3 more days left!

Hey friends! There are three more days left to get in on my huge sale! Everything in the shop (including online classes) is on sale and we've got a handful of handmade items still available! You can visit the shop HERE.

a peek inside my process: loose watercolor blooms

SALE continues one more week!

Friends, I have extended my sale another week! Just like last year, we sold out of almost all my handmade goodies within a a day. Many of you missed out and contacted me so we added more stuff to the shop (that is on sale) and are also extending the low prices on online classes this week!

You can head over to the shop for low prices.

early black friday SALE starts today!

It's a tradition around here to have an EARLY Black Friday Sale! And this year I've got EVERYTHING in the shop on sale ALL WEEK LONG!

Spend over $100 and receive a free class of your choice!

Below is a peek at some of the goodies on sale!

All of my online classes (Over 80 classes available) are marked way down this week!

I've got a fresh batch of homemade art journals in the shop!

A huge batch of new pottery all on sale!

Clay earrings made by my mom!

A big batch of canvas pouches!

Head on over to the shop HERE for sale prices all week long!

happy weekend!

going gluten free forever

Last month I celebrated one year of eating completely gluten free and totally transforming my eating habits which has completely changed my life! Since my mid twenties, I've battled all kinds of mystery symptoms that often appeared to be related to food- crashing after I eat, heart palpitations, tons of inflammation, joint pain, frequent headaches, stomach issues, hair loss, exhaustion, mysterious rashes & the list goes on. I never thought these issues were anything more than normal ups and downs of just being me! But over the last couple of years, I had three miscarriages in a row, my body was rocked, exhausted from all the hormones, stress, grief and all of my "mystery symptoms" were even worse.

I started my journey with a Naturopathic doc and began getting my hormones and my body back on track. A big part of this was looking at my diet, I started tracking everything I was putting into my body and while we were eating healthy, what I noticed was that I felt 100% amazing when I removed gluten from my diet and then I would add it back in and have a terrible reaction- the only way I can explain the feeling is like having the flu-achy body, stomach issues, brain fog, dizzy, heart palpitations, rash and I would end up in bed for days. Up until this point, I am embarrassed to say that I thought gluten intolerance and celiac disease was not a real thing...BOY WAS I WRONG! When I removed the gluten, I would feel like a new person! Typically when it comes to Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance, a biopsy can give some more definitive answers but for me I didn't need any more answers, the writing was on the wall- me and gluten, we don't get along! 

So after a few months of back and forth removing and introducing gluten, in October of last year, I made the decision to go completely gluten free.  And let me tell you it was one of the hardest things I've done! I had no idea how much I loved foods with gluten and I had no idea how it would change everything! I also had no idea how much I love crappy food! But over time, I pushed through the cravings and kept eating a gluten free diet and slowly my body started feeling very different!

My cycle changed, my skin changed, my hair stopped falling out, my extreme back pain nearly disappeared, my brain fog was gone, my bouts of hitting a wall were gone. Now I am one year into this journey and I eat a primary paleo diet and I feel so very good- I've lost 10 pounds over the the year (which was not desired or in the plan) but my body is now free of bloating and inflammation. I honestly feel like something miraculous has happened and I can't believe how long it took me to listen to my body and make these big changes. I wanted to share a little bit about my journey just in case someone out there is experiencing mystery symptoms or feeling a little whisper about their health or diet. While it is never easy to change habits or diet and removing gluten is not the answer for everyone, I can say without a doubt it has changed my life!

creating with Jules: monstera leaf earrings

Hello creatives! My earring supply has been low for a while, so I thought I’d craft some new ones, out of one of my favorite supplies: polymer clay.

You’ll need:

White Polymer Clay*

Rubber Printing Block*

Lino Cutting Tool

Acrylic Paints, including Gold

Clear Liquid Polyclay*

E6000 Glue

2 Earring Stud Posts & Clasps

*There are a few different brands of these items, I personally use Sculpey Polymer Clay, Kato Liquid Polyclay and Renoir Ezy Carve Printing Blocks.

