LINDA SONIA!
Congratulations!
Thank you to everyone who commented on my tutorial. It was very uplifting, especially those who said they look forward to my Etsy store. I hope to have shirts listed by the end of the week! I will keep you posted!
Monday, August 13, 2007
And the Winner is...
The winner of my shirt giveaway during ArtsyMama's Artful Blogging Party is
LINDA SONIA!
Congratulations!
Thank you to everyone who commented on my tutorial. It was very uplifting, especially those who said they look forward to my Etsy store. I hope to have shirts listed by the end of the week! I will keep you posted!
LINDA SONIA!
Congratulations!
Thank you to everyone who commented on my tutorial. It was very uplifting, especially those who said they look forward to my Etsy store. I hope to have shirts listed by the end of the week! I will keep you posted!
Friday, August 10, 2007
Kayaking, Eating, Swimming, and Sleeping
I am headed off to the Cape for the weekend, but before I go I wanted to share a few photos (to start) from my kayaking trip last week. My sis-in-law and I went to Lake Champlain and island hopped. It was fabulous and very relaxing. We didn't do much more than kayaking, eat, sleep, swim, repeat.
I fell in love with this tree. It will probably make it onto a future shirt.
Julie is always up for a challenge, which the wind provided.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
July Hometown Swap
Finally getting back to posting about the July Create a Connection Swap, which was all about your hometown.
This is the lovely box I received from Kelly. All about her hometown of LONDON! Very fun. Love the pop song mix. :-) Thanks, Kelly!
And this is the altered book I made for Nina about my hometown of the Pioneer Valley in Masschusetts. She posted about it on her blog too.
And a slideshow of the detail pics. Enjoy!
This is the lovely box I received from Kelly. All about her hometown of LONDON! Very fun. Love the pop song mix. :-) Thanks, Kelly!
And this is the altered book I made for Nina about my hometown of the Pioneer Valley in Masschusetts. She posted about it on her blog too.
And a slideshow of the detail pics. Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Artful Blogging Party & Giveaway!
Kari is hosting a fabulous blog party over at http://artsymama.blogspot.com/. The party is to celebrate the new Somerset Special Publication Artful Blogging, so the theme is crafty tutorials and posts. So I decided to show a little about my thought process in how I make the shirts that have become a hot seller here in the Pioneer Valley.
My husband and I order the shirts wholesale through American Apparel (sweatshop-free!) and then embellish them. I love this shirt and so do all the customers. It is flattering on just about everyone.
This shirt was first screened. We either screen or stencil depending on how complicated the design is. All of our images come from photographs taken by us and then made into either a screen or stencil. Making screens and stencils is a little complicated to describe so I won't go into it now but there are TONS of tutorials online for you to have fun with. In brief, we specifically use the Live Trace function in InDesign CS2 to make the photos into the silhouette form you see. Then we may change it around and clean it up on Photoshop.
This shows the screen used next to the image it produces. We use Speedball screenprinting ink for our screening and stenciling.
And up close of the emulsion on the screen.
On this shirt I decided to do a decorative top stitch on the sleeve. I love this sparkling metallic thread but it breaks a lot in the machine so a sleeve is a small safe distance to go without the thread snapping!
Machine setting...on stretch it makes a cool vine-like pattern. In the future I would love a machine that does a bunch of decorative stitches, but I like this one a lot.
The subtle glistening on the 3/4 length sleeve.
Another popular embellishment I like to add is sequins. I really go for a subtle but very intentional attention to detail.
My goal is to make it look like a fairy has sprinkled pixie dust on the wearer's shoulder. If the sequins are on the back of the shoulder I add one sequin just over the front of the shoulder so you get a glimpse of it from the front (and vice versa).
The final product.
It is all very subtle which makes it not flashy but special and fun. Between the details and the fit of the shirts, I am told they are much loved by customers. Soon they will be available on Etsy! (I have been tearing out ceilings and cabinets at the new house, so I will hopefully get to Etsy in the next week!)
These are the tags that adorn the shirts...just a little added bonus for the customer!
And the GIVEAWAY...leave a comment on this post by the end of Friday and I will pull one name to receive this SHIRT (or one like it in your size, of course!). Good luck and thanks for checking it out!
Thank you Kari for hosting this amazing party! You rock!
My husband and I order the shirts wholesale through American Apparel (sweatshop-free!) and then embellish them. I love this shirt and so do all the customers. It is flattering on just about everyone.
This shirt was first screened. We either screen or stencil depending on how complicated the design is. All of our images come from photographs taken by us and then made into either a screen or stencil. Making screens and stencils is a little complicated to describe so I won't go into it now but there are TONS of tutorials online for you to have fun with. In brief, we specifically use the Live Trace function in InDesign CS2 to make the photos into the silhouette form you see. Then we may change it around and clean it up on Photoshop.
This shows the screen used next to the image it produces. We use Speedball screenprinting ink for our screening and stenciling.
And up close of the emulsion on the screen.
On this shirt I decided to do a decorative top stitch on the sleeve. I love this sparkling metallic thread but it breaks a lot in the machine so a sleeve is a small safe distance to go without the thread snapping!
Machine setting...on stretch it makes a cool vine-like pattern. In the future I would love a machine that does a bunch of decorative stitches, but I like this one a lot.
