n*Studio | Pattern Lovers Love Patterns

18 July 201730 August 2017 | Marsha.

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Pattern Lovers Love Patterns

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!

Pattern Lovers Love Patterns

Last month the n*Studio Creative Squad assignment was to play with pattern, in my case using Nathalie’s Santiago Stencil and the Embroidery Stamp Set!

And because Harold and I were redecorating the living room, I thought I’d alter a couple of plain white tiles so we can use them as coasters.

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Pattern Lovers Love Patterns

Read the how-to in this post on Nathalie’s blog: Pattern Lovers Love Patterns – Marsha Valk.

Curious about my project for July? Head on over here: Free For All – Marsha Valk.

Materials used
n*Studio Santiago Stencil 9″x12″
n*Studio Embroidery Cling Rubber Stamp Set

White ceramic tiles
Porcelain paint
Cosmetic sponge
(Washi) tape

Please note that though some of the materials were given to me, I will not benefit from any sales generated by the links!

n*Studio | Out and About

20 June 201730 August 2017 | Marsha.

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Out and About

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!

Out and About

Just in case you missed it: the Creative Squad had a super special assignment last month.

In honour of the release of Nat’s book ‘Artful Adventures in Mixed Media’ (aff.link) the Squad played along with her 30 day Artful Adventures Stroll Challenge and created with the prompt of the day of our posts in mind.

My prompt was ‘Pattern’!

And I made the art journal page you can see above, as well as a couple of Mondriaan inspired cards!

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Out and About

Read the how-to in this post on Nathalie’s blog: Out and About – Marsha Valk.

Curious about my project for June? Head on over here: Pattern Lovers Love Patterns – Marsha Valk and… let me know what you think!

Materials used
n*Studio Stroll Through the Hood 1 Cling Rubber Stamp Set
n*Studio Stroll Through the Hood 2 Cling Rubber Stamp Set
n*Studio Embroidery Cling Rubber Stamp Set
n*Studio Cardboard Cling Rubber Stamp Set

White cardstock
Black cardstock
Gesso (Royal Talens)
Hero Arts Shadow Ink Soft Granite
Tsukineko Brilliance Rocket Red
Tsukineko Brilliance Sunflower Yellow
Tsukineko StazOn Dove Gray
Tsukineko StazOn Jet Black
Tsukineko VersaCraft Ultramarine
Post-it Tape

Please note that though almost all of the stamps listed above were given to me, I will not benefit from sales generated by the links!

Bewaren

n*Studio | Live Like it’s Spring

23 May 201730 August 2017 | Marsha.

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Live Like It's Spring

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!

Live Like it’s Spring

Last month the assignment, in short, was ‘Create in the Spirit of Spring’, using any of the new Wanderlust stencils.

It made me think of ‘When it’s Spring again I’ll bring again…’ Tulips from Amsterdam! Created in my craft room about 50 km east of Amsterdam… but that’s near enough I think ;-).

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Live Like It's Spring

You can read the how-to in this post on Nathalie’s blog: Live Like it’s Spring – Marsha Valk.

And just in case you are curious about my creative and photographic take on today’s Artful Adventures Stroll Challenge prompt, then head on over to Nat’s blog too: Out and About – Marsha Valk.

Materials used
Stencil Girl Products – n*Studio Amsterdam Stencil 9″x12″
Stencil Girl Products – n*Studio Buenos Aires Stencil 9″x12″
Stencil Girl Products – n*Studio Manhattan Stencil 9″x12″
Stencil Girl Products – n*Studio Mesa Verde Stencil 9″x12″
Stencil Girl Products – n*Studio Santiago Stencil 9″x12″
Stencil Girl Products – n*Studio Toledo Stencil 9″x12″
Copy paper (80gsm)
Drawing paper (Fabriano, 160gsm)
Gelli plate (Gelli Arts, 5”x7” and 8”x10”)
Brayer
Acrylic paint (Royal Talens Amsterdam)
Matte medium (Liquitex)

Please note that though a couple of these materials were given to me, I will not benefit from sales generated by the links!

n*Studio | Artful Adventures

19 May 201730 August 2017 | Marsha.

n*Studio: Artful Adventures

My friend Nathalie Kalbach has written a book! It’s called Artful Adventures in Mixed Media (aff. link) and it’s full of mixed media art and techniques.

The official release day is June 8th and Nat is hosting an Artful Adventures Stroll Challenge in the 30 days leading up to the release.

We’re now on day 10 of the (photo) challenge and it’s not too late to join in!

You can view the prompts at the end of my post and start right away or you can go to Nat’s website and register to get access to the optional classroom.

I’m sharing the photos I take for the challenge on Instagram, so be sure to follow me there, especially if you want to read the thoughts and explanations that go with them!

I’ve also started a new art journal for my creative takes on the prompts. On Tuesday I’ll be sharing my take on the ‘Pattern’ prompt on Nat’s blog for my monthly n*Studio Creative Squad post!

I hope you’ll join us! Enjoy your weekend!

Marsha Valk | Artful Adventures: 1 Home

Marsha Valk | Artful Adventures: 3 Fence

Marsha Valk | Artful Adventures: 4 Mailbox

Marsha Valk | Artful Adventures: 5 Shiny

Marsha Valk | Artful Adventures: 6 Window

Marsha Valk | Artful Adventures: 7 Sky

Marsha Valk | Artful Adventures: 8 Ground

Marsha Valk | Artful Adventures: 9 Plantlife

n*Studio: Artful 30 Day Prompts By Date

n*Studio | Say it like you Mean it

18 April 201710 June 2017 | Marsha.

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Say It Like You Mean It
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!

