making a house a home (slowly)

lucy walk from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.

new online class- Ode to Nature and a giveaway!

ode to nature from Alisa Burke on Vimeo.

I am so excited to be announcing my next online class- Ode to Nature! I have actually been planning this class for over a year but knew that I wouldn't actually start creating it until we began our new life in beautiful Oregon.

My love of nature seems to carry over into every part of my life. From taking a walk- to looking up at the sky- to hiking a trail- to beach combing- I am constantly reminded of what a beautiful, miraculous and amazing world we live in!

This class is challenge to get back to nature, that regardless of where you live- to get outside, to make time and space to explore the world around you, to look for inspiration in the organic, to seek out the small details (in the everyday and the not so every day), to open your eyes to beauty and inspiration and to discover ways to use the natural world and all its offerings in your art and creative projects.

Ode to Nature is combination of process, prompts, inspiration and all kinds of creative techniques and projects. I will be taking you on a journey through the woods, over mountains, along beaches and bringing beautiful Oregon into your home! I will share my own personal inspiration, favorite places and things and also share ways to discover what is waiting in your own backyard and how to apply that inspiration to your creative life. We will doodle, sketch, paint, photograph, collage and craft our way through the natural world!

FAQ

I don't live near nature, can I still take the class?

In my humble opinion, nature is everywhere- not just in the majestic places! From city parks- to your local garden center- to urban landscaping- to clouds in the sky- to raindrops in a puddle- to the the birds that nest on telephone poles you can find nature just about anywhere! In this class I will be sharing all kinds of inspiring photos and video to draw inspiration from as well as sharing a variety of ways to open your eyes to your own world.

I have taken a number of your other online classes will this be a repeat of information?

Much of what I teach in many of my classes is based in a foundation of seeking/applying inspiration, sketching and painting but I try to always provide new content. While many of the video clips and photos may look familiar in my "promo material" I always provide brand new ideas, content and techniques for all of my classes.

I have no experience sketching, can I still take the class?

Of course! I try to cover a variety of different ways to go about the sketching process and so that students can pick and choose which works for their comfort level and experience.

For more details and registration information head over to my online shop HERE

In addition to launching registration today, I am also giving away FIVE FREE spots in the class!

To ENTER-

Leave me a comment

Tell me what inspires you most in the natural world!

I will draw 5 names later this week

fashion friday- forgotten to fabulous

Today's post is a ridiculously simple concept but such a great way to transform something forgotten into something fabulous! If you are like me you misplace or loose earrings- I have a bag full of earrings that are missing their other half and for some reason I can never part with them. For a while I have been using my favorite single earrings and turning them into simple necklaces! With just a jump ring and a chain all those single earrings can be transformed into something brand new!

a peek inside my sketchbook

inspiration- roadside flower stands

screen printed fabric

Recently the new Tulip ScreenIt arrived on my doorstep for me to try out and let me tell you I was thrilled! I have worked with just about every different form of screen printing and I knew that like all of the other products from iLoveToCreate - this one would be fabulous!! I got busy creating my own screen printed fabric!

The ScreenIt is a really simple and easy to use, all in one DIY screen printing system- where you can burn your own screens. The printing system comes with-

1 Tube of Tulip® Soft® Fabric Paint

1 Squeegee

1 Dark room light bulb

2 Machine light bulb

Detailed instructions

And the best part (in my opinion) is that you can use all of the Tulip Soft fabric paints with your screens!

At this point I have to preface the rest of this tutorial with the fact the I rarely use screen printing the way that it is intended to be used- big shocker I know! So if you are expecting a straight forward perfect tutorial of how to screen print a fresh clean design- you won't find it here not that there is anything wrong with fresh and clean- its just not my style! Instead I like to use the screen printing process as more of a way to create pattern on fabric and a way to add layers to mixed media projects. You can read more about my process in my book Sew Wild or see it in action in my online class Beneath the Surface.

The first thing I did was create a page full of simple drawings to burn onto a screen. This is where I am a little different in my process- I like to fill my screens with a variety of designs (more bang for your buck when working with emulsion screens). Instead of placing just one image in the center of the screen I like to fill the screen with different images and designs and then use those designs in different projects. WARNING- if you are looking for a really clean way to screen print- like on t-shirts-this is not the way to go- instead place your image in the middle of the screen.

After burning my drawings onto the screen (it only took 15 minutes!) I then cut my screen up- yes you read correct- I cut around the different designs on the screen and then start printing with all of my little pieces of screens.

I use my little pieces of screen prints to create layers of pattern on fabric (clothing, paper, canvas, etc). Keep in mind that I am going for more of a messy look so I tend to embrace imperfections that I get from this process (including the edges of the screen getting printed on the surface).

I covered a good amount of my surface with a layer of flowers- much quicker and easier than painting or drawing flowers on my surface!

After the first layer of flowers was dry- I added another design - paisleys- with another color. (This time I used a piece of the screen that had a couple of designs on it and I simply taped off the designs that I didn't want printed)

I continued to add more layers of designs in different colors- letting each layer dry in between.

For the last layer I added a bird here and there on the surface in black so it would pop!

The result is a unique, colorful and one of a kind piece of fabric to use in a variety of projects!

For more information and some really great videos on the Tulip ScreenIt visit here