Header tutorial --- last post in tutorial

Yesterday I mentioned Photoshop 7.. If you can find someone with a even an earlier version that they would give you, it would be even better. Each new version gets more complex... The program I use is at least 20 years old and quite simple...

Several have asked how I do my headers and it just so happens I recently decided (again) that I might update my website so I was working on one and also I just did a header for my son's blog... I will show steps for both..THIS IS REALLY JUST CUT AND PASTE. I did it on the computer but it can be done just as easily on paper and scanned onto a cd... Check out the scrapbook dept of hobby stores... They have endless fun things that you can either use for "cut and paste" or scan into your computer...

Occasionally I use the palette tools to sketch a plan for a block but two of the tools I use all the time... One is an eraser which make any area you erase transparent.... The other tool is actually called a "Smear" and looked like a finger... But it blends and blurs colors together. Great for touching up and blending where you butt things together...

Click to read text: The last step was just to tuck things here and there... Snip and tuck!!

Click to read text:

So you can use your own photos to make your header without any clipart at all. Snip and tuck!! You can see this header full size at http://deepcreekfishingclub.blogspot.com/

If you actually do this "cut and paste" I would recommend taking it to good copy shop and get it copied on photo quality paper and also put on a CD. In the days before computers we did everything that way... So there you are....end of tutorial.... Please let me know if you found it informative?

Logo Design Tutorial -part 3

Before I start on anything else... I repeat....... you can do all this by cut and paste if you do not have a program such as photoshop..... BUT Photoshop 7 (New Version 8 is out) is still available at Amazon for $42.99 or less... It is the old version and perfectly good for anything I would ever want to do... So if you are thinking of exploring this, do buy now as they will be gone soon and it's a real bargain as the New Version 8 is much more expensive....

While you are buying it get "Photoshop 7 for Dummies." for as little as $4.28.... I learned my program with a "Dummies" book doing one chapter at a time and practicing...

So for less than $50 you can get software and manual that will you can use creatively forever.

Now that I've covered finding a type font you like, try combining several different ones as I did in Ati's logo... Each word is a different font... "Ati's" is Amazone, "little" is Wretched and "world" is Mordred. You can even have 2 or more fonts in one word... Just play, play, play around with it...

And I've also added a decorative element..See if you recognize it as we go on..

I just can't recommend Dover publications highly enough and most now come with CDs to put it right on your computer. But when you look at their copyright free art keep in mind that it can be used in parts and try to visualize the parts separately.

For example... I just used part of this illustration... one I put a black frame around

With this one I used different parts in different ways and different directions.

With this one I cut out more and more and turned it until it ended on Ati's logo...

Do the same with colors pieces like this rose motif... Using parts changes it entirely and makes it look less like clip art. (to me anyway)

Finally even the most fundamental photo programs allow you a lot of options and photoshop even more.

#1 is the original and the others are at least one special effect or more... #2 has a soft glow added. #4 is antiqued #6 is antiqued and a soft glow added. A grainy texture is added to #3. etc. etc.

And remember SNIP AND TUCK.... any decorative element needs to be tucked into the lettering and design.......

Several readers asked about how I did my header so I will add one more post in a few days to show that.

Cathy K.'s Art Nouveau 1 block

Painted a dragonfly button using Adirondack Inks..... there's a lot of gold on the button but it doesn't show because of the reflection.....It's off to Hideko in Japan tomorrow...

Big week for Morris

Getting a picture of Morris isn't easy... When I approach with a camera he immediately rushes up to put his nose on the lens...I wanted a profile so I tried to catch him unaware... well almost!!!

This has been an eventful week... Morris graduated from Puppy Kindergarten and was the star of the class. Our next class level starts in Sept... And then one day this week he fell in the pond and was a total mess ....he won't go near it now.

At least once or twice a year we get a visit from skunks trying to dig under our house... We get a Dept. of Wildlife live-animal trap and bait it with sardines... Every dog we've had has succumbed to temptation ONCE!

Today it was Morris.... but since he was trapped he decided he might as well eat the sardines....and followed that by eating the paper bowl..

Great CQ pattern

I took my visiting SIL to some thrift stores the other day and ran across this pattern and it is unused and has sizes 10 to 20 inclusive... Years ago I made a CQ jacket but it is looking a bit worn and having the whole jacket CQ is a bit much besides being heavy. But I can see possibilities for this pattern... It has been years since I've actually sewn a garment but this appeals to me... I love the square neckline.. It looks like it might be from the 70s from the illustration... goes on my "to do this winter" list...

Logo Design - Part Two....

Please keep in mind that this is just MY way of doing logos... I do mostly logos with type because I love typography. I've mentioned before that I recommend http://dafont.com/ because most of the fonts are free and because you can do a preview of a font with your text..


