You Are Extraordinary

Hi friends! It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here with the boys lately. A fun summer break for sure, but so much driving and doing! I've still been doing a little crafting here and there, but most of my "me" time has been used trying to organize some of my supplies and envision a new space for my creative side.

I did make this fun little card last week while the boys were in sports camp. I made a trip to the local craft store and found this sweet little Avery Elle stamp set on clearance for a dollar. I just had to bring him home and stamp him! On the same trip I found some American Crafts blending markers at Tuesday Morning.  I decided to test out their blending on smooth bristol and then stamped the narwhal directly on my test piece.  I painted in his horn and belly with a white paint pen, then added a few bubbles.

This panel is matted in black, then I added the sentiments and used a fun mixed media background I had previously made for the background.  It was a piece of white cardstock coated with gesso that I used to scrape up the excess from a Lindy's magicals project I was working on. Sometimes I love the clean up pieces more than the actual art!  I thought it looked really oceanic, so finished off with a simple black mat and a few glittery enamel dots.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a fabulous week!

Enabler's List
Stamps: Extraordinary Narwhal (Avery Elle)
Paper: smooth bristol (Canson), basic black (SU!)
Ink: intense black (Hero Arts), Magicals shakers (Lindy's Gang), markers (American Crafts)
Accessories: circle dies, gesso, glitter enamel dots (BoBunny)

BeYOUtiful

Hi friends! Hope you've had a fabulous week since the last time I posted! We had a fun time with friends and family and in little pockets of time throughout the week I worked on a mixed media canvas. I have huge list of projects I want to create, but until now haven't had the freedom to work on them. One thing I can see myself doing a lot is making canvases. I love the texture, the process and that feeling of creating something out of nothing.  I was super excited to see that Tiffany had a new workshop, so ordered it up and couldn't wait to get started when it went live. Layer by layer, I had so much fun and learned a lot from her video, mostly that patience is the key. These canvases aren't built in a day.  LOL

I'll keep the how to as simple as a link to Tiffany's Dream Big workshop, which is still at the intro price through 7/15. I stayed pretty true to her design, branching out with a few of my own details and swapping out a couple colors and products. I particularly liked the combination I came up with on the metal pieces of chocolate impasto paint dry brushed with a blue/gold opal magic paint from Finnabair. It really gives a gilded glow to the canvas.  It was a super fun project, and I was so excited that the little wood chip piece I used for my title is the same as a fabulous little glass jar and coffee mug I just bought for when I revamp my studio. Kellan had such a chuckle when he got the be YOU tiful meaning, it just makes me smile. Can't wait to hang this piece. The canvas is about 12" wide.

One of my favorite elements are the stitched squares and rectangles, which I created by taping a couple stitched dies together to cut a frame from chipboard and then layering three chipboard frames together and embossing with white embossing powder. I made a bunch all at once and know I'll be adding these to some of my future projects.

I just finished reading Legendary this weekend, the second book in the Caraval series and the wings and clock elements of this piece really meshed with the reading. I really enjoyed both books and would recommend them.

How about you? What have you been up to?  Crafting, reading, working, vacationing, shopping ... would love to hear what's going on in your world.