Friday, May 31, 2019

Art journaling and Digital Stamps



Dear #Creativegirls & #Paperlovers,



Have you ever used PNG stamps in your art journaling? Here is a little process on how I used a PNG stamp from our Ivytree Studio Revive Collection. It's a digital #Print&Play collection and so versatile and fun. You can find the collection here. 

First I printed the stamp on Acetate (not the printable transparency type...plain acetate). You can resize to any size your printer can print out. The ink will stay wet for weeks. You can stamp the same image again and again until you have used all the ink. It is a simple way of transferring to paper instead of tracing by hand. 

I love layering with art products. Here you can see my process. 
I also did a video that you can watch here: 























Make your own Mini Albums

Dear #Creativegirl,

Thank you for popping in to read my blog. This post is a little catch-up of my May 2019 projects. 

I mostly develop products and manage our Design Studio, called Ivytree Studio. I am going to attempt to post at least once per month here. It will be a round-up of what I have been up to and my top favorite projects of that specific month. 

As a creative girl, you might totally be aware of the fact that we bounce around from project to project and some projects linger a bit longer and sometimes they get left behind totally. As a teacher, I always use to attempt to guide my students towards finishing what they started. Now that I am living the "FREE" life of a full-time artist, it is not so easy. Between work (our little studio) and my own personal creative projects, life can also get in between and what you intend to do and what is actually possible with the time God gives you, is totally something different. Can you relate?

So, I am still very much committed to finishing the projects that I started. At least the most important ones. In May this year, I launched a challenge in my #CreativegirlClub called "This is Me" Mini Album project. The idea was to print some photos of your life from start to date and then make a mini album with it. Well, I started. I completed a couple of layouts. What I found was making the album is ONE project, decorating the cover is another project, and then each layout can be a session each. So this project is taking much longer than I expected, but I think it is an important one, so I am sticking to it. It will be finished when it is finished and in the meantime, I am committed to put my heart into it. 

MAKING THE ALBUM:
I used the A4 sized chipboard and found that 2 sheets are enough for the cover. I watched a couple of videos by Bea Valint (she is amazingly talented and I love her style sooooooo much) Creating the album cover is basically very easy. You decide on a size, cut your pieces from the chipboard including front, back cover, and spine. Lay them down next to each other with a little bit of space in between. I would say about 3-5mm. Lay it on top of your pattern paper, trim the corners, fold over with the help of your bone folder, stick down. Cut another piece of pattern paper to cover the inside, stick that down. Remember to use the bone folder to crease the folds before you close the album. It will ensure that your paper doesn't rip. And you're done!

I think when you start out with #MemoryKeeping, you can get easily overwhelmed with all the possibilities. It takes time and effort and study to find your style. I am a novice when it comes to making albums from scratch and I am a bit stubborn. I want to figure things out for myself, so I don't attend classes. It is the way I learn.  

Kinesthetic learning (American English), kinaesthetic learning (British English), or tactile learning is a learning style in which learning takes place by the students carrying out physical activities, rather than listening to a lecture or watching demonstrations. - 

I make mistakes, try different ways and design my own end-product. I find it satisfying and sometimes you end up with something great and unique. (PS: when I attend a class, the only reason is for the socializing and perhaps the shopping). Because I am an educator, it has always been my "job" to know how things work and to be able to explain it. This fact makes you a lifelong learner and you go the extra mile to find things out. Teachers tend to be expert researchers. 








 I would say that when it comes to #Scrapbooking, I like it simple and fun. I develop our Ivytree Studio collections to make things easy, fun and creative for the end-user...that's YOU. ;). I hope that you check our products out. We have been developing #PrintandPlay products this year and it has been so much fun. Creativity just went up a notch! 

IN THE NEWS:
 Another happening I have to note here has been the article placed about us in a local Magazine. It is always wonderful when you get noticed outside of your usual network and this was just such a big deal to me. We first featured last year December in the online version of the Magazine and then we were surprised by this article in the printed version this year. It is my all-time favorite magazine and it was a great privilege to be featured. Check out the Magazine here.



THE BIG PROJECT FOR 2019:

I would say this was the biggest project I have attempted thus far. I developed with God's help a full online Retreat program with a Workbook, Creative Journal, Devotional Study and other related content. It has a Biblical foundation and is aimed at the Female Christian Artist.

I will write a full article dedicated to this project in another post to come.



This is me, Ansu. This photo was taken during the Retreat. You can perhaps see the tired eyes from
all the late nights. 

MINI JELLY BOX ALBUM:

This was such a fun project and I shared a video over on the Ivytree Studio Channel unboxing the album. Watch it here: 








Ivytree Studio's #Print&Play collections are just so much fun and so easy to use and create multiple projects with. It is for #PersonalUse only and we don't allow distribution or teachers using our products to teach with unless they purchase the physical prints from us. But, for the crafter and #Creativegirl who just wants to #PLAY, this is going to be a gamechanger for you. It definitely was for me. Here I created a journal cover with the elements from the Karalea collection.



So, until next time when I hope to update you on my June 2019 Projects! 

Leave me a comment, ask a question or come say hello over on Instagram or Facebook.



Visit Ivytree Studio to see more of what we are up to www.ivytreestudio.co.za
Buy some of our pretty products here
Connect with the team on our Facebook page here.
Share your Ivytree Studio layouts with us here
Join our #CreativeGirlPrint&PlayClub here
Watch our Youtube channel here.





