Finally, original art returns

"Finally Frannie" by
Norma Anne Chattin
copyright 2020

I couldn't get myself motivated for  South Florida exhibit, the gallery closed, my Mom needed extra attention, my Mom died...I stopped making original art.

It took "shelter at home " to reignite my art. I began by using collage techniques with rubber stamps, recycling previous pieces, and finally moved to the originals you see today.

"May you shine" original art
by Norma Anne Chattin,
 copyright 2020

Rubber stamped art
designed by
NACChattin 2020

"Color My World," original art by
 Norma Anne Chattin, copyright 2020

More designed art

Here's a post from my phone of recent cards using a variety of products. These are all using a Laurel Burch Stamp I purchased locally from Every Thing Scrapbooks & Stamps.

I used a variety of backgrounds including dye inks, print paper, tempera paint crayons, Marvy Markers, and even a bit of white-out.

 

Crazy Birds in the Studio

“You have to start somewhere.” Here’s the somewhere I’m starting.

There have only been a couple of products that I “had to have” in the last year. Crazy birds stamps by Tim Holtz was one of these.  Here are some samples:

The sequins make the magic.

There are dies to cut the birds that I did not buy but my friend Lynn did...

I wish more of the birds faced right

that would be more appealing on a

card.

These designs are very simple. The birds are just so adorable that there is no need to put tons of effort into cards. 

Coordinating papers from a paper pad

by DCW make assembly easy.

I stamped all of these in one sitting on white paper that had been colored with distress ink stains by Ranger via Tim Holtz. I cut some out and I left some right on the background.

Keep in mind, I prefer to make art than spend a ton of time taking photos of it--smile. Editing pictures distracts me for hours because after I crop then I want to adjust color and size and contrast and....

Give a little bit of your art away

Small things are charming. I've been making artist's trading cards for over 10 years and they still feel new. The standard marketing line is "make it miniature or put it on a stick and you've got a top seller."

I'm working on an ATC gallery for NAChattin.com and I keep getting distracted by designs I want to try again or ideas that would be fun to teach. One of my latest favorite techniques with ATCs is to adhere them to a card base and make an "instant" greeting card.

I had the pleasure of exchanging trading cards in a swap last June with some amazing artists including Pam Grant. Here are two greeting cards I made with her Artist Trading Cards.

She used collage images of photos from the 1920s and jewel embellishments to create these treasures. I added a bit of ribbon or string and a print background card base from DCWV. Oh joy.

Postcards from the Artful Tourist

Online challenges are fun inspiration--even if you don't actually participate in the challenge. Last spring I decided to enter the "Animal Kingdom" challenge from Sunday Post Card Art. The challenge was to make a 4" by 6" postcard featuring the animal kingdom. Any art mediums in that size are accepted. When I read the preview I only saw animal kingdom, the blog challenge post on SPC actually said " furry friends from the Animal Kingdom."



I'm hoping that the human member of the animal kingdom counts if the frog doesn't....


I created my postcard in traditional collage--I'd call it scrapbook style. I wasn't satisfied with the results so I then added spray mist color and finally altered it again digitally. In the end, I didn't even enter the challenge--I just didn't feel the mojo from this project. Since I completed the postcard it's been on display in my study and now I really love it.


All 5 card stock papers used are from Paper Temptress. All but the Jelly Bean green on the frog had a shimmery finish to them.

Before walnut shimmer spray a the black & white version for another take on it.

Define Luck

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Amidst any celebrating and reveling I choose to count my blessings as well. My wonderful husband and I have had a long running inside joke about luck. Everytime he says something about being lucky or wishing luck I say that I don't beleive in luck. For me, it's all part of being blessed by my Great Creator.

Fibromyalgia is a strange illness that most would not count as a blessing or being lucky. While I'd release it if I could, I still see having the fibro as a blessing too. My life changed dramatically with the onset of this illness and much of it was to my advantage.

I get asked a lot to share some of my story to others and I have been working on a book called "Healing by Spirit" for some time now. In the meantime I have published a rather lenghy article on my web site called:

Living, truly living, with fibromyalgia

Peace be with you and the Irish everywhere.

I celebrate my Celtic heritage in my life and my art all  year long.

