CHA

Smile :) -Positive and Negative Pattern Play

This is another board I made for the ArtFoamies booth at Creativation. It was a simple project, but when you are displaying for a trade show it is important that you have samples that show in a fast way how to use certain products- and here I simply wanted to have something that would show how the positive and negative foam stamps I created work.

I used the Santa Fe positive and negative Foam Stamp Set and stamped with different colors onto a black board. I love how much depth a bit of an offset stamping and the black background creates. For the top I stamped on some hemp paper which has a very different quality and texture. It also feels almost like fabric and it is quite durable. I love how different the texture of the paper makes the pattern look.

It is a very in your face project- LOL – so ….Smile ;)

Here is a list of supplies I used for this -some links are affiliate links:


Have a gorgeous day

Nat

Comments (2)

  • stephanie

    |

    Hi Nat – Is the hemp paper like color press watercolor? Thanks.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Stephanie, it is really hard to say – it is like handmade paper with a kind of fabric like feel to it -yeah maybe a bit similar to a very good and thick cold press watercolor paper, but then not as thick. NOt sure if that helps and makes sense :)

      Reply

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Photos from Creativation 2017 in Phoenix

Last week I went to the Creativation Show in Phoenix. Creativation is a tradeshow, former called CHA for creative arts products industries. I thought I’d share with you some pix from my time there and what and whom I saw :)

Here I am demoing with my stamps in the ArtFoamies booth. I had such a good time with Emmie and Ian, the owners, and I loved seeing a lot of people coming by to check out the designs and the new Clay and Pottery Versions too.

Here is a short video that Craft Test Dummies recorded of me in the booth …note that I am really sick …to be honest I have no idea how I made it through the show

I also have no idea how my sweet friend Birgit Koopsen made it through sharing a room with me ;) I hope she didn’t get sick when she returned home. But we had an amazing time!!! Here we are at breakfast – with one of my art mugs :)

On the way to Phoenix I met Seth Apter at the gate in Newark, which was so much fun , extra chatty time for us – and here he is demoing with his products at the Spellbinder booth.

Here are two things that I found and have already ordered – cannot wait to get them. These are by Masterson Art Supplies, a company that was in the new exhibitor section , but is actually already around for over 40 years.

On the top you see the Rinse Well which consists of a plastic bottle that holds 28 ounces of fresh water, a durable plastic base with a well in the center for brush cleaning and a reservoir to hold the used water. Simply pressing the button at the front of the Rinse Well drains the used water into the storage base and automatically refills the well with a clean supply of water. I have to try this – hopefully it saves me a couple journey to the sink :)

On the bottom of the photo above you see Masterson’s Sta-Wet Palettes. The palette is supposed to keep acrylics and other water-based paints moist on the open palette for hours. Once the lid is closed, the paints will stay in workable condition for days, even weeks. A unique sponge and special permeable palette paper provide the paint with a constant source of moisture. I cannot wait to try it and will let you know if and how it worked .

I visited the Stampendous booth shortly, they are still carrying some of my stamp lines and it was fun to see Andy Skinner and Tracy Weinzapfel do their shenanigans.

And we ran into the amazing MaryBeth Shaw and had a fun chat and laughed a lot. Thanks MaryBeth and Carol for the trail mix…that saved Birgit and me from starving later ;)

Above is Anna Dabrowska, who showed us her new patina paint set, which was really fun- I liked it a lot!

One of my favorite new supplies is brought to you by the sweet and awesomely talented Dina Wakley! Her new Media Journal has different surfaces inside including burlap, canvas, cotton rag, watercolor paper, and kraft paper. OMG  I so cannot wait to get that puppy art journal into my hand. On the left she is showing some of the amazing pages that Creative Squad team member Cheiron Brandon created in the new album. On the bottom right you see some experimenting by Birgit with Dina’s new Scribble Sticks– they are a lot of fun!

Another booth that made my heart sing, was Aladine. Aladine is a wonderful company from France with different paint products in bright and coordinating colors. From inks, to calligraphy inks, to stamps pads and acrylic paint …they have it all in the yummiest color. But I was especially intrigued by their Textile paint, and paste – which you can see both on the top . I cannot wait to try it out with my stamps and stencils and will let you know how it went soon .

Another highlight was seeing those two beautiful faces!!! Rae Missigman and Mou Saha . I could hang out with them all day. They showed this fun new Tea Stain Dye by Faber-Castell . I loved the muted colors and I already bought some plain sari silk ribbon and cannot wait to play with that a bit.

