Custom Notebook

Cam from chrome dome designs wanted a custom 5X7" notebook so I made this. I traced his logo in Adobe Illustrator and found the font he used on his website with this nifty font finder Whatthefont. In Whatthefont you submit a picture and identify the letters and it gives you a few font equivalents to the image you submitted.

I'm finding that with adhesive vinyls using a medium blade depth and a medium pressure in the Cricut Expressions usually does the trick, and it was trial and error to find which particular vinyls worked best. For example a glossy vinyl I tried tended to rip in an "accordian fold" manner on some of the fine letters. So I used a matte vinyl instead.

Got a great haul of adhesive vinyl

Thanks to Roy Alexander for the connection and Bob Cook at Branded Visuals for the end pieces and leftovers of adhesive-backed vinyl. I feel like a kid in a candy store. There's lots of etch vinyl which I can use for frosted glass effects and to tint colors.

I spent a good hour rolling together similar colours, and listening to the Vinyl Cafe, an amusing coincidence.

Etsy Finds Feature - The Umbrella in your Daquiri

The classic version of the soap tote made it to an Etsy finds feature. I noticed a jump in views and I got two sales from it. My user name on Etsy is Sewnagain.

Here's the link to the full post.

Again I noticed that it takes about 100 views to get a an online sale.

Floral Necklace Prototype

Here's the first cut of a prototype floral necklace, cut on a scrap piece of vinyl tarp. I'm trying to see how small or fine of cuts I can make. I like how this first one turned out. I plan to finish them off with a chain that goes around the back of the neck and closes there.

Here's the discussion of how I did it for those who are interested: In Illustrator I started with a basic oval shape, and an inner shape to make a compound path. (Two ovals; Object, Compound path, Make). To make ovals with veins I overlapped ovals and used the divide tool, erasing extraneous parts. Then the parts were recombined piece by piece to make a petal with veins. Then I copied and rotated the ovals 72 degrees each time until I had 5 petals. I used the combine tool to finish the flower. I used blends (specified steps) to generate different sizes and copied enough shapes to fill in the design area of the necklace. Once the shapes were placed right they were combined. The too-tiny-to-cut shapes were deleted using the Direct Selection tool. Finally, I highlighted the whole shooting match and uncompounded the path to make the different cutting layers.

In Sure Cuts a lot I have a layer of inner cuts and an outer cut layer. The inner cuts get cut first so the work does not slide around on the Cricut Expressions cutting board.

Colour Theory Studies

My first core course in my visual design studies was colour theory. My term paper was an analysis of what makes for good wardrobe colours for the individual, based on the person's skin tone. The topic intrigued me so much that I kept up the research for 2.5 more years. My instructor, Bev Rodgers, said, "I fully expect to see your name on the Fortune 500 list someday should you decide to patent this."

In 2004 my children were still very young, and my health was becoming an increasing concern. I decided to get my research to a point where I could revisit the topic at a later time. So all my research went into this binder. I also looked at every other wardrobe colour book published and figured out the shortfalls in the "seasons" hypothesis. I came up with my own theory of what colours work well for the individual.

I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't time again to revisit this topic. The gross $142 I made at my last show of recycled vinyl products isn't getting me much but the ability to treat my family to dinner at Wendy's after a craft show. Ah, well. I'm sure I'll get back on that vinyl horse sometime. Hey! that's it! a vinyl horse!

Tapestry Handlebar Bag

Here I used a retired-pattern upholstery sample to make a bicycle handlebar bag. The cylinder end pieces and the loops and such are made out of recycled vinyl. I also lined the bag with white vinyl. It has a removable strap and the hardware was scavenged from an old sports bag.

The end result is nice, but a bit heavier than expected. I think I'll use a nylon lining for the next one.

I gave this one to my friend who said she liked it.