CRAFTfest & Swallows

CRAFTfest is now officially open and will be open from 10th - 12th June pop over and view all the virtual stalls, you can find me in the Artwork section.

There's so many clever creative people selling their lovely creations this weekend so it is well worth popping over for a wee browse, you never know you might discover that little something that you just really need to have in your life :) or that special gift for someone close to you. There's far too many virtual stalls to list here, but there is everything from jewellery, wood crafts, artwork, greeting cards, crochet & knitting, bathroom & soaps, weddings, bags, craft supplies and so much more. Get yourself settled down with a cuppa or glass of wine (depending on time of day lol) and take a look.

I hope all my fellow CRAFTfesters have a fun and rewarding weekend :)

My digital art has taken a bit of a back seat for a while due to some technical issues but everything is sorted now so watch this space for a new digital creation coming soon. While the sun has been shining I, with much help from my OH, have been working on the big garden makeover and my new creative space. I will post more about that with pics when it is all finished though.

I found an old piece of wood in the barn and was totally inspired to get my paints out and create a wee mixed media artwork (aprox 23" x 5 3/4"). This was a painting that appeared intuitively and naturally, there was no plan apart from I wanted a swallow in it, as there are so many flying around the croft and nesting in the outbuildings

Well I ended up with 3 and then I had to think of a title. 

This is when I discovered that the swallow is a very symbolic wee bird.......It is said that if a sailor drowns the swallows will carry their soul to heaven. the swallow also represents love, care and affection towards family and friends, showing the loyalty of the person always returning to them. The bird also represents freedom and hope.

So I've called it Arise My Soul

Here's a wee video of one of the many pairs of swallows nesting in our outbuildings, it won't be long now till we have lots of young flying around too

Hope to see you all at CRAFTfest and enjoy your weekend :)

NEOS, Hares & #artvartist

As I said in an earlier post I've signed up to do NEOS (North East Open Studios) in September and I'm already thinking why oh why did I let my OH talk me into this! OH is being very encouraging and supportive and has started to prepare the garden where we are going to build a summerhouse/cabin that will be my studio for the event. He has made a start on thinning the trees a little and removing all the pampas grass (which I hate) from the garden at the front of the croft. We have decided to put it in this part of the garden because we will be able to see the beautiful view of the hills and the Loch. We've also made a start on making a few changes to the garden and we will be getting some plants and shrubs. I'm getting quite excited about the garden makeover as we never really use this garden, but hopefully once the summerhouse/cabin is built we will use the garden more when we have time to relax, we might even manage a few BBQ's on summer evenings.

 

As I've been busy with the garden and the house  not much creativity has been happening. I have found time however to paint a few dreamcatchers this week and have been experimenting with a few digital ideas. Hoping to get more creative work done this week and have some new prints in my shop in time for CRAFTfest on 10th-12th June.

I have always loved hares and have admired Carole Ann Halls paintings for a while now and at last got around to buying one. My colourful Fighting Hares is now framed and hung near my computer desk so I can see it while I work. You can find Carole on Facebook at Carol Loves Art and she also has a shop on Etsy Carole Loves Art

My Fighting Hares are hung underneath another hare painting which my OH bought a few years ago. This is a totally different style of painting but I've always loved this one too. This one was painted by Elinor Grieve, whose wildlife paintings are quite amazing. You can find Elinor on Facebook at Elis Art and she also has a website  Art by Elinor. Both artists Facebook pages/Etsy shop/website are well worth a visit.

 

Over on Instagram there was this thing going on called #artvartist so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon :) I discovered some amazing art and design creations and I'm now following a few more artists and designer. It was also great to receive lots of  'Likes' on my work and have some more new followers. 

Did you post a pic for #artvartist?

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 :)

Photo to Art

I have countless folders of photos I've taken on my computer and I thought it was time for a little sort out and tidy up. Everything started off fine and I was deleting those photos that were not really worth keeping. Then there was the photos of people and places I miss, so tidying up slowed down as I dealt with memories and emotions. Then the tidying up stopped when I opened the photo below of the window in the Palace ruins in Dunfermline. 

