Homegrown Hospitality

Giving Thanks

Hello November

Make a deal with yourself to start off a new month by making a choice to .. Happy November.

Introducing Tuesday Tutorials

Today is Tuesday and I am starting something new called Tuesday Tutorials.

Most of the time I am going to be very elementary in explaining how I create something out of something else. Today's project was inspired by last years pumpkin and also my LOVE for the ART PAPERS I make with the Gelli Plate.  Now don't worry if you don't have a Gelli Plate because I will give you some ideas on how to create something similar to what I do...

Here we go!

I started by grabbing all of my Fallish/Pumpkinish colors of paints and sprays, some white paper (I use printer paper because it is lightweight but durable) my beaten-to-death Gelli Plate and my equally beaten-to-death Brayer.

Basically, I am using the Gelli Plate as a place to mix my colors and hold my paint so that I can "stamp" it onto my papers several times.  If you do not have a Gelli Plate, simple spray papers in the colors you want and/or load up your brayer with acrylic paint and "roll" it on on different directions. Lay stencils on your Gelli plate and stamp designs onto your papers or lay stencils down on your paper and use spray colors to create a design.

Let your papers dry completely before using them on a project.

For this project, I am using two random "squarish" blocks of wood that I had, the paper I made  and a burlap "ribbon" that came off of a package of really cute box of jingle bells that I bought at TJ Maxx. 

(the top pumpkin in the picture below is from last year but I wanted to see how they would look stacked before I started) and really, the rest is as simple as it looks....use the paper you made to wrap the blocks. I do not want to make them permanent pumpkins (or I probably would have painted the blocks) because if you look at the three blocks stacked together, it is going to make a dang cute Christmas tree, so I just taped the paper to keep it together, you know, like you were wrapping a package.

Using the Burlap ribbon and more tape, I wrapped the blocks, tied a bow and bam, done. This concludes the very first Tuesday Tutorial!  Happy pumpkin making!

Miscellany Starts In Florida

I am headed to WhimSoDoodle in Florida today to teach the first two classes in my Miscellany series this weekend (there are a few seats still available just sayin) and I am kinda excited. We are going to create with paint, stencils, Gelli plates, paper, ink and make a big ol' creative mess together.

As much as it is about the outcome, it is equally important about the process, the inspiration we will gain from color combinations and the happiness we chose to have while creating with each other. My intention and hope for 2014 is to get out to a store near you, so if you have contacts with a local store or gosh, if you have a store, send me an email at homegrown1(at)att(dot)com and let's make a plan. I think this series is the beginning of something special for all of us!

See you soon Florida..

Instore and Online Workshops

There are lots of things coming up and I will be going over them in a newsletter but thought I'd share with you here, you know, in case you don't get my newsletter.

Do you get my newsletter?

This time next week I will be on a plane headed to St.Petersburg Florida for three different workshops at WhimSoDoodle! If you missed the "Beautiful You" ornament class last year, I am doing it again and this year there will be slight options to how you can create your ornaments... I am also introducing the first two "Miscellany" workshops at WhimSoDoodle. Workshop one is called MISCELLANY-Making Art for Art.

What is Miscellany??..It is mixing an assortment of items together, in this case, to create art and that is exactly what we will do in this workshop. Together, we will spend time playing, experimenting and creating with the popular Gelli Plate, acrylic paint, paper and stencils to create one of a kind art paper that can be used to create art with MISCELLANY-Making Art for Art.  The second workshop in this series is called 

MISCELLANY-Making Art from Art, Part Two 

In this workshop, we will create art to be used in your art journal, cards for your “Project Life” albums, “thinking about you” inspiration cards, tags & more using the art papers you made in Miscellany Art for Art.  I will also share with you my own stash of papers that I have been making!  Together, we will spend time playing, experimenting and creating Art From Art that will be perfect for gift giving as well as for your own home and best of all we will create a brand new art journal! 

If you can't come to class one, NO PROBLEM! Come to class two and use my stash to create art from art!  Everybody is welcome! 

To read all of the information on my workshops at WhimSoDoodle, click here.

In November I will be teaching the "Beautiful You"ornament class at a LOCAL store...here in the OC!!!  I will be teaching this class two times in one day...one time for you early birds and one for you later gators. Details will be included in my newsletter...do you get my newsletter?and speaking of the OC, I am excited to announce that I will be teaching at this store on a regular basis starting in January and the details will be..you know..noted in my next newsletter.

Here are a few pictures of some of the other things I am working on for the next few months which lead us into the new year...

52 Pick{ME}Up 2014

Off to write the newsletter...

Do you get it? If you don't, and you wanna, just go up to the top left sidebar and click on the word Newsletter.

Hope to see you soon!

   

 

 

Coming Soon

I have just finished typing up all of the information for three new classes for the fall, both in-store and online!  Here is a little peek at what is to come.... Together we will create art papers that we will then use to create art...
to encourage, remind and inspire ourselves and others... I am excited to share all of this painted creative madness with you this fall and into 2014 where we will create ART from ART.
Information for this and other classes will be sent out via newsletter email (not on the list??? go here) and can always be found here. If you have a store, classroom or a big ol' dining room table and would like to host a class, send me an email me at homegrown1(at)att(dot)net and let's make a plan!

Miscellany - Paint

Like I mentioned last week, in order for me to teach you, I need to teach myself and that is exactly what I have been doing the past week, this time with paint.

All kinds of paint.. and all kinds of color combinations on all weights of paper making all kinds of art from art and I am ready (& excited) to teach you how to make art from art.

New dates and locations posted soon as well as the option to purchase my hand painted papers so that you can make art from art.

Walk the Walk, Talk The Talk, Art From Art

I have spent a little time rereading my own words, like this post about fear, this one from 2009 about battles and this one from 2006 about being thankful. Good stuff, good reminders.

Now, for your visual pleasure, just a few things I have been working on out in the ol' shead-teau.  Part of my DIY "Miscellany" line. (more on that later)

Today, whatever you have been putting off...get up and go do it!!!

FAQ - What's On My Playlist?

Q: What is on my playlist

A: Miscellany (a whole lot of random songs)

Because I am one of the last humans with an iphone, I have not conqured the whole "playlist" thing yet (and it is a good thing I have teenagers to teach me how.) I am still pressing fwd when a slow song comes on when I am running or when a fast song comes on while I am painting.

I call my music Miscellany because truly, it is such a huge mix that you at some point may either laugh or say "What??" outloud.

It goes from The Avett Brothers to Elton John to Metallica, over to Pink, then to Selah and Brad Paisley, skips over to Five for Fighting and The Fugees, back over to Jeremy Camp and Jack Johnson, and eveything inbetween, well and Bon Jovi, DUH.  Even got a little Kenny Rogers, Uncle Kracker and U2.

Here is just a look at what is on my playlist..

Don't want to bore you...told ya it was Miscellany.  Just like me.

PSA from a FAQ

The is a Public Service Announcement based on another FAQ

Q: How do you come up with the ideas you come up with?

A: It just happens.  It happens because that is the way I was created. (do I sound like Lady GaGa???) It is a gift, but not a gift to keep. A gift to share.

That is the best and only way I can explain my creative endeavors and when it happens, where I just haul off and starting creating up a storm, out of things I have already created, that assures me that I can teach you.

Thanking God for my gifts and excited to share, teach and create with you.

To be put on the interest list for this and other upcoming workshops, just click here and scroll down!

That concludes this Public Service Announcement.