michelle ward

Save on STENCILS on Cyber Monday!!

My SGP stencils are on sale!  (And ALL StencilGirlProduct Stencils!)

Cyber Monday: Save 25% off all* stencils
Use code: cyber25 
Monday, November 27, 2017
from midnight until 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Standard Time) USA

PLUS 10% discount when you buy 6 stencils of the same size!

NEW THIS YEAR! Choose 1 FREE large stencil for every $100 spent (after discounts are applied). You MUST specify your choice(s) by L### code in the comments section of the cart when you check out or it will be StencilGirl's choice. Sorry, no exceptions.

BONUS! Spend $500+ (after discounts are applied) and StencilGirl will send you an original work of art by Mary Beth Shaw.

SHOP Michelle Ward Stencils: HERE

After Cyber Monday, you can get 20% off all stencils on Tuesday & Wednesday
Use code: cyber20 
Tuesday, November 28, 2017, & Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Sale ends at 11:59 p.m. CST (Central Standard Time) USA
10% off 6 stencils of the same size discount, FREE stencil(s), and Bonus still apply.

*Stencils only. Does not apply to DVDs, books, tools, wholesale orders, StencilClub, or gift certificates. The StencilClub exclusive monthly member discount does not apply.

Here is a link in case you need to check your time zone against St.Louis, MO: 
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/personal.html

minimalism

Our challenge this month on the Street Team is a exercise of restraint.  Hold back.  Compose cleverly so there is more breathing room, less clutter.  Often we think that untouched space means it's unfinished.  Not true.  Less isn't superior or inferior, just a different approach.  Busy can be good too.  There are no rules, but for this crusade it's been interesting to see how the artists have responded to purposely going minimal.  Like this the page below....because last week I saw my first new patch of clovers!

 

This will be the last crusade for a while as I take a self-imposed hiatus.  Maybe you'll come play? 

Find us HERE.

 

I heart cardboard

While we are talking about things we love for Crusade No. 60, I have to declare my love for cardboard.  I got to thinking about it the other day when I saw this dumpster outside the pizza place we go to every Friday.  I must see it every week but for some reason it got my attention - Cardboard Only.  I was so tempted to poke my head in to see what might be in there.  I wasn't interested in the pizza boxes, I wanted to see if there were those divider things you get in a case of soda or beer.  I love the circle indents - they make great pages.

EDIT:  I forgot to include the last spread...now I have to finish the back cover and add some type of closure device.

I've started a new photo album - see sidebar on right - for my cardboard page journals. 

 

I {heart} cardboard!

 

 

ruby tuesday and crusade no. 60

It's been a while since I've posted Ruby Tuesday journal pages.  I still work on them....sometimes working out ideas for art, and sometimes just collecting debris from my studio table and even the kitchen counter.  These spreads are to support the latest crusade, No. 60 ~ I HEART (fill in the blank).  You know I love stencils and masks.  I sometimes forget you can simply use them with pens or pencils (right)...not always necessary to get them wet.  However, when you do use paint be sure to flip over for a monoprint (left). 

 

And after much taste-testing I'm finding that I really <3 Dark Magic....no, not the sinister kind, the K-cup kind.  There are others I do enjoy, but this one is my favorite this week so it went in my journal.  That's why we do pages like this...so we can recall and reflect on things we love/loved.

 

To learn more about the current crusade, click on over and come play with us.  HERE.

 

I meant to post this earlier...

If you click on over to the Street Team blog you'll see I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions but take the turn of the calendar as time to reflect on past accomplishments.  I find it rewarding and motivating.  I have posted a To-Do/Ta-Da list for you to print and use over on the Street Team.  If you've been wanting to get things going in your journal come over and play with us.  Eleven days to go....that means two weekends still left!

 

One of my Ta-Das for 2011 was to propose 42 stencil designs to Stencil Girl Products.  Two more have been released!  I had submitted the borders as 12" but Mary Beth and John launched them as 6" and they are so cute!  Perfect for an edge of a card, or a small journal page.  I've been playing with them - will show you soon.

 

now and coming soon

NOW:  So give this some thought....when you are snapping photos on Christmas, or your family get-together for a holiday event, move in front of the camera.  Pass over the control and make sure you are in a few pictures.  Simple.  Important.  Even if you don't participate on our street team,  I hope you'll at least consider the challenge of CRUSADE No. 58, and get caught on film. 

