Amazing video by orge R. Canedo Estrada – so inspiring:
What is your Thing?
hugs
Nat
have a wonderful day
hugs
Nat
Note to Self…or July Cocoa Daisy Kit
June 28, 2012 By
Want a little sneak of the new kit…I love it already- so can’t wait playing with it 
“We scrapbook because it’s important to get our lives and thoughts down on paper. Note to Self, our July kit, pays tribute to that concept. Filled with new releases from October Afternoon, My Mind’s Eye, Echo Park and an exclusive Cocoa Daisy Stamp Set you will be reaching for over and over again. Not to mention the very fun surprise we’ve included in each kit from 7gypsies. All of this combines to create a unique office themed kit, focused on capturing life, right now.
You will want to stop and Take Note of this month’s first add on. Perfectly coordinated items from October Afternoon, Crate Paper, Eve’s Studio and Jillibean combine to create an add on full of bright and happy tidbits that just make you want to get at your scrappy desk and play!
You will want to Pencil In plenty of time to be creative when you open this, our second add on. Filled with product from Echo Park, American Crafts, Jenni Bowlin and a bit of “pretty” from Prima, this add on not only gives you great items to layer with, but will also enhance your titles and journaling.
The July Embellishment Pack is filled with so many fun bits and pieces, perfect for layering or adding that final little touch to your project. With product from October Afternoon, K&Co and Jenni Bowlin you will have plenty of embellishments to choose from.
Here is one To Do List you will be happy to tackle. This patterned paper add on is filled with beautiful papers from October Afternoon, Echo Park, Crate Paper, My Mind’s Eye and more. These patterned papers coordinate perfectly with the main kit and other add ons, giving you countless options to create.”
What was your latest Note to self?
Nat
Second Floor Challenge #6: Pencil
June 26, 2012 By
Are you ready to take the second floor this time? If you have no clue what I am talking about- read all about it here The Second Floor Challenge
So today is our 6th Second Floor Challenge: Pencil
Click here to see what Julie did
Whatever that means to you or however it inspires you. The prompt is simply meant to get you started. The level of challenge you aim for is entirely internal and up to you.
So we decided this challenge should be to use a pencil. And I have to say I was really looking forward to this. I just recently purchased a Sketching set of pencils by Derwent because….I remembered how much I love pencils – although I can’t sketch at all 
I picked an image of a frame that I still had of some amazing Danyeela Paper and traced it with the Saral Transfer Paper on a piece of cardstock with a pencil.
then I started playing with the different pencils HB, 2B and 4B
I liked realizing again the different possibilities of the pencils and then I took some Derwent Artbars and started painting the background
I took it to the second floor by adding the journaling also with the pencil – so in total I only used pencils, Artbars, Adhesive and a Photo for this layout
hehehe- this photo of Julie had to be used some day…don’t you think
I am not super happy with the outcome. The frame looks ok- and I like the pencil painting- but actually I don’t like the rest…It didn’t look good without any paint surrounding it but I wonder if a softer looking medium like PanPastels would look better around it.
What I learned from this challenge:
- I was reminded that it is fun to play with different pencils – something about their smoothness makes me happy.
- I liked playing with the tracing paper – I hadn’t used it before and I can see some fun possibilities using it
- I would rather have used Panpastels that would have left a softer background here to have the pencil frame more set off
- It was fun using some of the Artbars on the pencil frame- the way how the waxy Artbars react with the pencils is fun
- I like using a pencil for journaling
- It was calming to work so long with just a few supplies – instead of feeling limited I felt actually kind o relieved and I had more ideas just focusing on them
- I still can’t draw….a 2 year old draws nicer pencil pictures then me- there will be only ever be tracing for me
If you’d like to leave a link showing off what you did in response to this challenge, here’s the linky list:
add your own creations inspired by our 2nd Floor Challenge: Pencil
Related articles
- Second Floor Challenge #4: Circles (nathaliesstudio.com)
- n*Lab Tales – Today featuring Derwent Artbars (nathaliesstudio.com)
Me encanta España or…Art Mesa and Madrid Recap
June 25, 2012 By
It was such a short but amazing trip. Thursday I flew to Madrid, Spain for Cuchy and my Art Mesa 2012 event.