A Bright and Shiny New Year

The birds blend two shades of glitter and the
 wings and heart are in different colors

New Year’s comes around more than once a year for me—I like fresh starts in January, in August for the school year, and again in October for my birthday. The January new year is my sparkling one.

As a Christmas gift to myself I got a set of 24 amazing fine glitters from Martha Stewart. These glitters had been in my radar for over six months. Of course I had a couple dozen glitters already in my inventory, but there were only three of the very fine variety. (Go ahead, you can smirk now).

The glitters

I set up the glitters in my studio and just looked at them for almost two weeks. I am mesmerized by sparkling things. I did some Internet research on projects and found awesome wall art that I want to do for my upcoming home purchase. The project was designed by Kari Tarr for a contest Martha hosted on the show. The video tutorial is way cool for this.

I have some fun ideas for glitter cards that play on this idea from the wall art, but for some reason I couldn’t even start with that…I broke open the package for Valentine cards. Two techniques are featured for these cards:

1. Covering an entire punched paper piece with glitter after running it through Xyron™ adhesive. (see birds above)

Stamped Image highlighted with glue pen and then glitter.

2. Use a glue pen to outline spots on a stamp image and filling them in with glue. (see heart on right)

Not exactly extravagant starting points, but I did enough to get glitter on my face. Tips from my in-studio session with fine glitters:

1. Use coffee filters to catch excess glitter and return to bottles. My non-stick craft sheets would have worked if they were clean—but seriously, they haven’t been clean in years. Same goes for my cute pink tidy tray for glitter.


2. Mix the colors on a punched object for depth and dimension.


3. Layer pieces of different colors on top of each other.

Design Notes--Valentine Flash Cards

Here's the full view of the cards shown in detail. I used K & Co. double sided print papers (on sale of course) to create these and the others shown below.

The first four cards done with double sided print paper and fine glitters.

A second set of cards with glitter and shiny hearts made from reclaimed note cards--more on that later.

Hat tipped to Michael’s Arts and Crafts for their great marketing over the holiday. They ran daily specials on one item and sent them out by email and phone alerts. The glitters were a one day only special that got me into the store and the phone alerts allow the cashier to scan a bar code on your phone and zip away with your purchase.

Resolved to Affirm

Instead of resolutions, I practice affirmations. If you have never done affirmations you can run an online search that will produce mountains of information. One of the most comprehensive places I found online is Vital Affirmations at http://www.vitalaffirmations.com/affirmations.htm
--I have no affiliation with this site other than reading it and appreciating their style.


The book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne inspires me a great deal as well. The web site is http://thesecret.tv/  which has a short but scenic video. If you have Netflix or other online video resource the entire book has been made into a great video too. The Secret is just the last in a long line of positive and motivational readings that I’ve done since the eighties. If this one doesn’t work for you there are loads of others.

Heartfelt Art (and other) Destinations that are calling to me in 2012:

As it is written

--Continuing with journaling my morning pages each and every day. There will be art in my journals and more fun with altered book journals, but the words will take precedent this year.

--Speaking of words, I set my “one little word” for the year as TRUST. (The one little word concept was developed and is taught by the amazing ALI at http://www.bigpictureclasses.com/onelittleword.php  ) My word last year was wholly and I loved keeping this word alive in my life. My wonderful church, First Christian Disciples of Christ in West Palm Beach has a tradition of giving out words for the year on a star too. My star word is ACTION so I’m all set to put TRUST in ACTION or ACT on TRUST throughout the year. It seems like my “one little word” just grew to two little words. Nice.

Two Baby Grands in one week 2011

--Following some nudging from the fabulous Kandee Johnson, I am thinking this year about the last time I did something for the first time. Since I’m officially over 50 I decided to amend that to allow for first time in a long, long time too. (Long time defined by over 20 years). Whether it’s a recipe, a lifestyle change, or a new art technique—I’m doing something new multiple times per month in 2012. Join me in tracking “first time doings” on my blog and web site.

--Community activists are often thought of as people who stage protests or collect signatures requesting change. I choose to broaden the term to include community outreach as part of community activism. I am reaching out to those I know and those I’ve never met through traditional and non-traditional methods. I don’t have to leave a mark on the world to touch it. 

The family famous Burnett "plain cake"
not pound cake. Grandma's recipe says "plain
cake." Simplicity in abundance.

