Cathy Michaels Design by Cathy Bluteau

A few of my favorite things

Some of my favorite things (purchases!) these days:

Have you seen dottie angel's new book.  This is such a treat ....

 

It is part story book

  

part creativity and inspiration

 

and you can purchase it here at Uppercase - a great source in itself

Some other favorites these days ....

 

my favorite notepad - available in Quebec at Renaud Bray

 

My favorite pen - one end fine tip marker - other end - glue stick! available at most arts and craft stores now - by SMASH

 

my favorite grubby tags - from the shop at stampington

So if you are not creating this weekend - you can go shop!!

Have a great weekend

Cathy

More on Shimmerz

 

 

Hi everyone, today I am over at the Shimmerz Blog where they asked me to join their education team!!!  I was flattered - The "ed" team as they call it provides videos on how to use shimmerz paints. So today I posted my very first video as part of the team.

It is a very basic video but let me tell you why I started this way.  A lot of people asked me during Journal with Me Videos how I create my backgrounds - then I tell them I use Shimmerz.  So then they go off and try the shimmerz and they write back and so - I tried the shimmerz but my backgrounds don't look like yours  : )  So I realized that to me what may be obvious is really not that obvious and so ... in this video I show the very basic technique of spraying the shimmerz and then how I blend the colors.

So go over to the Shimmerz blog or see below for the video - let me know if this helps okay!

 

My picture collage book

 At the risk of being overzealous (and boring you) I am reposting about new book on blurb.

I finally got a second copy in the mail of my new Picture Collage Book so I wanted to share the "real thing" with you here.  As I mentioned on the weekend, you can preview inside pages and purchase by clicking on the Blurb badge below!

 

 

My Picture Col...

(pages from my jour...

By cathy bluteau

Book Preview

Have a good Monday Cathy

BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

I plan to spend a busy weekend cleaning up my studio so I can get back to "making" things.  I'm excited to start again on collaged tins since I purchased a bunch at a wholesale store and I am excited to continue working on my self published books. 

I think in another life I would have loved to be a graphic designer and work on layouts of books.  I'm now working on a journal that I think will be really fun.  It will have lots of blank pages for you to write things down -  pages like - books to read, and things to remember and just idle drawing.  I am having so much fun creating it but my perfectionism means that it is taking way to long to complete - but it is coming soon.

I usually don't post on the weekends but I couldn't wait to show you one of my new books.  It is a collection of some of my collage journals pages.  I call it "My Collage Picture book" (or pages from my hournals)  and it is meant to inspire and get you journaling too.

You can actually take a look at the inside pages just below to see what it looks like:

 

 

My Picture Col...

(pages from my jour...

By cathy bluteau

Book Preview

Isn't the badge fun - you can click on it for a preview of some of the inside pages.  

Once on the preview pages I think there is a little Buy/Cart button so you can purchase it if you would like a copy.

BTW I made it available in both soft and hard cover because of the pricing. But I have to say - if you want it to ly flat you really need to go with the hardcover. Although it's a nice little size (6 x 6) I found that the soft cover doesn't ly flat when open. (I tried out both of them myself). It's up to you but I was thinking if you want to use it while you are journaling to get ideas you may want it to ly flat. Anyways I hope you like it and do give me feedback/suggestions/inquiries on it okay

Good, creative  weekend all!! Cathy

Friday Flickr Fav & Mingle!

 A Friday Flickr fav of journal pages galore + I wanted to give you a heads up for my Mingle Giveaway.

Mingle is a new publication from Somerset - you know the publishers of Somerset LIfe, Art Journaling, Artful Blogging etc. etc.  Well they asked if I would be interested in reviewing it - Interested I said - of course.  So as part of their campaign they will be sending me a free copy of the new issue to offer as a giveaway!!! Yeah - I will let you know when I get it and we'll plan a giveaway okay?

So in the meantime here are some wonderful journal pages!

 

 

1. Being happy, 2. mannequin, 3. Journal Fodder Junkies Challenge "Come Out And Play", 4. Nicci Battilana by Jeni Stafford , 5. dirk the dog strikes again!, 6. photo(18), 7. Art Journal January 2009, 8. P1010527, 9. Inspired by She Art, 10. Progression in this journals, 11. Journaling again, 12. WIP New Journal

 Have a good weekend all

Cathy

 

Here's the thing...

Here's the thing... once I start on something I just can't stop!!!   So I wanted to show you more of the kits that I made - this even isn't all of them but a few more I wanted to show you.

They are now all in the shop!!  I had trouble with etsy yesterday so I couldn't get them all in but they are all there now!

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 Aren't they fun!  - go check out moe again over here
 
 
Cathy

More kits in the shop!

