Creative JumpStart

My Home is My Castle – Card

Using some large kraft tags I made a little accordion card for some friends who just moved.

I stamped the different houses from my Stroll Around the Block set as well as the stamps from the My Home is My Castle set on the different panels.

I used some watercolor to add some color here and there and added some words to the street sign :)

I love using kraft paper- it is also surprisingly making some of the watercolors appear more opaque – so I learned something :)

I want all those houses …or maybe just one- …LOL- I woudl take any of them :)

Here are some of the supplies I used:


 

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    What a thoughtful card!
    I especially like how the stamped houses look on the kraft paper.
    Happy Holidays,
    Sue

    Reply

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Let’s get Cooking: It’s Soup Time – CJS2018 JumpStarter Recipes

Ready for some Recipe fun? Our Creative JumpStarters thought they would share with you some of their favorite soup recipes and since this is the season for home made food. I hope you will also join us for their Mixed Media Recipes at Creative JumpStart 2018 !

Hodge Podge Soup (Serves10 to 12)
1 cup chopped raw carrots
1 celery rib, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium white potatoes, diced (about 1/4 inches)
2 cups cold water
4 cups or 48 oz box of beef broth (or vegetable broth), divided
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 cups frozen chopped broccoli
1 cup frozen green beans (cut to one inch pieces if necessary)
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worchester sauce (optional)
black pepper (optional)
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a large pot (more than 6 cups), cook the first three ingredients in olive oil (about 1 to 2 Tbs.)until the onions are translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for one minute or until fragrant. Add potatoes, cold water, and 2 cups of broth to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook them for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Add remaining 2 cups of broth and crushed tomatoes to the pot, and stir. Add all of the frozen vegetables, basil, sea salt, red wine vinegar, Worchester sauce and black pepper. Stir until well blended, and bring it to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to low or med-low and let it simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered. Add more sea salt if necessary. Serve in bowls or cups with grated Parmesan cheese on top if desired.

You can download Andrews Recipe here: CJS18 Recipes Andrew Borloz

Creamy Carrot Soup Recipe
(Serves 4-6)

4 T unsalted butter
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
4 cups thinly sliced carrots
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup milk
2 t salt
1/4 t white pepper
1/2 cup half and half (cream)
parsley for garnish
ground nutmeg for garnish

In a large saucepan, melt the butter, then saute the onion, carrots and garlic, cooking gently over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until slight softened. Add the milk, salt, and white pepper and stir to combine. Cover the pan and continue cooking for about 20 minutes. Cool slightly, then puree in a blender. Place cream in a bowl and whisk in a little of the pureed soup. Add this mixture back into the pan with the remaining soup. Gently heat through, on very low heat, without boiling, then divide soup among bowls. Garnish with herbs, and nutmeg.

Download Jane’s Recipe here: CJS18 Recipes Jane LaFazio 1

And Jane even has a second recipe for you :) check it out: CJS18 Recipes Jane LaFazio 2

Sydney Butternut Squash Soup
(Serves 4 people)

Ingredients:
• 1 onion
• 300g potato (10.6 oz)
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 dash of olive oil
• 1 chi lli pepper
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 dash of white wine
• 700ml chicken stock
• 150ml cream
• 2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
• 100g smoked chicken breast (3.5 oz)
• 80g macadamia nuts (2.8 oz)
• chives

Peel and chop the onion. Peel and dice the potatoes. Cut the squash into parts. Deseed and remove the skin if you prefer (I usually don’t – I just give the squash a good scrub beforehand) and then dice it. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry a couple of minutes. Add the potato and squash. Cut the chilli pepper into rings (remove the seeds for a milder version). Add the pepper and turmeric and let it fry for a bit. Deglaze with wine and stock. Let the soup cook for about 30 minutes on a lower heat. Add cream and soy sauce and puree the soup. Chop the smoked chicken breast and add it to the soup. Scatter the nuts in a dry frying pan and toast them until lightly golden. Roughly chop them. Cut the chives into small rings. Serve the soup in bowls and sprinkle with nuts and chives.

