Blessed Christmas Card - Cherish Every Moment

This is a Christmas card I designed when my boys were younger. I had just had my 3rd and last son and was feeling so overwhelmingly blessed by my family and the life that God had given me. It was a simple life but so full of love and laughter. Obviously with a newborn and life in general, things weren’t always easy, but I wanted to really focus on the blessings I had in my life. I was constantly thinking about cherishing every moment with my boys, for one, because this little baby was my last, but also because all my boys were growing and changing so quickly and the days and weeks and years were just flying by! And here I am now - I blinked, and that little baby is 7 and it’s the last year I’ll have with no teenagers!

As I work on my current Christmas card, I still feel so full of gratitude. Our life isn’t perfect, and we have had all sorts of ups and downs, but I still find myself overwhelmed with all that I’m blessed with. I’m so thankful for my husband and how well he takes care of his family and how much he loves each one of us. I’m excited about new creative ventures and future possibilities. I’m thankful for friendships and memories made this year! I’m thankful we now have my family AND my husband’s parents living close to us. I’m thankful for things I’ve learned this year and the way God opens and closes doors to guide us through life. I’m thankful for a cozy house and food on the table. We have hopes, dreams and goals for the future, but we are in want of nothing, really.

I focus our Christmas card on our boys (rather than the whole family) because I look forward to taking the photo of them each year and honestly, family photos don’t always happen each year. I zoom in on those faces each year, and I’m reminded of all that my husband and I are blessed with. My boy are learning and growing, and they are healthy and happy. They have made new friends and have been good friends. They’re surrounded by a great grandparent, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who love them and support them. They love God and have a beautiful church family and many friends who add so much to their lives. They love each other and they love life. They’re crazy and full of energy, drive each other nuts on some days, but they have kind hearts and they love each other fiercely. Each day holds it’s challenges, but they’re learning skills to carry them through life with strength and positivity. I hope they always see how blessed they are, because even through the hard times, there is always something to be thankful for!

Now that I’m getting all emotional, back to business - you can find this Christmas card design in my etsy shop here. I’m working on getting different Christmas card designs up in my shop. I’d love the chance to design your Christmas card now or in the future! I typically come up with a couple of unique designs each year and add them to the collection of designs I’ve done over the years. And I’m always open to new ideas if you would like something unique designed!

I hope you all have a holiday season full of blessings and thankfulness and you are able to cherish each moment amidst the hustle and bustle of the holiday. This year I am trying to simplify and enjoy what really matters - spending quality time with my family and making simple memories. Kids grow fast and people pass away, so make the most of each moment (without stressing yourself out about it!) and have a beautiful holiday season!

Peachy Keen

I entered the current Spoonflower design challenge: Western Americana. The prompt was “to celebrate the rich heritage and rugged landscapes in this adventurous frontier to create a crowd-pleasing design that looks like it would belong on home decor and apparel use cases you’d see in a saloon, on a ranch or at a rodeo.”

I decided to submit a more feminine design. Maybe one you’d see in a girl’s bedroom or maybe on her horse blanket or a dress she may wear.

I added this pattern to my spoonflower shop and named it Peachy Keen, an old western phrase. I have other color variations I’m playing around with as well that I will add to my shop at some point, but this color scheme best fit the challenge.

Transposed Harmony Collection Logo

While still in the design process for my pattern collection, I named the collection Transposed Harmony and I designed a logo for it. A logo isn’t required for pattern design, but if I ever decide to license this collection, it’s good to have a logo to represent it. It could be used on websites and even printed on the selvage (the edge of the fabric where the pattern is not printed), if licensed for fabric.

Transposed is a musical term that means to write or play (music) in a different key or register from the original. A non-musical definition is to transfer to a different place or context. I had considered using the word Repurposed, but Transposed was the perfect replacement since it’s a musical term and gave the same idea I was trying to convey. The piano was repurposed from a working instrument to art and then from wall art to a pattern collection.

The definition of Harmony is the combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce chords and chord progression having a pleasing effect. It also can mean a consistent, orderly, or pleasing arrangement of parts; congruity. Harmonious patterns is what I have worked hard at designing in this collection so they can be used in multiple combinations and for many different purposes.

Visually, the lines in the letters of the Transposed font reminds me of the lines on a musical staff and compliments the motif used as the O. Transposed looks more structured like music on a staff would be, while harmony is a more fluid script font to stand for the way that music sounds. Music can be very technical, but there is a fluidity to it where the musician has the liberty to add emotion and stretch the timing in a way that is unique to them and the way they feel the music. I think the structured font of Transposed and the fluid font of harmony really compliment each other nicely.

I also wrote a statement that I think fully encompasses the inspiration behind my collection as well the meaning I’m trying to convey.

This collection effortlessly blends the vintage allure of an old family piano with motifs inspired by its intricate inner mechanics and its musical past. While the piano is no longer creating music, its creative transformation inspired a collection that harmoniously weaved a tale of family, music and repurposed artistry.

