Blog: Santa Fe

April ArtFoamies Challenge – Day 13 & 14

We’re on Day 13 and Day 14 of Nat and Sarah’s April ArtFoamies Challenge today! You can follow along on my Instagram feed daily with videos and photos, and I will post updates here on the blog too from time to time throughout the month. 

Day 13 – Fun – I decided to go to town, well literally LOL, using my Midtown and Midtown Mini foam stamp sets and just layering those babies up. I miss going to the city – it is only a 15 min subway ride for me to Manhattan – and after over a year of not really going there I could use some fun in the city. Soon – I am hopeful – and meanwhile… I am having fun in my ledger.

 

Here is a look at Day 13:

 

And the April 14 – Wow – As in “wow” lady you cannot stamp straight LOL- but oh well – that is what you get when you do not want to stick your grey hair under the camera …On another note it really wows me how repetition in color and stamps works …all the time – I like this pattern and on the ledger a lot. I used my Triple Play set and Santa Fe foam stamps.

 

Here is a look at Day 14:

Follow along with the challenge on instagram  and post your artwork too with the hashtag #artcollabChallengeAccepted

Everyone approaches Challenges differently. This ArtFoamies Challenge that Sarah Matthews and I came up with has had me thinking about how I want to approach it. In the past my Foam Stamplifier Challenge #foamstamplifierchallenge I used all kinds of different media, so I didn’t want to repeat myself. I also thought about how Sarah usually uses ArtFoamies with ink pads, while I use acrylic paints and the first parameter became clear: I will only use ink pads for the challenge. The other challenge is that I purchased an old ledger journal and I want to turn it into a pattern book. I usually make my own pattern books by binding loose printed papers into a book. This method has the advantage that if a print doesn’t turn out too great it can be discarded. By printing directly into this 125 year old ledger I have no out. So using my foam stamp designs to create patterns into a ledger book with ink pads is my challenge for this month.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Play along with us and our daily prompts:

Nat

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Owning Your Story – Art Journal

“Owning your story is the bravest thing you will ever do”

I started with some acrylic paint on my background and then created the all over pattern with my new Mini Santa Fe foam stamp and black ink – love this little repeating pattern.

I used little mini alphabet wooden stamps – stamped on printing paper and cut out the words and glued them down with a glue stick.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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The Stencilfied Journal – Prompt 20

My wonderful friend Tina Walker is at it again – she invited several people to join her Stencilfied Prompts. The prompts are music related and each week she is posting a song. You can be inspired by the lyrics, the video, the album cover or anything related and the only restriction is that you have to use StencilGirl Product Stencils. Here is my take on Prompt 20

This week’s prompt was Godspeed(Sweet Dreams) by The Dixie Chicks. I haven’t heard this song before and it is definitely not my thing, but that didn’t stop me from creating :)

I tripled up on pattern in the background with my Santa Fe stencil and my Santa Fe and Mini Santa Fe foam stamps. Some areas with spray paint, and some areas with acrylic paint and sponge. I like the play between the different scales.

I collaged in and painted and sketched over a magazine image and pulled in some lyrics with a fude pen. Even though the song wasn’t my type, I really like what I made when I got to work. You never know what will spark your creativity when you begin.

Here are some of the supplies that I used:


Nat

Comments (1)

  • Tina Walker

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    I really love this spread, especially since you’ve never heard the song before. ?

    Beautiful!

    Reply

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Raiders of the Lost Stash – Jennifer Gallagher

  

Welcome to a post from my wonderful Creative Squad! Today we have a project from Jennifer Gallagher who is using my Space Oddity and Mini Santa Fe foam stamps in a unique subtractive way to create some gorgeous cards. She was inspired by this month’s theme: Raiders of the Lost Stash – It’s time to raid your stash of art making stuff. Pick a few things you’ve tucked away for later and use them NOW. Maybe you have some leftover scraps or deli papers that you couldn’t bear to part with. Maybe you’ve squirreled away a new product that you’ve been meaning to try. The time is now! Raid your stash and try it :)

We are raiding our stashes this week. What good artist or crafter worth their salt doesn’t have a considerable stash of supplies just waiting for inspiration? In my stash I found a few sets of Sizzix thinlits dies by Tim Holtz that I haven’t used in ages. These dies, along side a few of my go-to supplies, were the inspiration for these beautiful note cards.

I adore my n*Studio artfoamies and wanted to show you a new way to use them. Begin by spraying a few colors of Dylusions Ink Spray onto a watercolor note card. Don’t be stingy with the spray! You will want a nice base of color to work with.

