laura doodles

Breakfast Valentine's Cards!

2012-02-13T11:18:00.009-05:00

Hey everyone!! Tomorrow is Valentine's day and that means today is a great day to unveil some newly made FREE Valentine's cards, just for you!! This is the second time that I have done something like this. Last year's Valentine's cards were Lady Gaga themed and to-date have over 360 page views, my 9TH most popular post of all time, woohoo!!

Well this year I decided to create cards of one of my OTHER favorite things; food!

More specifically breakfast food!

There's waffles, eggs, toast, oatmeal, OJ all your favorite breakfast item accompanied with sweet little Valentine's day themed sayings! Feel free to print these and hand them out to friends, family, classmates and maybe even your secret crush on that special day, February the 14th!!

There are seven total per sheet, download the PDF and start printing by clicking on this link:
http://violet-ink.com/Printables/BreakfastValentines.pdf

Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow!

Saber - Illustrated Portrait

2012-02-08T12:04:00.005-05:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post a quick entry of another one of my freelance pieces I did for a client. Her name was Saber and she wanted an illustrated portrait of herself. She sent me several photos of herself so I was able to create something truly realistic yet still within in my signature "Penningt00ns" style!

Here is the piece:

Wow!! I think it turned out great!! I even added her name in pink and black text at the bottom.

The real challenge was combining a lot of the features in each photo. Her make-up, hair style and piercings came out just the way she wanted!!

Remember if you are interested in your own illustrated portrait from a photograph or any other design work by me, just check out the contact page on violet-ink.com !! Hope everyone has a good day!!

Jackie's New Bundle of Joy!

2012-02-03T12:28:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post some exciting news! One of my clients, Jackie from Jerseylicious just had her bundle of joy YESTERDAY!

How exciting! She is such a great person. I created lots of fun things for her including her baby shower invites and now baby is finally here!

Here is a picture of new Mommy Jackie and newborn "Adrianna Marie Bianchi"!!

Please congratulate her on Facebook or Twitter!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

2012 Business Card!

2012-01-26T12:45:00.008-05:00

Hey everyone! As a part of the new year and the NEW website changes I also decided to change my business card!

My old business card I had since 2009. It was pretty bland. One-sided. It needed some desperate changes. So as soon as I used up all of my old ones I ordered some new ones! If you haven't gotten one from me as of yet here's what they look like:

The front features an illustration of me! The creator of Violet Ink Design with our new tagline, "Illustrating the Imagined!" It still maintains the violet and white theme of my website and logo while demonstrating my skills in illustration.

The back has all the basic info you need to contact me. Making it double-sided really gave me some room to make my logo much larger than on my previous card.

Business cards are a really important part of your identity as a designer or even as any business. Try to think outside of the box! If you're absolutely stuck with not an idea in the world, there is a lot of inspiration for business cards online.

2012 is already proving to be SUPER busy!! Client requests are currently pouring in, so I guess it's back to work for me! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Website Makeover is FINALLY completed!

2012-01-21T16:16:00.006-05:00

Hey everyone! Just updated the blog with a small tid-bit of news. Violet Ink Design is finally finished being remodeled! All the pages are fully functional and portfolio pieces are completely updated.

I am by no means a web designer so the work seemed to take me FOREVERRR. The front page is up to date just in time for Valentine's day!

My biggest project was completely re-doing the portfolio section. Violet Ink Design has really grown from back in 2009. It used to have only ONE section for freelance work. That section filled up quick; something had to be done. Now you can choose from 3 different categories of work I have compiled including my famous portraits!

Not only that but my personal photo needed a BIT of an update:

I have nothing but high hopes for my business to continue growing. Stay tuned for more artwork and updates!!

Snooki Cupcake Illustration!

2012-01-17T10:49:00.007-05:00

One of my friends asked for lots of Snooki stuff for Christmas this year. She was also the same client looking for some Jersey Shore Christmas Gift Tags. So I thought as a surprise I would draw a cute little cartoon Snooki.

If you don't know anything about Snooki (which I cannot imagine anyone who DOESN'T) she's the pint sized, poof rockin', cleavage poppin', pickle loving female cast member of the Jersey Shore.

Photo from BeautyBlitz

Snooki has a lot of different product lines including sunglasses, headphones, perfume, books and much more! A lot of those things are unfortunately VERY expensive. So I did what I do best, create an adorable cartoon!!

Here is the Snooki cupcake I created:

The blue dress was inspired by a dress Snooki wore I found on the Cosmo website:

Photo from Cosmo

Ashley's favorite color is blue so it fit perfectly. Although I doubt we will see Snooki in a dress as poofy as her hair I decided to transform it a bit to fit in with the cupcake theme!

Here are so close ups of the piece:

Butt-crack cleavage!

Complete with cartoon pickle!

I hope everyone has a good day today!

Lauren & John - Portrait

2012-01-03T14:22:00.009-05:00

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a happy and safe NEW YEAR!! Wow 2012 already!! Got to catch up on these entries so here's another portrait I created a Christmas gift!! Another cute couple, meet Lauren and John!

Here is the portrait I created for them:

I think it turned out really great! The grey background matches perfectly with John's shirt and remained neutral; not too girly not too masculine! The client was really pleased and I hope they enjoy their gift!!

You might recognize Lauren if you watch GlamFairy!! She was on one of the episodes where A2 had a fashion shoot with puppy dogs. It was a really cute episode!! Here is a photo of Lauren, A2 and Tracy DiMarco at her Birthday party!

Photo from ChanceTv

I hope everyone has a great day!!

Cute Brownie Packaging!

2011-12-28T13:35:00.013-05:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to show off some packaging designs I made for a Thank You gift! I got a Brownie Maker as one of my Christmas gifts so I decided to put it to good use yesterday by making some brownies.

I had some regular party bags and decided to add some flair with my artistic skills!

Cute right?? Here are some detailed shots of the gift:

Front of the tag :D

Back of the tag

I hope that Linda likes her gift! The brownie maker works really well! It takes a little longer than my Babycakes Cupcake Maker but cranks out really amazing results. Plus you now have crust on every brownie, which to me, is one of the best parts, MMMMM!!

If you like the gift bag and interested in your own CUSTOM party bags to fill with your very own baked goodies be sure to get in contact with me by filling out a Contact form at http://www.violet-ink.com/contact

Tom and Nicole - Portrait

2011-12-26T12:04:00.006-05:00

Hope everyone had a great Holiday! I'm going to start posting some of the great gifts I created for friends and clients now since I'm sure they've been unwrapped and gifted by now :D

First is a portrait I made of a happy couple by the names of Nicole and Tom!! I used a lot of different photo references and here is just one:

Aww aren't they cute together?! Here is my drawing below:

I added their name below for additional personalization! The light blue background really brings out the blue in her eyes so naturally a darker blue outline worked great with the white lettering. The picture was one of my more challenging ones, mostly because of the height difference and curly hair isn't always easy.

The client was super happy and I hope they are just as happy with their gift! Stayed tuned for more updates guys! And don't forget if you are interested in your own illustrated portrait feel free to hit up the Contact section of my page at violet-ink.com/contact !

Corey Eps - Drawing Contest Entry!!

2011-12-22T23:23:00.009-05:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to make a quick post about a hand drawing I did for a Facebook contest! Anther drawing contest that involves Tracy DiMarco of course; except this time all you had to do was draw her boyfriend, Corey Eps!

It is a hand drawing contest and there are some REALLY great entries in it. Contestants really took their time to create some true masterpieces with all sorts of mediums! Here's my entry:

I created it with Sharpie markers, the colored markers were Prismacolor and then just some regular ole Crayola crayons :)

It turned out really cute and although I doubt I will win, but you can definitely tell I brought a bit of my own style to the competition. If you want to check out all the entries check out Corey Ep's Facebook community in the "Drawing Contest" folder.

If you haven't heard of Tracy's prince charming or how they plan to live "Jersey Ever After" they now have their own website at http://www.05-15-11.com. AND be sure to look out for him on the NEW Season of Jerseylicious :)

Jersey Shore Chirstmas Gift Tags!!

2011-12-20T13:35:00.008-05:00

Hello and hope everyone is having a good and safe Holiday this season! The posts have been few and far inbetween. I have been just so busy working on stuff for client's and friends as gifts! Some of the stuff I am just going to wait until after Christmas to post just because they ARE gifts :) don't want to ruin any surprises.

But I did finish something I want to share with everyone. My friend Ashley asked me if I could create for her Jersey Shore Gift Tags for all her Christmas presents. Of course I said yes!

Here are some samples of the tags I came up with:

First I sat down and thought of a list of phrases to put on the tags. Then I used the power of Google Images to search for "Large" size photos of cast members and Christmas themed items. I also downloaded tons of Photoshop brushes from Best Design Options. They have a post that specifically lists over 500+ Christmas Brushes all for free! Wow!

I have one for each cast member. You can download them all on two separate pages:

Page one can be found at http://www.violet-ink.com/Printables/VioletInkJerseyShoreTags1.pdf

Page two can be found at http://www.violet-ink.com/Printables/VioletInkJerseyShoreTags2.pdf

They're completely free to download. I do not claim ownership of the Jersey Shore show or any of it's characters etc etc. Hope everyone has a great Holiday!

Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire 2011

2011-10-25T12:42:00.013-04:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to blog about my visit to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. I went on October 1st with all my friends.

Everyone dresses in medieval costumes and you even get a discount if you dress up so I dressed up as BATMAN. Technically . . .I was actually supposed to be dressed as a girl can possibly do of Hank Venture as Batman AKA "The Bat." Because, Hank, like myself, loves Batman and if there is any reason to don a costume or fancy outfit he goes straight for the Batsuit.

Complete with umbrella (since it was raining :\)

My friend Kara dressed as a Death Eater from Harry Potter. Everyone was afraid of her costume.

We had a whole lot of fun. At first it was really weird because people like, GOOD DAY and YOU MAKE THE LORD NERVOUS! But then after awhile you just immersed in and used to it and are all like GOD SAVE THE QUEEN! The food there was wonderful and bountiful.

It rained all day though. We still got to see Human Chess and the Joust and a lot of little skits under the comfort of some large tarps. We even got to Paolo Garbanzo the juggler, who is awesome.

There was also lots of cool weapons there including the sword of time and the Hylian shield (pictured below)! There was an awesome pirate lady (pictured above) who told me about weapon for women's at how they aren't allowed any so they usually sharpened up their sewing scissors to stab people with. YAYY!

Everyone was totally cool with me being THE BAT. A knight even came up to me and was like, "Ahh, from one Dark Knight to Another!" There was also a Power Ranger there so I was in good company I suppose. Only one lady was really mad that I was dressed at Batman and gabbed to her and her friends that it wasn't "comi-con." But oh well, screw her. Overall it was a great time and I would definitely go back again :D

Jackie's Baby Shower Invites

2011-10-17T13:39:00.008-04:00

Hey everyone!! Just wanted to post one of the lastest pieces of client's print creation!!

I was offered the opportunity to make Jackie from Jerseylicious' baby shower invites. Jackie is expecting a baby girl!! She wanted the invites to be very pink and sparkly featuring a cartoon of her and her baby bump :)

Here is the cartoon I created by itself:

For the background she wanted something swirly and matching the color scheme. I then put both the ideas together and left her plenty of space to write all the information about the shower in. Here is the final product:

Wow!! It came out so cute!! And she even posted it on her Facebook page!!

Well that is it for today everyone!! I hope everyone has a great week!

Jersey Ever After - Portrait - Tracy and Corey!!

2011-10-12T12:46:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone!! Sorry the posts have been few and far in between. Things have been really busy for me at the design firm I work for!! I have been doing a lot of graphic design projects there!!

