Author: nathalie-kalbach | Page 224

Inspired by San Francisco – Part I

I just love San Francisco – it is one of my favorite cities in the world and I have been there many times- and yet it never tires me and I always see something new and come home super inspired.

NatKalbach_SF03

This trip has been my birthday present by my husband (he is the best!) and it included seeing loads of my friends that live in San Francisco and the Bay Area – insert super happy Nat smile here. It also meant loads of good food….insert super happy smile again…:)

Now, if you eat so much you have to work it off …and what better way to walk a city and look down and up and sideways for inspirations

I so love the colors, texture and the fonts of this – yum! Makes me want to stencil and then cut out corrugated card board letters right away.

And yes- I did say to look down…isn’t that tree grate amazing – in the mission ! And oh man- what an amazing stencil this would be :)

or just some amazing intricate design in the pavement

or the trace of an artist in the pavement…better than the usual hands or pet traces ;)

I also love the color inspirations in SF – mainly on the painted houses – dark blue, white and dark purple with a hint of mustard yellow- YUM

And the patterns – LOVE

and this yells City Canvas to me ….I am tempted…who knows maybe you will see it in a couple weeks ;)

And here in Chinatown- what is not to love about this sign- the colors, the design, the brick wall behind it- the fonts, the patina – ahhhhhh

And since San Francisco is a really tiring city to walk …up and down …up and down …it is time for some food and start all over again ;)

NatKalbach_SF06

Next up will be all photos of street art and murals in San Francisco – so much fun!

What is your favorite food btw? Come on …make me hungry;)

Have a gorgeous day

Nat

Comments (7)

Ursula

July 26, 2014 at 8:00 am | #

Jaaaa, Frisco ist auch eine meiner absoluten Lieblingsstädte, schön, das ich vor 2 Jahren mal wieder dort war. Mal sehen, ob NY dann auch was taugt ;) LG Ursula

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Laura Weed

July 24, 2014 at 2:41 pm | #

Wow, Nathalie! Looks like a fabulous trip. Cannot WAIT to see the art you make from this inspiration. I love so much that you share the processes with us and help us learn to see our world the way you do. Thanks for your sharing spirit!! And Happy Birthday, of course.

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Joyce C.

July 24, 2014 at 12:36 pm | #

Hi Nat! Thanks for your delightful email. It’s just what I needed today. San Francisco is my favorite city in the US. I’ve traveled there many, many times enjoying the very same sites and the most wonderful food. My sister lived and worked there as a chef so I had the opportunity to dine at numerous restaurants trying various cuisines. (And her name is the same as yours!) Of course, nothing can compare to the visual splendor of the city. Your photos are breathtaking, imaginative, and absolutely inspiring. Thank you for sharing them with us. I can’t wait to see more! All the best to you and your husband.

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Sue Clarke

July 24, 2014 at 10:19 am | #

My favorite food would be hard to say…steak, chocolate, asparagus, smashed potatoes. Love the pics as usual, especially the one of the two tall buildings side by side.

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Tracy

July 23, 2014 at 10:50 pm | #

I’ve never been to the West Coast, but I love brightly colored houses! So much happier than the usual. A few years ago, I had a happy house (as I termed it) that was a fab shade of blue/purple with touch of bright yellow. Yum! I love corrugated cardboard too, I’m trying to incorporate more of it in my projects :)

Such a sweet hubby!

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Gloria S

July 23, 2014 at 10:37 am | #

Wow…..you REALLY have a great eye. These pictures are Amazing. I admire all or your work and talent, but, these blew me away. Thanks for sharing them. PS – can’t wait to see what you create with this inspiration.

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Laura Strack

July 23, 2014 at 8:35 am | #

I was fortunate as a child to get to travel to many lovely towns, including San Francisco and I remember eating some wonderful food – the best Asian Food I can ever remember! I wish my Dad was still with us so that I could ask him where we had dined, oh so many years ago. That gorgeous patina is only achieved in time – unless you are a creative artist, such as yourself :) Have a beautiful day, Nat, and thanks for sharing your awesome trip with your hubby.

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Every Artist … or in my Art Journal today

Acrylic paint Art Journal

For this page I was going for the colors – I love these colors together. On top just some stenciling – I love it – not every page has to be super complicated and full of different techniques.

The sgraffito texture is my favorite here- scratching through the layers and then using the back of the painting knife again to cover up parts.

Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paints	Alphabet Stencils	Signo White Uniball Pen	Liquitex Painting Knife texture
Cosmetic Sponges

InLinkz.com

What are you up to today?

hugs

Nat

Comments (3)

Laura Strack

July 23, 2014 at 8:41 am | #

Love your sgraffito texture. I’d love to learn this technique!! I’m getting ready to take mini vaca and I will get to visit with 2 of my sisters. Can’t wait to have some crafty girl time, you know therapy!

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susan salyer

July 21, 2014 at 5:52 pm | #

making journal pages with stamps..so many stamps I never use
hugs
susan s

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Sue Clarke

July 21, 2014 at 8:19 am | #

Well I’m taking my dog to a dog island but your question might have been about crafting so for that I sprayed some inks for backgrounds in my art journal. I’ve been stuck on blue, orange and wine.

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She Became Dangerous or … In my Art Journal today

Acrylic paint Art Journal

“Like any artist without an art form she became dangerous”

In this background I played with different brushstrokes and I do really like how it worked out. I also stamped with white to lighten up the page a bit again.

It fascinates me how many different looking backgrounds you can create with just acrylic paint – my favorite medium ever!

n*Studio Grunge Cling Ruberstamp	Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paints	Liquitex Acrylic Paint Marker	Liquitex White Gesso
Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel Medium	Catalyst Brushes	Signo White Uniball Pen	Cosmetic Sponges

InLinkz.com

Have a beautiful day

Nat

Comments (2)

Myra Caballero

July 19, 2014 at 6:21 pm | #

I like how vibrant & dynamic the line work in the lady looks against the textured background. Very nice work!

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Sue Clarke

July 19, 2014 at 2:28 pm | #

I admire the texture and the combination of colors.

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Photos of CREATE New Jersey

Art Journal canvas Dallas Seattle workshop

CREATENJ01

CREATE New Jersey was so much fun! I had a great time teaching three days- here are some photos of my classes :

Had a great time with my 20 students in the Texture Heaven Art Journal Class, mono printing, stamping, embossing – playing

So many beautiful pages – and everyone was quite busy experimenting

Loads of Acrylic Paint was used during all the classes

And of course every class had to opened with a funny face of mine ;) – here the “It’s All About The Layers – Art Journaling Class”

My sweet students were able to get over those faces and made beautiful art journal backgrounds and pages in this day long class…even with a broken a/c and 90 Degrees in the room …

It was wonderful to get to know so many of my students during the three days and also see how they were connected, some made friends during the class, some have been friends for many years (college room mates, being in the same guild) or mother and daughter, siblings together on a fun creative outing :)

And it was wonderful to see my stamps and stencils used by my super talented students.

Lot’s of wonderful smiles in my class – you girls were awesome!

The last class I taught saturday night was not “Walk like a zombie” as this picture might indicate …rather “Texture Galore Canvas” and loads of texture we created :)

It was a small class with 12 students which was fun …it gives me more time to walk around and talk to students ;)

and they had quite some exercise going back and forth between demos

And it was also fun to have a special student in the class ;) you would think she was sick of me spending so much time with me ….and yes…she behaved and was a great student ;)

I also took some classes and had an amazing time in Natalya Aikens class, where I learned how to manipulate photos in photoshop and then print them out on all kinds of different fabrics, like organza, silk etc. Super inspiring and totally out of my usual scheme …I mean fabric…hello!

And I took a class with Diana Trout – love her -what a great personality and it was fun to be forced outside of my usual box in my art journal and collaging approach. That is btw the reason why EVERY person who teaches should once in a while take some classes …it is good to be in the student’s shoes and see how this feels.

And it was fun to bump into my legendary artist friend Suze Weinberg at the Artist Faire at the event

and as mentioned I enjoyed every single minute and all 500.000 meals (or so it felt) at the hotel in which we were trapped without a car with Julie Fei Fan Balzer

I am looking forward to my next CREATE events I teach at in Dallas – September 17-21

and in Seattle October 22-26

I hope to see some of you there – I promise we will have loads of fun !!!

Have a gorgeous day

Nat

Comments (4)

julierig

July 19, 2014 at 8:18 pm | #

Forgot to login before posting above. Hope to take another class in the future!!

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Julie

July 19, 2014 at 8:15 pm | #

Nathalie,

I sat right next to Maura (who I so enjoyed spending time with!!) and I feel the same way. Really loved the class, the chance to meet and play with all kinds of fun art materials. I am glad you posted pictures and thanks for all the ideas and inspiration!

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Maura

July 17, 2014 at 4:20 pm | #

Nathalie,
It was so FAB to meet you in person!!! That alone made my create experience the best! I had so much fun in your class learning about acrylic paints, which I really had not done much with, but am inspired to do more. (Even bought more supplies and paint colors to play with) thank you, thank you for a wonderful class, and for sharing your talent with us!!

