The t-shirts are in!

Positive Threads have released their first round of t-shirts. Seeing these designs made real is amazing!

To order for for further details please contact Positive Threads.

T-shirt designs for Positive Threads

I have been lucky enough to be a part of the blossoming t-shirt design company, Positive Threads.

The two amazing ladies behind the brand are developing a range of t-shirts for women, men and children with beautiful artwork and positive messages. I love the concept and would be proud to wear (and have my children wear) these gorgeous, uplifting fashions. It sure beats seeing a ten year old wearing a skin-tight shirt emblazoned with 'porn star' - or worse!

Women's designs:

 ^Digitally drawn in Adobe Illustrator CS5 - hand-drawn font

 ^Digitally drawn in Adobe Illustrator CS5 - hand-drawn font

Girl's design:

 ^Digitally drawn in Adobe Illustrator CS5

Boy's design:

^ Hand-drawn on paper, graphite shaded and finalised in Adobe Photoshop CS5


I can't wait to see these printed and ready to wear! For more information, please contact Positive Threads HERE.

Little Miss Leigh logo artwork design

I have just completed a logo artwork for the lovely Little Miss Leigh, who offers make up and tanning on the Gold Coast.   

This piece is 100% vector, so it can be as small as a business card or as big as a building, without distorting. All hand sketched in Adobe Illustrator CS5 with a tablet :D

          

Birthday Party free printable photo booth props

And here you can access your very own Transformers and dinosaurs photo booth props! Just go to the link and download the pdf file. It's 4.5MB total so you will have nice, clear props.

Print out the props on heavy card or onto regular copy paper and then glue the pages onto cardboard. I found manila folders worked great. Cut out the props carefully (a craft knife works best) and remember the eye holes in the masks. Attach elastic or glue on a wooden rod and off you go!

Birthday Party - Photo booth

On the day of the party I set up a photo boo the corner of the room. All it needed was a well-lit corner, a blank wall, a chair and a basic point-and-shoot camera on a tripod.

A simple cardboard sign, the printed props and some childlike humour were all we needed to have a ball!

Punk's not dead!

AFTER^^

BEFORE^^

(Note the photo corrections and the guitar morph?)

Guitar design

Logo design

Get your punk on! Fictional Punk concert complete with logo, guitar design and photo manipulation :)

mmm, iced tea with a dash of vodka. Bring me one on ice!

Another fictional product range, but one that makes me want to brew my own alcoholic iced tea! I had such fun on the graphics for this one and creating the vintage/retro inspired design :)

The quick rundown of the latest works...

What a busy month! I have finished the design of The Big Bad Wolf album in collaboration with Calhoun Fifis, designed a brand new Matryoshka doll for Melanie at Mel Makes Pretty, whipped up a vector Jimmy Hendrix for my graphics class, completed a photo retouched pinup portrait for Bec and I'm right in the middle of inking two of my pen drawings (and taking a much needed break before my fingers fall off!)

 

Melanie Matryoshka

The Big Bad Wolf cd design, top - front of fold out booklet, bottom - back of fold out booklet.

 Jimmy!!

What have you been doing this month?

Time flies, allow me to recap...

In attempting to find where the time has gone, I felt compelled to make a list. I have had 2 months free of study and swore to myself that after Christmas I would devote plenty of time to my own artwork and build a nice little library of work. While I did manage to complete 3 new pen drawings and an inked drawing, I didn't manage anywhere near what I planned. My wall is still full of post-its with ideas, plans and random names for artwork :(

In no particular order:

