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The first moments of this New Year found me downloading a free month of Photoshop/Illustrator in preparation for an online Illustrator class with Nicole's Classes. After following her blog for months wishing to take Illustrator 101, I jumped at the chance with a Cyber Monday discount.
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It's mind blowing and frustrating and gratifying and fun all together. This is week two of class, and already our instructor has nicely taken us through a number of tools and Illustrator concepts. Week one homework was to create a typography poster using our text sizing and coloring skills. I wanted to be a lot hipper, but not so much after I saw the other participants' cool work. Not bad though.
Today, however, I hit gold! I have been CRAZY to have the dashed line to frame my label. A simple thing, I know, but as a modern sewist, I want my label to have that stitched frame. Now I know. (Hint: Rectangle tool with stroke adjustments.) The frame design isn't perfect today, but it will be. The lessons also covered pen and pencil tools, shapes, and line draw. I found myself doodling and made another poster design.
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My mission is twofold. One, my embroidery software seems to be based on Illustrator type tools and I need to create vector graphics to digitize embroidery designs properly. Second, I want to create my own graphics for everyday marketing, packaging, and labeling of my work and blog. There is also a design in mind to send to Spoonflower for calicodaisy fabric printed to line my goods.
Stop by Nicole's Classes and see all the interesting subjects offered -- just saw the new floral design and blog classes.
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As holiday orders were winding down this month, I began sorting through baskets of samples and inventory created in the recent past but forgotten as new ideas and designs took over. There are several monogrammed items created for orders but put together with the wrong monogram letter set or color of fabric, otherwise no change in quality. These MisDesigns, as I call them, are in the calicodaisy shop ready to ship and priced at a discount. Maybe you will recognize a monogram here and find that the item is just right for you or someone special. A few are listed here and the rest in the shop.
Kelly's Korner has a link up for a monogram swap, which prompted me to post about my little MisDesigns section and put some photos on review here.
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After searching for a pretty printable gift certificate over the past year, it was exciting to finally find one. My personalized GC file arrived this morning. Darling! Several denominations are available in the calicodaisy etsy shop, just right for the last-minute gift or the hard-to-choose-for one.
The gift certificate can be delivered in two ways: a printed version sent by snail mail or a PDF file delivered by e-mail to you or the recipient. Either way, the item will have all the pertinent information filled in and a special gift certificate code to keep everything in order. Expiration date is six months from the date of purchase.
Interested in MORE for less? A coupon code for 15% off the face value of the gift card is at the calicodaisy FB page (only to be used on GC orders).
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As the custom order for holiday giving deadline has passed, there are ready-to-ship items in the shop and new ones on the way as I can create them between orders. Here is a review of some holiday-inspired pillow covers ready to travel!
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Happy November! October just blew by with all sorts of busy-ness ending with a very fun week spent with my dearest friends and family in Atlanta attending The Country Living Fair for the second year in a row.
Unbelievable as it may seem, that mantra I began saying 11 months ago - "No Custom Orders in December!" has actually been changed to:
Last Day to Order Custom Items for Holiday Delivery: November 10,2012!
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I've been on a four-week turnaround treadmill for over a month, and there is no getting off the train at this point. So, to be sure to get items out in time for holiday delivery and to ensure the post office has time to deliver the items in that crazy time of year, my plan is to be finished with custom orders on 12/10/2012. My son graduates from college just a week later, so I want to fully participate in that celebration and the upcoming holidays with no studio worries in mind.
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Last year, I had the merry pillow cover as a calicodaisy 2011 holiday design. This year, a little more subdued design based on your color choices is "Silent Night" embroidered in a beautiful font and sewn up in a lumbar or square form style. Up until 11/10/2012, you can choose custom colors for holiday delivery. I plan to have a few in each size available for ready-to-ship status as well. Please Pin and FB share with anyone you know who might like this style. If there is time, I hope to get out "joy to the world" as well, but that might be a 2013 design!
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Don't forget about the custom embroidered, reversible, 52" Christmas Tree skirt either! Please order in time, so I don't have to say, "No!" It will hurt me more than you think, but I have to cut off custom orders at 11/10/2012. That is only SEVEN FULL DAYS left.
With that, I will leave you to a pretty Sunday. We are praying for our nation as we go to the polls this Tuesday and praying even more fervently for those touched by Super Storm Sandy.
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Monogrammed pillow covers, sports themed pillow covers, appliqued pillow covers! Client driven requests have been a marvelous path to this current life of mine, but I really don't have anything else to talk about here. Reading through my favorite blogs, I want to be part of the interesting writing crowd and try to move beyond my studio routine, but only the latest pillow cover comes to mind because, well, that's what I do. I am off to Atlanta again in October, though, for the Country Living Fair and to hang out with best friends. I might have something fun to discuss then. It is crazy to think that a year has passed, especially because, other than a day trip to Charlotte in February and two trips to the fabric mill in the last two months, I haven't left town since I came back on 10/24/2011 from Atlanta last year. It is stunning how my daily work schedule consumes my whole life. Seems to be all or nothing. Not sure how to fix that.
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On the other hand, out of that "time investment" comes new products for the shop and new plans to be relevant in the handmade market and internet presence as trends change.
Always looking for more masculine items to offer, a sports themed idea has been developing. Tailgaters and football lovers are always hungry for their team colors all over the place, but that can get overwhelming on the home decor. These designs might scream "my team!" to the sporty guy, but his colors and cheer are cleverly disguised in current home dec trends like chevrons and color block items. The lady of the house knows she got to give him some say in the decor, but set on a background of lovely fabrics, team colors are easier to fit into the family room and bedrooms.
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Color block pillow covers in team colors and then monogrammed or personalized for the sports fan in your life will be a great gift for the upcoming holidays and just in time for any bowl game celebrations. The idea works for fabric storage buckets tote bags and any number of useful but tastefully designed sports themed items.
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A friend recently introduced me to a South Carolina fabric mill that has sales for the public every so often. Yesterday was my second visit to load up on the twills that I use to create pillow covers in the calicodaisy shop.
As I was passing by the quilting fabric section, what did I see? A bolt of Heather Ross Lightning Bug fabric. Though a fan of her designs and the darling quilts and items I've seen made with her fabric lines, I've never ordered any, as by the time I think of something to create with it, generally the fabric is already sold out.
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Anyway, immediately I gave my daughter a call and had her google the line: Heather Ross Lightning Bugs and Other Mysteries - Happy Camper Vans in blue. We discovered that it is out of print, so I purchased the five yards on the bolt.
Last evening, I spent some time researching the prices. Craziness. I asked advice from a couple of quilting blog friends and a vendor I purchase from regularly, and they were kind enough to reply. One suggested ebay, but I know I would be obsessed with watching the auction, so I listed the fabric in the calicodaisy etsy shop in both half-yard increments and FQs. The FQs are a little below the going rate, so the option is more affordable to someone who wants just a bit more.
With two kids in college and the tuition bills to go with it, this Heather Ross fabric might prove to be a good find. Please tell your friends who love some Heather Ross.
