First Video Tutorial | DIY Artsy Kraft Letter

06.17.13 Creative Muse Monday | Botanical Inspiration

 Hey, its another Creative Muse Monday post! I wanted to share one of the sources where I find creative inspiration!

As a little girl, I remember spending countless hours in my backyard, imagining it was my secret garden where hidden treasures lay underneath. I recall digging up dirt hoping to find rare, precious rocks and gems to add to my rock collection, only to find potatoes, pill bugs, worms, and other interesting bugs. I probably wanted to be an archeologist at the time because the idea of digging for fossils and mysterious objects was exciting to me. I also loved creating necklaces and rings out of tiny flowers and weeds, pretending I was a little princess. Sigh. Those childhood years were so innocent…

My mom was a gardener I believe. I remember hydrangeas, violets, and other flowers growing in raised brick beds. I’m sure she got that from her parents because my grandparents were farmers in the Philippines. I wish I learned at an early age how to plant and garden. If I did, I would probably be a green thumb just like my hubby and together we might even be living on a farm right now. Ha!

Anyways, I always find that flora and fauna has always been one of the things I delighted in since as long as I can remember. I became self-taught in creating bouquets, centerpieces, and arrangements for special occasions for my own wedding and for friends and family. On my days off, I would go to the Flower Mart and pick out flowers to create an arrangement for my apartment, just to bring some life and color into my world. I absolutely loved it. At one point, I was determined to become a floral designer and almost convinced myself to move to Seattle and enroll in Floral Design School. But, I just couldn’t find the heart to leave my husband, who was my boyfriend at the time. So, that never happened. But, its okay because now I can enjoy botanicals in our own greenhouse and be surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers all the time. Plus, we are setting up space to grow our own fruits and veggies!

Below are a few photos of shots I took from our greenhouse and from one of my favorite nursery gardens, Flora Grubb Gardens.

Check it out!

 Beautiful succulents at Flora Grubb Gardens <3

 Spiral Aloe

Close up detail of a Pinguicula Flower

Overhead view of our Pinguicula collection

Roses outside of our greenhou

More Succulent LOVE <3

One of our ‘LOLA’ succulents, an Echeveria hybrid.

Carnivorous plant (Sarracenia Rosea ‘Big Mama’) that belongs to one of my hubby’s collection of carnivores. For more info about these rare plants, visit my hubby’s blog at The Pitcher Plant Project!

Another Spiral Aloe

Clematis at Flora Grubb Gardens

Big violet Clematis at Flora Grubb Gardens

Succulents in our greenhouse

Succulent bloom

Aeonium

Dahlia in bloom at Flora Grubb Gardens

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Yellow fields on our way to Half Moon Bay

A little peek inside our greenhouse

Father’s Day <3

Remembering Daddy

Memories of my Dad were not always pleasant for the most part. He was a huge part of my life, but not in ways that a daughter would typically describe their father. Let’s just say, he taught me life lessons that came out of adversity, poverty, and strife. That is where I guess you can say I gained the ability to persevere and the resilience to giving up hope when all is lost. His lack of involvement in my teen and pre-adolescent years trained me  to survive on my own and led me to seek out my faith. I discovered God’s love during my darkest and coldest moments…

He wasn’t really an active parent because he worked night shifts and during the day he was sleeping. On weekends, he loved to go fishing and that is where he spent most of his time when he was off. He did have a sense of humor, enjoyed having friends over for drinks and to gamble, and occasionally gave me and my sisters love and affection, probably more when he was drunk. After my mother passed, our lives were definitely turned upside down and my father’s drinking and drug abuse habits gradually took a toll on him. He was completely and utterly lost without my mom.  I’ll spare the details of how life with my Dad was like for the remaining years up until the last year of his death. Let’s just say this– it is a long, sad, and emotional story, but not without a silver lining. In the end, forgiveness and mercy was what helped us overcome our past.  We (my sisters and I)  found the courage to let the past go and the opportunity to be at peace with him. The greatest memory I do have of him is just a few months before he passed, when me and my sisters spent time in the hospital just cherishing what little time we had left with him and seeing how happy he was that we were all together. The reason why I can’t help but be thankful and not regret those years of suffering with my Dad is because despite the hardships and difficulties he brought into my life, I learned how to be strong, independent, forgiving, and compassionate because of him. This taught me to always look for the good in every situation. He is and always will be my father and I honestly do love and miss him very much… I just wish there were more good memories I could hold on to.

