2013 round up

I spend a lot of time blogging- typically five days a week which means I have over 236 posts this year! I thought it would be fun to gather my favorite posts from 2013. Here is a little round up!

The Art of Setting Goals might be one of my favorite all time posts because everything I share about setting goals is so simple! 

handmade photo booth (perfect for a any party or celebration!)

noodle beads (for grown ups)

life with lucy- unexpected lessons

love branch

canvas pencil holders

the art of collaboration

stone statement rings

getting creative with reality

plastic bag printmaking

dolls for lucy

diy window seat

year end sale!

We only have 2 more days left of 2013 and to celebrate the coming new year I've got a little year end POP up sale happening over in the shop! So if you are looking to start 2014 with some creativity and learning, head on over to the shop to save $10 off all online classes. Head on over to the SHOP for all class offerings (prices have been marked down).

This will be the last sale for a while so get em' cheap while you can! 

Sale ends January 1, 2014

a joy filled holiday to you!

I will be signing off to go play with my family and soak up the remainder of 2013. 

I want to wish everyone out there a joy filled holiday. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for being a part of our life, for supporting my creative business and tuning in every day! I'll see you back here in 2014 with all kinds of new and creative things to share!

xo Alisa

the holidays around these parts

I love this time of year so much and having a two year old makes me love it even more! While I have continued to stay really busy with work, I've also made it a priority to slow down a little bit, take more breaks, spend as much time as possible outside, be creative in everything I do, be present for every moment and make as many memories as I can with my little family.

last minute hair pins

The holiday season often means going to events and that means getting all dolled up! It also means running out of time to shop for a festive outfit and accessories! One of my favorite ways to add instant pizazz to just about any outfit is with colorful and fun hair accessories. But who needs to go shopping when you can quickly create your own from supplies that have on hand!

All you need are bobby pins (or your favorite kind of hair pin or clip) and some heavy duty glue or epoxy.

Next, try to find some everyday things that can be transformed into a fun embellishment.

Other materials that could be used- beads, old jewelry, fabric, lace, ribbon, glitter, scrapbook embellishments, stones, washi tape and more!

Keep in mind that a lot of everyday materials are not going to be heavy duty or weather proof but that is ok- the point is getting creative fast with what you have on hand!

Paper flowers are trending right now and while they typically get used for party decor or gift toppers, they make unique hair pins. Use colorful paper (tissue paper, crepe paper, butcher paper) to create flowers in different shapes and sizes. Glue those flowers to bobby pins and add a pop of whimsy to any outfit!

Head outside and grab a twig off of a tree, spray paint it gold and glue to a bobby pin. You have a fast (almost free) romantic hair embellishment!

Yarn pom poms are so easy (and addicting) to make for a variety of projects. I love adding them to a bobby pin to create a colorful and quirky hair accessory.

I love anything with an arrow so I grabbed a couple of toothpicks, some scrap paper and a little paint to create two cute arrows pins. 

give the gift of learning

Christmas is getting down to the wire- YIKES and if you are burned out on malls and running around shopping, why not try giving the gift of learning! These days there are retreats, classes and e-courses for just about every interest and I have put together a handful of some learning opportunities that would make a great gift!

1. I have never met Misty Mawn in person but we do travel in many of the same creative circles and I know that she teaches amazing, soulful and inspiring classes. Her latest online class Full Circle sounds wonderful! It is 12 weeks of instruction with 3 postings a week. From Drawing, to Painting, to Sculpting, to Journaling, to Writing, to iPhoneography this online class would be a wonderful gift for any artist.

2. Feast is a San Francisco start up dedicated to teaching people basic cooking skills online. They offer a super cool online class called Feast Bootcamp where you can learn about cooking but even more important, learn how to embrace the habit of cooking. I LOVE this concept and the class would make an amazing gift for the non chef!

