and the winner is......

congratulations......

JennTRC said...
This is beautiful, Roc! :)

email your address to me so i can send it out. thanks!

tumble fish studio new release

tumble fish studio is releasing a new kit called 65 hearts over at deviant scrap.  i used the top parts of hearts to create the border on the top of my postcard.  i used one of the hearts to create a "love flower".  there are so many great hearts to pick from.  why don't you check it out by clicking here?

roc nicholas design team creation

look what jane has created for the roc nicholas rubber stamp design team this week.  i love how she incorporated my scalloped lace border and my stacked love rubber stamp in this piece.  if you want to see more hop on over to jane's blog.

tumble fish studio has released a new kit called nitty gritty.  i made this postcard with the images from that kit.  if you need these images to create, you can find it at deviant scrap by clicking here. 

documented life project

documented life project - week 5 - doodle a border

it's stampotique designer time AND a give away!

for the stampotique designer blog i made this postcard.  i used the following stamps:  a car full. tall word collage,  text star, in stitches, and the design cube.
to make this postcard i used versamark with the design cube and haphazardly stamped on the tan cardstock.  i stamped the car in black stazon ink.  i used various markers and watercolor to color in the car, people and shadows.  i stamped the stitching underneath the car.  i stamped the star on scrap paper and stitched it on the side of the car.  i added other scraps of paper and washi tape and then added various machine stitching to the postcard.
i'm going to give this away.  so if you'd like to receive this postcard in your mailbox all you have to do is leave a comment (make sure i have a  way to get a hold of you or i will pick another name) and i will select someone by random on february 2nd.  good luck!

and the winner is........

Barb W. said...

Love this one. I am partial to houses and your house stamp is one of my favorites.

congratulations!  make sure i have your address and i'll be sending out your envelope this week!

i've been published

 i've been published in the most recent art journaling magazine.  it is always such an honor to have my work chosen to be featured.  i really love this magazine.  the photography is always so beautifully done.

my journal that was selected for this issue was one of my gratitude journals.  the story is about why i'm so grateful for even the smallest of blessings.  it's about my personal struggles as a teenager.  if you haven't gotten your issue and want to learn a little more about me make sure you go get your copy soon.

my great friend, renee stien, also is published in this magazine.  i love that our art is together once again. congratulations renee! 

tando time and give away

i made this bright and colorful envelope using tando stencils.  if you haven't checked them out you really ought to hop over there right away.  they have some of the coolest stencils around.

the stencils i used were:    stitches group mask, wonky street and sequin mask

i will be giving this envelope to one lucky winner.  all you have to do is leave a comment and i will pick a random winner on the 30th.  good luck to you!

wednesday - what???

it's wednesday time again.  here is what my desk looks like this afternoon.  yes, it's always messy, i'm working on a bunch of altered envelopes. i can get lost in the doodling part of them.  hopefully most of these i can use for give aways. watch for them.  i hope to do a lot this year.

jane's design team project

look what jane has created for the roc nicholas rubber stamp design team.  how adorable is that?!  she really put her own unique spin on my rubber stamp the bird princess.  you can see more about this by going to jane's blog.

stampotique designer blog and give away time!

it's that time once again, to post over at the stampotique designer's blog.  this is my first altered envelope of the year, so i think i'll do a give away.  details will follow below.
to make the envelope i used quite a number of my rubber stamps.  they are:  crooked house, heart vine, scalloped lace border and art lives here.
if you'd like to receive this envelope in the mail, all you have to do is leave a comment.  make sure i will have a way to get a hold of you.  sometimes there are no emails attached to comments.  if that happens i will just pick another lucky winner by random.  the drawing will be jan 26th.  thanks and good luck!

documented life project

documented life project - prompt #4 -write a secret message and then paint over all but one key word.

getting to know corrie herriman

Meet another one of the Roc Nicholas Design Team Members, Corrie Herriman.  Corrie lives in The Netherlands in a small town called Venlo, which is located close to the German border.  She lives with her British husband, David, for nearly 25 years.  While she divulges that they have chosen to not have children, they do have an extended family consisting of Corrie's mother (Corrie is an only child.), David's family of two sisters, their spouses and children.  Since David's family lives in the U.K., the miles that separate them has kept their visits to a minimum.

