Tales From the DoodleFactory

Monster Love

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:49:00 +0000

Did you all have a great Valentine's Day? I'm a super lucky girl with a super sweet guy who doesn't skimp at Valentine's even after many years together. Yesterday I was surprised with flowers delivered to my office (he is very involved in choosing very specific and customized arrangements - no mass-produced Telafloral assembly-flowers). I was also chauffered home, taken to dinner at my favorite neighborhood restaurant, and given a handmade card, plus tickets to a Cirque Du Soleil show that's in town (to be redeemed tomorrow night!).

My gift to him was far less expensive and extravagant, but it was definitely made with love:

This is the first felted keychain I've ever made, and I told my boyfriend he'd be the guinea pig to test this prototype. I've had people tell me I should sell the felties I make, but they're usually so time-consuming that I prefer to keep them or give them away to special friends. It was definitely a lot quicker to felt this smaller sized creature, so if it withstands the rough-and-tumble abuse of being a keychain, I might actually make a few more and post them on etsy [some day].

Hello, Old Friends

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:51:00 +0000

I'm sure this blog has been retired from anyone's radar, but I have a bit of news to share anyway.

The DoodleFactory is returning from dormancy with an upcoming stamp release at StarvingArtistamps. I can't reveal the set yet, but here's a little clue of what you might see on the new plate. After I finished my drawings, I dug out my wool and barbed needles to make this guy inspired by one of the characters. I've been really busy lately earning a living/doing the freelance thing, so it was fun making something for the sake of creating something new.

Snack Time

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:36:00 +0000

Yep, I failed at the "August Break" goal of posting a photo a day this month. I had a ton of work come in during the second week and I barely left my desk for 4 days straight, trying to stay on two really tight deadlines. Then it just seemed pointless to pick back up on the photo project, especially when it was so hot and muggy outside.

My workday is a little lax today, so I decided to do a little recipe post. I will admit, I am the LAST person anyone should follow cooking advice from, but this recipe requires zero cooking (though you do need a dehydrator, which isn't exactly a staple in every household).

I first tried these Sesame Almonds at a Raw Food/Yoga place in my neighborhood. I didn't have an exact recipe, but it seemed easy enough to figure out on my own.

1. Start off with a cup or so of raw almonds. Apparently, it's hard to find TRUE raw almonds because nut manufacturers pasteurize nuts, which makes them not raw even when they're labeled "raw". These are from Costco, so I'm sure they're not unpasteurized or organic, but they are not smoked or flavored, so it's the best I've got.

2. I used a 1/2 liter mason jar and filled it to the top with filtered water. The next step is to just soak them in a warm place for 8-12 hours so they can plump up. When you soak nuts, you're actually "germinating" them. If they're truly raw, soaking will neutralize the nut's enzyme inhibitors which will make digestion and nutrition absorption easier.

3. After soaking, drain and get rid of the water. Your almonds should be plump and fatty.

4. Next, add some flavor. I add a few tbs sesame oil + some black sesame seeds + Salt (raw foodists like to use fancy pink salt, but all I have is run-of-the-mill white sea salt). Close the jar and shake vigorously to coat. I like to let it "marinate" for a bit, but the raw food lady said this isn't actually necessary.

5. The final step before consumption is to lay the nuts out in the dehydrator for about 8-10 hours (I set it to 105°). Warning: Your house may smell like a chinese food restaurant for the first hour or two.

So why dehydrate something that you just spent 10 hours soaking? Well, the nuts will still stay plump, but now they'll be nice and crunchy. You can taste-test after a few hours go by to see how they're doing. They're the best when they come straight out of the dehydrator so I only make enough to last a few servings. I store the extras in a sealed jar, and sometimes zap them in the dehydrator at a higher temp for a short time if its been a while since I made them. I wasn't a big sesame oil person before this, but these are seriously yummy. If it tastes a little bland, add more salt.

I'm trying to find other nut recipes since I'm more of a salty-snack person, but so far I haven't found anything else.

August Break: Day 5

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 04:12:00 +0000

I left the house today and brought my camera, but forgot to replace the flash card. Oops! Here's a photo taken this evening from the my apartment window instead.

August Break: day 4

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:47:00 +0000

My boyfriend and I watched the Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead documentary last week, and promptly jumped on the bandwagon and ordered a Juicer which came in the mail yesterday. I am not good with self-restraint and I'm notorious for giving in to cravings way too easily, but our refrigerator is packed with fruits and veggies for this experiment and I'm interested in seeing how long I last. So far I've just been having fun throwing things in and watching it immediately transform into liquid form. Two juice-only meals down...? to go....

August Break: Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:38:00 +0000

Another cat photo so soon. I know. I did go outside today, but it was so hot, I just wanted to run my errands and get back home. No time to seek out interesting photo-ops.

This afternoon a giant box came in the mail. I got about as far as opening the top flap before Trouble hopped on board and staked his claim. I'll do the reveal of the contents for tomorrow's post.

