A new project for the New Year

Geometric Mandalas Coloring Book now available on Amazon!

I’ve been intrigued by the thought of making coloring books for awhile, but it all seemed a bit intimidating and I wasn’t sure where to start. And then I realized it didn’t have to be detailed portraits of mermaids (which is good, but other people are great at that!) So I sat down and just did it.

Like so many things that seem complicated from the top down, the individual parts came together seamlessly and now it’s up for sale on Amazon!

I started with making the designs in Illustrator (still on CS5 with no plans to change…) and then saved them as PNG’s. Then I made a template in InDesign and just dragged them in one by one. I wasn’t brave enough to just put it up for sale without seeing a copy so I took the extra step of ordering a proof copy. Even with the holidays it was printed and on my doorstep in four days. And it was beautiful - that’s not bragging on the artwork, the printing quality and paper were far better than I was anticipating. And now it’s on to marketing and starting in on book 2 which will be floral patterns. I love that I can do a square book, it seems just a little more elegant than the standard rectangle!

I thoroughly enjoy the art of self-publishing, not because I have to do it all, but because I get to see the whole process end to end. It’s just plain fun!

Color Inspiration

Coming up with color combinations is always fun but sometimes there’s just too much choice. So many photographs to consider or pre-made palettes, where something critical always seems to be missing. It’s a fabulous way to spend a day without actually accomplishing anything.

But, as I’ve been building out Pinterest boards, another great way to waste a day, I’ve noticed two trends that seem to solve the problem. Front doors and birds. Front doors because they combine bright (often the door) with neutrals (the wall) and secondary colors (plants and trim) and birds that naturally bring together three to five colors you might not otherwise expect. I’m trying this out currently with a fabric collection based on an orange and green parakeet (I think it’s a parakeet, might be something else!) and it’s an interesting exercise. I’ll have to try a doorway next…

Back to Book Covers

I’d forgotten until earlier this week that it was only about five years ago that I started down the path of pattern design. And that wasn’t even what I set out to do, because I didn’t even know it was possible. It started with a book cover I paid a few hundred dollars for - my first novel that had been knocking around a desk drawer for the previous decade. The cover was fine, the problem was that the stock image was so unaltered it ended up on Amazon right next to a book using the same photo on the cover. Leaving me with a rather squishy, sinking feeling.

My first self-made book cover

I resolved to learn to do my own covers until I was famous enough to pay a real artist (still not there yet!) because at least then they’d be original if not great. I already had a copy of Adobe Illustrator, only because it came in the bundle with the things I wanted at the time. I sat down to learn it. It took awhile, I still don’t know it all but most of what I do I don’t have to think about anymore. Somewhere in there I found my style, a new career path and a joyous outlet for creativity.

My first design on Spoonflower

This week I sat down to learn more book cover skills (they’re more than a title and picture when done right…) and realized just how far five years had taken me. Never would have guessed it if you’d asked me back in 2014!

Christmas is right around the corner!

Seriously, the time has come for holiday prints and patterns if they’re to be available when people start shopping for holiday crafts and decorating, pretty much any day now. I am so not in the holiday mood, right now! I’m still crossing fingers for the green tomatoes on the deck, not thinking about wreaths… Challenges are good though so here’s the first of probably many this month:

It’s based on a real, native plant but I’m not sure if it says holiday to people that aren’t familiar with it… But then maybe it doesn’t have to!

I’ve also been looking ahead to the colors of 2020 which usually start being discussed around this time of year when the large fashion shows happen. I’m not sure what to make of what I’ve seen so far, there are some pretty shades but nothing shocking or out of the ordinary. I’m going t guess that whatever Pantone picks for 2020 isn’t going to be as outrageous as coral was…

Color & Clutter

I’ve been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately and I’ve noticed an odd thing when looking at home decor. There is a plethora of minimalist, neutral (i.e. white and beige) rooms around the world. That’s not the odd part. What’s weird is that now that trend is losing its edge and rich colors are heading back, so is clutter. Why is there a duality of beige & uncluttered, purple & cluttered? Why can’t a room be teal with a magenta sofa AND have bare table tops?

Maybe it’s like seeing a full buffet after three years of eating nothing but egg whites… eventually things will settle down to colorfully tidy. I hope so.

If you had unlimited resources to decorate your home, but with the condition that nobody who doesn’t already live there would see it, even on social media, what would it look like? (Tell me in the comments, I’m really curious!)

Coming to terms with my love of digital bling

If artistic taste has even a shred of DNA contribution than I know just who to blame for my love of a little extra embellishment. It’s not generally considered an upper-class attribute… I came to terms with this in my personal life a long time ago but found myself wrestling with it again in the studio this past week. Not from a point of acceptance but more one of communication.

The Alchemy of Digital Gold

You see digital gold foil effects are created by mimicking metallics with pixels. All is well and good if the pixels never leave the screen. When you print them, they don’t look bad; they’re just not actually metallic. Nothing is reflective nor does it catch the light. The real problem is that even a photograph of the “real” false gold ends up looking real because it’s back to being pixels again. So I initially decided not to use it on the new products I’m working on. So that nobody would be disappointed and I wouldn’t have to try to explain what to expect. I did okay for a bit. But then it was like trying to hide my true self. It didn’t feel authentic.

Embracing the Gold

So I gave in. And I LOVE these designs. I crafted a rubber stamp disclaimer (which nobody will probably read). Now I feel all happy when I hit that final click and the black placeholders turn to gold (or silver). The design comes to life. My ancestors are pleased. At least the ones that gave me the glitter gene. The sober ones from Vermont can’t get a word in…

A Sneak Peak at Quarter 2

My new shop will be going live soon. I’ve been hard at work creating all new designs for it, with the underlying rule that if I wouldn’t buy it, it doesn’t go up. So here’s a sample of some those designs…

Those only look wild and colorful until you see these:

The Color of Fear

“I’m afraid of color.” she said wistfully, seated on her oatmeal sofa in front of a tasteful, beige wall. Let’s call her Ellen. I’ve met a lot of Ellens. I don’t seek them out but they seem to gravitate to me. I would venture to guess that Ellen isn’t afraid of color at all. She’s afraid of not getting it right, of wasting money, or worse having to live with some garish mistake while not having a clue of what to try next. When she’s feeling brave Ellen might buy a teal cushion for that oatmeal couch but it stands out so much she stuffs it in a closet, proving to herself that neutrals are more calming (since they don’t bring on an anxiety attack!)

Life is too short to live in fear

There is no magic potion or boxed set of ‘rules’ to make boldness of any kind completely safe and risk free. Really that’s part of the fun. And that brings me to the phrase or style, “Bohemian”. Look it up in the dictionary and you’ll find geographic references (Bohemia is now part of the Czech Republic) and vaguely disapproving notes about artists and writers living a bohemian lifestyle in defiance of cultural norms. It’s left up to your imagination as to which rules they’re breaking, but painting walls bright colors was probably one of them.

Ellen’s pretty sure I’m a Bohemian but she’s polite so she calls me a free spirit instead. It’s a bit like when a surfer dude complimented the window-high mud splatters on my car (which happened exactly one time). I felt all cool and daring. But really when it comes to color I just go with what I like - its that simple.

Your turn! What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done with color? Put it in the comments below 😊