Create and Thrive Audio Summit

 

The doors are open to a FREE audio event that you’re not going to want to miss!

The Create and Thrive Summit is produced and hosted by mixed media artist Roben-Marie Smith. It’s a unique combination of a summit and podcast, offering useful insights and practical advice tailored for artists and makers.

And in case you didn’t hear, it features yours truly plus 6 other phenomenal speakers who are sharing their stories on why they started art journaling, their tips for getting started and so much more that will inspire you.

Whether you’re a seasoned art journaler or considering jumping in and giving it a go, this summit will open your eyes to the possibilities AND rewards.

Sign up now to reserve your spot! Www.robenmarie.com/summit-signup

Seth Apter Stamps!!!

When my friend Seth Apter asked if he could send me a couple of stamps from his new stamp line with Impression Obsession  to try out I of course said YES!!!

They do not disappoint! The thing that I love about Seth’s stamps and stencils are that they can be used ‘in’ work. They don’t have to be the final image but can be incorporated mixed media style right into your journal page or artwork. They add structure, line and shape, building blocks for creating.

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Here is a journal spread I did using two of his new stamps, “Net Work’ and “Inter Net”. Love those names too!!

 

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Be sure to visit Seth’s BLOG for even more details and to see the whole line of stamps! And check out the links below to see more creations using his new stamps!!
Mary Beth Shaw
Marjie Kemper
Linda Cain 
Brian Kasstle
Kim Henkel 

Analogous Colors at Play

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Today I had time to play with lesson 3 from my book. Analogous colors are so fun to play with in a messy way because you can’t make mud with them! They just keep blending and making beautiful color.

 

photo 1I first spritzed my page spread with water so I could work wet on wet. (Check out my messy table from yesterday’s print making session!)

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Then I used Mini Misters (Ranger) to spray some of my acrylic inks onto the page. These will be available soon at Jerrys Artarama! They are great for backgrounds because they’re acrylic and when dry, permanent!! No bleed through. I’m using a non stick teflon sheet to mask off most of the page.

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These pics show the progression as I work my way up the page from the bottom. I chose to use 6 colors. Remember analogous colors are side by side on the color wheel.

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Next I laid a stencil on top (Stencil Girl Products) and then used paper towels to blot off the excess ink. I used 3 different stencils to create an interesting background.

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I added a color wheel using one of my stencils (Stencil Girl Products) to show the colors I used on the background. Then using a Copying Pencil (these have indelible ink in them and turn a lovely turquoise color when you wet them) and sketched a face. I used the Copying Pencil to stay with my color palette and not overwhelm the page.

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I activated the pencil with a wet brush.

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Next I used white and black China Markers to add a little pop to the face with highlights and shadows.

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I used the Copying Pencil to add some journaling and my page spread is complete. I really like that the image doesn’t overwhelm the page, or cover the background. I may work a bit more on this but I’m done for now.

 

Printmaking Unleashed

Traci Bautista’s new book, Printmaking Unleashed is FULL of unique ideas for printing and mark making.

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I was excited to have a couple of hours to sit down and try some of the techniques in her book today. It really delivers as it definitely unleashed the printmaking beast in me!

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She sent me a box full of awesome tools to try out and the thing that grabbed my attention right away is how many things you can use in printmaking that are just ordinary items. I’m getting ready to bind these backgrounds into a new journal so I can continue printing and journaling on top of them. Love having pages ready to develop in my journals, much more inspiring than blank pages!

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A Peek Inside Creating Art at the Speed of Life

I don’t know if you know this or not but I actually made a journal full of all of the lessons in my second book, Creating Art at the Speed of Life. This journal is where all of the projects in the book came from. I take this journal with me when I teach journaling classes so some have been able to actually look through it in person, but for those who can’t I thought I’d share a few of the pages with you.

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I often get tagged in a photo of someone else’s journey through my book and there is no greater thrill than seeing someone enjoy my book!! That’s the whole reason behind sharing in this way, to hopefully help others on their own creative journey.

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I would love to see even more journal pages inspired by the lessons in my book! Did you know that you can actually post pictures of those pages on the books amazon page? You can, and I’d love to invite you to do so!! There are a couple of pictures there already, but it would be awesome to see more!! And while you’re there I’d really appreciate it if you’d take a minute to leave a review for the book. I get so many people telling me they love it, but the most helpful thing is to leave a review to share with others.

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I’d also love to hear from you here. What was your favorite lesson so far? Did you complete your journal? Stuck on a lesson? Question about a product? Feel free to comment on this post and I’ll do my best to answer if you have any questions:-)

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Is starting an Art Journal on your Bucket List??? If so this book can help you achieve that goal!!

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I look forward to hearing from you and seeing your pages!!! And if you’d like to share of Facebook, I’ve also just created a page on there specifically for the book:-)