GREAT NEWS!!! Lori Mitchell's new book is out! Bal Yoga for Kids. The book is written by Glenda Kacev and Sylvia Roth and Lori did the cartoon illustrations inside. The book is very adorable and will be sooooo great for kids to learn and practice yoga! It includes a CD and DVD! Congrats Lori!

Week 4 Doodle Girls - Our halfway finished 'Glam Girls'!

Here is Kat, just starting week 4...1/26/12

Here is Kat's the end of week 4. AWESOME!

Here is Cynthia's....PRECIOUS...

Here is Lori's....WOW....

...and here is mine...

We are going to get together one more week to finish our girls. :-)

Meet my new art friend CYNTHIA

So, let me tell you a little bit about my new friend, Cynthia Ellis. I met Cynthia at the same time I met Kat on 11/12/11 at Gee Gee's Stamp Store. They were already friends and I remember them distinctly because they were the last ones to arrive and they were giggling and

said something like you have not started the fun with out us, have you? Their energy was contagious and they sat across from me, so we had a good time in class together.

Cynthia is also a part of 'The Doodle Girls' Group I started to take Traci Bautista's online class together. Although, I have never met her grandchilden, it sounds like she is an amazing Grandma and loves to do art with them. So cool! She has a very generous, warm spirit and I really enjoy being around her and laughing together. Not to mention she is a wonderful artist and I enjoy learning from her. She is always so generously sharing her supplies and helping me choose colors or giving me tips.

So I wanted to show off some photos of her amazing art work that she brought to our group this week. Aren't they just amazing? So beautiful and talented!

Meet my new art friend KAT

So, let me tell you a little bit about my new friend, Kat Baker. I met Kat on 11/12/11 at Gee Gee's Stamp Store at a class we were taking together. I am happy that we exchanged emails and have kept in contact.

In November, when we met, she told me about an event that happens the first weekend in December each year. An art retreat of sorts on the beach in Oceanside. I REALLY, REALLY wanted to go, but could not afford it with all my medical expenses and roommate just moving out. But, I REALLY hope I can go this year. If anyone is taking a trip to San Diego, likes charity events and loves to be around a room full of creative women. Maybe you could join us? Here is the link to the event. It is called Charity Wings Seaside Soiree. It will be in December 2012.

Kat is a part of 'The Doodle Girls' Group I started. She is a very warm and bright spirit

and I just enjoy being around her and laughing together. Not to mention she is an amazing artist and I feel I have learned a lot from her.

So I wanted to show off some photos of her art journal that she brought to our group last week. I LOVE these pages. And this is just her messing around and trying out new techniques in a journal. Very cool!

Meet my long-time art friend LORI

Here is Lori and I in 2006 at a Halloween party. FUN.

Lori Mitchell and I have been friends for a very long time. I am actually not sure when we actually met, but it was quite a long time ago. She is a bundle of energy, non-stop go getter, doer...like me. A recent newlywed {I am so very happy for her :-)} and one of the nicest of people! I have ALWAYS admired her for her artwork.

She is a PROFESSIONAL artist, illustrator and teacher.

She is also a part of 'The Doodle Girls' Group. You can go here to see a sampling of her artwork.

Week 3 - Step by Step

Here is my attempt at week 3 lesson by Traci Bautista's Doodles Unleashed free online course sponsored by Strathmore. I guess we are supposedly going to be finishing this piece next week by adding a glamour girl face somewhere on here.

The Doodle Girls - Week 3

So here we all are...working away. Week #3. We met from 10am - 2pm today. GREAT time as usual! I LOVE this group of gals. xoxox

This is me...and my "wonderfully labeled" upside down acrylic paints that they all tease me about. :-)

Meet Lori...

Meet Kat...

Meet Cynthia...

(Patty is missing. She is in Germany this week.)

Next week is FINALLY glamour girl doodle week! Can't wait!

LOVE is in the Air

Here is MY FINAL art piece from our week 2 lesson with Traci Bautista.

Doodles Unleashed - Week 2 Step by Step

The Doodles Girls met again this Thursday 1/12/12 from Noon to 3pm. Here are some photos of my art piece for week #2 broken down by the steps I took.

Art Trader Magazine

So, this week I was emailing back and forth with Annie Melion who is the host of the ATC trade I signed up for and I just discovered that she is also famous!!!!

She does all the design and layout for ArtTrader Magazine. She is also one of their regular contributing artists and workshop trainers. She is known as Andrea Melione aka EraserQueen in their publication. I was so very excited to find out who she was and had to tell her how much I admire her work!!! THIS IS MY VERY, VERY FAVORITE ART MAGAZINE. It is a free, quarterly, web based publication (PDF) that focuses on mail art such as artist trading cards, journals, chunky pages, inchies and other altered art items. It is so BEAUTIFUL with lots of original art photos through out. But, it also features a wide variety of "how-to" articles as well as interviews with established as well as new artists of MANY styles of art. A MUST SEE AND READ COVER TO COVER PUBLICATION!

ATCs via MAIL

I signed up for my VERY FIRST EVER .... MAIL art trade today!!! I am soooooo excited! Yipppeeee! It is for students of the Strathmore/Doodles Unleashed class.

I have traded ATCs back in my Stampin' Up days. We used to do hundreds and hundreds at a time. But, those were traded in person at events, with mainly Stampin' Up! stamped images. It has probably been about 8 years since I have done any ATC trading.

BUT, this is going to be new for me because it is done via mail and this particular trade will be with some AMAZING artists!!! It is being hosted by Annie Melion, a student from the Doodles Unleashed online workshop.

So, I have to take one of my Doodles Unleashed projects and cut it into 2.5" x 3.5" pieces. We are to send 6 original pieces and receive 6 back by different artists.

For those of you who do not already know. ATCs stands for Art Trading Cards. Artists all over the world are trading their art with other artists. The only true requirement for an ATCs is that it ALWAYS be 2.5" x 3.5" in size. Basically a mini sampling of your art. It can be done with any and all materials.

I hope to host one of my own of these some day. :-)

Doodles Unleashed! by 'The Doodle Girls'!

I am so glad to be doing this with a group.

It really helps to have the support, encouragement, and sharing of supplies! I also really appreciated receiving lots of technique advice from the more seasoned artists in the room!

Here are some of the other 'doodle girls' work (Lori, Cynthia, Patty and Kat). Not all of them are completely done yet. These were all created on Friday night with the direct teachings of Traci Bautista's Doodles Unleashed Online Workshop sponsored by Strathmore. Thank you Traci and Strathmore! xoxo

Week ONE - The Doodle Girls Group

What an AMAZING way to spend the first Friday night of 2012 with an awesome group of ladies!

Thank you...

Cynthia

Kat

Lori

Patty

Here is my project broken down into steps. The assignment was to start with a bunch of objects from the house and then add layers and layers of doodling on top using various mediums such as india inks, acrylic paints, oil pastels, markers and fabric spray paints.