I know that this seems a bit geeky but I love the new Adhesive Lines by Scrapbook Adhesive- I am a sucker for good adhesive :)

 

As always I visited my friends from the Alumilite booth and I loved their samples with resin and molds – still on my to-do lists- there I shout it out to the universe I will do some stuff this year – hold me accountable ;)

Vicki Boutin came out with a fun Scrapbooking Line with American Crafts in yummie colors and designs. I really liked her new pens in various colors that had a super nice feel to them and seemed to write easily on acrylic paint. I have to play a bit more with those- you can never have enough awesome journaling pens!

 

Bright and happy colors were everywhere this show- as you know that makes me happy.

Here is a photo of Marjie Kemper (Marjie- so sad it was just a short moment I saw you ) and Seth

and here is a little break with Rachel Greig from Darkroom Door and Birgit. Always fun to spent time with Rachel! The three of us might have hashed out some plans for 2018 …psssttt ;)

my girls – it was the best to spent so much time together this show!

and of course a dinner with these sweet friends outside (under a heating lamp- boy it was cold in Phoenix) was the best of this trip!

 

I spent some more time at the ArtFoamies booth …and don’t ask me what Julie is doing there to me…LOL

And here is us together with Emmie and Ian in the ArtFoamies booth – love you guys!

That was it. The show was shorter than usual but I do have to say I really enjoyed it. I saw some interesting things, met a huge amount of people and …the most important thing, spent time with my peers and had awesome conversations. I cannot wait to play with all kinds of different new things and share them with you.

What did you see posted about the show that is new and excites you ?

+ Expand this article
8comments
Nat

Comments (8)

  • Marjie Kemper

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    Awesome pics! So glad to see you if only for a moment. Congrats on your new releases!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Marjie! Yeah- next time I hope to see you longer. Stay warm today on this snow day :)

      Reply

  • Marie-Anne Raeman

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    Hi, i’m so curieus what you and Birgit been cookin for 2018 ….with Rachel…..new yummie stamps maybe….

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL- not stamps …although that is what all three of us have in common ;)

      Reply

  • Nancy Faulls

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    Nat
    I absolutely LOVE my Rinse Well!

    Can’t wait to hear what you think of Sta-Wet. Been thinking about it for a bit.

    Thanks for sharing all the pics…looks like a blast.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Hi Nancy, that is so cool to hear. I just got it and set it up. Did you use it with acrylic paints yet too? I dabbled in watercolor yesterday and that worked very well :) I will let you know about the Sta-Wet – I got it as well but haven’t been painting yet. Cannot wait though! Have a gorgeous week :)

      Reply

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Put a Stamp on it or… Check it out

Today is all about stamps :) Stamps on Video and about Stamps in a podcast:

Christine Urias from ScrapTime visited me at the Stampendous booth at CHA – Check out her video of me

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 6.13.37 PM

 

Thank you Christine for coming by and doing such an awesome job every year to cover what is new at CHA – always fun to see you and Mark!

And now…if you are tired of seeing me …how about  listening to my kraut-accent on this Adventures in Arting Podcast hosted by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. Julie, Rachel Greig and I talk about how we each started designing stamps, both the why and the how of how we each design stamps, the experience of seeing work that people make with our stamps, the appeal of stamping in general, and we give some stamping tips too!

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 6.20.48 PM

 

Thank you Julie for having me and to Julie and Rachel for this fun and interesting discussion about stamps.

I hope you enjoyed the visual and auditory stamp information !

Which kind of stamps would you love to see?

Nat

Comments (5)

  • Joi@RR

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    What a great demo video and I sooooo loved seeing you in action Nat. Delightfully fun. Your stamps sets are just amazing to me…. I can’t wait to have a day to just play with mine. XX j.

    Reply

  • Gunvor

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    I love them! And they’re on their way to me now!!!! If I’m real lucky I’ll have them today so I can start playing with them this week-end!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah! I hope you will share with me what you made with them, Gunvor!

      Reply

  • Jean Marmo

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    Such fun! I LOVE your stamps!!!

    Reply

Leave a comment

Photos of the CHA 2016 Winter Show – or …Nat goes Anaheim

CHA Collage 2

At the beginning of the month I flew out to the CHA Winter Show. CHA –  organized by the Craft and Hobby Association – is a trade show showing the latest craft industry trends and forecasts. It is also a yearly meeting point to network and attend seminars and workshops and a lot of Craft and Hobby Retailers are traveling from all over the world to come and check out whats new.

