An Illustrated Journey

Fish Tales - CPWC 128

2011-07-14T19:03:00.001+10:00

Fish Tales - CPWC 128, originally uploaded by Karin M Designs.

Created for Collage Play with Crowabout. Just a bit of fun.

iPhonegraphy

2011-01-30T18:01:00.001+11:00

I'll confess, I've become obsessed with taking photos using my iPhone. It's so easy! So portable!! For instance, yesterday, I was sitting in TGI Friday with my family waiting for our lunch. The one I go to has a classic lighted disco floor on the ceiling (I did say it was TGI Friday, right?). Anyhow, as I was sitting there playing my iPhone, I noticed that the disco floor was reflecting on the table top; so I snapped a few photos. They didn't turn out all that great, but that wasn't the point, the point is (and was), the possibilities! I'm finding that with all my faux toy camera apps, I'm taking photos of the weirdest things, like door knobs, light fittings, chair backs etc, the most mundane things take on a whole new 'reality, if you will. It's fascinating!

I can't wait to get back to my regular walks to and from school collecting Miss Moo - so many possibilities along the way!

In the meantime, here's some 'eye candy'. It's a photo I took of the sunflower out the front of our house, followed by the same photo, to which I applied one of my 'art' apps.

iPhoneography Junkie

2011-01-17T20:23:00.001+11:00

Who knew that there was an actual term for using your iPhone as a camera?! I sure didn't. Anyway this is being sent via one of my new (and many) iPhone apps.

Two Things

2011-01-12T10:55:00.000+11:00

I'm probably nuts, but I decided to start up a photo a day blog, yep, you read that right. You can find it here - Sandalwood Dreams. I'm putting the more 'arty' photos from my iPhone on there, which is as pretentious as it gets, but you know me.

The second thing is this - my cat snoozing on my desk. This is the sight that greeted me this morning. I think she was there all night.

Maybe she was minding the mouse?

And so the new year begins

2011-01-10T10:39:00.001+11:00

Christmas 2009, I was given an iTunes Store gift card, which I never used, up until yesterday. I was originally going to buy some music, but I didn't - instead, I bought some photography apps. I've been having fun with them ever since.

Here's a photo where I used several different apps to get the end result. It was so easy!

It's also so easy to get 'suckered' into buying the full version of the trials. However, as most of them are under $3.00, and in most cases, even under $2.00, it's not a problem - until the gift card runs out that is.

Keeping it Simple

2010-11-10T16:12:00.000+11:00

I've probably used that title before, but what the hey.

Over the weekend, I bought some digital scrapping supplies as there were a lot of sales and it was my birthday present to myself. I purchased a bunch of altered art stuff and even a bunch of 'normal' and 'everyday' things. I played around and realised that I miss making a 'plain ole' scrap page. Something simple, yet effective. So here is one of those pages, I'll leave the rest for another day, I don't want to spoil anyone, hee hee.

I used a template by TaylorMade and some of her papers, as well as a paper and elements by Nina Scraps, both of which can be found over at Oscraps.

Getting too caught up

2010-09-21T20:12:00.000+10:00

I don't know about you, but when I'm creating something in the digital medium, I get too caught up in making it perfect. I spend days doing the same thing and, in the end, I've created very little. When I was more hands on, any mistakes were dealt with immediately. There was no undo when I smudged a stamp, or cut off something I shouldn't have. Very rarely did I start over, that was far too time consuming. So why do I do it now? I have to admit, I honestly don't know. It's still time consuming. There is no reason for me to do so. So I decided that I won't! Well, I'll try not too.

Which brings me to this post. I haven't used my camera in some time, that's because I couldn't find the battery charger (which has now been found, yippee!), and I missed it. Today The Moo and I went out for a walk and I took my camera. I just photographed random things. I'll admit, when I uploaded them to Lightroom I did delete the extremely fuzzy photos. I was about to delete all the photos I took of The Moo's eye in close up, but I didn't. I applied one of my presets and imported it over to Photoshop. I had a very short play, and this is what I came up with:

I'm quite pleased with it. I didn't over think it and I didn't over work it. I'm hoping this means that my creative muse has decided to return from her sabbatical. She's certainly been away for far too long!

Textures

2010-06-29T15:15:00.001+10:00

I'm a texture fiend, I'll admit it!

I've started to make them for sharing and they can be found on my Flickr account, here. More will be added as they are created.

Enjoy!

Let me know what you think.

PS: Due to size restrictions or something, the textures are not showing up at full size. If you would like to have the 3000 x 2400 version of the textures, please leave a comment here or on Flickr.

Becoming tangled

2010-05-28T13:01:00.000+10:00

I finished my zentangle postcards and then forgot to post them! I must have packed my brain away the last time we put things into store.

I scanned most of the cards before I sent them off, only one was missing. I'll upload them as they arrive at their respective destinations, I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

I ordered a book, Totally Tangled, from Amazon and it arrived on Wednesday. I think I've read that book 10 times already. I usually don't like ordering craft books sight unseen, but the author has a blog, Beez in the Belfry, so I was fairly certain that I would like her book. I was right. I see something new in it every time I look. I highly recommend it.

I'm still tangling away. It's easy and fun to do. I've got my little travel box now, so I can even do them when I'm waiting around for one reason or another.

It took me a little while to figure out how best to start. I found that I couldn't work using the 'strings' method as recommended on the Zentangle website. I also tried a 'griding' method, not a literal grid, but a sort of mapping out of areas. That didn't work either. I finally found that if I start with a single shape, of any kind, even a figure 8, and just keep going, the designs just flow.

The Chandeliers

2010-05-08T18:00:00.001+10:00

The chandelier silhouettes are ready, just in time for Mother's Day.

I created the shapes in PSCS4. I'm not sure if they will work in other versions, but I think they should. Let me know if you have any problems.

Here's a preview, you'll note that there's only one chandelier (click on it for a bigger view). Wanna know why? Because it's a mystery bag of chandeliers! I can tell you that seven out of the eight are traditional, pseudo Victorian to Art Deco. One of them is slightly more modern, say, the 60s or even the 70s, maybe even later. Anyway, I liked it, so I included it.

