Birth of a Logo

                          

Who could resist when my beloved daughter asked if I could come up with a logo design to use for the upcoming school fundraiser. Same said daughter is the president of the elementary school foundation board.  And same said selfless person is the mother of my amazing grandson.  So, I did what any respectable mother and grandmother would do and said, I'll give it my best shot.

Daughter president had a basic idea for the logo.  She relayed it to me with a quick pencil sketch.  Then I mulled.  And mulled some more.  And finally put my own pencil to paper. That was Step 1.  I emailed the basic idea to beautiful daughter and she said, yes, I love that.  So, Step 2, a more refined drawing.  Then outlining in pen.  Followed by pulling the drawing into Adobe Photoshop for some real fun.  I love coloring inside the lines.  Just like we did as kids. But because I've grown up and understand most of the rules, I also know how to break them. So I did some coloring outside the lines as well.

There were a few more changes and edits along the way once the main design was completed. But all were fixed and changed easily enough.

Now the logo is being used on social media sites and flyers to advertise the amazing auction fundraiser coming up at the end of March.  So gratifying to be able to help in this way. Thanks for your confidence, Madam President. This Mom is so proud of you and all your volunteer efforts.

Rough Sketch

Refined drawing and outlined in black pen

Add some text...

...and some more text

Let the coloring fun begin!

Zero Calorie Art Series

Created to celebrate my upcoming road trip to Marshall, TX, for HealthFest 2016

So many ideas, so little time!  Hard to believe this design has morphed into its very own series.  From modest beginnings and a request to design a friend's daughter's baby shower announcement and the fact that she refers to her daughter as her 'baby chick.'  The rest just flowed from my pen.  

Party Chick

Chick with Heart

Grateful Chick

Sick Chick

Retail Therapy Chick

Happy Easter Chick

Holiday Note Card for 2015

From eraser, to carved rubber stamp, mounting, inking and reveling in the power of one. Scan into computer, manipulate into multiple images and arranged to create this wreath. Print, futz, add red punched circles for red berries and a red bow, then affix to note card already printed with damselfly info on the back. Add one final bit of fru-fru, in this case some wide washi tape, and call it a Holiday Card! I love the creative process.

This girl is a happy stamper.

heart emoticothe creative proces

Tweet! Tweet!

This design came about while playing in Adobe Photoshop.  I painstakingly drew and filled each section of this lovely little lepidoptera (Danaus plexippus) and was quite pleased with myself when I finished.  The small sand dollar 'art stamp' was a separate mini piece of graphic design drawn and imported into the project later..  The original Monarch butterfly  photograph was shot with my old 35mm camera many moons ago while living in Fort Drum, New York.  The enlarged 8" x 10" photograph still hangs in our home today.  This graphic design version has gotten much use since it's birth a few years ago.  I used the artwork as a cover for our Claybank Master Gardener roster magnet.

And why not draw a Baby Chick wearing a party hat?

Pumpkin stencil & drawing, K. Ylitalo

It's that time of year.  I love October...
the people and the weather.

"She stopped.  It was time to take
the pumpkin out of the pot and eat it.
In the final analysis, that was what
solved these big problems of life.
You could think and think
and get nowhere, but you still
had to eat your pumpkin.
That brought you down to earth.
That gave you a reason for going on.

Pumpkin."  -Mma Ramotswe
 

-The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith