Fun at Artiscape

Finally getting a post in after my fun trip to Artiscape! I had a wonderful time at Artiscape and saw lots of friends that I had taken classes with before. I took classes with Paula Hardesty (a soldering goddess), Gaye Medbury (made a really fun little book that I'll post when I finish the embellishing), Paula Best (made very cool fabric beads and a funky fabric bracelet too). I took Fun with Stencils and Art Charms made from aluminum cans with Mike Meador who was also a great instructor. He and his wife Chris make such a great team and we all laughed like crazy in both classes - he's a very funny guy! I can't wait to try some of the new techniques I learned in my classes and I promise to post one or two more of my class projects once I get them a little more finished. Hopefully, it won't be so long between posts next time.

 This is the front of my shadow box pendant that I made in Paula Hardesty's class

This is the back side of my Shadow box pendant, I can't wait to make more of these!

One of my trades I made for Artiscape. My Reach for the Stars wand, they didn't last long - glad I saved one for me.

Road trip to Columbus

Well, today I drove to Columbus for Artiscape, a really fun weekend of art, friends and classes. It's a 2 hour drive from my home to Columbus and I have a few favorite places to stop on the way. First stop was Gahana for some bead shopping. I am also a jewelry artist and am always looking for unique beads to add a special touch to a necklace or bracelet that I make for a friend, myself or for sale. The Gahana Bead Studio is a great shop with lots of unique glass beads, vintage brass findings, and more. Of course I found a few things that had to come home with me. I then stopped at CWI Craft wholesalers in Reynoldsburg, only open to the wholesale industry though. They have art supplies, primitive home decorations and cookbooks by Gooseberry Patch.  By then, it was time to check in at the hotel and give a call to my husband to let him know I had arrived safely. I'm looking forward to some creative inspiration for a few days. Hopefully I'll have time to post some more pics as the week goes on. Until then...

These are my treasures from the Gahana Bead Studio shopping, I can't wait to get home and play with them. The C-Koop pendants were great little enamel pendants. 

 

The first photo doesn't do justice to the really great colors that these beads had, beautiful blues, greens and golds! 

An ATC created from the Family Stories set

This is an ATC I created for a trade at Artiscape. I clear embossed the bird on a fence image on glossy paper. I dabbed Ranger Alcohol inks over the whole card and wiped away the ink over the embossed image. I stamped the musical notes with StazOn black and then added a little gold cap to my  singing bird. I attached the glossy card to black card stock. I'm having lots of fun with my new stamps. 

Finally, up and Running!

I'm so excited to be posting my first blog! I have followed all of my friend's blogs for years and never had one of my own. I thought to myself, "I'm  a graphic designer, I can figure this out". I'm sure it will get easier, but I hope you will all forgive my first few attempts and know that I'll get better as I go. My goal is to post something every few days and I'm going to try very hard to do so. I have so many things to share with you... the first and most exciting is my new line of unmounted rubber stamps that I have designed. I would love to hear your comments about them. And if you have purchased them, I'd love to see what you have created. I'll be working to set up my  Etsy shop soon. I'll post the link as soon as it's done.