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Girls in Style or…The Whatevers

Are you ready for the next photo of the Second Round of Whatevers? If you missed what the Whatevers is all about (basically they are photos that my friends and I found on flea markets etc. and that we give a new life and story) or want to see all the past photos and takes…check it out here.

Click here to see what Cat, Vicki, and Cuchy made out of the photo and which story they tell. Martha cannot participate this month- we are thinking of you hon- get better soon!

Here is my take on this month’s photo:

“They were united by their love to create art and their extremely exquisite taste of bathing fashion. Nobody could deny that they were a fine group of women!”

I had a great time creating the background with some collage elements. And this month’s photo made me also laugh big time :)

And here is the photo for you in case you want to play along this month:

Link up you projects with this photo here:

Loading InLinkz ...

Here is how it works

Vicki, Cat, Cuchy (Carmen), Martha and I and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
- Every month – if possible always on the 15th – each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.

If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you to download and show us your version of The Whatevers. The photo will be posted at the end of our blogposts- not on Facebook!

There is no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER

There is no rules on the length or the form of the story– it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER

There is no rules on the artform you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an artjournal page – WHATEVER

Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.

These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission!

If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.

You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page

Have a gorgeous day!

Nat

Comments (4)

cuchy

June 18, 2014 at 6:39 am | #

extremely exquisite taste… NO DOUBT!! HAHAHAHA
Colourful as we are :)

Reply
Cat

June 17, 2014 at 2:25 pm | #

I love the background!

Reply
Sue Clarke

June 15, 2014 at 8:05 pm | #

Cuchy had way too much fun with this one.
Fun photo to work with Nat.

Reply
Vicki Chrisman

June 15, 2014 at 7:17 pm | #

Very Very cool Nat!!!

Reply

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About Two Faced Witches and Bouncing Bows

Art Journal

I found this picture that we used in our first Whatever again (The Whatevers is a Storytelling Project where friends and I use found photos with unknown background stories) – and somehow I used it up for this new story :)

“Glen was the first person in his family to recognize what a two-faced witch his sister was…she was pretty good in hiding her evil self behind the big bouncing bow”

here are some of the supplies I used:

n*Studio Mish Mesh Cling Rubberstamp	n*Studio Grunge Cling Ruberstamp	Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paints	Liquitex Acrylic Paint Marker
Signo White Uniball Pen	Liquitex White Gesso	Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel Medium	Hand Book Artist Journal
Cosmetic Sponges

InLinkz.com

Have a gorgeous day!

Nat

Comments (2)

Amante del Papel

June 13, 2014 at 3:04 pm | #

Amazing page!

Reply
Sue Clarke

June 13, 2014 at 6:50 am | #

I just love how you manage to put an evil twist to the Whatever photos.
Nice way to reuse this pic.

Reply

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Photos of the Acrylics Demystified Workshop

Acrylic paint canvas Collage Liquitex Professional Paint Markers Liquitex Professional Spray Paints Mixed Media New York City workshop

It was such a great and fun day teaching my Acrylics Demystified Workshop for The Ink Pad in New York City. As with most of the bigger group workshops it took place at the Westbeth Community Room which is the perfect location for those kind of workshops- huge space, lot’s of light, outdoor space and a little kitchen included.

We talked a lot about Liquitex Acrylic Paints and Acrylic Inks and Markers. About art supply labeling and the main groups in acrylics. And then started playful by pooling, puddling and stringing with Liquitex Pouring Medium and String Gel. I showed how to make acrylic skins and demonstrated several possibilities of using them. Perfect way to get over the White Canvas Horror :)

Then we sculptured our way up using Liquitex Flexible Modeling Paste -look at Karen’s awesome canvas on the top right and then we explored the possibilities of making your own glazes and playing with layers, translucency and colors in collages.

We used Ceramic Stucco, Super Heavy Gesso, Natural Sand played with different Transfer Techniques and it was fun to see how all these little techniques and informations sparked a load of creative ideas for future work and exploration in the heads of my wonderful smiling students.

Lastly we did a bit spray painting with Liquitex Spray Paints in the end to cool down outside .

To finish the workshop off I asked everyone what their favorite Acrylic was and which techniques. I was happy to hear that about everything was mentioned at least once with some clear winners on the Liquitex String Gel, Liquitex Super Heavy Gesso and the Liquitex Gel Medium & Varnish and for the techniques Glazing, Texture Creating and Painting with Newspapers

thank you girls for such an amazing and fun workshop day . An extra thank you to Linda Brun from Norway who was on vacation in NYC and when she heard I was giving a class signed up. This really touched me especially since she has taken a couple workshops with me in Paris, Belgium and Norway already…so she totally knew what she got herself into ;) Thank you for spending your vacation day with me!!!

