Creative Amazingness! It's a HUGE blog hop giveaway!

Update:  Our winner is....
 Congratulations Deb!

Romancing The Bling said...

Thank you for the opportunity! What a fun class you are offering!



Deb
xoxo

11:25 PM

 
 Hello Friends!  I have some exciting news to share!   Some of you may know that I taught online classes over at Creative Workshops since 2009!!!! Holy cow can you believe it? Well it was time to dust off the shelves and rearrange the 'house' and revamp the website. It's been a project that Gail Schmidt and her 'staff' of teachers have been working on diligently all summer long on ( moving classes, reformatting the classrooms).  Now,  and we are finally able to announce that:

We now have our own dedicated website, store and blog for Creative Workshops.

 You will find us over there with doors held wide open in happy, smiling greeting. Our website has links all over the place for you to find just about any kind of information on how everything works and for purchasing classes. And classes are what we are all about: Inspiring those with artistic yearnings, or imparting knowledge of a technique that is new to someone else, who hadn't thought of doing something quite that way.

We never know how a class may impact someone.. but impact we know they do, because we've heard from you!
 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.

 Do you want to be kept abreast of all things Creative Workshops? Especially new classes (we're adding all the time) and teacher class sales? We offer several choices to keep informed : newsletter subscription, blog subscription and facebook.




To find out more this  check us out here:




WEBSITE:
 http://www.creativeworkshops.me

STORE: http://store.creativeworkshops.me

 CW BLOG: http://www.creativeworkshops.typepad.com

 Here's the sweet deal....all of these amazing teachers over at Creative Workshops are giving away one of their classes to a lucky commenter on their blog post so you can hop over to ALL of the teachers sites and potentially win more than one class!

Since I myself offer multiple classes, my free giveaway to the winning commenter is
their choice of any one of the seven classes I offer!


To win the opportunity for a free class from me you must leave a comment on this post
and only this post. It helps me keep track of everyone. (please be sure if you don't have a blog, you leave me a way to reach you in case you win).

The party runs Sept. 23-Sept.29.

I will use a random number generator to choose the lucky winner and announce the name
Monday Sept 30.

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 a FREE CLASS!
               
                                          Go, go, go...tell your friends!!!!


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


PS---I will pick the winner for the Soul Food Class Giveaway on Tuesday!


******************************************

Stop by my Etsy Shop to see what's new!

Create Because Your Life Depends On It

Whooohooo...what a fun week it's been reading all of your comments about the article, the colors and texture of my new pieces, and the upcoming classes and retreats.  Life is good, and so happy you have been inspired by my little corner of creativity!

 

I truly believe that adding creative time to your every day routine can do so much for your health.  Just like exercise strengthens your body,  art and creating strengthens and heals your mind. 

 Adding color, texture, memories, words and YOU to a physical creation that you can say, I created this with my own two hands, with my heart and soul...well, it feeds your soul.

 

It's funny because I've spent the large majority of my adult life away from creating.  It took a moment or truthfully, years...of crisis and chaos in my life and in my mind to draw me back into that which has turned out to be my own personal salvation.  I could say, why did that all have to happen, but the answer as murky as it may be is,  because, why not me? Hard times are spared by no one, it's how you deal with them that make you the person that you are today.  

I guess I mention this today because I've had to deal with a person in my life that time and time again has chosen to take the road of destruction rather than the road to health and well being.  I became distracted, anxious, sad, upset, helpless and down right angry,  as I dealt with this person because they still have not learned how to cope with their own issues and how to rise above rather than fall into temptation.  All I wanted to do was paint and escape them.  I wanted to run and get away from the toxic air around them.  So I did paint. I did create, and these are two pieces I finished this week despite the chaos that surrounded me when the week began. 

I also mention this because Monday was really the escalation point of the drama I was surrounded by and it was also the day that I posted my giveaway and shared the news of our new venture, ReMe. 
Your messages and comments gave me strength to deal with the situation at hand...and then I painted to deal with it some more.  Sometimes you can't run away, but you can ease the stress when you need it most by infusing creativity into your life.  Some people choose to escape and hit the bottle or worse, I chose to deal with it and then hit the paint bottle. It works. But back to my point, thank you for all the words of inspiration and positive affirmations.  It really meant a lot to me, and I'm so happy to announce the winner of my painting and art goodies, without further adieu....the winner is:

Comment 21 (picked from Random number generator)

 

Tracy said...

