Artsy Blog Hop Part 1

What is this Artsy Blog Hop all about?

 

Artists from all over the world have come together each week to share their answers to the following questions along with photos of their work and more.

 

I'm almost hesitant to call myself an artist when I consider my company. There are so many insanely talented ladies in my circles who have amazing vision and talent. I was really flattered that Amber Button of Crafty Button Design would even consider me as part of this project. And OH-EM-GEE, people...I'm sending you on to the incomparable Anna Aspnes.

 

 

How does your creative process work?

 

To start off, it would probably help to know that I'm primarily a digital artist. More specifically, I create digital scrapbook products. A lot of my original work evolves from curating ephemera to incorporate into my shabby eclectic style and from getting messy with paint and inks in the craft room. I scan everything and then use Photoshop and Illustrator to create brushes and overlays.

 

 

 

I'm just going to put this out there. I'm not really creative. Not in the same sense that most artistic people are. I'm extremely left-brained. Everything to me is linear and formulaic. I'm pretty smart, and not only do I learn things quickly, but I am also able to recall formulas, rules, etc. to output "art" that meets my current objective.

 

Do I experiment? Sure. It's part of the learning process. I do a lot of work in Photoshop, and I'm constantly playing with variables of filters, blend modes, etc. and observing the results. Occasionally, I find a new or better way to do something or I stumble upon an entirely "new" idea.

 

 

My work

 

You can see my work here. I've been designing digital scrapbook products since October 2007, and I've been at Sweet Shoppe Designs since May 2009. I work with talented, motivated ladies who really help keep me working on my craft and being the best version of myself.

 

 

How does your work differ from others of its genre?

 

Unlike the paper craft industry, there aren't many digital designers who do the romantic, shabby chic style. And because I love mixed media so much, I tend to merge the styles. Here are a couple of my products that really showcase my style:

 

 

 

 

What are you working on now? (physical and/or digital)

 

I'm always working on my next digital scrapbook product release. Currently, I'm excited about a collaboration with Crafty Button Design. Here's a little sneak peek:

 

 

I'm also in lots of classes and groups: One Little Word, Life Book 2014, The Documented Life Project and more. I don't stay up-to-date with the lessons, but I love that they are there for me when I'm ready to sit and play.

 

 

Why do you do what you do?

I originally started as an extension of telling my stories. I think I kept doing it because I enjoy the learning process and I like pretty things. I like the process of having a vision realized. And I LOVE that people use my art to help tell their own stories.

 

 

Happy iNSD and Welcome to the DigiScrap Parade!

So much to do, so I'll keep this short and sweet.

If you'd like my freebie pictured below, please visit my Facebook page to grab it.
Have you signed up for my newsletter? It's a great way to make sure to never miss any scrap happiness.
Do you love my CU products? Then check out my guest store at Gotta Pixel this month.

Parade info:
Previous stop was Plant Your Story. Here's her Facebook link and her blog link.
Next stop is Amber Morrison. Here's her Facebook link.
If you're lost, you can head back to the main DigiScrap Parade site.

April Showers at The Daily Digi

I really love working with Steph and the gals at The Daily Digi and was thrilled to create this kit for The Digi Files this month. You can swing by and check out my feature there, enter for a chance to win $10 to my store, listen to a little podcast interview, and grab a coupon code for 30% off your next purchase!

If scrapbooking isn't your thing, and you just want to hear the interview, you can listen here or access it through iTunes.

Facebook, Adobe Ideas and a Little Rain

I've been having a blast playing with art apps on my iPad. Here's my latest creation. Feel free to use it if it suits your fancy.

p.s. This might actually be a bit of a hint at an upcoming kit. :)

Cluster Freaks Rejoice!

If you love clustering as much as I do, then you may be like I once was, spending oodles of time opening up all the delicious elements and dragging them one by one onto my canvas. One day, I finally had an ah-ha moment and realized there is a much simpler way to do this if you use Photoshop.

First, I Go to Files > Scripts > Load Files into Stack

This will bring up a dialog box that looks like this

I hit the browse button and find the folder on my computer that has all the ellies that I want to play with.

Hit okay and then get another dialog box that looks like this:

Hit okay and then let the computer do all the work. You end up with something like this:

We're almost there. Open up your main background paper. Then go back to the stacked elements and go to your layers palette. Select all the layers:

Then, using your move tool, simply drag your stacked elements from the canvas over to your background paper.

From there, just start moving, shrinking, twisting, and shadowing until you come up with clustery masterpiece! Works great to load individual alpha elements to create awesome titles, too!

And one awesome extra perk using this system is that all your elements will have the original file name on them in your layers palette. This can make crediting much simpler.

Happy DigiScrap Day (*cough* Weekend *cough*)

Hope you enjoy all the fun sales and events this weekend. I'm excited to be guesting at ScrapMatters this month, and I'm starting out the festivities with a little Christmas spirit.

 

Of course, you can save a little when you buy them together!

 

Did you swing by for the Parade? If you're following the Parade route from start to finish, you should have arrived here from Gennifer Bursett and your next stop will be Sweet Caroline Studio (or here if you don't use Facebook). If you get lost along the way, simply head back to the main DigiScrap Parade site to view the master list and get back on track."

Here's a peek at my little micro kit available for my Facebook fans.

It's Going, Going, Gone!

It's been ages since our last big clearance sale, and I'm really excited to clean up my shoppe a bit. Now through October 12, 2013, you can save 50% on select products before they retire for good.

If you click here, you can see all my products with links to each product.

You can also click here and browse over 1400 items from the entire design staff, or you can do an advanced search putting my name in the search field and Going, Going, Gone as the main category.

 

You Never Know How Far You Can Fly

Happy Share Square

As some of you know, our family recently entered a new chapter as our daughter began her transition into adulthood with her college education at the University of Texas at Austin. I have been a hot mess of emotions for the past year as we anticipated and prepared for it, feeling everything from sadness and anxiety to excitement and pride. I am mostly thrilled for my {not so} little girl as she spreads her wings and leaves the nest.

Of course, I had to channel some of my sentiments into my creative work, thus the evolution of my latest kit: There She Goes. The title may sound familiar to those of you who follow my self-portrait journey, and it's related in the sense that we are all on our own personal journeys of self-discovery and learning to appreciate our uniqueness and gifts. And as my daughter steps gently onto this new path, I continue my own trek to being the best version of myself, owning my strengths and weaknesses, nurturing my gifts and remembering my unique calling to be Krystal in all of my roles, including the mother of a college student.

You can purchase the kit here. You can see wonderful creative inspiration here. Feel free to pin and share my Happy Share Square.

You can also pick up this fun element pack.

Happy Birthday, SHCO!

I'm super excited to be a guest at SHCO for their birthday month. I hope you'll enjoy the rare opportunity to grab commercial use versions of my products. Scroll down to get your FREEBIE and the next link on the train! New this week:

You can read my TOU here.

Thanks for taking a ride on our CU blog train. Enjoy!

 

**Just click the preview to grab your free brush set**

 

 

May 2013 Digiscrap Parade - That's Life

There's a new freebie "train" in town. Designers from some of the industry's top stores have started the DigiScrap Parade. You can learn more here. You can find my little micro kit on my Facebook page, along with the link to the next person in the parade.