Still on an Abstract Adventure...

The second lesson in the Abstract Adventures Workshop is all about playing with lines. I had soooooo much fun with this one! Painting big is a blast!!! Here's how mine turned out...Again, it's 18x24," acrylic on watercolor paper. I think the fun, for me, is a combination of the size, and the fact that it's abstract. There is no worrying about making it look like anything....

Abstract Adventures, Part One...

The 21 Secrets Fun Continues!!! Last night I started the Abstract Adventures Workshop, which is taught by the talented and fearless creator of 21 Secrets - Connie Hosvicka! She teaches us to paint BIG and FEARLESS! How awesome is that?!!! So I bought myself an 18 x 24" watercolor pad and I'm calling it my fearless art journal!!! The first exercise was all about getting...

Diving into the Self-Portrait Experience...

Hi everyone! Tonight I finished my first project for "The Self-Portrait Experience," which is another workshop that's part of 21 Secrets. It's taught by Barbara Nigg. This workshop looks like it's quite in-depth, and I am loving it already!!! The first thing we do is to make a cover for a composition notebook, that will be used for the writing assignments in the class. ...

Celebration Greeting Cards

Awhile ago, I bought this limited edition kit from Noel Mignon...Isn't it gorgeous and huge? It's built around the gorgeous new Soiree Line from Pink Paislee. It was one of her limited edition kits, and I couldn't resist! The colors were so bright and cheery, I just had to nab one immediately. At my last crop with the girls, I made a bunch of greeting cards with this kit,...

Collage Paint & Soul...

This weekend I worked on the 21 Secrets Workshop called "Collage Paint & Soul" which is taught by the super-talented Tamara Laporte. The technique she teaches is so COOL. You start with a collage - here's mine...and then you use her Collage, Paint & Soul technique to turn it into a finished page. Here's how mine turned out...OMG this was so rewarding! This is a...

Traveling Journal Kit...

I've been trying for ages to come up with the ideal journal kit. One that I can take with me when I am on the road, so I have everything I need to journal in hotel rooms. One that I can grab on my way out the door to a crop. One that I can keep packed up so it's ready to go whenever.I finally did it and I'm so excited to share it with you! First, I have to give credit...

Come On Over and Say Hi...

Today is the day I am guest blogger over at Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's blog! I'd absolutely love it if you want to come on over and say hi! Here's a link to the post:A Journal For Every M...

Improvisation Station...

Tonight I worked on expanding my horizons with another 21 Secrets workshop called "Improvisation Station." It was soooooo awesome! There were a number of exercises that led up to the final art journal spread. Here is what I ended up with...This class has to do with reaching beyond the labels you are used to having and becoming limitless. I love that idea, and I love how...

Finishing Up Three Little Words...

As I'm finishing up with each of the 21 Secrets workshops, I am realizing that they are really not over. Each thing I am learning is naturally making it's way into my personal art process. I can't tell you how much I love that.The third assignment in my Three Little Words (taught by Aimee of Artsyville) class involved coming up with poetry. I decided to do this one in...

Finishing Up Child's Play...

I guess I've never outgrown being a kid, which is probably why I have LOVED the Child's Play workshop so much! It's been a blast! I finished my last assignment today, and I got to use my new vintage spirograph! OMG I had so much fun! Here's how it turned out...I tried using a number of different drawing utensils to make my spirals. I wanted something more colorful than...

Good Days at Scrapping The Music...

The new challenge at Scrapping The Music features the song "Good Days" by Alain Clark. It's got some really awesome lyrics for Scrapping, and I chose the line "memories of the years I've left behind..."Here's how it turned out...This song made me think about the music I listened to in high school, so I decided to do my layout about that. My memories of my teen years are...

Three Little Words...

Hi everyone - I can't believe that Sunday was the last time I posted - where did the week go??? EEK!I'm still busy working on the 21 Secrets Workshop assignments and I'm learning so much! The latest workshop is called "Three Little Words," and it's taught by the talented Aimee from Artsyville. I am really enjoying this class because it focuses on the writing part of journaling....

Goddess Guides...

I finished my journal page from the "Connecting With The Goddess Within" workshop, and I'm excited to share it with you! Here's how far it was the last time I shared...and here's the finished page...In the meditation we did in the workshop, I followed a long path to a big mountain, accompanied by two of my animal totems, the raven and the deer. When we got there we were...

New Funky, Messy Journal...

Hi everyone and happy Saturday! Last night I worked on another technique in the Child's Play Workshop. The technique was to emboss with gesso and stencils. For my first attempt I used some kid's alpha stencils and added a little apricot paint to my gesso. Here's how it turned out...I decided my gesso is a little too watery for this technique. The word dream turned out...

Spin Art Fun...

One of my favorite things at the State Fair every year has always been doing Spin-Art. Just in case you're not familiar, Spin-Art is done by dripping thin paint onto paper that is spinning on a machine. The fact that you don't have control of how it turns out if half the fun! I was excited to see that using a spin-art machine was part of the fun in the Child's Play workshop....

It's Child's Play...

Hi everyone! I spent all night last night playing like a child and let me tell you it's so therapeutic. The third workshop I am taking as a part of 21 Secrets is called "Child's Play" and the super-talented Alma Stoller is the teacher. I'm so excited to share what I've been doing!The first thing we did was prep magazine pages. I played with five different techniques and...