I'm excited to share that I'm this month's StencilGirl StencilClub designer! Those of you who aren't already members might be wondering... what exactly does that mean?

StencilClub is a monthly club run by StencilGirl where you get an exclusive collection of three stencils shipped to you for every month that you're a member. (And there's no commitment, but trust me... it's worth it to stick around.) In addition to the stencils you also get a video tutorial and downloadable PDF from the designer for a project using that month's stencils. At $25, it's one of the best deals around.

My stencil collection for July is called Suzani and was inspired by textiles... Suzanis, that are traditional in Central Asia - particularly in Uzbekistan. Check out this reveal video to see the stencils, hear more about my inspiration for these designs, and get a peek at my samples as well as the project that we'll be making in this month's video tutorial.

Ready to see those samples up close? Here are the art journal pages and backgrounds that I made using each of the three designs.

And here are a few peeks at the project I'll be sharing in the accompanying video tutorial where I'll show you how to make this stenciled handmade art journal.

For those of you who are already StencilClub members, I hope you're looking forward to getting these in your mailbox sometime after July 15th! And if you aren't a member but want to make sure you get this month's collection, head on over to StencilGirl for the details and to join the club.

It's time to tap into your inner child... mixed media style. My latest workshop, "Mixed Media Menagerie," brings whimsical creatures, layers and texture, mark making, and more together into a fun and interactive handmade art journal.

The class is being held in partnership with Everything Scrapbook & Stamps in West Palm Beach, Florida and the live portion of the workshop will be held on June 27th from 1-3:30pm eastern time. In addition to the scheduled live, there will be one more video in the group for a total of more than 4 hours of video. Plus tutorials, patterns, a fun marbled paper technique, and more. 

I'm excited to announce my latest live online workshop, "Circle Play," in partnership with Stampers Grove in Scotland. In this live, 2-hour online class we'll mix collage, monoprinting, stamping, and mark making to turn circular stamps into fabulous flowers or other creations. We'll start with a layered background and then combine stamps, mark making, and collage to turn ordinary circles into a delightful mixed media garden.

I hinted yesterday in my post announcing my latest rubber stamp release with PaperArtsy, and now for the big reveal... I'm teaching an all new live online class, in partnership with Papercraft Clubhouse in Westbrook, CT,  featuring my new EGL09 stamp set (or the faces, motifs, or images of your choice.)

Pocketful of People will combine stamps and stencils, painted papers, pens and markers, and heat embossing to make fantastical art dolls that live together in a pocket in your art journal or another substrate of your choice. (Or just make the art dolls and skip the pocket!)

In our private Pocketful of People Facebook classroom, I'll share ideas for alternative options for faces - other stamps and images, as well as ideas for turning the pieces into something else if you prefer not to make art dolls. They can also be totems or even a uniquely whimsical Pocketful of Posies.

The main class is taught during a 2-1/2 hour Facebook Live in a private group, but it also includes exclusive downloads, an additional live video and demo from me where I'll discuss shape and form in choosing your images as well as ideas for coloring and preparing art parts for the class. (There's some homework, so make sure you join early to get ready!)

I'm excited to share that today is the big reveal for my next three rubber stamp sets designed for PaperArtsy. These sets continue the trend of 100% hand-drawn designs that mesh together influences from my travels and many cultures around the world. Below you can see each of the new sets (which are also now available in my shop,) as well as a few samples using them.

First up, EGL07 - the one I call my India set.

I love the motifs here... the lotus, hamsa, and elephant are all more detailed versions of some of my hand carved stamps. The paisleys and the octagon were drawn based on vintage Indian textile patterns. I love to combine these with my other stamps, but for the release I've done a few projects that just use this collection.

First up, a stamped background that could go onto a scrapbook layout, an art journal spread, or be done on a smaller scale for card and tags.

I've also made four little stamped spreads in one of my mini art journals (this one measures 3" x 3", so the double spreads are 6" wide by 3" tall.)

