Dina

A chaotic journal page…

perhaps it's as reflection of my stressed-out, chaotic mind?

Pick up a copy of the Nov/Dec 2011 Somerset Studio…

and you'll see some colorful, crazy art I made with my stamp line by Stampington. I did the "With One Palette" article. I don't even have my copy yet…but I flipped through it in the store! Great issue!

Journal page from my England trip…

I taught a class at the lovely Dy's called "Intuitive Painted Layers." It's not an easy class…it requires you to trust yourself, to enjoy the process more than the end result. You have to give yourself up to play, to experimentation, and you have to leave any judgements and negative attitudes at the door. The students that gave themselves up to the idea made really cool, interesting, vibrant artwork. I will definitely teach this class again, and I will push students even harder than I did. I went easy on them because I was worried they wouldn't like it…and some did struggle. But Dyan told me that I went too easy on them, and I agree. Next time, I will push and push and the end results will be spectacular!

Well, I think I need to be fired as “trip photographer”…

because my photo-taking on this last trip was severely lacking. I think I get so caught up in teaching & talking that I forget to reach for my camera. But I do have a few to share…

First I taught at LB Crafts in beautiful Olney. Linda's shop is tucked into an amazing, picturesque courtyard. Her shop is filled with cool stuff and amazing art…Linda really knows how to rock!

Here's the classroom all set up:

I cannot believe I didn't get a single picture of any students…or even of me & Linda!! Aargh! I had a fabulous time teaching there, Linda is so sweet. She is retiring from her shop after 17 years (what an accomplishment, 17 years!)…but will still teach her awesome classes. I'm so glad I got to teach there before she closes!

Then I was off to Art from the Heart and my soul sister and amazingly talented friend Dyan Reaveley. I had six solid days of classes, laughter, art, and chocolate. I love being at Art From the Heart…I think I just might move in next time! I so appreciate Dy and her support, friendship, camaraderie, and craziness (in the best way)!

Dy and I also thrifted in Knaresborough…which I can never pronounce correctly. In about an hour we hit 4 (or more) charity shops and found lots of treasures.

I love England. I lived there as a kid for 3 years, so England always feels like home to me. I love my British friends…and I'll be back in March!

Sharing some cool ephemera packs and pics from Dy…

Well, I am trying to get back into the swing of things after my trip. Jet lag has been tortuous this time…ugh, I am old! Anyhoo…I was cleaning off my desk & found these. Lauren was in my classes at The Inkpad in NYC, and she generously gave me these cooool ephemera packs that she sells in her etsy store (note it says she's on vacation until Nov 8th…figures she'd be on vacation by the time I finally get around to posting, lol).

I hope to find my camera in this mess and get some of my photos uploaded…more on that later. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a few taken by the amazing and funny Dyan Reaveley…be sure to check her blog, she did great recaps of the workshops there. And yes, I did break the toilet seat.

Join us for Jenni Bowlin Studios Scrapfest!

JBS is having an online crop! Join us!

Click here to go to the JBS forums (the first forum is for Scrapfest). There will be chats at 9 pm CST on each night (Thurs, Fri, Sat, and Sun)…and there will be a door prize at each chat. Check the forums regularly for non-timed challenges. AND, you could win a guest DT spot just by participating!

[Note: had a great trip to England…will post about it soon. Now I'm jet-lagged and playing catch-up with my fellas.]

The new classes…

This weekend at Art From the Heart we'll be:

Painting birdies…

And painting intuitive layers (a class that I am in loooove with. It's risky but the process is so fun).

And creating a journal for our personal narratives…

Oh, the lovely Dy and Art from the Heart…

I can't think of a better way to spend a week than with my amazing friend Dyan Reaveley at her art-mecca Art From the Heart. I'm teaching the 3 classes I taught last time, and 3 all-new classes! Remember these?

I'll give peeks of the new classes in a day or two.

Teaching a Color WOW Mini at LB Crafts…

I'm teaching a fun mini book at LB Crafts this weekend…so fun! We're going to talk about color and different ways to use it, and we'll apply the principles in a from-scratch mini art journal. This project has everything I love…color, stamping, grungy ink & paint, fabric, tissue, white space…it's a blast. Here's a little peek!

So much fun!

Ahem, ahem…I’m teaching in Holland in March, 2012…

Hope to see you there! 🙂 I'll be teaching with other talented artists (and all-around AWESOME gals). C'mon, you know you want to go to Holland. 😉