• Hosted Christmas dinner
• Prepared my son for his first year of school including all prerequisite uniform, stationery, backpack, lunchbox, textbook and accessory shopping. That quite frankly deserved a month all to itself
• Hosted and promoted my first blog giveaway on two blogs
• Opened an Etsy store
• Sewed a panne velvet quilt
• Baked a three tier chocolate cake, shortbread, sugar cookies, marshmallow slice, chocolate coated marshmallows and pretzels for dozens
• Sewed 7 baby dresses, 5 headbands and made a dozen hairclips
• Sewed a dinosaur pillow, wrist cuffs and made a customised dinosaur dig
• Painted 5 shirts, a golf towel and made tulle pom poms for decorations
• Put together 8 baby and child gift hampers for donation
• Did the Christmas shopping!
• Took the kids for a photo with Santa, attended a Christmas concert and a graduation
• Made a flogger and tickler
• Had a short holiday - the first as a family of four
• Painted a swan portrait
• Played with a DSLR camera for the first time
• Had a Christmas party and organised a Secret Santa
• Kept blogging AND Facebooking :)
• Participated in various Etsy treasury-making and promotion
• Watched my son ride his first big-boy bike and scooter, saw my daughter stand for the first time, cut new teeth and do a handstand
• Got my hair done, woot!
• Read at least six new books - that's right, start to finish, I feel your envy :)
• Lost weight, not quite as much as I would have liked but I haven't regained any. Don't let the door hit you in the ass, weight!
• Drew pictures, played Search and Find, built transformers and read stories with my son
• Cuddled, sang to and played with my daughter
• Spent time with my husband, we even saw at least one good dvd (though the rest were crap, thanks Hollywood)
• Took on extra page-layout work, voluntary work and I-don't-get-paid-for-this extensive promoting, networking and random business crap that's supposed to make people notice me
• Laughed, cried, was amazed and schocked
• Spent too much time anxious or depressed, but got over it
• Did all the regular stuff that helps keep the home and family going

None of this was done alone, were it not for my husband taking kid-duty while I worked or my kids being so well behaved and quiet while I converse with clients or finish artwork I never would have made a quarter of this list. I still wish I could find more time to work on my own stuff but perhaps that's something I have to work on this year.

How has your summer (or winter) been so far? Have you achieved what you wanted?

Don't forget you can always fit in those missed projects in the future!

Going black

Today I'm going black to support the anti SPOA and PIPA movement.

Do you want your internet censored? Do you want your web page under scrutiny by the government? Do you want to risk being closed down because some big business thinks you are impinging on their copyright? Don't risk the amazing and free-spirited voice of the internet that has been creating and supporting individual voices for years.

Piracy is the worst type of theft, stealing other's hard-earned ideas and creations is the most despicable form of flattery. But these laws are not the way to protect us.

The music festival I'd want to attend :D

So, one of my final assignments turned out really well so I wanted to post it on here. We had to do up a whole bunch of advertising and merchandising for an imaginary music festival. Please note, turning up to The Spit next year will not bathe you in the dulcet tones of Norah Jones or the rhythmic rapping of Eminem. Just sayin ;P

 logo

 bumper sticker

 cd sleeve

 drink bottle

 poster/advertisement

skate deck

website

I am especially proud of the piano key wings. This was a great way of practicing how getting the logo, colours and fonts right the first time, paves the way for creating great, unified additional marketing materials.

An early Christmas present for you!

As we rapidly approach the season of overspending celebrating, I have been thinking hard about what the holidays really mean. I planned a handmade holiday this year for a variety of reasons.

1. Christmas/Yule does not revolve around who gets what, but rather celebrating our lives and appreciating our loved ones
2. All the work and money spent on a single day is, quite frankly, fucking ludicrous 
3. In order for my children to appreciate quality, meaning and the joy of putting your heart into a gift, they have to experience it properly
4. I am so sick of cheap, sweat-shop, useless, meaningless crap and my house needs less, NOT more

Step 1: make presents meaningful and incorporate more activities into the season to spend with loved ones.

Step 2: make all of December a great big occasion and plan various outings, events and doings for everyone to look forward to and be excited about

Step 3: Xavier is big enough now to understand that some things break easily and the difference between quality toys and crap but still needs to learn that handmade = better made. He is starting to realise that sometimes he really wants something that just doesn't exist. BUT if someone could make it for him, he would have exactly what he wants and no one else would have one. He is also learning the joy of making but giving his art work to us as gifts, and how proud he can feel from handmade. This year he can experience how it feels to give someone a handmade gift and see them light up, and what it is like to receive a thoughtfully handmade gift.

