art journaling…

I’ve drawn, painted, and collaged in notebooks as long as I can remember. Now it’s called art journaling…whatever you call it – I still love it!

Last night I gathered my new not-yet-used Pam Carriker stamps, my beloved PITT artist pens, two of my own handmade stamps, gelli prints, paints, Mod Podge (Hard Coat is THE best!) and got to creating…

haven't used my sketchbook in a while...

haven’t used my sketchbook in a while…

using my new Pam Carriker stamps for the first time...

using my new Pam Carriker stamps for the first time…

used celery stalks to make these roses...

used celery stalks to make these roses…

instead of cutting them, I tore out roses I wanted to use...

no scissors needed – I tore out roses I wanted to use…

added strips of gelli prints...

added strips of gelli prints…

rediscovered this butterfly stamp I carved a while back...

rediscovered this butterfly stamp I carved a while back…

I also carved this hearts stamp...

I also carved this hearts stamp…

adding touches of silver to wings...

adding touches of silver to wings…

colored pencils over stamped paint adds color texture and contrast...

colored pencils over stamped paint adds color texture and contrast…

'She's finding her wings'...as yet unfinished...

‘She’s finding her wings’…as yet unfinished…

’til next time…

the week in photos…

signing and varnishing my mini ornaments before sending to their new homes...

signing and varnishing my mini ornaments before sending to their new homes…

ready to kick things up a notch! ordered Artful Blogging by Stampington & Company...

ready to kick things up a notch! ordered Artful Blogging by Stampington & Company…

beautiful sky, November 2014.

beautiful sky, November 2014.

"El Corazon" nicho ornament, $12 in my Etsy shop. www.susiecarranzastudio.etsy.com

“El Corazon” nicho ornament, $12 in my Etsy shop.
www.susiecarranzastudio.etsy.com

doing some hand stitching while watching Gone With the Wind...

doing some hand stitching while watching Gone With the Wind…

autumn in California: colorful leaves, 80 degree weather...

autumn in California: colorful leaves, 80 degree weather…

scent of blooming jasmine is here...

scent of blooming jasmine is here…

WIP: hand stitched skull fabric ornaments (thanks JoAnns for extra fabric!)

WIP: hand stitched skull fabric ornaments (thanks JoAnns for extra fabric!)

’til next time…

my new 2014 ornaments!

here are all of my new miniature, wood nicho ornaments! no two alike, $12 each.

most of them are listed in my Etsy art shop, except for the two Frida ones, you can find those at our website www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com

if you see any you like, act fast! again, no two alike, and I won’t be making any more…

’til next time…

one-of-a-kind wood nicho ornaments, $12 each. ©susie carranza studio

one-of-a-kind wood nicho ornaments, $12 each. ©susie carranza studio

what i’ve been up to…

it’s been a while since i’ve blogged…

every time i tell myself i’m going to blog consistently – life happens.

the end of october brought with it the first anniversary of losing my sister patty

then, on november 2nd, my mother unexpectedly lost her sister, josefina (my Tia Chepa). once again, we were faced with the loss of a loved one right before the holiday season.

i won’t go into emotions right now…i’m just dealing with making sure my mom’s okay and that she not get ill, as she did when we lost my sister. she’s still recuperating from that…

i’m just getting back to work again. on a personal level, i am not thinking of celebrating holidays right now. from a business level – life goes on…shops remain open…

this past week or so i’ve been working on Christmas ornaments. i just listed some to our website – i’d love for you to check them out!

wood ornaments by Susie Carranza for www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com

wood ornaments by Susie Carranza for http://www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com

pot of marigolds with mini serape & heart milagro...

ornament: pot of marigolds with mini serape & heart milagro…

ornament: Frida with El Venado Loteria card...

ornament: Frida with El Venado Loteria card…

ornament: large orange rose with miniature clay pottery...

ornament: large orange rose with miniature clay pottery…

ornament: Frida with wing milagros & flowers...

ornament: Frida with wing milagros & flowers…

for these and lots of other handmade art pieces, please go to http://www.ArtedeNuestroCorazon.com

i’ll also be adding new items to my Etsy art shop and Etsy supply shop in the next few weeks. please support the handmade community and original artists this holiday season! ❤️

(i bought the raw handmade wood ornaments i used here from Terramaya on Etsy – make sure to check out her shop!)

’til next time…

my 30 paintings in 30 days…

if you’ve read my previous posts, you know I took part in a ’30 paintings in 30 days’ challenge in the artists’ group HeARTspace on Facebook (created by artist Jeanne Bessette). the challenge ended yesterday and I’m proud to say I completed the whole challenge!

I won’t lie – sometimes I didn’t post one photo each day. with both my mom feeling under the weather (again), then my mother in law being hospitalized (again), my mind was often occupied with other things and I couldn’t get myself to finish artwork in front of me. but I played catch up, staying up late when needed. one day I posted four (or five?) paintings all in the same day in order to catch up!

here are all 30 pieces. I still consider a couple of them to be unfinished, but the purpose of this challenge was (I think) to dig deep into our creative selves, paint consistently and purposefully, and see what we learn about ourselves in the process.

I’m still marinading over what I learned about myself, my work, and where I want to go with it. (another blog post for sure!)…in the meantime, here are group shots of all the pieces. Look for much better individual photos to come, as well as most of these new pieces being available for purchase! 😉

’til next time…

paintings 1-15 of 30 paintings in 30 days challenge...

paintings 1-15 of 30 paintings in 30 days challenge…

 

paintings 16-30 of 30 paintings in 30 days challenge

paintings 16-30 of 30 paintings in 30 days challenge