I had to share a peek at just a few of the amazing stamps my students are carving in Stamp Carving 101: from joyfulploys... from towandabluffs... from Nanc Lynn... from stampingmathilda... from KimberlyAS... from Tinkerbell57... from kicki22... from cuchyy2k... from crookedstamper22... from Gennie59... from Katjewave... from Cleo and Charlie... from lynnyb4... From CharonP... from yzarctoo... from djanelle... from libookperson... from Anneke De Clerck... There are loads and loads more inspiring stamps and stamp carvers in the Stamp Carving 101 flickr pool! Thanks for stopping by! Read more →

I wanted to share the...drum roll...SEVEN projects I made with Studio Calico's February kits. They sent me the main kit and the four add-ons and it was just so much fun stuff to play with that I couldn't stop making things! So let's not waste time chit chatting, let's get to it: 8 Days This was one of the first layouts I made. I had been wanting to scrap that photo of Nat and me and so it was sitting on my desk begging to be used! The little circle banner strips are new embellishments from My Mind's Eye. I... Read more →

I'll be chatting live over at Studio Calico TONIGHT at 6:30pm PST. Here's the time zone conversion chart (click and it will get larger): At the appointed time, you'll want to log in to your account, or register for an account (if you don't have one). It's totally free. Then choose the "community" tab. Once on the "community" page you'll see the large icon for the chat room. Simply click the speech bubbles and you'll be in the chat room! You can ask questions, chat about life, share ideas, or simply lurk. I'll be chatting from hotel room here in... 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. Today is my birthday. And in the days leading up to turning thirty-five I've been thinking a lot about what that age means to me. I wanted to make some art to commemorate the event and my feelings about it. But I was caught between scrapbook and art journal --... Read more →

The Craft & Hobby Association's Winter show (CHA) begins on Saturday in Anaheim, CA. If you don't know what CHA is, read this post that I wrote after my first visit to CHA in January 2009. If you're going to be there and would like to say "hi" - here's where I'll be speaking, teaching, and demoing: Saturday, January 28 11am - 12pm • S102 - Community Engagement: Tips for Successful Promotion for Designers 12pm - 1pm • S103 - Lights, Camera, Action...Presenting Projects That Sell Products ** Don't forget about the live online chat with me at Studio Calico... Read more →

So I've been very anti "The Sketchbook Project" since I first heard about it several years ago. I think it's a super cool idea to collect all these sketchbooks and exhibit them, but it just doesn't feel right to me that you have to pay to enter your work and then you never get it back. Doesn't sound like a great deal to me. So every time someone has sent me a link and said, "This sounds right up your alley!" I've politely thanked them and ignored it. And then a friend of mine invited me to participate in her... Read more →

A few months ago I mentioned that I'd be teaching at Jenny Doh's, the extraordinary artist and long time previous editor-in-chief of Somerset Studio. Class sold out in about two days. Well, Jenny quietly opened up a few more seats now that we're in the big Studio CrescendoH space!! So here it is, an awesome new class that I hope will get you excited! Ruin & Rescue 1-Day Workshop on Saturday, February 4, 2012 in Studio CRESCENDOh "Over the years, I have learned that my art journal is a great place for artistic experiments. It's all about ruin and rescue.... Read more →

I had originally titled this post: "Layering Stencils." But since all stencils can be layered it seemed a bit too general. Today I want to talk about a series of four stencils I designed that are meant to layer. Watch the video to see how these stencils layer together to create stunning images! So what do you think? Pretty cool concept, right? ETA: These are not yet available for purchase. I expect them to be available towards the end of February. 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. One of the most common complaints I hear from people about art journaling is that they can't get their pages to look how they envision them in their heads. Well, I can't either. I'm sure somebody out there gets it "just right" every single time, but it's not me. And... Read more →

Everyone and their Mother (though not my Mother -- and I did try to convince her) seems to be doing Project Life this year. And that is awesome because there's so much advice and chatter and all sorts of stuff going on online. It's also a little bit bad because I find myself getting a wee bit intimidated by the unbelievable amount of planning that some folks are doing. There are planning pages, notebooks, apps to keep track of your week, worksheets...I just can't face all of that. It makes Project Life seem like so much work. And I need... Read more →