Time to Reinvent - a New Studio and StencilGirl Project

 Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by my little (recently quite quiet) creative corner!

Today's post is not just  a kind of update on my creative journey that has come to a sort of halt last autumn but also an invite over to the StencilGirl Talk blog, where I am sharing a new project (slowly getting back into the saddle it seems) and tutorial but also a short video tour around my new studio in my new countryside home at Lake Atter! 

We're keeping our Vienna home and my studio there too - so moving in the house and setting up another studio from scratch there is quite a challenge - especially as I need to decide which materials and tools to leave in Vienna and which ones to move to the new studio in the countryside. 

Deciding which of these to take to the house or leave in the flat still is a challenge I need to meet. Generally I find it hard to nail criteria for dividing stash by as it means you need to know first which kind of projects you will prefer to do in one spot and which in the other. But how do you do this without the feeling of limiting down yourself in both places? 

(impressions from the new studio - more details in the video over at StencilGirl's blog)

So far I have come to the conclusion assumption that I will rather do nature-inspired projects in the new countryside studio and focus on Distress and stencil techniques in the city studio...but what to do with the stencils that are nature themed for example?...I think I will have some items that will need to travel in the future. ;) 

 For now I have put together a kind of base equipment that will allow me to tackle a variety of themes and project types with some of my favourite techniques, inks, paints and products, but I also re-discovered items while browsing my stash that I had either forgotten about or that were among my first acquisitions when I started this hobby and got (mentally) replaced by newer ones over the years. I found these were well worth using again - so I hope they will get to be loved again in the new studio. In the last years I slipped into the habit of "needing" - needing to try out this new product or that new technique or theme...which led to some themes or loved items slipping out of focus...some having been real loves of mine. 

I re-discovered a lot of old texture and nature themed stamps that have been accumulating dust in some forgotten corners in my studio. By forgetting about these I also forgot of themes and project types that fuelled my imagination in the first place...and that still do. 

I have also been feeling lately that I've reached a kind of dead-end with my creativity in many ways - maybe that happened because I somehow lost track of the creative path I originally started on but then found myself trying out too many side trails at once and also designers highways where the urge of new high speed impressions replaced in-depth adventures and a journey that would lead to myself rather than to feeding the "needs" artificially created by something quite shallow - something that is ruled by online marketing thoughts and strategies and not needs of a creative spirit. 

So I am quite thankful for the health crises I am struggling with at the moment, as that forces me to think over a lot of things and re-invent myself and the way of how I want to live my creative side. Setting up a new studio in a new home that also brings me a lot of joy and inspiration from the beautiful nature it is surrounded by is the perfect help! 

  

The new project for StencilGirl was done in the Vienna studio though (remember - stencils stay there or will travel with me) - and gladly it was a project that brought back my joy in creating after the long break, too. Just me, myself, the beautiful designs, my favourite DecoArt paints and products and the joy of playing with colours and putting together something new to use in my new studio! 

 I hope you will visit the StencilGirl Talk blog too to take the short studio tour and check out the tutorial for this desk tidy! 

Stay safe!

Claudia

xxx

Stencilled Poetry - an Art Journal Cover

Servus and welcome to my blog today! I am so happy you're stopping by as today I am sharing a  make that is really close to my heart as it is about poetry - not only "stencilled poetry" (which I hope I have managed to achieve on my journal cover) but also the poetry from song lyrics and music that have deeply influenced my love for the English language and for music and for song lyrics that evoke images, feelings and stories in my head.

One of the very first songs - or maybe THE very first song - that did this for me was "Eleanor Rigby" from the Beatles (and the lyrics were written by wonderful Paul McCartney). I have been loving the song and also the "Yellow Submarine" movie since I was about twelve years old - and that love has never changed until today.

"Stencilled Poetry" is this month's theme for the Creative Team at StencilGirl Products to go by and a special line from "Eleanor Rigby" immediately came to my mind for this theme. So I created an art journal cover, trying to capture visually what that special line from the song evokes in me and how it makes me feel.

I have done a video of the process again - so you can watch and find out how I built up the layers on the journal cover and how some of the effects were achieved. So I hope you will hop over to the StencilGirl Talk blog to check out the video, some of my other thoughts that went into the design and also some more images of the finished journal.

