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i'm celebrating today!

i've been invited by the Art to the 5th gals to be Featured Artist 

over at Documented Life Project unPlanner!  woo hoo!

 { ♥ sending big thanks and big love to you sweet DLP ladies! ♥ }

our monthly theme is

"a look through my eyes, gaining new perspective"

and this week's challenge for our Personal Art Card (PAC)

is to use a rubber stamp.

so i decided to use a combination of hand-carved banner stamps…..

along with a few little acrylic stamps….

and "gained a whole new perspective" on how to use them!

 here's a video showing my inspiration {thank you, sweet sandi keene!},

as well as my entire process from start-to-finish!

{you can watch this video in large format here!}

inspiration monday

as much as i love playing in my art journal, sometimes i get the itch to do something completely different.  i've had my eye on elke bergeron's "leather clutch" workshop over at creativebug for quite a while, so i decided this was the perfect time to learn something new!

while elke's class doesn't include this step,  you probably know i don't do too many projects unless it includes letterforms, and i couldn't resist using my set of hand-carved stamps for this little clutch!  so i put a piece of washi tape across the front of my leather to use as a guide, and then i placed an acrylic ruler under the top to provide a firm surface for stamping.

i used a white pigment stamp pad that i had on hand,
and then i heat set the ink with my heat gun.

then i rounded the corners,  punched some holes along the side,
and stitched it up with some linen thread.

for my closure, i decided to add a snap….

and now i have a really cool leather pouch….and it was super simple to make!

the only two things i would do differently next time:
first, to make the stamping more permanent, i think i'll try using acrylic paint...

and secondly,  i'll pay more attention to the mantra
"measure twice, cut once" before i start my next project!
my plan was to store my inktense pencils in here, but when
i finished the pouch and tried to put them inside, they were too long!!
so now i have a leather clutch that's perfect for my glasses and micron pens,
but it's marked "pencils" on the front!  aaack!
:))


for more information about elke bergeron's creativebug class, click here
to watch a tutorial for setting snaps, click here


{supplies:  leather piece from hobby lobby, leather punch, hammer, 
hand-carved letter stamps, white ink pad, linen thread, needle, snap set tool, snaps}

inspiration monday

one of my goals for the new year was to find a way to be more productive….in a balanced, creative, sort of way.  and to be more productive, i need organization!  but every time i looked for a planner to help me get my act together, i struck out.  there was always a major element missing…..there was no "fun factor".  and the reality for me is, if it's not fun, i'm not going to keep up with it!

but thankfully, my sweet bloggy friend sandi keene had the answer to my dilemma…..

Documented Life Project!

as usual, i'm late to the party, but if you haven't already heard of it,

you combine a simple weekly planner  {hello, productivity!}

with a space to write your goals and other life stuff  {hello, balance!}…..

and then add a piece of watercolor paper to each week's page spread 

using some favorite washi tape so you can be artsy {hello, creativity!!}

each week, the DLP dream team shares a page prompt 

to help get those creative juices flowing

{this week's challenge was to do a page about "me", 

so i used my new hand-carved selfie stamp, along with some other

favorite supplies!}

it's a ton of fun and there really are no rules.

it's your journal, done your way.

 and the best part is you get to be a part of a DLP community that's full of
encouraging, supportive, and very inspiring artists!  woo hoo!
thank you, sandi…..i feel more creatively organized already!   :))


{p.s.  are you on Facebook?  i have a new page here!}


{supplies:  moleskine planner, pitt and micron pens, derwent inktense pencils,
hand-carved selfie stamp, hand-carved thumbprint stamp, black archival ink, scrapbook paper, washi tape, fabriano artistico 140 lb HP paper, 6B and 3B graphite pencils}


for more information, the DLP dream team is:
roben-marie smith, lorraine bell, rae missingman, sandi keene, and barbara moore

inspiration monday

i was looking through my journal and came across this poinsettia page from last year, and i started to wonder what would happen if i took that idea a step further.  so i grabbed the same handcarved leaf stamps that i used last year, along with some stamp pads, scrapbook paper, scissors and decorative brads.

the first thing i did was stamp an image of each leaf into a flower pattern on the back of a piece of scrapbook paper.  the nice thing about doing this on scrapbook paper is once they're stamped, both sides are decorated, and it's fun to play with the patterns together.  

then i cut out each flower.

next i added a bit of dimension by rubbing a charcoal stamp pad on the edges of the paper.

then i stamped a round carved stamp onto scrapbook paper and cut it out on the outside edge.

after all the layers were arranged and stacked on top of each other, i punched a hole through everything…..

and inserted a brad to hold it all together.  then i folded and curled up the petals to help bring it to life.

lastly,  i wrapped a piece of baker's twine around the prongs of the brad on the back…...

and attached it to the top of a package for someone special!


time spent looking through your journals
is one of the nicest gifts you can give yourself….
you'll be amazed at all the wonderful inspiration that's waiting to be found!


