Ringing in the New Year with... Peace, Love + Paper Party Hats!

Peace, Love + Paper Party Hats!
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Designers were asked to celebrate their New Year traditions in this week's Design Challenge! With everything happening in the world today I thought that spreading some peace and love as my holiday tradition would be a great way to ring in the new year!

Happy New Year everyone!

Voting will open Thursday, December 17th, 2015 and stay open for two weeks instead of one (Spoonflower is skipping a contest in observance of Christmas). Please Vote Here!

Knit + Purl

Knit + Purl ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

The Spoonflower designers were asked to... 'Create a knitting-inspired design just in time for the cozy holiday season'.

A handmade 'I love you' stitched from the heart!

I was so excited to squeeze this design in this week, it was such a fun design topic! 

Voting will open Thursday, December 10th, 2015. Please VOTE HERE!

2016 Tea Towel Calendars!

It's that time of year again!

2016 'flea market finds' calendar (white)
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

2016 'flea market finds' calendar (avocado)
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

2016 'choose happy' calendar
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

2016 'farm friends' calendar

©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Spoonflower is hosting it's annual design contest for tea towel calendars.
I have re-issued my 'farm friends' calendar for 2016, and added 2 other new calendars (in 2 color ways) as well! (Previewed at the scale of a linen/cotton fat quarter (27" x 18" oriented horizontally).

I have until Tuesday the 27th of October to decide which calendar to enter into the contest, so if anyone has a preference - let me know! All 4 Calendars are currently available for purchase at Spoonflower. (Great holiday gift - just hem + give!)

Voting starts on Thursday, October 29th, 2015. Vote Here!

Silly Squid + Cephalopods

My first design entry in a few months after moving from Florida celebrates these fascinating undersea creatures. Cephalopods are the classification that includes the squid, nautilus, octopus and cuttlefish!

Silly Squid
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs.
All Rights Reserved.

 

Silly Squid + Cephalopods
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs.
All Rights Reserved.

Aspergillus Fumigatus
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs.
All Rights Reserved. 

This week Spoonflower asked designer to create a pattern using microorganisms. This is my artistic interpretation of the fungi that causes an eye infection! Weird, but true!!

My Life Reboot!

Here I sit, in an apartment on the 32nd floor overlooking the beautiful skyline of Toronto. Looking at house listings in Boston and trying to get a handle on what the hell happened since Hanna's Graduation.

Hanna's grad pic!

Since my last post there have been many changes in my family.

Midnight loved a car ride!

After Hanna graduated from High School, we put our house of 15 years (in Florida) on the market and it sold really fast. We moved out and put our stuff in storage while we look for a new house in the Boston area (1200 miles away).

In the process of packing up the house our 14 year old black lab 'Midnight' passed away. He is sorely missed.

We packed up our older daughter Olivia and moved her into her dorm at Boston College,

Livi with us at Boston College!

 then my husband and I packed up our younger daughter Hanna and moved her into her dorm at the University of St. Andrews... in Scotland!

Empty nesters without a nest.

Hanna at St Andrews
in Scotland!

I am so proud of our girls! They are getting settled into school now... Olivia just got moved up to copy editor at her school paper and Hanna is going out for the Crew team. I just can't believe how quickly time flew by, they were just babies, it all went by in a flash.

Our silly girls!

My sister and her husband are kind enough to lend their guest room to us when we're in Boston to search for a house. Did I mention that my husband has been commuting from Florida to Toronto for the past two years. We didn't want to move the girls in their third and fourth years of high school so yes, he commuted to Canada for the past two years.

My studio mate and best dog in the world isn't here to keep me company anymore, but I know he is happy and free of pain wherever he is, (hopefully catching a ride in the backseat!)

...and I don't have a place to call home,

yet.

I guess chapter two is just beginning... its a life reboot.
After two years T and I can finally be together.
Soon we'll find a new house.
We'll welcome a new puppy.
And, our girls will come to our new home for Christmas!

Me and T at the old course
in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Everglades Alligators!

National Parks are the focus of this weeks challenge.

Everglades Alligators ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Designers were asked to create a pattern to represent a national park close to them. I live in south Florida and am closest to the Everglades National Park. I chose to focus on my favorite Everglades creatures... alligators, and of course some birds including egrets and the great blue heron! I finished the pattern by adding some water snakes and tropical greenery like sea grape leaves, water lilies and palm fronds.

Voting for this design contest will open Thursday, July 23rd, 2015, and continue until Thursday July 30th! Vote Here!

While living in Florida over the past 15 years my family and I have encountered alligators from time to time in our own back yard. (I took these photos of alligators on the golf course behind our house from my patio!)

We see large alligators like this one fairly regularly.
I took this photo behind my house on the golf course.

Every once in a while an alligator has to be removed
if he's considered a 'nuisance alligator' and he's over 8' long!

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation
Commission sent out Trapper Nick
to move this guy out to the everglades.

