Let's keep looking at those new stencil designs! Number Scramble... ...is probably the most popular stencil from this release. And I can see why! It makes an awesome graphic background as in this piece by arteverydaystudio: Or in this example that I did using modeling paste: Or this card from Heidi (with a full tutorial on the Crafter's Workshop blog): Magic Ladder... ...is a really cool pattern. I used it to do some glitter stenciling: The Shapes stencil... ...is my personal favorite stencil from this release. You can see how I used it to create a face in this short... Read more →

You may recall that I did a livestream when my new stencil designs came out (You can still watch the recording). Today I want to share some more tips and ideas on using these stencils. Tangled Vine... ...looks great when layered: You can also use just the leaves as makeyourlifecolourfulheidi has: Solemn Branch... ...is a mask -- meaning the color application goes around the branch shape, as you can see here in this piece by arteverydaystudio: Or here with color -- the orange layer is under the green layer: Round Flowers... ...is a stencil based on a doodle flower that... Read more →

Hello, friends! Here's a little bit about life right now: What are you listening to? Podcasts, podcasts, podcasts! As you know, I'm at the Crow Barn for two weeks and all day long we work in silence. So, I've got my headphones on and I'm listening to a HOURS of podcasts every single day. My recent favorite: 30 for 30 Podcast: This is a sports podcast from ESPN and they just did a 5-part documentary series on Bikram yoga. It was fascinating (even if you don't like sports)! What are you wearing? I'm obsessed with anything embroidered or peasant-y at... Read more →

You guys! I'm super excited to share that I'm teaching a brand new class in July! THE ALTERED BOOK WEEKEND When: Saturday & Sunday, JULY 28 & 29 Where: At a private home (not mine) in the Boston, MA area, exact location upon request What: Join me for a weekend of art making and exploration! We will transform an ordinary book into a magical collection of art -- pages packed with color, moving parts, image transfers, poetry, and more! You will learn how to transform an ordinary book into a customized canvas for personal expression. I will be sharing my... Read more →

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, there is a short introduction here. All of the previous posts can be found archived here. Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day! No need to finish anything or even like it. If you've done some art journaling this week, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. Even if you're not on social media, you can see everything (from twitter, pinterest, instagram, and facebook) that uses that hashtag here. This is a repost of a blog post from 2014. One of the... Read more →

Today I'm sharing some snapshots from London with some thoughts on how they might be useful in art making. Remember, inspiration is all around you! Finding actual art-in-the-wild is always exciting: Don't forget that architecture is a kind of art-in-the-wild as well! All of these historical buildings have wonderful details to inspire patterns, stamps, textures, etc: The photos you take of yourself and your family are perfect studies for body position: How about portraits? I'm always drawing straight-on faces. This photo has a great example of a 3/4 face: I'm also guilty of using supermodel magazine images as reference material.... Read more →

You may have noticed that ScanNCut Canvas is now called CanvasWorkspace. CanvasWorkspace works with both ScanNCut and DesignNCut, so the name was changed to reflect that fact. In addition, Brother has created a FREE downloadable version of CanvasWorkspace for your PC! AND, the PC version has some brand new bells & whistles that I think you're going to loooooove! Watch the video for a quick tour: I wanted to explain two features of CanvasWorkspace for PC a bit more in depth: working with type and saving/exporting/importing files. CanvasWorkspace for PC makes working with type so easy. You wanted to be... Read more →

As promised, today I am sharing some photos of the fabrics I made in Pat Pauly's "Glorious Prints" class. I didn't have the space to take photos of the big pieces of fabric, so these are all close ups of the details: You can see many of the same shapes and motifs repeated over and over again with slight variations. Lots of x's and o's. And here are some photos of just some of the fabric, folded up and laid out: Some observations about working with dye: Dye is more like watercolor paint than like acrylic paint. It's transparent. There... Read more →

I recently took a five-day class from Pat Pauly at ProChem in Fall River, MA, called "Glorious Prints." I didn't know who Pat was when I signed up for class. I just liked the class description on ProChem's website: Discover hundreds of ways to use silkscreen to print gorgeous cloth. Experiment with underlayments, resists, stencils, and learn in-depth techniques for printing using thickened dye. As well as color mixing and color theory, you’ll learn the silkscreen’s versatility for making fabric with exquisite color and complexity. Soy wax resist, monoprinting, stamps, and stencils – all are used with screen printing for... Read more →

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, there is a short introduction here. All of the previous posts can be found archived here. Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day! No need to finish anything or even like it. If you've done some art journaling this week, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. Even if you're not on social media, you can see everything (from twitter, pinterest, instagram, and facebook) that uses that hashtag here. Are you in an art journal rut? Not particularly liking what you're creating... Read more →