When I was little, I was more excited to go to the craft store than the toy store.

So today, I'm even more excited to announce I'll be partnering with Michaels craft stores as one of their Michaels Makers bloggers. It's kinda like Michael himself called (I don't know if there is a real Michael) and said "hey, would you be interested in coming in, buying all the craft supplies you want, and making projects at least once a month? And then we'll totally share your project with our customers and tell them how cool you are."

Umm, yes Michael. You sure know how to woo a girl. I am so in. #fistpump

I was always painting or creating something as a kid. I fell in love with watercolors early on and took classes from grades 6-12, spending hours and hours outside of class painting and creating. I considered art school, but instead got my math and teaching degrees. I told myself art would be a hobby, but it couldn't be a career...

Fast forward to today. I'm not using my shiny math degree. I have a job (blogging) which involves painting, creating, making, sharing. When I do these projects, I feel something awakened in my soul.

But I still haven't picked up watercolors in the last 12 years. Besides the times when I've tried to show my kids they could create paintings without the excessive use of the color black.

The rest of the Michaels Makers recently attended the Michaels Makers Summit in Sonoma, CA for a creative vacation where they also took classes on watercolors, weaving, image transfers, and creating paper flowers.

I stayed home with my little one, Kate (2 months old now!) and instead stalked watched the summit on social media. 🙂

Or wait, maybe I was there? (I'm "in" the middle)

 

While home, I was able to follow along and take the classes offered at the summit.

I started with an intro to watercolor painting by artist Yao Cheng.I instantly felt the calming effects. The brush strokes, the colors blending and mixing unexpectedly, the saturation of pigments. It awakens something in you.

You can find the watercolor class I took here, as well as other summit-inspired classes on weaving (!!!), creating a paper peony flower, and photo transfers.

 To check out the rest of the Michaels Makers creative team, you can see our blogs and bios here. Create projects with us by sharing on Instagram using #MadeWithMichaels.

 (note: dishes or laundry are not a  a valid answer)

 This post is sponsored by Michaels Stores. I am a Michaels Makers project creator and was provided with store credit to purchase products for this post. All ideas and opinions are my own, and I only recommend products I use or would purchase again.