Next up is EGL08, or my Mark Making Circles set. I wanted a bunch of circles that were full of my own hand-drawn images and marks, but I also wanted to be able to layer them so I created two frames that will fit around all nine of the smaller circles. (I snip the centers out of my frame stamps so that I can see to position them when stamping around the pattered circles.)

​You can see more images of these art journal spreads on the official PaperArtsy release blog post.

For my Mark Making Circles set, I made a quick and easy card, stamping 9 of the 10 images in the set onto painted cardstock. Then I used acrylic and dye inks on collage for the background and repeated the circles to make a cruciform shape as the focal point. I love the versatility of this set.

The last set is probably my favorite of all of my sets so far... it's a bit of an odd duck, and a total and complete mix of many different influences combined with a large dash of whimsy. EGL09 is the one I call my "Tribal Faces" set.

I made a very quick card with a watercolored background and some marks to show how you can stamp these without doing detailed coloring and still get cool results.

I also made a set of accordion art dolls using all of the different elements in the set - not just the faces. To complete the look, I gave them all Ikat printed robes that I drew and colored based on Uzbek chapins and textiles. (I call this piece, "The Usual Suspects."

I also did one more mixed media piece that uses all three sets together:

You can see a short tutorial for the above piece on the PaperArtsy blog as well as more photos of the finished project.

I hope you like these new stamps as much as I do. And keep an eye open for an announcement tomorrow for a brand new live online class featuring one of these sets.

My latest live online class is now up and open for registration. "Stick, Stamp, Paint." is a fun 2-hour mini workshop hosted in partnership with Country View Crafts in the UK. The class, which is in a private Facebook group, will be live on June 6, 2020 from 1-3pm London time (8-10am Eastern in the USA.) 

We'll use inks, rubber stamps, collage, paints, and mark making to create layered mixed media artwork featuring a variety of fun techniques. I hope to see some of you there!

In case you missed it, I wanted to share that I recently did a free mini-workshop / demo in my Facebook group where I used my stencil designs from StencilGirl to demonstrate two ways I paint with stencils using both paint markers and acrylic paints. I also shared several other tips and techniques for adding your own personal flair when using stencils in your work. Although the live workshop is now over, you can still catch it on demand in the group.

(If you're not already a member of my Facebook group, you can request to join - please just make sure to tell me why you want to join the group when you submit the request.)

​Here are the finished pieces from my demo:

So if you're not yet a member of my Facebook group but would like to be, please come on over and join us! The video is still available in the group and I'm already planning more.

Also, for anyone who might be interested, the samples and finished demo artwork from this workshop are available in my shop.

I'm happy to announce the fourth in my series of live online workshops, "Cut Paper Collage." I've teamed up with The Artistic Stamper in Faversham, England for this latest offering where we'll combine PaperArtsy Fresco Acrylic paints, my PaperArtsy rubber stamps, paper, and scissors to snip our way to mini collage masterpieces. Head on over to get more details, lots of photos, and links to registration if you're interested in joining us. Hope to "see" you there!

Just popping in to let you know that my quarterly column on the StencilGirl blog is up! Today I'm sharing part of the process for making this mixed media piece, which includes stencils, stamps, heat embossing, and water-soluble cold wax mixed with acrylic paint and water-soluble wax paints. Head on over to see more photos and get details on how it all came together.

The original artwork from this post is available for sale in my shop.

I'm delighted to announce my third live online class, POCKETbook. I'm offering this class in partnership with my local store, Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, VA.

In the POCKETbook workshop we'll be making a 5" x 7" handmade book with embellished paper and / or fabric pockets as the pages. The class includes tutorials, patterns, exclusive downloads, and, of course, the live online class. It's all hosted in a private Facebook group, and registration is open now.

Signups have begun and we'll start adding students into the private Facebook group on April 16th. The live class is on Saturday, May 9th, from 1-3:30pm eastern time. I hope to see some of you there!