Studio A on the Blog Book Tour today!

My dear friend Andrea from Asheville, NC and Studio A is a wonderful artist.  Her pysanka egg designs are vibrant and lovely as she is! She created a workshop at artstream that became an instant favorite and we were sad to have her leave the Boston area for North Carolina. But she is flourishiing there in the community and making her beautiful happyfunlamps, her incredible pysanka eggs and living an artful life in the River Arts District!  She was also featured in my book and is part of the tour! Andrea is giving away one of her beautiful eggs and my book today so scoot on over to her instagram @avlstudioa to enter!

Love (lost and found) New Exhibit!

Over at artstreamstudios gallery we have a beautiful new tiny art show that just opened! If you missed it last night we have final friday Art Walk next week May 29th to send off Between Here and There encaustic exhibit AND a reception for LOVE (lost and found). Join us!

Blog Tour giveaway alert!

DJ and I had a show called O Canada! O New England at artstreamstudios - here we are looking pleased. And short. At least one of us is short.

A big thanks to DJ Berger over at cigar-tin stories blog for interviewing me today! DJ is one of my favorite artists and is also a fabulous writer of fiction. He's also giving away one of my books so hop on over here to his blog for details!

Book Tour :: A visit with Rebecca Emberley

check it out here!

My publisher, the highly talented Rebecca Emberley from Two Little Birds Books invited me to her studio to kick off the 2015 tour of Art for All Seasons.  So pleased to also offer a little sneak peek of the next book in the series as well! Head over to her blog to check it out right here. Here's the rest of the tour filled with DIY, interviews and give aways!

Carol Roll - May 20th
Two Little Birds Books (my publisher!) - May 21
Darryl Joel Berger - May 22nd
Daisy Adams Ellard - May 23
Chris Volpe - May 26th
Andrea Kulish - May 28th
Heather Smith Jones - May 29th
Lisa Congdon - June 1st
Jenn Ski - June 3rd
Bridgette Guerzon-Mills - June 4th
Rachel Blumberg - June 5th
Jennifer Hewett - June 10th
Lisa Solomon - June 12th
Blair Stocker - June 15th

Art for All Seasons Blog Tour 2015

I am thrilled to announce the 2015 blog tour of my latest book: Art for All Seasons published by Two Little Birds Books and available everywhere!  I was so privileged to work with a group of mega-talented artists for the inspirations sections of this book.  Below are the stops on the tour - each with something special to share surrounding Art for All Seasons! Each day of the tour I will be posting here and at Facebook with links to their tour stops!

Block printing lesson from Art for All Seasons inspired by Jen Hewett!

Below is a list of the stops!  Be sure to stop by their blogs and social media sites to learn more about their amazing talent and what they are up to in their part of the world.  Each stop is a rich experience with loads of inspiration from these talented artists as well as some giveaways - DIYs and even an interview or two with me!

 So bookmark this blog to check back here often in the next month for the deets on all the goodness and giveaways and visit these artists sites too!

Carol Roll - May 20th
Two Little Birds Books (my publisher!) - May 21
Darryl Joel Berger - May 22nd
Daisy Adams Ellard - May 23
Chris Volpe - May 26th
Andrea Kulish - May 28th
Heather Smith Jones - May 29th
Lisa Congdon - June 1st
Jenn Ski - June 3rd
Bridgette Guerzon-Mills - June 4th
Rachel Blumberg - June 5th
Jennifer Hewett - June 10th
Lisa Solomon - June 12th
Blair Stocker - June 15th

Make-It Monday! Fruit Prints

 

a beautiful print with simple materials! Great for the youngest and fun for older kids too. This is a great way to get started with patterns and sequencing for older children.  I make these prints with acrylic paint (it doesn't chip off when folded) on butcher paper to have unique wrapping paper on hand all year around.  Let's get started on this EASY project!

Materials:

acrylic or tempera paints

apple cut in half across it's middle to expose the star!

brayer (affilate link - thanks for the support)

sheets of paper as large as you wish - try:

recycled paper bags cut open and flattened!

waxed paper or paper plate to roll out the paint on.

Directions:

1. Roll out paint to make it smooth and thin.

2. Roll it onto the apple half to cover.

3. Press it down onto the paper.

4. Repeat with new colors or simply use one!

Sunday Coloring page

Just click on the photo and print a full size version of this coloring page! Enjoy your Sunday with some relaxing coloring together perhaps?  Tomorrow brings another Make it Monday art lesson too!

Monday Make-It: Glue Prints

 

 Glue Prints! Everyone loves glue and this project really allows creativity to flow - with simple materials and a bottle of glue! This is a great project to start today and pick up again later in the week as drying time is needed - at least overnight! The materials list contains affiliate links (thanks for your support!) to some materials.

What you'll need:

A bottle of liquid school glue

A stiff piece of card stock or mat board or cardboard

A brayer to roll the ink

A paper plate

Black waterbased printing ink

Lightweight paper white or colored to print on

Let's Make It!

1. Draw (or not!) your design on the stiff card or mat board. Squeeze out the glue to follow the lines you drew or make new ones!

2, Let dry overnight!

3. Roll out the ink on a paper plate until smooth.

4. Roll the brayer over the dried glue until the glue lines are covered.

5. Place the lightweight printing paper over the wet ink and rub the back of the paper with you hands in circular motions to pick up all the ink. Be careful not to move the paper once you have placed it or it will smudge - but sometimes that looks amazing too!  BE BRAVE!

 

6. Pull your print off and let dry for several hours. Make one for all of your friends and family! 

7/ You can add color with crayon, pastel or colored pencils as our artist in the first photo opted to do!  

If you try this project we would love to see the results! Post them on our Facebook Page here or comment below.  Want a monthly newsletter filled with free art projects and ideas? Sign up here 

If you liked this project please share it! 

Spring Arrives!

With Spring, comes some new goodies here at the poor neglected blog! I'll be kicking off each month starting in June with a FREE downloadable monthly calendar page which is ready to color - just like my weekly entries in the local paper The Sound.  It's a great way to relax and enjoy a few moments (or more!) with your favorite colors and art tools.

To get the party started I am throwing an extra one out there for warm ups today- just like the one above but bigger.  To download a full size image of the above justclick here !

Additionally we are going to present a free lesson each week that you can do with a child or on your own straight from our studios here at artstream! Stay tuned for that later this week...