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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

What's in store for you this April?

WOW...April starts tomorrow...and boy, oh boy...the things that are waiting for you!!

A month full of crafty goodness all happening on my blog, Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube!




Kicking off this month of surprises is the launch of my new website einatkessler.com on Aril 1st. I feel like a proud mother sending her kid off to school for the first time...nervous,excited and happy!


In honor of the launch I've written a special blog posts series about the 4 things you need to know about Mixed Media. A new post a day for four days.




Giveaways Alert! 
Yes...  four of them...one for each week of April...how fun is that? The first one is packed with crafty supplies you definitely want to have! 

We're going deep... a series of grand tours of my new website, craft studio, blog and new Etsy shop. I'll share with you all the new great things in each of them as well as answering all your questions about what goes on behind the scenes!

A new resource center about maximizing your supplies and frugal crafting will be introduced this April. Tips & Tricks about how to craft more and pay less will periodically be added. The first two posts will be available in honor of the launch! 



Projects share, Saturday MIXTRAVAGANZA and DT projects will also be more festive than usual and all especially for the new exciting addition to my crafty family!

Special offers, sales and crafty opportunities will be offered throughout the month for everyone who stops by. 

I almost forgot!! A crafty amazing birthday party towards the end of the month to celebrate my 43rd birthday!

What an exciting month is waiting for you...
Can't wait to start!


Saturday, March 28, 2015

Wall of inspiration: Spray Ink Background

This is the second canvas in the "Wall of Inspiration" series of mixed media canvases I'm creating for my studio's wall. I know I said small canvases but I couldn't resist creating a full size 12X12 canvas for this amazing tree branch I found one day. You can find the first Wall of Inspiration canvas here.



I found the branch on a trip we took with the kids and a group of friends. This is how I found it, on the ground, among other branches that fell from the trees around. It was so perfect, I didn't have to cut anything or make it smaller. The size was perfect, it looked like a miniature tree more than a branch. It had a movement to it, because all the little branches were growing in the same sideways direction, which was beautiful almost like it's blown by the wind...like I said...amazing!



I knew when I saw it - it would look great on a canvas! I love adding natural elements to artwork. It's like bringing nature in and creating an art in synch with the world and mother nature. I wanted to create a simple background that would be colorful but not too layered with patterns and colors so my tree branch would be lost in it. I created a two tone colored background using only spray inks. They were colorful on one side but transparent on the other so unlike acrylic paint they gave a colorful yet light background.



I attached the tree branch and added the sentence. After all the point is to be inspired by words and not be distracted by the design. Check out the step by step video tutorial for the full process.



Don't miss out! Keep up with all the crafty goodness by subscribing to the Einat Kessler creative newsletter

Have fun creating!
Einat


Tuesday, March 24, 2015

How to use unsuccessful photos on a layout

In the digital age we're not afraid to take pictures and photograph things because we can always delete it! But I still have old photos which are not so successful to say the least and it really bother me that I can't do anything with them. When I say unsuccessful I also mean blurry photos but mostly un scrapable photos. Those photos which don't tell any story, which have unwanted people in the background or not so nice facial expressions. The photos where somebody else took for me and I wish I didn't ask because they are too close or too far or not what I wanted...you get the picture.

I challenged myself to use them and come up with a way to create layouts with them. Here is what I came up with...


The first layout is a collage. Many small photos I cut from the original photo. I cut the faces that were lost in the noisy background or were too far to see. I used Blue Fern Studios' Marrakech Panel to create a grid to house the small photos. I sprayed the chipboard with several colors and added a little white gesso and then separated the inner pieces. I arranged the grid, the inner pieces and the pre cut photos on the page and just added a few cut pieces from patterned paper.


You can watch a step by step video tutorial that I created for Blue Fern Studios to check out how I created this layout. Just click here.

For the second layout I used a cut image of my son which I cut out of the photo. I always wanted to use this photo but he always seemed to angry in the photo and I didn't know how to work with that. The idea I had was to use "This is my Life" chipboard by BFS and add something to it. So the title became: "Mom...this is my life!" which fits that angry face.



For the flower garden I used flower chipboards by BFS and colored them with Aquarelle pencils and a water brush. Then I "planted" them in the sprayed cheesecloth I used as grass/flower bed. I also added some paper flowers to have a rich garden fit for spring.

I hope this has inspired you to challenge yourself to use your not so successful photos. Which ones would you use first?

Follow me on Facebook and YouTube for more crafty treats!Have Fun Creating!
Einat

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Set Your Creativity Free!

How many people do you know that have no creativity at all? They are locked in a structural, boring or colorless thinking. Well...I believe there is no such thing! Everyone has creativity within them they just need to set it free! I created this art journal page to describe this process in color and images.


It's so much fun being on the right side of this page, where your mind is full imagination and the creativity is flowing. That side is full of colors blended together, doodling and shapes and lots of texture. On the other side the colors almost don't exist and if they do they are hidden behind a wall of white noise and distractions.



Setting your creativity free is as easy as this page! I started with stamping and doodling creating a gradual effect of going from straight lines and stamping to curves and swirls. Then I added color, going from white on the left to brighter more vibrant colors on the right.



I added texture with modeling paste and more random stamping and doodling. Finally I added the sentence that tied everything together.


Make sure to check out the step by step video tutorial for the complete process and all tips and tricks!
Follow me on Facebook and YouTube for more crafty treats!

Have Fun Creating!
Einat

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Altered Steampunk Wood Frame

One of the things I decide to do this year is use things in my stash, upcycle and alter. I have too many things cluttering up my little studio and finding new ways to use things that I have is not only challenging my creative mind, which is a good thing, but also declutters my room.



For this steampunk frame I used an old wood frame that I started about 6 years ago, yes...I had it for 6 years! Altering a wooden frame is easy - all you need to do is prime it and then embellish! I gave it a steampunk look with all kinds of embellishments that I have in my stash.




The idea behind steampunk is a combination of industrial and victorian. That means you need to combine industrial looking things like cogwheels, pipe parts and hinges with more soft romantic things like flowers, buttons and keys. Some of the things I used are: cogwheels, clock parts, washers, pipe parts, hinges, bottle caps, zippers, spring, metal flowers and buttons, key and all kind of metal embellishments and trinkets.



Use a strong adhesive to attach everything to the frame and then decide if you want to cover it or leave it untouched. I covered it with acrylic paint and spray inks. You can also cover it with gesso and just spray.

  

Watch the step by step video tutorial to find out how the entire process works and get some tips on where to get all those findings and embellishments.

Follow me on Facebook and YouTube for more crafty treats!

Have fun creating!
Einat

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Ready, Get Set, DESTASH! Love Story Mini Album

Every now and then I believe we must go into our stash pick up a few things and use them in a project. Half finished sticker sheets, rhinestones, rub-ons etc. use old stuff to make room for the new. Sometimes we don't even remember what we have and we buy new products because we don't realize we already have what we need.
This mini album is made entirely with leftovers from my stash and one 12X12 double sided cardstock.


Here are the steps you need to follow to create a project from leftovers:
1. Decide on the project you want to do. It can be a mini album, layout, home decor piece etc. You can create it for yourself or as a gift.
2.  Pick a theme and a color palette. Deciding that will help you pick out different products that match together and will look great on your project.
3. Go to your stash and take out everything that fits the theme and colors you decided.
4. work on your project with as many products as possible. Be creative and try to think of new ways to incorporate embellishments, papers and other products in your projects.
5. Works in stages. Create layers, Starting from paper and stickers and moving on to the smaller embellishments like flowers and rhinestones.





Purging your stash from old half used supplies is not only fun it decluttering your work space and your mind. It's like going to the craft store and getting new stuff! You will find things you didn't know or forgot you had.






Check out the video tutorial for step by step instructions to create this mini album.


What will be your destash project this weekend?
Follow me on Facebook and YouTube for more crafty treats!


Have fun creating!
Einat

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Blue Fern Studios March Sketch

Welcome to Blue Fern Studios' March brand new sketch! Believe it or not it's already March. I can feel spring around the corner. Love that floral swirly frame. Of course you don't have to use flowers or a frame, you just need to have fun and do your thing!  




One lucky winner, selected by a random draw, will receive a prize package of Blue Fern Studios chipboard! Go over to the Blue Fern blog and check out all the great layouts created by the DT and submit your layouts.

Have fun creating!
Einat

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Life is Made of Pieces: Mixed Media Art Journal Page

Life is a series of bits and pieces of memories, experiences, people and places that come together in a beautiful grid. This is something I've been thinking about lately and one day I just saw an image in my head of this art journal...
I guess it's true what they say: artists think in images...


This is one of those projects I knew exactly what I wanted to do right from the start. I created a grid with masking tape and starting layering different mediums and colors on my page. I started with covering large areas of the page and worked my way to smaller and smaller patterns.




Color spraying, acrylic paint, stenciling, stamping, doodling and lettering. This art journal page has it all! I used bright vibrant colors, because that's what life's all about right? Each layer slightly overlapping the other, revealing and hiding at the same time. That's what art journaling is...expressing who we are, what we think and see and how we feel.




I worked on the page with out worrying about the lines of the grid and when it was ready I removed the masking tape. The grid was perfect! The lines were a little too white for me so I added a little color. Finally I added the sentence with a black pen and some gesso to make it more visible.


Check out the step by step video tutorial for all the tips and tricks of this art journal page.

What experiences and feelings do you art journal about?

Have fun creating!
Einat