Everyone I know has a quirk or a hundred of them. There are introverts and extroverts and germophobes and claustrophobes, and people who love rollercoasters and people who don't. There are people who stamp and then there are weirdos. :)
When you're a kid - you're on a quest to "fit in" to whatever your nebulous idea of the crowd around you is.
But your brain isn't developed enough to know that that is not, in fact, how to be happy.
To be happy - you just need to seek and find people who are strange - in EXACTLY the same way you are. Those people are your tribe, and you will find the most peace in their company.
This weekend, I had the huge honor of hosting my friend and artist - Kathy Racoosin.
Kathy is like a long lost sister. We have art in common, of course, but we also have a lot more. We are sisters in food preferences, vegetable washing, and our love of both whole foods and Whole Foods. We have a similar taste in books. We both love to teach, and have low tolerances for things that don't make us happy.
Her event this weekend was amazing. Working in small groups, she spent tons of time with each student, teaching them her simple tips that make her work so amazing. She is without a doubt, the world's best colorist. I'll put some of her cards I took photos of below.
She told everyone that she wanted to share that fun feeling of being with like-minded creative people that she gets at retreats she attends with TONS of people, and that's why she took her coloring challenge on the road. She funds these events herself - the fee she charges goes to the local charity of the host store's choosing, minus $5, which she uses to buy everyone lunch. She pays for her airfare, hotels, all the supplies and an awesome goodie bag for each guest. Lawn Fawn donates a stamp shammy for every person, and Honey Bee stamps donated tons of stamps for prizes, (including a sneak peek set or two!) and also gifts and coupons for the goodie bag. (I loved spending time with Lisa Cisneros from Honey Bee - I felt like I'd known her all my life.) How generous is that?
She is truly just sharing the love of what she does with her talent out of the goodness of her heart. I'm so grateful to have been a part of that.
I'm always sad when it's time to say goodbye to crafty friends at the end of these events, but I'm so glad to have just a vast community of people that I have so much in common with that I can spend time with at things like these.
We might be strange - but we are awesome.
I've had today's card on my desk for a while, waiting for just the right story.
The images are from The Cat's Pajamas, and the sentiment is from one of the new Hero Arts sets I've used in a previous post - I love this Edgar Allen Poe quote. The cute striped background is part of this gorgeous black and white paper from Stampin' Up! I colored them with the Tombow Markers listed below, and - you can't see it but I added sparkle to all the heart with Wink of Stella. I cut the little guys out with my ScanNCut 2. She has these two separate little wing dies I think would look so cute behind these images.
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Now I will do a video soon, but I tried a new to me no-line coloring ink this weekend at the coloring event for the very first time, and it is my ONE TRUE NO-LINE INK! I am absolutely in love, and our guests got to see it in action as I taught watercolor tips this weekend. Here's a work in progress that I'll blog later - but you can see how much detail you can see with the ink to guide you while you paint, but that it completely fades out without adding any unwanted color to your image!! So you can see on the uncolored parts that the ink is clearly visible and easy to paint in details over, but on the colored portions - the red, blue, yellow - any color - the ink just disappears. Many thanks to my friend Ellie Wilkins for pointing this ink out to me. And I got it lightning fast, and the owners are very kind. When I asked about the ink, she told me she had poured her heart and soul into the creation of this ink, and I told her - it shows! If you like no-line coloring, I cannot tell you how much you will love this ink. Made in the USA.
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Finally - here's one of Kathy's beauties from this weekend. Look how her work just glows. You'd think that creating it is impossible, but she broke down the process into simple tips everyone can use to enhance their colored images. She's a genius. I encourage you to subscribe to her blog and YouTube channel too! If you're lucky enough to be in Missouri - sign up for her next event here -- hosted by the amazing Marcella Hawley of Power Poppy!
I hope you had a great weekend and are ready for whatever this week brings.
It was so fun to meet some of you this weekend - thank you so much for reading my blog and then coming out to this class. I love nothing more than meeting people who have visited and commented here! Hugs all around!
Loveyameanitbye.
So would have loved to be there!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI truly hope to be able to attend one of Kathy's Coloring Challenge road trip events someday! And one of your events would be awesome too!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteI’m in awe of your watercoloring... and Kathy’s! Is so inspiring and beautiful. I’m glad you had such a wonderful time.
ReplyDeleteLove the write up and love these cards! So happy to have a wonderful tribe, and I love them so much! <3
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe that Kathy's next stop is close to me, so I signed up. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteYou are SO lucky to hang out with so many talented people. I love Kathy's work and her videos are very entertaining, especially how she talks about not being able to stop. I ordered the 3 ink set, I haven't found a no line ink that I can see easily, so hope this works. I am lucky to have a best friend just as weird as I am, she is my tribe :)
ReplyDeleteIt certainly sounds like an event anyone would want to attend Lydia. I love the Sent with Love images ... just so cute.
ReplyDeleteThe workshop was simply wonderful. I learned so much and made great new crafty friends. Thank you so much for teaching and sharing with us.
ReplyDeleteThis is amazing! I’m proud to say that the designer of this ink is my dear friend. I’m on her DT and we’ve been waiting for a year, listening to her excitement over this new ink. And it’s fantastic! It totally lives up. You showcased this beautifully and can’t wait to see your video demonstration. These posts are beautiful. I need to take a watercolor class...in person, not online. I want someone right there to instruct me. I’m too heavy with water I think. But this ink is so fun to play with.
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