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

A Struggle, a Canvas and Jean Michel Basquiat - a StencilGirl® Project

Servus and welcome to the invitation over to the StencilGirl® Talk blog, where I am sharing my latest project as a (returning) member of their new 2019-20 Creative Team.
(Thank you Mary Beth and Carol for having me again!!! Mwah! XXX)

This month's theme for the Creative Team is to create an abstract or summer themed piece of art.
I obviously went for the former.

(detail shot)

I received some fantastic new stencils to play with and I have used some older stencils alongside some of their latest designs to create a canvas that took a life on its own even before I realised it and that - in the end - reflects my actual state of struggling with nasty symptoms from an obviously heavy under function of my thyroid (due to the chronic Hashimoto's disease).
It isn't clear why and when thyroid levels have started to go down again after a long period with (not perfect but) good blood levels and without any heavier symptoms - it is very likely that menopause has lead to a change of hormones levels that now make me struggle with the really nasty stuff like fatigue, muscle pain, weakness, dizziness, feeling cold, anxiety, panic attacks and (no surprise) high blood pressure that does not respond to medication as easily as it should...

(detail shot)

That is nothing that can't be quickly fixed by adjusting medication - it actually takes months until hormones levels adjust - so I will have to hang in there for a bit longer I'm afraid. And it is nothing that scares me really as I have already been there and done that once or twice during the last years (but only once that heavily). What makes it really hard at the moment are the panic attacks that come out of nowhere and that make it almost impossible to find a proper dosage for blood pressure medication as I can never tell if it is the anxiety or an approaching panic attack that raises blood pressure or if blood pressure itself really is too high.
The thyroid expert I am seeing believes that my blood pressure will be back to normal as soon as thyroid blood levels are back to my personal level of well being. In the meantime my general practitioner added some beta blocker to my medication (to slow down my high pulse rate) but that isn't good for the metabolism of artificial thyroid hormones I have to take...so it very likely will make me slip into under function even deeper until (in two weeks hopefully) my second visit with the thyroid expert will hopefully solve this particular issue and my hormones dosage will be properly adjusted.

(detail shot)

My general practitioner has never heard of beta blockers interacting badly with thyroid issues (which is only an issue with specific forms of thyroid diseases, with others it is a proper and helpful medication actually) and he didn't believe me when I mentioned it (actually he said I must have misunderstood something the other doctor had said). My general practitioner really IS a good doctor (I can call myself lucky that he is one of the rare GPs who even know and consider Hashimoto's disease as a possible diagnosis with symptoms most other GPs regard as typical signs of burnout or depression) - but he is no expert obviously. But he is the one I need to go to for adjustment of blood pressure medication...well...this means I will have to be patient and try to relax and hang in there as good as I can for several more weeks (or maybe months). This means the struggle will continue and I need to prepare for this and find a way to deal with this situation.

So for now I try to accept things as they are and to accept situations when I find myself crying over practically nothing or hyperventilating because of a panic attack, or being a total scatterbrain most of the time...simply because I found that when I try to fight, things start to feel even worse and only make me feel more desperate, weak and exhausted. But sometimes I am just not prepared well enough to be able of utter "acceptance"... and then I slip into "struggling mode". Often this happens so automatically or slowly that I realise it too late and at a level of exhaustion or helplessness that makes me panic again. And I try to accept that this will happen again, too...

(detail shot)

I usually do not talk about my Hashimoto's disease issues and what they do to me, but this time I just felt I needed to because the canvas I did for StencilGirl® is an exact image of my momentary struggle and anxiety. I tried to create something bright and jolly to kind of escape struggle mode for at least some hours (during the creative process) - but it didn't work this time. You can read about this and see the "before and after" stages of the canvas over at the StencilGirl® Talk Blog alongside a detailed step by step (as always).

I know I am not the only one who is struggling with chronic (or recurring) health issues and I really didn't write this post to trigger compassion. I know we all know about those (mostly) secret struggles or battles many of us are facing and know that we all understand and care - without having to express it in words. But I wanted you to understand what it is that you see in the canvas, because something in me forced me to express it visually. Maybe you also feel it too when looking at my canvas - and now you can name it. It's struggle. And it is me - trying to face struggle and deal with it. And the style of the canvas is obviously influenced by the art of Jean Michel Basquiat (I love his art and have a print of one of his paintings hanging in my living room...not to mention the illustrated books about him and his - sadly very short - life and the impact his art has made).

