Vector Wandering: Dog days

I am guilty of meandering procrastination. What started out as plans for a 'how to' tutorial on a couture greeting card ended up illustrating silhouette portraiture of less than aesthetically pleasing dogs.

I was inspired by Meg Allan Cole's tutorial about creating a silhouette dog portrait. She has two fine dogs that cut a regal silhouette. Conversely, we always know when the year's World's Ugliest Dog will be crowned because people ask if he was a contestant. Seriously, we're asked almost every year! So here he is proudly leading the pack in Less Than Aesthetic. 
(More portaits after the jump ...)

 

No Photoshop, his tongue is really that long

Make an enchanted greeting card with paper scraps

Give your off-cuts a new life featuring in a Princess and the Pea greeting card. Read on for a free tutorial and free template download.

A combination of a weekend children's party (with a store-bought card!) and The Princess and the Pea by Lauren Child and Polly Borland inspired this project.

Time: approx. 45 minutes

DIY pretty envelope tutorial

Make an envelope to compliment any beautiful card or letter you. This quick, free tutorial shows you how to make your own envelope with and inside print.

Approximate time: 15 minutes

It's always Summer somewhere …

I love Summer! I love it when it's here and long for it when it isn't. A lot of people feel this way. I remember wearing a smocked top that tied at the shoulders. The top half would be smocked and multicolored thread sewn across it. Like a wiggly rainbow against white cotton. Add a few chocolate drips from my melting choc-dipped ice cream and my Summer would be complete.

Summertime captures those days with crisp whites, bright blues and citrus shades. Summertime Digital Paper Pack (20 digital sheets for $3.50) brings in the first ray of sunshine. Brighten up your craft projects or gifts with multi-color polka dots and white birds against a skies bright blue or sunset pink. The illustrative digital papers feature retro sunglasses and bouncing beach balls. Oh, and that wiggly rainbow is in here, too!

Following up the digital paper pack are the 1 inch circle and tile sheets that magnify elements of Summer: stripy flip flops, watermelon, and that choc-dipped ice cream. Print them out on sticker/magnet sheets or create fun pendants to take Summer with you whatever the season.

A couple of very tempting digital invitations complete this theme: choose between a fun daytime invitation suitable for sunglasses and sandcastles or an evening beach party depicting a balmy sunset silhouetted by palm trees. Download and print just the right amount for your soon-to-be-bronzed guests.

Grand Opening of our Etsy Store

Today is the day Neon Fizz starts selling our exciting new digital papers and icons in our Etsy store. This means the sets on previous posts will be available to purchase in the next 24 hours (if they are not already up by the time you read this).

To start it off we create a strong foundation with the basics: polka dots and stripes all the colors of the rainbow. And for the fashion-forward crowd, we've also create the sets in hot hues forecast for 2012. Grab these digital paper packs of 24 for $3 each.

 

Chocolate Lovers

Following up the completion of the Mad Men inspired digital series, all those dark earthy tones lead me into a different direction. My train of thought went as follows: red lipstick kiss, black & white, navy, charcoal, chocolate … CHOCOLATE!

So chocolate + lipstick kisses = The Chocolate Lovers Series
This series doesn't discriminate and is for dark, milk and white chocolate lovers alike ... even the lactose intolerant can enjoy. I personally prefer dark chocolate but my nearest and dearest love the milk and white chocolate. This theme features chocolate chips, cupcakes, swirls, doughnuts, and ice cream shakes accented with caramel, vanilla, strawberry and mint hues. I would say my favourite item in series is the chocolate block digital paper print. Who wouldn't want a full page chocolate block in their preferred flavour?

If you love chocolate, have a look at the Chocolate Lovers series. Digital paper and icon set on sale now at the Neon Fizz store. 1" tiles, 1" circles, a digital paper and icon set, and invitation/photo frame inserts still to come.


CAUTION: this set may lead to weight gain. After purchase you'll definitely have chocolate on the brain. Enjoy!

Mad Men inspired

The first set is Mad Men inspired.  I love the styling of the 1960s. Before Mad Men, I loved the television series Homefront. After Kyle Chandler, the costume and set design was what I consider 'must see TV'.

This stylish set brings back pinstripe, neck ties, gentlemen's fedoras and a knotted pearl necklace. All suitable for office hours … However, this series has a dash of after-hours leisure like a red lipstick kiss imprint. The palette has cool and earthy corporate tones accented with scandalously warm hues.

 

Mad Men features in 1" tiles, 1" circles, digital paper and icon set and invitations and is now on sale for download at the Neon Fizz store. Worth having a look if you are planning a 1960s themed party or looking for stylish imagery for the men in your life for Father's Day or birthdays.

Becoming Neon Fizz

When I was in Kindergarten I used to outsource my coloring-in because I was one of the best 'drawers' in class. A few years later I'd collate my pencil sketches into tiny, stapled booklets and sell them on the playground for fifty cents. This entrepreneurial creativity continued through high school. Hence, graduating from university with a Bachelor's Degree in Graphic Design was an underwhelming experience for those who know me.

I have worked in the design industry for a few years and created eye catching illustrations and graphics for magazines, TV, books and fashion accessories. I have had the great opportunity of receiving feedback from a very discerning target market. I still smile at one girl's incredulity at confirming her suspicion that you can make a living by drawing.

As my career progressed, my creative focus, driven by advertising commissions shifted to the readers who would cut out my illustrations from ads and make collages and sometimes replicate them with the materials available to them such as crayons, newsagency-bought pencils or supplies from mum or dad's office.

This coloring-outside-the-line reciprocation glimmered through company/branding style guides and invoices and began to inspire me to create and make my work accessible beyond the corporate sector. Hence, Neon Fizz was born ...

Feel free to browse my shop on Etsy. The downloads are affordable but inspiration is free. Who knows, you may know someone who'll use them to create tiny handmade books to sell at fifty cents on the playground.