We've been hearing a lot about people wanting to keep a COVID-19 journal.  We've also been hearing that journaling is a great way to do self-care and maintain mental health.  And now-a-days, journals don't have to be just words.  They can be so much more, filled with doodles, moving art and even lists.  Over at Bustle, they have 11 great tips to starting a journal that will help you with all the aforementioned benefits, plus reminding you how to keep it fun and for yourself.  Click on the link to read all the tips.

And if you need a blank book to start your journaling, we have plenty of discounted books at this link.

Now is the season for plein air painting.  And just in time Artist Network gives you many ways to make your best painting ever, despite having to deal with light changes and other unpredictable things out in the open air.  They suggest many great strategies before, during and after your plein air painting adventure.  Read all their tips and tricks on their site at this link.  You'll definitely be more prepared after reading it when you go out and find a lovely scene to capture with your paints.

If you need any supplies such as easels or paint for your art adventure, you know we offer you plenty of discount art supplies here.  Happy outdoor painting!

We were very excited to see that Mt. Tabor Art has a YouTube channel with plenty of amazing art project ideas.  One of the videos that caught our eye was, "Making Art from Anything".  That sounded like something we could get behind and wanted to learn.  Watch it by clicking the image below or by going to their YouTube channel at the link above.

More great art projects are:
1- Agamographs:  Optical art that has 2 views depending upon which end you view it!
2- Kinetic Symmetry Chalk Art:  Cool chalk art that uses your whole body to make trippy designs!
3- Art is a Window:  Showing how to and showing off all the art everywhere in our communities!  A very heartwarming video!

If you need any discount art supplies, you can find plenty in our online shop.  Click here.

Did you know that you can make a DIY face shield with art supplies?  We had no idea until we saw this quick and easy video.  Here is what they say about it:

"Grafix is receiving lots of requests for materials to make face shields as additional protection against the Corona Virus. We are here to help and have had one of our top designers, Cat Kerr, create this simple and easy to follow the video and how to. You can use this to make a face shield for you or your family but also be given out to your community members that are working to so hard against Covid-19."

That sounds like a great way to connect with our community and to show our support for the workers who are on the front lines during Covid-19.  Click on the above image to be brought to the video.  

Don't forget, y0u can always place an order for discount art supplies with us at this link.

We always have our eyes and ears peeled for interesting art info we can share with our art community.  Here are a few of our latest finds.  Most of them are to help you do all kinds of paintings; from color mixing to choosing the right paint palete.  But there is one outlier about making shrink art. 

​Should you need any art supplies before, during or after you visit these 6 artist links, you know where you can find our discount art supplies.  

1- Strathmore free workshops online:  https://www.strathmoreartiststudio.com

2- GOLDENS VIRTUAL PAINT MIXER!!  This is amazingly fun to do and very helpful if you want to mix paint:   https://www.goldenpaints.com/mixer

3- Golden also has a rad YouTube Chanel:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Q21sJbaAVOIylhu3E7row

4- One of our customers who does pouring:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUOBSHWjsUuOobl7cIE6xGA

5- Shrink art super hero’s project:  https://www.artdogblog.com/shrinkable-superhero-charms-with-grafix-shrink-film/

6-Palettes differences between them:  https://drawpaintacademy.com/artist-palettes/

Sorry we didn't notify you sooner about this event happening tomorrow, May 21st, 8pm PST on Instagram, we just got the email yesterday.  Artist and Chemist, Jordon Rhodes will be doing a live demo study in gouache that you can follow along.  Below is how you can watch.  If you want to also do art with him, here is a link to the list of items you'll need to do it with him.  He'll be doing a skull study, as you can see above, in which he will demonstrate his techniques, process and also give you tips.

How to Watch:

• Follow Jordan on Instagram → @jmr_art
• At 8:00pm EST, go to Jordan's Instagram page from your mobile device or tablet.
• Click the "LIVE" button on Jordan's profile picture

Of course, if this inspires you to do more art, we're here for you with discount art supplies.  Take a look at our online shop so see what is ready for you to pick up after you order it.

Many of you thought we might be open on Friday....We are still open, but for curbside pickups only! We will continue this and hold steady for now as we forge ahead. 

It is our plan to slowly bring our staff back and train them on my new systems. That way all of us can learn to operate safely together and still serve your supply needs. We will continue to follow all local, state, and CDC guidelines for maintaining operations that keep everyone safe. 

As much as we would love to fling wide the doors and let you all come rushing in, we find ourselves in the position to take that very slowly. We have 18 amazing employees and have kept all of them this whole time. There are more of us than guidelines allow so I will get my team safely operating before we determine how to safely let the doors be open. My people mean the world to me and I know you feel the same about them. Continuing to offer pickups is what we feel the wisest plan is for a little while- thank you for understanding.

I’m so glad that so many of you have enjoyed our curbside pickup service. I look forward to making it better as we have the added ideas of my team. 

Stay strong & hang in there, Portland!! 

We love hearing that you're staying home, staying safe and staying creative during COVID-19.  We are so grateful that we can support you during this strange and unsure time.  Thank you for your orders and for sharing your art projects with us. In case you would like another coloring page, here's another one created by local Portland Gothic artist, Melissa Kojima.

She says this is about those summer nights when all the moths swarm around the lights and your head.  It can feel nightmarish if you don't like moths.  She says it could also be a metaphor for feeling out of control and afraid such as during a difficult time like the pandemic we're going through. 