The download link can be found right here. Have fun.

Chandeliers and Spam

2010-05-07T19:23:00.000+10:00

First, I'm working on some chandelier silhouettes in Illustrator, which I'm importing into Photoshop to turn them into custom shapes (I know, I know, talk about going backwards, hee hee). There is a reason behind the madness. When I've got a few done (four so far), I'm uploading the shapes to share! Yay! And just for the fun of it, trying saying chandelier silhouette shapes ten times fast.

Second, I've had to turn comment moderation on, which I loathe, but I got hit by a spam bot or something in my comments and just wasted 10 minutes of my life getting rid of the garbage! Be warned fellow bloggers. I don't know why they bother, does anyone keep that stuff around? Maybe they get paid by the number of comments or something.

Zentangle Postcard Swap

2010-04-21T16:41:00.000+10:00

When I bought my Zutter binding machine, I joined a Yahoo group about mini books. They host a lot of swaps, most of which I miss, as I'm generally dreadful when it comes to keeping deadlines. However, one of the members came up with the idea of a zentangle postcard swap, which intrigued me enough to want to join, so I did.

I did a bunch of looking around on the web on zentangles (and cannot believe how much more information is out there compared to a few years ago) and come across some ideas that interested me. One in particular was using a stamped face and zentangling around it. Here's my take, using a partial vector face (the eyes, nose, mouth, chin, shoulder and basic hairline). I chopped of two centimetres of art on the right hand side, as it didn't look right. Not the best, but not the worst either.

Dream Mandala

2010-04-20T09:32:00.000+10:00

I'm still playing with the mandalas. I find it fascinating that something can change so completely. Here's another mandala that I made yesterday. I call it Dream.

Here is the source image.

Mandalas

2010-04-18T12:08:00.004+10:00

While searching for zentangle patterns and ideas, I came across mandalas (natural, if you think about it). However, what I didn't expect was digital mandalas. Oh yes! Thanks to Sacred Circle Mandalas and Earth Mandalas, I've discovered a whole new obsession (other than the recent zentangle one, but more about that later). They are so much fun to make and the results are fascinating (and being me, I've sped up the process by creating an action which draws my shapes and does all the niggardly rotation work).

I love how different the mandalas look, depending on whether you've used a three, four, five, six or eight part template and the same image.

Here's one I made yesterday, which I've called Peace (click for bigger and better view). It's pink and I still like it, which says something, as I do not like pink!

For those interested, here is the source image.

Art Journal Caravan

2010-01-13T13:38:00.002+11:00

As anyone who has visited of late may have noticed, there has been zero art from me. I totally lost my mojo.

Anyhow, to get back on track, I signed up for a year long art journal class. Class is not the right word, but I can't think of another word. Check out the blinkie on the right hand side, at the top of the page, for more information. So, today, I'm checking out the blog and what do I see? My cover page has been featured! I'm blown away. Here's the entry. Mine is the first page.

I hope it's one of more to come (we are already into week two of prompts and I have made nary a page!)

Bokeh and other textures

2009-10-24T19:52:00.002+11:00

Over the last few weeks I've discovered bokeh. I'm trying to create bokeh effects with my point and shoot camera. I'll let you know how it goes, according to the experts, it's a near impossibility.

In the meantime, I've had to 'pretend' and have been hunting down bokeh textures from all over the net. I've been using those textures with my regular textures on my photos and here's one of the results (one of many, they are so much fun to make). My daughter somewhere in Marrakesh. We had been to the market the day before and she had wanted an outfit like the local kids. Of course, she had to make it her own; so she added the sunhat (which was from our Italian leg of the same trip).

Audrey Dreamer - an Experiment in Texture

2009-10-09T11:39:00.003+11:00

I like experimenting with textures and techniques and I do it all the time. I'm also really getting into starting something in Photoshop, tweaking it in Illustrator and then returning it to Photoshop to add more details.

When I was still running challenges, I had one for photo makeovers, but not in the traditional sense (if there is a traditional sense for photo makeovers). I wanted participants to change the clothes of the people/models in their photos, and preferably use vintage photos.

I created two images, today I'm sharing Audrey Hepburn (I'm such a fan of hers, she had such style, grace and poise; a true lady). I didn't want to change Audrey too much, so I merely 'painted' her and gave her some new snazzy material and sparkles (she deserves sparkles!).

Free ATC backgrounds

2009-10-08T15:01:00.000+11:00

On one of the digital scrapbooking forums that I visit, I noticed a discussion on ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). One thing led to another, and now I'm offering some ATC backgrounds I made as samples for some 12 x 12 backgrounds I was selling; when I was designing.

Here's a preview (I know it's an awful preview) and here's the link for download. Enjoy! Let me know of you create anything with them by linking me up in the comments. I would love to see what you have made.

The blog background, yet again

2009-10-08T14:29:00.000+11:00

Okay, I think this is it. No more changes for a while. I'm quite pleased with this background and I hope it doesn't take too long too load.

Let me know if it causes any problems.

Changes

2009-09-26T11:15:00.002+10:00

Yes, I changed my background yet again. I prefer this one, I think :) I'm not too sure about the yellow, as it's not really my colour, hmm, we shall see ...

I'm thinking of restarting my cooking/menu/food blog. I've been cooking and doing a lot of new stuff food wise lately and it's holding my interest a little more than digi art etc. right now. I guess, though, that I will have to make a new blog background for the new blog right? It's all relative.

Not much else to say today. I just found out that one of my favourite TV celebrity chefs, Keith Floyd, died a week or two ago. So sad. He was such a character. They are running a tribute show to him on the Lifestyle network. I must remember to watch.

Typography

2009-09-23T18:54:00.004+10:00

I confess, I love clever use of typography (not surprising, as I love words and all things wordy). So much so, that when our family watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on blue ray the other night, I was far more intrigued with the layout and type used on images of the Daily Prophet, than in the movie (story line lost due to inclusion of special effects, although not as bad as Goblet of Fire, which was pure drivel as a movie).

