Tracy Weinzapfel Studios

All Good Things Come to an End.....or do they?

Preseason football is on, back to school shopping is here and there is a cool breeze in the evenings, summer is coming to an end.  I plan on squeezing every last ray of sunshine from it as it has been a great summer.  My oldest enters high school and his elmentary school days are over. 

I am reaching the end of a great book...."One Day" and am racing to get that done before next weekend as I am going to see the movie.  Don't you hate it when you are turning the final pages of a great book?  I will miss that one for sure. Anyone else have some good reads to recommend? 

It makes you wonder if all good things do come to an end.......

A couple of months ago in May I issued a challenge, my Inspiration Challenge.  It was a place to put my favorite quotes and inspiring messages in along with a safe place to create and try new techniques.  Little did I know how much that project would mean to me and how much I would love it! 

Today I present the last page in my Inspiration Journal..........

 
MATERIALS LIST:

• Adhesives - Helmar 450 Quick Dry & Premium Craft Glue
• Mists & Glam - Tattered Angels
• Flowers - Michael's
• Buttons - Buttons Galore & More
• Simmerz

 
and here I bring to you every page in my complete journal:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

So does this end for me?  NO WAY!  I decided that this is such an easy project that I can add a page in every couple of days or so.  This album has been a place to learn, grow and love.  That does not have to end nor will I let it. So I guess I better get to designing another album.  If you care to join me I will issue this challenge again because seeing the pages that have come with this inspiration journal has been so inspiring for me!  Feel free to leave a comment or email me if you are joining in or following along.  So all good things don't have to come to an end but just change with time. It is up to us to grow with it. 

 

 "If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies." ~Author Unknown 

Painting and Playing

How I love it when the ideas are flowing and I cannot put paint to paper fast enough.  So the second to the last page in my inspiration and this journey that started in May is done. Ok, not done because are our journey's ever over. Every now and again I feel the need to just draw.  I don't consider myself much of painter but love to dabble in things.  I picked up Gouache paints at Blick Art supplies on one of my many Little Italy excursions this summer.  I really liked them and painted this in my journal......

 
MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar Textured Effects
• Paints: Reeves Gouache
• Faber-Castell Gelatos
• Ink:  Daler Rowney (white)
• Pen - Faber-Castell & Copic
• Ink:  Colorbox

 
This weekend I also took the time to empty my camera cards.  I sure have a lot of pictures that I will be sharing soon.  My family has been waiting to see them.  I am sad to see summer coming to such a rapid close.  Preseason football is here and back to school shopping has me feeling like summer has gone way to fast.  But making most of it has been the best.

On that note..........I have one more page in THIS Inspiration Journal. Stay tuned for many more to come.  AND, I have plans for my next studio class in September AND some online kits/classes swirling around in my head. Inspiration is so catchy and sharing it makes it all worth it.

 

"Don't fake it till you make it.  Be real, be transparent, be authentic and be yourself." ~Darren Hardy

Inspiration Journaling....

I have had some time away from my inspiration journal and I missed it.  So this weekend I committed myself to some creative time.  I have missed "my" time.  So I pulled out the Helmar Decoupage that I have been playing with and a few other goodies to create this page:

MATERIALS LIST:

• Adhesives: Helmar Decoupage & Craft Paste & Liquid Scrap Dots
• Punch: Marvy
• Inks: Marvy Heritage (Dark Walnut)
• Mists:  Tattered Angels
• Buttons:  Jenni Bowlin & Buttons Galore & More
• Ink:  Daler Rowney

 
So loved making this page and it was so quick and easy!

Also am happy to share some pages that you guys have emailed to me as you join me on this Inspiration Challenge:

Jean Marmos shared this "I  got creative last night and thought I’d share my page with you. I did it all using acrylic paint.":

 
and Kristen Foss shared this with me who said "I have saved a lot of affirmations that relate to success and business, just waiting to become pages in my journal.  It is my hope that I will look at this journal each day, reminding me how important this is to me  :)  This journal will also help me to overcome my fear of being "good enough.":

Thank you girls for sharing your art and YOU with me.  That means so much!  I think my favorite emails are those that spread inspiration!

