inspiration monday

last year my little dutch sweetie treated me to a fabulous weekend in asheville, north carolina and we had a wonderful time visiting biltmore place.  not only is the estate magnificent, but the gardens are absolutely gorgeous, and several of the beautifully carved statues that adorn the grounds caught my eye.

and even though i tried to capture some of the details of the estate in my journal last year,

i find myself still inspired by everything i saw there, so i decided to get out my journal

again and start making some marks with a pencil.....

then i added some watercolor.....

along with some more marks using a pitt pen.

and now, not only does the memory of this spectacular place live on in my heart,
but it's in my journal, too!


p.s.  the recipients of thursday's inspiration boxes have been chosen and notified....
thank you SO much for your sweet participation, bloggy love and support!!!  
i appreciate all of you more than i could ever express!!  xox


{created in my wings journal using koi watercolors, pitt pens, and 4B graphite pencil}

numbers four and five

the "inspiration collaboration" continues with boxes #4 and #5!

just as we did on monday,  here's how it works:

i have two "inspiration boxes" packed with a variety of barely used supplies (most of it is brand new!) that i'd like to donate to anyone who can use them.  

the "collaboration" part is i'm asking the recipient of each box to pay the shipping cost. 

 i have created a video for each box that shows what's inside.  i've used the "flat rate" boxes from the post office,  and they hold quite a lot!  if you're interested in one of these boxes,  and don't mind paying the shipping fee,  please leave a comment telling me which one.....and

please make sure it links back to your blog or e-mail address so i can contact you!  

i will leave the comments open until saturday night 10:00 p.m. EST, april 27th,  and let the random integer select the recipients.   once the names have been chosen,  i'll contact you to let you know that i'll be e-mailing you a paypal invoice for the shipping costs.
(this "inspiration collaboration" is open to those over the age of 18)

the recipients for monday's boxes have been chosen....thank you SO much for participating!!
below are the videos for two more inspiration boxes!



inspiration box #4
password:  create

                    

inspiration box #5

password:  bookboard

                    

have a fantastic weekend!!  xox

inspiration monday

now that my little dutch sweetie and i have made the decision to move up to the mountains,  i'm busy getting our house ready for sale.  that means lots of cleaning (ugh!) and lots of cleaning out.....mainly in my studio!  i'll be moving from a studio-carriage-house over our garage, to a small corner loft area in a condo, and i definitely don't have room for all these extra supplies!  i'm downsizing in a major way,  and since i can't think of anything more inspiring than new art goodies,  i'd love to share some of my supply stash with you!  

so.....how about a little "inspiration collaboration"?

i have several "inspiration boxes" packed with a variety of barely used supplies (most of it is brand new!) that i'd like to donate to anyone who can use them.  

the "collaboration" part is i'm asking the recipient of each box to pay the shipping cost. 

 i have created a video for each box that shows what's inside.  i've used the "flat rate" boxes from the post office,  and they hold quite a lot!  if you're interested in one of these boxes,  and don't mind paying the shipping fee,  please leave a comment telling me which one.....and

please make sure it links back to your blog or e-mail address so i can contact you!  

i will leave the comments open until wednesday night 10:00 p.m. EST, april 24th,  and let the random integer select the recipients.   once the names have been chosen,  i'll contact you to let you know that i'll be e-mailing you a paypal invoice for the shipping costs.
(this "inspiration collaboration" is open to those over the age of 18)

below are the videos for the first three boxes.....i'll be offering two more boxes on thursday!

(and i'm so sorry for saying "um" so much in these videos.....such a crazy habit!)

inspiration box #1

password: polymer

                       

inspiration box #2

password:  funstuff

                       

inspiration box #3

password:  artgoodies

                       

wishing you a great week filled with inspiration!  :))

new directions

it always seems that just when you're floating along and getting comfortable, 

life will give you a new set of directions.

and you know when opportunity calls,  you've gotta take it!

my little dutch sweetie and i have been traveling back and forth from florida to 

the north carolina mountains for over a year, and the time has come 

to make it a permanent move.  

it's time to spread our wings....

and test the waters in new and exciting places.

i know we'll meet lots of great people and make new friends......

and find some new favorite places to hang out.

and in no time,  i'm sure we'll be floating along again 

and getting comfortable in our new lives in the mountains!

(we met these goofy pelicans on a recent trip to amelia island, florida....

aren't they cute?  :))

{i've been busy getting our house ready for sale and i have lots of

art supplies that i won't be moving, so i'd like to share them with you!

more details on monday!  hope you have a great weekend!}

inspiration monday

inspiration absolutely loves to hang out in lots of familiar places!
  for example.....

you might find it in a popular little blue box....

or maybe your own favorite handbag......

and your very own holly golightly lipstick.

or you never know,
you might even spy inspiration as you're having breakfast.....
tiffany style!   :))


{this was created in my walls notebook using pitt artist pens, pan pastel,
uniball signo white gel pen, inktense pencils, 8B graphite pencil}

garden jewels

a peek inside the sketchbook of Mother Nature

always reveals the most magnificent masterpieces!

{these beautiful flowers live outside my front door, 

and their gorgeous blooms only last for one day.

does anyone know the name of these garden jewels?}

inspiration monday

i had some fun playing in my wings journal
using a few of my hand-carved stamps, a versamark stamp pad,
and dina wakley's pan pastel technique
that she demonstrates in this tutorial!
(and she shares a couple of other great art journal tips, too!)


{watch dina's tutorial over at vimeo}
{supplies:  wings journal,  hand-carved stamps, versamark ink pad,
pan pastel, pan pastel tools, pitt pens, 6B graphite pencil}

just because

                                                                                     

sometimes the best reason to do something that inspires you is
"just because".....
and master-tricycle-calligrapher jonah kessel
illustrates this beautifully by creating the quirkiest, most unusual,
and truly brilliant machine i've seen in a long time!

happy-go-lucky weekend to you!  xox
{you can watch this video in full format here!}

inspiration monday

a few days ago i spied this pin over at pinterest and loved the idea of weaving the ribbon through the paper.   but instead of wrapping presents (as in the pin),  i decided to get out some of my papercrafting goodies and use that inspiration towards some cards......

and before i knew it,  there was stuff everywhere,  and
not only did i have a couple of fun cards,
 i also had a huge,  happy,  papercrafting mess!  woo hoo!

the original pin shows the weaving in more of a belt buckle fashion,
so i wove this ribbon through the paper in the opposite way, giving it a totally
different look!

then, i decided to try another card,  this time using baker's twine.
but instead of weaving it in a traditional way,  i went in a bit of a different
 direction and used the twine to weave through punched holes
and just attach all the pieces together....

and it was all inspired by a pretty present over at pinterest!



{card supplies:  neenah solar white card stock, rubber stamps by technique tuesday, embossing folders by paper studio, bazzill paper packs in patina and fire hearts, red gingham ribbon, white embossing powder, versamark stamp pad, red and charcoal chalk ink pads, white uniball signo gel pen, doodlebug twine,  small adhesive pearl,  foam dots, assorted paper punches, 2B pencil}