Anyhow, using words and type to make portraits has been around since forever, and there are some really wonderful modern interpretations using graphic programs. I found this nice and easy tutorial on PSDTopBlog, which I changed a little, as I didn't quite like my end result following the tut verbatim. This is what I came up with, using digi scrap stuff as well.

Spring Cleaning

2009-09-14T12:02:00.002+10:00

It's Spring here in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm hoping that the weather of Friday and Saturday is not an indicator of the Summer to come, or I'm going to be a wreck! I loathe the heat and the hottest I'm willing to tolerate on a voluntary basis is around 25 degrees Celsius (that's around 77 Fahrenheit). Unfortunately, I don't have weather control and I have to put up with temperatures that exceed 30 (86) on a regular basis. Blah!

Anyway, as it's Spring, Father of the Moo and I did some spring cleaning the weekend before last. Feeling virtuous, I thought I'd update my blog as well. Let's see how it goes. I might have to change my profile photo too, it just doesn't fit in.

Ramblings

2009-07-17T09:09:00.003+10:00

If you looked at the blog, you'd think that I hadn't been very creative lately, which is usually the case. However, this time, it isn't. I've been busy crocheting hats for my daughter (as it's winter here) and exploring mixed media jewellery. I'm off to the hard ware store later to see what they have on offer, I can't wait!

Anyway, I found this nice blog yesterday and was inspired to make a new desktop, which I will share with you all :) Sorry about the watermark, but I'm tired of people stealing my stuff (it's pathetic, it really is, the time they spend surfing could be better spent learning how to do it themselves; don't you think? I know I do). It's a little different from my usual desktops, which are usually variations on my scrap pages, this could be one too, except that I made this at desktop size.

This was made using a bunch of free stuff, which I will link later, as I need to find them again. It's amazing how much good quality free product is out there.

Moonlight and Roses

2009-05-17T13:04:00.003+10:00

I made this a while ago and I'm not really sure what I was thinking at the time; probably not the same thing I'm thinking now, that's for sure!

The Kiss

2009-05-16T17:01:00.003+10:00

After making my last post, I checked my blog roll and saw the theme to this week's Make A Moo Or Two was "A Kiss". I tried using one of the photos from our wedding two years ago, but it wouldn't work, so instead, I used this one. I took this in a hotel in Florence, Italy.

As the whole of Florence is steeped in history, I antiqued my photo. However, as my visit there was in this modern age, I added funky modern details like the paper and the swirly flight path of the bird. The bird itself transcends both the old and the new. Clever, huh? Especially as I just thought of this, yes, I'm making it up as I go along, but it works, hee hee. I originally made this as a 12 x 12 for another of my Altered Art Challenges. I moved this and changed that, but interestingly, it mostly remains the same.

Secret Thoughts

2009-05-16T16:32:00.002+10:00

When I was still a CT member over at Scrap Artist, I was half in charge of the Altered Art Challenges. They were a lot of fun. I just wish that more people had participated and stepped out of their boxes. I tried to make my challenges interesting yet easy. Anyhow, one week I came up with the idea of silhouettes, as they are wonderful and versatile. This is what I came up with. It's interesting that even when I'm not trying to deliberately create an 'art journal' page, one still comes into existence.

Remember This

2009-05-14T14:08:00.003+10:00

Just a little something today. It's one of my favourite photos from our trip to Paris. My husband took it and he's not always the best photographer, but every now and again, he manages to capture the most perfect shot and this is one of them. I used the Moo mini card format as it can really stretch one's creative ability. I know this isn't much of a stretch, but sometimes simple is better.

Yikes!

2009-05-12T10:51:00.002+10:00

So once again I have neglected the blog. However, to be fair, I must admit to having neglected almost anything digital related for April and what has passed for May. I just haven't felt like it. The most computer related things I have done are to play Fairway Solitaire and looking things up, like movies etc.

I've been a bit more hands on, which I miss with digital creations; which has a distinct lack of tacticity (is there such a word?). I bought a Bind-it-All sometime in April and have been having a blast making and binding books. I've also made a bunch of meander books, which is an accordion folded book made out of a single sheet of paper, cut cleverly. I've found three ways of cutting the paper and I'm working on finding more. So far, no luck and my experiments have failed.

Vectors and Illustrator and Photoshop, Oh My

2009-03-30T13:24:00.003+11:00

I've been playing around with converting photos to vectors. It's a lot harder than I thought it would, even with the Live Trace option in Illustrator. Anyhow, I finally converted a photo to a simple black and white line drawing, imported it into Photoshop, and had a play around there. I'm mostly happy with it, the only thing that annoys me no end is the hair! I added a funky background (courtesy of Illustrator) and turned it into a newsprint image. Looks even more newsy at a low resolution, I knew it was good for something.

Anyhow, here it, for what it's worth. I call her Snow White, mostly because of the fair skin, red lips and black hair (and because we watched Happily Never After 2 over the weekend).

Blog Background Part 304 or something

2009-03-24T12:03:00.003+11:00

Okay, I'm going to stop fiddling with the background! I don't know why I started. The original background I kept for a year and a half, this lot of backgrounds I can't seem to keep for a day and a half! Erk! I need to put my energy into something more constructive.

Blog Background

2009-03-20T11:51:00.003+11:00

I've been playing around with the background for two days now. I have a really wide monitor, so all of the ready made blog backgrounds are too narrow. I know they aren't narrow for everyone else, but they are for me :) So, I made this. I'm still not sure about it. I like it and all, but ...

Seeking Clarity

2009-03-18T20:15:00.002+11:00

This started out as something completely different. I wanted a dress maker form, so I created my own in Photoshop, and then I vectorized it in Illustrator. So now I have the form. This had so many looks and then I randomly chose one of my acrylic styles and I thought, hey, that looks pretty cool actually. It evolved from there.

