Time to get back to the scrappin' roots...

It's been awhile since I scrapbooked... mixed media has kinda taken control, at lease for the last couple months, and now it's time to get back to my roots... Both of my Europe trips were in early 2007, so I thought it was wise to start scrappin' before I completely forgot what happened during those glorious couple months...

It's hard to switch your mind from mixed media to scrapbooking... mixed media is so complex... layer upon layer of mediums to where there's barely any dead space... it's full of love :) ... Scrapbooking, on the other hand, is pretty simple at heart and I found myself battling over the need to put more stuff on the page and just leaving it alone... And then I visited Ali E's page... one of her motto's is "It's ok"... I took a deep breath and said it aloud... "It's ok if the page is not completely covered, so stop stressin!"... besides, years down the road the most important part of these books is the stories behind the pictures.... so, I kept it simple... My Italy book consists of a few pictures mixed with some beautiful patterned paper and journaling, and I love it... Here are some sample pages (still have to write in some of my journaling, so mind the blank parts)... more to come later next week...

I have yet to do any sort of digital scrapbooking. I took a couple classes at Green Tangerines, but never got down to actually finishing a layout... probably because my computer had ZERO memory and wouldn't even let me open a new Photoshop document... I know, it's pretty bad... Anyway, I have since obtained a external harddrive and I'm ready to start doin' some digi stuff... I hear Jessica Sprague has wonderful digi classes, so my plan is to start there and gradually work my way to completing my Spain/Portugal all in Digi... I can't wait...

Oh... I forgot the saddest thing... I have to replace my craft sheet on my table... I don't know why this always makes me sad... I like to come into my studio and look of my craft sheet all covered with paint, stamping ink and stickers... all the "war wounds" left over from projects past... It's always so hard to replace it... well, guess I'll have to get started on covering the newone... Keep on creating...

Polly... Italy... Crap!!!

So I finally finished my polly from Suzi Blu's class... the class is over and I'm so sad... that was BY FAR the best class I've ever taken... I'll miss the weekly Suzi Love videos... so many techniques... so much love... Her mixed media network is still up and running, and we have tons of creative godesses to play with!!!... So much fun...

Anyway, here's my finished Polly... my favorite part of mixed media is how versitile it is... you can use whatever you have lying around!!!... in this painting alone I used woodburning, colored pencils, acrylic paint (three different brands), stencils, stamps, tissue paper, scrapbook paper, paper flowers, gold leaf, and beeswax... Tons of fun beautiful layers!!!... I can't even explain how much fun I had working on this piece... anyway, enough of my babbling... here she is!!!

I finally started working on my Italy scrapbook from 2007 (ummm... yea... a little late)... and thanks to the espresso I bought from that trip (mixed with a little sugar-free Swiss Miss hot chocolate... OMG so friggin' good!!) I have gotten the first three pages done before work over the last couple days... still have to work on the journaling... I may have to take Jessica Sprague's new FREE CLASS to get the ideas flowin'... I'll post my finished pages in a few days...

On another note... I am FUTURE TRIPPIN'!!! (a new term I picked up from my Karen)... with the economy the way it is and my CNA contract due to be renegotiated in 2011 (I know, I know... and little early to be flippin' out), I'm just a little worried (ok, ok... A LOT worried) about the future of my job and wages... anyway, just thought I would share my thoughts... enjoy your weekend...

Oh, by the way, my 30 mile ride turned into 12 miles... so, yea, I'm pretty pathetic, but Natalie assured me that she's going to start kickin' my ass, so we're doing a whopping 15 miles next time... I'm still hoping for some motivation to stick with it...

I love you my Honeybush!!!... Muah!!

MIA

I've been MIA lately... same ol' story... workin', workin', workin'... I finished the Suzi Blu class. (click on my Mixed media badge on the left to see my work... I'll post the finished product in a week or so)...

I have become the most impatient, cynical person... I'm so sick of myself!!! I'm determined to get back to my happy self... and here's my plan...

1. Exercise more... I need to get back on my bike (I'm going for a little 30mile ride on Monday
with a fellow biker friend of mine)... And I need some kind of relaxation/meditation (I'm gonna try some "Hot Yoga" with another friend of mine... may God be with me)

2. Don't let the clusterf*ck of my job get to me... It's a difficult process but I'm trying...

3. Don't stress about money... with my focus being on getting my house I've been trying to pay off bills, and save every available penny (and with my shopping addiction, it's not so easy) to pay off credit cards... I'm an instant gratification kinda girl, and it's so frustrating... I just want everything now...

4. PAINT, PAINT, PAINT... not only is this my major way of relaxing, but it also gives me a
lot of satisfaction and pride to create beautiful pieces.... not to mention that when I finally
get off my butt to get prints made, I can make some extra money on Etsy.com... I'll keep
you posted...

What do you think of my plan?... Think I'll follow through with it?... :)

Class with Suzi Blu

Hello lovies... Sorry I have been MIA lately... it's been awhile... Joseph had surgery, and I'm happy to announce he's doing wonderful, despite being bedridden forced to watch horrible daytime TV (he loves it)...

I'm taking a online class by the lovely Suzi Blu, who by the way has found her calling... she is an art teach, and she is doing such a wonderful job... her videos are wonderful and inspiring and I'm having a blast... LOVE HER!!!

The class is all about making "pretty pretty girls" (as Suzi calls them)... it's so much fun!! It's eight weeks of videos, homework assignments, entries in our Healing Art Journal, and tons of inspiration... There are about 350 people taking the class, and each person adds their own love and talent to the class... we get to see other people's work, ask tons of questions, and just enjoy each other... It's incredible...

Lesson One was all about drawing faces... the rules to drawing eyes, old vs. young faces, and adding your own little touch to each piece... here are a few of my sketches...

