What to do when kicked off my compy… PLAY!

My daughter needed to use my computer for about an hour or so yesterday… so I grabbed my notebook and headed up to the Art Studio in my loft…. The studio is filled with all kinds of inspirations, colors, fabrics and paints… but I only have about an hour or so before I have other commitments I need to be doing… sooooo… here I sat, with this basket staring at me that Miss Bailey had obviously been rummaging around in and had buttons and silks out too.  (No idea what she did yet, I'm sure I'll find some sort of art piece she made somewhere in the near future.)

Playing with Fabrics and my Go To art box

What have I been up to lately?

Someone emailed me the other day asking me what is in my "Go to" supplies box so thought this was something to show you today. Yes… I've corrupted another poor soul into mixed media. lol Sorry Janet!  But you're gonna love it! Just PLAY!

This box was just screaming at me to play with Sunday!
I keep this in my Living room with my most loved supplies so if I'm sitting and watching TV I can grab paper or fabric and play. :)  No, I can't just sit and watch TV and do nothing else. lol  Why waste the time? :D I'm usually found watching my Quilting Arts TV recording Sunday afternoons.

  The box is one of the magnetic closing types from Michaels Craft Store that I proudly got a whole set of assorted sizes on sale for 40% off AND I had a coupon for 20% off my entire order. Gotta love it!   Just close it up and keep it on my book shelf in there.  Looks all neat and pretty when closed up with it's vintage collage covering.  Miss Bailey has one too! :)

Supplies in the box?  Watercolor paper pad, usually a few pieces of canvas or muslin scraps, masking tape, Derwent Intense Blocks, Water Soluble Wax Pastels, 6 of my fav Pan Pastels, gum eraser, pencil and sharpener, 2 water brushes, small gesso paint and brush, spray bottle with water, assorted ink pens and markers (3 Pigma Micron Pens sizes 01, 03 & 08), Piolet Parallel pen 1.5mm, a black Stained Sharpie, black regular sharpie, white acrylic paint pen, assorted foam sponges, plastic mixing cups (recycled from dipping cups from fast food restaurant), 3 mini misters and several Tim Holtz Adirondac Alcohol inks and 3 silk squeeze bottles with needle tips and filled with acrylic paint in them for sketching outlines. All from Dick Blick's Art Materials.

What to do… what to do….

Always could use some more flowers! Where the heck is spring anyways this year? 

Yes, I'm spoiled, usually planting by now. 

 So I sketched some out using my Sharpie Pen on a piece of scrap muslin.

Added background color and flower centers with Pan Pastels using my foam sponges.

These are a newer item in my box lately as a gift from a dear friend… really wanted to play with them and color blending.

See Lynne!  I'm using them! LOVE THEM! Smoooooch!

Lynne is also one of my fellow designers, Aria, in the Follow Your Art series 

in case you haven't connected those dots!  

Added more details using my black ink Pigma Pen 

Can't decide if I'm done with it yet. Stay tuned. :)

Do you play with your art too?  Link me up in the comments here!  Would love to see what you're up to also!

Weekend Fun & new blog!

Little glimpses into what we did this past week and weekend here in the studio and Kara's concert. :)
The weekend was half lost because I had a high fever Saturday and spent most of it in bed.  But we tried to make up time for it. :)

Do you like the new blog?  I wanted to make my blog match my website and be 100% my own art.  The coding made me a little nuts last week but I was determined! lol  Spent 19 hours straight on it the one day.  Still tweaking, but almost there.  You might want to scroll to the bottom too. :)  ok, geek in me was really really proud of how I got those to appear and work.  I wanted somewhere people could see content by subjects since I'm usually all over the place playing with my art. :)  Hope you like!


My Kara had her Dance Team Christmas Concert and Kallie tested out my new iPhone taking movies. lol  I couldn't go Saturday as my fever was spiking.  Was very disappointed.  This this is the first time I have ever missed one of my kids concerts.
Still learning how to use the iPhone, and was also difficult because Kara's boyfriend saved seats front row and center, which was a plus, but hard to video.  Here's just one of them, but it's one of my Fav Christmas songs, so it's the one going up!

