Export a pattern tile using Illustrator CS6 created with the new pattern...

Very useful tutorial for saving just the repeat swatch!

You tube tutorial about making a Lace Pattern brush

I found this tutorial very useful and clear. It uses Photoshop to create the brush which is then used in Illustrator. I watched and I learned some new tricks in this part of the tutorial. I definitely need to learn how to use Illustrator to develop my pattern making skills!

Lace Brush in Photoshop

 

I wanted to make my own lace brush to use in Photoshop...and after scanning in some lace I found in my wardrobe I worked on it till I obtained the brush stroke in the picture above.

 I referred to a tutorial I viewed on you tube.

 

I used this brush to make my Raspberry Lace design. Below it's been applied to a cushion.

 

 

Spoonflower Fall Leaves Contest

This is the link for the Autumn Design created for the Spoonflower contest.

http://www.spoonflower.com/designs/2580962

This is the same pattern applied to a cushion.

 

Spoonflower Fall Leaves Contest

 

I started off with this bunch of leaves (picture above) I collected from the park on Monday afternoon.

I wanted to enter the Spoonflower contest but the deadline was Tuesday.

This was a very fast design...it only took two hours to do.

It is a simple design but it seems to work well!

 

 

In Photoshop I choose to utilize Pantone Colours with a Watercolour brush.

The colours I used are: 166C, 7409C, 485C, 1815C and 2905C.

Working on a white background is usually a risky choice but adding an extra colour was effecting the overall design. It might be interesting to see if the design would work with some random dots on the white spaces.

I treated the leaf repeat in the same way as the Harlequin design (picture below) I posted about a few weeks ago.

 

 

Photoshop tutorial from you tube

 

I watched this Photoshop tutorial that shows hot to give a watercolour effect to a portrait. All the black areas have become a watercolour effect. He adds a background texture and some words to it too.

I have tried it myself with a portrait of Audrey Hepburn, very quickly, just to see if I could understand how he uses the mask...this is the result...I didn't add a textured background and text to it...

 

Paint Splatters?!

 

 

 

I had a go at making some messy paint splatter...who says it's easy to be spontaneous and abstract?

Must admit that although I like the vibrancy of the colours I still need plenty more goes before I can master my ideal splat! In my previous post the colours of the design I was looking at had more tonal variation and the splatter was more relaxed and controlled.

Try again tomorrow!

 

More Watercolour Inspired Fabric...

 

 I would like to make some fabric that I could use to upholster an old armchair. It would have to be something fresh and bright...I want to try and make my own watercolour splatters and see if anything nice comes out if it!

Watercolour Fabrics

Looking at some beautiful watercolour fabric designs. I would like to use watercolours for my next project. I'm not very experienced so I'll probably make a few mistakes along the way...

Woolly Candy Design

 

This is Woolly Candy design applied to a mug and a cushion.

 

http://society6.com/Marylina/Wolly-Candy

All Wrapped up

 

 

Here's the pencils all wrapped up...I will definitely need better lighting to take the photos I'll be working on.

Handmade Elephant

 

This elephant was hand made in Rajasthan...the fabric used has an interesting print on it. I m going to study the pattern layout...

Wool and Sticks

 

I bought this pencil sticks and I' m wrapping around this wool that has lovely pale colours in it...I want to create a pattern with them.My self imposed deadline is Tuesday... I will need good lighting for my photos...or possibly see if I can scan images in.

Henna Flowers Design on Society6

 

http://society6.com/Marylina

 

Here is the Henna Floral pattern wrapped around different items for sale on Society6.

 

 

 

 

Colour Layout of a Block Printed Fabric

Fabric image as been taken from page 40 of Fabric Designs, Thames and Hudson (1991) by S. Meller and J. Eiffers. 

The task of choosing and applying colour to fabric is a challenging stage of the designing process. I wanted to use colour in a simple but well thought way to obtain a design that looks somehow a little more sophisticated than my previous ones. I like studying how colours are used in fabrics I admire. This particular piece is a Wood Block.  I noticed how this design had used the Red and the Darker colour to make outlines...instead of using just the one outline colour. Light blue and light pink are used as fill in colours and in some areas the Red has been used as a fill in too. The darker outline colour has not been used as a flat fill colour mainly because it would be to strong and would dominate the palette but it has been used in the background for the little dots. This is very clever because it adds interest to the background and the flower elements are not floating on a plain surface.  I am considering choosing two different colour outlines for my Floral henna design and apply colour in a similar way.

Colour In Wallpaper

 

I m going to upload the final line drawing of my Floral Henna Design onto Spoonflower.... I thought it might make a nice Colour In Wallpaper.

I am also working on the coloured version of it, deciding on the best solution.

Jon Burgerman Tumblr Girls

 

http://jonburgerman.com/work/tumblr-girls

 

Here is one of his drawings that are part of his tumblr project. I admire the sophisticated spontaneity of his coloured drawings!

Colour In Wallpaper by Burger Mash

 

http://burgerplex.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=45&product_id=167

 

Years Ago I bought some wallpaper to be coloured in, for my daughters bedroom. It was a great success. I decided to see what was available out there on the market and I came across this great wallpaper created by Jon Burgerman . I looked at Burgerman website http://jonburgerman.com/blog and his work is really cool. My henna design is now a line drawing and would work well as a colour in wallpaper. I like the idea that the drawing can be coloured in by others becoming a more interactive experience.

