What's been going on at Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft (C) ?

Playing a little catch up again!

I'm not sure if I announced it here, but I was accepted as a Guest Designer for Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft (C)---YAY!

So far I have had the opportunity to make 3 posts for them.

My first was on February 15th and featured an art journal piece:

Check out more here: "See the World"

My second was on March 5th and featured an art journaling card: 

Check out more here: "Just Be You"

Lastly, I posted a little something new on April 3rd. I am working on my face drawing, so I wanted to pair that with the new medium of Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils. Still working on both, but here is what I came up with: 

You can see "in progress" pics and read more details here: "Time Fuels Passion"

So there you go...that's what's been going at Faber Castell! I have 4 more posts as a guest designer, so I am excited to play and challenge myself even more!

XOXO,

KERI

Creating a Masculine Layout with Stencils

Hello Lifers!!

Today I am so excited to be sharing a mixed-media layout over on The Crafter's Workshop Blog.

Here's a little sneak peek!

Head on over to their blog for more details and a complete tutorial!

The Crafter's Workshop

Until Next time...make your art intentional...not an after thought.

XOXO,

KERI

The Creative Life and Authentique Paper

Hi Lifers!

Today I am super excited to be joining with one of my favorite paper companies, Authentique Paper.

I have loved them since I first laid eyes on them and last October when their social media person asked if I would like to be a Guest Designer, I of course jumped on it! I had a blast working with their Halloween line.

Then at CHA this past January they asked if I would again, I was so excited, especially when they asked me to use their new Classique:Elegant line.

Want a sneak peek?

Want more?

Hope on over to Authentique's Blog for more pictures, details and more projects featuring 

Classique: Elegant. 

Thanks for stopping by and remember...make your art intentional...not an afterthought. 

XOXO,

KERI

My Day...with Authentique Paper!

Jazzed...Excited...Freaked Out...Stoked...Ecstatic...

All these describe how I feel today.

I have the HONOR of being the featured Guest Designer today for on of my favorite companies Authentique Paper.

If you are a follower of scrap companies, you know that Authentique has only been around a few years, but has really made a SPLASH in a short time. Their patterns and colors are versatile, while the texture and weight of their paper makes them VERY easy to work with and do all types of crafts. Their stickers sheets (they call them "details") comes with words, alphas and every kind of embellishing sticker combo you would ever need!

For this guest spot, I was sent their "Thrilling" Collection. Full of a variety of oranges and vintage images, it was a lot of fun to play with.

For the complete post, head on over to Authentique Paper's Blog.

Here are a few more pics that didn't make it into the post and a quickie tutorial!

First UP... 

My "Thrilling" Shadow box

The "shadowbox" is actually a fake. It's just a chunky 12 x 12 canvas, turned backwards!

The frames and bow are made from dies by Vicki Chrisman for Accucut and the bottles are 7Gypsies.

Everything else is just paper, glue and Authentique Details Stickers.

Here is a couple of new closeups!

NEXT...

"Any Excuse to Dress Up" Mixed Media Canvas

I really wanted to do one piece that was just crazy and fun. 

I started out by making a 5 Origami Dresses from the Authentique 6 x 6 pad from the "Thrilling" Collection.

My original idea was a little different, but when I decided on this 20 x 10 canvas from Hobby Lobby, I decided to narrow my dresses to just 3.

Here is where I found my tutorial for my dress: Origami Dress Tutorial. It was my favorite out of all the ones I checked out.

A little tip here...during the step where you are folding up to make the bodice, flip the project over to make sure your bodice is all enough for your project. Mine was not and I actually cut the tops off my origami dress and hand-cut new ones.  Took some time...don't make my mistake! LOL. 

All of the dresses are set on a stack of corrugated cardboard scraps to give them height off the canvas.

Here is a close-up of all three dresses:

It's hard to tell in picture, but for the Peacock Dress, all the turquoise you see on the skirt is bling that I bought at Hobby Lobby. The fact that it came in long "sheets" of 10 x 60 helped fill the skirt in pretty fast. 

This skirt is made of layered ruffle ribbon, loose bling and some additional ribbon. The heart on the shirt was made with Modeling Paste and a Heidi Swapp Stencil.  

This is my favorite! Think: Couture Bride of Frankenstein. She's got her pats and spiderweb's that are covered in glitter glue, tons of loose feathers make up her skirt, along with a "diamond" waistband and orange birdie for good luck. 

For the background, I Modged Podged paper from the "Thrilling" Collection, before splattering and painting it up with glitter glue, acrylic paint, Tattered Angels and Modeling Paste colored Black through a Heidi Swapp Stencil.

Lastly....

"Monsters in the Trees"

Here is a quick tutorial on how to make this background:

1) First...paint you wooden piece with acrylic paint. I actually added a little gloss medium to my 2nd and 3rd layers because I decided I wanted more gloss. You can see the difference in the finishes:

2) I used a Forrest Stencil from Crafter's Workshop (it's one of my favorites!) The size is 6x6, so it was perfect for my 5x7 piece. 

3) The medium I used for my background is Viva Inka Gold in Gold and Silver.

