It's that time of the Year: Annual trek to Brimfield

Today I thought I would share a few fun pictures from my annual trip to Brimfield this week. This year I took my son as all my other friends had scheduling conflicts and my husband couldn't take the day off of work. Since my son is 13 and it seems like all we do is fight and argue I thought it would be a great to spend the day together doing something we both love.

I'm happy that I asked him to come along, we had a great day and he went along with all my silliness, like the picture below, ha ha. Of course, I did lay down the law first thing! If you're coming here with me you HAVE to play along with the silly pictures.

A little fake smile, but that's ok.

Every year I take a picture of these funky latex glove forms, they are always waving!

I was so in love with these little rusted wire faces -- but I wanted them individually. I might have to make a few and put them on stakes...they really made me happy!

This foot was huge - my size 9 foot was the size of it's pinky toe, lol.

I thought this mask was kinda cool. He didn't.

Hey, hello again.

 
 Creepy baby parts in a cool jar.

Trims galore. Loved the way these were set up with similar colors together. It looked fabulous!

That's it for pictures. IT was the perfect day as far as weather, company and driving. I'm hoping to go back again this summer with my sweet friend that couldn't come this time. Crossing my fingers! 

THANKS for stopping by -- have a GREAT day.

It's Whatever's Time for May!!

edited to add: I just realized that I forgot to put the links over to Nat and Vic's blogs -- what can I say but SORRY gals-- it was midnight after a long day of driving and I'd been up for 20 hours. Please check out Nat and Vic's pages for May here:

• Nat: The Times they are changing!
• Vic: You May Not Know

________________________________________
  
13 CLOWNS WANTED

ALIVE

in connection with the disappearance of local man; Winston Whatever. A gang of thirteen men, women and children thought to be members of an elite team of Ninja Warriors posing as Circus Actors are targeted with the disappearance of Mr. Whatever.

Mildred, 10
Hazel, 23
Minnie, 29
Nellie, 42
Cora, 36
Fannie, 71
 
Melvin, 11
Roscoe, 45
Cornelius, 31
Orville, 53
Percy, 72
Horace, 38
Oscar, age unknown

Cordelia could hardly believe her eyes – she was overwhelmed and about to faint from the sheer shock of reading the headline “13 Wanted in Mystery Disappearance of Local Man!” What was more shocking to her was the fact that there were children and women involved.

As she skimmed the article, she couldn’t help but have a little hope that her sweet Winston would be home soon. Ever since those women had found the note the case had been moving along – he had to be found soon.

Oh please. Let him come home soon!  

PHEW -- I know, I managed to leave you hanging ONCE again! Stay tuned for June to see how this story turns out for the Whatevers!  

____________________________________________

 Want to play along?? We have just a few things to let you know about: 

• Vicki, Nat and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
• Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.
• If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you – just right click on it to safe it to download and show us your version of The Whatevers.
• There are no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER
• There are no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER
• There are no rules on the art form you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an art journal page – WHATEVER
• Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.
• These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission!
• If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.
• You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page 

In + Out Series WEEK!!

Today I wanted to share some links to my In + Out Series classes that I'm teaching over at My Creative Classroom. These are ONE lesson classes that I have offered once a month since the beginning of the year.

Some of them are technique classes and some of them are project classes.

But in each of them you get TONS of video and information. The Art Journal one that I had last fall was EXTREMELY popular -- so popular that we decided to run it again.

In the Watercolor for Stampers and In + Out Embossing classes you will learn everything you need to know to add these two beautiful techniques to your cards and stamped projects.

 

For the Easter class I'm sharing a sweet and easy way to make an Easter Decoration that everyone will love. (Note: While I realize it's not Easter right now -- you can use the techniques to create any project like this -- and what a SWEET Fairy House or other child's project it would be!)

Spellbinders Mix + Match was another EXTREMELY popular course -- in this class you'll learn tons of techniques and I'll share step by steps to create 3 creative and beautiful cards you can whip up in NO time!

 

I've included the links on each image so you can click on it to go to My Creative Classroom and read the entire class description, supply list and other pertinent information you might have.

For the In + Out Series I'm offering a special incentive if you sign up to take them all!! That means if you sign up for all of the new classes that run for the first time from January, 2013 to December 2013 you'll qualify for a FREE class at the end of 2013. However there are a few rules -- and I should say at this point that "In + Out Journal" is not one of the classes that qualify for this deal. So, if you want to catch up and qualify for the free class at the end of the year now's the time to enroll as I'm not sure if we will have another catch up week this year. 

And, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at the email address that is listed on the course information!

THANKS for stopping by -- have a GREAT day.
Catherine

Art Journal Round Robin

Today I wanted to share a fun project I did with some brave and creative women when I was at Kept Creations in Whitman, Mass last Saturday. I call this Round Robin Art Journal Page -- and it is a TON of fun. Great for anyone whether they can draw or not.

We started out drawing on a piece of 9 x 12 Mixed Media Paper from Strathmore. We each drew on our own page for 3 minutes -- which was a VERY long time. When the timer went off we sent our page off to the rest of the group and then drew for 1 minute on each of the pages as they came around.