{supplies:  handcarved stamps, stamp pads, scrapbook paper, scissors, decorative brad, baker's twine}

heartfelt cheer

take a blank canvas...

and grab a handcarved stamp covered in green ink.

add a heartfelt message….

and you've got a holly-jolly reminder of good cheer the whole year through!
:))


{supplies:  walls notebook, handcarved stamp, stamp pad, pitt pens,
derwent inktense pencils, pilot "choose" white pen, 8B graphite pencil}

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}

carving time

i had so much fun drawing my little bunnies that i
couldn't resist grabbing a small chunk of "moo carve".....

and watching this little guy come to life as a rubber stamp!


have a great weekend, and don't forget to carve out
a big chunk of creative time for yourself!  xox

{supplies:  moo carve, staedtler carving tools, brilliance ink pad
see how i carve a stamp here!}

inspiration monday

here's an easy way to add some holiday inspiration to your art journal!

take your favorite photograph.....

and trace several simple shapes onto tracing paper.

then transfer your drawings to a carving block.....

and carve some stamps!

now stamp the images in your watercolor journal.....

using your favorite stamping technique.

(i used tim holtz distress inks and sprayed a very light amount

of water with a mini mister to give a watercolor effect)

now add all your favorite doodly-touches,
along with a really special message!



i hope your Christmas holidays are merry and bright, 
dear, sweet bloggy friends....
and i'm sending you many holly-jolly-wishes for
a New Year that's filled with joyful, creative days,
and lots and lots of inspiration!!
choco-hugs, xox



{i'll be taking some time off after the holidays.....
see you towards the end of january!  :)) }

{this artwork was created in my watercolor moleskine journal using moo carve,
tracing paper, staedtler carving tools, distress inks, a mini mister, pitt pens, 4B pencil}

inspiration monday

for those days when you want to do something a little different in your journal,
all you need to do is pull out some of those photos that you've taken recently!
choose your favorite photo and trace the image onto tracing paper......

then transfer your drawing to a carving block, and
carve away your pencil lines.

after you've finished carving,  apply your favorite ink and

stamp your image onto your journal page......

and once you've added some finishing touches,  you've got a
colorful journal page that was inspired by your very own photo collection!




{for more information on stamp carving, you can watch my video here!}

{supplies: strathmore visual journal for mixed media, sunflower photograph,
 hand-carved stamp (made with speedy carve and a speedball cutting tool),
stampabilities and colorbox pigment stamp inks, pitt pens, 4B graphite pencil}

happy places

i hope you find yourself in one of your favorite creative spaces this
weekend.......doing all the things you truly love!
xox



{supplies:  strathmore visual journal for mixed media, hand-carved stamp,
pitt pens, derwent watercolor pencils, koi watercolors, uniball signo white gel pen}

inspiration monday

 sometimes inspiration is as close as finding your favorite stripey-roofed house

and little heart hand-carved stamps in your craft drawer.  but what do you do when

you discover that your favorite yellow stamp pad has completely dried out?

with just a few supplies, you can create your own custom "ink pad".....here's how:

place a small piece of craft felt onto a protective surface (i'm using a plastic paint palette, 

but you can put your felt onto a piece of waxed paper, freezer paper, plastic mat, etc.).  

now, using a craft knife, scrape the side of a stick of chalk pastel onto your piece of felt 

until you have a nice little pile. 

with an inexpensive paintbrush,  add a nice dollop of fluid matte medium into 

your pastel shavings.....you can also add a drop of water to help mix it together.

once you have your new "stamp pad" made, it's time to get on with the stamping! 

if there's a portion of your stamp that you want to block out,  just place
a piece of tape over the area that you want to mask......

then, just press your stamp onto your colored felt......

and then carefully remove the tape from your inked stamp.

now just press your inked stamp onto your paper.

(important:  since the matte medium is acrylic, make sure to clean your

stamp right away.....you don't want it to dry on your stamp!)

you can mix all kinds of custom colors, and add other stamped images to 

your paper.......

and by the time you add some lettering and all your favorite little details,
you have a fun journal page that was actually inspired by
your favorite stamps and a dried-out stamp pad!

p.s.  and since the matte medium is 100% acrylic, it makes the chalk pastel
permanent, so there's no smudging!  woo hoo!


{this was created in my strathmore visual art journal using hand-carved stamps,
craft felt, chalk pastels, craft knife, paint palette, fluid matte medium, 
micron pens, 2B graphite pencil, watercolor pencils, waterbrush}