Jo shamelessly begged me to turn her blog heading into a logo...well Jo's blog headline is long enough to quality as a short story.... ON THE OTHER HAND if you received an email or post signed Jo Newsham you might not know who it was, but if it was signed Jo in NZ (as she always does) you would know exactly who it was... "Jo in NZ" is simple, recognizable, and unique to her....perfect for a logo.... So searching for a type style for her I went to http://dafont.com/ ...

1. type in your words or words in custom review box . You might try entering both caps and lower case, all lower case and all caps to see what you come up with...
2. select 50 fonts to a page medium size
3. select sort by popularity since most of the best one are on the first pages of each category....



Once you select a category such as calligraphy all the fonts will show up with your words..



So after doing that and browsing through a lot of fonts I found the following two I liked:
Folkard and Charming... I was particularly looking for fonts that had interesting Js and Zs.. In most fonts Js are not too interesting but I loved these two....








Below each preview it will show the entire alphabet of that font.

Obviously once you have picked a font the easiest route is to download the fonts because they are free but there's another option.....the old-fashioned way.. which I opted for because I didn't particularly want to download these fonts on my computer...

I just taped a piece of paper to the computer and traced the letters with pencil.. If you were using rub-off sheets of lettering (scrapbook supplies) you could do the same thing.

Once I had them traced I just cleaned them up with a straight edge and ink...

At this point they don't look much like a logo...

And here is where the fine tuning comes into play..what I call "snip and tuck". The space between the letters is called kerning... In my publishing program I can adjust the kerning but it I were to do it in photoshop or something similar I would simply enter each letter separately and adjust them manually.

The middle "older rose" is how the computer spaced it....There is a really awkward space after the R. Below it you can see what happened after I adjusted them and tightened the letters.. I like overlapping letters and using different base lines...

But my favorite way is to make several copies of the letters different sizes and cut them up and play with them in different positions.. I'm a big time cutter-upper and do it with type and other elements in most projects I do...

And this is exactly what I did and found I like both fonts in this layout... but the font "Charming" reminded me of Jo's stitching style... Sorry Jo this is the best I could come up with... Which one do you like best???

And this is exactly how I came up with my logo... Next I'll talk about the artistic elements and additions but probably not until next week as the days are filled for the near future... Sorry but as you can see this got longer that I had anticipated...

addendum: I was asked what software I use... I do have Photoshop Express but seldom use it because I had gotten used to a similar, obselete program called Microsoft Image Composer... simpler but adequate for what I do...

Question from reader......

Question from Laurie: With mine though, the whole point is that I HATE being called crafty, so wouldn't enlarging "crafty" making it the focal point? Kind of counter productive to my whole train of thought. Just curious as to your thoughts!

The answer is a definitive yes and no... Making a word (or words) larger does make it a focal point but only in that it defines the space or shape of the logo. BUT it doesn't make it more important. .. ALL words or pictures in a logo are necessary and of equal importance. In fact any guy can tell you that there is no correlation between size and importance...

As an example I have a personal logo that I have used for umpteen years.... The bold colorful letters in the word chaos are the "focal point" because they define the space and shape but are no more important than the minimized word "organized". In fact without the minimized word the whole logo loses it meaning.... I love this play on words with fonts, shapes and sizes...

Another visual example is the leaf is the focal point as it defines the space and without the tiny type it has no importance at all...

So when I made that sketch I was thinking you can call me anything but don't call me CRAFTY!!! With a successful logo all parts need to work as a whole and any part removed distorts the message or image. Does this answer your question.?...hope so...but I will cover this more when I get to the next section which will include "snip and tuck."

Creating a Logo

Bear with me as I will try to be coherent...not one of my strongest points... I've decided to divide this into 3 posts.. Today I will cover how you might use a logo and choosing your words.... The second part will be choosing a font and manipulating words and letters... Finally the third post will cover adding artistic elements...

Your logo needs to be simple and flexible.... A design that may be great on a banner might be unreadable on a business card.... So before you start give some thought on how you might use your logo in the future.... If it's just for one use it would be easy but when you think about it everyone needs business cards and if you're going to sell things at all the list of uses grows quickly...

Besides my possible list of uses above you may want an adhesive one to put on your car or a banner for a booth in a quilt or craft show....I really don't think I'll put it on t-shirts but I added it just in case because I think it would make a cool t-shirt... Also now's the time to think about how much information you want to share on your cards, etc. Personally I don't want people to have my home phone or address except on a letterhead. It's expensive to have things reprinted if you make a wrong choice at this point.

This whole subject came about because of a recent email from Cathy Kizerian... She's changing directions in what and how she wanted to sell... Her blog is called "Cathy's Crazy by Design" and she is identified by that but she felt it was too long for a logo or tags etc... I felt she had some options to shorten it and she's working on it now....