Out for a stroll...

It's in my purse!

'You can tell a lot about a person by what's in their purse.' Spoonflower's prompt this week was to create a pattern using the items in your purse!

It's in my purse! ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

I don't know what story is told by the items in my purse, but here it is! Of course artistic license has been applied here with the artwork on the items like the notebook, makeup bag, phone case and purse. (I drew the items with the artwork that I wish I had!)
Voting will open Thursday, July 9th, 2015 and continue until Thursday, July 16th, 2015. VOTE HERE!

Llama Llove!

Spoonflower's prompt this week… Llama's!

'Llama Llove' ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

'Llama Llove' repeat

"It's time to travel to the South American Andes mountains to show your llama love! Give a go at creating a lovable llama themed design."

This pattern started like all of my designs with research on the prompt. I loved the pictures on Pinterest of the Peruvian Llama Glama. The people there adorn their pets with pompom's and decorative blankets and thought it would be fun to use some of their bright colors in this design.
Next came the drawings… I drew lots of llama's, pompom's, flowers, birds and cacti on my iPad, then imported them into photoshop. I developed the icons using my color palette and put together a repeat. Ta Dah!!

 Voting will open Thursday, July 2nd, 2015. Vote Here!

MATS Bootcamp 2015 wrap-up!

Thought I would post my illustrations and patterns from my most recent class with Lilla Rogers. Her Make Art That Sells(MATS) 2015 Bootcamp is a course that presents artists with monthly challenges to pump-up their portfolio… and it did not disappoint. The assignments are meant to push your creative boundaries and try designing for additional markets and products that you may not have before.

January - Gift Market -
Edwardian Brooch Journal Cover. (digital)

©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs

February - Wall Art - Home Decor Market
Paint traditionally directly onto wood! (gouache on wood)

©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs

March - break for MATS 4B - 5 week class

April - Advertising Market - 
Poster design for live event! (digital)

©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs

May - Home Decor Market -
Create a plate using crustaceans and pattern designs combined. (digital)

©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs

June - Editorial -
Compose an illustration to accompany an article in Forbes Magazine "How To Succeed At Becoming A Digital Nomad". by Tanya Mohn (digital)

©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs.

Old-Time Lemonade!

This week's design... Lemonade!

'Old-Time Lemonade' ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

The Spoonflower challenge this week involves designing around the theme of fresh lemon juice, water and sugar coming together to make this delicious summer drink.

I chose to make a design with a retro feel. Vintage lemonade pitchers, lemons and their blossoms in a simple fresh palette. The chalkboard texture was added to continue the vintage feel!

Voting for this challenge starts today… Thursday, June 25th, 2015, and continues until Thursday July 2, 2015!   Please VOTE HERE!

Beach Brigade... Sandcastles for Spoonflower!

Sandcastles are the theme this week…

'Beach Brigade' ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved. 

Voting will open Thursday, June 4th, 2015. Vote HERE!

Kitchen Power… Watercolor power tools for Spoonflower!

'kitchen power' ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Let's face it, the only power tools being used in this house are in the kitchen!

Spoonflower's design prompt this week was to create a watercolor power tools design to be previewed at the fat quarter size (21" x 18"). Voting opens on Thursday, May 28, 2015.

Please Vote Here!

'Woodshop 101' Spoonflower top 10!

Detail of 'Woodshop 101' (Spoonflower photo)
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved

'Woodshop 101' (Spoonflower photo)
 ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved

Fat Quarter bundles including my 'Woodworking 101' available at Spoonflower.com
(Spoonflower photo) ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved

Thanks for the votes… last week's design made the top ten at Spoonflower! Now available for sale in 10 different fabric choices from Kona Cotton to silks, wallpaper and gift wrap as well as fat quarter bundles!!

Woodshop 101 for Spoonflower!

High school woodshop class is the inspiration for this week's design…

Woodshop 101
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Voting will open on Thursday, May 7th. Vote Here!

Garden Border Print for Mom!

Mother's Day is just next week and this week's design is for my Mom Claire!

Claire's Garden
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

My Mom loves flowers and she taught me the names of so many when I was growing up. With eight kids, various dogs, hamsters, turtles, fish and even a rabbit, things could get a little crazy at our house. In all of the chaos, my Mom found joy in her flower arrangement on the kitchen table. (It was sometimes the only thing that she could control and it brought her to a happy place.)

As I'm writing this memories of my childhood and picking flowers with my sisters from the woods next to our house are flooding my mind. Lily of the valley grew wild along with the 'turks cap' tiger lilies and the Queen Anne's Lace was everywhere... we loved to pick them for our beautiful Mom.

My sisters and I have raised our kids with fresh flowers on our tables as a reminder that we should appreciate the little things.

Love you Mom!

In honor of Mom, Spoonflower asked it's designer's to create a floral border print design to be previewed at the one yard size (42" x 36"). This type of print could be used for skirts, dresses, aprons or even for home dec use!