We hope you're taking care and staying as sane as possible. Should you need any discount art supplies, you know the drill...click here to place an order with us. Thank you, Portland!  

We have another BIG LIST for you and this time it's for the kids.  You'll find 17 resources and activities they can do from home during the pandemic.  That includes coloring pages, virtual tours of museums, paper cutting and craft activities to keep them creating and having fun.  Of course, there's no reason why adults can't do the things on this list too.  Just saying...in case you didn't know that already.  I mean, come on!  Who doesn't want a coloring page with mythical creatures?! 

A special thanks to our lovely employee, Kristie Winther of Marigold Mural Studios for gathering all these links and resources.  We are so grateful to have you on our team, Kristie! 

KIDS  Art Projects,   Activities & Online Resources
​
1- “The Kids Should See This”    385 Super Interesting Videos about art! https://bit.ly/2VSHqwO

2- Independent Printing Public Resource Center.    (IPRC) Calendar of Virtual Classes for kids and teens https://www.iprc.org/events/?dm_i=5AJ2,ACJE,3NYCU8,12VLJ,1

3- Young Audiences  Distance Learning Art Directory. You can search by age range and type of art! Examples of classes they have: Upcycled Paper Flower making from grocery bags, Cut paper illustration class, and stop motion animation class! http://guide.ya-or.org/distancelearning

4- Portland Public Schools Distance  Learning     Arts Resources and Enrichment Activities. (Calendar Begins April 27th.) shorturl.at/fyDFY

5- Arts Wave Guide - Streaming Online Arts Videos https://guide.artswave.org/categories/online-streaming/

6-Downloadable Art-History Coloring Pages! Many museums across the world now have coloring pages of the art in their collections! The Newberry, a research library in Chicago, is one of the hundreds of institutions that have released downloadable PDF color pages of works from their collections. https://www.newberry.org/sites/default/files/textpage-attachments/Newberry_Color_Our_Collections_2019.pdf

7-Mythical Creature Coloring Pages  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4Glp2JG82r_VUNXMkxqN2dlSVE/view


8- Museum of Modern Art Virtual Audio Tour for Kids https://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/2

9- Ideas for Kids art activities inspired by art in the museum: https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/254

10- Barnsdall Arts  Sundays free LIVE zoom class - family art workshops @ 10am pacific. Register for the class here: https://learn.mommypoppins.com/course?courseid=barnsdall-arts-sundays

11-Daily Arts videos for kids!  YouTube channel by Cassie Stephens. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCdEo82iK2lzwMqCxBuQmmrQ ​Other Cassie Stephens Links:  https://linktr.ee/cassie_stephenz

12-Art for Kids Hub - Youtube Channel with Kids “how to draw “ videos youtube.com/artforkidshub

13-"Drawing Now"   Step by step drawing tutorials for kids https://www.drawingnow.com/tutorials/

14- Printable crafts for kids https://mrprintables.com/printable-crafts.html
15- Art projects for kids https://artprojectsforkids.org

16- Crafts for Kids https://www.redtedart.com/?cn-reloaded=1

17- Sculpey/ Clay Projects for kids https://www.sculpey.com/create/project_theme/kids/

We know some of you couldn't get enough of our frame shop music.  It was eclectic, strange, fun and always kept you on your toes.  You know what I mean if you've enjoyed our many services at the framing counter. 

​Since we miss you and we know you miss our frame shop tunes, we put together a special playlist while we're apart during the pandemic.    Click on either of  the images above to be brought to our Spotify playlist and listen to over 2 hours of music hand-picked for you by our expert, frame shop team.

Although at the moment we are not taking custom orders, we will be soon- So stay tuned! You can still order ready-made frames and mats.  Use this link to place your curbside orders.  We love you and miss you Portland!

We hope you're doing lots of creative projects during this social isolation to keep you healthy & happy.  To help you with that, we have another free coloring page to offer you.

​It's called, "A Night of Fur & Roses" by local Portland, gothic artist, Melissa Koijma.  She says this drawing is about dressing up glamorously on a beautiful, moonlit night and spending it with your best friends, including your giant blue cat.  You can download the coloring page with the button below.  

If you need more art supplies to color with, please check out our online shop for many drawing materials.

We sure love learning how to do art with Expert Kid Artist, Gabriel. Today, he gives us a perfect art project to do for Mother's Day which is right around the corner.  Here's what he has to say about this episode:

Welcome back everyone! Today, I show you how to create a one of a kind Mother’s Day card, or any type of card you would like, using a foam sheet printing method.

All of my supplies were purchased at I’ve Been Framed in Portland, OR. You can now order supplies for curbside pickup through their website. https://www.ivebeenframedpdx.com/curb...

Please give this video a like if you enjoyed it! Also, if you’d like to see more ArtsWithGabriel videos, be sure to subscribe to my channel. Thanks for watching!

We keep adding more fun art sets and art supplies to our online art store.  Some of them are for kids.  Some are for sculptors. Some are to decorate your body with.  Some are for the outdoors because it's spring and it's time to step outside and breath in all the beauty and blooms. All the are sets and art supplies are still at our great low, discounted prices as you'd expect from "I've Been Framed". Check out all the fun art supplies by clicking on the button below.  

Of course, if you didn't find what you needed, you can still make a curbside order by using the form at this link.  We appreciate your support and your patience with us as we continue to serve you during the pandemic and with a reduced number of staff members.  Thanks again!  We love you Portland!