Kristin Victoria Creates

To celebrate this blog's one year anniversary, I'd like to share with you a few of my favorite things that I just have to have in my studio.  These things aren't necessarily "office" items but they make this space more my space by bringing ease and character to a busy room.  Hopefully, these things can show you a little more of my weird character and inspire you to create a wonderful space for yourself! In no particular order, here we go. Candy / snacks in my desk drawer This can be anything from gummy bears, to trail mix. It's a long held habit to hide snacks, and I'm not sorry. Head Phones Noise cancelling head phones are heaven sent and I still don't know why I didn't get these earlier. T - Square This was my grandfather's and I wish I could have spent more time with him before his passing.  I keep it where ever I go. Ikea Cat Pillow My mom sent this to me last year, and I've been using it on...

Mission Inspiration - June 2017 June 2017: (Photo curtesy of Mike Deakon) For the first step, I glued down edges of quilting fabric to get a frayed and steady texture in each strip. For the second step, I applied a fine texture paste with a pallet knife throughout the whole spread.   For the third step, I added light washes of tan and yellow watercolor paint, and finished this step with a few splatters of yellow. For the fourth step, I added a printed photo and some magazine cut outs for a small splash of color. For the fifth step, I used a text block stamp and white ink for over the magazine images, and yellow ink and rose ink for the rest of the spread. For the sixth step, I added torn patterned paper to enhance the vertical elements already on the page. For the seventh step, I used a brown colored pencil and made scribble marks throughout both pages focusing on...

Card Making: Mini Cards I got the idea to make these mini cards as a way of brightening hubby's morning routine with a little note.  Sometimes I'd write him a full page, or a post it note, and I thought this would be a great little way to shake up the morning and bring a smile to his face.  He tends to get up before me and with my insomnia, sometimes I'm not up when he leaves for work. These are also a great addition to any care package as they really don't take up a lot of space but still show that you care.  I love to put them in care packages to hubby while he's deployed. Since I can't leave a 'good morning' note for him before I go to bed, adding these little cards are perfect little additions. The dimensions of the card are 2 and 3/4 inches by 2 inches.  For the envelope, I scaled down an existing envelope and created a template. The finished envelope is about an eighth of an inch larger than the finished card. The best part ...

Deployment Distractions : Yoga There's nothing like a good physical distraction that makes you focus on your breathing and clearing your head; yoga is my favorite work out distraction while hubby is away.  I've found that even doing just 15 or 20 minutes of yoga is a huge stress relief. And I need all the stress relief I can get while hubby's away. Yoga dvds are great, and I do have a few that I use from time to time. However, I've noticed that I prefer to go to YouTube for some guidance and inspiration. A new favorite is Inspired Living with Sarah.  I love her shorter videos, they're just the small pick-me-up that I need. One of my favorite and most frequented yoga channels is Yoga with Adrien.   Her videos are funny, informative, enjoyable, and great for a variety of skill levels.  I love her themed yoga videos as well as her monthly challenges.  Whatever you're in the mood for, it seems she has it. ...

Rain Quilt Started in 2014, possibly earlier, but finished in 2017.  I wanted to create a rain themed quilt for when I was not in a rain prone area - like I have been for the last year, and most of college.  I borrowed a friend's cuttlebug machine and the tumbler die and voila, fabric cut! I really loved using it and have been considering investing in one ever since.  Basting on the kitchen table. Astrid claimed this quilt early on. Finally finished! Hand quilting in variegated blue thread took a bit longer than planned, as Astrid keep laying on the quilt whenever I picked it up. Dark navy solid for the backing and binding. I love the texture that this quilt has. It was such an easy quilting pattern that was very enjoyable. First night after it was finished, and they couldn't be happier. Happy creating, and happy quilting! For business inquires, contact me at: KristinVictoriaAr...

As I've been working on this since early 2016 and it's finally finished, I thought I'd share some photos of it that I haven't shared yet. I decided to leave the front and back end pages to be completed when the rest of the book had been finished.  For the front cover, I did layers of acrylic in blues, greys, pearls, and purples to create a deep night sky.   I then splattered white and silver acrylic paint to mimic stars. The quote is the first two lines from the song "The Sound of Pulling Heaven Down" by Blue October. Watercolor, acrylic, and painted book page cut outs in pinks. Watercolor mini painting of tree and rocks. Lyrics of Blue Moon written in French with watercolor overlays and circles. Hexagon pieces and watercolor washes in purple-blues, paired with quotes. Gesso base with water color washes, drips, and splatters with torn magazine pieces. Layers and layers of watercolor washes over a g...