Calligraphy Christmas Ornaments

I finally finished up all the Christmas ornaments for friends and family and took pics before I had to send them around the country in time for Christmas! I lettered everyone's names on vellum and sandwiched them with some sheer embellished ribbon between two antique glass photographic slides and then soldered them (my soldering is much better than when I first began!!!). You can see them hanging on the tree as well as nestled among the little red silk bags I stitched up to hold them.

new fabric designs

As I am obsessed with all things alphabet, some of my newest fabric designs incorporate letters. I'm not sure exactly what I'll stitch up with these fabrics just yet, but I'm busily sketching away as we finally got our Christmas decorations up!

I had an epiphany recently regarding just how much and how long my love of letters extends. I finally got to watch the movie "Akeelah and the Bee" within the last few weeks which I had wanted to see for so long. I had been spelling bee champion in my hometown when I was in junior high. I remember loving penmanship lessons on school and I began my calligraphy lessons when I was 10 years old. I go out into the world and look for letters that occur in architecture or anywhere, really. Today it really hit me as we were trimming the tree that we used a bejeweled Christmas ornament of the letter H for our wedding cake topper and remembering the beautiful cake I designed with "I love you" in many languages scribed all the way around our cake that letters and beautiful writing is so deeply engrained in me!

I finally had some time to make my satchel sketches a reality! I drew up the pattern pieces for my "Sideways Satchel" as I call it and took to cutting out the fabric that I designed!!!! It's so exciting to have my very first project totally and completely of my own design completed! I added a vintage brooch from the antique store down the block at the fastener point. I just love carrying around my handbag that holds everything I need!

I'm so excited that my first full yardages of some of my fabric designs finally arrived!!! I ordered a few of my designs on the upholstery weight fabric from Spoonflower and cut out the pieces to make a purse that I designed. As soon as I get it all put together, I'll post pics.

I've designed a few more fabrics, however they're not available for sale yet as I'm waiting for the test swatches to get here to check them out. These designs are inspired by wood molding and carvings I've noticed in my surroundings lately.

fabric salvation

Creating artwork of my very own and especially creating fabric designs has proven to be my salvation from segments of the socially inept world in which I sometimes work as a graphic designer. It is remarkable to me that the filter that most of us seem to possess can be so sorely lacking in some individuals who hold no regard for crushing others' spirits and the others who kowtow to these profoundly rude people and allow toxic environments to fester.

So I choose to confide in my husband and best friend, my constant supporter. I also immerse myself in my creations. I created the Numberology and Men in Numbers pieces for the latest Spoonflower fabric of the week contest. The Adirondack Rows was inspired by the shape of the back of the chairs and coordinates with my earlier design, Adirondack Attitude.

I've finally had some funds so I've been able to order full yardages of some of my designs. I can't wait until they show up in my mailbox and I can start stitching up the patterns for bags that are only sketches in my notebooks right now.

I haven't had nearly enough time to design fabric as my media coordinator and graphic designer duties have kept me so busy as we prepare to open two new businesses in our arts complex. Happily, today has presented me with a brief break from work to whip up some new designs that have been inspired by our beautiful, fleeting summer and working on living a greener existence. The lush greens that surround me found their way into my designs in their many forms - leaves, grass and pine trees.

Here is my latest creation, which I call Adirondack Attitude. I felt inspired to create this as summer is on it's way out in the northland and will be gone far too soon. This design allows me to hang on to a bit of that summer feeling even when the world up here has turned white and stormy.

The fabric designs keep coming...

Two more designs that I've posted to my spoonflower account and that I'll have printed up soon! The first is inspired by where I grew up - wheat fields and sunflower fields that seemed to go on forever, rolling hills and gentle rivers - that land is North Dakota and always will be my home even if I reside somewhere else.

Graphic Circles is is another of my designs in my favorite color palette in floral, fluid forms. I think it will look fabulous printed up and stitched into a laptop case!

Since discovering Spoonflower, my main mode of relaxation from all of my regular design jobs has been to design fabrics! I'm still waiting for my swatches from Free Swatch Day and can't wait to see my first couple of designs in print.

I should have spent far more time than I did today cleaning the house before our dinner party later this week, but instead found myself continually drawn to my mac to create more fabric fun.

The first image is actually a design from a couple years back that I did for my sister in tribute to her very much pampered Maltese, Jessie. She loved it!

The second image is inspired by the house that my hubby and I currently live - an historic, old rowhouse near the shores of Lake Superior. These rowhouses are far more colorful than ours actually is but I love the whimsical look of these!

More fabric fun!

Here's the latest addition to my fabric designs! I'll be getting full yardages of these three coordinating designs printed by Spoonflower and stitch up some Amy Butler bags!

Fabric Fanaticism!!!

I'm so excited to have discovered Spoonflower! I have always to be a fabric designer and now get to see my designs come to life as Spoonflower will print out the multitudes of designs stored in my head. I'm particularly thrilled as I found them just in time to take advantage of their free swatch day! I can't wait to see my first two designs in print in about a week - I think I will frame them just as a new business frames its first dollar bill earned!