Modern Halloween Invite

I'm playing around with modern wedding invitation design and came up with something that could just as well be used for Halloween. A hypothetical Halloween party of course. :)

Chinese Batik pattern

I go in and out of being interested in patterns. OK, scratch that. I am ALWAYS interested in patterns. I go in and out of feeling some sort of desire to play around with designing them. I kind of think it's a holiday thing. Something about the holidays makes me want to hang out in Illustrator and Photoshop.

(click image for bigger version)

Pattern Play

I made this in photoshop with one of the free dover clips (sign up here) of the week and a free download from Mae.

Snowflakes 2

You guessed it, more snowflakes.

Snowflakes

I'm working on snowflake patterns for my winter digital work. There will be a lot of these in Craft Amor's future.

(click to enlarge)

Oh Sun, See You in June

This pattern is in exact opposition to what I'm seeing outside of my office window today. It's cold. It's dark. It's blustery and wet. September and October were some of the prettiest I've ever seen here in Oregon. November might just let us have it.

As I was browsing Michael's yesterday for post-Halloween sales, I realized that I often get excited about a holiday right after it's over. Maybe it's because the pressure is gone. So I've decided that I can make cards for any time of year at any time during the year. I'll just keep them and send them appropriately. I know this isn't a rocket science realization but it's funny how we need to give ourselves official permission to do certain things. I've given myself permission. I'm also writing it down (here) for when I forget.

Damask and Polka Dots

These are kind of Halloweenesque?

Pineapple Damask

Fall Leaves

Yes!

Vines

More Patterns

I played around with more damask today. Every once and awhile when I needed a break from editing I'd add a leaf or put in polka dots. Here's what I came up with. I think I like it for the most part.

Hello autumn

I'm starting to get damask. It's a limited knowledge, but it's slowly developing. Paisley? Paisley is a whole other beast.

Santa paper

OK, it makes my eyes bleed just a little being this small...but who doesn't need Santa paper in well, August.

Rhetorical question.

Pattern

I was working on this just on a whim but ended up liking it very much.

Studio update: My new studio is now basically filled floor to mid way with boxes. I have no table yet b/c it couldn't fit through the door. I could just put a plank across the boxes or stack all the books I don't know where to put and then put the plank on that.

It will come together. I know I just need to give myself the time to get everything moved and put away.

Thank You Card

Z and I crashed a potluck on Friday, and I'm using it as an excuse to make a thank you card. All patterns here are mine. Some of them are dangerously close to damask. (!!!) Have I mentioned I'm excited about pattern making? Yeah....

In other news, I'm moving. Chaos. BUT tonight I'm getting some expert advice on how to set up my new studio.

Patterns Day 5

Patterns Day 4

So apparently this is pattern week. That wasn't my intention at the onset but it's been a fun way to let my brain decompress between editing chapters.

Here's some more.

Patterns Day 3

Found an image of a friend and thought it could be a great shape. I'm surprised at how well it works. I'm going to pursue this one.

Patterns Day 2

More patterns I'm working on. Some come easier than others. I think the red columns has potential to morph into more intricate designs. Part of pattern making is understanding the simple designs that the more complex designs rest upon. I've been carrying a great book on pattern making around with me wherever I go but haven't really read more than 15 pages. I'm going to a water park this weekend. Maybe I'll be able to find a quiet corner and breeze through some chapters. RIGHT!

Dotted Circle Pattern

I've been making up work hours all weekend on my home computer. Because it has no internet, I'm probably getting a lot more done (or why I'm working today at home again) but I need to find something other than email checking as a bribe to get through a difficult editing chunk. My solution: pattern practice. My goal is to come up with X number of patterns for Christmas so that I can use mostly my own papers in this year's cards.

The first image shows the evolution of one pattern attempt. I still need to add one more circle probably. That need becomes pretty clear when you look at the second set of images. But for the most part I like it. It's not super original, there is paper all over like this, but it's a good starting place. Most of the papers I enjoy using most in my work are pretty straight forward. The day I master damask is the day I'll really feel like I've accomplished a massive goal. Until then, I'm pretty happy with my dotted circles.

PS- You can see the inspiration for this paper in my header. It's the green circle one second in from the right.