Next, spritz some water onto your artfoamie (I’m using Nat’s Space Oddity and Mini Santa Fe ArtFoamies) making sure the entire design is wet. Gently press the artfoamie onto the note card. After a few seconds, remove the artfoamie and dab a paper towel onto the card to pick up the excess moisture. (Dab – don’t wipe!) Because the ink sprays are water reactive, we will be pulling ink off of the card leaving the design of the artfoamie behind. Repeat until you have a design you like.

Choose a few sentiments from the die set and run them on black cardstock through your die cutting machine. Fix your sentiment onto your note card with a liquid glue like Tombow Mono.

This is a fun way to use your artfoamies so be sure to try this at home and share your creations with us! Get into that supply stash and get creative.

Wow these are beautiful Jennifer!!! Love the subtle variations in color and love this exciting way to use foam stamps – almost like a sponge. You can find all of my foam stamps and more in my online shop and if you’d like to try this technique, here are some of the supplies that Jennifer used:



Be sure to check out all the Creative Squad projects on the Creative Squad webpage and if you feel inspired, share your projects with us! We love to see what you’re working on. I post projects almost every month in my Inspiration From Around the Globe posts!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • lynda

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    Love this idea Jennifer! Question…….do you let the Dylusions spray dry before stamping with the foam stamp? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Jennifer Gallagher

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      Hi Lynda! I did let the layers dry. You can let them air dry or use a heat tool to speed it up a bit. Thanks for checking out my project.

      Reply

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My Home is My Castle – Maura Hibbitts

  

Hello from the Creative Squad! Today we are super happy to introduce to you our newest member: Maura Hibbitts! Maura is a master of colorful layers and we are so happy she will be with us to share some of her projects. Today she brings us an art journal spread with tons of yummy texture. Maura uses my Stroll Around the Block stamp set, the My Home Is My Castle cling stamp, my Santa Fe foam stamps, and my Toledo stencil. She is also working from this month’s theme: My Home is My Castle – Home means many different things depending on who you ask and where you are in the world. This month we’re thankful to have a place to call home, a place where we can rule and be King – or Queen :) – of the castle!

I am honored and excited to join you this month on the Creative Squad!

When I started thinking about this month’s theme, “My Home is my Castle”, I started to imagine a castle behind my own little house. There are so many sayings that relate to this idea, like Queen of the castle (me, I guess), or a man’s home is his castle (hubby), that I knew where I wanted to head with this. In real life, I am glad I don’t live in a huge, drafty castle that I would have to clean, as housework is a much lower priority than creative work.

I headed to my big Dylusions art journal, and squirted on some yellow and turquoise paint and blended it together with a brush. While the paint was still wet, I closed the book and pressed the pages together. Open them up immediately and let dry to create a nice texture.

Next, I used dark blue paint with a brayer on the Art Foamies large Santa Fe stamp and stamped a repeating pattern across the pages to create the main part of the castle. Then, I used the small Santa Fe stamp to make the upper part of the castle. Once that dried, I went over the castle with Quinacridone Gold.

I wanted to add a bit of a dreamy quality to my castle, so added a layer of Interference Gold. I like how this brought out more of my paint texture too. I also added bright green with the Toledo stencil around the edges of my pages.

I outlined the castle with a graphite pencil and went over it with a water brush, and added in some window slits and an entrance. Using bright pink paint with the Wired stamp, I added pops of color for contrast, and also stamped some color pops onto a sheet of green card stock for later use.

Here’s a closeup of the colors and textures on the page.

I chose Nathalie’s Art Deco home stamp for my pages, so I could use bright colors on it. I was thinking of those wonderful turquoise and pink homes in Florida (maybe because it is so darn cold here). I stamped it onto watercolor paper, added color with watercolors and markers, then fussy cut it out. I cut out a few funky trees with the paper I’d previously stenciled, and distressed them a bit with black ink.

Of course, I had to add a flag flying from one of the turrets of the castle. I painted it in yellow and went around it with a black pen.

Behind each of our homes, whether an apartment or house, is the castle of our imagination. I hope you’ve been inspired by my art journal pages to create your own awesome project!

Thank you Maura! I love that cute little pink Art Deco house in front of the giant castle :) Here are the supplies that Maura used:




Play along with us too: I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

 

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Nat

Comments (1)

  • Joi@RR

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    CONGRATULATIONS Maura. What a great addition Nat!!! Loved your creativity – your home/castle are WONDERFUL. Super textures too!! Xj.

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Smile :) -Positive and Negative Pattern Play

This is another board I made for the ArtFoamies booth at Creativation. It was a simple project, but when you are displaying for a trade show it is important that you have samples that show in a fast way how to use certain products- and here I simply wanted to have something that would show how the positive and negative foam stamps I created work.

I used the Santa Fe positive and negative Foam Stamp Set and stamped with different colors onto a black board. I love how much depth a bit of an offset stamping and the black background creates. For the top I stamped on some hemp paper which has a very different quality and texture. It also feels almost like fabric and it is quite durable. I love how different the texture of the paper makes the pattern look.

