13 Black Cats Designs

The Digital Fantasy Art of Nicole L Marques

2009-11-08T12:39:00.002-05:00

Looking for distinct original paintings inspired by fantasy? Occitania's Store by Nicole Marques is that place. She is a digital artist among other things and she does it well. Her fantasy paintings bring magic to life and create a dreamlike atmosphere.

Capricorn, postcard by Occitania

I love this painting, in fact it is one of my favorites and it is a beautiful twist on the Sea Goat. The attention to detail is not at all lost here from the shiny pearls of her bodice to the clever hairstyle resembling horns.

Lady and Butterflies! by Occitania

This is another of my favorites depicting a woman rescuing some butterflies from a spiderweb. I love the contrast of the cold dark colors of her surroundings against the brightness of the butterfly wings.

Spring Equinox, postcard by Occitania

When I look at this painting I see a small fairy, on one side is winter, the other spring and she has met the hummingbird to transfer the seasons.

Dream Walk! by Occitania

Dream Walk is so full of detail it takes quite a while to notice everything. Hearts, butterflies, fairies and what I would like to imagine as millions of little fireflies are all tucked away as this lady walks through her dreams.

If you are a fan of fantasy art, you should definitely pay Nicole a visit. Nicole also has other shops on Zazzle.

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New From Pen And Ink

2009-11-07T18:51:00.003-05:00

Fun Florals Sticker

I just wanted to take a moment to show what is new over at Pen And Ink before I introduce you to the next artist coming in the next post.

Fun Florals is a new design I drew in Illustrator using custom brushes and swatches. This particular version is more of a muted tone but coming soon will be a bright more colorful version. Right now it is available on all kinds of supplies for your business or personal use, from order forms to recipe cards to handmade by stickers and presentation/recipe/photo binders.

Fun Floral Invitation

Fun Floral 1.5" Binder

Fun Florals Mousepad

Ruxique's Business & Special Occasions Shop

2009-11-06T18:29:00.002-05:00

Ruxique's Business & Special Occasions Shop

Ruxique's store is business and special occasion store full of clean simple designs and beautiful colors. She offers a wide range of products for businesses, weddings, showers and baby items. There are many themed party invitations to be found here as well - all fully personalized right online.

Elegant Retro Lavender Flower Swirls business card 3

by Ruxique

This design stood out for me, it is beautifully done, simple and clean. The colors are very regal and sure to stand out in someone's wallet. It is designed for both the front and back and your information can be added with ease.

Elegant Bride Bridal Shower Party Invitation 6

by Ruxique

This must be Ruxique's most popular invitation and if it is not it should be. I have shown grey version here but it is available in several colors in her Bridal section of her store.

Daisy Garden Birthday Party Invitation

by Ruxique

I just think this is a fun design and daisies are always a favorite of mine. I have shown the Garden Party Invitation above but it is also available for other party invitations and also comes in a sunflower motif for more of an autumn feel.

Pink Birds & Flowers Photo Baby Girl Album 2

by Ruxique

A very sweet photo album for a new baby. Simply paste your baby's photo and personalize the name and you have a lasting keepsake to give as a gift or keep for your little one, of course a boys version is available too

I hope you take some time to look around Ruxique's store, She has some very unique items to make your special day one of a kind.

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The Corrieweb Store

2009-11-05T12:15:00.002-05:00

There is no mistaking the colorful fantastical art of Dutch artist and illustrator Corrie Kuipers. Her distinct style and her characters bring a smile when you look at them. Corrie often uses her talent to bring awareness to certain social issues like breast cancer, global warming and environmentalism. It was hard picking a few items to showcase here as she has so many endearing characters but I managed to narrow it down to these:

treehuggers by cfkaatje

I have to say it was very difficult choosing one of her cat designs, there are so many and they are all cute. Corrie's cats are many and they are always adorable. If you know someone that loves cats you are sure to find something here to delight them. (Oh and for those of you that love dogs she has plenty of them too!)

sky diving cow by cfkaatje

I am always amazed at Corrie's cows, she always manages to put them in the most ridiculous situations, from sky-diving to bungee jumping, there is even a scooter riding cow

yo! be green by cfkaatje

In all honesty I chose this design because of the look on the frogs face, it makes me laugh

fang kitty by cfkaatje

By far my favorite line of Corrie's, her Voodoodles, a collection of cute and creepy dollies with personality and an attitude.

