I’m so excited about Super Bowl Sunday!  Not because of the football but because of the art play with new and familiar faces!  The people I got to know teaching there in 2015 makes it an even bigger joy to come back and play…I mean teach 2 new workshops at Simply Said Stamps on Feb. 7th!

Sneaky Art Journaling
I used to struggle with letting go and creating loosely but I have found ways around that…that’s why I call this workshop Sneaky Art Journaling…because it is all about how to trick the controlling left brain into quieting down.

Once that left brain is settled down, I’m sharing how I keep it on the run with techniques using heavy bodied paints, glazing liquid, and different ways to apply the color. We’re not going to be using only brushes! I’m bringing all the paints, Stencil Girl stencils, and more!

I will have paper for you to work on but if you’d like to work directly in your own art journal, you are more than welcome to bring that to class!

Bring a variety of rubber stamps and a permanent black ink pad. How many stamps? 15 or so stamps…some big, some little, some fine, some bolder, a variety. If you want to bring more- feel free! If you want to bring fewer, I’ll also have some to share if you don’t mind waiting your turn.

Small brushes and a water container…what do I mean by small brushes? ¼” to ½” flat brushes. You can bring 1 and rinse it a lot or bring 4-5 and you won’t have to clean as much.

Only a few spots left in this workshop- you can find all the details and registration here.

Gelli Printing® with Geometrics

Join me for pattern play that combines both large and small geometric shapes as we build up colors on the Gelli Plate®. We’ll be hand cutting the large shapes and using StencilGirl stencils to get the finely detailed geometric shapes and patterns. The layers will build up directly on the plate and you’ll find out why they won’t dry out while we’re working on them! Plus, you’ll know how to take a so-so print and immediately make it a something special.

Bring a Gelli Plate®, soft rubber brayer, 5-6 colors of acrylic paints (for this technique I use a heavy body paint which is thicker and more opaque), white acrylic paint, scissors, and paper towels. I will bring everything else you will need.

This class is sold out but my newsletter people heard about this first…so if you’d like to be in the know (plus there are extra goodies and treats that are only in the newsletter), get signed up here.

 For this week’s Let’s Play link party, I’m upcycling an old picture frame, mixed media style!  This frame had no glass in it…no photos…and the backs were missing.  Why was I keeping it?  No idea but it was either time to get rid of it or add some color to it!

So how does this all help me play?  Starting with something that was headed to the trash takes all the pressure off.  What if I ruin it? Who cares, it was headed to the dump anyway!

It’s also handy to have an O.O.P.S. attitude because as soon as the orange hit the frame, I didn’t like it at all!  O.O.P.S. stands for Outstanding Opportunities Presenting Suddenly and when I have an O.O.P.S. attitude I see the opportunity instead of the “mistake”.  This Oops led me to adding patterns with stencils.

But it wasn’t my only Oops…and that is a good thing!

There was one Oops that was my absolute, hands down, favorite. It led me to doing something that I probably never would have done but am so glad I did!  And it’s all in the video!

Watch Upcycle an Old Picture Frame Mixed Media Style Tutorial on YouTube.

Stencils used: Rectangular Patterns for Play, Doodle It Inchie, and Rows of Triangles.

Fineliner video tutorial mentioned in the video can be found at https://youtu.be/pDr1G2UIrXI

This month’s giveaway is a $50 gift certificate to Dick Blick!  Link up what you’re creating (and you get a bonus entry into the giveaway for sharing your play) or leave a comment telling something that you liked about one of the photos shared. One comment per person.  Giveaway closes Sunday, Jan 31st at Midnight PST and will be announced the following Tuesday.

New to Let’s Play?  You can find out all about it, what you can share (and it is almost anything), why your play (yes YOURs!) helps others to play, plus other info here.

This post is just one of many Let’s Play link parties and each one has a video all about creative art play!  Click here for a list of them all and the most recent one will be at the top of the list so you can jump right in and share what you’ve been creating!

[inlinkz_linkup id=597547 mode=1]

This post is just one of many Let’s Play link parties and each one has a video all about creative art play!  Click here for a list of them all and the most recent one will be at the top of the list so you can jump right in and share what you’ve been creating!

Link up etiquette  

• If you see something you like, leave a comment on their photo or blog post and show some love – let them know they inspired you! 
• Share your recent play (any form of creativity is welcome) that hasn’t been linked up to a Let’s Play before ( limit 3 per week please)
• Add a link back to to this post so that others can find it, be sparked, and join the fun!
• New link party begins each Tuesday..sometimes even late Monday night… 
• Enter the giveaway for the $50 gift certificate by linking up (and you get a bonus chance for sharing your fun) or by leaving a comment telling something you liked about one of the photos shared in the link party. One comment per person on this week’s blog post.  The winner will be announced on the first Tuesday of the following month. You can find all the details about Let’s Play here.

You can upload a photo or use a URL or Instagram.  Not sure how to find a URL or link up? Check out this page of Let’s Play FAQs.

Want to put the button your blog? Just copy all of the the code from under the button.

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