August Break: Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:41:00 +0000

A slice of my neighborhood. Parking Lot Backdrop - Spring Street, Los Angeles.

August Break: Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:34:00 +0000

I'm going to breathe some life into this blog for the next 31 days (hopefully) by participating in Susannah Conway's August Break. The goal is to post a photo (or more) every day this month. Simple! Let's see how it goes.

Today's photo comes from the vet office where I had to take my cat Toby in for some sniffle-fighting antibiotics. He's been a sneezy cat his entire life, but lately its been bad enough to need professional intervention.

Anyway - while I was in the waiting room, I was dying to take a photo of the on-staff counter kitty - a big, white, grumpy-looking Persian. I hesitated for a minute since I was in a place of business, but fired off two quick shots when the cat stood up and proceeded to sneeze enthusiastically all over the counter and the clipboard he was sitting on. It was pretty funny.

Il Volo

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:47:00 +0000

I keep thinking I want to revisit and revamp this blog, but then I get busy or distracted, and the next thing you know, an entire season has rolled by since my last post.

I'm still working as a freelance designer and thankfully, jobs has been steady. There are a lot of awesome advantages to being self-employed, but I'm more mentally and creatively drained than ever. Being creative outside of work just feels like more work. I think I did the most doodling/artistic projects a decade ago when I had a very uninteresting desk job.

Anyway, here's a little bit of work that turned into play. I was asked to make some cartoon characters based on an Italian Opera-singing trio of young guys. They would have been used on promotional materials, but the plan never got the green light. I did the drawings anyway and was happy with the way it turned out, especially after adding some color and texture in Photoshop.

For the record, these guys are supposed to be these guys.

Doodle Doppelgangers

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 09:59:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I was flipping channels and landed on the Canadian cartoon network, Qubo. They were playing a cartoon I'd never seen called "Spliced", and when this weird chicken-cow character came on, something tickled my memory receptors and I exclaimed to Mike that it looked like a character I'd drawn before! I pulled out the notebook with the original drawing, and Mike humored me saying it looked similar.

I forgot about it until tonight, when I ended up on Qubo playing "Spliced" again. This time they had a character called Oct-O-Cat, which again prompted me to think of a character I'd drawn years ago. I finally remembered a "character design community" I joined in 2006 called "Mojizu". I was into that site for a hot minute, then got lazy/busy/bored and stopped posting after a brief burst. Luckily, my drawings are still preserved there with date-stamps and everything.

My weird chicken mutant character on the left, Scene from "Spliced" on the right:

My Oct O Cat character on the left, Scene from "Spliced" on the right:

For the record, Wikipedia says Spliced first aired in 2009. If you click on my drawings above, it'll link to the original post with comments from 2006. I'm not implying there are any shenanigans going on, but it's a weird coincidence, no?

I (Balloon) LA

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 01:50:00 +0000

This weekend a group of friends got together in our loft, blew up 400 helium balloons and distributed them around downtown L.A. The idea was born a few weeks ago when we met to brainstorm ideas for a call for 2-minute video projects that would be broadcast on LA metro buses. Mike came up with the initial idea of giving out balloons and we all fleshed out the concept.

We started with 1/3 of the balloons and went to Skid Row - When I say "we", I mean everyone but me. I woke up with a tenuous stomach and felt a little uncertain about leaving the house so I missed that section in my photo documenting. I felt a little better after lunch and joined the second foray which took us from our apartment through Pershing Square, up to the MOCA, Disney Concert Hall, Music Center and finally Olivera Street. I was clutching 50 balloons, which made photographing a challenge, but I took as many shots as I could.

Overall, the response was extraordinary. We were concerned that going into Skid Row to hand out balloons might not be well received, but they were some of the most enthusiastic and appreciative, though many people from all walks of life were rather delighted. When people asked why we were doing this, we said something like "We're handing out smiles", or "Just because". It was actually quite a lot of fun and when we handed out our last balloon, we felt a bit (excuse the pun) "deflated". For a moment we were rock stars, and then just like that we were back to being everyday people.

[View the Full Photo Set Here]

And here is the video:

Mexico, Part Dos

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:27:00 +0000

When I told people I was going to Mexico to attend a workshop, almost everyone warned me to "be careful" and some (my dad) implored me to reconsider. Mexico has an unfortunate reputation, which I'm sure is well-deserved in some parts, but my visit really opened my eyes to a beautiful country where I never once felt threatened or in danger.

The towns I visited (Queretaro and San Miguel Allende) were full of charm and color - truly a feast for the eyes!

ACE Camp - Queretaro, Mexico

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 22:21:00 +0000

I'm fatigued by the idea of encapsulating my experience in Mexico in words, so I'm going to rely mainly on photos to say most of it for me. I would like to say the trip was worth every penny and anyone contemplating an art adventure would be well taken care of at one of Angela Ritchie's ACE Camps.