4) Starting with my silver, I used a putty knife to draw my rub over my stencil. I would then occasionally grabbing a little of the gold as well. Continue this process until you have covered your whole stencil. 

5) Carefully remove your stencil and your done! Inka Gold is very good for this technique because it is so thick that it doesn't seep under your stencil. As you can see, all of the edges are very crisp.

I didn't go all the way to the top because I knew I was planning a big collage of elements up there. Once my elements were in, however, you'll see that I went back in at the very top and added a little bit more with my stencil. It made the piece more "finished." 

It has been "Thrilling" being a guest designer for Authentique Paper and hope I get to do it again sometime.

Remember...you can go here-Authentique Paper Blog-for more pictures and the full blog post.

Until next time...stay creative!

XOXO,

KERI

UPGRADE!!

Hello Followers!

I'm so excited to share some news with you all!!

As you know I have had the awesome privilege of being a guest designer for my new friend Susan K. Weckesser over the last 6 months.

This past Saturday she released her new 2013 Design Team and guess what...what I'm on it!

I am honored to be named with these other amazing artist and I can't wait to share with YOU some amazing creations featuring Susan's products!

Inspiration...coming soon!

XOXO

KERI

Blog Hopping with the Susan K Weckesser Crew!!

  2013 Susan K Weckesser Back to School Blog Hop!

Welcome to the 2013 Susan K Weckesser Inc Design Team Back 2 School Blog Hop.  Our Design Team and Guest Designers have created a week’s worth of great projects to bring you inspiration and fun -- all themed around Back 2 School. 

We encourage you to visit each member’s blog, leave a comment and maybe find a new blog to follow.

 After you have visited all participating team member’s blogs, go back to THE STARTING POST at Susan K Weckesser’s My Sweet Earth Blog and leave a comment letting us know which project either inspired you or touched your heart.

 Don’t worry, you have all week to take your time and go through the blogs. We’ll feature a few each day at Susan K Weckesser Inc, but will draw names from comments left on THE STARTING POST for our grand prize.

Here is the list for ALL team members, but again don’t panic, we will highlight a few each day so you can come back and visit a few at a time if you want because we know how busy you Moms – and Dads – are! You have until Saturday night 11:55 PM CST to leave a comment at Susan K Weckesser’s My Sweet Earth.

Here is the entire blog hop list:

Here is the entire blog hop list:

Susan K Weckesser
Rita Barakat – Design Team Member
Lynne Mizera – Design Team Member
Jeanie Dickinson – Guest Designer
Tracy Easson – Design Team Member
Tatiana Allen  - Guest Designer
Einat Kessler – Design Team Member
Jaine Drake – Guest Designer
Julie Short – Design Team Member
JJ Sobey - Design Team Member
Allie Gower – Guest Designer
Keri Sallee – Guest Designer

HERE WE GO!!!!

I'm so excited to be an All-Star Guest Designer with Susan K. Weckesser and this week the designers and guest designers in her crew are having a little back to school blog hop!

You can't have "Back to School" with out first having an AMAZING summer, right? So I wanted to gather all of our summer fun in one place.

Here is my little project:

This sweet little album measures just 4.75 x 4.75, but holds an amazing 18 pictures! 

How you ask?

ENVELOPES!!!

By chaining envelopes together, you can form a versatile album in any size and shape you need!

Click HERE for a full tutorial I did on my blog last year on the basics of making an envelope album.

As you can see, it folds out into a fun according shape that makes it easy to display.

This is how you get 18 pictures in such a small album! Hidden behind each picture is a card that holds 2 more pictures and journaling. I fell in LOVE with these square envelopes I found at Hobby Lobby! Adding my 4x4 square Instagram pictures made this album go together in a snap because there was no picture trimming! I didn't even have to cut paper for my inserts...I simply cut the cards in half that came with my envelopes. Easy Peasy! 

 I wanted to keep things simple because the pictures and paper were so great. I used a little Washi Tape (My Mind's Eye, Carta Bella and Queen and Company) and some wooden pieces (Studio Calico and Hobby Lobby) to accent the fun prints and colors of Susan's Paper. Using Susan's stamps from Unity Stamp Company on the wooden pieces gave them instant character!

I also used her "Celebration of Simple" pennant stamps by Unity Stamp Company to create my journaling spots on each page. Creative NOTE: Changing the placement of each spot keeps the album from feeling uniform when you reuse an  image like I did!

Here is a little side-view!

Here is a complete list of products used on this project:

Flowers: Michaels, Prima Marketing, Petalloo, Hobby Lobby

Envelopes and Inserts: Hobby Lobby

Twine and Adhesive: Canvas Corp

Paper: Susie B Studios (Susan K Weckesser)

Washi Tape: My Mind's Eye, Carta Bella and Queen and Company

Wooden Pieces: Studio Calico and Hobby Lobby

Pens: Sharpie and Sakuro

Ink: Ranger

Stamps: Susan K Weckesser for Unity Stamp Company

Rub-Ons: Fancy Pants Designs

Alpha Stickers: American Crafts

I hope you enjoyed my little project and it inspires you to remember all the summer fun you had now that the craziness of back to school is here!

Until next time creative friends, happy hopping!

XOXO,

KERI