 

COMING SOON:  less than a week....

 

the latest

Obviously I'm a little slow to the scene for this one as it's been hit over 4 million times.  In case you haven't seen it either, I'll share here.  I was just thinking I may own too many scarves....between Fallon and I we must have, well,....not telling....because I don't want to be put on the *don't send her anymore scarves* list.  On the contrary, I love scarves and will never stop collecting.  Would you ever admit how many you have? *wink*  This video is informative, but also very very clever and mesmerizing.  I'm not just impressed with the 25 ways to tie a scarf, I can't imagine what it took to put this clip together.  Wow.

 

 

I updated the Home Improvement page with sample pages of my Alice book.  Click HERE to see, or start the tour by clicking on the right sidebar button.  More kits will be listed on ETSY this week.

 

Last week I posted Crusade No. 57.  FIVE years of hosting the Street Team blog!  Sheesh, times flies.

Come on over and play with us.  We make new friends every month, and love to build connections through creativity.

believe in your beat

This was the first project we did at Valley Ridge.  Cool, huh?  The point:  it was a great ice-breaker to begin class, and to illustrate the point that we all need to march to our own drummer - especially in a workshop.  Find your pace, then stretch it a little.  Each artist made an awesome set of sticks...I wish I had taken a group photo!  Drats. 

I was a little late this month getting the new crusade posted.  The challenge is to put into words how you feel about creativity being part of your life.  And then, so we get to know one another better, I invite you to tell us about the different kinds of art you make.  Isn't true we never really fit into one category?  The umbrella term 'mixed media' seems to be a label many use...but I have never really liked it.  Too vague.  Be more specific...I am a painter, a book artist, a visual journaler, a found object manipulater, a constructivist, an amateur jewelry maker, a polymer clay player, an aerosol artist, a stamp, stencil, and graphic designer...like that.  Gives you a better picture, right?  Anyway, come play...Crusade No. 56  (warning:  if you are at work, turn down your speakers before visiting the street team site.)

tsj: 15 & 16 plus updates

Back to the Table Scraps Journal.....

Thanks again for all the terrific feedback about the new stencils.  I'm such of a fan of Mary Beth's, and it is a thrill to be on her design team for Stencil Girl Products.  Your enthusiasm has made it even more fun!  I can't wait for you to see the rest of the collection :)

The new Somerset Studio is on the shelves - lots of great stuff inside....

 

And Crusade No. 55 is posted on my Street Team site.....come play along!

 

 

 
 

Click on over to see what this is all about.

Have a great Labor Day!  School starts Wednesday....bums me out to have the kids gone during the day :(
 

more shapes

I've been working on some more summer shapes and will show you those later this week.  I dug up some older ones, from 2009.  I hope it inspires you to look around at the interesting profiles and silhouettes that come with the season.

 

Speaking of silhouettes - I read in the exhibition catalogue from the recent Alexander McQueen show that he preferred designing a garment from the side view. 

    "I design from the side, that way i get the worst angle of the body. 
    You've got all the lumps and bumps, the s-bend of the back, the bum. 
    That way I get a cut and proportion and silhouette that works all the 
    way round the body."  Lee Alexander McQueen

Isn't that interesting?  Gives a much different perspective to look at a figure from the side. We tend to notice fronts and backs - but side view is genius.  It was an amazing show - well worth the five hour wait in the broiling sun.  You may have heard about the outrageous lines to enter the museum....Fallon and I were two of the thousands baking in the heat to see the exhibit on the very last day. 

I loved this one - on display, and with a video to illustrate the painting process.  See that HERE.  (Photos borrowed from Met site.)

 

We are continuing studying color and names with the current crusade.  It's been a fun investigation to review this aspect of our creative process.  Come see what we have been doing HERE. 

 

in the mix

 
Over on the Street Team we are paying close attention to the mix that occurs when we work with paint.  Sometimes you start with two colors but end up with a whole range in between.  While we look at those blends we are also noting how much fun it can be to observe color naming, and will attempt to claim a few names of our own.  Hop over and see the creative mess I made on the living room wall trying to find the right color, with supplies from my studio.   Come over and play!

