Friday, January 30, 2015

Valentines and Good Day Wisconsin!

I looooove love. So Valentines Day is fun for me! This year I will be showing you a little Valentine love on Good Day Wisconsin! Watch on Thursday February 5th at 8:15ish to see what I do with these little valentines that I am sharing right here right now with you out of the kindness in my heart!

Don't forget to check out my Etsy shop too! There are lots of great gifts handmade by me and digital downloads that you can use to create a gift for the one you love!

Use these Valentines then send me pictures of what you did with them so I can share with everyone! Send pictures to gkgeiser@yahoo.com! Thank you and happy love month!

xoxoxo Kim

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Happy girl clutch



I have quite a stash of fabric paints and pens and inks. Maybe I'm a little hoardy with it. I decided yesterday to maybe start using it! 

I picked up a couple of premade bags at the craft store and some stencil medium and personalized the bags using a variety of materials I had. It was a good thing too because some of these paints have been in my stash too long and need to get used ASAP! So here's how I made these.....

Materials
Clutch or other canvas bag
Fabric paints....I used Soft fabric paint, painters paint pens and some block ink. 
Stencil blanks
Paintbrush (about 1 inch flat brush or stencil brush) 
Exacto knife
Tape or stencil adhesive

I started by drawing my design directly on the stencil. I have a confident drawing style so if you don't just draw a design on paper and then trace it onto to stencil with a sharpie. Using a very sharp exacto knife cut out your stencil. Remember when designing your stencil that everything you cut out will be your colored area so plan accordingly. For example look at my stencil, see how the a is cut out so that the void in the letter shows? That is because I kept it attached by not connecting those lines. 

Once you get the stencil cut out you can position it on your bag and tape it down on the sides or use stencil adhesive to keep it in place. I didn't have the adhesive so I used tape and had to be a little more careful when painting. Load your brush with paint, dab to remove excess and holding the brush straight up and down stipple the design. Use care on the edges so you get minimal bleeding under the stencil. Remove the stencil carefully. At this point if you are anything like me you have paint all over your hands so before you handle the bag take your stencil to the sink and rinse it and wash those hands. It really stinks when you finish a stencil then mess it up with paint fingerprints. 

When I was done stencil ings I used the paint pens to add stars. Let the bags dry overnight and enjoy! 

Check your paint instructions, you may have to heat set them to ensure durability but with this being a bag and not a garment you should be fine. Always follow the manufacturers instructions for best results. 

Tip....the stencil blanks are thick and a little difficult to cut. Intricate designs would have been time consuming. 

So get to the craft store and create your own personalized bags today! 

Total cost for this project was $10-$20 depending on what you have in your craft tool box already. 

Have a super duper day! 

Xoxo Kim 

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

What is art to you?





Does art only look a certain way? 

I recently commented on a thread on an art writers Facebook. The article referenced a lawsuit against an artist who was recently found guilty of plagiarism because he painted a picture from a photograph found in the newspaper.  My thoughts were that I don't want to live in a world where we have to pay for inspiration. Many others sided with the courts. I saw nothing wrong with differing opinions but dang!  The hoity toitiness of some of the comments just reminded me there is a whole other art scene outside of my happy creative bubble. A whole art world I NEVER want to be any part of. Comments were rude and many have this idea that unless you have mastered your techniques and make art in only an approved matter are you a real artist. Yikes! 

Art is my life. I dress in colors that make me smile. I look up at the sky through the trees with wonder and awe. I examine rocks while combing the beach. I grow flowers and food that inspire my art. I cook with passion. I laugh and cry and get giddy with excitement when I see others creating anything with their hearts. So sometimes I make art but really my life is an art (by the way so is yours) I live for what makes my heart sing and every once in awhile that comes out in a spurt of creativity in the form of a drawing, painting, jewelry, or whatever else strikes my fancy. That feeling that emotion is what makes my art not my technique. 

To me anyone who creates a painting, or a song, or a poem, or a piece of jewelry is an artist. Sure some are better than others but that is irrelivent. If the thing that you create appeals to the masses or just one person it is worthy and you are an artist. Own it and never let anyone tell you different. When you make something new and it excites you you made art.

That's the world I live in. 

So tell me what is art to you? 

Xoxo Kim 


Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Winter blahhhhh



Winter is funny for me. I sit in the house too much, read too many Facebook posts, and don't get enough sunshine. I know lots of Wisconsinites know what I mean. Too much time alone means too much thinking and too much thinking leads to bad things for me but sometimes the bad is the push I need to find clarity so it ends up ok. Oh I am a bundle of contradictions ain't i? 

