Veil of Wax - Mixed Media and Encaustic Portraits

I am delighted to bring you this class where we explore the beautiful combination of luminous encaustic wax and portraits!  For years, Ivy has adored this marriage of mediums and now she wants to share some of her favorite techniques.

Whether you are looking to combine photography, collage or your mixed media paintings with wax - this is the class for you - as Ivy will guide you through all these processes.

Encaustic wax creates a glowing layer of mystery and mood to your portraits and allows for much experimentation and exploration of other mediums too! You will create truly expressive and unique portraits that will have you hooked on this gorgeous blend. 

A Veil of Wax

Check out Studio Works FREE for 30 days

Click Here for more information

100 Handmade Foam Stamps - WE DID IT!!!

I achieved the goal of creating 100 Handmade Foam Stamps as part of the #dothe100dayproject!!  This is my 100th Stamp...

What always amazes me is the different emotions that you feel along the way for any challenge.  At the start you have doubts and wonder if you can finish, midway you can sometimes feel fed up and not sure if you can go on.  At the finish line you can feel as if you could quite easily do another 100 days!

Looking back from this vantage point it feels as if the time has gone really quickly.  I look back to when I started a little over 3 months ago and start to wonder about all the other challenges I could get myself to do and all the things that I could achieve in that time.

I think one of the good things was knowing that others were doing the challenge too, all be it different projects, but you had others who knew what it was like to make that 100 day commitment and share their ups and downs as well.

Here are all the stamps that I shared over the 100 days

The stamps were all made from recycled foam or thin sheet of craft foam that had been layered.  I will be making some of the designs available on my Etsy store and Course Platform 

Let me know if you took the challenge and how you found it, are you going to do another, take a break, how do you feel now you have completed it?

Check out the new FREE Course below

********************************************

Mixed Media Art Courses to Check out

FREE Course

Have you wanted to create your own stamps and stencils, I share with you a variety of supplies you can use and create two mixed media art paintings.

********************************************

Paid Courses

The Joy of MOTIF - Rachel Bellamy Online Course

 

Join Rachel as she brings you on a journey of exploration and discovery, in her new course The Joy of M.O.T.I.F.

She has some amazing processes for creating abstract art and using colors, marks and symbols to bring them together a cohesive collection.

In this class, Rachel shares her M.O.T.I.F. framework that she uses to create a cohesive series of abstract art using gelli plates, a curated collection of supplies and inspired mark making.

Get ready to not just create a few pieces of mixed media abstract art but rather a fantastic array of pieces! You can frame them use them as gifts and cards and so much more!

Rachel will be your passionate guide for this creative adventure, as you create your own body of art work.

Check out Studio Works FREE for 30 days

Click Here for more information

Habit - Messy May - Art Prompt for your Art Journal Play

 

Join in the with the rest of the challenge HERE

Messy May - Habit - Day 12

Today is my day for sharing a prompt for you to try out or interpret however you want.  The Prompt is to create a habit of seeing recycled materials and think about how you can use them in a creative way.

In my video shared on Instagram I show you a series of things I have created with materials that I have recycled.  Below are a few examples - I have used sequin waste, a tea light, adhesive pads that had lost their stickiness and some furniture pads and more.

I look for things that have texture or can transfer the texture onto my work.

You can also use lids,  doilies and these make great stencils

These are especially useful if you want to start creating marks unique to you in your art journal and great for when you are creating backgrounds.

In the video I show you what I use and how they look on an art journal page.  I then go on to do a journal page and create 2 art cards, which you can access on my course platform for Free - HERE

On the art journal page I use the stamps that I have created, I also use the cake sleeve once it has been covered in paint as a crown. 

The art cards use the stencils, decorated tissues and some of the stamps, they are fun to create and you can place them in your art journal or frame them.

If you would like to see how I created the Art Card and the Art Journal Page with the stamps and stencils you can join me for FREE on my course Platform HERE. 

You will also be able to download a digital copy of the stamps and stencil images I created to use in your art journals or creative practice.

Stay Blessed and Be a blessing

A Year in Color - Art Journal Pages, and other Video Collaborations

A Year In Color is back with the FREE sampler for a total of 4 days starting Friday 13th May

I was invited by Larissa Russell of Creative U  to join her in the online A Year in Color  - in my session I show you how to create a mixed media art page.

Larissa and I together with a host of other presenters have created for you an amazing online experience, a full year of creativity, inspiration, and color.

We are offering you a sampler for free. Each presenter is adding two sessions to the A Year in Color lineup, and the first one is part of the Sampler. Purchase today at a discount to get the second sessions from each presenter. You can upgrade for 52 weeks of content, lifetime access, and a Facebook group to share with. From now until May 16th you can SAVE 10%.

Here is the page and prompt that I work with

Register for this Free Sampler event as time is limited, free access from May 13-16, 2022. Register HERE 

Art Journal Cover - Mixed Media Artist Collaboration, Challenges

Mixed Media Art Collaboration

In the Mixed media art collaboration today, I share how you can create this art journal cover.  You create some lovely texture on the surface and it looks gorgeous.  You only need a few supplies.  We gather every second Tuesday of the month and share a mixed media art project.