I have also been sketching like crazy but I did a really recent illustrated portrait for one of my favorite people; Tracy DiMarco!! Her and her boyfriend approached me looking for a cartoon to represent their new brand, Jersey Ever After!! They have a new fanpage filled with gossip, info and advice from the happy couple themselves!! You can check it out by clicking http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jersey-Ever-After/164045190343560

I worked mostly from this photograph:

I thought it was really cute and this is what I came up with:

It came out really cute!! Complete with their make-believe leopard castle!! Tracy loved it and even Briella did as well!! Here are some close ups so you can see the fine details on their facial features and the cute logo with the leopard castle:

Now is the perfect time to place an order for the Holiday season!! I just got two orders in for illustrated portraits the other day!! They make a perfect gift as a framed print! Violet Ink creates cute and one of a kind illustrations of anyone in your family!! Just head over to the contact section of our website violet-ink.com!!

Alisha's Anniversary Portrait!!

2011-08-31T13:18:00.009-04:00

Hey everyone! I have been doing a lot of work redoing my branding and overhauling my website but I figured I would update the blog for August with a portrait I completed for a client!!

Another happy couple were ready to celebrate their Anniversary and what better gift than a cute, cartoon portrait by Violet Ink Design?? I normally post a photo with the drawing but I used a lot of different reference photos to make it unique!! Alisha pick and chose articles of clothing and even accessories to feature in the portrait!!

The details are excellent as usual. I made sure to illustrate Alisha's jewelry to the t.

The background is really elegant and she also wanted to add a personalized quote to the piece to make it even more unique. I went above and beyound and she was very pleased with the finished product. I hope they have a wonderful anniversary and a wonderful future together!!

To consult me about your own personalized digital portrait feel free to hit up the contact section of my website, violet-ink.com OR just send me an e-mail at violetinkdesign@gmail.com.

CMYK+Jakprints "Stick-It" Sticker Contest

2011-08-18T12:12:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone! I recently entered a contest from CMYK Magazine!! They partnered with JAKPRINTS for a completely free sticker contest open to all designers!

Winners will get published in CMYK Magazine and on Jakprints.com! Here is the illustration I entered:

You can also enter as many times as you would like. The deadline when I entered was last Monday but they seemed to have re-activated the contest and extended the deadline until September 5th.

Wish me luck everyone! Since they extended the deadline I think I'll create another design for the second run :)

Cakalicious Custom Cakes Logo!

2011-08-09T12:17:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone I got to create a really fun logo this year for a custom cake making business called Cakalicious!! What a dream come true!! I love cupcakes and I love graphic design so this was a perfect fit for me.

Cakalicious is run by Heather and located in California. The cakes she create are very beautiful here are some of my favorites I found:

Barbie of course!!

An excellent Baby Shower cake!! So unique!

A hot pink cake fit for a queen completely surrounded by cupcakes!

For more information about her business check out her official website at http://www.cakalicious.com/or just "like" her Facebook fanpage at http://www.facebook.com/cakalicious.customcakesbyheather!! And don't forget to contact me, Laura at VioletInkDesign@Gmail.com for all your Graphic Design and Illustration needs.

TEAM OJ - Olivia and Jackie from Jerseylicious Portrait

2011-07-30T12:08:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone! I wanted to share the most recent project I delivered to a client just yesterday. It's another digital portrait for cast members of Jerseylicious! Jacquelina aka Jackie from Jerseylicious, who I've created pictures for in the past requested a cute little cartoon of herself and her roommate Olivia!

Here is the photo she sent me of her and her best friend in stylish jackets that had Italian pride written all over them:

And this is the picture I created:

It came out really cute and she loved it!! She is such a patient and kind person and her support of my artwork is always appreciate!! She really helps spread the word on her Twitter and her Facebook! Like and follow both by clicking the links!

Don't forget to catch both Olivia and Jackie or TEAM OJ as they like to be called on Jerseylicious! Sundays on the Style Network!

Alexa "A2" from "Glam Fairy" and "Jerseylicious" Portrait!

2011-07-09T12:50:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone! Things have been really busy at Violet Ink Design lately! Cranking out lots of projects and working no redo-ing the entire website! It is really exhausting, especially juggling freelance projects for the firm I work at as well, whew!

A2 and Briella! photograph via Twitter

I wanted to feature a portrait a created for Alexa Hand aka "A2" from the Style Network's show "Glam Fairy" as well as "Jerseylicious. The nickname A2 came from, the head fairy and owner, also named Alexa deciding there could only be ONE Alexa (hence the 2). A2 has her very own unique style loves make-up AND fashion! She wanted me to re-create this photograph:

Here is what I created for her:

I really focused on the details, the chain links, individual beads for bracelets and of course that crazy pattern on her leggings :P She was really pleased with how it came out and uploaded it both on her Facebook page and Twitter!!

Remember to catch Alexa "A2" on Jerseylicious OR Glam Fairy, both air on the Style Network!!

Calling all Artists!! NEW Tracy Contest!!

2011-06-17T12:41:00.010-04:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let all my fellow artist know about the newest competition going on Tracy DiMarco's Fanpage wall... a drawing competition!!

All you have to do is pick a photograph of Tracy from on the albums, get out your markers, paints, crayons, colored pencils, whatever and re-create it!! Post your masterpiece on the fanpage and tell your friends, family, fans, everyone to hit that "like" button to vote for your drawing!!

Of course I entered:

Digital entries are not being accepted for this contest, so I drew it out in pencil and colored one of two ways I knew how, with watercolor paints! Please vote for my entry by clicking "like" at : http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=224149877603510&set=a.223887467629751.64175.113948348623664&type=1&theater

50% of the contest is the amount of votes and the other 50% is determined by Tracy herself!! The contest ends on July 4th so hurry and get drawing!!

Summer Team Tracy T-shirts!

2011-05-31T12:39:00.011-04:00

A new design has been added to the Team Tracy Gear shop on Spreadshirt!!

I created an outline of Tracy DiMarco with text to the left that reads, "Team Tracy." The design was born from an amazing photograph of Tracy herself and some inspiration from 80's Barbie illustrations!

The design comes in a pink for Women's, a white for Men's and a standard sized Pink Tye Dye T-shirt!!

To pick up your own screen printed Team Tracy T-shirt like these visit the Spreadshirt shop at TeamTracyGear.Spreadshirt.com :) Official Team Tracy Gear!!

Brittany Connors from "ClubZone.FM" Portrait

2011-05-27T12:30:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post another portrait I created!

Brittany Conors is a make-up artist and also ClubZone.FM's entertainment personality! She has close connections to a lot of celebrities including the cast of Jerseylicious!! I was super psyched of course when she approached me to create a cartoon for her!!

Here is the photo she provided:

And here is the illustration I created from it:

Isn't it adorable?? It came out great and she loves it as well!! She is such a nice person and a huge supporter of my work with her tweets, Facebook posts, and even gave me a shout out on air!! Wow!!

Don't forget to listen to ClubZone.FM and follow Brittany on Twitter @brittyygracee!! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Teray and Brett Wedding Portrait!!

2011-05-16T15:55:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone just wanted to update the blog with another illustration I created this year!! I got in contact with a really great client named Teray!! She was engaged and wanted a portrait created from one of her engagement photos for her wedding!

There were a ton of photos to choose from! I wanted to incorporate her wedding colors as well, so I made sure to ask for those. Here is what I came up with:

She was really happy with how it turned out and so was I!!

They are both now happily married, congratulations to them!! And I wish them much luck in their future!!

Jerseylicious Season 3!! Get ready for more Tracy!

2011-05-15T14:57:00.015-04:00

Hey everyone do not forget about Jerseylicious tonight!! It is finally back for Season 3. I am so proud of Tracy and the show!! It is currently Style Network's highest rated program and with all the press it got including huge billboards in Timesquare I am hoping it will return for a 4th season :)

But anyway! In celebration of the new Season tonight I wanted to post a bunch of Tracy cartoons that I didn't add to my blog yet. You can view any of them on her Facebook page and even some on her fan page!! She is such a huge supporter of my artwork and honestly one of the kindest and genuine celebrities I have ever had the pleasure in my life to meet!

So here goes! Starting with one that was really popular and probably one of my favorites.

I love the color of the dress in the photo, it is such a subdued green. I decided to match that green with other earth colors for the final cartoon below:

Next is some classic jersey style: ANIMAL PRINT!! Zebra to be exact, my favorite animal print!

And I didn't just create a portrait of Tracy from the photo, I thought of the box so to speak and created a DOLL of Tracy from the photo!!

Complete with a mini hairspray to keep her hair in check and a comb to style it anyway you would like!! Wouldn't it be awesome to see a Jerseylicious doll next to Barbie on the shelf??? I would buy one!!

And lastly is the latest one I created just in time for summer!!

I really loved the bag in the photograph, hot pink is my *second* favorite color and the outfit is adorable. I added some cute tropical flowers to the background and used lots of similar summery colors in the cartoon:

I love Tracy's style and she is one of my biggest role models! She is not intimidated by anyone, never afraid to speak her mind, a true entrepreneur and has an amazing sense of style! Most of the jewelry she sports on the show she even purchases from independent artists and crafters!!

I created these all from photographs with Tracy's permission of course! She loves them and you can get your own just by hitting up the contact page of my website at Violet-ink.com :)

ModCloth "Cute as a Button" Contest!!

2011-05-06T07:02:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone! I am currently entered in a Facebook contest hosted by ModCloth that my awesome friend Emily told me about!! The premise of the contest is to design a button that is well, as cute as a button :) and get the most votes!! The top five designs get judged and a winner is chosen!

I have been spreading the word the best I can, everyday to EVERYONE so I can win! Here is my entry:

I think my design has a fighting chance, my cute little monsters are actually one of the top things that brings people to my blog!! So why not put them on a button!!

I am by no means good at any popularity contest so I am asking for everyone I knows help!

To vote you just need to log-on to Facebook and click vote on my entry here: http://bit.ly/j6EAu4 and spread the word I need like...60 more votes atleast!!

Voting ends May 10th! Thanks everyone and wish me luck!

Chris Chaput Portrait!!

2011-05-03T13:47:00.006-04:00

A client had approached me to create a digital portrait as a birthday to their sibling Chris! I was really excited about this project! Not too often do I get to work on a MALE portrait, unless of course it is the portrait of a couple together!

She gave me lots of really great reference photos and also wanted to incorporate his logo into the piece as well. We agreed our favorite was probably this one:

It showed his love for skateboarding and his brand!!

Here is what I came up with:

Probably the most challenging part of this piece was the details of the wheels! Each wheel had it's own different design on it and I wanted to be as close as possible to the real deal!

I think it turned out really great! The client was pleased with it and it was shipped off in time to be framed and wrapped up as a one-of-a-kind gift :)

To get your own custom digital portrait done by me, Laura Pennington, feel free to hit up the contact section of my website at: violet-ink.com/contact

Homemade Easter Gift :)

2011-04-26T12:37:00.011-04:00

Hey everyone!! I got to celebrate Easter weekend with my awesome friend Kara. Queen is practically her religion and she loves Freddie Mercury so I set out to create a Freddie Mercury Easter Bunny :)

First I drew out the pattern and bought a few different colors of felt and a pair of wiggle eyes. I already had a sewing machine and heaps of needles and thread laying around. But, I am not the best at sewing unfortunately so I tried my best!

Between working on a sewing machine, using lots of tacky glue and some poor hand stitching skills my creation was complete!

I put it in a basket filled with homemade sugar cookies, a Ring Pop, a Snickers Egg and a Hershey's Marshmallow bunny and lots of pink Easter grass and gave it as a gift to Kara!!

With more practice I am sure I could create something a lot more polished, but I was really proud with how my first stuffed animal came out!!

Hope everyone had a great Easter :D

Another Portrait for Jacquelina!

2011-04-16T19:14:00.006-04:00

About a month ago I got a chance to create another portrait of Jacquelina from Jerseylicious. She requested I do a different portrait of her and her husband!! Different from her wedding picture, she just wanted a simple portrait of them together.

Here is the photo she gave me to work with:

The biggest challenge of this portrait was making sure that tattoo on his arm was a PERFECT match to the photo. I drew inspiration for the background from the colors in the tattoo as well. Talk about fine detail!!

Here is how the finished product turned out:

She was really happy with it, and so was I!! She is such a fun person to work with and I hope to do more business with her again sometime!!