Only a couple more pages to go in my Inspiration Journal and it is done but never DONE.  This is a journey and I am going to keep working on new ones.  Also thinking of my new CHALLENGE!  Who will be joining me.  Just thinking about it but who has a LIFE LIST or a bucket List?  You might want to get that out.  I have one and have had it FOREVER!

"You define your own life. Don't let other people write your script." Oprah Winfrey 

My Meaning in Art

Strange I have been thinking a lot about my art lately.  It is hard when you don't create something that someone can use, wear or it does not have interactive parts. My art is not a sculpture that stands in someones foyer....just the thought of that makes me laugh.  Can you see me creating the next David?  So what is it that I have to offer the world?  I have no creative cure for cancer. I have not solved world hunger with it.  It makes me wonder.

What my art does for me is make me happy.  It is a creative outlet to let it hang out there.  It is part of my career.  I am blessed to have blended my love for art with marketing, accounting, selling a product I know and LOVE......yep.  What my art has brought to my life is more than that. I have met the most amazing and talented people.  My days are filled with those interactions. And my art has brought a whole new side.....sharing, inspiring and stepping out of my comfort zone. 

So you may not be able to wear my art but you can do my art!  It is fun, easy and doable.  It may be just a technique that inspires you, makes you smile/laugh, a new product, etc.but I try to share a part of me in my art.  It is fun, sometimes funny, optimistic and at other times therapeutic.  I know when I feel blue I go right to the artside...instead of the darkside. 

I value all that art has brought to me and that means more than some shirt but if there is anyone out there that wants to put it on shirts you contact me.  And for those who just join me LIVE on Ustream and laugh a little, learn a technique and share my LOVE for art than that is better than some T-shirt.  But if you are interested in an anatomically correct statue for your foyer give me a call. I am getting out of my comfort zone!

Today I did just that in my inspiration journal.  I pulled out some fun new paints I bought....Lumiere by Jacquard.  I just love them. Once I started painting I realized I was working with a color pallet I am not used to.  It was out of my comfort zone but I kept with it as there is no turning back in the Inspiration Journal......

 
MATERIALS LIST:

• Adhesives: Helmar 450 Quick Dry, Fabric Stiffener & Premium Craft Glue
• Stamp - Inkadinkadoo
• Ink - Marvy Heritage Inks
• Flower - Prima
• Buttons - Buttons Galore & More
• Paint - Luminere by Jacquard
• Embossing Powder & Colorbox Pigment Ink
• India Ink  Dr Ph Martins
• Ribbon - Unknown

 
I challenge you to leave your comfort zone and find your meaning in whatever you do!  Thanks for sharing my passion with me! and to those who have taken this challenge with me...thank you!  I have more pages to share this week and love the emails. and the wonderful and supportive comments and emails remind me that is my meaning of art.

 

Today my quote is in my own words....

"When life gets you down go right to the artside...instead of the darkside.  ~Tracy Weinzapfel

Finding Balance........

I have put a real focus on having more balance in my life.  I am the worse person at balance. I have a hard time relaxing and my mind races thinking of what else I could/should be doing something.  When the kids ask me to watch a movie I start folding laundry. When I sit outside by the pool I start picking things up.  I struggle to settle my mind to stop racing and moving on to the next thing, the next idea, the dishes in the sink.  Even in the shower my mind is racing about what I have to do, marketing ideas, etc.  I have hated that about myself.  Many a friend has come over to visit and I have reorganized a desk drawer right in front of them and never even noticed.  I now kind of own it and am making a conscious effort to shut down, go outside, take a book, enjoy a glass a wine.  Sometimes it takes a mindless TV show or a hike up the mountain.  It sounds so strange to some that someone could have this issue but I kind of own it now. Or like last night it was raining and the most perfect full rainbow came out. I sat outside with a glass of wine and just relaxed. 

