Doodle flowers collection

I took a break from Ketubah development, search engine optimization and etsy organization, to look back at my doodle flowers. I think I am starting to understand the theory behind collections finally! I am also having fun with my new Illustrator CS5 brushes. It is great to finally be able to feel like I am actually drawing digitally. Can you tell which flowers are drawn with a pencil and then colourized and which ones are drawn directly in Illustrator? You probably can but still it is quite amazing what is possible.

Way too much work to do and the days go by so quickly. Feeling pretty sleepy right now as a matter of fact.

Back to actual paying work tomorrow!

I did it! A ketubah pattern painting.

I have been trying for months to find subject matter and patterns that together would become a Ketubah. I think I have done it!

I haven't finalized a name for this one yet, but it will be available  17" x 17" and a smaller size yet to be determined. Maybe 14" x 14".  I will sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.

Fresh Idea I can relate to — Michael Gibbons ALFABETFOTOS (spell it with an F)

As a designer, found typography is one of my most favourite things. Michael Gibbons, has made it his life's work to find and photograph these gems. I discovered him on etsy (no surprise). At his shop, you can order individual letters to create your own typographic art, or you can commission a special piece from him. The individual prints are 4 x 6 and are absolutely adorable. He has 500 different letters to choose from which is amazing in itself.

You can view his letters at his etsy site, or you can find out more at his website. Either way, you will be hooked if you love type.

The power of etsy—first sale after just two days

Who knows if this is the beginning of a trend, or simply beginners luck. I sold my first Ketubah on etsy yesterday after having the shop open for two days.

I have been a bit overwhelmed by the power of etsy. I guess I am fortunate to be benefiting from all of the excellent resources that etsy offers, from helping you think carefully about the name of your shop to tutorials on subjects such as SEO, to creating  your mini etsy on your blog and facebook.

I am not trying to say that it is easy—on the contrary, it takes a lot of work to get a shop going, but the folks at etsy really help you out every step of the way. 

The community is also very supportive. Other shop owners are very generous with advice and etsy shoppers are generous with their hearts and feedback.

Great experience so far. We will see what day three brings!

Etsy shop officially open for business!

It seems like forever since I made up my mind to open an etsy shop. Life always seems to get in the way. Well, I opened the shop yesterday with four fresh ketubah designs and added five pattern paintings today. I still have some work to do on the fresh notes front and I also hope to spend some more time on spoonflower so that I can offer my fresh fabric as well. One baby step at a time!

My mini etsy gadget is now on my blog (look to your right) so you will be able to link to my shop easily if you see something you just have to have!

Jenn Ski

I discovered Jenn Ski this morning. She is an award winning designer and artist with a flare for mid century motifs. She sells her work as giclee prints in various sizes. You can see more of her work at her etsy shop and you can read her blog to see what inspires her. So simple and fresh—I love them all.

Fresh Ideas I can relate to—Mara Girling

I just came across Printspace on etsy. Mara Girling is an Australian illustrator and designer living in Melbourne. I love the simplicity and warmth of her work. So fresh! These little birdies are just so cute, I can't stop looking at them! She and her husband Nick have a design studio in Melbourne and sell their work through etsy and other retailers. You can see for yourself at these links:

Printspace (this is Mara)

Australian:printspace.com.au
Etsy community:printspace.etsy.com
blog: printspace.blogspot.com
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/printspace/
Facebook: Printspace on facebook
Latest Printspace Newsletter

Otispepper (and this is Nick)

On Etsy community: otispepper.etsy.com
blog: otispepper.blogspot.com
Flickr:flickr.com/photos/nickgirling/
Facebook: Otispepper art on facebook

In her bio, Mara mentions that one of the reasons she does what she does is to make you smile. Hey Mara—Mission accomplished!

Fresh Ideas I can relate to: Aijung Kim

I was doing my morning etsy browse, to get inspired for names for my etsy shop (yes, it is really close now!) when I came across Aijung Kim's shop called sprouthead. She calls these BURNING HOUSE Pocket Picture - Mini Letterpress Prints. They measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/16. How cute! She also writes and illustrates exquisite must have zines. Here is an example.

Then of course there is her fine art ...

 You can see all of her art on her website, or her blog. Oh so beautiful and inspiring.

And...I'm back

Finally! I have had some time to get back to patterns. I have been working on J & A's ketubah over the last week or so, and the motifs were itching to become patterns. So last night I started creating repeats to create this new grouping. Off to spoonflower I went to add the swatches. Not quite finished yet, but feeling good about this Arbutus tree inspired collection.

A fresh idea I can relate to: Aimee Myers Dolich doodles

Due to selling our house, having to downsize to half the space in a short period of time, packing, moving, unpacking and generally using up every ounce of energy left in my being—my forging forward with producing pattern paintings for my soon to be open (when will I ever be ready?) etsy shop been put on hold. Once I finally got past unpacking, there were Ketubah commissions to finish and new commissions to start...

And of course blog posts to read and new posts of my own to think about.

As I wandered through my favourite blogs, I came across Aimee Myers Dolich  and her doodles at her etsy shop.

As is always the case when wandering around from click to click, I found this little piece of inspiration. Thanks Aimee! I needed the reminder. I encourage you all to check out her doodles. There is a piece of inspiration for all of us!