Creative Squad

From Small Beginnings – Cheiron Brandon

CS September Theme 2

It’s Tuesday and time for my Creative Squad to share a project with you with this month’s theme: “From Small Beginnings”. Throughout the month of September, the team will be using my n*Studio Stamps to interpret the theme. The change in seasons and the childhood ritual of Back to School in September has me thinking about starting new things – new projects, learning new things, and meeting new people, and all the excitement and challenges that come with all of these “new”s. For this theme, From Small Beginnings, my Squad will think about the process of starting something new and the very first steps they took. I’ll ask them, how did you experience a Beginning?

So this week we have 3 different card designs from Cheiron Brandon to celebrate her love of cardmaking – the thing that got her started in the creative life :)

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Cheiron September Headshot

Hi there! It’s Cheiron here with my September project. When I initially thought of the theme From Small Beginnings, I thought back to how I got started in art, crafting and art journaling as an adult. About 12 years ago, I moved back to NJ and there was a small stamp shop that opened right down the street from me. I was always interested in making things and I remember making watercolor cards in high school and putting simple messages on them. Rubber stamps opened a whole new world to me. In the past several years, I have had the opportunity to work with several stamp companies and design teams, the most recent being a part of the N*Studio squad.

I am grateful for having art, stamping and especially card making in my life. In the past 10 years I have amassed a HUGE collection of supplies, but I always find for me that the cards I love to make are the most basic. I am sharing 3 simple cards with you today, each was made with only one stamp and a sentiment or word pulled from a giant bin of stickers I still have. I made all three of these cards in under an hour and now have some happy mail to send to friends!

cheiron-simple-stamped-cards-with-n_studio

This first card is made with a stamp from the Marks stamp set. I love these X’s and stamped them in 3 different colors then went over each section with an ink blending tool with the same color. A few letter stickers, pieces of washi tape and a staple with my tiny attacher, and voila!

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The second card was even easier…a few stamped images from the Kaffee Klatsch stamp set colored in with watercolors, and a little gold splatter and one simple sentiment sticker.

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For the final card, I used a stamp from the Mish Mesh stamp set as a sunshine, and painted it loosely with watercolor, another sentiment and it’s good to go.

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I hope these cards remind you of why you got started with this hobby, and what initially brought you joy. I had so much fun making these quick cards and sharing them with you :)

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I love Cheiron’s story of her “beginning” and the cards are simply beautiful.  I think everyone would like to be on her mailing list!

In addition to washi tape and various word stickers from her stash, Cheiron used the supplies listed below (some are affiliate links):

SuppliesCJS

Maybe you will even play along with us -I would 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“.

See you next Tuesday for another project from the Creative Squad!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • ,Mary Holshouser

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    Love the card with the XXXXX
    I have that stamps and will be using that
    idea.
    A pretty, colorful card.
    thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  • Brenda

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    These cards are so colorful. Makes me want to go make some. Did you emboss in white on the last card?

    Reply

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From Small Beginnings – Tina Walker

CS September Theme 2

It’s Tuesday and time for my Creative Squad to share a project with you with this month’s theme: “From Small Beginnings”. Throughout the month of September, the team will be using my n*Studio Stamps to interpret the theme. The change in seasons and the childhood ritual of Back to School in September has me thinking about starting new things – new projects, learning new things, and meeting new people, and all the excitement and challenges that come with all of these “new”s. For this theme, From Small Beginnings, my Squad will think about the process of starting something new and the very first steps they took. I’ll ask them, how did you experience a Beginning?

This week we bring you Tina Walker, our newest Creative Squad member!  Tina brings her beautiful vintage inspired style to our team and we are so excited to welcome her to the bunch.  We are also saying goodbye and thank you to our dear squad member Gwen Lafleur for the time being while she begins some new journeys in her life!

So here we have two gorgeous projects from Tina that use my Marks stamp set: an inspiring art journal page and a charming little keepsake gift bag for you to enjoy!

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Tina September Headshot

Hi!  Tina Walker here today with my very first n*studio Creative Team post!  I am super excited and super thrilled to be part of Natalie’s Creative Squad and I have to pinch myself every day to make sure my life is real!  This month’s theme is a perfect way to celebrate my new beginning here at Nat’s and to share a bit about the beginning of my creative journey.

