a creative mint

Color Me Pretty Time

Hello Friends, I have another Color Me Pretty post up on decor8 that you may enjoy. I will post all the images back here for you next week. Enjoy your weekend. xoleslie 

I'm Teaching Again

Hello Friends,    

I just wanted you to know that I am co-teaching the Blogging Your Way E-course again with Holly Becker of decor8. If you can swing it, I must say that this course is pretty amazing. You meet lots of fellow bloggers, learn tons of information and get really inspired. I took it a little over a year ago when Holly taught the course by herself and I loved it. I feel honored to now be a part of Blogging Your Way and I will try to share what I know about photography and styling during the course. The course runs during this September and you can register here. 

See you back here soon, xoleslie

p.s. The little bird card in the second image is by Hadley Hutton.

Neon Pink

Hello Friends,           

I wanted to share with you the photographs from my Color Me Pretty column last week. This time around I wanted to work with silvers, grey tones, black, white and small dabs of neon pink. When using such strong colors, like any of the neon shades, less is more. Little gestures of these powerful colors surrounded by calming neutrals is what brings neon from the eighties into a more current, fresh look for summer projects. 

I had fun using some silver leaf paint I bought at Michael's to easily transform an old frame into a mood board. After the paint dried I wrapped a piece of foam core with linen fabric and popped it into the frame with some tape. I tried other acrylic silver paints on test pieces and the effect was no where near as nice as the silver leaf paint. You just need to use it in a well ventilated area. 

I realize I did not do my stenciling quite right! However, I had so much fun with my Ed Roth and Lotta Jansdotter stencils! My stencils turned out quite messy but you will have much better results with proper stencil paint and brushes. Stenciling is a fast and effective way to add patterns to anything your heart desires. I loved making cards and my little canvases that I stacked on the shelves of my studio. 

I always take photos of handwritten menus when I travel. I love studying them. Sounds strange, I know. I also search second hand stores and stalls at the flea market for pieces of paper with handwriting on them. Even if the text is written in another language, I love seeing the ink on paper.

I hope you have found some ideas or a little inspiration for a creative summer project or two. I will see you back here soon.

xoleslie