Stop by Corrie's store and take a look at all of the wonderful characters that live in her world, I can assure you that you will enjoy your look around. Corrie also sells her art on Greeting Card Universe.

Tiger Head Designs

2009-11-04T12:24:00.004-05:00

I thought perhaps for a change of pace I would show all of you some very talanted artists and friends that make a home on Zazzle. With the holidays coming up and you are thinking of gifts for family and friends I figured I would point you in the direction of some truly talented people.

The first one I would like to feature is Tiger Head Designs by Lora Shelley

Lora is a multi-talented artist who paints, sews, carves, weaves, makes jewelry, throws clay and sculpts felt into delightful little creatures.

Owl at Night
by TigerHeadDesigns

Owl at Night is one of the little puppets she has sewn and photographed for this fantastic card. She has a menagerie of creatures in her zoo. Two of my other favorites are a little Boston Terrier and a Kangaroo with her babies.

Oliver J. Cat
by TigerHeadDesigns

Oliver J. Cat is a portrait of her friend's feline. Oliver is a very large cat and can often be found sprawled out on the picnic table as flat as a pancake. He has a very regal quality to him and Lora captured it perfectly

Diner - Scrambled, Eggs And Bacon
by TigerHeadDesigns

Of course animals are not the only thing Lora captures in her art. Her Diner series and other paintings of women are just as beautiful. Every time I look at her portraits I can see something different. Today I look at the above portrait and see a woman that has made one too many breakfasts and is just quite going through the motions of her life where as another time I saw a woman daydreaming, perhaps of making it big and is stuck for the moment in this diner. That is the great thing about Lora's art, there are so many stories in one painting depending on how one looks at it.

Lora's store is relativly new and I encourage you to take a look. Lora also sells her handmade items on Etsy and has a main website too.

Save BIG on Holiday Cards

2009-11-03T19:24:00.003-05:00

THIS WEEK ONLY!!!

40% off all Cards and Photocards!

get a head start on the holidays (or an occasion)

Use coupon code HOLIDAYCARD4

* 40% of the net photo card, greeting card and note card sale price will be deducted when the coupon code HOLIDAYCARD4 is applied at checkout. For most products, the net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). Offer is valid from November 2, 2009 at 12:01am PT through November 12, 2009 at 11:59pm PT. This promotional offer may not combine with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

2009-10-30T23:07:00.004-04:00

Have A Safe And Blesssed Samhain

And Happy Halloween Everyone!

When Life Gives You Gloppy Frisket...

2009-10-30T21:12:00.004-04:00

Use Illustrator

I love the idea of frisket, my problem is that it glops up too fast and buying it is a waste of money. Even though I seal the bottle in two zip lock bags and carefully clean the lid and lip of the jar the cap still manages to seal itself shut like a vice grip. After about ten minutes of working at the cap and finally getting the darn thing open I found that my frisket was a gloppy mess as usual. After having removed most of the gooey-ness I began a painting that I woke up with in my head of a little fish.

I love batik and I used to do it all of the time in high school way back when, I love the way it looks and at first I was going to create my very first design of a stork among tropical foliage. Painting a sort of faux batik using watercolor and friskit but somewhere in between it turned into a tropical fish that I must have dreamed about the night before.

Now the original painting was good with exception of the above mentioned friskit. The lines were just too much of a mess to fix and I found myself getting annoyed beyond anything. I was about to scrap the whole idea when I thought "Why not take it into Illustrator and make the lines there and add the painting to it afterwards?"