It is a very in your face project- LOL – so ….Smile ;)

Here is a list of supplies I used for this -some links are affiliate links:


Have a gorgeous day

Nat

Comments (2)

  • stephanie

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    Hi Nat – Is the hemp paper like color press watercolor? Thanks.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Stephanie, it is really hard to say – it is like handmade paper with a kind of fabric like feel to it -yeah maybe a bit similar to a very good and thick cold press watercolor paper, but then not as thick. NOt sure if that helps and makes sense :)

      Reply

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Do Things Different – Art Journal Spread

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got” attributed to many- including Albert Einstein. Regardless who said this…smart ! A good reminder to change things up once in a while!

I saturated the background with different colors of acrylic spray paints and used the back of a brush to scratch some marks into it. I layered the Santa Fe 9×12 Stencil on top and sprayed over it with black spray paint. As you can see some of the areas – on the right bottom – are a little bit blurred- that is because I did not wait until the background was totally dried …- I am so impatient sometimes. But, I am ok with this. This page was a 10 minute affair and it made me happy to just do something creative that morning that was followed by loads of paper- and computerwork. 

I tore a manilla shipping tag and added the journaling with my fountain pen. Anyone else still loves to write with a fountain pen, besides me? I just love the feel of a fountain pen.

I like how the black pops the pattern off the colorful background. This spread makes me long for some traveling in the South West, yummie food and summer :)

Here are the supplies I used for this super quick art journal spread- some links are affiliate links:


Wishing you a fantastic day!

Nat

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Focus Baby, Focus! – Art Journal

jaja jaaja – I knooooooww- but it is so hard to focus , isn’t it? LOL.

I used my new Mesa Verde 9×12 Stencil and sprayed with read acrylic spray paint over a previously painted background.

I painted over a magazine image with acrylic paints and used some pencil and pens on top.

Love the pattern – it makes me want to travel now, forget focus I guess ;)

Here are some of the supplies I used for this art journal spread – some links are affiliate links:


Are you good focusing on your stuff?

Nat

Comments (7)

  • stephanie

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    The red is great! BTW I see you’re coming to Ohio for Artiscape – yay!!! Hoping to get into a couple of your classes

    Reply

      • stephanie

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        Same here :)

        Reply

  • marshavalk

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    Oh! You know what… I have that spray paint. And I still haven’t used it! I also have some ugly painted backgrounds in my art journal… I think I know what to do with those now! ;-)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL I love using it with those backgrounds because it really nicely covers :)

      Reply

  • Joi@RR

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    What a great background – love the way the colors blend. Great girl too. I wear some type of hat every day – love her hat!! Always inspiring Nat. Xj.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Joi! I always wanted a hat but somehow I think I am not a hat person- LOL – I don’t look to smashing in it ;) Have a wonderful week! Nat

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Dream a New Dream – Marsha Valk

 

Happy Creative Squad Tuesday! Today Marsha Valk is sharing a beautiful and bright art journal spread using my Santa Fe Positive and Negative Foam Stamp set, my Batik Stencil, and her unique take on this month’s theme: Dream a New Dream. This January, let’s focus on all the possibilities of a fresh start.  What are your dreams for this year?  Whether it’s art-making, family, travel, or work related, January is a great time to dream about what the future could hold.

I am not a dreamer. I mean: I definitely am a dreamer… but the zone-out, lost-in-thoughts kind, not a big-plans-for-the-future one!

 

I do plan for the year ahead, but I do that at the end of December and I’m usually all set and ready to go in January. This year I’m not quite that organised, but… January is already well on the way now and whilst I was creating my journal page, I kept thinking ‘dream’, but… my gut kept saying ‘no’. So even though I wanted the page to be about dreaming, it ended up about ‘not dreaming’.

 

 

 

 

 

I am excited about what the new year holds though and I chose to work with greens, because I’m super stoked about the Pantone colour for 2017: Greenery!

 

 

 

 

Thank you Marsha! I love Marsha’s honest take on our theme and wow those are some great colors! Marsha used these supplies – some links are affiliate links:




Play along with us! I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

 

Nat

Comments (4)

  • susan debourguignon

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    Marsha,
    i, too, am a daydreamer as opposed to a goal setter. the future is too much for my head to wrap itself around. i am not a fan of green, but your page really speaks to me. thank you for sharing!!!

    Reply

    • marshavalk

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      Thanks so much Susan! Glad to hear I’m not the only one! ;-)

      Reply

  • nathalie-kalbach

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    Such a wonderful take on the theme Marsha, and I love how you mixed the patterns of the Batik Stencil with the Santa Fe Foam Stamp – so gorgeous. Now I just want to move on to Spring ;)

    Reply

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