"Art is my vehicle through life; may we share the ride together." Ron Wickersham

Monday, October 27, 2014

Calling all Art Journalers!

Can you believe it's been almost a month already? The November Art Journaling class is next week at LBH! Come join me to learn about and play with all kinds of dimensional media.




"All About 3D Media"

There are many new dimensional media on the market now - texture paste, Whipped Spackle, modeling cream, Glitter Paste, dimensional paint, and paint writers to name just a few. Come learn their different properties and what to use when. We will play with lots of products and you can determine your favorites!

When:  Tuesday November 4th  

Time: 10am-1pm or 6pm-9pm

Cost: $25



In addition to the usual basic supply list, please bring these items this month:

a few favorite stencils
palette knife (or old plastic gift card)
look through your stash and bring whatever dimensional media you have


More information can be found here (just click on the Art Journaling Page on the header). Call or stop by the LBH soon to reserve your seat!

Looking forward to some artsy play with you!
Susan 

Sunday, October 26, 2014

"Mixed Media Masters" Workshop

 Are you interested in Mixed Media but don't know where to start? Come join me at the "Mixed Media Masters" Workshop on Saturday, November 1, from 10 am to 3 pm (lunch included!) or Wednesday, November 5, from 10 am to 3 pm at The Little Blue House.  


Mixed Media is an all-encompassing term to define an art form that includes many different surfaces, media and techniques- the more “mixed”, the better.
In this class you will create a unique 7x24 home décor piece while learning some new tricks and techniques. You will use several different three- dimensional media to build up the surface of the acrylic “Family” frame. It will then be colorized using Distress Stains, Art Anthology Sorbets and the amazing VerDay Paints. No prior experience necessary- I will take you through every step and by the end of class you will be a Mixed Media Master!!

More information and several close-up photos are located at http://www.thelittlebluehouseonline.com/#!mixed-media-masters-workshop-/c1lv6

Call the LBH now at 817-431-7930 to reserve your spot and join me for a fun, artsy day!

Friday, October 24, 2014

It's another boy!


Just found out that this little guy will be having a little brother in early March next year!


Not sure how he feels about it yet but we are very excited to be having a third grand boy! I had four girls and one boy but it looks like the girls are going to be skipping this generation. No matter - we love them all!

Thursday, October 16, 2014

My newest Mixed Media Canvas class offering




Do you love crosses? This is the latest canvas I have designed for The Little Blue House. It will be taught starting next week during any buffet, so call the house or drop by to see it in person and sign up then.

The canvas is 12" x 16" and neutral in design so as to work with most home decor styles.  You will learn some fun textural techniques and use a variety of "lotions and potions" to create your masterpiece. No prior experience necessary!

Hope you will join me in class soon.

Monday, October 13, 2014

More September RCADs

You have probably noticed that I use up a lot of scraps or try out techniques or new stamps/products I've bought on these little cards. They are only 2 1/2" x 4" so they don't take much time or product to finish. This is a great exercise for making a little art each day and to get the creative juices flowing.


Paint scrap border; white doodles; hand sketched bird;
new Rev. Conf. alpha stamps

Using same Distress Ink technique on fall leaves as used on some
of my fall class projects; Heidi Swapp woodgrain background stamp

Glue resist background received in a swap; stamped image
colored and paper-pieced

"Dirty" paper towel background w/ stamping; owl magazine
image enhanced w/ Inktense pencils and white gel pen

Embossing folder w/ Art Anthology paints and inked

Techniques from Tim H. Aug. 2014 tag; washi tape; new Ranger texture
 paste; new Dina Wakley and Dyan Reaveley stamps

Painted scrap background w/ modeling paste (new TH "Gothic"
stencil); other scraps

Old swap tag repurposed;stamps, Perfect Pearls mist; punched
vellum flowers

Stamped sentiment from LBH make&take added to design to
celebrate 4th birthday of The Little Blue House!

Embossing folder w/ Art Anth. Sorbet paints; collage image
sewed on

Painty background; hand-carved stripe stamp

Distress Inks; H&R washi tape; embossed and inked flowers;
handmade enamel dots from perler beads

Inked background, then texture paste and Dylusions spray
ink; washi tape and stamps

VerDay background and deli paper leaves; Distress Stains,
Art Anth. paints and Inka Gold on lace, flowers and washers

Hope you enjoyed these. Only three months to go!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

September Rolodex Art Journal Pages

Here are some of my September Rolodex journal pages - better late than never! I fell off the wagon a few days in September due to some of my work and personal commitments, but managed to do a few duplicates some days to fill in and managed 28 pages for the 30 days.

