Creative Squad

Mirror Mirror – Maura Hibbitts

Happy Tuesday folks and welcome to a post from my Creative Squad. Today we have Maura Hibbitts sharing a colorful and intriguing art journal page with us that uses my Elephant Parade and Mesa Verde stencils and this month’s theme: Mirror Mirror – A mirror can be a reflection of many things. We look into them every day and can see who we are outside and in. But they can also just be a fun visual tool to play with as we flip and reverse images and patterns. Play with reflection this month.

As I was looking through my stencils for this month’s project, I came across Nat’s Elephant Parade and knew I wanted to work with this one. A few days ago, I was speaking with a former student and her parents about her Peace Corps work in Botswana, I am so proud of her! Among the many things we talked about were elephants, as there is a large wildlife refuge near her village with lots of elephants. It also took me back to a trip to India a few years ago with my husband, and I know neither of us will ever forget our ride on an elephant. Color is always a part of my creative soul, and our autumn colors have been so beautiful this year. My sons have captured the reflections of trees and sky in the lakes here, in their photos. These are the ideas that meshed together in my art journal.

I decided to go with the primary colors with the elephant and began with the top one, using the Elephant Parade stencil, a cosmetic sponge, and yellow, orange and red paints. As I worked across the stencil, I blended between the colors a bit. Since I was changing colors as I worked, I took a bit of washi tape (since I have a huge collection) and taped it in place.

I turned the stencil upside down in my art journal, taped it in place, and started sponging in the contrasting colors, red with green, but then I goofed and put orange and purple together instead of orange and blue. Oh well, I still like how it looks with warm colors on top and cool colors below.

With colors left over from my palette, I decided to also do the opposing page (not in my original plan), so took the sponges and swiped the leftover paint onto the page in a circular motion.

Now that I had a second page, I needed to work with it and wanted to find a stencil with an Indian feel to it to go with the elephants. Mesa Verde stencil to the rescue! I taped it in place, and used black paint over the dark colors, white over the light colors, and then I just had to add in some gold. (bright colors and gold remind me of India). After I finished the left side, I looked over at the elephant page, and decided to repeat with the stencil here also.

To create an idea of a reflection with the elephants, I added a line with the graphite pencil and water brush. Once that dried, I felt the elephants needed to stand out more, so added some scribbly lines with a carbon ink pen.

Now for the words…I started with Mirror at the top in hand lettering with a black paint pen. Then, I turned the page upside down and did a reverse of Mirror with a white paint pen, added gold and went around it with black to make it stand out.

While I was writing my Mirror reflection I started thinking about mirrors showing us two images (or more), and how there is often two sides to every story, so I added these words in with a grey paint pen.

Bright colors, reflections, and  journeys all play a part in my art journal pages.

Mirrors can reflect our images, calm waters can act like mirrors to reflect the landscape and sky around them. Artists have used mirrors in their paintings, adding intrigue with a glimpse into that small bit of the painting. We find mirrors in fairy tales…”mirror, mirror on the wall”…and stories.  I’ve been thinking about the stories on both sides of the mirror. Thanks for sharing my reflective journey, Maura

Thank you Maura – love the resulting page with those lovely colors AND love your thoughts on mirrors and their stories.

Want to give Maura’s project a try? You can find all my Stencils in my Online Shop and here are some of the other supplies Maura used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me or tag me #natkalbach how you used my stencils and stamps – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Aimeslee Winans

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    Wonderful art journaling with a wise message. xoxo

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Mirror Mirror – Jennifer Gallagher

Hello from my Creative Squad and today we have Jennifer Gallagher starting us off this month with a new theme and a bold and funky art journal page for you. Jennifer is using my Kassel stencil and my Broadway 4×4 stencil and our November theme: Mirror Mirror – A mirror can be a reflection of many things. We look into them every day and can see who we are outside and in. But they can also just be a fun visual tool to play with as we flip and reverse images and patterns. Play with reflection this month.

This month the creative squad is focusing on reverse images and patterns as we celebrate the fun in reflection. I’ve taken the theme quite literally and created a positive and negative background using Nat’s stencils for a bold and bright art journal page. This technique is fun and easy and gives new life to even your most loved stencils. Let’s get started.

I am using my small rectangular dylusions journal for this spread. I began by stenciling quinacridone magenta acrylic paint through Nat’s Kassel stencil on the left side. On the right side I am penciling in the design for the next step.