  
Only I can make that change and find the things I enjoy that make me pause, enjoy life and those around me, especially the kids.  So lately I have picked back up something I just love and that is reading.  Every surface of my room has books...(and trust me, that disorganization drives me nuts LOL)....

 
I also am really enjoying the creative process with my art which has always been a place I could settle myself.  And any time with the kids I discard any thoughts of laundry (ok, who are we kidding, I still think of it but don't act on it). 

And in honor of that work toward balance and living in every moment I created this page in my Daily Inspiration journal. 

 
MATERIALS LIST:

• Adhesives: Helmar Decoupage & Craft Paste & Liquid Scrap Dots
• Acrylic Paint - DecoArt & Golden
• Ink: Daler Rowney
• Stamp Ink: Marvy
• Flowers - Maya Road
• Stamps - Maya Road
• Template- The Crafter's Workshop

 
What speaks to you, slows you down, and brings you balance in your life?  Where is your rainbow?  For me, mindless TV, a good book, the kids, friends and art are just a few. And owning that having a mind that never stops has its great benefits but it also has it down sides.  So I may have the most organized drawers, I also have amazing friends who wish I would do the same thing in their houses. 

Enjoy life...........it is the only one we have.

 

 "Love yourself. Give yourself time to be with the people, places, and things you love most" ~Donna Karan

It's All About Color!

Not sure what it is but lately I am just loving color! I think I am channeling my inner 4 year old and just loving creating things...so here is my latest child-like "masterpiece" in my Daily Inspiration Journal.

MATERIALS LIST:

• Adhesives - Helmar 450 Quick Dry and Premium Craft Glue
• Watercolor Crayon
• Pen - Sakura
• Mist - Tattered Angels
• Template - The Crafter's Workshop
• Ink - Marvy Heritage Pad
• Ribbon - Offray

 
Simple but fun to create and having fun with my art is what it is all about.  No longer over-thinking it as much and just playing.  Also I am playing with some large canvases to take the techniques I love to a larger medium. 

Nearly done with this inspiration album and will teaching techniques from the pages in my next Studio Class (online and in-Studio)...stay tuned for details! 

 

 "Surround yourself with color - colorful flowers, colorful clothing, colorful people.  It can make you feel so good" ~Gayle King 

Inspiring Young Artists!

I had the pleasure of having four budding artists in my studio.... 

 
They are like sponges and watched everything I did.  Then they had free reign in my studio to create whatever they wanted.  It was amazing to be in their presence.  In fact I think I felt more creative just watching them not over-think their creations....

 

At their age they are so nice and generous to one another.  I loved just listening to them talk and talk "I love art", "Art makes me happy", "Mrs. Burgos, this is the most fun I have had in a couple of days", "That is so pretty"....My studio was bustling with four happy little artists and one very happy mom!

And I decided to create a quick page myself in my Inspiration Journal since I was feeling so inspiredl......

 

MATERIALS LIST:

• Adhesives - Helmar Decoupage & Craft Paste and 450 Quick Dry
• Acrylic Paint - Decoart & Golden
• Inks - Daler Rowney
• Stamp Pad - Stayz On
• Stamps - Unity
• Watercolor Crayon
• Charcoal Pencil 

 

It was a great time for us all! 

 

"To achieve your dreams, you must have your heart in what you're doing.  You can touch people's lives with genuine compassion.  The most power leadership is to lead by the example of your own life." ~Helen Waukazoo

I am an Artist....Inspiration Journal

Yesterday someone walked into my studio for the first time and they said...."You are an artist".  I thought for a second and said "Yep I am"...Although by the look of things I am a collector of all things art but nonetheless...I AM AN ARTIST.  Felt good to say it. 

So not every piece feels like a piece of art to me but it is reflective of how I am feeling at the time. So I completed a page in my Daily Inspiration Journal and took another stab at drawing flowers.  Not sure how I feel about it yet but loving the process so I guess that is what matters.  Plus I am using those mounds of art supplies I have collected..........