 

Okay now I am becoming "kit obsessed".  These have been flying out of my shop and so for those of you still asking for them I have created more mini kits to go along with my Journal with Me II online video.  Here is a preview:

 

 

 

 

I love making these kits for you - they really test how creative I can be and how many ways I can package and make nice color combinations!!

Here are just a few to give you an idea of what's in the shop!!!

 

 

Pink and green - always a great combo for me!

 

This one is clean and fresh; I love the "live long" ribbon!

 

What can I say - I am always tickled by pink!

 

Birds are good too!

 

And back to pink - check out the pink "spool" button on the left - had trouble giving these up!!

 

Well you get the idea - go and enjoy, there's more over here

Have a good creative day.

 

Cathy

Winner of the Giveaway and Guest interview

Good Monday Morning!!!

So two things this morning:

1- Today I am being interviewed over here at Claudia's Blog- go check it out and see how I answered some of her more personal questions!!!

2- Second and very important - the winner of my BLOG GIVEAWAY is (ta dum ta dum ta dum-drumroll...)

MELANIE 

who's never done before list is:
"Get a massage, take a walk everyday to exercise and try a new recipe that I have clipped from a magazine (I have lots of them!) Now the thing that I never have done that I have always wanted to do is go to Montana"

 

YAAAAAAAYYYY MELANIE - Hope you are buying your ticket for Montana this year!!! Please send me your address (though I think I have it LOLOLOL) and I will send you your gift!

Have a great Monday all - I'll be back this week with more mini kits to go along with my Journal with ME II online course and some new journal pages!!!

 

Cathy

Friday Freebie

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY MONDAY GIVEAWAY.  SEE ALL INFOTO PLAY  HERE!!!

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

 

Hi there on this end of the week Friday.  For today - I prepared a "freebie" for you - yes a Friday Freebie.

Use below as a desktop background.  If you haven't done this before it's simple.  Here are the steps:

 

1. Go to this link to save the desktop background file below or simply do a SAVE AS by clicking on the picture above.  (You may have to copy and paste the link into your browser)

https://download.yousendit.com/T2dmTGsxUnJHa09ybHNUQw 

2- GO to Control Panel (if you are on WIndows)

3- Click on APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION/Change Desktop background

4- Select ScreenSaver2.jpg

5- For Picture Position (bottom left hand corner) select STRETCH

6- Save and there you go - you will have a pretty  new desktop background

 

ENJOY!!!

 

Cathy

 

Friday Freebie

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY MONDAY GIVEAWAY.  SEE ALL INFOTO PLAY  HERE!!!

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

 

Hi there on this end of the week Friday.  For today - I prepared a "freebie" for you - yes a Friday Freebie.

Use below as a desktop background.  If you haven't done this before it's simple.  Here are the steps:

 

1. Go to this link to save the desktop background file below or simply do a SAVE AS by clicking on the picture above.  (You may have to copy and paste the link into your browser)

https://download.yousendit.com/T2dmTGsxUnJHa09ybHNUQw 

2- GO to Control Panel (if you are on WIndows)

3- Click on APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION/Change Desktop background

4- Select ScreenSaver2.jpg

5- For Picture Position (bottom left hand corner) select STRETCH

6- Save and there you go - you will have a pretty  new desktop background

 

ENJOY!!!

 

Cathy

 

Losing my rhythm

I have been so busy with videos and kits and lots of other fun stuff but this means that I have kind of lost my journaling rythm.  I promised myself I would create every day and having journals going that I can just do while watching tv at night or just about anywhere is the best way for me to ensure that happens.  I have lost sight of that lately with everything going on - but - alas, this past weekend I did get the rythm back.

Remember these from this post.  I promised to show you the progression so here are a few:

 

Started like this:

 

This is a great exercise - I am what??  Here is what I came up with:

 

And the there was this:

 

Which "motivated" me to do this:

 

What motivates you?

I then did a few more pages - is that me?  Me with long hair??  LOLOLOL  I think not!

 

 

I love my journals - they keep me sane - they keep me creative.  If you haven't already - start journaling NOW

Have a good, creative  Wednesday

Cathy

MONDAY GIVEAWAY

As promised, it’s a Monday Giveaway over here and I promised you something really fun.

First let\s start with the incentive ... the giveaway.  I decided that I would love one of you to have one of my bracelets that I made this past summer and so this will be the giveaway.

 

 

 

Here are the rules of the game ...

 

    - The giveaway will start today and end next Monday the 19th

    - You will have 1 week to post your comments to enter the giveaway

    - A panel of juried members (my family ; ) will pick the winner!!

 

So here it is.  I have had, for oh I don’t know about 10 years now a little challenge I set for myself to make sure I am always growing and now I want to share this with you so that you can do it to.

 

The premise is that you make a list for yourself:

a) - every month you do something that you don’t normally do

b ) - every 3 months you do something that you have never done before!

