paste & especially the wire branch (of course every piece of mine must have metal embellishments)!

I purchased Dina Wakley's Scribble Birds stamps & Collaged Hearts stamps & see myself using them a lot in the future.

Once this piece is finished, I will show you the final result.

Have fun creating!

"Young Artists" - Distress Stains

Hi, Everyone!

Come join the fun!

"Young Artists" - Distress Stains

Sunday, June 22

Children (5+) 1-3 p.m.

Adults 3-5 p.m.

$20 ea.

(Children from the 1-3 p.m. class can stay at a separate table & continue working in their journal (or simply enjoy popcorn) while Mom takes the same class from 3-5 p.m.

Stain Resist . . . Stained Crackle

Modeling Paste over Stains

Blotting

Stain Water Splatters

Stain Watercolour Stamping

Class Description:

Children & Adults will discover several different ways to create art with Distress Stains such as  . . . blotting, stain water splatters, stain watercolour stamping, stained crackle, stain resist, modelling paste over stains . . . using Stencils, Fine Black Markers, background stamps, cut out pieces to create 2 pages in your Art Journal.  You will be well on your way to creating your own Art Portfolio.

Please Bring:  

Art Journal (fussy cutting scissors, Fine Black Marker, White Jell Pen & Distress Stains if you don't want to share mine).  Everything including 2 heavy watercolour pages to insert in your Journals will be provided.

Please phone Treasured Memories at 780-414-1540 to reserve your spot.

Have fun creating!

Class Schedule & Double Card Classes (using Tim Holtz Products) - Resuming in September!

Hi, Everyone,

This Sunday, June 1, I will be teaching the following G45 Boxed Card class at  Treasured Memories. You can register for the class by phoning 780-414-1540.

During June, July & August I will only be teaching Young Artists classes:
     Sunday, June 22 - Distress Stains
     Sunday, July 27 - Alcohol Inks
     Sunday, August 24 - Distress Paint

I want to thank you all for the kind comments regarding my past Card classes using Tim Holtz products.  The saddened response to my stopping those Card classes has warmed my heart.  Because of this, I've decided to commit to the following Classes of 2 Cards full of Tim Holtz products for $25:
     Sunday, September 7  1-4 p.m.
     Sunday, October 5      1-4 p.m.
     Sunday, November 2  1-4 p.m.
     Sunday, December 7  1-4 p.m.
If there is a great turn out to these classes, I will continue to offer them in the new year as well.  So please phone 780-414-1540 as soon as possible to hold your spot for these classes.  Payment can be made closer to the class dates.

Thank you once again.

Have fun creating!

Fun Texture Gels Class

Hi, Everyone,

What a great back to back Young Artists Class we had this past Sunday.   We created with Texture Gels such as Black Lava, Glass Beads, & Black Embossing Paste.

I am so proud of my Young Artists & the beautiful Art they created.  They are such a joy to spend the afternoon with.

I'm off to create with Distress Stains for my next Young Artists class

. . . dying canvas & ribbon

. . . water droplet technique

. . . Watercolour stamping

. . . UTEE resist!

Did you know that Distress Stains have the same ability to react with water as Distress Inks do?

Stay tuned, I will be posting photos of this amazing water droplet technique in my next post.  It's not a new technique, but it is my favourite technique.  The results are different every single time you do it.

Have fun creating!

Quilting with Character & Charisma

Hi, Everyone,

Last Saturday I took a quilting course at Earthly Goods called "Quilting with Character & Charisma".
This class was based on the book written by Pam Holland entitled "The Adventures of the Amazing Alphabet".  Pam Holland teaches this class & many others around the world.  The class I took was taught by Kim Caskey, who took Pam's class in Ireland.  Pam Holland wrote this book is a storybook for her children & grandchildren & as a quilting book for people like you and me.  The characters in the story are all the letters of the alphabet.

  In class, we created the letter "A".  I am very proud to show you my letter below.

In this project, I chose to work with 100% cotton quality fabric & thin cotton batting from Earthly Goods.  The letter is traced onto the fabric, coloured, then free motion quilted with black thread.  I used my Elna feather-weight vintage machine & it actually worked.  It even had a free motion foot & a feed dogs cover plate to be able to free motion quilt, yet it cannot sew zig-zag or any other stitches, as it only sews straight.  Amazing.  

To outline the letter I used a Zig .5 black pen.  To colour the letter I used Fabrico pigment ink pens by Tsukineko.  They are acid free dual markers with a pointed tip & a brush tip (heat setting is recommended on fabric).

I am so very pleased of how my letter "A" turned out that I purchased enough fabric to complete all 26 letters of the alphabet.  I plan to bind them into a series of books once they are all completed.

However, they won't be completed until they have metal embellishments, French knotted embroidery, & beadwork.

Not too shabby for someone who said they would never sew again!

Thanks Kim, for getting me excited about fabric again.

Have fun creating!

"Young Artists" - Texture Paste

Hi, Everyone,

This month in our "Young Artists" class will be exploring 3 Texture Gels. . .
Glass Bead Texture Gel, Black Lava Texture Gel, & Black Embossing Paste.
These are 3 must haves in your Art Journaling stash.

Here are the 3 Art Journal Pages we will be creating:

Black Lava Texture Gel . . .

a white gel that dries clear to reveal tiny black lava flakes

Glass Bead Texture Gel . . . 

a white gel that dries clear to reveal tiny Glass Beads

Black Embossing Paste . . .

matte black embossing paste adds texture & dimension

"Young Artists" - Texture Gels

Sunday, May 25

Children (5+) 1-3 p.m.

Adults 3-5 p.m.

$20 ea.

(Children from the 1-3 p.m. class can stay at a separate table & continue working in their journal while Mom takes the same class from 3-5 p.m.)

Class Description:  Children & Adults will learn to create with various Texture Gels such as  . . . Glass Bead Texture Gel, Black Lava Texture Gel, & Black Embossing Paste along with Stencils, Fine Black Markers, background stamps, & cut out pieces to create several pages in your Art Journal.  You will be creating your own Art portfolio.

Please Bring:  Art Journal (fussy cutting scissors & Fine Black Marker if you don't want to share mine)

Everything Except the journal will be provided.

Please phone Treasured Memories at 780-414-1540 to reserve your spot.

Have fun creating!