Artful Creations, Day 29: Mandala and Fractal Jotters

I'm still working to perfect my little jotters / blank notebooks. I printed out some more covers recently and have only gotten a couple photos, but I'm pretty excited how they are turning out. This one features my From the Heart mandala on the cover. Covers are printed back and front so that most of the mandala is shown.

Each jotter is 3.5" x 5" and has 20 pages of 100% recycled paper inside (40 pages, if you count back and front).

To see more photos, swing by my Etsy shop listing here.

Treasury Time: A Winter's Morning

Today's treasury features pale pink and gray, inspired by the wintery mornings we've been having here lately.

Artful Creations, Day 23: So Many Things, So Little Time

So, I've been working on new artsy things, really I have! But it seems as though time is getting away from me --  Alex has been sick and at home, bills need to be paid, and laundry needs to be done -- so the last week or so just has not felt very productive. But, some decisions have been made and some exciting things are on their way...

I decided during a recent, lovely visit with my sister, that I am going to resurrect some of the items I used to make and sell but never felt completely comfortable making. In other words, I didn't feel as though they were "perfect" enough to sell. And if I don't love what I sell and feel good about it, then I don't sell it. But, that doesn't mean they weren't awesome ideas!

I'm not going to spill the beans on what those items are just yet. But I have been going through an experimentation process to find how I can best and most easily make them and have the results consistent every time. Still working on that, but keeping my fingers crossed.

I also have some brand new product ideas, but haven't come up with any finished pieces yet. So, all you lovelies who have been visiting and commenting, thank you so much! I am so looking forward to sharing these things with you when they are out of their incubation period, so please come back soon.

In the meantime, I thought I would share a photo of my studio "helper" -- he really believes he is helping, so I'm not going to tell him otherwise.  ;)

Artful Creations, Day 15: New Products for Blue Igloo

Today I made up a bunch of colorful, new jotters. Some of these will make an appearance in my Etsy Blue Igloo shop once I get some photos. Others will be sent off to some of the stores that carry my items.

I also started to make up some pocket mirrors, but ran out of steam after all the cutting and folding. Once I create some more of these and get them photographed, I'll post them to my Blue Igloo shop as well.

Also in the works...mandala jotters. Today I printed out some of the covers I'll be using and made up a couple of them. Over the next day or so I hope to have a good number of these as well to include in my main Etsy shop. Check back soon to get a sneak peek. :)

Artful Creations, Day 11: Pastel Mandala

Today I had plans to work on creating some new blank journals for my Blue Igloo store on Etsy, but in a different way that involved stapling rather than hand-binding. But, my plans were foiled, as I mentioned earlier, by the newly-purchased, non-functioning stapler. I did make some new black and white mirrors for the shop but couldn't get a decent picture. I hope to list those in the next few days, so keep a look out for them.

Instead, I'll share a mandala I've been working on in springy, pastel colors. :)

I know I've been pining for spring, but now I am feeling kind of bad because of the obvious signs of global warming: I heard that the weather is supposed to be in the 70s this weekend, unseasonably warm,  and, I noticed this morning that our daffodils are on the verge of blooming! Seriously, I promise to only be happy about our warm weather for a few days.

Latest Treasury...Alice in Wonderland

Today, I finally decided to buy a high-capacity stapler after months of debate (more on that some other time). I got it home, ready to swing into action, and....it doesn't work! How does a stapler not work, you ask? Apparently, it doesn't work if I am the one buying it. lol  So, instead of sharing with you my gloriously stapled projects, I instead will link to my latest treasury, which, I must say,  I am in love with! Thanks for taking a look.

Wishing it was spring...

I'm starting to feel a little bit like I need spring to arrive early this year. It could be worse here, I'm not complaining. It's just that I miss the leaves, the green grass, the flowers, the birds. And the sad part, it's only January. :(

I worked up a new treasury on Etsy to celebrate some of the beautiful macro photography found on the site, and to bring a little bit of spring to my computer screen at least! Click on the image to see the live treasury.

Artful Creations, Day 8: Blue-Gold Fractal

I did not have a chance to do much on the creative side today, so I thought I would share a fractal I made awhile back but never posted.

Artful Creations, Day 7: Spring-like Spirals

Somehow, even though the day was quite challenging and nothing seemed to go right (thank you, Monday), I managed to start 2 new fractal images. I'm in love with the top fractal, and not quite feeling the second one. But, these are just works in progress, so we'll see where they go from here.

Artful Creations, Day 6: New Mandala

For Day 6 of my adventure into creating something new every day, here is a brand new mandala. I love the colors and the energy of it, especially the purple radiating spokes.

Artful Creations, Day 5: Colored Pencil Mandala

I'm enjoying sharing my daily creations. I only hope you are enjoying it as much as I am!

I pulled the source image for this mandala from my abandoned fractal folder. I loved the colors and textures, but the overall fractal image was less than stellar. So I used it to make this mandala that I think looks a bit like it was created with colored pencils. What do you think?

Artful Creations, Day 4: Free Desktop Picture

I've intended to make desktop pictures for quite some time, but just never got around to it. So, with the thought that there is no time like the present, I whipped out one of my forgotten fractal files that I wrote about yesterday. After making some alterations, rendering it, and then adjusting the color, etc. in Photoshop, here it is!

If you choose to download this image, it is for your personal desktop only. It may not be copied, sold, distributed, or used in derivative works, collage pieces, on your web site, or in any other way than as a desktop picture.

Get it here: Colorful Spiral Desktop Picture. Simply right click on the photo to download the image.

Artful Creations, Day 3: Forgotten Files

In an effort to jump-start my creativity and maybe find some long-forgotten treasures, I've been digging through my abandoned fractal files. These are fractal images that I started but then couldn't get a feel for where they were going, so they got put away to never see the light of day. Or so I thought!

About a week or so ago, I began a desperately-needed spring inventory and cleaning of sorts. I'll be the first to admit that I am so bad when it comes to organizing the files on my computer. I have file folders named "To File" and they are sitting in folders named the exact same thing -- it's crazy! But, there they were, my old, forgotten fractal images sitting there on my drive, abandoned.

So, as I dig them out, spruce them up, and render them to disk, I'll post a few here and there to share with you along the way. The one that sprung up this morning makes me smile, and hopefully you too! Thanks for taking a look.

P.S. In case you're wondering, Artful Creations is a little group I've joined to encourage each other to create something every day. Check out the other lovely ladies in the group and their creations by clicking on the links below.