Luminarte Blog— Vibrant and Brilliant

Craft Test Dummies's Review- Silks Acrylic Glazes by Luminarte

We are excited to share another review from the Craft Test Dummies today using the Silks Acrylic Glaze. Enjoy!

I’m on a bit of  a Luminarte products kick here at CTD WHQ- and today I want to share with you my impressions of the Silks Acrylic Glazes.

Photo courtesy of Luminarte

Silks acrylic glazes are translucent shimmering acrylic-based paints, but lack the opacity of your “normal” paints.

Here’s the description I found on a vendor’s website:

What makes Silks so special? It’s the secret mix of mica and other proprietary mineral particles that refract light, like a crystal. Silks are easy to use paints that create a semi-gloss glaze – not too shiny, not too flat, but just right. Simply brush Silks onto your project, using a wide brush for broad strokes or a fine brush for details. Or use a brayer if you want even wider swaths of color. Allow Silks to dry between colors to keep the glaze layers distinct and create depth, or blend the colors while still wet if you prefer that effect.

What surfaces are suitable for Silks? Silks are formulated for paper, wood, pre-washed fabrics, papier mache, acrylic and other plastics, canvas, gourds, silk and silk ribbon, terra cotta, paper-clay, air-dry clay, air-dry polymer, leather, faux leather, and more. They dry faster on paper and other porous surfaces, more slowly on non-porous materials. Thinner applications dry faster than heavier layers. Climate conditions are a factor as well. Silks are fully cured after 48 hours. 1 ounce wide mouth jar.

When you open the jar, you might notice a milky glaze. You’ll need to re-mix them to the the mica particles fully mixed in.

You can apply Silks with a paintbrush, stencil brush, or foam brush. Or you can pour in on and then brayer it around.

I made a little video so that you can see the swatches and the Silks in action!

 

Here are the photos of my swatches:

Swatches

Notice that if you layer when the Silks are wet, you'll blend the colors. Laying on a dry coat will give you a translucent layered effect.

This looks more dimensional than it really is- the translucency makes gives it that look.

Silks come in 35 luscious colors…and I heard a rumor that there will be a bonus color added at the end of this month! I kind of want them all.

Here are a few things I made with my Silks!

Playing in my journal

And here it is in my journal! I found that Silks have a pretty low water content, so it didn’t buckle my paper too badly.

I also made some ATC’s for a swap. I used the Silks to stamp the “2″ as well as the gold honeycomb effect.

So here’s the nitty-gritty. Silks retail for about $6.99 a pot,  which is about an ounce. That makes Silks one of the pricier items of it’s kind. However, it is very high-quality and artist-grade. (And with most paints, you get what you pay for.) So I can totally justify having a few pots in my stash. (Note to family- YES, these WOULD make a nice Mother’s Day Gift!)

They might be a challenge to find, so ask for them wherever you shop for art/craft supplies. And it just so happens that Silks are available online through Susana’s Custom Art and Card Design (SCACD.) **Yes, they are also an advertiser here at CTD, but that is just a happy coincidence.**

Thanks for cheking us out today.

Creative Imaginations Primary Elements Artist Pigments

Let's give a warm welcome to Christine from Scrap and Time. She is sharing some of her tips and techniques using our Primary Elements Artist Pigments with different mediums. Enjoy.

Christine here, today I am showing you the Primary Elements Artist Pigments from Creative Imaginations! These are pigment powders mixed with a little Mica to give them some sparkle. You can mix these powders with a variety of products such as Multi-Medium or Gesso to make your own paints

For this diagram I mixed the pigments with the medium that came in my kit and used an  ExiStencils from Creative Imaginations. It was basically a Multi-Medium. Since I was making samples, I didn’t use a lot of medium, allowing me to get strong colours. You can also see how I mixed pigments to make custom colours.

But you can also mix them with Gesso. I used a White Gesso, so now the paints are more pastel, but they are opaque! You can see the lighter blue sitting on top of the purple.

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the pigments mixed with a Multi-Medium and with Gesso.

When I was making my samples I was brushing the excess on to this page. You can see that by using the medium the colours show through each layer.

