Now Designing for...

Through the chaotic month of February I had the pleasure of getting a small break and doing something new ~ designing for an digital magazine.  I had contacted the owner last year, but as is the case with so many things, this project popped up in my life just at the right time.

Learning the world of online ezine designing was something entirely new for me. While I've had some training in college classes, it's always a different thing when we get a chance to put that book learned knowledge to actual use and I'm happy to say that I found designing page spreads to be creative, technical, and super fun!

So this month you can find some of my newest handiwork in Pagan Living magazine.  I had the pleasure of designing a few of the articles including "For the Birds", "A Mad Hatter Tea", and "Well Dressing", as well as the "Inspiring Notions" page.

Being a contributor meant that I also needed to come up with a one page ad and since I'm no slogan queen, I enlisted the help of my son, the resident writer and English major. We had fun working on it together and I give full credit to him for the catchy opening phrase...

Aside from my own design work, I really enjoy reading this magazine.  I'd flipped through it a few times in the past, supporting some of my customers and friends who've contributed, but now I sit down and take my time reading through the pages and that's a good thing. As a not-wannabe workaholic, it's good for me to take some time for myself.   The newest issue has only just come out but at first glance some of my favorite short musings are the spread on Rhubarb ~ always wanted to try it, and the beautiful d-i-y handcrafted flower light sets ~ I totally want these in my bedroom(!).  

My hats off to the all of the contributors and especially the editor Tenae who juggles not only this publication but a busy personal life of college and work.  It's really a pleasure being associated with hard working and very creative souls, and working with Tenae was a sheer delight. I've no doubt this young studious go-getter will go far in this world and help spread the word for things she loves and believes in.  I hope you'll give Pagan Living a look-see ~ you can find it on issuu at this link:  issuu.com/paganliving/docs/spring2013

Enjoy~ 

Supplies

I spent some time searching for supplies yesterday in preparation for this fun little challenge I've joined.  I have to admit the jar was the easiest part, since I have a small collection accumulated from my favorite Caesar dressing. *yummm*

With the holidays now behind us it was a little difficult finding some of the goodies I was hoping for but I wound up locating some nice glittery paints, Spanish moss, and a sampling of scrapbooking supplies.

Of course my imagination was a million miles ahead of me; daydreaming of an icy pond scene with tiny skating figures surrounded by a snowy landscape ~ gotta love that imagination!  It's fun to plan though and even more fun to imagine how the final version will actually turn out.

I hope you're off to a creative start for the week too!

Best,

Custom Order of a Different Sort

Over the past six weeks I've had the pleasure of working on a very lovely custom order set.  A new customer had visited my Etsy shop and fell in love with the "Delicate Walk" bracelet ~

...her hope was to have me create a coordinating necklace.  I quickly got to work contacting the focal bead artist, the most amazingly talented Zuda Gay, to see if she could create a matching focal pendant. These type of flower focals can be tricky because the artist uses polymer canes and once the original color combination is used up it can be tough to recreate.  Fortunately Zuda was able to accommodate my request and within a short time the new focal had arrived.

From there it was a matter of coming up with some coordinating side beads.  I original made the side beads I used in the bracelet but being without a proper torch or annealing kiln these days, I needed to find an alternative source.  Fortunately there are a few beading artists I like on Etsy and so within a few weeks several custom lampwork bead orders began to arrive.

The assembly was exciting and fun ~ it's wonderful to see a project you've worked on for some time, finally all come together.  The end result is this matching set that both the customer and I love.

I hadn't realized how similar these type of projects are to the custom order blog themes I create but they too possess the ability to create something truly special for someone and to connect with the person I'm creating for ~ I think in this crazy busy world we share, that's a true gift in itself.

Best,

Customer Shout Out!

Once again I have the pleasure of giving a few shout-outs to some recently completed projects.  These are always so much fun because not only do I get to show off some fun themes I've been working on but I get to introduce you to some really wonderful creative souls!

Projeto Corujinho

First up is this theme created for Projeto Curinho.  Now if htat title sounds a bit foreign, it's because that's Portuguese.  Not many of you may know that I lived in Brazil many years ago so this project was extra special to me.  This blog theme was created around a charitable cause ~ offering golfing lessons to underprivileged children in Brazil.  Visiting the blog you'll see photos of the children having fun and it's easy to see how much this special project means to all of them!  I was honored to have an opportunity to work on this theme.

The Johnson Family Live

Next we have The Johnson Family Live ~ a delightfully homey blog centered around family, fun, and food.  If you've ever had a project just flow then you'll understand how happy I was when this one simply fell together at every turn.  The end result is a wonderfully elegant yet down-to-earth theme that offers a cozy backdrop to this fabulous family's life and adventures.

Bonnie's Heart & Home

Lastly we have Bonnie's Heart and Home ~ it's funny how some themes just seem to take a bit longer, not because of any one particular aspect or cause but simply how putting the individual theme plays out and this theme was one of those. Starting on our journey nearly a year ago, Bonnie and I worked together to bring her personal vision of home and spiritual beliefs together in one lovely theme.  The outcome was a multifaceted theme that fits her lovely style to a tee.

As always a huge thanks to my wonderful customers, not only for selecting me to create for them but for allowing me the honor of bringing their personal visions to life ~ it's always such a pleasure! I do hope you'll take the time to visit each of these wonderful blogs and comment and Follow ~ it's one of the ways we can reach out and make this blogging community a little more friendly and personal. 

Enjoy~

Spinning Straw Into Gold

There are many times that words fail me in life. Communication was something I had to learn along the way ~ first by learning to understand and speak my feelings through counseling and then by learning to write through reading beautifully written blogs filled with personal musings.  Still there are times when no matter how eloquently we learn to express ourselves the words simply fail us.