 
MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar Decoupage & Craft Paste
• Acrylic Paints - DecoArt
• Water Color Crayon - Garan D'Ache
• Charcoal Pencil
• Indian Ink: Saler Rowney
• Ink: Stayz On
• Stamp - Catslife Press

 
So not a bad way to end the week......and I have the pleasure of some young budding artists coming over to do some art in my studio.  This little artist has some peeps coming over to create......

 
 Have a GREAT holiday weekend everyone!  Happy 4th of July!

 

"Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.+ ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Happiness...Daily Inspiration Page

I seem to have a thing for butterflies. I buy lots of butterfly stamps and have been dying to use the news ones I got from Stampendous!  This quote by Thoreau worked perfectly for the latest page in my Inspiration Journal:

 
MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar Decoupage & Craft Paste and Liquid Scrap dots
• Stamps - Stampendous
• Ink - Clearsnap
• Acrylic Paint - DecoArt
• Charcoal Pencil
• Embossing Powder (white)

 
Kind of bummed to see the completion of my Daily Inspirations Journal approaching. Just a few more pages. I have so enjoyed the Challenge and love all the pages everyone has shared with me!  Already brewing up my next project and thinking about keeping this journal going and making a second one. Each of these sayings means so much to me!  Love how my art is speaking to me lately.

 

 "The most precious things of life are near at hand" ~John Burroughs 

Daily Inspiration Page...Right Where You Should Be

Gee, it has been awhile since I put out our Daily Inspiration Challenge that I started on May 4th!  it is not over.  I had originally planned on working on this in May/June and I am nearly done with it.  I already have my next project in mind to share with everyone.  But this Journey is NOT OVER and I am still getting your pages and loving them!  I have more to share and June is not over!

Here is my lastest class that I completed in my Studio Class:

 
This was a fun one because I started with colors I don't normally work with and I challenged myself.  At first it looked like a Halloween/Frankenstein page but it took a life of it's own and I loved the outcome!

MATERIALS LIST:

• Helmar Adhesives - Liquid Scrap Dots, 450 Quick Dry
• Mists - Tattered Angels Mist & Glam
• Stamp Ink - Stayz On
• Stamps - Unity
• Ink - Daler Rowney
• Charcoal Pencil
• Acrylic Paint - DecoArt
• Watercolor Crayon - Caran D'Ache
• Button

 
Now back to sharing your sweet creations that you have been so kind to email to me.  And it is not too late to share........Pages/albums can be emailed to [email protected]

Today I want to share from Doris...

"..I am serious about how much I adore your gratitude journal and inspirational journal and am sincere in that I WILL make mine!!! It just takes me longer than you, miss superwoman extraordinaire! ....This is Webster's Pages...Hard to see in the pic, but the paint on the clouds (inside and out) is actually iridescent medium. So is the rain. I also lightly coated the fussy cut WP image with it, but it doesn't show in the photo. Really pretty IRL. :-D I wanted it to look hazy with the rain and not have the acrylic quite so clear, so I used a slightly darker paint than I used for the sky and highly diluted it then painted it onto the backside of the cover. The quote reads "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain"  and I think that is soooo true! 

Didn't turn out the way I initially had in mind, but I still like the result. Thanks for challenging me to do things I never imagined I could. All the paint type stuff is all new to me and I'm loving it. :-)  Thank you Tracy for inspiring me to keep stretching beyond my comfort zone and continue trying new things you are a miraculously inspiring woman!" ~Doris

 

 

 

Again here is another example of it not going in the direction of what you originally planned but loving it!  They are beautiful Doris!  LOVE, LOVE that you shared with me and all of us!  Thank you for inspiring us!  Make sure to check out Doris' Blog.

I have more pages to share tomorrow!  What an inspiring journey for me and so glad to see for you guys too!

 

"Love this moment, and the energy of this moment will spread beyond all boundaries". ~Corita Kent