Art

All things art from altered, couture, diy, tutorials and more.

  • Creative,  Life,  The Homestead,  Thoughts,  Tutorials and How to's

    Making It – Gifts

    How many of you are enjoying another season of Making It on NBC? I know I am! It’s phenomenal. I thought I’d share some of the gifts that I made this year. I shared a quick tutorial HERE on making your own quick gift bags while using your stash. What’s behind those gift bags? Let me tell you.  I enjoyed personalizing them according to co-workers personalities. While it’s fun to receive, I think I experience a lot of joy making and giving. I’ll be making gifts for the guys in my work life as well. Handcrafted and homemade is fun for both the giver and receiver.  How about you? Are…

  • Art,  Creative,  Life,  Mixed Media,  Uncategorized

    Quick and Easy Gift Bag – Using Your Stash

    I’m all about using my stash and during the holidays, your stash can come in very handy. A couple of things I keep on hand regularly is plain kraft-colored bags, tulle, and small gifts. Pair these things together with Sizzix dies and the possibilities are endless. I wanted to share a quick tutorial for a cute handcrafted gift bag. You can take this same concept and make a matching card as well. I used a Sizzix Tim Holtz Bigz Die titled Reindeer Flight which someone gifted me a couple years ago. It was used but I loved it. Here’s the how to to make a stamp and quick and cute…

  • Art,  Artsy Adventures (Outings, Flea Marketing and More),  Creative,  Life,  Mixed Media,  Thoughts,  Uncategorized

    The Gift of Presence

    Around the holidays we can get caught up in getting and giving the perfect or enough gifts. The reality is that often we can’t remember what gifts we’ve gotten in years past but we do remember the memories of being together. The most important gift is, the gift of presence. A few friends and I celebrated just that on Monday. We met when I was a lead Fiskateer and we met through the lovely fun wide world of crafting. What a blessing these ladies have been in my life. Through paper and scissors, I have gained a group of lifelong friends. While crafting brought us together, and I’m so grateful…

  • Artsy Adventures (Outings, Flea Marketing and More),  Creative,  Food,  Life

    Open Market OC

    A relative shared with mom and I about Open Market OC located in the former Macy’s space of Laguna Hills Mall. I had the day off so Mom and I decided to check it out. Bonus, there was a Farmer’s Market as well in the parking lot. Fresh produce, a hat vendor (score), fresh flowers, food, cheese, pasta, avocado oil and more. Oh the cheese! We split a Berry Something Crepe. It was an infusion of berries, a little lemon topped with graham crackers. It was amazing! The vendors were really nice. The Farmer’s Market is there every Friday. Check out some photos below. We went into Open Market OC.…

  • Art,  Art Journaling,  Creative,  Mixed Media,  Sketching,  Tutorials and How to's

    Eileen Hull’s Pocket Notebook Release Party

    Welcome to the Pocket Notebook Release Party! I’m so thrilled to be a part of this exciting release. This is Eileen Hull’s newest book die with Sizzix. On the die, you get all the pieces you need to make an entire book; the cover, pages, latch and pen loop! The Pocket Notebook measures 6 3/4″ x 4 1/2″ with a spine that can adjust from 3/8″ to almost 2″. String it with elastic, hemp, ribbon, or twine. This die is so versatile. Eileen’s Inspiration and Educator teams have joined together to show you amazing Pocket Notebook ideas. Feel free to join in on the Blog Hop to see all the…

  • Art,  Creative,  Sketching

    Printinktober . . . Day One

    It’s the first day of October and the first day of Inktober and Printintober. Find out more HERE for details, and if you’re up for an art challenge. The funny thing is, I posted the 2019 Inktober prompts, however when I was blog hopping, I saw a former prompt list from 2018 and it must have stuck in my brain. I accidentally used the incorrect prompt and drew inspiration from the word Swift (October 1, 2018). Oh well, the most important thing is that I created. I first sketched in pencil and then went over it with ink that didn’t dry right away. This allowed me time to add shadow…

  • Art,  Creative,  Sketching

    Inktober or Printinktober- A Creative Challenge

    Have you ever heard of Inktober? It’s a wonderful movement that was started by an illustrator named Jake Parker. He wanted to challenge himself to improve his inking skills, shared it with others and it’s taken off. Find out more HERE. Developing a daily habit of doing something creative each day can have amazing benefits at home, work and play. It can improve self-discipline, self-discovery, organizational skills, personal success, time management, help develop your own style, spark new ideas and lower stress. This coming month of October, I plan on participating in a spin off of Inktober, called Printinktober. Julie Fei Fan Balzer encourages others to create daily using ink…