Debra Mason Designs

Creative People Rock!

Last week was a week filled with massive amounts of work. All good. All fun. BUT it was a tremendous amount of work and subsequent uploading of designs to overseas destinations and such. Now I have to clean up the explosion that happened from all that busyness in my office!

I joined Pinterest not too long ago and really love it because it helps me keep up on trends. It also gives me a place to stash interesting things I find on the internet. Click on the image below and it will pop up larger for you to see just how wonderful human ingenuity and creativity is.

Now don't these images make you want to sing "Don't worry, be happy!"

Product photography...

okay...so I'm not an expert. And I don't have a high end camera at all. BUT...I did see this blog post about making your own light box so you can photograph your product samples more professionally. I have many product samples of my work and need to keep better track of them instead of plunking them down on the dining room table and just shooting away. Remember this post?

Much more preferable would be showing the images as follows:

Or like this

For the Lavender scented handsoap above I added the Blue Cooling Photo Filter 82 in Photoshop because I felt the cooling hue would make it pop better.

Here is a photo of my new setup based on the blog post I saw.

AND

I must state again that I don't have the kind of camera I can attach all the fancy lenses to. However, as you can see, I can do a pretty decent job with adjustments in Photoshop. Certainly much better than setting the things on the dining room table. This light box gives me a major jump on achieving some kind of professional quality while saving some money on purchasing an expensive ready made light box. Total cost out the door for my light box was about $20-$25. Much cheaper than buying it ready made. I have a feeling my next camera will be one with all those lenses!

Many thanks to Drawings In Motion for posting this tutorial. I know I'm going to get alot of use out of this!

Pimp my ride!

Found the most amazing blog. Art Car Central. I am all about design even if it's on a car. AND here's the thing - Costas Schuler, the genius behind Art Car Central, is a graphic and web designer. As he says

"Art Car Central is now the world's most extensive blog about art cars, art bicycles, art motorcycles, mutant vehicles, videos and any other artistically altered vehicle on planet earth."

Costas covered an entire Mercedes in pens. You can check it out on his other blog,  The Pen Guy.

Now back to Art Car Central. Be prepared to spend awhile on this blog. There are some truly amazing things.

Spray paint folks! Watch this video of the Hyundai undergoing its transformation.

 

Here's another wild ride:

And the inside of this van:

Cruise on over to artcar.blogspot.com and check out these rolling works of art.

Nothing is wasted

A friend of my Mom's (Candie Stinger...Hi Candie!) made this little tote for her out of selvages from my fabrics printed by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. You rock, Candie!

And since no basket, purse or box stays empty around my house, I had to include this:

That's Walle having his way with the tote.

And while we're looking at things made from fabric selvages, take a look at this:

Jodi over at vintagericrac.blogspot.com made an entire dress out of selvages from fabric. Pretty amazing.

And here's some very fun potholders I found over at The Selvage Blog.

These typographical quilts are quite exquisite. They're by Kathleen Loomis. You can see them on The Selvage Blog.

I even saw a slipcovered chair made out of selvages. Breathtaking! Seriously...human ingenuity is truly remarkable. Selvage quilting has been around for a couple years but quilters and artists keep on pushing the envelope. FUN!

 

A word about fonts...

Fonts are A big deal with clients. Little does the average consumer know. Believe me when I say a great deal of angst goes into worrying about getting the font correct. Often I stress more over the font than I do the design. There is a very fascinating website I like to frequent. It gives the low-down on fonts in use today....what's popular...what's not. Over at www.fontsinuse.com I read an article by Sam Berlow entitled The Typographic Monotony of American Retail. I had to laugh because I try to shake things up with fonts and I almost always get told to pull back. Here is a portion of what Sam wrote:

So...maybe I'm just a design nerd, but I find www.fontsinuse.com very fascinating. Go check it out and you'll see what an important role fonts play in advertising and packaging. Be sure to click on the individual boxes/pictures that pop up and you'll find some interesting articles on how successful the fonts are in conveying a feeling or message. Fun stuff. Oh and I've had products in several of the stores listed and there is a certain amount of font angst (yes, they are Helvetica people) but by and large the products placed in their stores have more freedom fontwise than the advertising they use to promote the stores. Still...I'm beginning to know what I can and cannot get away with with each retailer.