   
I also got a new canvas word art piece completed too!    Miss Bailey helped me of course, can't keep her away from the studio when Nana has something going. lol  I took my 8x8 word art pieces and made them fit for the canvas I had on hand.  Gotta love digi!
I already have abetter way to do this learning from the mistakes.  I had basic instructions from someone else to start, but already figured out a better ways to do this after seeing how it went.  Hope to get the other 2 done this week or next weekend.  First I created my inspiration art in digi from my Beautiful Mess 7 kit (funny how that started out from real life art scanned in and now is back into.)  I did create the alpha just for this as I went.  I printed here at home and put onto canvas. We had a lot of fun with this project! But then again, Bailey has fun with anything messy and sticky and has to do with a paint brush. lol
Sorry about the poor photos, but I'm learning how to take these on manual for practice. :)  See girls, I'm trying! LOL Not too bad for my first attempts right? ;)

We also made some new art quilting blocks.  This one is going to be a collage of blocked pieces.  I wanted to try out some different techniques and also some different needle tip bottles I got last week.  Much nicer for sketching with the paint.  And we tried out using the Inktense pencils too on these.  Has it's pluses but still like working with the blocks better for painting.  I found I had to add too much water to the sketched pencil work and that made the color bleed too much for what I wanted, but can think of times I'd like this too.  All play, that's how we learn. :)  This is now sitting on my sewing machine pieced together and ready to quilt.  Now… to come up with a kewl quilt pattern for the open area blocks. :)  Next one is gong to be poppies I think. ;) But Coneflowers and Daisies are my favorite flowers so several of these had to be them.  These are all Christmas gifts this year as cash is a little shorter than we would like.  Think they will like?

Hope you had a creative weekend too!

Feel free to link me up with what you have going on!  Love to see what others are doing in their own little art studios.  Doesn't matter if it's digi, fabric, wood or anything, it's all art!

Playing with a new art quilt

First don't forget to get your Day 3 freebie today in the shop to get 2 more pieces of the kit Art Journal Project!
And don't forget, on Dec 5th, I will pick 5 winners for $5 each coupons from all the comments from Nov. 20th - Dec 4th!

I have been really wanting to try my hand at negative watercolor painting, except, if you know me, it's going to involve fabric! lol  So got out my Inktense inks and just ran with it not sure where this was going to go.
I decided to do a 24" x 18" piece to keep it manageable.
The first thing I did was sketch out using white acrylic fluid paint with a 7mm applicator tip.
Bailey snapped this one of me doing it 2 nights ago.  Had to let this dry overnight.

So this is where I spent yesterday afternoon, playing to the muse and even Miss Bailey got into it with me blending colors. This was our first evening.  Sorry, my camera skills are not very good and Nicky isn't here to take her awesome photos! lol  

Close up in my dim light last night.

 Shot at my art table where I've been, just in case you're curious. :)

Today I added more color and now I'm looking at it wondering if I'm done with inks or not. lol  I really like how the flowers are standing out with this negative technique!  

I took it outside to get these shots cause Nicky is always telling me natural light is best for taking pics. (yea and her awesome camera too! lol)  Did my best Nicky, but these pics really don't show as well as I would have liked.  

A couple close ups.  Still wet in some areas, but it will blend a tad more as it dries.

So now I have the big debate… more?  Was thinking maybe some more color spotted above the flowers also to make them pop kind of like I did here of the left towards the bottom, but I am partial to the white space too.  And I want to keep the path of light going too.  Maybe some more leaves and branches blended into the background areas…. hmmm 

Then of course, I will have to add a butterfly, no garden should be without one right Marcie?! 

Maybe a quote… and figure out how I want to quilt this.  :D  Right now I have too many ideas so going to sit back and think about that for a bit.  

Now you KNOW somehow this will end up in a new digi kit right? lol  I do have December's Art Journal challenge to do this week. :) 

Off to "sketch" out a few more ideas.

Stay tuned! Cilenia 

Weekend Fun

So we went to the movies last night and saw Contagion.  Good movie by the way, a little too close to reality so it scares me more than a horror flick.  But I like those kind of movies. :)

So this is what I woke up to on my desk from my little Miss Bailey.  :) Come on, say it…  "Awwww!"  She's always making me happy little things and leaving them as cute little surprises to find. This little card will remind me how precious she is and how the littlest things can matter the most. :)  Kind of like getting flowers for no reason at all. (which is what she did yesterday, but from my neighbor's yard! lol  At least she asked first this time! )

So what does a girl do when she feels happy and inspired by such sweet little thoughts 

and wants to doodle and play?

Draw her wild hair that is reflecting back at her on her window! LOL  

ok, so I put it on a youthful face, cause this is NOT mine! lol  Now just to think of a way to use this!   Lynne seems to have it all figured out! lol Will have to see what she does.

And now I have tremendous urge to play today.  

These colors are screaming out my name sitting here beside me.

Which of course leads my eye to the sewing table and my almost finished latest art quilt.

