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! 

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***

 

I'm Growing and Opening a New Studio!

 I had no idea what to expect when I moved back to Indiana about 2 years ago...I knew I'd do something, I just wasn't exactly sure what it would be.  Having left the comfort of a corporate job...it would be a new chapter and a new beginning. 

 

When I moved back, I found the ideal location to live and work.  I live in a historic building in Newburgh, Indiana, on the banks of the Ohio River.  It's perfect...my town has quite a few antique stores, a few artists, a few galleries, great restaurants, friendly people and amazing water views every day of the year! It's really an incredible set up! I have loved every minute of it and not once regretted "ditching" my corporate job and moving back to "small town" America.   

Yet, at the same time, I am outgrowing my present space!  There are times when I need to have help kitting for classes...my current studio is on the 3rd floor, so it's not exactly conducive for moving boxes and boxes of art and craft supplies...and there's not a lot of room for additional people to help me do my business...and, routinely, I get requests to stop by my studio for a visit.  I've had guests from all over the USA, from New Zealand, and this year the Director of the Indiana Board of Tourism even paid a visit to my humble little studio.  

So, when the office space, on the first floor of my building became available...I jumped on it! And, I am so excited about what that's going to mean for me and my business...I'll be able to do a lot of things that I've only dreamed about until now.
 

It's my plan to develop a working studio where I can host gallery nights and pop up exhibits.  There are so many wonderful local artists whose work needs to be seen. I am planning to work with The SW Indiana Council of the Arts to make this happen!
My new space will also allow me to develop a space to create videos and more online content.  I could not be happier about everything my new space will allow me to do! It's not my intention to be a retail store, with regular hours...at all. I'm a hippy artist and keeping a regular schedule ain't my bag these days. Instead...it's my goal to create a maker space that will allow me to expand on the things I'm already doing...and I think it's gonna be pretty dang cool.

It's all really new, and happening really fast...I get the space around the first of November...and I can't wait to get started.     

 Make sure that you're following me on Facebook at Ken Oliver Crafts to see more of how the plans come together!

Family Business and Gratitude

“I sew a little prayer and a little good wish into every card I make," is what my mom said when I picked up a bunch of watercolor cards yesterday that she’d just sewn for me. And, that, just kind of blew me away, because I know it's true.

   

 As a "solo-preneur" I never know how things are gonna get done and I am really grateful that I can rely on my family for some of the day-to-day tasks that I need to accomplish. No kidding, I've actually asked my dad to help me kit and sort scrapbook paper. 

Lately, my mom has been helping with sewing watercolor card fronts together. And I could not be more grateful to her for help. I just love this image of her hands sewing (can you see the love?)...she's been a seamstress all her life, her work is amazing.  She's sewn window treatments, draperies, and accessories for homes all over the United States and been included in publications and house tours for over 40 years. And even to this day, designers and folks who worked with my mom in the past, tell me they always loved working with her, loved her designs, and often tried to figure out how she created some of her wonderful projects. 

So, I would have never imagined while I was in college, or busy working at my corporate jobs, that at some time in the future, I'd have the opportunity to work directly with my parents, in a business, almost every day. I am grateful for their time, talent and for their years of experience in running their own businesses. Most people don't get this opportunity and I am blessed daily for it, and it never would have happened had I not left the corporate world and ventured out on my own.  

The fact that these watercolor cards are even a class is also somewhat of an accident, it seems a few store owners had seen some of my Color Burst demos and suggested that a watercolor card class would be great...and it is, in this class I get to teach a number of Color Burst stamping and painting techniques, and I'm starting to get enough requests for the class that we're going to have to find a source for the cards...it's not like I can ask my mom to sew thousands of cards every week.  

 

 So until I find the source, we'll keep making the cards by hand, and each one will have a little prayer and a little wish sewn into it, and I am so happy to be able to share these cards with my students, because they really are handmade with love.  And I am so grateful that my journey has brought me home and given me the opportunity to work with my family in ways I never imagined and I could not be happier! 

Til next time, 

Ken

  

Watercolor Cards with Color Burst

This year, I've been traveling across the USA, Canada and the UK teaching workshops with a new watercolor medium called Color Burst! I am so happy that it's a product that's easy to use and that everybody  likes it.  For the most part, I've been teaching watercolor technique classes... 

