It's a Blog Party!

**** CONTEST CLOSED **** WINNER ANNOUNCED SOON ****

Creative Workshops has a brand, spankin' new home and we'd love for you to visit and bookmark the page! We now have our own dedicated website, store and blog.

I am honored to have been one of the very first teachers at CW and have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of such a wonderful and creative site. The classes I offer are MIXED MEDIA/COLLAGE BACKGROUNDS and PAINTED FABRIC COLLAGE...and you have a chance to win your choice of one of my classes during the blog party.

MIXED MEDIA/COLLAGE BACKGROUNDS SAMPLES

PAINTED FABRIC COLLAGE SAMPLE

A few highlights about Creative Workshops:

- Available online 24/7 to fit your schedule. You can watch videos as often as you want, when you want. AND iPad access!
- You get instant access with your receipt to any Open class you purchase. No waiting for us to send you an invitation, no more confusing membership to join.
- All video content is available from the first day a class opens so you can work at your own pace. Doesn't matter if you are a turtle or a rabbit!
- Once a class opens there is no take down date to worry about so no pressure to be done by a certain date. If a teacher must retire a class (very few do) we give you 6 months notice.


At the bottom of this post you will find a list of all our party participating teachers, and the links to their blogs. Each teacher is giving away one of their classes for free to a lucky commenter! The idea of the list is that you can follow the party trail from blog to blog, leaving a comment on each blog you visit, therefore increasing your chances of winning a free class from one of the teachers you leave a comment for! Now how cool is that?!Every class giveaway will be different because the teachers are generously each giving away one of their own classes. Gosh, maybe a really lucky commenter could win multiple free classes!! Now THAT would be awesome for the winner wouldn't it! Stranger things have been known to happen.

To win the opportunity for a free class from ME you must leave a comment on this post and only this post. The party runs Sept 23-Sept 29th. I will announce the name Monday Sept 30th. Your comment must include a way for me to contact you.

Once you leave your comment on my post, then from the list below choose the next blog you have not visited and leave a comment on their blog post. Each blog will have this list so you can move through the party leaving your trails of comments everywhere and increasing your chances of winning a FREE CLASS!

Sara Naumann
Cat Kerr
Jodi Ohl
Martha Lever
Cathy Bluteau
Mechelle Harrison
Elizabeth Johnson
Liz Miller
Terri Heinz
Kerr Pelto
Lori Vliegen
Diana Frey
Marilyn Harris-Mills
Nellie Wortman
Gaye Medbury
Dawn Meisch
Ann Butler

Good luck and join in the fun that is CREATIVE WORKSHOPS.

Blog Hop: Mixed-Media with Guest Artist Pam Carriker’s New Stamp Designs

Okay, the secret is out. I LOVE my Pam Carriker rubber stamps. I'll also confess that I've been lucky enough to own them since the days when Pam first created them for her workshops.

Background stamps are among my favorites for art journal pages, and no one makes a good background stamp better than Pam. In the page below I used Pam's "Thoughts of Courage" and "Sketched Background" stamps in addition to "My Heart Lifts" as the focal point of the page.

"My Heart Lifts" is also featured on the following two pages. Yes, it MAY be my favorite 'image' stamp in the collection and I especially love how it works alongside my parents' wedding photo on the 'love & devotion' page.

My other favorite 'image' stamp is the "I Will Soar" wings (okay, I kinda have a 'thing' for hearts and wings on my journal pages) and I love what they add to the following pages. I also used another fabulous background stamp, "Column of Dots," on the 'make time' journal page along with Pam's "Create" stamp.

So, you get it, right? I'm kinda hooked on Pam's stamps and love to use them with Staz-On ink AND also with Pam's signature liquid pencil.

Take a peek at the Somerset Place blog post and the magic Pam works with her stamps and then follow along as a number of fabulous artists share what they create with the stamps.

© Nancy Lefko

New Publications

It's always a wonderful honor to have artwork published and especially so in the beautiful Stampington publications.

This month two of my articles have hit the newsstands.

"Mixed-Media Fourth of July" is featured in the annual issue of Somerset Holidays & Celebrations

while "Tea Time" appears in the Autumn issue of Somerset Apprentice.

Many thanks to Jennifer Jackson Taylor and Jana Holstein, editors extraordinaire.


© Nancy Lefko & Stampington Inc.

New Magnet Designs

"Tea Time" Art Magnet by Nancy Lefko by NancyLefkoCollageArt
See other Collage Magnets

"Ooh La Latte" Art Magnet by Nancy Lefko by NancyLefkoCollageArt
Look at more Latte Magnets at zazzle

"Blue Lagoon" Art Magnet by Nancy Lefko by NancyLefkoCollageArt
View more flexible magnet designs from Zazzle.

"Appletini" Art Magnet by Nancy Lefko by NancyLefkoCollageArt
Browse Cocktail Magnets

"Lemon Drop" Art Magnet by Nancy Lefko by NancyLefkoCollageArt
Find additional refrigerator magnets at zazzle.com

"Cosmo Time" Art Magnet by Nancy Lefko by NancyLefkoCollageArt
View more flexible magnet designs from Zazzle.

More designs available in my Zazzle Shop.

© Nancy Lefko

Upcoming Workshops

As summer winds down, my workshop schedule heats up and I find myself gathering supplies and creating guides and collage sheets for my students.

First up will be MORE ART JOURNAL PAGES at INK ABOUT IT in Westford, MA. On Saturday, September 7th I'll be offering two sessions: 10am-1pm and another from 2:30pm-5:30pm. We'll use more techniques and materials than in the first ART JOURNAL PAGES class that I taught there this summer, but no previous experience is needed for this follow-up class.