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Father and Sons

There is ONE special father in my life. My husband. I can’t describe it in words how much I appreciate him and his love for our two boys. As a young father with our first child at age of 24, he definitely has grown and matured over the years as a parent. Now in his 30′s, these last several years has definitely given him the opportunity to learn about what it means to not just be a Dad, but the importance of what it means to be a father.  Of course, both of us had to learn so many things through our experiences, both shared and individually. However, we realized that without trials and challenges, we wouldn’t have the wisdom and understanding that we carry today. As my boys grow older, I can see how they look up to their Dad and how much his presence in their lives makes such a huge impact upon their physical, emotional, and mental well being. He is their leader and their hero and they love him to pieces.

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Honey, if you’re reading this, thank you for being an amazing father who continues to strive to be patient (i know that can be tough) and who works hard to provide for our family, especially for our boys. We love and appreciate all you do for us. Thank you for being such a big part of their lives and raising them to be strong, brave, wise, and humble. I’m sure they will never forget your unconditional, persevering love and support.

xoxo,

06.10.13 Creative Muse Monday | DIY Artsy Mixed Media Letters

My creative muse for this week is this lovely altered letter. It measure roughly 8 inches tall and is made out of cardboard and kraft paper I believe. You can purchase them at any art and craft store. I got this from Beverly’s, a local store based in California. I’m sure Michaels or Joanne’s will carry them as well.

DARN! I didn’t take photos before and during the process of creating it because I was actually recording a video of me working on it the entire time.  Yes, I’m hoping to actually do video tutorials on my YouTube channel: MakitaStudio. It will be awhile before I can launch them since I’m figuring out all the logistics and technical specifications at the moment of capturing, editing, and such. But, in time my friends, in time…

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Products List:

Kraft Letter

12×12 Sheet of Patterned Paper

Acrylic paint (several colors)

Ranger’s Adirondack Color Wash Sprays

Baby Wipes

Stencils

Sharpie Oil Paint Marker in white

Sand Paper

Matte Medium or Modge Podge

Heat Gun

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Summary:

First off, I traced the kraft letter onto the scrapbook paper which I then cut out. Using matte medium or modge podge, I adhered the paper onto the front side of the letter. After the adhesive dried, I began to randomly paint layers over the top of the collaged paper with different colors using my fingers, being careful not to mix colors and drying the paint with a heat gun in between.  Sometimes I would take a baby wipe and gently wipe excess paint or to smudge the colors to give it a painterly affect. Using an alphabet stencil, I sprayed color wash onto the top left and bottom right areas of the letter. More layers of paint was added in other shades of colors. I used a sharpie paint pen to add marks and dots. Then I painted the word ‘dream’ onto the letter. To finish it off, I painted the inside and outer edges with a solid color and also sand papered throughout the entire surface to give it a distressed and worn look.

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Here it is hanging on my wall along with the rest of my work.  I am totally in love with it! Hope this simple project will inspire you to create one of your own. It literally took me less than 20 minutes to make.:)

I am still working on being on a more consistent and timely schedule with posting, so thank you so much for your patience. I have two boys who are just about to finish off their school year in a few days, so things have been a little hectic, but I am finding it more and more easier as time passes. Once summer is out for my kiddos, I think I’ll be good to go!

06.03.13 Creative Muse Monday | Art Journal Backgrounds

Whenever I can, I try to prepare several backgrounds in my art journal at a time without knowing what the page will be about. Most of the time, I’ll work from a blank page all the way to the finish, but sometimes I like to be spontaneous and randomly play with paint. Having the background layers already in place, also helps save some time when all I need to do is add journaling or other embellishments. It’s also a way for me to experiment with different color schemes and see how they turn out. The end result always surprises me as I come up with colors that truly reflect my mood or what I’m feeling at that moment. Most of the time, I am happy

Below are some of my recent pages that I had fun creating. They are vibrant and loud, full of bold colors. I realize that no matter what, my sense of style is always going to be lively and eclectic. I don’t think I could be a minimalist no matter how I try. Some do really well with that, but for me I like mixing things up and trying different colors, mediums and techniques. It’s so much fun painting freely and to just be imperfectly perfect, just like the little world I live in.