Using a small square bristled brush, I hand painted in around the penciled design in the same color, quinacridone magenta. I am creating the opposite design that I did on the left hand side.

Next, I stenciled black acrylic paint through Nat’s four inch Broadway stencil on both pages. I did not exactly mirror the location of the two sides, but you can do so if you wish.

Using a black and white Gelly Roll Pen, I added dashes and lines around the designs on both pages.

Next, I added tissue paper collage elements from Dina Wakley Media. I’ve used the same elements on both sides but not exactly mirrored. Again, you could mirror it if you wish.

Using a mini blending tool, I rubbed black acrylic paint around the edges and center of the pages.

I typed up a quote on the computer, cut it out, and placed it where I wanted it. I adhered it with matte medium.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. Be sure to play along each month with the creative squad and the n*Studio themes.

Thank you Jennifer! What a cool looking spread!

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

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Linda Wyatt

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    Beautiful pages! Love the way you mirrored and mixed the other elements. The color combo is perfect❤️

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Your Biggest Fan – Judi Kauffman

Happy Tuesday and welcome to a post from my Creative Squad. Today we have a post from Judi Kauffman. You can learn more about Judi from our Nice to Meet You blog post featuring her creative story and artwork. This time Judi is sharing her Fan Mail Envelope project using my Mini Fan Foam Stamp Set and this month’s theme: Your Biggest Fan – Let’s give a shout out to someone who is doing an amazing job. In a world obsessed with Me Me Me it’s important to take a look around sometimes and give some encouraging words to another, and not just in your art and craft making :) Be their Biggest Fan!  

I’m crazy about this month’s theme. Telling someone you’re their biggest fan is so important! It ensures that my nephew’s little boy knows how proud I am of him, that my friend who is going through chemo knows that I support her every single day, that my neighbor knows how much I appreciate her many kindnesses, along with all of the recipes she’s shared over the years…and…and… So many people who matter in a person’s life.

I do try to express these things in person with words and hugs, but sometimes putting it into the form of a card or letter just makes more sense. And since I love decorating envelopes, I like to turn that part of the project into something special, too.

My new set of Nathalie’s Mini Fan stamps (ArtFoamies), two or more inks, a couple of colored pencils, and a craft sponge were all I needed to whip up a batch of Fan Mail Envelopes! I die cut my envelopes from heavyweight pale yellow paper because I like the option of having a variety of flap styles (half-circle, Victorian, etc.), but smooth-finish purchased envelopes work great as well. 

Use my samples as a jumping-off point: Do a bit of smudging, mask with torn paper, tap the envelope against the edge of an ink pad to create lines for the name and address; use colored pencils to add little pops of color here and there. Optional: Stamp or hand—write the words FAN MAIL in small caps to hint at the contents of the envelope.

Thank you Judi – these positively glow! And we love reading your thoughts too – so true that if you think about it, there are a lot of people in everyone’s lives that could use some encouraging words. Want to give Judi’s project a try? You can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and here are some of the other supplies she used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me or tag me #natkalbach how you used my stencils and stamps – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

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Your Biggest Fan – Linda Edkins Wyatt

Hello from my Creative Squad and today we have another debut post from our stellar new member Linda Edkins Wyatt who we are so happy to have join our talented group. She is sharing with us a precious little book, using my Fairview Fan foam stamps on fabric – a lovely little keepsake for anyone! This month’s theme is: Your Biggest Fan – Let’s give a shout out to someone who is doing an amazing job. In a world obsessed with Me Me Me it’s important to take a look around sometimes and give some encouraging words to another, and not just in your art and craft making :) Be their Biggest Fan!  

Hi! I’m super excited to be part of Nat’s Creative Squad and share my first Squad project with you.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to take a gelliprint class with Julie Balzer at Ink Pad NYC. I thought I was a terrible gel press printer and couldn’t see what all the excitement was about gelli printing, so I figured if anyone could help me get the hang of it, it would be Julie. Among the many tricks and tips Julie shared, I learned that I was using way, way too much paint. I also learned to use a barren to make sure the gel press transferred the paint to the paper evenly.

I decided to test my newly developed gel press skills with Nat’s “Fairview” positive/negative fan set. I coated the gel plate with paint and pressed the art foamie Fairview pieces into the color, then printed the excess on a nearby piece of deli paper. After printing a bunch of different colors, I mixed up some light turquoise paint and created a nice design on the gel plate, alternating the positive and negative images until the whole 9”x12” plate was covered. But this time, I thought “let’s try it with fabric!” (I am, by training and inclination, a textile designer, so using fabric, stitch, and creating repeating designs is second nature to me.)