First, draw a monstera leaf with greylead using the diagram. Think about the size of earring you want and make your drawing a little smaller than that.

Cut the drawing out and place it face down onto a small piece of the rubber block and burnish it down with the back of a spoon to transfer the drawing to the rubber.

Carve the negative areas away around the leaf using a lino cutting tool. You will need to press your little stamp into some clay to check it and keep cutting away areas that are interfering with the design.

Roll two small balls of clay and gently press them down to flatten. Impress your leaf stamp into both pieces of clay and bake in the oven. 

Once cool, paint all over with dark green paint. When that’s dry, highlight the edges around the leaf with some lighter colors like turquoise, light green, and a touch of white. Paint around the edges with gold acrylic paint.

When the paint is dry, cover with a layer of the liquid clay and bake again according to the instructions on the liquid clay bottle. 

Last of all, attach your earring posts to the back of your creations using the glue. Let cure.

And wear!

I’m so happy to have some new earrings!

Jules :)

You can find more of Jules here:

Blog http://julesmadden.blogspot.com.au

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/julesmadden/

Shop https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/artbyjulesmadden

a peek inside my process- galaxy doodles

happy weekend!

FLASH SALE TODAY! painting bundle

Hey friends! I've got another FLASH SALE happening and this is the last flash sale until my big Black Friday sale later this month.

Today I've bundled four of my favorite online painting classes together for $30 (compare at $130 for all three) a cost savings of $100! If you are interested in learning all about the business side of art and creativity, this is the deal for you! Head on over to the shop HERE for more details or to register.

Offer ends Friday, November 9 at 10pm PST

PAINTERS BLISS: Join me for a colorful and messy class dedicated to breaking free and finding the bliss that comes with the process of acrylic painting! I will be sharing all my favorite supplies, techniques, tips, tricks and prompts when it comes to painting from the heart. From art journal pages, to small surfaces to painting on a variety of unique materials, we will explore different painting surfaces. We will explore color, expression, movement, composition, how to "let go" and discover ways to listen to our intuition when painting. 

LARGER THAN LIFE: There is nothing more liberating than working big, and this class will introduce you to working larger than life with paint and a variety of different surfaces. Forget about being confined by the size of your surface and start embracing what it feels like to get inside your paintings. We will experiment with working on the floor and on the wall, as well as reaching, crawling, and stretching around our large surfaces to get up close and personal with the creative process. You will learn about simple/affordable supplies, composition and a variety of painting and collage techniques to use on a large surfaces.

BEAUTIFUL BACKGROUNDS: There is nothing more important in my work than creating a really dynamic background and over the years I have developed and sharpened my skills when it comes to creating backgrounds. Beautiful Backgrounds is little class where I am sharing my favorite techniques and materials for creating a really great background. From painting with watercolors, acrylics to using collage materials I will share all my secrets for creating a really great background!

ARTFUL HANDS: You haven't lived as an artist until you have used your fingers and hands to make art! In this class we are throwing away our brushes and tools and using our hands. I'll be sharing a variety of my favorite tricks, tips and techniques for using our hands and fingers to create beautiful and expressive art.

a peek inside my process: pan pastel flowers

Pan pastels are artist quality soft pastels in a cake- like pan. What makes them really cool is that are able to dip all kinds of tools into that pan (brushes, blending tools, fingers and a variety of applicators) and actually "paint" with those tools. They are also very low dust, super bendable and the colors are really dynamic and they are wonderful for creating expressive florals.

Pan Pastels are really fun because you can hold onto drawing strokes and lines. You can also blend that color and those lines and create a really soft looks and feel to your surface. There are all kinds of really cool tools for blending but honestly I like using cotton swabs, a paper towel and my fingers the best! The only thing to keep in mind when it comes to blending tools is that pretty much anything soft will work to blend that color.

cotton swabs   makeup pads or any type of makeup applicators   Pan Pastels soft tools  Holbein blending brushes