Kalbach CHA 03

The Winter Show took place in Anaheim (as it has been the previous years) and it started off with a nice outside party (alas…it was pretty pretty cold in Anaheim this year)

Besides all the work and lot’s of meetings – the best part of CHA is meeting old and new friends :)

Kalbach CHA 01

Here is my sweet friend Cat Scanlon (one of our Creative JumpStarters!) , Marjie Kemper and Jonathan Fong. We had a fun talk and evening together. I love hanging out with creative people :) I also had a wonderful breakfast with JumpStarter Joe Rotella, but wow- we forgot to take a picture …you know..the food was just more important ;)

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Speaking of JumpStarters – here is Suze Weinberg– love her so much! It was just too short this time!

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and then there was this crazy bunch – LOL. Nothing better than seeing my bestie Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and her mom and Dina Wakley – just keep a distance- lol- we are nuts…and we do not know how to take selfies ;)

We actually took this picture after our DVD signing for F+W (Art Journaling Live 2)  – that was a lot of fun …despite the fact that Julie and Dina were stealing the best pens all the time ;)

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Here we are with my sweet Dutch friends from The Craftorij – where I taught last summer. So good to see those girls again and I am glad we also got to spent some more time together later.

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I actually had a bit of time to walk the floor and to check out some new/newish stuff. This watercolor brush by Kuretake which is extra long and can keep more water made me happy and was one of the first things I saw. Yep …I know…weird things can make you happy as an artist :)

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I am dreaming of this paper by Hemptique – it is hemp paper and it was so wonderful and pliable and oh man i want to have it and paint on it!

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I loved seeing Seth Apter and his amazing new dies with Spellbinder. He said his goal for this year is to get me use dies again …I am very tempted with his amazing designs!

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I was also super excited to see my wonderful friend’s Birgit Koopsen new stamps and artwork with Carabelle – and I made those guys pose for a photo for her ;) – I just wish they would have flown her in- I miss my room mate at CHA – I actually just miss her period ;)

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I loved seeing my friend Limor Webber – look at her beautiful smile and love that she visited me while I was demoing my new stamps at the Stampendous booth.

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Love the new Neon Graffiti Set she came out with Lindy’s Stampgang- I love those spray paints.

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I fell in love with this Marbling Set by Atelier de Paris – I hope I can find where to purchase it  as you do not need any chemicals – you do the marbling in water with those colors- oh man – yeah

Kalbach CHA 10

Spent more time with my friend Cat at the ArtC booth.

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And got crazy excited about these amazing PrimaTek Watercolors  by Daniel Smith – I cannot wait to play with those. They are made with authentic mineral pigments and create just the most amazing effects.

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As mentioned I also worked and demoed at the Stampendous booth to show my new stamp sets and their possibilities :)

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Apparently I have funny facial expressions when talking to other people…lol

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Loved seeing those wonderful samples by the Stampendous Design Team using my sets :)

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I also loved seeing my sweet friend Mou Saha at the Faber-Castell booth. We had a great time many years ago when she, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and I were teaching in France…and Mou at that time actually saw snow for the first time. Since Mou now lives in NJ- I am sure she is done with snow by now ;)

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I was excited to see that the Faber-Castell girls were using my stamps from the last release. Thank you so much!!!!

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I also ran into Jamie Dougherty and Traci Bautista – so much fun those girls!

 

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Something else that caught my eyes – Real Wood by Arc Crafts -omg- so cool! And wood sheets

 

Kalbach CHA 20

I can see so many possibilities with this- can’t wait to play with this either :)

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Oh and here is a picture of Julie, me and the amazing Rachel Greig from Darkroom Door. Rachel is going to host us for our Mixed Media Circus Art Journal Adventure Workshop in the Sydney area in Australia in April this year. We soooo cannot wait :)

Kalbach CHA 23

And that was it from CHA in Anaheim. Next year for the first time the show will be in Phoenix, Arizona and I am actually quite happy about the change of scenery. Hope you enjoyed this little trip :)

 

Nat

Comments (14)

  • jyippeedom

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    What a blast! So many fun things to see (and people). Thank you for sharing. Glad to hear it will be in Phoenix next year…I’ll be there! (maybe you’ll do a workshop while in town???)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      I would love to janet, if there is a place and enough people to join. IF you have a source, place, let me know!