The theme this month is “From Small Beginnings” and that explains simply in three small words how I got to where I am today.  My creative journey began with an occasional crafty project that could be completed when I had a few spare moments in between daily family and work responsibilities.  It wasn’t something that I had to do, but more something I did as a hobby and fun activity.  As life changed (as it does) and my children grew, I found myself immersed into the scrapbook world with full force.  Scrapbooking evolved to all types of mixed media, art journaling, and DIY.  Many of my creative dreams were actually happening and creating was no longer just a hobby, but more a way of life.  I found that the more I enveloped myself in creating, the more I discovered who I was and the more it revealed who I wanted to become.  I really wanted to capture this ‘light bulb moment’ on an art journal spread, using a quote from ‘Joyce Meyer’ to say what I struggle saying in my own words.

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To be honest, the graphic image created by using all ‘Xs’, with one lone red ‘X’, visually defines the feeling without words.  But I think the quote strengthens the message about how a small change can actually bring about a big beginning.

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Keeping the rest of my spread simple and un-cluttered emphasizes the message even more.

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Because this is a new beginning for me, I wanted to share another quick and fun project that is also a great functional way to celebrate new beginnings.

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Do you know someone getting married?  Do you have a friend starting school?  Do you want to say Thank You to a special somebody?  How about creating a handmade gift bag perfect for gift cards and jewelry. Using the same ‘X’ stamp I used on my art journal spread, I stamped/heat embossed the canvas bag, adding hand-stitching to highlight the ‘X’s. You can decorate your bag with your favorite ribbons, buttons or vintage findings to make your gift even more memorable.

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You can make these ahead of time and display them until they are ready for giving.  I have mine hanging from an old vintage printer drawer. Functional and decorative.  Perfect!

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Thank you for taking time today to take a peek at my inaugural projects.  I can’t wait to see you next month.

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Tina is off to a great start with these two projects, showing us the versatility of that Marks stamp in two really creative and fun ways.

In addition to vintage ribbon, vintage buttons, and a vintage ruler, Tina used the supplies listed below (some are affiliate links):

SuppliesCJS



Maybe you will even play along with us -I would 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“.

See you next Tuesday for another project from the Creative Squad!

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Joi@RR

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    YEAH Tina – so happy to see you here with sweet Nat. Very very exciting.

    Your journal pages are so fun but I totally feel in love with your little hand stitched creation.

    What a great addition to the team – congratulations. Xj.

    Reply

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Say Yes to New Adventures – Michelle Rydell

CS August Say Yes

It’s Tuesday and time for my Creative Squad to share a project with you with this month’s theme: “Say Yes to New Adventures”. Throughout the month of August, the team has been using any of my n*Studio Stamps and Stencils they would like to use to interpret the theme. Here in the northern hemisphere, summer is coming to a close and it’s about time to seize the days and go on a little adventure before hibernation! With this in mind, the team has created something that celebrates the spirit of adventure.

This week we bring you Michelle Rydell and an art journal page all about her adventures with love!

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Michelle August Headshot

As soon as I heard that the theme for this month was “Say Yes to New Adventures,” I knew I wanted to do a colorful, many-layered page, to represent the many adventures I’ve had with my hubby Michael! I also thought it would be a great opportunity to make the creation of the page an adventure in itself, by letting it develop organically, instead of having a set plan before beginning…

Here’s how it went…  I opened to a page in my journal that already had the background painted, and a few random collage elements pasted on. I set up my table with a bunch of Dylusions acrylic paints, and foam tools, and got to work…

Rydell Adventure 1

The first stencil I used was the one from the Fashion Dame set, which I applied randomly around the page with turquoise paint…

Rydell Adventure 2

And then added some white doodling with a paint pen.

Rydell Adventure 3

Next I used the Batik Stencil, with Pomegranate paint for contrast. I applied random bits of it in the “empty” spaces…

Rydell Adventure 4

I kept up the same process, adding the stencils from the following foam stamp sets: Bird (in pink), Elephant (in yellow) and then Urban Scribble (in orange), adding doodling here and there along the way…

Rydell Adventure 5

Rydell Adventure 6

At this point, I printed out a 5 x 7” photo from our wedding, and gently set it where I thought I wanted it to go, outlining with a Stabilo all pencil.

Rydell Adventure 7

I removed the photo (so as to not get it dirty) and activated the water-soluble pencil with matte medium to make a nice black frame for contrast. After that I realized the page was needing some drippage! Over to the spray station it went, and high flow paint was added along the top edge, spraying with water to increase the dripping effect.

