Brenda Pinnick -news, ideas, events and more...

Sneaky Peek

I'm reformating my portfolio today and decided to go share a bit of some of my recent work.

This is from my Canterbury Park collection. What you're seeing here is the handpainted version of the flowers. I'm kind of a messy painter so it always gets cleaned up in the computer before sending files off. Sometimes I just go ahead and trace the elements after placing the file in Illustrator so that it's easy to format for various products. If you bought myDecorated Life stamp collection on HSNlast Monday, you'll recognize the birdcages. I also licesned them for Sizzix E-Clips electronic cuting machine. I bought some vinyl and plan to cut them out to put on my walls. I just don't seem to ever get tired of birds... I've always loved them! 

Hubby was out watering the lawn yesterday when he spotted a yellow finch sitting on top of the birdfeeder. He said it looked full sized but I suspect it was still a baby. It seems he was pretty close to it and it didn't seem at all scared. He gradually inched his way up and placed his finger under it. The little guy just stepped right up and perched himself on his finger where he stayed for several minutes! I wish I would have seen that- how sweet!

BTW- I'm now back with Two Town Studios after taking a little break for a year. I'm looking forward to working with them again, such nice people. For licensing opportunities, please contact Jim or Ronnie for porfolio viewing or requests. Thanks!

 

Stamping on Fabric

Well, I'm back home from HSN and the show went really well! The people there are truly amazing! It was such a pleasurable experience and I loved being hosted by Shivan- what a doll! I had the opportunity to show my Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders along with my Bigz XL Decorative Edge Card die. While I wasn't able to actually demo the embossing folders going through the Sizzix Big Shot machine, it is so very simple! 

And of course, I showed my new stamp collections!  , including this one, and this one. For those of you who are new to stamping with clear stamps, the first thing you'll want to do upon opening your package is to use an eraser over the surface. Somehow, this "primes" them for use. 

On air, I mentioned that I had designed these stamps to be slightly larger than many of the stamps currently on the market. My vision for the Piccadilly designs included home decor and even sewing projects. Here is a tote bag I created using several different dies from the collection, along with some of my Sizzix embossing folders.

Here's how I used them- place the embossing folder underneath the fabric then lightly add the color on top, using the  Faber-Castell Gelatos. It's really fast and gives a nice, distressed look to the project. I used regular pigment ink for the stamped part of the images. I love the patchwork feel of this bag, don't you? I've been really into yellow and orange/reds lately. Must be the optimistic nature of yellow and energy of red/orange. I've needed both lately and it's funny how we crave colors to help us along! 

If you tuned in on Monday, THANK YOU from the bottom of my  heart! It's so nice to hear from people who have bought my products so please don't be shy about leaving a comment- I'd love to hear from you.

 

Tomorrow, some close-ups of the projects shown on air... 

Brenda

In my garden

Today's links:

Sizzix   http://www.sizzix.com/catalog#q=Brenda%20Pinnick

Carol Heppner   http://www.carolheppner.com/

Lisa Rojas   http://stampinqueencreations.blogspot.com/

Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft   http://www.designmemorycraft.typepad.com/

I'm so inspired by nature and especially when it involves amazing color and pattern. Butterlies, bees, colorful flowers... it's mezmerizing, really. Do you know that viewing the patterns in nature actuallly helps us think creatively? Studies have found that the color green mixed with the patterns of leaves and other plants cause our brains to think creatively. How amazing is that? Next time you're stuck for ideas or inspiration, just get outside and be inspired. I know I am today! 

I'm busy making my projects to show on air next week on HSN. I hope you'll tune in via the web or television. I'm scheduled for 10:00 a.m. eastern time and will be showing my Sizzix Textured Impressions and also my stamp line. GREAT DEALS TO BE HAD!

Oh, and I get to be a BEACH ANGEL!!! Yes, I will be laying in the beautiful white sand and swimming in the ocean this Sunday!!! One of my favorite things in life...the ocean!

