GrungyFlower Still Life - a StencilGirl Project and Video Tutorial

 Oh, well...hey there....long time no see...so thank you even more for stopping by! ;)

As you may have noticed I haven't been spending much time in my studio(s) during the last months but now and then inspiration still likes to strike (at least a little) or one or the other design team project "forces" me to indulge in some creative me-time and I really always enjoy that (and am thankful for it as it keeps me going and in touch with my creative side). 

I am still in the middle of exploring and re-defining myself and my life, being in a new location and also health (or rather meno-pause)-wise forced to find new approaches to enjoying myself and everyday life. The new home close to the lake and the mountains helps a lot with this and I am enjoying my little garden, riding my kayak and exploring new sections of the lake's shore. Hail from one of the last heavy thunderstorms has done some superficial damage to the house and garden, but it is definitely nothing compared to the massive damage farmers and market gardens are dealing with! 

This weekend my son will get his second dose of Cov-19 vaccine and then the three of us will all be on the safe side and relaxed. So we are all well and safe - I hope you and your loved ones are too! 

I am sharing a flower still life with a video tutorial today - done for StencilGirl and with their wonderful stencils of course. If you hop over to their StencilGirl Talk blog, you will learn about what subconsciously influenced my painting - I was amazed myself how much I am obviously visually influenced by my new home and surroundings! 

The ten-minute video shows the whole process and also offers hints on composition and other helpful information on paints and tools used - so I hope you will like it! Enjoy your summer! 

Stay safe!

Claudia xxx

Stencilled Poetry - an Art Journal Cover

Servus and welcome to my blog today! I am so happy you're stopping by as today I am sharing a  make that is really close to my heart as it is about poetry - not only "stencilled poetry" (which I hope I have managed to achieve on my journal cover) but also the poetry from song lyrics and music that have deeply influenced my love for the English language and for music and for song lyrics that evoke images, feelings and stories in my head.

One of the very first songs - or maybe THE very first song - that did this for me was "Eleanor Rigby" from the Beatles (and the lyrics were written by wonderful Paul McCartney). I have been loving the song and also the "Yellow Submarine" movie since I was about twelve years old - and that love has never changed until today.

"Stencilled Poetry" is this month's theme for the Creative Team at StencilGirl Products to go by and a special line from "Eleanor Rigby" immediately came to my mind for this theme. So I created an art journal cover, trying to capture visually what that special line from the song evokes in me and how it makes me feel.

I have done a video of the process again - so you can watch and find out how I built up the layers on the journal cover and how some of the effects were achieved. So I hope you will hop over to the StencilGirl Talk blog to check out the video, some of my other thoughts that went into the design and also some more images of the finished journal.

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Fill it with Circular Shapes - Altered Tin for StencilGirl Products

Hi, servus and thanks for stopping by!

Time to share my latest project and video tutorial for StencilGirl Products! This month the theme for the creative team was "Frame it or fill it with circular shapes" and I have not only "filled" a substrate with circular shapes but I also used a circular shaped substrate - a ginger bread tin.

Altering boxes and tins is one of my favourite things to do as I find it very rewarding.

I have done a full video tutorial this time in which I show various ways of creating circular shapes like stencilling on tea or coffee pads for example. The full list of StencilGirl stencils and DecoArt Americana paints and products used is over at the StencilGirl Talk blog. Simply click HERE to get the blog post where you will also find the video and more images of the finished project.

I hope to see you over there soon! 

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Gift it or Grid it - Customised Pillow Boxes for StencilGirl Products

Hi, servus and welcome to my short invitation over to the StencilGirl Talk Blog. I am sharing a new tutorial and project over there and if you are in need for a quickly done wrapping for a small present this might be the right tuto for you ;)

I have done a full tutorial video this time and you can find that alongside a lot of images and further info on paints and stencils used in today's blog post over HERE.

Here's an image of the finished pillow boxes.

The video shows how I've layered paints and stencils to create the strips and how I have applied these in a grid-like manner to the die cut and folded pillowboxes. (I have used the Tim Holtz Pillow Box with Labels die - an oldie but definitely still a goodie - to die cut my boxes but you could as well alter bought boxes of course). If you don't want to do the pillowboxes but create the mixed media strips for other projects like maybe using them on a journal page or a book cover the video is still worth a look as you can watch me building up layers and picking stencils and colours during the process.

I hope you'll like it! Thanks for stopping by and as always

hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

I will be teaching online this winter at...

...the highly inspiring Savvy Supply School at Mixed Up Creative Academy! 

Savvy Supply School is a guided learning programme running for 12 weeks. It is on sale from today and will start on 3rd January. It includes 26 projects that will show you how to create mixed media art and have a lot of creative fun with supplies most of you count among their basics and have at home already, some of which you would maybe even never have thought of using in a mixed media project!

I am not only very proud and happy to be one among these amazing, artsy instructors and sharing a fully narrated video class I have made for you...

...but also really love the idea behind Savvy Supply School; using what you already have in new inventive and savvy ways instead of always buying the latest mixed media products...which isn't anything bad of course - I love to allow myself to some new product here and there too and love taking on new techniques with these... but I found I have way too many different things in my products stash already to really make good use of all of them. And honestly there is nothing more frustrating to unearth a dried out pot of something useful and fun that I bought and just forgot I had because I have been buying too much new stuff in the meantime and thus forgot to come back to it.

