Crimson Circle Studios

When autumn leaves begin to fall...

2013-04-04T16:30:00.001+10:30

A big thank you to Etsy customer Heather for including one of my digital portraits in her beautiful autumnal treasury. THANK YOU!

Surreal photo manipulations

2013-02-17T13:18:00.000+10:30

Rain Spell by temporary-peace

The World is a Playground by xetobyte

Till Death by Elton Fernandes

Monday morning by Kassandra

Untitled by Jerry Uelsmann

Untitled by George Christakis

Untitled by Kevin Corrado

Untitled by Evgenij Soloviev

Untitled by Philippe Ramet

NB: this is the only photo which has not been digitally manipulated.

Phillipe Ramet stages all his photos.

'Your love was just a lie' by Anja Steigler

Untitled by Sarolta Ban

Lady in red by Florian Mecl

Underwater by Ines Aryaniputri

Work at sea by Erik Johansson

Be my Valentine...

2013-01-28T16:46:00.001+10:30

"A hundred hearts would be too few

To carry all my love for you"

Ahhh...the magic of Valentine's day! Not long to go now. How will you express your love for each other this year? Flowers? Chocolate? Valentine's cards? Well since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass produced greeting cards - such a shame....

Which is why I've decided to create handmade cards for this year, pretty much one of a kind (each card is different), and definitely not mass produced! You can be sure you are getting and giving a unique card, blank inside (of course) for your own romantic handwritten love note. These versatile cards, however, can be used at any time and for any occasion. After all, expressions of love shouldn't be limited to one day of the year!

Beautiful sculpture by Anish Kapoor

2013-01-18T12:36:00.000+10:30

The works of British artist Anish Kapoor are gigantic, bold, beautful, sensual, intruiging, and even spiritual..... I could go on and on about how his work makes me feel, but each viewer will have a unique perception and experience of his work. I'll let these pieces speak for themselves. Enjoy....

Season's Greetings !!!

2012-12-21T13:50:00.001+10:30

Wishing you all a safe and peaceful holiday season and a wonderful, joyous New Year.

Kind regards,

Crimson Circle Studios

Always dreamed of Christmas in Paris.....

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

Gift giving ideas from Crimson Circle

2012-12-10T09:57:00.000+10:30

Well, Christmas is fast approaching! Throughout the year, I've added many more pieces to my Etsy shop. Considering this is a part-time venture, I'm proud to say I have more than 140 items in-store.This post gives an overview of my shop products, old and new, and offers some gift giving ideas for loved ones, whatever the occasion.

For your mother (5x5 print)

For your Grandmother (5x7 print)

For your sister (5x7 print)

For your sister-in-law (5x5 print)

For a friend (A5 print)

For your brother or son (5x5 prints)

For your father (5x7 prints)

For your Grandfather (5x5 prints)

For your Valentine (blank note-card)

For your daughter (2.5x3.5 Artist cards)

For a small child (5x7 print)

New series - Prayer & Meditation

2012-10-22T11:31:00.001+10:30

Introducing my new series of prints centred around the theme of prayer and meditation. These portraits are serene and reflective with a strong notion of balance and calm. They work well as a series or on their own. All are for sale at Crimson Circle Studios.

I'm in a pretty treasury!

2012-10-16T21:09:00.000+10:30

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly, lavender's green,

When I am king, dilly, dilly, you shall be queen.
Who told you so, dilly, dilly, who told you so?
'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly, that told me so.

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

A treasury by fellow Adelaide Aussie Rebecca from VkLeather.

Thanks Rebecca!

Feature prints of the month

2012-10-04T11:04:00.002+09:30

Happy October people!

As October happens to be the month of my birthday, what better way to celebrate than to feature a couple of colourful prints which will be shipped free of charge if purchased during this month.

The Aviator's Wife

Kaleidoscope

These are colourful, nostalgic prints which work well together and would compliment any home decor. Free shipping during October only. Click on each title to view details.

Subdued hues....