I just want to say...I'm so thankful for friends... I'm getting help from Carol Heppner and Lisa Rojas, two amazing designers I know from CHA. They created some amazing projects and I'm so grateful! I'm going to be featuring both here on my blog next week so please come back to learn more about their stories, how they became professional designers, see more of their work and be inspired!

AND, if that isn't enough, several designers from the Faber-Castell design team are also helping me out! I love their products and so appreciate their assistance! More about them later, also. 

I am truly blessed. 

 

 

You may have noticed...

My official, paid for, custom designed blog and website randomly disappeared a few weeks ago. With no warning, Wordpress highjacked it because I choose not to update to the latest WP version due to my fear it would totally mess up my custom design. So, they placed a disable code into the html. The WILL restore it if - I agree to update and I PAY THEM a restoration fee of $50.00. 

NO WARNING. just poof! gone. No apologies, no pity, no consideration that it is a business site. I cannot access my blog posts to repost here on Typepad. So, while we are figuring this whole thing out, I've redirected my www.brendapinnick.com to this site. I may just stay here... I would like to get my content back but the whole $50. to do so does not sit pretty with me at all. In fact, it makes me very, very angry with WordPress. I think they've gotten WAAAAAAAAY to big for their britches as my Mom used to say. So, if you are blogging or webhosting with a WP format - beware. ( I have always loved Typepad but wanted my site and blog together in one place so agreed to WP as the format ).

Here is a video I posted on the old blog. It wasn't necessarily done as a teaching class. I made it mainly to show my artist friends what I had discovered while trying a new product by mixing it in with existing work. There was a snarky comment left on youtube which reflected an attitude of entitlement to free information. Not all videos posted on youtube are meant to be a free class....hmmmmph. Anyway, if you enjoy this, please comment. thanks!

finding balance

A recent discussion of late, among my art licensing friends has been about the quest of seeking balance in our efforts to run our businesses. With social networking an absolute must for building our brands, we are all struggling with finding (making) time to actual do what our business is all about- making art. I need to clarify here that making NEW art differs from the necessity of reformatting, updating and building onto OLDER art. Building a licensing portfolio is so much more than getting up each day and sitting down to the process of making art. It's about trend research, targeting specific clients, adapting to an ever changing marketplace by positioning ourselves as this or that. Building a (recognizable) brand requires consistency in style, in viewpoint and in technique. These days, almost any type of art can become  marketable if it meets these brand requirements. There is a lot of junk out there. There, I said it out load - it needed saying.

Finding (or making) the time to stay inspired and fresh while still working withing the framework of a brand does require balance. I opted out of traveling to the licensing show this week in favor of spending quality time with my paints and brushes. I'm glad I did. I'm trusting my agents to get me some juicy deals which are based on my unique perspective. I'm waiting anxiously for a report back from the show!

I normally don't jump right out after completing a new piece and show it on line but am making an exception today in an effort to show the process I use to plan out color.My neighbor gave me a beautiful bouquet of hydrangeas from her garden and I was inspired by the color to create a painting. My goal was to design a vibrant, colorful piece in response to the all too often (IMHO) expected approach to painting pretty blue flowers. The blue is intense and I wanted to celebrate that and expand upon it.  I set up the bouquet in my studio and pulled in some colorful papers and a backdrop. I like the sharp, straight edges of the paper juxtaposed with the soft, round and fluffy flowers. It creates a nice variety and gives this piece a bit of an edge...just what I wanted. Above, I've shown the final piece cropped. I like tight crops on images and I will probably use this for a greeting card design or possibly a gift item...I have some ideas.

Below is the start. I set up the still life to my left and then photographed it. I printed off the photo and set it up beside my painting. I liked having both the real set up and the photo available to glance at.

Here it is, about half finished...I could have stopped here and called it done but chose to add in more detail instead.

And here is the finished painting.   Limited edition, signed and numbered Giclee prints are available for purchase. Please contact me for pricing and sizes.

Have a good week, friends!

If you were inspired, please take a moment and leave me a comment...thanks!

