How To Make A Pattern Out Of Your Friend’s Face

I’ve been working extrariffic-hard on a project, to the point of near brain burst, so when SparkyFirePants posted this contest today, I couldn’t resist the diversion. I’ll show you what I sent in, but let me show you the progression. :)

Here’s his original photo:

I cut him out:

I made a pattern with him:

Then I thought, well, hm, that’s sure boring. And kind of obvious. Let’s be different. And then I noticed the shapes created by the Not David parts were kind of… cool. And we have our pattern.

Wah-lah! I think it kind of looks like chandeliers hanging up-side down and right-side up.

Let’s Fall In Love

I entered the Spoonflower Boba Baby Carrier fabric contest with a new leafy love pattern. I would be so honored if you would please vote for me!

Here’s the pattern you’re looking for:

Let’s Fall In Love by lushop
Let

Here’s the link to the voting!

Thank you thank you thank you!

My Art Licensing Story

Have you seen my art licensing story? I submitted it to Artist Tara Reed’s Art Licensing Story Contest. I’m amazed that as of right now, it’s been viewed over 200 times!

Your comments and questions are always welcome! Enjoy!

Valentine’s Day 2010

A little pattern or two:


*Coming soon to Spoonflower

And a print:


Available as a card on Cafepress and as a print on Etsy.

I could definitely be persuaded to update the colorways on these for specific uses. Talk to me.

FTC disclosure: if you buy my stuff, I make money. :)

Crafty Wallpaper Contest: The Results!

The wallpaper craft is finished! Yipee! And I have the pictures to walk you through the steps.

(*NOTE: I am not a photographer. I apologize for this in advance.)

Cool Picture Framed Art

1. Buy nine – 1 foot square frames and spray paint them black.
I modified this step. I bought 32′ of 1×2 and mitered the ends to create 8 1′ frames, and spray painted the sides black. The reasons were cost and functionality. Frames can be expensive, and finding eight with flat faces was going to be costly and difficult. When you can’t find what you want, make it yourself, I say!

2. Carefully cut out a bunch of 1-foot x 1-foot squares of wallpaper – it’s ideal because you don’t need to trim or break the pattern.
I modified this step as well. It made more sense to me to paint the design on the front of the paper and then cut the squares. Thank you, thank you to Design Hole and Alluminare for the wallpaper! The paper is really strong and durable – believe me, I’m clumsy and I didn’t even nick it! – and the surface texture is great for painting.

3. Tack the squares to the front of the frames (and only the fronts, no wrap-around).
I used Tacky Glue. I love it! It is super strong and dries clear. I just like the stuff – no kickback for me if you buy it because of this site. :)

4. Arrange the frames into a 3-foot × 3-foot grid and secure them together (temporarily, carefully). Find a simple, graphic design and paint it in white across all the pieces.
Modified: see above.
5. Separate the pieces, affix to the wall in the same grid order, but about 1 to 2 inches apart on all sides.
(This is where my sucky photog skills really show off.)

 

And wah-lah! Wallart.

What’s that you say? Where’s the rest of the wallpaper? I’m glad you asked!

LU Buzz!

Lots of buzz about yours truly online today (very exciting!!). Alluminare’s been awfully busy, redesigning pages, creating widgets, and…interviewing moi! Tres chic!

Click here for my very own profile on Alluminare.com. You can see my latest work (created exclusively for Alluminare’s products, which are FABULOUS), read a little bio, and even grab a widget for your own use (feel free!). Oh and feel free to get some Christmas shopping out of your system while you’re there. :D

Also – TA DA! – read my interview with Alluminare and hear about inspiration, colors, and see some of my favorite colorways and pattern swatches.

Thanks bunches to the amazing team at Alluminare for all your hard work (the site looks great!) and for creating some buzz about yours truly! Tootin’ your own horn is one thing; when someone grabs the horn and starts playing it for you is another thing entirely. Thanks a million, guys. You’re awesome.

You Don’t Write… You Don’t Call…

Ha. Actually had a college boy-interest say that to me once. There was a reason. :D

Dear blog-readers, I’ve not kept up with you – I’m sorry! I’ve been traveling, first to my family for Thanksgiving, then to Oregon to see friends and family. My Google Reader has over 300 unread items! I can’t wait to see what everyone has been up to. And I am on the hunt for Christmas table setting ideas, presently.

This is also partly why I’ve been absent. We moved into our house October 26th and the chipper bird in me offered to have the Big Family Christmas Dinner at our new house. I’ve been a tornado of painting and decorating since. It’s our first house (every wall was hospital white – ack!) and I want the Grand Unveiling-Slash-Christmas to be just perfect. Today, I will be putting the finishing touches on all the painting projects, applying the final coat on the refinished china cabinet, and rearranging the living room. Hobby Lobby & Home Depot, here I come!

On top of trying to channel Martha the last few weeks, I’ve been working. Two (TWO!) lines of Christmas cards, a few patterns, a tutorial, tons and tons of sketching and I have a major-huge project next week. No, I do not take any drugs. But I drink an inordinate amount of coffee. And I don’t sleep…much.

So my fine feathered friends, as I have nothing of my own to show you, I’d like to point out some really juicy bits I’ve seen on other blogs (no particular order, no particular category).

  1. Do You Look Cheesy, Dull, And Out Of Touch? and My Designer Sucks! Posts by the infamous Sparky Firepants. The first is an excellent 1-2-3 for why people need designers; the second is a cringe-worthy 1-2-3 why people might hate designers. Excellent information in both.
  2. These Cheat Sheets by Made In England made me laugh out loud (yes, LOL) yesterday. Fantastic concept, and I like the design. Oh, and they’re FREE.girls_cheat_sheet
  3. Cry Translator for iPhone on Ohdeedoh. I don’t have a baby, I don’t have an iPhone, but I know plenty of people who do and THIS IS BRILLIANT. But…does it work?120109iphoneapp
  4. 4 Beautiful Holiday Place Setting Ideas from Design Hole Online. I like the 4th one best!
  5. My photo shoot with Aaron Courter Photography. He’s so incredibly talented. Well done, Aaron. Very, very well done.

OK kids, I’m off to Home Depot & Hobby Lobby. (Let’s hope DH isn’t reading this.) Enjoy your day!

Wallpaper! It’s Here!

I just received my wallpaper from Alluminare (thanks to Design Hole). Thank goodness the FedEx guy didn’t leave it in our soggy, snowy bushes (like the mailman did with my new coat – grr!). It came all nicely packaged in a HUGE cardboard tube.

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I opened the tube, and inside was a plastic sleeve, housing the wallpaper roll.

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I like the colors I chose against my dark purple walls. I think the project will turn out really well!

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(No, the pillows are not staying. Yes, there will be a piano along that wall. Stay tuned!)