Tree of Dreams

2009-03-16T16:21:00.003+11:00

Before I was downsized, I got to play with a nice new digital kit so I could create a page for the purposes of promotion. The kit was really me and I'm glad I got to play with it. As it has now been released for sale, I can share my creation. I really liked it, and it's in the preview package, so I guess someone else liked it too :)

Think like a Tree

2009-03-06T18:09:00.004+11:00

Over at Digital Art Quirks, they have a weekly Quirkle challenge. The host lists three things that you need to incorporate into your piece - this week it was a door, water and a tree. I haven't played along before, but decided that I would, and here's what I made:

A work in progress

2009-03-05T13:23:00.004+11:00

I'm not sure where this is going yet, it needs a little something, but what? I like it enough to post though.

I love the whole concept of the "Flitter Sweet" (Christine Honsigner's designs) in the jar and her almost smug look and the other Flitter Sweet with the "what are you doing the jar when it's open, why don't you fly free" face; getting hooked.

EDITED: I added some swirly flowers to the FlitterSweet in flight. The title of the piece is The Illusion of Freedom.

And so

2009-03-04T19:54:00.002+11:00

At the beginning of the year, I had this crazy idea of making a new blog (yes!) and making an ATC a day. Needless to say, this fizzled out fairly quickly due to this, that and the other.

However, I didn't want to lose what I had already created for that blog, so I imported all my posts and art from there to here.

I hope to be more of a presence on this blog. I know, I know, I've said it before, but you never know, this time ... LOL. One of the reasons I might be around a bit more is because I'm a bit over the whole digi scrapping world at the moment. It seems that every time I think I'm getting somewhere, someone pulls the mouse mat, so to speak, from out under. Hmm, enough about me. More tomorrow, I'm feeling arty!

Attitude

2009-01-27T21:06:00.000+11:00

Just playing around with vectors in Illustrator and styles and stuff in Photoshop.

Marilyn

2009-01-26T14:17:00.000+11:00

Something I made a long time ago (October 2006), which I have always liked. It was one of those pieces that just came together.

The Guardian

2009-01-23T16:16:00.000+11:00

I can't remember where I picked up this vintage photo of the children, but I was instantly drawn to the protective stance the brother has over his little sister. That's why I call this "The Guardian".

Can you see me?

2009-01-22T15:46:00.002+11:00

This is an ATC version of a traditional scrapbook page size (12 x 12) that I made today. I like both versions.

Through my Window

2009-01-19T21:20:00.000+11:00

A bit of whimsy today. Everything by other people :) The wonderful Tracy Ann, plus Madame Mim and Holly Designs.

Hope is the thing with feathers

2009-01-17T18:52:00.000+11:00

From the moment I read my first Emily Dickinson poem, I've had an affinity with them. I adore the way she describes things. Anyhow, this is my little tribute to her. I used stuff from Tracy Ann Digital Art and Scrap Artist, which have been previously linked.

Twinkle Little Star

2009-01-16T10:33:00.000+11:00

A very young and most adorable model. She has so much charm and character in her face. She looks a most determined young lady.

The background is made by me and the rest of the gorgeous stuff is from Tracy Ann Digital Art. I just adore the pearl beads on the glitter strings.

Free to Fly

2009-01-15T19:02:00.002+11:00

I made the background and the rest of the stuff is from various designers who sell their goodies at Scrap Artist

Spatter brushes

2008-03-04T12:39:00.006+11:00

I was playing around in Photoshop for a change :) I made some spatter type brushes. They simulate the effects you would get with using a toothbrush and paint, and rubbing your finger along the bristles. They aren't perfect, but it's Photoshop and it has it's limitations with brushes sometimes. I love Photoshop and the brushes, but yeah, I wish they had the ability of Illustrator brushes, that would be awesome!

Anyway, here's a preview (click on the image to get a bigger version):

Download link has expired.

If you like them, you can download them here. I made them in CS3 so have no idea if they work in older versions, as I have no way to check.

10 minute sketch challenge

2008-02-17T17:09:00.003+11:00

I was playing around with sketching from a photograph. This is a quick one I made of my daughter. My husband says it could be anyone, but my daughter says it's her and she loves it. I took it into Photoshop for some colour. It could have been better, I know but it was just a 10 minute challenge for me.

Zentangles

2008-02-05T15:58:00.000+11:00

Okay, what's that you ask? Check out this website, which is home to the Zentangle. A name, I assume, derived from the words Zen and Tangle. I could go into a detailed explanation here, but I won't, visit the site, it's worth it for the gallery. I don't hold too much sway with the zen rah rah state, but I do like the concept of the art itself.

This interesting site came up in discussions on my yahoo journaling group. Typical for the group, it caught our imaginations and quite a few of us started zentangling. I wondered if I could zentangle using my graphics tablet and Illustrator. The answer is yes, I can. In some ways it's quite satisfying and in others, it isn't. Anyhow, here's my very first one, not the best, but it's done!

The Flowers

2008-01-04T17:03:00.002+11:00

Well, looks like a couple of requests :) Thanks ladies.

Here's a preview.

The brushes come in black (with tint selected, so it will be the colour of your stroke when used), and colour (with hue shift selected, so the shades will change depending on the stroke colour). To use them, make a circle and then use the brush tip you want on the circle. You will need an extra circle for the centre of the flower, as shown.

Download link has expired.

You can download the actual brush set from here, I decided to make a separate brush file, instead of including it in the final Illustrator file.

Personal use only! Do not use commerically without contacting me first (as easy as leaving a comment). Thank you.

Doodled Flower Brushes

2008-01-03T18:52:00.001+11:00

I like the look of hand doodled flowers. I've made some doodled petals in Illustrator and converted them to brushes, to get whole flowers, very neat. I made a whole bunch in October or sometime last year, around 52 or thereabouts. Anyhow, I wanted to make some more, to get different looks, but I guess 52 took it out of me as I can't seem to make anything that different from the originals.

If anyone is interested, I'd post them here and give out the Illustrator files for the new ones (a total of nine). Let me know.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T16:53:00.000+11:00

Woah, have I been absent from this blog, or what? Absent!

