My scrappin' life

My New Designs For Carabelle Studio

Last week at Version Scrap in Paris was the release of new designs at Carabelle Studio!

My collection was extended with 4 new stamp sets and personally I am very excited about my flower set (Life is pretty awesome) that is so different than the rest of my collection but I see so many possibilities! :D

I had just a little bit of time before Version Scrap to play with them but here are some samples I made for the booth using the "Life is pretty awesome" set:

 

I'm also very exited about the 18 sets of embossing folders, new items in the Carabelle Studio collection.

How about this one, inspired by my "Circles and Dots" stamp?

I can't wait to try these out!

But there is more! All together the new release incorporates more than 50 stamps for the different Carabelle designers and also 10 new Art Printing plates designed especially for gel printing, how cool is that?

You can find all the new items on the Carabelle website HERE!

Faux Marbling On The Gelli Plate - Video Tutorial For Gelli Arts

Happy Easter to everyone who is celebrating!!

Last month I made this video for Gelli Arts about faux-marbling using hemp rope.

In case you missed it and you have some free time this Easter weekend I'm sharing it here too :)

If you are interested in reading step-by-step instructions with pictures then you can find the original blog post HERE on the Gelli Arts blog.

 

Have fun and enjoy your weekend!

Proudly Presenting - Birgit's Mixed Media Art Crew!

I am very excited to present to you my brand new, amazing Mixed Media Art Crew.

Starting in May, every Wednesday, one of these 5 wonderful, talented ladies will bring you inspiring posts here on my blog using my stamps and stencils which I design for Carabelle Studio. The five of them have very different styles and their projects go from art journaling to scrapbooking, atcs and cards, gelli prints and beyond-the-page mixed media projects. They have great use of color, love experimenting and thinking outside of the box. I love their work, each for their own uniqueness and the way they use the products. I am confident that their work will inspire you too!

So let me introduce to you my 5 lovely Crew members!

**insert drumroll**

Femke

Hi there! Nice to meet you. My name is Femke Kokke and I am a mom of three kids (11, 4 and 4) and I am a freelancer in youth care and helping adults with psychic problems. Besides being a provider, I also am a scrapaholic :) I love scrapbooking, I really do. I started Scrapbooking in 2003. First I did not use any paint at all. But since 2 years that changed dramatically into using Mixed Media like almost all the time. Suddenly I love paint, stamps, gesso, stencils and doing all kind off techniques. So I now love Mixed Media Scrapbooking and am very happy to be a part of Birgit’s team and creating nice stuff to show you!

Find Femke's art here:

Blog/website

Instagram

Facebook

YouTube

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

Hermien

Hi everyone!
It is I...Hermien, also known as Sproet (Freckles)
Who am I? On my blog  I introduce myself as:
Woman, married, humor, challenges, creative, practical, MS&MG (both 'neurological challenges' in my life) , and so much more..! Since last year Puck and Panter (two cats) joined our household, so now we are officially employees ;-) (Unfortunately Puck recently died).

I love get my hands dirty (sometimes very ;-)) making cards, stamping, painting, gelliprinting , just go with the flow.. ! I am very honored to be a member of Birgit's Mixed Media Crew! Hope you enjoy!

Find Hermien's art here:

Blog

Instagram

Facebook


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

Karin

My name is Karin van den Broek and I live in the middle of the Netherlands with my partner and 19 year old daughter.

I started making cards about 6 years ago and one thing led to another and now I can't imagine a life without stained fingers.

I love to experiment with ink, paint, stamps and templates and I mostly use bright colors. I love Birgit’s work and I’m honored that

she asked me as a crew member.

Find Karin's art here:

Blog

Facebook

Instagram

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

Linda

My name is Linda Brun, I am a mixed media artist with great passion for artjournaling and monoprinting. I live in Sandnes, Norway with my husband, grown up son and dog. I’m a graphic designer working full time as an artist through mixed media collages and paintings, working from my home based studio. Teach hands on mixed media classes and work as a creative inspiratory when asked. I also try to fit my mixed media art in to bookbinding, scrapbooking and sewing.

I love diving in to art technique books and take art classes with other artists. I’m always on the look for new art techniques and tools to try and I find myself working with various kind of mediums and colors. Right now I’m in to Acrylics, Gelliplate, masks, scissors, Gel Medium. Tomorrow might be different and that is what I like with my creative journey. I’m so happy to be a member of this fantastic crew and can’t wait to get started.