Wishing you all good and struggle-free times!

Take care!

Claudia

xxx

Get Your Spook On with StencilGirl® Stencils

Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by today! It's time for all kinds of "Treats"  this month over at the StencilGirl® Talk Blog and I treated myself to a really happy and messy time at my craft desk with my latest project for your inspiration. 

The Blair Witch Project is definitely one of the spookiest movies I know and I remember all that creepy stuff hanging from the dead looking trees... like bones, little voodoo-like dolls made from twigs and dried grass, birds wings and other animal parts and bones...well, honestly I always wonder who (and what kind of folks) the people are that create these things for movie sets. They must have lots of fun at work. ;)

I guess they love their good daily dose of spook (and maybe even a bit of splattery grizzly gore here and there) - and to be honest - I don't like the real splatter movies and many horror movies are just dull and boring, but a good horror movie with great storytelling and effects is something I really enjoy.

Of course I had to add at least one black raven to my spooky diorama. 

I love these beautiful and intelligent birds; their cries have something melancholic about them and the fact that ravens are all black makes them the perfect omen that something wicked is coming your way...

...and with that tight thicket everywhere around you there's no way to ever be able to run fast enough to escape it...





But enough of that...be honest: do you still shield your eyes with your hands and peek through your fingers during a horror movie (and have fun at being scared on your safe and cosy sofa)? Well - I do. ;) 

By clicking HERE you will be taken to the StencilGirl® Talk Blog where you can find out about the whole project, stencils used and how I made my spooky Blair Witch diorama. I have also done a seven (!) minutes long video for those who prefer to listen to me explaining chatting away about the stencils and products used and my thoughts behind the project,  instead of reading a long post. For the tutorial though I recommend you read the post. That might even take less long than watching the video this time I guess. lol 

Hope to see you over there!

Hugs and BOO! Happy Crafting!

Claudia

xxx

A Little Lodger - Part Two

One and a half weeks ago my son brought home a little swallow he had found unharmed but dehydrated on the concrete ground in front of our apartment building.

Swallows have been nesting at our house for several years now, which is great as their number has halved in Austria during the last twenty years or so. Now they are coming back, founding new nesting colonies. For me their return after the winter always is something very special that makes me happy. I have been used to having swallows around in summer since I can remember (having spent almost all my summer holidays on a farm in the Austrian lake district, where swallows have their nests in the cow barns and around the farm houses). For me summer and swallows just belong together.

Well, this little fellow had fallen out of its nest obviously - maybe it was an accident, maybe it happened when it first tried to spread its wings and fly. As it was one of the hottest days of the year so far, it was very weak due to dehydration.

We fed it water with dextrose which helped immediately. Then my son went out hunting for insects - grasshoppers mainly (as we had read in the internet were the best food for swallows). As he only managed to catch six grasshoppers in about forty minutes, we switched to buying house crickets in the pet shop, which we deep-froze and brewed on demand. Our little guest was very hungry! I guess it ate about twenty crickets per day!

We put it in a plastic container...a small one during the day (so it could climb the edge and have a look around or get its food), a larger one during the night.

My son had it sit on his shoulder most of the time (where it learned all about Hearthstone and Overwatch), so it could train and spread its wings (which it did quite often), but it felt especially cosy and safe in the hood of my son's hoodie shirt ;)

When it started to flutter really hard, we took it out into our large living room with the open kitchen...just in case it decided to fly around....

....which it finally did on Saturday evening. So we took it out on Sunday morning, so it could join the flock again.

It needed some minutes, watching the other swallows do their acrobatic flight manoeuvres, but then it gave a little call, fluttered, spread its wings...and flew with the others as if it had always been doing nothing else than that.

I went out several times that day, just in case it had returned or not found a nest for the night, but everything was okay as no swallow was left out in the cold after the sun had set. (I admit it wasn't easy for me to let go ;). It's heartwarming though, knowing that one of these cute little agile acrobats is "our" little lodger, when watching them now do their helter-skelter rounds in our courtyard and around the building. 

As the swallows' nests are quite close to our flat, I wake up to the sound of their calls. I will miss them (even more this year) when they will be gone - heading south to warmer countries. 

