Graffiti Glam Earrings

I've been going nuts as of late making these cute little rosettes. I blogged about them last week when I wrote about using the rosettes for rings.

I decided to up the ante and add a little bling to the rosettes and a little more grunge. I originally had wanted to keep the canvas white, but after making the rosette, I realized that the canvas was no longer white and had gotten a bit dirty with glueing and my hands. Anyway, that's what gave me the idea to spray them.

So, here's the instructions to make them. Scroll down to see more of my designs for earrings using this technique at the bottom of this post.

Graffiti Glam Earrings

Supplies
– White canvas or white fabric
– Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue
– Tulip® Fabric Spray Paint (I used black, orange, and fuchsia for mine)
– Fabric Fusion Adhesive
– Scissors
– Headpins
– Pliers
– Embellishments: Tulip® Glam-it-Up Crystals, Studs, various rhinestones, etc.

Instructions:


1. Cut a 1" wide x 12" long strip of canvas.
2. Apply Tacky Glue to top of strip and fold over.
3. Once folded, apply another bead of glue, then fold over, as seen in photos above.



4.Start twisting the canvas around the glued center.
5. As you twist, glue as you wrap the canvas around. After a couple of twirls around, you will see the rosette starting to take shape.
6. Leave a tail of about an inch when you get close to the end of the canvas strip. Glue the tail in place at the back and secure. Let dry.



7. Spray the rosette with the Fabric Spray Paint. Just a couple pumps of each color will saturate the rose with color.
8. Flip over the rosette and spray the back as well. Also cut and spray 2 small cut out canvas circles.
9. Using Fabric Fusion, glue the embellishments into place as desired.
10. Using your pliers, create a double loop with your headpin (it will resemble an 8). Place under the cutout circle and glue in place with Fabric Fusion. Let dry.
11. Open earring wire and attach to looped headpin. And you're finished!

Here's me wearing my finished earrings...



And here are some of my other designs...I actually think I may like them better than the ones I did above, but the cool thing is that once you learn a technique/process that you love, in general, your work does get better over time. I created one of these pairs using a plain red strip of fabric and the other was used with a strip of fabric from a tie dye shirt!





Hope you enjoyed this fun tutorial!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Tumblr Love

I love social media, but sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming. It doesn't stop me though from finding new ones and signing up accounts. My new favorite one that I've signed up for is Tumblr. Tumblr is another microblog site kinda like Twitter, but it is different in that it is more like little bursts of thoughts or a catalog of your favorite stuff that you find around the net. You can post your favorite photos that you find, quotes, links, videos, or audio. It's whatever you want to say, but in general, it's not like you have to do a full blown blog post. My favorite tumblr accounts are those that are filled with inspiring images. Below are a list of links to other tumblr members that inspired me.

The Dainty Squid
She loves kitsch and color as much as I do :) She has

Comically Vintage
Love the style of old comics, then this one is for you!

Craftporn
I promise, it's not as bad as it sounds. It actually is just a bunch of projects that will make you want to salivate and make yourself.

Jen Bekman Projects
This one satisfies my photography and design sweettooth.

Stoopidgerl
Stoopidgerl always amazes me with the things she finds. She's my friend on Flickr, too.

PeeWee's Playhouse
If you love everything PeeWee, you'll love this one!

And there's a very subversive side to Tumblr as well. People make collections of the same type of everyday object and post gobs and gobs of photos on that one topic (think Failblog, Awkward Family Photos. About the subversive side, if you click on the link and look at the actual name of the tumblr account, you'll see what I mean, I just don't want to post that word on my blog...

Some of the collections and inspiration...

Pretty Bows

Cats

Sparkle

Jewelry

Lady Gaga

And of course, I can't help to mention my own tumblr account... Swelldesigner's Tumblr. I post a lot of colorful posters, photos, illustration, and inspiration.

Anyway, just wanted to share one place where I find inspiration!

Until next time Swellions!!