Find Linda's art here:

Blog

Instagram 

Facebook 

Youtube 

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

Marsha

My name is Marsha Valk and I’m a craft professional from the Netherlands. My current crafty adventures started in 2003 when I discovered scrapbooking, but I’ve been a creative soul all my life and I’ve been interested in art history and modern art for as long as I can remember.

Right now I’m focused on mixed media, monoprinting, collage and crafts in general. I love colour, I love to make ‘something’ out of ‘nothing’ and I can’t wait to inspire you with ideas to create with Birgit’s fabulous designs!

I’m a regular contributor to the Gelli Arts blog.

Find Marsha's art here:

Website
Blog
YouTube
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest

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

I am very happy that these girls joined my team and I am looking forward to seeing the projects they will create.

You too? Then give them a warm welcome by leaving them some love. Thank you!

And don't forget to mark your calendars. From now on Wednesday will be called Crew Member Wednesday!!

I created a Facebook Group called "BMMAC - Play Along With The Crew Members". In this group you are invited to share your projects inspired by the crew members and using any of my products. Join now (click HERE!) and start sharing!

Don't want to miss a post? You can sign up for my news letter by entering your email address (in the side bar at the top left) to get a monthly overview of the crew member posts! Or you can follow my blog through the NetworkedBlogs or Bloglovin' buttons in the side bar on the right.

Let color rule!

A Dutch Girl In New York - Part 5 - Color Crush Workshop

On Thursday, March 23, Nathalie and I flew to Syracuse for our 3 day Color Crush workshop organized by Shelley Graham Turner from Ooak Artisan Showcase.

The night before, while getting ready for bed I snapped my back really bad. So bad that I couldn't walk anymore and Nathalie had to drive me around in a wheelchair at the airport and we had to go to urgent care after arriving in Syracuse. I got some medication and everybody was really sweet. My room was right across the workshop room, I had a chair with wheels and people were so sweet to drive me to the restaurant even though that was only 200m away. Some of the Canadian girls brought me a cat pillow to sit on (and one for Nat too) and Shelley even got me a little electrical blanket to keep my back warm in bed. So, so sweet! And although it was not ideal, everything worked out fine.

On Thursday evening Shelley invited everybody for a welcome dinner so we had the change to get to know each other a little bit.

On Friday morning 21 enthusiastic women from all over the US and Canada were ready for 3 whole days of workshops!

We started with color theory, talked about color in art, experimented with some fun techniques and made our own stamps.

Saturday, the second day, was all about Gelli printing. Exploring several gel printing techniques, monoprint painting, tape transfers and more. So much fun and so much color! And a lot of happy girls, including Nat and me :)

Sunday, already the last day... wow, that went fast! But we still have a whole day and we fill it with binding all the papers we made in the last 2 days together into an art journal. So awesome to see all these books come about!

When the journals were ready we still had a couple of hours to work in them using several techniques Nat and I use in our own journals. And the results at the end of the day were amazing!

Way to soon it was time to say goodbye to everyone, what a great weekend!

I loved co-teaching this fun workshop with Nat and hope we will be able to do it again some day! Shelley was an amazing host, everything was so well organized and we felt very welcome! And all of our students were just amazing, sweet, sharing, helpful, fun and cheerful! And I think they all enjoyed the weekend just as much as Nat and I did :) .

I had a wonderful time with my sweet friend Nat and I very much enjoyed the workshops in NYC and Syracuse. I really hope to go back next year! 

But now I'm getting ready for my next trip, going to Paris next week, to teach at Version Scrap, April 20-22. You can still book places for the workshops. Go HERE for more info and/or to sign up!

Thank you for stopping by and come back soon as I might have a very special announcement to make later this week ;)

My Video For Donna Downey's Find Out Fridays

Have you heard of "Find Out Fridays"? FOF is hosted by Donna Downey on her blog.

This is how it works:

• Each month Donna will send 4/5 Participating Find Out Friday Artists a box containing the exact same supplies.
• The Artists will NOT know who each other are and they will NOT know what they are receiving in the box until they open it.
• The Artists will record themselves creating an original piece of art using EVERYTHING in the box, (If you have ever watched the show Chopped on the Food Network, this is a similar idea!) as well as, any other supplies they wish to use.

And you know what? You can watch these videos for free!

In February I had the honor of being one of the FOF Artists and I made a video inspired by Basquiat, using the Gelli Arts Gel Printing  Plate, Carabelle Studio stamps and stencils and tissue paper.

Here is my video in case you missed it: 

Now if you thought this was fun then make sure to check out all the other FOF's on Donna's blog!

