It was always other people who called me weird.
said Frank Zappa…
…here is another one I love:
Wishing you a fun day
Nat
Thank you all for your amazing support throughout 2012!
I can’t even express my gratitude to those of you who visited and commented on my blog, took my in-person-workshops and my online classes willing to spent time with me and making me happy with their fun playing and trying out new things, to those that participated in Creative JumpStart 2012 and will participate in 2013, to those of you who worked with me, made me laugh, those that supported me surprisingly, those of you who felt with me during some not-so-sunny-side moments in 2012, invited me to participate in fun art projects, send me wonderful cards and treats, invited me to teach and let me stay in their homes.
Thank you! You are amazing. I wish you the best and healthiest, the most creative and beautiful New Year!
See you in 2013…hopefully also at Creative JumpStart Summit 2013!
Huge hugs to you
Nat
And to you too! Thank you for all you do to make our lives so full and rich with art and inspiration!
How appropriate for transform to become why on the actual same canvas.
Why not;-)
forget my email, i saw where others already wrote to you with the same problem. HOPE HOPE it works for me today, soooo excited about it and don’t want to miss a thing!! Thanks for all you do and for doing this again.!!
Hello, I was wondering about the Jumpstart class starting. Didn’t recieve any emails yesterday for it? I know I’m signed up on the first day you announced it?? Any idea what could be wrong? Looking forward to being inspired this month. I LOOOOOVED last years so much and couldn’t wait for this years to start!! thanks for your help.
please check here: http://nathaliesstudio.com/creative-jump-start-summit-2013/faq/ thank you nat
Happy 2013 Nat! <3
Happy New Year. Hope 2013 is both happy and successful for you.
Happiest of New Years to you and yours, my favourite little German Lady. I am so excited to expand on my artistic journey that you had a huge hand in initiating. I am so fortunate to have taken classes from you, Julie, Dina and Finnabair in 2012! A heartfelt thank you to you all!!
big hugs to you Nat!! have a lovely night! all the possible best for 2013!!
Happy New Year to you and your family!! Thanks for all the fun blog posts and classes this past year and I look forward to being a part of your 2013!!
Happy New Year! Many happy wishes for you in 2013.
Happy New Year to you, Hubs and your beloved Aunts, Nat. Here’s to more wonderful creative moments in 2013 – and to your returning to Toronto once again!
Until then – all the best!!
Happy New Years and here’s to a CREATIVE 2013! Nat thank you for such inspiration ;)
Hi Natalie, I hope I’ve signed up properly for tomorrow’s event I’m not great at computer things. Looking forward only one more sleep.
Happy New Year 2013!!!! for you Nat
happy new year. x
Alles Gute für Dich/euch in 2013!
Happy New Year Nat here’s to a wonderful 2013
This was a crazy year for me. The start of the second year having quit my job as a paralegal and as a Mixed Media Artist. Lot’s of fun things happened, wonderful journeys, work opportunities, but also a lot of rejection, self-doubt, self-pity, self bashing. Crazy….
As of my blogging I would say 2012 marks finding my own voice again. I clearly struggled with my blogging in 2011 and while I want to show my work or tutorials – there is so much more that is on my mind and that makes me me or that inspires my work. I wanted to share this with you and I think slowly in 2012 I found my voice …this is me – whether you like it or not ;)
So here are some of my favorite Blog Posts from last year- they might not necessary be your favorite ones ;) Some are funny, some are very personal, some are inspring…
Use Your Special Dishes or…You Are Worthy!
It was a hard time and it still is a bit a hard time- everyone ever taking caring of a loved elderly family member knows this – this time taught me a lot though and it made me appreciate a lot of things in my life in a different and better way!
It was fun thinking of weird stuff…(still not told you the weirdest facts- hahahahaha)
iDoodle…or The End of the Bee Gees in my handbag
This one makes me laugh because of the music…I am sorry thought that later on one of the Bee Gee’s died…I really didn’t know when I chose my title!
