Namta Art Convention 2013

I decided to invite myself (joke) to follow Johanne, owner of ÇaFabrik to the 2013 Namta Art Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota!  It was held from Wednesday, May 1st to Friday, May 3rd and it actually snowed the Friday morning!  Back home, the sun was shining and it was very warm, but at least we were having fun!  I was amazed to discover all the different fine arts companies I hadn't known even existed.  There were lots of new products and I got an eyeful of things I have added to my "gotta have it list".  What was my most favorite booth, you ask?  Well even if you don't I'll tell you anyway.  It was the crafter's workshop booth.   Stencils, stencils and more stencils!  I was like a kid in a candy store waiting for someone to give me a taste for free!  We actually did receive a few stencils from the very nice lady working in the kiosque, although her name evades my memory at the moment.  Here is a sample of a few of the mixed media projects that were on display beside the stencils, aren't they just the neatest!!  I love the colors and the black outline and the stencil of the lady silhouette outlined in white.  It amazes me how people actually have the imagination to create these projects, I will definitely try my hand at it, the ideas are coming to me, I can see them now!  Pretty sweet eh?

Golden Mixed Media Project

ÇaFabrik recently hosted a course with renowned Golden Artist Melanie Matthews!  This lady is absolutely delightful and I highly recommend getting in on her courses when they are offered.  I know that I will always be there!  I was a super fun day, fully charged with learning about different paints and mediums and actually getting to apply them all in one project.  We learned how to mix paints with different mediums to get different effects.  We used a lot of stencils for this project and I have to admit, since then I have become somewhat of a stencil junkie.  We also worked with different kinds of surfaces including burlap, cardstock, foil and canvas.   Finally, we learned how to do image transfers in two different manners.  Talk about getting a wealth of knowledge in one sitting!  Take a look at my masterpiece!

 

7 Gypsies Wooden Printer Tray

I absolute go crazy for these printer trays from 7 Gypsies.  You can decorate them in so many ways.  Some people get quite creative with these.  This is the first one I've made and I think it turned out quite good!  I will be giving a "Half-Day Tray" session with ÇaFabrik soon (date to be determined), so if you like this idea, keep an eye out for the class in the calendar and come and get creative with me!

Vintage Ferris Wheel card

This is my last project of the day.  I love everything vintage.  This card was prepared with Glitz stamps, Stampin Up! (Cardstock, retired cogs punch, brass button and happy birthday stamp) , Tim Holtz Idea-ology paper in the background, Staz-On ink and an EK Success punch for the border.  It's a good birthday "man" card!

J'adore travailler avec des étiquettes en papier manille Inkssentials.  Ici tu peux voir une étiquette que j'ait faite avec deux vaporisateurs "spray" Dylusions.  Les estampes sont de Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous et j'ai estamper avec de l'encre Distress Black Soot.  Sur l'estampe de l'oeil, j'ai appliqué à l'aide d'un pinceau, de la poudre Perfect Pearls rose.  Ça donne un look reluisant comme vous pouvez voir dans l'image.  J'ai finalement mis du Distress Black Soot tout alentour de l'étiquette en l'appliquant avec une éponge.  J'ai acheté tous les fournitures chez ÇaFabrik sauf les rubans.

Pretty little lady

I wanted to do something girlie today so I created this card.  It's not always easy creating such pretty things when you have two teenage boys.  Luckily, I have two nieces to inspire me.  The stamp I used here is from Sarah Kay.  I colored her in with copic markers, the ribbon and cardstock are from Stampin Up! and the background of the card I made with ranger alcohol inks and a blending tool on glossy cardstock.  The ribbon rosebud is from some of my favorite producs, the Tim Holtz line. 

My all time favorite products are from the Tim Holtz line.  I love, love, love the  Distress Ink line, Idea-ology product, Sizzix Alteration Dies and his Stampers Anonymous stamps.  I actually have a pretty impressive collection in my workshop at home and they are my go to products when I am creating. ÇaFabrik has quite an excellent selection of these products in store.  Here is a pic of some flowers that I created with Grunge Paper, Tattered Florals Die, Distress Ink and some Zip Dry glue.  I think they are just lovely!