Don't forget to look out for Jacquelina in the new season of Jerseylicious Sundays starting on May 15th!!

Team Tracy T-shirts on Spreadshirt!!

2011-04-09T12:08:00.013-04:00

Hey everyone! They have finally arrived!! Tracy had been talking about creating a shirt for her fans to wear with her famous quote, "The higher your hair, the closer you are to heaven!" so I set out to make that a reality!!

With her permission I re-designed a sample she had provided online. I made the silhouette an actual silhouette of Tracy and jazzed up the quote a little. I wanted it to be able to be printed on light and dark shirts so I created one print with white text, and one with black text.

It took awhile to find the right place to get the shirts printed at. I wanted it to be some place that I would not have to worry about printing them on my own. After searching the internet and starting up a few screen printing "shops" online, I found Spreadshirt to be the right fit.

I ordered two for myself as samples to see how they would come out. The pink and black prints a LITTLE darker than I imagined, but it has grown on me, I think it still looks great!

It comes in a men's size, juniors size, and women's size in both pink and black, and white for the guys.

Keep in mind I am not printing these from my own home, Spreadshirt is, and pricing is pretty much controlled by Spreadshirt as well as customer service!! If you are interested in getting your hands on your own, check out the T-shirt shop at:
teamtracygear.spreadshirt.com!

Hair by Lydia Portrait!

2011-03-30T13:29:00.008-04:00

Hey everyone! I am re-doing my print portfolio for an open house next week. I realized I neglected to blog about a few pieces here and there. Most of them are already in my web portfolio anyway!

One of my favorite pieces I did was an illustration for a girl I had met at the Jerseylicious Season 2 Kick Off Party. She is also a very talented hairstyle in the state of Virginia and her name is Lydia!

She wanted it to match her business card she uses for clients. Very elegant! And pink! One of my favorite colors!!

Here is what I came up with:

I made this picture at the end of 2010 but you can still see it on Lydia's Facebook fanpage!! Yay! To see see some of Lydia's work you can "like" her on Facebook by clicking here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Hair-By-Lydia/103351326381728

EveryoneLovesRobots - Spring Youtube Layout

2011-03-16T16:38:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to post about a big change to the EveryoneLovesRobot, the solo music project of James Long.

His youtube layout I recently created was due for an overhaul. Who better to redo it than Violet Ink Design? The new scheme is hues of blue and a nice white in the mix for contrast.

This was the before if you do not remember...

and now the after!

Perfect for spring! Just some simple color changes to freshen things up a bit! See if for yourself by clicking on http://www.youtube.com/user/EveryoneLovesRobots

The channel has risen to 118 subscribers. So while you're there, if you haven't subscribed do it today!!

Jacquelina from Jerseylicious Wedding Portrait!

2011-02-25T11:44:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to feature one of the most recent pictures I did. I was approached by another Jerseylicious cast member to create a digital portrait. Her name is Jacquelina!

When Season 2 wrapped up she was working at Anthony's Salon! You have probably spotted her frequently in the last few episodes, especially at New Jersey Fashion Week with Anthony and Olivia.

She asked me to draw her a wedding portrait. This would be the second one in the history of my illustration career. Jacquelina and her husband together make such a happy couple. The photos they sent me were stunning. I knew right away I wanted to recreate this one:

She also showed me a lot of reference photos everything from the ring to the bouquet and even the veil. I really pride myself on capturing the fine details that bring out the personalities of individuals and what makes them unique. Cartoony and cute but still remaining really accurate in fine details.

I added an olive background and some elegant swirls and here is the finished product:

She was really pleased with it and I even added it to my portfolio on Violet-Ink.com. It is now one of my favorite pieces!! I was also requested to work on a SECOND illustration for her that I am currently working on right now!!

I hope everyone has a good day!

Lady Gaga Printable Valentines

2011-02-11T12:34:00.008-05:00

Hey everyone! I have been pretty much dead in the water in regards to keeping up with my online presence. I was really sick and had brontosaurus or bronchitis however you spell that! But I have returned, triumphantly with a lovely gift for you all!

Valentine's is coming up! You pick up a box of Valentine's at Wal-mart for 5.00 dollars or so or just print them from your computer (or your library's computer, or your mom's computer, etc) for free! My gift to you is a set of 8 printable Valentine's...

LADY GAGA THEMED!!

She just released a sneak peak of her newest song, Born this Way this week. If you haven't heard it yet, check it out below. And if you don't know me, I am a fan of the Lady Gaga. And this wasn't the first time drawing her either. So what more perfect way to celebrate the song and Valentine's day by combining both elements!!

Image from Starpulse

There are eight unique Valentine's in total. You can down the PDF version by clicking on this link:
http://violet-ink.com/Printables/GagaValentines_final.pdf

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Click play to listen to the song if you haven't heard it yet, enjoy, print the valentines and have a great Valentine's day!

Blueberry Cupcakes

2011-01-21T14:35:00.005-05:00

We had two containers of fresh blueberries at home and after religiously pouring them into every cereal I would eat I was afraid, being that it was fresh fruit they would go bad in a couple of days :( So I decided I wanted to bake something with them. Blueberry muffins were out for being soooo cliche (also the last time I DID bake something it WAS blueberry muffins).

My next idea was to make blueberry PancakePuffs. Remember PancakePuffs?? It was a cast iron pan you put on your stove that made round little pancakes. Since I have my cupcake maker, I figured if I put pancake batter in it, it ALSO would make pancake puffs.

I finally decided just to go with my instinct and make my favorite thing in the world, cupcakes! I googled "Blueberry Cupcakes" and picked the first I recipe I found which was on Squidoo.

They turned out pretty good. The batch only make about 12 even though it said it made 18 LARGE cupcakes but oh well it's not like I can eat 18 anyway.

I also added leftover Teal Wilton Food Coloring I had to the frosting and attempted to pipe it on the top.

Want to try the recipe for yourself?? The original is at Squidoo but I typed out a copy for you all here:

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup blueberries

Instructions

Sift dry ingredients together to mix well.
Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Whisk egg vigorously to incorporate air and make the eggs light.
Stir in egg, milk and vanilla and combine thoroughly.
Add to dry mixture and stir together (some lumps should remain) and add the blueberries.
Fill well greased muffin tins with batter until two thirds full.
Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until done.

As I've said before, I am no pastry chef, or baker, nor do I ever claim to be exceptionally good at it. It is just something I do to destress myself and make the people around me happy :)

"Jerseylicious" Briella Digital Portrait!

2011-01-19T17:57:00.006-05:00

Hey everyone just wanted to feature some more of my freelance work on my blog. You all know I love Jerseylicious, right?? So you can imagine how psyched I was when Briella approached me to create her a digital portrait! Of course I was immediately on board!

Photo from MyStyle

At first she suggested a photo of herself but later changed her mind and requested an animated version of her and her boyfriend. Aww, how sweet!!

Here's the photo she provided me with:

And here is what I created for her:

I think it turned out really great! She loved it and even used it on her Twitter, Fanpage and personal Facebook page for awhile. Wow! She is such a great person and truly a truly down to earth kind of girl. To learn more about the real Briella, check her out in this cool interview below:

Interview with Briella Marie of Jerseylicious from Kelly Lynn Adams on Vimeo.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

"Octopus in Love" Watercolor Painting

2011-01-11T13:17:00.013-05:00

Hey everyone just wanted to share another one of my creative gift solutions of Christmas for one of my friends.

James is a good friend of mine that I have known for probably 4 years and we met online back when Xanga was realllyyy cool.

But he likes Octopus and so we came up with the concept of "Octopus in Love." I created the cartoon octopus from simple sketches, scanned them in and printed them on some watercolor paper I had laying around my house.

From there I broke out my brushes (instead of the usual crayola crayons) and did something I dread; watercolor painting. I need the practice. I took my time and picked orange and brown colors I knew he and I both favor. For the background I just did a blue and green wash of paint.

I put it in a frame and ta-dah instant masterpiece.

Have a great day everyone!!

Tamara and Owen Digital Portrait

2011-01-05T12:15:00.009-05:00

Just wanted to update everyone with an illustration I did a couple of months ago for my friend and fellow artist, Tamara.

Original Photo by Peter Nopp

She recently got married in 2010 and also had her first child; a little baby boy named Owen!! She contacted me via Facebook about doing a portrait of her with Owen and I gladly took on the project.

She provided me with two photos to work from and combining features from both, I came up with this:

Isn't it adorable?? She loved it!!

If you want a portait of yourself, friends or family illustrated by me for yourself feel free to fill out a form with the details on my website's contact page or just e-mail me at violetinkdesign@gmail.com

Have a great day everyone!!

TD Party Glasses

2011-01-05T12:01:00.009-05:00

Hey everyone just wanted to let you know about one of the latest and greatest creations in the Tracy DiMarco branding empire;

TD PARTY GLASSES!

They're super hip glasses created by Tracy herself covered in sparkling embellishments. Rhinestones, jewels, glimmering hearts and stars or even your own name or initials! They truly make a statement.

I love them so much I created Tracy an illustration featuring a digitally rendered pair from one of the product photos I saw. She even used it on her fapage for a bit. Wow!

You can order one of her pre-designed ones or pick a customization of your own. Be the first of your friends to own one of these trendy accessories by contacting Tracy DiMarco's Assistant Ashley (http://www.facebook.com/TracyDAsstAshley). Make a statement when you're out partying or just laying out at the beach.

a Life of Bunny CONTEST!

2011-01-04T14:09:00.010-05:00

Hey everyone! I just wanted to make an entry to help promote the contest from one of my blog followers, Bunny!

She posts great reviews on products, makeup, photos, has an awesome sense of humor and I love reading her blog. To celebrate her 200th post she's throwing this contest with TWO SETS of unique prizes!

Each prize pack is chock full with adorable bunny themed products. It's easy to enter!! Just click the link here : http://unchainedbunny.blogspot.com/2011/01/omg-200th-post-give-away-beauty-or.html!! Hurry though, contest ends this January on the 24th!! And don't forget to follow her blog!

Good luck everyone :D

Holiday Baking Boxes!!

2010-12-26T22:17:00.022-05:00

Hey everyone I know I have not been posting a lot but the holidays have been so freaking busy.

I was working on a lot of little holiday projects here and there. For the entire staff at my work I wanted to make them cute little character boxes filled with a baked good!! I first hit my sketch book and worked out some sketches and ideas for things that involved Christmas and just the chilly Holiday season!!

I narrowed it down to three characters, a penguin with a bow tie, an angel and an elf. I rendered them digitally in illustrator to sit on top of a cupcake. They came out super!

Next I had to figure out how to make the right type and size box.

Yikes! This took an exceedingly long time!! I was never really great at working with paper, origami or any of that jazz. My folding skills just aren't there. So I went through a lot of different templates and dummys until I found THE one!!

It was a candy box! But I figured I could use the lid of the box as a tray to hold what I was planning on baking. This template is great because there is very little scoring and cutting that you have to do compared to OTHER templates.

I then measured and figured out that I could include 4 on each page. I printed them on 65 lb packs of card stock I purchased at Michael's Arts and Crafts for $2.50 in Christmas colors.

Next was the boring part cutting out all the templates. Luckily I still had the Always Sunny in Philadelphia Christmas episode on DVR and enjoyed watching it with my dad while cutting out all the templates.

The rest of the scoring, folding and gluing was also done in front of the tv. I used tacky glue just because I had a teeny tiny bottle of it I needed to get rid of. My tower of boxes slowly increased.

I was in the home stretch, time to measure the finished pieces and print out my little characters. I could fit six characters on each page on the white card stock that came in the Holiday stack.That was super easy and I reused the Tacky Glue to glue the characters to the front of the boxes.

I deicded to bake everyone muffins. It took me about an hour to make them all, but I was cranking them out like a machine thanks to my cupcake maker. Each batch took about eight minutes and while I was waiting for the next batch to bake, I was busy whipping up another batch. As I waited for that batch to bake, I wrapped the cooled muffins in treat bags I also purchased at Michaels.