I really enjoyed playing with the Pigments and blending my own colours!

If you are unable to see the video, refresh this webpage and it should appear.

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting!

Scrap Time – Ep. 758 – Creative Imaginations Primary Elements Artist Pigments from Mark Giles on Vimeo.

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The Wisdom of Life

Today, I had to share these gorgeous pictures of Dion Dior mandala! The pictures are absolutely stunning and if you ever get a chance of taking a class from her, jump at the opportunity!

 

 

Dion here, most of us engage in art, particularly art journaling, as a way to connect to a deep part of ourselves.  It gives us a channel to understanding ourselves, what we're made of, and what we are capable of.  Art, in and of itself, is therapy. Anyone who has ever engaged in a creative or artistic pursuit knows the therapeutic benefits first hand of doing so. And the reason art journaling, scrap-booking, sketch-book keeping, or any number of other artistic pursuits has gained so much momentum, is because more and more people are discovering that art is a powerful way to connect to their creative soul, explore their own possibilities, and demystify some of their issues.  In my mind, every single person on the planet is born with a creative soul, but for a plethora of reasons, very few ever get to embrace it.

 

 

 I have been actively engaged in delivering several of my online classes this week, and one in particular, Wisdom Circles, has given me lots of food for thought. This is where I made the connection.

 

There are over 500 people currently enrolled in 21 Secrets and although not all of them have found their way into Wisdom Circles yet, there are over 100 participants who have.  The circles they are producing and the experiences they are sharing is truly humbling and very very moving. I've had goosebumps on my skin and tears in my eyes every time I read their stories, considered their questions, and gazed upon their work. If you'd like to see some of their work, I encourage you to visit the Wisdom Circles Flickr Group., or the 21 Secrets Flickr Group.  If you'd like more information about Wisdom Circles and 21 Secrets, please click here.

 

 

 I discovered the art of making mandalas about ten years ago.  I was convinced that I was not an artist because I couldn't draw the perfect landscape, or capture the contours of a simple hand.  But when I saw a beautiful, simple meaningful mandala I knew I had found something that I could connect to.

Creating a circle is so powerful, so meditative, and so therapeutic.  I become a prolific creator of mandalas, and a hungry consumer of mandala history and theory.  So now, whenever I feel blocked, (which is often), I stop, breathe, and place a dot in the center of my page.  From there, I let the creative flow take over and just move gently around the circle, letting my creative energy and symbolism flow down my arm and onto the page.  It releases any blocks, along with any tension I am feeling in that moment, freeing me completely to create.

 

 

 

This page was done using Silks Acrylic Glaze over pen journaling, and under flat watercolor.

Thanks for checking in. xx

 

Please take the time to visit Dion Dior & More Blog and check out her online classes.

Thank you for visiting.

Ageless Play by Dion Dior

Let's welcome back Dion Dior with this exquisite journal page of beautiful color flowers! I love her take about laughing more in life. Enjoy.

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Dion Dior here, too few of us laugh out loud, too often we constrain our laughter in favor of chuckles or composure. We simply don't laugh as heartily as we should any more. What is worse, is more often than not, we fail to see the humorous side of our lives. We forget that the only true requirement of being alive is to live responsibly! At no time are we expected to live 'seriously', that is a burden I think we place upon ourselves.

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There are times when the world feels overly serious, devoid of humor.  But that is probably just my own perception, my own creation, my own reaction or projection.  Don't you think life would be easier if our responses to stressful situations were more light-hearted? Taking life less seriously doesn't mean living less responsibly, it simply means that much tension can be dissipated, that negativity can be...well...negated, and our responses, acceptances, and influence can be more effective.

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Humor frees us from negativity, and playfulness frees us from seriousness.  The inner critic feeds on seriousness, it feeds on perfection.  I recently saw a post of Facebook that said:

"The pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy.  The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time." 

~ Edwin Bliss

 

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Never, in my mind, is a statement more true than this.  Especially when put in the context of art.  I don't know about you, but I find perfect art rather boring.  Don't get me wrong.  I admire the skill and talent of the artist, their masterful grasp of technique and composition.  However, it does nothing for me.  I feel no stirring in my blood, no whizzing in my gut. 

