June was a great month

Faux Credit Card Book: A Reason to Smile

Sometimes it just works out that way. I had sent in a large quantity of artwork to the Somerset Studio challenge for All Things Aqua. I love that color and took the challenge literally. I had so many aqua things to choose from, including a number of ATCs, a faux credit card book, a series of corrugated cardboard panels and a mixed media acrylic painting. All those items were published in the Summer issue of Somerset Studio Gallery.

Aurora goddess

This year I have been blessed with an amazing painting teacher who is helping me grow in a whole new area. I have turned some of the canvases we made in class into mixed media projects. I am thrilled that one of them was selected for the magazine. It speaks to both my need for serenity and my remembrances of the Aurora Borealis I was lucky enough to view while I lived in Alaska.

I also was honored to have my found-art postcard/tag book published in the May-June issue of Somerset Studio. It appears in the Melange section, accompanied by a story written by me on how the project came together. It consists of postcards, packaging materials, faux credit cards, valet parking tags, clothing tags and lots of other goodies that find their way into my home.

Found Art Postcard/Tag Book

I am now addicted to making these books, because anything goes. They are so much fun. I use only stuff that has another purpose or that ends up in my scrap basket. That’s part of the challenge for me. Even the ribbons and fibers come from my odds and ends drawer. My latest effort in this category is a book I made in Colorado during my recent visit to Cherri, my stamping and paper arts buddy and good friend. I even got her to make one of her own.

I am so grateful for this chance to share my artwork with others. Inspiring other artists is my main reason for doing art, along with the fact that I just plain can’t help it. And  it not only keeps me busy but out of trouble.

When in doubt, JessCreateIt.

 

August Make-Take

I am returning the Stampin’ From the Heart after recovery from open heart surgery and that sounds really dramatic, but I’m back to normal (have I ever really been normal?) and like the card says, I feel better. We’ll be doing a challenge taken from the latest Take Ten magazine, in which I also happen to have a card published. There’ll be lots of color choices for you, and a variety of greetings and image, though the basic design is based on the Take Ten template. I found it fun to mix and match colors and papers to get different results. All materials will be supplied. Please join me on Friday, Aug. 10, at Stampin’ From the Heart, 11720 Washington Place, L.A., from 6:30-8 p.m. or so. Cost $5 per card. Make as many as you like while supplies last.

Corrugated Box Art

More and more these days, I am enjoying the idea of found materials to use in my artwork. My beautiful friend Annette brought me a fabulous flower arrangement to cheer me up after my recent surgery. Because the arrangement needed to be transported in her car, it came in a plain brown box. After  a while, I dismantled the box, which ended up being a few 6-inch square panels of corrugated cardboard. That turned into a little art project, which I want to share with you. Materials used include: Making Memories acrylic paint, gesso, Golden fluid acrylic paint, Inka Gold, and Graphics 45 papers. Embellishments are sprockets from the Tim Holtz collection.I hope you like them.

New Year, New Venture

Art Journal Night: Quickie Envelope Journal

Quickie art journal to tuck into your bag and use on the go.

As some of you know, I will no longer be hosting ATC Night at Stampin’ From the Heart after 2011 ends. Instead, I will be offering Journal Night at on the third Thursday of each month, starting in January. **See supplies lists below.**

It’ll very much be an artistic as well as inspirational and introspective process, which I hope we all can share. We’ll be using a variety of materials (some of which I will supply and some of which you will bring to make your artwork more personal). So I encourage you to begin gathering your thoughts, ideas and any images or other pieces you may wish to incorporate into your projects. We’ll get started transforming your journal into a place to express whatever’s on your mind or in your heart.

I have made a bunch of journals over the past year and I am not done yet. For our first session, I will guide you in making a Quickie Envelope Journal that you can tuck into your purse or bag and use to jot down ideas or make sketches or keep findings. We should be able to finish this journal in one session. Then you can decorate it as you wish at home (or make more and give them as gifts). Warning, they are habit-forming. (I’ve already made 4.)

Each month, I will offer a technique for making exciting and inspirational art journals. Hopefully you will be inspired to come up with some of your own ideas at home (or work further on what was started in class) to show us at the next meeting. It will be an adventure as well as a work in progress.

I hope you will join me at Art Journal Night at Stampin’ From the Heart on January 19. Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Cost: $25. Please sign up with the store so I will be sure to have enough materials for everyone.

REQUIRED Supplies:

Please bring these to each session: your favorite scissors for precision cutting, any images, scraps or stamps/ink you might like to use, along with your basic stamping kit, including bone folder, several glue sticks, double-sided tape and any other adhesives you like to use, 1/8-inch hole punch, rubber gloves!!

RECOMMENDED supplies:

Sharpie fine point pens in various colors. I like these because they work on most surfaces. Other people like to use Micron pens. You can try markers, but they don’t work on all surfaces. However they are useful for other things.

Small bottle of Liquitex liquid gesso.

