Free membership to Gather, my online class!

Hi friends! For all you locals, I'll be at the Mill St. Market this Saturday in downtown Springdale and have a fun offer for you I wanted to share!  See below and I hope to see you there! The market is from 8-1 and I'll be set up with original paintings, photo canvases, plenty of art prints, and even some fabric bunting for extra fun!  

Read more about Gather here!

the GIVEAWAY winner is....

Sara Bolen, you are the winner of the Gather online class giveaway! Congrats! 

(our names are even spelled the same, lol)

Email me at sunshinebysara@hotmail.com to be added to our fun class list! 

Didn't win?   You can still save by signing up for class with the early-bird price of $25 until Monday! Once class starts, the price goes up to $35.  You can purchase through the "buy now" link on this post! We're going to have so much fun! 

Gather (an online class) early-bird sign-ups!

 The day is finally here! 

Early-bird sign-ups begin today for Gather, my online class coming next month!
The early-bird price is $25 and once class starts the price goes up to $35.

Starting Monday, April 18th, we'll start class together!  This online course is written and hosted by yours truly and focuses on praises, prayer, and photographs.  It is all about infusing art into the practices of your everyday life and having so much fun while doing so! 

Here are the details of what the online class will be like: 

*No expiration date.  You have lifetime access to class!

*Videos galore!  Between art journaling, prayer flags, watercolor canvases, painted flower pots, photography walks, and more, there will be plenty of video tutorials teaching you how to practice your creativity and have fun while doing so! 

*Class will also include plenty of extras like free downloadable art, a FB discussion group, a discount code for my shop, and a video tour of my studio!

"Gather: praises, prayer, and photographs into everyday art"

sign-ups start below! Once you are signed up you're enrolled in class instantly! You'll receive your login information the day class starts, Monday, April 18th! 

Invite your friends, 

sign-up below with the early-bird rate of $25,

and I look forward to seeing you in class! 

Gather: details and early-bird rate

(this is an extra download that comes with the course!)

If you haven't heard yet, I'm hosting my first online class later this spring, called Gather!  I adore art and making it part of my everyday life and that's exactly what the course is all about.  Praises, prayer, and photography into everyday art.  

Let's take a closer look at what that means and what the course will entail.  Each section of the course will focus on one of the following areas: praises, prayer, and photography.  With each course section we'll be creating, painting, and reflecting on how we can foster our creativity right where we are, in the midst of our stories.  This isn't a class that will require hours of each day or an expensive supply list.  Instead, I'll share many video tutorials filled with creative projects and painting that you can easily use as tools to minister to those around you and infuse praise and gratitude into your life, no matter the story. 

There will be art video tutorials galore, 

extra downloads (like the art above), color pages, and more,

plenty of inspirational videos, such as a tour of my craft room and my favorite gratitude moments, 

and more! 

We'll also have a FB page where you can join in on the discussion about all things art!  

The early-bird rate for the class is $25 and after that the rate goes up to $35.

Early-bird sign-ups will begin next week and I'll announce the class starting date then too! 

I hope you'll join me! 

painting spring and Gather (a new online course)

(here)

Good morning Rosy Life friends! After reading your lovely comments yesterday can I just say how truly wonderful it is to have friends near and far all connected through blogging? I know social media gets a bad reputation sometimes but it can also be used to make connections we would otherwise miss completely.  I like that.  Sounds like a grand adventure to me! Now if only I could figure out how to road trip and have Rosy Life meet-ups along the way....wouldn't that be fabulous? 

A girl can dream, right? I always do. It seems as if winter has given us the cold shoulder this year and decided simply not to snow.  So here we are, spring not just "right around the corner", but knocking loudly.  Warm temperatures, digging in the garden, meals outside, and the bluest sky with the puffiest of clouds all have me dreaming and painting my way into spring. 

(here)

In fact, I added two new paintings to the shop this week!  

Just a friendly reminder, you can also save by purchasing two 8x10 art prints using this listing!

Or if you're really feeling bold, you can also save by purchasing three 8x10 art prints using this listing!