She could eliminate "Cathy" and focus on "Crazy by Design" or focus on "Cathy's Crazy" and minimize "by design" which I think she is doing... Below is examples of what I sent her as options. Please be forgiving as these are just rough sketches. These all use the same words but size and placement can make a big difference...

It's best if you can just focus on one or two words... If you are just using your name that's great. But if you already have a longer blog or business name you need to find one or two words to focus on... You can have other words but they must be mimimized in the overall design... As examples I pulled some names of blog that I visit often and chose one or two words of each to focus on... They all are several words long... Again forgive the rough sketches but if I were to begin designing a logo for these people, this is where I would begin.....by picking the words to focus on....

Next time I will address how to find a font you like and how to manipulate words and letters into a logo...

And I hope this makes sense... And if you're one of the people who weren't interested in this tutorial.... come back next week...

My Cascading Dinner!

Yesterday I prepared a meal for twelve and set the table on the deck because my house is too small to seat that many inside... . The food was on the table, the wine was poured and everyone was seated...AND THEN one side of the deck collapsed.... And indeed all the tableware, food and wine (red) went cascading off the table onto everyone on that side of the table... Thank heavens no one was hurt but what a mess... We salvaged the rolls and the roast and luckily the dessert was still in the house.

Karrin's Stumpwork Block

I received Karrin's stumpwork block from yesterday and both Cobi and Diane have worked on it. Karrin wanted a garden on her block and it's well in the way... Since I'm third in the rotation I have to work with what's been done already and certainly not add anything that wouldn't be compatible, either in color or design...

Of course I have a plan in mind and I usually share with you but this time there will be a "surprise" bit of whimsy as my last addition...

But I can share some thoughts.. First there are about 9/10 strong vertical elements on the left side of the block..... I would be very remiss indeed if I didn't add at least one strong vertical element on the right to balance and frame the block... In addition I will work some horizontal elements into the block from right to left. I'm not just sure what at this point but it will help move the eye across and around the block.. The golden yellow of the sun flower is so strong it needs to be repeated somewhere...

I love what Cobi did to soften the rock fabric... Wait for the whimsical surprize!!!

p.s. there seems to be enough interest for a logo tutorial so I will start on that... It will need to be divided into several posts...

My New Logo

This is what I came up with for my new logo... I will do a post on logo design and show the process if there is anyone interested. Let me know.... I don't want to do it if no one cares....Anyway it is the fastest I've ever done one and a relief to have it in time for Monday.... I did not even use one of the new fonts I downloaded the other day... This one is "Papyrus" and have had it for some time and just couldn't find the right use for it..

I love this type of rose and it is synonymous with Art Nouveau.. and it actually has a name.... the "MacIntosh" rose.. It reminds me of CQ spider roses or a folded ribbon rose.. You see it a lot in Art Nouveau works and especially in stained glass work.

It is named after a Scottish Art Nouveau artist, Margaret MacDonald MacIntosh, who collaborated with her architect/artist husband Rennie MacIntosh... Unfortunately she suffered from ill health and died quite young...



This is a portion of one of the stenciled murals for which she is famous.

Cathy's art nouveau block almost done

I need to run some beads along the cording on the pleated braid bottom right and finish a dragonfly button but then it will be done.... The voluminous folds on her dress suggested an iris to me before the block even got here... I did the scalloped seam treatment to echo the yoke on her dress...

Morris kinda chewed the leaf part of the motif out of shape but Cathy will forgive him I know.... I was aiming for a rich opulent look...

Logos/tags etc.

I am committed to a craft fair on Monday and had wanted to take some miniature paintings on pins and buttons and realized I had no cards to put them on.... I do have some left from the nursery but they hardly seem appropriate if I'm moving toward a new direction. I'd let that business license expire and feel I need something fresh.. AND FAST!

I designed this logo for the nursery 26 years ago and it has served me well. I had a full length mirror on the freezer and put one across from it against the washing machine and actually posed while I sketched... It was more difficult then you would think to get the arms, feet and head positioned so it looked right... My back view wasn't that big then but it's close now....

That font is University Roman.....one of my all time favorites... BTW Susan... http:// Dafont.com has a "Alice in Wonderland" font.....

Why Around My Neck.....

Susan asked a good question and I should have explained....."why do you find it's best to keep your supplies around your neck rather than in a hussif?" I guess I'd first ask "How many times are you searching for your scissors? Losing my scissors, tools, and pins etc. is a pain (especially working in the car) and I can't lose them if they are attached to my body...

We used to travel A LOT... by car and by plane and I always did needlework... Just recently on my trip to Alaska I was able to stitch on the plane because there not much room for a hussif on a airline tray and it isn't easy to pick it up if it falls off.... The same goes for the auto shop, doctor's office and even if I stitch in the park while at summer events. I can move from place to place instantly and there's nothing to gather up and put away... When I was visiting Cathy last winter I was able to work in a tiny area across from her because I was "wearing" my supplies....what fun we had...

