My ARTistic Life

Happy 40th Birthday to Me = Happy New Art Goodies, Prezzies & Charms!

Happy 40th Birthday to Me!

Oh my gosh, it's my 40th Birthday! Wow, time flies! To celebrate, I've designed some awesome art supplies celebrating some of my favorite things in life: 40 new art supplies to choose from!

Plus, I've picked some of my favorite collage sheets and we're offering them to you at 40% off for a limited time. Yay!

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AND since we're celebrating, we're tucking in 3 gifts with every order over $30. WOW! Yes, 3 gifts, that's right! 1 - chocolate. 2 - super cool art supplies. 3 - surprise art challenge!

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A few lucky peeps will receive my absolute favorite chocolate of the moment - Rogers Salted Caramels. This is how I recommend enjoying them....cut into tiny pieces and savor them. YUMMMMM!

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Fun ARTchix Activities to Fuel Your Muse!

Here's my adorable Bruno posing with my mermaid collection. Seeing this photo inspired our new art swap.....

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Kitties and Mermaids ATCs!

What to make: 6 Artist Trading Cards (2.5" x 3.5" collages) with Mermaids and/or Kitties. Use at least one ARTchix product of your choice (we've got some awesome new mermaids and kitties to choose from). Snail mail to us in ARTchix-land by June 6th.

Jackie McColl made this cool mermaid ATC with our new Eco Chunky Mermaids, Cool Post collage sheet and Turquoise Shell Borders.

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Jump into our current Art Challenge: Recycled Art. Check out these awesome bobby pins using upcycled game pieces by Wendy Wells Waldorf.

Post photos online (to your blog, website, etc with a comment and link to this post) or post them to the wall of our Facebook Fan Page OR email them to Gillian and she will post them for you. Deadline is Mon, May 2. My kitties will pick winners that will receive awesome goodie bags of our Eco-Friendly Shrines, Doors and Windows.

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Happy International Charm Day! Win Charms!

Today is International Charm Day! Hooray, you can win handmade charms here and on participating blogs!

I made some cute charms by painting our Wood Daisy Charms with red acrylic paint. Then, I glued black and white images from our Mini Art Bubbles collage sheet to our Mini Acrylic Bubbles...and then I glued them onto the Wood Daisies.

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Voila, here they are! Leave a comment on my blog by this Sat, April 30th. My kitty will pick 3 lucky winners that will each receive one of these charms along with a few extra little goodies.

I'm also adding 9 of these charms to our ARTchix orders over the weekend so you can win one that way too! Yay!

Hope you have a great weekend! See you next Wednesday with winners and lots more fun and creativity! : )

 

My Favorite Recycled Background and Happy Days

Happy Earth Day!

Tomorrow is Earth Day so I thought it'd be fun to share my favorite recycled background with you:

Mmm...Starburst! I collect Starburst candy wrappers in all of their glorious colors! For this fun, recycled background, I glued wrappers to our Eco Shape Houses (made out of recycled materials).

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Next, paint on a coat of gesso. I tried to leave some of the wrapper visible...such great colors!

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Next, scribble on some watercolor crayon and blend it with a damp paintbrush. And voila, a beautiful recycled background! I especially love the texture that the candy wrappers give to this background.

New Art Challenge: Have you made something artistic with recycled materials lately?
Please share your recycled art with us! Post photos online (to your blog, website, etc with a comment and link to this post) or post them to the wall of our Facebook Fan Page OR email them to Gillian and she will post them for you. Maximum 3 entries per person. Deadline is May 2. Winners (as picked by my kitties) will receive goodie bags with our Eco Shrines, Windows and Doors.

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Our current art swap is Altered Eco Embellishments so I thought I'd make some to go with my recycled houses above. Here's what I did: First, I painted on a coat of gesso onto our Trees, Birds and Butterflies (all made out of recycled materials).

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Next, I looked up some inspiring quotes and wrote them on the embellishments.

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Then I scribbled on some watercolor crayon (right tree) and blended it in with a damp paintbrush (left tree).

