Mixed Media

Be Happy – ArtFoamies for Clay and Pottery!

I made this piece for the ArtFoamies booth at Creativation (a Craft and Hobby Convention). Additional to my Foam Stamp Designs as you know them, ArtFoamies just released my designs also in a more sturdy and harder foam form so that they can also be used for pottery and clay. What a great excuse to try those and have a play date with  my friend and neighbor Donna Greenberg who is an amazing Polymer Clay Artist. What a lucky ducky I am with such a great teacher! Check her amazing work out!!!

While those stamps work very well with paper clay, Donna showed me that for Polymer Clay I would have to use some softer versions to get a nice impression. I played around with all kinds of fun and new to me stuff. I made impressions directly into the polymer clay, for example here with the Manhattan Foam Stamp for Clay.

I stamped with some liquid polymer clay on top of polymer clay- ohhhh I love this! See the Versailles Stamp on the bottom.

Here are some more varieties of impressions with Versailles and the Batik Stamp.

On the top right you can see the Chicago stamp stamped with liquid Polymer Clay.

I cut the pieces and mounted them with Black Lava onto a board. I totally love all the texture and the outcome. One of my favorite pieces and a big stretch for me working with a material I have never worked with before. You can buy the Clay versions of my stamps directly at ArtFoamies – I carry all the normal Foam Stamps as well :) I cannot wait to play a bit more with those – next up is paper clay.

Are you working with Clay, Polymer Clay or Pottery and would you use those?

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Marna

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    Excellent! I love working with textures and clay and have used embossed wallpaper with patterns in my pieces. Can you describe how you used the liquid clay?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you Marna. I used it like paint on top of the foam stamp and stamped with onto the still non baked polymer clay. Then I baked it. Love the visual and actual texture this created and the liquid polymer clay is just slightly sitting on top of the polymer clay piece.

      Reply

  • joi

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    Just mind boggling Nat – how INCREDIBLE. These are WONDERFUL. Never even imaged such wonders as these! Xj.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      awe- thank you so much Joi – glad you like it :) Have a gorgeous weekend!

      Reply

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Hope Tag

Love making tags that I can use for gifts or just as card to give to someone. For this I tag I used the Cardboard Stamp Set

and stamped with archival ink on the the tag, then used acrylic paints and scraped them over the tag. I like when the stamped images are part of the background

I stamped the Hope Tag Stamp on top of some left over raw canvas and then fringed out the edges and applied it with Gel Medium to the tag.

I usually ink up the cling stamps and press them not perfectly onto the background to get bits and pieces of the imagine blending into each other onto the background.

Here is a short list of supplies I used for this tag – some links are affiliate links


Wishing you a wonderful day !

Nat

Comments (2)

  • stephanie

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    Ohhh – nice!

    Reply

  • joi

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    FABULOUS – love every inch of this Nat. WOW. Xj.

    Reply

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Stroll Through Hood Wallhanger

I wanted to create something for my studio wall and played around with some of my favorite art tools at the moment :) I painted a grey cardboard with a mix of gesso, grey and blue. After the cardboard dried, I stamped with different inkpads and  with some of my Embroidery Stamps as well as with the Star Stamp on top of it.

I took some different Ampersand Scratchboards or also called Clayboards (depending on where you look for them) and using a cosmetic sponge I dabbed on different colors of acrylic ink. I love the texture the sponge creates and how vibrant the inks pop up from the clayboards. After the inks dried I stamped with some of my Stroll Through the Hood stamps and Staz on on top. I waited a couple minutes to make sure all was dry and then used the Ampersand scratching tools following the lines of the stamps – sometimes offset – and scratched lightly to reveal the white clay surface underneath again. This is so much fun to do – and very addicting!

I mounted the Ampersand boards on top of the cardboard with some Gel Medium and then splattered some acrylic paint over all of this to tie everything together …and because I love splattering – after working so tightly on the scratching I need to let go a bit again ;)

I love how this came out – and I am already thinking of other possibilities with those clayboards.

Here are some of the supplies I used for the wallhanger- some links are affiliate links:


Have you worked with Clay-/Scratchboard before and if yes, what have you done with it?

Nat

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Love Tag

This grungy love tag was created using my new Embroidery Stamps. I scraped off some acrylic paints and white gesso to a big shipping tag with an old gift card to get a weathered look. After the paint dried I stamped with several of the Embroidery Stamp Set stamps with archival ink.

I stamped with the Love Tag Stamp from the Stroll Through the Hood set onto a piece of left over canvas and then fringed the edges and applied it with Gel Medium to the tag.