Peek Inside The n*Studio – Prepping Workshops
It was fun writing about things, that I first thought would nobody find interesting…but you did…;)
It was a post proved by an amazing Video – I loved it – and it inspired me to a canvas that it close to my heart
Thank You Mr. PearCabbage…
Again- I loved this inspiring movie by Drew Dudley and it made me think about people who handed me a lollipop!
Was It Worth Quitting a Well Paid Job…
A post reminiscing if I did the right decision quitting my job as a paralegal to become a full-time artist
Photos are like a Rube Goldberg Machine
What chain of thoughts do photos trigger in you?
My Favorite Mixed Media Essentials
This is actually a part of a longer series of blog posts and will still continue on in 2013- all about my most favorite tools and supplies to create mixed media projects.
This is another series- which is finished about color theory..or should I say MY color theory? ;)
I hope you enjoyed this list- is there any of the listed posts that you as my reader especially enjoyed this year?
Have a wonderful day
Nat
Hi Nat
i am so glad you are you if you werent I wouldnt have learnt so much
your post on color theory is what drew me to look around your site
I hope one day i get to meet you [very unlikely but what;s a dream without dreaming]]
I would tell you it was a great choice to leave your job to do art fulltime.
I would tell you that you more than any other artist have inspired me
As you now I havent long ago started my arty journey but thru your classes I have done with you I am no longer scared to try.
I dont know how to thankyou because your art classes along with my darling husband’s support for doing this pulled me out of a very bad deppression
so from the bottom of my heart i am so glad you are you
Jenny
waves from Tasmania
Hi Jenny,
Thank you so much for you wonderful and heartfelt comment! It means a lot to me ! I wish you a wonderful, happy and very creative as well as healthy new year 2013! Huge hugs to you Nat
I’ve enjoyed these and many more of your inspirational, colourful and awesome blogpost this year. Not to mention how much I enjoyed meeting you “IRL” in Stockholm and taking a class for you – such a creative kick! Thanks for everything you shared in 2012 and a Happy, Creative, Colourful New Year to you!
ahhh- Gunvor- you are such a sweetheart. It was wonderful meeting you!!! Wishing you a wonderful creative happy new year too!!!
I still love this one so much – it is my fave and makes me laugh !
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=BwJJdTkvS7Y]
And there you have it!
So, what do you think? How does he get down the chimney?
have a wonderful day
Nat
I never get enough of sesamestreet!!! it is indeed so cute!!! and i joined the january online ‘summit’ what a great initiative!
We could never figure it out since we had no chimney and the house was locked. It was a total mystery. But really we didn’t care because of all the goodies that showed up under the tree.
Cute!!
Thanks for posting that one Nat. I haven’t seen it in a while. I just love the first boy who says that Santa ties the reindeer’s antlers together so that they will fit down the chimney. At our house Santa uses his special key to get in since we don’t have a chimney. Thank you for the beautiful card!!!
I was part of Riikka’s Creative Christmas Calendar on December 9th and here is the card and inspiration I showed.
I love creating my own Christmas Cards. I used to send out only self-created Christmas Cards, but over the years I was just lacking on time, so I usually have a stack printed and send out a couple of self created one to close family members. When the time comes to create the cards, I often stumble over the design. I am not a card maker person and sometimes I need a little extra push that let’s me create something that is not the usual Christmas or Holiday Card. That is the time where I look around in my home to see if I can draw inspiration from there for a christmas card.
I have this pillow on the sofa and I thought that this would be a great inspiration for a christmas card. The colors are unusual, but yet the embroidered circles reminded me of christmas ornaments and there it was, the idea for a card. And on top…I used the embroidery floss that I got from my great-aunt and therefore this card will be her christmas card ;)
Take a look around in your home and see what could inspire you for a christmas card design. Wether it be the fabric of a pillow, place mat or tablecloth or some painting or decoration item on your wall…inspiration can be drawn on so many levels for your cards: colors, patterns and texture. Just open your eyes for the wonders in your home!
