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Showing posts from December, 2021

March 2025 Procreate Designs

Looking back on the art I’ve been making for the past few months I’ve done quite a bit of digital work.  I started really delving into Procreate when we went on Vacation earlier this year, and I haven’t stopped exploring the possibilities since.   While planning for our vacation in late February and early March of his year I opted to take only my camera and iPad.  No knitting, no sketch book, no art supplies.  This was the first time I’d ever taken only my iPad, with the intent of creating art while on a vacation.  I had a plan to limit my supplies and challenge myself to only using procreate.  My plan worked, I learned a lot about procreate and I enjoyed to process.   The biggest thing I learned was how very freeing being able to sit on the couch or the porch at night with just an iPad and a pencil was.  There was no figuring out where to put supplies, or how to juggle a sketchbook on my lap, or being confined to the table.  The other bonus ...

Sentiment Selection Process

Deciding on sentiments can be the easiest or hardest part of card design. There is no middle ground for me. Most often it helps if I plan to create a type of card before I delve into making. Theme selection is frequently dictated by low stock in the shop or by requests for a certain variety of cards. Once my theme is established I will pull all the sentiments for it. This in itself can be a project since I store my stamps and dies by brand. I find it difficult to store by theme, as most stamp sets have multiple themes, but I digress. In this phase, I will also select patterned papers and embellishments. There are other times I build elements from components in my stash. I design parts for later card designs. The elements at the right are an example of that. I assembled each one with bits laying on my desk or from my stash box. Using die cuts, tags, and journal cards. As I was creating them I added small sentiments that felt like they fit the element. This practice often get...

What's Coming in 2022

New Newsletter format, including new articles, links, and of course discount codes. Wanna make sure you get every issue? Subscribe now, the first edition of 2022 will drop on New Year's Day! I have some fun new card designs coming, including some fancy new folds and different sizes. There might even be a few shaker cards and cards that light up coming in the new year. If you're a maker peeping the shop for inspiration I have great news! I'm planning to do a weekly posting here in the Artist's Journal, with details and affiliate links for the products used to create a featured card. The Shop will be getting a little facelift as well. I'll be rephotographing all the cards to create a more uniform look. I'll also be adding additional shots of each card to showcase more of the details. I'm also working on a schedule for consistent Instagram posting. I played with this a bit in Fall and I'll be returning to it in 2022. I won't lie, this kind of co...

2021 Holiday Season

It just doesn't seem possible that it's December already. Christmas is racing in as we close out the 2021 year. Here's a quick update on what's happening for the Month of December.   Today, December 1st, you might notice Christmas and Holiday cards are no longer available on the website. For the second year in a row, I'm taking all of my holiday card inventory to Smiling Moose for their big open house. This portion of inventory will only be available there for the remainder of the season. Now is the time to shop locally and pick up a few handmade cards. If you're looking for a great gift that is consumable and will bring joy throughout the year, might I suggest a package of handmade cards? There's still time to order handmade cards for gift-giving, but don't wait. Orders need to be shipped by December 13, 2021, in order to receive them in time for gift giving. Want to stay up to date with news and receive discount codes for your birthday? Consider subscr...