Making Art With Julie Nutting

When I get the opportunity to take a class in this line of work, I jump at it. I like learning about the techniques I read about on a daily basis. When I learned that Julie Nutting (http://www.julienuttingdesigns.com/) was going to be teaching classes I became ridiculously excited to see how her pieces are made. An odd thing about me and classes is that I actually tend to get nervous about them. In my head, a class is still a class, like in school. I equate that with competition, hard work, and the fear of making a mistake or embarassment. But I had no such nerves with this class. I knew it would be fun, and it truly was an amazing experience.

The class was held at 10 am at Stamp Your Heart Out in Claremont (www.stampyourheartout.com). An interesting note: when I was growing up, my mom, my sister, and I lived at Stamp Your Heart Out. We were there all the time, as it was one of my mom's favorite stores. I remember spending so much money on stamps. My sister and I would fight over them! When I interviewed at Stampington I remember recalling my introduction to the art and craft world as being because of this store. So really, this place has such a special place in my heart. It has honestly played a role in my career, so I was thrilled to journey back to this place I loved so much for this class. Fate? Destiny? Life coming full circle ... I think so.

Being back in the store after years and years of being away was fun, because it still looks the same with walls lined with wooden stamps. Our magazines are up front : ) And in the back we bagn painting our canvases with Julie. All the rest of the work is Mod Podging paper scraps to the background. Julie is so good at exercising restraint when it comes to her palette. She limited our background paper choices to dark ones so our girls would really pop on the page. I am so glad she gave us paper choices as I could see me going for an over abundance of color and have a color explosion on my page (which would not allow for the skin tone and skirt to stand out).

Luckily Julie also made a pattern for our gal's torso, head, and bodice. I cannot draw a lick, so I was really relieved to just cut out a pattern on top of other papers. We used dictioanry pages for the skin. All the papers had the definition for "fashion." I loved it!

Then we set to work decorating our backgrounds. I used a bottle cap and white paint to polka dot the background up. Next, voer the entire background with a wash of white paint. The best and most challenging part is making her skirt. We gathered all kinds of papers to layer together. Some tissue paper from Brighton, pattern paper, string, scrapbook paper, and French Canadian newspaper are shown here. You simply rip the shreds of paper and layer.

For me, the clothing was the most important part as I wanted to make a dress I would wear. I love tiers and layering, so I began to do just that, keeping in mind the pops of blue in her bodice. I definitely had to edit down my paper choices as I of course initially scooped up lots of pink and then realized when forming the dress that pink just didnt go. So she is wearing a blue number. I rather like it and I even incorporated the words "Chanel" and "Paris" in the skirt.

Luckily Julie traced the lines out for her hair. I like that it is kind of 60s, but I wish I had been more adventurous and had attempted an updo. Next time. I painted her hair in brown with gold highlights. I was most nervous about painting because I am NOT a painter. But it turned out to be really easy. With some leftover thread I made a bow. So sweet! Julie says she is sweet but can be snobby too. I thought that was so funny, because it's true, all of these women seem to possess their own personality based on their clothes and how they carry themselves. So you see, it is about how a woman walks, acts, her body language. Such a wonderful study of ourselves as well as art.

A waistline was added to the top of the dress to cinch it in. Julie said we could even add stamping in the background, bling, writing, a crown, or make up to the cheeks. I loved all of the possibilities offered up, but I decided to not put make-up on her. I mean I dont really wear any and I like that it is all about her dress. I love her so much! I cannot believe I made this! My many thanks to Julie and Stamp Your Heart Out for this wonderful class that any girl would love and should indulge in. I urge you to check out Julie's site for more information on class schedules.

And what's a trip without shopping?? I picked up a print of this girl in pink. Suzanne is holding her up, all decked out in her crown and bling. The reason for the dressiness is because it was the Claremont shop hop, where every store chooses a movie to represent them, and them everyone dresses according to the theme, while shoppers move from store to store. Stamp Your Heart Out's theme was Breakfast at Tiffany's. A firm reminder that I was fated to be there.