Feeling the itch to get back into my art journaling.

I was on the art journaling kick a few months ago after running across a few blogs/websites on YouTube, these tutorials were so fascinating and these women so talented. Art journaling is one of the most enjoyable art forms around and can be very inexpensive or as elaborate as you want. All you need is a journal and a pencil or if you prefer, a journal and as many art mediums your pocketbook will allow. This type of art is considered mixed media, and what that means is you use whatever you have on hand and whatever technique your little heart desires...pencil, paint, colored pencils, spray dyes, stamps and inks, decoupage etc...all at once. There is no right or wrong way to art journaling, even the "mistakes" are beautiful. When you've finished with your mixed media art journal page and it has dried you just move on to the next blank page and let your imagination soar once again.

Art journaling/mixed media/drawing websites and tutorials       

• http://www.creationsceecee.com
• CeeCee's YouTube Channel: here
• Donna Downey Artist Gang YouTube: here
• http://jeanneoliver.ning.com

Better yet just go to YouTube and search for *Art Journaling* or *Mixed Media* and explore till your heart's content. Here is a page out of my Mixed Media Art Journal.

Or, if you want to follow some awesome tutorials on sketching/drawing check this amazing guy out.

• Mark Crilley's YouTube Channel: here

Here's a look at my first attempts at sketching realistic eyes & mouth.

               
    So give it a try, watch some tutorials and see what mediums these artists are using, buy one or two items at a time and if you are lucky enough to have a Micheals near you, use their coupon like I did on one item... I just got on the Michaels website and there is a 50% coupon off any one regular priced item thru Sat 10/29/2016...YooHoo!!

                                                            Enjoy!
                                                             Nan

Another Sale...and thoughts on the last week of youth softball!

Another sale yesterday in my Etsy shop...Yay! Thank you Valda, your purse is on it's way! 

This week is the last week for my Granddaughter's youth softball games,and I have to say, it has been the most fun and rewarding 3 months. This was her first time on any kind of sports team ever. I wasn't too sure about signing her up at first, she already does dance and I was concerned about it being too much for her, (and me), but in the end, even with a lot of protesting and crying, I did it...and she has grown to love it! We couldn't be more proud of her. I promised her if she would just go out there and give it all she had this season, if she didn't like it she wouldn't have to sign up next season...she said she can't wait till next season, this makes me so happy. She's actually sad it's ending this Friday...our last game. So, here's to the first and hopefully many, of youth softball and beyond.

 

Oh how I love vintage!

I'm not sure when it happened...this love of vintage that I have. Maybe when you hit a certain age you start to realize your time on earth is now somewhat calculable. No, I know I can't predict *when* I will leave this earth...but I know, with absolute certainy, I *won't* be here in 59 years...the year 2075 to be exact. Now, that fact has always been the case, it's just that you don't give turning, or not turning, the age of 112 much thought till you get older...in my case when I hit 50. That's about the time I started reflecting more and more on my childhood and all the little things in ours and my Grandparents home that I remember the most, like the wooden bowl my Grandma Waters used to make her scratch made biscuits, or my Mom's black iron skillet used to fry up the best fried chicken this side of KFC, or the metal ice-cream scooper at my Grandparents house that I loved to dip in a glass of hot water so it would glide easily through the frozen ice-cream goodness, or the owl canister set that adorned our kitchen counter for years, or my Grandma Barton's big enameled kitchen sink, and my Grandma Waters's white metal pantry cabinet that made that loud pop & screech when being opened and shut...Man I would love to have that cabinet in my home office/studio right now...it would be perfect to hold all my crafting and postage supplies. There are so very many more reminders of my childhood that I have this need to recapture and that is why I love thrift stores...and the hunt for these things, some I keep and some I will list in my vintage etsy shop, and some I'm still holding on to because I can't decide if I can get rid of them...like the six mid-century cocktail glasses with the blue french poodles on them...I love them, but you never know...they may eventually show up in my shop. So, I'm putting a link to my vintage Etsy shop pinterest board, and a link to my "Day's gone by' board and a link to my "Remembering Childhood" board and a link to my "Memories of Christmases Past" board for you to peruse through, maybe you too will catch the vintage bug. 

First Etsy sale since re-opening my Shop! Yayy!! And, why I'm a YouTube addict.

Nothing is more exciting than seeing that little number in "Your Shop" when I log onto my Etsy site. Thank you J.W. for making my day...and hope you enjoy your Holly Hobbie doll. And thank you to all the others for favoriting  my items in my shop...it means a lot! I'll be adding more items in the next few days...I have an awesome little vintage metal and lucite purse to come...just gotta get some good photo's first...hope you stop by my shop for a look see.

So, My name is Nan Harrison, and I'm a YouTube addict. I'm on it everyday for hours! No kidding!! See, I love to learn...a lot! YouTube is a gold mine for anything you've ever wanted to know, and probably some things you didn't...be careful!! just saying! There are so many people who are willing to share what they know with others...and I want to thank them. So next time you need answers or you want to watch tutorials on what ever, click on over to YouTube...I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.