You can see the video below.

You can catch up on previous collaboration projects that I have created with HERE

Mini Art Journal & Background Page - Get Messy May - Day 1 & 2

So the Messy May prompts have started and for the first Days prompt 'Starting' I decided to make a few Matchbox sized art journals.  I will also be using them for some of the prompts to come.  The idea for me with the challenge this month is to do something creative no matter how small, so these mini art journals are ideal.  There will be some days where I do a full sized art journal spread depending on how I feel.

I am also one of the artists creating a prompt for the challenge and my day will be on Day 12 - Habit.  I hope you are able to join us and come and see how you can find additional ways to be creative and enjoy the process.

The prompt for today is 'Showing Up'

The prompt for today is 'Showing Up' and I created a background page using some of the paint supplies that I have.  I think one of the good things about challenges is that you can take the prompt where you feel like taking it, it is your creative journey so you enjoy it and the process.

These are colors that I don't normally combine together so it was great to be able to play in the art journal.

You can join us on the journey and take part, dip in and out if you wish and most of all enjoy.  My main day is on day 12 - Habit, and  I have a lovely prompt for you to do and some bonus sessions as well.  You can sign up HERE

Get Messy May - The Start of a New Challenge!!

What a great way to end a challenge than to begin another!!  Starting TODAY for the whole of May I will be part of a Journal Challenge.

Messy May is the daily-ish journaling challenge for imperfect creatives. Want to play along? ⁠
⁠

• Sign up for free by clicking HERE (your bonuses + special classroom arrive via email)⁠
• ⁠Follow the prompt and micro challenge on Instagram⁠
• ⁠Create along with the host artist, share your art, cheer on other creatives⁠
• ⁠Bonus: Join us for the events, share your art to win giveaways, and make some art friends (with our help)⁠

We would love to have you join us!  Here are the prompts for May - click on the image to sign up

Stay blessed and be a blessing!

Amanda

Ultimate Blog Challenge - Last Day of 30 Days!!

 

The 30 Day Ultimate Blog Challenge has come to an end with this being the last post. It has been great being part of the challenge, I did it alongside the current 100 Days of Foam Stamps challenge that you can see the daily or weekly stamps.

What I Learned From the Blog Challenge

Pace - I think that I learn to pace myself better, half way through the challenge I became stuck, I had wanted to plan my posts ahead of time but things got in the way and there were quite a few days where I had decided that I didn't want to do it any more.  

Self Care - After taking a week off I decided that I would just show up and share what I was doing at the time and if any other gems of inspiration came forth that would also be shared. - I have linked to other interesting posts for the days that I missed.

Meeting other Bloggers - I was glad I decided to go for it again and came out the other end having connected with some other interesting and inspiring bloggers, there was so much to learn from others and I will be spending time going over some of the posts that I didn't get a chance to read over the 30 days.

Celebrate Each Step - The other thing I learnt was to celebrate each and every step, writing blog posts can become overwhelming and when you celebrate the steps that you have taken you encourage yourself even more.

I Missed blogging - I also realized how much I missed blogging, I had let my posts generally slip, posting sporadically, and after the challenge I will be posting on a more regular basis about some of the creative projects I am really looking forward to it!

You can catch the rest of the Ultimate Blog Challenge posts that I did HERE

In conclusion - Overall, taking part in the challenge and sharing all my posts reminded me that I love creating, and sharing what I have been doing, teaching techniques and connecting with others.  I hope you have enjoyed visiting my blog and I hope you come back and see what other things I will be sharing over the course of the week.

Do come and join me on some of my other channels

Let me know what has inspired you on your visit to the blog and if you have been tempted to do a challenge of your own.  

Stay Blessed and Be a Blessing,

Amandax

Creative Awakenings - Book Review & What If?

 

I will be resuming my twice monthly book reviews of the books that I have brought over the years and have had a chance to work through them and see how I liked their lessons.  I think it is important for us to be continually learning and expanding the mind, especially creatively, there are so many tools, supplies and techniques that you can learn that might add something to your own creative practice.

Todays book is Creative Awakenings by Sherry Gainer 

The back reads - what if you could unlatch the doors to your heart and allow yourself to explore hopes and dreams that you haven't visited for a very long time?

Creative awakenings is the key to opening those doors showing you how to use art making to set your intentions creativity coach sherry gainer will guide you through the mile posts of this exciting journey.  Creative Awakenings envisioning a life of your dreams through art which is such a lovely way to look at things. 

It has got several chapters and in between each chapter a mile mile markers.  In the first chapter she talks about how it all came about and connecting with other artists and how she how she contacted with them and building your dream journal.  She's also got examples of supplies that you can use and setting yourself up for the journey so the envision process is a specific process that she walks you through step by step.

Check out the video on Amazon for more details HERE