But even at home I have no "room" as such to work in... I have a hospital tray table by a window in the living room and the surface is only about 16" by 24" so wearing my tools is a great space saver here also.....When not in use it hangs on a lamp by my work area.....ever ready.... So if you always stitch at home and have everything at hand or if you always have space to lay your supplies or hussif on, I suppose there would be no advantage.

I also have a hussif (in fact two) and occasionally use it also... but years ago I figured out those stitchers in earlier days had a great idea so I just adapted it.... and it works for me.....

My chatelaine

Antique chatelaines were sewing tools on silver chains which needleworkers attached to their busom with an attractive brooch. I decided I to design my own chatelaine. Besides traveling, I often stop and start projects and needed everything handy.

To the left is my third try and close to perfect for my needs.For my first one I actually used two men's ties attached at the middle. I did attach scissors, needle cases and pincushion by chains and added small pockets at the bottom. The chains were always tangling and catching on things.

On my second try I used a man's tie for a pattern and used decorator fabric. I made pockets (or pouches) for items. In addition to needle cases, scissors and pincushion, I also had an emory bag (to sharpen pins and needles), an awl, a tiny tape measure, and sterling antique threads holders. It was too much and too heavy. So on my third try I stripped down to what I needed the most and decided to make it pretty as well as practical by doing it with crazy quilting.

On the far top right I have two needlecases. One is long and used to be a sterling case for a thermometer but is perfect for long needles I use for doll making. The other case is used for regular embroidery needles. Both are on chains and tuck into pockets so they won't get lost and won't interfere with my handwork.

Below the the needlecases is a flat pincushion in which pins are inserted from the side. I may replace it with one filled with emory powder. It holds only a limited amount of pins because it is small but certainly enough for handwork.

Below the pincushion at the bottom of the right side is a pocket that has a tab which swings out and holds needles that are threaded and in use. When using several colors the unused threaded needles can be pinned into the tab and needle and thread tucked into the pocket.

On the left side is my beloved scissor angel with its own pocket for the scissors. At the bottom of the left side is another pocket into which I tuck all theads I clip.

I've made it pretty to look at and pretty to wear by doing it with crazy quilting and adding favorite buttons and charms. I've used this many years now and it has traveled all over with me. If you decide to make one I recommend you make a list first of what you need to have and draw the size of pockets needed on your "tie" pattern.

progress on Art Nouveau Iris

Finished the flower and now will do the leaves.....edge of flower still a bit fuzzy from cutting it out but that will disappear when I applique it to the block....... It looks great on the block....

I confess I'm addicted......

Yes, I've been totally addicted to type ever since I was in grade school... Do any of you remember as a child writing and embellishing your name in as many fancy ways you could think of.... Well I'm still doing it.... When I was going to graphic design school I loved every typography class and there were a lot of them.... Now type design is almost all done with typography software and if I had it I'd get nothing else done.... Even still I spend way too much time looking at type fonts at http://dafont.com. Almost all the fonts are free to download and there are thousands.. Most are done by students... Tip: set for 50 a page and sort by popularity...Then you only have to see the first 5-6 pages in a category...



I was thinking I wanted to liven up my header and went looking for a fun font....well now I have to choose from about seven I downloaded last night... I already have almost 400 fonts on my computer (I said I was addicted). One day when my hands are too sore to stitch I'll make a choice... In the meantime this font is called "blossom."

The long and short of it......

On the Crazy Adventure Yahoo Group we have been talking about shading with thread. I have been easing myself into doing more and more... I'm just starting on the iris for Cathy's art nouveau block.. One nice thing about having about 50 year's of cotton floss collection is I have any amount of colors to choose from... Doesn't the dress on the silkie look like an iris?

Challenge Block 2010 - progress

Last night I tried to print the silkie and the printer kept jamming and chewing up the photo transfer sheets...five of them. I was tired and it has been a hectic day so I just gave up.... But tonight I tried again and it printed first try. It must have been all the good karma with Wil working today... I framed it with some ticky-tacky antique gold braid...the kind you see bins of after Christmas.. Tip: Always stitch down the outside edge first and then you can ease in the inner edge..



Here you see the beaded fan and one of the peacocks pinned in place...Now I can start doing the branches and the cherry blossoms... I'm glad the peacock blends in with the block and doesn't detract from the silkie...





With the magic of a paint brush in photo editing you can get an idea what it's going to look like once I get the branches and blossoms around the frame... The gold braid will show but not much.....

I got far enough on this that it is just a matter of dyeing some ribbon for the blossoms and I can work on it in bits now for awhile... I've stopped working on my BJP for a while because my hands are sore.... I really expect Cathy's Art Nouveau blocks to be in the mail either tomorrow or Tuesday and I will start right away.