Happy Wednesday everyone!
Just wanted to let you know that I will be teaching a FREE Tattered Angels/Canvas Corp class tonight on Ustream. Just go to Ustream.com at 9pm EST tonight and type in tatteredtv or follow this link http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tattered-tv1.
Hope to chat with you all tonight!!
OH! And there is MORE EXCITING NEWS...
Tattered Angels is having their first ever Virtual WAREHOUSE SALE now through December 13th.
Check it out on www.mytatteredangels.com
I got home last week after a long but fun filled road trip down south...I taught classes in Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, several locations in Florida (plus Tattered Angels demos at the FL Scrapbook Expo), Louisiana, Tennessee and West Virginia. I had a blast as usual and met some wonderful ladies along the way! And I actually had a day off to explore New Orleans a bit!
In a few days I'll be heading off on my last big adventure for the year beginning in TEXAS! I'll be going back for 2 days and 4 classes at Scrapbook 'n Such in Wichita Falls then driving over to Signed, Sealed, Delivered in Rogers, Arkansas for a full day and 3 classes. From Arkansas, I'll make my way over to Memphis, TN for 2 days of classes at Eclectica. And last, but certainly not least I'll be ending my trip back at the fabulous Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie, TX!! Should be an awesome trip!!
Well, I'm on the road again and having a grand ol' INKY time as usual! Big trip this time...12 stores, 8 states, 27 classes plus demos and the Southern Florida Scrapbook Expo. It's been busy to say the least and my Pathfinder is keeping up with me like a trooper (yes, I drove to Florida from New Jersey!)
The full schedule of stores and dates has been up on the right sidebar of my blog and there is still room in classes at several stores (although I believe one of the classes in West Virginia was sold out already and the other was close to it). Tomorrow I'll be at Memory Mania in Prairieville, LA, Friday and saturday at Sweet Memories Scrapbooks in Carollton, GA and Sunday at Sassy Scrapper in Murfreesboro, TN. Then Monday at Almost heaven Scrapbooks in Charleston, WV and the last stop will be back at my friends in Chantilly, VA at Scrapbooks Plus.
I had a long drive today from Gainesville, Fl and I'm in Biloxi, MS at the moment about to hit the bed, but I thought I'd give you a quick update on the great stores I'll be at the rest of the trip and a little peek at 2 of te new classes I'll be doing along the way...
updated (scrappy version) Glazed Metal Effects
Imagine the Possibilities Class
Off to bed so I can get back on the road early tomorrow!
jen
It's been a while sine my last post...I was supposed to take half of the summer off, which never really happened because there is so much prep and planning for the busy Fall teaching season!
To catch you up...
I had a great big roadtrip over the summer around CHA where I drove from New Jersey and taught at stores in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, 3 in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. So many wonderful ladies, so many fabulous stores, so many new friends and a fun adventure!
I took off most of August except for a weekend at one of my favorite stores...the Queen's Ink in Maryland. Always so inspiring to spend time there with all of those talented ladies.
We spent a lot of time at lake by our house...
Spent a relaxing long weekend in upstate NY visiting my Aunt with my Mom...
September was full of once in a lifetime adventures. I was honored to be asked to teach at Art on a Limb with my awesome friend Cheryl Darrow from Ten Seconds Studios. Another truly inspiring event at a very cool camp where our wonderful host Lisa paterson had taken care of every detail. Creativity was flowing late in to the night from everyone and we shared a lot of laughs. Here's a little peek at one of the mixed media classes I taught...
The next day was 9/11 and the camp was literally right next door to the area where flight 93 went down. I spent the morning at the memorial and was completely overwhelmed by the feeling in the air there. One of the park rangers there told me that the flight came down at over 500 miles an hour upside down...with the amount of flying i do throughout the year, i can't even imagine and I have to admit, it scared the hell out of me. It was definitely something I'm glad I did and even got to see President Obama from a distance when his helicopter came in and as he addressed the families during the private memorial service.
After Art on a Limb, I had to hit the ground running and headed off to Europe again to meet up with Stayce DeWid for another adventure. We taught at one fo the best stores in Europe, Bikuben in Norway (not far from Oslo). We had some full classes with wonderful and creative ladies for 3 days, experienced an evacuation at our hotel due to a small kitchen fire and would you believe it...I FINALLY SAW A MOOSE!!!! I had to fly all the way to norway to see it, but he came running at full speed out in front of the car and I screamed in glee like a lunatic! Would you believe my camera was in the trunk of the car?! So that is something I will just have to treasure the memory of in my own little head I guess, lol. Amazing and beautiful animal and now that's something I can check off my bucket list!