I cut a piece of black fabric to about 12”x14”, pressed it carefully onto my gel plate, applied pressure with my brayer, and gently pulled it off. The fabric had a twill weave which added to the design and gave it a rustic look. I loved it! So, I made a couple more pieces of printed black fabric, trying different arrangements of the fan foamies.

My favorite print was just the right size to fit on an oversized shipping tag, so I decided to create a tag book. I was inspired to start making tag books when I saw a post from a wonderful artist, Ann Sullivan Barnes. I am a big fan of Ann, who artfully combines precision and fine detail with creativity—not an easy feat.

I carefully glued the fabric to both sides of an oversized shipping tag and let it dry. Next, I trimmed the fabric close to the tag edges, added black sharpie to cover the white edges of the tag, and added a thin layer of heavy gel gloss to keep the fabric from fraying. Once the glue had dried, I folded it in half, pressing the fold with my bone folder, then placing the folded tag under a heavy weight for a few hours.

It needed pages, so I cut some heavy white printer paper to fit inside the tag book (I made the pages about 1/8” smaller than the cover) and, using bookbinding thread and a fat needle, stitched the signature in place. I left the strings long with an idea of later adding some kind of decorative beads.

It looked great so far, but then I had to decide what kind of closure and embellishment it needed. I inserted grommets in the tag hole, poked a second hole, and placed another grommet in the back of the book. I chose a simple ribbon closure: I tied a length of sheer aqua ribbon on the inside of each grommet, leaving it long enough to tie the two pieces into a bow closure at the side.

I decided to embellish both the signature’s hanging threads and the ribbon closure with Tyvek beads. I painted some Tyvek black and added splashes of turquoise Lumiere paint. Once it was dry, I cut long triangles, rolled beads, and heated them until the Tyvek melted. I threaded each end of the sheer ribbon through a bead and tied the ends.

On the long threads of the signature, I got a little fancier. I added a small bead onto the string, then a Tyvek bead, and inserted a small feather into the bead. A few drops of glue on the feather tip held the feather inside the beads. Then I used watercolor to paint the white thread to match the turquoise paint.

The Little Fan Book is a nice small size to fit in a pocket or a purse, and great for writing notes or dashing off a quick sketch. It also could be filled with photos, poetry or inspirational quotes for a very personal and special gift.

Thank you Linda! I love that you stamped on fabric and then created this gorgeous little treasure with it. Want to give Linda’s project a try? You can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and here are some of the other supplies she used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me or tag me #natkalbach how you used my stencils and stamps – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Wow Linda, I can’t wait to see more of your posts…this one is gorgeous!

    Reply

  • Ann

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    I am thrilled to see Linda as part of your Creative Squad, she is such a talented artist, and seeing her incorporate her talents in textile design makes me even happier. This is a gorgeous piece. I am honored that Linda is inspired by my work because I truly admire her talents and creations. Fantastic tag book, all the special details bring it to life and that fan stamp design is glorious! ~Ann

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Your Biggest Fan – Nicole Watson

Hello again from my Creative Squad. Today we have a very special post from one of our NEW squad members: Nicole Watson! We are so happy to have Nicole on the team and are excited to share her incredible talent with you! Her project today is an art journal page that will have you swooning over layers :) She is using my Broadway Fan Positive Negative foam stamps and this month’s theme: Your Biggest Fan – Let’s give a shout out to someone who is doing an amazing job. In a world obsessed with Me Me Me it’s important to take a look around sometimes and give some encouraging words to another, and not just in your art and craft making :) Be their Biggest Fan!  

I have to admit that I had more of what I wanted to do with the stamps in mind before figuring out how I was going to tackle the theme this month! For some reason I was really struggling just who or what I was going to pick to focus my journal page on, but as I was working on my concept, it clicked.

My idea was to create layers on my journal pages that looked like old wall paper through the years. This concept was partially inspired by binge watching Downton Abbyand looking at old photographs with my dad noticing how my grandma’s wallpaper on the stairs changed through time.

Here is a video for you and a writeup below:

After gessoing my pages, I covered them with bits and pieces of book pages. I chose a variety to give that look of different wallpapers from encyclopedia pages showcasing the images, to a German songbook and a dictionary. Then I topped those off with bits of handwritten text from an old notebook and ledger. Next, I used some watered-down gesso to push some of the pages back and have areas that paint would cling a little differently.