Later in September, on Saturday the 28th, I'll be at ECLECTIC PAPERIE'S studio space in Hampton Falls, NH teaching MIXED MEDIA ART JOURNALING from 10am-1pm. Venture into the world of art journaling, an expressive outlet and playground for your creativity. Explore a variety of techniques and materials while creating art for art’s sake; art that is yours alone and uniquely “you.” All levels are welcome.

Over Columbus Day weekend, on Saturday, October 12th, I'll be teaching LITTLE BOOK OF SECRETS at the ART IS...YOU art retreat in Stamford, CT. Big things come in small packages and the same can be said for art journals! Using small canvases, paint distressing techniques and embellishments, we’ll create texture-rich journal covers. Mixed media and collage techniques will fill our accordion-style, pint-sized pages with special thoughts.

The end of October finds me back at ECLECTIC PAPERIE for MIXED MEDIA MANIA on the 26th from 10am-2pm. Color, color and more color! Unleash your creativity with acrylic paints, oil pastels, water-soluble crayons, decorative papers and inks. Use ordinary objects as print-makers to add texture and design, and create canvases that burst with color and originality! We’ll play with layer upon layer of media infused with design and texture. Think “fingers covered in paint, inks and gel medium” while creating canvases that evolve and grow and reflect the beauty of the individual.

I hope that if you're in the area, you can join me for some artful fun at one of my live workshops.

© Nancy Lefko

Illustration Friday ~ FRESH

Summer is the time for FRESH fruit and veggies at the Farmer's Market, so what a perfect prompt for Illustration Friday.

To see the myriad of takes on the prompt, hop on over to Illustration Friday and check out all of the marvelous artwork there is to see.

This original mixed media collage, on gallery wrapped canvas, is available in my Etsy shop.

© Nancy Lefko

Illustration Friday ~ CHILDREN

"I owe my CHILDREN much more than they owe me."

To see the myriad of takes on the prompt, hop on over to Illustration Friday and check out all of the marvelous artwork there is to see.

© Nancy Lefko

En Plein Air

It's not often that I take to my art journal with only a pencil, pen and watercolor set, but today I wanted to practice en plein air painting (well, almost...I was on the screen porch) and needed but a few art supplies. I must say that I truly enjoyed the simplicity of using only watercolors and I see myself using them more often in the future.

In a couple of months we'll be walking the beach in Maine and if we are lucky like last year, son #3 and I will find a moon jelly or two. Granted, the colors won't be anything like this, but a find such as this is exciting all the same.



© Nancy Lefko

Surtex 2013

Despite a rain-soaked day, my best friend and I ferried across the Hudson River from New Jersey to the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in Mid-Town Manhattan.


Our hopes to see the skyline, and the spire on the new World Trade Center, were dashed...but we were nonetheless excited to attend the SURTEX: Selling & Licensing Original Art & Design Show.




It's a thrill to see my artwork on display in the Artistic Designs Group booth and equally fun to get a chance to chat in person with my agent Julie Ager and her mother and business partner, Mary Ann.


Although our plans to wander downtown changed due to the soggy nature of the day, it was still a fun and worthwhile trip into the city. I'm hoping that soon I can share the news of new licensing opportunities on the horizon.

Illustration Friday ~ FUTURE

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you'll land among the stars"...and your FUTURE will be bright!

To see the myriad of takes on the prompt, hop on over to Illustration Friday and check out all of the marvelous artwork there is to see.

Art print of this collage is available in my Etsy shop.

© Nancy Lefko

New Series

My latest series, SEASIDE, is complete and ready for the design board at Surtex.


In just two short weeks I'll be headed once again to New York City to meet with my agent, Julie, from Artistic Designs Group and walk the EXPANSIVE floor at the Jacob Javitz Center.


Hopefully Mother Nature will shine upon us and it will be a lovely day as it was last year, and we can take in a bit of city strolling as well.





© Nancy Lefko

Illustration Friday ~ URBAN

The prompt over at Illustration Friday is URBAN...not a word that usually fits my artwork. However, I created this piece while yearning a bit for New York City and the majestic skyscrapers.

To see the myriad of takes on the prompt, hop on over to Illustration Friday and check out all of the marvelous artwork there is to see.

© Nancy Lefko

Illustration Friday ~ EGG

Appropriately, for the Easter weekend, the prompt at Illustration Friday is EGG.

I'm a happy mom this weekend, as all three chicks are back in the nest for the holiday.

Happy Easter, everyone...

...and to see the myriad of takes on the prompt, hop on over to Illustration Friday and check out all of the marvelous artwork there is to see. (Okay, I couldn't resist saying "hop" :)

© Nancy Lefko

Winners!

Thanks to everyone who entered the Stamper's Big White Pen giveaway. The four lucky ladies who'll be receiving this great pen are:

Jeanne
Melody
Kim Mailhot
Tiffany McGuckin

I'll be contacting the winners and the pens will be on their way.

Thanks again to the generous folks at Faber-Castell's Design Memory Craft for providing the pens.

Art Licensing...Off and Running!

I've been involved in the world of art licensing for about eighteen months and I'm delighted to have received my very first product samples. These photo frames are manufactured by Designs Combined Inc. who've also produced wall canvases with my artwork.

I'll be headed to Surtex in New York City this May and will again meet with my agent, Julie, of Artistic Designs Group...and have the great fun of walking the floor taking in all the eye candy!

Before long I'll have more samples to share as I'm working with additional manufacturers...can't wait!