What's really kind of hitting me lately is our need as humans to get everyone to agree with everything we think and when they don't we instantly get insulted and claim we are being disrespected. It is just being put in front of me over and over and over lately. It makes me aware so I am grateful but it frustrates me and makes me want to curl up in bed and go away from all social media at the same time. When I was shoveling the other day (something I actually enjoy) after a Facebook disagreement the quote popped in my head.....let's stop confusing opinions with disrespect. Because it's not important. 

For example right now the movie American Sniper is wildly popular. I don't know the true life story of the man portrayed in the film and to be honest I'm not sure I will watch the movie. While I completely respect those who serve our country and protect our freedoms I just cannot take the emotional ride I'm guessing this movie will take me on. It's not my thing to watch war movies and if I'm just being honest I cry at commercials for coffee so I'm quite sure it would wreck me for days. But here's the thing with this movie some people feel it is not the story of a hero and they have expressed their opinions publicly. Thousands maybe even millions have expressed their positive opinions but 2 people expressed something different and that is all anyone can focus on. They are being called traitors and there is even some saying that they are not worthy of living here. Really? Really? Here's the thing....they don't matter. Their opinions have no effect whatsoever on anyone's lives. We give them so much power it's so so silly. We put all this energy into hating what two people expressed that we forget to love. We forget to speak kindly. We forget what it means to be human. 

I have a friend who may be on her last stretch of life right now. Her life has inspired so many. Her strength through sickness, her grace in the face of adversity and her smile ... that even though I only saw one fun night in Connecticut at Art Is You ... is forever a part of my memory. That is what we need to start focusing on. Because life is too short to care what anyone thinks of you or what an actor thinks of a movie. Stop feeding the crap and start doing more of what we love. 

So while the world gets hung up on meaningless stuff lets just spread some love. The drawing above is one I did for my friends at Art Is You. Allison passed away from cancer a short time ago and to continue her legacy of doing what you love the AIY family has devoted 2015 to honoring her spirit. So when you post something that made you giddy with happiness or something you did out of the kindness in your heart for others tag #AAoK in Allisons honor. 

I'm always grateful for lessons in my life. So when I get the blahs and feel the need to ramble on about stuff like this I hope that everyone understands it comes out of only good intentions. My thoughts are never meant to hurt anyone. If you don't like them that's cool but instead of focusing on them do something you love. That's all. 

Xoxoxo Kim. 


Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Memory box



Here's a fun idea. My husband is a runner/adventure man. He accumulated a stack of numbers and bands from finished races that were just sitting on a shelf collecting dust (on top of the dried mud). I had a large shadow box that I  bought from Hobby Lobby so I decopauged it with a map of Wisconsin ... Where we live and where he races.... Then just put the mementos in it closed it up and hung it. Now whenever he finishes a race we just open up the back and add more! This idea would work for any kind of collection! If you have a memory box let me see them! Share yours in the comments! 

Happy crafting! 

Xoxo Kim

Monday, January 12, 2015

Good Morning!


My ideas on how to be a sunshine spreader....
*smile
*give someone a compliment and keep the icky comments inside
*live what you love every single day
*wear what makes your heart sing even if you are over 30 or want to wear white after labor day
*be super grateful for everything...the clouds in the sky the sweet sweet apple you are eating or even the rainy day that reminds you to appreciate the sunshine even more
*again.... SMILE
 
Much happiness to you!
 
xoxoxox Kim

Friday, January 9, 2015

2015....

 
Ahhhh a fresh new year.
 
It is time to renew, refresh, simplify and go forward!
 
2014 was pretty great. Lots of fun opportunities and learning experiences. One of the biggest was starting a business with my partner Kelly Lee. Persimmons Studio was a fun experiment. The idea was big and awesome but for both Kelly and I the time was maybe not right and we both recognize that and decided to cut our losses and move on individually. So to start out new I want to thank Kelly for her hard work and for believing in me. I learned so much and for that I will be always grateful.
 
But now to the hard part. The work of figuring out what my next step will be and where I want to focus my attention. So I am updating my social network sites and I even joined instagram...I know I was reluctant to start yet another thing that I know I will get addicted to but it is really fun. I have also been playing with surface design, I have set up a meeting with a friend to teach me how to use photoshop and illustrator and I am ready! Ready for what I am not sure but I know that it will be good.
 
So 2015....get ready for me. I am going to do fun things.
 
Thanks for following my journey. xoxo