Voting will open on Thursday, April 30th. Vote Here!

The Island Life for Spoonflower!

Let's head to the islands!

'The Island Life' ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

This week's design challenge at Spoonflower celebrates islands. The best part of any island adventure for me is the unusual vegetation and birds. I don't live on an island but do live in the tropical zone of Florida where I have seen the Roseate Spoonbill, Sandhill Crane, Wood Stork, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret and White Ibis right in my own backyard. It still shocks me each time I see them. My husband and I moved here from snowy New Hampshire 15 years ago with our girls and each time I see these amazing birds I get so excited. Below are photo's I've taken, most are from the pond behind my house, with the exception of the flamingo which was taken at Lion Country Safari about 30 minutes from where I live.

Sandhill Cranes

Flamingo from the
Lion Country Safari
about 30 minutes away!

Snowy Egret

White Ibis

Great Egret with
Roseate Spoonbills
in the pond behind.

Voting opened on Thursday, April 9th and continues until Thursday, April 16th!  Vote Here!

Balloon Rides for Spoonflower!

'Balloon Rides!'
©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

This week's contest was to create a flying machine-themed design! I completed a similar assignment for this theme in my Lilla Rogers Make Art That Sells e-course, I used some of the icons from that finished piece and added some new icons to complete this pattern.

Voting will open on Thursday, April 2nd. Vote Here!

Southwest Baby Fabric for Carousel Designs at Spoonflower!

'Native Southwest Baby'
 © 2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Spoonflower teamed up with Carousel Designs for their Southwest Baby Bedding Design Challenge last week! Designers were to create a southwest-inspired fabric design to be used in a baby bedding collection.
I chose to design a sophisticated geometric pattern with a soft palette that could appeal to parents for their baby boys or girls. The hand drawn elements are composed to feel like traditional native american designs on blankets and rugs. I think this pattern would be great for babies, teens or in any grown-up space!

Voting opened last Thursday, March 26, 2015, and continues until this Thursday April 2nd 2015. Vote Here!

Nana's Vintage Kitchen!

This week's design challenge at Spoonflower was to create a 'spoon-themed' design.
I started my research by opening my kitchen drawers and began sketching what I found.

Nana's Vintage Kitchen ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs

Designing my pattern with only spoons seemed a little boring so I incorporated some drawings that I originally did for MATS4A last fall of the cool gadgets that I had inherited from my Nana. (My daughter Hanna especially likes the hand-mixer).

I assembled all of my drawings in photoshop and made an organized collection of the items using only their grey outline. I felt that there were so many shapes that the color palette had to be simple. I chose the smoky blue/green color because it worked well with the grey and really made the white pop. Plus I liked it! I've learned from the MATS (Make Art That Sells) classes that I've taken from Lilla Rogers over the past year and a half that I should be designing something that I would buy!

Voting opens on Thursday, March 12th. Please Vote Here!

Suzani by the Sea!

Coral, mint, black and white...

'Suzani by the Sea' ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

Spoonflower's challenge this week was to create a design using all four colors in this restricted palette,

restricted palette

no less, no more. The only restriction was the color, the design concept this week was left wide open, so I chose to make a Suzani* type print.

I had drawn hundreds of these elements for MATS 4A this fall and was looking for a way to make a design for Spoonflower using my sketches, so I opened my sketches in Photoshop and added my new palette. Then built my layered elements into designed motifs and created my pattern.

(*Suzani is an embroidered and decorative tribal textile made in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. Popular design motifs can include the sun, flowers, leaves, vines and an occasional bird or two.)

Voting opens on Thursday, March 5th and continues until Thursday, March 12th, 2015. Click Here To Vote!

'Bitsy and the Unicorn Princess' - Plush pattern design for Spoonflower!

'Bitsy and the Unicorn Princess' (cut + sew toy) ©2015 Patty Rybolt Designs. All Rights Reserved.

The Challenge: Spoonflower asked their design faithful to create a cut-&-sew pattern to make a plush mythical creature toy. The sewing pattern, with instructions, was to fit on a fat quarter of linen-cotton canvas (27" x 18").
My Solution: When I researched Mythical Creatures I found a few options to explore. First was a mermaid, but I had just designed one for the counting challenge. The other natural choice… a unicorn. I researched horses for body shape and drew a few with the profile of a realistic horse but when it came down to it, my original rough sketch looked like more fun.
I did my usual process to complete my illustration:  1. rough sketches in my sketchbook  2. then photographed them with my iPad  3. drew over my sketches to clean them up in the Adobe Ideas App. (this converts them to a vector image)  4. opened the sketches in Photoshop and chose a color palette  5. assembled the icons  6. finally lay out my icons on 27x18" file with a logo and cut lines.

Bitsy 

The Unicorn Princess

Voting opened on  Thursday, February 19th and continues until Thursday morning February 26th. Please Vote Here!