Here was the finished the product, sitting on the break room table! They were a complete hit!! I was so glad that everyone enjoyed them (and no one got food poisoning either, go me!!). Merry Christmas everyone!!

New Jersey Trip Take Two

2010-12-12T22:18:00.008-05:00

Hey everyone just wanted to make a little post about my trip to New Jersey on the 8th with my brother.

Have you ever heard of Man vs Food? If you haven't you're missing out on something amazing. It is a television series on the Travel Channel with the concept of a guy named Adam who goes around doing food battles from restaurants all over America. The American dream.

Early December or around late November my brother did one of the challenges at Chick and Ruth's Deli. I missed out on the trip since it was just him and his friends with huge appetites, hoping they would prevail like Rocky. Unfortunately it was a day in which food won instead.

BUT the last time I was in New Jersey my brother suggested I check out RU HUNGRY (a restaurant featured on the show), the grease trucks across from Rutger's for one of their tasty sandwiches. The menu consists of sandwiches packed with steak, mozzarella sticks, french fries, chicken tenders, everything bad for you thrown into a sub roll.

I got the Fat Darrel, french fries, marinara sauce, chicken tenders and mozzarella sticks on a roll for 7.50 with a grape soda. It was delicious. But obviously not something to be consumed on a daily basis.

From there we headed to the Bridgewater Mall hoping to find the store, "Pop Culture," which I used Google to find the address from. But they apparently moved out of that mall, so it was a lost cause.

Although the staff was nice enough to answer my Facebook post questioning their location from my mobile phone super quickly and to text me the address we had to skip it. It would have been 15 minutes from our original destination (very convenient) the new address just confused us. I'll save it for another day I suppose.

All in all, another successful and productive trip to New Jersey.

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Holiday Gift Tags!

2010-12-06T13:23:00.016-05:00

Hey everyone I have been so busy illustrating and shopping and crafting, etc I still had time for a project I had wanted to do both this year and last, create my own Holiday gift tags!! I could easily pick some up at the dollar stores (last year I bought Disney Princess ones) but then again I am an artist and create my own for free.

I wanted to make Holiday and Winter cupcakes. Cupcakes are of course, one my most favorite things on the planet, so why not??? I did a couple of sketches on a napkin at work:

Hey, I didn't say they would be pretty, they are just sketches :P My sketches are always super rough...

And I came up with this sheet of simple vector illustrations:

I just cut them out with a regular pair of scissors leaving a little bit of a white border around them so they can still POP against the colorful wrapping paper I was using.

Here are some photos of what they look like on my gifts:

This is on a gift for my brother, he loves the penguin one!!

And as a treat, I want to share them with you all!! Feel free to download and print the PDF by clicking here: http://violet-ink.com/VioletInkChristmasTag.pdf

Enjoy!!

Hardee's 50th Anniversary

2010-12-01T14:46:00.004-05:00

Quite a while back, in September Hardee's the fast food burger restaurant celebrated it's 50th Anniversary!! Fans of the resturant had an opportunity to create digital 50th Birthday cards!
I whipped one up on the fly and added to their collection!!

I received 5 Hardee's coupons for it and the seal of the Approval from Happy Star himself.

Click here to check it out on Hardee's Fanpage!

Art for Me!

2010-11-30T13:06:00.007-05:00

I always showcase my art everywhere, blogger, facebook, etc but I wanted to showcase some art made for me :)

My friend Rosie made this for me around November I believe!! It's me as a zombie. I got a lot of compliments on this picture. Brainssss!!!!

This one is a little hard to see and I apologize for that but it's a gift I got for my birthday in November!! It's too large to scan since it's already framed. But it's a picture of Hello Kitty in a Kimono on rice paper. I love it!!

This is something my friend Ryan created for me!! It is beyound unique and I'm using it as my Facebook default now!! The hair is amazing I could never recreate it!!

And last but certainly not least, a Hello Kitty Christmas made by my friend Tamara :) Mmmm a tree full of cupakes with cupcake gifts at the bottom?? I'm in Heaven!! She made this as an art trade with me although I'm not entirely finished with her piece just yet >.>

I love getting gifts, but more importantly hand made gifts!! That is why I love these pieces the most!!

Sweet Holiday Cards for Sale!!

2010-11-27T15:11:00.007-05:00

Hey everyone!! I listed a new item in my Etsy shop. Last year I made some Christmas cards to sell at a craftshow. Unfortunately the night before the craft show I got into a bad car accident and was not able to make it :( 1 year later, I still have 2 packs of the Christmas cards left.

I missed the art show once more thanks to my hectic Holiday schedule, working black friday, thanksgiving, saturday, sunday, nearly everyday!!! So I decided to add them to my Etsy shop instead :D

To order a set be sure to check out the listing at:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/63025234/sweet-holiday-cards

I also decided to discontinue a couple of other items in my shop because they were not selling well :( and it was costing to much to relist them. Christmas is approaching fast, it's almost December already!!

To see my entire selection of handmade goods, be sure to go to the shop front at: http://violetink.etsy.com

For the rest of the day today I'll be making some gift tags for the presents I wrapped.

Squishy T-shirt Design

2010-11-24T14:04:00.003-05:00

I flip flopped a lot of pieces in my portfolio and added some new ones. I wanted to make some posts about them in my blog. One of the earlier pieces I added was a t-shirt design for the EveryoneLovesRobots. A merchandise design!!

James already provided me with a solid concept, all I had to do was illustrate it for him.

If you are interested in purchasing one for yourself on a t-shirt or more (to support his music project), be sure to check out EveryoneLovesRobot's store:

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/everyonelovesrobots/gifts?cg=196992192342483122

Hope everyone has a good day :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-11-20T17:45:00.007-05:00

Hey everyone! Thursday was my birthday I just wanted to briefly share some things of what I had been up to :)

First of all, the day before my birthday my parent's ended up giving me my present early since I was going shopping ON my birthday, just in case I wouldn't buy what they got me... and what they got me was a cupcake maker!

I tweeted about one when I had initially saw it. The thought of making cupcakes in about 5 minutes is a great idea. I suck at baking so much. I never know how much mix to put in the little muffin tins, or how long to leave them in. I don't have the patience to wait 20 minutes, and usually burn myself getting them out of the oven. This machine is a godsend.

I did make one batch of cupcakes in it so far. It makes eight little mini cupcakes. I made a recipe for exactly eight, and spooned about 2 and a half tablespoons of mix into each cavity. You check to see if they are ready with a toothpick, just like the real oven, and ta-dah!

It makes more than just cupcakes though. It has instructions for brownie bites, muffins, appetizers, etc. I could make pancake puffs! Oh and mini pies :D

On my ACTUAL birthday, I did go shopping. Here are the things I bought:

Timberland Boots with some financial help from my brother...

some cute argyle sweaters from Target. Argyle is one of my most all time favorite things :)

Amy Sedaris' craftbook at Books a Million! I had her cooking / entertaining / whatever book this is the second one of hers. She's a very funny lady :) maybe more about this book in another post...

and these plaid slippers from Aeropastale (not photographed because well, they're on my feet)!! Super comfy.

We also ate at CiCi's pizza which is super yummy :) especially the mac and cheese pizza!

I got little things here and there from my friends here at home too. Not to mention the nice birthday tweets, and facebook wall posts :) what a great birthday!!

Happy (belated) Halloween!!

2010-11-18T20:37:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone, just updating the blog :D

Halloween is gone and past and I just wanted to post of the stuff I got into!! I carved two pumpkins:

A cuppycake :D

And a ring pop!!

They weren't difficult to carve, I just purchased some artificial pumpkins and cut a hole at the top to drop a electric tea light into. I created the designs in Illustrator (black and white) and printed them out. I then taped the designs to the pumpkins with scotch tape and cut out all the black sections.

And now for the costumes, my friend Kara was Lady Kruger

And I dressed as Hit Girl from the movie KickAss

It was a blast!! More updates coming soon :)

Karen's Wedding Portrait

2010-10-29T12:43:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone! Things have been really busy right now. I am only getting a chance to eat my first meal of the day (mac and cheese) and update my blog :)

The latest portrait I got to do was for Karen! She wanted a cute cartoon version of some of her wedding photos. Here is what I created for her:

Is it not adorable?? It was the first wedding portrait I have ever gotten to do and I think it came out fantastically! She really enjoyed it and I cannot wait until she receives the printed copy in her mailbox!! Remember if you are interested in purchasing your own digital portrait drawn by me, Laura, head over to my etsy shop, and click on this listing:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60011013/full-color-vector-portrait-from-your

I am also busy working on updating my site. The shop page is really coming together. It longer directly takes you to my etsy shop. I added this graphic as an example of the portaits that I do:

This weekend is also Halloween! Me and my friends from college are getting together hopefully :) cannot wait. Will keep the updates coming!! Have a good day everyone!

Lauren's Second Portait!

2010-10-15T14:17:00.005-04:00

I am still really sick :( but I am going to go to work today! Just sitting in my desk chair, eating a bowl of macaroni and cheese and catching up on my freelance stuff since I was in bed for the past two days; not fun!!

But anyway I wanted to post a client piece I did recently for Lauren. I made a portrait for her before. This time she wanted me to go crazy with the photos she sent me! We are both huge fans of pink and Barbie so I wanted to do something really, really, REALLY pink.

Here is one of the photos I used to work from:

I was a big fan of the sunglasses and the way her hair was blowing in the wind. This is what I created:

It is a very cute and very fashionable cartoon!!

I used three different hues of the color pink, some dark and almost purple, bright pink, and a light pink. The background I did was very simple, clean and geometric. I made some cute embellishments to the sunglasses like a little heart and some pink rhinestones :)

She really liked it!! She is one of my very good customers and I love working on her projects!

Have a good day everyone!

Alichia-Rae Portrait

2010-10-13T18:49:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone I am still pretty super sick :( it is not fun at all. I thought I kicked it out of my system but unforunately that was not the case. I figured now would be a good time to post some more work I have done up to this point.

I got to work on a digital portait for a client named Alichia-Rae. Here is the photo she gave me to work from:

And here is how I rendered it:

I think it turned out great, and she was very pleased with it too! It was nice working with the green, not a color I work with too often :)

She found Violet Ink Design on Facebook. You can click the "like" button in the facebook frame on the right hand side of my page to fan me and keep up with all my projects! Or just visit http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Violet-Ink-Design/115320861822900

More client work to follow. I hope I get better soon though. I have a lottt of projects to work through. Have a good evening everyone!

Cartoon Tracy Madness!!

2010-10-09T20:07:00.010-04:00

Hey everyone, sorry for the late update on the posts. Things have been super busy and I did end up getting sick for awhile. The BeABiographer contest is really winding down and it is not looking good for Team Laura!! To place some final votes just click here at: http://www.beabiographer.com/#/gallery/13/

The important thing is though, (whether I win or lose) is that I made art for a great cause! By showing people my piece I am raising awareness to the social cause at hand; the reality of human sex trafficking. I urge you all to visit the Blind Project's website (http://www.theblindproject.com) educate yourselves and if you have some extra money, donate to their cause :)

Onto the artwork now! I have done a couple portraits since the last time that I updated. First off is a portrait request from Tracy DiMarco modeling a look from the store Pop Culture! Here is the photo I had to work from:

And here is the finished piece:

I think it turned out great! I just loved the neon green dress and matching bracelets! The important part is that Tracy really enjoyed it :) and when she's happy, I'm happy!!!

Next I did a portait for her and her boyfriend!!! :D They are definitely the cutest couple around! Here is the photo I was provided:

And my finished piece:

How adorable is that??? I even made sure their outfits matched this time!! It did take a longer time for me to do, the camo pattern was REALLY slowing down Illustrator. So much that it refused to save :( it was really annoying!! But once I switched her dress to black, everything went smoothly. I then added the pattern last. And of course I had to add a big pink heart :)

What do you guys think?? I love doing work like this!

ALSO if you are interested in showing your TEAM TRACY pride, the style network has an official store to buy JERSEYLICIOUS merchandise!!