Once all the gesso and matte medium was dry, I began to add color to the pages mixing the colors with umber to add an old, grungy feel. I watered down the paint in places to allow it to flow and mingle with the other colors. After it was dry, I added some shadowing around some of the papers with the stabilo all by tracing and then activating it with water.

To create the final layer of wallpaper, I used Nat’s Broadway Fan Positive Negative Foam Stamp. I didn’t want to stamp directly on my previous layers, because I didn’t know exactly where to put the stamp, and wanted a more torn look than a perfect stamped image. So, I stamped both the positive and negative images on tissue paper, one with paint and the other with stabilo! To stamp with the stabilo, simply scribble onto a slick surface (like palette paper) and add water to make what I like to call, a stabilo puddle!

I stamped the pattern both vertically and horizontally on the tissue paper, because the paper only tears well in one direction. Then, I tore the paper apart and stuck it to my journal pages. I wanted to extend the pattern a bit, so I stamped some additional fans with the stabilo puddle directly on the journal pages.

Then, I needed to figure out where to take these pages next and how to attach the theme. I drew some flowers with my charcoal pencil (so I could wipe them off as needed!) and painted them in. I didn’t like how this turned out, so I cut flower petals and stems from book pages and covered them up! I added some gesso here and there for some more white, splattered some of it, filled in the flowers with some sepia ink and a tiny bit of eggplant paint, splattered the ink and then thought about my pages.

It was hard for me to nail down who/what I’m the biggest fan of. My interests and fandom change yearly and sometimes even daily! I am a huge fan of all of the wonderful artists that I’ve connected with over social media, different musicians, musicals, shows, and movies.… and, well, coffee.  This reminded me so much of those wallpaper layers. We often have a change of heart or something we like …. but those layers are still there creating the picture of who we are. It’s fun to tear them back and reminisce.

I topped my pages off with a sticker that expressed how I was feeling perfectly: fall in love with as many things as possible.

Thank you Nicole! Love hearing your thoughts behind your creative process and then seeing the beautiful results :) Want to give Nicole’s project a try? You can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and in addition to book paper, here are some of the other supplies she used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me or tag me #natkalbach how you used my stencils and stamps – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Sue Clarke

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    I look forward to seeing more of your art Nicole.
    This art journal spread is great. Layers and layers!

    Reply

    • nicole

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      thank you so much!

      Reply

  • Linda Wyatt

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    This looks amazing! Your layers are so delicious and meld together so artfully ❤️

    Reply

    • nicole

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      thank you! <3

      Reply

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Your Biggest Fan – Maura Hibbitts

Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a series of cards from Maura Hibbitts that will inspire you to send a greeting to everyone in your life :) Maura is using my Van Vorst Fan Positive Negative foam stamps, my Art Deco Wallpaper stencil, and this month’s theme: Your Biggest Fan – Let’s give a shout out to someone who is doing an amazing job. In a world obsessed with Me Me Me it’s important to take a look around sometimes and give some encouraging words to another, and not just in your art and craft making :) Be their Biggest Fan!  

How do you choose the most awesome person in your life, or who has inspired you the most? I would have to include my family, friends, artists, musicians, authors and many more. Some days it might be the barista handing me my much needed coffee, or the mechanic fixing my car so I can get back on the road. Many days it is not even a person, but the natural world…Mother Earth. So I decided instead of focusing on just one person, that I would create some postcards that I can send to a few people and let them know how much they mean to me. The trees are dressing themselves in beautiful autumn colors where I live, and that inspired me to choose my color palette for this project. Happy Fall everyone!

I cut large sheets of watercolor paper into 4.5 x 6 inch rectangles for my post cards. I began by blending Raw Sienna and Gold acrylic paints on my gel plate with the brayer, and laid the Art Deco Wallpaper stencil on top. First pull was a paper over the stencil, then, lifting the stencil and pressing it down on a second sheet. I finished up with several pulls on the gel plate. Check out the wide variety of designs you can get by switching it up just a bit.

When you look closely at the trees, you can still see the green under a lot of the bright colors, so I wanted to add a bit in. I put a light layer of Green Gold on the gel plate and lightly pressed my papers over it. I also used a baby wipe with the extra paint and blended it in here and there.

Now comes the fun! I put a layer of Napthol Red at the bottom of the gel plate, and a strip of Hansa Yellow at the top, then blended them with the brayer. I stamped into this with the Van Vorst Fan Positive Art Foamie and began stamping my postcards in a variety of patterns. TIP – whenever you stamp with paint, clean the stamp off right away. I use baby wipes, a mister if I need it, and sometimes an old toothbrush if it is not all coming off.

