How I create my images

Hello, hello! No, I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth! I find that when I start a blog post lately it sits and sits and never gets finished. It's so much easier to post little snippets on my fan page on Facebook. Are you a fan of milkshake crafts? Do you have a fan page I can join in return?

Since this is the craft show season, I get lots of questions about how I create my images. I never really know how much to reveal, or how much someone really understands about what I'm telling them. I have a running storyboard in my head as I'm talking, but it doesn't always come out the way I see it! Will you let me know if the following makes any sense??

First, I start off with a pencil sketch in my sketchbook (or on a random piece of paper). The sketches are usually created when Malayna is drawing and I'm keeping her company.  Sometimes an idea sits in my head for a looooong time before I finally put pencil to paper. Other times I'll do a sketch and that will sit around for a while until I flip through my sketchbook and decide it's time to bring it to life.

 {This is a marker sketch after I've scanned it.}

Next, I'll trace the drawing with a black Sharpie marker and then scan it into my computer. I used to scan the pencil drawing, but found that I wasn't getting the crisp lines I wanted. After the image is scanned I open it up in Adobe Illustrator and clean it up there. This gives the drawing a more polished look, and I can then adjust the lines of the image.

After cleaning up the image in Illustrator, I open it in Photoshop. That's where I apply the patterns and colors. For example, the clematis image is made up of three different patterns (the red one in the middle, the orange one in the petals and the yellow in the petals):

 {This is the same image after it's been cleaned up in Illustrator
and filled in with patterns in Photoshop.}

I have many, many patterns to choose from (all of which are created by me in the same way I've described above), but I find myself using the same ones again and again. I change the colors sometimes to match the other patterns used in the image.

For example, here is the same pattern but in different colors. The same pattern was used above, in the petals in yet another set of colors.

{The same pattern with different color treatments.}

Someone once suggested that I have all this information with me at shows in a small binder to show people when they ask about my artwork. It's a great idea and I would love to be able to have a visual instead of trying to explain and hoping it makes sense!

Was this helpful? Did it make sense? Is there anything I'm missing?

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I'm going to be participating in the Waldorf Holiday Fair and Craft Bazaar this weekend. The show starts on Friday night from 6-10 and then continues on Saturday from 10-5. Come by and visit! It's a great show - lots of yummy homemade food, crafts for the kids and, of course, great art. There's even a secret shopping room for children where they can buy gifts for the family.