Nothing But Love for Helmar

In The Studio

But after two years, I decided to step down from the design team to make room for some new blood. My last post went live yesterday.

Another reason for stepping down from this amazing team is that I just don’t have as much mental bandwidth to create as I used to. And while the design team deadlines ensure that I’m creating something each month, some months the only things I finish are design team projects. Meanwhile I have personal projects that keep getting pushed to the side, things to do around the house (fun, decorating things not just chores) that don’t even get started, and only occasionally will I steal the time to do some work-related designing. I also have a lot less time to spend online, so I feel like I’m letting down the social sharing and promoting side of being on a team.

At the same time, design teams are amazing for pushing me out of my comfort zone and trying new things. Not gonna lie, finding out about new products and promotions ahead of the general public is also nice.

I’m still a member of the Imagine team through the end of the year and if they gave me the option to stay on for another term I’m not sure I’d want to say yes. Design teams and creative teams are a great way to keep in the loop about trends and collaborate with others, plus you just learn so much and meat fabulous people through the process that I wouldn’t want to give up on teams entirely.

Helmar is currently looking for those new designers, so if you’re interested in trying out for the team, check out this post: Helmar Creative Team Call Out for October 2016

Excuse Me While I Make a Scene

In The Studio

Over at the Imagine Crafts blog, that is!

My latest project involved stamping on the pages of a Clear Scraps album that I’ve been holding onto for absolutely ages, just waiting for the right project to come along. Inspired by my renewed interest in stamping and the memory of seeing the multipane camera in the One Man’s Dream exhibit at Disney World (it’s a shame that’s closing at Disney Studios), I combined different styles of stamps to create this scene in a book.

DSCN3298

The display at One Man’s Dream, Disney Studios (2013)

My much-smaller interpretation!

My much-smaller interpretation!

You can find the step-by-step play-by-play right here: Making a Scene on Imagine Crafts

And don’t forget to check out my other Imagine Crafts project where I turned some papier mache boxes into faux stone lidded beauties.

Black and white marble treatments and a little lapis lazuli for good measure!

Black and white marble treatments and a little lapis lazuli for good measure!

For the how to, see this post: Faux Stone Finished at Imagine Crafts

That lapis lid is, by far, my favorite one of the three. The little flecks of gold Creative Medium peeking through the dark blue paint… swoon!

* * *

This weekend is the annual Rose Festival in Thomasville with the parade tonight and Art in the Park tomorrow. Of course, it’s currently wet and rainy in these parts, and I’m not sure if there is a rain plan as the Tallahassee news shows were boasting about how it’s never rained on the Rose Parade in it’s 94 previous years… And the street dance afterwards might be a bit sparse if it’s still actively raining.

Guess we’ll just have to wait an see.

The good news is that the rest of the weekend is supposed to be dry so, hopefully, we’ll be able to see the artists at Art in the Park–last year it rained that morning so no one set up (or the couple that did tore down right after. We went by mid-afternoon and there was only the zip-line set up and that’s not really our cup of tea.

If the parade and all goes as scheduled I plan to have some video to show you next week of it. You can see how much like Stars Hollow our little town really is on days like this! And if not, well, it’s not like I don’t have projects to work on, complete, and otherwise dream about.

Hope you have a great weekend!

~Jenn

Creative Team Project Round-Up

In The Studio

How was your weekend?

It was supposed to be absolutely miserable down here but the weather was gorgeous after Friday night’s showers. As a friend called it on Facebook: there’s nothing so blue as a rain-scrubbed sky. Really, it was amazing.

Of course, I spent the vast majority of it at my computer, staring at InDesign. Why? Because I’ve signed on as the Art Director for Millin’Air Magazine as of the spring issue (which will be released later this week). And while I can’t show you the full magazine (yet!) I can at least let you see the cover!

The cover was finished a couple weeks back, it was the other 53 pages I was finishing up this weekend!

The cover was finished a couple weeks back, it was the other 53 pages I was finishing up this weekend! Complementary subscriptions available at www.katherinecarey.com

And that reminds me… I’ve been remiss in sharing some of the projects I’ve been doing for the teams I’m on. Let’s do a full quarter-1 recap, shall we? (Links are under each project if you want to see the play-by-play.)

Helmar Creative Team

March wrapped up my 3rd (6-month) term with Helmar and I’m happy to be staying on for the next 6 months, as well.

Backing up to the beginning of the year, though, I started with a mixed media tag:

Reading Road Map Bookmark

Something about book pages at the beginning of the year.

Reading Road Map Tag

And followed that up with some decoupaged tile coasters.

Tile and Map Coaster Project

And maps. No clue why I was hung up on maps.

Where You Are, Where You’ve Been

In February I pulled out one my adorable (if I do say so myself) digital stamps for a Valentine’s card. Valentine’s was the earliest we said we might get a dog, and I was hoping real hard!

Not that stuffed pup, but another one I gave Todd on our first Valentine's together says "I wuf you" and blushes when you squeeze it.

Not that stuffed pup, but another one I gave Todd on our first Valentine’s together says “I wuf you” and blushes when you squeeze it.

Puppy Love Valentine’s Card

Of course, with the bathroom renovations still in full swing, I think we’d have been the ones in the doghouse had we gotten a pup in the middle of all that!

It’d been so long since I’d had time for any doll-related projects, I was afraid they were going to stage a tiny, plastic mutiny. That, and the slow pace of the real-life renovation, had me jonesing for some instant gratification, miniature-style.

My Cricut made this miniature project even easier!

My Cricut made this miniature project even easier!