I wish you a gorgeous and creative day

Nat

Comments (6)

Ellie

June 11, 2014 at 10:27 pm | #

Nat do you teach this class on-line? I’d be interested in learnng more about acrylics from you.

Reply
- nathalie-kalbach
  
  June 12, 2014 at 11:10 am | #
  
  Ellie, it is in the planning- keep an eye out for it on my blog :) I will announce it there!, Nat
  
  Reply
Amante del Papel

June 11, 2014 at 9:27 am | #

I hope one day, took one of your workshop!

Reply
- nathalie-kalbach
  
  June 11, 2014 at 4:56 pm | #
  
  That would be wonderful indeed Amante!
  
  Reply
Sue Clarke

June 11, 2014 at 7:06 am | #

Are you sure that Ms. Brun didn’t come to NYC just to take the course with you? Now that would be a compliment! Looks like you ladies had a splashing good time.

Reply
- nathalie-kalbach
  
  June 11, 2014 at 4:55 pm | #
  
  LOL Sue – I am sure there is more to see in NYC when my workshops ;)
  
  Reply

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Courage is the quiet voice or Art Journaling Page

Art Journal

“courage does not always roar. Sometimes Courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying ‘ I will try again tomorrow'”

Mary Anne Radmacher

This is so true on so many levels – sometimes this is the hardest to find the courage to try again…but I am on it , trying every day ;)

I used the Creative Palette by Stampendous and one of my templates in my Signature Stamp Sets with Stampendous and did some Mono Printing for the background. The letters are old Rose Mokka letters from my stash – the company does not exist anymore- but boy did I love those letters and hoard them. Time to use them up ;)

Have a beautiful day filled with Courage!

hugs

Nat

Comments (2)

Amante del Papel

June 9, 2014 at 9:29 am | #

Your pages are amazing! and the phrase so true!!!

Reply
Sue Clarke

June 9, 2014 at 7:40 am | #

I actually used some of those letters (recently) that you sent me ages ago with your paper line. I especially like how you used the white pen to make the letters stand out. It’s been so long since I’ve done that that I had almost forgot that “trick”. Have a colorful day Nat.

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About Sparrows, Pigeons and other Sayings

Art Journal

“A sparrow in the hand is better than a pigeon on the roof…as we Germans say!”

Sometimes it is good to remember that ;)

this is another quick art journal page fulfilling my urge to create something on a very busy non-studio day. I created the background with a brayer and Acrylic Paints, stamped over with some white acrylic paint and added the little bird that was a left over from one of my classes at the Ink Pad. Albert’s pants got a new pattern by applying a thick Liquitex Acrylic Marker…using them more like a stamp.

And there you go…funky Albert with a huge sparrow in his hand ;)

n*Studio Wired Cling Rubber Stamp	Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paints	Liquitex Acrylic Paint Marker	Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel Medium
Signo White Uniball Pen	Prima Bird Foam Stamp	Dylusions Creative Journal/Art Journal

InLinkz.com

Thank you for swinging by and have a gorgeous day

nat

Nat

Comments (2)

Amante del Papel

June 7, 2014 at 12:18 pm | #

this is so great!

Reply
Sue Clarke

June 7, 2014 at 9:11 am | #

Hope you have a gorgeous day as well Nat.
I just played in my art journal and thought of you since I used one of the templates that came with the stamp set.

Reply

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I Regret Nothing In Life or … in my Art Journal

Art Journal Stampendous

I regret nothing in life except what I have not done.
Coco Chanel

No reason to drown in a sea of blue ;)

Lot’s of layering blue acrylic paints, spray paint, stamping, stencils, gesso and then starting over again.

Do fun things today!

Nat

n*Studio Grunge Cling Ruberstamp	n*Studio Mish Mesh Cling Rubberstamp	Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paints	Liquitex Acrylic Paint Marker
Lindy’s Stamp Gang OCEAN BREEZE BLUE Flat Fabio Spray	Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel Medium	Liquitex White Gesso	Cosmetic Sponges
Dylusions Creative Journal/Art Journal

InLinkz.com

Nat

Comments (3)

Denise spillane

June 5, 2014 at 11:38 am | #

Beautiful!

Reply
Amante del Papel

June 5, 2014 at 9:07 am | #

I love blue, is amazing!!!

