The artist in Anne Gaal

Featured artist for the month of May is Anne Gaal of Gaal Creative (rhymes with "smile").  I follow Anne's blog  as she is so creative, artistic and articulate.  I find tutorials and so many unique items of interest on Anne's blog.  

Now, I'd like to introduce you to her Esty store and a few of the items that may be found there.  I am falling in love with Anne's unique style in the creation of her jewelry pieces. And I think you will too.

Beautiful Periwinkle paired with Gunmetal (I am falling in love with the color)  

I find freshness in her style.

.  Don't you love the asymmetrical design to this piece?

Perfect Earrings!

What a marvelous navy and white necklace.  

Don't leave those earrings behind either. 

 Beautiful earrings.

Cat's eye beads seem to come alive! You have to visit Anne's store.

Love the modern feel to these earrings.

 I'm wondering over to Anne's Etsy's store.

Porcelain beads and luminescent pearls are dazzling partners.

Reminiscent of the old world.

Anne's art ranges far and wide!

Three Muses - an original mixed media piece

Gold Star Memorial for a Fallen Hero

Beating Heart - an original painting with custom metallic frame

Serendipity Lotus Blossom mixed media original

Arlene and the DCD Design Team

A notepad by any other name...

A notepad by any other name is still a notepad.

I started with a donated TISSUE BOX... yes, really...

THEN,  like a frog, it turned into, if not a prince, at least a dude that can wear whatever he wants!

I got a toy to play with... the CINCH and it is a cinch.  I think I'm going to love it... and getting back to the notepad, the tissue box is the cover.  Then Gus came out in his manly beach wear to attract a crowd of keen Gus aficionados, just adding to the overall outrageous swirly atmosphere here.  

Close-up

See, there is a back to it and it's just about as outrageous as the front - not quite... 

Here's my recycling tip - you never know what you have in your hand.- trash or treasure!  

Visit Bugaboo Digi Stamps to find a charmer just like Gus!

Our Guest Interview for May - Anne Gaal

An interview with Anne Gaal, artist extraordinaire.   Anne is so incredibly creative working in  multi-media arts.  I am always amazed at the diverse projects Anne posts on her blog, Gaal Creative.  I'd like you to get to know Anne too.

1. Tell us a little about yourself

My name is Anne Gaal (rhymes with “smile”). I am an exploratory mixed-media artist, photographer, and mentor. I love to create; discover new people, places, and things; and to share what I learn with others. I live near Raleigh, North Carolina, with my hubby and our two new kittens, Tempo and Alli.

I love Anne's video of Temp and Alli stalking a bird outside from the inside of a room, but it looks like they are quiet now.

2. How long have you been a card maker/scrapper & when did you start?

I have always been an artist. I started drawing as soon as I could hold a crayon and I've never stopped. My Aunt Diane is only 6 years older than I am, so she is like the big sister I never had. When she was in high school, she created this cool scrapbook album and I wanted to create one, too. I never did have the time then, but that idea always stuck with me. Then later, when scrapbooking became more popular, I knew I had to try it!

Unfortunately, though, I tend to be a slow scrapbooker. I usually start with the photos and the colors in them, and work from there. Trying for find pretty papers that I liked, that went with my photos was a lot of work. It literally takes me a week or longer to make a single layout. That is one reason why I have begun doing my scrapbooking digitally - so that I can more easily match colors and move things and change their size to my heart's content. I tinker with those pages endlessly before I consider them final!

But I found that I still wanted to play with the physical paper I had and to try new techniques. Especially ones with ink, stamps, acrylics, stencils, and mediums. So much fun! This led me to card-making as an outlet for my exploratory creations. I can play with paper and techniques and colors and tools all I want - and yet still have something finished in a single afternoon that I can share with someone else.

Just one example of Anne's card making.

3. Do you follow sketches or dive right in?

I would have to say that generally, I dive right in. I don't plan much in advance. I like "happy accidents" and I like seeing how things develop. That's the exploratory artist in me. I usually start by finding one thing that I love - a stamp, a patterned paper, something - and then use that as a jumping off point and see where it takes me. Other times, I will be inspired by someone else's creation, and use that as a jumping off point. But very rarely do I use a sketch.

4. How many projects do you make a week?

I'm not very consistent. Instead, I tend to work in spurts. Some weeks I don't make a single thing, and other weeks I will make a bunch at once. I try to make my pieces individual, yet I also try to take advantage of using a tool or medium multiple times as long as I have it out. For instance, if I am making a tag using Distress Inks or Dylusions Ink Sprays, I will often make the one I have envisioned and then use the leftover inks to create serendipity backgrounds. If I am stamping something to color, I will usually stamp two or three, and color them differently. Then I have the pieces for my current project AND some "hidden potential" for future projects, too.

Anne's extraordinary paper-bead necklace.  Paper.... and I sometimes have trouble stringing ordinary glass beads.  This necklace is incredible!  I think you will concur.

5. What is your favorite tool (what can't you create without) & why?

My absolute favorite tool as an artist is color. I couldn't function without it and I very rarely do a piece that is only black-and-white (although I do occasionally). Color is usually the first thing I think of when I'm working on a project. Color can be used to create mood or feeling. To create harmony or contrast. I love color and working with color!

I love the color and depth to this Lotus Blossom mixed-media piece.   

6. What at the moment is your most favorite thing to do on your project? 

I don't have any one favorite thing except color and to play and experiment. I rarely do the same thing twice.

7. How would you describe your style?

My style is cheerful, upbeat, and exploratory. By exploratory, I mean that I like to try different techniques, tools, mediums, styles, and genres, without committing to any. I like to experiment and play and just see what happens. What you can mix together and what doesn't work well. Because my focus is on playing and not on pushing the boundaries of what art is, I consider that exploratory versus experimental. I usually tell people that you never know what I'm going to make next! So if you see a piece of mine that you like at my Etsy store at http://gaalcreative.etsy.com, snap it up!

