Washi Tape ATC- a forgotten one

A forgotten ATC... kind of, I just didn't have it when I was scanning in the other Washi Tape ATC's. It is a straggler in part because I did not feel that it was finished. But the more that I visit it the more that I like the simplicity of it. Kind of like the idea of the body shaper in the piece, keeps things smooth and simple and pleasing to the eye... of course I say this of a piece that is made up of polka dots and neon so...

 

Mountain Series Collection- Second Set

A second set of Mountain Series ATC's. The last picture is the tryptic all together, as the piece was originally started before I cut them up into ATC size. I like the idea of working a bigger piece and then cutting them up to smaller pieces then adding more. I am really enjoying the layering to create patterns that mimic landscapes.

I am still feeling pretty inspired by this route and will probably have another series to add to the collection. I figure if I can't be in the mountains I can dream about them!



 

 

as usual higher res files of these are posted on my Flickr account.

Girls Gone Rx- T-Shirt Design

This past weekend I participated in a CrossFit event, Girls Gone Rx, to benefit Barbells for Boobs
This is the second year of the competition and the second year I participated. It consists of teams of three women that complete four work outs throughout the day. I had great fun with my two team mates and am sufficiently sore, still, two days later...
This year I was going to screen print shirts for us but quickly realized I wanted to have more than three colors in the design and that several screens to do three shirts wasn't exactly needed. So we went the iron on transfer route. It actually came out really well, we will have to see how well it lasts though.

Here is the design.

 

 

 On the T-shirt

 

 

 and in action!

Washi Tape ATC's Continued

I went to visit my friend in Idaho and toured the beautiful state not too long ago and found much beauty in the mountains and the water. This next set of ATC's were inspired by my time with her and my trip. We visited a couple of hot springs, one of them along what seemed to be a turquoise river. We hiked around some mountains and drove through plenty of valleys.

The mountains in these scense are actually Colorado ranges from a very old scenic photography book. Again the washi tape is great in creating layers, like landscapes, and shapes.

 

 

Each one of them has the post card template on the back of them in case I want them to be multi-purposed.

Washi Tape ATC's

It's safe to say I am addicted to washi tape... who isn't. It's pretty irresistable, especially en masse... Yeah? You agree?

 

Any way, once I got my first round of tape home I laid out several layers on a sheet of paper and then cut the page down into ATC size. From there I went crazy. I think the most appealing part of washi tape for me is how it layers and tears.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the first round of washi tape ATC's. These are available... anyone want to trade?

 

Collage Themed Zine- Spiro Love

I followed up my last swap with this one that was a collage themed zine swap. I started making a few collaged zines here and there and was looking through my collage elements I keep on hand both physical and digital and I came accross my spiro collages. Instead of mining them for elements I decided to straght up use them from their original state. For one of the panels and the front and back cover I did take parts from other collages to make new ones coming up with this latest spiro collage

Again, I had a lot of fun creating this one and look forward to more projects coming down the line. I am appreciating that I can find the balance between combining material, in person, original elements and then taking them to the scanner and creating more from there. It provides great flexibility, possibilities, and a more polished look. I am still a major fan of cutting and pasting with paper

though!

 

The zine layout...

 

Next swap I signed up for is to create a zine kit so someone can build their own zine!

 

 



Magazine Zine- Swap

I signed up for a couple of swaps last month on the heels of completing Maggie's 1 year Zine hoping that it would continue to propel me into a creating frenzy. Once I started working on the first project, a zine that is made from a magazine, I was hooked and didn't want to stop. I pulled out an old (1949) Saturday Evening Post and started to cut and paste. I created the cover as an individual ATC and then worked on a few other collage elements from there. I scanned in what I had plus a lot of other elements from the magazine that I found visually appealing (patterns, ads, images, & fonts). Then in Photoshop I went to work with some digital collaging. I printed out a copy and then went back to work with paper, tape, and glue adding in more elements. Once I was happy with the finished product I brought it to the copy machine and printed off a run of my zines.

