Kelly Kilmer Class Part Two - Painted Books & Shopping at Kept Creations

 

I made this book. 

Read that again. 

I MADE THIS BOOK!!!!

I've always wanted to do this. 

I did it in my second class with Kelly Kilmer. 

I can't wait to make more books. 

Maybe you figured this out already, but I haven't finished this book. Not by any matter of means. 

I haven't had a day out like this in a long time. I had not realized that I have gotten older. It never occurred to me that I could run out of steam - especially when doing something fun. So fun. 

So the cover and the end pages are possibilities waiting for me. Not only that, but all those wonderful pages are waiting for my art journaling.

The pages are painted.

Then torn to size.

Then bound.

Kelly gave us great instructions on methods, 

prompts to move us out of our comfort zones (see it's not entirely pink),

methods to try 

we tried masks (didn't show up well in the pictures, but cool anyway). 

It was surprising to see how some of the random pairings worked so well.

Interspersed with all the joy of creating was the joy of shopping! This stamp stole my hear, so I bought it! The only problem with this hand carved, wooden stamp is that it might just be too beautiful to use! It may remain a piece of decor as I am too shy to mess it up. 

I discovered not all glue sticks are equal. Mine was less than helpful and I ended up glueing things down a second time when they peeled up. Less than optimal way of creating art. Introduce this glue stick from Italy. It was all the rage. Made from almonds, this is a glue stick you could possibly start licking if you are really hungry. Smells like marzipan. Sticks like…glue. I bought myself the long lasting size as I intend to be gluing things down with a passion. 

Kept Creations has a wonderful wall of stencils. It's terribly difficult to decide which to choose, so why not choose three? Still, there's a pattern here - hearts and flowers. That's the way to my heart. 

It was a great day. I was tuckered out at the end of it, but it will be a day I will cherish. So glad I decided to treat myself. 

How can you treat yourself? What have you treated yourself to? Do you participate in art classes? What is your favorite way to learn a new technique? Who would you like to take a class with if you could?