 

So for example, the first challenge can be as simple as “go for a pedicure”, “go to the local library”, “tell your husband you love him” – whatever, just something that you do not do as a habit, or is not a part of your regular routine

 

The second part of the challenge is what really helps you grow.  You know that list you have of all the things you want to do – but never do – that’s what the 3 month challenge is.

 

So these are bigger things (not necessarily expensive) that you really never never do but always wanted to.  These can be anything from “go to a movie by yourself”, go to New York, San Fran [your preferred city here], go skydiving – whatever it is!

 

So for the giveaway I want you to think about this and send me your first 3 months – so you need to include what your  (3) “do something you don’t normally do” for 3 months, and then send me your one of your "something you've never done before"

 

This is really a great exercise so I want you to get involved in this for yourself.  Make a whole list of "I want to, or I always wanted to, or If I could I would ..." and then sort them by never done or once in a while done and you'll come up with your list.

 

Think it over ... send me via comments to this post and next Monday I will let you know who the winner is.

 

Have fun with this - be good to yourself - take the time to do it.

 

 

ps. new mini kits are in my shop as promised

pss.  let me know how you like the new format of my blog

Cathy

Fridays, weekends, and monday giveaways!

Hey everyone!  I am psyched!  We are going to get motivated and inspired and have some fun together.

 

Lots of new things coming up.  I know I told you that I had a new blog design coming up but I would rather get it right than just put it up quickly so it’s a hold on that.

 

With fall coming we will have a lot more time to spend together so I want to keep it interesting for you. 

 

Here are some of the things I hope my blog will offer this fall:

 

Wooohoooooooooooo

 

So, let start with what's coming up on Monday - a giveaway but you will have to be prepared to answer some tough questions in order to be considered for the giveaway. 

 

It's going to be a good way so stay tune.

 

Have a great great weekend.  Don't forget about the  new video

in case you are looking for something to do this weekend

 

Have a good one

xxxx

Cathy

Mini Kits & Shimmerz Updates!

Hi there, just a quick note today to let you know that the little mini kits which I prepared to go along with my new Journal WIth Me II - New Journaling Techniques over at Creative Workshops are completely SOLD OUT!!!

But not to worry.  I will try and get more of these in my shop as quickly as possible.  There are still some of the Larger Kits in my shop so you could use those as an alternative!  I hope to have new ones in by the weekend.

The other news that I wanted to tell you is that Shimmerz is having a special promo on right now so you might want to check that out!

 
Over at Shimmerz they will pay for the shipping so you can just pay for your products!!! I just ordered a whole bunch of new colors - yipeeee - wonderful journal page backgrounds coming up!!!

Have a good Wednesday all

Cathy

 

 

What's New in September!

What’s new you ask?

 

Well, lots of things coming up in the month of September that I wanted to tell you about:

 

Crescendoh - Guest Curator - Art Saves

I was invited be a guest curator over at Crescendoh the week of September 5th.  Crescendoh is a  beautiful site wether you are artistic or not.    It is packed with all kinds of great information and ideas.

The guest curator section is a monthly feature on Jenny Doh’s blog where she invites artists to tell their “Art Saves” story.  The guidelines are left open and  the actual story can be short or long - the artists can choose to share whichever information they wish regarding art in their lives. 

I chose to tell a very personal story about how art helped me at a difficult time in my life following a divorce.   This was a great opportunity for me to open up a little and tell a story  that I hope inspires everyone. 

My story will run the week of September 5th  for 1 week.  Do let me know how you like it - I am waiting for your feedback.

  

A New Online Class - Journal with Me II -  New Journaling Techniques

The other news for September is that my newest Online Journaling class called Journal with Me II - New Journaling Techniques also starts September 5th -  coincidentally (or not ; ) 

For those of you who took my first Journal with Me Course this is a follow up to show more details on some techniques that you can use over and over again.  You don't need to have taken the first one to enjoy this one though.  

The course is over at Creative Workshops site so if you haven’t already checked it out you may want to do so!  You can register for the course there and then you run it whenver you want at your own pace.

For this course I also prepared some little mini kits to go right along with the course.  The kits contain scraps of paper, some square cut-outs to go with one of the techniques I show and each also contains one metal finding that you can use for the cover of your journal.  I made them in all different papers and bits so that you can choose the one that inspires you the most.  You can check the kits out over here in my shop.

Finally I am re-designing my blog a little to try and clean it up and make it easier for you to get to what you want more easily.  I was going to launch it today with the above news but I was worried that not all the links etc. would work and I so wanted you to be able to get to the links I mention above.  I'll launch the new design later this week.  I would love love your feedback on that too.

So September looks like a good month.  I look forward to sharing it all with you.

Cathy

From my heart to yours

from my heart to yours...

 

 
Happy weekend all ...

 

Cathy