February color palette-v.18-just in time for Valentines Day crafting

brrrrrrr.......are you one of the many who are snowed in this weekend? 

When we lived up north, I never minded those snow days, that is, as long as I was prepared for them. Getting caught off guard was tough, however. It's a great chance to spend time playing or crafting with the kids, do some baking or just get caught up on some housecleaning. 

If you are surrounded by white snow, you might really enjoy this color palette, v.18 in my ongoing color palette series. Feel free to cut out the art and use it to make someone a special valentine!

Download BP color U_v.18

If you love color, please join me on Facebook  here!  

I'd like to invite you to watch Inspired at Home's LIVE Facebook pajama party on Wednesday nights at 10:00 eastern time. The fabulous Maria Nerius is hostess, joined by Tiffany Windsor who is the creator of Inspired at Home. Here's a playback link to last weeks episode - http://www.linqto.com/PlaybackRoom.aspx?roomname=inspiredathome&name=SingleExplicit_2010_02_03_21_00_04_649 where I showed a large painting I'm working on. I'll be joining in each week to show more live painting and will be giving tips and techniques and will take any questions you wish to ask about my creative process.

This live event is a place to join in the fun, show off what creative endeavors you happen to be working on, or just chat! 

Last Sunday night, I was also a featured guest on Inspired at Home Blog Talk Radio, along with TerriO and Julianna Hudgins of Sizzix! You can listen to it here- http://www.blogtalkradio.com/inspiredathome

whew! That should keep you busy for a while! 

Scoreboards picture frame

Hi all, I hope you're finding time to enjoy the holiday season and to do a little crafting or art making.

Below are a couple of last minute projects you can make up quickly and easily.

The first one is using Sizzix scoreboard die- picture frame- from Eileen Hull. You'll want to be sure to visit her blog and the other bloggers who are featuring this same die on Eileen's blog hop, all listed on her site.

One of the challenges I always face when starting a new project is clearing off my work table first. I'm really bad about letting it get knee deep with supplies, tools, glues, glitter, etc. - maybe it's because I usually have about a million projects all going on at once! Anyway, I decided it would be a fun and interesting challenge to use only what was already out and on my table! Here is what I ended up with...

 I started with the picture frame die and added one of my papers from my Sucerie collection. Next, I added beads and some ribbon to create texture, shine and dimension. I'm happy with the way this turned out and quite honestly, I never would have done this without the challenge of using only supplies which were already on my work table. The image is softly out of focus which I think is a nice look paired with this decorated frame.Tip; I'm a huge fan of Grafix products. Here I've sandwiched the image in between two pieces of Grafix craft film to create a protective cover. 

Another last minute holiday project made with my Sizzix dies;

 I just love glitz and glamour for the holidays and finding a fast, fun and inexpensive way to add more to my holiday decorating makes me feel almost smug – like I've found a secret! Well, I'm sharing it with you here today. When I say, "fast, easy, fun"...I mean it! 

Let's start with the dies -beautiful shaped dies are a must have for your crafting studio. They offer opportunities way beyond mini-books . I love this classic cartouche shape, the "Frame, ornate" die, paired with the "Frame Back, ornate" die, both from my collection of dies available from the Sizzix.com shopping site or from fine retailers. This is one of those dies you could find a million (or at least thousands!) of uses for, it's so  functional. 

I used these two dies ,http://www.sizzix.com/product/1981 , http://www.sizzix.com/product/1985 from my collection and paired them with some fabulous metallic card stock and sticky backed prismatic foils from the Grafix company - http://www.grafixarts.com/index.htm . I'm a huge fan of their products and they sent me some to experiment with. 

It's so very easy to make these "ornaments", which could also be used as tags for gifts, on the front of a holiday card or as place cards for your holiday table setting. I stamped on each one, using first a gold toned pigment ink and then white embossing powder. This gives the white a bit of a warm tone. These stamps are some of my own design, (available soon) but you can use any elegant stamp to recreate this look. These ornaments would be a wonderful way to display memories from past holidays by placing a picture in the frame instead of stamping a design. 