Nat
Very cool card! I like the background you used, too. I’m not sure anything specific around my home has inspired my Christmas designs, but maybe you could say the pine trees behind our building have helped.
Thank you for being part of CCC! <3 Hugs!
Kinda cheating, but yes I do: my son and my dog for a photo card. LOL
I must say that I like the inspiration that you got from that pillow pattern and the card came out quite festive.
I love acorns…something about the little hat on the nut makes me go “ohhhh cuuuuteee” …yeah, I know weird…but hey…there is worse out there ;) Anyway I found a box of decoration acorns and cones at a store in the States which I knew I would have to transform.
I used Liquitex Professional Spraypaint on some and Liquitex Acrylic Paint on some others to paint them a bit
And then I placed them on top of a pile of unpainted ones- to make them pop.
and then after Christmas I will probably use them in a mixed media project but for now these little color acorns make me happy.
huge hugs
nat
I ,reminisce when decorating and use family treasures and decorations collected so every colour has representation!! Love my neighbors gold and silver theme but feel so warm and fuzzy when I see the Smurfs from my son’s childhood and some of my childhood decorations side by side on our tree!!
What a fun use of these cute acorns! Love all the colors — I’m a rainbow girl too!
I so love acorns and so does my son. I used to call him ACORN for one of his nicknames since he collected them and put them in every little corner of the house (and his pants pockets). We use mostly reds, greens and clear for decorating with the occasional purple of course.
We don’t really have a color scheme. We just use what we have. Love the acorns!
I do understand very well your love for acorns hats. I once found an acorn on a walk and thought it should be possible to make a real hat in the pattern of an acorn hat. I carried the acorn with me for a long time, before I got an idea for a hat. It turned out quite nicely, in dark red felt.
We don’t do too much of decorating until the last few days before Christmas. There are some extra candles around though and decorations with fir tree and Danish “nisser” :-)
LOOOOVEEEE!!! I’m big into acorns, being a squirrel lover, so I love what you’ve done with these.
I decorate with fairly traditional colors for Christmas, but my Christmas art this year will be mostly green and white with metallic accents.
I’m an acorn lover as well! How whimsical of you to paint them!
I love the way those turned out, and they look great popped against their au natural brothers! I guess my holiday decor is somewhat traditional yet eclectic, so I think your fun, painted elements would be right at home here! ;)
what an awesome idea Nat, love this!!!
Nat that is so cool wish we had this stuff in OZ
Ah, these are cute! I’m not sure I will be able to buy these here, but if I ever find some, I’ll know what to do with tem :-).
Wishing all of those that are celebrating Thanksgiving a wonderful day with their loved ones!
Thank you all so much for reading my blog and for your wonderful comments. I am thankful to have you!
Huge hugs
Nat
I am thankful for your blog every day Nat.
Have a delightful day!
You inspire me everyday thank you for giving of yourself.
1. I had for many years a 6 inch long, rusty house key in my pocket
When I was 12 my mother married an amazing man – my step father- in short just Dad – and we moved into his timbered house which was built in 1620 to a village of 1200 inhabitants. Before we had lived in Düsseldorf, a city with about 1,5 million inhabitants. My Dad was a very handy man and he wanted to restore the house all by himself…which wasn’t a bad idea….if it wasn’t that it took FOREVER.
We had no heater till I was 17. We heated with coal in the kitchen and the two living rooms and my parents’ master bed room. I had no oven in my room – which means …I woke up to frost patterns (in German it is called Iceflowers- which is so much nicer ;) ) on my window a LOT and to this day I FREAK out when the heater is not working.
We also had a huge and heavy wooden oak door as an entrance door. The door was orignal and did I mention it was heavy? Not only that- it also had a key that was HUGE – I mean like 6 inches long. Which was a problem, because it is not hip to run around with a 6 inch rusty old house key in your pocket.
