Boo!

"Boo!" Halloween Card

Halloween is almost here and Cardallegiance is commemorating the holiday with two new designs! The first one, pictured above, channels old, cracked stone (the kind you'd find in an old mansion or as part of a tombstone, perhaps?). Here's a shot of the inside, too:

"Boo!" card- inside message

The second design, seen below, was inspired by jack-o-lanterns of recent years. Is it a bit cannibalistic? You be the judge. Someone asked me recently if this hungry pumpkin card would work for a child and my response was, "depends on the kid." Little children and the "G Rated" crowd weren't the intended audience for this card. It's more probable, however, that older kids, teens or adults would go for a design like this.

"Hungry Pumpkin" Halloween Card

Pumpkin Card- inside message

Keep it simple and inspire some fright this year by sending one of these fresh designs to someone.

......and have a Spooktacular Halloween!

Lattices and Filigree

Brass "Lattice Pendant"

The filigree earrings I made (pictured above) have been popular recently. Since these earbobs remind me of a "Lattice pendant" crafted some time ago, I thought this would be the perfect time for an entry about lattices and filigree.

There's something charming about the delicate swirls and elegant wirework typically found in filigree. When I first discovered these diamond shaped filigree elements, I thought they called out for some great decoration. Initially, I made an earlier version of the earrings that  incorporated an aqua teardrop. However, the most recent incarnation of the design (seen above) uses a garnet colored tumbled stone.

Much like filigree, pierced designs-- like the "Lattice pendant" pictured above-- can incorporate great decorative elements. I was inspired to create this "Lattice pendant"  because of my attraction to angles and swirls of all types. Thus, what started out as an experiment in geometry culminated in the creation of this elegant rhombus.

How was the "Lattice pendant" made? The physical process involved drilling, piercing, sawing, soldering, and polishing by hand. Perhaps the next series of this type will involve multiple castings.Such mass production would  cut down on time and cost. Then in future collections, you may see more lattices from Cardallegiance with a few slight modifications to vary the design.

Cheers to beauty and all things swirly, delicate, and filigree! Check out the filigree earrings and new selections in the Cardallegiance Etsy shop.

Rosaries: Fashion or Function?

Cardallegiance rosaries and rosary-style choker (center)

For some time now, rosaries have appeared around the necks of celebrities, fashionistas, and the average Jane or Joe on the street. This begs the question: "Are rosaries objects of fashion or objects with a function?"

Rosaries were created for a specific purpose, namely, to guide people in meditation on the life of Jesus (hence, the crucifix found at the bottom of a traditional rosary). The five sections of ten beads, known as decades, each represent a different event in the life of Christ and those who pray the rosary use its beads to aid in that meditation. For more information on how all this works, click here.

If you've read this far, you can guess where Cardallegiance stands on the "fashion vs. function" question. Although Cardallegiance sells handcrafted rosaries, the intent is for these objects to be used for their proper function-- prayer and meditation. As you can see in the picture at the start of this post, Cardallegiance also makes rosary-style necklaces. These pieces incorporate some visual elements like partitioned sections of beads, but the designs vary when it comes to how big sections are, what colors come into play, or what sort of drops or centerpieces are used.

Why is this important? I like to let customers know what they're buying. I also like when customers understand the design concept and why a particular piece was created. I've had conversations with some of you about card designs or jewelry pieces, so I know that you like a good story. This topic is also important because Cardallegiance wants to respect sacred objects--whatever their origin. It's important to note, though, that when jewelry and cards (of course!) are created, I may draw on many sources of inspiration. These muses can be religious or secular.

In a nutshell, the important thing to remember is that although fashion does rock, it can  and should be overruled  by ideals we hold more dear. 

Happy Birthday to... shoe!

Funky Fresh Birthday Card

Here it is-- your preview of the newest addition to the Cardallegiance family! The Funky Fresh holiday design proved so popular that I'm now introducing you to his fraternal twin-- Funky Fresh Birthday (FFB  for short). In comparison to her sibling, FFB is a little sleeker with a denim-like texture and some cool pops of aqua color. Her cupcake decal tells you she's ready to party while her graffiti-style script reveals an edgy, cosmopolitan side. Hipster to the core, FFB struts her multilingual stuff by wishing you a "Happy Birthday" in six languages-- English, Spanish, French, German, Vietnamese, and Amharic. *The transparent "Cardallegiance 2011" text will disappear in the final version, of course!*

Keep an eye out for FFB; she will soon appear among the selections at Cardallegiance's Etsy shop. You can also find Funky Fresh Birthday IRL (that's "in real life") at Van Ness-UDC's farmer's market from 10am to 1:30pm Saturdays in the District. Get more info on the market from these three hot spots: local radio station WPGC, live Twitter updates, and Farmers Market Online.

Inspiration....Yeah!!!

