February Boot Camp Final Design

Lilla Rogers School

February is almost over and it has been so much fun.

Three weeks ago I was sharing with you the start of Lilla Rogers first assignment boot camp and after a lot of drawing, tweaking and colouring on the computer I would like to share the result with you and tell you a bit about my journey.

How it worked ?

Beginning of the first week we received a "mini assignment" to study the subject. In this case it was drawing cuckoo clocks while paying attention to details. Beginning of the second week we received the "main assignment" which was creating a phone case with the use of our sketches. And at the beginning of the third week Lilla was giving us some advice on colours and how to find colour trends. By the end of week three it was time to "let go" and upload the design to the MATS Assignment Bootcamp Gallery. I personally think the link should come with a health warning - so many gorgeous cuckoo phone cases...there is a tremendous talent midst all participants. Just wow...check it out over here !

I used the first week to really study all details of a cuckoo clock and had fun sketching them. After we received the main assignment I realized immediately that it will be challenging to show so many details on such small space of a phone case and on top of it a rectangle shape...so I did more sketches, this time within the shape of a phone case ( enlarged ) to get a feeling for the space I can use.

I liked my cuckoo clock but I was not feeling it really is "me". 

Phone case available at Society 6

And looking at a lot of finished ( gorgeous ) cuckoo phone cases within our bootcamp FB group, I felt I need to incorporate my style more and finding an other solution to the brief. Researching Black Forrest cuckoo clocks I came across a lot of German folk paintings as well and I was really inspired by them. 

Sketching

I decided I want to create something more "folk" using my style. Finally I was pleased with my result - listening to my gut feeling. I completely went out of my comfort zone with the colours for my finished design "Cuckoo Folk" but I let it be. This is why I am taking part in the bootcamp - to push my boundaries and try something new.

Final Design "Cuckoo Folk"

This week I am enjoying working on creating a collection around the cuckoo theme for my portfolio. Next week I will let you know about the new bootcamp assignment for March.

Happy Thursday !

What Makes Me Happy - EFUTO

A lot of things make me happy especially if it has to do with colours, paper, drawing, art, etc...I decided to make a post about Efutos today. What is an Efuto ? Efuto is the name of a Japanese picture envelope ( E = picture and FUTO = envelope ). Loving snail mail it is a fabulous way to send some love with a handcrafted envelope. Last year I have been part of an Efuto Drive and it has been so much fun making and receiving those letters.

Here you can see some examples I sent around the world to lovely friends.

And I also received two EFUTOs...this one came all the way from Singapore to me.

Efuto from Sylvia Tay Design

And this one came from the UK.

Efuto from Onneke

Maybe you feel inspired by this post and you start to make an Efuto as well to send it to a good friend. I can reassure you, the recipient will be very happy to receive a beautiful letter.
If you would like to find out more about Efutos, just google it and there will be lots to see.

Happy Thursday !

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Thursday everyone ! 

This one will be a short blog post today...I am working hard on the "MATS Bootcamp" as well as on other things. 

Today I received already a lovely bouquet of red roses for Valentine's from my husband - a day early but I won't complain. 

I have been working on a Valentine's collection with heart elements and want to share a sneak peek with you.

Wishing everyone a lovely Valentine's Day with lots of lovely flowers and chocolates.

See you next Thursday !

Boot Camp

I am super excited I signed up for the "Make Art That Sells Assignment Bootcamp" by Lilla Rogers and Beth Kempton. It started on Monday and we have already received our first "Mini Assignment" - drawing cuckoo clocks. I love the subject since there is so much to see on cuckoo clocks, so many little details, shapes, patterns and of course the cuckoo. You could doodle and draw on this topic forever and I intend to. So far I have not had lots of time this week but hopefully I can spend a few more hours on it before we will receive our main assignment next Monday.

I found this one on Ebay but I am a little irritated by the title "Black Forrest Clock Swiss House"...it is a Black Forrest scene ( the Black Forrest is located in Germany ) since the cute little girl is in a traditional costume from the Black Forrest area...oh well, just a detail. This clock was manufactured by Trenkle Uhren GmbH.

And here my first little sketches...really not much yet and I am hoping to get it more into my style...we will see, it is a fun journey.

Clock Faces

I did draw a full cuckoo clock just to get an idea about all details I need to work on separately.

Cuckoo Clock

Ok, back to drawing...fun times ! 

Happy Thursday everyone !

Keka Cases

After a rocking start with my blog ( thanks to the Blog Hop ) I decided Thursday is the day to blog. So keep an eye out for more blogs posts on Thursdays over here.

Today I am very proud to show you some of my designs licensed with Keka by Solid Line Products.

So far Keka focuses on mobile tech accessories and is offering cases for the iPad, iPhone, Kindle and other smart phone devices. Soon Keka will expand their range into lifestyle products for the home.

Thinking male customers I have designed the collection "Biomolecular" and the cases turned out fabulous.

With Valentines around the corner "All My Hearts" is a popular design.

And if you want to show some floral love - "Spring Love" is the right choice.

Keka cases are coming in an amazing quality and truly protect your devices. So far you can order Keka cases in the United States via their website or if you are located in the UK you can order via Amazon UK.

Happy Thursday !

Blog Hop "Tropical Fusion"

Welcome to the "Tropical Fusion" Blog Hop 2014 !

Thank you for hopping over from the fabulous "Nice and Fancy" blog by my talented, fellow designer Dawn Clarkson from Italy. After browsing through my blog post, please make sure you keep on hopping over to the blog of Claire Lordon Design. Claire is a wonderful illustrator and designer based in NY.

Colour Palette Tropical Fusion

For the Blog Hop "Tropical Fusion" every designer used a different colour palette but we all incorporated the Pantone Colour of the Year 2014 "Radiant Orchid". I have to admit "Radiant Orchid" is not my favourite colour to work with but I always love a challenge and I happily managed to work with it. Thinking tropical - besides jungle and exotic animals - lots of fruit came into my mind so the idea for my collection "Tropical Fruits" was born and I started drawing.

Sketchbook

I have been drawing all sorts of tropical fruits but I liked the shapes of lemons most. Loving all sorts of round shapes I always like to create new shapes by overlapping them. I finished a collection of six designs and I like to show you three of them.

Main design "Tropical Lemons" with grey background

Main design "Tropical Lemons" with creme background

Coordinating design "Tropical Lemon Slices"

Coordinating design "Tropical Confetti"

To see how designs look like on products it is always fun to create some mock-ups ( as you can see I sneaked in an other design from my collection ).

"Tropical Fruits" pillow collection

It has been a lot of fun designing for the "Tropical Fusion" Blog Hop and I feel honoured to be part of it. You will see a lot of amazing designs from very talented designers. Special thanks to Mary Tanana from Groovity ( this is where the Blog Hop starts ) for organizing this Blog Hop and to Lisa Rivas for designing the beautiful logo.

Thank you for visiting my blog, please hop on over now to the blog of Claire Lordon Design.

Enjoy !

Blog Hop January 2014

I am very excited to be part of the Blog Hop starting this weekend. Please mark Saturday, January 18th, 2014 in your calendar. There are 45 designers participating. The theme is "Tropical Fusion" - one of the trends for Spring/Summer 2014.

All designers are incorporating the Pantone Colour of the Year "Radiant Orchid". 

The Blog Hop starts at Groovity Designs, the blog of lovely Mary Tanana, who organized this first Blog Hop of the year. From there you will find a link to the next blog and so on. So be prepared to see lots of gorgeous patterns.

Big thank you to Lisa Rivas who designed the logo for the Blog Hop. If you like to find out more about the process of designing the logo just head over to her blog.