South by Southwest, the huge tech/film/music conference that takes over Austin every March, has been going for a week now. While I didn't shell out the big bucks for a badge this year, I was happy to see that many of the keynote speeches have been posted online. I just finished watching one from Tina Roth Eisenberg, the creator behind the design blog swissmiss, "designy" temporary tattoo company Tattly, and the Creative Mornings series. In her talk, Tina outlines the rules that she lives by personally and professionally. I found her talk so encouraging for a creative business owner like myself - acknowledging the joy that comes in being about to do what you love and confronting the inherent risks, challenges, and opportunities that arise. Check it out!
I've decided to highlight a different card from the Happy Cactus collection every Monday. Each card has a little story behind it and I hope to share the inspiration behind the different designs. Up first, one of my favorites: the "Corazon" heart print card.
The design for this card was inspired by little Mexican tin hearts. I have picked up a few tin hearts over the years from Tesoros in Austin and during a trip to Santa Fe and love the look of these little decorative ornaments.
A collection of tin hearts via Flickr
After coming up with an initial design, I ended up using a light pink and punchier magenta for the heart and a turquoise blue for the teardrops that appear to bounce off of the heart. For the background, I felt that a very light blue helped the colors of the heart really pop off of the paper.
The card has quickly become a bestseller since it was released in May. I had one customer tell me how she likes the design's versatility. It can be used for so many different occasions - as a love note, a congrats card for a new couple, an anniversary card, or just because! The Corazon card is available as a single card or boxed set of 10 notes here.
I thought I'd pull back the curtain a bit and give you a peek inside my creative process. Each of the cards you see in the shop is originally drawn by hand - by me! So just how does a design go from an idea in my mind to a sketch to a finished card? Here's a glance at the different steps in my creative process.
Doodling
I find myself doodling a lot. My sketchbooks are filled with random drawings and words. Some go nowhere, some turn into the cards you see for sale on this site, and some I revisit months later with renewed interest. Here's some recent sketches I've done.
Pen to Paper
Usually I'll take a preliminary sketch I've drawn and create something in ink. Sometimes I sketch out the design first in pencil; sometimes I just go for it with ink and hope I don't make a big mistake. Armed with some very fine black ink pens, I'll spend time drawing the motifs or patterns on drawing paper. I'm lucky to have a very steady hand.
Here's the original ink drawings for Thanks Vines, Busy Flowers, and Zinnias. With both of the designs for Busy Flowers and Zinnias, I didn't have a set design in my mind - each piece just grew as I went along.
Clean Up and Color
I scan my artwork and use software on my trusty computer to smooth lines, clean up mistakes, and color the artwork. I love playing around with different color combinations and seeing the different possibilities.
The End Result
The final products printed, scored, and ready to be sold!
