Cat On the Hat

When we got our Halloween decor out of the attic I thought the skeleton I usually hang on the door looked a little tired.  I saw this cute craft in a magazine (I don't take credit for the idea but the design is mine) and I had an old hat that I wasn't doing anything with  (I certainly wasn't wearing it.) so I thought why not?

 

 

I painted the brim orange, painted the crown black and waited until it was dry.  Then I went back and touched up any spots I'd missed.  Since a straw hat has a lot of texture, you really have to wiggle  your brush into all of those little spaces.  When it was fully dry I painted on a cute kitty face and 'Trick or Treat'. I had to add a 2nd coat on the face details too.  As soon as that's dry it's going up on my door. 

Cute Kitty Coloring Page

Here is a sweet little kitty that you can color.  Right click to download and print. 

 For personal use only (school or camp setting is OK) but mass production is not allowed.  You may not use this drawing either in whole or in part on any items to be sold such as shirts, bags, cards etc. 

Sketchy

OK.  Maybe sock darning isn't the sexiest of topics.  Still, Sophie Kinsella says it's worth knowing and she's pretty cool.

Here's a peek inside my old sketchbook which I miss very much.  I filled it up about a month ago.  I have a new one but it's not the same.  The little one-eyed guy was drawn by my daughter.  I have no idea what his shirt says.  I asked K, but she forgets.

Etsy Avatar Tutorial - Easy!

You can sew rings around any pattern, make amazing dolls and your jewelry is the talk of the town, but the making of your own avatar has eluded you. Never fear, I am going to walk you through making your avatar in MSPaint, a program that comes ready with any PC and it's pretty user friendly too.

1. Choose a picture to represent your shop. It can be of you, the products you make or even for whom your product is intended such as a child or pet (preferably wearing one of your products.)

Some things to keep in mind when choosing a picture:

*It's going to be small so you don't want a lot of details that are going to get lost when it's reduced.

*If you are going to put text into your avatar you don't want it to be too busy or it'll be hard to read.

*Make sure it's a nice clear picture. People won't know what you're selling if you have a blurry picture or something that is too vague.

*Your picture should also not be too large--about 5x7 to start off with.I chose this picture of Alice because she is eyecatching, a product from my store and as a background she's not too busy.

1. Double click on your photo to open in Microsoft Windows. From the menu bar choose 'file' then 'make a copy.' Save the copy as 'avatar pic' then close. This is VERY important. You don't want to work on your original in case you mess up then accidentally save it-- then your original photo is lost FOREVER. So make a copy before you do anything else.
**UPDATE:  Windows 7 users you may have discovered that the old picture viewer is not able to edit photos any longer. You can edit your photos in the new Windows Live Photo Gallery which is pretty much the same as the old picture viewer but with the editing ability. Why did they even bother keeping the old one?

2. Now reopen the 'avatar pic' in windows. From the menu bar choose 'fix' then 'crop' from the side menu. Then click the drop down menu under 'proportion' and choose 'square.' You may want to use only a piece of a picture rather than a whole picture reduced to avatar size. Move the cropping box around until you get it the where you like. While people are not intrigued by blurry photos, they are intrigued by snippets of a larger thing so don't worry if some is cut off. Save your picture and close.

3. Now reopen your copy in MSPaint by right clicking on your photo and choosing 'open with MSPaint.'

4. Now you need to reduce your image so that it's about avatar size. Go back up to the menu bar. Choose 'image' then 'resize and skew.' Type in '25' in both boxes (where it says %) Your avatar will now be about the right photo size.

Your avatar needs to be 75x75. Go up to the menu bar, choose 'image' then 'attributes.' In both of the little boxes type 75. Your avatar is now the right size to upload to Etsy.

To add text: Go into the sidebar menu and choose the blue 'A.' Choose the transparent mode at the bottom so that your text appears on top of your picture. With your mouse, drag a box where you want to put your text. To choose your font and its size click 'view' and check off 'text toolbar.' Choose a font that is easy to read, such as Ariel or Times New Roman. Nothing too scripty. Choose a color that will contrast sharply with the background of your picture. You can't go wrong with black or white. Adjust your font size until it fits in the box. Now you have a new avatar, go onto Etsy and upload it :)

ACEOs Working Small

I really enjoy making these. I can make them fairly quickly and pack a lot of detail into a 2.5" x 3.5" space. It's much like doodling in the margins--something I do ALL the time anyway. For those of you who are scratching your heads saying "What's an ACEO?" It stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. Another term is ATC or Art Trading Card. People collect and trade them like baseball cards and they are a simple, space-saving and affordable way to become an art collector. I sold this one, entitled "It's Mushroomed" yesterday on eBay. I'll probably list some more of them very soon.