To make it even better my father who also wanted to do all electricity stuff himself, decided to have a fire bell at the entrance door instead of a normal electric bell. Every time we had visitors you could hear the bell through at least 1/3 of the village. NOT COOL as a teenager!
I loved the house…despite all the things I said I hated as a teenagers and even those things make me laugh now.
2. White Asparagus and Cabbage? Don’t even try to invite me
In spring time white asparagus is a big hit and in fall cabbage. I can’t stand it. I am sure most Germans will not understand this at all ;)
3. Handball & Table Tennis
I played for many many years the European version of team handball as well as table tennis. I was always a short girl but I was quick and I didn’t mind bumping others out of my way – so that helped ;)
4. Punk not Pop
I was a Punk Music Girl…and Rock and Alternative and Grunge…I could not stand the main stream music in the 80s. Funny enough though, I know a lot of 80s pop songs and I love a lot now – LOL. But the love for loud and fast music remains to this day!
5. Only my front half is Italian
My real Dad- not my step dad mentioned above was Italian and died a couple of days after my birth. I have always been proud of my half-italian heritage. It didn’t really help me on Kauai though when I was doing surfing lessons and told my hubs that I wouldn’t need sunscreen on my back because I am half-italian and I never had a sun burn. Apparently only my front half is Italian. The back pretty much not…and I spent a terrible couple hours in the Emergency Room in Hawaii. Not my most glorious moment in my life ;)
6. Never the designated driver
Not because I don’t want to be one…no, I simply have no driver’s license. Why…well..that is a long story- but to make it short I never needed one.
7. But wait there is more…
Hard to believe, I know but there is even more than 7 weird facts out there about me ;)
PhEw- that was hard- LOL- who likes to admit that he is weird ?;)
Nat
First off…I loved your post and you made me fondly remember my childhood home. I grew up on the east coast of Florida in a concrete house that had add-ons done primarily done by my father, to support additions to the family. He converted a small porch area into a fine family room after a hurricane came ashore and rain came into the house through small slat windows that were very common to Florida in the 50’s. My son lives in this house today and each time I visit there is something that triggers a fond childhood memory! Thanks for sharing yours….I had it way easier than you did!
hi Natalie,what an intersting post. I grew up in Pretoria,South Africa. We always had some or other family member living with us, I never had my own bedroom….only when I married,then I shared with hubby.Back to communal living….if you woke up after dad…you would be LATE he would hog up the bathroom,,,,,and the towels would be wet…and the bathroom so misty and humid my hair would frizz!! Winters were always cold in our homes in south Africa….. Only when I got to Athens did I enjoy the warmth of radiators….although this winter will be cold because the price of heating fuel has shot sky high!
I grew up in what is called military US tract housing which means there is a small set of cookie cutter houses with a few interchangeable parts. The end result is everyones houses looked pretty much like the rest. The military had a very narrow color range usually puke greens and browns with a little diarrhea yellow-brown thrown in. Since this was on the desert we had few trees and stupid lawns that went brown most of the year because of the heat. It is no wonder that I hate housing developments of any sort, even the so-called million dollar mc-mansions. All that aside kids are kids. We had great fun in our neighborhood playing huge 20+ kids games of hide-and-seek and other games. One of the most memorable things were the wind storms. Not annoying blowing dust since that was the norm. But the huge sky eating walls of sand and dust that completely obscured the sun, the Sierra Nevada mountains and everything else. Think the 1930s dust bowl in the mid-US or those shots in movies of the Sahara with the walls of tan devouring the landscape. They were awe inspiring and great fun for kids. We’d put on heavy coats and hold the bottoms out like wings. The wind was over 60 miles per hour and some time 70 so we’d get air borne! No joke.