So, today I wanted to take a few minutes to show you some projects using the techniques I teach in my workshops.  I've created a few handmade watercolor cards to illustrate the techniques.  These are simple cards, without a lot of embellishments or sentiments. I prefer "blank" cards, a handwritten note is much more personal.  

If you've taken a class with me, no doubt, you'll recognize some of the techniques. To get started, I whipped up some stitched card bases by sewing pieces of canvas, burlap, Kraft*Tex and watercolor paper to kraft paper cardstock. This cardbase is simple, and conveys an authentic "handmade" look.  

This first technique is easy, a stamped image, colored with Color Burst, and a simple watercolor landscape painted behind it. The landscape doesn't have to be overly complicated. It's basically a few blobs of paint blended with water. Since it's the background, it doesn't have to be perfectly in focus and overladen with details. If you've taken my workshops, you have all the "tools" to do this.     

This next technique is really dramatic...it's a watercolor resist created with Versamark ink and white embossing powder. Simply stamp, and emboss with a heat tool, then randomly wash a Color Burst (I used Indigo and Ultrmarine Blue) background over the embossed area. The water and Color Burst won't stick to the embossed stamped area. It's simple and elegant. When you give this handmade watercolor note card to someone, they will think you're an accomplished watercolor painter. 
 

I've taught this little watercolor painting about 1,000 times this summer, it's wet on wet watercolor painting.  The trick to this is making sure that your paper is wet enough to let the Color Burst blend easily, but not wet enough that the pigment bloom. Who wouldn't love to receive a tiny painting on a note card? This little painting only takes about 10 minutes to paint. It's very artsy...let the paint and the water do the blending work for you. The paint will always "find the edge" of the water.     

The next two cards could not be any easier, simply stamp an image on watercolor paper with permanent ink, then "color" with Color Burst.  Coloring for adults is so popular now, take your coloring to your cards. You'll get the same "therapeutic" benifit, and make some lovely cards in the process.  
 

For me, simple is best, don't worry about adding a lot of embellishment to this type of card.  Let the color and the stamped image stand front and center.  

I've even slipped in a Christmas card, I am not pushing the season, but it never hurts to get an early start. And, again, simple is best...I used 2 colors, Terre Verte Green and Alizarin Crimson; I used muddy water for the shadows. 
 

I hope you're inspired to create some watercolor cards...the techniques are simple and the "handmade" look is very elegant. When you give these cards to friends, they'll think you're a master watercolor painter, and you should not tell them any differently. 

Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend.  If you create some watercolor cards, I'd love to see them, post them on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest, and make sure to tag @kenolivercrafts so I'll see them. 

until next time,

Ken

It's Less Than 2 Weeks Until Art at the Edge...

With less than 2 weeks until the first Art at the Edge, preparations for the event are in full swing at Ken Oliver Crafts LLC!  (that is code for "panic mode").

Last night, I started preparing class kits...and I just stepped back for a minute and thought, WOW! This event is gonna rock!

The supplies and materials have been ordered, paid for, shipped and received and have been sitting in my living room and studio for a few weeks...and seemed more to me like a pile of boxes that I've had to step around and move a few times...

But last night, when I started opening the shipping cartons...it all started to seem real.  Art at the Edge is going to be a really unique event...I didn't set out to produce a "grand" event...I simply wanted to invite a few friends over, to experience the quaint river-town where I live and to craft for a couple days...

and was I ever surprised...people are coming from 12 states and traveling some great distances just to attend!  Art at the Edge is turning into a world class, boutique style art event that is going to blow the minds of everyone who comes...

Realizing that money is tight for everyone...I wanted Art at the Edge to represent a great value...so I did my best to keep the cost to attend really low...but at the same time provide an excellent "retreat" experience....here's an example of the value packed in to Art at the Edge, 

This class kit is just amazing...it's loaded with lots of stuff...it represents a retail value of about $100!  

It has scrapbook paper, a paper pad, a BIG scrapbook album, flowers, ephemera, stick pins, a full bolt of lace...all from Prima Marketing's Forever Green product line.  

When I saw all this stuff laid out together...I was excited about the class!  