 

With color mixing on my brain I decided to pull out some old work - from college!  I had this phenomenal teacher who taught me so much - not only about the properties of color, but of perception.  It really was theory and practice*.  She required that we mount our work on gray mat board, type the objective and analysis, insert all in plastic sleeves and present in a three-ring binder.  It seemed like a pain at the time but I am so happy to have these past assignments.  Thank you Ms. Fargo.  She also made us use gauche vs. acrylic, and we had to purchase sable brushes ($$$ for a college student) so we would leave no evidence of strokes in the work.  I appreciate having learned that discipline but love bending the rule now - the strokier the better!  I want my work to look like a person made it, textures and all.  Why try to make a perfectly smooth swatch of painted surface that could easily have been cut from colored paper?

Here are some of those assignments....This first one had a limitation that we choose a hue on the opposite side of the color wheel than our favorite.  My old fave was red so I went with green.  That began a new love affair with green.  It lasted for nearly twenty years until I went back to red.

 

Then there was this one - created from magenta, yellow, cyan, white and black.  You should have seen my work table.  Hundreds of scraps of painted stripes of color and then heaps of cuttings and retired exacto blades.

 

And this...the Chroma Bridge...such a fascinating exercise to blend two hues to find all the middle steps.

 

I faked out the Chroma Bridge below with photoshop.  A few steps of hitting gradation between two colors then isolating into rectangles.  It is a quick cheat...but like I said earlier, I really appreciate that I had the opportunity to learn the rules the real way first.

 

I have to name 2 through 8 for Crusade No, 53.  Any suggestions?  Take a stab at it.

Thanks for all the kinds words regarding my articles in Art Journaling and Somerset Studio.  I will be talking more about it soon - so stay tuned.  Have a good weekend.

* in theory and practice may sound familiar....it's part of the subtitle of the recent HIM album ;)

in with the new....

When summer settles in I find myself shifting not only the clothes in my closet, but my approach to art-making.  I stockpile new paint colors and a handful of new supplies....but I also recognize the transition to a different way of thinking.  Do you do that too?  We are going to uncover the answers in Crusade No. 52.  Come join in the conversation.

 

 

The patterned bag is from Marshalls.  Love their reusable totes.  This one caught my attention as it has many of the organic images I am connecting with lately.  The yellow paper and paper spools are recent finds from Paper Source in Princeton.  My summer palette 2011 isn't much different than 2010.  I love trying on a new wardrobe of supplies....it totally spills over into other seasons....and I have summer to thank for that.

 

See more about the current crusade over at the Street Team blog.  

Nine days of school to go.  Happy Summer!

home sweet home

As I type this they are torturing us on American Idol....someone is going home.  I hate this part.  Crossing fingers James and Lauren sail through.  (Edit:  they made it!)  We know that no matter who leaves tonight, being let go doesn't mean the door is closed.  Like this guy....he didn't win A.I., but he did win many hearts, especially with this song.  It is one that Shannon and I loved together....tender memories arise with just the first few notes.

 

 

 

The new crusade is up over on the Street Team blog....part of the Evidence Series.  Documenting your home.  I had it in the line-up for this year well before the revisiting of the house books.  But HCIT to be synchronized in this way? 

 

COME PLAY!

More house kits will be listed on Etsy next week.  I'm busy sorting and cutting!  Thanks for your continued interest.  It's been really fun. 

In Case of Emergency.....

Over on my Street Team blog we have been working on journal pages of the Evidence variety.  Last month the challenge was to record specifics about yourself.  This month it's about the people in your life.  I crack myself by calling it ICOE...but really, isn't the list of people to contact if something bad were to happen the same people to contact if something good happens?  We connect with our tribe through thick and thin.  Celebrate who those people are on your pages for our 50TH CRUSADE!.

 

 

Clearly, in the case of emergency in Japan, I have been able to count on YOU.  We are stepping over lots of socks here!  And many more have been promised.  They are so fabulous.  Is it possible that socks can emit love?  I think so!  The ticker so far:  274 pairs of socks and $239 in support of the shipping!  Checking in on Jason's site, SocksForJapan.com, he requests quality over quantity, and color is preferred over white.  Keep that in mind if you are still planning on particpating with us or on your own.