The subtle glistening on the 3/4 length sleeve.
Another popular embellishment I like to add is sequins. I really go for a subtle but very intentional attention to detail.
My goal is to make it look like a fairy has sprinkled pixie dust on the wearer's shoulder. If the sequins are on the back of the shoulder I add one sequin just over the front of the shoulder so you get a glimpse of it from the front (and vice versa).
The final product.
It is all very subtle which makes it not flashy but special and fun. Between the details and the fit of the shirts, I am told they are much loved by customers. Soon they will be available on Etsy! (I have been tearing out ceilings and cabinets at the new house, so I will hopefully get to Etsy in the next week!)
These are the tags that adorn the shirts...just a little added bonus for the customer!
And the GIVEAWAY...leave a comment on this post by the end of Friday and I will pull one name to receive this SHIRT (or one like it in your size, of course!). Good luck and thanks for checking it out!
Thank you Kari for hosting this amazing party! You rock!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
GPP Crusade #10
So I killed two birds with one stone with the GPP Street Team Crusade No. 10 and the Create a Connection Hometown Swap for the month of July.
I will post pics of my hometown swap stuff SOON (although you can see what I made here). When I sent out my swap item to Nina I stenciled and spray painted the box for the GPP Street Team Crusade No. 10. Here are pictures of my box. I just love mail art and wish I did more of it so this was a great crusade for me! Thanks Michelle for your crusades! They are awesome!
Coming Soon to Etsy!
I have set up my etsy store and as I get this next batch of shirts ready for the Artisan Gallery I am getting a batch ready for Etsy. I am very excited about the success I have had in the Artisan Gallery and so I am launching into the online sales world. It will be very exciting. So here is a sneak preview of some new, some older designs that are coming soon! Stay tuned for the launch.
Our newest stencil from a picture taken at the New York Botanical Gardens.
Branch and Birds Front
Same, Back
Birds and Flourish Front
Same, Back
Side Note: We closed on our house today. Very exciting. More on that later.
Our newest stencil from a picture taken at the New York Botanical Gardens.
Branch and Birds Front
Same, Back
Birds and Flourish Front
Same, Back
Side Note: We closed on our house today. Very exciting. More on that later.
Friday, July 13, 2007
We Have Lift Off!
We have a mortgage! Yes! I am so very excited to be buying a house. So much work to be done but at least all the work to get the house is almost over. Thank goodness. Buying a house is like trying to disarm a bomb...if you don't cut the wires in the right order you're screwed.
So since it is actually happening here are some of the photos you all have been waiting for:
The house.
The view from the yard.
The trail up Mt. Tom.
So since it is actually happening here are some of the photos you all have been waiting for:
The house.
The view from the yard.
The trail up Mt. Tom.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
I'm in the FRONT WINDOW!
I am so thrilled! Not only are my shirts selling well, but one is in the front window at The Artisan Gallery. I love this store and used to spend time just hanging out and being inspired by all the beautiful items collected together. This makes it even more exciting to have my stuff there!
The display of my shirts.
Another one on the dressing room door!
The display of my shirts.
Another one on the dressing room door!
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
How could I forget Innisfree?
I have been longing to return here since my first trip about 10 years ago. My mom and I went last weekend and it was wonderful.
This is my favorite part. Hard to capture, but there are winding small staircases and secret nooks and crannies to explore. I love hidden passageways and stone walls. I love not being able to see the next part of the garden until you find a way in and suddenly emerge into the new space. I'm getting tingly just thinking about how wonderful it is!
Ooo and these gave me lots to think about. I've been doing a lot of thinking about my furniture but not a lot of doing. I got to get on that...
Oh, yes, and I did cut 5" off my hair! (you can kind of see it in the first pic)
This is my favorite part. Hard to capture, but there are winding small staircases and secret nooks and crannies to explore. I love hidden passageways and stone walls. I love not being able to see the next part of the garden until you find a way in and suddenly emerge into the new space. I'm getting tingly just thinking about how wonderful it is!
Ooo and these gave me lots to think about. I've been doing a lot of thinking about my furniture but not a lot of doing. I got to get on that...
Oh, yes, and I did cut 5" off my hair! (you can kind of see it in the first pic)
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
A Sea of Choppy Blues
Kari over at Artsy Mama is doing a series of challenge. The last one was about what colors you are...this is what she got me thinking about:
Colors...right now my life feels like a choppy sea of blues and turquoise. More grey sometimes, brighter other times. I always want my summers to be sunny yellow with my vibrant red hammock and berries and green green grass and life. But it always seems to be more tumultuous and hectic than I want it to be. The lack of a school schedule throws me off...the extra time becomes filled with errands instead of art. Hence the choppy blues. The positive voice in my head reminds me that a sea of grey blue, blues, and turquoise can be very pretty.
Colors...right now my life feels like a choppy sea of blues and turquoise. More grey sometimes, brighter other times. I always want my summers to be sunny yellow with my vibrant red hammock and berries and green green grass and life. But it always seems to be more tumultuous and hectic than I want it to be. The lack of a school schedule throws me off...the extra time becomes filled with errands instead of art. Hence the choppy blues. The positive voice in my head reminds me that a sea of grey blue, blues, and turquoise can be very pretty.
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