Note Cards for Christmas

Now that I've decided to do the art show thing, I am always trying to think of things that not only will people like, but what they might like to buy.  With the holiday season quickly approaching, I thought maybe Christmas cards.  I designed a card last year to use as my own personal card and I got nice feedback from friends and family.

So, as I had one design already done, I made up two more so that I can offer a few options to potential buyers.  For the first one, I used Mi2 as the back ground.  I used a red micron to make the "seeds" and the centers of the pattern.

Christmas Tree Card

I have found that making the card large works better when going to get it printed.  The original was drawn on a note card, but it leaves extra space at the top and bottom.  Making the design 5X7" seems to work better.

For the next design, I wanted to have a card with words on it.  My handwriting/lettering is not very good so I designed a card that I could have words printed in the space.  I used Huggy Bear as the back ground here, and red and green micron pens.  I left the center of the card blank.  When I uploaded the card, I was able to add the Season's Greetings.  It came out pretty well and I'm glad it did as I wasn't sure what I would do if I couldn't make it work.  

I scanned both images with my new scanner and am really happy with how they came out.  The shading turns out well and when reprinted, they look good.  Having the images printed on matte 100 lb card stock, they come out pretty close to the original drawings.  There are a few little tweaks that I would do differently next time, but nothing that interferes with how happy I am with how these turned out.

While I know you are all quite able to make your own cards, these are in my etsy shop should you like to skip the step of having your own made.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my work.  I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Mi2!

This week the challenge is to use the tangle pattern Mi2 created by CTZ Mimi Lempart.  I really love this tangle pattern.  It looks so complicated yet is very easy.  The spacing is the hardest part for me.  I confess, I draw a grid to help me get started.  Without that my "seeds" would be all over the place but once I have them drawn, I am no longer following a grid.

I used Mi2 in an Illuminated Letter that I made for friends so I have a little but of experience with this pattern.  I haven't used it very often since then, so it was nice to have another go at it.  I wasn't sure where I was going when I got this tile started.  I drew Mi2 in the center and then decided what to do next.  I wanted the pattern to stand proud in the tile, so I didn't draw a string.  After I finished that, I decided to surround it with Verve, my latest pattern.  I have been playing with it and wanted to explore it some more.

I really like this one and it was a lot of fun to make.  I have to say, this is probably the fastest tile I've done in a while.  Thanks Laura for a great challenge.  I am glad to hear that you had a good time in Philly.

Have a great week everyone!  I can't wait to see what you've created!

Illuminated Letter

I have finally finished a piece that I have been working on for several weeks.  Some friends of ours are getting married next weekend and I made a piece for them.  Usually I would get a couple something from their registry but these two don't want anything.  They have been together for a while and have bought or collected most of what a couple starting out would want.  Something they do have is a new home.  The house is really beautiful and has lots of wall space.  Naturally, I thought that I would make them something to hang on them!

I really admire the work done at the Zentangle Illuminated Letters master class that was held in Rhode Island.  What incredible art was made there.  Taking the idea, I decided to try my hand at making one of my own. 

I am not a calligrapher nor is my handwriting very good, so I chose a font that I liked and traced out my letter L.  From there I divided the space and kind of made it up as I went along.  I am quite pleased with the final product.

I toyed with the idea of adding some light washes of color with watercolor paint but I think I need to learn more and practice before I add to this work.  It is hard to see the shading here but the patterns really popped out once the shade was added.  This was done on 12"X18" watercolor paper using micron pens, pencil, and the Sakura Pen-touch gold marker.  I was going to use my gold leafing pen but it was not working well.  I think the pen-touch did a great job.  It covered really well and the shine is nice.