Creative Explorations: Row Houses

After the craziness of December and the many shows I participated in and after making close to 200 Curious Elements, I was in need of some artful playtime. I found just what I needed in a Sunday afternoon class offered by Christy Wood at Stampin' Cat Studio . . . . Creative Explorations: Row Houses. Christy got her inspiration for the class from a couple of past issues of Cloth Paper Scissors, but of course, she put her own spin on the houses she had us create.

We started with five precut and prepared wood block houses and were set free to do whatever we pleased. Christy had some suggestions and ideas for us, but I just went off into my own world and did my own thing (now there's a surprise!).




I've never had the pleasure of taking a class with Christy before this and I had so much fun I'm already looking ahead to what she'll be offering next in her Creative Explorations series.


I didn't get my houses finished, but I sure had fun gettinggthe paper and paint foundations in place. Now I get to sort through my bins and drawers of metal bits and pieces at my studio to complete my dark little lane of houses.

Flinging Paint

I taught a five-hour class on visual journaling techniques last Saturday afternoon at Stampin' Cat Studio in Salem. The class had sold out weeks in advance so by the time Saturday afternoon rolled around, everyone was pretty excited to get started. And although we had five luxurious hours to create, the time seemed to just zip by and it was 6:00 before we knew it.

Preparing the class packets. I included all kinds of papers (ledger, phonebook, maps, music, joss, dress patterns, and a bit of braille), doilies, tickets, envelopes, tags, sequin waste, sandpaper, bubble wrap, and corrugated cardboard!


Ready for my students to arrive. I provided everything they needed for the afternoon - they only had to bring a journal designed for watercolor or mixed media work.



Some of the day's action:

Ooolala, it was a fun day!

Itty Bitty Pretties

It had been quite some time since I had offered my Itty Bitty Pretties class, but last Thursday I had the privilege to teach it at Stampin' Cat Studio in Salem. This particular class involves schlepping a lot of supplies because we use lots and lots of bits and pieces to embellish the little 1.5 x 1.5 chipboard squares. Here's the work space all set up and ready to receive the eager students.


Let the fun begin!





A sampling of the completed Itty Bitty Pretties:









In case you are interested in making your own Itty Bitty Pretties, here are the basic instructions:

Itty Bitty Pretties are little pieces of art created on 1.5 x 1.5 chipboard squares. I like them because they are small, not very intimidating, and each little square is a finished piece of art. It is also a fun way to practice new techniques and supplies in a safe little space. In order to have consistency, I use repetition in the basic procedure:

Cover the chipboard square with paper; this can be a section of words from a book, a picture from a magazine, or just a bit of pretty paper.

Cut out a head from a photocopied photograph (I make my copies at a place like Kinko’s so I’m getting copies made from a toner copier). I have been making my chips using black and white photos of relatives, again to give some repetition and continuity. Decide on a placement and glue the photo onto the paper.

Add a word from the dictionary that represents the person, i.e., “uncle” or “sweet” or “daughter.” You get the idea.

Cover the entire chipboard square with a coating of matte medium (or gloss if you want them shiny!).

Paint the edges and back with coordinating acrylic paints.

Embellish away with any and all sorts of cutouts, flower petals, whatever . . . this part is unlimited. I like to think about the person I am “working on” add little bits that remind me of that person’s life.

If you need a small, safe project and want instant results, Itty Bitties are a great way to break through and create some miniature pieces of art. Why are you still reading this? Go get your scissors and get started!

Think Outside the Tin And See What Happens!

I came up with a new class idea last month and called it Think Outside the Tin. Last night was the first time I taught the class (other than with my Walking in This World women, who were my guinea pigs!). Come see what eight creative women did with a prepared tin.

The class was held at Stampin' Cat Studio in Lisa's fabulous studio space at the back of the store.


The initial prep of the tins:






Caveat . . . I got a new camera over the weekend, a Nikon S70 Coolpix, but I have not yet learned how to use it (it's a touch screen, so completely different from my old Nikon Coolpix), so the following following are less than acceptable. However, I wanted to post about the class so I am including them here with my apologies. Guess what manual I'll be studying before I take another round of photos?

Preparing the patina in advance of class:


Getting started:





"Most" of the finished tins:

Aren't they just beautiful?