2012-08-06T10:13:00.000+09:30

Quite by accident, I have fallen in love with soft, harmonious colours. Through play and experimentation, I've created a series of works with the most subtle and unobtrusive shades of the colour spectrum. Perhaps this may lead to the ultimate white on white pieces which I've been wanting to do for some time now. Stay tuned! Enjoy these new pieces...

Treasury Time.....

2012-07-22T23:17:00.002+09:30

'Bohemian rhapsody' by CrimsonCircleStudios

For the gypsy in all of us....

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

Awesome flickr artists - my favourites

2012-07-16T20:49:00.001+09:30

It's my Party

Room17

Flowers don't come in black & white

Laura

DrDrl

Elspeth and Evan

It's Snowing Again

vinciane c

222

miekiss

Balance in the Distance

Collaging-Kristen

Dust

EggStudio

Blue Dream

Francoise MELZANI

Altered Box

Lasize54

Forgotten Beauty

NaturallyEcoMemories

Creativity

cparmelee1

The gentleman botanist

ms_bailey

Down the rabbit hole

Maygreen Fairies

Moth

Tom Germain

Feature piece of the month

2012-07-03T16:43:00.000+09:30

Dreams of Flight - Digital how-to

For a long time now I've wanted to share with you the process by which I create most of my digital works. This piece, for example was constructed in photoshop, and comprises up to 7 different layers. When I say layers, I literally mean a series of layers, one on top of the other. Photoshop is amazing in that it allows you to create layers which have varying degrees of opacity. That is, some layers can be opaque, so you can't see through them, while others can be made semi-transparent, so you can see underlying layers or objects.

Step 1 - background texture

As I required a darkened room, I chose this indigo blue background texture as the base layer. Everything else is placed upon this layer.

Step 2 - overlying pattern

I wanted to give the room a vintage wallpaper feel so I chose this aqua-blue pattern as an overlay. I wanted to create a subtle effect so I made this particular layer semi-transparent to allow some of the base layer to show through.

Step 3 - vintage female image

I found this vintage style image online (it was in the public domain). At first I thought the woman was leaning against a tall mirror but realised she is probably leaning across a surface. So I rotated the pic to horizontal format, and using various photoshop erasers, was able to literally remove most of the background, keeping a blurry feathered effect around her body. Photoshop also allows you to change the colour of an image through a series of filters, so I changed her to an indigo blue to match the base layer.

Step 4 - adding curtains

This deep red velvet look curtain was a ready-made graphic available for free download on the internet. I used it to cover the female image above and hide her missing torso. The sheer curtain (below left) was also a free download. I duplicated it 2-3 times and laid it one above the other at slightly varying angles and positions. These curtains were made quite transparent so the female's hand could be seen. Curtains are a good way of creating depth in a photo or painting. They give the feeling of looking in through a window.

Step 5 - adding butterflies

Halfway through constructing this piece, I came up with the title 'Dreams of flight'. I could have used bird imagery, but liked the though of butterflies. I wanted the butterflies to be a part of the wallpaper, but in a surreal way, to start detaching from the wall. I did this by duplicating one butterfly several times, making the group semi-transparent and positioning the entire group on one layer.

To finish off, I lightened off the layer a fraction, and to give more of a 3-D appearance, added a slight shadow behind the group. This effect is easily achieved in photoshop.

The final image is a composite of at least 7 photoshop layers. Photoshop enables you to create huge bold effects OR very subtle effects as in this piece. I hope you enjoyed this how-to tutorial. I will be posting more in the future.

This feature piece will be posted free of charge if purchased during the month of July only.

You can find it here

Just Breathe......

2012-06-25T11:56:00.002+09:30

Another beautiful collection from Etsy featuring my print 'Garden of Tranquility'

'Just Breathe ' by BrendaNery

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

Brenda Nery's Etsy shop can be found here: Princess Paintings

tickle the imagination

2012-06-04T09:48:00.000+09:30

I was delighted to have my work featured in the online
magazine 'tickle the Imagination.' This magazine is released
bi-monthly and celebrates the handmade and creative
community in Australia. It is packed full of talented artists,
crafters and designers, emerging talent and diy projects.