--I trust that I will have everything I need when I need it. I surround myself with the beautiful and the useful. From my artwork to my home to my work to my relationships—I focus on the simple and the meaningful.

I focus on the simple and the meaningful

Holiday Review 2011:

My Christmas celebrations were awesome this year as I approached the holiday with the spirit of Advent leading my heart and decisions. For the first time in my memory I gave most people on my list one gift.

Hand drawn Santa I used for gift
 ties and ornaments 2011.

We made time to visit with family and friends, we went to church, we volunteered in our community. This heartfelt approach has led me to renew my commitment to the heartfelt art process and the power of creativity as a gift from the Great Creator.


Wishing you peace, prosperity, and loads of sparkle in 2012.

Art Journal Every Day wrapping up for 2011

Snowman Doodle Dollies November 2011

I am loving my art journal every day commitment for 2011. I can count on one hand the number of days that I have missed--it's so cool.




Angela Doodle Doll 11.2011y


There's been a new book every quarter and my latest one is a hardcover art text book. I'm still enjoying my doodle dollies throughout the journals. Videos should be available in the new year.

Mamograms Matter

Art as an expression of hope and a reminder to my loved ones:

Just because breast cancer awareness month is over doesn't mean we can forget about taking care of ourselves and our loved ones.
Please do your self exams and get your mammograms. Here's a web site that will help you find free mammograms in the United States. http://www.liv.com/free_mammograms.php

 We all know someone touched by breast cancer--if you didn't before--now you do. I've had over 10 mammograms in the last 4 years, 3 aspiration biopsies and 1 very recent stereoscopic biopsy. It's all good so far, but these small steps make a huge difference in my health and my peace of mind.

Being kind to yourself makes you strong.

21 days with a ciggarette

Bon Voyage to a tee shirt (and cigs) from my art journal.

I said a not-so fond farewell to my cigarettes 21 days ago today. This rocks.


I made my commitment to quit by using a nicotine delivery device known as the E-cigarette. 


Here are the things I love about my new life without "analog" cigarettes and my ongoing adventures with electronic cigarettes. (In no particular order)

• I love saying "I don't smoke."
• The smell--the tell-tale, nasty, smell---is gone.
• I don't waste cigarettes putting them out before they are finished.
• No more ash tray maintenance and butt disposal issues.
• I have already lost my smokers cough and throat clearing.
• The electronics come in cool colors including pink with light up crystals.
• They are half the price of my former smoking habit.
• I can whiten my teeth and they'll stay white.
• No loss of the eye-hand habits I enjoy.
• I can do it in the car with the windows up.
• I don't annoy people around me.
• No special accommodations required.
• No waiting until "I finish this one" before moving on with my time.

Here's a video of Katherine Heigl on Letterman that shows how they work and what they look like:

Once I decided to try the electronic cigarettes, I found an incredible amount of online resources, products, and companies. There are some unbiased comparison sites and some very biased comparison sites set up to look like unbiased ones.


The company that works for me is called Vapor for Life. They don't pay any referral bonuses and I receive no personal gain by promoting their company. http://v4l.com/

New Stick Figure debuts on Paper Temptress Blog and Web Site

 

The back side view.

Stick Figures are paper art dolls on a stick. My ATC from last week spurred me to go full size on the sticks and make a new doll for my collection. This one is called Winnifred and she's a whole new breed of princess.

Check out my post on Paper Temptress blog for more details on how their luscious card stock made this stick figure come to life.

I've been steady rocking the new web site and would love for you to visit me their too.

There's a new Renew This Book! page about more ideas for content in your journal and sample pages. The Stick Figure gallery has been updated to add Winnifred and My Career Coaching page has been revised with links to workshops that are available now.

In the studio this week I have filmed and edited three new videos that will be posted soon so stay tuned.

Answering the call of the studio



Love Paris in the Springtime card made with double sided papers
from Prima. This was sent to my friend Sharonna who went to me
to Paris in the spring of 1995. Ain't life grand when you're a tourist?


I love my little blog, truly I do. And, I've loved my web site since it started in 2002. These are amazing things in amazing times when I stop to think about it...

But there's a catch--I don't want to spend more time photographing, scanning, posting, proofing, and publishing than I do in the studio.