Reply
Sue Clarke

June 5, 2014 at 6:54 am | #

Now these are the colors that come to mind when I think of your work.
(Not that I don’t also enjoy the variety of the other colors that you use. Like reds and orange.)

Reply

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designed by n*Studio features: Chris Lim

Scrapbooking Stampendous Stamps

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

And today I feature: Chris Lim

I met Chris in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she was taking on of my Mixed Media Classes. I was blown away by her talent and I have been following her ever since. I love her style and I am happy she is using my stamps. chris has no blog, so please give her some love here :)
The stage is hers:

Hi! My name is Chris Lim, a mother to three grown up boys and a grandmother to my 3 year old beautiful granddaughter.

Basically, I am a scrap booker/paper crafter who loves all things beautiful. My style, to many who have known me, is more of shabby chic. Being an avid crafter, I began to explore beyond paper crafting. I now enjoy creating with different mediums and elements. As such I have gone beyond my ‘shabby chic style’. The current ‘in thing’ for me now is painting doll faces with big eyes and long lashes. I hope my work will inspire other crafters.

I love Chris’ very femine and intricate style !

Love how she ties everything together and uses all kinds of different embellishments and materials on this canvas.

And here is a beautiful Scrapbooking Layout where Chris used my stamps and stencil template:

I love the hint of grunge in the background- wonderful! Thank you so much Chris for sharing your work using my stamps with me!!

Here are the n*Studio Stamps used:

n*Studio Mish Mesh Cling Rubberstamp

InLinkz

have a fantastic day!
Nat

Nat

Comments (6)

lily

June 4, 2014 at 1:56 am | #

Lovely canvas! Looks like some spiritual happiness to me :-)
and the layout is awesome too!
And as for Nat: really like the idea of showing work of some of your “users” :-)

Reply
Suzie

June 3, 2014 at 10:23 am | #

Wow, Chris, your creations are stunning! I love that they are feminine & pretty with just a hint of grunge mixed in. Really, really fabulous!

Reply
Kathy

June 3, 2014 at 8:17 am | #

Lovely! Great design!

Reply
Amante del Papel

June 3, 2014 at 8:11 am | #

It’s a great, great artisc, fantastic projects!

Reply
Kathy

June 3, 2014 at 7:49 am | #

Gorgeous designs, Chris! I love your artistic style, using all these different mediums so well! A feast for the eyes!

Reply
Sue Clarke

June 3, 2014 at 7:12 am | #

Beautiful work Chris. Thanks for sharing it with us. I like how you used the stamps in the background of the layout.

Reply

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Photos of my Workshops at the Baltic Sea in Germany

Acrylic paint Art Journal art journal techniques canvas Liquitex Professional Spray Paints Mixed Media Ostseescrap Workshops

It was such a fun trip to Germany and see friends and family but mainly to teach again at the Ostsee Scrap Event in Boltenhagen at the Baltic Sea. Just as last year it was a really intimate and gorgeous 3-Day event with round about 25 wonderful students located in a holiday village with a 2 minutes walk to the beach.

I had a blast. Thank you to all my students for coming and being open to try new things and dive right into paints – you rocked it :) Also thank you to Daniela for another amazing event – as last year I had a great time and the organization was exceptionally well done. And last but not least: Thank you to Liquitex for supporting the event and my workshops with wonderful materials – it is not a secret that their products are very dear to my heart and that they make it a breeze to get the results you are going for in your art work!

Since my students were mostly scrapbookers and a lot of them were dabbling for the first time into Mixed Media, I made sure they understand the essential message of this weekend …which somehow they really took to heart – LOL. They took this photo of me (thank you Sandra!) “It is not your life, it is just paper!” so overcome your fear of trying things and if they do not work as you want them , so what?- get over it! ;)

We started with a fun mono printing workshop, adding loads of texture and layers and just to loosen up :)

and soon the whole room was covered every where with prints and papers and booklets and they liked just playing and trying new things.

Here is Dani the wonderful organizer, who also made sure we would eat loads of yummie German food in between…oh man I filled up on sausages and German cake- LOL…I guess I missed that ;)

Next up was a canvas workshop – here is another photo collage I stole from Sandra :)

We used mostly Acrylic Paints and Acrylic Inks by Liquitex to get a nice background and then worked with my Stampendous Stamps and found objects on top of it.

It was so much fun to see them play with different colors and motifs and incorporating my stamps in different ways. Pure bliss and I heard some canvases are already hanging on walls :) Here is a group photo

In between I was able to dip my toes into the Baltic Sea with Andrea Gomoll and Janna Werner, who also taught there. Melanie Hoch was somewhere…she was another wonderful teacher at the event and kept hiding from us ;) just kidding ;) It was wonderful to spent some time with all three of them – I find it always super special to meet other creative teachers and exchange thoughts and support each other.