I felt the urge to get creative, so Photoshop was opened along with my folders of textures and scanned in mono prints and sketches. I ended up with this little creation which is as yet untitled.

I feel this is a portal to another place, world, fantasyland or time..... or is it a portal to an emotion? the window to my soul or a window to my dreams? 

What is through the window? Who is through the window? What or who can we see?

It was good to get creative in Photoshop, I've missed it as I've been using Illustrator when I create my vector art. 

I've also had some fun with a few wee photo shoots with my wee photographic model Gregor. We had some snow so he put on his scarf and we went outside to play.

My oldest son suggested that wee Gregor should have a sword (my family all know how nuts I am lol), so a sword wee Gregor was going to get!I made him a sword and then I maybe I got a little carried away but here he is.............. wee Braveheart Gregor :)

Wee Gregor has his own album on Flickr called the Adventures of Gregor McGregor which I add all his photos to. He has washed his blue make-up off now, so I wonder what we will get upto next? He told me he wants to go surfing...........mmmm! well I'll see if I can arrange that for him sometime in the future

#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

Another Puffin

The 3rd puffin in my series of puffin prints is called Happy Landings which is available to purchase from my online shop as A4 and A3 prints. Greeting cards will also be added to my online shop by the end of this week. I'm so happy with how this has turned out and it's my favourite piece of artwork at the moment.

I had a few issues with my printer so have a number of  A4 Half Price Whoopsie Prints of Happy Landings. All good prints but the blue background was not printing the same as my other puffin prints. 

Printing issue has now been sorted but if you would like to purchase a half price print with FREE UK P&P just let me know here or over on my Facebook page. It will be a Lucky Dip which print you receive and you will also get a 10% OFF Discount Code to use in my shop. These can also be sent Internationally but I will need to charge for postage. Payment will be through PayPal.

I've had a week off from being creative as my daughter came to visit for a few days.  I then drove her back to Fife and stayed there for a few days so I could catch up with my family and friends. I've had a great week catching up with everyone and now I'm ready to get busy this week because Craftfest starts on Friday 26th till Sunday 28th Feb. 

Hope you all pop over to Craftfest and have a wee look around everyones stalls, theres lots of lovely creations for sale which are all made in the UK. Pop over now to Craftfest the Online Craft Fair and browse through some of the stalls and you can even start buying from most of them now too.

New Prints & CRAFTfest

It's been quite a while since I last blogged......am I slipping into my old lazy ways? Well not really, I've just been so busy............but it's time for a quick catch up.

I finally finished the Fox Heart Art that I have been working on, it took my ages to decide on a background colour, but I got there in the end. This is now available to purchase from my online shop and I will be getting some greeting cards printed very soon.

A fox Tale of Mothers Love

 I also created another Puffin print and was totally surprised when I sold the first one only a couple of hours after adding it to my online shop, this will also be getting printed on greeting cards. I've also started on another Puffin idea, so there will be 3 Puffin prints to choose from or you could buy all 3.

Seafood Dinner

The latest creation to be added to my online shop a photographic art print, digitally created from my own photographs. 

Homeward Bound

 I've taken the plunge and have a vitual stall at CRAFTfest on 26th - 28th February, I've never done anything like this before but thought it would be good to give it a go. I'm really looking forward to this event and I will be adding more crafty creations to my shop in time for this, so I'm going to be even busier....I love being busy though.
If you're a crafter why don't you join in....... theres still time to book a stall. Just pop over to www.craftfest-events.com. You can find lots of us who are taking part in CRAFTfest on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest and using #CRAFTfest on our posts.

Before I go I've just remembered I created a watercolour name doodle for one of my granddaughters, I found this so relaxing to do and enjoyed getting away from my computer to create :)

bye till next time...... I'll try not to leave it so long :)