That is exactly what I did and I think it came out successful. I scanned the original painting into Illustrator and cleaned up the lines by drawing them from scratch. I then moved it into Photoshop and scanned in four sheets of hand-painted watercolor, one each of yellow, green, ocean blue colors and purple. I placed the appropriate color behind the different sections of my new drawing and digitally cut it out. The end result is very close to the original painting only much cleaner. Maybe I shall recreate my very first batik just for the fun of it

Batik Fishy Print

Batik Fishy
Letterhead

Batik Fishy Shirt

Batik Fishy Card

A Calico Christmas

2009-10-26T20:12:00.003-04:00

Calico Christmas Trees 1.5" Photo Binder

I am getting a bit of a head start on the holidays and designed a group of Calico Christmas - Yule trees. This was kind of fun to design. I again started out in Illustrator and made swatches in green, red and ecru. I have stripes, gingham and snowflakes adorning the trees. The longest part was the tiny little snowflakes that appeares in two of the trees and the background. I wanted a simple country charm for this design, not a lot of bells and whistles.

I plan on picking up my paint brushes again soon, just lately when I look at the paper nothing comes out. It happens though and I never force out a painting just for the sake of posting something new.

Calico Christmas Trees
Postage Stamp

Calico Christmas Trees
Christmas Card

Calico Christmas Trees
Photo Card

Also Zazzle is having another promotion

Save 10.31% for Halloween
just enter code TRICKORTREAT

*10.31% of the net sale price will be deducted when the coupon code TRICKORTREAT is applied at checkout. For most products, the net sale price is the price of the product (excluding shipping and taxes). For Zazzle Custom Stamps, the net sale price is the difference between the price of the Zazzle Custom Stamps (excluding shipping and taxes) and the face value of the postage. Offer is valid from October 19, 2009 at 12:01am PT through October 31, 2009 at 11:59pm PT. This promotional offer may not combine with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers.

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FREE 2 day shipping on Zazzle

2009-10-24T20:06:00.003-04:00

Use coupon code FASTSHIPBOOO

Please note that skateboards, dark apparel, dark bags, calendars, embroidery with digitization, photo sculptures, framed posters, shoes and binders WILL NOT arrive by 10/30 even when using the free Halloween 2-day shipping upgrade.

You must select 2-day shipping to apply this offer

To qualify for this free 2-day shipping offer, one or more Zazzle products must be purchased with a net sale price equal to or greater than 50.00 dollars. The coupon code FASTSHIPBOOO must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. The free shipping offer is for 2-day shipping to U.S. addresses only. Shipping charges will apply to oversized orders and orders being shipped on an expedited basis or outside the U.S. Offer is valid from October 26, 2009 through October 27, 2009 at 3:00pm PT. Your order must be placed during that time to qualify for this special offer. This promotional offer may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only.

Great Sale At Greeting Card Universe

2009-10-20T18:48:00.004-04:00

Take advantage of a great sale going on at Greeting Card Universe and get a head start on all of your holiday cards.

Buy your Christmas Cards early and Save 50 Cents per card!

Use promo code CHRISTMAS229 at checkout.

Thanksgiving Cards
Mabon Cards
Christmas Cards
Solstice and Yule Cards

Of course you can use it on any card you buy from my store.

New designs are on the way too.

Need matching Postage stamps or Sticker seals to finish off those envelopes?

Thanksgiving/Mabon Postage
Thanksgiving/Mabon Seals
Christmas/Solstice Seals
Christmas/Solstice Postage

To see the current Zazzle Coupon Codes Click Here

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New Designs Across The Board

2009-10-17T22:03:00.005-04:00

Well it has been a busy last few days and I got quite a bit done and a few new designs to show off too!

