Sketchbook Sunday - Let's Make a Button Design

I love making buttons! I make them all the time. Want to see my process from start to finish? Okay, so here goes... I start with my original sketch that I draw in pencil. I usually draw in my sketch book. It looks like this.


Then I ink in my pencil sketch. I like to use different pens for this - so sometimes I draw with a fine tip, sometimes I like to use a heavier tip. For this I think I used a 07 tip.


Next I did some hand lettering. I am making a button to use for my Etsy shop, so I wrote the URL for it Shoppe Sugar Cookie!


Then I scan in my artwork. I like to clean it up in Photoshop. I scan at 600 dpi, and in color. I change to grayscale and fine tune the contrast using Levels, Exposure, and Brightness and Contrast. I convert to RGB next and color in my illustration. I also move the type around to fit my button template, making sure not to place the text too close to the edge of my button design. Once I have this finalized, I put it on another template to print my button design out on nice paper.


This is how they look when I print them out all on one page. I can cut it out to make a button!


And here is the final button badge design to pop in my Shoppe Sugar Cookie Etsy orders!

How We Roll in Athens

We went to pick up our Locally Grown veggies this week and saw this riding near Ben's Bikes! Isn't is cool?

Lotta Locket Love

I have been really into making lockets lately! I have so much locket love locked up inside...! Here are some of my lovely little treasures I have been making from vintage lockets.


I love to draw, and I love to draw animals. Most of my lockets have incorporated my love of animals and soft colors.




I also am inspired by "woodland getaway" types of images, so I look on Pinterest and magazines for amazing photos and illustrations. Each one of my lockets holds an original one of a kind artwork.


I was testing myself to see how tiny I could draw. This is a really small locket, the images are less than a quarter of an inch. Now that is small!






This last one is one of my favorites! I have always loved deer. I also like the "Smurfy" traditional mushroom with a red cap. I think they look fabulous together and I really love making a bow around the deer's neck.

As always, these tiny treasures can be found at Shoppe Sugar Cookie on Etsy!

Featured on Of Corgis and Cocktails Blog

My new blog friend Katherine writes a great blog called Of Corgis and Cocktails. She recently wrote about some of my goodies from Shoppe Sugar Cookie, and would you look at her cute photos she took? Here she is wearing my Happy Squirrels Hairpins on her trip to Gettysburg, complete with more lovely photos right here.


And check out my little Hedgie Wood Pin worn on her hat! I just love that red bow, too. You can see more photos of Katherine here.


Here is Katherine and her corgi, Teemo! They are so cute together in this post! And if you look closely, you can see my Tiny Acorn Hairpins in her hair! Perfect for autumn!

Tunesday Tuesday - Alessi's Ark

Today I am happy to spotlight one of my all time favorites, Alessi's Ark! I have loved Alessi's music for quite some time now. I first read about her in Amelia's Magazine and I have been hooked ever since. Her music was hard to find in the US for a while, until today! You can get her first album Notes from the Treehouse right here. You will be glad you did, as it is a fabulous album.




We had the pleasure of meeting Alessi when she was recording her next album right here in Athens! What a surprise to me when I heard she was recording right here where I live! We made plans to hang out and had so much fun together. I really love Alessi! She was so busy recording, so I am glad we had some time to squeeze in some fun. We showed her around Athens, had some nice food, and saw some great bands, too!


We also got to go thrift shopping some! Here is Alessi trying on a great skirt that she took home to London with her!




We also had fun eating grilled cheese, meeting our pets, and coming to the Ranch with her! We had such a good time, it makes us miss Alessi! But at least I can listen to her music, even though she is far away.


Alessi has such great style! Check out her little necklaces and charms! ❤

Now let's take a listen to some of her music - it is like candy for your ears. I hope you like it.


I think this is my favorite song from her last album!

My Birthday 2012

Today is my birthday! We had pizza! We had cake! It was a good birthday.

Constellation Celebration

This weekend I worked on some new lockets to share with you. I am really excited to show my lockets. I made these miniature drawings on black paper special for inside these lockets. So far I have made a few constellations, but I think Cassiopeia is my favorite so far.


I also drew a locket charm with Ursa Major on the inside. Did you know it is also the Big Dipper? When I was at home in Pennsylvania, my younger brother Joe would get out a giant telescope. We used to peer at the stars through the telescope, and sometiems we would even see planets! All from our front yard.


Here is Ursa Minor, or the Little Dipper. I could not forget that one! Each of my Constellation Lockets are one of a kind original miniature illustrations inside! Each one is unique and special, just like the constellation I drew inside. You can check these beauties out on my Shoppe Sugar Cookie!

Illustration Friday - Identical

My drawing for Illustration Friday! This illustration is for the word identical. Did you ever wish you had a twin? Sometimes I wish I did, but that nobody knew of this twin! So I can send the twin to work while I slept in, stayed home, played with the pets all day! I would get so much done that way.

Tunesday Tuesday - Summer Twins

I wanted to share a band that is fairly new to me - they are called Summer Twins! They play vintage inspired dreamy catchy pop songs! A friend of ours turned us on to Summer Twins. They are from Riverside, California, the town where Raoul grew up. I really like their songs, and they are perfect for the end of summer weather we are having, so they have been in my ears lately.

Book Fair

Over the weekend Raoul and I met our friend Marla and went to the Decatur Book Fair. Did you know that this is the largest independent book fair? We got there in the afternoon, just in time to see Dame Darcy speak about her new book called the Handbook for Hot Witches!


Conor McCreery, another graphic novelist, shared the stage with Dame Darcy at the Baptist Church where the talk was held.


I was really there to get my copy of Frightful Fairy Tales signed. There is an ebook version of Frightful Fairy Tales, so don't fear if you can't find the print version. The new ebook will have added tales! I have been a fan of Dame Darcy's art since he split 7" with the Coctails! I love her gothy graphic style.




We walked around the book fair and saw these neat banners printed and placed all around Decatur's downtown. They looked like giant block prints, some were even printed on bed sheets!






Later that day we went to see Leela Corman discuss her book called Unterzakhn. It was neat to hear her talk about her process and the scale she works in - she said the pages of her book were about 19 inches in width! She had a slide show of her art, sketches, and inspiration photos.

My Weekend in Pictures - the Book Fair Edition

Went to see the Decatur Book Fair on Saturday, and more importantly to see Dame Darcy speak. I have been a fan of hers since the 1990's, and my secret inner goth loves her Victorian doll style! She was great, but I will try and post about that later...


Had time to work on some Loved Letter Envelope Lockets!


And some soon-to-be goodies in the Shoppe Sugar Cookie! Hooray! It feels good to make some new handmade items.


And making some old favorites from my Etsy shop, too!




Then we went to Five Star Day! It is a good restaurant here in Athens.




We took a stroll downtown. Saw these boots in a vintage shop window. Not sure if cowboy boots are my "thing" so I did not purchase these. I do love shoes, though!


Tonight we had some really great strawberries, too! Yum! And tomorrow is a holiday here in the USA, so double hooray for that!