      Reply

  • Rae Missigman

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    This looks like so much fun! It was like going on field trip! Looking forward to the time I can go and just stroll around! Maybe next year as I have family in Phoenix! Thank for sharing! xo

    Reply

  • sunmoongal

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    I love seeing CHA posts. Yours is great. When you get that paper I want to see it! Looks like a great time.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      I will def. let you know about the paper – it was really so cool- It felt like leather …and the texture- nom nom!

      Reply

  • linda-faber

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    Thanks for the photo tour of CHA…looks like so much fun…always wondered what that would be like.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Linda, it is fun – but it is also a lot of work. It is inspiring to see the new ideas and products but really the best of the show is meeting people.

      Reply

  • Joi@RR

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    Hehehehhe – this was sooooooooooooooooo fun to see Nat. Loved every inch of reading this and seeing the wonderful pictures. Highlight of my week. Thank you so so so much for sharing this. Hugs. j.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you joi :) glad you enjoyed this! Have a wonderful day, hugs,nat

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Wood tape…white birch…must get some!
    Thanks for sharing your CHA adventure and Arizona does sound nice for a change.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah – I am all up for Arizona next year. And yes- the wood tape looked really great as well as the wood paper.

      Reply

Leave a comment

Designed by n*Studio: NEW Stampendous Stamp Sets

NewStampsetsNatKalbach

I am so excited that there are four new stamp sets coming out this year designed by me through Stampendous. And I am even more excited that these are something that I have been wanting to do for a couple years now- I am a huge foam stamp fan and I have been including foam stamps in a lot of my classes throughout the years. Over the years I told many people I would love to do my own foam stamp designs and I so hope that you will like those 3 Sets (Elephant, Bird and Urban Scribble) including 1 foam stamp with 2 stamping surfaces,  and the Fashion Dame Set with 1 rubber stamp and 1 Stencil and the one set with layering rubber stamps.

Let me show you in a video how they look like and some of the many ways to use them:)

New n*Studio+Stampendous Stamps from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

Coming Soon to Mixed Media & Craft Stores and My Website nathaliesstudio.com

There are so many possibilities with those sets!

UrbanScribble

 

City_WaterTower01

City_WoodenCanvas_Inspire01

Elephant

Elephant_ArtJournalspread01

Elephant_WoodenCanvas_Strong01

Bird

Bird_ThankYou_Card01

Bird_WoodenCanvas_Fly01

FashionDame

FashionDame_ArtJournal_01

FashionDame_ArtJournal_02

Which one of the new sets do you like best?

 

Nat

Comments (48)

  • Join Stampendous at Creativation

    |

    […] some fun from last year’s CHA MegaShow with Nathalie Kalbach! She’s demonstrating her fantastic Foam and Cling Rubber Stamps Sets. Boy, have we had a […]

    Reply

  • michelleward

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    Genius! Love how you have a mix of items in the collection. They are all fabulous – and your samples and your video!

    Reply

  • Jackie Smith

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    I love the elephants the best! Love all the stamps!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      who can’t resist an elephant, right? ;) thank you Jackie!

      Reply

  • florenceturnour

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    So great! Nathalie, since I make my own stuff, I’m not often tempted to buy stamp sets, but I think I’ll make an exception for yours. Fabulous work!

    Reply

  • Sue

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    URBAN SCRIBBLES!!! I love this, Nathalie! Thank you for designing it….how did you know????

    Reply

  • Ann-Marie

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    Fashion Dame set is fabulous

    Reply

  • SeattleSuze

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    Instant fave was the urban scribble, but the longer the video played, the more I shifted from one to another. I can only say that my conclusion is that I love your art and can’t wait to integrate the stencils (ALL of them) into my own work. So exciting to anticipate their release.

    Reply

  • Darcie

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    I have to have Urban Scribble (cuz I live in da hood lol) and Fashion Dame. Love them and congratulations on your new line!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL- well if you live in da hood the urban scribble is a must ;) Thank you Darcie

      Reply

  • linda-faber

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    Wow! I’m not sure I can resist! For me, I love the bird set and the urban scene. For sale when??? Great demos too. So helpful.
    Congrats on a great new product!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Linda! They are on sale for retailers now and should be shipped soon and in store soon :) I will also have them on my website :)

      Reply

  • jamcam2022

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    Love, love, love Urban Scribble!!! They are all fabulous!!

    Reply

  • aissa99

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    I like the Urban Scribble and Fashion Dame the best!

