Inspiration while at CHA

Good day to you all!

As some of you may know The Craft and Hobby Association had their annual Mega Show this past weekend in Anaheim, CA. Hopefully, you saw Gia Lau's post about it yesterday as she had such great information to share. I was also able to attend and in my post today I am going to share with you an important lesson that I learned while there.

First though, I will tell you that I could not have had more fun at CHA. There was inspiration everywhere; from the artists, designers and instructors that I met, the artwork displayed and all of the new products showcased. I was fortunate to meet so many great folks. I, along with Head Honcho of Altered Pages Jean Moore, made exciting new connections for Altered Pages as well. Make sure to check with Altered Pages here for some of the new products for 2014, that will be arriving soon. I was also very happy to FINALLY get to meet my fellow design team member, the amazing Gia Lau. Such great memories were made!

So, about that lesson learned. I attended a seminar by Joanne Sharpe titled, Art Where You Are: Journaling your Life. I learned that I literally could “make art” wherever I am, yes, WHEREVER I am. All I need are a few small and easy to transport supplies. Joanne called this having a Mary Poppins bag. I just loved that. I hope you give this a try. What you will need is a small journal, a water proof black pen such as Micron, a watercolor palette and a few water brushes (just make sure to fill your brushes as soon as you get them so they will be ready wherever & whenever art happens.) You can find all of these supplies and more at Altered Pages. Please see list below.

Below is a journal page that I created using supplies from my craft stash as a still life. I started with what was initially a very, VERY quick sketch of my “tools” and then went back over it adding a bit of definition and framed it out. I then added the color using my traveling water colors! This literally took less than 5 minutes to sketch and a few minutes more to colorize. I loved the freedom this gave me. It allowed me to not be perfect - Hooray!

I often recognize art in my daily life. Now, all I need is 5 minutes to soak that up,

sketch it out and I add the color and journaling whenever I want. How fun is that?

Thank you so much to Joanne Sharpe for the enlightening class.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Thank you also to Altered Pages for carrying all of the supplies I need.

I am happy to say I am now carrying my own Mary Poppins.

In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, I highly recommend picking one up!

Recommended supply list -

Dylusions small journal

Micron pen

Niji pearlescent watercolors

Waterbrushes

Get on Over!

We like having you visit, Make sure to subscribe... Just click here - easy peasy November will be filled with Die Cut ART, join us. Embellish premade pieces art by Barbara Rankin Cut your own pieces Paint or Foil to add interest art by Lyneen Jesse Combine Die cuts in a variety of mediums art by Jean Moore Create with your manual die cutting machine or buy premade

Handy Tip for Artists, Recyclers and Neat Freaks! I have a follow-up to the Citra-Sol method for creating fabulous background pages and collages. I bought a big bag of navel oranges and realized I had the ingredients to make my own solvent! Simply take a clean glass jar, peel the rind from the oranges and place all the rind/peels, without the pulp (tangerines, oranges, navels) into the jar. Pour enough vinegar over the peels to cover them. Allow the jar to sit for a week or two and VOILA! You have made your own solvent for literally pennies. You will notice the liquid getting a bit thicker than the plain vinegar and it does not smell bad!!! I now have a HUGE jar on the window sill! Be careful and only use this after testing on a safe spot.

DINA WAKLEY Featured Artist

We are SO Proud to present Dina Wakley with her ART and February Tip (oops, she says she is totally disorganized, so there is HOPE for all of us!) Dina Wakley is a mixed-media artist and teacher. She loves everything about art: creating it, thinking about it, looking at it, and teaching it. Dina is passionate about teaching art. She teaches both in-person and online workshops. She is a docent at the Phoenix Art Museum, where she gives tours to school groups and gets kids excited about art. As a Ranger Signature Designer, Dina designs a line of mixed-media art supplies that includes acrylic paints, mediums, brushes, rubber stamps, stencils, and more. Look for the Dina Wakley Media Line by Ranger at a store near you. Dina's books Art Journal Freedom and Art Journal Courage are available now. Also look for three new North Light DVDs starring Dina, available this month: "Art Journal Mark Making and Throwing Ink," Art Journal Color Courage," and &q

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