Free Painting Party Event in Camden NJ TONIGHT! 5:30-7:30PM

Tonight I'm hosting another FREE paint party event outside Camden City Hall! 

5:30-7:30PM in Roosevelt Plaza Park (in front of City Hall)!

We'll be painting a little something like this as we enjoy the sunset, be sure to join us! Visit Connect the Lots - Camden for more info!

There will also be a video game truck, and the unveiling of the community art project in the Camden ArtBox, 'A Real Page Turner'! Hope to see you there!

(If you're unable to attend be sure to spread the word! It's FREE!)

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Last Minute Paint Party SUCCESS - & PAINT PARTY TIPS

Not your average paint party fodder. This isn't a wine glass, or high heel, it's city hall!

It was a last minute event, with about 48 hours notice to gather supplies and make a painting with Camden City Hall theme, but I pulled it off! We had 14 painters create their own masterpieces and even with a few hiccups, like no running water, wind, and sun...it turned out great!  

We had a really good turnout and all of the participants were very serious and invested in their paintings. My example piece was a bit more challenging than your usual paint party example, but they all did a fantastic job without missing a beat!

Tip #1 : Add a Decoupage Element for added interest 

I'm Hosting a FREE Paint Party Night in Camden NJ - TONIGHT 8/19/16

FYI, the quote is Camden's motto and it comes from Walt Witman's  "I Dream'd in a Dream"

This week has been even crazier than usual. I'm teaching a last minute painting class in Camden, NJ tonight from 5:30-7:30PM, which is awesome, but I've been running around the last 48 hours gathering supplies and making a city hall themed painting for the event. It's like those popular painting and wine parties, but without the wine. This is what I came up with. I tried to keep it abstract and simple, and I added a decoupage element to it for added interest (and Jersey pride). 

Between this, my day job, my blogs, and Etsy...it's been an extremely busy week. So instead of my usual quart-sized mason jar of water...I'm drinking a quart of home made cookies & cream iced coffee.

Half way gone already!!

These day I rarely drink coffee, so the caffeine hits me HARD! Look out world! I'm caffeinated and armed with art supplies! If you're in the NJ area and want to come to the painting event (which is FREE) here's a LINK with info. 

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WIP Wednesday

Not sure about these "stories"... so here's my first ever attempt in post-form. 🌙 #thermalreactive #sailormoon #space #pins #buttons #etsy #wipwednesday #wip

A video posted by M. Smith (@poison_and_antidote) on Aug 17, 2016 at 8:18am PDT

I got this neat thermal reactive paint and I'm trying to figure out how to use it on button designs. Here's one of last night's experiments. 

Right now it seems like 2 layers makes things milky and foggy looking, but maybe I just need to wait longer between coats. 

On Wearing Many Hats, Money & Working Solo

As a artist/crafter/small business owner/blogger, I work alone. It sounds kinds of nice, not answering to anyone, but overall, being an island is extremely exhausting.

Everything I need, from product concept, to design, to production/printing, to finishing, to packaging, to marketing...it's all just me. I'm lucky because internet access makes all of that a LOT easier than it was 20 some-odd years ago, but it's still a lot for one person to handle.

Social media is a wonderful tool. We can save money on advertising by being our own advertising! Saving money sounds great and all, but what you don't realize is how much harder your have to work to get people to notice you while keeping your own production up and costs low. Free time is pretty much non-exsistant when you're a one-person production and yet, I always feel like I should be doing more!

When someone does a lot of things the old saying is they "wear a lot of hats." I have a face for sunglasses, but hats? They never look right on me.

Silliness aside, I wear a LOT of hats. This is a little sample of my weekday schedule, it's been intense, but it's been paying off. I'm seeing a lot more page views and sales!

Current Big Project At Work

1. First there is my main job, which is an hour away from home, where I am the only employee, and I work 9-5 Mon-Fri (9-4 on Fridays right now in the summer with our new summer hours. Thank goodness.) I am a graphic designer and digital printing consultant, but being the only employee in the facility, I do everything from filing, to answering phones, to production, to being tech support and personal assistant handling their messages and stuff not pertaining to business. When we're slow it's manageable, but when we're busy it's exhausting in and of itself.
   
   
   Then I have...