Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.
1. Create a new document in Illustrator. If you want your snowflakes to be white, it's helpful to set a background color so you can see what you're doing. I usually drag a quick rectangle shape to fit the document, set the fill to my color of choice, and lock it by selecting the rectangle and going to Object -> Lock -> Selection.
2. Draw the first "leg" of your snowflake by creating an elongated shape or pattern of some kind. I do this mostly using the line and circle tools, but you could experiment with any shape. This is the shape that will be repeated in a circle to make the snowflake.
3. Once you're satisfied with your shape, click on the Rotate tool. Hold down the Option key on your keyboard and click on the bottom center of your snowflake's first leg. This will bring up the Rotate dialog.
4. The angle of rotation should be set to a number that, when repeated, adds up to 360 degrees. I usually go with 30, 40, or 60. The lower the number, the more legs your snowflake will have.
5. Once you've set the degrees to rotate, hit the Copy button. You'll see one repetition of your initial pattern appear... if you don't like what you see, hit Ctrl+Z to undo and repeat steps 3 and 4 to try a different angle. In this case, I initially set it to 40 degrees but decided 60 would look better.
6. To finish off your snowflake, simply hit Ctrl+D to repeat the pattern until you complete a full circle. Voila, you have a snowflake!
7. You can play around with different angles and shapes to get the look you want. For smaller or more detailed snowflakes, you'll probably want thinner lines. For larger snowflakes, thicker lines look best. It helps if you group your final snowflake (select all the pieces, right-click or Ctrl-click, and hit Group) so you don't lose bits and pieces as you create more and move them around the page.
Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.
I'm having a proud mama moment... a couple months ago I was asked if I could do a photo shoot of Ellie for my office's research magazine to illustrate an article about making your own baby food. The latest issue was released today, and you can see the online version of the article here.
If you've ever taken photos of babies, you know how challenging it can be (one of the many outtakes from our mini shoot is to your right). I didn't quite get the exact photo we needed on the first try, so the final "photo" was actually a combination of two images, skillfully merged by one of our graphic designers.
Ellie had a lot of fun with this. Normally we don't let her play with her food, so having complete freedom to smear, smush, squish and splat the puree everywhere was baby bliss. That grin you see? Completely genuine. I'm going to clip a copy of the print article to go in Ellie's baby book so we can show her how much she enjoyed her first "modeling" gig.
Originally published at Calobee Doodles. You can comment here or there.
The nice thing about holidays with the family? Well, besides the turkey, stuffing, good company, good music, pie, copious leftovers... OK, so there are a lot of nice things about this time of year, but one of my favorites is lots of helping hands and extra entertainment for Miss Ellie.
I even had time to complete this cute holiday doodle... and in the process, I discovered how to make pretty snowflakes in Illustrator. Now I'm kind of obsessed with them. I may have to make yet another desktop wallpaper...
This gingerbread duo and the snowman design will soon be available as postcards in the Calobee Doodles shop!
Originally published at Calobee Doodles. You can comment here or there.
Originally published at Calobee Doodles. You can comment here or there.
Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment there.
It's contest time, all! I think you're going to like this one. The grand prize....
A 12x18 Alphabet Soup poster print!
This was the doodle that started it all, and easily one of my most popular items. If you don't have kids, consider it a jump-start on your Christmas shopping for your family or friends who do.
If that doesn't motivate you, I'm also giving away some runner-up prizes--4 $10 gift certificates to use in either of my shops. That means there will be not just one but FIVE lucky winners.
There are four ways to enter, which means you can have up to four entries in the contest:
1) Leave a comment on this blog post. Visit either of my shops (sixhours or calobee) and tell me what your favorite item is. Make sure to leave a way for me to contact you, too!
2) Re-tweet the contest on Twitter by copying and pasting this message:
RT @sixhours Please enter me in the Calobee Doodles contest! http://www.sixhours.net/2009/11/23/yay-for-free-stuff/ #calobeedoodles #contest
3) Become a fan of Calobee Doodles on Facebook and leave a comment on the wall naming your favorite Calobee Doodles print.