You will find awesome videos from awesome artists like Nathalie Kalbach, Rae Missigman, Jodi Ohl, DeeDee Catron, Mindy Lacefield, Tamara Laporte, Jane Davenport and many many more! Tons of inspiration guaranteed!

Thanks for stopping by and have fun watching and being inspired!

 

A Dutch Girl In New York - part 3

Monday, March 20. Today is a beautiful day, still cold but sunny and not to windy. We decide it is a perfect day to go on the Staten Island Ferry, something I really wanted to do just because I thought it would be fun :)

We took a little detour through Jersey City to go to the Path (the train that goes from JC into Manhattan) for an art stroll through the hood. We went to see some awesome murals that weren't there last time I visited (or that I didn't see then). I love it that JC helps (inter)national artist to create these beautiful pieces of art.

"Initiated in 2013 and funded by a Clean Communities Grant, the Jersey City Mural Arts Program links established and emerging local, national and international mural artists with property owners city-wide as part of an innovative beautification program that reduces graffiti, engages local residents and is transforming Jersey City into an outdoor art gallery".

Find more info HERE.

We took The Path and got out at World Trade Center station and had a look inside Saint Paul's Chapel also known as "The Little Chapel That Stood". It was a miracle that the church survived 9/11 without even a broken window. For 8 months the chapel served as a place of rest and refuge for recovery workers at the WTC site.

From there we went to see the "Fearless Girl" who was installed in front of the Wall Street Bull on March 8 (International Women's Day).

Then we took a round trip on the Staten Island Ferry. It was lovely! The weather was so nice that we could stay outside and enjoy the amazing view on the Manahattan sky line and Lady Liberty.

Back in Manhattan we took the subway to go to the West Village where we saw the Gay Liberation Monument which was the first piece of public art dedicated to LGBT rights. We had lunch at Umami and then we walked to Washington Square Park. We hoped to find some entertainment there but apparently it was still to cold after all and there was not much going on there.

Most of the subway stations are (were originally) beautifully decorated with tiles and mosaic. A lot really need to be cleaned up and restored though.

Tuesday, March 21. Today we went to Brooklyn, where I had not been before. And oh my did I love it. Wherever you looked there was street art. Murals, graffiti, just tags, political statements, lovely art and even a memorial for a fire fighter all on the walls of the Brooklyn buildings.

We met Nathalie's friend Julia at Roberta's, a lovely pizza place on Moore Str. Not only the exterior of Roberta's was covered in color the wall behind the oven was a lovely piece of art, as were the restaurant and the bathroom upon the toilet paper holder. Such an awesome place! And today the weather was so amazing that we could sit outside in the garden to have our lunch! 

From Roberta's we went to the Old Navy Yard that is now an area of private manufacturing and commercial activity. We visited Julia's husband who has an art studio here and is working on an amazing painting for a special project that we are not allowed to share yet so no photo's of that unfortunately.

We walked along a mural "Here goes something" that celebrates the history of the Navy Yard, created by fourth and fifth grade students.

We said goodbye to Julia and her husband and walked back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn bridge. What a great day!

In the evening Nat invited me to a cheese tasting in a local JC cheese store.

All cheeses were made by American female cheese makers and we learned a lot about how the cheeses are made, where they come from and what inspired the women to become cheese makers. The cheeses were all very yummy and I really enjoyed this evening!

All the money paid for the tasting was donated to "Planned Parenthood".

Wednesday, March 22. My last day in Jersey City. We decided to stay at home to prepare for our workshop weekend in Syracuse.

We only went out for lunch and a little bit of shopping in the neighborhood, we had lovely avocado toast, spend some time in a book store and took some donuts home (I chose American Cheescake, mmmmmm). It was soooooo cold and windy that we were glad we didn't choose today to do sightseeing and were happy to be back inside where it was warm. 

This evening, while preparing to go to bed, I twisted my back and couldn't move at all. I kind of panicked as we were supposed to fly to Syracuse in the morning and I had no idea how we would do that. I didn't sleep at all as I was in pain and worrying. But we made it!

Come back soon to read how we managed and to see how wonderful our 3-day Color Crush retreat went!

Upcoming Workshops In The Netherlands - May/June 2017

Donderdag 4 mei - Workshop Maak Een Boek

Plaats: In mijn studio in Winsum (Groningen)

Tijd: 10.00 - 16.00 uur

Prijs: € 75,=

Voor opgave mail je naar: [email protected] 

(slechts enkele plaatsen beschikbaar!) 

Wat neem je mee:

Je hoeft niks mee te nemen. Ik heb een grote voorraad papier en tijdschriften waar je naar hartelust uit mag kiezen.