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Arigato.  Thank you.

forensic experts

At least once a year I like to read my own meter and document it on a journal page.  I make lots of lists.  What is my current color palette - in art and/or apparel.  My current playlist.  My interests  Books I have read, movies seen.  Did I tend to the garden, walk everyday, make a new friend?  It may seem silly to record the trivial things but time slips by fast and we forget stuff.  I love looking back at old journal pages where I see my colors used to be sage and copper and my daily routine was much different than it is now.  The kids are older, the studio more cluttered, my focus has shifted.  I love having a barometer to gauge my evolution.  I love having a resource of myself for myself when my recollection gets blurry.  

On the Street Team blog we began the new year with a new journaling series:  Evidence.  Come play with us.

 

 

 

REMINDER:  Registration for workshops at Valley Ridge start on Saturday. 

Hope you'll join me at Raise the Bar in September!

 

 

 

frozen....and on fire

 \

The view from this morning.  Ice-covered everything.  The sound of ice on snow is louder than you would think.  Luckily most of it melted off the trees and powerlines before causing too much damage.  In addition to the frozen roads, my computer has been freezing up all day.  Rrrgghhh.  Frustrating because I was ready to post the new crusade, second in the Evidence Series...AND I have been on-fire with thoughts that I wanted to type up.  What kind of thoughts?  I have a new workshop that will be presented later this year (announcement coming soon) and the plans and preparations and ideas haven't stopped flooding in....three days may not be enough to cover all the material gathered in my mental files, and scribbled notes.  OMG, I can't wait!

I was able to post the crusade....with additional new journal pages to follow.  Come play!

 

RT = 47, 48, 49

I'm cheating.  I made these pages yesterday for the new crusade.  Crusade No. 47 ~ It's A Wrap.  They are also No. 48 & 49 in the Ruby Tuesday gallery.  How clever is that? *wink*

 

 
 

I started a new series on the street team:  evidence journaling.  This month it's about moving the wrapping debris onto your pages.  Curious?  Come play with us!

 

smell museum

 

 

Back in the 80's (when I was wearing Lauren, following a stint with Love's Rain Scent) I read this book.  I love Andy's perspective on perfume, and glommed onto his idea of a scent museum.  

 

As I told you, I collect evidence of my home fragrances as a gateway to memory, and I also document personal scents in my journal.

 

 

From the archives, we addressed scent in two Crusades. If you are looking of ways to incorporate your smell museum onto a page, come visit: No. 26 ~ Scent of the Season (December 2008) and No. 9 ~ What's That Smell? (June 2007) 

It's a new season....have you selected a new fragrance to remember it by?

 

 
 

Don't stop at scents....music is another powerful bridge to memory.  Document your favorite playlists too!

Ack!  It's after 12.  Time to order tickets for Apocalyptica....

 

 

 

new month, new challenge...

I've posted a new crusade over on the GPP Street Team blog.  Come play! 

 

 
 
 

completed

 

The original bathroom had pepto bismol pink tub and tiles.  When they ripped it all out they found green and black METAL wall tiles.  Kinda funny that the paint we picked ended up being almost the same green.  I love this new room - so calming.  Love how the edges of the glass in the light fixture on the wall, the ceiling, and mirror have that same bottle green when the light shines through it.  The accent tile in the shower is glass - hard to see in this photo, but very cool.  I have a cigar box of sea glass I will use to make another piece of art to go in here.  The hamper on the side of the vanity actually has the bottom cut out, sits over a framed hole in the floor, and acts as a clothes shoot chute* to the laundry just below.  A clothes shoot chute* !  Just like when we were kids.

I've posted a new crusade over on the street team blog.  This month we are painting without brushes - adding layers of paint with an old credit card.  Come over and play!  Crusade No. 44.  Below is the beginning of the piece that ended up going up in the bathroom.  After testing out some ideas in my journal I tried it on watercolor paper.

 

The kids are back in school so I am fending off the blues by getting my kits and supplies ready for the workshops later this month.  Looks like Earl has subsided enough that we have nothing to worry about, whew!  I'm still waiting for the rubber to arrive.  I'm sorry for the delay.  All orders are labeled and packed with index sheets so I can send out as soon as the inventory arrives.