New in 13 Black Cats Designs

Staring You Down Bag

Today's doodle is a quick pen and ink with watercolor. The idea just kind of popped in my head, well sort of flashed but flashed long enough to grab a piece of paper and jot it down. This morning I drew it out on a piece of watercolor paper, did the ink work and added color with paint. I wanted a kind of marker appeal to it, almost like a comic book and while that is not my forte I think I pulled it off a bit.

A very simple design I rendered in Illustrator a few days ago called A Cup Of Joe

Cup Of Joe Mug

This design started out as a circle, flattening the top and adding a few swirls for the handles and steam

New In J'adore Paris - 4 new designs premiere

Paris Photo
Binder 1.5"

Marie's Sunflowers
Mousepad

Paris Fruit
Market Postcard

Arc de Triomphe
Triptych Print

The first one is a collage of different shots around Paris set into a color slide filmstrip. The second, Marie's Sunflowers, are a field of sunflowers growing nearby The Hamlet Houses, were Marie spent her last days before being taken and later beheaded. The third, Paris Fruit Market was shot just wandering around Paris. Not only does Paris have these beautiful gardens scattered about everywhere but they also have these beautiful, unique storefronts that are obviously taken care of with great pride. The last design for J'adore Paris is a triptych of the Arc de Triomphe, standing in front of it looking up. Unfortunately I could not shoot this further back, It would have meant I would be road kill for that is one serious round-about that I would dare not cross. I fully understand the reasoning for the underground passageway to get to the "island" the Arc sits upon.

and finally what's new in Pen And Ink...

Crazy Squares Letterhead

Crazy Squares started out in Illustrator with colored diamonds amongst black and ecru ones. Then was finished up in Photoshop with a bit of a cubism effect.

Well, there are my last few days in a nutshell. I really do enjoy what I do and want to thank all of my customers, fans, followers and admirers. I am honored that you take the time out of your day to follow what I am doing and I am happy to share my work with you. Until next time have a great weekend!

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Breast Cancer Month

2009-10-09T14:54:00.004-04:00

Everyone knows that October is breast cancer month and how important it is to be aware. Zazzle gave a call out to it's designers to donate a design for their Pink Ribbon Store. This wasn't too hard for me, the design came very easily. I drew it in Illustrator adding the words into the ribbon, brought it into Photoshop - shaded and highlighted it then used a select focus.

Unfortunately my family has been touched by cancer as so many others have too so this is a way to remember my loved ones. *I have donated the design below to the Pink Ribbon Store for sale on T-shirts and Postage where Zazzle will donate 20% of the net product sale to breast cancer related causes* The rest will be available in my store for sale.

*pending review and upload by Zazzle

**20% of the net sale of all the products in The Pink Ribbon Store will go to support breast cancer awareness causes. For postage products, net sale is defined as the difference between the sale value and the face value of the postage.

I AM, I DID, I WAS
Cancer Pink Ribbon Sticker

I AM, I CAN, I WILL
Cancer Pink Ribbon Sticker

I thought I might add some great designs from artists I admire:

Pink Ribbon Button
by floatinglemons

Love your Boo-bees
by cfkaatje

Burned Butterfly

2009-10-07T15:12:00.007-04:00

Burned Butterfly Sticker

Latest design on Pen and Ink and 13 Black Cats Designs too!

I began fooling around with brushes and swirls in Illustrator yesterday to see if anything would come of it. I began to randomly draw swirls and they started to take the shape of a butterfly wing and so a butterfly was born.

After getting one side of the wing finished I had to expand the brush strokes so I could reflect it to the other side. I drew the body using circles and ovals and tied it together with a solid wing behind the swirls.

Originally I was going to do a monarch type butterfly in orange but when I opened it in photoshop it just wasn't working. I accidentally fell upon a teal color when randomly clicking around the color box. (Art is so precise isn't it?) Once the teal color was chosen I thought I would set it against a dark brown so I made a background, added the noise filter and then crosshatched it to give it a bit of a vintage look. The butterfly was still a bit too bright so I change it's opacity to Color Burn, merged it with the brown background and gave it a bit of a glow.