 

Another Henna Design

 

 

I did this design for my mum before her holiday. First photo has henna paste on...the second is the final result. Hand was a little wobbly in some points and my henna tube was a little dry, therefore I had to squeeze harder to draw!

Harlequin Leaves wallpaper

http://www.harlequin.uk.com/livingroom.aspx

 

 

 

This wallpaper is so effective with its gigantic leaves! I admire the simplicity and effectiveness of this design. There is one single leaf that has been flipped horizontally...and then arranged in alternate rows...

 

Sanderson Omega Cats

 

I came across this witty wallpaper on Sanderson Interior Design.

There are so many more beautiful design on this website. Sanderson was founded by Arthur Sanderson in 1860, and is an internationally renowned brand in the field of interior design and decorating...suppling fabrics, paint and wallcoverings to HM Queen Elizabeth II and British Royal Palaces. Sanderson is part of Walker Greenbank PLC, an international group of companies which design, manufacture, market and distribute wallcoverings, furnishing fabrics and associated products to the middle to high end of the consumer market. http://www.walkergreenbank.com/group-structure.aspx

I looked into Walkergreenbank PLC and there are other brands that are part of it: Harlequin, Zoffany,Morris & Co.,Scion  toghter with Sanderson.

This particular design was adapted from a 1930s textile by Swedish designer, Victor Lindstrand.

PompomFun on Spoonflower

PompomFun - marylina - Spoonflower

PomPomFun on Society6

 

http://society6.com/Marylina/PomPomFun_Pillow

 

I uploaded my Pompom design on Society6 and this is how it would look like as a throw Pillow.

The colours are really Bright!! Probably more palatable to a younger audience. I will try in my next design to use a more tamed colour scheme...

 

 

 

 

Pom Pom Fun

 

Made some colourful pompoms. I wanted to put them together into a pattern.

Sketch for Floral Pattern

This is the finalised sketch for my floral pattern. I made sure that the patterns repeats itself seamlessly in both directions. The next stage is the most challenging and also the most fun because I have to find a good balance with shapes, lines and colours. There are so many possibilities! I am considering a similar colour scheme to the Spring fabric I mentioned in one of my previous posts.
I want this design to be part of a collection just as you would within a professional environment.

Body Drawing with Henna

 

This is my second go at Henna drawing my Hands. The top picture shows the paste still on the skin and the second picture is the final result. I left the paste on my skin throughout the night to obtain a stronger colour. The quality of the henna paste was very good and it also smelt nice because of the eucalyptus oil mixed in it.

I've been looking at lots of designs in books and on line and I would like to design my next fabric inspired by these beautiful curls and waves. I would like to obtain a floral design that can celebrate this ancient tradition.

Sprigs 1888

 

Sprigs are small single flowers. This design was made in France in 1888 on wool mousseline fabric.

It is very delicate and I particularly like the choice in colours. I would probably like to use a similar colour scheme on the design I'm working on at the moment- HennaFlowers

Orange, Green and White version

Pink version

Pillow with Rainbow Feathers fabric

 

This summer I discovered this website that will let you upload your designs onto a variety of items. The website is called society6 and they will sell your products for you and you can make a profit from it. Here is the link society6

Rainbow Feathers

Just uploaded this new design on spoonflower.com !

 

 

Spoonflower contest: Horses

Here is my entry for the Spoonflower contest themed Horses.

I made it thinking of my daughters who are really big horse lovers. I thought I could use this design to make some curtains for Kiera's bedroom...It is a design made mainly for a young audience. There is some changes I could make to make it a little more sophisticated but getting to grips with the repeats was a little challenging this time around.

Here's the design.

 

 

 

Contest outcome

I was delighted with the outcome of the Citrus design Contest...my pattern got 15 favourites! and lots of lovely comments by other designers. I also made a different version of my design that has a little more red tones in it.

http://www.spoonflower.com/designs/2203370?view=

Citrus Burst design...work in progress

 

I used a light box and watercolours for this design.

The painting was scanned and developed in Photoshop.

Here is my final design.

 

 

My favourite design was....

Dancing Frog by Spellstone


By clicking on the link you can view my favourite design for the Frog contest. I loved this one because it's so refined and has a screen printed feel to it. It is also so playful!

Outcome of Frog contest

I was very pleased to have received two votes and a lovely comment from one of the other designers. There was so many lovely fabrics! It is very useful for me to participate in this competitions: it gives me the opportunity to learn new ways of designing and it helps improve the quality of what I do.

Spoonflower Frog Fabric Contest

 

This is my design for the Spoonflower Frog Contest.

For one week Spoonflower viewers can vote for their favourite fabric. The winner is announced on Thursday 6th June.

There are some really lovely fabrics made by other designers.So much can be learned by looking at other people's work!

 

http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters/new?contest_id=192

Frog Inspiration

 

 

 

I want to create a fabric patter inspired by the skin marking of the frog in the top image.

Above are some mark making made this morning.

I plan to scan and import the paint marks in Photoshop and digitally put my image togheter.