Say it like you Mean it

Last month the assignment was ‘Let your unique voice be heard and tell us what’s on your mind. Be bold. Be yourself. We all have something to say and sometimes we need to shout it!’, using Nat’s Stroll Through the Hood #1 Cling Rubber Stamp Set.

Uhm… yeah. There was a lot going on when I was working on this page.

I mean: there is always a lot going on, but we had our national election day on the exact day my page posted on Nathalie’s blog, so there seriously was a LOT on my mind.

And… current affairs in the US weren’t in the forefront.

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Say It Like You Mean It

This caused a minor problem, because The Stroll Through the Hood #1 set (though I adore it!) wasn’t the most suitable stamp set for speaking my mind then and there!

So what was I going to do? I didn’t want to make another ‘I don’t want to’ spread. So I decided to turn off my mind and let the theme and the stamps do the talking.

Earworm

Each time I read the theme ‘Say it like you Mean it’, I had a bad case of ear worm: the song ‘Sewn’ by The Feeling instantly started playing in my head. And that made me think about songs that fitted the New York City feel of the stamps.

‘I can’t see New York’ by Tori Amos came to mind.

I wasn’t sure if either song was a good fit, but they certainly were on my mind, so I decided to go with both songs.

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Say It Like You Mean It

You can read about my next steps in this post on Nathalie’s blog: Say It Like You Mean It – Marsha Valk.

And just in case you want to see what I have up my sleeve for the April n*Studio Creative Squad theme… Here’s a link to the new blog post too: Live Like it’s Spring – Marsha Valk!

Materials used
RubberMoon – n*Studio Stroll Through the Hood #1 Cling Rubber Stamp Set
RubberMoon – n*Studio Stroll Through the Hood #2 Cling Rubber Stamp Set

Watercolour paper (Canson Mix Media Imagine)
Black waterproof ink (Tsukineko StazOn Jet Black)
Waterproof fineliner 0.2 and 0.5 (Black)
Watercolour set (Winsor & Newton)
India Ink (Royal Talens)
Paint marker (uni Posca marker PC-5M black)
Sakura Koi Coloring Brush Pen (Black, Deep Yellow, Light Cool Gray)
Graphite pencil

Please note that though a couple of these materials were given to me, I will not benefit from sales generated by the links!

Gelli Arts® | Easter Table Runner

11 April 201712 May 2017 | Marsha.

Marsha Valk | Gelli Arts®: Easter Table Runner

Have you seen my latest project on the Gelli Arts® blog?

I’m customizing a store-bought cotton table runner to fit my Easter decor. Gelli® printing on fabric is so easy and fun!

Check it out here!

n*Studio | Let’s Go Somewhere

21 March 201712 May 2017 | Marsha.

$Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Let's Go Somewhere \\ Faux Batik Stamping & Embossing$

It’s my turn on the n*Studio blog today! Which from now on means that I’m going to share last month’s project with you here!

Let’s Go Somewhere…

Somewhere exotic… somewhere where there are palm trees… cocktails… and where the women wear beautiful patterned summer dresses in vivid colours!

$Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Let's Go Somewhere \\ Faux Batik Stamping & Embossing$

The assignment was to use the Batik Art Foamies and batik only means one thing to me: fabric.

I decided to create patterned designs using embossing powder instead of wax in an attempt to make my paper look like batiked fabric. I’m not sure I succeeded, but it was a fun experiment!

Here’s the step-by-step video tutorial. There are a lot of repeat steps, to create a multi-layered look!

Materials used
RubberMoon – n*Studio Embroidery Cling Rubber Stamp Set
Art Foamies – n*Studio Batik Pattern 3 Foam Stamp
Stencil Girl Products – n*Studio Batik Stencil

Canson Mix Media Imagine (this is paper with only a light grain)
WOW! Clear Ultra Slow Drying Embossing Pad
WOW! Clear Gloss Regular Embossing Powder
Royal Talens Ecoline (201 Light Yellow, 334 Scarlet, 506 Ultramarine Dark, 578 Cyan, 580 Pastel Blue)
Posca marker (PC-1M black)

Please note that some of these materials were given to me, but I will not benefit from sales generated by the links!

$Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Let's Go Somewhere \\ Faux Batik Stamping & Embossing$

Find the written steps on Nathalie Kalbach’s blog: Let’s Go Somewhere – Marsha Valk.

And just in case you want to see what I have up my sleeve for the March n*Studio Creative Squad theme… Here’s a link to the new blog post too: Say it like you Mean it – Marsha Valk!

n*Studio | Retrospective

21 February 201712 May 2017 | Marsha.

Time flies when you’re having fun! Next month marks my one year anniversary with the n*Studio Creative Squad!

There’s a brand new project up on Nathalie Kalbach’s blog today. This time the theme is Let’s Go Somewhere and I even created a video tutorial to go along with it, so be sure to check that out here!

I haven’t shared any of the completed projects I made for the Creative Squad so far, so if you haven’t been visiting my friend Nathalie’s blog, you’re in for a treat!

Looking back on everything I created in the past year, I see some of my absolute favourites among the n*Studio projects. Nat (and her awesome assistant Kim)’s monthly prompts always seem to bring out the best in me.

Nat’s designs are of course also right up my alley, so I truly enjoy working with her stamps and stencils and I think that shows!

But you don’t have to believe my word for it… Take a look for yourself!

Click on the photo if you want to know more about the project, the materials I used and what prompted me to create it. The link will take you to the original blog post on Nathalie’s blog.

Opposites Attract
$Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Opposites Attract \\ Gelli Prints$