Wall Murals

Again I must apologize for being MIA for WAAAAYYYY to long from the blogging world. As a result, I'm extremely behind in my creative antic updates. Well, Husband, baby and I recently moved and settled into our new home by painting EVERY wall and decorating...I'll post more on that later...so time has drifted elsewhere but with the cold weather settling in (and the gift of a new Serger sewing machine!!!) I'm feeling the tug to settle down into comfy pants, sip an irish hot chocolate and get crafty!

A recent new venture is {wall murals}. Who needs a silly little canvas? Lets go BIG! While anyone can go out and purchase wall vinyl's, it gets way too expensive when you want an entire wall sticker or looking for "just the right thing".
Insert.the.designer.
"Hi, Let's chat".

I'm sure there's many approaches to producing the perfect wall, but I've found taking photos of the space and using photoshop allows me to digitally create a visual mockup and show the client EXACTLY what the wall will look like.
"Exactly"? you ask? "How"?
Well, yes, i could redraw everything on the wall by hand---taking more time/money -- or I can use a hand dandy projector. If you don't have access to one, check this DIY projector or this one which uses your iPhone (so easy!).
Then just match your paint chips to your computer image, grab your brushes and go!

A huge trend lately is tree's - and i love the birch tree's- and animals.

Top: Digital Mockup of wall mural.
Below: Physical, finalized version on the wall. A whimsical forest for a 2-3year old classroom with 3D tree's. 

Another great idea to make your own wall murals pop is to add 3D elements (see above). Using simple ply board (stiff but lightweight) and securing to the wall using 2x4's, you can push the mural further.

I can't wait to get started on my next classroom for 5-6 year old's. Here's the digital mock up:

Nursery Nesting

It's a boy! :)

Now to tackle designing the nursery- but what theme to go with!? how to select a color!? and why do the girls have all the cute stuff out there!?

{Mission}: Design a modern, cute, non-blue room for baby that a girly girl {muah} would love to retreat in.
GOAL: Stop looking at pink stuff! Blue is fun too! :) In fact, there's almost TOO MUCH design inspiration out there!

{Online Visual Inspiration}

Ok, being a visual person, I sketched some basic concepts for nursery {THEMES}. Furniture placement was pretty set but wall color and decoration had a million directions it could go...how to choose....

Here's some concept sketch ideas I came up with:

I went with the whimsical tree look. Painting and decorating was so much fun - like creative nesting. Make sure you use No VOS paint to keep you and bubby safe from the fumes. 

{COST SAVER}: 

• Paint is the cheapest way to change a look. Instead of spending $$$ on vinyl stickers, I found some designs I liked and free-hand sketched similar looking images. 

• Curtains- I found a great twin sheet set at Target for $20. Split the top sheet in half. I used the bottom sheet as a skirt to the crib to tie in the pattern.

• Furniture- Baby's bureau is actually a repurposed filing cabinet. Works great! Top drawers for diapers and small items, bottom for blanket/sheet storage.

{Busy at work!}

10 Months later and he's still happy to wake up here each morning :)

Headbands modeled internationally!

 Australian model Ella rocks one of Auburn Antic's headbands during a Ninjacupcake photoshoot. How precious is she! Thanks for sharing Renee. If any of you out there have lil models of your own, I would love to do photo shoots with them this summer to showcase some of my products.

Tempting {Typography}

Get inspired by Fonts in Use - a great catalog of real-world typography in use. It showcases the importance of the most basic element of communication: {type}. A great tool for inspiring you how to rethink your next project. Don't think of simply "letters" or "WORDS" , but expand and see shapes, form, and expression.

Great design isn't just about WHAT you're saying, but HOW and WHERE - color, size and placement can sell or sink your communication.

I design magazine covers for a travel company and have been getting tired with the 'same old fonts' - and while you want to stay within branding, I'm reminded that there is SOOO much creativity within a typeface, (I know, I'm a design nerd :) ), you just have to explore and have fun with it.

New challenge for myself: Find the NEXT big font family to represent communications and not to get too stuck in the fashionable- think forward!

Freezer Paper Textiles

{New discovery}: Freezer paper!! 
Can't find the exact pattern or color in fabric you're looking for? Create your own stencil from freezer paper. It's so simple and turns out a great image or textile. Only drawback: each stencil is really a one time use BUT its the cheap route to designing your own pattern :).

Here's how:
Materials:
Freezer paper - from the grocery store, 50ft for a whoppin $1.99, yea baby! :)
Fabric paint- Michael's craft store, $1.99 ( pick one that doesnt require heat setting to save time!)
Printer
Iron
Exacto knife
Cardboar
Fabric


Find an image online or free-hand it. For my first dress I thought i'd try a bird. The possibilites are endless! Granted I should have painted this BEFORE sewing the dress together but oh well (do recommend it, to have fabric lay flat).

I had sewed a simple sun dress
...but it was missing something

Cut freezer paper to 8.5x11 piece of paper and insert it into the printer with the non-shiny side up ( or whatever direction so that the ink is on the non-shiny side). Print your design out.
Cut out the negative space.

Place cardboard beneath fabric and lay flat and smooth. Position freezer paper, sticky side down and iron with a warm dry iron. This will form your leak-proof stencil (or so the box said...i had a few small leaks).

Use a foam or stencil brush and paint evenly onto the fabric. 
Tip: paint from the outside in and in thin layers.

Let fabric dry - my bottle said 24 hours- then simply peel of the freezer paper to reveal your personalized fabric! :) Let the imagination {go wild}!

Another idea: Go online to find free animal silhouette vectors to use as stencil templates.

Posh up a party with paper!

Check out this link - Pretty Up a Party with Paper - CraftStylish - to follow Jeff, who's job is to cut and create with paper- his stuff is aweseome!

Make a cake special without the fussiness of fondant

LOVE coral - will try this out, but around
a white cake- what fun!

 I love to bake cakes and love the graphic simplicity Jeff has used to create a beautiful cake! :) Will definitely be trying this out the first chance I get!

Don't forget to create that special Thank-you note with an exquisite, though time-consuming, personal touch. Perhaps this would be for very special occasions only :) Though it inspires me to try this effect elsewhere.

Who wouldn't love to get something this thoughtful in the mail!

Desire to Inquire: Children's Books

"There's nothing quite as special as a favorite book that your parents would read to you - with all the voices- before bed. My favorite part- my parents would make the stories up - these adventures have stayed with me and long to be shared"

Ok, so another creative arena I'd love to take part in is
{children's books}- both as author and illustrator. I have had several manuscripts and dummy books collecting dust on my shelf for several years now. Time to dust these off??

The worst part? The lead character is a penguin (adorable i know!) but I guess I was ahead of my time. Now that these lil cuties are such a hot item, will my book be lost in the sea of "just another penguin"?

My Universe question: How can so many bad books get published and be on the shelves of Barnes & Noble yet it is so ridiculously difficult to get a book published (so I'm told)?
- why do i let this deter me?-
- how do you succeed without all of your money going to publishers? -

Children of the world: Hold tight, the cutest lil penguin story and other animal adventures will reach your lil hands in hardcover eventually!

Another avenue: Book Cover design
This can make or break a sale as consumers are drawn to eye catching covers. Anyone out there looking for design, I'm your gal! I already have one published book under my belt.