by Linda | Apr 1, 2013 | my creative journal
Even with so much going on in my life now, I previously blogged about enrolling in Lilla Rogers Studio School – a course called Make Art That Sells – as an investment in my own dreams and ambitions. I had been anxiously waiting for the registration to open and can’t be more excited for it to start up.
I noticed that some bloggers created an illustration in celebration, so I decided to follow along. A quick little digital illustration to express my excitement. That’s me totally pumped and ready to go to school – yeah!
With a newborn in the house it’s difficult to find time for myself… but I decided well before that I had to make time. That I would not “lose myself” so to speak. It’s been a challenging first month, but I’m optimistic that I can still be productive, even if it’s in bits and pieces.
I also went ahead and bought Lilla Rogers book – I Just Like to Make Things (Amazon link) – to work through in the meantime. Yup, you can see that I’m totally gung ho! I suppose, a huge part of success is taking yourself seriously and really putting ALL your effort into it. I’ve spent too much time sliding by, I think. Now that time is so much more scarce and precious, I seem to be rising to the occasion and becoming more efficient.
It makes me think of working out, when you are super tired but the instructor says just one more rep or push a little harder or just 8 more seconds. You push yourself and end up surprising yourself!
Amazing how much we can do, if we simply put ourselves to the test.
by Linda | Mar 26, 2013 | my creative journal
Recently I had the opportunity to create a Blurb Designer Photo Book as an early bird trial, so wanted to share the results with all of you. For all scrapbookers out there, photo books are a great way to compile your memories together quickly for sharing with friends and family.
When I got back from the hospital post-labor, I didn’t have much time to do anything with a newborn, not to mention I was still recovering physically from a difficult labor. But even in those conditions, I had no trouble putting together my photo book using one of the designer templates.
You basically prepare your photos, then go into Blurb, choose a designer template and upload your photos to arrange using their software online. It was a quick and easy process!
I received my little minibook extremely fast, even located here in Tuscany, Italy and I’m really happy with the results. The book is so well made as I chose the dust jacket and linen cover. Talk about professional!
What would I change? Well, I should have color processed my photos, but in all my haste, I just used phone photos and such completely untouched and unedited. So the quality is a bit inconsistent due to the photos I chose. I believe they look duller in real life than on my computer screen generally.
The other thing is that I would get imagewrap instead of the dust jacket cover. I simply wanted to try it out, but I think it’s hard to predict how photos will print on the dust jacket paper as well. I’ve done photo books with the imagewrap cover and like those results better.
Overall, I’m happy with the results and this little book has been great for those visiting our newborn and asking about the whole experience. It’s all encapsulated in the book and they can flip through to see.
Full disclosure, I was given the opportunity to create the photo book for free, so I went ahead and tried it out. However, I have used Blurb many times before – in fact, all my photo books are printed through Blurb. It’s just that I usually design them myself, rather than use a premade template. Hope this information has been helpful to you.
Blurb is graciously offering a 20% discount for my readers… so take advantage!
Offer Code: DESIGNMYBOOK | What it’s good for: 20% Off Designer Book Templates only* | Expires: 3/31/13
*Fine print: Get 20% USD, AUD, CAD or EUR off your Blurb Designer Bookify product total up to $150. Offer expires March 31, 2013 11.59pm local time. May only be used once per customer and on books created by you. May not be combined with any other coupons, volume discount or applied retroactively to previous orders.
by Linda | Mar 25, 2013 | my creative journal
While Spring cleaning here and there, I thought it would be nice to share a peek into my collection of sketchbooks and journals.
I’ve actually collected a lot of old work and scraps and bound them together into a journal as well. I often doodle on loose sheets, so my journals are in no way chronological or organized. It’s just a random smattering of visual ideas really.
I think that with all the sharing online, we often forget about the original purpose of sketchbooks or art journals or whatever you want to call it. It’s simply a place for you to work out your musings. It’s not really meant to be displayed to the world. I have realized that sometimes I might be creating something to blog about it, instead of creating as naturally as possible… without the thought of sharing.
It’s probably the curse of blogging, because I am constantly wondering what I should and could share on this blog. It’s not the only driving force, but it has become one aspect that drives my creativity.
Perhaps it’s good to have a bit of accountability, but at the same time… I think it can deter and deflect our efforts oftentimes.
Do you regularly sketch and journal away? Do you ever think to share or is it a completely personal practice?
I often see other artists’ sketchbooks and feel a bit envious. They can be so amazing, so neat, so full of ideas.