 In addition to all the amazing supplies, the class also has some cool paper crafting techniques like paper sculpture and incorporating paints into scrapbook layouts...again, another great value.

This is only one of the classes at Art at the Edge...there's another Altered Frame class that's just about at cool as this.

So, I spent my Friday night, with my mom and dad, packing class kits...it was a big job,

But, we got a system going, a production line, and really made a fun family night of prepping for Art at the Edge...and really the fun we had and the memories we made the work really fun.  I like working with my parents...they like to take breaks to update their Facebook statuses...

So if you're coming to Art at the Edge, here's a little list of some tools and stuff to bring:

Supplies:

Small Bottle of Aleen’s Tacky Glue

Glue Sticks

Tape Runner

Tools:

Scissors

Small Scissors for Fussy Cutting

Bone Folder

Heat Tool

Small Glue Gun

Paper Trimmer

And, bring anything else you like to have on hand when every you craft and scrapbook....if for some reason, you forget something, I'll have extra stuff on hand, no worries!

As Art at the Edge approaches, I am getting more excited every day...I'll be spending the next few days, assembling kits for the other class and prepping for ICE at the Edge...and hopefully everything will get done...I am meeting with the event planner at The Edgewater Grill later today to finalize the meal selections...this is gonna be fun!  

  

And, if I am lucky, between now and October 24th-25th...I'll find a little time to relax and clean up my house...I'm planning to have an "open house" at my studio and home during the event...

It's gonna be fun! 

Scrapbook Generation: Celebrating 10 Years of Memory Making

Congratulations to Scrapbook Generation!  They're celebrating 10 years of making and preserving memories...and I got to go to the party!  It had been a few years since I'd been there...They've moved into a new...bigger location.  It was really fun to see everyone again and to learn more about what they've been up to since the last time I was there. 

 

Scrapbook Generation is really a family business...almost on a whim, sisters Karin Rush and Debbie Rush Sanders decided to leave their teaching careers behind and started living their dream of opening a scrapbook store together.  And soon, Debbie's daughters Allison Davis and Stacey Atchley were in on the action too.   

And, everything about Scrapbook Generation feels like home and family...it's warm, inviting, friendly and fun!  

Over the years, Scrapbook Generation has really turned into a publishing powerhouse!  In 2014 they launched a free monthly online magazine called Scrapbook Generation Create...as I recall, Debbie taught journalism and told me that it just made sense to apply her skills with writing, editing, and publishing to use...this publication is amazing!  Each issue is over 200 pages FULL of inspiration...there's lots of tips and tricks, challenges, and sketches that will inspire you to create beautiful layouts...like a pro!  It's online, it's free, click on the link below to download your free copy...Their circulation is growing by leaps and bounds, and most of the major paper companies support and sponsor their publication...it's unbelievably wonderful! 

Click Here for your Free Download

And, there's another amazing part of the business that you will want to learn about...Scrapbook Generation creates and ships the most amazing kits you'll ever see...kits, that follow beautiful layout sketches developed by each member of the SG team!  

Their kits are simply wonderful!  And, they ship all over the world.  

Find their amazing kit club here

And, they also publish the coolest sketch books of page layouts!  Honestly the layout sketches are so well laid out and so beautiful...you will be instantly inspired to create!  

Take the guesswork out of your layouts with Scrapbook Generation's amazing Sketch Books

I really loved getting to go back to Scrapbook Generation to see Karin, Debbie, Stacey and Allison...and loved getting to teach a couple classes while I was there...teaching in the store again was like a crafty reunion...

It's always so nice to reconnect with friends at SG!  Herewith Kristi Parker Van Doren. We had a few laughs.  

And really nice to see the pictures on the wall from the last time I got to visit...

Debbie, Karin, Stacey and Allison have developed and fostered a real creative community that stretches from Springfield Missouri to all corners of the world... 

They provide products and inspiration every day for crafters, cardmakers and scrapbookers around the world!  

Thank you again, Debbie, Karin, Allison and Stacey for a wonderful weekend at Scrapbook Generation...and congratulations on 10 wonderful years of helping us preserve our memories!

As I drove away the other day...I thought to myself...I can't wait to come back here...!