Seth Apter's Blog, page 39

Wish Upon a Star

I absolutely love this journal spread created by Yana Smakula using by Robo Star dies from Spellbinders. 


She created a video showing her process from start to finish.



You can read more about the journal and products used here.

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Using the same set of star dies, along with many other, Linda Lucas created a sensational mixed media journal as her contribution to a blog hop.





See how she created it here - and clock on the links in her post to the other artists participating in the hop too.

Book of Dreams

I am constantly seeing cool notebooks in every design imaginable and if I were to buy every one that caught my eye, I would probably fill my home. Most of the ones I do buy sit on a shelf untouched. These days, when I actually need a notebook, I buy a simple and inexpensive one and create my own cover. They are more fun and more likely to actually be used.

Book of Dreams is one example

Bella Crafts Quarterly, a free eMagazine, is featuring a step-by-step tutorial showing how I made this book cover. Check out the issue, and have a look at all their past issues as well, on their website.

The Week Links: 106

Join me every Sunday when I share some of my favorite links I discovered in the previous week. Earlier posts in the series can be found here.

And here is Week 106...


1. Always excited when I come across a piece on any member of the endlessly talented Larsen family. Check out Atelier St. George on Remodelista.


2. All. By. Hand. Fascinating process by Pernille Snedker Hansen's who marbles every slat by hand.


3. Mesmerized by this moss book from Bridgette Guerzon Mills.


4. Found a site dedicated to rust painting. Thanks to Donna Joy for the tip.


5. Lucia Litman matches food to Pantone colors - first seen on Creative Boom.


6. These are miniatures! The incredible work of Nix + Berger as seen on Trendland.


7. Roxanne Coble takes us behind the scenes at the filming of the new PBS show Make it Artsy , premiering September 29.

Summer School

Pack you bags and come to camp. Art camp. The following is an update to my workshop schedule for  summer 2016...
JUNE
Kept Creations - Whitman, Massachusetts Brick by Brick - June 25Registration Open
Kept Creations - Whitman, Massachusetts Dimensional Stenciling - June 26Workshop Full
JULY
Art is You Australian Mixed Media Roadshow Perth - July 13-17Sydney - July 20-24Noosa - July 27-31Registration Open
AUGUST
Belmar Arts Center - Belmar, New Jersey Photo Op - August 5Registration Open
Belmar Arts Center - Belmar, New Jersey Brick by Brick - August 6Registration Open
The Queen's Ink - Savage, Maryland?????????Mystery Class - August 12Registration Open
The Queen's Ink - Savage, Maryland 50 Ways to Leave Your Layer - August 13Registration Open
The Queen's Ink - Savage, Maryland A Book of Moments - August 14Registration Open
Papercraft Clubhouse - Westbrook, Connecticut Mixed Media Mashup - August 20Registration Open
Papercraft Clubhouse - Westbrook, Connecticut Collage Camp - August 21Registration Open
Read about all my 2016 workshops and some special ones for 2017 on my workshop page.

4 New Video Workshops

I am thrilled to announce that my 4 new workshop videos from North Light Media are now available as either immediate downloads or DVDs.

Card Play: Mixed-Media Techniques for Small Works of Art based on my 52 Card Pickup live workshop
Interweave online shop: immediate download or DVDmy online shop: DVD
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Seth Apter's Top 10 Collage Principles based on my Collage Camp live workshop
Interweave online shop: immediate download or DVDmy online shop: DVD
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 Photo Play: Techniques for Altering Photos with Paint and Ink based on my Photo Op live workshop
Interweave online shop: immediate download or DVDmy online shop: DVD
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The Altered Book: 10 Mixed-Media Techniques  based on my For Your Eyes Only live workshop
Interweave online shop: immediate download or DVDmy online shop: DVD
Happy viewing!