The photos above show both acrylic and watercolor work.  

8. What about your style would you change (or not) & why?

I would not change my style at all. It is truly "me." When I make art, I make it from my heart, for the fun of making it. For the pleasure it brings me. I love how I can get so lost in making art that the tape recorder in my head just fades into the background and all those lists of things to do go away and I get totally in the zone and in the flow of creating. That is such a peaceful, blissful, joyful place and I try to bring that out in my artwork.

9. Have you been published or on a Design team - when & where?

I am currently on the Artistcellar.com Design Team. You can see the team's work on the Artistcellar blog here: http://artistcellar.com/wp/

I hope you are inspired, because I am!  Visit Artistcellar to see how to make this fearless fan.

10. Describe (pictures are even better) your crafting area

My crafty space is the corner of a spare bedroom. Because it is such a small space, and because I am an exploratory artist who likes to play with so many different things, storage is a huge issue for me. I am constantly having to go through and purge supplies that I am no longer using. That is also why I have the shelving and drawer systems that you can see in this photo of my space on one of its cleaner days. It isn't always so tidy!



I see the artist in Anne has bold beautiful color on her walls.  

11. Do you have a blog? If not where can we see more of your fabulous creations?

Yes, I have a blog, called Gaal Creative. Please visit my blog or my Etsy store.

 I believe this beautiful memorial is still available on Anne's Etsy store.

Arlene and the DCD Design Team

The Perfect Gift for Mothers Day

Well okay maybe not the "perfect one" but definitely a great one.  Being a paper crafter my gifts tend to come from my desk most of the time, especially for family. And Arlenes challenge this month " Anything but a Card" really encouraged me to to go all out and make something fun!

So I made a quick stop to Michaels, and bought some Grapevine Wreathes, pulled out my Silhouette, inks, punches, paper, and glossy accents and set to work

Yes I made a Wreathe out of Paper, I've been wanting to try this for Ages! Thanks to Arlene for Pushing me!

 Hannah Nicole

How easy is that! of course if you try this, I would recommend a glue gun for faster drying and adhering.

Arlene

Arlene made a Mother's Day card for her daughter-in-law.  She printed the digital stamp right on the patterned paper and colored flowers, leaves and butterfly with Copic markers.

Happy Mothers Day!

 To all you crafty Moms and Readers wishing you all the Best.

Hannah

I've joined the Altoids Gang

I've joined the Altoids Gang and altered this Altoids tin.  Here we go on the steps along the way.

Grab Altoid tin from garage.  It had matches in it... ?  No idea where it came from.

 Buy some Emery Boards - why?

Cover with papers of your choice, back, front and sides.  I left the metal below the lid.

I filed down the edges on the paper.  Just take sand paper or an emery board and push the board down the paper from where you glued the paper to turn the edges down against the tin container. Decorate with a Bugaboo digi stamp.

Here is Stella in all her charming beauty, a Bugaboo image.  Check her out. 

I figured a hospital patient needed Altoids.

She needs her meds as you can see.

Added a butterfly to bother Stella

Close-up of ol' Stella.

You might try to alter something and add a little fun with a Bugaboo digi stamp.  Hope you liked this tin.

Arlene and the DCD team

Table topper Tutorial

Hi Lovelies,

As promised here is a table topper tutorial.

You will need to have the following:

Cardstock in assorted colours, dies, Nestibilities Scalloped circles (two sizes), D'vine Swirl embossing Folder, glue, glitter, Versamark ink or Clear Glossy Accents.  Plus your die cutting/embossing machine of choice.

Firstly start out by die cutting & assembling the duck (or your die of choice).

Next is to cut a thin strip of card stock & score it at each end about a quarter of an inch (I find scraps c/s good for this) adhere one end to the duck & make sure is sits up well.

 Then it's time to cut & emboss your circles I used a smaller die for the top (light blue) & a slightly larger die for the bottom (dark blue).  I only emboss the the smaller circle.

Once you have done this I like to place the duck where I think it would look good before adhering it to the embossed circle.

Now for the messy bit!  It's glitter time woo hoo.  Adhere the glitter to the top of the raised swirls.  This step isn't necessary but who doesn't like a bit of bling.

Once the glitter is dry adhere the smaller circle(light blue) to the larger (dark blue) circle & you are all done.  The best bit is if you need to lay your topper flat it will lay down & will also sit back up again.

I made about fifteen of these over two days (only because I have snakes kids to wrangle).  The hardest part was waiting of the glitter to dry lol.  These ducks where made for a baby shower, but I could see a princess theme in pinks/purples or a boys theme in these as well.  They'd look amazing don't you think.

Thanks to Paula for a grand tutorial!  

 Doesn't that duckie look cute?  Visit Bugaboo Digi Stamps to pick your duck, character, or friends Stella and Gus out and have them arrive on your electronic doorstep right away!  

Some More Anything But a Card Ideas

Some more anything but a card ideas.

Hi Lovelies,

Here are some more ideas for anything but a card. A tutorial will follow tomorrow.

Cupcake toppers using Hang in there Duck by Bugaboo

Table topper using dies/embossing folders for Cuttlebug.

Thank you to the wonderful Paula for this wonderful idea.  Don't those cupcakes look delicious?  YUM!   Tutorial to follow tomorrow.

Remember to pop on over to Bugaboo Digi Stamps to pick up a cute duck or two.  

Enter the Die Cut Divas' challenge here!

Thanks to Bugaboo Digital Stamps for being our sponsor!