I hope everyone had or will have a Happy New Year! We watched the fire works in the city from our balcony and had champagne, very nice.

I've been playing around with stuff, as usual, but nothing new to report, as yet. I need to stop playing with brushes in Illustrator, and start learning some of the other features, like symbols (yeah, yeah, I know, I do, hee hee)

Nothing much to say, just checking in, yes, I'm alive, barely. Well, that's not true, I'm very much alive, just trying to focus and figure out what and where I'm heading this year. Isn't that what you are supposed to do in the new year?

On wrecking the journal

2007-10-26T13:39:00.000+10:00

Well, I have begun to further wreck my journal.

Yesterday, while waiting at the tram stop. it was raining, so I laid the journal down in the street, stood on it and twisted. It has some gorgeous scratches on the front now and some of the cover is coming off, which I need to tape.

I got my hands dirty when picking up the journal, as it was wet, so I finger printed on the finger print page. I had my daughter do the same when I picked her up from school, as she had been picking up falling leaves and flower petals.

I smeared some of my pages along fences on the way home. My daughter was completely intrigued with the concept, so I bought another journal today (the book store only had six copies out of a pile of 50 or more since Wednesday!). I don't know yet if I will give it to her.

When I got home, I picked some wet rose petals, which I placed in the journal. I haven't checked this out yet as it's still sitting under the bowl, being squished.

It's very therapeutic, it really is. More reports as I progress.

Wreck this Journal

2007-10-25T11:09:00.001+10:00

I came across this concept when I recently joined a new digi scrap forum. It sounded fun, but I didn't have the journal they were all talking about. Needless to say, while discovering the lovely Joseph Cornell Box Book from my last post, I also came across this very journal.

The website by the author of the book can be found here. The problem a lot of people seem to be having with this is trying to keep it beautiful, which is clearly not the author's intent, as can be seen by the May entry on her blog. Some really great photos of constructive destruction (now there's a paradox!) can be found at this Flickr pool.

I haven't really begun to wreck my journal yet, beyond crumpling some pages. I may just drag it out now and punch some holes and staple a few pages. Sounds fun.

Once I get the scanner up and running, I'll post some pictures. Of course, I may just take photos instead as the likelihood of the scanner being up and running? Hmm, yep, the less said the better.

The Joseph Cornell Box

2007-10-24T17:41:00.001+10:00

Today, while browsing in one of my favourite book stores, I found The Joseph Cornell Box Book. Wow! I had to have it and it was the last one they had, so lucky me!

I have always been fascinated by boxes (which explains my love of photography, as we see the world through a 'box' in that instance, or that's the way I see it). I had not heard of Joseph Cornell until a few years ago and was instantly attracted. If you check out the rest of the link I just posted, you will see some of his work. It just amazes me.

I have boxes galore at home, all kinds. My brain is already overflowing with ideas but ... yes, there is a but, I don't have the room! I have so many goodies to use but I don't have anywhere to use them, bleah!

So, I will settle for creating it digitally, let's see how that works.

Two free Lightroom Presets

2007-10-20T10:44:00.001+10:00

I know, I know! I swore I wouldn't do this. This blog is about my art and design stuff and not about my store stuff, but ... having spoken about photography and Lightroom, I thought I would share two presets that I made.

Download link has expired.

You can get the free presets here - Mini Coffee and Cake. They are called Black Forest Cake and Cherry Donut and this is what they look like.

They are part of a larger set, called Coffee and Cake, for sale at my store. Not a bad deal, I think, six presets for $3.00 and I think they are rather cool.

Photography

2007-10-17T13:34:00.000+10:00

So, I'm thinking of doing a bit more photography. It's always been something that I have been interested in. I remember my very first camera and how excited I was. I must have been around 7 or so and was given my parents' old camera, as they had upgraded (goodness knows to what as it was the early 70s).

I really like urban photography and there is so much to photograph where I live. Hmm.

Anyhow, here is some 'urban' photography. I call it 'on street' parking. It was taken in Venice. I just really liked this row of boats moored outside their houses. I used Lightroom for the effects and my custom presets (which are available for sale at a fabulous price of $3.00 for six - hee hee). Click on the image for a larger view.

The Joy of Lightroom and Photoshop

2007-10-15T17:05:00.000+10:00

When we were in Rome, we had to take a photo of the Trevi Fountain (of course, it's like being in Paris and taking a photo of the Eiffel Tower, which I did).

It was hard getting a decent shot as it was very crowded and I only had my Olympus, which has that stupid time delay - ugh!

Anyway, I played around with one of the photos that I took and then I exported it to Photoshop and I used this Illustration Action that I downloaded, which is very cool, one of the better ones I have come across. I wish I could remember where I got it, because I would link you all up.

This is what I ended up with - I like it, it's funky. Click on the image for a larger view.

Discovering Lightroom

2007-10-13T08:30:00.000+10:00

So, I've been hearing about Lightroom around the traps and had absolutely no idea what it was or what it could do. From most of the discussions, I gathered it was some kind of Photoshop like program, along the lines of Photoshop Elements. Ha!

As I was poking around on my computer yesterday, I noticed that my husband had installed Lightroom (this is what happens when you have two hard drives, things get lost). My brain goes hum and I open it up. Okay, what is this? It looks weird. I open a photo in it and use the default presets. Ooh, whacko, this is fun. Ten minutes later has me searching the net to find some free presets, which I find. If you have Lightroom, you will no doubt by now have discovered the OneClick Wow presets, if not, you can get them here - onOneSoftware - they are fun.

I also made some of my own presets. The tricky part with those, like creating photo effect actions in Photoshop, is the initial photo that you are using. You get just the look you want, you save the preset (or action) and then the next photo you use the preset (or action) on, well, it doesn't look the same. That can be fun too though.

The bit that I love most about Lightroom is that you have the option of exporting your photo to edit it further in Photoshop. It's right there in the menu, so cool! Anyhow, after a bit of playing around, I came up with this. The end photo in actual size looks like a dreamy pencil and water colour painting. Most excellent :) Click on the image for a larger view.