You can download Marsha’s Recipe here: CJS18 Recipes Marsha Valk

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
From Pam’s Kitchen

1/2 stick of butter
1 TBS olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
2-3 cups 1/2 half and half
2 cans chicken broth
1 TBS fresh thyme
1 cup fresh spinach leaves, chopped
1-2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 16oz package gnocchi
1-2 cups parmesiano regianno micro planed
Salt and pepper

Cook gnocchi according to package directions. Sauté onion, celery, carrots and mushrooms in butter and olive oil. Add the flour to create a roux and cook for a minute. Add chicken broth and cook stirring until thickened. Add half and half, cheese, and spinach. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with salad and garlic bread

Download Pam’s recipe here: CJS18 Recipes Pam Carriker

Kasia’s Hot Broad Bean Bowl

” Here’s a recipe for something ridiculously easy, healthy but most of all full of amazing flavour. This is a dish perfect for Sunday brunch, an easy lunch or a little supper and also as a nutritious snack for those days that we spend in the studio. Put it in a bowl, grab a fork and munch on while you cover your great canvases with layers of paint! With these recipes you’ll make enough for two hungry artists!”

Baby broad beans – 2 cups
Cooked chickpeas – 1 cup
Garlic – two gloves
Harissa paste – 3 tsp or more if you like it hot
Eggs – one per person
Cooked white and wild rice – 1 1/2 cups
A mix of veggies – a bit of everything you like (very finely chopped pepper, mushrooms and broccoli, garden peas etc)
Olive oil for frying

Heat a bit of oil in a big frying pan.
Finely chop the garlic and put it on the frying pan along with harissa paste. Fry them for a moment on a medium heat – don’t let the garlic turn brown! Turn the heat up and throw in the broad beans, chickpeas and your favourite veggies and cook for about 10 minutes stirring from time to time. Add the rice and cook together for further 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Try the broad beans, if they are soft enough for you, spread the mixture evenly on the pan and crack the eggs. Don’t stir anymore…Turn the heat back to medium, cover with a lid and let them cook until they are done enough for you. You can have your yolk runny or cooked – your call! Simply turn off the heat and divide the beans and eggs into two bowls. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, grab a fork and enjoy!

You can download Kasia’s recipe here: CJS18 Recipes Kasia Avery

Are you hungry yet? Which recipe are you tempted to try? I am so excited about these delicious recipes, I cannot wait to cook them and I hope you will let us all know if you tried them too! See you in the Classroom of Creative JumpStart 2018!

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Jumping with…Carolyn Dube – a CJS Interview Series

I hope you will enjoy and laugh as much watching this video as I had chatting and laughing with Carolyn Dube in my interview. We talked about food shopping, the question of purpose in art making, and how we would shake up with world of Matisse and Picasso.

Jumping with…Carolyn Dube – a CJS Interview Series from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoyed the interview- her video for CJS is very inspiring! Come and join us for Creative Jumpstart 2018  and see yourself !

Comments (2)

  • JoAnn Campisi

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    Really enjoyed your interview with Carolyn. It is always interesting to learn a little bit about the artists that are part of CJS. Love her laid back approach to art. Definitely can relate to it. Is it January 1 yet??

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      so glad you enjoyed the interview JoAnn! wohooo- almost January :)

      Reply

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Jumping with…Kasia Avery – a CJS Interview Series

It was super fun to have an interview and chat with Kasia Avery this summer for CJS. We talked about Art Journaling, identity, storytelling and all kinds of Artful Adventures.

Jumping with…Kasia Avery – a CJS Interview Series from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoyed the interview- her video for CJS is very inspiring! Come and join us for Creative Jumpstart 2018  and see yourself !

Comments (4)

  • Jackie P Neal

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    OMGosh! This was the best interview! I was giggling right along with the two of you!
    Nat, I love the questions you posed to Kasia- very genius as her answers were. I know that place you two speak of and wish to go to chill out- I think every artist needs this weekend or more! lol

    Thanks so much for sharing this and I sooo look forward to the new CJS!! Yay!!

    Merry Christmas to you and your husband and kitty!
    Jackie xo

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL- I am glad you giggled with us and liked the interview Jackie! So stoked to have you back fro CJS- woot woot! Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones as well!

      Reply

  • JoAnn

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    Just listened to interview with Kasia and found it very enjoyable. I look forward to seeing her segment!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      JoAnn- so glad you liked the interview with Kasia – her video is really cool- so happy you joined again for CJS!!

      Reply

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Jumping with … Dina Wakley – a CJS Interview Series

It is so wonderful to have my friend Dina Wakley join again for Creative Jumpstart 2018 . I always love to chat with her and I hope you will enjoy the interview with her where we talk about all kinds of stuff, from artful adventures, to scuba diving, and from product design to deadlines and what they do to your creative mind :)

Jumping with… Dina Wakley – CJS Interview Series from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoyed the interview- her video for CJS is amazing! Come and join us for Creative Jumpstart 2018  and see yourself !

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Jumping with … Sandra Evertson – a CJS Interview Series

Super happy to have Sandra Evertson joining Creative Jumpstart 2018 as an instructor for the very first time. Sandra is a former model/actress turned artist, author, and collector and it was super interesting to talk with her. Check out my little interview with her:

Jumping with… Sandra Evertson – CJS Interview Series from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

As Sandra mentioned in the interview she also shares with you two of her most favorite recipes – I cannot wait to try them out myself- they sound delicious!

Serves 2

  • 1/2 lb sliced roast beef (Boarshead London Port)
  • 2 – 3 lemons
  • Extra Virgin Olive oil (match the amount of olive oil to the amount of lemon juice)
  • 1 tbl crushed red pepper flakes
  • Sea salt (3 pinches)
  • Spring Mix salad greens

In a bowl add olive oil, lemon juice, crushed red pepper flakes and salt.
Whisk until thoroughly blended.
Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Slice roast beef into 1” cubes.
Place salad greens in large bowls, add roast beef on top, remove dressing from refrigerator and whisk again thoroughly to mix ingredients.
Add desired amount of dressing to salad. (I divide the dressing into 2 servings equally on both salads.)

Serves 2

  • 8 Roma tomatoes (ripe)
  • 2 bunches fresh basil
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 – 5 cloves fresh garlic
  • Parmesan cheese wedge
  • Ribbon pasta
  • Sea salt

Boil pasta in water with a pinch of salt.
Dice tomatoes in 1/2” pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
Add approximately 1/2” cup olive oil (more or less to your taste) and a few pinches of salt.
Crush or mince garlic add to mixture.
Cut basil (leaves only) into strips, add to bowl. Mix together thoroughly.
Grate parmesan.
Drain pasta and place on large pasta plate, top pasta with tomato crudo mixture, garnish with lots of grated parmesan.

Enjoy!

*Note: If anyone makes these recipes, I’d love to hear how you liked them!!

Sandra

You can download the Delicious Mediterranean Roast Beef Salad here CJS18 Recipes Sandra Evertson 1

You can download the Pasta Crudo Recipe here CJS18 Recipes Sandra Evertson 2
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Sandra a little bit better .

Come and join us for Creative Jumpstart 2018 !

Comments (4)

  • JoAnn

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    How delightful the interview was. She is such a fun person and I am now anxious to check her out and look forward to her CJS project. Thank you so much for these chats with the artists in CJS – great way to learn more about them.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeahh- so glad you like the interviews JoAnn! I know you will love her video for CJS! I am happy you are with us again <3

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Wonderful interview and of course I had to go and order some of Sandra’s items.
    Thanks Nat.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Sue, so glad you liked the interview – her products are so beautiful and unique, I bet you will have a lot of fun with them!