But I have to remind myself that those are select pages… it’s not the whole picture. We could never understand completely how it feels to be in another person’s shoes.
I suppose the important thing is to just create. Don’t stop. Let yourself go and somewhere here and there… you’ll have some great ideas. Hope you enjoyed this peek into my sketchbooks…
by Linda | Mar 25, 2013 | DIY printables, my creative journal
Sometimes I want to scrap a photo and don’t have much to journal… it’s just a feeling, you know? That’s why this design – the smallest things take up the most space in my heart – sort of says it all. It’s probably easy to gush about my kids, but it’s not always something I want to write out. Our beautiful little boy… it was enough with the word art, clean and simple design. I created the word art as a free printable the smallest things take up the most space in my heart and made a scrapbook page with it.
It might seem like such a plain layout to so many scrappers out there, but I like it just the way it is. I was tempted to write something in the blank white space, just because… but realized that there’s no need to add more. We scrapbook for ourselves, so why force it to look a certain way or be more complete or specifically designed? In the end, it’s not what matters the most, right?
I thought it would be nice to share this word art I created as a free printable as well. It’s a free image download, you can click on the color version or black and white version to use for your personal uses – I hope that it helps you to scrap and create something fun.
Click on images to get the full-sized versions
Enjoy! If you like my design printables be sure to sign up for my email newsletter for more freebies and the latest updates!
by Linda | Jan 15, 2013 | my creative journal
We can all agree that the Internet has opened up a whole new realm of inspiration and connection for creatives like you and me. We have instant access to so much content and visual stimulation. It can be a feast for the eyes, propelling you into a world of imagination.
Unfortunately, you’ve probably experienced information overload as well. Inspiration can quickly turn to overwhelm and self-doubt. It’s important to limit your information diet, but of course you want to take advantage of everything available as well. It can be fun to surf your favorite blogs, scroll through Pinterest and leaf through your favorite magazines, but then what do you do? How do you put inspiration to use?
Physically using your print magazines and tactile materials…
I’m a huge fan of print magazines and have a pretty hefty collection on my bookshelf. This year I’ve decided to really put them to use. Yes, they are beautiful and precious, but they would serve me better if I cut them up and used them in my journaling. I can also give specific issues to creative friends when an article would serve them well. Finally, I could also donate books to the library and allow others to gain some inspiration and knowledge. I need to process and pass things on.
Thinking back to 2012, so many books and magazines were kept safely on my bookshelf – collecting dust. So I’m making it a point to go through my physical inspiration stash and use them somehow. This goes for art prints, papers, stationery – all those bits and pieces of inspiring materials we tend to hoard. Stop hoarding, start using!
Using digital and virtual inspiration…
It’s sad to see many print publications disappearing these days, but thankfully a new generation of digital publishing is rising up to take its place. I definitely turn to online magazines and virtual content for inspiration as well. I want to share my list of favorites for visual eye candy, but before you click away, I wanted to talk a bit more about how to put that inspiration to use first.
Although you are looking at something virtual, if it peaks your interest, don’t hesitate to snap a photo or print out a copy to include in your journal. You have to take notes somehow if you are going to put that inspiration to use. I often have my journal beside me, so that I can doodle and jot down notes while perusing around.
To take it a step further, don’t just clip or bookmark the inspiration. For those who use Evernote, it can be too easy to just clip everything and never have time to look back! Think about why you want to stop and record that inspirational spark. I find it best to actually write out my idea as a task or project.
The point is to take in the inspiration, digest it and really think about how you can apply it to your work and life.
It really only takes a few minutes to see something inspiring and then decide that you actually want to start a series of prints in that same color scheme. Or perhaps a certain geometric design you saw will be the starting point of your next line of sewn bag design. Put inspiration to use by taking that tiny step ahead in the process. Eureka – inspiration hit – now what does that mean for you? I guarantee that changing your mindset in this way will help you feel truly inspired and more importantly – productive – at the end of the day. It’s really inspiration time well spent.
Now here’s my list of inspiring publications…
Of course, taking a walk outside and snapping photos can be amazingly inspiring as well. Putting inspiration to use can apply whenever that spark ignites.
I want to add that it’s not about making your recreational time about work – by no means. If you are taking time to recharge then acknowledge that the time is spent for that reason. However, if you are out trolling for inspiration, then make sure you put that inspiration time to use in the end. Looking for inspiration is completely different from recharging your energy!
So what sources do you turn to for inspiration? Have you put that inspiration to use?
