"Paper" Doll

After I created Petals, I still felt like I wasn't finished with my girl figure in the picture.  The most fun I had doing the picture was designing her clothes.  Her dress had been flowered, pink, yellow, stripped and white before I settled on the aqua Swiss dotted one. 

So I fiddled around with her some more. I cropped out the rest of the picture since I only wanted to concentrate on her and since I was just fooling around, I just changed her from the waist up. I lightened her hair, gave her a new tank top with a paisley (of course) pattern, an aquamarine necklace, and some groovy cat's eye shades. I was pretty pleased with the result.  (I wouldn't mind owning that tank top if you want to know.)  But what else could I do with her? Why stop with one look?

I wanted to do something with a patterened sleeve so I used a foulard brush that I'm partial to.  When I do clothes on a figure in PS, I usually start it as black or white and decide the color later.  I liked the pattern so much in black that I just left it.  I lightened her skin some more and changed the scene from a warm beach to a gloomier setting.  The rainy window stock  by Quna-Stock on DeviantArt was synchonous with the fact that I was re-reading Twilight (Team Jacob since I'm sure you were going to ask.) And before I knew it she became Alice Cullen. 

Which made me think of another popular Alice that's been in the press lately.  I did a generic background and slapped a white rabbit in there and she was finished.  I probably will change her again but I feel finished with her for right now.

Paisley of the Week! Seafoam Paisley

Maybe it's synchronicity or maybe it's vanity but I always seem to be drawn to things that look like they could've been created by me.  Little Henry is an artist who I met on Etsy and immediately marked as a favorite.  I love the swish and swirl here of 'Seafoam Paisley' done in mixed media. It looks like you're looking up at the sky through ocean water doesn't it?

Petals

Most of the trees have dropped their petals and we're seeing more green now.  Aqua, in its many shades, is a big color this year.  I would actually love an aqua,  polka-dotted sundress with a white sash.   And a big old pink flower tree too, for that matter.

Paisley of the Week! Silver Swirl Earrings

I love the streamlined look of these handmade silver earrings by Echos of Spring.  When it comes to paisley, I like a lot of swirl and color usually.  But when it comes to jewelry, I like pieces that go with everything so I'm definitely a fan of these!  Be sure to check out the selection in the Echos of Spring shop on Etsy. She has a lot of colorful & unique pieces that will appeal to the more adventurous jewelry wearer as well as those of us who prefer a more subtle style.

Paisley of the Week! Vera Bradley Simply Violet

Turns out I was waaaaay off on the color of this VB bag.  I went today to the Hallmark near me to do a little drooling and it turns out that the name 'Simply Violet' is exactly what it means.  I guess the monitor on my laptop adds a lot of blue because I saw it as periwinkle. Purple is still very nice but it's not -- y'know, periwinkle.

In my dream life Vera Bradley calls me up and begs me to go and draw paisleys for them.  Even if they offered me a dollar a day I'd say yes.  The problem with Vera Bradley is that in picking a favorite, it's well near impossible.  It's like eating one potato chip -- something I've never been able to do until I saw this year's spring line.  This is A. periwinkle and B. paisley.  'Nuff said!

If you, or an artist you know, has a perfect paisley for Paisley of the Week! please leave a comment about it on my FB page, send me a tweet or leave a comment here.  If it's someone else's paisley, please get their permission first :)

About my Glorious design...

When I posted this last week it was an experiment to see if  any of my blog readers would notice--seeing as it was Easter and all. Nobody said one way or the other so I'll just hope you did. 'Glorious' is an abstract design but it's made up of Christian symbols.  For those of you who like search and find-y things, in the design are:

fish

lillies

turbulent water

doves

The Trinity

a cross

the letters 'J' and 'C'

I started off with the fish and worked the other elements into it.  As you know, the fish was a secret symbol for Christians to identify eachother. In today's society, being a Christian is somewhat 'uncool' for the mainstream--unless you're Miley Cyrus.  Or for some Christians, like me, faith is something more private. 

Free Wallpaper for your Twitter or Desktop

As promised, ages ago, here are some free wallpapers for your desktop or Twitter background.  You can probably use them with MySpace as well.  Simply click the paper you want to enlarge, then either save it to your desktop or choose 'set as desktop background.'  It will tile seamlessly for you if you choose the tiling option. The title of this design is "Glorious." For personal use only, reproducing or redistributing is not allowed.  Leave me a comment as to which one you like best!  Enjoy!

Paisley of the Week! Silk Scarf

It's Monday--time for the Paisley of the Week!

This gorgeous fuchia, red and orange silk scarf was given to me by my Mom.  As a scarf it's a bit useless, too small to wear around my neck, really but I keep it because I love looking at it. 

Something I've learned photographing silk, it's better to have the flash either low or off.  It took me about 10 shots to get these two pictures.

If you know of a paisley that would be perfect for the Paisley of the Week! leave me a comment/link here or on Twitter or my Facebook page. 

We're dying...

For Easter to Come!