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But to look at art that is bursting with color, energy, movement, more color, interpretation...these are the elements that excite me.  There is no fast track to finding our own artistic style.  It takes years of practice, experimentation, learning, inspiration, and most of all play.  Yes...I said play!! Something I don't do nearly enough of.

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In recent weeks I've been preparing my upcoming online class "A Taste of Silks".   Acrylics are an extraordinary medium that are sadly misunderstood or taken too seriously.  In order for me to show the versatility of these exquisite paints, I have had to get down and dirty, I have had to play.  I mean really play. I have splattered my studio with Silks, been up to my elbows in them, and felt at times like a mad-sceintist with shimmer all over her face. My fingernails have been like sparkling rainbows and my drawing table looks like it is covered in tiny little jewels.  And I'm happy to say that results of my labor is proving to be exciting.

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This sketchbook page is a small part of what I have been preparing.  I was very lucky to receive a yummy little box of goodies from Creative Imaginations.  They license several Luminarte products, in addition to the Twinkling H2O's, and were keen to let me try some of their other shimmering products.  For this page I used a combination of their Radiant Rain Shimmering Mists,  Radiant Rain Color Concentrates, and Radiant Rain Pourables, under a stunning layer of Silks Acrylic Glaze.  These products are iterations of Leslie Ohnstad's highly successful range of Twinkling H2O's and all I can say is WOW!!

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I was astounded at the intensity of the pigment, the versatility of the products, and the subtlety and beauty of the shimmer.  Yep, it sounds like a lot in one page, but if you let go and allow yourself to play, you'll be amazed at the results. I'll be sharing some of these amazing and wonderful techniques using Luminarte's new range of  Silks Acrylic Glaze, as well as other mixed media in my upcoming 2-lesson workshop.  If you'd like more information, please click here.

Thanks for checking in. xx

Twinkling Class Giveaway! Enter today!

Hello everyone, I wanted to keep you posted on an online class from Dion Dior called Mastering Twinks. Her class is a must if you use our Twinks because she teaches so many things about color and not to mention all the tips, tricks, and techniques with them. Right now, Dion Dior is giving 2 FREE spots in her Mastering Twinks class and a set (6) of Twinkling H20's. Details below and Good Luck!

Mastering Twinks, an online class that takes you into the shimmering, dancing world of Twinkling H2O's begins its second run in less than two weeks.  Twinkling H2O's are shimmering, glistening watercolor paints, created by color extraordinaire Leslie Ohnstad from Luminarte. They are laced with mica minerals and have to be seen to be believed. There are over 200 incredible colors and they come in a variety of pot sizes and sets. 

 

In Mastering Twinks, I introduce you to the world of twinkling, luminescent watercolor paint, and take you on a shimmering journey through tricks, tips and techniques for getting the most from them. This three week class is pdf based with a private online forum for sharing and discussion. But beware, they are addictive!

Here's what some of the participants of the first run of Mastering Twinks had to say:

"Thanks Dion. I love the Twinks and love the abundance of information
you are sharing with us."

- MV 

"Thanks so much for a wonderful class and for the wonderful 'book' that you prepared. It is a
treasure. The only thing better would be to have you living next door to me or vice-versa."

-Sheila

"Dion, Thank you for the incredible information you have provided to each and every one of us. I
think you have a terrific book in the making. I also think there was a great deal of talent in this class."

-Pat

"I had so much fun playing with Twinks in this class! Normally, I'm not much of a stamper but the
lovely Twinks made it so much FUN!!"

-FFY

"Dion, I love this class. Especially when loaded onto an iPad so I can enlarge the
diagrams and not have to admit to needing reading glasses!"

-Jacqui

 

To celebrate this second run, I will be giving away two spots on Mastering Twinks along with a special collection of 6 mini pots of Twinkling H2O's.  To go into the drawing please leave a comment on my blog Dion Dior  telling me why you would like to take this class. For a second chance to win, post about this giveaway on your Facebook page, and/or blog and leave a second comment on my blog Dion Dior with your link.  I'll be randomly drawing two winners next week.