4) Blog about this contest, making sure to include a link back to this entry - http://www.sixhours.net/2009/11/23/yay-for-free-stuff/
The contest runs until 11:59 p.m. on December 6. On December 7 I will collect all entries in a list and generate a random number for the grand prize winner, then four more random numbers for the gift certificates (one prize per person). This contest is open to U.S. and international participants alike! Gift certificates will be sent via e-mail with a code--you can use this code in the "message to seller" box at checkout and wait to pay until I've sent a revised invoice.
Good luck!
It might surprise you, dear readers, to know that I rarely find joy in anything. Disappointment builds character and I am brimming with character. I am so used to hitting snags and being turned down and cold cocked with "NO" that some days I don't even try. I just wait for sleep and dread waking up. Today is not one of those days, my friends!
When I went home to Arkansas in September, one of my goals was to get my mother's copy of Christmas with the Mexicali Brass and take it back to Canada to do a phono to cd burn. Sure, it was scratchy and skippy and possibly unplayable...but I had to have that record. So, I ask mom and she points to the album sorter. You know the kind. Looks like it's made of clothes hanger wire and you slip a single album in each slot...So I furiously slide each album up looking for the Mexicali Brass and when I find it I squeel! Then I mutter, "sonofabitch." All album cover, no album. Mom says it's in there somewhere. Yeah, but where?
Today I was feeling kind of festive - getting out the wreath and stockings and all. I started thinking about that Mexicali Brass record and how much I would like to listen to it while I decorate or make cookies...just like when I was little. My mom would hit the egg nog and before too long we were dancing in the kitchen to mariachi-fied Christmas songs. Long story short - itunes has the whole album and it is clean and remastered and now it IS MINE!!! I think I felt a little joy today. When you are used to hitting snags and being turned down and cold cocked with "NO" as much as I am - a little "yes!" goes a long way.
Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.
Tim has class on Thursday evenings, so it's just me and the babe tonight. Ellie miraculously fell asleep with no complaints at 6:30, so I have plenty of time to get some things done.
The new layout for Calobee Doodles needs some animation work, but I've almost finished putting the theme together in WordPress. I'm designing a quick Christmas card for mum to send out to folks this year, and hopefully it will include a holiday photo of the baby girl provided she's feeling cooperative this weekend. I've been doodling here and there... nothing concrete, though. The ideas aren't falling into place the way I like. I've also been digging through old photos for potential use in a magazine... hopefully more on that later.
But to be honest, I think I'd rather scrap it all and curl up and go to sleep. It's been one of those weeks! I'm looking forward to a much-needed Thanksgiving break.
Oh! I've been musing, and I think it's about time for a contest. I've yet to determine what I will give away, but stay tuned! I'm thinking big.
Originally published at Calobee Doodles. You can comment here or there.
... and he has a message for you:
Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.
Except her finger just kept bleeding and bleeding and bleeding... you'd be amazed how much one tiny finger can bleed. Several tissues, burp cloths, much gauze and three band-aids later, the second floor looked like the scene from a small disaster and I started to lose my calm, can-do front.
Then I imagined the headlines: "Baby bleeds out--death by hangnail."
We decided to go to the doctor just to be safe (thank goodness for weekend hours). They were very nice about our new parent paranoia, even though by the time we got there, Ellie's finger had stopped bleeding and she was obviously fine (if not grumpy with us for making such a fuss). We were sent home with instructions to keep it clean and relax. Ahahaha, I think that last part was a joke.
So the morning was not quite what we'd planned, but thankfully it got better. We chose to brave the rest of the day and make the trek to Ellsworth to the Gifted Hand Show to check out some handmade goodies from fellow Maine artists. I purchased a cute hat for Ellie from Worthy Goods and a surprise Christmas present from Atlantic Art Glass. I ogled the kids' peasant dresses from Anabelfuzz and the intricate glass beads from Fern House Studio. I'm definitely a fan of online shopping, but there's nothing like seeing an artists' work up close and meeting the people behind the Web addresses. Maine is home to some very talented people!
After returning from the show, El and I hung out with our friend Danielle while Tim caught up on homework. Then we all crashed in the living room to eat pizza and watch Supernanny and celebrate our pinky fingers being (mostly) intact.
If tomorrow is as eventful as today was, I'm going to need a second weekend to recover.