Honey Jar Label and Flyer Design

I grew up around beekeeping, but as much as I loved bugs of all kinds as a child, I was scared of bees. I do, however, have great memories of extracting the honey with my dad. You’d think I’d have gotten into beekeeping before I did, as I loved gardening and my little backyard farm, but between the apprehension around bees, and the time I just didn’t have without a baby in my arms or a toddler in tow, I never considered it as an adult…until the pandemic!

Over the pandemic, I realized my youngest was old enough to not be attached at the hip and to follow the directions “stay over there!” My husband was temporarily working from home, the kids were temporarily doing schooling from home, and we would be home a lot more than we used to be, considering all that was happening in the world around us. I was in my happy place being home and surrounded by my family, animals and projects and this seemed like a good time to try something new! I decided to get some hives of my own and start beekeeping with my dad and my middle son, who always loved insects and especially loved hanging with the adults.

Our little side-kick

The first time I was surrounded by swarming bees, my heart was pounding, but I remained calm on the outside, finished the job, and learned to trust my bee suit! I quickly got over my apprehension of bees - exposure therapy, I suppose - although you’ll still see me in a bee suit when I’m out tending to my hives. I find honey bees so fascinating and have learned so much! I thought maybe it would be a short, educational phase to get through the pandemic, but I have come to really love beekeeping, spending time with my dad and teaching my kids, as well as sharing some experiences and honey with family and friends. I am still learning more each year, but also find myself challenged each year with something new - who knew beekeeping could throw so many curveballs! I certainly didn’t.

Our first package of bees!

I learned that wearing a hat with a brim kept the netting off my face so the bees wouldn't sting me through it! It does not feel good to get stung in the face and they know how to find the vulnerable areas!  

I have a little roadside stand where my boys sell vegetables, so after we extract honey, I keep some, gift some, and put some out for sale to cover all our beekeeping expenses and to give us a little extra cash to replace equipment as we need it. It’s no money-maker at the scale we are beekeeping, but it is very rewarding. The honey is wonderful and as fresh as we can get it! It is appreciated by honey-lovers and local people who struggle with seasonal allergies. The pollinators are appreciated by the gardeners and farmers, and the time with my dad and sons is irreplaceable and very meaningful to me.

I designed honey labels for us as well as a flyer to hang out at the stand. It is printed on a durable, waterproof material, so I haven’t had to update it since I designed it over 4 years ago. The sticker labels are also waterproof, which is necessary as they sometimes set outside on a shelf by the road and get rained on. After purchase, they can be rinsed if they get sticky. With 3 boys who make themselves tea and peanut butter and honey wraps, ours definitely gets sticky!

We had a variety of glass and plastic jars, so I designed several different sizes that could work on multiple jars. With the exception of the 2 oz bear, I left a small white box so I could write in the ozs or lbs. I used a photo of the hives on the farm I grew up on - Maegog Farm - and the place where my dad was already beekeeping. When I started beekeeping with him, we added a few more hives at my house, which is down the road from the farm. Maegog Farm is still our hub, as we have a room dedicated to extracting honey and storing all of our equipment.

The honey extracting process! When we extract, I try to let friends and family know in case they want to get involved!

Notice the difference in honey color that we get from year to year!

I definitely find a lot of inspiration in beekeeping and in the honey bee itself. I plan on designing a pattern collection in the future inspired by my experience with beekeeping!

Allegro

This is a fabric mockup of 2 color versions of my pattern design I named Allegro.

Allegro means “at a brisk tempo” in music, and this busier pattern has a brisk movement back and forth. All my patterns in this collection are named with a musical term. Since the musical staff is made up of lines, I want to have one “stripe” pattern that would mirror that, but since I’m not that fond of actual stripes typically, this is my version!

Musical staff

This pattern design was based on some of the pieces that are shown in this wall art below I made out of piano pieces.

I think this pattern would be cute on a baby onesie! If you sew and you decide to make anything with my pattern, I would love to see it! Please tag me on IG @rachelcraftonart

Family Cookbook and 90th Birthday Apron

About 10 years ago, the day before I went into labor with my second son, we got my Grandma’s “labor of love” sent off to the printer! She had compiled a family cookbook full of family recipes, history and photos. I was able to design the inside and outside covers and the divider pages for the cookbook.

The photos on the front and back cover are of my grandma when she was a little girl. She loves to cook and she loves to talk on the phone, so the photos were the perfect representation of her. The photo I scanned for the front cover had been hand-colorized many years ago, and I was able to scan the black and white photo on the back cover and colorize it to match.

A few years ago, I was able to take these photos of my Grandma with her cookbook. They are special photos I will cherish always.

This past June, we had a 90th birthday party for her and I was able to get some aprons made in her honor using the same artwork, but adding the words “90 Years of Love and Laughter.”