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2023 Year of the Rabbit

What a coincidence that it’s the Lunar Year of the Rabbit! It matches my logo perfectly, which surely must be an auspicious sign, right?

So what have I been up to lately? I did take a mini break over Christmas (or did I?) as far as creating artworks is concerned. I have some secret projects I’ve been working on that will take some time to come to fruition, so I’m not able to share about them publicly yet. Stay tuned for more to come later this year.

To help celebrate Lunar New Year, I was invited to be the vendor at the Topeka Chinese American society’s New Year Celebrations. I created some delightful hand painted watercolor Rabbit bookmarks to help create a wonderful memory for my purchasers. I also donated an art work to their silent auction to help with their fund raising efforts.

January has been a busy artwork submission month for me. This month I have entered four artworks into upcoming Gallery shows at the NOTO Arts Center, Morris Gallery in Topeka Kansas.

February features a delicious exhibit named “Chocolate it is” in honor of Valentine’s Day and all things chocolate. It’s a beautiful show that opens to the public on Friday, February 3rd. I have entered two pieces into this show, Dreamer of Dreams, a Willy Wonka inspired acrylic painting complete with a gold leaf winning ticket of course! My second work is a mixed media assemblage piece featuring shades of chocolate in mixed media and 3D embellishments including vintage buttons, beads, fabrics, papers and gold leaf accents. Both artworks are available for sale at the show, along with most of the other artworks on display. To see images of these works, please go to my Social Media tab and click on my Instagram account (that’s where I post all my art photos and adventures).

At the beginning of January, I entered two artworks into the Juried Art Exhibit named Seasons, which is sponsored by Bernina. I was delighted to receive notice last week that both my works have been accepted into the show. I’ll be posting more about this show in the future, with photos over on my Instagram account, so be sure to follow my account and see more about the show in March.

I’m keeping a daily art journal this year, based on the prompts from the Artist’s Almanac collage fodder booklet, kindly given to me by a dear friend for Christmas. It’s been a challenge to keep up with it daily, especially considering working full time and working on four show entries all at once, but I made it happen and successfully completed every day in January. I did give myself permission to skip a couple of days, and come back later to finish them. But isn’t that what life is all about? Giving ourselves grace and forgiveness to do our best and baby step forward daily? I’m also working on giving myself permission to rest as I need it, because I have a tendency to push myself too hard on occasions. Easy does it!

Let’s see how I do in February with this daily art practice. I have some fairly assertive goals for myself this year. As you’ll see on my home page, I have another two shows I’m working on with entries due at the end of this month (so literally everything else is on hold while I work on these two show entries). Come March, I will likely need a bit of a break before launching into some other big projects for later in the year.

As for blog posts, I plan not to bombard your in box with newsy updates. That’s what I use my Instagram account for, to show my progress photos, completed artworks and other life adventures. I use my Pinterest account to record inspirations for current and future projects, and my poor YouTube account is feeling quite bereft because I haven’t touched it since last year. If I have the energy and bandwidth, I’ll attempt to create and upload some progress videos of my projects throughout the year to give it some love and attention.

By the way, have you seen my latest designs uploaded over on my Society 6 store? My dear friend Kathleen asked me to create a mid-century modern, geometric fish pattern in blues for her bathroom. I created a hand printed, hand cut Fishies themed pattern also with bubbles. It’s now available on a wide range of products in my Society 6 store and would be super cute for kid’s bathroom and bedroom decor too! Hop on over to my Society 6 store to view the new Fishies and Birds designs that are appearing over there.

Well, that’s all from this neck of the frozen tundra for now. Stay tuned for more fun projects and artworks this year (especially if you like watercolor, hint hint). If there’s anything you’d like to know or hear about from me, just drop me a comment and I’ll see what I can do. As always, future blog post suggestions are welcomed and much appreciated. Have a great first quarter and best wishes!

Michaela xxx

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Birdtober 2022

10-26-22

Well, it’s been an exciting time since I returned from MA this past summer dog and house sitting. I hit the ground running on my return and jumped straight into joining the NOTO Arts Center team as their Administrative Assistant. And I love it! I’m also working to assist a local professional chef with his meal based business a few days a week, so to say I’m busy is a bit of an understatement.

As far as art is concerned, I’m currently participating in Birdtober 2022. I’m posting these works as they are completed on my Instagram account (click the Social Media tab above) so you can see them over there. It’s definitely been an education for me despite working at the Omaha Zoo for several years, I’ve had to research some of the birds to figure them out. Campo Flicker anyone?

I’m working on the last of my private commissions for the year, and then I will be taking quite a long break from commissions for a while (about 6 months) to work on some other goals, priorities and education I would like to complete. I will begin working on my wait list for commissions again in May/June 2023 (I’m already booked through summer of next year!).

I’m excited to tell you that I have thrown my hat in the ring again to participate in Roar and Pour 2023. So stay tuned to find out if I’m selected to be paired up with an animal to create art!

