I was so über delighted when Doris invited me to guest design for Jenni Bowlin this month! (See the original post on the Jenni Bowlin blog here.) I have to admit that while I love and adore vintage I've never felt like I really did it well. So I was a bit intimidated when my box of delicious goodies arrived -- afraid that I'd screw it up royally! But as with all things scary, as soon as I put my mind to, it turned out to be so very easy to mix Jenni's style with my own! I used a... Read more →

I ran into a delightfully sweet woman named Tina on Tuesday night. Tina is a lovey artist and she rather guiltily said to me, "I failed miserably at your art journaling thing." I'm sure that you can guess my response, right? I told Tina that she did not fail! Participating in Art Journal Every Day has never been about failing or succeeding! It's about trying to make the act of creating a daily habit. Emphasis is on the word trying. Some days you do and some days you don't. Who cares? It's a process and it takes time. So if... Read more →

This month's prompt at the Creative Therapy Challenge Blog is: "Tell us about a favorite/special piece of clothing." My contribution is called Three Muses: It's a 16" x 20" mixed media painting. These are the three aprons that I wear when creating. You can find me in one of them most hours of most days. They are my uniform. And since I stitched up all three aprons, when painting them I was very aware of the unique shape and details of each. Here I am in each of them: I had a lot of fun re-creating the patterned fabric of... Read more →

I know I can't stop talking about the weather here in Phoenix, but oh wow, it's just gorgeous! Perfect weather. Love it! My day began setting up the booth for Crafter's Workshop. I'm here to demo their stencils for two days during NAMTA's Art Materials World show. Mostly naked booth: Very unflattering photo of me constructing the booth: Booth constructed part way: Booth all covered and we're heading home for the day: And lest you forget yesterday's post, I've found some more nifty and inspirational textures and patterns in the last twenty-four hours: After a hard day's work, the lovely... Read more →

Hello! Hello! I've just landed in Phoenix, AZ (my very first time) and the weather is lovely! Though I've been traveling so much lately I think I'd be pretty happy to swap the lovely weather here for an extended few days at home with the hubs. Miss him and miss home. BUT traveling does remind me that design is absolutely everywhere. I've been in three hotels in the past month and here's a peek at a few hotel textures and patterns that I find inspiring. First up is curves and swirls: And look at all of these different cool squares:... Read more →

Hey peeps! Just a quick post to say that I'll be teaching you how to make this layout... ...and these cards... ...tomorrow (Monday, April 11) at 2pm EST for FREE in the Live with Prima classroom! Hopefully this will mean some of you international watchers can catch the class live! Time zone conversion below: And remember, all the classes are recorded, so you can see them any time at all! Official class description: Learn how easy it is to create a fun and artsy layout with Julie. And then use your leftover scraps and bits to make TWO adorable cards!... Read more →

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, all the posts can be found here. Please read this post first. There is a flickr group for sharing right here. Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day! No need to finish anything or even like it. Just play! I'm on the road with my art journal this week. Just playing with what I have. You don't need a lot of fancy supplies to have fun in your art journal. I wanted to share a few quick ideas for what you can do with a black pen... Read more →

Another great day on the set of Scrapbook Soup! Thanks for all your nice comments about my new stamp line! While I'm away, here are some fun projects I did for Gauche Alchemy! Two definitions from Dictionary.com: Gauche (pronounced: gohsh) is an adjective that means lacking social grace, sensitivity, or acuteness; awkward; crude; tactless: Their exquisite manners always make me feel gauche. Al·che·my (pronounced: al-kuh-mee) is a noun meaning a form of chemistry and speculative philosophy practiced in the Middle Ages and the renaissance and concerned principally with discovering methods for transmuting baser metals into gold and with finding a... Read more →

These lovely ladies (L to R: Julie McGuffee, Jo Pearson, Kathy Kromer) were fantastic company for a crazy first day on the set of the new PBS TV show, Scrapbook Soup! Julie is my co-host (yes, we're Julie & Julie) and Jo and Kathy were *amazing* guests. The projects today were jaw droppingly awesome. Like nothing you're expecting -- lots and lots and LOTS of gesso! Mixed media projects left and right! A ton of paint, doodling, and collage, along with image transfers, jewelry projects and so much more! You are going to love, love, love, love all the creativity... Read more →

It probably doesn't surprise you to know that I don't share everything I make on this blog. I do share a lot, but there are some things that (a) get lost in the shuffle, (b) don't make the cut, (c) are too private for such a public forum, or (d) have lost their timeliness. So here's one from the files that is part of category "a," simply got lost in the shuffle: Big Hambly doily transparency cut in half. Some red paint (I wasn't sure how opaque and intense it would be over black cardstock). The red and white polka... Read more →