Which in turn leads my chair from my desk and magically slides over to my sewing machine.

Guess where I'll be the rest of the morning in my quiet corner?

Well, until Miss Bailey gets up at least and then we both will be there with her on my lap sewing our happy hearts out. :)  Then we will be cleaning the pool, and tending to the gardens this afternoon enjoying being outside in the warm fall sunshine admiring the migrating humming birds taking roost in our tree for the winter. :)  

Enjoy your day and your weekend!  

Do something for yourself today that makes you feel happy!

Remember, you don't have a soul, you are a soul that has a body.

Inspiration Tuesday - Art for Healing

Most know that I am not only a scrapbooker of life, but I am also a Life Journaler who expresses in her art and creates a mixture of art journaling and a diary which I like to call my Visual Chronicles.  I also use digi art to create a LOT of wall art for our home and as gifts, but will save that for later.

Today I'd like to talk to you about using art and scrapping as a way of healing.  I believe expressing yourself in your art and getting feelings and emotions out using it is one of the best ways to start a healing process.  Many times I put all that negative on there and then paint over with possitive thoughts and words.  Sometimes I just need to reinstate my positive affirmations too.  It all helps!

I posted a little 2 weeks ago about needing some of these affirmations in front of me.  I created the page, printed it and put it above my desk.  It was filled with words of wisdom as a reminder to myself daily.  You can see it here.
I also felt the need to create a page about the negative feeling so I could get it out of my system and put it away.

Next time life decides to throw lemons at you, dig into your stash and journal it and make some lemonade. :)  I can just about guarantee you will feel better after.

Here are some samples from myself and a few of my "Creative Hearts" that I share with.  And if you so choose to share yours, please link us up here so we can give you a big cyber space hug and some love on taking that first step towards healing within. And it's ok, not to share too!  Took me a lot to post this one, but when I shared with a few very special friends, some of them were inspired to try it and have said how much it helped them too.  So my wish is to reach out to more and share.  We all know life is not always a bed of roses, but if we didn't have the bad with the good, the good would not be so wonderful when it did happen.

By me on a very sad day of realization

But this was me the very next day rejuvenated by releasing those negative feelings! 

By Betty Jo

By Valerie

By Gail

By Sabrina

Little Art Quilting, little Art Journaling, new products on sale

A little digi, a little inking, got a bunch of new products in the shop and I'm one happy camper today! Ahhh accomplishment!  What a great feeling. lol

So first here's how my morning went.  Had a bit of a let down yesterday and was still feeling blue this morning, but I was determined to pick up my petticoat and give myself some words of wisdom for the day to remember.  What you don't realize is I wrote all the negative journaling into the background and you can barely see the color of it through this… that's why they call art journaling therapeutic! :D Wirte it all out… then cover it up and put it away!

Credits: Beautiful Mess 4 - Mixed Media Kit Elements; Anna Aspnes - Art Paper Bkgrnd, Angie's Journal It - Exploration - Kit scallop elements and Angie's Altered Tags - Set 11 Dina Wakley Sihouette stamp.

One of my CTMs, Valerie, is just starting to get into Art Journaling, (yes, I corrupted another one lol), 

 anyways, she asked how I build my pages and wanted to see one from beginning to end… I responded to her…

"Hmmm down and dirty quick version?  

Start with an artsy background like I did, (or make one like we will in the class).

Place overlays, artsy mats, title work, play with positions... add journaling as it comes to you... play some more with placements and color for balance... will learn some more about that too in the classes.... change it all over... put it away... take out play some more... LOL  Get the picture? ROFL

Seriously... in real life and digital, I usually create sets of backgrounds as my mood strikes.  I have been known to create huge sheets of background canvas and cut up for a journal too.  I usually journal first most of the time because that's what drives me to Art Journal.  50% of the time I cover up negative journaling so it can just barely be made out it's there... bet you don't see it on this one, but it's there behind the final journaling in color... looks like splotches of color on the background.  Journaling is therapeutic and healing, get it out... fade it out... put it away and think positive. :)

Then I usually add my elements, paint some more... and play with it.   I do put it down eventually as you saw this morning. lol  :)

If you are just starting out... play fast and furious!  Who cares if it doesn't come out exactly the way you thought... it's for you!  And you don't have to always do journaling... lots of mine are just words or titles that are from my thoughts.  I'm in it for the play.  :D"

On to my next "do something for yourself today" affirmation. :D

Next I played on my art quilt and got it all ready for sewing a little wild.  That's my project for tonight… after dinner, after homework with kids and after giving Miss Bailey her bath. :) Or maybe 3am would be better. lol  Just something fun to do that I doodle sketched by the pool a few weeks back.