Rydell Adventure 8

Looking at the page without the photo gave me an idea – that frame would be a perfect place to put the quote I had in mind! Busting out the stabilo pencil again, I created the journaling lines, and then used a paint pen to create the background and lettering. I stepped back and took a look… I felt like it was complete! No photo needed! Here’s how the final page turned out…

Rydell Adventure 9

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Michelle’s art journal page was an adventure in creation and I love the outcome with all those layers and that quote.

She used the supplies listed below (some are affiliate links):

SuppliesCJS


Maybe you will even play along with us -I would 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“.

See you next Tuesday for another project from the Creative Squad with a brand new theme for September!

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Marit

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    That photo is so cute but I too love the page with the quote… just ‘knowing’ that it represents that particular photo makes it complete. Great page Michelle!

    Reply

  • Joi @RR

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    Well, Michelle – I just have to say that I adored your page before you added the drippings. However… I like the end result because it is unique and it makes you happy too! Love how you added the sentiment. FUN and FUNKY!!! j.

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Lovely page Michelle.
    Thanks for sharing your techniques.

    Reply

  • Julie Tucker

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    This is gorgeous! LOVING the colors and that quote!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

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Say Yes to New Adventures – Marsha Valk

CS August Say Yes

It’s Tuesday and time for my Creative Squad to share a project with you with this month’s theme: “Say Yes to New Adventures”. Throughout the month of August, the team will use any of my n*Studio Stamps and Stencils they would like to use to interpret the theme. Here in the northern hemisphere, summer is coming to a close and it’s about time to seize the days and go on a little adventure before hibernation! With this in mind, the team will create something that celebrates the spirit of adventure.

This week we bring you Marsha Valk and her adventure with a new tool and the gorgeous accordion book that resulted from her journey!

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Marsha August Headshot

MarshaValk_nSCS_SayYesToNewAdventures-1

I go on new adventures all the time. I’m on new adventures as we speak. But the problem with new adventures is that it’s not always easy to talk about them. Because they’re new… and I’m only just getting used to the idea… and I don’t yet know how I feel and what I think about it.

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So for this month’s theme I took a simpler approach: I wanted to use something from my stash that I hadn’t used before. I decided to go with the round mini gel printing plate. And I just started printing on a A4 sized sheets of paper: adding paint to the little plate, making marks with my n*Studio Cling Stamps and using some stencils too. The outcome was sometimes unpredictable and messier than I had hoped, but that’s what happens when you go on an adventure!

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Once I had a couple of prints, I thought about what I wanted to do with them. I didn’t know. So I thought about how sometimes things get better when you cut them up and I started to cut each print in half.

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Then I thought: these prints would make nice simple cards. But once I had folded them into cards I thought: or maybe this could be a mini book or mini art journal. So I decided to fold the cards up like accordions and I glued each far left panel behind the far right panel of the previous accordion card.

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I haven’t decided if I want to keep it like this or to glue the backs together to make an actual little book. I figure that it will be easier to work on it in this state, so I decided to just embellish the front a bit more and leave the rest blank (and unglued) for now. It’s small and light, so it’s ideal to just doodle in whilst watching TV or to take with me when I have to go on a long train ride. I’m ready to take it on another new adventure!

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Marsha’s accordion book is stunning.  I love the super fresh color palette she chose and her bold move to cut the prints in half and reimagine the whole thing.  And of course, look at all those stamps!

Marsha used the supplies listed below (some are affiliate links) as well as Toga Alphabet Stickers:

SuppliesCJS

Maybe you will even play along with us -I would 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“.

See you next Tuesday for another project from the Creative Squad!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Joi@RR

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    Your new adventure is sooooo FUN Marsha. Love all the white space, all the wonderful stamps/stencils and the colors. What a great idea to put them together in such a fun way. I hope you will share your doodles when you get them finished. j.

    Reply

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Say Yes to New Adventures – Cheiron Brandon

CS August Say Yes

It’s Tuesday and time for my Creative Squad to share a project with you with this month’s theme: “Say Yes to New Adventures”. Throughout the month of August, the team will use any of my n*Studio Stamps and Stencils they would like to use to interpret the theme. Here in the northern hemisphere, summer is coming to a close and it’s about time to seize the days and go on a little adventure before hibernation! With this in mind, the team will create something that celebrates the spirit of adventure.