Fireworks and Sparks at Emerald Creek Dares

Servus to round two of this month's challenge over at Emerald Creek Dares where it is all about

"Fireworks and Sparks"

If you have missed round one at the start of the month I highly recommend you check that out too!
A $50 voucher to spend on the most amazing embossing enamels, stamps and embellishments waits for one lucky winner - so don't miss the chance and play along! ;)

When I read the challenge theme for the first time I immediately thought about the "creative spark" we all love and need so much and feel lost without when it just won't fuel our imagination. So I decided to create a tag-diptych with two opposing tags that show both states: with and without creative spark.

Emerald Creek products used: 

EC St. Paddy's Day embossing powder

EC Easter Parade embossing powder

EC Chinese New Year embossing powder

EC Tangarine Orange Sparkle embossing powder

EC Moss Stone Green embossing powder

EC Mercury Rising embossing powder

EC Burnt Copper Leaves embossing powder

other products used available at EC:

Emboss It - clear embossing pad

Distress Spray Stain - gathered twigs

Distress Crayons - Set #3

I also used Distress Oxide inks to create the tags' backgrounds, a Stampers Anonymous "Classics" stamp set, a spray sealant, an Andy Skinner stencil (the swirls) and the gorgeous clouds stencil by Echo Park and DecoArt matte Decou-Page to create my tags. 

Here's a quick how-to:
(click on the images for a larger view)

Die cut two tags from manila cardstock and use Distress Oxides to create the background. Then stamp the head from the #11 Classics stamp set onto both tags using black archival stamping ink. I added gathered twigs spray stain to the "without spark" tag and created drip lines. Then I sealed both tags with matte clear acrylic varnish to prevent the inks from being re-actived. 

I masked the clouds stencil with masking tape and also fixed it to the tag before I applied clear embossing ink with a piece of cut'n dry foam. I did each cloud separately and heat embossed with the dark embossing enamels like Mercury Rising, Moss Stone Green and Burnt Copper Leaves. Then I painted the eyes white using a white gel pen. I repeated the stencilling and heat embossing process with the other tag too - this time using bright and sparkling (!) embossing powders (Chinese New Year, St. Paddy's Day, Tangarine Orange Sparkle and Easter Parade). The "creatively sparked" head was given some bright shading with the tumbled glass Distress Crayon. 

Whereas the un-sparked head got a shading with walnut stain Distress Crayon. I also used that tone to blend the tags' edges by drawing a thin line and smudging it with my fingertip. I added some "creativity" to the left head and a lot of "questioning blanks" to the right one using black permanent markers. I finished the tags off by adding some word stickers. 

To create my tag-dyptich I die cut two more tags - this time from heavy packaging card. 

I cut two short strips off a spool with grey linen ribbon and glued it in between the tag and the backing card tag using matte Decou-Page. 

I started with the left tag first and once that was dry I repeated that step with the right tag.

Done!

Some close-ups:

(this one showing the embossing enamels' texture and sparkle)

(this one showing a detail from the Distress Oxides I especially like)

(and this one showing a close up of my handwriting and Distress Oxide patterns)

***

I hope you like my "with or without creative spark" - tag-dyptich and leave creatively sparked and ready to create your own! ;) 

Hope to see you play along with us over at Emerald Creek Dares soon! 

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Gypsy Travels to my Home with Canvas Corp Brands

Servus and welcome to my blog AND my flat too today!

I am taking you on a tour through my private collections over at "The Creative Studio" Canvas Corp Brands blog to share some of my travel souvenirs, flea market finds, inherited treasures and other beautiful inspiring bits and pieces from my three (!) cabinets and writing desk.

I grew up in a home where my mom (and my grandma) surrounded themselves with beautiful things like porcelain, silverware and knickknackery in general and I have not only inherited some of the pieces but also the love for having my own little "private museum" at home.

In my cabinets visitors will find a mix of beautiful crafted gifts from wonderful and creative friends, inherited porcelain and silverware as well as gifts my lovely sister sometimes brings home from her travels and treasures like souvenirs, flea market or nature finds that I collected myself.

The large keys were a souvenir from our fantastic trip to Turkey and the assemblage to the left was given to me by my SASPC team member and friend Brigitte from France (merci beaucoup, Brigitte! Bisous!)

The little green house was a birthday gift from my sister and the cups and bowls are things I have taken over from my mom's collection. 