Since collages make my heart go pitter-patter, here's a sample of what you can find in the shop! Most of these are 8x10, high-quality art prints and a few are originals! They are printed with archival ink so they won't fade over time and on Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper Luster.  They are shipped in a clear, cellophane bag and inserted into a sturdy cardboard mailer.  And I always like to include a little something extra for my sweet customers.  

My shop address can be found using the page above on my blog, or you can go here: 

etsy.com/shop/TheRosyLife

In other artful news, remember how I mentioned I was going to host my own online class?  Well, I admittedly put that announcement out there so I wouldn't talk myself out of it! It is a bigger project than I've ever taken on before but one I feel deeply about.  I've been working on ideas and am getting ready to start filming for the class this week.  I would expect to make the class live later this spring, possibly in May.  I finished up the graphic for the class last night and thought I'd share a peek.

Gather will be all about praises, prayer, and photographs.  It will teach you how to make art in your everyday life!  We'll be diving into art journaling, watercolors, table styling, and photography. I'll share plenty of videos (a lot actually), downloads, and a way for all of us to connect.  I look forward to sharing more with you and hope you'll join me for this class!

Gather: an online course

You all know I'm an idea person.  I used to list ideas by the page full, rarely actually doing any of my grand plans, but feeling excited and accomplished because I had a list!  Fast forward a couple of years and I found myself almost turned away by the thought of making just one more list, empty ideas waiting to be checked off.  Instead, I began to embrace each day as it came.  When God spoke, I didn't necessarily write it down or tell everyone my plans.  I simply listened and obeyed.  Lest you think I'm approaching sainthood, let me set the record straight.  I still struggle to beat perfectionism and wonder how the "dream big" message fits together with my daily life, prayers, and needs in my community.  Yet I find myself entering 2016 somewhere in the middle of "listers gonna list" and "makers gonna make."  

The most healing, comforting, and shareable ways I've spread the love of Christ over the past year and been healed myself haven't been grand or even needed a list.  Through small, thoughtful acts of kindness or a tiny change in my routine here and there, the door has been swung wide open for the invitation of both people and Christ into my corner of the world.  I've learned practices to gather prayer, praise, and photographs and turn them into everyday art, tucked into the nooks and crannies of my everyday life. 

This is possible for you, too.  As I began the new year I prayed deeply and talked at length with Brett about whether or not I should host any Rosy Retreats in the upcoming year.  For those of you new to my blog, these are the craft and/or photography retreats I've hosted on the farm and loved deeply.  As difficult as it was to decide, it kinda wasn't.  For now (and in the near future) all Rosy Retreats are on hold.  With our current family schedule and the great anticipation of our adoption I feel a deep-seated peace about waiting on retreats.   Mixed in with this decision was an idea I'd heard in my thoughts and prayers enough times where I had a pretty good "no" response every time it came up.  Hosting my own online course is something I tried a few years back and truly poured my heart and soul into.  Yet here I was, three years later, having the same tug.  And I can now say, it's time I answer with a "yes!".  

Coming in late spring or early summer is 

"Gather: praises, prayer, and photographs into everyday art"

This online course will be written and hosted by yours truly and will include: membership with no expiration date, video tutorials, inspirational videos, a variety of art projects (including a "how-to" for the canvas above, prayer flags, and more), home decorating videos, free downloads, photography lessons, a FB discussion group, and so much more I look forward to telling you about!  

I hope and pray you'll join me in this exciting, fun course that will help you infuse art into the practices of your everyday life, while focusing on praise, prayer, and photography. 

I'm back!…(I've missed you all!)

Hi friends, near and far! I sure have missed you all this week!  If you follow me on IG then you've already heard my woeful tale of another sick little one. :( We made it all the way to February without a single sickness in our house…then about two weeks of colds and ear aches and now two more weeks of stomach bugs.  We are just a barrel of fun, I tell ya! 

So all that to say, by the time I've been alone and not loving on my sweet, sick girls I've been tired!  The blog just hasn't happened.  But they're both asleep and I thought I'd get a quick second to spill the beans on the rest of our life lately, sickness aside. 