The photo is one that I took on my crappy old Olympis digital. I'm in love with almost all the photos that I took while we were away in Europe for five weeks earlier this year. This photo was taken in Italy, in a place called Bassano del Grappa (what a picture postcard place, seriously - just gorgeous). I deliberately left the corner of the urn in my photo, as I think it provides interest.

Open

2007-10-08T11:28:00.000+10:00

Checked out Illustration Friday and this week's theme is open, here's my effort:

It is, of course, completely open to interpretation.

Not Much

2007-10-07T08:29:00.001+10:00

I haven't been active anywhere much over the last two weeks. My DD has been home on term break and I've rediscovered Sims 2.

So with the Sims 2, my DD at home and making very twisty, turny train tracks with my DD and her Brio and Thomas the Tank train bits (yes, girls play with trains and this one is almost 7), time has about run away. All should be back to normal this Monday, when she goes back to school, yay.

A humble circle

2007-09-21T12:56:00.000+10:00

Yep, you guessed it, more experimenting in Illustrator.

Today, tweaking this, distorting that, I created this intricate and delicate star/flower design from a single circle. I did not at any stage duplicate my circle to get multiple lines. This is just one single circle, somewhat changed. Once I had my base shape, I saved it as a pattern brush (I love the way brushes work in Illustrator), and here is the final result. If I can remember the steps, there may just be a little tutorial on this.

Again with Illustrator

2007-09-18T11:46:00.001+10:00

I can't seem to get enough of playing around in Illustrator, it really is a fun program and I'm learning more about it all the time, but have barely scratched the surface.

I made these floral spirals today, when I was experimenting with circular designs.

Ideas are starting to float to the surface of my brain on how I can use these, and a bunch more when I make them. Have I mentioned yet how much fun Illustrator is? Hee hee

More Illustrator playing

2007-09-15T20:13:00.000+10:00

I just had to make another one, this one is slightly more Autumnal in tonings. For the life of me, I couldn't make a nose to suit her, so she is noseless, poor thing. It kind of suits her though, don't you think? I don't know what to call her, any suggestions?

Playing around

2007-09-15T10:03:00.001+10:00

I was playing around in Illustrator again last night and I love it's versatilty. I've created one basic Diva face and simply by moving this, transforming that and changing brush strokes, I can create an entirely new face, that only bears a passing resemblance to the original.

A few days ago, I had downloaded some foliage vector brushes from BittBox and I wondered what some of them would look like as hair. Yes, yes, I know, but regular visitors should know by now I have some unusual ideas.

So, do you want to know what my Diva looks like? Here she is, I've called her Flora (what else could she possibly be named, Fleur perhaps?)

It's amazing what you can find

2007-09-14T10:27:00.000+10:00

I was 'being inspired' by my links and visited Illustration Friday. This weeks topic is Momentum. I looked up the definition and this is one that I found which I think applies to my leaf.

Philosophy: An essential or constituent element; a moment.

About the leaf

I was looking through some of my old folders on my hard drive last night and I found several pieces of art that I had painted in Photoshop; just after I was gifted with my Wacom tablet. I was learning two new techniques, how to paint in Photoshop and how to use the Wacom. I wonder why I only ever made a few pieces? It's a lot of fun and the results are wonderful. There were techniques for trying to make your art look like oils or acrylics, but I had the most success with water colour.

The leaf is the first one I ever did. love Autumn leaves, they are so beautiful.

The quote, in case you can't read it says: Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower

I chose the quote because depending on where you are in the world, it's either Autumn or Spring.

ATCs - Scrapbooks in your Pocket

2007-09-13T14:26:00.000+10:00

An article I wrote for a newsletter - enjoy.

Artist Trading Cards, or ATCs as they are known, are a wonderful way of carrying your layouts with you. The only rule with true ATCs is that they are 2.5” x 3.5” (or 750 x 1050 pixels at 300 DPI), which is roughly playing card size.

The beauty of this size layout is that you can make a whole pack of them, literally, being 52 (standard playing card pack) and put them in your purse, handbag or pocket, without them being cumbersome or bulky, like a brag book.

While it is true that there are no rules with ATCs, if you are making them as layouts, I would recommend keeping embellishments to a minimum, and keeping the focus on the photo. Here’s an example:

You can see how too many bits and bobs would overwhelm the photo.

When you are making ATCs, you will probably need to reduce the size of your elements by 50% to 70%, depending on the original size, and the effect you want to achieve.

Try your hand at making one or two, you will find that you can’t stop once you start.

The Header

2007-09-13T11:43:00.000+10:00

I finally managed to get the header image uploaded, I'm so happy.

The face in the corner is one of my Divas. I really like the way she turned out.

Image upload

2007-09-13T09:24:00.001+10:00

I was having trouble getting my new header in place. Blogger just wouldn't accept it. I know it's not too big or anything, so it has me confused.

I tried grabbing it from the computer, no go.

I tried uploading to ImageShack and Photobucket, still not working!

So, in desperation, I searched the Blogger help groups and found a solution, I hope!!

I'll share this little tidbit, to save you from searching high and low. Make a new post and upload your image to the post, but make sure it's from the computer. When you view your draft, your image will be in the post COMPLETE with an image url! Copy and paste that image url into the web address bar in the header edit section.

Now, let's see if it works.

ETA: No, it didn't. I'm going to scream in a minute. Sigh.

Well shoot, it looks like it may because I'm using Safari. Bleah

I switched to Firefox and everything worked! Whee!

So, I've been thinking ...

2007-09-12T17:50:00.000+10:00

I'm on a bit of a hiatus at the moment with my digital design work.

It didn't stop me from playing around with Photoshop and I had a lot of fun doodling in Illustrator. I actually made some really cool Diva Doodles. The few people that I have shown them too have really liked them. The only problem is that I don't see how they would work in digital scrapping.

So, I got to thinking ... they would work great in collage projects. Digital collage or mixed media. The Divas could be printed on vellum; transparencies; textured card stock; canvas - anything really. They would look super cool.