I'd love to win! and I can't wait to take your class in a few weeks at The Art Barn :)

9:36 AM  

 

 

Congratulations Tracy!!   email me at jodiohl@hotmail.com so I can make arrangements to get your goodies to you!

 

 

See my friends,  sometimes you just have to have a little faith and put the rest into His hands.  It all works out exactly the way it should be.

 

Until next time, live to create and create to live.

 

Jodi

 

 

*********************************************************************

 

Lots of new items in the shop this week! Stop by and check them out!

 

 

 

I Could Use a Little Help From My Friends! :)

 Hey Friends--I  need your help!  As a finalist in iPrintfromHome's contest, please check out my two images that are in the running and vote for them if you 'like'.   You can help select  the final 8 images to be featured in the iPrintfromHome Paper Sampler and Calibration Kit by registering your "LIKE" on Facebook. Voting will be open Monday, September 27th through midnight EST on Monday, October 11th.

I'd love the opportunity and exposure that this would present, but it will only happen if you take a minute and vote for one (or both...heehee) of my pictures!

Click here to vote

 To vote for Following Your Dreams 

Click HERE ,  (you may have to 'like' the company page first) then click 'LIKE' on the bottom of the page, you should see several individuals that have voted by clicking like.

 To vote for 'Be True"

CLICK HERE

(you may have to 'like' the company page first) then click 'LIKE' on the bottom of the page, you should see several individuals that have voted by clicking like.

 If you are not on facebook and would like to vote, please send an email with the name of the image you want to vote for here:

Send us an e-mail with the names of the images you would like to vote for.

http://www.iprintfromhome.com/irf.asp

 *******************

 It's amazing...fall is in the air already. I do believe I was just picking out summer tanks and flip flops the other day, wasn't I?    In North Carolina, you can really only tell it's fall during the day by the leaves on the ground and the days becoming shorter, minute by minute. At night though...well it goes from 80 during the day to 40 at night. So fall stops by our neighborhood after 7 pm. 

I stepped outside on my deck this afternoon and took this picture with my phone...can you believe it? Phone?  These apps are too fun that you can download!  Do you have a favorite app you use for picture taking?

  I've been on the road a bit these last few weeks, just returning from Atlanta for an Art Festival in Norcross, Ga (Love that little town!). The town reminds me a lot of our very own Southern Pines, NC-just down the road from me.   Quaint shops, unique places to eat, a train depot and all sorts of wonderful people to meet.  the Norcross Art Festival was one not to be missed, I was so glad I participated in it. I had a great time there-did decent with the show and even had the pleasure of hanging out with two of my artsy friends from home that were also in the show for dinner two nights in a row.  Funny we had to travel 6 hours to have dinner together when we all live just a few miles from one another!  Our lives hae just spiraled out of control this year it seems.   Busy Busy Busy.  I'd like to slow down a bit but I'm afraid to.  I  do need to prioritize and make sure I set aside time for the things are important to me like my family and my friends--it's not all about work and as much as I love it....it's not all about my art. It's easy to get wrapped up in it though, especially when you are trying to make a dream happen. I need to remember to slow down some days and just breathe.

We took a side trip to the city the day after the show and walked around and took pics. I took pics with an app that I LOVE...but didn't realize the demo version only allows microscopic pictures..LOL.  Heres a few of the thumbnails I took:

 It's all about perspective.....

 I love finding arches and taking pics of them....kinda imagine something mystical happening if you cross through to the other side.

 Okay so I got in trouble for taking this pic--Apparently you can't take pictures of some buildings (or all buildings) in Atlanta..????  The police officer told me to knock it out..lol

 Zach turned 16 in September! YIKES

 Josh is 10---he's our family comedian. Always joking around and laughing. How I love to listen to the kids laugh!

My two wonderful boys....they are really my pride and joy!

 Oh ya...I got yelled at for this one, too!

So see...every once in a while, I can take a minute out and play!

(App used was vignette demo)

Thank you for stopping by and PLEASE take a moment out to vote for my pictures!!  I need your help!

Till next time, take a moment to breathe, smell the life that's passing you by while you are too busy doing everything else. 