From Oslo, we flew to Munich, Germany to teach another 2 days full of inky, glimmery fun! Scrappies is a wonderful warm place to be and the owners (Sandra and Gabby) are truly sweet ladies! We stayed in Sandra's absolutely stunning remodeled farmhouse which was completely amazing. They took us site-seeing in Munich and we even got to spend a day at Oktoberfest (another thing on my bucket list!) We had a complete blast and can't wait to go back again soon.
My next road trip is approaching very quickly and my studio is once again filled with piles of supplies and kits! I'll be driving from New Jersey and teaching at a great line up of fabulous stores in PA, OH, WV, IN, IL, MI and WI (with a possible few more stops in the works) plus CHA in Chicago...whew! LOTS of prep work but it's always worth it. I absolutely LOVE doing these road trips!
Today is the first day of summer vacation for my kids...is it wrong of me to bribe them with the ice cream man to help me make kits?? LOL
I'll be updating the full schedule for this trip...as well as the southern road trip I am working on for October down to Florida as it's finalized. In the mean time, I wanted to share a few peeks of one of the new classes I'll be teaching in July. I call it the Distressed Denim Book. This one is LOADED with texture and techniques! Tim's new Distress Stains, new stamps, Studio paints, embossing techniques, a little fun with bleach (yes, bleach...PLEASE wear old clothes to this one! LOL) fabric, denim, burlap, prima lace, Lots of Tim's dies and texture fades, sticky back canvas, Ranger's new Glassine paper, Crafters Workshop Templates..amd my favorite new Basic Grey "Out of Print" papers!!
Can you tell I am really excited about this one?!?!
I'll be debuting this one at he Scrapyard in Duncansville, PA next Friday July 8th for the first class of the trip! After that, I have it booked at Almost Heaven Scrapbooking in Charleston, West Virginia, Cafe Crop in Crown Point, Indiana, and The Scrapbook Store in Greenfield, Wisconsin so far...
Hope to see you there : )
jen
My friend and fellow teacher Stayce DeWid joined me on this not-so-little road trip through 5 countries. We had a blast but were so happy to be coming home to our own beds after 2 weeks. Our journey began in Frankfurt, Germany where we rented a funny little car that kept beeping at us for unknown reasons (no, the manual didn't help because it was in german!) We spent our first day driving across Germany, stopping at a few castles and cute towns along the way...all the while giggling over the road signs...our favorite being "Ausfahrt" (we think it meant exit, but it kept us laughing for days)!
By nightfall we made our way across Austria to Vienna where I had to teach 5 classes for Vienna Impressions. I was pretty impressed that we made it that far without a GPS but my confidence was shot after driving in circles in Vienna for a few hours...so much for google maps! LOL lets just say the next day I hopped out of the car at a red light and ran when i realized we were by a media store where I could buy a car adapter to get Stayce's GPS to work for the rest of the trip ( we forgot the car charger). I forgot to warn her that I have a tendency to just hop out of cars when i get excited about something : )
Vienna was wonderful. it's a beautiful, ornate city with so much culture. Love it there!
The classes in Vienna went smoothly and i was happy to see some old friends again and meet new ones!
From Vienna we drove to Salzberg, just to see the city and have dinner. Gorgeous!
Our next stop was Munich Germany to teach at Scrappies. I have to say that I have completely fallen in love with Bavaria. the people there are so welcoming and friendly...even when we couldn't understand each other at all it was still a great time! Sandra and Gaby at Scrappies were wonderful and even took us to experience a typical Biergarten where we got to drink beer with lemonade (Awesome!) and we learned a little German to get us by the ordering process and toast our new found friends. I so wish I remembered I had my flip camera in my bag because this was a completely hysterical night and would have made for a very funny video : )
Looking forward to going back to Scrappies at the end of September for 2 days of classes (and a little Octoberfest experience too!!)
We had a few days off to play after Munich so after an absolutely stunning drive down the romantic road in Bavaria we stopped to see Neuschwanstein castle...
we headed off to PARIS to play for 2 days! This was Stayce's first trip to Europe so we had to do the Eiffel Tower!
and Sacre Ceour & Montmartre one of my favorite places...
(I bought one of these paintings for my collection this time!)
After fighting rush hour Paris traffic for a few hours we drove up to Belgium to teach at Tiny's Hobby the following day for their annual scrapbook weekend. Belgium is always fun and this store amazes me with SO many unique crafty things in one place. Besides paper arts, they also have beads (which is dangerous for me) and beautiful yarns plus all kinds of other goodies. I taught a wonderful group of ladies first and then I did a little damage shopping while Stayce taught! hee hee!! it's no wonder my bags are always heavier coming home : )
We took a slight detour after class to have dinner in my favorite square in Europe...Belgian waffles in Brugge! YUM I'll have to add some pictures when Stayce has a minute to put them on Snapfish for me, my camera battery was dead that day...
Then off to the Netherlands!!
Since it was Sunday, they only really had time for one workshop so Stayce taught at Paper & Pictures in Doorn. I've known the owner Truike for years but this was the first time I've been to her store and let me tell you...it is absolutely fabulous! We had another fun day there where i got to visit one of my favorite Dutch pals monique...LOVE this girl!!
This was our last day of teaching so we had the rest of the trip to play and spend time with some of my most treasured friends in the whole world...Lida DeWitte, her awesome daughter loeske and Hetty who always tells it like it is and keeps me giggling! It's never long enough when I get to see them, but we spent a day in amsterdam and showed Stayce some of the sights. This was my 19th time in Holland and I always see something new, but miss my friends more every time I leave. I cry and want to take them home with me each time I leave...Love you guys!
SO, I'm happy to be home but missing Europe already. I definitely did a lot of my most favorite thing...sitting in outside cafes, having a perfect cappucino...just taking it all in.
jen
I have to say, I was excited when I was invited to be a Guest Artist for Canvas Corp!
There's just something about natural canvas that truly inspires me and brings out the mojo.
I created the base of this 6x12" multi-media art journal entirely with Canvas Corp goodies...natural canvas, burlap, natural corrugated cardboard, white corrugated cardboard, canvas and burlap shapes...the possibilities are endless!
I began with a piece of 12x12 canvas fabricpage and cut it in half for the front and back covers of the book. I used a damask Glimmer Screen from Tattered Angels for a pattern and sprayed over it with Glimmer Mist.
To add further depth to my images, I applied some coordinating Distress Ink colors over the mask once the Glimmer mist dried.
On the left side of the cover I gathered a strip of burlap with a DMC floss running stitch and adhered with Facri-Tac from Beacon. Next to that I looped some twine and stitched down with more floss.
Next I had to make a decision which canvas shape to use...which probably took longer than the whole project because there are so many great shapes to choose from! For this I went for my Gelatos from Faber-Castell (which are awesome little glimmery crayons that blend beautifully with water!) I chose these because I wanted an easy two-tone effect with a darker edge. I just scribbled loosly where i wanted the color and used a big paint brush with water to blend. To be honest...I was slightly giddy at how much fun these were to play with on canvas!
I stamped a title with turquoise and brown acrylic paint on another piece of canvas and stiched with floss over the heart shape. On the right side of the book I stitched one of my Great-grandmother's big buttons and used a triangle/pennant shaped burlap to wrap around from the back cover to the front for a working button closure.
To give the covers stability, I used a 12x12 piece of corrugated cardboard (cut in half to 6x12). I tore some of the outer paper off and painted with a cream colored acrylic paint, then dry brushed turquoise paint over that. I used this technique to add color to several different varieties of Canvas Corp's cardboard for the inner pages (my new obsession is going to be their white cardboard - YUM!)
I'll be adding finished pages to this every so often and will share those on my blog as well.
I hope this little bit of inspiration gets your mojo going too!
Jen Starr
Just a quick post today to let you know there are only a few spots left in all 3 classes I'm doing this Sunday (march 13th) at Creative Inkling in Lahaska, PA. Here's the schedule...hope to see you there!!
9-12 Altered Journey mini-Book (you'll be able to choose your own colors)
1-4 SHabby Chic Mini-Book
5-8 Glazed metal Effect (Colors and words will be your choice)
