I am headed to the National Stationary Show in New York. I have not attended this trade show before, but am excited to discover some new vendors.
View from the plane
and I haven’t been to New York since I was at Ranger University in 2012
I was able to play hooky this past Monday and visited the Wynwood Walls project in Miami for a few hours. The Wynwood Walls is a community revitalization project located in the warehouse district of Miami. Huge murals and graffiti cover the sides of buildings and shipping containers.
What an inspiring place, full of street art both on a large and tiny scale.
Here are just a few of the photos I took. The images that were taken inside the walls I have named the artists but those on the streets unfortunately I do not know who the inspiring piece came from.
side of a building
Side of a building
walking down the street
on the street where Zak the Baker is located
these photos were taken inside the walls
Lady Pink
We ate at a lovely little Bistro for lunch – Zak the Baker, Avocado on toast with marinated tomatoes and red pepper. The tomatoes had great flavor and there was just a little kick to the bread with the flaked pepper. . . . . YUM!
I have a million art journal and canvas ideas running through my head and I left feeling very inspired and can’t wait to go back and explore the neighborhood again. I just have to figure out a way to play hooky again 
We hd such a fabulous time at the Back to Back Retreat. Just a few images from the 3 day event
Hope you can join us next year at the next retreat.
Here is Anaheim and there is inspiration everywhere, I thought I would share just a couple of images from the show with you
Managed to get a couple of hours off and met up with another store owner from Seattle and we decided to have dinner at downtown Disney
Graphic 45 – their booth is always fabulous
Love this piece by Jim Hankins
Ranger Designer Challenge
The fountains at night just outside the convention center
Wonderful texture
The Prima booth was awesome
and I loved this display by Floracraft
It is that time of the year again when I head to the Winter Trade show to buy products for the store. Exhausting times but oh so good to see my colleagues and get inspired by all the art goodness around me. This year the show is being held in Anaheim, California
This is the week from my planner
View from my window seat
This white stuff is snow!
It seems my intentions are great for this blog but, my execution leaves much to be desired.
I have been trying to get more organized about this site so that when I have the ideas for the blog I am actually in a place where I can write them down and get them done.
Since I have been gone I have taught on a cruise ship headed to Alaska. That was at the end of July and it was just this past friday that I was able to get my photos off my camera
I have designed and had manufactured (and SOLD OUT in one week, yeah me!) a line of stamps for planners and a set for Art Journaling. If you would like to see what they look like please click here for the online store:
How Does She Do It? – this is the stamp set that is helping me get more organized
PS-107 – this stamp set is for people attending school or the parents
Ready Set Go – to help me with planning my next working vacation
and this is the set I designed for Art Journaling – Imperfection
They are BACK IN STOCK
This is a sample of the Art Journal Set which I have used just for fun.
Will try and post more images as I get them photographed. . . . and based on my track record it might be a while, so no one hold their breath!
So I have been keeping a secret, I was asked to do an interview for the Womens Radio Network. They are a internet radio show which “help women build their online presence and bring business women from diverse backgrounds together to build a strong network of successful individuals.”
If you know me, you know I have a few problems with making videos as I get quite nervous when talking out loud.. . . and feel that I come across as some monotone lecturing professor who is quite dull. I can’t seem to grasp the concept of relaxing and letting my personality show through. I feel the same way about formal interviews.
At least with this interview I was going to be guided by the hostess Lisa Singer. Lisa was going to ask me questions and I had to answer them.
A lot less nerve racking than making a YouTube video you would think.
But then I realized this is internet radio and although the interview is live, it is archived and it will be on the internet FOREVER.
omg, what happened if I made a complete ass of myself!!!
So I did not tell anyone I was doing the interview. I decided to wait untill it was uploaded and I could hear for myself how I sounded.
The interview was supposed to last for eight minutes, which in my mind seemed like it would last for hours.
So today finally came and I couldn’t get the call waiting to deactivate on the phone so I had to do the interview on my cell phone. I figured I was going to go out the back of the store so I would not be interrupted but 15 minutes before the interview was supposed to start the lawn people started mowing the lawns.
Ok, no problem I will go out the front of the store but then the other guys fired up the weed whackers.
Oh, boy. . . . so into my car I go. . . . now remember I am on a cell phone so I can’t have any background noise so I could not turn on the engine for the air conditioning. Let me tell you it was hot in the car and that was compounded by my being nervous. I didn’t want to talk too slow or too fast, or get tongue tied ir say something inappropriate or . . . . .
In the end the interview seemed like it only lasted for about 4 minutes, and I felt quite relaxed.
I listened to the playback and I sounded OK, so here you go if you would like to listen to it, just click the player button .
or if you would like to go the Womens Radio Network site, the address is:
the next big hurdle is to sound natural in a video
Dina Wakley has just published a new book called Art Journal Courage. I already have Dina’s first book called Art Journal Freedom and I love it so I was excited to be able to get my hands on her second book. I have to say that her new book is pretty amazing.
Dina’s book has eight chapters and the artwork throughout the book is just luscious and so inspiring. Whether you are an experienced or beginner in the field of Art Journaling, this book will inspire you just as it has me. Dina even shows you how to make yourself into a stencil.
I have been art journaling for a few years and I have kept a diary for as long as I can remember . . . but one of the things I tell myself and everyone else is that “I can’t draw” well Dina covers this very statement in her book and you know what? with the help and step by step directions in her book, I believe that I CAN draw. Starting tomorrow I will be practicing. . . .
If you need a copy and need it quick click this link:
Buy Art Journal Courage at Everythng Scrapbook & Stamps.
There are plenty of Dina’s books in stock.
and if you see me at the store with my pencil and my art journal you know what I am doing.
I love working with pencils, especially when they are the Derwent Inktense pencils, lately I have been kind of addicted to them, I just love using them for backgrounds in my art journal. Combine them with another of my favorite mediums, gesso and I think you have a match made in heaven. . .
I was excited to see this video of the factory in England where they are made. I love seeing the behind the scenes of how products are made, I am kind of a geek that way.
So here is the video . . enjoy!
They come in 72 lovely colors. . . . my goal is to own them all!
and if you haven’t tried them yet, you NEED to get some. Just sayin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gelli Arts recently came out with two smaller sizes of printing plates. I grabbed one of the smaller ones out of our first shipment but sadly a customer wanted it and I had to give it up,
So the second shipment came in and I quickly added paint to it so that I could keep it, lol
It is the size of an index card and so I quickly pulled out a stack of cards, my Dina Wakley paints and started printing.
when I was done, I made this little mini book which I will fill with quotes.
The Q was an old red metal letter I found in my stash and I used black acrylic paint on the Gelli Plate to add the print to the front.
This was a quick and easy project to make but so much fun.