Susan, I was laughing hard at your description of the house colors- LOL. You have such an awesome way to describe the winds and the surrounding it was so easy to imagine. Thank you for sharing! And I don’t really like cookie cutter houses either ;)
Nat
Hi Nathalie, I just met you yesterday at Bizzy B. although I haven’t taken one of your classes yet (scheduling conflicts), I follow your blog. I admitted that I didn’t leave comments but resolved to do so now. We moved around so much as a child, that once I got married and had kids, we aren’t moving ever. partly because I would be forced to cull through my arts supplies…
Diana, it was so wonderful meeting you even shortly on friday at Bizzy B’s! I know it is hard when you move so much as a kid – one is happy to stay in one place- and I hear you on the art supplies- LOL. Have a gorgeous day! Hope to come back to Toronto soon :) Nat
Great Post Nat – I grew up in a LARGE 22 room house that was built in 1840, it had to be large because there was 6 of us children of which I am the oldest.The house had a garden room which had a sunken fish pond, with a fountain, and filled with large Koi…that is until be moved in. We had cats and I think they thought that they had died and gone to heaven…well eventually there were no more KOI.
Oh my goodness, Martha that sounds sooo cool. It sounds like this should be a movie! 22 rooms -ohhhh – did you find secret rooms or treasures? And lol at the kitties- hehehehe- Koi-heaven ;) Thanks for sharing Martha! I enjoyed reading this a lot! Nat
Ho cool! Our dad put an addition on our little ranch house. My twin sister and I had a room upstairs and he deisgned the furniture.
Oh how cool your father designed the furniture! That must have been so wonderful- I hope you still have some pieces! thank you for sharing this Jean ! Nat
What a great 7 things to learn about you. I grew up in a bungalow (which was huge), that the friends of my parents said we just had to live in, so sold it too my parents very cheaply. We didn’t have heating for a many years, just an aga in the kitchen that heated the kitchen and the water and my mother cooked on. In the summer the kitchen was boiling! The rest of the house we put paraffin heaters in. We had mould in the wardrobes and like you ice on the insides of windows! To have a bath you had to be very brave as it was freezing in there and the toilet was just the same, you didn’t hang about in there! The last owners had been very eccentric musicians and never used the doors and just climbed in and out of the house through the windows. We couldn’t afford carpets so my parents bought old carpet sample books and stuck them all together to form a fabulous big carpet. I loved that bungalow.
Oh I so love the story about the carpet sample books! That must have looked so cool! And hehehe- about the excentric musicians living in the house before. Thank you so much Kathy- I so loved reading this! Nat
Cute post this morning Nat. I bet that you had some wonderful thick blankets growing up (at least I hope you did to stay warm in your bedroom).
I grew up in a house which my grandparents owned. It had 4 apartments and we lived on the bottom floor across from them. On the top floor were two other apartments and in one was a close childhood friend. I hadn’t seen her in 30 years and got together with her a few years ago. The funny thing is that we picked up where we left off. Although neither one of us were listening to the Bay City Rollers anymore.
How cool, Sue that you met her and you both just picked up where you were left off! That is so special. It must have been amazing to grow up wiht the grandparents and also your friend in the same house! Thank you for sharing !!! Nat
A couple days ago one of my godsons turned 4 and I was out to get him a gift. We do have some really really cute children clothes stores and also my favorite a Children Book Store and a Children Toy Store in the neighborhood. You know those tiny stores where every corner is showing how much the people who work there love the store and those stores that are vanishing more and more because of people like me that are often too lazy and buy stuff on big name online sides- But anyway…so I went after a little shopping spree in the clothes store to the Children Book Store.
I kind of had an alibi moment of standing in front of the shelf for the four-year olds – you know the ” I know totally what I am looking for ” -posture and then I was like “Who am I kidding here” and asked the woman working there for help. It went kind of like this.
“Could you help me with a book for a kid, my godson, who is turning four, and he is actually smarter than four at least that is what I think, and if it is just I think so, because he is my godson, then whatever, but hey….and well …he is a he…oh wait, but he is a he who is a little bit wild…and I have NO NO NO clue about children books, but I am sure you do!”