This week we bring you Cheiron Brandon and the adventure she went on to create a beautiful art journal page!

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Cheiron August Headshot

Hi there, Cheiron here with my August project for the n*Studio Creative Squad. This month, I tried a new adventure in my art journal, and it did not come out as I planned at all, but I will show you how I got it back to something I could use :)  Here is my finished art journal page with a fold out in the center for journaling:

cheiron- august n_studio 1

It did not always look like this, I started with a much brighter page and I did not like how the writing came out at all, so I painted over it with black:

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I added many layers to the page with lots of different stamps using Distress Paints that I applied to the stamp with a foam blending tool:

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I also had a page from another project that was an adventure gone wrong, so I cut it up and added it to the page so I could use the back for journaling:

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The lesson for me this month, is that every adventure whether it be small or big does not always work out, but you should just keep taking new adventures!

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Cheiron’s art journal spread turned out beautifully with all those layers, and the adventure it took to get there was definitely worth it.

Cheiron used the supplies listed below (some are affiliate links):

SuppliesCJS

Maybe you will even play along with us -I would 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“.

See you next Tuesday for another project from the Creative Squad!

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Miriam Prantner

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    Love how it turned out and how you were able to fix what you didn’t like. Loving the contrast between the background and the insert too!

    Reply

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Say Yes to New Adventures – Gwen Lafleur

CS August Say Yes

It’s Tuesday and time for my Creative Squad to share a project with you with this month’s theme: “Say Yes to New Adventures”. Throughout the month of August, the team will use any of my n*Studio Stamps and Stencils they would like to use to interpret the theme. Here in the northern hemisphere, summer is coming to a close and it’s about time to seize the days and go on a little adventure before hibernation! With this in mind, the team will create something that celebrates the spirit of adventure.  Maybe they took a trip recently that included some unexpected twists and turns, maybe they like to live the adventurous life every day, or maybe their idea of adventure is as simple as trying a new brand of tea. Whatever they do to “live on the edge” is appropriate fodder for this one.

This week we bring you Gwen Lafleur‘s gorgeous art journal spread that might inspire you to journey to far-off places!

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Gwen August Headshot

This month’s theme around new adventures might as well have been tailor made for me! For most of my life I’ve never really considered myself an adventurous person… I’m not interested in thrill seeking or eating really bizarre foods, but in the last few years I’ve realized that I’m much more adventurous than I ever thought; I love to travel and see new places, try new food, and explore new cultures. I try and take a trip every year, and pretty soon I’m taking a really big, slightly off the beaten path kind of trip that’s been in the works for about two years! Thinking about that, I really wanted to make an art journal page that would demonstrate my love of travel adventures.

Adventure Art Journal Spread - Close-up 1 - Gwen Lafleur

To start, I gesso’d the pages of my 9×12 handmade journal with black gesso and when that was dry, I took Nat’s What’s the Point? stencil and some gold spray ink and added lots of gold dots all over the background.
Adventure Art Journal Spread - Steps 1-2 - Gwen Lafleur
I had already chosen my photo for this spread – I used a picture I took in Cambodia two years ago that I altered and tinted in a class with Seth Apter. I used matte medium to adhere that firmly to the page. When that was dry, I used the Lily Wallpaper stencil along with some gold embossing paste to create a frame all around my photo. I did this in two shifts so that I didn’t mess things up trying to stencil with wet paste on the page. I love the effect I got from that! I also glued in some travel and adventure words and phrases I’d cut from a magazine to really reinforce the theme.
Adventure Art Journal Spread - Steps 3-4 - Gwen Lafleur
When all of the embossing paste was dry, I used an irRESISTible Pico Embellisher in Morocco to color in the open areas in the stenciled frame. This was a fun way to pull another color out of my photo and add some visual interest. Of course, that was followed up with dots made with dimensional fabric paint (I can’t resist the dots!) Just a side note, when I use dimensional paints (or really anything glossy,) I lightly wax the finished spread so the pages don’t stick together.
Adventure Art Journal Spread - Steps 5-6 - Gwen Lafleur
I wanted to add a few more finishing touches before doing my journaling. I used some white ink with an image from Nathalie’s Marks rubber stamp set and stamped in a few places around the page. Then I took a baby wipe and knocked the ink back a bit so that it wasn’t quite so strong and competing with the photo. I threw some clear embossing powder over it and heated since I still wanted to work on top (you need to heat set or emboss pigment inks on top of acrylic, otherwise they’ll wipe off with mediums, baby wipes, etc…) Finally, some splatters of white paint to kind of unify the whole thing. Then I just added my journaling with a white pen, glued on a few scraps of sequined fabric, and edged the page with gold ink. Voila! Finished art journal spread!
Adventure Art Journal Spread - Close-up 2 - Gwen Lafleur
I hope you enjoyed today’s project… I know I did! Now I’m off to begin my countdown for my next adventure!
Adventure Art Journal Spread - Gwen Lafleur
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Gwen’s art journal spread is so dreamy and exotic – it really reminds me why I love traveling to new places and seeing different cultures.

