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Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Teaching Schedule 2018


Hi Everybody, I wanted to make sure that my teaching calendar is posted for dates that I have for the remainder of 2018.  My classes are fun and very informative.  You'll learn lots of methods and techniques for creating art! 


Happy Crafters here...we just made Color Burst Galaxy Cards!






Serious creativity going on here...check out that photo-bomb!


My classes are great for all skill levels and for all ages...I love it when kids come to class too.


I hope to see you in a class sometime soon.  I still have some dates to fill for 2018. And, I am already booking dates for 2019. If you'd like to find out about having a class in your town, shoot an email to me at ken@kenolivercrafts.com or contact your local scrapbook, stamp, art supply shop and let them know. 

Thank you for stopping by today...make sure to spend some time on your creative pursuits today too, it will do you good! 

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Watercolor Backgrounds: Tips and Techniques


No matter your crafting style, a great watercolor background is often the best foundation for cardmaking, art journals, bible journals, or scrapbook layouts.  Watercolor can be brilliant and bold, or subtle. 
All too often, I hear students say they're afraid to try their hand at watercolor washes and backgrounds.



I put together a live video today, with a few tips and techniques that will take some mystery out of watercolor backgrounds. 
You'll be surprised because I used some mediums that you typically would not think of using for watercolor backgrounds.  I used Color Burst, Color Burst Ink Pads, Liquid Watercolors and Color Burst Ink from a refill bottle.

You'll have to watch, the results are beautiful and easy to replicate over and over. 


Thank you for joining me today!  I hope you're inspired to create a few watercolor backgrounds for your next crafting project. 


Thursday, June 29, 2017

Poured Paint Technique


Hi everybody, I've been wanting to try a poured paint project for a while now.  So, this afternoon, at the end of the day, I found myself a little time to mix up the paints and try it out.

The trick with this technique is to mix a few different colors of paint, so that they have varying thickness or viscosity.  

I mixed Color Burst and Liquid Metals with my White Acrylic Medium and Clear Sealer.  I used Turquoise, Lemon Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Olive Green, Yellow Gold, and Metallic Jade. 




The next little trick is to pour the mediums that you've just created into a cup or vessel to pour from, without mixing them together.  I used a paper coffee cup from my last visit to the coffee shop.



I created a little pour station outside with a box lid, and some small plastic cups to hold my surface above my pour tray.


With my surface in place, I was ready to pour.  





I really liked pouring paint.  Now, to let it dry to see how it turns out.  Some of the areas are really thick with paint, so I think I'll have to wait til tomorrow to see the end result.



For now, this was a great little diversion, that let me try a new technique and practice a little non representational abstract expression with paint.

Til next time, Ken







Thursday, March 2, 2017

March is National Craft Month!


Hi everybody, March is National Craft Month, and I'm kicking off a month long crafting series on Facebook Live!


Like my Facebook page, Ken Oliver Crafts to  stay up to date with new products, new projects, and new techniques, all month long! 

Watch yesterday's video to find out how you can win a set of brand new Color Burst!



I'll announce the winner later today, so make sure to check with me on Facebook...and click to get my LIVE notifications, because, I'll be adding new videos all month long.  
There will be more prizes for sure! 
Til next time,
Ken

Friday, November 18, 2016

Pop Up Color Burst Galaxy Card Class at My Studio


I am so excited about my new studio space, I decided, that I'd open up the door and invite a few friends inside to make a few cards with Color Burst! It's the first time I've ever offered a "pop up" workshop.  



The "pop up" class I'll offer is a Galaxy Card class with Color Burst.  Galaxy backgrounds are so popular now and so easy to create with Color Burst.  I'll have everything needed to create 6, 5x7 cards!  And, I'll have plenty of sentiment dies, in case you'd like to make Christmas cards or cards for other occasions. 

If you're local or nearby and you see this...sign up now.  My studio space is small...I can only seat 6 at a time.  