I'll keep this short and sweet-- I wish the summer heat would do the same! Inspiration rocks. It's what keeps me going. I've been delving more into jewelry crafting, using found objects (beads, filigree, etc) due to my new gig as a vendor at the Van Ness-UDC Farmer's Market in DC. Read a blurb about the June 2011 opening of the market here.

Since it's summer, one of my biggest inspirations is flora. You can see that reflected in my peony card and envelope design above. What can you expect next? Hydrangea, roses, and maybe some lillies, too. These are likely to appear in new jewelry designs like the one I've posted here. I expect flowers will translate in a more literal way than the design concept reflected in Lavender Aura....we'll see!

Light the Fire!

Yes, it's the middle of July. Yes, it's hot. No, that's not really the key inspiration for today's post. I created this design for some folks who recently received confirmation. If you've never heard of it and want the wiki "low down" on confirmation, click here. Otherwise, read on. Browsing this post should give you a general idea of my inspiration.

First, take another look at that pic above (you may want to click and enlarge it). Using my powers of creativity, I embedded some text right through that red heart. Look closely and you'll read the text-- knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord, counsel, fortitude, understanding , and wisdom. These are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed on a person once he or she undergoes this spiritual rite of passage. The golden flames also incorporate some of the same wording.

My goal here was to create a bold, colorful, simple design. In the end, I think it works since it really expresses the meaning of the occasion-- starting a fire that will ultimately move a person to do good works in the world. Check out the Youtube vid of a song that was a "fire starter" for this design.

Junk Mail!

Yes, junk mail! As the saying goes, one person's trash is another person's treasure. When I receive junk mail, I usually toss it directly in the trash. I recently decided to break this trend and save some trees by converting these items into artful envelopes. Contrary to my usual design process,  I did no drafts or preliminary sketches for these concepts. I just let the lines and pre-printed text "speak" to me as each design took on a life of its own. (Give me a break-- I have to write like an "ar-TISTE" sometimes!). Now that I've given you a chunk of text and a preview above, here's the skinny on each design:

 

Design 1: Crazy Faces....because mail is tasty!

The "place postage here" box and the vertical lines on this business envelope inspired me to create toothy, crazy grins. I can't decide which is my favorite-- the postage-eating face (demanding postage be placed "here" in three languages) or the robot-looking face beneath the back flap. Overall, this design is my top pick of the whole collection...perhaps I was channeling masterpieces of Mesoamerican art when I created it.

Design 2: ICE CREAM!!

SCREAM for "Ice cream!" I know screaming for ice cream is cheesy, but I LOVED creating this design. Once again, I started with those vertical lines to the left of the postage box. Twin pops seemed like the natural way to go and boxes morphed into sleeves. Then the whole thing evolved into a delicious spread of ice creamery and quirky hands:

Random question: Can you balance an icecream cone on the tip of your index finger? If so, maybe you're a closet Globetrotter, or one of the Xmen with the weirdest mutant power ever. I could really buy into that kind of talent-- especially if it would score me bonus scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough, coffee, or mint chocolate chip....mmmmm

Design 3: Geometric

This was the first design I created for the series. I started with the "Business Reply" box and just went from there, playing around with darks and lights, tapered angles, etc. I feel like my eyes are paying tricks on me when I look at this sucker, and that's a good thing!

Design 4: Flora

Flora was the second envelope designed for the series. After doing something so straight-edged and geometric, I had to go back to nature and get organic. Again, I started with the "Business Reply" box. That started flowing into some crazy, hippie-looking vegetation and out came all the flowers, buds and vines. A strange garden grows here, but it looks like a nice cozy place for a letter to live.

Design 5: Baroque Frame

I thought of all things baroque when crafting this. What began with one little frame around the postage box (...starting with the postage box? Big surprise, I know:P) turned into a series of frames everywhere...and voila! Now I kind of wanna go all Lady Gaga, slap a handle on this baby and have it milled into a 3D object. Then I can hold the contraption up to my face whilst I go around looking through all the windows at people who will look back at me and think I'm crazy.

 Design 6: Music

 In the words of Rihanna, "Please don't stop the music!" This design was a fast one to whip up, and I know many people will identify with it as I do. Even if you don't read music, there's something really awesome about getting a letter wrapped in notation. Yes, I cheated a little with the address label because it's not quite finished. I was so excited about this design, though, that I decided to post it anyway. A note to the perfectionists: I'll probably update this post with a shot of the finished product when it's ready. Until then, enjoy the view.

I can't end this post without a shout-out to all the AWESOME FATHERS and FATHER FIGURES out there. I didn't do a Father's Day-specific card for this entry, however, any of these would do well for a guy who likes ice cream, music, or flowers (hey-- don't feed into stereotypes. Guys can like plants and baroque art, too!).

Many thanks to you real men for all you do to raise and support your kids and your grown-up kids.

Finally, if you like what you see here, email me and I'll hook you up with some recycled art. Option 2: visit these designs on Etsy. Go ahead. Recycled envelopes get lonely, too!