Step 4: Quality. Seriously, is it really that hard to understand? Breakages, sweat shop workers and lead paint scares aside, the crap we buy from big stores is severely lacking on anything resembling craftsmanship, individuality or meaning. I'm not the same as the next person, I don't want what they have. I want my own thankyouverymuch. I want custom-made not factory-made!

When did consumers decide that individually crafted is inferior to big-box, same-as-the-next-person stuff? A matter of decades ago, custom orders were a show of taste, fashion and wealth. Now handmade is seen as folksy, cute and *shudder* childish. WTF?


So, in order to further the Handmade Holidays, I give to you this A4-sized printable to share, post, email, link and otherwise spam the world with.

[Copyright Eveningsong Ink, personal use only. Not to be redistributed as your own creation, mass marketed, sold, or used commercially. Please mention/link back me when sharing with others. Linking back to me on blogs and websites is fine as long as you give credit and follow the rest of the copyright mumbo jumbo :) For commercial use please contact me. ]


Click > Show Original > Right Click (Save as)

I will also be posting this on my Facebook. Jump on over and share it share it share it! Spread the word and give yourself a fun and happy holiday season. Also available via Hand Made-n's crafty blog.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting our holiday crafts, tutorials and recipes. Don't miss it!

Creative conference of inspiration

Today was the first ever Analogue Digital Creative Conference. A brand new event (and on the Gold Coast, no travelling!) featuring inspiring arty types from various disciplines. Two speakers in particular stood out for me, Claudio Kirac and Dare Jennings, though all were interesting to hear and I came away with advice from everyone.

What captured me about these two were the way they expressed themselves to us. Both were very visual, interesting and funny but where Claudio caught me with his outrageous videos and humour, Dare's stunning photos and fascinating life were just as impressive.

Their stories could belong to any of us. I could have the same success and adventure they have had. Those two points are what really brought things home for me. I could DO that, I remember thinking. They both emphasised hard work and dedication but I expected that bit, I don't think anyone truly values something if they didn't need to sweat or try or burn for it. But their stories began so normally; I found myself noting that it didn't take some unattainable situation or opportunity for them to get started, so maybe I could reach those heights too.

Possibly the only thing that sets me on a different course is that with a young family, my considerations are directed differently. They will always be most important but I am a person too, and if I can make a success of my art then that paves the way for them too. I have found time to go to a gallery opening already and will be attending the Rabbit and Cocoon opening too. I'm pleased at taking the chance to attend, hopefully at the Rabbit and Cocoon event I'll actually find the chance to introduce myself and engage some artists in conversation. Honestly, self-marketing and breaking the ice in an industry where you know so few is really quite overwhelming, but if I don't then I am expecting people to just stumble across me and love me.

That sounds great, really, but I'm at least trying for realistic.

Plus, Rabbit and Cocoon have the Miami Marketta a local art/craft/local produce market. I've been looking at The Village Markets for a possible space next year but I want to check them out too.

So here's my favourite bits:

• Be inspired by things, rather than design SouthSouthWest
• Believe in yourself (cause if you don't, why should anyone else, right?) Claudio Kirac
• Inspiration, Imagination, Innovation. The three I's Claudio Kirac
• Do what you love (or would you rather spend your life hating what you do 40 hours a week and living for your weekend. Make life the weekend) Claudio Kirac
• Challenge people's preconceptions, if they can pigeonhole you they can dismiss you (the epitome of 'keep 'em guessing) Dare Jennings
• Find the art in the object (how true. Art can be found in the strangest places, it doesn't need to grace the walls of a gallery to be art) Dare Jennings 

Personal musings in italics. They were much better versed than I :P

If you have a chance, check these guys out. They are creative, dedicated, talented, inspirational and generous. They are who I will be.

One day.