Each day, a guest artist will present a different art medium, with a focus on the supplies you need and how to use them.
I’ll (of course) be teaching a session on how to get started with gel printing on Friday 10 May 2024!
Nest Fest is a great chance to grow your artistic toolbox at no cost. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled creative, there’s something here for everyone!
Schedule: May 8: Joy Ting Charde – Oil Pastels & Pencils May 9: Julie Hamilton – Paper May 10: Marsha Valk – Gelli Printing May 11: Tracey Wozniak – Watercolors May 12: Stephanie Lee – Texture May 13: Mary Beth Shaw – Stencil May 14: Shay Michelle – Adhesives May 15: Andrea Chebeleu – Acrylic Paint May 16: Lisa Goddard – Eco-Dyeing May 17: Anjuli Johnson – Encaustic May 18: Roben-Marie Smith – Liquid Inks May 19: Wendy Brightbill – Oil Paints
All videos will go live at 10:00 a.m. EDT (that’s 16:00 h CEST) each day and will be available for 24 hours.
If you’re reading this, you’ve found my old blog. I’ve ‘moved’. I’m currently blogging (or vlogging) on Substack!
You can find new posts by clicking on ‘VLOGletter’ in the menu at the top of this page. Or go here: Substack.
Substack is a platform for newsletters/blogs. You can read my posts on my website, on the Substack website, and in the Substack app, or I can send each new post directly to your email inbox.
I’m sending out a new VLOGletter each Monday and Friday.
In my imagination, it’s a mix of my blog before Instagram and Instagram before Reels, but in the form of a newsletter.
I try to include a little video in each post; however, it’s also the place where I tell you more about what you see in the video, what I’m working on off-camera, what I’m enjoying, what I’m reading or watching and where I can keep you in the loop of new video tutorials, new classes and other news I might have.
If this sounds like something you might like, hit that subscribe button above!
I’m beyond happy to announce that Nathalie Kalbach, Birgit Koopsen and I are back with a brand new collaborative mixed media workshop – Beyond The Paper!
In this three-week online workshop that begins on April 4th, 2021, we’re going to explore exciting and original substrates to create on.
Cardboard, Dura-Lar, Fabric, and more will be the foundation of our creations, and we will discuss how to make the most out of these unique surfaces.
The three of us will present a variety of paper alternatives and techniques that work beautifully with them, including foam stamping, printmaking, collage, stitching, and image transfers, to name a few.
Sign up TODAY to take advantage of the Early Bird pricing! Head over to the website for more info and to sign up! >>> Beyond The Paper Online Workshop
And that’s not all!
We’ve designed a 7-piece foam stamp set, especially for the workshop!
The Triple Play set includes six triangles (two designed by each of us) and then a hexagon border that they fit into.
I had so much fun designing my stamps. And, I cannot begin to describe how it feels to see them used by someone else! It’s weird and wonderful at the same time!
Can you guess which two are mine?
You can buy the Triple Play stamp set exclusively here: n*Store if you’re interested!
I’m beyond happy to announce I’m part of this very special workshop – Time Traveler!
I’m teaching along with my amazing friends Nathalie Kalbach and Birgit Koopsen in this three-week online workshop that goes on sale today and begins on August 17th.
Become a Time Traveler with us! With this course, Nat, Birgit and I will help guide you through space and time, finding inspiration from different eras in history.
Each teacher has chosen a time and will show you mixed media techniques and design motifs inspired by their modern take on that period.
The goal is to create three different handmade book projects using Gelli® plate printmaking techniques and favourite mixed media techniques unique to each teacher.
You will get three different artistic perspectives and oodles of fun and creative ideas to try.
Sign up TODAY for Early Bird pricing: Today, 5 through 8 August 11.59 EST this course is just $89 USD. From 9 to 17 August 11.59 EST Time Traveler will be $99 USD. And then, from 18 August the course will be its regular price of $139 USD.
Check out the promo video below:
Time Traveler will begin on 17 August and will run for three weeks, with a new video publishing each day.
There will be a total of 21 videos, over five hours of video in total, as well as supply lists and additional lesson content in the classroom to help you along the way.
All the videos are downloadable and available to you to enjoy at your own pace.
Here are some of the topics covered in this workshop:
Mixed Media techniques
Gelli Arts® gel plate printmaking techniques
Bookbinding techniques
Tips and tricks for translating inspiration into art
Creative ideas to take to all your artmaking, art journaling, cardmaking, and beyond!
Sign up HERE for this one-of-a-kind take on creating personal, expressive mixed media art in book form from three talented teachers.
From about March until now I’ve worked my way through a handmade journal as part of the StencilGirl® Products A to Z Collaboration and Challenge organised by StencilGirl® columnist Tina Walker.
For this challenge, all of the participants were asked to fill a journal with an entry for each letter of the alphabet.
The idea I had for this journal was inspired by a book that I read and loved about 15 years ago: ‘Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life’ by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
I’ve kept a journal like it before years ago, in a small address book that I had accidentally purchased. I used to keep it in my bag to write down ‘random stuff’ per letter on my train commute to and from work.