Corrie worked in sales full time about 17 years.  After that, for 13 years, she was empoyed as a part-time office support worker.  Her husband decided to take an early reitrement in 2010, and Corrie made the choice to stop working as well, because both of them wanted to enjoy spending time traveling in their RV.

Corrie has many hobbies that include, paper crafting, rubber stamping, hill walking, reading, sewing, cooking and traveling.  Corrie is quick to admit she enjoys eating and having a glass or two of red wine.  She also claims to have an insatiable appetite for learning.  Corrie reports she is very inquisitive and wants to learn everything about everything.

Corrie recalls having always crafted in one way or another.  She is no stranger to a host of crafts, from knitting to sewing, and says if you name it, she has probably tried it.  Apart from painting, for which she took lessons, she is self taught.  Corrie states she learned mostly from reading books early on, but  now she admits that she used the internet to expand her knowledge.

Corrie recalls that in 2012, she decided to make some Christmas cards. After she made them, it prompted her to think about other things she could do with those same art supplies.  She did some research on the internet and a whole new world opened up for her.  She moved on to art journaling, bought more stamps, discovered making tags, bought more stamps, started making ATC's and bought more stamps, and, well,  the rest is history.

Corrie affirms she loves rubber stamps because they are so versatile. She says she uses rubber stamps in mainly two ways.  The first way is for making backgrounds look more interesting.  For that technique she enjoys using a partially stamped image. She finds that a script or geometric shape work best to achieve that look.  The second way she uses stamps is for stamping her focal image which she will often paper piece.  She likes to stamp her images on text and/or patterned paper, and then relaxes by coloring them in with water color pencils and copic markers.  When the images are finished being applied with color, she cuts them out, paper pieces them if warranted and places them on her project.

Corrie's favorite supplies, besides her watercolor pencils and Copic markers, are Pan Pastels, acrylic paints, and stencils.  She loves to use those supplies to create her fantastic backgrounds. She is quick to point out that she finds inspiration everywhere, from songs on the radio, sayings and quotes, as well as from color combinations on packaging.

Corrie considers her greatest accomplishments to date as having been picked for both the Stampotique and Roc Nicholas design teams.  She is proud of her accomplishments in such a short time.

documented life project - week 3

documented life project - week 3 prompt - recycle an envelope

wednesday - what?

it's wednesday time again.  here is what my desk looks like currently.  besides messy, i'm working on my march postcards.  i have a friend who sends out 50 cards to family and friends every month and when she told me that last year i was so inspired.  i am only doing 12 postcards a month because, well, frankly, i'm just not THAT inspired.  if you feel like joining in on the monthly postcard sending, i'd love to see what you're creating.

design team posting

one of the design team members, renee stien, created these two amazing journal page using a few of my rubber stamps - screaming bunny, stacked cups, flying bird, and scalloped lace border.  you can see more about this piece if you go to renee's blog. 

getting to know renee stien

Renee Stien

Meet another Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamp Design Team members, Renee Stien.  She describes herself as a "middle-aged, empty-nester-mom from central Minnesota".  She is married, has three wonderful children, two girls and one son.

Renee has an on-going love affair with the whole art process.   She claims, "I use to have hobbies before I discovered art, but I no longer remember what they were."  Her passion with art began when she stumbled onto ATC's about six years ago.  She says the moment she discovered them she inately knew her life would never be the same. 

Renee is always trying to learn more about art.  She buys loads of books, watches hours of You Tube videos, and takes online classes.  Renee is not afraid to ask questions from other artists.  She finds that most of the people are generally happy to answer questions about their art.  Renee confesses, however, that one of the best ways for her to learn about art is simply through trial and error.

Although Renee mostly collages and paints with acrylics, she likes to use rubber stamps for adding depth and layer in her backgrounds.  She thinks stamps are really a great way to add visual interest.  She loves the fact, as she gets more involved using stamps in her work, that she is truly appreciating how using parts of stamps with other mixed media items makes outstanding new and unique pieces of art.

