Kraft Paper Downloads and Digital Washi Tape

Something new from me is Digital Washi Tape and this set uses the same designs as my new Kraft paper and Tags downloads. I love how the white designs pop on the natural looking soft texture of the Kraft background

These are all available in my shop .

There will be more Digital Washi Tape coming soon.

If you use any of my downloads in your craft projects, please share what you have created with me and I will share your images on my blog for all to see :)

Black Friday and Sales in my Shops on Etsy

Time flies by so fast and as usual it has been ages since my last blog.... I just don't have enough hours in my days to do everything :)

This week I've been creating a few quick digital illustrations while having my breakfast to post on Instagram. I seem to be able to post regularly on Instagram and Facebook because it's just an image and comment, so much quicker than a full blog post, but I am going to attempt yet again to post more regularly on my blog.

I also post discount codes and if any of my shops have sales on Instagram and Facebook, so if you like what I create please follow me.... instagram - @ddeydesigns and Facebook.com/DeborahDeyDesigns

It's getting to be that time of year again and Christmas is getting ever closer and I can't believe it's Black Friday again already! Having said that I'll post below all Sales and discount codes that are currently running in my shops, so pop over and take a peek, you never know you might just discover  what you've been looking for, without even knowing you were looking for it lol

Deborah Dey Designs on Etsy 

Ainjewelz -Download Shop

Deborah Dey on Redbubble

Deborah Dey Designs on Zippi

That's all for now as I need to get back to what I love doing....being creative.... I'm busy creating some new downloads and I'll be back to tell you all about them when they are finished :)

Challenging myself

After the struggle I've had to concentrate over the last couple of weeks, this morning while having breakfast I challenged myself to go back to an old design and re-work/change/update it and add something new to it. I scrolled through my files and picked a design at random.

The design file that I opened was Over The Hills and Far Away, this was created for Visual Communications class when I was at college away back in 2012/13. I remember the tutor had 2 bags with words in and we were to choose a word from each bag, my words were Rural and Texture. The texture was created with corrugated card which I already had a scanned file of on my pendrive, it reminded me of ploughed fields. This was, as far as I can remember a quick in class design that I created in Photoshop.

This morning the psd file was opened in Photoshop, there was no pressure on me to create anything in particular or for anyone apart from myself. I was just playing and getting those creative juices flowing again. I used all the elements that were already in the design, I changed colours and layout. then added an extra background layer, rotated it, changed colour and blending mode to give more interest to the top of the design. This done it reminded me of a sunset, so I added some sunrays. This is now the 2016 version of Over The Hills and Far Away.  I love this new version.

Which version do you prefer?

I might go back to a few of my other designs and re-do them, I feel the creative juices starting to flow again.

Over at Illustration Friday this weeks challenge is STRIPES......there's stripes in this design so I think I'll submit it :)

If I Had Wings....

.....is the title of the digital project I was working on for NEOS 2016. I created the wings in Adobe Illustrator and manipulated a photo for the background in Adobe Photoshop. I wanted this printed on an A1 floating acrylic and when it arrived from the printers I wasn't disappointed. Acrylic is not the easiest material to photograph and this photo really does not do it justice. The acrylic keeps the vibrancy of the colours and gives the whole image a depth.

If I had Wings greeting cards are available from my online shop along with quite a few other new creations. Pop over to my shop for a wee peek.

 I also created some big pencils that are in my garden

NEOS 2016 is over now and I had some lovely people visit my studio and met a few local artists too. Will I do it again next year? I'm not sure at the moment, but I did enjoy it.

Here's a short video of the cabin all tidy and organised for #NEOS2016



If you would like to pop into the cabin to see what I do, just get in touch so we can arrange a suitable time. It's always nice having visitors and a warm welcome awaits you.

its been a while......

..... since my last post but as always I've been busy busy busy.
This is a picture rich post!

The wee garden makeover is just about complete now, so we can enjoy it when the sun shines.

From an overgrown part of garden that we never used, the pampas grass (which I hate) was all removed

The large leylandi trees were thinned, to let the light in for other plants and the birch tree.

We built a log cabin

It's handy having the use of a tractor and trailer to collect 5 tonnes of gravel from the quarry

We laid gravel in front of the cabin

and around the greenhouse and herb border

 and also on the path to the bottom of the garden. What a difference this has made and it is a joy to sit here, when the weather allows. We even managed a bbq one day :) all our hard work has paid off!