For more information on Mastering Twinks, or to register, click here.

Thanks for checking in xx

Twinkling Lotus Flowers by artist Dion Dior and our Winner from our Weekend Giveaway!

Thank you so much for all your comments over the weekend. Our Winner is just starting to express herself artistically. Congratulations to .......................Karen Borusiewicz!

We hope our product's will help you create a beautiful gift for your mother for mother's day and please share it with us on our Luminarte Fan page! If you could send an email to citonya@comcast.net with your shipping address so that I can get your goodies sent out to you, I would appreciate it. Thanks again for all the comments and we will be doing this again before the end of the month, SO STAY TUNED to our blog!

Speaking of Mother's Day Dion Dior is sharing a beautiful journal page that any mother would be proud to receive as a gift. Enjoy.

It really was a joyful trip down under, we took a little road trip to take in some of Australia's best views. We just found a lovely spot and stayed there for a few days enjoying the pool and beach fun.

We made our way back to Grandma's house and spent our final week in Australia here.  Autumn is slowly descending on the Southern Hemisphere and our beach days where numbered, but our wonderful vacation was not over till the fat lady sings...so to speak!

In the meantime, it's back to my sketchbook. I have so many pages to share, and this was one I did sitting in my mum's backyard. She's a wonderful gardener (something I did not inherit), I'm not really sure what they are, but they looked a bit like lotus flowers.  Either way, they called out for Twinkling H2O's. And given my "Mastering Twinks" class begins again on April 13 through LuminArte, I'm immersing myself once more in these exquisite, shimmering watercolor paints. It feels like home!!  Registration now, and you can click here for more information.

Thanks for checking in. xx

Announcing our Giveaway Winner and Luminarte classes at The Paper Niche in Florida

Yeah! It's the weekend and some lucky viewer is the winner of a EXSTENCIL and set of SILKS! I have printed the comments off from the last post and all your names who answered the question are entered. The winner wrote, "She used the terrific - TWINKLING H2O'S on top of silks acrylic glaze", Congratulations to Delene Brown!

WHOOhoooo to Delene Brown! If you could email citonya@comcast.net with your shipping address so that I can get your goodies sent out to you, I would appreciate it. Thanks so much for all the comments and we will be doing this again before the end of the month, SO STAY TUNED to our blog!

Marah Johnson here, I am soo excited to be venturing across the country to my dear friends at the Paper Niche. We have planned an incredible weekend of creativity for you, and a little birdie told me there are a few seats left. If you love to get your fingers full of paint ink glitter and glue...these are the classes for you

 Starting with Friday Night March 30th and nice leisurely class creating an amazing Niche Altered Book.

we will be carving out a Vintage Book to create this magical scene in side....loads of twinkling H2o's, silks, and other goodies will be used to color and tint your book to your arts content.

I love the vintage text book background

                
Saturday we are doing an artist trading card class....this was a HIT at CHA

A Compendium of ATC's

Marah taught this Class at CHA to 75 very happy students....This class will stretch your imagination, will push a boundary, or two and will teach you to embrace your inner and outer artist. you will leave class with at least 6 ATC's and a few started for you to complete at home. In this class you will learn a unique technique for creating faces in your artwork, explore found poetry and dabble in some watercolor exercises.

please bring-

Lots of curiosity and Energy :)

1/2" wide water color brush

a few detail paint brushes

black journaling pens--a few thicknesses would be great

white pen

glue stick

gel matte medium

optional-black ink pad for swiping edges

baby wipes

Also on Saturaday we are going to do a drawing and Doodling class. 

 

Learn the Art of Whimsical Drawing

Were you the kid who doodled on your shoes and book bag? have you ever looked at a whimsical drawing and wished you could create that...have you ever wanted to try your hand drawing a face, a bird, a flowers.Join Marah for a fun guided drawing and doodling class. She will help you gain comfort in your drawing skills, show you a few tricks and techniques. You will go home with a handout of jump starts and ideas. Please Bring a composition book for notes...and a sketch book if you choose to work in your own "Art Journal" Marah will provide plenty of paper and paints to bring your masterpieces to life.