I Gotcher Number ATCs

I found these wonderful old-fashion number stamps recently, made by Cavellini, and I just fell in love. So the first thing I did was try every single one of them– all on one piece of paper. Out of that came these lovely Artist Trading Cards that I hope you’ll enjoy too. Don’t miss out on the last ATC Night of the year. Join me Thursday, Nov. 17, from 6:30-8 p.m. at Stampin’ From the Heart, 11720 Washington Place (at McLaughlin St.), L.A. 310-391-0466 for directions. Cost: $10, all materials supplied. Bring some ATC’s of your own design if you want to trade, but that’s strictly optional. What’s an ATC? See page on this site for the explanation.

Note: This will be my final ATC night after three years. Thanks to everyone who came out for ATC Night, it’s been great fun sharing ideas and seeing your wonderful cards. But I think it’s time for me to go in a new direction artistically. As many of you know, I have been getting into art journaling and I will be offering Journal Night on the third Thursday of the month, starting in January. I hope you’ll give it a try. Details will be coming soon.

Return of “The Birds” Postcards

By popular demand I am repeating (more like reinventing) a postcard offered a while back, featuring Cavellini birds. And before I forget, this last Postcard Night of the year will be on Dec. 2, because the last Friday of November falls during Thanksgiving weekend. I’ve added and subtracted from the last version of the birds, but two things remain the same: the birds, of course, and the glitter. Other than that, it’s a whole new project. So, if you missed the Birds postcards from the past and want a chance to try the Birds postcards of the present, join me at Post Card Night, Fri., Dec. 2, from 6:30-8 p.m., at Stampin’ From the Heart, 11720 Washington Place (at McLaughlin St.), L.A. 310-391-0466 for directions. Cost: $10; all materials supplied.

Cats & Black Make-It/Take-It

I’m not much of a one for Halloween cards, but this is about as close as I get. I found some very neat bird tissue paper and just had to use it with my Cats Inchies. Kind of my weird, some may say warped, sense of humor. The tissue looks kind of orangey, if you have a good imagination, and the cats are black, of course. So, it’s Halloween with a twist. I hope you can join me for Make-It/Take-It at Stampin’ From the Heart, drop in from 6:30-8:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 14, 2011, 11720 Washinton Place, L.A., 310-391-0466 for directions. Cost is $5 per card; materials supplied. You can make one or as many as you like while supplies last.

Diamond ATCs

For some reason I am attracted to anything in the shape of a diamond, including rubber stamps. These stamps inspired me to do a diamond Artist Trading Card. But before stamping, I dragged out the Gesso to lighten up the decorative background paper. I like the effect, because whatever is printed on the paper is there, but it’s not really There, if you know what I mean. Gesso is what artists use to prepare a surface for paint, and I mainly use it on paper that is porous and wants to absorb whatever color medium I am using. Anyway, it makes a nice surface for the diamond collage, which will be enhanced with birds. What a surprise!! I hope you can join me for ATC Night, from 6:30-8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011, at Stampin’ From the Heart, 11720 Washington Place, L.A., 310-391-0466 for directions. Cost is $10 to make two cards. Materials supplied. Trading is optional, but if you wish to exchange cards please bring about 8-10 of your own design. What’s an ATC? See page on this blog for the details. Hope to see you there.

Shadow Ink Post Cards

This month I dug out my shadow inks (they were covered in dust, I have to admit) and used them in the background of my design. I love the effect when I over-stamp the shadow block with script. It’s a great way of giving dimension to an otherwise flat card. And I have been so eager to use my Inka Gold paste-ink-stuff, which comes in many wonderful colors, as a border on the main panel. This color medium is so unusual and lovely–it acts like a paste, but it dries instantly and shines like real gold (or other metallic). I just want to put it on everything. Luckily, the cat can run faster than me. I hope you can join me for  Post Card Night, from 6:30-8 p.m., Fri. Oct. 28, 2011, at Stampin’ From the Heart, 11720 Washington Place, L.A., 310-391-0466 for directions. Cost $10 to make two cards; all materials supplied. You might want to bring your own precision scissors. See you there.

Paris Side-by-Side ATCs

I make a lot of art from the many treasures I stash in the (overflowing) scrap basket  that permanently resides on my craft table. And the idea for this month’s Artist Trading Card is no exception. I believe the original was an unfinished postcard that I cut down to ATC size. And then I thought–diptych! That’s a piece of art that consists of two parts but works together as one. In this case, I took a few liberties and the left and right sides were created separately but still somehow go together, I think. Anyway, you can do it whichever way you like at ATC Night, 6:30-8 p.m., Thurs. Sept. 15, at Stampin’ From the Heart, 11720 Washington Place, L.A., 310-391-0466 for directions. Cost is $10 and you get to make two cards. Materials supplied by instructor, Jessica Hollowell. What’s an ATC? Click on the Page by that name on this blog to find out. If you want to go home with cards made by others, please bring around 8-10 cards of your own design to trade, including one for me and one for Karen’s book at the store. Trading is optional.