My "studio" (a.k.a. Hoarders Central) has become messy again and there is truly no surprise there.  It just doesn't know how to cooperate as a magazine-ready, picture-perfect room.  And I don't blame it one bit!  Because when it looks like this it means hard work is happening!  And I like that.  I've been putting the final touches on original canvases, making art prints, hand-painted notebooks, stitched and painted flowers, wood photo blocks, among other things for the local sale I'm participating in!  Vintage Market Days is happening in about THREE weeks!  This is a three-day event in Bentonville, but I will be there Friday and Saturday only! 

 I still have my handy-dandy checklist of things to do but am right on track with being prepared!  Tomorrow I get to attend a Meet and Greet event for the vendors that I am really excited about! 

I'm going to keep reminding you about the event because already several blog readers and IG followers have said they'll come see me at my booth. You have no idea how happy this makes me! If you do stop by, please tell me your name and that you read the blog! It would mean the world to get to meet you sweet readers. 

"She saw possibility everywhere"….as I'm looking at this project I finished last week I'm remembering all over again how much fun it was to make!  For this current season of life, I typically have one art/business related project going and one just for fun project going at a time.  I find too much work leaves me uninspired….and how much fun is it when an artist says they haven't created anything for fun in weeks?  Huh? Not fun to me!  

I learned how to make this fabric, hand-painted art journal from my most favorite online class teacher ever, Christy Tomlinson.  In addition to her wonderful classes (that go on sale several times a year), Christy also has monthly art classes you can buy a full-year subscription to, or just a one-month class.  These are called Art Society videos.  So February's Art Society class was all about learning how to make Midori's.  A Midori is basically a journal with elastic in the middle so you can put your own paper inserts inside.  Once an insert is full, simply remove it and put in another one!  

So for this first journal I made it HUGE, thinking I would have huge sections of paper inside.  But then my paper inserts turned out small, leaving the edge of the journal curved a bit once the elastic is hooked around.  I don't really like that but haven't had time to fit bigger paper in it.  I'm excited to bring this around town with me and to Vintage Market Days…I think it sends a very artsy message :).

You can learn all about her amazing Art Society classes here!

OR, if you're interested in a one-time purchase (so a one-month class, like purchasing just this art journal project), go here.  Her classes are VERY affordable.  A one-month purchase is $16.95.  And the thing I just love about her classes is that you can easily customize any project she shows you and change it up a lot!  Some instructors only teach how to make a copy of their own art.  Christy is so good to show you so many different options for her lesson the sky is the limit for you! 

Last week, in-between the girls taking turns with the sickness Brett and I ran to Lowe's by ourselves for about an hour.  We have been buying plants and pretty things to spruce up the outside of our home, porches, and deck.   We are SUCH outdoor living people.  We eat, play, explore, work, fellowship, gather, and date outside once spring arrives.  He bought me this pot of succulents because succulents are my favorite things EVER. In the history of ever.  And I have no idea why.  

Let's hope I can keep it alive. 

More pretty prep for the sale!  I made banners out of paint-splattered watercolor paper, old books, and vintage maps! 

Anna Ruth, before the sickies.  She is SO full of energy typically and just a wonder to listen to.  As you found out in my last post.  We are praying so hard that she is over this stomach stuff soon.  It is just the saddest thing to see her not feeling well.  She told me "Mama, the nights are loooong" in just the most pitiful voice.  Insert mama tears here.

 I quickly sewed a banner for our front-porch this week I'm excited to show you soon!  This is so real life at our house.  Meaning, the girls were resting and I had a quick minute and a cute idea so I plopped down in the floor to hurry and cut some triangles to make an outdoor bunting.  

 After laying the two piles of triangles next to the sewing machine I got started.  Just a few minutes later I had an adorable, weather-proof bunting made out of oilcloth and ready for the front porch!  

I've been meaning to tell you about the oilcloth.  I ordered some from Fashion Fabrics for $5 a yard.  Y'all, that is  GOOOOOD deal for oil cloth.  So I ordered quite a bit of it because it is so easy to plop down on the table when the girls are about to paint, and so cute to put on the back deck or porch table.  I mean, this stuff can be used for just about anything! Bags, pillows, bunting, tablecloths…the sky is the limit once again.  

