...cheers to the New Year!

.....shine in the light that you are!   

Wishing you good health, prosperity 

and abundant joy in 2011.....

...it's time

I love watercolor.  It is the medium that defines me as an artist/illustrator.  Right now i am playing with Adirondack Color Wash and Distress Ink reinkers from Ranger as watercolor paints.  Since both products are water based, they can be thinned and stretched with a water soaked paint brush.  The concentration and intensity of color is a perfect base for an art journal spread.

..."it's time"....Reflecting with hope, seeking good changes in 2011.....

"One day you just woke up in the sunshine 

and decided to have the courage to change everything."

...back to some inky art!

While we had a magical time with family and friends, so glad the holidays are drawing to a close.  Now back to work i go!  Finishing up my stamps, and 3 other assignments that all have to be completed from now until January 10th.


For me, one of the nice things about Christmas week is the little bit of down time to "reorganize".  My home studio was the winner this year!  It felt good to take a little inventory of the "stash" and supplies i have, that will inspire new directions and ideas in the New Year.


I get the most satisfaction from the creative process in my journals, exploring with paint, ink, spray, color, drawing etc.  Colorful pages stay blank from the journaling part, waiting for writings to be inserted later.  Here are two pages that have been awaiting their 'written wisdom' for months..........i finished them yesterday when i was supposed to be cleaning!

 On the left page spread in my Moleskine Watercolor Journal, I drew my usual whimsical flowers then painted them with my Tim Holtz Distress Ink Reinkers.  Just used drops of the distress inks in a paint tray, added water and painted with a brush.  These colors  are so bold and rich, just how i love them! (here i used Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge, Fired Brick, Orange Marmalade, Broken China, Scattered Straw, etc)  Then, the "sugar on top" is some spritzing with my Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists in "Perfect Copper".  Just the perfect amount of shimmer to catch the light.

On the right side page spread, i drew my winged a heart and colored the same way.  Outlined with my Inkssentials White Gel pen.

Now finished...a message reflecting the anticipation of a new year.....

..."see yourself as others see you...shine".....

creatively crafty christmas

Forgive me for the blog lapse in my December dailies, but you know, i've been preoccupied tending to all my Creative Christmas details.  So in the past three days, here's a photo tour of what i have done:


...Made 12 Tattered Floral Pins for gifts with the Legacy Studio fabric i designed for JoAnn's last year.  (i'll do a tutorial in January)

...Made 13 paper gift boxes (so far) for gifts (i am certifiably obsessed with the Martha Stewart Scoring Board especially since i got it for $9.99 with a Michaels 50% off coupon!)... 

...Made 13 rosettes/lollies for the top of the gift boxes...

 ...Made 22 dozen old fashioned butter cookies 

(My great aunt's recipe from when before cholesterol was invented)...

...Made about 3 pounds of Peppermint Bark...

...Made a mound of Hershey Kiss Waffle pretzels...

 ...Wrapped about 65 gifts (at least!)...

 ...Made about 85 gift tags for all the gifts, punched, inked and stamped...

...Made 30 MORE Alcohol Ink ornaments for my own family and friends. (there are those #%&*# ornaments again, obsessed i tell you!!!  But they're so pretty, they look like jewels.)

 

...Hope you are loving your Christmas.  Now i am going to reacquaint myself with Mr. Dyson and get this Christmas Cyclone of Creativity cleaned up a bit.  So peace, love and joy to you today!!

art journal everyday...

Wow!  You know how much i love the art journal.  Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is a really fun New York artist and is hosting a "Art Journal Everyday" event for 2011.  I just signed up, and it's FREE!  It will be such fun sharing in an online community, just like having an "artsy play date" every day!  

  Check out Julie's blog for what you'l need to get started.  It looks like fun, just to be a little accountable to your creative self on a daily basis.  So many things to try and learn from each other. Oh the creative places we will go!!  See you there...

giveaway winner!!

......is Shari from Florida!

Shari said...

Hi Joanne, That mag looks yummy! I'd say the 2 things that attract me to a blog are creativity, if they show some really cool photos or art that they are working on and if the style of the blog is colorful and whimsical. Secondly, the spirit behind it. If it is mostly upbeat and inspirational, I'll be back. I connect with that.

December 15, 2010 8:00 AM 

Congrats Shari!!! email me your address and 

i will get the "Gifts" Magazine out to you this week.