Alexa

This commercial inspires me

I don't get inspired by commercials all that often, but when I see this one I always have to stop to watch it. This is the extended version, so there may be some scenes you haven't seen. It's just sweet.

I don't know if my phone has ever excited me as much as the excitement I felt as a 5 year old (remember the excitement of getting to go to an amusement park, a school party, or to go watch fireworks?). That's a tough one. There are little moments that I get super excited, but hmm, I don't know when the last time that was. Def. not over my phone. haha.

Hope you have a great Thursday!


Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Maker Faire Pics

I went to Maker Faire this past weekend and wanted to share some pics. I saw a lot, a lot that I saw last year, but it was still cool nonetheless. Lots of cool 3-D stuff, gadgets, color, glow in the dark stuff, steampunk, crafts, and much more. Here's some photo highlights!





















Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

It's Black and White

I take a lot of photos and I don't even share or upload most of them. They just stay on my iPhoto waiting to be edited or noticed. I decided to pull a few of the ones that I turned into black and white to share.















I love taking photos if you didn't know that already. It's so fun!

Well, it's late and I gotta get to bed. Tomorrow is a work day and Saturday I am going to Maker Faire! YAY!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

An inspiration + new About Me Section

Today I was inspired by this collage by Peggy Dembicer. I love the mixture of bead with the bold colors and fonts. So cool, kicky, and fun. Right up my alley.

In other news, I figured out how to add pages in blogger to my site. It's actually a function w/in Blogger that you can add now.

Anyway, I added an about me that you'll see on the right side, so please check it out. It will give you maybe a little background about me, my family, growing up, and more that you didn't know.

Filling out the about me was a blog in itself. I'll be updating it from time to time.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Rosette Rings

Today I found this super cute ring tutorial by Vanessa Christenson via One Pretty Thing. Actually, I came upon this tutorial for a pretty flower corsage that led it to me (the ring tutorial makes the center part of the corsage).

I've seen the little wrapped flowers for a while and I didn't know how people did them, and now I know, so I'm super excited about that! It's so silly, you would have thought they were rocket science in my mind!

I love the step by steps in the tutorials on her site. So thourough and well photographed.

Just wanted to share. Hope you have a great Wednesday!!!

Until next time Swellions!!!

Alexa

New Shoes!

I got some new shoes at Macy's tonight! RocketDogs! I liked the little stitch on the side and the texture of them. I tend to gravitate toward black in my wardrobe (I swear, I prob have 7 or 8 pairs of black shoes already). I can't help it, it's what I like.

Here's another pic of me wearing them...I had to get some new OPI nail polish (in Shopping Frenzy) from Sephora to complete the look. I kinda did like the nail polish and had my own shopping frenzy.



I also spotted these Trompe L'oeil Slip-On Converse, which I seriously want now! They are so cool!!! I can only buy one pair of shoes at a time, but I found some great prices on Google shopping site!!! I found another pair that are natural and red. I think I like may like them more than the blue ones!



Tonight I also went to Build a Bear and made my niece Ava a bunny named Penelope. I recorded her a couple phrases..."I love you Ava", "Will you be my best friend?" and a giggle. Now that it's inside the bunny, it sounds kinda creepy (the laugh mainly, and when I recorded it, it had a echo). I know it will prob. annoy my sister! Haha, but I hope little Ava loves it. She is turning 1!

Well, that's my shopping excursion for the night! I hope you have a great Tuesday!!!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

A little blog housekeeping

I don't clean house very often, but I've been wanting to clean up my blog a little bit and make it look more organized and easier to navigate.

Things I am adding:

– A 3 column format so I can organize more of my buttons and links.

– Specific topic buttons on the side of my blog that are geared to my interests...DIY, PHOTOS, and DESIGN. I have a lot of work cataloging my posts ahead of me in the next couple of weeks to hone in on the posts that I think you guys will want to read. I hope you like them :)

– Links underneath my header that will lead to an About me, Portfolio, Contact Me, Shop (that is if I can get that one going fairly soon), and Press. I have seen a lot of other blogs out there doing it and I want my blog to be more like a web site than a blog.