I think we had 6 or 7 people in the Round Robin -- plenty of people to fill up EVERY page with unique, creative and beautiful shapes and images.

This week I had time to add some color to mine using the Sakura Gelly Pens.

The only problem with them -- not enough colors  :-D

I absolutely love the opaqueness of them!

And finally here it is without the quote I decided on:

The next time you gather with a group of art journalers or friends -- consider spending 15 minutes on a round robin!

Thanks for stopping by -- have a great weekend and HAPPY Mother's Day!

Mother's Day Hexagon Paper Quilt

Over on the Sizzix blog this week (yesterday) I shared how to create a beautiful paper quilt using the Hexagon die....head on over to see how I create that from start to finish!

You'll also see how create the pretty painted image!

While you are visiting, you should take a minute to check out all the beautiful inspiration the team has shared for Mother's Day! 

Check out my Project over n the Sizzix Blog!

Since Mother's Day is RIGHT AROUND the Corner (May 12th in case you need a reminder) and I thought I would share this sweet little canvas (5 x 5) that I created for my first post over on the Sizziz blog.

The post has a complete supply list, instructions and step-out photos to make is SUPER easy for you to create for a sweet Mama in your life!

Thanks for stopping by today -- have a great THURSDAY!! 

PS. don't forget I'll be at Kept Creations in Whitman, Massachusetts on Saturday teaching an all day workshop: Art Journal Toolbox -- hope to see you there!

In + Out Floral Collage starts on Monday!

Quick reminder that my next and new class that is starting at My Creative Classroom, in + out floral collage will be starting on Monday May 6th! Get all the details here!

Thanks for dropping by -- have a great day!

Weekend Re-Cap - Right at Home Scrapbooking

I was at one of my favorite places to teach over the weekend -- Right at Home Scrapbooking in North Attleboro, MA teaching one of my favorite art techniques -- monoprinting!

I just loved seeing the lightbulb come on for everyone as they watched my demos and then experimented with their own Gelli Plates.

It was a FULL day of printing -- in the morning I taught them all about the plate and lots of cool ways to get texture and use various tools with the paper and plate.

We laughed a lot. And got a lot of shoppers interested in what we were up to. We laughed a LOT!

In the afternoon I showed them how to create this lovely project. I think they all loved it. I know they all did an amazing job with playing and experimenting.

It was great fun -- can't wait to go back.

Next weekend I'll be at Kept Creations in Whitman MA teaching my Art Journal Toolbox class.
Check out their website here!

Have a great day -- hope to see you in a class soon! AND ps. if you are interested in having me teach in your store send me an email -- you can find my address in the Contact Me page listed on the right--->!

DIY Smash Art Journal

This week I'll be working with some girls art a local school to share with them how to make a smash journal from scraps of papers  and add paints and other elements. 

Here are some of the pages from my sample journal:

This is my favorite -- and the front page of the journal.

One with a little paint and stapled elements.

And a recycled Hallmark bag.

And what you can do with a few paint chips.

This journal was made with old scrapbook papers and my Cinch binding system -- so fun and easy! I think hope the girls are going to like it!

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a great day!

Right at Home Scrapbooking

For those local artists -- I've got two workshops this weekend in North Attleboro at Right at Home Scrapbooking! Friday night is an art Journaling Open House. We'll have a little snack and chat time and then make some art in our journals from 7 to 10.

On Saturday it's all about learning how to monoprint using the Gelli Plate -- from 10 to 4 with a break for lunch! I'll teach you everything you need to know to make beautiful collage papers. In the afternoon we'll create a beautiful project! 

For more information, check out their blog here or contact Lisa or Sharon at the store: 

Right at Home Scrapbooking
560 Kelley Boulevard
North Attleboro, MA 02760
508-695-9290

Or post a comment with your reply email and I will answer any questions you might have! Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by! 

RD 21 Challenge #2

Thought I'd share a fun art journal page I did a while back, it turned out to be a favorite from some of my recent pages. 

I started by collaging some vintage papers to my Mixed Media Paper from Strathmore and sketching my design. Once I had the design all figured out I traced over it with a permanent marker and painted the background areas white.

Once I was happy with the base art I used my Tim Holtz Distress paints to add some  color. My Gelly Pens were just right for some added details here and there. 

I do love the way it turned out. Thanks for stopping by today -- have an artful day -- and make some time to make a little art just for you today!

Weekend at Kept Creations: A VERY Late Re-Cap

I can't believe I forgot to post these fun project from my weekend at Kept Creations  in Whitman, Massachusetts. I had two classes of very FUN and inspiring ladies -- see for yourself!

The first class was a sweet Shadowbox ATC:

 

And I didn't get any photos of the second class -- but it was Watercolor Painting for Stampers and it was a HIT! I'll be  back on May 4th for an all day Art Journaling class -- so be sure to sign up while there is still space available.

Thanks for stopping by -- have a great day!