Friday, April 26, 2019

Mixed Media Face

Hi there lovelies,

A little over a year ago I started following a wonderful lady called Marta over on Youtube. What I love the most about her is her lovely positive attitude and the creativity that flows from her hands constantly.

I have watched loads of her videos just because it was so much fun. She does actually encourage you to be creative with her while watching her videos, so in the end, she got me going in my art journal again. I created a little art journal spread, playing around with some ideas and incorporated what I had learned from her. I have done a couple more since then, but this was the first one. I just love the fact that you can learn so much from just one art journal spread.

Art journaling is all about experimenting. It is not about creating a masterpiece. It is not about being perfect or creating a designer entry. It is about PLAY! And that is just what I did here. I played and had so much fun. Once you reach that point of "Creative Bliss" and forget about being perfect or impressing someone, that is your moment...your "art moment".

If you haven't yet tried art journaling, why not give it a go. It is very therapeutic but also educational. You can test out ideas, products and elements like new stamps or stencils and so much more.























Saturday, March 23, 2019

Lovin my blog

Hi there lovelies,

So if you follow me here, you will find that I have once again updated the design of my blog. I started writing a looooong time ago but a seriously started blogging around 2009 and 2010. I regularly have the habit to update my blogs. Not just the design but I also feel it is important to check old content for relevancy and improve the reading experience for my readers. 

So, this blog has had a facelift in terms of design and I quite like it. It will probably not stay this way for longer than a year or so, because you need to keep things fresh and recognizable. 

Secondly, I just installed Grammarly on my laptop and added it as an extension to Chrome. It is a wonderful app that helps you write. It not just corrects spelling and grammar but suggests better sentence structures. Oh, do I love that! I love to write, but I also type fast (typing was one of my top school subjects). I am blessed with words, so I need this app to help me keep things neat. 

I went through each post from the start and edited each one, added my latest signature to give them all a uniform look. By doing this, I realized how far I have come and how much I have grown in my design skills, approach and also here on this blog. Signatures have come and gone but I think I love the latest one the most. It represents what I do here but also what I do over at Ivytree Studio. 

I added "Bloglovin" to this blog and you can follow me there too. Bloglovin is a place where you can follow all your different blogs in one place. I love the concept, so I joined up. So should you if you are serious about growing your Blogger community. 

Finally, I added new "pages" to the menu so you can now read according to your preferences. If you love scrapbooking, just click on the Scrapbooking page tab at the top of the blog. The first row of tabs up to the "contact me" tab, are mostly my websites, store and external pages. The second row of tabs are more the categories to this blog. Test them out and let me know what you think. I hope it brings more order to my blog as I plan to grow my post. 

In the beginning, I wrote posts that had a little bit of everything I do in them. From cardmaking, scrapbooking and more. From now on I plan to do posts on a single topic at a time and rather do more posts. It is mostly a time-consideration issue than anything else. When I have the time, I play catch-up, but I would like that to change. So, I hope you stay tuned. 

If you haven't worked your way through my posts yet, I hope you do. Don't forget to leave me a comment. I would just love that. 







Friday, March 22, 2019

Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hi there lovelies!

I just joined Bloglovin. Would love for you to follow my blog here as well as over on Bloglovin.

You will also see some changes in design here on the blog. I am planning on being a lot more active here, so check back soon.

xoxo


Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Creative Process and Mood-board Flip-through

The Creative process

Hi there #Creativegirls and #Paperlovers,

Today I posted a video over on the Ivytree Studio Youtube channel about the creative process for anyone who wants 
to be creative or grow creatively. I also shared my mood-board flip-through of the first challenge we had over in 
the CLUB.

So, if you haven't joined up yet, you can still do so by visiting our website and following the steps outlined for
you there. Click here to go to the website.



You can watch the video where I talk about the Creative Process and give you a flip through of my mood board here:



Some more close-ups of my mood board:






















STEP BY STEP:

Here is my step by step for the textured background I created...I am after all a 
Mixed Media Artist, so I need to add some paint to my projects. 






That was the messy bit. Now for the paper elements. 
I cut the elements I liked from the Leef Magazine
I glued it to white cardstock to make my elements more sturdy and "Scrapbook"-like. 

Next I started creating my flips and adhered them to the base with double sided tape. 
I didn't follow any specific pattern.
I let the project lead me to where it wanted to go. That was the most fun part. 




MATERIALS USED IN THIS PROJECT:

My base for the mixed media textured layer: a sheet of A4 craft paper
My base for the magazine elements: 160gsm white cardstock
My base for the mood board: 240 gsm white cardstock and A4 chipboard sheet
Magazine cuts from the Leef Magazine 
Adhesives: Craft glue, Pritt Stick and double-sided tape
Art product:
Nuvo crystal drops (variety); Craft paint (Americana and Dala); Gesso (Dala)
Vegas gold All purpose ink
Washi tape
Organza ribbon

In the end, it felt more like a mini little "scrapbook" but it is still my version
of a mood board. A little bit of me in layers.  

 

So how would you interpret a mood-board and what would it look like?
Use the elements you have around you. Grab a glue stick and your scissors and get creative!

Don't forget to visit the website to join the club. 
See you there!

'Till next time!



Visit Ivytree Studio to see more of what we are up to: www.ivytreestudio.co.za
Buy some of our pretty paper here
Connect with the team on our Facebook page here.
Share your Ivytree Studio layouts with us here
Join our #CreativeGirlPrint&PlayClub here
Watch our Youtube channel here.