Archive for September, 2009

I was browsing the MyGraficO community this morning and came across some very cute images by the talented Katie Tate! She used a few images from my Trick-Or-Treat digital stamp set and made them into a VERY cute 3-dimensional fold-out card…with glitter, cut out letters and stitches. It is so creative. Wouldn’t it be fun to give this to someone? I wish I could see it in person and touch all of the elements.

(click on the images to see larger versions)

Check out her blog for more creative projects like this. She is very creative with paper crafts. :)

Enjoy, and have a lovely day!

World Card Making day is coming up on October 3rd, and MyGraficO is participating in a group hop at Paper Craft Planet. There will be door prizes, contests, and more…so be sure to check out MyGraficO’s group to read the details!

Also, as part of this fun event MyGraficO is going to have a 40% SALE throughout their entire store from 7:00pm-Midnight on that day. Don’t miss out–this is the perfect time to add more clip art, stamps, digital brushes and more to your creativity collection!

Enjoy! Hope to see you there. :)

This month has been filled with loads of projects–I wish I could share them all. I have done another sketch in my sketchbook that I hope to upload and share soon, and I am also looking forward to creating a few more clip art sets. Yes, those have been my primary focus ever since I was given a great opportunity to share them on MyGraficO. It has also been a great focus since I spend all of my time with my children–and it’s hard not to think of cute and whimsical things to draw.

One set I have in mind is one that I had designed in 2006 or 2007, and it’s Zoo-themed. The elephant is a part of it. I have several more sets in mind but I hope to work on this one first as I get back into the swing of things.

As for other projects, Amber McLeod has been helping me to get my own website started! I am excited for that. I have some older art prints I would love to offer on it, and I also look forward to offering my graphic designs as well. I have a few fun ideas in mind for that, including some contests and giveaways.

Take a peek at my website.. http://meljensdesigns.com. It’s still under construction, but I’m working on getting some content up soon.

I hope your week has gone well and I will share updates on my projects as I can!

I keep finding some really fun design tools…and today’s tool I found on Twitter! This site is called Font Capture (beta) and it is 100% free. Apparently all you do is download and print the font template, fill it in with your handwriting, scan it back in and upload it. Then the site creates a font for you!

I see lots of potential for this including creating some fun and artsy fonts as well.

Enjoy!

I am fairly new to Illustrator (or AI, as most people call it)…so I personally understand how overwhelming it can be if you are self-taught like I am! I recently ran across a very inspiring set of tutorials on a blog named ‘Illustration Info’ and it really opened my eyes to some tricks I hadn’t thought of. There’s a set of tutorials in there for early beginners, too…so if you feel lost with Illustrator or you’re thinking of trying it out someday, be sure to take some time to look at these tutorials! They really help.

There are a few tutorials for Photoshop, too. :) Enjoy!

‘Illustration Info’ Tutorials & Tips

A not-so-pro tip of my own…if you love to draw and are aspiring to do any form of digital art, be sure to get a good tablet! They save time and wrists. :) I suggest Wacom. It’s the only brand I’ve used since 2003.

Yes, this is another opportunity to win one of my digital stamp sets. :) These contests are actually being sponsored by the MyGraficO Challenge blog–as I’ve mentioned before–though I look forward to holding some of my own contests as well.

This set features a Trick-Or-Treat theme with a cute spider, witch cat, cauldron, candy, and more. Get an early start on your Halloween crafts! To read more about the entry details and to see a craft inspiration, please check the challenge blog post. You have all weekend to create something for this contest, so have fun! I’d love to see someone win.