Since we last met, so to speak, I've been a very busy Artful Tourist. Over 40 projects have left the studio for happy lives in my home, the mailboxes of my beloveds, the birthday, Easter and new baby gifts. It's been sheer joy.

A few highlights include:

• A new Flash! Cards set featuring use of chalks and now available on the web site.
• More samples of double sided print paper cards and recycled cards -- not yet available for viewing except the sneak peak of Paris in spring shown here
• I was selected to design for a way-cool company called Paper Temptress. I will be posting on that blog monthly and linking over here. I've already finished a couple pieces using the amazing papers. I predict you will love using them too.
• A set of ink background cards featuring bold stamps that has the potential to be another Flash! Card tutorial.
• I started my new art journal -- still using the renew this book technique.
• I spent less than $10.00 on art supplies/materials/tools in April 2011.
• I found an awesome digital design resource called Deviant Scrap and I am  positively in love with the designer for Crow About Studio B. Check her out if you love the quirky.
• The Artful Tourist Facebook page is featuring lots of quick art journal tips and links to cool inspiration. Please come join me there--you won't be overwhelmed with posts and I'd love to see you.

I'm sure there's more, but highlights are the key word here. Thanks for checking in and keep in mind that being kind to yourself makes you strong.

Style Options



Trying out a different style in my art journal. NAChattin.com


There's always another way to do things. I was fascinated by Julie Balzer's post on January 28th. She outlined a week's worth of art journal activities which was fun--but first she discussed the different types of journal styles:


"1.painty - love to splash paint and mist around and can't get enough gesso



 2.wordy - less of an art-er and more of a journaler and storyteller3.collage-ish - love patterned paper,     imagazine pages, and decoupage medium


 4.scrapbook-ish - used to using photos when you tell your stories


 5.doodler - can't stay away from the pens and markers "

She pegged me, I'm the wordy one. As shown in previous videos, I like to journal in books that I am "renewing" into journals. I layer on colors and magazine images, papers, stickers, and then layer on the words, words, and more words. Here are a couple typical examples:

My pages are prepped in advance. As I start to journal each day I will add embellishments and then begin to write and write and write. I've been writing in a journal since 1973. There has only been one real constant since I started--words. It works.

After reading Balazer's post I decided to challenge myself to each style of journal. This two page spread (at top) works the painty and possibly the scrapbook-ish styles. On the left I did a torn paper piecing technique that I employ on scrapbooks and cards. On the  right is a magazine advertisement for lingerie. I used gesso over the model and the painted in a new figure.

I really had fun trying new styles although it took me longer than my usual 30 minutes per day. Now I'm off to try the doodler technique.

Facebook Greetings-New on the web site-Take a peek at my journal

It hasn't been THAT long since my last blog post, but I've got lots of new ideas and links to share.



Facebook birthday greeting


***The Artful Tourist Facebook page now offers photo greetings you can use for your friends on Facebook.
Check out the photo album called Birthday Greetings to share on Facebook--there's lots of designs. Just tag a friend in the photo for it to show up on their profile. You can also right click to download the photo to your computer and then insert it into a page post.

****New on the Artful Tourist Web Site

Renew This Book Part One Tutorial and Video--http://www.nachattin.com/articlerenewthisbookcanvas.html

Renew This Book Part Two Tutorial and Video http://www.nachattin.com/articlerenewthisbookcutcolorspace.html

Flash Cards! New video and tutorial featuring double sided paper

Gallery--A collection of Florida inspired greetings http://www.nachattin.com/galleryflcards.html

Gallery--Recycled mail art http://www.nachattin.com/galleryrecycle.html

Article--Inspiration from Miss Betty--See how getting a beautiful card from my friend inspired me to create several more http://www.nachattin.com/article2scorefront.html

At left the cool thank you card Miss Betty sent me in December. She's always so on top of every card occassion...

Below is one of the cards she inspired from my studio. This birdie one is also featured in my latest Flash Cards! Video featuring double-sided papers from Rouge de Garance.

*** Are you curious about what's in my journal? I created a video to keep up with the wonderful group on Julie Balzar's blog. We're committed to "Art Journal Every Day."

