OUR New studio!

Well, saying I've been super busy really is an understatement! It's a good kind of busy though I am happy to say! We finally took the leap and opened OUR studio! I emphasize "OUR" because it's not just mine, it's yours too, because believe it or not, you all have made this possible! I'm so thankful to all of you for your continued support on this crazy creative journey of mine. What I'm most excited about though is all the great things we will be able to do for others in this amazing space. 
      Next week we kick off our program "Art is in The Heart" it's a program dedicated to providing free art classes to children with special needs and especially orphan children with and without special needs. Of course we encourage all children to come and take the classes because I personally believe teaching our kids to accept and befriend children less fortunate than they at a young age is crucial to the people they will become. Bullying is a serious thing these days, and I know if we can bring our kids together with children who are different than they are, we'll teach them that being different is something special and that the truth is all of us are different and that's what makes us interesting.
      So why is it important for children with special needs to take art classes? Well, for many autistic, down syndrome, mentally challenged, and everyone else in between, art is their main form of self expression as well as communication, in many cases it's their only form of communication. Now to me it's odd calling anyone mentally challenged because for one we are all mentally challenged in some areas. Have you seen me dance??? There's a reason you haven't! Anyway these art classes will be so much fun and we'll have so many different types of art classes ranging from music, painting, drawing, sculpting, and even cooking in some cases. These children need to feel loved and know that they are not forgotten, and together I know all of us can bring them something to smile about.

 This is a little peek into the classroom, I can't show too much because I have a little secret I can't reveal until January! xoxo

What else?? Oh there's fun for us crafters too, as I will be teaching regular craft and scrapbook classes as well, after all it is my passion! (Besides being a Wife and Mom of course!) We've just launched our first Artsy Escape event at the studio in November and it is going to be amazing! Lots of games and prizes with three workshops and a super fun crop night! I really hope you can make it because I would feel so honored to meet some of you in person as I always am every time I teach. I will be teaching the classes with my new product lines as well as some exclusive products made just for this event! You can register for Artsy Escape by clicking here! Here's a peek at two of the classes!



Well this sure is getting long! Now if you are wondering if there is a way you can help with our program, there is! In order to keep our program running "Art is in The Heart" we need sponsorships for each class. So, what we ask from class attendees is if they can (it's not required to take the class) to please donate an item from our needed supply list. Can you imagine how awesome it would be if you took your kids to one of our classes and they each donated a paint brush or box of crayons? With that kind of support we can have free classes every month if not twice a month. The best part is, if we have a surplus of donated supplies we'll give them to our students who need them so you can rest assure that your donation will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you all so much once again for your support, and for reading my blog. I hope you all have a very blessed holiday season and I hope to meet some of you soon at our new studio! Below is a list of our 'Art is in The Heart" supplies needed for our future classes.


Quick Dry Glue
Paint Brushes #6 round or 1" flat
watercolor paint
Acrylic paint
watercolor paper
Crayons
washable markers
clay
non stick craft sheets
construction paper (Green, Red, Orange, Brown, Yellow) multi-color packs are perfect!
glue sticks
white cardstock (Any office supply brand is perfect!)

Also starting in January we will be starting a monthly class for kids where will be working out of a handmade journal once or twice a month. Each class the kids will get to take a photo in the photo booth to put in it and document their life. In order to make this happen the below supplies are needed. These classes are free and all children are welcome as usual!

1" or larger owires for the bind it all
2 bind it all machines
chipboard
patterned paper of any design (We would like to have a bind where the kids can pick and choose what they like.)
card stock in many colors
$1 to keep up with all the film we will be using in the photo booth