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Supplies used: Moleskin Kraft Journal, Claudine Helmuth Studio Paints, Golden Fluid Acrylics, Inktense Blocks, palette knife, paint brushes, sponges, tissue paper, deli paper.

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05.31.13 | ART JOURNAL MASH*UP {10 Minute Exercise}

In the last months, there were so many times that I’ve felt unmotivated, uninspired, and just plain MEH when it came to creating in my Art Journal. I would get frustrated because I really felt the urge and itch to create a page and all I would do is draw a blank. If I went too long without painting or creating, I end up like a big grump! No joke! If I would go on Pinterest, watch YouTube videos, and visit other blogs of some of the artists I follow, it only led me to spend TOO much time browsing and not doing anything else which defeats my purpose in the first place. Sometimes it even left me more discouraged than I was at first seeing all the beautiful art that everyone else is making. UGH

BUT…

I remembered this book, “Painted Pages” by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare, that I have on my shelf and read her intro about “finding a way, your own way, in the everyday to be creative and make art”. Further along in the book, she also has a Warm-Up Activity page where it gives you instructions on doing 2-minute creative exercises using prompts. That is where I came up with the idea of  writing down these prompts and putting them in a jar. So when I felt stuck, I knew that I could reach in and take out a prompt to give me that nudge. I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who  does the same thing, but I thought I’d share it in case someone reading this has never done or tried this method.

THEN…

It dawned on me that I needed to make it a HABIT to create a page every week (or everyday), something I always find hard to do especially with such a busy schedule.

My inner artist was really pulling at my heart and saying, ‘There’s NO EXCUSE! You could make time if you wanted to!”

That is how ART JOURNAL MASH*UP was created. I decided to spend time at least once (or twice) a month to create an art journal background/page in 10 minutes as a creative exercise using the prompts that I pull out from the jar. I may have a busy schedule, but I definitely can take 10 minutes out of my day to take time and get creative. I’m actually doing this for myself, so that creating art becomes a natural habit on a daily basis. But, if anyone out there feels inspired to try this, then this is worth sharing! Also, remember that even if the outcome isn’t as fabulous as you’d expect, at least you’re doing something, instead of nothing at all! Plus it is so much fun to experiment and see what you’ll find in the end!

Below is my first Art Journal MASH*UP that I’d like to share and the different prompts that were used. Check it out!

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 Created using 3 different creative prompts within 10 minutes!

 Details of paint dripping down the page.

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Ready, Set, Go!

 Set your timer for TEN MINUTES!

 FIRST PROMPT: Add drips acrylic paint on top of page.

Put drops of different colors of paint onto page then spritzed it with enough water to cause the paint to drip down.

SECOND PROMPT: Close your eyes while painting or drawing.

Dipped my fingers in magenta paint and spread it all over the page with my eyes closed.

THIRD PROMPT: Use colored pencils directly on your surface.

 Leaving maks all over the page using Prismacolor pencils.

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And that’s it!! The background is all ready for journaiing and/or a title if you wish!

You’re welcome to play along if you’d like! I would love to see what you come up with!

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Will be posting another ART JOURNAL MASH*UP last Friday of the month! So hope you’ll stop by and check it out!

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!

05.28.13 | Creative Muse Monday (late post)

Hello! Yesterday was Memorial Day, a holiday observed here in the U.S., in honor of our brave military men and women that have died serving our country.:) Hope that those of you who celebrated, had a very wonderful time with friends and family. We had a long weekend, which means I did not get to post yesterday since both kids and hubby were off from work and school. I did have something prepared, just didn’t get around to blogging so I apologize for the delay!!! I am still getting in the hang of blogging more often and in a timely manner, so please bear with me.