Lesson Two was on Shading to accentuate the natural contours of the face... Suzi Blu created her pieces on wood and does a little wood burning to add a little somethin' somethin' to her initial sketch... here's my first attempt at painting a "pretty pretty girl" on wood... First I sketched out my girl on a piece of birch plywood and then burned the outline...

Then I did a little shading with watercolor and regular pencils...

I blended a colorless pencil and added some white to the nose and cheek area... a little pink and red to the lips, and another layer of colored pencils for added shading...



Colored her hair, another layer of shading and blended with water and acrylic paint... it's not exactly perfect (one of her eyes is a little bigger than the other, and she looks like she has bags under her eyes... not to mention that her hair doesn't have much dimension), but it's my first one so I'll cut myself some slack... I'm so critical of myself... I need to stop... anyway, here she is... you like?

Things I need to promise myself...

play every day...
do my dishes...
spend less money...
take more creative classes, even if it's only an online tutorial...
commit to Peach Honey products...
study for my RNC...
pay off my credit cards...
lose 3 pounds...
be patient...
finish Joseph and my scrapbook...
love...
sort through my closet and get rid of half my clothes...
start crocheting again...
cook more...
dance...
floss...
take a sewing class...
workout...
start (and finish) my scrapbooks for my Europe trips...
take beautiful pictures...
wash my car...

Mixed Media Page

Go visit my Suzi Blu Mixed Media Page... xoxox

I'm on my way...

Well, it's been a very busy week... lots of stuff to report... let's start at the beginning...

I took a Story Canvas class a couple weeks ago from Chris Cozen at my local stamp store, and OH MY GOD!!!, I can't even explain to you how wonderful it was... She is so talented and her presence alone helped to inspire truly beautiful work from everyone in the class... It's so wonderful to be surrounded by talented people... it helps to spark ideas that may otherwise lay dormant...

I brought a pic of Joseph and I (our favorite picture of the two of us) from our weekend in San Francisco last July... We had only been dating for a month, but I knew then and there I was madly in love... Here's my finished collage... it's my first mixed media piece and I'm so so so happy with it... I love that you can tell a story, real or not, and transform that story into something beautiful...

I have to admit that I was being a total groupie,

hanging off of her every word, but damnit it was worth it... here's a pic of the two of us (after she signed my book, of course)... Another good outcome of the class was that I got to talk to Chris about how she got started creating her own line of rubber stamps... Let's just say that my sketches are on their way to "her lady" and I'm that much closer to launching Peach Honey products... AHHHHHH!!! Yea, just a little excited...

I FINALLY HAVE A WORK TABLE!!! After my custom table dreams fell threw I called my Dad to see if there was any way he could help me make something... He informed me that he had a drafting table that he wasn't using... A FREE TABLE?!? Long story short, I went to Home Depot, got a new table top, and he happily attached it... It's so perfect... it's 3x5 feet with an adjustable height, and I even got a clip on lamp to attach to the side... I couldn't help but play all Monday afternoon and evening.... Here's a couple mixed media pieces I did... you like?

And here's a pic of my new table... yes, it's already covered in projects and I love it!!! I wouldn't have it any other way...

NEW FAV BOOK!!! Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected by Claudine Hellmuth... It took me a week to finish her first book, Collage Discovery Workshop, and this new one was no exception... lovely new techniques to inspire even the newest of artists, and examples of her lovely work... After finishing the book, I took out all my mini canvas boards, and tried them out... here's what I did... whatcha think? (They will be going up on my Etsy site soon, I promise)...

Busy busy busy Jess...

I promise I'm not neglecting my blog page... I have worked the last 11 days and I need time to gather my thoughts...

Peach Honey Products is on the way... it might take a while, but it's on the way...

I'm frantically trying to get my studio together, so my Etsy page and future business will be everything I want and more... thanks to everyone for their support and lovely comments... It's amazing what a little love will do...

more to come... promise!!!

Holy Productive Weekend, Batman!!!!

Oh my freakin goodness!!! I got so much done this weekend... I spent all of Friday sitting on the floor of my office organizing my multitude of crap (after a hefty helping of Starbucks... gotta love that caffeine buzz)... Every thing is where it should be and now I just have some minor organizing of pictures and patterned paper to do and then I'm FINISHED!!! It feels so good, I can't even explain it... I can't stop walking in the room and admiring my work...

Here are some of the final pics...

If you can't remember what my "creative space" used to look like... take a look... it was ridiculous...

Oh, I forgot to mention, I opened an ETSY site!!!... I'm gonna post my first two pieces in a couple days, so stay tuned... (TELL YOUR FRIENDS I DO COMMISSIONS!!), and I hope to post some stamps I've been designing... I'm so excited!!!

Let the craziness begin...

My life has become one big whirl of STUFF!!!...Color Theory class with my Mati... I have only done one lesson, and since I haven't finished the first assignment, yet, I haven't scheduled the second lesson (I'm such a bad student)... I'm also doing an online Business class through Learning Exchange... I really really really want to launch Peach Honey Products, so this is the first step to it's success...

I'm still organizing my multitude of crap!!! This project has been going on for awhile, but I'm really serious about finishing it soon (stop rolling your eyes, Joseph)... I'm doing a commission for Joseph's parent's... my first one, and I'm oh so nervous... I hope they love it...

I'm still doing classes here and there from local art stores... I've done a couple from David Lobenberg, which I loved and I plan to sign up for more in the future... I signed up for a class with Chris Cozen, author of Altered Surfaces, and a local stamp art store... I'm so excited to work on my mixed media pieces...

And yes, I'm still working full-time as a nurse, and thank God because it's the only way I can finance all my artistic passions... Damn inspiration!!!... it gets me into so much trouble...