Since this design started to develop a vintage feel to it I made a background like an old newspaper. First I started with a cream background and burned the edges, added a slight bit of noise and applied a monotone color of brown to age it. I typed some random letters to fill the page and changed the opacity to overlay and then 50%. merged it down and there you have it, old newspaper! The full line can be found on Pen And Ink and a variation of it can be found on 13 Black Cats Designs.

From Pen And Ink:

Burned Butterfly
Invitation

Burned Butterfly
Gift Certificate

Burned Butterfly
Name Tag Button

From 13 Black Cats Designs:

Burned
Butterfly
Bag

Burned
Butterfly
Mousepad

Burned
Butterfly
Shirt

This Is What Happens When You Sit Alone In A Sushi Restaurant

2009-10-02T23:12:00.003-04:00

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Kitty Print

While I was sitting alone waiting for my NY Roll of tuna, apples and mayo and an Eel Roll I began to read the menu board behind the man making my sushi. The creative names they have given the various specials began to spark an idea in my head. Hanging behind the tables on elaborate wallpaper were brightly colored advertisments for various things which I could not read and next to them on a table sat a Maneki Neko smiling back at me. Well, they seemed to mash themselves in my brain and the above design happened. While I am aware that the title I chose for this design was based on a Chinese movie and not Japanese, I thought it an appropriate name. I imagined this guy hiding behind the fake palm tree in the corner, stalking any sushi left unattended.

This was a fun design to do, totally unplanned and drawn fully in Illustrator. It took me a little while to form the cat's face but things fell into place without much difficulty. Crounching Tiger, Hidden Kitty is available now on Zazzle. It even makes an appearance on Zazzle's brand new Avery binders.

I have put Jadore Paris on a bit of a hold because I am working on a side project to be unveiled soon. I hope to add more photos and artwork within the next week. If I can only get the staff to work a little harder but they are always busy taking naps in the sunshine coming through the window so I am on my own for now. I can assure you that I will keep everyone posted here when my new project is unveiled so stayed tuned.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Kitty Shirt

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Kitty Binder

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Kitty Bag

Save 10% on Posters And Prints On Zazzle

2009-09-21T18:55:00.002-04:00

Le Poulbot Print

I have been slowly posting my photographs and artwork on J'adore Paris for you to enjoy. The above is a digital painting of Le Poulbot an adorably decorated and quaint restaurant in the Montmartre area near Sacre Coeur. As my very understanding friend can attest I waited here for a good twenty minutes for people to clear out of the way so I could get this shot. I think she just about gave up when I stumbled upon a snail in the cemetery and waited for 10 minutes for it to come out of it's shell. Hey, I did warn her before hand.

Père Lachaise
Cemetery 1 Print

Notre Dame Light
The Way Print

For the Père Lachaise Cemetery 1 Print I laid the camera on the ground and shot upwards looking down the cobble stone path. The day was grey and it was a bit chilly with a warm sun. A perfect day to visit the cemetery. There is a lot of beauty here and a quiet peaceful solitude.

Light The Way was shot in Notre Dame with existing light, camera steadied by a column. The church itself is stunning and no photograph can do it justice by any means. It stands in the very center of Paris and as I looked at it I wondered about all the history that this church has witnessed. I also understood how it could inspire so many to create such works of art such as my favorite book by Victor Hugo "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame"

10% off posters

Shop posters and prints in any of my stores and get 10% off with coupon code: SEMPROMO1007.

Expires 9/30/2009.

More details: 10% discount applies to each qualifying Zazzle poster product. The coupon code SEMPROMO1007 must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. Offer is valid from July 2, 2009 through September 30, 2009 at 11:59pm PT. This offer does not apply to past purchases and may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only and is not valid on Smilestore.com, Zazzle.ca, Zazzle.com.au or Zazzle.co.uk orders.

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Today's News:

2009-09-21T18:11:00.004-04:00

By The Light Of The Moon Invitation

By The Light Of The Moon
gets a TBA from Zazzle!

