TEAtotaler not Teetotaler

I've been just a little obsessed this past week with furry little rodents and I just can't stop thinking of different scenarios and compositions that I might put them in.  Here is what I have been doing this week.




Really it started with this simple sketch of a stack of tea cups that I did in my sketchbook.  Nothing spectacular but I liked the simplicity of it.  I decided to add some color.

Of course I knew that this was just the beginning and I thought a cute little mouse and maybe a tea bag would be just the thing to go along the idea I had in my head.  So I went back to an older drawing that had a cute mouse holding a cup of tea and decided to invite him to the party.     I added some text and make this cute little poster which is now listed on my Etsy Shop as a printable download.

Etsy Shop- Tea is Like a Hug in a Cup 

























Then I decided what I really needed was 2 little buddies and a drinking straw to really set this composition off.  I really liked where this was going but decided that I needed to change up my mice.  I did some quick sketches and scanned them into Photoshop.  I love how I am able to play around with the composition and rearrange elements of the drawing to find the best position.  The mouse on the top I even later moved his foot around because I felt that the way I had drawn him would be awkward for him to be standing on the cup. As you can see by the end I actually changed hit to be sitting on rim of the top cup.

I printed the outline drawing out on to 140lb cold press Canson Watercolor Paper and began painting it.  I'm not very good with watercolors but I love using them for tinting and then finishing off details in pen and ink.  I even used some color pencil on the cups and areas of shading to give it a more solid look.  I've titled this piece, "TEAtotaler"

Sketchbook page of the mice

The final artwork using watercolor & colored pencil

Combining the sketches in Photoshop

   

I scanned the finished piece back into Photoshop so that I could create a 2nd (8 x 10") poster option by adding the lettering, the tea stained background and the lace table cover. I think this would make a really cute gift for a tea lover on your list or maybe even to hang in your own kitchen.

As you can see this image also makes a darling greeting card.

  


Etsy Shop link to "TEAtotaler" poster

Watermelons and the Farm-Sweet-Farm

I'm sitting here thinking about what to include in this blog post as I am eating the last piece of the first watermelon of the season.  A life time of summer memories come to mind and watermelon is always there, chilled and sliced ready to be enjoyed.  I just can't imagine summers without this amazing fruit.

Not to mention that red and green are my favorite decorating colors and that they are complimentary colors on the color wheel.  I like other melons well enough.  Cantaloupe is good and there are also crenshaw and honeydew but they really can't hold a candle to the watermelon for taste and aesthetics.  Watermelon is really such a beautiful fruit.

With all my thinking about watermelons, I couldn't help but want to create something fun to mark the occasion.  I decided yesterday to practice my graphic skills and create a planner sticker page that had watermelon as it's central theme. 

I should at this point, regress and talk about another happening this week that played a hand in this decision to design my own sticker sheet.  My really good friend, Victoria Thatcher (we have been friends more years than we both would like to confess) is a really gifted graphics artist.  She has been creating beautiful things with her computer for years.  In the past several years she has become somewhat of a SUPERSTAR among the "Planner Sticker People".  You know those organizers that have transcended from the plan leather binder that contains a calendar and several tabs to organize everything you do and has now become more of a scrapbook everything in your life including stickers to count how many glasses of water you drink and what day is laundry day.  I personally don't get it but I do love journals and calendars and lists and so I guess I just need to try to make them prettier.  She has a Facebook group @VictoriaThatcherPrintablesGroup that has over 9000 members and I can tell that they all love her and her work.

Anyway, I'm getting of subject here.  Victoria and I had an idea to do a collaboration sticker where she designed the sticker sheet using my original art.  She called Farm-Sweet-Farm and as with all her other sticker sheets she made it available as a free downloadable file to all of her thousands of sticker fans.   Here is the link to check out all her amazing sticker collections.  If you download something, let her know that you found out about her website via my blog.

Victoria Thatcher Printables


I found myself so inspired by what she had done that I decided I would give this sticker stuff a try.  I found some awesome images on Pixabay.com and just made a little collection of images that I wanted to use.   I think that is when I decided to call it "Watermelon Summer".  Unlike Victoria,  I decided that I would add it as a listing to my ETSY Shop but it is only $1.95 to download all 19 colorful stickers.  I sized them the same as the ones that Victoria designs and so they should fit in an EC Vertical planner and with a little graphic know how, you can size them to fit other planners I'm told.  I don't anything much about those fancy cutting machines, but I'm pretty sure that you can use them for this application too or you can just do what I do and grab the old fashion scissors.

Julie Townsend Studio Etsy Shop

A Free Christmas Gift From Me to You!

There is just never enough time it seems in the month of December.  Okay...I know that the month has 31 days just like the 6 other months of January, March, May, July, August, and October but December is different.  We are asked to cram so many events, shopping, meal preparations, gift giving, baking and in my case painting into such a busy time.  I am declaring that for 2017, I am going to start thinking about Christmas in July, even if it is 115 degrees outside here in Las Vegas!

Yesterday, I was scanning my Facebook account when I saw this really great idea for Christmas.  I decided that I was going to make gift tags that featured my own original Christmas artwork.  I searched the internet and found another blogger that had written a very helpful blog post a few years ago on how to create stickers using Microsoft Word.  Now I am not good with graphics programs such as Photoshop, even though I really want to learn that program.  I only use Photoshop right now to crop and adjust my photos.  Word is however a program that I am comfortable with.  Let me share that link with you on how to create stickers in Word:  http://justagirlandherblog.com/make-labels-in-microsoft-word/ 

By the way this blogger, Abbey Lawson of justagirlandherblog seems to have figured out the blogging world and has an impressive home business that she and her husband have built.  I am going to spend more time going through her posts and maybe some very positive changes to this blog will be coming in the future.

Anyway, back to the gift tags.  I couldn't wait to figure out how to accomplish my own gift tags.   My first attempt actually didn't turn out too bad. I made them 2.5 x 3 inches and printed them using white card stock on my Canon Pixma Pro printer.  I cut a complimentary card stock that featured a Christmas print 1/2 inch large so that I could have a nice colorful border and add to the substantiation to the overall tag.  I think it turned out really well and I was pleased.  I really see adding a matching gift tag to each of my individual greeting cards that are sold or even selling packs of gift tags.  Either way I'm excited to attach them to my own gift giving efforts this year.

A side note here....As I was getting ready to write this blog, I had a dear friend who IS THE QUEEN of graphic art and a MASTER sticker creator, Victoria Thatcher at  http://www.victoriathatcher.com suggest to me a few improvements and with her suggestion, I got rid of the black outline of my text boxes.  I didn't know how to do that before hand.  She also told me how to upload the file as a PDF and put it on my Google Drive so that I could share it with you today.  Thank you so much Victoria for your friendship and constructive critique.  Be sure and check out Victoria's blog because she is amazing!

My Original Artwork titled "Except for the Mouse"

As part of the GIFT GIVING season, I have decided to make available a free printable document of my gift tags that feature a number of my 2016 original artworks.  This file is for personal use only and isn't to be sold or redistributed without my written permission.  All you have to do is click on this link SORRY LINK IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR THIS OFFER.   Please leave me a comment if you downloaded this file.  If you are interested in prints, cards, commissions or original artwork send me a message so that I can discuss it with you.  You can also find my work at my Etsy store.

My Christmas Gift to You!

Christmas Gift Tags 

Merry Christmas and have a Blessed 2017!

My Original artwork on display.