Go to http://www.cafepress.com/Jerseylicious/7249326 and order yourself a hoodie, shirt, or even a canvas bag!!

Vote, Vote, Vote!!

2010-09-16T18:13:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone just wanted to let you know that the voting for the BeABiographer contest has started. I'm a small town girl, a real underdog, it would make my life to win this contest!! First I need enough votes to make it too the semi finals.

The competition is tough :( Artitsts from all over the world entered with their own take on survivor's stories. So I need everyone's help, you, your friends, family, pets, etc.

Just check out this link: http://www.beabiographer.com/#gallery/13/

Click the "Dig" button to help me advance in the contest!! Not only are you helping me, but you are helping raise awareness of the realities of human trafficking. It's a good cause, and all it takes is one simple click :)

ALSO you can vote for more than one person so vote for my best friend Kara's designs;
http://www.beabiographer.com/#/gallery/97/
http://www.beabiographer.com/#gallery/98/
http://www.beabiographer.com/#/gallery/96/

Voting is on until October 17th!! And there's nothing to lose! Have a great day everyone!

Sweet Ambrosia

2010-09-15T12:47:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone I just want to write an update of lots of things to come!! I am getting myself super organized. The freelance illustration book I bought has actually been a big help. On my days off I have been reading it as soon as I wake up, about 20 pages a day. I'm sorry but I am a slow reader >.>

Anyway! I got an e-mail from the girls that write the Sweet Abrosia blog. They create awesome objects for the Sims 3 (WARNING VERY ADDICTIVE GAME, trust me on this one)!! And they featured my pancake recipe in their cookbook object.

There site is very cute!! There are a lot more cute recipes featured in the book. And even some handy bookmarks with tips on creating these recipes.

I love there site! They have a killer layout and they are wonderful at what they do! There are just too many cute things to download. If you play the Sims you MUST visit this site. You'll go on a shopping spree. And if you don't play the Sims, get inspired by their work to create something great of your own!

I love their artistic style and would love to collaborate on more projects with them!! Check out their blog here:

http://sweet-ambrosia1.blogspot.com/

New Additions to my Bookshelf

2010-09-08T20:23:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone! This evening I went to Border's books in Reading and I picked up a few neat design-related books.

I was originally on the hunt for the first volume of Scott Pilgrim. I know, I know, it is bad to hop on the band wagon suddenly, but I really did enjoy the movie. I heard the movie did not make as much money as expected though, which is sad, so I urge you all to give it a chance! I think I would enjoy the comics. The bad news was though I think everyone else thought the same thing, they have every other volume BUT volume 1.

I ended up just pulling up my Amazon.com Wishlist on my HTC HD2 and went to town there. I could not find some of the books on my wishlist but my 3G phone is a LIFESAVER. Any book I picked up I could immediately search it on Amazon.com and read the reviews before shelling out the cash for it. I ended up picking up three good books. 2 of them are related to art.

I try to read a lot but with my job, plus keeping track of my business, I always stick it on the back burner. It has always been an idea in my mind though to start book reviews on my blog.

The first one I started was Breaking into Freelance Illustration by Holly DeWolf which I picked up at random and had a five star review. I'll write a full review for it when I finish reading.

Have a good night everyone!

How to Sketch a Crowd

2010-09-07T14:09:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone I just wanted to share a tutorial that helped me draw the Alice Glass Illustration. When you are drawing something, it is always good to use other things as a point of reference to make sure what you are creating is still relatively accurate. I recommend taking your own photos so you can get EXACTLY what you had in mind.

Sometimes though it's pretty impossible to take a photo. I mean, where was I going to gather an entire crowd to photograph and illustrate?

That's why I was happy to find this tutorial:

How to Sketch a Crowd -- powered by eHow.com

Getting myself re-acquainted with the proper perspective to use really dug me out of a ditch. I highly recommend you watch this video if you are dabble in drawing :) maybe you'll learn something new!

Have a good day everyone!

Tracylicious and Pop Culture!

2010-08-29T14:40:00.005-04:00

Hey Tracy DiMarco fans, just wanted to let you guys know, Tracy's website is ALMOST finished. If you haven't checked it out by now, the URL is: tracylicious.com! It's leopard, pink, and fabulous just like she is! There are lots of things for fans to do too, like keep up with her events, submit your Tracy Look-a-like photos, fanmail, and more!

The other thing I wanted to mention was this past Friday was the POP CULTURE Fashion Show, hosted by Tracy. Pop Culture is a great store for unique dresses and accessories. There is one in New Jersey but they ARE expanding. If you are out of their area they have a phone number you can dial to order a look from, and even a Facebook page to keep track of new items.

Unfortunately I DID miss the show since it was starting from about 9pm and in New Jersey, which is a million miles away from me :( But my awesome friend Terri did go!! Terri's dress is also from POP CULTURE!! She brought her TEAM TRACY pin, and Tracy took a picture of her with it on.

Remember to purchase your own TEAM TRACY pin, go to my shop at http://www.etsy.com/listing/51981124/team-tracy-pin.

And everyone, don't forget, Season 5 of Jerseylicious starts THIS September 5th :D A lot of things are coming soon from my blog and my website, including a new Tracy portrait :) Have a great week you guys!

Summer Hard Tour

2010-08-26T14:05:00.007-04:00

Hello everyone! Last week I got a chance to go see the Summer Hard Tour in Philadelphia at my most favorite venue, the Electric Factory. I went for the headliner, Crystal Castles, an awesome Canadian band I'm sure I've mentioned once before.

I met some great people standing in line. A group of people about like 20 minutes from where I live ironically. One was a photographer whose name was Ian Stoner. He showed me some of his stunning photographs via his iPhone and I was blown away. I added just one of my favorites to my post here (below). Check him out guys, he has a Facebook page!

via ianstonerphotography

When I got inside the other artists preforming there were some random DJs and it was a very rave-like atmosphere with lots of glow sticks and hydration going on. Destructo I found to be absolutely entertaining, then there was a fellow named Synaden(?) I think who was horrid, followed by someone named Rusko who was pretty cool.

via Scobie19 on Flickr

Crystal Castles was an experience in itself. I enjoyed watching Alice Glass constantly jumping in the crowd, drizzling alcohol down the crowds faces, having her own drum solo by using the microphone as a drumstick, and rolling around the stage. Unfortunately the lighting was super poor. A lot of strobe. I couldn't get a good picture for the life of me. So I decided to draw a picture of the experience instead.

Here is the completed portrait of Alice Glass I created in Photoshop and Illustrator:

I'm actually really pleased with how it came out. I had showed it to someone who didn't even know who Alice was and they immediately recognized her as "that that chick who jumps around in skirts in that band."

I hope everyone has a great weekend :D

I've been Tagged!!

2010-08-16T19:23:00.013-04:00

One of my great friends on Blogspot, Shineyglam, tagged me in one of her posts. She won the Versitile Blog award. Congratulations to her! The best part of the award is you can pass it on to others!

One of those was moi! When you receive the award, you must:
1. Share 7 things about yourself
2. Pass the award onto a few bloggers you have recently discovered
3. Let these blogs know you awarded the Versitle blog award :D

Since I am a very visual person I decided to turn my 7 things into an illustration.

Here is a complete look at the illustration:

Here's the breakdown of each individual square:

I have a pet kitty and his name is Samus. I named him after the early NES game Metroid's protagonist. I realize that Samus is a woman, and my cat is a boy, but I REALLY wanted to name him after a video game character I wouldn't get too upset about if they died.

Call me shallow, but I love teasing my hair. That's how it gets that notable, big shape. I'll never do my hair any other way, no matter what other's have to say because it's practically my trademark and a lot more unique than your typical straight hair. I go through so many cans of hairspray it's ridiculous.

Yep you guessed it, that's a completely accurate illustration of my red Hyundai Accent. The interior of my car is pimped out with Hello Kittty seats, steering wheel cover, floor mats, seat belts, and more!! It's a complete Hello Kitty mobile!

Cows are my numero uno most favorite animal on the planet. I find them to be very majestic. I try to avoid eating beef. But sometimes Hamburger Helper is just too hard to resist...

It's pretty easy to see that I'm obsessed with cupcakes. I mean, just look around you. But wanna know a secret?? I can't bake!! I wish I could! I get really ambitious but my artistic skills don't really flow right across the plane into tasty masterpieces. Just today I TRIED to make some cupcakes today after being inspired by the new show, Cupcake Girls, only to make about 1inch thick little cake circles.

I have about a million pairs of giant sunglasses. About an entire drawer full. I would marry whoever invented these. I don't care if they are out of style or make me look like a giant bug. They fit perfectly over my regular glasses come in so many different colors and styles, it's an addiction.

And finally, I love going to concerts. In fact this Wednesday I'm seeing Crystal Castles. I've been too sooo many, too many to list, but to just give you an idea I've seen anything from Jeffree Star, to Elton John, to Snoop Dogg. I love the energy, meeting new people, and being a couple of feet, and even sometimes INCHES from my favorite musicians.

Well that is about it for me! I want to make ShineyGlam something in return. I haven't got an idea yet though. It'll come to me eventually!!I choose to tag, KaraKreative, Maria Palito, Azie Designs, Amy Lee Designs and my new buddy Maijia. Anyone else who wants to join in on the fun, feel free.

Have a wonderful day!

New Hairbows in Shop

2010-08-06T13:55:00.004-04:00

Hello everyone! I kept my promise and this Wednesday, my day off I spent stocking up my Etsy shop :D Click on any of the photos for a complete description, price, and details on how to purchase.

Here are some new items ready for purchase from Violet Ink Design:

Ice Blue and White Striped Hairbows

Red and White Polka Dot Snap in Hairbows

Orange and Pink Striped Snap in Hairbow

Each listing is 1 set of 2 bows, and all sets are 2.50 a piece. These are from my generation one set, my original set I sold at my first art show 2 years ago! I have a few left around the house so I thought I would post them :)

I am also making some great contacts on Etsy, Facebook and Twitter while promoting my shop.

My shop carrys TEAM TRACY buttons, handmade journals and hairbows. Be sure to check the full selection at: violetink.etsy.com

Have a great day everyone!!

Staycation

2010-08-02T20:46:00.004-04:00

I apologize for my lack of posting. But I took a small staycation. My eyes were getting bothered by the computer. Between the computer and the phone just UGH had to get awayyy for awhile. So I decided to spend some time with my awesome friends instead.

I saw sparkly vest, booty shorts, ate at interesting places, swapped stories, and watched some amazing flicks. I got some bits of inspiration here and there. So I'll get back into the swing of illustrating and creating art until I pass out :) soon enough.

I will start with the first illustration I did, which is of me and my friend Kara walking to McDonalds.

These obnoxious teenagers were following us for a while and clapping, etc and it was obviously directed to us, because we are sexy beasts.

Info about the Team Tracy Pins

2010-07-23T15:22:00.005-04:00

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to write a blog about the Team Tracy pins I sell in my shop. Once again congrats to all the winner's of my give away!! If you missed out on your chance to grab your own TEAM TRACY button, they are currently on sale in my Etsy Store. Tracy is in full support of these buttons to help promote her! In fact she's posted on my Facebook and official fanpage wall, links to buy them:

The remaining stock I had immediately sold out. So I had to restock my inventory with the 30 I have left.

I also designed a cute thank you to go along with your purchase. It's a 5x7 card on glossy paper and I slip it right in the mailer with your merchandise!

Remember the new link to purchase is at:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/51981124/team-tracy-pin

Thanks everyone for the support and have a great day!!

How my Hands are Famous

2010-07-15T20:30:00.007-04:00

Today I noticed something, my hand was in the photograph of something important going on. And this isn't the first time. Throughout my life I have found my hand appearing in crowds atleast three times.

Anyone who knows me knows that I have very small, childlike hands. I am only 5ft tall so my feet are small, my hands are small, etc. I also always wear the same bracelets.