Today I was honored with another TBA for my Halloween invitation above. My invitations are easily personalized right online of course if you need something special or help feel free to email me through my store.

Here is a coupon for new customers:

Free shipping on Custom Invites & Announcements for new customers
Coupon Code: ZAZZLEINVANN
Expires: 9/30/2009

J'Adore Paris Gets A New Look

2009-09-18T15:35:00.011-04:00

J'Adore Paris Gets A New Look

I have come back from my first trip to Europe and the first vacation I have had in five years. I had a wonderful time and the people of Paris are friendly, nice and helpful (except for one grumpy waiter)

Paris is an artist's dream come true, everywhere you look is a painting or a photograph waiting to be captured. I had barely took a step without snapping a photo and all in all I took around 1,200 within the week. The challenge lied in having a very steady hand as most places do not allow flash photography or tripods understandably. I like shooting with available light above flash but in the darkness of some of the churches and buildings you had to become creative.

We managed to get a lot of sightseeing and might I add some extremely good food into the week. It took me 40 years to finally see Notre Dame, the setting for my favoriite book up close. It's beauty is so astounding I easily took over 200 of it alone. Père Lachaise Cemetery was also a highlight for me. It was an overcast day and the leaves on the trees are starting to turn colors and fall. Moss covers most of the tombs and cobblestones wind through a maze of around 300,000 graves.

Versailles was interesting. The castle was a bit much for me and did not hold my interest until I got out in the gardens back by the Hamlet Houses. I fell in love with the beauty of that whole area. It was as if a storybook had opened up and you walked right in. Little cottages lined the lake, a small mill, a spiral wooden staircase, cute little gardens fenced in with wooden gates and a farm with the most handsome, entertaining pig I have ever met. He honestly had me laughing the whole time. We ended up nicknaming him Jambon, the French word for ham, not because he was a pig but for the way he hammed it up for everyone passing by.

"Jambon"

The only thing I did not get to see because of a week long power outage was the catacombs. I was really looking forward to that but perhaps next time.

I have redesigned the store to better reflect the way I felt about Paris. I gave it a warm and inviting feel to it and I have begun to upload some photos and digital paintings. I have in the works a few watercolors that will be posted down the line a bit. I also plan on adding short stories to the photos I have already put up. It is a very big job so please be patient. I hope you enjoy what I have to show...

Zazzle's New Products

It seems that Zazzle had pushed back the relaese of the new products and they just released today. New letterheads, stationery, invitations and more can be found in my 13 Black Cats Designs store. Being away and not having access to a computer I was not able to update the progress of it all so I am sorry to leave you hanging in that sense.

Anyway it is back to posting my photos and catching up on some painting - Let me know what you think!

One Last Design... Alright Three

2009-09-08T00:18:00.005-04:00

Today I posted three new designs before I take the week off to refresh and relax. This will be a short and sweet introduction to them.

The first one is Pink Poodles On Parade a trio of fancy patterned poodles prancing around. I was feeling a little silly when I drew them.

Pink Poodles On Parade Card

The next two are type designs one each for a boy and a girl both spelling out baby, baby, baby

Baby, Baby, Baby Print

Baby, Baby, Baby Print

I will not have access to a computer for the next week or so, so please be patient if emailing me. I promise I will get back to you as soon as I can. Have a great week everyone and be sure to check out Zazzle later on today for the new top secret stuff!

Top Secret Stuff Part Two

2009-09-07T10:07:00.002-04:00

Have you guessed yet? Still no clue? Well Dexter is busy looking over my shoulder to make sure I don't spill the beans before tomorrow. What I will say is Zazzle has some new and exciting things coming up on September 8th so be sure to visit us tomorrow and see what the excitement is all about.

Top Secret Stuff

2009-09-05T01:26:00.003-04:00

Top Secret Stuff Going On Behind The Scenes

Hmmmm, what could it be?

