I have been so excited to share this post with you! I haven’t painted with acrylics for a while, and was thrilled to create a tutorial with these gorgeous new DecoArt paints! They have a medium body viscosity perfect for beginners and more advanced artists too. The colors are really bright and pigmented which is one of the top things I look for in my paints. Because the colors are so clean and bright they mix really well into a huge range of colors, tints and shades.
These were so fun to make! You can either make your own macarons or use store bought ones and just decorate them! I make my own with this recipe, and this almond flour. It’s amazing, and I didn’t even sift when I made these macarons!!! That’s cutting out the longest step! I think I saved a whole hour. Seriously though, buy it. It’s the cheapest, and the best too!!! Win, win.
Trying to find an opaque, fine tip pen has been a goal of mine for a very long time. I’m happy to say I finally found one that I love. It has the perfect combination of being easily portable in my pencil case, truly white and opaque, and a nice fine point.
Cricut Explore 2 VS Silhouette Cameo What should you buy?
To begin, I have designed freelance work for Cricut, and I am always asked my opinion on die cut machines. I have never used a Silhouette until now and I’m excited to be able to talk more about the Cricut VS Silhouette dilemma. Since both of my machines were sent to me for free, I believe this helps me review them both with less preferential treatment. The opinions I’m sharing on both machines are all my own. What’s important to me may not be important to you so keep that in mind as you read.
Disclaimer: I received both the Silhouette Cameo and the Cricut Explore 2 for free to use and review.Please note that this post contains affiliate links for your convenience in purchasing whichever machine you decide is right for you! But as always all opinions are 100% my own.
Hey y’all! I’m busy prepping all my kits and two classes for Pinners Conference in Dallas Texas! And I wanted to share a promo code just for you for 10% off your registration fee for classes!
Pinners Conference Promo Code
The code is: NatalieMalan (and it’s not case sensitive). You can also use the code:FreeShopping …..to pre register for entrance to the trade show floor, but not any classes.
My watercolor classes have filled up INCEREDIBY quickly in the past, so make sure you sign up ASAP if you want to come! My class in Utah last year had a line around the space starting 45 min before so feel free to come to class early and purchase a kit and be ready to paint as soon as you walk in the door. I’ll be by the classroom early chatting and helping out with the kits. The $25 kits include a 36 color watercolor set, a great brush, pieces of paper to get you started. Can’t make it to the class? Check out our kits online here.
This year I’m offering TWO great classes;
Introduction to Watercolor
This is a great place to start if you’ve never watercolored before. We will talk about paint consistency, color mixing, edges, and more! And you will have time to practice what we have talked about in class while I walk around and answer questions.
Intermediate Watercolor Florals
The follow up class for the Intro class! We will go for it and start painting some really fun flowers in this class!
Optional items to bring to either class:
Water bottle if you have one! Preferably for water, Diet Coke is amazing, but may be a little sticky to paint with.
Questions! This is the BEST benefit of a LIVE class!!!! Ask away!
A smile! Because it’s scary on stage. And I love a good reassuring face in the crowd! And who doesn’t love a paint party?!
When Makeful sent their challenge this month I was excited to see it was a phone case. I’ve been wanting to make my own simple case for a while now and this one only took about five minutes. Supplies
Acrylic paint
Brush
Water
Paper towel
Phone case
I made a template of what I wanted to paint on paper first so I could figure out the spacing.
Then I just painted inside the phone case and tried to fade the color a little bit as I went toward the center. Wait for it to dry and voilà!
Be sure to head over to Cricut before 7/5 to try out two of my favorite “One Cut” cards! My Get Well Soon card and also my Thanks card are both available as part of their Cricut Free Cut of the Week program! They are both from my Simple Cards Cartridge – which is chock full of easy, fast and cute cards to make! When I was designing it, I kept thinking that I wanted something I could make for friends and family that had my own personal touch, but that was fast and easy to put together for those days when I had no extra hands and no time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Update!!!!!
Guys!!! I’m pretty sure the ENTIRE cartridge is free to use this week!!!! Go play!!!
I was so excited when Spoonflower asked me to film a video tutorial on how to make a DIY no sew Fleece Blanket with their brand new line of gorgeous fleece! Its heavenly soft, slightly stretchy, and Alice definitely approves. In fact, the two blankets I made seem to keep disappearing and I find them in all my kids’ rooms, so I think some more blanket making might be in order in the Malan household.
For this video tutorial I ordered a yard of my Persimmon spring fleece, and I also made a blanket out of our super popular Watercolor Peonies for Alice fleece as well. Find them in my Spoonflower store here. You could easily use two yards and make a double sided blanket, but I wanted a lighter weight blanket for the summer time and my diaper bag and this one has been wonderful. Be sure to check it out on their blog.
And if you’re looking to make a knit receiving blanket, be sure to check out this post of Alice’s newborn photos to see Watercolor Peonies for Alice in action in the hospital, and two more fun and free downloads for your delivery or nursery! Bassinet freebie here, Watercolor garland freebie here. Her swaddler is so simple it doesn’t even need a tutorial; just trim the edges off a yard of jersey and you’re set to swaddle!!!
Be sure to check out these adorable binkie clips from Trompe + Co as well! They’ve been such a lifesaver! Alice will only take a very specific pacifier, and it’s a nightmare when we lose it!!! Trompe + Co has so many cute colors and styles available that you’ll have a hard time choosing, but we went with Bubble gum, and Gold.
