This is a pencil portrait I drew recently. The woman in the portrait gave it to her husband for an anniversary gift. The heart with their initials in it had significance to them, and she wanted it incorporated into the portrait. It had been a while since I had done a pencil portrait, so I really enjoyed getting back into it. After I started this portrait, I found a used wooden drawing table that was the perfect size for my office. I was pretty excited because I had been looking for one, but didn’t have a lot of space and didn’t want to spend a lot. The only problem with this one, was that the last artist got paint on the surface, so the it was pretty rough – but I saw the potential and you really can’t beat $10…plus I knew my husband was just dying to use his new sander. =) Casey sanded and refinished the surface for me and now it’s perfectly smooth, making my drawing experience even better. =)
A funny thing I noticed while drawing, is that I’m so used to doing graphic design where there is an “undo” button for everything, that it occasionally pops into my head, but then I remind myself, I actually have to take out the eraser and undo it myself. =)
Below, is the original photo of her and her husband, as well as the heart photo. Don’t worry, the portrait is supposed to have the initials j.m. – not j.s. Thankfully she had me change that before they were set it stone. =)
And here are some of my progress photos.
In progress...
Still in progress...
Finished!
I’m back! I apologize for neglecting my blog. While I have been quite busy with work and life in general, I’ve had a “slight” distraction added to everything else. For those of you that don’t know, my husband and I are expecting our first baby! I am 18 weeks along tomorrow. 2 more weeks until we find out if we’re having a boy or a girl. Can’t wait. =)
Baby Crafton at 12 weeks
We have just launched the new Cirque du Jour website – check it out!
Oh it’s been way too long since I posted last. But I have been busy! Today I want to share with you the business cards I designed for Nicole Gadbois’ business, Flowers By Nicole. Nicole makes all kinds of flower accessories, from hair clips to corsages.
When I began designing, Nicole had decided she wanted a flower illustration of some sort on her business cards. After going through various options, we decided, while the designs were nice, they didn’t jump out like I wanted them to. I wanted her business card to be unique and striking. If it was up on a bulletin board full of business cards, I wanted it to stand out. I also wanted everyone to know, at a glance, what her product is. With a name like Flowers by Nicole, people could easily think she’s a florist if they don’t read further (and they often don’t). I suggested she let me take some photos. Her flower’s colors alone are striking. She didn’t want her face to be front and center, but to almost be unrecognizable, so I took a photo at an angle where you can see how beautiful the flower can look in someone’s hair, but not showing too much of her face. With the photographs, it is clear what she creates. I took photos of some of her other flowers and put them on the back to show a few more examples of her products. After putting together a design with these photos, we both agreed this was the way to go.
Do you have a wedding coming up? Prom or a dance recital? Need a gift idea?
In addition to the many flower accessories that are available, Nicole also fills custom orders!
Become a fan on facebook!
Check our her recently opened etsy shop!
This is a logo I designed for Westchester Woods Furniture in Colchester, CT. They sell mainly unfinished furniture and some finished. The business has been around for about 10 years, but is under new ownership, and the new owners wanted a fresh, new look. It was a challenge to design a logo that was both unique and fitting. We went through many concepts together, but the owners really liked the tree concept. There are far too many “tree logos” out there, so this is a unique twist on the tree concept, with the various leaves representing the different types of wood that can be used to make furniture.
Be looking for the grand opening!
200 Lebanon Avenue
Colchester, CT 06415-1222
(860) 537-8882
I’ve always liked hats – but I’m especially intrigued by vintage hats. I had a little fun with the self timer on my camera and took some pictures of myself wearing some vintage hats to sell on etsy. I also took a few of my brother Michael.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/69893742/vintage-wool-tweed-hat-with-feather-man
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70157773/vintage-womans-navy-blue-wool-felt-hat
http://www.etsy.com/listing/70160039/vintage-man-or-woman-brown-corduroy-hat?ref=v1_other_1
In addition to sharing my latest work, I like to share work from other creative people as well. Today I want to share with you Willow’s Lunch by Kelly Polizzi. She has got to be the most creative Mom I have ever met – and she has 2 very lucky children. Her lunches are absolutely adorable and such a creative way to get your kids to eat healthy and love every minute of it! See just some of the many lunches she has created…they’re almost too cute to eat!
Kelly Polizzi
Kelly is an amazing Mom with 2 adorable children (boy and girl). She is originally from London, England but moved to Connecticut, US when she married her American husband in 2005. Kelly’s passion is cooking, and she channels her creativity through cooking in some amazing ways. Kelly shares her ideas, recipes and photos on her blog Crouching Mother, Hidden Toddler (LOVE the blog name). Check it out!
http://kpolizzi.blogspot.com/
I recently designed a Christmas card and birth announcement for my new nephew Gavin (you’ve seen all sorts of pictures of him lately). It then motivated me to reopen my neglected (and empty) etsy shop and start out by selling custom birth announcements. Anyone interested can purchase a template, send their own photos and wording to me, and in return would get a finished birth announcement file to take (or upload) to their favorite photo printer. This allows the buyer to print as many as they would like and in their own timeline, as well as email the file to family and friends if they want to save on postage.
I will continue to work on my shop and will soon have other templates as well such as valentine’s day card, graduation cards, Christmas cards, etc. Do you like the idea, but don’t see anything that is your taste or for the right occasion? Send me a conversation on etsy or email me at rachel.crafton@gmail.com to discuss it if you’re interested.
See my shop here: www.ohfiddlesticks.etsy.com
See below some of my new birth announcements. Thank you Gavin for being such a good model – I apologize you were depicted as a girl in many of these. =)
Is there anything you would like to see available in my shop or that may be of interest to someone else? Keep checking back to see new items! Thanks for looking. =)
Here are some of the photos from the first photo shoot of my new nephew, Gavin Michael. After you click on the picture, you can just click “Gavin’s Newborn Photo Shoot” again to get back to all the pictures. If you want to see the photo even larger, just click on it again.
Gavin is only 3 days old in these pictures. He was such a good boy! I took all these photos in the guest room of my sister’s house, and used props from around her house. It goes to show you really don’t need a studio setup to get great pictures. We cranked the space heater up to 80 degrees, so he was as happy as could be (even if I was dripping sweat). =)
It’s a good idea to get newborn pictures within the first 10 days of delivery, because it is amazing how much a new baby changes in the first couple weeks of their life! I’m sure the last thing a new mom wants to do is drag the whole baby room (outfits, diapers, props, etc.) along with their newborn to a studio to get pictures while still recovering from the delivery. Keeping your baby in your own home makes it easier to feed and change your baby. A happy baby is key to good pictures! To all you moms-to-be out there (in CT) shoot me an email if you would like any pricing on baby portraits. It is also a good gift idea if your friend is about to have a baby. I would also be willing to come to the hospital and catch the moments after (not during) delivery when the baby meets their family and friends for the first time. It would be more of a photojournalistic approach so that everyone can just relax and enjoy the new baby and just forget that I am there (except for the flash going off, of course). Those are moments you will never want to forget.
Email me for quotes or questions.