I’ve just submitted two artworks to the Morris Gallery in the NOTO Arts Center for their Holiday Traditions show in November 2022. Both artworks will be available for sale.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy holiday season! Best wishes, stay safe, and joyful celebrations to you all. Shine on!

Michaela
xxx

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My last TCW Post

It’s hard to believe, but the end of my two year term as a member of the International Design Team for The Crafter’s Workshop has come to end. Today is my last post over on their blog. Want to read it? Hop on over to their page and check out my last post!

Hero image of the completed Felicia Daisies decorative edged, stenciled journal page.
Felicia Daisy stencil TCW929 was used to create a decorative edged page.
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Tutorial

Wanderlust Journal Page

7-14-22

Check out my latest post today over on The Crafter’s Workshop blog page! This bright and colorful Wanderlust travel and art journal page was created in just a few simple steps. Check out my post for details!

Wanderlust Travel and Art Journal page, 11″ x 7″ on 140 lb watercolor paper.

Don’t have time to read the blog post? No worries. As always, I’ve got you covered with this quick fly-by process video (41 sec) over on my YouTube channel! Click this link to watch the video.

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The Street Dog Coalition

The Street Dog Coalition

6-17-22

Whew! It was a hot one today (about 98 F!). We spent the afternoon riding around in the ATV servicing some of our homeless pets, in addition to seeing one at the Topeka Rescue Mission, and one at an owner’s home.

Today, I volunteered by filling out the paperwork forms with the pet owners including the rabies certificates. I also took lots of photos and videos to help The Street Dog Coalition on our social media platforms (I’m on their national social media team). I’m now in the process of editing those digital assets then creating videos by turning them into ‘stories from our streets’ so if you follow @The Street Dog Coalition over on Instagram, you’ll get to see some of my photos and videos over there.

Here’s the first video in the series, Scoob’s story (short for Scooby Doo) featuring his very first visit to our monthly pop-up clinic at the Topeka Rescue Mission. (30 sec video).

Happy watching! If you’re not already, but you’d like to follow The Street Dog Coalition, we’re on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and check out our website at The Street Dog Coalition.

Scoob’s story from the streets, 6-17-22 (30 sec)
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Tutorial

Mystery Masterboard Series

5-26-22

Did you see my latest blog post today over on The Crafter’s Workshop blog page? It’s all about how to create 6 card backgrounds in 30 minutes or less! A great efficiency tip for working smarter, not harder. As for the mystery, I guess you’ll have to go and check it out to see what that was all about! Happy reading!

Mixed media card 6″ x 4″ on cardstock

No time to read the step-by-step instructions on the blog post? No worries, I’ve got you covered. Watch this quick fly-by process video over on my YouTube channel:

Fly-by process video for mixed-media Mystery Masterboard Series (41 sec).

Happy creating and happy day! Thanks as always for following me.

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Uncategorized

Heat embossing with a stencil

Hi there! Want to learn how to heat emboss using a stencil, embossing liquid, and embossing powder? Then hop on over to my latest blog post over on The Crafter’s Workshop Blog for a step-by-step tutorial with photos!

Don’t have time to read my blog post? No worries, I’ve got you covered as always. Click this video link to watch my fly-by process video on my YouTube channel.

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Be Happy

Check out my latest blog post over on The Crafter’s Workshop Blog today. This written tutorial gives you simple step-by-step instructions to create either a St Patrick’s Day 4 leaf clover card, or you can use the same process to create a floral card.

No time to read at the moment? No worries, as always, I’ve got you covered! Hop on over to my YouTube channel to watch this quick fly-by process video tutorial (1:22 min).

Be Happy Card – Fly by process video tutorial (1:22 mins)

Thanks for watching and wishing you a safe and fun St Patrick’s Day!
Michaela
xoxo

Categories
Tutorial

Watercolor Valentine’s Day Card

Hi there! Do you want to learn how to create a really cool watercolor resist technique? Then hop on over to my latest blog post at The Crafter’s Workshop Design Team blog page.

6″ x 6″ Watercolor Valentine’s Day Card

For those of us who don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day, or who don’t have time to make a card between now and then, you can use this same technique to create a really cool background for almost any other work like an art journal page or artwork. Here’s a variation of the same technique using different stamps and colors:

5″ x 7″ watercolor artwork

No time to read an entire blog post with step-by-step instructions? No worries, I’ve got you covered! Simply hop on over to my YouTube channel to view the brief (37 sec) fly-by process video. Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re over there!

Happy creating!

Categories
Tutorial

Floral Background Card

Hello! I have a new post up today over on The Crafter’s Workshop Blog with a pretty floral card and background that I made with our NEW STENCILS! Be sure to check out my post!

Close up image of the hero shot for The Crafter's Workshop Blog post project: Floral Background Card.

To watch a quick fly-by process video (only 35 seconds!) check out my YouTube Channel:

35 second fly-by process video