I had my first bloom on my Passion Flower, this is planted in a large pot at the moment as I was unsure where to plant it. I think when the temperature drops I will put it in the greenhouse and hopefully it will survive till next spring, when I should have decided where it wil be planted in the garden.

 I collected my Neos 2016 directories which I have to distribute to help promote the event. The days are passing far too quickly now and the event will be upon me soon. I still have quite a bit to do to be ready to open my studio, which will be in the log cabin, but everything is coming together nicely so far. If you're in the North East of Scotland, Aberdeenshire between 10th - 18th September and you see the yellow NEOS signs outside studios and galleries etc. pop in and see all the lovely artwork and creations that local artists and makers will have on show. the directories are FREE and can be picked up from Tourist Info offices, libraries, shops, galleries, Dr's, vets, just keep your eyes peeled for them :) Fin me on page 33 of the directory, I'm number 60.

 I listed my OOAK Handmade Purple Rain Book in my Etsy shop this week as it is time for me to part with it. It's strange how something I create I just want to hold on to them for a while and other things I can let go straight away. Pop over to my Etsy shop to see more pics.

and finally...... A while ago I started to create a digital collage of my grandad and thanks to my mum for posting me a photo I was needing, it is now complete. Grandad Bertie will be hanging in the cabin throughout NEOS 2016 along with a lot of my other work.

I also created this graphic as my OH keeps saying "build a cabin and they will come" whenever he is talking about NEOS 2016. I will be using this graphic on my promotional material for the event.

I'm off to sit in the cabin to work on a project for NEOS 2016, hopefully get it completed this weekend and sent off to the printers.....................but I'll tell you more about this another time.

Mum's Garden, Dreamcatcher & Anti-Fracking

I've had a week off as my mum came to stay for a few days and then I drove her home and stayed with her so I could catch up with my kids and grandkids. My mum chose the best week to come for a visit as we had blue skies and beautiful sunshine and we even managed to have 2 BBQ's. I enjoyed relaxing for a few days as I am always busy doing one thing or another. I also loved catching up with my kids and grandkids and we had lots of laughs and hugs. My mums garden is looking good so I got my camera out and took a few photos.

 The old oak tree in my mums garden is starting to open its leaves. I used to love climbing this tree when I was a kid, but don't think I could manage now.

I love the rough texture of the bark on the oak tree and I think I will be using this texture somewhere in one of my digital designs.

It was my daughters birthday last month and she had asked me to paint her a Dreamcatcher as a present. She told me colours that she would like and that she wanted it to be subtle, light and faded, definitely not bright colours. So I got to work and then I framed her painting and gave it to her while I was down visiting. She loved it and was surprised at how big it was, but it still fits in the spot where she is going to hang it. It is A3 but by the time it is mounted and framed it is bigger.

Those that know me know I am dead against Fracking. Since having to do research for a college project on Anti-Fracking a few years ago the more I found out the more I knew that Fracking is not a good idea. So many disasters, pollution, health risks to humans and animals, far too many chemicals used and left in the ground, so much fresh water mixed with chemicals and sand in the process of fracking that then has to be stored and transported to "safe places" to be cleaned, but they can't remove everything! mans greed is destroying our planet!
OK RANT OVER :)
This morning I went back to one of my concept ideas for my project, which wasn't used and developed it more. Here is my final poster design. If any Anti-Fracking Groups would like to use this poster, they are more than welcome to, just contact me and I will send you a hi res jpeg file. I will even change the hashtag at the bottom of the poster or add your website or Facebook page URL for you Free of Charge :)

That's all for now folks!

NEOS, Zippi & Prince

Where has the last 11 days gone? They have just flown by!

I failed in my challenge to create a vector image every day for 30 days.....life and technical issues just got in the way :( ...............but I'll give this another try sometime in the future.

Well the big news for this week is I've stepped out of my comfort zone and signed up to do NEOS (North East Open Studios) for 9 days in September. Along with other creatives in the North East of Scotland I will open the doors of my studio to the public and exhibit my work, and hopefully sell and take orders and commissions. I have never done anything like this before so I'm excited yet very apprehensive about it. In the weeks leading up to this event my OH knows his life is going to be hell with me stressing about having everything ready, but he's the one who kept encouraging me to do it so it's his own fault! Oh well you only live once and if I didn't do it this year I would never do it. More about NEOS in the weeks leading up to the event.

I have also been busy researching print on demand companies and now have a portfolio on zippi.co.uk, where my designs can be printed on a variety of items. I like zippi as it is located in the UK.

I ordered myself a mug, a cushion and a bag to see for myself the quality of the prints and products. I am impressed with the results and the speed of delivery. Pop over to my portfolio and see what you could purchase, more designs will be getting added over the coming weeks.