    Reply

  • Andrene

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    EEK!!!! I love the elephant!! Cant wait to get it and use it with your elephant stencil which is one of my faves! All of the sets are fantastic and will definitely find a home with me! Congrats!!!!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Awe. thank you Andrene- glad you like them and yes- the stamp elephant and the Stencil elephant will be buddies then :)))

      Reply

  • Tracy Evans

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    Oooh great release looking forward to getting my hands on that city scale and birds especially. Tracy x

    Reply

  • Joi@RR

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    Ahh – loved that video showing the ways you used them. I have never seen a foam stamp like that Nat. Wow. I can tell you what I love… it that the foam stamp can go either way. For instance… I get so frustrated because I have a bird but he only faces the WRONG WAY!!! So that is very exciting. And YOU KNOW… I love the city scape the best…. because your city scape artwork is always my fav!!! They are all four wonderful… truly. I am soooooooooooo excited that you have these. I just used once of your floral stamps on my Matisse flower!!! Thanks bunches for such a great post – loved reading and watching it ALL. Congratulations – sooooo proud for you!!! j.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Joi for your super sweet comment ! Yes- I know- the facing the wrong way…I hope that this will help! BTW- easy solution for facing wrong way …you can always stamp on a geli plate or mono printing plate and then use the plate image- it will be reversed then :)

      Reply

  • Carol K

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    like them all. . . that elephant is pretty cool. . . the versatility of your sets is amazing. . . . . love the texture and rubber stamps matching and a bonus stencil . . . . SWEET!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Carol, yes it is a pretty versatile set …I am still finding ideas on how to use them …will share of course :)

      Reply

  • Cindi Walsh

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    These sets look like so much fun! Thanks for the video. It’s so hard to choose just one favorite … but if forced I would probably choose the Urban Scribble, no wait, the bird … ugh! It’s hard to choose. I think it’s the bird.

    Reply

  • Jean Marmo

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    Oh my goodness! These are so you! And, with them maybe I could create like you! LOVE them!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Awe – thank you Jean!!! You create your own magic – I know it!!!

      Reply

  • gunvor

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    Awesome sets Nat! Exactly what a stamper who dabbles with mixed medab techniques wants! The birds ant the city scribble are at the top of my wishlist, but I love the elephant too.

    Reply

  • maura

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    Oh boy, that’s tough! I like them all, but am leaning to the elephant and bird ones…if I have to choose!

    Reply

  • Kelly Belton

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    Ummm – I love all of them – but I must get my hands on the elephants and the fashion dame . Seriously Nat – these are awesome. Congrats!

    Reply

  • Marit

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    Wow, love them!
    I adore the city scribble, it’s definately on my wish list. :D

    Reply

  • cuchy

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    congratulations! On my wish list. You know we have the 3 wise men coming this week :)
    Those urban stamps are fantastic and the foam… many possibilities. Love them all!!

    Loves

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you so much Cuchy, hope the 3 wise man brought many gifts ;)

      Reply

  • bibliofil

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    Hallo Nathalie,

    Well, first of all I have to tell you that “Kaffe Klatch” was my all time favourite stamp set last year. Out of this release, the first one I will buy is the elephant (on a budget otherwise I would buy more!). But! I love the city scape and the bird as well. And I can see so many uses for the fashion doll….Hmm, as one of my new years resolutions is to loose weight, perhaps I can buy stamps instead of sweets? Two flies in one swat? Have a lovely and prosperous 2016!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Eva, I am so glad you liked the Kaffee Klatsch :) Thank you for your sweet words and wishing you a wonderful and lovely 2016 as well!

      Reply

  • Kathy P

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    Who hoo, Nat—-congrats on this cool new release! I especially love Urban Scribble and Fashion Dame! And the elephant is my fave animal, soooooo……..
    They are ALL great!

    Reply

  • Nurse Ratchet

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    LOVE them all…but am quite partial to the birds and the elephants….loving the stencil with that fab elephant ?

    Reply

Leave a comment

Be a voice not an echo

NatkalbachBeAVoice01

This is a watercolor paper page mounted on a piece of cardboard which I made for CHA a couple months ago, in order to show my new stamps with acrylic paints. I also used some canvas letters that I altered with acrylic paint and a pen.

NatkalbachBeAVoice02

I used the Kaffeeklatsch and Mark Maker set set with this one and I love how the white and green pop off the ultramarine blue.

nSupplies


I wish you an amazing day

Nat

Comments (3)

  • Joi@RR

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    Nat – you always teach me something!! This is so neat. I didn’t even think about canvas letters. They look great. Thank you for sharing! j.