I am really happy to be able to offer classes locally now!  Watch my blog and Facebook pages, because I'll most likely offer a few more "pop up" classes between now and the end of the year! 



You can sign up by clicking the button below: 

Color Burst Galaxy Card Class

Price$30.00

6 5x7 Cards and Envelopes


December 2, 2016

10:00am-12:00pm
Location: 7 State Street A, Newburgh, IN 47630

2 hours

Supplies Included: Color Burst, Stick It, Maya Road Dies, Ken Oliver Water Media Paper, Ken Oliver Spritz Bottle, Sharpie White Acrylic Paint Marker

***Registration is now closed***

 

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Color Burst Technique: Weathered Wood

Hi everybody, I hope you're having a beautiful day...it's a beautiful, crisp, fall afternoon where I live, it couldn't be more perfect.
Recently, I posted a video on Facebook live and I wanted to follow up today with a few clearer photos of the technique that I showed in the video. The technique is "faux weathered wood" with Color Burst.  It's a great watercolor technique that instantly make you look like an accomplished water colorist.   


This technique lets you create texture with watercolor.


And, it could not be easier.



All you need is some watercolor paper, Color Burst ( I used Burnt Umber, Cerulean Blue, and Lamp Black) and a fan brush! 



A fan brush will let you create lines and streaky textures with Color Burst.




 If you'd like to see how I did it, watch this video, I give step-by-step instructions and show you how to paint woodgrain with Color Burst and a fan brush.
Watch here....


                             

The contest is over, and the winners have been chosen,  but I thought you might enjoy learning the technique.

To finish these cards, I added a tiny water colored die cut leaf to the envelope. It looks pretty cool.  



Here's a list of the products I used to create these cards:
Color Burst, Rich Moroccan Shades
Ken Oliver Crafts Water Media Stitched Cards
Maya Road Dies
Stick It Adhesive
Best Ever Craft Mat
Robert Simmons White Sable Fan Blender Brush



Thank you for visiting my blog today and for watching my video!  I hope you'll try this technique, once you master it...your friends will think you're a watercolor expert! I'm thinking that this background would look great with a die cut Christmas wreath on it too! 

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Reverse Glass Painting with a Color Burst Background



Hey everybody, I am a collector of old stuff...so, you can't imagine how happy I was when I found reverse glass painting in an antique store the other day.  Reverse glass painting has been around since the middle ages in one form or another. This piece is a vintage piece from the 30's or 40's and based on the subject matter, may have been created by a local artist.


I really loved the image...it's like so many images I photograph while walking on the river near my home.


And, although the "crinkled" aluminum foil background is typical for pieces created during the 30s and 40s, I felt like it needed something more.  I really wanted to see this piece with a magnificent sunset behind it.


I really love that silhouette image, I see it quite often when I'm walking near the river.

 

 

So I decided that it would be great to use Color Burst to create a wonderful, watercolor background that would capture some of the beauty of our sunsets.

First, I removed the tiny nails from the frame that held the foil background in place.


Then carefully removed the backing and the foil back ground.  I discovered that this was a "at home" DIY piece...the mat board on the reverse side was actually a phone book cover.


Here's close up of the foil once the piece had been deconstructed.  There were a couple different kinds of foil, and it looks like they had some color, but the color has faded away over the years.


The next thing I needed to do was to create a Color Burst color palette that would, approximate the colorful sunsets I see outside my front door nearly every day.



 I chose, Cerulean Blue Ultramarine Blue, Lemon Yellow, Gamboge, Orange, and Merlot.  That's a lot of color for an 8x10 background...but I wanted it to be very colorful!


So I created a loose, "washy" background with lots of color.  I didn't really try to catch any detail on this background.  The details are in the painted glass that overlays this background so you can be messy.  


When I reassembled this piece with it's new Color Burst background...I loved it even more. The sunset is so glowy!


If you like this project, make sure to check back in a couple days...I recreated a similar vintage reverse glass painting with a frame from a resale shop, stencils, and Color Burst. 

Til next time,