Next up, stamping with the Van Vorst Negative Art Foamie. On some cards, I used Cadmium Orange Hue, on others Payne’s Grey, some I mixed in a bit of Gold, and others I left alone. I wanted a variety. I messed up on one card, so even went back in and stamped the positive with the grey and green gold to “fix” it.

I added detail and words with black and white Posca paint pens, and edged the cards with black archival ink.  I wanted to be sure to use all waterproof materials since these will be going through the post.

Just look at what you can do with two stamps, a stencil and a few paints! I would have a completely different set of postcards if I switched out my materials. Hmmm, I may just have to make a set with my favorite color palette – green, blue and purple. Why not give it a try yourself and make a set of cards or postcards to send to someone you admire?

My set of postcards in autumn colors and fun designs are ready for me to tell a few people how much I admire them…after all, I am their biggest fan! (and isn’t the fan shape a perfect tie in to this theme?) I hope you have fun thinking of who you admire, and creating a little something special to let them know! – Maura

Thank you Maura! We absolutely love these autumn colors and your message :) Want to give Maura’s project a try? You can find all my Foam Stamps and Stencils in my Online Shop and here are some of the other supplies Maura used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me or tag me #natkalbach how you used my stencils and stamps – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Linda Wyatt

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    These are gorgeous! Such beautiful textures and great use of the fan art foamie❤️

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Your Biggest Fan – Jennifer Gallagher

Hello there and welcome to a post from my Creative Squad. Today we have Jennifer Gallagher kicking off our projects using my Jewett Fan Positive Negative Foam Stamp set with her heartfelt take on this month’s theme: Your Biggest Fan – Let’s give a shout out to someone who is doing an amazing job. In a world obsessed with Me Me Me it’s important to take a look around sometimes and give some encouraging words to another, and not just in your art and craft making :) Be their Biggest Fan!  

I am so excited to be kicking off the theme for this month’s Creative Squad posts. This month we are giving a shout out to those people in our lives that we want to encourage. We are letting them know we are their biggest fans. I am a Mom to two boys and I am definitely their biggest fan. With them in mind, I’ve prepared a page for my family scrapbook using some of my favorite new n*Studio foam stamps, Nat’s Jewett positive and negative fan foam stamp set.. Let’s get started.

I began with a twelve inch square piece of kraft cardstock. I chose two colors of paint. I went with a complementary color selection – a shade of turquoise blue and an orange. I designated one color for the positive Jewett fan foam stamp and one for the negative fan Jewett foam stamp. I loaded paint onto the stamp (this can be done with either a stamp buddy or brayering onto a gel plate) and pressed it firmly into the bottom right corner to begin my pattern. Alternate your foam stamps to create the pattern. I only went about half-way across the page, but you could fill the entire page if you wish.

Next, I used a black fude ball pen to go around a lot of the design and add a dashed line around the outside edge.

I chose a few posca paint pens that were in the same color family and added additional details.

With a small brush, I applied some gold glitz glitter gel.

Next, I chose a few pieces of colored cardstock to build a paper frame for my photo to sit on. In the photo I show a salmon color, but in the end I went with a lighter turquoise. Be sure to audition several colors and combinations to find the one you like best. I just eyeballed the size and cut it with my scissors. I adhered each piece with 1/4 inch scor-tape.

I settled on a spot for my photo and adhered it with scor-tape as well. Then, using my black and white gelly roll pens I made some additional dashed lines to carry that theme through. I also added white dots to some of the flowers.

On my computer I printed out a sentiment for the page. What better than, “I will always be your biggest fan!: I attached it with 1/8 inch scor-tape.

It’s just that simple. I had so much fun making this one that I plan on making tons more pages for my family scrapbooks. You can easily use the tools and techniques you employ in card-making and art journaling into scrapbooks too. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and will try it out at home using your favorite n*Studio foam stamps.

Thank you Jennifer! Love seeing your family and love how those stamps pop on that craft paper! You can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and here are some of the other supplies Jennifer used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

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Little Wonder – Maura Hibbitts

Hello and welcome to another post from the Creative Squad! Here we have an art journal page from Maura Hibbitts using inchies and twinchies (read on to learn more :) Maura is using my New Orleans stencil, one of the stamps from the Fanfare rubber stamp set, and this month’s theme: Little Wonder – We’re thinking small this month and focusing in on a tiny scale, exploring the delicate details, and creating something that is petite and precious.