Fruity Crabs

Back in 2002 or perhaps 2003 Sir Henry and I went to Vegas for a Dream Impressions stamp convention. We had a great time together.

Every hotel in Vegas has to have a theme and our Imperial Hotel set out to be the Asian hot spot on the strip. It looked like a standard strip hotel with some pagodas glued here and there. The hotel had a big polynesian dinner one night and everyone at the convention attended. The food and the show were cheesy but fun. During intermission I walked around and took pictures of all the fruit scuptures.

This crab was one of my favorites. I printed several copies of it a few years later for a scrapbook page I was designing for Spellbinders. There were plenty of crabs left over and I finally used them to make a series of brithday cards.

A. There was a point to this long winded story

B. I used up more of the "stuff" that I have had laying around for years.

So click on the crabby cards and see all the fun ways you can make cards from your extra photos.

For more photo cards check out my web page devoted to the topic.

Enjoy the creative process!

After arriving home with 100+ photos I immediately began digital scrapping. These are from shots of my niece and her fiancé at their new little home on the lake. Next Henry took off to see our grandson so here’s a quickie of sweet Sam too.

There were no posts while I was traveling because I didn’t want to lug my ancient lap top around and I thought I could use other computers as I traveled. I did get a few moments on other computers, but I didn’t do more than post status on Facebook and return a few emails. After all, what are vacations for if not to get away?

Now that I’m home I’ve already done some digital scrapping and I created three traditional pages yesterday along with four cards last week during my recovery time from my journey. I mailed the cards without scanning, so those are lost to the wind, but I’ll scan the layouts soon. The layouts are nothing fancy, I'm just trying to finish the majority of our wedding book before our first anniversary-wry smile.

My last post before I left was about making handmade journals. I didn’t want to post any of the party decorations I was working on because I hated to give away the surprise. Naturally, I didn’t take too many pictures of those either…sigh. What I did was create some fun digital designs and then layered them onto cardstock, stands, and sticks to make 3-D décor for Katie’s shower.

Pictured here are some the original designs along with a shot of the balloon bouquet I made. Her theme was tie dye and we all dyed white baby things at the shower. I narrowed the field a little and made the decorations with a Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds kit downloaded free from http://www.digiscrapaddicts.com/

Regular Features

Surf stops—web sites I’ve visited recently:

www.hulu.com – Great safe site to watch TV shows and movies. I watched four seasons of “Rescue Me” in May and June and now I have a new favorite TV show.
http://candyscraps.typepad.com/scrappylinks/ -Feed your addiction with great links to cool sites, new products, and freebies every week.

Touch of color—what color(s) influenced me— I found some color combinations that are hot for weddings this year. I worked with one I liked on digital and traditional scrapping: deep burgundy and orange.

Most played song- Learning to Live on Love by Mike Cross. I couldn’t find a snippet on online, but you can hear some other samples from this gifted artist on his web site http://www.mikecross.com/discs.asp

Studio progress: Ashamed to say, it’s a wreck after getting Kate’s shower ready and then coming home with an irresistible urge to create cards and pages. I’ve done 4 cards and 3 traditional scrapbook pages since I got home. It’s on the list this week…

In the kitchen— inspired by the cheesy chowder from one our favorite Ashland restaurants since 1979 when I first landed at Randolph-Macon College—the Smokey Pig. http://www.thesmokeypig.com/ I created my own version.Essentially, sauté onions in chicken broth, add more broth and frozen soup veggie mix plus extra frozen corn and boil for 5 minutes before lowering heat and adding cheddar cheese soup and/or Ragu cheesy sauce or Velveeta. Season as desired, I added all-purpose Greek seasoning and something new to us called MoJo seasoning. Just comment on the blog if you want specific measurements.

Austerity Plan--- progress ($15.00 per month for art supplies and tools): Haven’t spent a penny in this direction so far in June. My opinion and where it may lead: Although it took a lot out of me to drive 2500 miles across six states—I’d do it again in a heartbeat (or at least after a week’s rest) to be with my loved ones. Mamma always said, “Family is family,” and I totally appreciate that.

My opinion and where it may lead: Although it took a lot out of me to drive 2500 miles across six states—I’d do it again in a heartbeat (or at least after a week’s rest) to be with my loved ones. Mamma always said, “Family is family,” and I totally appreciate that.