She was laughing and said “mmh wait, I might have the perfect one for your godson AND you…and she opened a secret drawer – I said she opened a secret DRAWER (I looked as if I was the right person for the secret drawer books! YEAH) and picked out a book saying “This is a big hit, there were these guys that came in and they said they made their own book with music, and we were like – mehhh – self published book not sure- but look at it, it is “Der Reggaehase Boooo” ” Translated that would be Reggae Bunny Boooo and my view fell on the cover above!
While I was already laughing about the cute illustration, she started explaining in different voices with lot’s of body action ” It is about a little bunny who loves reggae music. And whenever people are speaking about him, they call him Boooo (with four Os), or Boooo (with one extremely long OOOO). One day he comes to the rehearsal room and it is closed . The king doesn’t wanna dance anymore and so he doesn’t want to hear music either and closed it and Boooo is really sad……So Boooo is going around the world and meets the Ska Bird and…and….and btw in the book is also a CD with the story spoken by a deep awesome voice and with the right music accompanying the story!
You know- she had sold that book to me after 2 seconds, but I couldn’t have her stop telling that story- She was soooo good and it was sooo fun and I just loved listening to that story. She could have sold me ,I think the whole store at that moment I would have bought everything she recommended to me. LOL.
[vimeo 21288862 w=400 h=300]
I so love the colors and the drawings…totally inspired it and Reggae Bunny Boooo with four o totally made my day :)
Book and Music by Yellow Umbrella – illustrated by Manon Gauthier
Which Children books that you remember from your own childhood or from your kids are making you smile when you think of them?
Nat
I loved the video! I can see how you would want to buy the store. Don’t you love it when you find an excellent sales clerk? I’m off to see if I can find it here in the US.
(I was in your Book Nut class at Everything Scrapbooks and stamps today, I won the white ink, thanks!)
What a cute booK! We have many faves – Berenstain Bears and Clifford were two titles.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer
I’m not ashamed to admit I still read it from time to time, and highly recommend it to adults as well as children. Super book!
I Love this!! I want to get it, not for my 4 yo neices or nephews (which I have a few of) but for my husband! He loves Reggae. I loved books as a child so there are too many…I loved Tiger Flower by Fleur Cowles for the illustrations and ended up buying a copy for my niece. Also the Beatrix Potter books and Roald Dahl and Grimm’s Fairy Tales…
How wonderful. Better than an antidepressant in the morning!
I will look into the CD if the rest of the music is so uplifting.
Thanks for sharing.
I love all the Boynton hardcover books like Snuggle Puppy from when James was little and we would sing them together.
Oh I would have bought the book too! Who knew that there was a children’s book with Bob Marley verses! I loved the “Mrs Piggledy Wiggiledy” books when I was a child, all about a woman who lived in an upside down house!
ohhhhh, I love children’s books. And the book sounds perfect for “the princess” AKA my niece. I may have to get it for Christmas!
It is sooo cute! You can get it at the Druckerei im Schanzenviertel for 17 EUR including the CD. And then you can come and we can get a coffee – LOL
yeah! will have to go there. Let’s find a day for coffee…. will send you an e-mail.
Comments (7)
cal8007
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Love that quote, thanks for sharing!
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Susan
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That’s one of my favourite quotes too! Althougt yours is a bit diffent to the one I found. I made a page with it in my altered book. http://artblogsusan.blogspot.nl/2012/06/altered-book-lesson-10-altered-book-les.html
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Nathalie Kalbach
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Funny that picture is taken of the page of the english version of the Flow Magazine ;)
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Martha Richardson
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Love this POST!!!!!
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Kathy Gledsdale
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Very true.
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Valerie Greek
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What a GREAT quote!
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Kathy P
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Awesome quotes…and so true! Thanks for sharing!
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