2014 top ten round up!

I spend a lot of time blogging- typically five days a week which means I typically average about 236 posts per year! I love looking back at all the things I have shared at the end of the year and today I picked my favorite 10 posts from this year.

I come up with all kinds of crazy creative DIY projects but the statement wall that I painted spur of moment with a couple bottles of black paint is one of my craziest!

This was the year that I got back to my roots as the daughter of potters and embraced working with clay. The day that my family spent throwing pots on the wheel goes down as the most fun day ever!

We love to collaborate as a family and this collaboration post, complete with video of the process is one of my all time favorite projects!

I will draw or doodle on just about anything but this backpack project was goes down one of my favorite doodling projects. It never ceases to amaze me how much you can do with a paint pen!

One of my most popular posts and one of my favorites is The Art of Chasing a Dream. I share nine videos where I open up and talk about my experiences and tips about chasing after the dream of working as a full time artists.

I was honored and thrilled when UGG Australia asked me to collaborate and interpret their color focused Spring 2014 line, bringing it to life and putting my own creative spin on their inspiration. I shared a fun video and post on traveling the Northern Oregon Coast,  ways that I find inspiration, creating with a kid, throwing a woodland picnic and I even got to design Mother's Day cards for UGG stores! This project was a big creative highlight of my year!

After a couple of years living in our house, we decided that 2014 would be the year that we tackled our backyard and what a project it was! From lots of clearing weeds and berry bushes to leveling and landscaping, after couple of months of work we finally have a backyard perfect for play! We even created a fun fire pit area.

This was the year that I changed the way that I eat by drastically cutting out sugar, refined carbohydrates and processed foods. And while I will never completely eliminate anything completely from my diet the changes made a big impact on the way I felt. You can read all about it HERE

We spend a lot of time exploring and taking small trips outdoors but our October day trip to Oysterville, WA was one that I will always remember as a little extra magical!

Simple projects that cost little to nothing are always my favorites and this driftwood heart might be the cheapest and easiest project that I've created and it is one that I love a lot!

around these parts

I am pretty much smitten with Instagram and it is a place where I am able to document, show and share a more personal look into our life (without words).You can follow me HERE for a peek into our daily happenings.

upcycled gift wrap

There is always that one family member who insists upon saving opened gift wrap and I am that family member! While I am not a hoarder, I do like to upcycle things in my creative projects that would otherwise get thrown out. Christmas is my favorite time to stock up on colorful paper that I can put to use in projects throughout the year. After everyone opens their presents, I collect the paper (even the crumbled paper) that catches my eye- my favorites are tissue paper, colorful wrapping and interesting prints. There are SO many ways to upcycle gift wrap and today I am sharing three of my favorites!

Incorporating gift wrap into an art journal is super easy. Lately I have been making and binding my own art journals with my Bind-It-All. Recently I made myself a HUGE art journal filled with my hand painted paper but I also added gift wrap for a light weight filler paper that I can use to add pops of color, doodling, drawing and collage.

If you are not creating or binding your own art journals, gift wrap is great to use in the backgrounds of collage, with photos or even incorporated into painted surfaces.

I've been making paper and fabric beads for years! They are a perfect projects to put teeny tiny scraps of just about anything to use. 

Simple roll strips of paper around a tooth pick (or something similar) gluing as you roll. Once the bead it rolled up, let the glue dry. Take it a step further and dip the beads in a glossy gel medium for a little shine or even paint them!

Paper mache projects are such a great way to put scrap paper to use and it is kid friendly! We are working in a little collection of paper bowls to use for storing little goodies and tiny treasures. I love that this was created from trash!

happy holidays to you!

I will be signing off to go spent time with my family for the rest of the week. 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 next week with all kinds of new and creative things to share!

xo Alisa

a download for you!

Need last minute tags for your wrapping? I've got two pages of black and white gift tags that I created from a variety of my drawings and designs for you! Simply click below the images to download and then print (make sure when you are printing that you hit "fit to paper") Enjoy

download HERE

download HERE

updates from the studio- new classes and a SALE!

You guys how is it already the week of Christmas? Well things are gonna get busy for all of us in the next couple of weeks so I thought I would take this opportunity to post a little update.


I've been hard at work on my latest batch of online classes for 2015. This is actually the first time in a few years that I took a couple months off in the fall from creating online classes so I could actually have a little more time for other projects. But now it I am back and I have four new classes for the beginning of 2015 in the SHOP that I am really excited about. And since I love to offer a sale, all of the new online classes (including the season pass) are all marked down $10 off until January 12th!