I'll admit, I was heavily inspired by Traci Bautista's book, Collage Unleashed.

So I thought a bit further. A lot of my fellow designers are opening up blog shops, and I thought that maybe I could do that too, but I would only sell my Divas and other related doodles. The more I think about it, the more it appeals to me. It really does. I need to go and confer with some designers.

I feel inspired for the first in ages.

Long time, no post

2007-08-28T12:00:00.000+10:00

It's been a long time.

I haven't been creating much, which is why there has been no activity around here.

However, I found out a few days ago that Somerset Studio is having a digital art call, woohoo! I was saying a few weeks back to a friend of mine that I would love to see a digital art version of Somerset Studio and here we are.

The call has inspired me to go and create, so I'll upload some things once I've made them, or should I? Hmm, probably not as most magazines have that no previously published rule. I don't know if a blog counts though.

I need opinions. What do you think? Upload or not?

The Artful Paper Doll

2006-10-13T17:29:00.000+10:00

One of the better bookstores in Melbourne is Reader's Feast - it's actually a book store, instead of a book supermarket, like Borders, Dymocks, Angus & Robertson, etc. I always find interesting books in their craft section, so I avoid going, as I know I'm going to spend money.

However, they have a great loyalty program, where you have a card, which you present at the time of purchase, and the amount is added to your account. At the end of six months, you get sent a gift voucher which is equal to 10% of your purchases for those six months, at the end of the year, if you've spent over $5,000, you get a $100 (I believe) gift voucher, plus your normal 10% one - too cool, and it's free.

Anyhow, I had my $20 gift voucher for the first half year and went and browsed early this week. I was a bit annoyed, because as usual, I found a craft book that was $10 cheaper than it had been at Borders, where I had bought it (because Borders is conveniently close to where I work - sigh). This is the first time that I've actually bought the more expensive version - oh well, never mind, it's done now.

So, I saw this book - Artful Paper Dolls - a beautiful book (this after rejecting about six other books that I had to have - LOL). I took it home and devoured it - wonderful stuff.

It got me to thinking about paper dolls (which I've always loved) and the digital medium. I'd already made several digital paper dolls and was ready to make another. However, this one was going to be a bit different, it was going to be more of an 'altered' paper doll, a bitza doll.

Here she is - I like her:

Most of the pieces are from the Big Box of Art, the flowers are by Tracy Ann Robinson and the word 'wondering' and flourishy overlay are by Ztampf.

The Specials

2006-09-16T11:23:00.000+10:00

I'm a funky mood this morning. It's my DH's 50th birthday - woohoo!

Anyhow, I got my Dover sample email this morning and the matchbook clipart appealed to me - especially the after dinner specials. I changed it to read "my", instead of "our". Here is the result of my wacky idea - click on the pic for a larger view:

Credits as follows:

Bathing beauties by Maya at Scrapbook Graphics
Paper by Meredith Fenwick at Scrapbook Graphics
Zipper and template by Annette Farrelly at Pickle Berry Pop
Pins by Karen Hunt at Scrap Book Bytes
Corkboard and twill tape by Christine Smith at The Digi Chick
Woman by Janna Billman at katrynbalint.com

Doodling

2006-09-14T20:16:00.001+10:00

Okay, I'm debating about taking some lettering and/or doodling classes from a fellow member on my journaling group. I love her stuff - here's her blog if you want to check it out.

Anyhow, she was offering a free sample for each of her two classes - doodles and lettering. I was wondering if I could apply the concept to doodling on the computer, especially using Illustrator, as I've been dabbling a bit of late - so I gave it a go and this is my paltry attempt - LOL - this is no reflection whatsoever on Nicolette's classes, nor her abilty, but it does say lots about me.

Feeling Trashy

2006-09-09T16:18:00.000+10:00

Okay, this is kinda how I've been feeling of late and so I created this - lot of credits on this.

Paisley background and woman by Janna Billman - ATC People
Handle with Care stamp by Meredith Fenwick - Pieces of Me Collection
Frame by Maya - Dumpster Diving
Crown by Maya - Pixel Pixies
Speech balloon and it's stitches by Ztampf - ARTistitches Combo 4 & 5
Red paper on speech balloon by Robyn England - Holy Cow
Felt corner by Tiff Brady - Felt Photo Corners
Overlay on dress is a paper by Sausan Designs - Altered Artistry Urban Art
White stitches by Chris Ford - Future Rock Star

Am I stupid, or what?

2006-09-08T14:05:00.000+10:00

Okay, I was wondering why I had no comments here (I mean, the stuff isn't THAT bad - LOL) and then I see that I do - so, I wonder why I have not been notified of them - well duh - I go and check my settings and see that I haven't put in an email address to have the comments sent to me - talk about stupid!

Now, I will make a greater effort here - I really will - I'm such a slacker sometimes - too busy with my design work et al of late to do anything just for me (well, I like the designing, I do but it's not 'art' now, is it?)

Hmm - what else? Nothing else - for the moment :)

Oh, I think I will have a little subscribe thing here - yeah, that's a good idea, isn't it?

Thoughts

2006-08-08T11:52:00.000+10:00

When I started this, I had this thought in my mind of visual journaling. Why, I have no idea. I realised yesterday that I actually journal in lots of different ways, these include, but are not limited to:

- digital scrapbooking
- emails
- digital art (which was my intention in the first place)
- my textile crafts (yes, I do - what I make on any given day is directly linked to how I feel on that particular day. I'm sure this is true for most people, but do we look at it like that - do we see it as journaling?)
- my jewelry making
- in fact, any of the crafts that I make and do
- my story/poem writings

I had this epiphany because I was looking at some small glass tiles that I had purchased on Sunday from the hardware store. The minute I saw them, I didn't see a series of glass border tiles, but rather painted pins/brooches embellished with beads and wire (yes, I do tend to think outside of the box - LOL). In addition to the tiles, at school today, my daughter is having her school photos done. I had this idea of making scrapped fridge magnets from the solo photos using CD's, and presenting them in CD tins for presents for the grandparents. Now, to me, this is all a form of journaling - some might disagree.