Although Renee admits that her favorite art supplies seemingly change from time to time, she likes to use gesso, acrylic paints and old sheet music in her art.  She finds inspiration in quotes, song lyrics, fun color combinations or the way images just seemingly appear in swirls of paint if you look long enough.

Renee is proud of the accomplishment of just doing art.  She says, "For 40 plus years I had no clue I could create anything art related.  I'm amazed every time something turns out well."

stampotique designer time

it's monday and time for my posting over on the stampotique designer's blog.  today i made a postcard using my rubber stamps called flying heart and bird princess.
to make this postcard i painted the background with acrylic paints from ranger.  i used a stencil from tando called sequin mask on top of that.  i added some doodling and some collage elements.  i stitched around all of those elements.
on a seperate piece of paper i stamped the bird princess with momento ink and used various markers to color her in.  i stamped the flying heart on scrap paper and painted the wings to attach to the princess.  i doodled on her dress and then attached her to the background with glue.
i'm quite fond of her and think i'll keep her for a bit.

and the winner is........

Samantha Read said...
You know I'm a huge fan of your art Roc! Thanks for the chance to win :)

congratulations!  please send me your address.

january postcards

this year i want to make monthly postcards to stay in touch with my family and friends back north.  this is my january postcard.  the theme is the new year, in case you couldn't tell. the back has a little inspirational message.  they're ready to be mailed on monday.

documented life project

i'm still working on the documented life planner as i can.  the journal prompt for week two was to use a photo/drawing of yourself. 

getting to know jane wetzel

Jane Wetzel

Meet another one of the Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamp Design Team members, Jane Wetzel.  Jane lives in Ohio, in a small, rural town south of Cleveland.  She has been married 34 years and has four children ranging in age from 23 to 34.  She has two boys and two girls and one precious granddaughter.

Jane loves to paint, stamp, color, journal and make art.  She describes herself as always "being an arty person" and majored in art in school, but never really devoted the time to it because of the importance of taking care of her family.  She has spent most of her time raising her children and playing chauffeur since three of her kids played competitive sports, up to and through college. 

She loves being a volunteer at her church and eventually became an employee.  She is currently in her sixteenth year there and loves every minute of it.  Jane recently got a part-time job teaching art to elementary and middle school students.  She feels so blessed to be able to be with children and art.  She learns so much from them.

Jane thinks back how this all started. She fondly remembers doodling and creating things for as long as she can recall and even has memories of keeping a few very old rubber stamps in hopes of "one day" using them. But as fate would have it, Jane took a one-day class when her youngest child was in middle school.  That class led to a Stampin' Up party, which led to "art dates" with friends, and well, the rest is history.

Jane had a friend who lived close to her and when that woman started her own line of rubber stamps she asked Jane to help her with some of the day to day duties and stamp shows.  Jane was thrilled at the opportunity.  Together, they found the world of blogging and it was so exciting to be exploring new arenas.   As time went on, however, Jane noticed that even though she enjoyed being at all the stamp shows and having access to lots of supplies, she recognized that deep with in she yearned to express her own style.

One day Jane's husband surprised her with a gift of unending classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art.  Jane was truly ecstatic at the possibilities this was going to offer her.  She found more online classes and was able to tap in to some local mixed media classes.  She says, "I found people like Roc making mail art with stamps and so many other awesome stamped images."  Jane professes her love of Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamps because she is able to create cards,  scrapbooking layouts, and art journal pages with them.  She finds such fun in the versatility that my stamps offer to her creative process.

She quit all her former design teams and stayed with only one company.  That company was Stampotique.  Jane felt like this company fit her like a glove.  She got to combine stamping and mixed media with all the unique images they had to offer.  She even had the blessing of being published. 

Jane has transformed one of the bedrooms in her house to an art studio.  She loves that she can access her own personal space to craft and create any time of the day.  She loves that she has a special place where she can get up,  leave what she is working and come back to it a later time and pick up right where she left off.

Jane finds inspiration all over.  She admits that while internet is an easy access to inspiration, you can appreciate beauty by just looking around.  She says there is beauty everywhere.  Jane also finds inspiration in her family.  They are always joking and love to find humor in things.  Jane admits that  her husband is always quick to give her funny quotes when he looks at her art work. 