Tiny (Cardboard) Taxidermy with Helmar Zap Dots

In March I returned to a favorite theme of mine: the phases of the moon. Now, you might recognize the images from an old Gauche Alchemy project. I photographed them and printed out the sizes I needed for my cross between a sun-catcher and a dream-catcher.

I still love these moon phase paintings.

I still love these moon phase paintings.

Moon Phases Mobile

And just before Easter I tried my hand at the classic “Exploding Box” card.

I've been holding onto those carrot-colored Easter eggs for *years* wondering what I was going to make with them!

I’ve been holding onto those carrot-colored Easter eggs for *years* wondering what I was going to make with them!

Exploding with Easter Fun!

Now, that technically wraps up the first three months, but I have one more Helmar project to show you.

I mentioned on Friday that I’d participated in an April Fool’s post over there, despite my dislike of the “holiday” and, well, I don’t think I’ll be doing that again. Not only did it backfire, but it did so in an entirely unpredicted way.

I mean, not in the way that Cake Wrecks did (where they apparently lost readers over the faux-sponsored post), but still. It did not go over well.

Here’s the project:

It's tougher than you'd think coming up with adhesive alternatives...

It’s tougher than you’d think coming up with adhesive alternatives…

A New Direction

If you read that post and project, you might pick up on the fact that there’s something missing from the project. Namely any Helmar adhesives. See, I thought that a project for a glue company that used absolutely no glue was appropriately inappropriate. Drop a few broad hints about a change in direction and, well, it sounded good in theory. There were some crossed wires between Georgia and Australia, however, and a lot of conversation at 6am (my time) on the 1st, before we got them untangled.

All’s well that ends well, and all that, but I think it’s safe to say I won’t be doing another prank post in the future.

Imagine Crafts

So far I’ve really been enjoying my time with the Imagine Crafts Artist In Residence team. There are just so many fabulous products to work with (and more coming, from what I hear) as well as some neat collaborations/team swaps coming up that I’m really looking forward to!

I started the year with a planner dashboard project that I’m pretty sure I’ve already shared on the blog, but let’s post it again just for completion’s sake.

Still loving my word for the year!

Still loving my word for the year!

One Word Planner Dashboard

The interesting thing about the AIRs team (at least in the beginning) is that we submit multiple projects but not all of them go up on the blog, as was the case with the other two projects that I submitted for January.

 

February fared much better and all three of my projects made it onto the blog. There were some technical issues, though, so these links go to pdf files instead of web pages.

My first project incorporated one of my new favorite tools, the gelli plate. I’d ordered them for The Crafty Branch and they are just so fun to play with. Usually you use paint, but I wanted to try them out with inks and I think I like that even better! This print was for the Anything But Red Valentine’s theme.

The versatility of the gelli plate is an awesome thing!

The versatility of the gelli plate is an awesome thing!

Love in Bloom Embellished Monoprint (pdf)

This decorated onesie (for the White T-Shirt theme) might be one of my favorite IC projects so far–I love the way the flowers turned out!

jv_feb16-growthpotential-watermarked

Had to sneak a monkey in there somewhere!

Growth Potential Onesie (pdf)

And then, inspired by Leap Day, I created a canvas using their Tear It! Tape and embossing powders for accents.

That background is all ink pads and Creative Medium and reminds me of a sunset or sunrise.

That background is all ink pads and Creative Medium and reminds me of a sunset or sunrise.

Seize the Day Mixed Media Canvas (pdf)

In March we switched to two projects a month, and I started to feel like I was getting into the groove of creating for Imagine Crafts.

For Easter I tried out an old technique favorite of mine with some new players. Using white embossing powder as a resist for watercolors is the way I’m used to doing it, but I got to play with their Ink Potion No.9 and it gave me a similar effect using ink pads, instead!

The embossed resist is a great technique in general, but perfect for Easter!

The embossed resist is a great technique in general, but perfect for Easter!

Easter Mosaic Card

And if you noticed that there was no mention of invitations on Todd’s Luau post, it’s because I was waiting for IC to share how I’d embellished them with their Radiant Neon Amplify! products.

mar2016_jv_amplifiedpartypaper-1

I designed the invitations to look like the classic Hawaii Five-0 dvd covers. (And, yes, I drew the image of Todd.)

Amplify!’d Party Papers

That’s not bad for three months!

On top of that, I managed two art journal spreads…

I saw the background technique on a YouTube video and had to give it a try.

I saw the background technique on a YouTube video and had to give it a try.

And this one is actually a mini journal in one of the books made from the Bound & Determined kit.

And this one is actually a mini journal in one of the books made from the Bound & Determined kit.

And some mixed media canvases for The Crafty Branch giveaway winners:

This one went to the grand prize winner.

This one went to the grand prize winner.

And this one went to one of the runners up.

And this one went to one of the runners up.

Another runner-up prize. I really love writing with that flat brush!

Another runner-up prize. I really love writing with that flat brush!

Finally, how about a peek at a project I started Friday night during First Friday at Studio 209?

Work-in-Progress 16x20 canvas

Work-in-Progress 16×20 canvas

This, and three more like it, will be decorating my birthday party at the end of the month. I’d brought the canvas and supplies with my to First Friday because the forecast was rain, rain, and more rain, and that usually means low crowds. So I thought it’d be nice to have something to work on and when folks did stop by my table it was a good conversation starter. I think I’m going to keep doing that!

Between the bathroom renovation, the party, and all of these projects, I think my time was pretty well spent these last three months!

So… what have you been up to? I wanna hear!