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Nat, I especially like how the white stamped image shows up on the blue. Nice job as usual.

    Reply

Leave a comment

Studio Time or … Is Scrapbooking Dead?

Yes, hold your horses, I did a Scrapbooking Page ! And it was fun!

NatKalbachStudioTime_01

I used my new Stampendous Mark Maker Stampset and did some monoprinting on white paper using the stamps and acrylic paints.

NatKalbachStudioTime_02

I free handedly cut out little circles and applied them to the Cardstock.

NatKalbachStudioTime_03

I used a Bamboo Sketching Pen and Acrylic ink to write the title on the very same paper and then I just cut that out to and applied it with some foam pads onto the layout.

NatKalbachStudioTime_05

I used a Journaling Pen to scribble around the circles and do the journal.

NatKalbachStudioTime_04

Very easy peasy layout. Here is a video by Scrap Time which they made of me at CHA. Thank you – you rock and you do a fab job covering CHA! – I am talking about the stamp sets and also show the layout in the video.

 

Why not doing a Scrapbooking Layout once in a while- right? The big talk at CHA was that Scrapbooking is dead. I don’t agree, I think it has just changed and is not a mega hobby trend anymore and everyone who is interested in it just has to adapt it to their own style. Just like every other crafts that go and come in waves- but it will be still something that people will do as a memory keeping hobby. I also like it because it is so adaptable with Mixed Media and Art Journaling. What do you think?

Here are the supplies I used for the Layout:

nSupplies



Have a gorgeous day!

Nat

Comments (8)

  • Mandy C

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    Great page and I like that we met through a common interest in scrapbooking. Scrapbooking has been around since the first papers were created, it might have changed and evolved over time but as long as people have memories and celebrations to document, there is sure to be scrapbooking in some form.

    Reply

  • Stampendous Stamps

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    Gorgeous scrapbook page, Nathalie!! Love what you’ve done with the stamps and the circles!!

    Reply

  • Dara Lynn

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    I’ve been scrapping since the late 90’s and certainly have seen a transition in my scrapping methods. I love creating or putting my personal twist on pages, like so many. Combine that with it seemed like a huge bombardment of paper companies and those who were able to show versatility in their products were the ones who survived. Rooms across the world are chunk full of paper, embellishments, brads, buttons….they wanted something different…what better way to add a medium to refresh, have fun and add that personal touch

    Reply

  • kabelton

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    I like that Rhonda Srickland – preserving memories with art. I have been scrapbooking since the early 70’s, and even at the very beginning there was “art” on my pages. I don’t think it’s dead. it’s just transitioning like all art forms do over time.

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I think that scrapbooking has changed over the 13 years that I’ve been scrapping. There is more of a move towards mixed media (which can also be used on a layout for sure). I find that I am working more in my art journal but part of that is that my son is not so young anymore so I don’t feel the need to scrap every activity that we do (like I did when he was under 6). I go to a crop once a month and folks are still scrapping but maybe not buying as many supplies as they once did (since they have tons to use up first)!

    Reply

  • yankeegirl

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    Oh, I LOVE it when you do a scrapping page! It is awesome!!! Your mixed media techniques make it so unique!!!

    Reply

  • Rhonda Strickland

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    Love your layout…very fun! I would like to know what companies are trying to say scrapbooking is dead. :o( It certainly is not, and I would not support any company who believes that. Scrapbooking is still about preserving memories with art. That really makes me very sad.

    Reply

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CHA Show – Work Hard – Play Hard

Stampendous-Booth

As posted a couple days before I just came back from six days at the CHA Show in Anaheim, California. CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association and holds a big Trade Show for the latest and greatest regarding Craft and Hobby every January. This year my second round of stamps were released with Stampendous at CHA and so one of the reasons to go there was, of course to promote them. Weeks ahead of the Show there is sample work involved- which is always a headache for everyone because the show is right after the holiday season. Besides demoing I also did some filming at the Show, visited some very good business seminars and attended some meetings. Many years I didn’t even had time to walk the floor but this year was all under the motto : Work Hard – Play Hard and I had a lot of fun meeting friends in between. Most of these photos are intended to make my friend and annual room mate Birgit aware of how much fun she missed and come next year again (girl, I missed you soooooo much this year !) – Here are some photos :)

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getting sandwiched by my sweet friends Cat and Anna!