Here are the three historic events my hands were in:

1. MSI @ the Electric Factory in Philadelphia Pa
(original courtesy of FairyTaleVegas)

Often times at concerts I'm not in the FRONT row but the one behind the front. When I first saw thsi photo I immediately noticed my baby fist defiantly clenched emerging from the crowd. Complete rebel I know. The girl who seems to be rolling her eyes was very nice and took a video for me at the show. You can also see one of my friends pink hair sticking out if you look slightly down and to the right of the circle where my hand is located.

Here is me and my friend at another concert, Bamboozle to be exact.

2. MSI @the crock rock cafe in Allentown:
(original source...dunno!)

I love me some Mindless Self Indulgence! This is fact. Now in this picture the circle is not indicating the guy with the glasses, but instead my hands wearing the red fishnets. They were periodically taking pictures on the stage of the crowd and in order to let my hands to be apart of history everytime I saw the camera I threw them into the air, like I just don't care.

Here is a horrible photograph of me pre-msi show. Clearly we see the same fishnets and black t-shirt.

3. Jerseylicious Summer Kick off Party
(original source Tracy DiMarco's Facebook)

This is the last place I recall seeing my hand in a published photo. I was at the Jerseylicious Summer Kick off Party at the Gatsby Salon around like... June... or May. I usually wear all the same bracelet's everyday now, the blue and grey silicone bracelets.

Here is a photo of me and my bracelets:

And here is another photo of a close up of just my bracelets:

There's no doubt about it, that's MY hand. I was so surprised to see it there that I decided to write this blog and look back at all the memories of my hand being in photos.

Who knows where they will turn up next?

BE A BIOGRAPHER

2010-07-12T14:35:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let everyone know I joined a great cause. There is a new site called beabiographer.com It is giving artists the opportunity to create a work of art, to be sold. They are raising social awareness with help of the Blind Project about survivors and victims of the commercial sex trade in South East Asia. Three girls have three unique stories and it is your job to illustrate them.

I chose Jiali's story. She did not know her boyfriend had plans to sell her into slavery. He told her to look extra pretty the day he took her to the bar. Luckily she was informed of what was really going on and managed to escape to a safe house where she has learned what it feels like to be really loved. Here is the design I created for her story:

You have until September 15th to submit an entry. The designs will then be voted on for a winner from September 16th to October 7th. My design is up in their gallery, I'll remind you guys once it's time to vote, for now check it out @

http://www.beabiographer.com/#/gallery/13/

Just for Fun

2010-07-06T11:20:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone. Yesterday I found a fun avatar builder online. It is on the Scott Pilgrim vs the World Website. They do not give you very many options for your face, hair, clothes etc but it was still a welcome break when I was working on freelance projects yesterday.

Visit the site by clicking here, and start building!

Here is how mine turned out:

Avatar builders are so much fun. Makes me wish I knew more about flash to build my own someday. :P

Have a good day!

2011 Diary Project Wrap Up

2010-07-05T13:14:00.004-04:00

Well I hope everyone had a fun and safe independence day. I spent the day with my family. We shot fireworks off in the backyard for about 2 hours. Some of them were really cool, others were duds. It was nice to be with majority of my family having fun.

Unfortunately to hear this morning, a fireworks show near me, kind of exploded. You can watch the video on Youtube for the Palmyra Fireworks show. Apparently people were injured with shrapnel, concussion like injuries, and burned. Very sad to hear.

In other news though, I did not get to send out the giveaway prizes (pins) from last week today because the post office is closed for Holiday. So I will send those out tomorrow morning.

And finally the 2011 Diary project is coming to a close. I encouraged a lot of my friends to particapate and two of them did complete pages. Here is what they came up with:

Kara got to do a calendar page for the month of March. Very nice! You can check out more of her work at KaraKreative.com

And my friend Tamara did a page for Thursday, August 18th. So cute!! Love this! To see more of her art please visit insanitys-child.deviantart.com

And finally here is the finished page I made for April the 9th:

It was really fun getting to work on this project. Cannot wait until next years journal! Have a great day everyone!

Happy One Year to ME

2010-07-03T14:24:00.012-04:00

Hey everyone June is over, and it's onward to July! July 3rd is the Anniversary of me just starting this blog. I was fresh out of school, and to be honest, I've come a long way since then!! I have a job in my field, I made some great friends, and great contacts with fellow artists and celebrities. Wow! My Twitter account has over 100 followers now as well. All those links are in the SIDEBAR to the right!

I'd like to thank everyone for their support via my Facebook page, commenters on this blog, my Twitter followers, and of course clients I wouldn't trade in for the world; thanks guys!

Just a few quick things to mention in this post. The 2011 Diary Project is wrapping up July 7th. So if you have not already please, PLEASE, reserve a date!

You get to create a page in a published book for FREE! Free exposure, how can you go wrong?? I actually got the opportunity to make ANOTHER page and I'm working on it RIGHT NOW!

Second of all I showed Tracy the pin designs I made and she loved them. I am going to aim to make 50 more. So far I have 4 left and posted them in my etsy shop. Follow this link to get your own!

Thirdly, I got my Art Trade piece in the mail from Nicky on TourCrush, and I loveeeee it. I was so happy to finally find it in the mail. Imma get a frame for it at work probably tomorrow at Michaels!

And finally I am sending out the pins I gave away as my first contest, on Monday as well as a piece a created as another Art Trade for someone else on TourCrush. Very exciting!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day, and a great Holiday!

Team Tracy & Team Olivia

2010-06-28T13:53:00.008-04:00

Everyone who knows me knows I LOVE, love, LOVEEE Jerseylicious!! If you did not know I made my own little design to portray Tracy and Olivia's "Teams." I wanted to get them made into T-shirt but unfortunately I could not afford it. So the cheaper alternative, was to get them made into pins!

And guess what I got in the mail today?

Each pin is about 2 inches in diameter with a glossy finish and a metal pin backing.

TEAM TRACY!

TEAM OLIVIA!

Shiny!

Keep in mind these are FAN MADE MERCHANDISE, and no way am I claiming rights to the TV Show Jerseylicious. There is no real way I can sell them so I am giving them away! :D

I have 4 Team Tracy and 4 Team Olivia and I just posted them on the Jerseylicious Fan Page. If you are interested in snagging one please comment on this blog (or the Jerseylicious fanpage) telling me whose YOUR favorite. I will pick 8 lucky people and post them off to you.

*Be sure to add a way to contact you, (e-mail) so I can get your address.

Attention All Illustrators!

2010-06-26T13:17:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone just wanted to post about a project I was made aware of through my good friend and fellow blogger, Maria Palito's site.

It's a journal that will be published and artists, crafters, illustrators alike are all invited to design their own (shared) page in the book. It is the fourth annual diary project! The 2010 diary with have a total of 208 pages with room for over 397 designs!! Best of all? It's completely free to participate!!

I reserved November 18 because it is my birthday and am pretty sure I am done with design!!

For more information (and to reserve a spot) click the button below:

Hurry and reserve a spot today!!

Toy Story 3 and Contact Page Update

2010-06-24T00:20:00.004-04:00

Today was a great day. Me and my dad went to see Toy Story 3. It was a late Father's Day gift, I have been so busy working I did not get to go until today. The movie was great, but it had some real sad parts, joyfully sad and just sad sad.

It was great seeing some of the new characters though, I really liked Bonnie and the Ken doll was hilarious.

I do not really have a lot of my toys from my childhood. Not that I had many toys to begin with growing up. And a lot of my favorite books were destroyed when our ceiling leaked. I guess that is why I like art. All the things I imagine and all the things I ever want I can create for myself.

I also got around to putting up a contact form on the Contact page of my website. Now it is easier than ever to get a hold of me for projects, general questions and anything within reason! Not a lot of people have e-mail addresses they use all the time, so I have a box for your phone number as well. I tested it out, it works wonderfully!

Robots and Crystal Castles

2010-06-21T17:46:00.005-04:00

So far I accomplished a lot today. I got tickets to see Crystal Castles this summer at the Electric Factory. I love the Electric Factory, it's such a great venue. I have been a fan of Crystal Castles since they first started getting their name tossed around in blogs around 2005. I found them through a great site called SitelPop UK and now look at that, they are playing right here in Philly!!

As soon as I got home I spent a lot of time on my freelance job at the East Hanover Studio. I've made great progress and will wrap my project up soon.

I also wanted to let everyone know that EveryoneLovesRobots, one of my most adored client's released a new Youtube video that has a shout out to me in it!! Be sure to check that out and subscribe by clicking here!

One last thing is in my "free" time I am going to try to complete a three print series of some robots. I completely the first print eons ago and neglected to post it here. But here it is:

I started a pink girl robot as well and will probably use them as covers for my journals in my Etsy shop or just sell the prints together.

Hope everyone has a great day today, will post again soon!

I Got a New Job

2010-06-20T21:08:00.007-04:00

Hey everyone just wanted to update yous with a few things to come. First of all I started working for a company as a freelancer in Southern Pennyslyvania. It is called, Triple Moons Design.

So far I have only been on board for two projects but it is laid back enough. I still have another job that is my main income, and I am still freelancing under Violet Ink Design. Phew! What a load of work!!

The unfortunate thing about the design firm is I cannot post or use any of the work I do for them in my portfolio. :( It's very hush hush I suppose...

I also am still freelancing for myself, open for business if anyone has any projects for me to tackle. I will be adding an easier to use contact form on my website, sometime this week. I have 71 "likes" on Facebook so be sure to join in on the party:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Violet-Ink-Design/115320861822900?ref=ts

One final thing is I am getting ready for the new Season of Jerseylicious. Remember those Team Designs I created? Well I could not afford to get them done as T-shirts so I ordered them as pins instead and as soon as they arrive I plan on giving them away to Jerseylicious fans!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Cheers!

About My New Phone

2010-06-16T16:15:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone just wanted to post to talk about the new phone I got the first week of June. I figured I would give it a try for a week before I made any hasty judgements with a post.

The phone I got from T-mobile is the HTC HD2. It's a windows phone, touch screen, and it's the first smart phone I've ever owned. Depending upon what options you want to use, it comes with a heftier phone bill than your typical phone and you CANNOT use the phone without adding a data plan.

The things I dislike about it is the Facebook App, the e-mail function, and the keyboard. The Facebook App is just horrible. It has a difficult time retrieving Facebook messages and it's just really clunky when you're trying to comment, upload content, etc. I'd rather use m.facebook.com on Opera and I do. The second thing I dislike is the e-mail, because it took me FOREVER to figure out how to set up and still doesn't seem to be syncing as fast as I'd like. I'd rather just go to my e-mail's site...directly (much like Facebook).

My biggest gripe about the keyboard is that it claims you can use it both horizonally and vertically. For web browsing, yes you can use it horizontally, but you can't use it horizontally for EVERYTHING much like I had assumed, (IM apps for example). The keys on the keyboard are pretty sensitive, my dad was disappointed that you cannot use a stylis for the keys. The arrangement of keys is also a bit of a pain in the vertical mode. The space bar seems a little disconnected from the rest of the keys and I always seem to hit "v" instead.

Other than that, it's a great phone. I love the fact that it comes with Opera, and not just Internet Explorer. The camera is 5 Megapixels and has an auto focus, the pictures I've taken with it, (all the photos I used in the previous post) come out pretty great. (DO NOT USE THE FLASH THOUGH IT WILL BLIND YOU) The screen is awesome, there are a lot of free apps, it's a little awkward to hold at first but like I said I've gotten used to it. The phone locks fast too, just one click of a button, and it's armed.

I think it's going to be a great tool to help me keep up with my business a lot faster than setting time aside to grab a computer, to check e-mail etc.

Me and Dad in New Jersey

2010-06-15T00:57:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone I'm not doing a very great job of blog updating lately which is sad because I was going to try to beat last month's epic 11 post marathon, the most posts I've made for a month SO FAR.

I have been legitimately busy though. Today I went to New Jersey to a party at the Gatsby Salon, home of the Style Network's show "Jerseylicious" that we all know and love!! My dad was kind enough to take me when I heard about the party and we drove three hours to get there!!

You had to sign in at the abandoned mattress store (the one they filmed the commercial takes in, remember?!?!) and get your picture taken in case you were filmed. They had free food, healthy snacks, soda and water, but you had to pay for ice cream which was :( They were also filming!!