This week’s Creative Muse is fairly short, but sweet! I do have another cool post coming up this Friday that I hope you’ll come back to read all about it! Anyways, on to my little bit of creative inspiration that I want to share with you…

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I have been receiving Anthropologie catalogs for awhile and am in love with their indie, modern vintage, boho chic style that is classy and sophisticated. They are a women’s retail store that offers women’s apparel, accessories, home furnishings, gifts, and more. Most of their home goods are handmade by artists all over the world. If you have ever walked into one of their stores, then you know that it is a very unique and lovely place to shop. I was going to recycle these catalogs after I was done looking through them, but I decided to keep them in case I needed a dose of inspiration. Their catalogs are always full of colorful patterns and designs that I adore and love, so I basically keep them near my art table whenever the need for inspiration arises.

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On the cover of one of the catalogs, is this image of a lady holding balloons and it sparked an idea to use it in my art journal as a collage. After I created the background, I cut this image out and centered it onto the page with mod podge. The chevron patterned strips are actually from a Paper Source catalog that I also collect, which is another favorite source of creative inspiration. I could add journaling and/or a title to it, but I love it just the way it is. The image conveys to me positive thoughts when I look at it. I think of the words — rise, reach high, freedom, looking up, carefree, light. And the colors of course, make me oh so happy!

05.20.13 | Creative Muse Monday

Hello all!

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been blogging a bit more consistently lately or at least I’ve tried to. I know that over the past months, I’ve been so caught up in my crazy life (mostly in a good way) that I barely had the time or motivation to be creative. A lot of times I would sit in front of a blank page or canvas and I’d seriously feel lost and not be inspired at all. However, it turns out that it was a good thing that I took some time off from my art table because there were a lot of more personal and important issues that needed my attention. Once they were taken care of, all of the sudden my creative mojo came rushing back! Such a GREAT feeling… So far, every day has given me an opportunity to nurture my creative muse and do what makes me happy — get messy and paint!

I decided I needed to make it a habit to blog more about my creative adventures, but wanted to have a specific topic to keep myself focused on what to blog about. One of the reasons it’s so hard to stay on top of being consistent is that I have so many ideas, but don’t know where to start. I’m not saying I need to blog every single day, although that would be totally cool if I could get in that flow, but for now I just need to start somewhere and hopefully it will work out. So, I plan to be blogging a series every week called Creative Muse Monday… It will be random features of different creative aspects of my work from art journaling, canvases, paper crafting, artist inspiration and different techniques that I might try. Basically, I want to document my journey as a way to look back and see how far I’ve come as an artist and maybe inspire others along the way. For me, I love playing in my art journal and experimenting with different mediums without any specific theme or rules. It’s all about letting my creativity take me where it wants to and pushing my limits without feeling pressured or overwhelmed. It’s always so exciting to discover the endless possibilities that arise with each new page or project, even ones that come from making mistakes. It’s a learning experience that every artist goes through because it gives us a chance to grow and expand our creative ambitions to keep trying until we get where we want to be. Besides, our mistakes are our biggest teachers. I hope to inspire and get you to nurture your own creative muse as well so thank you in advance for taking time to stop by my blog!

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For the first time ever, I’ve finally tried my hand at using oil pastels and I am SO in love! I love the smooth and creamy texture which makes it easy to blend and shade and I love the intensity of the pigments. I didn’t want to spend too much on my first set of oil pastels so I opted to purchase Sakura’s Cray Pas Expressionist Oil Pastels. You can find these on Amazon or any other art supply store, but I ended up using my 40% off coupon at Michaels which gave me a pretty good deal.

Below are a few of my first oil pastel drawings in my vintage art journal.

 The set includes 25 colors and are very pigmented. A little definitely goes a long way….

Pretty Petals | My very first drawing was of course, a Dahlia flower.

Cupcake Love | I have an obsession with cupcakes. Who doesn’t?

Creative Wings | Spread your creative wings and soar…. Based on the quote “Creativity Takes Courage”

Disclaimer: This is a personal blog and I do not receive monetary compensation for any of my product reviews. All reviews represent the opinion of Makita Studio, based on personal use and results. At this time all products that I review are purchased by me. I do not receive any free products. On the rare occasion I receive a free or discounted item, I will disclose that in the individual blog post.

LDD May Kit: SHE {a tribute to her} | CT Layout : Dear Mom

Dear Mom | Everything from Little Dreamer Design’s May Kit — SHE {a tribute to her}. By Michelle Coleman.