– Links to more of my popular posts so that they are easier to find. I'm thinking "My Top 5 Searched for posts".

– Cute buttons that you can put on your blog to show your love for "The Swell Life". I like the ones on Dainty Squid's site.

I'm sure I'll have more ideas as I focus on the redesign. I really want to design something I'm really proud of.

Anyway, that's about it for tonight. I'll let you know of any features I have along the way as they come to me :)

Until next time Swellions!!!

Alexa

Can't forget my day job.

I don't know that I go too much into my daily activities while working at iLoveToCreate much but I wanted to show you a little snippit of the type of projects I do on a daily basis that I spotted while at Hancock Fabrics recently....signage for our Tulip® Paint Section.



I am always working on something new, whether it be concepting and collaborating on ads, tradeshow design, or social media. Since I've been there only a little over a year, just now am I starting to see actual packaging that I have created materialize. I still can't share or show you cause it's still another few months before it will even be in stores! Contrary to what you might think, the process of a product getting into your hands at the store takes a lot longer than you would think. We have lots of people on our design, decorating, and marketing teams that make the packaging, signage, and communication that you see in stores. And on top of that, there's another level of sales, manufacturing & production, and distribution to go through, not just at our company, but on a store level. So, I'm just one part of a very big puzzle.

So yeah, it's kinda crazy. But I like it that way and there's always a new challenge with a cool solution in the end.

And on a totally random and unrelated note, here's a cute Pixiecat photo!!



Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Five Fontalicious Fun Finds

Hi guys. Wanted to share some fun font discoveries...enjoy!


1. Love this site that tells you "What Type are You" via design giant Pentagram. Found via ManMadeDIY.


2. Check out this Helvetica Cake I found via SwissMiss.


3. Get inspired by old and new Movie Title Stills via Annyas.com


4. In need of some cool and contemporary fonts? That's what I'm sayin'! Head over to Smashing Magazine's 20 fresh and high quality free fonts.


5. I'm in love with the hand cut type and imagery on Owen Gildersleeve's site

Hope you have a great Thursday!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Pretty locket for Mom's Day and Roses!!

For a mother's day present for my boyfriend's mom, I broke out the pliers and wire cutters and went to town making this pretty locket necklace. I enjoyed making it. I tried to keep it subtle and simple and pretty. She loves flowers and I actually photographed it on one of her roses. Inside it revealed cute pics of her grandaughter that I sepia-toned...



She really loves it and is looking forward to showing it off and the pictures inside. I love lockets and that you can hold people next to your heart while wearing them.

Here's a couple of other pretty rose photos I shot in her rose garden this past weekend as well. The colors are pretty intense!!





Hope you had a great Tuesday. I spent tonight watching Lost. The pieces are finally starting to come together on Lost! I'm glad it is starting to make sense now.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Crafty Blogger Links!

Check out what the crafty bloggers are up to this week!!

About Family Crafts
Let's celebrate Half-Way to Halloween! Some people may think that it is too early to think about Halloween, but actually, Halloween seems to top the of list of people's favorite crafting holidays.

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Alexa shows you how to make Fontalicious Wall Art that is bold, graphic, and fun! And definitely cheap and easy to do!

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside's got a great tutorial on how to paint on fusible web, a photo of a beautiful Roman Stripe quilt from the book-The Quilt, fun photos from a bee field trip with author Kim Flottum and a "Mean Girl" Logo from the book Letterhead & Logo Design 10.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Tammy is celebrating about her summer vacation, but at the same time, she's trying to focus on the long "to do" list!

Cross Stitch at About.com
One of Connie's friends says the free When This You See pattern looks like a brain. Connie was inspired by the pocketbook plant. No matter what you see, the abstract design with traditional saying will be a fun stitch.