Als je wilt mag je natuurlijk ook zelf mooie papiertjes mee nemen om in je boek te verwerken. Denk aan scrapbookpapier, mooie vellen uit tijdschriften, enveloppen, kindertekeningen, briefjes enz.  

Verder zijn alle materialen inbegrepen evenals een lunch, snacks en drankjes.

 

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

 

Zaterdag 13 mei - Art Journal Workshop All Mixed Up!

Waar: HobbyVision in Rijssen (Overijssel)

Voor alle info en opgave ga je naar de HobbyVision website, klik hier!

 

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

 

Vrijdag 19 mei - Art Journal Workshop All Mixed Up!

Waar: De Scrapheap in Sprang Capelle (Brabant)

Voor alle info en opgave ga je naar de website van De Scrapheap, klik hier!

 

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

 

Zaterdag 20 mei - Art Journal Workshop Mixed Media Collages

Waar: De Scrapheap in Sprang Capelle (Brabant)

Voor alle info en opgave ga je naar de website van De Scrapheap, klik hier!

 

***********

 

Zaterdag 17 juni - Mixed Media Workshop Hot & Sticky

Tijdens deze dag-workshop ga je aan de slag met embossingpoeders, transfer foil, bonding powder, verschillende lijmproducten, embossingfolders, stempels, dies en meer om prachtige textures in je art journal te creëren. Ontdek hoe lijm de hoofdrol kan spelen in je mixed media projecten in plaats van de ondergeschikte rol van “plaksel” en laat je verrassen door de ongekende mogelijkheden!

Prijs: € 70,= inclusief lunch, snacks en drankjes

Tijd: 10.00-16.00 uur

Plaats: Wijchen (Gelderland)

Voor opgave mail je naar: [email protected]

 

Wat neem je zelf mee:

Art journal, Craft sheet, Heat gun, Schaar, Brayer, Kwasten, Zwarte Archival of Stazon stempelinkt, Acrylblok voor stempels, Pot voor water, Keukenrol, Billendoekjes

 

**********

 

Zondag 18 juni - Art Journal Workshop Awesome Transfers

Deze workshop begint met het maken van een aantal kleurrijke achtergronden met o.a. een gelli plate. Vervolgens leer je om op verschillende manieren mooie image transfers te maken in je art journal. Je gaat o.a. aan de slag met zwart-wit foto’s, krantenpapier, gel medium, acrylverf en meer. Let op! Het is verslavend! Als je éénmaal de technieken onder de knie hebt zul je niet meer willen stoppen met het maken van image transfers :)

Prijs: € 70,= inclusief lunch, snacks en drankjes

Tijd: 10.00 – 16.00 uur

Plaats: Wijchen (Gelderland)

Voor opgave mail je naar: [email protected]

 

Wat neem je zelf mee:

Art journal, Craft sheet, Heat gun, Schaar, Kwasten (medium plat, klein rond), Brayer, 2 potten voor water, Keukenrol, Billendoekjes, Acrylblok voor stempels, Zwarte Archival of Stazon stempelinkt, Laser en inkjet prints (tips voor goede foto’s krijg je na opgave).

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

Ik hoop je te mogen verwelkomen bij één van mijn workshops!

A Dutch Girl In New York - part 2

Saturday, March 18. Our first workshop for The Inkpad, held in Westbeth in NYC, thaught by Nathalie and me together .

Today is all about mono print painting - or making a painting using the Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate. BTW, if you use coupon code BirgitK with your online order on the Gelli Arts website you get 10% off your purchase over $ 20!

Not the easiest thing to do, you need to think really carefully about the order of printing and not to forget to remove the masks. But our students were just awesome and made amazing prints! And don't they look happy?! :D

These are some of the beautiful prints made by our lovely students this day:

Sunday, March 19. The second day of teaching for the Ink Pad. This day's workshop was called Artful Transfers. We taught several transfer techniques using laser and inkjet prints and a few different mediums. Some of yesterday's students came back today and some were new, but again it was a lovely group of enthusiastic women.

Our demo table filled with color and samples. Of course Nat and I both brought all our stamps and stencils for the students to play with!

And here are some of the Artful Transfers made this day. How cool is that?!

After the workshop Nat and I went back to Jersey City, where Nathalie lives, and went out for dinner in the Würstbar. The name is just hilarious as the German word is spelled without the umlaut... aber das ist mir Wurst :D

The würst I ate was very good!

 

Thank you for stopping by! Next post coming up is a stroll around the hood in Jersey City and a bit further :)

Gome back soon!