Live FEBRUARY 2, 2015     $50.00

For the last few years, I've had a requests to offer a class on growing a creative business and to be honest I've been a little resistant. I really wasn't sure if there was any information I could offer that is different from everything else out there. But after my Art of Blogging online class went live, I received lots more requests, then I had a lot of conversations with fellow creatives which inspired a lot of brainstorming and I decided go ahead and offer my unique perspective and approach on growing and running a creative business. 

MY STORY (THE SHORT VERSION)
I can't remember a time in my life without art and around age 7, it was pretty clear that when I grew up I wanted to be an artist and my parents supported this endeavor my entire life. By the time high school hit, I had already been selling and showing my work. I went on to college to study painting and printmaking, grew my creative resume, continued showing my work and bounced from creative jobs and projects. Insert 15 more years of juggling a day job with making, selling art and teaching workshops and here I am today successfully working for myself as an artist. I've had tons of experiences, lots of ups and downs and learned some amazing lessons. While I am not an expert, I am a determined gal who has spent over 20 years chasing after the dream of being a self employed artist and I have A LOT of knowledge to share. 

ABOUT THE CLASS
In my opinion, there is no magic formula for growing a creative business, in fact there is all kinds of free information that you can access online. I am not going promise you the secret to success in this class. Instead I want to share with you what has worked for me. It has been a long (sometimes painful) 20 year journey with just as much failure as success. I've tried just about everything in the creative world- from working and showing at galleries, to framing art, to teaching at retreats, to selling at craft shows, to freelance, to design and more. I was always searching for a big break and it never came but through it all I was loyal to my love and passion for art. Slowly my creative business grew into something that today supports our family. 

In this class I share as much information as I can- everything from defining who you are, insight on creative professions, branding, marketing, blogging, managing finances, how to deal with failure and rejection, how to grow and handle growth and so much more. Again, I am not an expert, I am simply an artist whose had a lot of experience finding her way and I am excited to share my story, my knowledge, my success and failure. So if you are looking for the inspiration to jump start your creative goals in 2015, this is the class for you!

More information HERE

Live MARCH 16, 2015     $30.00

I spend  A LOT of time sketching but I probably spend just as much time working in an art journal. For me there is really a fine line between an art journal and a sketchbook. For my sketching process I limit my supplies- But when I work in my art journal, I explore all kinds of mixed media techniques like painting, collage, sewing (with paper), stamping, doodling, drawing and printmaking. My art journal is a small and accessible place for me to practice, explore and brainstorm all kinds of techniques. 

In this class I will be sharing some of my favorite simple art journal techniques that anyone, any age or any level will be able to create. From using everyday things to incorporating photography to doodling to painting pages to printmaking to stamping and more, I have gathered up my favorite ways to fill an art journal.

More information HERE

Live APRIL 20, 2015    $30.00

I've taken my popular 2 day live retreat You, Me & the Sea and turned it into a mini online class. So for all you land locked readers looking for a little inspiration from the beach...I am bringing the beach to you!

I will be using my world on the Oregon Coast as the inspiration and subject matter for a variety of lessons, prompts, drawing, watercolor and art journaling techniques. We will absorb the colors, materials and treasures of the landscape and turn them into art. I will share a variety of drawing, watercolor, photography and art journal techniques that can be used at the beach or in any setting. I will share my own photography, shell collections, knowledge, stories and experiences from my life growing up at the beach. My goal is to immerse you in the natural wonders of the sea.

More information HERE

Live JUNE 1, 2015    $30.00

It takes time and practice to get comfortable with drawing, sketching and even doodling. And there is nothing more important than practice- lots and lots of practice! I've put together this fun little class for those of you looking for accessible and simple ways to practice your drawing skills. 

Draw With Me is a mini class structured in 30 small but inspiring posts. The concept is that you have one simple idea, prompt or technique to work through each day for 30 days. I will be sharing all kinds of drawing, sketching and doodling exercises to get you inspired and comfortable drawing. 

Important Note- those of you who have taken my sketching classes or my 30 prompt classes, this class will have new information and will NOT repeat specific prompts from past classes (in case you were wondering).

More information HERE

Once again I am offering a season pass that includes all four winter/spring 2015 classes-

The Business of Being Creative

Art Journal Delight

You, Me & the Sea

Draw With Me

The season pass costs $110 (compare at $140 for all four classes) a savings of $30 or the cost of one small class PLUS AN ADDITIONAL $10 OFF if you purchase with the sale!

If you are interested in taking all four classes, this is the option for you.

Just a reminder that I will be teaching for Life Book 2015! Life Book 2015 is a year- long online course featuring 26 different teachers with 26 different perspectives on the creative process. The class is packed is packed with lessons, inspiration and a vibrant community of artists from all over the world. 


Ok thanks for being patient with my update...now back to regular scheduled programming!