This piece was a needed “create without any plan” piece. I’ve been busy getting the ART GARAGE built, designing classes & art camps, starting another side business, and of course, always being mama to 2 little ones. So creative time has been tough, or rather creating just for me time has been tough.

So, I turned on the camera, hit record & just made some art. It’s a wonderful thing when the hubs takes both kiddos on some errands just to give me some quiet time! And truly, I had a moment of, should I go create, or should I take a nap? Lol #momlife!

Thank goodness I chose to create!

This gorgeous angel is what came of it & I love her! AND! While I had no plan or agenda, the perfect stencil for this piece happened to be this one from AB.Studio, so Design Team Project checked off the list too! Don’t you love when a no-plan plan comes together!?

Enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed watching! Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

One of my new favorite tools for coloring digital stamps or creating watercolor backgrounds is Marabu Graphix Aqua Pens

Here’s the perfect example of what you can create with them, achieving both the watercolor look and the vibrancy you get from ink. I created this art journal page using these two stamps, Fairy & Ghosts, from Oddball Art Shop.

Simply use the Aqua Pen to outline h use a brush with water to fill.

Here’s a closer look at what they can do:

The fine tip side is so perfectly crisp & precise, while the brush tip allows for greater coverage and softer end lines.

And here’s more of the detail from my art journal page.

Sometimes you have the perfect image for a card & well, you might just look at the blank card & feel stuck … picking your image is just part of the game. You also have the background to think about. And that blank page/card can sometimes make you feel stumped. Well, one of my favorite ways to become un-stuck is to just start playing with paint, just lay down some color using some of my favorite tools & let it all happen naturally. So, here’s a quick and easy way to add some graphic, grungy background designs using just a couple of tools & some bright paint.

For this tutorial, I’ll be creating the background for this card that I created for Mother’s Day.

This fun card features this super sweet image from Oddball Art Shop!

First, gather your paint colors, a brayer roller & a palette knife.

With your first color, dab some paint directly to the brayer & simply roll it out on your page. Repeat with your second color.

Next, grab your third color and your palette knife & place some swipes of color across the page. Use small strokes & jump around the page until it feels balanced.

Add some paint drips using an art spray or liquid paint.

Lastly, frame it out using some black paint. Use a large paintbrush or your palette knife to create haphazard and uneven black edges.

To create your card, fold in half, and add your colored image. Use a bit of white paint around the edges to make the image pop.

Add a fun matching tag/bookmark & you have a sweet little card & extra little gift that didn’t take too much thought, but instead just let you play with paint to create a fun & colorful background!

This is also a super fun way to create cards with kids of any age. So grab some blank paper, paints & tools & create some cards for any occasion!

We’re in the final days of the HUGE sale over at Joggles! Marabu Art Sprays & Art Crayons are 50% off! Go grab some right now! & you can create this fun piece!

Here’s a step by step to creating this fun piece!

Start by laying out your colorful background with your Art Crayons.

Next spray with water to make the colors move. Use a paintbrush to help move the water and pigment around if you need to.

Pat dry with a paper towel.

Spray with silver shimmer art spray.

Stencil a pattern on top.

Spray Joggles Tree Die Cuts with Marabu Art Spray in black & then glue down.

Add your touches. Here, I added a string with hearts & stamped words, but you could create whatever you like!

Run the black Marabu Art Crayon over the edges and smear with your finger.

Add your discs to your Disc Journal pages by Joggles & ta-da! A fun art journal page in a short amount of time! Big impact thanks to the awesome pigments in the Art Crayons & Sprays & the fun products from Joggles!

And check out this shimmer!