To enhance the tag a bit further I added some embroidery by using the stamped imagery as a guide and trigger for the different stitches.

I love how the flat stamped embroidery and the dimension of the actual embroidery play together.

Here are the supplies I used for this tag- some links are affiliate links:


Do you incorporate stitching or sewing into your projects?

Have a beautiful day

Nat

Comments (3)

  • molly

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    Very cool! I just got some tags for a Christmas gift. This gives me some ideas of ways to enhance … and use … them! YAY! Thanks.

    Reply

  • Beth in IL

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    I love this tag. The stitching adds so much to the tag.

    Reply

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Dear Santa …or what to give a Mixed Media Artist this Holiday

natkalbachsantalist

Do you have a Mixed Media Artist in your circle that you would like to give a gift to but you are stumped on what to give that person?  Or maybe someone is asking you for your Santa’s list and you want to point them in the right direction? Here is a list of my favorite things I would give to another Mixed Media Artist this holiday season because these supplies seriously rocked my pants the last couple months :)

Art Graf Varco water soluble graphite:

primary colors

earth tones

They are highly pigmented and the colors are just so beautiful and rich! The shape makes it easy to write with them too and then go over the writing with a water brush – check out the journaling on this art journaling page -I used the graphite black for the “Live, Laugh, Love”

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and both sets for this tag

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Liquitex Muted Colors

I am usually a bright color person but these color are really beautiful- I used the inks too.

Liquitex Muted Inks

I used these on the board below, which is not yet done, with my Fashion Dame Stamp…

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Speaking of board – the one above …

Ampersand Clay-Board

You can use thin acrylic paint or ink on those clay boards and then use a scratching tool and remove some of the paint layer. I love using it with my stamps. And of course Ampersand also has a tool kit for this board :)

Ampersand Scratch Board Tool Kit

…but you can also just use a craft knife for this too :)

ColorBox Erasable Fabric Inkpad

I love using it with my stamps on raw canvas or fabric.  You can embroider on top of the image and then easily wash it out later. I used it in this blog post here with my bird stamp…

 

If your friend loves to take Online Workshops – Creative JumpStart 2017 with 27 different Mixed Media Artists starting January 2017 might be the right gift then :)

Announcing Creative JumpStart 2017 – CJS17

Also I am seeing a trend of a lot of Mixed Media Artists (including myself) using paper clay and this book is a great way to get inspired and to learn how to use all kinds of techniques and supplies with paper clay:

Artful Paper Clay

…and if your gift recipient likes to read some art related fiction books – I really enjoyed this book recently:

The Muralist, by B.A. Shapiro

It is fiction but has some real events in there and it captivated me.

And last but not least …why don’t you use this holiday coupon for 20% off  valid until Dec. 15th (11.59EST) and give your friend some fun stamps, stencils or mugs in my store :)

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…or let them have some fun shopping and purchase a gift certificate.

Happy shopping and I hope you also find some time this holiday season to sneak away and get some creative time in too :)

Nat

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Make a Mark Tag

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I made this tag for fun and will use it either as a gift tag or put it into my art journal. I stamped with the Art Foamies Batik Pattern 1 and Batik Pattern 3 Foam Stamp and Acrylic Paint and then tried my new Varco Art Grafs out – I have to show you those soon- Oh man the colors are so yum! They are graphite blocks and are awesome for drawing, painting and writing.

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Loving the mixture of the acrylic paint and the graphite. I guess time to film a Creative Icebreaker with those soon :)

Here are the supplies I used – some links are affiliate links:

supplies

Hope you make your mark today :)

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Jean Goza

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    The tag is awesome! Great color and texture. Would love to know more about how you use the Artgrafs.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Hi Jean, thank you so much! I make sure to use them very soon in a video and tell more. Still exploring them a bit more- I love them already :)

      Reply

  • stephanie

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    Very cool! Did you do a wash of paint(s) for the background?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Hi Stephanie, I stamped with the acrylic paints and the stamps directly onto the tag and then used the ArtGraf Varcos and did a wash – they are super pigmented and made the stamped areas really pop.

      Reply

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N*Studio ArtFoamies Stamps Release

kalbachartfoamiesstampspreorder

This is BIG NEWS!!!  I am so stoked that ArtFoamies and I teamed up together for a stamp release. I had so much fun working on these brand new foam stamps – all of them inspired by my travels around the world.  Here they are!

