Custom Wedding Chalkboards: Process

I am so excited to share these new custom pieces for a wedding with you!

I was recently asked to make chalkboards for a wedding. Each chalkboard was hand-drawn by Yours Truly. I am quite pleased with how these have turned out! These were a joy to make and are something that I look forward to making for other happy couples in the future.

 

Some people have asked “How did you do it?” Well, loads of practice, a T-Square, Chalk, and chalk markers. Here are some progress shots showing the beginning sketches and the final pieces.

Bar menu work in progress

In-progress shot of the Julia Child piece. Here you can see my super-cool crafting gloves that help keep my hands warm and keeps them from leaving marks on the chalkboard. And my favorite markers. :-)

 

Julia Child Quote: work in progress

 

The chalk works, well, a lot like the layers function in photoshop…unfortunately there’s not “undo” button here. A steady hand and reliable preliminary sketches are quite important.

Nearly done…but still a ways to go! :-)

Here you can see the sketches made in chalk on the left and the final drawing on the right. Throughout the lettering process, I made some slight changes to the size and shapes of the letters. Before I got to this phase, I did several measured layouts on graph paper. Once I got the design just the way I wanted it, I drew it on the actual chalkboard.

Julia Child Quote: work in progress

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The Cold Never Bothered Me

Original poster artwork.

Winter seems to be in it for the long-haul. I’m in the last leg middle of my second winter after my move from Los Angeles and it doesn’t seem like the cold will be letting up any time soon. Fortunately the last few days have been warm sunny.

I hear this winter has broken all sorts of records: Snow (it would seem) every other day. Several days with -26 degree wind-chills (today is a balmy -13 degree with the wind-chill). Snowvember! The list goes on and on. Good thing the “cold never bothered me anyway” or so I tell myself.

This wintry piece was inspired by the lyrics from ever-popular Let it Go song from Disney’s Frozen. I created it using several programs and started off with a sketch on paper. I’ve included some of the steps below:

The original sketch with pen and paper.

Once the sketch was finalized, I took it into the computer where I used several programs to get the lettering “just right”. Manga Studio by Smith Micro is a fantastic program for sketching or inking AND it can work in vector and pixels. The program seems to be under-appreciated and under-used in the art community. My artistic best buddy uses the program all the time and puts out amazing work. It’s a GREAT program and version 5 is a huge leap from version 4.  I used Manga Studio for most of the original hand lettering and sketching.

Lettering almost finalized and color swatches are in the corner.

I then took the file into Adobe Illustrator to clean up the letters and curves. I wanted to leave some of the hand-lettered feel, so not every curve and flourish is 100% perfect. Once the lettering was finished, I took the file into Photoshop where I added the colors and final touches. Here is the finished piece again:

Look for prints in my Etsy Shop soon.

What do you think?

NEW Birthday Cards Added to my Etsy Shop

As I was looking for a birthday card for a friend’s youngster the other day, I found myself at a crossroad between “girly” and “just-for-boys”. It would seem that most children’s birthday cards are highly gendered and pretty sarcastic. I wanted a nice card for a nice little girl who isn’t into princesses or shopping yet. There were none to be found.

I took it upon myself to make a set of three birthday cards for boys or girls (and unisex!) that are cute but not overly-cute; boyish but not brutish. I mentioned them in an earlier post…

It’s no secret that I like cats. I designed these cards to have a retro feel with the bold, iconic illustrations of boy cats and girl cats. I gave each card a hand-lettered message that says “Birthday Girl or Boy” and “Happy Birthday” for a gender neutral option. I am very pleased with how they turned out.

Wish “Happy Birthday” to a boy or a girl (or adult!)

*Also available in lime green and other colors!

Blues and greens for the Birthday Boy

Pink or red for the Birthday Girl

I styled the design after 1950’s-style cartoon characters with the simple eyes, bold lines, and bright colors. Each cat is holding a cupcake in one hand and a present in the other. The hand-lettering gives the card an informal feel that lends itself well to children’s cards. They are, however, not overtly childish, so you could send one to an adult too!

They are available in my Etsy Shop and every card is printed by me and hand scored. Each comes with its own envelope. Other custom-colors can be created upon request.