We still had some preparation to do – not much as Cuchy rocked the house with her organization – but we had decided I would come a day earlier to have some sightseeing this time in Madrid.
Our first stop was the Reina Sofia – AMAZING collection of 20th Century Art.
Here is the metronome called Object of Destruction (1932) by Man Ray (the original was destroyed )
Wonderful work to see by Pablo Picasso – The Guernica – no photo allowed – BREATHTAKING! Salvador Dali, Joan Miro and many many many more…
Next we took a nice stroll to the Prado
Wow- you need to go there several times- it is HUGE and the collection is unbelievable. We went to a special exhibition of Raphael – his way of painting light has always stunned me! But of course we saw also some permanent paintings – like The Three Graces by Rubens
or the Las Meninas by Velázquez. There is a nice video for the google earth project where you can see a little more details of the museum and on google earth some close-ups of the paintings. But seeing them in real life is the real deal of course
Cuchy took me to Casa Lucio an awesome restaurant in Madrid which is famous for Huevos Estrellados – Eggs with potatoes- soooo good. Speaking of food…oh my goodness…I ate so much…I just put it out here- LOL
We then had to set up the room for ArtMesa, then watch the rest of the Greece vs. Germany Soccer European Championship game – wheeee (sorry my greek friends!):
and then finally the day of our workshop event arrived
It was such a fun day- it was hot hot hot too
We started with my Mixed Media Pillow. The students were so sweet and fun – I had so much fun with them! Thank you Cuchy for all your translations!
I especially liked the creative extras added by my students to the drying line …bwwahahaha- you girls are so funny Thanks for my Malaga students who made me laugh extra
Loved the different results as always – here are a couple finished ones
then it was Cuchy’s turn. She did a beautiful class- with lots of techniques and media ! Loved the results and process
Thank you so much for this amazing day to our students- you were awesome! It was so amazing to see some of you for the second time and it was wonderful how much some of you traveled and thank you all for keeping up with my non existing spanish You rock!
A special thank you also to Cuchy- for organizing all this and her gorgeous way to make me feel more than home (I almost moved in ) – love you girl . And to Alicia – you are the sweetest- thank you for all your help and the awesome aprons you made- you ROCK! And to Marta our beautiful photographer and helper!
BTW- those pictures were all taken with my phone, I was too lazy to take the big camera with me as I usually do not take a lot of pictures anyway during events.
Sunday before the flight we headed out to surprise Lisa Mitchell at an art book fair in the library – it was so good to see her!
Her Books were amazing- loved her exhibition. I hope I see you soon again, Lisa!
Now this is what I call the coolest university library in the world- The ruins of the Escuela Pias, now converted to a university library.
The exhibition was also so cool and inspiring
And then it was unfortunately time to head back and say goodbye to Cuchy and her family 
I wish they lived closer!
Thank you all for this wonderful experience and all I can say is me encanta España
Besos
Nat
Texture Galore or…Summer Canvas
June 23, 2012 By
New Canvas on the wall- yeah -since it is summer, right?
So much texture here- my husband said it actually looks like it moves
I had lot’s of fun creating it and it made me all warm and fuzzy …as it was raining and pretty cold outside when I did it
This canvas is part of my Über*Media Acrylic Paint Workshop where I show you amongst a huge amount of techniques, how to create this mixed media canvas (full version only). You can still join the class if you want
Hugs
Nat
Maya Road Guest Designer – Road Trip Minialbum
June 21, 2012 By
Last but not least I show you the little minialbum I created for my guest design spot at Maya Road.
The photos were all taken at our recent road trip in Januar in California- I loved working on this project, as it brought back so many fun memories!
This Mini album uses a mix of the Maya Road Canvas Flag Banner and the Maya Road Chipboard Flag Banner Album as its base.
A variety of Maya Mist adorn the pages of this mini album.
A great feature of the Maya Road Canvas albums is that the canvas doesn’t bleed.
You can spray lots of mist on one side and the other side will remain blank until you are ready to alter it.
Using a stencil and Maya Mists I created both negative and positive images on my pages.
