While I was on vacation in California, I posted a photo of what I was working on: The caption says: I’m on vacation with a bag full of paint pens and a tiny #artjournal. 🙌 When my little guy takes a nap, I use the time as an opportunity to muck around in my little hand made book. Most days I don’t have a goal in mind. I simply sit down and respond to whatever is there. A few doodles. A little bit of collage. It’s all part of maintaining an art practice — no matter what. 😁 And in... Read more →

As you know, I spent the month of February doing a paper weaving every single day. During that month, I heard about a German paper weaving tool that school children in Germany use. I eventually ordered this German weaving tool, but I was reluctant to order it for a long time because the tool is $6.95 and the shipping is $7.50. That said, I'm so glad that I did. It's a total game changer. It comes with no instructions because it's pretty intuitive to use. It's like a long skinny pair of reverse-grip tweezers. I think of it like a... Read more →

Back in 2015, I tried Color Burst Powders for the first time. I believe they're now called Color Sparx and co-branded with The Crafter's Workshop. I've been using them a lot with my son (he loves spraying what looks like nothing and seeing the color magically appear), so I thought it was a good time to re-post my original video all about them. Here's 2015 me trying out Color Burst Pigment Powders for the first time: As a side note, I re-watched this video last night and was inspired! 2015 me really had a lot of good ideas! ;) Here... Read more →

Back in 2015 I discovered a new-to-me art supply: Sakura Solid Markers. I wrote this post all about them: People often ask me where my inspiration comes from. It's a great question with about a million answers. One of those answers is: new supplies. (Can I get an Amen?) There's nothing quite like a new tool or a new colorant to get the mojo cracking! When I was teaching in Connecticut a student shared a new-to-me supply: Sakura Solid Markers. I put together a quick video to share what I know about them so far: I think they're perfect for... Read more →

The November Scrawlr Box landed in my mailbox this week. And it contained A LOT of pens and markers. You can watch my unboxing/first thoughts video here: I ended up breaking my own self-imposed rules about only using what's in the box and I added some black paint, adhesive, and book pages to the mix. Here's what I made: And here are the box contents: Bruynzeel Fineliner/Brush Pens (Tokyo & Venice Set) Uni POSCA 1MR, White -- I already own some of these. Love them. Recommend them. Derwent Slim Eraser -- I couldn't find this exact eraser, but THIS is... Read more →

So the September Scrawlr Box landed in my mailbox on Monday, October 18. Shipping was very slow from the UK this time around, but the good news is that art supplies have a long shelf life. This was easily my favorite Scrawlr Box yet. Watch the unboxing video for all the deets: Contents: Derwent Charcoal & Graphite Blocks: could not find a link - sorry! Faber-Castell Pitt-Graphite Matt Pencils Clairefontaine Paint-On Denim A5 Pad Vairico Art-Graf Tailors Chalk Goldfaber White Colored Pencil Derwent Blending Stump And here's a better look at my doodle from the unboxing: As a side note,... Read more →

I recently decided to invest (and it is a bit spendy) in a fancy bag meant for sketching. For many years, this has been my sketching bag: But when I stumbled across the Darsie Beck bag, I knew that I had to try it. I put together a video all about it: I don't think that everyone needs a fancy bag. I've been happily juggling my art supplies since I started sketching in 2011. I look for spots to sketch where a table or a chair (and therefore my lap) is available. I sometimes even carry a sketching stool with... Read more →

The folks at The Crafter's Workshop sent me some of their new stencil butters to try out. And so I did! You can watch my explorations in the video below: Links: Stencil Butter Shimmery Goodness Palette Paper Palette Knife Black Tags Manila Tags Stencils: Cut Outs, Shape Landscape, Fantasy Tile Stencil 101 free e-mail course And here is another peek at the tags from the video: Let me know if you've tried out the stencil butters or the shimmery goodness. Any thoughts on using them? I'm kind of tempted to try the stencil butters on my gelatin plate next! Thanks... Read more →

I took Grafix's new Opaque Black Plastic sheets for a test drive with tons of different mediums. This is the process I often use to explore new-to-me supplies: I cut up the black plastic into manageable pieces (about 2x3). Then I brainstormed a quick list of all my favorite art mediums and printed out some labels. I stuck the labels down and then went to town. Now that everything is dry, I have a wonderful set of reference cards for how some of my favorite art mediums behave on top of the black plastic. Knowledge is power. Watch the video... Read more →

I love art supplies! I keep a list of all of my favorite supplies HERE. But today I thought I'd share 5 that I can't live without: Grey Matters Palette Paper I used a plastic plate as a palette for years and years... ...before I switched to white palette paper (which you can see me using in this video). But then I read about how the only way to really see colors as they are is on a grey background. So then, I had to switch to grey colored palette paper. I made the switch many years ago and I... Read more →