 

I like how the zine as a whole turned out. The older hand-created elements of design from the 40's meshed with more modern design schemes. The old and new colors go along well... a hint of trends recycling from one era to another. 

 

A picture of the original ATC, the finished orignal zine, and the so satisfying stack of copied and folded zines. I sent out two to partners and kept a small stack for future trades. Anyone want one? I'd love to trade for your creations!

Working alongside the zine I created a "Woodland Forest" themed ATC for another swap. Ok, so it is a far stretch from Woodland Forest but the pieces I had in front of me went together so well with the bear. I hope my partner enjoys the loose interpretation of the rules.

 

I signed up for another zine swap in June and look forward to pulling that one together and sharing with my partners!

Mother's Day!

This Mother's day I was surrounded by Mom's and mom-like figures. I wanted to do something special for those ladies in my life so my sister and I did a little decorating and some cooking. A great brunch of lox, mimosas, fresh fruit, and ham!

Zines!

There is something hugely satisfying about large quantities of neatly organized multiples of anything. Case in point.

A stack of freshly printed and folded Zines.

 

For Maggie's first birthday I continued the tradition of making a Maggie-Zine... a second edition, a continuance from her birth announcement Maggie-Zine.

 

It is my goal to continue the Maggie-Zine tradition at least once every year. I'll have her join in the fun of creating soon too!  

 

Until Next Year...

 

Just because Maggie's Zine is an annual affair doesn't mean I won't be jumping in to other zines! I am feeling hooked lately. This is one of my trip to Taos in which I visited with my school age girlfriends! It was an incredibly relaxing and enjoyable trip with the ladies.

 

Much like my holiday cards and everything that I have been working with lately the base of this started with good old scissors, paste, and paper then scanned in and embellished digitally.

 

I have signed up for a swap in which I will be creating a zine that is created from an existing magazine. I am thinking of doing one based off of one of the old magazines from the 50's that I have. It has been awhile since I have pulled on those vintage images. Post of that to come.

Catching Up! Taking Stock...

Whoever said your personal time and energy after you have a baby no longer exists?! Oh wait... they were right. Kind of. Thirteen months after the bundle of joy arrived I am still learning how to find balance for my personal activities. I feel like I have been fairly lucky in getting sleep, exercise, and time for work but finding time to do the things that I gain energy from (creating!) has still been tricky. Tip #1... stop trying to keep up with eleven games of Words!

Honestly though, with some pretty large shifts in my life I am attempting to find a balance where I can maximize my time and fill it with engaging, nourishing activities. With that said I am aiming to get back to more crafty type stuff.

Over the last half year+ I haven't been completely sedentary though. Some projects I have worked on...

LMI Fitness- a group of friends and Like Minded Individuals that like to get outside and play. I have been playing with a possible t-shirt/blog design logo:

A few t-shirt designs for the CrossFit Gym that I workout and train at:

I am working on the next step of this process and starting to make the screens so I can screen print some of these bad boys. I had good feedback about the first and last designs.

I have had a few good hikes and a great trip down to Taos to see some friends that helped get the creativity spark going (a seperate post about that shortly).

Those are just few things that I can think of in review over the last several months. Now is the time for spring renewal and a chance to clear out the cobwebs and start chugging along again. I have no doubt that will bring many activities in the months to come.

2012 Holiday Cards

Merry Christmas! (in May..) hey, there is still snow on the ground here in Denver, maybe that is what prompted this post. This past holiday season I didn't dedicate as much time to holiday card creating as I usually do but I am pretty happy that I cranked anything out. All of these cards started on paper with different elements from books, washi tape, stickers, rub ons, papers, etc and then were scanned in and added to or cleaned up digitally. I am enjoying the process translating from originals to digital and altering small details to make series if wanted.

 

 

The 2012 a.m. design Holiday Collection!