So, what I'm trying to really say is that I'm changing the purpose of this blog from visual journaling, to a more all rounded form of journaling - some may just say - it's art, which it is - call it what you will - doesn't make a scrap of difference to me - LOL.

Stay tuned for more insights and journal bits (or art pieces - up to you)

Peace Doll

2006-07-24T19:02:00.000+10:00

On my Wild Art Dolls yahoo group, we were discussing peace dolls. The idea was brought up by Noreen Crone-Findlay, and she's made several peace dolls, which feature on her blog - Sacred Dolls and Bears. Some of the other group members have been similarly inspired.

Now, while I would love to have made a peace doll out of paper and fibres, two elements which I love to work with, at this point in time, I simply do not have the space (I hate packing up in the middle of a project!). Instead, I have made a digital paper peace doll, as I can simply leave her in the middle of being made, with no clean up required - LOL.

This is her - I hope you like her - please click on the image for a slightly larger view.

Lots of credits as follows:

Doll template and face by Maya
Flowers by Tracy Ann Robinson
Buttons and crown by Karen Hunt
Word art by Jen Wilson
Doodles by Nicole Hinrichs
Wings (which are flowers) by Christine Smith

Lost in the Woods

2006-06-15T10:18:00.000+10:00

I started this yesterday because that's pretty much how I was feeling.

Images used are from various resources around the web, the woods water colour though is from Resurgere, who have the most amazing textures - definitely worth checking out.

A note

2006-06-14T20:55:00.000+10:00

I checked on my stats today and noticed a lot of returning visitors - I would post more here if I had more feedback - you know how it goes.

It seems there's an interest, but I don't know in what - LOL.

So, c'mon - what do you want to read? Learn? Look at?

I made this ATC today - pretty self explanatory really.

All images from Stock.xchng

Thoughts about fairy wings

2006-06-09T11:36:00.000+10:00

I have noticed an increasing trend in both the paper and digital collage world of giving our ancestors fairy wings, headwear and wands. While there has been a diversity of headwear and wands, the fairy wings are pretty much all the same. Yes, they can be made out of different papers or materials, but essentially, they are the same shape and kind.

As a digital artist, this had me thinking. With so much at out fingertips, why are we making the same old boring wings as everyone else? Could not anything, in fact, be turned into wings? Of course, some of this also applies to the paper artist.

As I am fond of turning fancy fonts into doodles, the idea of turning fonts into wings instantly sprang to mind. So I gave it a try, and it worked! My first ancestor fairy now has lovely filigree fairy wings, made with the capital letter C of an antique font (sorry, I do not know the name of it as this font came in a package of mixed-up fonts).

So, what else can be turned into wings?

Leaves and flowers, of course. This is a common practice in doll making and they do look gorgeous.

What about a musical instrument? Those lovely pear shapes of string instruments would work well.

Then there are ribbons and bows, lace medallions and doilies.

How about a pair of open scissors? The shape lends itself so well to wings. The handles can be the upper part and the blades the lower part.

The bowl of a spoon, or the prongs of a fork.

Or a tape dispenser? Yes, I know what you are thinking but if you look at some of them, they have lovely curvy shapes. Speaking of office equipment, how about the handles on a bulldog clip, or perhaps paper clips?

An inkblot or paint splash, especially one that has drips running down in interesting formations.

Scroll work of any kind, be it keys, gates, the backs of chairs, brackets.

Maybe fish tails or fins.

Even sports equipment would work. Tennis racquets, golf club heads, oars, table tennis paddles, just to name a few.

Aeroplane wings, especially if you were inclined to make a more mechanical minded fairy.

And, last, but not least, the ever-present insect wing. But do not limit yourself to butterfly/moth, dragonfly and ladybug wings. I found the most fascinating collection of fruit fly wings the other day.

Credits for materials used in Fly -

Stitching by Christine Nash - Templates in Taupe
Fly word strip by Tracy Ann Robinson - Random Color Collection
Wand by Maya - Pixel Pixies Pack
Vintage girl from Flickr

Tangerine Gypsy

2006-06-07T13:46:00.000+10:00

This is a card I made for a project on Digital Art Quirks. The idea was to give yourself a name and then make a card to represent that name, the person below you in the list, would give you the second part of your name, and create a card to illustrate that part. The final part of the project was to create a card representing the final name - this is mine. I chose Gypsy for myself and the other person chose Tangerine (which is infinitely appropriate) and this is my card.

All elements from various sources, the pearls are made by me though :)

Old Fashioned Antics

2006-06-06T17:26:00.000+10:00

Last week, I purchased a book called Memories of a Lifetime - Romantic Illustrations - they are a series of a ephemera books. You can choose to cut out the images in the book, or print them off yourself as they come with a CD.

I also purchased some new kits, two of which are by Ztampf, the Flower Patz Accents and the ARTiStitches Combo Pack 4 & 5. I couldn't resist putting these things together, and this is what I got.

The Shell

2006-06-01T14:18:00.000+10:00

I've created several pieces of art today, one which I uploaded to Digital Art Quirks, two more DAQ pieces, but only one will get uploaded - I have yet to decide which one, and this one. I was demonstrating the torn effect action I had created for PS CS, and not yet perfected, and I liked the result of the torn shell on the black border, so I added some words and voila - here we are - pretty neat, huh?

In the beginning

2006-05-31T11:23:00.000+10:00

Talk about your blog overload, this is ACTIVE blog no. 3 - LOL. The first one I have deals with my digital art, which was started mostly to showcase my digital scrapbooking, but I seem to be drifting away from that, and getting back to my other art works.

The second blog is my writing blog, no, not a journaling one, but rather WRITER, if you know what I mean.

This is my journal one, a visual journal, or art journal as some people call it. In this blog, there will be boring day to day tidbits (if I get to day by day - LOL), interspersed with my digital (or maybe even some non digital!), art, reflecting the ongoings or emotions at the time of creation.

Enjoy, or not, as the case may be.

Today's piece of visual art is my header - yippee! LOL