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being super stoked and showing my tonsils because Helen bought my Flat Iron Print and is bringing it to her home all the way in Australia

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checking out the gorgeous work by the Stampendous Design Team and spying my Stamps and Stencils in their work!

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once in while visiting my bestie Julie and have her show me the Scan N Cut which I got for Christmas and make her show HER tonsils ;)

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Filming a 2 minute tip of the day for Scrapbook Expo without flinging paint over the very clean filmset (yes I managed …barely but I managed ;) )

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Talking to Tenia who just got published using my stamps (woot woot talented girl!) and being photobombed by JumpStarter John (Tenia’s Face- price less)

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Running into Suzanne, Suze and Anna – love! And …photo stolen from Suze  (confessing!)

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Seeing my gorgeous Finnish friends again …next time in Finland? ;)

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My friends Barbara from Italy and Jing from Dubai – too short …so sad – another year till I see you again!

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Getting a hug by Denny ….I must be on a stool or something or he is kneeling down- because he is really way taller than me – LOL

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Filming with ScrapTime and talking about the new Stamps. Fun!

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Having a good talk with Seth sitting outside in the sun before the show starts on the last day

And that was it – I met many more friends in between- but you know …you cannot be attached to your camera ALL the time (well you can…but – LOL) . It was a great show – I had a really good time and I am looking forward to next year …even though for two days after coming home,  I was pretty much exhausted and did not want to talk much (I think that is how we all end up after the show – it is pretty intense to be on all time).

And now it is back to the studio and do some creative work :)

 

Nat

Comments (10)

  • Maura

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    Looks like you had a blast!!

    Reply

  • catherinescanlon

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    It was so nice to spend time with you, hopefully we’ll get some creative time somtime!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Looks like a fun and exhausting time to spend with customers and crafty friends. Thanks for sharing those pics Nat.

    Reply

  • paula

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    Nat, It was nice to see you, even if it was for only a moment. You look so happy (not just in the photos) so I’m glad things are going well for you. xx

    Reply

  • laurajo

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    Oh Nat, what a wonderful community of friends. You can never have enough support. Love seeing all the pics and other artist’ work with your stamps. It really shows how your stamps are so versatile! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  • jackiepn

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    oh Nat! Thanks for sharing those photos! The looks of fun and happiness radiate from your smiles- even the tonsil showing one! teehee Hugs

    Reply

  • yankeegirl

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    What FUN it must be to see all the new goodies and techniques, and to meet up with so many friends! But I can see how it could be exhausting, too! Waiting for the third of your new stamp sets to arrive in my mailbox….can’t wait!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah thank you for getting my stamps- that is so cool!!!!

      Reply

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Have You Seen Anything Exciting at CHA? or … What about Surfaces/Substrates?

CHAshow

I just came back from six days at the CHA Show in Anaheim, California. CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association and holds a big Trade Show for the latest and greatest regarding Craft and Hobby every January.

The most asked question between Designers, Artists, Crafters and Educators this year was “Have you seen anything exciting at CHA where you think I should head right over to?” This wasn’t an easy question to answer. My friend Seth Apter did a great job listing the Trends to Watch and some thoughts on his blog – and I agree with everything fully .

SURFACES/Substrates: 

I personally was on the hunt for Surfaces/Substrates at CHA whenever I had a bit time between meetings, and demoing (I will post some photos of that later ;) ). As most of you know I am working with my dream paint company right now and I am always on the look out for some wonderful surfaces that I can incorporate in my artwork or in my Mixed Media Workshops.

Mixed Media is still a hot and climbing trend in the Craft and Hobby Sector and it was EVERYWHERE but it was really hard to find something that made me excited to work on regarding as a surface. Most paper crafting manufacturers seem to venture into producing paints and media that already exist. I was a bit surprised by that. Wouldn’t it would be so much more innovative and successful to come up with something unique that works with the products a paper craft company already manufactures but also supports other media? Oh well….

Here are my top 5 surface products I found by Craft Manufacturers:

Relics and Artifacts by Susan Evertson for Prima Marketing

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These resins excited me! They were unique and not main stream- they can be used in Mixed Media – Assemblages, Canvases but also for Scrapbooking and Card Project. For me a great idea and I love the unique designs !

Mixed Media Albums by Graphic 45

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Nice and sturdy cardboard albums, in different color schemes, with nice and thick paper inserts – different designs as with pockets and tabs. Graphic45 came out with some great paper lines and embellishments to go with those books to make them into calendars or recipe books- but they also can be altered and used with paints – I cannot wait to play with one and make an Mixed Media-photo-album out of one of those.