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Sue Clarke

July 17, 2014 at 8:43 am | #

I love that pic of you and Julie with Suze, did you all call each other and decide to dress in the same colors? ha ha
Gorgeous art journal pages. It seems like I’m working in my art journal way more than making LO’s these days.

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Melvin was outraged or…The Whatevers

Art Journal Whatevers

Are you ready for the last photo of the Second Round of Whatevers? If you missed what the Whatevers is all about (basically they are photos that my friends and I found on flea markets etc. and that we give a new life and story) or want to see all the past photos and takes…check it out here. It was a fun ride the last two years and I thank my girls for a good time and storytelling fun.

Click here to see what Cat, Vicki, Martha and Cuchy made out of the photo and which story they tell.

Here is my take on this month’s photo:

“Melvin was outraged. Hasn’t Mom called him “my little moon boy all the time? Why did she put an identical moon costume on his little baby brother? Not fair!!!”

The background was created with Dylusions Spraypaint, Liquitex Spraypaint, the Arabesque Stencil and then painted over here and there, stamped and then painted over again here and there.

Here is the photo of this month’s Whatever, in case you want to play along.

Thank you to all of you who played along with us once in a while- it was so much fun to see what you came up with- as much as it was to see what the other girls in our Whatever Girls came up with. I will miss my fun bunch- but we all are getting busier and busier and so The Whatevers have to come to an end :)

Have a gorgeous day- here is the supply list

Have a beautiful day!

Hugs

Nat

Comments (5)

Martha Richardson

July 18, 2014 at 12:14 pm | #

Perfect story…maybe he should buy MOON PIES for his brother instead of wearing the costume! Nathalie it has been such a pleasure working with you for the past 5 years, your encouragement made me better at what I do. You are a gifted artist…I love where this new ART is taking you. Hopefully we will work together soon or at least maybe I’ll be in one of your classes! xoxoxo

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cuchy

July 16, 2014 at 2:51 am | #

ohhhh “The Prince Dethroned” love it!!
Thank you so much hon, for this year of stories and awesome projects.
Loves, Cuchy

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Vicki Chrisman

July 15, 2014 at 3:51 pm | #

“Moon Boy” … lol… I love it! Thanks Nat.. for letting me be a part of this amazing fun project!! I love you!

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jenirae

July 15, 2014 at 2:11 pm | #

Wondering why the photos only load partially! I even tried from Cat’s site.I have really enjoyed these!

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Cat

July 15, 2014 at 8:39 am | #

Haven’t we all had those feelings one time or other, LOL. Love the bright colors and story. Going to miss this each month!

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Inspired and Bursting with Ideas or… Hanging out in the City

New York City

The last couple weeks I am taking off a lot of time and I have been doing a lot of stuff in the city …meaning New York City. I feel like super inspired and bursting with ideas – here are the reasons :

Art Work at MoMA

Julie and I taking an art class at MoMA and the possibility to see some of the artwork in the gallery upfront, almost alone after closing hours and with lot’s of explanations and pointed out details on how they developed and were created – is really inspiring. It makes me burst with ideas of things to try out or put a twist on something I have done so far.

Jackson Pollock – besides the texture, this sings to me .

Robert Rauschenberg’s Canyon – besides the story behind the meaning and the story of the bald eagle-tax problem I love the rawness, the composition and the hint of colors here and there.

Mark Rothko – ever since a great Rothko exhibition I visited in Hamburg in 2008 – I came to appreciate his work but learning how difficult it really is to achieve what he did in his paintings , I do even more so now. But truly the color combinations are what get me going.

Jasper Johns – White Numbers – swoon – I so love this on so many levels- too bad MoMA put this behind a glass frame – a lot get’s lost when viewing it this way. BTW – I highly recommend the the exhibition: Jasper Johns – Regrets at MoMA – it showcases the experimentation phases in one of his recent and from my understanding still ongoing artwork and I think it is an excellent way to get a look into his brain but to also understand that sometimes experimenting and pushing ideas in different directions over and over again are a great way to explore and find the right artistic voice.

Hedwig and The Angry Inch

A big highlight last weekend. 14 years ago we went with our friends and saw the show in Jane Theatre in NYC – and it was so much fun – I loved it. So this year we all went again …14 years older- sigh ;) but the show with Neil Patrick Harris was even better than last time…love the music still, loved the show, the message…and that from a person that is not a big musical fan…very inspired :)

Hanging out with Julie a lot

I got to hang out with my friend Julie a lot- which is awesome (might change as we are spending a couple days together at CREATE NJ together too – LOL ;) )

In fact- we kind of turn into evil twins and we definitely have to check to make sure to dress differently in the future- LOL.