* EDIT:  after Tina's comment I scratched my head and wondered if I had spelled chute wrong.  I did!!  It is pronounced shoot, but spelled chute.  She used *shute* which is also correct.    Thanks Tina.

texting

Between reorganizing the studio (not done yet) and the bathroom renovation (just started) I was happy to sneak some time in for the self-imposed assignments of preparing the next crusade, and working in my RT journal.  We had a stellar turn-out for No. 42, hope you'll come play with No. 43.

Using found typography or text as a background:

Come Play!

  
  

ruby tuesday: crusading

I've been organizing my studio and compiled a huge stash of tissue paper, new and previously-loved.  I learned that tissue can be difficult to rip into strips so I used a water filled paint brush to stroke a line that assisted the ripping.  I adhered with an acrylic varnish which is an easy way to attach tissue (cover over and under).  I didn't realize until it was too late that I was using a gloss vs. matte.  Hated the glare so I began smooshing gesso over most of the pages, leaving a portion where you could see the patterns, and how they peek through the layers.  Below is the initial layout.  For GPP Street Team Crusade No. 42.

Since this is a new journal I decided to go for another spread.  In the previous crusade we made grids...super easy way to complete a page.  I cut from the same tissues, plus took evidence samplers of my ribbons and strings.  

 

I love having one day a week set aside to work on pages.  I began the RubyTuesday project back in November as a way to maintain my commitment (and sanity) to creating Art For Me because the holidays were around the corner and my typical routine had been to shuffle away my own stuff.  We do that don't we?  Because we are busy we tend to use that as an excuse to unplug from our art.  Finding time is different than making time.  Getting your hands dirty, even just one morning a week, will keep you on the path of growth.  Pick a day...pick a color too if that makes it an easier self-imposed assignment, and make time to journal.  I'm already onto book two.  HCIT?

and the winner is.....

Yay for Brian!  How cool that the only dude who entered was the winner!  (I initially drew the name of my sweet friend Nancy Brill but she claimed to already have the book so I re-drew and got Brian).  I really appreciate the enthusasim you all shared for reaching this milestone.  You made it a fun event, thank you.

Brian, I have your address and will send your book this week.  You gotta visit his site - fabulous journal pages!!

We are revving along on the new crusade - many entries posted already.  Come see what we are up to this month HERE.

I love all the sweet notes about Shannon.  I love looking at the photos and it was really special to share them with you on Saturday.  I love that you linked arms with me in a circle of sisterhood to say She Mattered.  Thank you.

late tuesday

It's late on Tuesday....and I'm finally getting around to posting my RT Journal pages!  It's nearly full so I picked up a new one today because I want to carry on in this theme.  Today's pages are test-run print-outs of my new stamp images.  I had been working on a totally different collection when these ideas came to me - I will explain my vision when I upload the completed sheets this weekend.  Since we are working on grid formats with the GPP Street Team I thought I would stretch the definition of linear layout and make an Evidence spread with these circular punch-outs in my journal.  Some terrific entries posted on the link list over at the crusade blog.  Go see what we are up to and join in! 

I'm sticking to my self-imposed deadlines for several projects including this collection and the other one which will follow in a few weeks.  Kids are out of school - nice to be able to sleep in :)  My wrist is slowly mending.  X-ray didn't show anything but it is still painful when I twist it - so I wear a brace during most of the day to keep it protected.  Had a lovely Father's Day weekend - took Graham to our first country western concert, Toby Keith, in an outdoor amphitheater venue.  Really wonderful.   Been following the World Cup.  Tomorrow is a big day for both US and England.  Cheering for both!

Hope you are enjoying the sun and all that comes with the change of the season. 

grid and google

{rubytuesday} journal page 

 
 
Pulling double duty - catching up on Ruby Tuesday journal pages plus creating sample for current GPP Street Team Crusade No. 41 ~ Grid Lock.  Super easy way to make a page.  Collecting evidence of a recent project, or stash of faves, or remnants from the studio table...makes for a cool and quick spread.  Check out the crusade HERE.

Have you noticed the background options at Google?  I have mine set at Boontje.  There were several Chihuly options too.  *swoon*

p.s.  no official diagnosis on the wrist yet.  still wearing this annoying brace.

thank goth it's friday

(happy mothers day graphic with sneak peek of new stamps)

 
I will be away, so I am sending you wishes for a Happy Mother's Day.  Hope you have a grand day, and wonderful weekend.