The last workshop I taught was an art journal technique workshop and the girls were ready for it on the last day :)

We used a lot Acrylic Paints and Acrylic Markers Markers as well as my Stencils by StencilGirl Products and my Stamps by Stampendous.

that was it…if you made it with all the pictures till here…you need a break and should do some art ;)

Have a gorgeous day

Nat

Comments (4)

Natalie Strauß

June 5, 2014 at 1:31 am | #

Sooo schöne Fotos.Ich schwelge immer noch in Erinnerung.Die Workshops waren so klasse.Bis hoffentlich ganz bald.
Lg Natalie

Reply
Sandra

June 2, 2014 at 4:41 pm | #

The weekend was so much fun. Just love how you teach :). Hugs, Sandra

Reply
Sue Clarke

June 1, 2014 at 2:54 pm | #

Yes I made it all the way through and now I will go play in my art journal.
Those canvases are awesome and I especially like the pic of you and the other lady with “duck lips”.

Reply
Seth

May 31, 2014 at 1:37 pm | #

Great work made by everybody and it looks like all these workshops were a lot of creative fun.

Reply

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Guest Designer at Ruby Rock-It

Acrylic paint Ruby Rock-It Scrapbooking

Thank you Ruby Rock-It for having me as a Guest Designer this month. It was fun to play again with Scrapbooking Paper and here are two Scrapbooking Layouts I created for them :)

K.L.

I used the Year in Review April page as a base and toned it down here and there with Gesso. I also scribbled some marks on there. I cut out the flowers of the Mother Nature Point in Time Paper and colored three of them with watercolor.

I also cut out Flowers of the Mother Nature Royale and Mother Nature Flutterby Paper as well as the beautiful butterfly. I layered different paper and vellum a the bottom of the photo. The title which is short for Kuala Lumpur where the photo was taken is hand painted with a brush and acrylic paint and then doodled on with a black journaling pen.

Life is like a box of chocolate

For this layout I used the beautiful Mother Nature Cardstock and painted with some Liquitex Acrylic Paints over it.

I also painted the back of some of the Damask Vellum and cut out one of the damask shapes.

I layered stripes and rectangles of the Floral Vellum, Mother Nature Royale and Year in Review June Paper. I wrote the title with a Liquitex Acrylic Marker on the Mother Nature Royale paper, traced it and cut it out for a nice extra hand made touch.

I splattered some Liquitex Acrylic Ink onto the layout to give it a bit contrast with black and make the colors more pop.

Ruby Rock-It was so nice to offer a giveaway – Bella! Year In Review collection! – here is a picture of it – go give them some Like-Love on their Facebook Page in return and tell them you come from me – so they know ;)

Hope you have a gorgeous day with lot’s of chocolate …I mean…who doesn’t like chocolate?

Nat

Comments (8)

nanou49

May 31, 2014 at 3:08 pm | #

amazing pages !

Reply
Gunvor

May 31, 2014 at 1:27 am | #

Love what you did with the scrap book papers, especially the Kuala Lumpur one – awesome colours!

Reply
- nathalie-kalbach
  
  May 31, 2014 at 9:51 am | #
  
  thank you Gunvor :) I know it is rare to see me scrapbooking nowadays :)
  
  Reply
Kathy P

May 30, 2014 at 10:57 am | #

Awesome pages, Nat….happy to see you do scrapbook pages as well as your terrific mixed media…..great melding!

Reply
Amante del Papel

May 30, 2014 at 9:22 am | #

What a fantastic color you decide to use!

Reply
Jackie P Neal

May 30, 2014 at 8:51 am | #

Nat, great layouts! am wondering how your Aunt is doing? Hope all is well…hugs

Reply
Laura Strack

May 30, 2014 at 8:23 am | #

Fun layouts. Love the pops of color on the neutral background on the first L/O. You’re so talented!

Reply
Sue Clarke

May 30, 2014 at 6:42 am | #

I really like the way that you did the title and yes, chocolates are awesome!

Reply

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n*Studio Mish Mesh Cling Rubberstamp	Stampendous Creative Palette	Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic Paints	Liquitex Acrylic Paint Marker
Liquitex Ultra Matte Gel Medium	Liquitex White Gesso	Signo White Uniball Pen	Cosmetic Sponges
Dylusions Creative Journal/Art Journal	Nat’s Stash…old/vintage/fleamarket

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