But the best part is I got to deliver Tracy her pictures!! I squeezed my way through a couple people and she recognized me so we hugged and she signed the prints I tried to deliver eons ago in the post! I also got to take my picture with her.

We had left shortly after though since it would be a long long drive. Me and Dad then stopped at WaWa to see if they had pints of Gadzooks! an ice cream made by the radio show near us that we are both big fans of, WMMR.

I am really glad that dad took me to New Jersey!! What a great day!

Beetlejuice and Upcoming Piece

2010-06-09T16:08:00.005-04:00

I am pleased to hear that nicky finally received my piece for the Tour Crush Art Trade Board. I am still waiting on hers, but I know it will be arriving soon because I also ordered some TourCrush silicone bands from here as well that shipped out yesterday.

I did not really have any restrictions as to what to create since she was not picky but I knew she liked the movie Beetlejuice so I wanted to create something that featured Beetlejuice and Ice Cream trucks.

But this is the piece I created for her:

And this what she had to say:

If you don't know what TourCrush is, it's an awesome lovechild of awesomeness created by Chantal from Morning Wood and her husband Jimmy from Mindless Self Indulgence. To learn more about that, be sure to head to TourCrush.com.

Since I finished that I started a new trade with ryan. So far I've been really inspired by this picture:

So stayed tuned to see what I come up with next :D

Youtube Layout, Zazzle, and more JERSEYLICIOUS!

2010-06-04T22:39:00.007-04:00

Well I finally finished creating the "Youtube Layout" for the EveryoneLovesRobot's channel. Making a youtube layout is something I have never done before. Not sure if I mentioned this already though but I slaved over this epic masterpiece only to find out that the customization options I wanted were for Youtube Partner's only. Live and learn!!

But we managed to tweek the background around enough so that it still looks awesome with what little options that were available. Here is a screenshot of the layout:

(click it to see the larger version)

To view the full thing, check out the channel @youtube.com/user/EveryoneLovesRobots. Don't forget to subscribe.

Also the logo I created is now available on merch such as shirts, pins, and hoodies at the Zazzle Store: http://www.zazzle.co.uk/everyonelovesrobots

The best thing about Zazzle is you don't have to have your shirt white, or your hat black, you can pick nearly ANY color you want with no extra cost. I ordered two of the small pins and cannot wait for them to arrive.

ALSO I cannot wait for my Artrade with the awesome Nicky to arrive either. I re-sent out the envelope containing mine and hopefully it arrives VERY soon. I will take a picture and finally reveal the secret print I created for her.

Third thing, Tracy DiMarco from Jerseylicious on the Style Network has requested I create her a new avatar!! She's gone much darker with her hair right now. She informed me she FINALLY got the prints I sent her, signed them, and shipped them off to me!! Yippee!

One more thing worth mentioning, tonight I decided to do some photoshopping:

That is it for today!!

Haircut and Donated Journals

2010-05-31T19:38:00.005-04:00

I hope everyone had a good Holiday weekend!! This weekend has had it's ups and downs.

The good news is, I was approached by a client a little bit back wondering if they could buy two journals from me to donate them to the area Women's Shelter for Domestic Abuse. All the stock I made has been hanging around my shop though so I created two completely new ones for her to donate.

Here is the first one:

The second one:

Detailed shot of a new die-cut method I am experimenting with:

On the inside of both I created a bookplate:

Remember if you are interested in buying similar journals they are available in my Etsy shop:
violetink.etsy.com

The bad news is, I got a really bad haircut. Recently I have been quite stressed and over 3 people have complained about the sorry shape of my bangs (fringe). I agreed to let a random woman cut them, then had another woman try to FIX what the first woman "cut."

Regard:

Logo, Video, and Pictures!

2010-05-28T17:27:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone just wanted to update you guys with what's been going on here at home base.

I got to hang out with my friends from college, who are my closest and most favorite buddies on the planet. We had a fun time out and then played with make up like we were 8 again!

Second, the logo I made for EveryoneLovesRobots has finally be unveiled:

Pretty spiffy huh??

THIRD James also posted a new video. I strongly urge you to check out his channel and subscribe! Not only because he is one of my most favorite peeps in the UK because he will make it in the big leagues soon and then you can say, oh yeah, James, I subscribed to his channel when he just had 2 videos! Or something... yeah!

Right now I'm working on his Youtube layout which became a HUGE pain, when I realized you need to be a Youtube Partner to access the full capabilities of customization on Youtube layouts.

So make sure you subscribe so I can use the REAL layout super soon! Have a great weekend everyone!

EveryoneLovesRobots Youtube Launch!!

2010-05-24T20:41:00.005-04:00

EveryoneLovesRobots, an awesome music project by James just launched it's youtube channel!! James is a pretty rad person if you do not know him (most of you probably do though), so I strongly urge everyone to check out his channel, comment and subscribe.

I'm posting the first vlog here:

If you played the whole thing, did you notice I got mentioned?? Wicked awesome! I am currently working on helping James promote his music and I'll post his new logo I created on my blog sometime this week.

More great things are on the way so stay tuned!!

If you want to know more about EveryoneLovesRobots be sure to check out these links:

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/RobotsGoBzzt

Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/RobotsGoBzzt

Soundcloud:
http://www.soundcloud.com/Everyonelovesrobots

Tumblr:
http://www.everyonelovesrobots.tumblr.com

Art Trade and Team Tracy Tee

2010-05-22T16:14:00.007-04:00

I'm working TWO really great projects lately. One of them is a Jerseylicious T-shirt design I decided to take on.

I came up with a "Team Tracy" for now to represent Tracy DiMarco from Jerseylicioius design. I sent it to her and she loved it!

So I went to the store and bought three different colored girl's t-shirts in my size, bright pink, white and black. I am printing the vector version of the design on some of the iron on sheet leftovers I have. I've honestly never used these, so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully it turns out sweet!!

The other project I cannot talk about on here because it's a secret surprise for someone else! That's right, I'm participating in an art trade and I've been told my piece I was swapping for is on it's way in the mail.

Eep! That means I really need to motor on the piece I made for my friend!

Portrait for Lauren

2010-05-17T14:00:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone! A client approached me about doing a portrait of herself, much in the same style I used to do Tracy DiMarco's portraits. She sent me some great photos but my favorite was this one:

I just loved the bright pink it reminded me of Barbie! Here is the result I came up with:

She was really pleased with it!! I was really glad. I love drawing for people. I just sent some glossy printed copies for her to keep in the post today with some other little surprises. I hope she gets them soon!

Remember if you like my work feel free to contact me via e-mail, facebook, or twitter. I can make something just like this, just for you! :D

Little Mermaid Cake

2010-05-13T21:32:00.008-04:00

Hey everyone today was the first day of the "Friends and Family" event discount atMichael's Arts and Crafts. One of the perks of being an associate is you receive a coupon for 40% off your entire purchase including sale items.

Everytime I've been around the Wilton aisle, which is BRAND new, I've been sneaking peaks and plotting of something to bake. Today I decided to put that plan in action. And with the help of my friend Ashley I created a Little Mermaid Cake for under 20 dollars!

I used two Wilton Heart shaped cake pans (the six inch and nine inch) to create the cakes. The cake mix I bought at the grocery store on sale for a dollar and bought some teal food coloring at Michael's to dye the batter. I then stacked the two cooled cakes on top of each other and frosted it with a whipped vanilla frosting (also dyed with the teal) on sale for a dollar at the grocery store.

I decorated the cakes with Little Mermaid sugar decorations, Pink Sparkly Gel icing, a Little Mermaid candle, and a Disney Princess candy ring- all from Michael's!!

Then was the best part, decorating! Now I have NO FUTURE in cake decorating and my friend Ashley asked me why I bake so much. I feel like it just translate across the board. I like to be artistic and express myself as much as much as possible so why not on a cake??

Even though my cake is far from perfect, or even professional I had a lot of fun making it!! I hope you guys get inspired to bake something of your own!!

NEW Facebook Page

2010-05-12T13:48:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to let you all know that I just started working on setting up my Facebook fanpage. I hope to get in touch with my clients, friends, and fans much quicker this way. I mean, Twitter is great and all but who doesn't have Facebook??

So please, if you will, add my new facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Violet-Ink-Design/115320861822900

Lady Gaga Cupcake

2010-05-10T17:50:00.006-04:00

Hey all! I was approached by one of my followers on Twitter to tackle a t-shirt project for him when I found myself free. He is an avid Lady Gaga fan (such as myself) and requested that the design involve Lady Gaga. The rest was up to me.

This what I came up with:

My intial concept was Lady Gaga popping OUT of the cupcake but it was too fun to make Lady Gaga BE a cupcake. With disco ball sprinkles :]

I decided to add a shadow on anther copy just because the picture is so light...

Well I hope he likes it :]

Mother's Day Crafts!

2010-05-08T00:23:00.009-04:00

Hey everyone! Well it's Mother's Day soon... two days!! I actually bought all of my mother's day gifts AHEAD of time and they were all fun crafty things I bought at Michaels Arts and Crafts so I figured I would share some cheap projects I made!!

I put together a small gift bag for my mom. The bag itself was usually 1 dollar and on sale for 25 cents!! Talk about a deal.

Next I picked up two cute stationary items in their Fun Finds aisle! I bought Mom a magnetic list pad and a journal. Both were 2 dollars a piece!!

Now for the crafty items! I could not pass up these cute plaster bobble head dolls for 1.99 a piece. . .

The paints I used were a 3.29 strip of Apple Barrel paint pots. Apple Barrel is my favorite craft acrylic! (I actually already had these stored away so $0 dollars spent there...)

Mine turned out great, although painting a bobble head doll is JUST as difficult as it sounds.

I am also not the best painter in the world :\ so excuse my mess ups! Mom will still love it, it's the thought that counts!

For my next project, I'm going to cheat a little and tell you I already had the frame, glue, paint pens, and bottle of acrylic paint on hand, so it was relatively even CHEAPER for myself.

The frames though, are only a dollar and my Michael's always has a TON. They're in the wood crafts aisle, as well as on an end and on a Mom's Day project grid.

The brand of acrylic I used was $1.19 Apple Barrel Gloss. . .I took a foam brush and did about three coats of acrylic paint on the frame.

They also had great, pre-made wooden accents that were mom and dad themed only for 1.00.

The one I picked out was sparkly and pink and read: "I [heart] Mom"

With the paint pens I carefully outlined the outside and inside of the frame. I used quick short lines to create a stitch-like pattern with alternating colors. The paint pens are 3.29 each, but just used as as accent colors. You can just as easily use a fine brush and paint the accents on with colors from your paint pots!!

And VOILA! The finished product came out nice. I wrapped everything in some pink tissue paper I had lying around and they're ready for Sunday.

There you go, perfect mother's day gifts. All and all I added it up, piece by piece and you'll only pay about 18 some dollars depending on your tax. I myself only paid 7.24 BECAUSE, as I mentioned, I had a lot of the supplies on hand.

Don't forget Mother's Day is this Sunday so happy shopping!!

Leopard print, Elton John, and Robots

2010-05-02T18:58:00.006-04:00

Hey everyone it was raining today so I had some free time to take some photos and stock up my Etsy shop!!

Here are the new items for sale:

Leopard Print Mini Journal
Front cover has soft velveteen spots. On the inside is sparkling red cardstock and blank white pages. Hand stitched binding with scarlet cotton fabric!!

Click here to buy!

Orange Robot Mini Journal
Front cover has a repeating pattern of robots, rocket ships, and planets!! On the inside is texture metallic blue cardstock and blank white pages. Hand stitched binding with sky blue cotton fabric!!

Click here to buy!

To shop for more great handmade items like this, made by me, Laura, be sure to check out my Etsy store @ violetink.etsy.com

ALSO I went to see Elton John Friday in Concert so I figured I would post some quick pics from the show:

We were the only ones dressed like this!!! Jeez people it's ELTON JOHN, not church! I'm on the left!

The man himself! We had great seats!

