Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Project 365 - Days 125 to 135 Creativity meets life

When you live your life creatively, it is hard to keep the artistic side out of normal life. Don’t get me wrong, I am no Martha Stewart handmaking cookies and creating decorated lunch bags (well, LOL maybe I am guilty of creating a few of those ;] ) however it is difficult not to bring that side of me into everything I do. This leads me to the first, kinda boring yet possibly inspiring project of the day...finishing painting our combined family room/kitchen. Let me back up a little.


Dilema: Our ceilings our 10 ft. high, all corners of the room are soft rounded edges that blend basically from room to room. So when I redid our living room area in a bright golden yellow to give it a tropical feel, I had to decide how to transition into the kitchen/family room area without the bright color overwhelming the room. I chose a toned down version of the yellow and followed all the rules before painting of observing the color chip at different times of the day.

Bigger Dilema: The one thing I didn’t factor in was my faux tropical green wall. I loved the solid paint color most of the day but hated how the green reflected on the yellow in one corner of the room at night time. So we have had a half painted space for more than a year. Today I decided to get over that one corner and paint the rest of the room to match!

I swear that I have creative dyslexia! I had to use some Kilz to touch up a few dark marks on the wall fist, as you will see in the photo below, however this lead to me spending most of the day moving from one room to the next touching up all the trim and smudge marks throughout the house. The downside of this creative inspiration is that I didn’t actually get to start painting this wall until about 9 pm and finished clean up around 1 am. Not to mention how many squats I did! For a girl who spends a lot of time sitting at the computer, I know that I will be feeling it tomorrow!

Warning: Painting is a full body workout. Proceed with caution!!!

Day 125 - Finishing the Painting of the Family Room & Kitchen Walls


The touch up...



Here is a photo taken of the area on Kylie’s Birthday. My dear husband had to finish painting over top of the cabinets since I am vertically challenged even standing on the countertops. He is 6'3"!


Day 126 - Sketches for my Beaverettes set/ Happy 16th Birthday, Kylie!
Sometimes in the design process there are customer requests for sets. This was one of those fun challenges...girly beavers going camping & swimming. These were some of the preliminary sketches.




And here is a picture of my birthday girl on the morning of her sweet 16th birthday...



Day 127 - Kai’s Sweet 16 Birthday Invitations plus a photo flashback of the new driver
Today we got up early to go to the DMV so Kylie could get her driver’s license on her 16th birthday...think she was a little anxious about becoming a new driver?!!! She passed! Couldn’t resist sharing this scanned photo flashback of her when she was little sitting in her Cozy Coupe.


The rest of the day included designing her birthday invitation. I went to my own digi design collections to jumpstart the creativity...





Here is the invite with personal info changed up...

Day 128 - A Yard Sign for the Party


Had this printed onto coroplast to put outside our friend’s house by the beach. She has a huge backyard for us to do the huge slide. We did this 2 years ago for her sister’s 16th birthday and it was so much fun.

Day 129 - Now we need a banner!


So I am starting to like the look of these designs and I think I am on track to design a party pack set with maybe thank you notes added to the set...hmmm. You see how one moment of creativity snowballs into another. And so is goes when you live life creatively :D

Here is an actual photo of it from her giant slide, wet and wonderful, sweet 16 party!



Day 130 - Vivid Mod Linear Florals for future designs
These are the same flowers as the Fruity Florals collection with some colors changed up!
Let me know what you think of these colors and what you think I should create with them!



On the last day of my last project 365 update, you got a peek at some of the set elements. 
Here is the finished digital collection.



Day 132 - Shabby Chic Thanks


I haven’t had time to create many cards lately, but I got inspired by these paper and embossing scraps to make up this paper crafted card...no stamping involved on this one. I used Glue Arts’ U-cut-It adhesive foam to pop up the Thanks so much paper element for dimension. The gorgeous patterned papers are from The Girls Paperie. The verse and mini flower are from Studio 112 from JoAnn’s.

You saw the earlier sketches. Now you get to see how that evolved into a digi collection! Think of the fun you could have cardmaking or scrapbooking with this. You can layer and overlap the png files since the backgrounds are transparent, but the designs come with a white under layer, as shown below.



Day 134 - Best Friends Photo Shoot (The Seniors)
Our daughter, Ashley has the nicest group of close friends...the fab 5. All the parents have enjoyed watching them go to homecoming dances and prom together as well as enjoying many fun boating and beach days spent during summer break. Three are headed to the University of Florida while Ashley and Courtney will be roommates at Florida Atlantic University. We can’t wait until Labor Day weekend when the two schools face off in football. We are thinking we will make it a road trip to Gainesville so all the parents can reunite and the kids can have some fun taunting one another. We love the Gators, too, so it should be a fun time if we can score tickets to the game. 

These are some low res versions of a few of the favorite photos taken on a super windy day at the beach of Ashley with her soon-to-graduate best friends. (I am late posting these so they are all grads now!)











Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Melissa's 3yr. Blog Anniversary - Giveaway!

Be sure to check out my friend, Melissa’s blog for an amazing giveaway she has going on in honor of her 3rd yr. blog anniversary. She has lots of great creative inspiration for you to enjoy, too!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Project 365 - Days 116-124 A Springboard for Creativity

Yes, I know, I know, it is about time that I start catching you up on my project-a-day creations. Considering that I am up to day 174, I have a lot of updating to do. Some days it is photography, others it is sketching or art for new digi designs and on the really fun days it involves making projects!!!
Here is the first round. Hold onto your seats cause there is a lot of creating going on!!!