Here is my newest layout for this month’s kit — SHE {a tribute to her} — available for subscribers at Little Dreamer Designs. It’s such a gorgeous collection honoring that special mom in your life, full of colorful papers and elements, journal cards, chalkboard labels and alphas, and floral bundles. My favorite set in this collection were the floral bundles, they are so yummy!

The first time I designed a page about my Mom was when I first discovered digital scrapbooking years ago in 2007 and then I created another one in 2010. A few years has now passed, so I thought it would be nice to not only create a new one, but to see how far I’ve evolved in my journey as a digital scrapbooker.

Here are my throwbacks:

A Letter To My Mother | Background paper and flower element was from a freebie by Doris Castle; journal paper- Thao Cosgrove Art Journal Collection; frame – Kate Pertiet Bare Frames

Sixty One | Everything from Black & White by Nancy Kubo (blog gift)

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Mother’s Day is always bittersweet for me. I don’t know if I could ever celebrate it without feeling a little emotional. Of course, I enjoy the love and appreciation I receive from my family and loved ones, but my heart always longs to celebrate it with my own mother. Seeing others with their moms always leaves me a little envious and I always try to keep that from getting the best of me. Yet it is something I have accepted and learned to understand that I’m not the only one missing their mama and all I could do is embrace her memory. She left me with a memory of words that she spoke over my life before she passed and I can still hear her voice and remember that very precious moment that I laid in her arms. I was 11 years old and the memory is still fresh in my mind. There are times that I wish I could relive that moment over and over again. Everyday I miss her, but I miss her even more on Mother’s Day. With each year that passes and as my children grow older, I often think about the experiences she didn’t have or the chance to enjoy life with me and my sisters and it drives me to live every moment with my kids to its fullest. I want to celebrate her life by being the best mom that I can be to my own children which I know is what she would have wanted… This year, I will be turning another year older and it is somewhat defining to me because I will have outlived her age when she passed. I hope to live many more years and enjoy a full life, reaching an age where I have finished raising my sons, seeing them graduate college, getting married, and starting their own families and being blessed with grandchildren… All the things that I know my Mom would have been overjoyed to witness and experience…

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MAY KIT | SHE {a tribute to her}

WWW.LITTLEDREAMERDESIGNS.COM

SHE {a tribute to her} May Kit By Michelle Coleman www.littledreamerdesigns.com

He{Art} Canvas | Birthday Gift – “Angelic Butterfly”

On May 5th, Cinco de Mayo, my niece — Akaela — turned 12 years old! She has grown so fast that I feel like I barely blinked. I can still remember the days when she was still a little girl, playing with her and taking care of her, before I had any children of my own.  Now she is a tween and it amazes me how she has grown into such a beautiful, young lady.

Akaela just moved into her own room and no longer shares a room with her sister, so I thought I’d paint her a gift to hang up on her wall. Because butterflies remind me of change, new beginnings, and transformation, it was only fitting to me to paint her a butterfly…. Her room was repainted with purplish walls so of course I had to paint it in compatible colors with purple in it.  By the way, purple is one of my favorite colors so I already knew that this would turn out beautifully.

 After painting the background, I sketched out the butterfly and painted it an ivory white. I wasn’t sure if I was going to paint over it with other details, but later on I realized how pretty the white looked against the purple. It spoke out to me as something innocent and pure and angelic which resembles my niece. So, I decided to only add subtle details and not do too much to it…

Next, I just painted in lighter shades of purple on both the outer and inner parts of the wings to give it a shadow affect and to add a little character.

With a fine tip round brush, I dotted the same shaded areas with purple and white paint for visual interest. If I had glitter on hand, I probably would have sprinkled some on to make it look even more whimsical.

 This was one of my favorite projects so far and I felt especially happy to have given it as a gift to someone special to me. I wrote a special message on the back from me, letting her know that she is loved and will always be loved by me. Akaela has 3 other sisters whom are all very unique and each hold a special place in my heart. So far, I’ve painted two canvases (including this one) for my nieces and will be creating 2 more later on this year… It’s always such a blessing to bless others with a handmade gift that I hope they will treasure as they grow older…