The best thing of course it creating art together – and talk about it – we usually stink in really using our time together for art making, since we talk to much about other stuff- but the last weeks we did it ;)

Food

What can I say…I love to food …and I had a lot of good food the last couple weeks- ahem. Gotta doubling my workout sessions again I guess ;) But isn’t this color palette just beautiful? And yes…it was more than delicious :)

I hope you enjoy summer as much as I do, and take some time off ! What Inspires you as of lately?

Nat

Comments (3)

Sara Jansen

July 14, 2014 at 3:04 am | #

Thanks for the peak at MOMA

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Sue Clarke

July 13, 2014 at 1:49 pm | #

Nat, one of the things that I like about your blog is that you inspire me to look at my surrounding and remind me to enjoy each day. Thanks for sharing the pics of your fun food, art and times.

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Seth

July 13, 2014 at 9:43 am | #

Looks like a good time has been had by all! You are definitely taking advantage of the best the city has to offer!

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Do What Makes You Happy … or In My Art Journal

Art Journal art journal techniques Liquitex Professional Paint Markers Stampendous Stencil Girl Products

Here is one of my pages of the Art Journal I showed you in my Flip-Thru Video recently. As promised I will show some pages in more detail.

I painted the background with a light grey acrylic paint and then started layering up some stencils, stamps and templates with different colors – going from light to darker colors.

I used a cosmetic sponge to apply acrylic paint through the Elephant March stencil but to have a better contrast of the elephant versus the busy background I also traced the stencil after the paint dried with a black pen. In the blanket I used different acrylic marker colors and blended them over the stencil with my finger.

I applied the chipboard letters with Gel Medium – since this is the best way to make sure they stick and stay. A fun and colorful page – made me happy ;)

n*Studio Grunge Cling Ruberstamp	n*Studio Mish Mesh Cling Rubberstamp	Crackle Stencil L169	Elephant March Stencil
Alphabet Stencils	Liquitex Acrylic Paint Marker	Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paints	Liquitex Super Heavy Gloss Gel Medium
Cosmetic Sponges

InLinkz.com

Thanks for coming by and have a wonderful sunny day!

Nat

Comments (3)

Kathy Gledsdale

July 14, 2014 at 10:15 am | #

Fabulous.

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Amante del Papel

July 11, 2014 at 9:24 am | #

THis elefant is absolutely amazing!

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Sue Clarke

July 11, 2014 at 8:31 am | #

My plan is to do much that makes me happy today as I’m 50 today!
One friend is taking me out to lunch and my family is taking me out to dinner. The weather is perfect and life is good. I do so love these words and plan to do a page in my art journal using them. Now why didn’t I think of going back over the stencil with marker after the paint have dried.

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Abstract Texture Canvases

canvas

I thought I would show you some of the abstract texture canvases that were samples for my Acrylics Demystified Workshop using all kinds of Liquitex Acrylics in NYC last month. The are all just 6×6 and really love how they turned out.

NatKalbach_LAbstract03

NatKalbach_LAbstract02

NatKalbach_LAbstract04

and lastly a very vibrant one that means summer to me :)

It is so much fun to play with all those different acrylics out there!

I am thinking of turning this into an online class- would you be interested in this?

have a gorgeous day

Nat

Comments (19)

lynnk50

July 10, 2014 at 11:04 pm | #

I’d love an online class in abstract acrylics textures. As with others, it depends on the price and I’m still working my way thru other online classes – so maybe 2015 would work better for me. Love your canvases!

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susan schultheis

July 10, 2014 at 10:38 pm | #

yes yes yes. I love the texture and especially the last one!!! Love it!

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linnplous

July 10, 2014 at 12:01 pm | #

Yes, I would be VERY INTERESTED in on line texture class!
so long, linn

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nanou49

July 10, 2014 at 8:21 am | #

greats textures and rich colors ! of course i would love online class it depends price of materials and lesson my budget is a senior one!…

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Petrin

July 10, 2014 at 6:46 am | #

Of course! All depends i it is a different content than the uberacrylic!…also depends on price, as my budget is a senior one!…

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stephanie

July 9, 2014 at 4:00 pm | #

great work! would LOVE this as an online class

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Patti

July 9, 2014 at 3:36 pm | #

Yes, I would love an abstract/texture/acrylics class…especially like the concept of small canvases. I love your classes!
I am a senior on a budget, so class cost is a factor.
Patti

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DianeD

July 9, 2014 at 3:00 pm | #

As long as the cost is reasonable I would love this online class.
Beautiful work.
Diane

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Kathy P

July 9, 2014 at 2:21 pm | #

Yes, yes YES!!!!!