Reading over a blog post by one of my recent customers was just such a time.  Here is what she wrote...

 Spinning Straw Into Gold 

"Dear Sharon, this is my way of saying thank you for your generous heart.

Her passion is the muse of her authenticity

for she abounds in creativeness.

She offers a haven of diversity and choice.

Spinning straw into gold

with the radiance of her talent.
Her designs can be found both near and afar. 

From ancient to contemporary,
her vision is birthed. 

“Masters of the Past” and “Modern Woman,”

“Good Old Days, and “ Floral Tributes.”

Are but just a few.



She reminds me of a glorious floral garden

joyful and in full bloom. 

Always searching for a fresh perspective.

Whatever she does,
Spirit moves her.

Wherever she goes, her fragrance follows . . .
She is known as Sharon of Plumrose Lane

A place where she creates the dreams of others.

A woman whose spirit reflects love, light and laughter

An Extra-Ordinary woman I call friend."

Written for Sharon. © Copyright Carole ~ Lotus. October 21, 2012

 Circle of Bliss & Prayerful Gratitude. http://circleofblissprayer.blogspot.ca.

I am the one who is truly honored and humbled beyond words.  I am so immensely grateful for the opportunity to work with such beautiful and creative souls. Thank you Carole.

Namasté~

Color Theory - Final Project

Last week our final project was due for my Color Theory class and so I'm here to share that with you.  I find brain storming for ideas to be the toughest part, probably because I'm used to creating what my customers want so it's like a muscle I don't exercise as often as I should.  Hmmm, sounds like all of my muscles...anyhoo...

Fortunately a friend of mine needed a custom Facebook cover image.  He loves the sea, steampunk, and feels a connection with old British naval ships.  So I went with that and worked to incorporate those elements as well his favorite quote into an original image.

It's funny about classwork because we're supposed to come up with several ideas but for me, usually when I have an idea it comes pretty well in it's completed form and that was the case with this project. Still we have to begin by creating several thumbnails to depict a "narrowing down" process and so this is what I submitted...

 I have to say I had loads of fun drawing that little ship and love the way he came out!

After that we were to work on several color studies with different strategies and so I handed in these...

I knew full well my final project wouldn't look anything like these rough sketches and remembering from last quarter when the professor and students were disappointed to see my project take a dramatic shift from a 2-D visual rendering to a more 3-D style, I made sure to include details in my original project statement that would, in a sense, cover my a_s...
W5A1 Project Plan-SHenry
Next it was time to work on our "final drafts" which in my case meant an awful lot of work in a very short amount of time, primarily because moving into a more 3-dimensional presentation means alot of cutting, pasting, painting, manipulating and layering...

Creating in an almost collage style to come up with an original piece of work is a real challenge but it's something that seems to come naturally to me. I'm not even sure what the process would be called but the end result is successful and that's what counts.

Finally it was time to fullfill my original intent of making this piece appear to be on old weathered map paper with a truly vintage feel, so here is the final outcome....

I'm super happy with the end result and so is my friend.  I ended up getting an A on the project and in the class, which means so much in striving for future scholarships and additional funding as I work toward my degree.

I hope all of you enjoyed this little glimpse into my final project.  Next class begins this week and it's Art History ~ something I've never studied before but am excited to learn more about.  I'm looking forward to sharing what I learn with all of you!

Enjoy~

Recent Customer Shout Outs♥

I've had the pleasure of working on some wonderful projects lately and just had to give a little shout out to each. I'm always so delighted when I can help bring someones inner vision to life and working with fantastic customers makes that journey even better. So here is a glimpse of some of my recent projects and a special thanks to each of you who help me continue doing what I love most ~ namasté♥

for Paula of A Soulful Journey

I had the pleasure of creating a set of images including a large promotional piece, business card, and mailing labels. Paula requested her existing shop banner and avatar be the source of inspiration for the overall design.

for Dorothy of Daffodil Dreams

Dorothy chose to have me create a custom theme and requested a daffodil motif for obvious reasons. She was also experiencing some technical issues with her blog and elected to have me fix the layout with my Helping Hands add-on ~ I'm delighted to say after the removal of some pesky advertising all was good as new.

for Ilse of Roses of Yesteryear

Ilse originally selected my Rose Garden blog theme and then took it to the next level with a coordinating shop set and other blogging elements. We altered the look slightly with a new decorative center oval which added a one-of-a-kind quality to the set.

Rachael of Gypsy Angel Row Reviews

With this project Rachael's business theme was for book reviews. We created a series of custom images including the sweet little butterfly ratings system and coordinating Twitter background, all based off my Lavender Dreams theme.

for Marlene of Scribbles and Scrabbles

Marlene first inquired whether an existing blog theme could be made into an Etsy shop image set. With that done she decided to request a custom product label to coordinate.

for Kimberly of Stampin' Enchantments

Kimberly was looking for an all inclusive online business image, one which could be used for her blog, Twitter and Facebook accounts and so we worked together to create these modified images for her new business.

Thank you again to all of my customers, past and present, you are all such treasured souls in this world ~

Double Pleasure

I recently finished two projects where I had the immense pleasure of creating not one but two fabulous blog themes for Teresa Martens Writes and Embracing My Goddess-Self. Both blogs are hosted by the lovely and talented Teresa.

There were so many fascinating elements involved in the creation of each theme and I especially enjoyed working with the personalized items Teresa chose to bring the aspects of these two very unique blogs to life. Each blog offers it's own flavor, dipping into enchanting and mysterious worlds. To check them out you can click the links above and as always...

Enjoy!