Day 116 - Flower Petal art for new set


Day 117 - Floral Silhouettes for future set

Day 118 - Mod Linear Florals (brush & art for creating sets)










Day 119 - ML Fruity Florals Set






Day 120 - Mod Linear Fruity Florals Invitation Sample


Day 121 - Gardenia Line Art for set




Day 122 - Pic a Year Photos for Kylie's Birthday



I put together photos of Kylie from 3 mos. to sweet 16 as a countdown to her birthday. I posted these on her facebook page from when she was little to present. Here is a slideshow of the images:



Day 123 - Gardenia Digi Stamp Set & Samples





Day 124 - Princess Grad Elements for future set
There is more creativity to come....so check back often!


Saturday, June 18, 2011

Father's Day Inspiration & Sale!

In case you need to whip out a last minute card, I am sharing 2 Father's Day cards (part of my Project 365 creations) created with a verse from my newly released Masculine Verses digi stamp & brush set and a FREE download Lighthouse digi stamp in my shop at www.Mygrafico.com. I am working on doing some tutorials or videos in the near future to show just how to use digi stamps.




These cards show two different ways to work with b&w printouts of digi stamps. The first card combines the verse with the stamp which is printed out and matted onto patterned and solid CS. The second shows how you can dress up a b&w stamp simply by sponging on some soft colors. The verse is printed separately, matted with buttons, brad and ribbon to embellish.

Download this free digi stamp set here.






Hey, dad's don't just get to celebrate on Father's Day, crafters have a reason too with the 40% one day sale going on at mygrafico.com. Check it out. Ends at midnight on the 19th!


Friday, June 17, 2011

5 Reasons to check out Mygrafico.com right now

1. Check out my 5 new sets. 2. The retirement sale - just $1 each! 3. So many great designs inspire your creativity. 4. One of those new sets is a FREE digi stamp...perfect timing for Father's Day ;D. 5. Flowers make everyone smile...three of my new designs let you choose from cool brushes, pen-n-ink botancials and bright summer flowers.

Here is a peek at my 5 newest collections...

A collection of 4 beautiful pen-n-ink botanical illustrations including a lily, rose, lenten rose and iris.



Escape to the beach with this lighthouse sketch. Pair with the Father's Day verse in my new Masculine Verses set and you will have a quick and easy Father’s Day card, as shown. Download for free and tell all your friends!!!



I can’t help but get in a cheery summer frame of mind looking at these brightly colored flower clip art designs. Use on cards, layouts, invitations and other projects. Take your pick of formats...eps, png and abr brushes!



If you like to be in charge of what you create, there is nothing like Photoshop brushes. Use this set of 20 digi brushes and art files to create amazing flowers in patterns, textures and colors that you like. The eps files are scaleable and editable. Use the png for layering and also to selectively color or try the digital brushes for creating fast, easy one color floral designs. Combine with textures and styles in Photoshop to unleash the possibilities!



The set of verses and titles for creating projects for and about the men in your life. Includes brushes as well as eps and png files for use in your software programs. Just print, or colorize first, then print. Layer on cards and layouts either digitally or traditionally.  This is one of those basic gotta have sets!



I promise to catch you up soon on all of my Project 365 creations. It has been a busy time in our household and I am just getting caught up on photographing and uploading the projects so I can share my daily creative experiences with you.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Everyone loves a Giveaway!!!

Everyone loves the chance at winning and this month the booty is a really awesome one at Mygrafico! Included in this GIVEAWAY are:

***1 NEW Silhouette SD Cutting Machine
***SCAL3 Cutting Software that you can use with your electronic die cutting machines to cut endless fonts and shapes....
If you cannot wait for SCAL3 - here is an exclusive offer just for Mygrafico followers
http://www.craftedge.com/purchase/promo/promo_mygrafico.html 50% off.

***3 SVG Cutting Set Templates found on
http://www.mygrafico.com/svg-cutting-templates/cat_172.html
Begin creating with your new Silhouette SD machine right away with templates included in this giveaway designed byhttp://www.mygrafico.com/svg-cutting-templates/cute-dinos/prod_5108.html
SVG Shop
http://www.mygrafico.com/svg-cutting-templates/bag-bonanza-/prod_5089.html
Lindsay's Stamp Stuff &
http://www.mygrafico.com/svg-cutting-templates/13-decorative-borders-svg-collection/prod_5092.html
La.La. Studio!

***3 ROLLS of Adhesive Vinyl - Create your own wall art and more!

***American Crafts 50 Piece Paper Pack that you can use to create dimensional projects with your new Silhouette SD machine, SCAL3 software, and templates
WoW! How's that for a GIVEAWAY?!?***Please note that due to legalities, this giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS Only****
To find out how to enter, click here.

Friday, May 27, 2011

End of the Month, Memorial Day Sale at Mugrafico!

Savings so tweeeet that you can't resist buying these great digi art sets at Mygrafico.com. Get 25% everything in the entire store including everything in my shop. Below are some new releases, some fun spring sets and brush sets for being creative on your own! The sale is just two days, Saturday and Sunday so be sure to check it out this weekend!


Here are the newest releases...

    


Here are some great sets for Spring creations...



















And Some Fun Brush Sets...










Comment on my blog by June 1st to be put in a drawing to receive a free set of your choice!
Spread the word to your crafty friends! Drawing will be held on June 1st and winner will be notified through a post here. Be sure to check back for project inspirations! Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Time for a Spring Sale at my Digi Shop!

If you like the look of this banner advertising 30% off in my shop, then you will definitely like the new ML Fruity Florals set or the ........set. It is spring and everyone loves creating with pretty flowers. Another great set on sale is the Gardenia Digi Stamp. The sale lasts two days only - May 22 & 23rd until midnight. Hurry to save on the latest digital designs by Cheri Wenger (that’s me!)