A lot of it was overheard conversation, observations, small things that caught my eye or that were on my mind. Sometimes I added little sketches.
I wish I could have had all of that this time around, however, it turned into a home edition of an ‘A to Z of Ordinary Things’ due to you-know-what.
As this was a collab for the StencilGirl® Talk Blog, the only stencils we were allowed to use were stencils by StencilGirl® Products. All of the other materials I used were my own choice.
Watch the video above for a quick flip through of the journal!
Please note that I’m also a columnist for the StencilGirl® Talk Blog, so though I did not receive any compensation for participating in this collaboration, the majority of the stencils I used to fill the pages were previously given to me or purchased at a discount!
The Stencilfied Journal is a 24-week StencilGirl® Collaboration Challenge hosted by the fab Tina Walker. Each Monday from January to June, Tina has revealed a song prompt for us to play with (using stencils by StencilGirl® Products).
This round wasn’t as successful for me as the first round during the summer of last year. Which is a shame, because I use song lyrics in my art journal all the time and, I immensely enjoyed the six prompts I did end up doing!
I figure it has something to do with my schedule at the beginning of the year and the fact that song prompts require more (mental) steps than last year’s ‘doing, not thinking’ type prompts.
I may, or may not, do a couple more of the prompts. I’m certainly not abandoning this little journal. I still love the pocket size, and I want to see it filled to the brim just like last year’s!
Tina has written up a farewell post on her blog, with some of the stunning pages the other participants created. Visit her here: The Stencilfied Journal 2019 – Tina Walker
Please note that though I am a columnist for StencilGirl® Products, this is not a sponsored post. I participated in this collab because it’s fun and I think Tinais thebombdotcom!⠀
Hi there! Gelli Arts® has teamed up with DecoArt® for some ‘Summer Fun’, and I’m here today to share the video I contributed to their blog collaboration!
For the collab, each of the participating Gelli Arts® Artists was gifted a box of DecoArt® Americana Premium paints and mediums to play with.
The theme ‘Summer Fun’ made me think of summer days in the yard and of vacations abroad.
How-to
I’ve recreated a photo I found in Elle magazine. I started by sketching it on computer paper; then I scanned the sketch to reverse it, and to print multiple copies.
I used the multiple copies to cut several stencils of the scene, each to use with one or two print colours. The stencils (and cut out masks) also helped with printing multiple layers.
I mixed the DecoArt® Americana Premium paints to create colours that (kind of) matched the original photo, and I created texture plates by applying Texture Medium to scrap pieces of cardboard with a Gelli Arts® mini printing tool.
The ‘Summer Fun’ theme also reminded me of colourful dresses, so I decided to use another photo from the same magazine as a reference to draw a lady onto computer paper.
I painted her head first. Then I used Matte Medium and gel printed tissue paper to collage the multicoloured dress.
Once the collage was dry, I pasted the lady onto the gel printed scene with the same Matte Medium, and then I enhanced the print with shadows and added details using paint markers and coloured pencils.
Preserve summer memories
As mentioned, I used photos from a magazine as a reference to create my gel print, but you could also use a personal photo as the jumping off point instead. Wouldn’t it be fun to record a summer memory this way?!
Visit the Gelli Arts® blog to see what the other participating artists have created.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful summer (or winter)!
DecoArt® Americana Premium Mediums Matte Medium, Texture Medium, White Gesso DecoArt® Americana Premium Acrylic Paints Burnt Umber, Cadmium Orange Hue, Carbon Black, Cobalt Teal Hue, Dark Grey Value 3, Dioxazine Purple, Phthalo Green-Yellow, Primary Cyan, Primary Magenta, Primary Yellow, Pyrrole Red, Quinacridone Magenta, Titan Buff, Translucent White
Please note that none of the links in this post are affiliate links! However, if you use the code MarshaV at check out on the Gelli Arts® website, you get 10% off an order over $20, and I earn a small percentage of the sale.
Stencils
StencilGirl® Products Letters on Box stencil by Daniella Woolf AALL & Create Stencil #9 by Autour de Mwa, Stencil #12 by Autour de Mwa, Stencil #32 by Carol AndCo, #36 by Aida Domisiewicz
Other
Magazine (Elle) Computer paper (A4) Cardboard scraps Paper (A3) Tissue paper Craft knife + cutting mat 2” roller Scissors Black pen Pencil Paint markers Coloured pencils
You may have noticed that I’ve rejoined Nathalie Kalbach’s Creative Squad and, it’s my turn on the n*Studio blog today! Which means that it’s time to share last month’s project with you here!
Pastel Dreams
Last month the n*Studio Creative Squad was asked to go pastel with our colour palettes and to create with Nat’s Large Floral Tile stamp set.
The pastel theme reminded me of Mrs Prysselius, one of the characters in the old Pippi Longstocking films.
In the Dutch translation of the Astrid Lindgren books Mrs Prysselius is called aunt Pastellia, so that’s the name she goes by for me.
You can read the full story and watch the step-by-step video here on Nathalie’s blog: Pastel Dreams – Marsha Valk
You may have noticed that I’ve rejoined Nathalie Kalbach’s Creative Squad and, it’s my turn on the 
