pamgarrison

life IS good

I know I owe you a recap on the big Renegade Craft Fair experience, but I'm still taking a brief breather before biting off that task!

Here's a new art print the debuted at Renegade that was made from an orginal illustration of mine. It's now in my etsy shop and I've also restocked all the other prints too. Thanks for checking in, Life is indeed Good, right?!?! Right! xo

p.s. for those of you that were asking at Renegade (and here, and IG) the listing for the journaling class in August is up here. Thanks for the interest, I promise it will be a fun, creative weekend!

 

Zentangle untangled

I have the pleasure of participating in a blog hop for Kass Hall and her new book Zentangle untangled  today. Kass seems every bit as cute and fun as she appears in her about photos:

Of course, as a regualr doodler and journaler, I am drawn to the zentangle world, and really enjoyed reading Kass' take on the practice of zentangling, especially the medetative aspects. I have been inspired to try out some of the specific patterns that she illustrates too, which is a very different approach than I take when doodling.

The book has lots and lots of information in it, including a chapter on color (love her color wheel here), art materials, and art journals too.

But I most especially like this thought:

I love it when artists encourage others to begin, just try, play, participate. There is no perfection, and even though zentangle seems to lend itself to pursuing perfection, or more exacting than random doodling, that perfection is not the point. I appreciate Kass making a point of mentioning that.

Congratulations Kass on your fun book, I know authoring a book is such a labor of love born out of a desire to share your passion with others. Well done!

As I mentioned, Kass is doing a blog hop and a big giveaway on her blog, so be sure to check out these blogs for more fun:

Monday July 23 - START - Kass Hall
Tuesday July 24 - Jill Berry
Wednesday July 25 - Rachel Grieg
Thursday July 26 - Sandra Strait -
Friday July 27 - Melanie Testa
Saturday July 28 - Ingrid Dijkers
Monday July 30 - Pam Garrison (you're here!)
Tuesday July 31 - Genevieve Crabe
Wednesday August 1 - Traci Bautista
Thursday August 2 - Fran Meneley
Friday August 3 - Jane Davenport
Saturday August 4 - FINISH - Kass Hall (major prize giveaway)

 

fun weekend of journaling

Another great group of journaling students!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of teaching at Studio Crescendoh once again, and I'm pretty sure a good time was had by all. We're  missing a couple in these photos, but still, look, it looks like a fun group, right?!?

Ha!

Look at the beautiful journals they made:

Yum!!!!

Here are some more shots from the weekend:

My journals waiting for the students to come look through them...

{Don't ask me what I'm so animatedly discussing, but I promise I'm not scolding anyone!}

Love my friend Jenny! Love that she opened this studio, where people gather to create and share.

But mostly love that she's really a goofball.

I was super touched by sweet Luz organizing and making a card for me which included a note from all. So thoughtful!

I know that many people didn't know about it until it was sold out, or weren't in town etc., and since there was a long waiting list, we've decided to add another weekend of journaling fun at Studio Crescendoh August 25&26.Here's the link to sign up: here. {Ed: it's up now. You're the first to know, it's not even on the calendar yet, nor for sale, but I'll let you know and link to it when it is!} Thanks for all the interest, I love art journaling!

We've been a button making factory over here in our house. The kids enjoy it as much as I do. I figured out how to make them flat, and after taking a quick opinion poll on instagram, decided to go with the flat version vs. the standard slightly rounded top. I've added the pins, but they are easily removable if someone prefers them that way. I hear that in the scrapbook world these are called "flairs". I think. Or I've been told that the movie Office Space might have started that name trend. I guess I've got to see it, it seems to have a cult following.

I'll be listing them in my etsy shop soon, but wanted to get a bunch made for this weekends students.

And since we had made a ton of buttons, we moved onto paper garlands....

 

Sewing paper colored shapes = lovely summer activity, I highly recommend it if you have some bored little ones...and what a pretty decoration you'll have for summer too!

 

Souvenir summer free preview

Open publication - Free publishing - More souvenir

we borrowed a button maker

Sarah loaned me her button maker, and as she warned me when she did, we've been making buttons non stop for the past 2 days. It's really simple and quite fun. I was making them for my journaling students this weekend, but we're going to make some for sale too. By we, I mean the kids as well as me, because they love it too, as this instagram shows:

Cute, right?

Sarah's machine is this one, found here:

(Just in case you were wondering, because I would be. I've yet to meet a craft tool that I didn't enjoy.)

I'll keep you posted on the button making adventures over here!

 

 

sneak peek Souvenir summer

The summer issue of Heather Bullard's  Souvenir Magazine will be available July 10th. Here's a little sneak peek teaser.... I haven't gotten to see anything more, but I know it will be a keeper. I had fun working with Heather on a terrarium feature. Here are a couple of my instagrams from the day she was here shooting:

I always have fun playing photo assistant and photo styling with Heather.

Gathering the props is one of my favorite parts of any photo shoot day.

You can sign up for our Mailing List to be notified when the issue goes live.
Or follow Souvenir Magazine on Facebook and get to see a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes.  

All that worked on it are excited for the issue and we hope you'll join in the summer fun!

the 5th of July

I may be a day late, but the sentiment's all the same!

3 recent crafting sessions

I got these little plastic trophies at a thrift store not long ago, and while visiting with friends this weekend, started paper machéing them with prettier paper. Here's a before and after:

I bought them for my Renegade booth, but last night couldn't resist sticking some flowers in them. So much cuter upcycled! Now, of course, I want some more in different sizes, so many ideas for more. 

These will be so great to display things like my paper maché birdies in at the sale.

A two dimensional sort of take on a piñata for the center heart, and just some fringe and foof on the sides.

 A little gift for a friend with a new home, some temporary cheery decor until she gets settled.

A paintbrush/ pen carry all. I followed the tutorial that The House That Lars Built did for Martha's crafts.

 

Three simple crafts I've done recently that made me happy to complete.

They were pretty easy if you care to try making some of your own :).