Gwen used the supplies listed below (some are affiliate links) as well as a Stampin’ Up white craft ink pad:

SuppliesCJS

Maybe you will even play along with us -I would 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“.

See you next Tuesday for another project from the Creative Squad!

Nat

Comments (3)

  • Anna Friesen

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    Gwen, amazing techniques!! You amp everything up to a new level! Does this gold embossing paste keep its sheen? I find many gold mediums are lackluster once dry.

    Reply

  • Denise Spillane

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    Oh Gwen, this is so wonderful. I am so enamoured with your style, so exotic and lovely! I love these stencils by Nathalie too! I bought them the mini ute I saw them in a class with Nat.

    Reply

    • gwenlafleur

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      Thanks Denise – I really appreciate that! Nathalie definitely has some awesome stencils, doesn’t she?

      Reply

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Letter to my Future Self – Michelle Rydell

CS July Letter

It’s Tuesday and time for my Creative Squad to share a project with you with this month’s theme: “Letter to my Future Self”. Throughout the month of July, the team has been using any of my n*Studio Stamps and Stencils they would like to use to interpret the theme. This month’s theme is in honor of my recent 10 year (!) blog anniversary- which we are celebrating until the end of the month! I asked the team to create something that they’d like to tell themselves in 10 years. Like a mixed media time capsule. This theme flips the “If only I knew then what I know now” sentiment up-side-down.

This week we bring you Michelle Rydell’s happy and uplifting postcard!

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Michelle July Headshot

The theme for this month was a challenging one: Letter to my Future Self. Hmmm… I have thought many times about what I would say to my younger self if I could; what wisdom I could share that would help her on life’s journey. But what could I tell my future self? She knows everything I know, plus she has ten years more life experience!

I pictured myself in ten years – going to the mailbox and finding a postcard there, and smiling when I see it’s from me. That’s when I knew just what I wanted it to say. It’s a lyric from a Jackson Browne song called “For A Dancer.” It goes like this…

“Keep a fire burning in your eye,

and pay attention to the open sky,

You never know what will be coming down.”

I’ve loved that lyric for many years. I can’t say for sure what Jackson meant when he wrote it; but for me it means – keep your passion alive, and stay open to whatever comes your way.

First, to create the postcard I cut some heavyweight watercolor paper to approximately 4” x 6”. Then I swirled some pink and yellow watercolor onto the background…

Rydell Letter 1

I decided that wasn’t bright enough, so I added some fluorescent pink acrylic.

Rydell Letter 2

I used a blending tool to apply some teal acrylic paint thru Nat’s Lily Wallpaper stencil to add some contrast. I kept the stenciling on the left side of the page to leave room for the words on the right.

Rydell Letter 3

I did a draft of the lyric on scratch paper first, to see approximately how much room it would take up. Then I added some light pencil lines to the postcard and went to town with a black permanent ink pen.

Rydell Letter 4

I want to put this postcard on the inside front cover of my current journal. I have a pocket to put it in that will be just right. Once in the pocket, I stenciled the other half of the Lily Wallpaper motif to make it look like the pattern continues…

Rydell Letter 5

Rydell Letter 6

I took some pre-dyed ribbon and used the same Lily stencil to create a pattern with yellow paint.

Rydell Letter 7

Rydell Letter 8

And here’s the final page. I added some white outlining to the stenciling to show off the detail of the design, and added the stenciled ribbon to the grommeted hole.

Rydell Letter 9

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Michelle’s postcard is so gorgeous with those colors and such a nice message. I love that it’s going right in the front of her art journal so she can remind her present self too!

