What Have I Been Doing

Well as you are going to see I have been busy branding a new endeavor by a great Mom to be.  This creative gal is making some fantastic dog treats.  I have to let you in on a little something, this is my son's wife.  She is always so bubbly and creative. Her endeavor name is Bubby Gourmet Dog Biscuits

Here's what I did

  I gave her a the link to the Graphic Fairy and told her to pick some of the fantastic vintage images and give me a rough idea of what she wanted.  She quickly got back to me with a few designs and ideas.  I took those and came up with this:

 

A great little design that was could double as a tag or business card.  I suggested that she print it as a business card (a chubby) and punch a hole in the top and tie it to her bag of treats.  The blank banner below will serve as a place to write the flavor of treats.  This provides the customer with a lovely card to keep as a reminder of what was purchased and from whom it was purchased.  A great way to get her business card in the hands of the customer.  

Thoughts of Seasons

Not too long after seeing the end result, my mind was off to the races with seasonal looks.

So here are a few that I came up with: 

Christmas Bubby

Valentines Bubby option 1

Valentines Bubby option 2

It was important to not change the core of the design so my focus was on the background and small elements that could be easily added to give seasonal impressions.  Above you will note that the paw prints have changed into small harts.  I have offered her a choice of different colors with small tweaks such as the white outlined in matching color as her name. I contained her logo image in white to set it apart from her background so it would not compete or become over whelmed in the background.  In other words keeping her background just that a background. 

For a complete look at all the options (so far) check out my Flickr Photostream Special Orders Set

Incorporating your Blog

Now with branding your blog is so important.  Branding should be carried through out everything that pertains to your product.  So if you have have a blog or web site it all should be branded together.  That way your customer gets used to seeing that great logo that you have designed and will recognize it or look for it in future. 

Artful Friendship (a sister blog to Jeweled Frog Creations) shows off an example of what I have designed for her.  This gives her an idea of how her brand could work for her on her blog.

Last but not least a favicon to pull it all together. A small little bell and whistle that is overlooked but is a key element when layering product branding. 

You can find this little treat on your blog layout here on blogger.  A simple screen shot of that logo got me this little image and it just adds to the whole look of this blog. 

Well until the next time have a great day and be creative.  

Repeat all Things

Just when you thought that I would not repeat any more on repeats....

You can never just leave a art work alone.  You can always improve.  Even if you just let things sit over night and come back with fresh eyes, you can see an adjustment in one way or another.  The problem is that you can end up thinking your art work is never good enough.  That the color could be better, or the placement, and on an on.  I solve that with saving multiple files.  That's right.  What sometimes looks good to your eye may not be what a collector, or buyer may be looking for.  After all they are looking for what they can DO, or CREATE, with it. 

EXAMPLE

In this image you can see a basic repeat. At first glance it looks fine but on closer inspection you can see a defiant pattern forming with the green stalks for the flowers a stripe that can interfere with a product.  It does not render this repeat unusable but it will LIMIT it's use. 

EXAMPLE 2

 

Here I came back the next day and worked on breaking up that pattern formed by the green.  I increased the size of the seed (that is the image that the pattern is formed) by 2 more inches and carried over the side pattern so that it would match the right side and then filled in the area making it carry on over.

EXAMPLE 3

Here you will see the same pattern offered on a light yellow.  I always work with a transparent background so that you can place the pattern over the top of different colors to show different selections. 

EXAMPLE 4

Using the "Stroke" selection in your layering pallet you can add even a different twist to your repeats.  This slightly frames your repeat and gives it another layer of interest. 

Remember when designing give your customer a wide variety of selection.  The wider the choice the more freedom of creation you will will have. 

Pig and Corn Repeat

Pig and Corn Repeat, a photo by Jeweledfrogcreations on Flickr.

In searching over at the Graphic Fairy I found these wonderful little pigs. Anyone who know me, knows I love pigs, I love all aspect of pigs except the slaughter of them. That's right I wont eat them. But I can talk for hours on the feeding of them and how, with some ,they feed them apples to get the taste of the pork just so.

Alright enough if you had wanted a blog on animal husbandry you would not be here that is for sure. 

The above pattern is a block or brick pattern.  It just goes straight across. The corn that goes in the back was work as a separate image.  

Corn Toss Repeat

 

 As you can see working a smaller scattered element or "toss" of corn it provides a background rather than just using color.  It will make the print or the repeat more interesting and look more intricate.

Shake things up

I try to look at a design and think of other ways that it can be offered.  That is what you want to do when designing for sale.  Although I may think it is just great and "who" wouldn't just "love" it the fact of the matter is that may not be the purchaser's "taste".  So I also try and say look I can do this all sorts of different ways. 