So her she is, all ready to sew.  This in on muslin and I use the Inktense blocks to paint and doddle everything with my Pilot Permaball Pen. Will have a nice home above my desk.  

And I got a TON uploaded and on Sale now through Saturday in the shop today too. 

Here's a few beautiful LOs from my team members Lynne, Lisa, Nicky & Beth! Wonderful job girls!

The items they used are all below. 

MultiPhoto Templates Artsy 1-6 Bundle

Also sold in 2 page sets

The bonus with these over the MultiPhoto Set is there is a top layer of a wet film plate overlay that you can adjust opacity or blending on to give your page a special and unique look and also a bottom artsy overlay layer you can also adjust your opacity and blending mode on to give your background paper an artsy and unique look.

MultiPhoto Templates 1-6 Bundle

And the coordinating Kit

Vacation Time

Updating my photo albums and new releases

Hi there!
I've been busy this morning updating my website with new photos, my newest releases and added a new album for my art quilting too!  Hope you find something here to inspire you either with your scrapbooking and/or artistic hobbies.

Look how easy my iWeb made this for me! :) Everything updated with links. lol

Beautful Mess http://www.cileniacurtis.com
Home - New Releases PU and CU
Mini Tutorials - Newest tutorial on creating Creases and Folds
Art Quilting - The beginning of a mini art quilt.  Actually the doodles here are how my new kit was created. :) Will update as we go and will blog our techniques later.
Bug & flower Art Quilt - Progress photos!  We are basting!
Scrap Pages - New page created from my newest kit Beautiful Mess 1
My Spaces - Update photos of the new Art and Sewing Studio


Here's a look at my newest kit Beautiful Mess 1 - Mixed Media and there's even a CU kit of the papers too! Beautiful Mess CU Textures and Papers
This started out with some doodling while out at the pool with Miss Bailey on some fabric.  Go figure right? It has turned into one of my fav kits so far!  

And check out some wonderful Layouts by my CT and one from me too for some inspirations.

From Nicky

 By me

From Lynne 

  

Sharing our Bug & Flower Art Quilt

Miss Bailey and I have been very busy working on her Bug Quilt and I decided to start posting some of our photos we've been taking.  It has been quite an adventure!

You can see all the photos in our Project Album "Bug & Flower Art Quilt" and read a little about how this came to be and where we are going with it.

But to give you a glimpse of where we are at, this past week we added the marshy grass backgrounds to the sides and the pond (that hangs over at the end of her bed), and are adding all the pond plants and critters now! YEAH!  Won't be long now before we can start adding the detail embroidery work and start quilting the whole thing!

Marshy grasses painted by Miss Bailey

First we used spray dye and then added with acrylics the pond colors.  It got very wet as we tried to get a real watery effect for the water.  The pond ripples will be added in with the quilting.

The pond beginnings of adding the plants and critters.

Mr. Turtle and his cat tails.

And now with our NEW folding craft table set up, we have plenty of room to work!  This was a bargain on sale at Hancock Fabrics and I had an additional 15% off coupon! Whoo Hoo! From $226 to $82 yesterday in store sale!

Check out this quilt! This is all quilted by a sweet gentleman of about 80 years old named Doyle Johnson. All designed by him and freehanded! Machine quilted of course, but DANG! I saw this in Boulder City, NV when a good friend and I went to see all the quilts at the Spring Jamboree.

Posting some close ups of this too. The pictures just don't do it justice. He even has little words hidden here and there in it like "Love" and "Life". Just stood there in AWE! Just had to share.




Doesn't this just look awsome?!? I'm impressed with not only the quilting, but the total design. All designed and drawn by himself.

If you happen to be in Boulder City, be sure to visit the little quilt shop called Fiddlesticks and go to the back of the shop to see this. And if you're a quilter, you won't want to miss Merry's little shop. All kinds of vintage fabrics and the sweetest staff. No matter what kind of project I am working on, they are always there to take the time to help. Had a design one day and Merry actually spent 2 hours with me helping me figure out the fabrics and yardages. :) She's the best! You can find them on the web too to get a peek, but the pictures just don't show just how cute this shop is. http://fiddlesticksquilts.com/
It's my FAVORITE quilt shop! And I've been to a LOT of them! :)

I will post a few more of the awesome quilts we saw later. Trying to get some names of the quilters. I sadly did not have mine done in time for the contest and show :( Next year!