Class Supply List---

Composition book or sketch book

Pencils---Soft lead #2 preferred

eraser (gum or kneaded...NOT pink)

black permanent  pens (several sizes) zig, sharpie etc

white pen

fine point paintbrushes---for detail work

Marah will bring the MAGIC....

The Paper Niche
8970 W. State Road 84
Davie, Florida 33324
954.577.0999

Thanks for visiting and happy painting this weekend!

Welcome Guest Artist Erin O'Neill Argueta.

Hello creative world. Today, it is my pleasure to introduce to you Erin O'Neill Argueta. She will be showering us with some of her beautiful art pieces this month. It always amazes me to see how much artists can juggle in their lives and Erin is no exception. Mother, artist, teacher,freelance designer and she works full-time on top of it all. I am simply INSPIRED by Erin's artwork and her as a person.

Hi. I am Erin, a freelance card designer and self-taught mixed media artist. I am so excited to be a guest artist here at Luminarte.  

I’ve always believed I was born with 3 unique genetic characteristics: a creative gene, an adventurous gene and one dysfunctional gene that showed itself when I turned two.

Regarding the creative gene, the home I was raised in was filled with watercolor paintings by my mom, quilts, needlepoints and hand-sewn Barbie clothes by my grandmother and oil paintings by my aunt and grandfather to name just a few. I followed in my family’s footsteps and began creating by the time I could first put crayon to paper.

The adventurous gene came from both of my parents. My parents both had professional backgrounds that involved world travel. As a child my parents continued their love of exploration by traveling the globe with my younger brother and me. During the course of 7 years we traveled to all 7 continents where we were exposed to a multitude of cultures and artistic influences. Thanks to the extensive travel we did I’ve been incredibly inspired by the art, architecture and maps of the world.

Now, about that dysfunctional piece…I was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes at the age of two. My brother, who is three years younger than me, was also diagnosed with Type 1 at the age of two. The diabetes could have been a negative but our parents never allowed that to be the case. They encouraged us to learn all we could about the disease and to live life without limitations. Throughout our lives we've been patients at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston and during one stay as a child, a diabetes educator taught me during a hypoglycemic episode that art helps heal. I’ve held fast to that notion and use my art as a means to calm myself and stay focused.

So, when you look at all of the pieces I think it’s inevitable that I’m constantly creating. Today, I work full-time for an insurance company, teach monthly art classes in my dining room, freelance as a designer of wedding and birthday invitations and art journal everyday. Through it all, creativity is at the forefront of everything I do.

I live in Connecticut with my husband, two teens and two dogs.

I was first introduced to Twinkling H2Os (Twinks) about 5 years ago. I immediately fell in love with their sparkle and shimmer and when I saw that they sold a Twink called Periwinkle, I knew we were meant to be together for a long time!  Periwinkle is my all time favorite color and my kids can attest to this as they both had to learn to spell Periwinkle in Kindergarten when they had to introduce their family to their class. Twinks have the most amazing colors ever and I now have at least 25 that are my all time favorites. I hope you'll follow along this month as I play with the Twinks, Silks and the Existencils by Luminarte. Here's a sneak peak of my first project:

Thanks for visiting and giveaway annoucement coming this week~ :)

 

Painted canvas TUTORIAL & Doodles Unleashed by traci bautista

Today I'm so excited to  have Traci Bautista's online book tour for her fabulous book Doodles Unleashed.  Traci's art work is so beautiful, inspiring, and colorful. Her pieces motivate me to want to go create and play with my paints. Her first book Collage Unleashed and her new book is a must have for any art library. Traci shares some of her techniques using Twinkling H20's, Radiant Rains, and the Silks. Enjoy!

 

Hello creative lovelies! It's Traci Bautista, I'm excited to be the guest artist today for the next stop on my Doodles Unleashed online book tour. I HEART all the Luminarte products and used the Radiant Rain shimmering mists and Twinkling H20s in a few projects in my book. I love to add the vibrant and shimmery paint colors to my mixed media canvases and art journal pages.