Old stamped scrap embossed with multiple metallic embossing powders.
Thought the quote was great for first day of Sept.

Pewter Distress Paint resist with Distress Inks and stamps

Stamps and paint - love pink and kraft together

Painted scraps with tinted Whipped Spackle; doodling and stamps

Spray ink background; scraps, washi tape; die cut

Gelli-printed deli paper and text page; doodled flowers

Graphic 45 paper scraps

Decoupaged napkin; quote cut from magazine

Stamping

Flower magazine image gel medium transfer; colored stamp

Clear embossing powder resist with Distress Inks

Fern stamped w/waterbased markers on WC paper, then again w/ Staz On;
dragonfly embossed w/sparkle EP

Old B&W stamped image colored w/ Copic and Distress markers; flowers colored w/Copics

Painted background; circle piece is leftover from punched out card stock shapes
 - made a great frame for collage images; "friends" is very old metal sticker

Come back tomorrow for the remaining 14 cards!

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Calling all Art Journalers!

Join me next Tuesday the 14th for my October Art Journaling Class at LBH. 



"How Can You Resist?"

Resists are surfaces that repel water-based media and are a useful way to add interesting effects to your artwork.  This month we will be exploring various methods of creating resists to add to your "toolbox" of techniques to use on your artsy pages!



When:  Tuesday October 14th  

Time: 10am-1pm or 6pm-9pm

Cost: $25

Basic Art Journaling Supply List
 (bring to every AJ class)


Dylusions Art Journal with a few pre-gessoed pages

Heat tool
Scissors
One or two paintbrushes (1/4"-1" sizes)
Black permanent ink pad (Staz On or Archival)
Black permanent pen (Faber Castell Pitt Pens in different sizes)
Non-stick craft sheet
White gesso
Decoupage glue (Mod Podge or gel medium)

In addition to the basic supply list above, please bring these items this month:


Above supplies
a few stamps (not too detailed)
clear and white embossing powders if you have them
a few favorite stencils
texture paste (whatever you have)
palette knife (or old plastic gift card)
white crayon if you have one

Call or Stop by the LBH to Reserve your Spot!
Please let us know if you would like us to
hold a Dylusion Journal for you! 

Hope to see you then!

Friday, October 10, 2014

I'm back

I apologize for the lapse in my blogging. Life just happens! 

First, I was busy creating projects for our Halloween and Fall class release at The Little Blue House (you can see all the offerings here). Then I created a project for my specialty Mixed Media class coming up in early November. I will elaborate on that in a future post. 

We also went to Albuquerque last week to babysit Drew for 5 days while his parents attended the Austin City Limits music festival.


We had so much fun with the little guy! He is talking up a storm now and definitely has hit the "twos", though not terrible - he just has a mind of his own and knows exactly how things should be. We had a busy week.

We took him to the Albuquerque Zoo where I think he enjoyed watching people more than the animals! He loves trains so a ride on the little zoo train was a must.




 The next day I had made plans to meet an old friend from when we used to live in Abq so Bill took him on a hike up near Santa Fe. He was a little trooper - Bill backpacked him up the trail and Drew came down on his own ( a couple of miles!).

On Saturday he had his "soccer class" - a bunch of two-year olds running after the balls and playing drills. Isn't his uniform cute? He did really well except for the activity of righting the soccer cones with his foot. He decided it was far more efficient to pick them up with his hands and put them in place!






On Sunday we woke before dawn to head out to the world-famous Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta for the mass ascension of more than 500 balloons. It was a gorgeous day and probably the best weather we have ever experienced at the Fiesta. Unfortunately the winds aloft were too strong and, after quite a delay, the balloons were only allowed to inflate but not launch. It was probably just as well, as the burner sounds bothered him and he kept trying to get me to "go other way."





Monday his parents returned and we flew home that evening. It's taken me a few days to recuperate! Keeping up with a two-year old takes its toll, especially the early mornings!