I spent the day on the set of Quilting Arts TV. The show is taped in Cleveland and quilters fly in from all over the country to be there and show off their projects and products! I've done TV enough times to know there are certain rules: manicure with clear polish, long sleeves, bright colors, no white or red clothing, and busy patterns have a habit of jumping all over the screen, and get some sleep! You look much much better with some sleep under your belt. However, with CREATE and all the running around, I was feeling pretty ragged.... Read more →

Wow! The CREATE Student Showcase was absolutely fantastic! Take a wander through all the amazing stuff that the students created over the week: (The canvas is by a student who was in my Painted Face Canvas class. She didn't finish before the class was over, so this was my first chance to see the finished painting of her two sons!) (This was a fabulous, amazing, enormous canvas that Judy Coates Perez painted in Alisa Burke's class.) (Can I tell you how much I love this herringbone text? Genius idea!) (The two pages above and the one below are student work... Read more →

I taught my "Painted Face Canvas" class here at CREATE on Thursday night. I was prodigiously proud of the artwork that my twenty-one students created: Cool, funky, unique, and wonderful pieces of art! And I thought it was cool to see how many people sort of resembled their art! Each one is unique and funky and fun! It was a great group of women -- warm and enthusiastic -- and that always makes it all worthwhile! I'll be back soon with photos from the Student Showcase. So much gorgeous art! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

Here are a few of the cool things I've found around the web lately: They Draw And Cook A super awesome blog that is exactly what it sounds like. It's recipes and drawings mixed together in lots of different styles. So super fun! One of my all time favorite art journal pages is an illustration of one of my favorite recipes, so this is so up my alley! I found "They Draw and Cook" via Tyggereye Art Designs. Felted Brooches from Ro Bruhn And she's got an etsy shop! The felted pieces aren't there, but there are gorgeous necklaces and... Read more →

I taught my first class here at the CREATE Retreat. My Mother kindly came along as my super helpful assistant and she took all of the photos that I'm about to share. It was funny looking at the photos tonight because I just assumed that she would take the same kinds of photos that I do. But she didn't. The things she found captivating -- the stories she wanted to tell -- were different than mine. And I found that intensely interesting. It reminded me of another reason that I'm so gung ho about memory keeping. Everyone's perspective on the... Read more →

My husband and my brother are both Leos. Born two days and five years apart. Happy Birthday, boys! In my family the exchanging of cards is much more important than gifts. A heartfelt note and a celebratory dinner are always in order for any given holiday. Here are the cards I made for them: Watercolor, glitter glue, vinyl stickers, and patterned paper! I did my doodling with a Sakura Pigma Micron (my favorite black pen) and then colored the images with Koi watercolor paints. And while I always find cards to be a bit difficult to wrap my brain around,... Read more →

I'm heading out to Chicago today for CREATE. Looking forward to teaching and being a student and hoping that the supplies I shipped arrive before I do! After Chicago, I'm headed straight to Cleveland to tape two episodes of Quilting Arts TV. All told, I'm going to be away for a long eight days. But I have blog posts planned aplenty. And if I have the time, I'll pop in to let you know how it's all going. Comments come straight into my e-mail inbox, so if you have questions, I'll do my best to get to them as soon... Read more →

Join me tonight at 8pm EST for a free live online class! We're going to spend about an hour altering Prima flowers with stamps, ink, mists, masks, crystals, and so much more! Come and hang out, ask questions, learn some tips and techniques, and we've even got a prize pack of Prima goodies to give away at the end of class! Find the online classroom here. Visit the official "Live with Prima" site here. And here is a time conversion chart to help make sure you're on time to class: And if you can't make it, don't worry. All classes... Read more →

It is sad but true. Art Journaling Week has come to an end. (Tear.) I had a blast! And I want to thank my lovely guest bloggers: Linda, Amy, and Kitty. And thank you to all of you out there for taking the time to stop by! (And an extra special thank you to those of you have left comments! They make doing things like this so worthwhile!) A few more Questions and Answers: Q: Just wondering where i could find those type of stenciles?? are they self adhesive? if not do you add spray glue? A: The stencils I... Read more →

I'm super psyched about today's tutorial! It's all about lettering! And let's face it, a big part of art journaling is the words -- the stories we choose to record. So I made a little video that shows how to do each of the eleven lettering styles seen here (at least nobody can say that I'm not ambitious): I think the key to being successful at anything is practice. I love doodling with words and spent most of college taking notes in spirals or other funky shapes. So I got plenty of practice! Check out the video: Let me know... Read more →