Michelle used the supplies listed below (some are affiliate links):

SuppliesCJS

Maybe you will even play along with us -I would 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“.

Don’t forget that I have a Blogiversary SALE right now going on with 20% off of online workshops (like Creative Jumpstart 2016), DVDs, and select items (including all the stamps andstencils) from the n*Store online.  The sale prices are reflected in the store now.

Happy Blogiversary sale

See you next Tuesday for the another project from the Creative Squad, with a brand new theme for the month of August.

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Michelle Rydell

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    Thank you so much for your kind words everyone! It really means a lot to me!

    Reply

  • Marit

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    I really love the lyrics and the colors you used Michelle (gotta have fluorescent pink myself now!!!) Great idea, to let the pattern run on the page and the ribbon adds something ‘extra’ to the total image. Fabulous card!!!

    Reply

  • Joi @RR

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    Wow – so modern and so poignant Michelle. Brilliant colors. SUPER idea. Creativity at it’s best for your theme. Very special. j.

    Reply

  • Julie Tucker

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    Love love love this! Those lyrics are PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  • Janet

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    I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I love the colors that you chose Michelle!
    Especially the initial swirl and added pink to make it brighter.

    Reply

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Letter to My Future Self – Cheiron Brandon

CS July Letter

It’s Tuesday again and time for my Creative Squad to share a project with you with this month’s theme: “Letter to my Future Self”. Throughout the month of July, the team will use any of my n*Studio Stamps and Stencils they would like to use to interpret the theme. This month’s theme is in honor of my recent 10 year (!) blog anniversary- which we will celebrate later this month!  I asked the team to create something that they’d like to tell themselves in 10 years. Like a mixed media time capsule. This theme flips the “If only I knew then what I know now” sentiment up-side-down.

This week Cheiron Brandon shows you her amazing and colorful layered art journal page with a pretty good advice :)

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Cheiron June Headshot

Hi everyone, Cheiron here with my monthly post. When I got the theme for this month “Letter to My Future Self” I got nervous. Was I going to have to write an actual letter? What AM I going to write that will be important to know in the next 10 years. Will this have to go in my journal for everyone to see it? Writing in a journal is not for me, I don’t like to share my thoughts in writing. For me my art journal represents a place to play and experiment with color, texture, new stamps and stencils.

cheiron- 10 years art journal 2

When I started out on this page, I decided instead to not get nervous about writing a letter and just play with some new paint colors and layers. I did think about some personal plans for the next 10 years, and what I would like to tell myself whether I achieve these things or not. I have included some imagery that represents some of the things in my plan, including starting off my page with a piece of a house blueprint. When I do think of plans for the long term like health, finances and career there is no better advice I can give myself than to get started now. So I added the quote “10 YEARS FROM NOW YOU’D WISH YOU HAD STARTED TODAY”. I think that advice rings true at any point in our lives, and I am sure it will be just as relevant if I pull this journal out again in 10 years.

cheiron- 10 years art journal_

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I love love love the color combination in Cheiron’s art journal spread and the way how she layered and combined all stamps and stencils!

Cheiron used the supplies listed below (some are affiliate links):

SuppliesCJS


Maybe you will even play along with us -I would 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“.

See you next Tuesday for another project from the Creative Squad!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Joi@RR

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    Oh sooo vivid and splendid Cheiron. What a great idea to use part of a house plan in the background. Your work is so INTRICATELY STUNNING and my eyes loved roaming over it to see all the different ‘Nat toys’ you incorporated! Perfect sentiment. Thank you for the inspiration. j.

    Reply

  • Michelle Rydell

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    Those layers and colors are gorgeous Cheiron! I love your page!

    Reply

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Letter to My Future Self – Gwen Lafleur

CS July Letter

It’s Tuesday again and time for my Creative Squad to share a project with you with this month’s theme: “Letter to my Future Self”. Throughout the month of July, the team will use any of my n*Studio Stamps and Stencils they would like to use to interpret the theme. This month’s theme is in honor of my recent 10 year (!) blog anniversary- which we will celebrate later this month!  I asked the team to create something that they’d like to tell themselves in 10 years. Like a mixed media time capsule. This theme flips the “If only I knew then what I know now” sentiment up-side-down.

This week we show you Gwen Lafleur‘s amazing mini book and the advice she would hope she will have followed in the next ten years !