The Pulse 2016: Week 4

 Welcome to the 6th edition of The Pulse - a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, further your own artistic expression, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. Stay tuned for a new post every Wednesday and see all previous posts in the series here.
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What is the one technique or tool that you cannot live without?
Patti Roberts-Pizzuto I don't know where I'd be without my beeswax. I keep it in an electric skillet and just heat it on a very low temperature to melt the wax. I work on a small scale so it is juts the right size to dip my drawings on Japanese paper in the wax... total visual and tactile transformation.
Robyn Wood As a long term rubber stamper my absolute must have products are stamps. They are so versatile, creating any type of mood or image is possible and the types of techniques that can be done with them are almost endless. Stamps never wear out or break and don't (usually) disintegrate over time. Stamps are also a technique with a large variety of applications - mixed media, scrapbooking, off-the-page, art journaling, book making and greeting cards can all be enhanced by stamping techniques.
Judi Kauffman My all-time favorite and most often used tool is the Scor-It Board. Originally designed )and built neat a time) by Tim Hammonds, who worked in the printing industry, it was eventually manufactured by Zutter Innovative Products and is, sadly, no longer in production. The lines that are scored produced a "hinged" score - a raised ridge that is the inside of the fold. The lines can be used for decorative embossing and debossing too. 
Jo Murray
The one tool I cannot do without is my computer. It not only provides inspiration, as I can look at art from around the globe, but is a tool I use frequently to improve my art practice, via online workshops and tutorials. Photo-editing programs enable me to alter my photos to give me a starting point for paintings. A frequent painting theme is ariel views. I take images from Google Earth and alter them in Photoshop until I find a representation of the subject that appeals to me.
Cecile Graven The technique I can not do without is dry-brushing.
Amber Kinsey My absolute favorite thing to use is an old debit/credit/gift card. It is so easy and quick to spread paint around with it. It's great if you want a thin smear of paint or a thick layer, and it doubles as a mark maker to give you texture. I like how with a card I can lay down numerous thin layers in my journal and it doesn't require a lot of paint. And it dries fairly quickly so I can just keep adding.

New DVD 4: The Altered Book

Based on my For Your Eyes Only live workshop, The Altered Book: 10 Mixed-Media Techniques contains 95-minutes of instruction on all things book making.
You will learn to make a handmade book from scratch using repurposed book covers and paper. This is a no-sew binding that allows you to bind single sheets into what appears to be a traditional bound book. You will see how to make a binding bar that is the basis for the book and create multiple interactive pages with doors, windows, flaps, and more. I will demonstrate a paper quilting technique to add a dynamic and complex background to your pages and also talk about using dimensional objects to embellish your cover. This class is suitable for both beginning and more seasoned book artists.
Here is a preview...


This is available now as an immediate download or you can preorder the DVD at the Interweave online shop. It will soon be available via my website shop, through other online shops, and at a store near you.

And check out this (very) short preview of all 4 of my new DVDs

New DVD 3: Photo Play

Based on my Photo Op live workshop, Photo Play: Techniques for Altering Photos with Paint and Ink, this video is filled with 91 minutes of artful techniques.
Take your photos out of your phone and take them to a new level. This workshop introduces a series of subtractive techniques to prepare the surface of you photographs and add texture and pattern to the images. This is followed by demonstrations of additive techniques, where we hand-color our photos using watercolor paints, dye inks, and water-based pens and markers. The focus then shifts to integrating these photos into your art. After an introduction in how to create and alter die cuts, we put it all together by creating a dimensional and layered journal page where your photo is the star.
Here is a preview...


This is available now as an immediate download or you can preorder the DVD at the Interweave online shop. It will soon be available via my website shop, through other online shops, and at a store near you.

And check out this (very) short preview of all 4 of my new DVDs

New DVD 2: Top 10 Collage Principles

Based on my Collage Camp live workshop, Seth Apter's Top 10 Collage Principles, this video is 119 minutes long and filled with ideas and techniques for your collage and other mixed-media work.
In this workshop I share 10 principles to bring your collage to the next level and help you move forward if you feel stuck while creating. We start by creating a reference manual complete with 10 mini-collages, each of which demonstrates one of the core principles. Next you will learn a fun, layered painting technique to create unique background for your collage. All the steps are put together as we then create a collage together and review finishing touches to further enhance your artwork.
Here is a preview...

This is available now as an immediate download or you can preorder the DVD at the Interweave online shop. It will soon be available via my website shop, through other online shops, and at a store near you.

And check out this (very) short preview of all 4 of my new DVDs

New DVD 1: Card Play

Based on my 52 Card Pickup live workshop, Card Play: Mixed-Media Techniques for Small Works of Art is 96 minutes of creative fun.
In this workshop, I will demonstrate how to turn a deck of playing cards in to a year-long art journal. You will learn, step-by-step, a series of mixed-media layering techniques involving gesso, paint, ink, stamping, stenciling, collaging and more. The focus is on creating dynamic layers, loosening up, and creating without thinking. With Card Play, you will always be dealt a winning hand.
Here is a preview...

This is available now as an immediate download or you can preorder the DVD at the Interweave online shop. It will soon be available via my website shop, through other online shops, and at a store near you.

And check out this (very) short preview of all 4 of my new DVDs