3. Fun fact about me: I come from a surfing family and spent my high school years working at the local surf shop here on the Oregon Coast! Fast forward 20 years and my former boss and friend now runs Northwest Women's Surf Camps- a really unique surf camp for women here on the Oregon Coast. From surf lessons to girls getaways to immersion retreats there are TONS of options for leaning to surf. This spring they are even offering a week long retreat in Kauai (swoon) and even better- for the next month,
special rebate discounts are being offered. Booking with a girlfriend, both will receive 
$150 off. Book solo and receive $100 off.

4. Not ready to hit the yoga studio in person? How about an online Yoga class in the privacy of your own home? 30 Days of Yoga from Marianne Elliot is a class where you can download the course and work according to your own needs. This would make a FABULOUS gift for those busy mamas out there.

5. My friend and fellow teacher Carla Sonheim is one of the most creative and whimsical artists out there- I love everything that she does and her latest online class Year of the Fairytale is year long class dedicated to learning, creating and finding inspiration from fairy tales. 

6. Hand lettering is all the rage these days and this online class- The Art of Modern Calligraphy from Molly Jacques  on SkillShare is the perfect class to get started with lettering. Everything from learning about the structure of letters to using different pens, to creating your own alphabet, this class is sure to inspire all kinds of creative people!

7. Just a few miles away from where I live is EVOO a cooking school in Cannon Beach, Oregon dedicated to a unique learning and eating experience! From cooking classes to dinner shows, the experience is inspiring and delicious and would make a SUPER awesome gift for the foodie (or traveler looking to eat and explore) the Oregon Coast!

8. I am a photography junkie and one of my favorite places for inspiration and learning is the Define School an online resource for photographers looking to learn from fellow photographers. With a variety of online classes year round there are all kinds of fun opportunities for photographers.

9. Teesha and Tracy Moore (once again) have created somethings totally unique, groundbreaking and creative- The Astronauts Club. For $5 per month (yep only $5) you subscribe to an online community full of inspiration, online classes, downloads and more! I think a subscription would make the BEST stocking stuffer for mixed media artists!

sunset collection

Last month I shared HERE why I think winter is the best time of year to visit the Oregon Coast. Since that post we've had an amazing run of beautiful but cold weather. With that weather has come some beautiful, mind blowing sunsets...like every evening! And while the sun sets at 4:38pm, the beauty of these sunsets make the short days worth it. Every evening we head down to the beach and watch the sun drop into the horizon and its become a little tradition to capture the sky with our cameras. Taken only with my iphone, I've managed to gather a collection of sunsets. Here are a few of my favorites:

For all of my sunset photos and a more personal peek into my life you can head over to my Instagram. My user name is alisakburke- I share all kinds of fun things from our daily life.

winter greens arrangements

While winter is not the time for colorful fresh flowers (in most places), you can still pull together really pretty arrangements with winter greens. I asked my mom (the gardener and expert on all things flowers and arranging) to help me transform simple greens from our yard into pretty arrangements.

The inspiration: an antique edition of Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau- A beautiful reflection on simple living in natural surroundings.

We started by collecting different kinds of greens from each of our yards. In the Pacific Northwest we have lots of pine, evergreens and fir trees, holly, herbs that last through the winter, a variety of different shrubs with berries, branches and twigs, TONS of moss and we even collected dried up flowers. Next, my mom got to work transforming all of our greens into arrangements!

TIP: Regardless of where you live try looking in your background for leaves, plants, branches or anything green!

Slices of thick branches make a perfect base for a tiny little tree. Simply drill a hole and place your branch into the hole- add a little hot glue for stability.

Use the little trees around the house, at place settings or even as a centerpiece.

You can transform any kind of sturdy branches, driftwood or logs into a candle holder by drilling holes for candles.

All kinds of objects and things can be used for a vase. We wanted to stay within our nature theme so we grabbed a large moon shell from the shelf and filled it with greens.

TIP: Floral foam can be used to transform all kinds of vessels into a flower vase- even those that don't sit flat. Soak the foam in water, fit it into your vessel and then insert the greenery.

My mom loves using floral frogs in her flower arrangements and she decided to use one of her glass vintage frogs and filled it with different heights of branches and topped it off with a clay star.

We used a wood container, put a jar filled with water inside and then arranged the greenery.

Use herb wreaths as decor or even at a place setting.