 

So I will leave you with three examples of this design, repeat, or pattern.  What is next? humm perhaps, chickens.  LOL 

A Tidbit About This Design

Corn Scatters the background (available in a stand alone repeat) As these delightful vintage pigs dance across as the main image. Shown here on a backdrop of white these repeats are available on any color files saved in layered format so combination choices are infinite, and are all available for licensing. All rights reserved , copyright Jeweled Frog Creations, E.L.S. Studio 

What Goes Into A Repeat

Repeats are the bread and butter of retail.  If you take a look at all the scrapbook, quilting, bed linens, or wallpaper suppliers, just to name a few, you will see what I mean.  Those seamless images done in a wide variety of patterns.  One image or several combined make up these wonderfully creative and colorful designs / patterns for the buyer to snap up and use on crafting, quilting or room design.  But how does the artist do it?  How do they create these images that we love to use in our everyday lives.  The answer is easy when you know the trick.  I'll give you a few pointers.

To Start

How large do you need it. That is to say how often does it repeat. Every 1" to 2" for very small repeats,  Or every 4" to 6" and even up to 12".  Something to think about.  I am going to show you a pattern repeat that is 3x2 1/4,  that is to say that it will repeat every 3"x 2 1/4" .  Here are a few steps to help you start creating.

1. Think about what you will use it for.  Backgrounds or ground work should never over power your main image so think simple and small. My example is 3"x2 1/4".  My finial saved file will be a 10" x 10" file. 
2. Open your document (I use PhotoShop CS2) I also create a slightly larger canvas to aid in my adjustment of the pattern.  For this image I chose a 4" x 4" and chose a clear or transparent background.  That way I can put any color for the background and use this image for any color choice.

    3.      Turn on your snap to , rulers, extras, and grid, and guides and smart guides.  These will be extremely helpful  when adjusting your elements to get a seamless look.  If you don't pay attention to this you will end up with the repeat looking chopped up or missing parts.

    4.     Now pick and adjust to size your elements that you would like to have in your repeat.  Once you have the main design such as I have. (For this example I have chosen to use a birds nest and a bird as well as some brush work to create branches.  

    5.     Use the group option in your pallet to keep separate groupings together this will be easier to move and position on your canvas. You must have the exact pattern.  DO NOT FLATTEN YOUR WORK ALWAYS SAVE IN LAYERS.  This will aid if you have to come back and adjust for size or placement. 
 You can name your groupings if it will help you keep track in what you are doing.  

     6.     Now you are ready to start placing and forming a repeat.  This is where your guides will come in handy as you make duplicates of your groupings or layers and start to move them into mirrored placement you will see the smart guides light up signaling you are in the right place.  Remember where one leaves off on top the element you are placing on bottom has to be lined up perfectly to get that seamless look.  The same goes for the sides.  Look at the red arrows and you will see what I mean with the placement. 

     7.    Once you have everything where you think it will be in line and the image is where you like it, use the guides to form the edge of the repeat.  Then use the rectangular marquee to map out your repeat. Then Choose Define Pattern.  You may have to do several tries to get your pattern just so but stay with it and you will be able to accomplish it. 

      8.     On my first attempt I noted that a line appeared in the design.  That is the places that had no branches formed their own pattern.  It was not entirely bad but I thought that it could be better.   I wanted a more even effect.  

      9.  So compare the areas that you find to not "flow" as well as you would like and then make adjustments.  I, for example, used more branches to off set the empty spaces and make the image appear more uniform.  Remember that the areas will be repeated and if they are good and solid in their design they will be good and solid in the repeat.  But if they have mistakes and omissions then that will be done over and over.


Here is the finial version

You can view both versions at my Flickr Photostream account and vote for the version that you like the best.

Thank you so much for reading and hopefully you will be able to create your very own repeat.  As always my images are available to purchase. 

 

vibrantbluejaysonblackandwhiterepeat

vibrantbluejaysonblackandwhiterepeat, a photo by Jeweledfrogcreations on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
The nights grow shorter until the big night! I have taken a break from my knitting (I have some late attempts for gifts) to do about 10 repeats this evening. Repeats are a fantastic way to create ground work from paper products to wall paper or bed sheets. Just look around you. Your Christmas paper was created by someone just like me or you for that matter.
Come visit me on flicker and see more of repeats or just stay tuned to my blog I will be posting more in the upcoming days.
A bit more on this image:
Image and elements are combined to for these repeats and patterns. These image are great for grounds for crafting project and are also available for license. Please contact for more informations

Santa Claus is coming to Town

Santa Claus is coming to Town , a photo by Jeweledfrogcreations on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
Inspired by the old song but giving Santa a new mode of transportation. High above the world on his way in a hot air balloon this Santa travels in a tea pot. Twinkling lights adorn this magical transport. Golden ribbon suspend him as he travels the glob with his special deliveries.