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And here they are...my Altered Eco Embellishments: Trees, Birds and Butterflies!

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And here they are sewn onto my recycled houses. So pretty, eh? Come join the fun and play in our Altered Eco Embellishments Art Swap! You might even get one of these. : )

Deadline to get them in the mail to us is May 9th so order your embellishments today and start playing. So much fun!

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Happy Easter!

I hope you have a wonderful Easter with your family this weekend! Recently, I hosted an Easter Art Challenge. We had 6 participants (including this gorgeous Easter decoration by Gerri Herbst). All 6 participants will receive a free digital download just for playing. Yay! : )

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Happy International Charm Day!

Mark your calendars: April 28th is International Charm Day!

Bruno has been helping me make some special, little charms to honor this special day! Stay tuned for next week, I'll be adding some to our orders as special gifts next Thursday! In addition, you'll have an opportunity to win some as well!

You will also want to check out the Charm Day blog to find out who's participating - you'll have lots of chances to win gorgeous, handmade charms!

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Happy 40th Birthday to Me!

I'm turning 40 next week! To celebrate, I've designed some fun products devoted to some of my favorite things and I'm wrapping up some special gifts for you too. : )

This is an altered book page that I did recently. Notice the background....why it's Starburst wrappers of course! lol. And see the mermaid on the left....oh, she's just a little sneak peek for what's coming next Thursday! Woohoo!

See you next Thursday with charms, gifts and glorious new goodies!

 

 

 

Cute Idea for Your Easter Baskets, Flower Winners & More

Easter is coming!

How about a cute idea for your Easter baskets this year?

In an effort to save money this year, I'm purchasing some Easter candy in bulk (like these yummy Cadbury Mini Eggs). And then I'm repackaging them into cute, little treat bags like the one shown here. Here's how I made this...

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First, I cut out Pretty Pink Flowers and glued them onto our Twinchie Watercolor Cards (on sale).

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Next, I colored our Mini Hummingbirds with a Sharpie and added dots with a Gelly Roll pen. See my video on Polka Dot Trees to see this fun, easy technique in action.

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Lastly, I filled cello bags with chocolate eggs and stapled collages to the bags. Warning, do not do this on an empty stomach! Make sure you're good and full so that you're not tempted to eat half of the bag like I did. lol. By the way, I like putting all like colored eggs in each bag...I think it makes for a prettier presentation.

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Even Bruno thought the eggs looked delicious! lol

What are you making for Easter? Please share your Easter decorations, photos, drawings, tags, giftwrap, etc.! Post photos online (to your blog, website, etc with a comment and link to this post) or post them to the wall of our Facebook Fan Page OR email them to Gillian and she will post them for you. Maximum 3 entries per person. Deadline is April 25th. Winners will receive ARTchix gift certificates.

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ARTchix Happenin's

Here's what's happening in ARTchix-land...

Vote for the winner of our Sweetheart ATCs swap! (Voting will be posted on our website later today and will run until Mon, April 11th at midnight). Enjoy the inspiration while you pick the winner!

By the way, notice to swap participants...your packages are in the mail and you should receive them soon. Yay!

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Introducing the winners of our Art Challenge: Flowers!

We had 92 amazing flower entries for this art challenge! Wowza!!! So much spectacular blooming inspiration!

A big congrats to: Ann Widner, Assja Baumgartner, Beth Beglin, Jill Leonard, Randi Klugiewicz and Wendy Wells Waldorf. You all win fabulous flower embellishments and flower themed goodie bags! Please email Jackie (jackie@artchixstudio.com) with your mailing address.

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There's still time to play in our Mini Bird Shrine Art Swap! You just need to get your shrines in the mail to us by this coming Monday, April 11th.

Did you know that hummingbirds are considered messengers? The hummingbird in my little shrine above has a message for you: You will soon receive very special attention. I'm taking a tiny break so I will see you next Thursday, April 21 with lots of special attention, treats and a celebration of goodness! Woohoo!