Hopefully Dexter does his job and all will be unveiled on September 8th so stay tuned!

Free Shipping for Labor Day

2009-09-04T10:38:00.004-04:00

Labor Day Sale

FREE SHIPPING on $35+ orders!

Use Code: FREELABORDAY

Ends Tuesday!

To qualify for this free shipping offer, one or more Zazzle produts must be purchased with a net sale price equal to or greater than 35.00 dollars. Free shipping offer does not apply to skateboards, or photo sculptures. The coupon code FREELABORDAY must be entered during checkout to receive the offer. The free shipping offer is for standard (or economy if standard is not available) shipping to U.S. addresses only. Shipping charges will apply to oversized orders and orders being shipped on an expedited basis or outside the U.S. Offer is valid from September 3, 2009 through September 8, 2009 at 11:59pm PT. Your order must be placed during that time to qualify for this special offer. This promotional offer may not be combined with any other Zazzle promotional or discount offers. Offer valid on Zazzle.com only and is not valid on PicturePeople.com, Zazzle.co.uk, Zazzle.com.au or Zazzle.ca orders.

Another New Halloween Design

2009-09-02T23:38:00.004-04:00

Halloween Paisley Invitation Postcard

In my quest to learn something new I came upon this tutorial and thought I might give it a try. I like paisley and I LOVE Samhain so I though why not combine the two? I have to say the tutorial is very easy to follow and if you are learning Illustrator or want to learn something new this is a great site.

The paisley design I came up with (a small portion is shown above) involved two of my earlier designs, you may notice the skull and the spider has appeared before plus a new appearance by a bat. I chose citrus colors against black with touches of white. I think it worked well It wasn't hard to do but it was very time consuming. Perhaps it was because I didn't have a plan in my head, I just went along throwing things together, some worked some didn't. Along with the paisley design I made three seals to go along and compliment everything. While these show up in the final paisley they also stand alone.

Halloween Paisley
Spider Sticker

Halloween Paisley
Skull Magnet

Halloween Paisley
Bat Button

Enjoying the process and wanting to practice a bit more I drew the next paisley piece.

Green And Pink Paisley Profile Card

I have noticed that I have been getting stuck using my favorite colors lately and the original design was no exception. After I finished I went back in and chose a palette I would not normally go for. I would like to do another two or three paisley designs and make them in pastel colors or perhaps jewel colors. Something to break up the norm.

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Something New To Try

2009-08-27T20:02:00.003-04:00

Classy New Patterns In Subtle Earth Tones

Topiary Profile Card

Today's design was inspired by some beautiful Moroccan tiles. Yes I know they look nothing like a Moroccan tile but I had them on my mind while I was designing these patterns. I always loved the fine detail that goes into the work behind the tiles. Today I decided to try something new and open up Illustrator to start to draw my own intricate design.

I love Earth tones and green is my favorite color, olive green to be exact. I wanted to do a complex design but use it in a primitive drawing. Topiaries are pretty simple, A ball, a stick and a pot, all very simple shapes but when you decorate them with complex designs they become a little more interesting plus I got to use Earth tones.

To begin I made a series of shapes using circles, squares and ovals until I had a small design. I copied this design and formed a bit of an intricate square which I then dragged into the swatch palette. I made several variations of this design, and my four best are featured in the new section of my store entitled "Pretty Patterns" There are also business cards that you can personalize right on the site.

This process did take quite some time, although I did enjoy it. I hope to do some more in the near future. Perhaps other colors I usually wouldn't work in, maybe something fun, who knows what will happen until it does.

Topiary Profile Card

Topiary Tie

Topiary Mug

2009-08-26T14:22:00.002-04:00

Both teddy bears that accompany "Washed Ashore" have been posted yesterday.

Each one has four different backgrounds to choose from.

"Sailor Bear" has plaid and star backgrounds in blue and

"Enjoying A Cone" has plaid and hearts background in purple