I love the way the chipboard takes the Maya Mist
I used a black marker to trace the stencil by Crafter’s Workshop an give it more definition. Fun
What was the last Mini Album about you created?
hugs
Nat
Last Day of Spring or…quick quick, show your spring layout
June 20, 2012 By
YOWZA- can you believe summer starts tomorrow. I can’t ! And I actually love this time when it is light out here in Hamburg till 10pm – crazy…:) And Summer is my FAVORITE time of the year..but oh wait…let’s celebrate spring real quick
Spring
I don’t really think I have mentioned yet that this is my favorite color combination at the moment (liar, liar, pants on fire )
Spring means planting flowers, eating more salad, first BBQ and siting outside for lunch dates.
Supplies: 7Dots Paper, Acrylic Paints, Ceramic Stucco, Maya Road Butterflies, American Crafts Thickers, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Pads and MyStik Permanent, Crafter’s Workshop Stencil
What does spring mean to you?
hugs
Nat
Prima Marketing Educator 2012-2013
June 19, 2012 By
Thrilled that Prima asked me again to stay on the Educator team for 2012-2013. I have been with them since 2007 – Love it!!!
Here is to another wonderful year filled with yummy Prima goodies in my Mixed Media classes
Speaking of classes – I am heading out to Art Mesa in Madrid, Spain this Thursday to teach and the next stop will be in Toronto, Canada in July at Bizzy B’s.
I look forward seeing some of you hopefully at either place – I am so excited!!!
Have an amazing day and lot’s of sunshine
Huge hugs
Nat
Related Posts: Check out my Online Workshops
Colors Are Your Friends or let’s talk a bit of “my” Color Theory VI
June 18, 2012 By
In case you missed the other posts of this series- I collected them all on this page here.
We are still discussing:
and with this last post in the series I wanted to show you which color combinations I love and where I find inspiration for those color combinations
So where do I find inspiration for color combos? I would say there are four main categories for me:
- Nature
- Street Art
- Art Work
- Catalogues or Magazines
I usually have my cell phone which has a camera with me anyway and as soon as I see something that I think will inspire me later for some color combination I take a photo for later. If I’m stuck or want to get out of my usual color routine I just scroll through my photos. Here are some that I have taken the last couple weeks just for that purpose with my phone.
1. Nature
Nature is an amazing source of color combinations- flowers especially- like this one:
See the colors that are in this flowers
2. Street Art
Often times graffiti or street art has some amazing color combos too – like this one
Love those colors together
3. Art Work
When I go to a museum or exhibition I also love looking for amazing color combinations- Like this painting by Neo Rauch – he rocks color combinations that are unusual in my opinion
I would have never thought by myself using those colors together
4. Catalogues or Magazines
I do not read a lot of fashion or gossip magazines but if I get one I usually just look for color combinations :) and then …well…as you are looking you might as well just read the stories- right – LOL
these colors make me happy together
Here are some projects I created using some of my favorite color combinations at the moment
Here are the colors:
here is another one
and the colors:
And my beloved jewel tones
here is the color palette
And one last one
and the color palette
It is so much fun to be friends with Colors. After a while you do not even have to think much with which ones you want to hang around and which ones you want to bring together- I promise you – with just the little color theory we talked about in the past posts, you will instantly grab the right ones and make them sing in an amazing choir
I hope you enjoyed the “Colors Are Your Friends”- Series- you will find the complete post here
Nat
Hello Sunshine or…Cocoa Daisy June Kit Projects
June 17, 2012 By
This kit was getting me totally into summer mood and I had fun using all those patterns.
*Hello*
Loved mixing the different papers. I traced the patterns to have the flowers pop off more from the background.
*Beautiful*
Fun mixing chevron and circle patterns and then I added some splashes of Liquitex inks to break with the geometric clean patterns.
*Hello Card*
Playing a bit with packaging and Maya Mists. Love how the Jillibean Hello wooden flags take Liquitex Inks – the orange is so vibrant!
*Me Day*
I really loved this paper and didn’t wanna change it too much- plus the picture itself is pretty prominent already
I loved how the Queen & Co washi tape yellow plaid blended with the background.
I added some texture and extra with Oil Pastels and dropped some Liquitex Ink to get a bit more orange onto the paper.
How is the progress of summer (well for some of you winter ) in your neck of the wood?
hugs
Nat