Jane's word for 2014 is "improve".   She wants to keep improving her knowledge of art.  I think she is well on her way to achieving that goal.

w is for wednesday and what's on my desk

i'm working on valentine's day cards.  i have quite a few more to make the fronts for and then i'll be working on the backs.  who knew postcards could take so much time?  what are you working on?

design team posting

one of the design team members, cathy parmelee, created this amazing journal page using roc's angel and squiggle arms.  you can see more about this piece if you go to cathy's blog. 

roc's monday blog post and a give away

starting in the new year, i will posting on the stampotique designer's blog every monday.  and since it's my first posting in the new year what a better way to start off the year with a give away!
today i've made a postcard using my feline and stacked boxes rubber stamps.  the sentiment can be found here at stampotique.
i painted the background with acrylics and then used ranger distress paint over a stencil for another layer.  i stamped my stacked boxes on lightly paint vintage text and cut it out and layered it on the background.  i added a few collage elements.
i stamped the sentiment on scrap paper and glued it down and machine stitched around the words to create a stacked box feeling.
the cat i stamped with momento ink and used copics and permanent markers to color.  then i cut it out and glued it on top of the machine stitched pieces. 
if you would like to win this postcard all you have to do is leave a comment telling me which of my rubber stamps is your favorite.  i will pick a winner by random draw on january 12th.  make sure i have a way of getting in touch with you.  sometimes there are no emails associated with the people leaving the comments.  if that happens i will pick another person.  thanks and good luck.

tumble fish studio new release

at deviant scrap, tumble fish studio has a new release called dreams - cloud 9.  all of the paper and imagery is from that kit.  the doodles are mine.  i just LOVE that whale!!  if you can't live with out it either click here to get the kit for yourself.  you won't regret it!

wip - the documented life project

front cover of planner

back cover of planner

my front door - week one prompt

getting to know cathy parmelee

Cathy Parmelee

Meet one of the Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamp Design Team Members, Cathy Parmelee.  Cathy lived in Juneau, Alaska for a long time before she moved to Redding, California with her husband and teen-aged daughter.  She also has two sons.  The eldest son still lives and works in Juneau, Alaska.  Her youngest son recently enlisted in the Marines and is currently in basic training.  Oorah!

Cathy has many hobbies which include cooking, baking, decorating and gardening. She describes herself as an "avid reader".  Cathy is also passionate about art and finds great joy in her creative journey.  She loves how she can express herself through art, and cheerfully embraces the notion that, if her art speaks to someone else that it is "icing on the cake". 

Cathy professes she has more ideas and inspiration than time allows her to  produce with her full schedule.  She has a busy lifestyle but finds ways to work in art time, whether she actually makes it in to her art studio or not.  Cathy's love of art is evident. She enjoys mixed media, collage and acrylic painting. She is a self-taught artist, but ir-regardless of her having no formal schooling in art, her work is amazing.  It is whimsical, full of color, and makes you feel good when you see it. 

Cathy has spent many years exploring various crafts, but didn't really delve into art until late 2007. But despite only a few years honing this craft, Cathy's work has been in various galleries, including a juried gallery in Juneau.  Since she moved from Alaska to California, she says she no longer lives in a very arty community, but she has had the accomplishment of having her art hang in several non-gallery venues in her town.  Cathy credits much of her art growth to online artist trading sites.

Cathy's favorite supply is paper.  She loves all kinds of paper, from plain to specialty paper. She finds inspiration in color and texture.   Cathy admits to using rubber stamps almost as soon as she began exploring mixed media.  She loves layers in her art and found that, besides paper, rubber stamps worked well with that and could be easily incorporated for added depth.  Cathy states, "For me, rubber stamps are key to adding dimension and whimsy to a piece of art."  Cathy always has at least one black stamp pad on her art desk at all times.  She says you can always find a scattering of rubber stamps laying around as well.

To see more of Cathy's work you can visit her blog at www.pureoneimpressions.blogspot.com.

design team posting

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

corrie has created the most adorable new year art with a few of my rubber stamps:  bird lady and scalloped lace border.  you can see more of my rubber stamps by going to stampotique.  to read more about corrie's creation you can click here.