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Gwen July Headshot

For this month’s theme, I thought it would be fun to get creative with the “letter” part of the letter to my future self theme. I love to make books, so I decided that instead of writing a traditional letter and including it in my art journal (or regular journal,) that I would make a mini journal that would be the actual letter. I took a little time to think of my top five pieces of advice that I would hope that 10 years from now, my future self will have followed, and then created this book around them.
Letter to Future Self - Mini Art Journal Inside Pages - Gwen Lafleur
To start, I took watercolor paper and cut enough that after it was all attached, I’d have a strip that was 3″ tall by 24″ wide. I scored the paper every 2″ so that when it was done, I’d have a 2″x3″ book with 6 spreads. I pulled out some acrylic inks and just painted the background. (I did the whole thing at once instead of making each spread individually; I like the effect when you take a larger piece of art and break it down into pieces and I thought that would work well here.) I started with reds and oranges on one end and blues on the other and let them blend in the middle. Then I used more inks to add lots of blobs and splatters. I let that dry, then I used Nathalie’s Art Deco Wallpaper stencil and some gold pigment ink to start adding layers of color and pattern.
I followed that up with some stamping using designs from the Grunge and Marks stamp sets with burgundy and gray StazOn inks. I just used parts of each stamp to get some texture onto the page since I was going for an abstract look.
Letter to Future Self - Mini Art Journal Steps 1-4 - Gwen Lafleur
Next up, I grabbed the rubber stamp from the Urban Scribble set and used it with black ink. I moved it around as I went so that parts of the buildings would stamp. I liked this stamp set for this project because even though I wasn’t trying to add buildings into my design, the stamps have lots of great lines and pattern that are perfect for building up layers of texture. In the end you won’t even be able to tell what the original stamp was!
I followed that up by stippling some white paint through stencil that comes with the Urban Scribble set, then I used copper paint on the detailed side of the foam stamp – I only painted and stamped part of it because once again, I just wanted the lines. I stamped it in different directions to get some really cool effects!
Letter to Future Self - Mini Art Journal Steps 5-8 - Gwen Lafleur
Once that was done and dry, all of my background layering was done – next it was time to add the text. Since the backgrounds were so busy, I took some matte finish paint in a very light and fairly opaque color (matte makes it much easier to write on) and dry-brushed the center section on what would become the right-hand side of every spread. Once that was dry, I wrote out the advice to myself and added a scribbly frame around each section of text.
Last but not least, I made the covers. I basically followed the exact same process on these as I did to make the backgrounds – the only difference was that since I was using chipboard, I gesso’d them first. I also only added layering on one side of each cover; I painted the other sides with Payne’s Gray since they’d be covered up when I assembled the book.
Letter to Future Self - Mini Art Journal Steps 9-11 - Gwen Lafleur
I took a strip of sari yarn and laid it across the back of the front cover and glued it in place, then assembled the book. I just took my long strip (the text block) and accordion folded it and used the first and last flaps as the end papers – those got adhered to the inside of each cover. You could actually make this a 2-sided book and do each side of the paper strip, but instead I glued the back sides together so that it would function like a book with pages that turn. The sari yarn just wraps around the book when it’s closed so I can keep it secret and tucked away until future me is ready to read it.
Letter to Future Self - Mini Art Journal Covers - Gwen Lafleur
So that’s it! I hope you enjoyed today’s project and that you’re feeling inspired to find a creative way to write your own letter to your future self!

Letter-to-Future-Self---Mini-Art-Journal---Gwen-Lafleur

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Gwen’s book is so adorable and amazing – I love this idea and I love how she used elements of all the stamps and stencils to make it create some great design elements!

Gwen used the supplies listed below (some are affiliate links) as well as aStrathmore 400 Series cold-pressed watercolor paper (6″x18″ pad), Copper Distress Paint,scrap chipboard, calligraphy pen, sari yarn (from Darn Good Yarn.):

SuppliesCJS


Maybe you will even play along with us -I would 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“.

See you next Tuesday for another project from the Creative Squad!

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Joi @RR

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    Precious and creative! j.

    Reply

  • Michelle Rydell

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    Wow! What a creative take on the theme! I LOVE this! So beautiful and textured! What a cute size for a journal too!

    Reply

    • gwenlafleur

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      Thanks… I have to admit, I had a lot of fun with this one :D I’ve been wanting to make a journal this size for a while – perfect opportunity!

      Reply

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