We only have one shot at this so let's do it right!

Jodi

New beginning --and a GIVEAWAY!

You probably wonder where I've been this last week! Not surprisingly, I've been buried under a pile of boxes. This truck jam packed full times 2 which we started moving last Friday. I didn't have as much help as I thought I would so there was just two of us on Friday doing all the heavy lifting and moving. The excitement of a new beginning kept me going though despite the elbow grease required :)


Here's a pic of my quaint little abode, a 1960's ranch that is as cute as can be. For my first home, it's perfect. Probably the only thing missing that was on my wish list is a wrap around porch, but I do have a deck..lol...so there you go, it's all about compromise and loving what you have and not focusing on what you don't.


Another selling feature was this super sweet woodsy back yard, complete with an out building (with lots of spiders...eeek!). I hope to make this into an outdoor studio one day. It already has a cement floor and good bones to work with. In the Carolina's, summer is brutal so this would have to be more of a Spring and Fall art house but who knows, I'll probably have to fit it with air and heat anyway if I want to keep paint out there and paintings. All I know is that I love it!

The kitchen in disarray, this was about 10:00 pm last Friday night as we were putting up all the stuff after about 12 hours of work. I don't love the plaid wall paper on the back wall.. so that will be changed out but I do have tons of cupboard space so that's a good starting point.

Cozy little living room....I set this up right away so we'd have a place to sit in between all the chaos of moving. I am changing out the wallpaper (wall paper every where!!) eventually and hopefully get a new living room suite. In the course of moving I found my fall decorations so I put those out the first night, too. I forgot I even had them to begin with..lol.



And on to my studio....shelves everywhere! YIPPPEE I can FINALLY move all my art junque out of the dining room and set it up so I can not only be inspired, but be efficient at what I do! Previously, I spent more time going through boxes and totes to find what I needed. Talk about frustating!


I'm not even kidding you when I say I had half a truck load alone of art stuff....that is for rizzle!
It's taken me all week to get things out the boxes and on the shelves.

I have most everything un packed and so now it will be just a matter of rearranging here and there, making sure I have my supplies in a way that makes artful sense and then beautifying it with creative goodness as I go along.

Hey, how about a contest--Let's come up with a name for my new studio. Are you in???
What will you win?? A pair of 2 of my heart blocks, 6x6 in the color of your choice and words of your choice.
To enter, just name your suggestion in a comment to me, now through October 10th and the winning suggestion or inspiration for the studio name will get a pair of customized Sweet HeART blocks!


progress....almost ready to create....


Love the fireplace, I just need to get a smaller table so I can make an L shaped work area by my desk and leave the fire place area open. Perhaps put a small reading chair in the other corner not pictured.


Last night I finally started on a new project.....in my new studio, in my new home. :)



Next up...see the finished piece and more about my new painting :0

Thank you for taking this house buying journey with me. I couldn't have done it without the support and guidance of my friends and family! It's been a ride but I'm proud of where I am right now and excited to see where I go next with my new role as a homeowner :)

Don't forget to put your choice in the hat for the giveaway by making a suggestion for my studio name!

Sweet Repeats Studio Shoppe Winner!

And the winner of my $25.00 gift certificate to the Sweet Repeats Studio Shoppe is the one and only Pat from The blog: Whyte Paper who's color choices for my next painting are:

"White, taupe, ivory....I.m being selfish because those are my fav combos. Good for winter coming soon."

I have an idea for the next painting which this color combo will work great-I may add a bit of brown and make the painting almost sepia in nature. This is the picture I'm going to replicate into one of my funky lil houses:
Congratulations Pat! Be sure to stop by her awesome Etsy shop as well for a wealth of creative goodness!

Speaking of funky lil houses--I've been talking with Gail of Creative Workshops and we are going to offer my second online class right after the holidays--learn to paint funky lil houses of your own in my distinct style! Save a bit of your holiday stash so you can take my next workshop!
My Faux En caustic class is still ongoing so if you are in the mood for fun and fantastic artsy techniques, stop over to our website and check out the Faux En Caustic work shop!

This weekend I'm putting the pedal to the artsy metal and finishing up my bird piece then the nose to the grind for more packing. Thank you for stopping by and as always, create to live, live to create!