Swoon...

Would I do this in my bedroom? No. Might I do something like this in my art studio. Um YES!

This is a display in Anthropologie and is hanging over a bed filled to the brim with pillows to die for. I just love the gypsy look and Anthropologie really tops my list when it comes to innovative store decorating. If they're pushing a look, then it's a trend to be reckoned with and that is why they are always on my list for my trending trips.

 

The texture, the colors...fabulous! Trim is factoring into design trends, too. Pom-poms, bulky fringe...all wonderful and fun. This is an Anthropologie pillow.

Even the toys have that gypsy feel.

 
 

A girl could have some serious fun with that color palette and I'm not even sure I pulled out all the colors from that purse. Love the purse, by the way. Anthropologie...of course.

 

Vintage Mania

Just a simple touch of black was used so often in vintage fabrics.

FABULOUS! And while I'm thinking of vintage and Grandma and, of course, sewing I want to share a couple images and a link with you.

AND

These images come from a fantastic blog called The Graphics Fairy. Please, please check it out and browse for awhile. Here's the link. You can also find the dress form I used in my letter to Grandma. And because it's Christmastime she has some vintage Santa stuff that is to die for. Go ye now and take a peek!

Even a stone...

Years ago I picked up a book at a used book store entitled Even A Stone Can Be A Teacher. It was about learning from everyday experiences. The book is out of print now but I still have it on my shelf because I LOVE the title. It makes me laugh and it's true. Check this out:

Stones that will be going into the landscaping in our front yard.

AND. Check this out. I used the eyedropper tool to pull colors from these stones...something designers do often when building color themes for clients.

Yum. I could really have some fun with those colors. Very soothing, peaceful. Zen.

So...next time you stub your toe on a stone don't just curse the durn thing. Maybe it wants you to take a good ol' look at what it has to offer. Of course, if you're in a bad mood that day you may think what it has to offer is a good old wind up and toss across the yard. Just don't hit anyone. And remember. You may not have seen the beauty in that rock but it sure helped you vent. TADA! Even a stone can be a teacher.

I think I need to go to work now...Love you Mom.

 

Women ROCK!

 
These are but a few pieces from my vintage needlepoint collection. Some my grandma made, others in my collection I find at garage sales for so cheap I want to weep. Of course I have to "rescue" them and when possible get the name of the person who created them so these women can be appreciated.

As I cruise around the internet and see all the beauty women create with their hands I am very, very touched. And we continue to create...not destroy. Women are great that way.

Under the gun...

That's right! I have a mega amount of work. WOOHOO! Fun projects, too. Lucky girl. ANYWAY. I'm busy enough that I've got to get quick and creative with my posts. As a designer, I'm always trend shopping. Looking for the next big thing, the next hot color, etc. There are services out there that will do this for you if you're willing to spend MEGA bucks. But there's also a group of blogs and artists who put their heads together out in blogosphere and make some very excellent choices...FOR FREE. Me likey.

Today I share with you one such blog. But first, let me show you a few pictures featured on that blog. These photos are taken by Cecelia Webber.

AND

 

Did you see it? Look closely. Every single petal, stem, leaf is the human body. Pretty breath-taking! Be sure to check out Cecelia's work here. ALSO, check out this fabulous trending blog I found: colourlovers.com.

Colour Lovers also has several ways for you to create your own color palette. Even if you're not a designer, you could still use some help if you're redecorating your home. Check out these tools they have by clicking here and here for a more advanced color planning tool.

Okay fellow Earthlings...enjoy the day.