And there's a little beautiful story to tell about the small yellowish figurine in the left back: it is a handmade candle that I was given to by one of my pupils before I left my hometown Linz and moved to Vienna to live with my husband. The candle is meant to resemble me and it really looks like I looked back then (with very short yellow hair, my favourite orange shirt and two earrings in my right ear.) The wings aren't visible on this picture, but believe me - I have a pair of beautiful wings!!!! So she made me an angel - how adorable is that!!!! It is one of my most loved treasures that reminds me of my wonderful time as an arts teacher there back in the nineties. ;)

If you want to see more, just hop over to the Canvas Corp Brands Blog.

There are more treasures waiting for you to be discovered. 

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Dreams at Emerald Creek Dares

Servus and welcome to the start of this month's challenge over at Emerald Creek Dares!

This time we want to see and learn about your

Dreams!

and/or any fantasy you can dream up. 

Mine is rather a memory than a fantasy. My grandma that I love and miss dearly used to read to me when I was little and my favourite book was a collection of poems and short texts on the seasons of the whole year. It had the most charming poems and watercolour illustrations showing flower fairies, elves, gnomes, lizards, bugs, moths and many other nature creatures that inhabit meadows, forests, ponds and hedges. It was those "tiny wonders" that I never got tired of looking at. And when I had finished my DT project for this challenge I found that obviously my inspiration originated from these memories...

The fairies in the book looked totally different from mine of course. But I remember how I loved to watch them sleep. So I just had to draw a sleeping - and dreaming! - fairy too. ;)

 

 My fairies are trying to catch dreams that evolve from the soil as twinkling stars or huge dream bubbles (the brads) and gently rise up to the sky where they drift along to "find" their humans that will dream them. 

Emerald Creek products used:

Fractured Ice Embossing Crystals

Flower Crest Antique Copper Brads

Fleur Crest Brads

Antique Brass Metal Circles Brads

Mossanite Gemstones

Aventurine Gemstones

Pyrite Gemstones

other products used available at EC:

Ranger Distress Spray Stains

Emboss It Dabber
Picket Fence Distress Paint

I started with a plain white cardboard (a left over from some packaging) and added white Gesso to it using a palette knife. While the Gesso was still wet I sprayed on some Broken China and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Spray Stains and dabbed off most of it with a baby wipe. Once that was dry I used the gorgeous Tim Holtz "Wildflower" stencil and some modeling paste to create the meadow for my fairies. I left the paste to dry naturally.

Next I sprayed on some Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain and also dabbed off the excess after half a minute.  My board now looked like this:

I let everything dry really well before I went on to the next step. I unscrewed my embossing dabber's top and poured a little glob of embossing ink onto my craft sheet. Then I picked up some of that with the tip of my palette knife and scraped it randomly onto my board.  

I sprinkled on a thorough coat of Emerald Creek Fractured Ice embossing crystals and heated it with my Ranger heat tool. 

I love that that embossing enamel has transparent crystals as well as lightly tinted ones, glittery and dark ones and some that melt to a chunkier consistence than others. So the Fractured Ice crystals added a beautiful green-ish tint here and there but also highlighted the sprayed on colours underneath and made them look brighter. 

Then it was time to sketch my fairies with a precision pencil.

I unscrewed my Picket Fence Distress Paint Dabber and used a fine tip brush to paint my fairies. I also used a bit of Gathered Twigs Distress Spray stain from my non stick craft sheet. 

I glued some Mossanite, Aventurine and Pyrite gem stones to the blossoms using matte Decou-Page.

Using my fingertip I added some dark brown acrylic paint to the board's edges for a frame. I also added a bit of doodling with a white gel pen (swirls, dots).

I poked some holes and inserted the brads. Then I doodled some white circles around them to create my "dream bubbles".

The alpha part letters were glued on using matte Decou-Page. Afterwards I applied some DecoArt Iced Espresso Metallic Lustre to make them match the embossing enamel's look.

In whimsy handwriting I added the word "fairy" with the white gel pen...

 

 ...et voilá!

I hope you like my little dreamed up fairies realm! I am already impatient to find out what you will come up with!!! And also check out Cassandra's make over at the Emerald Creek Dares blog!

Don't be shy  and play along! You can win a $50 voucher by doing so! How cool is that?

(And last but not least I would like to ask you to scroll down to my previous post as there is another project and tutorial waiting for you  - this time over at the Calico Craft Parts blog. Hope to see you there soon too! )

Thanks for stopping by and

hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx