Just a quick reminder that #Printinktober starts tomorrow! I'm moving in October (yay and ugh), but I'm determined to see this project through. My plan is to print on fabric this year. I think it will be great to have lots of cool yardage at the end of the month. Some of the supplies I've gathered for this process include: Cotton weight quilting fabric. Some PFD and some not. Some plain white and some colored. Some patterned. Just a mix of fabric. A soft mat for printing on. I use a piece of batting under a piece of fabric for... Read more →

Hello, friends! Here's a little bit about life right now: What are you wearing? I have been spelunking through my closet to figure out which clothes will work for my new body. Thank goodness I've always like empire waist dresses! This dress is an oldie from Asos Curve. What have you bought? Lighting! This month we bought an antique chandelier and sconce for our front hall, along with some antique shades. Choosing shades for the lights was really interesting. First, you're limited by the number of available shades. For instance, our chandelier requires 5 shades. Finding 5 matching antique glass... Read more →

This past weekend I visited Yayoi Kusama's "Love is Calling" infinity room at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) here in Boston. In case you're not familiar, Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist who has been creating mirrored infinity rooms since the 1960s. The experience of being in an infinity room is definitely reminiscent of a fun house mirror room -- but with lots of extra visual stimulation. In "Love is Calling" the extra stimulation comes from polka-dotted plastic stalagmites and stalactites. In the room, there is a recording of Yayoi Kusama reciting a poem in Japanese. This is a... Read more →

Today I thought I'd share a quick recap of the August Livestream for YouTube Channel Members. As always, I started off the hour-long livestream by answering questions from members. Question included a number about painting on fabric. I shared my favorite fabric painting products and techniques on this scrap of fabric: After the livestream, I couldn't help myself from finishing up the painting on this piece of fabric, using all of the techniques and supplies I shared in the livestream: It's so delicious! I can't wait to stitch it up into something fun! PS: I used my Fantastical and Stone... Read more →

On Friday night, I got an idea -- one of those ideas that's like a gnat that won't stop buzzing in your ear. Buzz buzz buzz! I just *had* to drop everything and chase that idea! I started cutting up fabric and piecing it back together in strips and blocks of all kinds. Saturday morning I got out of bed and asked myself, "Should I do the work that I ought to do or should I continue last night's experiments?" Well, as you can guess, that was a short conversation with myself. Of course, I wanted to continue cutting and... Read more →

Today is the first day of Fall! I figured that it might be the perfect time to share this Fall-themed project: This super fun ScanNCut banner incorporates some basic sewing on no-ravel materials like cork fabric and felt. No-ravel materials make this project quick and easy because they require absolutely no finishing! The best part is that this entire project uses built-in designs from the ScanNCut DX225! If you haven't taken the time to explore what's already built into your machine, I hope that you will. Watch the video for the how-to: Here are the basics: Choose banner shape. Load... Read more →

Yes, I still scrapbook! It's a much smaller part of my art life than it used to be, but I still looove looking through albums full of photos and journaling. Today I thought I'd share a peek into my current "Project Life" or pocket scrapbooking album. I have a few "rules" that I have kept to for the 7+ years I've been doing "Project Life." Here they are in practice: Nothing has to match or coordinate. I don't design "pages," I simply go pocket by pocket. My albums are part digital and part "real." In the image above, the number... Read more →

Decorative tile is really expensive. You probably know this. For a while during our home renovation I thought very seriously about painting my own decorative tiles. I even went so far as to make some samples to see if it was a good or a bad idea. The previous homeowners had left a box of plain white square tiles in the basement. Score! I did my online research and discovered that enamel paint was going to be the best bet for painting on top of finished tiles and actually having the paint stick and stay. And so off I went... Read more →

You may recall that last year I took the popular art challenge #inktober and altered it slightly into #printinktober. But, in case you don't recall, #inktober is a month-long challenge that was started by illustrator and cartoonist Jake Parker. In essentials, you are encouraged to create an ink drawing each day in October. Here's a video about it that he put together: Each year he releases a series of prompts, which you are welcome to adhere to or not. This is the list of prompts for this year: I’ve participated in the #inktober challenge twice before – both times focusing... Read more →

Today I thought I'd share three segments from Make It Artsy which all feature some aspect of journaling! First up, Bullet Journaling (yes, I still keep a Bullet Journal): Next, Cat Kerr demonstrates how to make a clear journal cover: And finally, I show you how to create a textured journal cover using cake and cookie decorating tools! I hope that you'll give one of these techniques a try! Read more →