nathalie-kalbach

A Look Back – April Flowers

A Look Back – Here in the US they have a saying that goes “April showers bring May flowers” but hey, I’m ready for the flowers now LOL. My neighborhood is right there with me and in fact there are trees and bulbs making a colorful show every where I look. So I thought I’d also search for blooms in my art journals from years past and we could have a little flower show.

So here we go, April Flowers for all of you :)

Let’s kick things off with some good advice that a friend once told me. This art journal page was from way back in 2014 and I started with a spray painted background and layered on some acrylic marker drawings of plants that I had done. I think the simple style of it really matches the sentiment quite nicely.

Skip forward to spring 2018 with this art journal page. My background uses my Kassel stencil and then I painted those blooms with acrylic paint and gouache. I might not be flowery (like the journaling says), but I sure do love fresh flowers and always try to have some around the house to brighten things up.

Also that year I became smitten with all the pink cherry blossoms in my hood. They were everywhere and so I picked up a brush, some acrylic paint and acrylic ink, and created this art journal page. The scale of the flowers may be a little generous, but my enthusiasm for them couldn’t have been bigger!

Does painting flowers seem a bit intimidating? One of the easiest ways to create a few blooms is to use a stamp like my Fan-Tastic Small rubber stamps and just add a stem. Instant flowers that are perfect for card making or wherever. This card was from my Deck of Cards (greeting cards that is) challenge back in 2019 here on the blog.

And lastly, flowers never have to be pigeon-holed. They are too fun and happy to just be in a bunch or a vase. Why not wear one like a hat? Why not? It’s your art journal. You can do whatever you like just like I’ve done in this page from 2020. I created a nifty pattern background with my Triangle Love stamps and then added my whimsical drawing of a girl wearing a flower hat.

I hope you enjoyed this little bundle of flowers from me to you and maybe it’s inspired you to add a floral element to what you’re creating.

A Look Back is a blog series to show you some projects and posts that you may have missed – sometimes going WAY back in the archive. I think it’s fun to revisit a few ideas that we haven’t seen for a while. I’m excited to see how a little look back might inspire something new in the future :)

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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Creative Squad: Lost in a Book – Judi Kauffman

Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a post from Judi Kauffman who is sharing a nifty project for all you bookworms out there! She’s using my ATC Mixup stencil and kicking off our new theme for us: Lost in a Book – What is one of your favorite books (from childhood or as an adult) or a book that you recently read and really enjoyed? Create a project inspired by the characters, plot, or any element of the book that really stuck with you.

I’ve been getting lost in a book since I was 4 and started to read! To this day you can always find me with a stack of books spilling out of the night table by my side of the bed, and another pile next to the easy chair in the living room, right next to the jars with colored pencils and pens. I can remember reading HEIDI over and over and getting my first library card was like winning the lottery!

Instead of focusing on a single book for this month’s Lost in a Book theme, I decided to create some library pockets to put into my Traveler’s Notebook. I can record the title and author of each book I’ve been reading on the insert cards and add a few notes so that I can remember and recommend my favorites!

Instead of plain vanilla (or, more accurately, manila) I duded them up with inks and Nathalie’s ATC Mix-Up stencils!

Cover work table with newsprint or other paper. Lay purchased, die-cut or hand-cut library pockets and insert cards on the table and sponge on two different inks as shown or as preferred.

Tear newsprint into a variety of shapes and strips to act as masks. With masks in place on the front (bottom section) and inside of the pocket (top section only)…

…sponge on the third ink.

With masks still in place, stencil patterns onto the pocket and insert cards.

Remove masks. Fold and glue the sides of the pocket if a purchased pocket wasn’t used. Write on the front of the pocket and on the insert cards.

Thank you Judi – love this way to record what we’ve read and wow those colors look great together with the ATC stencil patterns!

Give it a try: you can find all my Stencils in my Online Shop and here are some of the supplies Judi used:

Looking for more projects? Follow the Creative Squad on Instagram here.

Nat

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Pack of Dogs – Art Journal

“Sometimes I feel like a fire hydrant looking at a pack of dogs.”

As I was moving, packing and unpacking my studio, I swore to myself to use what I have which includes the huge stack of collage material in one of my letter press drawers. So here I am… sticking to my self made promise.

The background is from a gelli plate print – lifting off paint I had applied to it with my Hydrant foam stamp.

Next I added some collage paper I made in the Time Traveler workshop with Birgit and Marsha, one of the techniques I show in the workshop that resembles old peeled wallpaper. Then I added some sewing pattern paper and stamping with my Triangle Love rubber stamp set.