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istdaskunst

July 9, 2014 at 1:04 pm | #

It would be great! If it’s other content than the überacrylic class – i’ll take it :)

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Laura

July 9, 2014 at 12:21 pm | #

I’ve been wanting to take one of your classes for a long time! This one looks awesome!! It’s high time I sign up for some of that awesomeness :)

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Tracy

July 9, 2014 at 11:12 am | #

They all have great detail! I really like the blue on black and the summer one really caught my attention. I would definitely be interested in an online class (since I can’t get into the city easily), but cost would be a factor. Awesome stuff!

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Glenda Hoagland

July 9, 2014 at 10:35 am | #

I would be interested in an online class or 2015. I trying to limit my 2015 classes to techniques I have never done before and this would fit perfectly.

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ana de isabel

July 9, 2014 at 10:16 am | #

I would be indeed interested!

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Susan

July 9, 2014 at 10:01 am | #

I would love an on-line class on Acrylics Demystified.

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Felicia Aaron

July 9, 2014 at 9:59 am | #

Natalie I love each of those canvases! I love all that yummy texture and rich color! Especially your “summer” canvas! Awesome job!

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Kathy Gledsdale

July 9, 2014 at 9:24 am | #

Oh yes please to an online course, these are fabulous.

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Winnie

July 9, 2014 at 8:10 am | #

Cost is always a factor. It would depend.

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Sue Clarke

July 9, 2014 at 7:08 am | #

Gorgeous texture.
I would be interested but I’m still working my way through some of the other online classes that I have from you:-)
Free time is hard to get.

Reply

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designed by n*Studio features: Keren Tamir

Scrapbooking Stampendous

One of the things that make me really giddy is when I spy someone using my new stamps by Stampendous or also my Stencils with StencilGirl Products So I thought once in a while I would feature the work of those wonderful talented people with a new Series called: designed by n*Studio features:…..

And today I feature: Keren Tamir

I met Keren in my class at CHA this January which was awesome, but I have been seeing her wonderful work for quite a while now. I was super thrilled that she was using my stamps and including templates – so let her show you what fun Scrapbooking Projects she did with them

My name is Keren Tamir and I’m 39 years old. I am a wife to a wonderful husband who is very supportive of my scrapbooking and a mother of two amazing kids; a 13 year old boy and a 7 years old girl. I’ve been scrapbooking for 11 years and I mainly scrapbook about my family. I love to create and experiment with many different mediums and techniques.

My style incorporates a lot of mixed media but I love to use lots of flowers and vines in my projects. I also love using lots of different mediums on my layouts as well as stamps and stencils. My style is always evolving and that’s one of the things I love about this art.

One of the main reasons I started scrapbooking was to preserve memories and photos for my children. However over the last couple of years, I’ve started to enjoy another aspect of scrapbooking. I love the artistic outlet that it gives me. I love to create and I’m passionate about what I do.

To see more of my creations you can visit my blog

The projects I’m featuring, use the fabulous stamps that my friend Nat Kalbach designed for Stampendous.

These stamps are just so amazing because they create texture on my projects. I love using them to create different types of backgrounds on my designs. The stamps are so versatile and can be used for many different types of projects such as layouts, tags or OTP’s.

You can see how I used the burlap textured stamp in some of my projects.

It gives my layouts a rustic feel as if they are part of nature.

Thank you Keren, I loved how you used the stamps to create this layer of natural texture and how you incorporated them into your femine grungy projects. Love them!!!

Here are the n*Studio products that Keren used:

n*Studio Mish Mesh Cling Rubberstamp

n*Studio Wired Cling Rubber Stamp

InLinkz.com

thank you for visiting today- have a gorgeous day

Nat

Comments (2)

Sue Clarke

July 7, 2014 at 9:58 am | #

I have the Mish Mesh set and I just love it.
Wired is still on my wish list.

Reply
Amante del Papel

July 7, 2014 at 8:34 am | #

is fabulous!

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n*Studio Mish Mesh Cling Rubberstamp	n*Studio Wired Cling Rubber Stamp	Arabesque Stencil	Dylusions Ink Spray Lemon Zest
Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paints	Liquitex Acrylic Inks	Signo White Uniball Pen	Liquitex Acrylic Paint Marker
Liquitex Professional Spray Paint Carbon Black	Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel Medium	Liquitex White Gesso	Dylusions Creative Journal/Art Journal

nathalie-kalbach

What is your favorite food btw? Come on …make me hungry;)

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