I also have a shop on Redbubble but have still to add my designs, which I will be doing this week so will tell you more about that later.

I was stunned by the sad news that Prince had died this week, another creative genius taken from us too soon. My favourite song was Purple Rain and when I was at college one of my projects was to create an art book about one thing, my one thing was Purple Rain. You can see the book and it's box and read more about it in my portfolio on Behance. 

Here's images of two of the pages, but displayed as posters.

RIP Prince :'(

On a brighter note, the swallows have started to return, just 3 at the moment but more will be arriving soon. Summer is on its way! 

Set myself a challenge

I'm having a FAB time the noo.......lol.... (image rich post further down)

It's been a wee while since my last post, but I'm still here working away. I went through a week of not being able to concentrate and work on anything creative, so stepped away from my computer and had a wee break.  It's still quite cold and wet here but when the weather allowed I was out in the garden trying to tidy up and making the most of the fresh country air. I also enjoyed watching the wild rabbits that seem to have recently appeared, I think my garden might suffer a little this year. The vegetable garden has already been fenced of with rabbit netting, in the hope it protects our veggies,  once I can get them planted from munching rabbits

Another wee visitor to the croft is a feral cat. This little cat and what I think was it's mother had been sheltering in our barn over winter. We hardly ever saw them and they were very timid, but over winter I was putting a little food in the barn for them. We haven't seen the larger of the cats for a long time but the little one is making more appearances and seems to be getting braver. It's still very timid but will sit at a distance and watch me and my dogs. The dogs don't bother about it, just like they don't bother about the rabbits hopping around, they are far too busy playing with their ball and watching the horses in the field around the croft.

Anyway this is turning into a longer post than I had planned..... so let me speed this up lol......

I needed that creative break from my computer as I ended up doodling, sketching and making notes of ideas that started to pop into my head....one idea can lead to another and then another..... not all these ideas will get developed into design or art.

To start with I have set myself a challenge to use Adobe Illustrator to create a little vector image every day for 30 days.....I love a challenge lol ........... 6 days in and I am totally benefiting and enjoying  this little creative challenge...............but will I be able to keep it up for 30 days? 

Heres the images I have created so far, which I have posted to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook everyday and have been getting some very good responses.

My favourites at the moment are the teacup and the cheeky monkey. Some of these little vector images might never been seen again, others may appear as part of a larger design and others may be developed more.

Which one is your favourite?
Do you have any suggestions of other little vectors I could create?

Till next time bye :)

#CRAFTfest & new in shop

well its been a busy weekend as I've had 2 virtual stalls at CRAFTfest, (an online craft fair) one for my art and the other for my craft downloads. Craftfest is still open today so click the image below to pop over and take a look at all the fabulous virtual stalls. You can find me at Deborah Dey Designs and Ainjewelz 

Theres been a lot of promotion for the event on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ in the week leading upto and over the weekend.
I'd like to say a big HELLO and THANK YOU to all my new followers, likers, re-tweeters, friends and customers that have popped over to both my virtual stalls :)

I'm told today we've to use the hashtag #SSPS (Shameless Self Promotion Sunday) so have created the image below to use today when networking.

I added new greeting cards to my shop, just in time for the weekend. These are mini prints of 

A Fox Tale of Mothers Love

Buy me Here

Seafood Dinner

Buy me Here

Happy Landings

Buy me Here

These are also available as keyings from this section in my shop

I even managed to find some time to create another Craft Paper Pack Download and add it to my download shop and I have started working on a few other ideas. My head is just overlowing with ideas at the moment.

Well it's time to do a little networking and use #SSPS and then as the sun is shining here in Aberdeenshire I think I need to get outside and enjoy it for a while. This was the view from my bedroom window this morning, theres still snow on the far off hills/mountains but I think Spring is on its way.

What have you been upto this week?

Who wants a FREEBIE?

I've been busy today creating a new Craft Paper Pack Download Scribbles and Circles, which has been added to my download shop

I also created a few tags as a FREEBIE which you can DOWNLOAD HERE these will let you see how the colours print on your printer. **colours may vary slightly depending on printer, ink, paper or cardstock you use**

I'm hoping to get some more creations added to both my shops in time for #Craftfest starting on Friday, so I better get my finger out and get busy :)

Have you got a stall at Craftfest?

Are you going to pop by and see the stalls and make a purchase or 2?

Have a wee read of the Craftfest brochure

Hope to see you all at #CRAFTfest