We will have more giveaways in 2011 from Cloth Paper Scissors, so keep visiting.  Thanks to all who left comments! Great ideas and even greater NEW ART FRIENDS, to share our creative journey.  

Stay joyful and inspired!  Merry "Christmas Week" to all!

still time to post

Okay, let's take the rest of the afternoon today to leave a comment below on the  post,  Cloth Paper Scissors "Gifts Giveaway!"  Giveaway!  Read a the post from December 15th and comment.  The drawing's at 6pm TODAY!  Merry Christmas week everyone!

happy art heart

With this unfinished Copic doodle card, i wanted to take today's post to thank YOU.  

If YOU are reading this, i appreciate you for coming to check out this art blog.  I am so blessed to have so many sweet souls with me on my art journey.  As you read this, you will recognize YOU that i am thanking.....i won't use names, but i know you'lll know who YOU are......

Thank you to the sweet peeps who comment on my blog and facebook pretty much all the time, it makes it all worth pouring my heart and soul into.  Thank you to the sweet peeps who believe in my art and share it with their audience with blog links.  Thank you to the sweet peeps at a magazine who are giving me the opportunity to share my personal creative reinventions with a huge audience.  To all my new sweet blog peeps, for revisiting and hopefully getting inspired by my whimsical ramblings. 

The one i will say by name, thank you to my sweet friend Rena Askey, a very talented artist who sent me this original watercolor card.  It's a doodle of me!  It amazes me that kindred spirits always find each other.  Rena was recently featured in Somerset Workshop Magazine.  

The quote rings so true to my art heart...  

"let the beauty of what you love be what you do"

I am so blessed to have you all, i appreciate you, and thank you.

p.s. I know this post probably sounded like a sappy Oscar acceptance speech, but it's from my heart and with YOU, i feel i have the prize already! 

 DECEMBER DAILY #16

my first giveaway!

Thanks for "skating on over", didn't you love those ice skates in yesterday's post??  They were created by Jenn Mason, editor of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine..... 

...and I'm so thrilled to be a host on the 2011 

Cloth Paper Scissors 
New Magazines Blog Tour!

 I've been invited to review Cloth Paper Scissors magazines for 2011 (what an honor!), share my thoughts and a host a magazine giveaway on my blog for each issue. 


And, we're starting right now, with "GIFTS", their first annual holiday issue!  


This gorgeous magazine is chuck full of original projects and fresh ideas for gift giving and holiday seasonal decor, like Jenn's skates, "Mixed Media on Ice" on page 32.  Cloth Paper Scissors "Gifts" $14.99, is  a collectible, super-sized treasure at 148 pages and can be found at Barnes & Noble or JoAnn's.  


...Or you can participate in my "Whimspirations Blog Giveaway" and WIN A FREE ONE!!.... 

...you will always find a unique spin on the most innovative creative ideas!

To enter, just leave a comment about the following topic 

by Saturday, December 18th:  

What are the 2 MOST APPEALING THINGS that attract you to VIEW and then REVISIT a blog???  Post your wisdom here, and I'll pick a winner on 

Sunday, December 19th to kick off Christmas week!

come back tomorrow.....

Baby it's cold outside!!  Skate on over to my blog tomorrow for my very first PRIZE GIVEAWAY!!  So excited to share, so see you soon!

DECEMBER DAILY #14 (for real!!!)

almost caught up....

A  journal page spread with a sunny color palette, 

in the sea of crystal white snow (here in NY) and red and green these days.  

Ranger Adirondack Color wash and water.  It's a quiet page, simple.  

So pretty, an inky whisper, it's my deep breath.

DECEMBER DAILY (still imagining) # 13

so many journals....

...so little time, especially this time of year!  Believe it or not, this is a helpful holiday topic, journals, journals, journals!  I LOVE MY JOURNALS, all of them! This pile represents the many directions my creative curiosities take me.  I draw, doodle, write, paint, mist, layer, color, and more.  It's a mood thing.  Sometimes you're in the mood to do one artsy thing, or another artsy thing.  Don't be afraid to explore, "be all over the place" with your experiments and techniques.  It will help you find your creative passion, some things will feel more natural and gratifying, and others will leave you frustrated. 

...especially this time of year, use your journals to reduce stress, take deep breaths, sneak off and clear your holiday head.  It's very therapeutic.  That's the beauty of journaling, you have page after page to try new things and find your artistic voice, and put your head and heart in a good place.  Sighhhhh.........


DECEMBER DAILY (pretending) #12