My he{art} is in Indiana

Flattered and excited were the two things I felt when jewelry designer, Stephanie Swanson asked for some of my creations to adorn her Chesterton, Indiana gallery.

So I guess my {art} is in Indiana now.  If you are near that area, please check out her lovely jewelry designs and support her business!

Thank you Stephanie!

Fall Festival at Vintage 615

For all you local people... I would like to cordially invite you to come to the Fall Festival at Vintage 615 tomorrow and Sunday (September 28 & 29)) and enjoy some great sales, food and fun!  Hours are from 10-6. Be sure to bring a friend!

I'll see you there!

Lend Me a Hand - Jessica Sporn Stencil Test Drive

Hi folks!

Welcome to the Jessica Sporn's Stencil Test Drive for her  Hands stencil.  There were really so many possibilities for this stencil, I wasn't quite sure what to do.

I decided since my life is a bit nutty lately, I would do an art journal page ~ journaling about how I feel pulled from several different directions.

I decided to keep my supply list pretty simple because I think journal pages should be quick and easy.  I used the following items:

Jessica Sporn's Hands Stencil
Tattered Angels Chalkboard sprays
deli paper
pen
journal

First thing I did was take four small sheets of deli paper (course side up - or 'less' slick side).  I laid them over a scrap piece of scrapbook paper.  I then laid the stencil on top and sprayed some Chalkboard mist.
The cool thing about THIS mist is that it is permanent.  Once it dries ~ it stays. Great, huh?

I did this twice with same sheets of deli paper, using two colors.  I allowed the paint to dry in between sprays.  On this one, first I used blue, then green. I repeated the same procedure with red/orange and purple/ orange and did  few with only one color. It doesn't look dry in this photo because the spray does pool a bit and leave darker dots, but I am okay with that. I think it gives it texture. :)

After I had a nice little stack of papers (really only took about 10 minutes), I cut the sheets into different sized strips.  I took soft gel and spread a nice layer over the journal page and glued down the strips overlapping in areas.  That is the nice thing about deli paper, you can use them over painted pages and still get a cool effect.

After the pages were dry, I took a small bit of white gesso and painted in areas I wanted to write and lettered my title around the journal entry.  See that bit of red on my page? That was a mistake ~ oops! I accidentally spilled some mist so I tried to make it look on purpose.  Either way, I think the page speaks what I was trying to convey ~ crazy, pulled by lots of different sources, raising my hand too often, etc!

Just take your black pen and doodle, write, letter ~ whatever strikes you!

Now go visit Jessica at her blog here to see how she uses her Hands stencil!  

But before you do, be sure to leave a comment here because Jessica is giving away a Hands stencil to one lucky winner, and EVERY comment in the test drive will be eligible to win.  The more times you comment, the more chances you have to win! Best of luck!!

In case you are just joining us, here is the list of Stencil Test Drive participants.  Make sure you visit them all and discover different ways to use this stencil.

Michelle LaPoint Rydell

Natasha May 

Carolyn Dube

Marjie Kemper

Maria McGuire

Janet Joehlin

Kirsten Reed  YOU ARE HERE :) 

Jessica Sporn Go here next! :)

Hope you enjoyed! 

WINNER WINNER!!

 Winners Announced 

From My Website Party Launch!

 8x10 Morning Y'all canvas print ~ Tania Phenis of IN 

11x14 She Found Her Courage canvas print ~ Heather Yanucci of OH

8x8 Dreamer Girl ~ Laura Howell of FL

8x10 Dream! ~ Teresa Hinchliffe of WA

Donna Downey Stamps & Strathmore mixed media cards ~ Carolyn Dube of IN

Christy Tomlinson stamps, Portfolio oil pastels & canvas panels ~ Karen Farrow of GA

Pink Paislee album and borders ~ Francine Perri of NY

Your prizes will be mailed to you this week :)

Thank you everyone for entering! 

Find Beauty in Your Day

Head on over to StencilGirl Talk today to see my art tutorial on this piece "Find Beauty in Your Day"

And don't forget the party is still going on at my new website Kirsten Reed Designs with giveaways....last day to enter to win is tomorrow!

Take Five....(Signs of Fall)

I love fall. It is my favorite season.  The weather is crisp and enjoyable.  Leaves turn glorious colors. Jeans and sweaters. I love the smell of the air in fall.  It smells different to me.

Here is a glimpse through my lens at five signs that Fall has arrived in my life.

(1) Friday night lights at the high school.

(2) Fall flowers.

(3) Back to school...my mudroom generally looks like this....on a GOOD day!

(4) Pumpkins. Beautiful, imperfect, bright groups of pumpkins. I {heart}.

(5) Harvest Moons....love, love, love these. So romantic.

Have a happy first day of fall!

FREE shipping!

Just wanted to let everyone know ALL art in my Society6 store will ship FREE if you use this link and only if you use this link for a limited time.

FREE shipping, people.  Worldwide too! That's right ~ all you who live across the pond get it delivered to your door for FREE.  Many of my offerings on Society6 are only available there ~ plus, they have iphone cases and pillows for some of my work.

Think early Christmas shopping. The catch is the offer ends September 22 at midnight EST and the free shipping is only available through my Society6 store.  I don't control the sale, they do, so make sure you get your orders in soon!

Now back to your regular scheduled programming!

My Sarah.

I love this kid.

She is smart, funny and silly.  She is kind and sensitive and cares about others. She makes me laugh and she makes me scream. She marchers to her own drummer, always has and always will.  

Her early years were easy.  She behaved, followed the rules, wanted to please.  There were few nuclear meltdowns for this toddler. She had a wild imagination and created the most fabulous characters never found in books.  She could whip up a gourmet meal in her 'kitchen' with a menu for you to choose from.  She was often shy around new people but loved adventure.

