Jilly Jack Valentine's Day Card on Treat.com

Our Jilly Jack Designs Valentine's Day card for A Fresh Bunch is up on Treat.com. It's a great one to send family members. It was super fun to create, we hope you like it.

Take care,

Jill

Bright Color Palette for the New Year

I'm feeling optimistic today. It's snowing, windy and gray, so instead of creating a color palette of soft grey hues, I've gone the opposite route. Here are eight bright and cheery colors to start off the new year with vigor and energy. Take that winter!

Just wondering if colors affect you the same way they do me? Let me know what your favorite colors are and why. I'd love to hear from you.

Take care,
Jill

Spring Color Palette

It's officially spring, so I thought I'd post some spring colors. My tulips are getting ready to bloom and I can't wait to see them. The world looks so much better in spring when all the flowers begin to bloom. Spring makes me think of fuzzy chicks and bunnies, pastel colored eggs and girls in pink dresses with white mary jane shoes. I tend to go less pastel and brighter, but that's just me. Please feel free to share your favorite spring-time colors. 

Take care,

Jill

Cookies to boost creativity

Here is how I chose to spark a little creativity last week. The school bake sale was a perfect way to get out of my box and do something creative, but not graphic design or note cards. Well I did have to design a tag, I just can't help myself. What are some ways that you use your creativity or things that you do to get your creative juices flowing? I'd love to hear them!

Take care,

Jill

Crane Paper in Blue

I had a visit from Karla, my favorite paper rep on Monday and she brought me a ton of swatch books. It was like Christmas. I picked some of my favorite blue shades from Crane's Palette swatch book to share with you. I think the book isn't the most current, but she brought it because it has larger sheets so that I could get a feel for the paper's weight and texture. I checked Crane's site and these colors are all currently stocked. That is one thing to look out for, make sure your swatch books are current and the paper is still stocked. There is nothing like getting burnt when you've designed a piece around a certain paper stock, only to find out it isn't made any more. It's not so bad if it's for yourself, but if it's something you've shown to a client. Ouch!

I'm really excited to use some of this paper with my new letterpress printer. Oh the possibilities! They have an a mazing raspberry too, but hey this is blue week. Go Colts!

To find out more on Crane Paper go to there site, cranepaper.com

Colors shown left to right: Cambridge Blue, Azure Blue, Navy and Aqua

If you have a favorite blue paper, I'd love for you to share it. There are some amazing papers out there. And of course, I'll be sharing some of the other amazing paper swatch books she brought.

Take care,
Jill

Winter color palette

I love these light pastel colors. They feel frosty, and snowy or as if they have sugar crystals all over them. Enjoy!

Cordial Bloom

I just found this fantastic floral font, Cordial Bloom from Umbrella Type, on Veer. You have to go check it out. It's so fun and the colors they've put together in this sample are wonderful. There is a downloadable pdf specimen book with full instructions on how to use the font. I have a feeling I'll see this pop up on a ton of cards this year.

Fall Landscape

Nature is my ultimate inspiration. These shots were taken on a recent trip to the Brown County Indiana State Park. Indiana is pretty flat except for this area of the state. It's known for it's wonderful hiking paths and fall foliage. The colors are spectacular. The house we rented was on the side of a steep hill, we had to put the van in low gear and gun it to make it up. We all agreed this would not be fun in the winter. It was wonderful to be out in nature, the fresh air, color and wildlife from howling coyotes, cool green frogs to wild turkeys. Who knows, these things may show up in some cards some day.

Featured Artist

Dolan Geima is a wonderful mixed media artist. Depictions of rural America, country music and birds are reoccurring themes in his work. I enjoy the texture and deep colors that Geima achieves. My favorite are his construction pieces, especially this guitar. Stop by his website and check out this amazing artist.

All images are owned by Doman Geima, Inc.

Fall Palette

Last night my son was asking me what my favorite color was. He thought it was funny that I couldn't pick just one. I explained that as an artist, I love all colors. They bring out feelings or a mood, add contrast to one another, etc. I thought it would be fun to create and share a fall color palette. Go to the site, colour lovers to see more color combinations or share your own.

I love getting color forecasting. This is Pantone's fashion color forecast for 2010. It's always interesting to see what fashion designers will pick as the new spring palette. Not to mention their lovely sketches. Check it out here and let me know if you agree with their choices.

Image and logos are all owned by Pantone.

Stunning Sunset

I was looking through our photos from our 2007 holiday trip to Hawaii and came across this sunset picture. It seemed fitting for a late Friday night post. This image brought back a lot of great memories and the smell of the ocean and the feel of the warm breeze. It was a magical evening and a spectacular sunset as the sailboat drifted by.

Have a great holiday weekend everyone.

Ceramic Artist

I just discovered this amazing London artist. I adore here whimsical view of things and wonderful use of color. See other works by Julia Bailey here.

The Color Purple

Here is an inspiration board of all things purple. I'm not suggesting anyone wear all these items at once! It's just a collection of finds from the internet that I find lovely.

1. The purple leather cuff can be found on squidoo.com

2, 3, 4. The fabulously flirty dress, necklace and pillow may all be found at Anthropologie

5. I found the Sasha bobby pins very charming found at Etsy store NinjaBowTique

6. These shoes are simply fabulous and eco-friendly to boot. I own a similar pair. They are made of natural silk with certified organic cotton laces and souls made from recycled car tires. I love mine. Simple Shoes.

7. I fell in love with this rings simplicity and deep color. You can find it in Etsy at UntamedStone's shop.

All images are property of their respective companies.

Eye Candy

Gum drops anyone? I love these gum drop pillows from Amy Butler. I admire her amazing sense of color and pattern. Sewing patterns are available at http://tinyurl.com/dkh7cd