Issue 6 features digital collages from my vintage dress series (pages 50-51). Click HERE to view. Enjoy!

All work is available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Vintage retro pop

2012-05-14T13:18:00.002+09:30

'Vintage retro pop' by CrimsonCircleStudios

Add some pop to your spring fashion!

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

A collection of my favourite items and colours from ETSY. Enjoy!

FREE to share - Flower cards tutorials

2012-05-03T10:55:00.000+09:30

Today I have 2 great tutorials for you, courtesy of My Memories website!! The first is how to customize your cards in MyMemories Suite Software, and the second is the instructions on how to put the flower cards together. If you don't have the software, you can still download the sample project and the elements, but you will not be able to customize your project. Enjoy!!!

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_1

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_2

http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

Flower Card Tutorial
Using MyMemories Software to Customize your Flower Card

Download template file and install it into your software
Using MyMemories Suite, choose Create Album From Designer Template and find your project
Now you can print and enjoy the provided template, or customize it with your own papers and embellishments.

TIP:

You can right-click on the white guide and lock it in place to keep it from moving while you are working. Make sure this is the top layer of your project before printing.

Instead of adding the paper as a background paper, you can add it as an embellishment so that you can move the paper around. This is especially useful when using papers with stripes or circles, so you can decide which part of the paper you want to use.

Once it is added as an embellishment, you can now select the paper and move it into the position you want it.

Just SAVE and PRINT on cardstock!

Flower Card Tutorial
How to Assemble your Flower Card

1. Print your file on cardstock.

2. Take your card template page and fold at all fold lines. A bone folder helps make the creases nie and crisp to help your finished card to look nicer.

3. There should be a total of 9 folds when you are done.

4. Cut out your card.

5. Turn your card over so that the printed side is down and pinch the sides of each petal together until all 6 petals are standing straight up.

6. Gently push all the petals in one direction until they lay flat.

7. You now have a flower card.

8. Tie a ribbon (not included) or something equivalent around the card to hold it closed.

9. Embellish as desired. This card was embellished with a circle cut out from a piece of background paper.

Enter the draw for your chance to win the FREE digital software suite from My Memories. You will be able to customise all sorts of templates with this software! Details here:
http://www.crimsoncirclestudios.com.au/2012/04/free-software-giveaway.html

FREE software giveaway! - NOW CLOSED

2012-04-10T10:20:00.000+09:30

A little bit about My Memories digital scrapbook software

I am very lucky to be offered the chance to host this wonderful giveaway for My Memories.com. Up for grabs is a digital software suite full of scrapbooking templates and elements. I'm very excited to share this software with all of you.

My Memories Suite is rated #1 by Amazon and TopTen Reviews. Using this software, anyone can create digital scrapbooks, photobooks, cards, calendars and gifts without having to buy expensive and complicated software programs.

My Thoughts

After trialling the software myself, I must say it is very easy to use and there are numerous style and colour themes. From background papers and textures to a variety of embellishments such as buttons, flowers, ribbons and bows, this software is fun to use. You can select from pre-designed, editable templates (see above) where you simply slot in your photos, or if feeling creative, design your own layout, as I did below. As a digital artist, I know how long it takes to create my own digital elements. Using this software saves me countless hours, as each component is amazingly detailed and beautifully designed. Individual components also have transparent backgrounds to which you can add blurry drop shadows.

Buy it with a special discount code!

If you choose to purchase the My Memories Suite software, you have the opportunity to receive a $10 discount off the purchase AND and a $10 coupon for the www.MyMemories.com store - total $20 value!) Simply go to http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software and enter the code STMMMS95210

Win it

ONE of my lucky readers will win one copy of the My Memories software ($80 value) for free! Read the following instructions for entry to this giveaway and your chance to win!

Mandatory Entry….Go to www.MyMemories.com and choose your favourite digital paper pack or layout and tell me in the comments. (one entry per person)

Extra Entries

Follow the My Memories blog - http://blog.mymemories.com/ (one entry - let me know in the comments below)

Follow My Memories on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593