I was kinda hesitant about ordering and wondered if it would ever come, seeing as it was so cheap.  But it DID come and it is super cute!  We've used it as a tablecloth both indoors and out and for the bunting so far.  Plus I still have enough left over to make a bag or pillow.  Or maybe even an art journal!  

(and no, I'm not ever paid for any of these links I show you! I truly just like 'em)

We've been waking up to the most gorgeous, relaxing fog you could imagine.  It is just breath-taking.  Perhaps I'll feel differently about it once I actually have to leave the house (we've been shut-ins for days it feels like) but for now I just breathe deep and keep looking at it.  

 (more outdoor decorating posts coming soon…just a tease today)

 And oh the rain we've had!  It's been slow and steady…nice and soothing sounding.  Not a clap of scary thunder in sight.  I feel like Spring is just easing on in…washing away the dust of the last season of our lives.  I am so, so ready.

Somehow over the last few weeks Betsy Grace has also decided just to grow up.  I can't believe my eyes every time I look at her!  She's so tall and talking in full sentences and VERY passionate about animals, art, and food.  (wonder who she gets that from?!)  I've even had other family comment on it…how big she suddenly is.  She keeps me laughing and laughing….I just love my girls.  I don't long for their baby days much.  This toddler stuff is fun! (minus the fits…..enough said)

 Well friends, it sure has been nice to visit.  How are things in your part of the world?  I'd love to hear.  I keep checking in on you lovely friends and will go ahead and apologize now for my lack of comments this week!  Time flies when you're having fun you know. :) 

 (not really, please continue to pray complete healing for our family!)

I'll be back in a day or two with a Shop Show and Tell, a food post, and some outdoor decorating! 

Anything else you're wondering about, send me an email! I have loved hearing your questions! 

What Printer I Use and Favorite Art Supplies and Classes Part 2

Hey everybody! It sure was fun chatting with you in my last "favorites" post. I just love reading what other people are using in their artful world and also love answering questions about what I'm using as well!  When I first started on my art journey I asked so many questions.  What I found was a few very generous (and very successful I might add) artists wrote back.  I always felt so appreciated and thankful they'd take the time to do that AND to share information!  One in particular that sticks out in my mind is Christy Tomlinson.  She answered several questions for me, without ever meeting me or anything!  I've also come to really admire the artists online who will share what paints and products they use. What confidence that shows!  It seems there can sometimes be an opposite fear in the art world to not share anything…for fear someone else may actually learn something from us and copy us.  I don't like copying but don't like hoarding either.  So, I'm glad to share what I know! 

First, let's start with the printer.  Someone asked last week what kind of printer I use for my art prints I sell in the shop.  More in a minute about how I came to decide…but basically through tons of research and talking with lots of people in this field, I went with the Epson R2000.  I looked this up on Amazon last week and it was already a great price, with $200 rebate too!  I don't know if it's still on sale, but it is worth a look if you're in the market for an extremely nice printer.  You can also order the ink on Amazon as well and it is extremely affordable.  I haven't ever had to replace the ink in mine, just the gloss optimizer. 

This is the paper I use, so when combined with the archival ink I am producing an archival art print, meaning the ink won't fade.  I debated forever about printing my own art at home or having it done at a business.  The list is quite long of the reasons why printing at home is better for me.  Yes, it was a big cost upfront, but I can print-on-demand and satisfy a customer's request immediately.  I don't have to worry about another company damaging my art print on its way to me and there's no wait time for that. I make a sell, I print the art, and I take it to the post office.  

 I also wanted to share Part 2 of my favorite art supplies today!  Most of these I received for Christmas so if it seems like this post is adding up to be a bit more costly than the last one-you're right!  You have to remember with any art supplies-first, just buy a small amount of something before you invest.  Next, adding supplies to your collection takes time!  Generally speaking, most art supplies are moderately priced on their own but once you start getting a pretty good pile the cost can add up quickly.   Start slow, use as many everyday items as you can, and as you add to your collection use coupons, sales, discounts, etc. 