Isn’t it often the little things that fill our lives with meaning? A smile, a hug, a flower in bloom, the flight of a bird, a good book, quiet moments, a song…to me, these are the little wonders that mean so much. Think about all of the little things that fill your own life to the brim!

I decided to make my little wonders with inchies (1”x1”) and twinchies (2”x2”). You can turn these tiny squares into little works of art, but this time, I’ve kept mine simple. I also decided to keep my supplies simple.

First step is some color blending on the gel plate – Green Gold, Cobalt Teal Hue, Cerulean Blue and Gold. I squirted small amounts of the four colors I am using and blended them with the brayer.

I have to say, I love printing on my gel plate, and once I start, I really having a hard time stopping. Once the paint is blended on the plate with the brayer, I laid the New Orleans stencil down into it, lifted it off with the paint on the stencil and pressed it on the water color paper. Since I still have some paint on the stencil, I laid it between a sheet of deli paper to get the rest off. These extra prints will come in handy in future projects.

I wanted a mix of designs, so I repeated the process, but this time after laying the stencil in the paint, once I lifted the stencil, I laid the paper on the gel plate.

I decided to add a bit more gold to one of the sheets, so squirted the gold on the gel plate, brayered it, and laid the stencil onto the paint. Then I lifted the stencil and pressed it over one of my painted sheets, just to add another layer.

The papers are dry and ready to be cut to size, 8 twinchies (2”x2”) and 4 inchies (1”x1”).

On the inchies, I stamped a design from the Fanfare set with archival black ink. I also edged all the pieces with the black ink.

Just to add one more little element to my art journal page, I decided to punch small holes around several of the twinchies with my Japanese awl. I like the contrast between the painted pieces and the black background.

Then, I adhered all twinchies to the art journal page with adhesive, popped up the inchies with foam tape, and wrote my thought in the center with a white paint pen.

It’s the little things…day to day, in art, in nature…that add so much to our lives. Think about all the little wonders in your life, and enjoy each and every one of them! Maura

Thank you Maura and yes, we could not agree more that it is so important to be thankful for the little things in life :) Gorgeous page and gorgeous message!

Want to try making something yourself? You can find all my Rubber Stamps and Stencils in my Online Shop and here are some of the other products Maura used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Maura, I just love the message, colors and the page you created. Nice!

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Little Wonder – Jennifer Gallagher

Hello there from the Creative Squad! Here we have Jennifer Gallagher with us sharing a great project that combines two things that are fun to make and delightfully small: artist trading cards and bookmarks! She is using my Broadway and Toledo stencils and my Fantastic Small, Small Circle Jumble, and Fanfare rubber stamps and this month’s theme: Little Wonder – We’re thinking small this month and focusing in on a tiny scale, exploring the delicate details, and creating something that is petite and precious.

I just love working small. Not only is it fun, but it’s a great way to be creative when you’re busy, I’m really excited to share with you a great tutorial for turning artist trading cards into bookmarks. They are small enough to use in your paperbacks, but really pack a visual punch.

I began by cutting smooth watercolor paper into four pieces that each measure 2.5 by 3.5 inches. Next, I dry-brushed olive green and aqua green onto my artist trading cards. 

Using a cosmetic sponge I apply quinacridone magenta acrylic paint through two of Nat’s four inch stencils, Broadway and Toledo mini. To keep it interesting, turn your stencils in different directions or only use a portion of it.

To beat back some of the brightness, I dipped a palette knife into white acrylic paint and drug it across the surface of the cards.

Next, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, I stamped various designs from Nat’s stamps. Keeping with the mini-theme, I used Fantastic small, Fan-fare, and Small Circle Jumble stamps.

To add some additional interest, I doodled on each card using a Sakura Gelly Roll pen in black. Then I added additional mark-making using Posca Pens in black and white.

I felt like they needed some kind of text, so I used my Tim Holtz’s Ideaology clippings stickers. Then, using a hole punch, I placed a hole at the top of each card and added some craft twine.

Working small can be a great way to find time to be creative in the midst of our busy lives. I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and that it will inspire you to pull out your n*Studio stamps and stencils and spend a few minutes being creative. Be sure to share your creations with us.

Thank you Jennifer! Love each one of these and their inviting layers and colors! 

Want to try making some yourself? You can find all my Rubber Stamps and Stencils in my Online Shop and here are some of the other products Jennifer used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

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