Farm Girl Roots, City Girl Style
Linda cut out the pieces for another of her Grandma Paper Doll quilts. Check out Violet's design.

Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter
Madge reviews Jean Campbell's gorgeous new book Steampunk Style Jewelry.

Mixed Media Artist
A wonderful quote by Dorothy Day inspired Cyndi to make a little canvas board assemblage.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Paper Jewelry inspired by The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Jewelry Making Techniques by Vannetta Seecharran

The Artful Crafter
How to navigate the sea of digital file extensions.

The Crochet Dude
Drew has just released the names and addies of the Michaels test stores nationwide that will be carrying his new line of crochet tools and kits - starting THIS weekend!

What a colorful world

I've taken a few recent pics of some very colorful things and I wanted to share...









I had a pretty busy night, I stopped over at Michaels Craft Store to take photos of a Mother's Day Event and went to two galleries for Art Hop. They weren't at all close together so I had to drive all over the place. Needless to say, I'm tired.

On a positive note, my apple pie was well recieved. And I'm going to go to a b-day party and make a necklace tomorrow night. When I was in Michaels picking out the beads, I kinda wanted to go home and make it then and there. I'll be sure to share with you my creation in the next couple of days.

Hope you have an awesome end to your week!!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

The Big Apple, Pie that is

Check it out, for a second time in a week, I made an apple pie from scratch! Boo ya! I'm making this to take into work tomorrow, so there will be some super special lucky recipients of my pie.

By the way, I used this recipe by HBIC for the filling and this recipe by Jean Haseloh on Allrecipes.com for the crust. And obviously, if it wasn't good, I wouldn't be making it two times in a row in a week!

Anyway just wanted to share. Oh, and I took this photo too. I thought this photo was very fresh and pure-looking.



Hope you have a great Thursday!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Super Simple Fontalicious Wall Art

If anyone asked me what my personal style was, I would say you could sum it up in the photo above. I LOVE fonts, bold&graphic art, stripes, and pops of color. I had been eying the wrapping paper the project is sitting on above for quite a while before I purchased it at Michaels. It would make fab wallpaper or shelf liner. Or you could do as I did and use it for a photography backdrop. I love it so much.

Anyway, to the project at hand. I wanted to create a project using these two plaques that I purchased at Target for $1.28 each a few months back. They weren't my style, but I knew I could make other cool wall art of them. They are a hard/faux wood surface and you can find them just about anywhere. If you can't find them at Target, I suggest looking at a TJ Maxx, Ross, or Marshalls. They have a lot of cheap surfaces that you can modify in different shapes and sizes.



Here's supplies instructions on how to make your own fontalicious wall art!

Super Simple Fontalicious Wall Art

Supplies
– wall plaques (I used ones approx. 8"x8" so that I could print it out on my printer)
– Aleene's Tacky Spray
– White cardstock
– Black spray paint
– ruler
– X-acto knife and mat
– Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator

Instructions

1. Spray paint plaque the same consistent color (I chose black) so that it covers image and leaves you with a clean slate for your project.

2. Measure your plaque size and make a document size in your Photoshop or Illustrator document that size. If you are doing this in Photoshop, make sure to set it up to be 300 dpi.

3. Find a font you like (I suggest a Sans Serif, it is easier and more linear looking) and type your letter...as you can see, I chose my initials. Duplicate that letter and flip upside down and place next to it, spacing apart as you desire. Use your align and spacing tools that come with your program if you need to. Keep copying and pasting these two letters to fill your document size. It's ok if the fonts go off the page, I actually thought it looked stronger being cropped this way.

4. Pick one of the letters out and colorize it in your desired color. Print out your creation, making sure to either make a faint outline around the document page or adding crop marks to your printing settings. Let dry

5. Cut paper according to outline/crop marks. Spray back of print with Tacky Spray. Position and smooth out onto plaque. Now it's ready for hanging.

Here's a little detail of the finished art.


Until next time Swellions!

Alexa