Queensday ATC swap on swap-bot

If I have to name my favorite day of the year, that would be Queensday for me. It is the best holiday in the world. The whole country unites and acting goofy is completely allowed. Friends come together, dress up in our national colors and we go out in the streets to celebrate. Parties everywhere! I am lucky that I lived in Amsterdam for a few years and that I got to celebrate Queensday there with all the boats parading in the canals. If you ever plan a trip to Holland, try to be there on April 30.

And 3 years ago the most pretty girl on earth was born on Queensday. My sister gave birth to Ashley that day. So two parties on April 30 since then for me.


If you are not coming over to the Netherlands, but do wish to be part of the joy, why not join the ATC swap that I am hosting on Swap-bot?
Want to swap international? Go here
Prefer Dutch only? Check this link.


Hope to see you in this first ever ATC swap I decided to host!

Solar Plexus mandala (3rd chakra)

Color pencil on 50x50cm paper by Kim Vermeer

Etsy goes European: My first art on Etsy

From 22nd to 28th March it is European Week on Etsy. That is because they are opening their first European based office in Berlin on April 1. I am positive that is no April fools day joke.

What also is serious business is this. Lately I have been asked, quite a few times, if I sell my mandala art. I don't. Not yet. They are too personal to sell the originals and I have not yet come around to figure out how to get them printed.

So, as an alterative and to get myself over that fear of selling original drawings, I now listed my first drawing on Etsy. (Dawanda follows). Do you like it? There's only one. And remember my last name is Vermeer. So if you always wanted to have an original Vermeer in your house, here's your chance! At a few dollars only.

Gosh I am so excited! What if I sell it...and someone will have it in their house...that must be amazing!

Marieke in a mandala

Here's the mandala I made for Marieke in our private swap. Her birthday is October 20, 1976, which is 20-10-1976. That makes 8 when you add up. Haha, I only now she our birthdays are close. I am October 15 1978. Anyway... 20: Twenty knots at the edge of the mandala 10: Hearts. 9 heart-shaped leaves and 1 heart near the 'M'. 1: 'M' in the middle 9: Roses in Jugendstil as that is a style she likes 7: footprints of her dog 6: birds in her market garden Which makes her birth number 8: 8: A piece of Heather Bailey Fabric as that is a fabric designer she likes. I made it on 30x30cm paper. And since there was some room left in the package I had to make for it. I thought I'd might as well add a few pieces of fabric for Marieke as well. She just rated the swap and was very pleased with the result! Jeej!

Slippers vs mandala

When I joined swap-bot a little while ago, Marieke saw that I am self-teaching how to use my sewing machine. She immediately proposed to send me a few simple sewing projects she knew.

I asked her if she would want a mandala based on her birthday from me. And she did.

Today I will show you what she sent me. As I am sending my drawing to her today, I will not yet post a picture of that. That will spoil the whole fun of receiving and opening mail.

Marieke made me these darling slippers. I can't say otherwise. So cute! An deasy to take along when travelling. Or when I spend the night at my sisters house. I love the color and the soft fabric on the inside.

In the same package she sent me lavender to put in the sewing projects she made for me. A bird, a seahorse (cute!) and a starfish. Too bad I have to go to work this afternoon as my hands itch to start working on them. And look at the postcard she made. Origami brings back childhood memories.

Thank you so much Marieke for putting together this package so carefully. I can only say that I am sending my mandala en route this afternoon and I hope you will appreciate it half as much as I appreciate this.

Pink and Brown ATC

Meet: Encaustic Art. Being at the fair last week inspired me to pick up this craft again myself. I love that fact that you have absolutely zero control over what you will put on paper. At least I do. I know there's people making landscapes with this. But because it is wax and you use a small iron to put in on the paper, colors and patters that you had just put on, melt away again when your iron hits it. I made this A4 size drawing and then cut it into ATC sized cards. As I entered and ATC swap themed 'Pink and Brown', I used these 2 parts to make a drawing on. I liked doing this! I made some more the same way for other swaps.

This one is for a Rainbow Zentangle ATC where you had to use at least 3 colors in a zentangle.

Holly Hobbie

Remember this girl? Holly Hobbie. As a child I loved her. I remember I had a pyjama with her face on. Then one morning I was painting and I spilled some paint on the Pyjama. Well, the fact that I have that memory shows the impact it had on me.. Now that my youngest sister moved out of my parents house, my mom is cleaning out some closets. And look what she found! Our old Holly Hobbie stamping kit. Not sure yet how, where and when I will use them, but I will. Holly is back in my life!

