fashion friday- embroidery love

1. karma 2. aida coronado 3. free people  4. anthropologie  5. anthropologie  6. design emporia  7. rawhide  8 8. free people 9. jonny was

brother scan and cut

I am super excited to reveal a secret project that I have been involved with! 

Brother International is releasing a brand new cutting machine in October and it is called the Scan N Cut. It is the first all in one cutting machine with a 300 dpi built-in-scanner  and I've been having TONS of fun playing with it! I have been scanning in my doodles, cutting them out and using them in all kinds of projects!

If you would like to get the latest details, sign up for the Scan N Cut mailing list HERE. And stay tuned because VERY soon I will be sharing some really fun tutorials!

ways to fill white space

My sketchbook is all about getting ideas out of my head, it is a place to practice and a place to warm up my creative muscles. Because I spend a lot of time sketching and keeping a visual journal, a BIG part of my process is filling a page. Most of the time when I sit down to draw or doodle I try to fill all the white space on the page with something...anything! The daily practice of working from start to finish and filling white space has become a great lesson in learning (and embracing) the discipline it takes to complete a creative project. Today I wanted to share a few of my favorite simple ways to fill white space.

In my opinion color is one of the easiest ways to fill white space. If left white, the subject matter is is nice but if you choose to fill the space around that subject matter with color, things begin to POP and instantly become more dynamic.

Tip- Try adding more saturated color along the edges of your drawing this will get things to jump off the page even more.

Free writing, journaling and adding text to white space is a great way to not only fill the space but it is also a fun way to keep a journal. 

Depending on your subect matter you can add observations, inspiration, ideas, even recipes!

TIP- Try getting creative with the placement of your writing. Add text inside the borders, in between shapes and around your subject matter.

I love to doodle and I have discovered that simple shapes or pattern are a great way to fill up white space. Use all those nooks and crannies in between your subject matter and fill them with smaller doodles.

TIP- Keep it simple with dots and dashes or get more complex with intricate lines and pattern. 

Theres is no rule that says that white space needs to be filled with clean details! One of my favorite ways to fill space is with lots of messy swipes of color, drips, scribbles and expressive marks. 

TIP: Set out to "attack" your sketchbook page like you would a mixed media project. Begin with a colorful, messy and expressive background and then draw over the top.

As much as I love trying to fill all the white space on a page, there is something quite beautiful about holding onto some of that blank space!

TIP: Try drawing from the corner of the page or offsetting your drawings to one side this creates visual harmony between your drawing and the white space.

For more information about my sketching process and supplies visit HERE

a peek inside my sketchbook- oodles of doodles

canvas pencil holders

If there is one thing I have A LOT of laying around my studio is painted canvas scraps and pens and pencils. 

So when I needed to organize supplies, I decide that all those canvas scraps would be perfect for making some cute little pencil holders!

I cut my canvas into a rectangle.

I folded it in half.

Sewed up both sides.

Sewed each corner (on the inside).

Turned the pouch right side out.

fashion friday- draw your clothes

back to school altered notebooks

Its the time of year when the kiddos head back to school and my favorite time of year because there are all kinds of fun back to school supplies in stores! Back when I was in school I couldn't bear to have a boring notebook or folder and (big surprise) I would always alter the outside of my school supplies. After grabbing some cheap composition notebooks for my office, I decided to transform them into something messy and colorful!

I started by painting over the outside of the notebook with white house primer but you could use gesso, house paint or acrylic paint. The goal is to cover everything up!

While my paint was still wet I added a few swipes of color to my first layer of paint and then let everything dry.

This time of year the school supply section is loaded with all kinds of things that can be used in painting and mixed media projects- it just takes a little thinking outside the box! I picked up a package of erasers that were great for stamping! 

I added a layer of stamped circles, more messy swipes of color and some drips.

Once again I let everything dry.

I continued to add layers of color, messy swipes and a little spray paint.

TIP- letting layers dry keeps color vibrant instead of muddy. And if you don't have the patience to wait for things to dry, hit it with a hair dryer until the surface is tacky before adding another layer.

The result are wild and messy notebook covers that would be great at this point but I like to add another layer of fine details and doodles. 

There you have it! TOTALLY unique notebooks perfect for students (or anyone) who likes a little creative expression in their supplies!