Mixed Media Boxes by Graphic 45

 

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I know… Boxes – but- I liked those- nice quality boxes – with so many possibilities. Alter them with Scrapbooking Paper, make recipe boxes, make shadowboxes, home decor items- with photos – use them for a Mixed Media project …you see –  endless possibilities and a good fit with their already existing paper products!

Just Add Watercolors by Cosmo Cricket

 

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Cosmo Cricket did it for me this year in coming up with great surface ideas for the craft and hobby industry!! I love their Watercolor paper, cards, tags and blocks printed with gold and clear foil resist. You can not only add watercolor, but also acrylic inks and make some easy yet artsy looking cards etc. I think this is a great gateway into experimenting with Mixed Media for people that want to get a tiny bit messy but are still clean paper crafters !

Gallery Blocks by Cosmo Cricket

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This one was my favorite! These are  canvases with a wooden back. You can use them either kind of like a shadowbox or paint on the wooden surface- which is fun too – as you will have a frame then already. BUT even cooler, if you want to wrap it in fabric, they added super strong adhesive on the edges and every block comes with thumb tacks for reinforcing the corners. this means you can add any painted fabric – duck canvas, stained and painted canvas or fabric on top of  it- in an easy peasy way. GREAT idea!!!

That was the result of my Surface and Substrate hunt . Oh wait, speaking of Mixed Media Surfaces ….looksie what I found in the Ice Resin Booth ;) That is the suitcase that Jen Cushman made for her Creative JumpStart Video- if you are signed up – you will recognize it :)

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If you were at CHA- let me know your thoughts- and if you weren’t let me know your thoughts about surfaces or substrates you personally would love to see !

 

Nat

Comments (10)

  • Sandra Evertson

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    Thank you so much for including my RELICS & ARTIFACTS resin craft blanks by Sandra Evertson/Prima Marketing Inc. in your top five picks for CHA 2015!! I’d like to invite you to the Prima Marketing Inc booth this Winter 2016 CHA, we are going to introduce an even more fabulous companion line to mix and match!! Thanks again! And hope to see you there!
    Sandra Evertson

    Reply

  • Seth

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    Hey Nat. Great seeing you at the show. Thanks so much for including my link in the post. And for sharing these product favorites. Somehow I missed a few of them at the show.

    Reply

  • Zandra Cudney

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    It was so nice to see you and Suze in front of the Prima Finnabair demo. Missed you at Art Venture this year.

    Reply

  • ljfsyd

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    Wasn’t there but so glad you shared …. Love the canvases w
    Itch wood back. Also would like to see uses with all the wood embellishments I saw here and in retail and some ideas.

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I am very interested in the mixed media albums. I tend to love Graphic 45 products. Resin relics…yeah.

    Reply

  • Kim reed

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    I wasn’t at CHA, but watched quite a bit of the action on YouTube. I about pooped my pants when I saw Sandra Evertson’s new line with Prima because I am already a big fan of her stamp line. However, I had no clue about that Cosmo Cricket line, so the gallery blocks are going right to my wish list. I’m looking forward to your new stamp release as well! And I totally agree with you about the paper companies invading the paint territory, they just need to get off that bandwagon already. Thanks for sharing this info!!

    Reply

  • Ursula

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    Hallo Nat – mein Neid ist mit dir ;)) Ich denke, ich werde mir all die neuen Dinge mal die nächsten Tage am Compi anschauen – aber das GraphicAlbum sieht schon mal seeeeeeeeehr vielversprechend aus – auch wenn ich ja nicht so der “Matscher” bin ;)) LG Ursula

    Reply

  • Laura S.

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    Love all your choices. The Prima Relics are too cool. Need to play with them for sure!

    Reply

  • Francine G

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    Hi Nathalie

    Like you I love those resin artifacts…. I just hope that I will find some? Also the Graphic 45 albums are awesome… And the canvas with wooden back what a cool idea with so many possibilities…
    I was not at CHA but I was able to follow with all the posts of the différent company…
    I appreciate your overview you’re the expert!

    Hugs

    Reply

  • jackiepn

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    I’m digging the relics and the gallery blocks you’ve posted! and no I was not at CHA , but home viewing from my computer “( waaahh
    I do however ADORE that luggage that Jen painted on CJS!!! And I have a huge supply of vintage ones- just asking for paint!!
    I think you need to design a cool substrate Nat!! hint hint!
    thanks for your insight! hugs xo

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