{Collage Pauge resist with twinkling H20's}

In one of the painting techniques in Doodles Unleashed, I use the Twinkling H20s to paint over my Collage Pauge resist doodles {photo above}. Christine Adolph and I recently shared this technique on my blog tour.

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Since there are a couple more weeks of winter, I thought I'd share a fun and simple painting technique using found snowflake stencil materials. There is a section in the book I talk about all the interesting found and handmade tools I use for mark-making..some of my FAVES are craft foam, laser cut card stock, skewers and postcard cutouts.

STEP ONE | Place stencils and found material over the surface of fabric. I'm using drill cloth, it's smoother than duck cloth or heavyweight canvas. It's one of my favorite fabrics to paint.

STEP TWO | Spray over the top with 2-3 colors of Radiant Rain Shimmering Mists. I used Ocean Wave, Blue Flame and snapdragon.

STEP THREE | Place another piece of fabric or paper over the top of painted stencils and roll over with a brayer to transfer the excess paint. You can also pick up the painted stencils and flip them over onto the surface to transfer the paint.

STEP FOUR | Let dry. Use the painted fabric for an art journal cover, doodle over the top or stitch a photo

Another alternative painting technique is to use the Silks to add color onto the fabric. On the drill cloth above, I drew doodles with Collage Pauge in an applicator-tip bottle. Once it dried, I sprayed through the stencils with Radiant Rain then painted Silks Acrylic Glaze Sky Blue. The Collage Pauge acts as a resist to the Silks, you can see the doodles peeking through the paint. You can learn more about this technique in Doodles Unleashed.

{drill cloth painted with Luminarte Radiant Rain and Silks}

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Doodles Unleashed: Mixed Media Techniques for Doodling, Mark-making & Lettering is available on amazon.com or BUY a signed copy with a limited edition collage kit in my Etsy shop here.

Traci Bautista is a mixed media artist, designer, teacher and  author of the bestselling book, Collage Unleashed, and her new book Doodles Unleashed. Her art has been featured in over 15 art/mixed media books and 40 craft magazines, including Somerset Studio, Altered Couture, cloth.paper.scissors, Art Journaling, Art Quilting Studio, Belle Armoire, and Craft. She designs licensed product lines Collage Pauge adhesive and {kolLAJ} paper crafts. Her passion for sharing art has led her on a worldwide tour teaching mixed media workshops. To learn about her NEW REFINE the Doodle online workshop series for info visit here. 

To follow her creative adventures & digital boutique visit www.treicdesigns.com
or her blog http://kollaj.typepad.com

 

Artzy Gurlz + Retreat + Luminarte Retreat July 19-27, 2012

Hello viewers, wanted to share a GIVEAWAY that is going on with Luminarte products. Hop over to Christine Adolph Designs and get the details. Creative Imaginations has generously donated a few packs of Ocean Foil and Sticky2's for her to give away on her blog in celebration of Traci's Bautista's book tour. I also wanted to inform you about a retreat using Luminarte products by the Artzy Gurlz! You will not want to miss this one! Lots of creativity and loads of FUN!!

ARTZY GURLZ consist of three wonderfully talented artists: Jill Walker, Betsy Roberts, and Betsy Kritzon-facebook. 

They had their first Artzy Gurlz Mixed Media Art Retreat last summer at Lake Cour d' Alene, Idaho. WHAT A GREAT SUCCESS!!!

Come play with Luminarte paints,  meet other creative people, and learn new techniques with all different types of mediums. Mark your calendar for JULY 19^TH – 27^TH 2012. Don't delay! Space is limited.

The RETREAT will be in the beautiful mountains of Southeast San Luis Obispo County just 30 minutes from downtown San Luis Obispo will be the next Artzy Gurlz Retreat.  JULY 19^TH – 27^TH 2012   Single session includes 3 days of workshops 4 nights lodging and meals for $795 per single session and $1650 for a double session per person.  Tour the “Artzy Gurlz” next retreat location at  www.oakcreeklodge.com .

To see more information on their retreat visit their Facebook page Artzy Girlz or  Download Artzy Gurlz 2012.

To reserve your spot Download ARTzy Gurlz 2012 Registration Form-4.

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

 

Thanks for stopping.