And also often it does not have to be the fancy, new (and sometimes expensive) stuff that you need to use or own to be part of the latest mixed media trends.

Creating art really is about using our brains and being "inventive" and happily playful in one or the other way, finding ways to use what we have at hand in more than just one way and nurturing ones soul during the creative process and enjoying the satisfying feeling that comes from ending up with something that does not look as if it has been created using "cheap" or "ordinary" stuff or maybe even trash (like I did with my project) - but instead looks magical and makes your friends and followers wonder how on Earth you have achieved this amazing effect, that divine surface texture or what it actually IS that you have created your piece of art from, right?

I will not give away the secret of what it is that I have used, but I am allowed to share this sneak peek with you and maybe you can already guess some of the savvy supplies shown here... ;)

I only can tell you so much when it comes to the project I am teaching: "from trash to treasure" is the motto behind this make and - as is the case with most of my art - it is highly textural and combines things you can find in every household with one or the other little found object treasure from your stash and a savvy (and really cheap) way to create your own "mixed media speciality texture product".

There's about forty five minutes video - showing me doing the whole project from start to finish and explaining everything you need to know to use my ideas and savvy supplies to create your own assemblage art pieces. I am already very excited and can't wait to share my class with you! ;)

The deets:

This is what you will get for the price of 65 Euro/£55 - or if you use the

  early bird discount code CNSSS20

(that will expire on 30th November and will give you a 20% discount) just 52 Euro/£44: 26 inspiring savvy supply projects (i.e. 17 video and 9 detailed step by step tutorials) - that means you're paying the ridiculously cheap amount of 2 Euro per project idea and class - which I definitely call a bargain (well, honestly I would call it a bargain still at the original price of 65 Euro as the whole team have been putting a lot of time, love and labour alongside their uniquely inspiring creativity into their projects and classes)!

You will also love the variety of the projects and surprising supplies used! I promise! 

So do not hesitate: copy the discount code above and use this link HERE (or click on the Savvy Supply School banner above) to hop over to Mixed Up Creative Academy - 

there you will find more information on supplies needed, the idea behind this special school plus a short video showing the projects' sneak peeks in more detail and explaining what Savvy Supply School is all about. I hope to see you there in January!!!!

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Dressed It to Wear It - Stencilled Bubbalux Bangle for StencilGirl Products

Servus! I am so happy you're stopping by my little creative corner today!

I am especially happy you're here as today I am sharing one of my first full process videos that comes with this special bangle I created from bubbalux Craft Board and fabric that I had decorated with DecoArt paints and fabric painting medium and StencilGirl Products stencils. The video gives infos on the products used and shows how I create my layers on the fabric and how I put the bangle together and add some wire wrapped shell scraps...

So if you want to find out, simply hop over to the StencilGirl Talk blog to watch the twelve minutes long video I've done for you.

I hope you will like the video and that it encourages you to create your own non-sew fabric bangles!
Simply click HERE to get taken to the blog post with the tutorial and loads of images.

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Wellbeing Through Creativity - Join Me and 21 Other Creative Tutors in an Amazing Six Weeks Wellspring Summer School

(this blog post contains advertising)

Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by on this special day!

Special for me, because I am announcing my first Video Class I have put together and recorded for you and that is part of a six weeks long fantastic creative summer school named Wellspring 2019  and is offered by Mixed Up Creative over at their Mixed Up Creative Academy platform.

This is how lovely Katy, the mastermind behind Mixed Up Creative and this summer school explains what Wellspring 2019 is all about:

Wellspring is a six-week summer school focussing on the power of creativity for self-care. We’ll look at how you can learn to use your creative time in ways that can be beneficial to your mental wellbeing. In a series of 25 detailed lessons, we will explore topics around the creative self, challenge you to look at how you work and what blocks you may have, consider how and why art can be so good for your soul, and make lots of fun projects along the way. Plus, you’ll learn more about how and why art can be therapeutic from mindfulness and art therapy experts.


OMG! I just love being part of this!!!!
I guess we all know how much creativity and well being are connected and about the therapeutic effects of creative processes, but here you will find over twenty classes that will in one or the other way show you how to nurture your creative self and soul. To take a peek at the projects your tutors have designed for Wellspring 2019, simply click on the link at the bottom of this post or watch the short video right here.

My project is all about facing those parts of our personalities that we do not feel comfortable with - anger and frustration. And it is about unveiling the energy hidden or locked away within these feelings. It is about becoming whole and accepting all the facets of our personality - which is a crucial factor when it comes to wellbeing and self-care.
Looking at it from the creative side, we will be tackling the much feared topic of self-portraits - but in a new and totally stress- and failure-free way!
And you can even attend this class without having to dig deep down into your selves and still profit from the technique shown to grow your confidence with portrait painting. And of course you can also profit from the psychological effect behind the project without having to create the perfect self-portrait. Either way - I hope my class will help you as much in increasing your wellbeing as it did with me.

For those who want to save a few bucks...there is an early bird price that runs until Thurs, 13th June.

There will be some pre-school classes that start on 14th June.
These remain open until 30th June, at which point registrations will close.
Wellspring Summer School officially starts 1st July and will offer 25 lessons spread across six weeks in July and August. There will also be a private facebook group where tutors and students can discuss and share their progress.

More information and all the deets you need to know can be found here:

https://mixedupcreativeacademy.com/wellspring2019/

I can feel an exciting summer filled with creativity and well being

lying ahead of us!

Hope to see you over there! 

Claudia

xxx