Zentangle Fun!

Ah, Sunday came. Finally. What a week I had. Well, HAD, so let's forget about that and enjoy this Sunday. No have-to's today.

And when I have a day like this, I like to catch up on my creative outbursts. Today I am combining that with catching up on my swaps at swap-bot. These ATC's were made for the Zentangle Fun! swap.

I love doodling zendala's or zentangle's. This swap inspired me to teach a class this summer to show others the fun of this kind of art in a mandala. For now, these 2 ATC's are flying to my swap partners in the USA.

International Women's Day fair

"Tree of life" pencil drawing by Kim Vermeer

What a day last Sunday was. In the morning I gathered all my things to go to the fair organised by a local lady who normally teaches belly dancing. Not only did I bring my encaustic art set to have people make intuitive drawings, but I also took my memory boards along to sell.

I did not expect to have a busy day as it was all arranged last minute and because it was on a Sunday, which is normally a day of rest. The town I live in is still very traditional when it comes to that.

"Element Water" pencil drawing by Kim Vermeer

Boy was I wrong! I put my table together, installed my folders, business cards, a mandala drawing to show and my encaustic art set. My intention was to bring my mandala courses under the attention of the local women.

13:30 the doors opened, the first lady sat at my table and before I knew it people wer elining up! They were literally waiting to draw and encaustic painting and have read their drawing! I could not believe me eyes. At one point they asked if I could make cards with numbers so they could draw a number as than they would not have to wait in line.

Un-be-lie-va-ble.

"Mother Earth" pencil drawing by Kim Vermeer

At five the day was supposed to come to an end, but there were still women waiting. I could not let them down. SO I kept on going until six and that's when they kicked me out, haha. Everybody else was already gone, left the fair, probably at the dinner table at home already.

I did not sell 1 single memory board. And I got the hint. That is not what I was there for.

"Heart" pencil drawing by Kim Vermeer

I am SO thankful for last Sunday. Thankful for all these women letting me have a look into their lives, into their souls. For the laughter and the tears that were at my table. For the opportunity to show myself. For the 3 appointments that already came out of it. For the inspiration to keep on doing what I am doing to help people. For the trust the women had in me. For the 2 new course member that came out of it. And for a lovely afternoon.

I heart vintage

That I love vintage is nothing new. Hence my Etsy shop. But yesterday I came across a link on Twitter of a new vintage shop in Amsterdam in one of the prettiest areas of the city. On the Prinsengracht. Go check out the website of 'I Love Vintage' and enjoy the ride back in time.

Swap: Inspirational words ATC

In another swap I received a small cards with the words 'True Love' and 'Good Times". I used them to get inspired for this ATC swap on swap-bot. I had an old road map from the USA West-Coast and my eye fell on a part of the map where I saw a town named Chocolate (think it's a nice place to live?) and an airport which stands for my love for traveling. On holiday I have good times, always. And the lips on top are smiling. No need to explain that I guess?

Note to self: Check pictures to see if they are sharp before sending the ATC's away by mail....

Swap: Music ATC

I joined an ATC swap where the theme was music. I very much enjoy reading the Kind over Matter blog and they had the image of an old cassette on their website as a freebie. The blue one is a print and the white one I drew myself. Added some music paper, some color and my ATC's were done.

International Women's Day

Wikipedia says: International Women's Day (IWD) is marked on March 8 every year. It is a major day of global celebration for the economic, political and social achievements of women.

Yesterday I got a local 'news'paper in the mail. Normally I do not really read it, but on the front page was an interview with a lady who has organised a day with all kinds of fun and free activities, arranged by local women. In my small town! Since she had not contacted me, I picked up the phone and asked her if I could join. And I can!

So, if you are in Holland and you have nothing special to do this Sunday, come to my cute little village named Huizen and come see me at this event. I will be making encaustic intuitive drawings for everyone and explain per person what the message behind the drawing is. Again, for free!

Here's a flyer of what else you can expect. In Dutch of course.

Dutch Handmade interviewed me

Elzeline interviewed me about side projects for the Dutch Handmade blog. It is in English, so why not go over there and read all about my side projects.

Fairy ATC

This ATC swap was about fairies. I love fairies. They are the cutest little creatures. But since I find them extremely hard to dra, I made this ATC out of various pieces of paper and prints. This fairy stands in from of the door that leads to a world where there is nothing but love. I wonder if she dares to enter that world. It would mean that she could only feel love for herself as well.