The only thing I purchased from the show. Awesome red flashing LED glasses. You press a button on the side and it offers about 6 different settings for the lights. Batterys are replaceable and they say Elton John down the side, and Rocket Man 2010 on the piece that wraps around your ear. Win!!

That's it for now. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend!

Pancake Recipe - Featured!!

2010-05-01T18:15:00.005-04:00

Hey guys have some great news I wanted to share.
I made a recipe for this awesome site, theydrawandcook.com
It's a site where illustrators and artists can submit graphic renderings of their own secret recipes.
I made one about pancakes. It's the featured recipe of May 1, 2010

http://www.theydrawandcook.com/2010/05/super-fluffy-pancakes-by-laura.html

Be sure to check it out and comment!

So you're going to a concert...

2010-04-30T13:26:00.005-04:00

I'm going to a concert this afternoon and I'm just getting everything ready I figured I would write out some helpful tips to concert going-n00bs...(all images courtesy of Google Images)

1) Bring only what you need

DO NOT bring a lot of things. At maximum I just carry some cash, my ID, the ticket and maybe my debit card. And I most certainly do not bring in my REAL wallet either. If your wallet gets stolen, dropped, or lost and you have your credit cards, photographs, and other valuables lurking inside it, mostly likely all those things are gone. Forever.

2) DO NOT bring any bags/ purses

Do not carry heavy baggage or purses. Usually you do get searched at shows, and the longer it takes them to search through your belongings, the longer you're in line, and the longer you're in line, etc etc.

Also, things get lost at shows. I've seen this happen at Bamboozle. My friend brought her whole little mini backpack purses with her, and got stuck in a mosh pit for the Devil Wears Prada. Her camera, journal, wallet, ID, everything, was now trampled by the crowd or picked up by whoever found it. Total beginner's mistake.

3) Know your venue

Sometimes you can't help the fact you are going to this venue for the first time but it's really important to get acquainted with it. It's important to find out where to park. True story, me and my brother went to a certain venue for the first time, there were guys with traffics vests on flagging cars into parking spots, then charging about 4 dollars to park in the lot. Well, they flagged us into a gay bar's parking lot when you could ACTUALLY park right outside the venue.

Plus the more you know about the venue you are going to the more of an upper hand you have to beat out the people who are just excited as you are to get to the front of the line.

4) Know your Tickets

If you are buying a ticket and are young, able, ready to push through the crowd, you are better off getting General Admission. General Admission usually means the standing room only, or the space right in front of the stage. If you are good, or lucky, you can make your way to the front and get the best *standing* seat in the house.

But if you are older, do not like getting pushed around, fragile, or disabled try getting a ticket that's to an actual seat. You're further away from the action, but it's less likely you will become injured by 14yr old boys running on optimum testosterone.

If you are short, and can stand the huge thick chunky boots to make you a couple inches taller, I highly recommend these so you do not drown in a sea of people.

5) Show up early

You know know what could happen. There could be traffic. There could be a storm. Try to show up early. The earlier the better. I've been to concerts where I've shown up HOURS early, and sure it was boring being the only two people in line, but we were the FIRST two people in line.

6) Dress up

Be creative in the way you dress. Everyone might be wearing the latest Alternative bands Hot Topic t-shirt but only you could be wearing your own hand made band apparel. Make or customize your own t-shirt, pins, arm warmers, glasses, shoes etc. Don't just buy magic markers and write on the shirt either, THINK BIG. Be original and show your love!! You'll stick out a lot more and attract more attention than your run of the mill "fan" with deep enough pockets to buy licensed merchandise at the mall.

7) Wear comfortable shoes

At concerts you do a lot of standing and waiting, walking, and a lot more foot-oriented activities. Wear a shoe that you are comfortable in. And wear a shoe you are not worried about getting stomped on by fellow concert-go-ers.

8) Be aware of volume

Concerts are loud. Be aware of where you are standing. How close you are to the speakers??
If you are at a concert and not used to the loud sound that it produces, your ears may ring or not be in tip-top shape for a day...or two. Sometimes it lasts a week. Usually this is okay. It's just temporary ear trauma.

But the more you expose yourself to that the more damage you could do to ears. Be aware of this. If need be, bring a pair of ear plugs. I know this sounds retarded but you can still hear the sound, and you'll hear it a bit more crisper than loud, obnoxious thumping.

9) Have fun

That's the most important part!! Follow these tips, not only will you have a blast at seeing your favorite artist on stage, but you'll come home all in one piece!! Happy moshing!

Design Quote

2010-04-29T21:17:00.003-04:00

It's also good to keep learning, therefore I'm always studying up on Graphic Design. The book I'm reading right now presents a really great point about being "universal."

A reminder to all designers from "Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual":

"Graphic design comes with an agenda-sometimes a small agenda, such as getting people to come to a film festival, and sometimes a big agenda, such as helping people find their way out of a burning building. The instant you forget this little fact, you jeopardize the clarity of the message...

Consider if you had been working on a way-finding system, and the neat inks you insisted on didn't have enough contract in a smoky environment. As a result, twelve people asphyxiated trying to get out of the building."

JERSEYLICIOUS!!

2010-04-28T20:05:00.007-04:00

I love the TV Show Jerseylicious. My dad got me into it. It's loud, has bright pink, animal print, make-up, hair, drama, everything I love...well minus the drama I suppose.

My favorite cast member is Tracy DiMarco. She has an awesome sense of style, and strong personality. Also, she and her, both understand the art of huge hair. She has a lot of haters for some reason. Obviously these people are jealous.

Being that I find her awesome, and that she is my hair hero, I decided to make a quick, cute charicature of her on Adobe Illustrator.

I sent it to her and she was so excited to receive it!! She liked it so much she uploaded it as her default picture on Facebook and credited me as the caption!! WOW!

Not only that but I asked her if she wanted me to send her a print. She told me yes! And that she could sign it for me. She was so happy with it she asked me to create another one for her with her NEW hair. Here is the new version:

Tracy is one of the nicest people I have ever had the luck to get in contact with. If you have never heard of Jerseylicious, I urge you to check it out. It's on the Style network!!

Little Monsters and Zombie Beginnings

2010-03-25T21:12:00.007-04:00

UPDATE: THIS ILLUSTRATION CURRENTLY FEATURED IN THE MODCLOTH "CUTE AS A BUTTON CONTEST" PLEASE VOTE BY CLICKING HERE: http://bit.ly/j6EAu4

I don't think I'm putting anymore up in my etsy shop this week just because you have to pay extra money to list things and I don't want to get too out of hand and not be able to keep track of everything.

But here is a piece that I worked on mostly last month:

I also have a little boy monster and I'm not sure what I want to do with them yet. Maybe journal covers? Who knows!

Also working on my Zombie apocalypse self portrait for the remainder of the week:

Mmmm no arm! Probably going to change my cat's face as well heh.

Also the computer I am writing this on sucks some major pickles. So the images are really distorted...

BUT I am getting Easter Candy tomorrow so Hooray for me :3

Etsy n00b

2010-03-24T21:47:00.010-04:00

I have the week off from work and have decided to start posting some items on Etsy. It's slow goings, but I guess I'm being a perfectionist about the photography.

I had some help from @craftychick101. She has a neat Etsy shop too. I was going to buy some bangles from her but her shop just closed for vacation...gahhh!

But people like her is why I love Twitter. People respond so fast and are so super nice on it!

Here are a quick look at the items for sale:

Check out my Etsy shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/violetink

The only artwork I have been working on is a picture of myself in the Zombie apocolypse but I haven't been able to keep myself focused enough to finish it. My sights are set on making some moolah right now!

Photography Time with my Mini Journals

2010-03-17T19:26:00.008-04:00

Too lazy to write the blog, instead I vlogged for your viewing pleasure:

I Disappeared Once More

2010-03-12T15:34:00.005-05:00

Pretty much been getting into a lot of trouble lately.
Got into another car accident during a snow storm in February.
The horn died about a couple of weeks ago.
A fuse blew on Monday leaving it stuck in park.
And finally today, the battery died while I'm in a parking lot.
Oh by the way I'm super sick.

But I have been doing some art lately in more of the crafts category. A friend and I went to a book making seminar. Both of us are struggling designers who graduated from the same school.

So, when I get a little extra money, I'll be setting up a new online shop and selling some handmade journals.

I also made some Lady Gaga Valentine's in February but do to my other accident I wasn't able to finish them on time for Valentine's day. However I still do have the Vectors...maybe I can turn them into e-cards or something, I'll figure it out later.

Here are some Photos of my journals:

Jan 25 - NOT the Most Depressing Day of the Year

2010-01-25T22:27:00.004-05:00

Just decided to post another blog. Today was pretty exciting! I got a book in the mail! I book I've been trying REALLY hard to track down. A book I ordered off TWO other sites only not receive and requested refunds for. But no! Thanks to ArtPrimo, a wonderful Art site, I am now the proud own of Logology!

I first encountered this book about a year ago during school. It's an amazing resource for anyone interested in designing logos. I picked it up off a school bookshelf to aid me in the process of designing my own freelance company's logo.

The inside is just FILLED with logos! And you know what? So is the outside! And it's orange! Orange leather embossed all over. Even the BARCODE is embossed into the leather in the back!

Not only that, my order came with some free swag. Some stickers, and spray can heads. Very awesome!

But besides that nonexistent readers, I have also fallen ill, not fun!

Luckily at my retail job I just spent majority of my day painting little clay pot people. :]

I also might have another promising job prospect in the works. Literally.

As for my own freelance projects I was going to work on a set of fairytale cards, or fairytale postcards with lessons on them, prints?? I'm not sure yet. I started with a Snow White though and I decided just to do illustrations accompanied just by the title. The Fairytales that I would be doing would be those that I read in my Grimm's Fairytales book I got for Christmas.

Sooo gotta get my butt in gear.

Compare Your Life to Pixar

2010-01-20T13:19:00.002-05:00

For anyone whose ever lost hope getting a job in the creative field, this video was a real pick-me up for myself. :D

Valentine's Plans

2010-01-06T12:33:00.004-05:00

New Years was a bore since it was freezing rain, and New Years eve I applied for a local job. I drove there in the snow, after a friend had told me that she went down and got her interview and everything in the same day. I saw the ad earlier, it's been run for two weeks, but because of my retail job didn't get time to go down until THEN.

Here all they did was have me fill out a job application, and leave. After I drug myself, portfolio, snow boots and all into their office. I was a little more than disappointed to tell the truth...I still have my finger's crossed though... :\

But regardless Valentine's Day is right around the corner. I was going to start making my own set of mini valentines, and then put those into little metal tins... and make a Lady GaGa valentine card for one of my friends.

Yesterday, I pulled a bunch of pictures off google, did some quick sketches, and I finally have a really good idea of what I'm going to do. But in the meantime I did a quick exercise in Illustrator and Photoshop, which is the picture featured above.

Hope everyone has a great day!

To Whom it May Concern

2009-12-22T22:00:00.004-05:00

Sending out my Christmas Cards tomorrow morning. :]
Reallyy need to find some time from my retail job to update my website with all my new pieces...

I've Returned!

2009-12-21T19:12:00.009-05:00

Well I haven't updated my blog in awhile because *excuses excuses*

But no! The real reason is because I got into a car accident in the beginning of December. I've paying out the wazoo from getting it towed from the accident, to a body shop, getting estimates, putting more money down, finding parts, ETC ETC.

Not only that, but the accident was the day before the big ART FEST, I was planning on going to :\ So needless to say, I paid all that money, and did all that work for a big nothing.

Not to mention moo.com really screwed up my order AGAIN...so probably not using that expensive site anymore. I have a boatload of Christmas cards, that I paid 100 dollars to get printed, so I've decided to send them out to some business' to stir up a job.

The whole incident made me really unmotivated as for working on artwork...I wasn't planning on making anything for this month, with the stress of the holidays, and now my newly found transportation issues...but I was inspired to make a gift for a friend and have been pushing on from there.

Christmas Fairy Card Set

2009-11-14T17:24:00.004-05:00