(a picture of us on her 6th birthday)

Now she is a teenager.  17 to be exact. A junior in high school. A defensive player for the varsity soccer team and tough....very tough.  She is no longer shy.  She makes friends easily and lots of them.  Her creativity can be seen in her writing, art and excellent arguing skills of why she should be able to (fill in the blank)!  She still craves adventure and loves to be "on the go. If I were rich, she would gladly hop around the world traveling with me soaking in new places, sights and tastes.

We are going into our fifth year of the parent/teen relationship. Often times I wish for the "easy" days. But I know it's part of the life cycle, where she needs less of me and is slowly discovering more of who she is and wants to become. It is often a painful and frightening journey for both of us, but I am pretty sure we are weathering it well with lots of prayer.

I see glimpses of a young woman, fiercely independent, more courageous and self-confident.  I reflect on the past and I dream for her future. I am proud of her. And I love her tremendously!

Happy Birthday Sarah Beara!

may ALL your wishes come true! 

xxoo,

mommy

My website is HERE!! Woot Woot!!!

I told you I had a big surprise coming....and today is the big unveil!

Lots of blood, sweat and tears and help from professionals have gone into building a little website for Kirsten Reed Designs and today is the day I get to share it with you!!!

I am so stinkin' excited!

So please, please, please take some time to browse my new site, visit the gallery, leave a comment if you wish too!

In celebration of this special day I am inviting you to be part of the party ~ it's my website launch & birthday celebration! Why birthday? Because my daughter's birthday is today and mine is later this week ~ September is truly a birthday month around here ~ so why not celebrate life too?!!

Instead of bringing me presents, I am going to give fun party gifts to YOU....things like art prints and supplies.

Here are the prints I am going to give you a chance to win ~ each one is a small representation of me and how I have felt on this journey so far. 

Morning Y'all.  The coffee one -- well, because I live in the South and I LOVE my coffee. Oh, who am I kidding? I don't love it, I NEED it.  It is the reason for me to get myself moving most mornings. LOL!

I will be giving away an 8x10 giclee canvas print of my original mixed media piece, Morning Y'all!
A $28 value.

She Found Her Courage.  I am her.  She found the courage to put herself out there in the art world, take a chance on herself and follow her dreams.

I will be giving away an 11x14" canvas giclee print of my mixed media original, She Found Her Courage.  A $38 value.

My Dreamer Girl.  Full of dreams, obligations, and trying to figure out how to balance it all.  Yes, I love her. She is me.

I will be giving away an 8x8" canvas print of my mixed media original, Dreamer Girl.  A $28 value.

Dream!  This was one of the first pieces I made when I subconsciously made the decision to pursue art full time.

I will be giving away an 8x10 giclee print on sunset textured paper mounted with a one inch border of Dream!  A $25 value.

In addition to those I will also have stamps from Christy Tomlinson, Donna Downey, Strathmore Mixed Media art cards & envelopes to have fun designing, 8x10 canvas panels to play with, Portfolio oil pastels (love these things!!), a chipboard album from Pink Paislee, and more! (see photo on the giveaway entry form below)

It's easy to win ~ you MUST visit my NEW website and sign up for my newsletter via email. I will email out a newsletter with fun tips and exclusive specials for subscribers approximately quarterly. (don't worry I will NOT clog up your email!)

Then if you really want to share the love ~ you MAY increase your chances of winning something by liking me on Facebook, following me on Instagram, Pinterest and/or Twitter.  Whatever you feel comfortable with doing and however many entries you'd like to have. It's totally up to you!

Thank you for all the great encouragement and support! I truly appreciate it! And I wish you the best of luck!!!

It's a Busy World

Lately my world has been moving at a clip I find hard to keep up with...seriously. I have 16 waking hours in a day and I feel like each day I have 20 hours worth of 'stuff to do'.

I don't think I am alone.  All the technology in this world have made the world a busier place, especially if you are running a business (or two, like me) and have to maintain or create websites, blogs, and social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr)...not to mention write and photograph content for them.  Sprinkle with a dash of volunteering (did I really raise my hand to do that??), parent meetings, soccer games, husband traveling and it feels even busier.  Add in the usual suspects of grocery shopping, bill paying, cleaning, landscaping, and cooking and it can feel like a busy world.

I think that is why this piece evolved. I really wanted to carve out some time to create art but I was feeling overwhelmed.  My mind kept racing while I was trying to paint ~ the whole time thinking about things I should be doing.

Meet my new piece ~ Busy World.

Here is a quick photo tutorial showing you steps I took while creating her.

(1) I first started with a 12x12 canvas covered in book paper and painted in green and blue.

(2) Then I took Cecilia Swatton's Link stencil and added more white texture with titanium white paint.

(3) I then took the Seth Apter Numbers Stencil from StencilGirl Products and stenciled through with Raw Umber.  After that, I sketched out a woman figure.

(4) Using a palette knife and white paint I add in paint on the canvas. After it dried I decided to use light molding paste instead to ramp up the texture.

(5) After the molding paste dried, I added in some blue paint.

(6) I decided to paint the background white, leaving geometric shapes open with the background peeking through.

(7) I reinforced the circles by going around the inside with my green Faber Castell pen.

The rest of this post is a photo progression of the piece as it continued to evolve, using the same palette of paint.  

I think there are so many options with this piece and with this stencil you can continue to add, take away. It's art after all!  I purposely did not give my woman a face or hair...I wanted her to look "lost" in this busy world with lots of balls in the air.

Hope you enjoyed!