As for the journaling, that is a reflection on a recent phase… Happy to say the fire hydrant made it and is not drowning ;)

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    What a fun page Nat.
    We have fake fire hydrants at our dog park and we joke that the dogs from MA have to teach the dogs from NH how to use them.
    Most areas in NH do not have fire hydrants (our fire engines suck up water from local ponds to fill their tanks).

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Unsettled – Art Journal

In this one I was reminiscing about what home means, while seeing the coverage of the Ukraine on the news. While the colors are pretty exuberant, the thoughts and ideas behind the page are of course very emotional and upsetting.

I added in a painting on canvas which I cut up and saved the part with the house. That part I originally created using acrylic paint, markers, and chalk.

I used some acrylic inks on the background, sprinkled with Holbein pink gouache. The stamps in the background are from a wooden stamp set with months, weekdays and numbers.

I did my journaling with a fine Posca marker.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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I love LOVE Stamps!

I think we all love stamps here, but I would like to talk about my love for LOVE stamps today :) Have you noticed that I’ve got a few? Although the idea is all the same, the application is key to the discussion here. I think it’s necessary to have a few love stamps because different circumstances call for different stamps ;)

So why so many love stamps? Well it all started when I put together my Stroll Through the Hood 1 stamp set years ago and wanted to include some text stamps that looked like street art tags. And on that day, Love Tag was born.

Usually when you think of Love stamps you think of maybe cutesy valentines or fancy script, but you know that is not really my thing. I wanted to design something that reflected my style so that when I created with it, it felt like my voice coming through. Love Tag has that grungy urban style that just feels right to me.

(Kinda funny that I use the Love Tag stamp on a tag… but that’s the kind of thing that makes me do a little chuckle sometimes.) You will see on the tag my Love Knots rubber stamp too – an embroidery inspired xxxooo design that pretty much also says love. So if you prefer being a bit more symbolic with your feelings, this is the way to go.

If you prefer to just come out and say it, you may want to use my LOVE rubber stamp. It’s got that nice reference to the iconic Robert Indiana sculpture in NYC that says, “Hey I love art and I love YOU!” You’re cultured, you’re savvy, and you also have heart.

What if you are so overtaken by cupid’s arrow that you need something bolder? My CJS22 limited edition LOVE foam stamp is the way to go. It’s a bold expression of love. It takes that same font as above and puts it on one line so there is no confusion. It is LOVE.

Love stamps really come into play around holidays and birthdays and anniversaries, but maybe someone in your life could use a little love today. Take your love for stamping, combine it with a Love stamp, and make something for someone you love. The world could always use more love in it :)

Here are some of the supplies I used in this post:

Nat

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Finding Peace – Art Journal

“You cannot find peace by avoiding life.” – Virginia Wolf

The paper I used was self made marbled washi paper – you can see how I did that in this blog post.

Then I took my Solid Hex Small rubber stamp and used the so called kissing technique – you ink up the stamp and then press another stamp on top of it to lift the ink, then stamp. Here I used different stamps like my Cardboard and Embroidery stamps as well as the Numerals stamp. As you can see the Numerals stamp is mirrored, so be careful when you use it with numbers or letters. I still wanted to use it and I like it.

I also used the part of the Numerals stamp with the triangle to make some marks and repeat the pattern in the middle of the hexagon pattern. I adhered it all with double sided tape.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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Good Girl – Art Journal

“I am just a good girl with bad habits”

My background was made with a sewing pattern which I adhered with acrylic paint and Liquitex matte medium to the ledger page. I layered up the paper, which gets a bit translucent when adhered on top of paint layers, and I also partly covered it up and scratched into the still wet paint with a pencil to create some marks. Then I used the same acrylic paint colors to stencil in different areas with my Art Deco Fairview stencil to tie it all together.

The piece of fabric is sun-printed (cyano type) and is from Birgit, Marsha and my workshop called Beyond the Paper where, in addition to tons of ideas for using substrates other than paper, I showed how to sun-print using stamps and stencils.

I had found an old letter in my collage drawer which contained the words “a good girl” – in the main image you can see it in the bottom right – which inspired me to create this page. The letters are from an old self adhesive letter sheet.

To finish it off I added some black splattering as the black backgrounds of the letters were a bit harsh and contrasting, and it needed a bit of repeating and visual weight throughout the page.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Love the colors and the quote. This came together nicely Nat!

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  • Robin seiz

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    I love everything about this page!!!! Such beautiful texture!

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Creative Squad: My Kindred Spirit – Judi Kauffman

Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a post from Judi Kauffman who is sharing a bunch of sweet bunny cards using my Embroidery and Cardboard rubber stamps and our theme: My Kindred Spirit – Animals are often symbols of qualities that we humans identify with, so let’s take some inspiration from them this month. Do you have an animal whose characteristics you identify with? Maybe it changes depending on your mood or what life throws. Who is your Kindred Spirit in the animal kingdom today?

A Bunch of Bunnies by Judi Kauffman

I love this month’s Creative Squad theme. We were asked to choose the animal whose spirit we most identify with and then use exclusively Nathalie’s stamps to create a project. It was easy to choose the animal: I’m a dog, a poodle, to be precise. I’ve got curly hair, I’m obedient and I enjoy a nice meal served in a bowl; I’m fairly high maintenance. But when it came time to do a project it just wouldn’t work so I had to go to my second-favorite animal – the rabbit! 

I’m not at all like a rabbit, other than being spooked by sudden, loud noises. I’m not fast on my feet, I don’t like raw veggies and I’m way too neat and private to live in an underground warren with a bunch of relatives… But I do LOVE how rabbits always seem busy, how they seem to find joy in jelly beans and Easter baskets filled with colorful eggs. And when my friends need a listener, I’m as ready as any rabbit has ever been – tuned-in and all ears.  Maybe I am part-bunny after all.

My project is a Bunch of Bunny Cards, perfect for Spring and Easter, and the ones with a pair of rabbits would even work well for Mother’s or Father’s Day. The Embroidery and Cardboard mixed media stamps I picked will totally transform your leftover scrapbook paper. I hope you’ll join me!

Instructions:

1. From spring-palette/pastel scrapbook papers die-cut, hand-cut, or machine-cut a bunch of simple bunny silhouettes in at least two sizes.

2. Using Dark Teal ink and Mixed Media stamps from Nathalie Kalbach’s “Cardboard” and “Embroidery” series/sets, cover the bunnies with random or planned patterns.

3. Using Purple, Dark Teal or Orange ink, or a combination thereof, smudge color onto the bunnies and the edges of the shapes. Make sure to darken the tail. Then add just a tad of Black ink at the edges only.

4. Add a round sticker for each bunny’s eye, or draw one! Use a white gel pen to add details to the fur if desired.

5. For the illusion of grass on all cards use Citrus Green ink to stamp Mixed Media “Tread” across the bottom portion of folded card bases. Adhere one or two bunnies to each card using double-sided adhesive tape and/or foam squares for added dimension. Refer to photos. (Be sure to sign your creations!)

Thank you Judi for sharing all these sweet bunnies with us – love the variety you created with just a few stamps and lovely spring colors!

Give it a try: you can find all my Rubber Stamps in my Online Shop and here are some of the supplies Judi used:

Looking for more projects? Follow the Creative Squad on Instagram here.

Nat

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Together – Art Journal

“We were together. I forget the rest.” – Walt Whitman

The collage elements in this page tell quite the story. The green paper strip in the background is from a scrapbooking paper line I did for a French company back in the day …it was called Emoticon and I thought I should use it up as I still have some sheets.

The Fairview stamped paper is from a technique and online class that I produced with Birgit Koopsen and Marsha Valk called Time Traveler. We each chose a stylistic era to draw artistic inspiration from in the course. In addition to showing a bunch of gelli printing and other mixed media techniques, we also each bound all our pages together in the end using a different bookmaking method. You can check it out here, sign up, and enjoy the class at your own pace :)

I forgot where I got the sheer adhesive backed strip from that I used to attach everything – they are strips that I think someone gave to me a while ago… They are great for journaling and stamping on (I stamped one of my Fan-fare stamps on this page) to make your own washi tape. Maybe someone knows what they are and can tell us in the comments below!

I was using my Triple Play foam stamps with stazon ink on Grafix Duralar for this element. It was part of a technique that I showed in another class with Birgit and Marsha called Beyond the Paper. As you can probably guess, the class looks at a bunch of different substrate alternatives to paper and still gets me thinking. You can check it out here and again, it’s available anytime ;)

In my move I found a lot of odds and ends and am excited about finally using them – stamp and stencil samples, tests, misc products, and collage papers from my online classes.

Here are some of the supplies I used in this page:

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    That paper line was awesome and quite different for its time. I have a piece or two kicking around.
    Nice words and design. Have a great day Nat!

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