      Reply

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Jumping with … Tina Walker – a CJS Interview Series

This year I am super excited to have Tina Walker join Creative JumpStart 2018 as one of the 31 instructors. Her work is just stunning and if you are a follower of this blog you have seen her amazing work throughout her tenure as a Creative Squad Member for the n*Studio. Check out the little interview I did with her

Jumping with…Tina Walker a CJS Interview Series from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

Since the theme of Creative JumpStart 2018 is “Now We Are Cooking” , Tina also provided a recipe for you all

Strawberry Cake

  • Boxed Strawberry Cake Mix
  • Cream Cheese Frosting
  • Fresh Strawberries

Mix cake mix per instructions for a double layer cake.
Bake.
Frost when cool
Garnish with fresh strawberries.
Enjoy!
My art journal page was inspired by the strawberries, layers of cake and ‘frosting’ look. :)
-Tina

You can download Tina’s Strawberry Cake recipe as an pdf here: CJS18 Recipes Tina Walker

Hope you enjoyed getting to know Tina a little bit better .

Come and join us for  Creative JumpStart 2018!

Comments (4)

  • JoAnn

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    Enjoyed the interview and am pleased that I got to meet another one of your wonderful artist friends. I look forward to CJS2018 and Tina’s segment.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      JoAnn, so happ you tuned into the interview and liked it! Woohoo for having you back for CJS! Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!

      Reply

  • Jean Goza

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    Fun interview. Always interesting to find out more about the artist behind the art. Really excited to be part of another year of CJS. As always, thanks for putting it all together. You are amazing.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Awe- Jean- so glad you enjoyed the interview! And thank you for your kind words- you are pretty amazing yourself!

      Reply

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Creative JumpStart 2018 AND CYBER MONDAY SALE

 

I’m excited to announce Creative JumpStart (CJS) 2018! If you’re not familiar with CJS, it’s a one-of-a-kind online event, now in it’s 7th edition, to kick your creativity into high gear in January 2018.

The Theme this year is “Now We’re Cooking: Mixed Media Art Recipes”. We’re heading into the kitchen of creativity for this one: the Mixed Media studio! Join our crew of Mixed Media Artists and Crafters as they grab their aprons, favorite tools of the trade, and share with us their own recipes for a mixed media masterpiece. They’ll share with us their favorite art ingredients and show us how to put them together to create original projects. These are mixed media art recipes for art journal pages, canvases, assemblage and more!

Learn techniques, discover new materials, and connect with other artists and crafters.

Throughout January participants get access to 31 downloadable videos from 31 featured artists. Over 6 hours of video content will be available to you!

I’m proud to be the founder of Creative JumpStart and one of those artists, called “JumpStarters.” See for yourself:

Announcing Creative JumpStart 2018 – CJS18 from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

Sign up here and find out more details:

n*Studio CJS2018 – Let’s Jump!

And the best? It’s CYBER MONDAY!!!!!

You get 31 videos – over 6 hours worth of video content –  for just $40 (USD) if you sign up by November 29 11:59 pm EST, 2017. Afterwards it will be 45USD until December 31st, 2017 before it goes to its normal sale price of 50USD.

So what are you waiting for? SIGN UP HERE

So can this Cyber Monday get any better????

YESSSS- it can ….how about 25% off stamps, stencils, books, and DVDs in the online shop. Sale runs until Monday, November 27th at 11:59pm EST. Shop and save big. Just enter the coupon code SMALLSAT25 when you check out.

Support small businesses this holiday season!

Happy Monday!

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Jump into Summer! Creative JumpStart 2017 Sale

Summer begins next week and maybe you are looking for some inspiration this season? If you missed Creative JumpStart 2017 this January, it’s not too late to take advantage of the online workshop. For the next week (June 16-23, 2017), I am running a 20% off sale on CJS17 for those of you who might need a little JumpStart to your mixed media projects :)

Creative JumpStart 2017 features 27 downloadable videos by leading mixed media artists. The videos are downloadable until November 2017 and once downloaded, are an invaluable resource when you need some new ideas.  Although you may have missed the fun and excitement of playing along in real-time with the CJS community, you will still have access to the CJS17 Classroom where you will find material lists, artist bios, and galleries of project images that Jumpers uploaded during January.

Enjoy the sale and I hope to see you in January 2018 for the next Creative JumpStart!

 

Comments (2)

  • tjcrafter

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    When will you be posting information about Jumpstart 2018?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      You will find out on the blog, or if you are subscribed you will get a newsletter or on FB :)

      Reply

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