michelle my belle

doll & dudes artfest #2

okay so, i'm still scrambling to catch up from artfest.
and editing and sorting pictures takes a lot longer than i had anticipated.
therefore, i'm just going to show you stage 1 of my doll making workshop...

to begin with, i had a whole room full of crazy talented people!




the creativity was in abundance.

the sensational miss mindy.
when she emailed me to say she was taking my class, i was like- "for reals?".

another intimidating albeit lovely gal in my class- author/artist Jill Berry.

i can't wait to show you all their finished pieces.
they are AWESOME!!!

mini moo card love

i really adore these little moo cards.
the fact that you can get a different piece of your art printed on every one of them is quite somethin'.

just for fun, i added a QR code this time around.
do you use one?
have you ever scanned one?

my three favorites out of this batch.

they're just so yummy.


i've been slowly getting ready for artfest 2012.
i can't believe it's only one week away.
i'm so looking forward to seeing my crazy art friends!
are you going?

owl lover 2012 calendar!

i am super thrilled to be part of Shivani's 2012 owl lover calendar!
pick from 45 amazing artists.
easy to download and print out... and it's FREE!

my owl is the one on the bottom right.

perfect for an early year gift. and did i say FREE! :)

if you like owls you JUST MUST check out her fun owl filled blog!!

this friday!!!

if you're here in the portland/vancouver area...
my friend melody ross of bravegirls is coming to town!!!
i met her at artfest a few years ago and was instantly smitten with what a talented, beautiful soul she was.
along with the art show she'll also be doing a painting workshop on thurs. night.
come meet her, you'll love her and her work!

 

super love pinterest

i am totally hooked on pinterest!
it is pure eye candy like you've never seen before.
and such a great way to save inspirational & creative ideas!
below are few examples of my boards.

are you on?

can i just mention...this is sounding REALLY good to me right now.

the cutest shop in minneapolis!

my friend april owns 3 shops in the detroit area and i love cute, fun stuff.
so the natural thing for us to do while in MN for the creative connection was to visit local cute shops.
patina, digs studio and my FAVE... i like you.
the pictures below depict just how awesomely killer, this all handmade artisan shop in MN just is.

chocked full of lovely art, cheeky quotes, gorgeous jewelry... and a SWING to boot!

even the outside is fun!


and the displays... out of this world!
this one is definitely on my DIY to make list.
i'm scheming of all the crazy items i can hold hostage in an upside down glass!

and let's not forget the absolutely adorable one and only...co-owner sarah sweet!
who makes this magic happen.

the creative connection

the creative connection was awesome!
i met up with gift show friends- april of catching fireflies and leigh of curly girl.
leigh went last year but for april and i, this was our first!

left mid: me, the infamous susan branch and april

i think there was a fancy dessert at every meal.
did anyone else notice that?
my pants are reminding me of it still to this day!

one of the workshops i took was with the lovely leslie shewring.
she was the inspiration for our 2011 allen designs catalog.
it was quite an honor to meet her and see her in action.

april, leigh, kelly rae and me

okay kelly rae, i think you and i need some heels... or new shorter friends!!!

jessica with her sweet washi tape pendant

kelly rae, me, claudine hellmuth and april

lizzy flanagan, leigh and ..... oops...can't remember her name! :(

cute girls from provo craft!

boy, i'm realizing i really hammed it up! 
there were so many inspiring women entrepreneurs, my head was spinning.

i came away with a long list of new aspirations.
i came away encouraged.
and best of all, i came away with new friends and phenomenal memories!
thank you jo packham, i'll be back.

creative connection here i come!

i'm on my way to st. paul for The Creative Connection event.
excited to be hooking up with friends April, Leigh and Kelly Rae.
not sure what to expect from this adventure.
but, i'm sure it's going to be ridiculously awesome!!! thank you susan :)
i'll report back soon.
xo-m

see Leigh's post about her experience at last year's event here.

IF - my first illustration friday!

michelle allen - illustration friday - safari

one thing i've always wanted to participate in is illustration friday.
i had a few minutes to spare and thought... why not NOW.
it didn't have to be too involved.
or too thought out.
or even painted or perfect!

alyson b. stanfield of art biz coach had a great post the other day about, something to the effect of-
if you say your an artist, or wanna be an artist...
then MAKE ART!

a lot of it comes down to that.
we can spend so much time and moolah taking all the right workshops, buying the best books,
spending endless hours perusing the web all without taking a single step towards actually DOING ART.

 

dangling dudelings - arftest workshop #3

the final workshop i taught was dangling dudelings.
we worked in paperclay using a simple armature technique to make mid size creatures.
and again, a fabulously talented group of gals as you can see for yourself!


i LOVED each and everyone one of their finished pieces.
i wanted to keep them all!

i finished artfest with a huge smile on my face and love in my heart.
such kind and talented women.
all embracing creativity and learning new techniques.
i already can't wait till next year!!!