Batik Pattern 1

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Batik Pattern 2

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Batik Pattern 3

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Batik Pattern 4

batik-pattern-4

Buenos Aires Tiles

buenos-aires-tile

Chicago – comes with two stamps a positive and a negative pattern

chicago

Manhattan Boarder

manhattan-border

Manhattan comes with two stamps a positive and a negative pattern

manhattan

Santa Fe comes with two stamps a positive and a negative pattern

santa-fe

Toledo comes with two stamps a positive and a negative pattern

toledo

Versailles comes with two stamps a positive and a negative pattern

Versailles

I cannot wait to show you loads of fun and creative projects with them! If you want to get your hands on these- you can PREORDER them in my store NOW – they will ship out at the latest the week of October 17th – but probably earlier though as I should get them next week!

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Bec Miller

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    Wow!wow!wow! Congrats Nat!!
    I love foamies and all of these have to make it in my stash!!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Batik Pattern 4, 1, and 2 are my favs.
    Congrats on the new line Nat!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you Sue – glad you like those – they are also a favorite for me!

      Reply

  • Seth

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    Congrats Nat. These are very cool. Kind of like taking a trip around the world!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you so much Seth :) Yes they have been inspired by many wonderful places around the world.

      Reply

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Raw Canvas Staining Fun with Kim

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A couple weeks ago my friend Kim and I met for a play date and did some fun stuff with Raw Canvas Staining and Painting.

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We broke out my supplies including Flow Aid, which you need to be able to break the water tension of raw canvas and has also many amazing side effects that are cool to know so you can control things better, some inks, markers and stamps. Kim made this fun stocking first …it for sure will brighten up a very dark winter day.

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I tested using the foam stamp of my Urban Scribble stamp with Flow Aid and Ink and then stamped on top with the Rubber stamp part or the set.

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I loved the outcome and went on to do the same thing on an raw canvas apron.

 

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I love that the colors are see through and how nicely defined it is. It is not the same as just stamping with paint onto your canvas- it is really just staining and it keeps the fabric soft and nice.

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I also treated a little rectangle of raw canvas with some colors and used stamps and markers on top. I just love the look of color and the raw canvas texture – it makes it pop wonderfully. For myself I realized I like when there is a lot of raw canvas still showing.

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After I frayed the edges I sewed the triangle with embroidery thread onto the top of the apron.

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Meanwhile Kim continued playing and experimenting with the Batik Stencil, and markers

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and played with the Bird stamp set on a little canvas string bag

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Here is a stretched canvas which I did a while ago – I love how vibrant the colors stay and the depth and layering you can achieve.

 

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And here is my sweet smiling friend Kim modeling my new apron.

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It was loads of fun to play in the studio with a friend and really just for fun. I need to have a play date more often! If you are interested in Raw Canvas Staining check out my really extensive Raw Canvas Staining DVD or download the Video with heaps of techniques, tips and tricks – it is addicting .

Here are some links of what we used- some of them are affiliate links.

SuppliesCJS

What fun thing did you do lately with a friend?

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Joi@RR

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    WOW WOW WOW – love this apron! Why? Love NStudios and the CityScape is my fav!!! So you hit it over the home run fence – true eye candy!!! Not to mention the adorable smile on Kim’s face!!! Loved seeing all your raw canvas staining experiments. Such vivid colors and fun designs you both created. Thanks bunches for sharing your fun!! Xj.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Awe thank you Joi and agreed Kim is a sweet heart :)

      Reply

  • Charlotte Kirk

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    I loved that look using your stamps!

    Reply

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Demos at The Ink Pad in NYC

KalbachInkPadCollage

Last month I had a fun afternoon demoing with my stamps at one of my favorite stores – The Ink Pad in New York.

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I showed some easy and fun Gelli-Printing tricks with acrylic paints and foam stamps

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having lot’s of fun with a round plate and using dye inks

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playing with small round printing plates

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having an Elephant in the room

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doing some collage fun

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and stenciling

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and of course taking over the whole store and making a big mess :)


We did a FB Live Stream right from the store on my Facebook Page of some fun techniques – you can see the store, some wonderful people and the store in action if you want :) It was a lot of fun and thank you to all that came, the people who watched the video and joined and Anna and Jane from the InkPad!!!

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Julie B

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    Looking forward to meeting you in Cali in a couple of months! Thank you for the video/tutorials.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah- so looking forward meeting you in Cali too- it is going to be loads of fun!

      Reply

  • Linda Faber

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    Thanks, Natalie, for the great demos! Just what I needed, a refresher lesson on using my gelli plate. I will definitely have to visit that NY store!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Glad you liked it Linda- and yes yes – The Ink Pad is worth a visit in NY :)

      Reply

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