 Now, with that said let the fun part start! I received this travel watercolor set for Christmas and really like it!  If you're thinking "wait, you don't travel anywhere!" then hear me out.  Yes, most of my trips are generally to the grocery store, BUT I really like this set even just for carrying from one room of the house to another.  I use it on watercolor paper bought at Target or Hobby Lobby.

 Probably my favorite part of this set is the water brush.  Despite what this looks like it's not a syringe or anything scary like that, lol.  You actually store your water in the tube on the left, and then attach it to the brush tip on the right.  As you work with your paints you simply squeeze the tube and water comes out for easy painting!  This tiny little brush could be taken anywhere, with any kind of watercolors or other paints that require water.  You can even purchase a pack of just the water brushes on Amazon. Simply type in "water brushes" in search to find what you're looking for! 

 Next up are these little beauties.  My great love and challenge.  These are no ordinary colored pencils.  Crayola doesn't have anything on Prismacolor!  The color is fantastic and they are perfect for shading.  I've used them a few times and really love them but working with them is still such a challenge for me.  I need to keep giving them a try until I feel a bit more confident. 

 Before purchasing these I saw them at Joann's and almost bought them!  I resisted though and came home to look them up on Amazon.  Now I'm not normally into bashing the big box stores.  I'll make one exception this time to tell you honestly these pencils were marked up almost $40 in the store compared to the cheaper price on Amazon!  How is that even possible?!  I don't know, but in this case I ordered the smart way-online! 

 Gelatos are one of my very first art supplies I purchased with a gift certificate before really knowing what all they could do.  They are sort of like a crayon or maybe even an oil pastel but much creamier.  They blend fabulously into backgrounds or even on faces for cheek or highlight details.

 Gouache is another kind of paint I've dabbled in and need to get back out!  This was an inexpensive set I purchased off Amazon as well (we have Prime, ok..lol).  Although these look sort of like acrylic paints they are actually much more saturated and a very thick paint.  If you don't use them pretty quickly on your palette they will dry out.  I like to use these with a tiny brush to create pictures with lots of detail.

 I keep saying everything is my favorite but that's because it's so true!  I like all of these things so much!  I first learned about these Inktense blocks from Christy Tomlinson.  At first glance they look ok, but not really like anything that special.  You can sketch with them or draw shapes and scribbles on the background of your canvas with them and they are just fine like that.  The real magic happens when you wet the Inktense color on the page or canvas!  WOW, does the color pop after that!  Getting the brush wet also softens your sketch a bit, adding some natural shading.  

I just love these blocks!  Like a lot.  

And last, we'll end here today!  These are Faber Castell Big Brush Pens.  I always think the name is actually a bit confusing because they are like a marker, not a pen.  Anyway, when I linked to these in the post I noticed the gift set of 15 markers was considerably higher-priced than it was around the holidays.  Boo.  I know that Hobby Lobby sells these individually so I suppose you could use a coupon at a time and slowly add to your collection.  These are another great tool for shading faces or adding depth to your canvas backgrounds!  

I want to end by sharing the art classes online I've taken!  

Reading about favorite art supplies is fun but if you really want to watch someone in action and learn what each supply does….along with a whole lot more knowledge, I recommend taking the class I've learned the most in, Christy Tomlinson's Behind the Art Course.  I like Christy's courses so very much because she is easy to listen to and understand, she responds on social media quickly, she's relatable, and her courses are affordable.  And organized!  Her online classes are very, very user-friendly and I like that.  A lot of art courses I've seen cost a couple hundred dollars to take, which just isn't in the budget for us..especially if I'm going to be purchasing new supplies as well.  Christy puts her courses on sale a couple of times a year and are already so affordable and so much knowledge to begin with! I highly, highly recommend any of her classes! 

To learn more about the business side of things, I've also taken Kelly Rae Robert's Flying Lessons, which is a creative business e-course.  She has this on sale once a year I believe (which is when I purchased it).  She covers anything and everything you would need to know about running a creative business. 

And of course, on my wish list are these or these!

YOUR TURN: What are your favorite supplies and/or art courses?

I'd love to hear!