You'll notice I added a few crystals on top of the embossed design.

Here's a tip for placing the prismatic foil onto the base shape;

Start by peeling back 1/2" or so of the backing. Place the shape in it's proper position and press down the exposed section. Then, slowly and gently peel back the rest of the backing as you use your hand to press into place. No worries if you don't get exactly right the first time, it does lift off and can then be repositioned. None of mine are perfect...it simply proves it's handmade! 

I'll be back here in two weeks or so with another project idea for you to try. 

I hope your holidays are filled with love, laughter and plenty of time to relax and enjoy the meaningful part of this special time. 

 

More Scoreboard fun with Sizzix and Eileen Hull's dies

I'm participating in a blog hop to show off the many ways of using my friend Eileen Hull's new product line with Sizzix! It's called SCOREBOARDS ™ and they are a  ton of fun to use because of their versatility. This week's projects are created around her pocket notebook die. (Shown here, as the base piece.)This came in handy when designing my purse sized color reference minibook. 

Take a look-

 

  
 View this photo click here to download a full sized, printable jpeg file

I used the Sizzix/Eileen Hull's Scoreboard dies:

 Box with Flap die

Notebook Pocket die

Sizzix/Brenda Pinnick Album Cover and Page die

Brenda Pinnick Scrapper Keeper album (QVC.com) (now available only in the UK) papers and elements

I glued the smaller sized, Box with Flap onto the bigger Notebook die to create a place for stickynotes or other color reference. Here, I used a tag from my Scrapper Keeper kit and added some pretty ribbons.

I use these minibooks for color reference as I work. I build a color palette for each new collection of art and keep it filed with my print-offs, mock-ups, etc. You could use this for shopping, wardrobe building, crafting, designing...whatever you wish! 

I purchase paint fan books from different paint companies and cut them up to create my library of color swatches. I keep them sorted by color family, chroma and tints. It's so handy for experimenting with color and helps you get out of your color rut! (you know who you are...)  

Of course, I know you've already thought of a million more uses! So...get busy!

Learn more about Brenda PInnick Color U here.

Download November Color Palette series here.

Continue with the blog hop by following these fantastic people:

ennifer Ellefson
Candice Windham
Denise Clason
Ann Butler
Fabrizio Martellucci
Korie B
Barbara Matthiessen
Brenda Pinnick
Karen Burniston
Bonnie Bruns

Meet Paisley!

I  just had to share...

We have adapted a rescue dog. HOW could we say no to a dog named Paisley??? I mean, really. 

She's so adorable, so sweet and is my new best friend. She follows me everywhere and when she's sitting next to me, she gazes adoringly at me. She likes the cats, although they haven't totally warmed up to her yet...they're still on the fence with all this. Paisley met her cousins, the pugs, yesterday and they are all now fast friends and looking forward to their next play date! Here's my illustration of Paisley ...

Of course, I will be sewing her a coat made with my purple paisley fabric, (Henry Glass & Co.) shown above! Can't wait to get started on that!

Here's another project I made with my fabrics a while back -

Just click on the link below to see what pattern I used and learn how you can purchase scrapbook papers to go with the fabric!

http://www.brendapinnick.com/2009/05/26/opulence-market-bag/

November's color palettes

How has November come and almost gone so quickly??? Holy smokes!

From now on, I'll be posting my ongoing color palette series once per month, or, you can get them delivered into your email box each week by signing up for When Creativity Knocks, here. 

Please visit my website to learn about how your group can schedule a ColorU workshop tailored to your needs. 

 

Download BPCU_5

Download BPCU_6

Download BPCU_7

Download BPCU_8

I'm crazy busy right now, getting ready for the biggest time of year in art licensing. Making art is only a fraction of what takes place in a professional studio. There's scanning, mock-ups, photos, marketing materials and press releases to be done. Trying to juggle everything at once has once again, gotten me frazzled! Of course, there's the holidays, too!!

I hope you're taking some time for relaxing during this busy time of year. Remember to feed your creative soul!