 
Look at this enthusiasm.  The roses are all eagerly growing straight up toward the sun.  We now have twenty bushes - and countless, literally cannot count them, buds about ready to show off.  Check out the evidence on this one.  Can't wait to get back after the weekend to see them.

New crusade is posted.  Come play!  (The Roman Numeral for 40 is XL, get it?)

Oh, where am I going?  You mean you haven't been keeping track, counting the minutes like me?

 

I will have a small collection of new stamps up for pre-order next week.  I can't wait for you to see these!  I'm just finalizing a few sizes to match up with some paper punches.  Sneak peek in the top graphic.

Again, Happy Mother's Day ~ especially to my cute little mom with the big heart.  xoxo

working in multiples

 
Often I will work in multiple journals.  Love to try on another size using the same tools and materials just to see if I learn any new lessons in composition.  I recently started working in this mini moleskine (found at Borders).  My RubyTuesday journal is almost complete so I will transition to this little one in the same theme, and will tuck it in to the larger one somehow.

The above is a sneak peek into the next crusade, posting tomorrow.  We are at the 40th!  My mission of spreading creativity and building connections through online challenges has been an utter delight.  How cool to have a gathering of interest from around the globe in our cyber studio!

spring sing ring

So I'm a little late posting this page.  At least I kept up!  I'm also late with the crusade, but it's up now, whew! 

There is nothing better than working with reckless abandon, and no concern for "what am i going to do with this" - just playing to learn.  Hope you'll join us this month.   

Sam turned 18 yesterday.  Eighteen!  Sweet kiss from his sweet friend :)  Makes my heart sing to see him so happy.

Lots of comments about my custom *lucky girl* ring.  From etsy of course!  Made by Chris at CreativeMode.  In fact, all the rings are from etsy.  See also aprilkawaoka, puffluna, karalmava, aliciasjoy, cherrycreek,  tinahdee, panicmama, and sterlingstones.  Rock On is from somewhere else...can't remember now.

whatta week!

Before I talk about the week ahead I will say something about the last weekend.  I was super lucky to have an opportunity to teach at the Career Capades day at our kid's high school.  It was an action packed day with many presentations in all kinds of departments.  I was asked to set up for a workshop and chose to go with monoprinting as it is fast, easy, and quick-drying.  With the assistance of some art students we kept the tables turning over so we could let everyone who was interested come have a try at a painting technique.  Some 'customers' whizzed in and out but there were some who stayed and kept at it, making lots of cool painted prints.  LOVE that I got to witness young kids taking an interest in making art.

There is still time to "Grab a Tissue", then next month we will try monoprinting for the crusades.

And now this week.  OMG.  Love my him, Him, and HIM. him:  it is our 20th anniversary tomorrow!  I am such a lucky girl to have this man in my life.  What a blessing to exchange vows with him and launch a family together.  Life is good.  Him:  this weekend is Palm Sunday.  The beginning of Holy Week.  I remember learning as a kid that the ashes we get crossed on our forehead at the beginning of Lent is from the burned palms of the year before.  I don't know if that's true but I like the connection.  Mom and Dad will be arriving next week to celebrate Easter with us.  And HIM:  the new video was just released...my favorite track on the album too!  Thursday, Fallon and I go to the signing.  (I am frantically preparing gifts right now!)   Friday, Graham and I go to the opening night of the tour.  We are out of our minds with excitement!  Gah!

 

 

catching up

Thank you so much for the loving and caring comments and emails.  You have made me feel connected even though I've been unplugged for a while.  It's been a blurry few weeks and I am feeling so much better.  Thank you, truly.

 
My pages from yesterday fall into the *evidence* category.  Lots of messages that came in cards, with gifts, a fruit basket, fresh flower bouquets, and LOTS of ROSES!   How about this message from Lisa...made me grin, and it's so true ;)

I put in some time on my other blog today too.  Crusade No. 38 is posted.  A super easy and fun way to layer on a page is to use tissue paper....even cooler if it's painted.  Go see, then play along with us. 

Journaling reads:  I think being and feeling lucky is entirely on your attitude and perspective.  I am a lucky girl.