The workshop I attended was taught by Geninne Zlatkis in Queretaro, Mexico. Geninne was such a gracious hostess and teacher - she opened her beautiful home and studio to us, and it was so much fun creating in those inspiring surroundings along with 13 other women from various parts of the world.

We had four workshop days where we learned hand-carved stamps, watercolor, collage and journalling techniques. Here's a peek at just a few of the things I made:

Coming from the stamping world from a different angle, it was interesting to carve my own stamps. Geninne uses Staedler Mastercarve blocks as the base for her stamps and we all carved with linocutting tools. I accidentally bought the Speedball Carving blocks which are a lot thinner, and closer to the consistency of carving into a rubber eraser. Either one works, depending on your preference.

I hope to try stamp carving again sometime, as well as watercolors, which I did not really enjoy (at the time) simply because I'm a novice and wanted to be perfect without having put in the practice. I suppose one of the best lessons learned is that talent is important, but dedication and doing is even more crucial to creating exemplary art.

At the culmination of the workshop, we had a little "show" with everyone's pieces posted. I'm a bad photojournalist and don't have images of everything, but here are a few things from the finale.

Those of you on my flickr and facebook pages will have seen the entire grouping of photographs. I won't be posting all 87 here, but I will share more photos of Queretaro and the neighboring town of San Miguel in the next few days.

Flying Away...

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:32:00 +0000

I can't remember if I mentioned it or not, but in just a few days, I will be getting on a plane to Queretaro, Mexico to attend a workshop hosted by Angela Ritchie's ACE Camps and taught by an art hero of mine, Geninne Zlatkis.

I'm so excited to learn from someone I've admired online, and experience it all in a different country. I haven't picked up a drawing pencil in ages (boy am I going to be rusty when learning watercolor and journaling techniques), but I was inspired by Geninne's work to create this little felted bird. Either I'm getting slightly faster, or birds are just easier to make. I finished this guy in just a few hours in between design jobs yesterday.

Bendable Poseable

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 01:39:00 +0000

I know I should be using my free time to make more DoodleFactory drawings, but I've been all about felties lately. I think since most of my work exists in a 2-Dimensional and often digital-only world, it's nice to do something off the computer that results in a tangible object.

Here's the latest member of the DoodleFeltery. Mike calls him "Brutus". He's about 3" and his limbs and tail are bendable thanks to some floral wire buried beneath the wool. I didn't model him after any characters I've drawn in the past. I just started felting and let him take his own shape.

Napkin drawing by Mike - he helped figure out what kind of face to give this guy.

I went to Mike's art studio the night I finished. That's some of Mike's tape art, out of focus and in the background of this photo.

Travel Monkey visits Big Bear

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:38:00 +0000

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. I had a very good Christmas and a memorable New Year.

The end of 2010 brought a lot of new graphic design work my way and I've never been busier (or more stressed out). I'm not complaining though - I'm very glad to be generating new business, but I was still very relieved to have some time off between Christmas and New Year's.

We rang in the New Year at a cabin in Big Bear with a group of friends. I had such a great time eating lots of excellent home-made meals and desserts, playing boardgames and having fun in the snow.

Speaking of fun in the snow, some of you may recall the little feltie I made last year. A few months ago, I snuck him onto my boyfriend's pack when he did a bike tour down the central coast of California. My boyfriend returned the favor when he tucked him into my bags when I visited Hawaii. We gave him the uncreative yet apt name: "Travel Monkey", and the sneaky bugger managed to visit Big Bear without me even knowing. My boyfriend snuck outside to capture his day in the snow and I had no clue until we were going over photos later.

(click for bigger)

Original photos by Mike, "vintage" manipulation by me, with supplies by Kitschy Digitals

'Tis The Season

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 23:19:00 +0000

Did I forget to mention I drew a new Christmas set now available at starvingartistamps.com. It's called 'Tis The Season, and I used a few of the new stamps (plus some from Christmas sets past) for a few cards I put together last week.

These are for my small list of clients. I inserted a starbucks card and a small note in each as a token of my customer appreciation.

DoodleFeltery...or DoodleFeltory?

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 23:45:00 +0000

I've made another needle-felted DoodleFactory character! Head over to my other blog to see the in-progress photos of this guy coming together (wordpress lets you make neat slideshows, but it shrinks the photos...I have to figure out a better way to share an abundance of images in one post).

DF Ghoulies

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:39:00 +0000

I just wrapped up a couple of Halloween sets, and since time is ticking, Tracey's already posted them to the shop.

This year, we wonked (no, that's not a word) up the DF style even further, and here's what came of it:

For those of you who aren't into creepy cartoons, I've also done a small set of good old gourds n' pumpkins for the autumn season.

Speaking of autumn, I'd really love to see the change in seasons this year. I'm actually leaving on a 9-Day trip to Hawaii today, but when I get back, I want to start planning a road trip that will take me to see some vibrant fall foliage. Any west-coasters out there that can point out areas where the leaves get nice and festive. When does that even happen? My entire life of living in static climates has severely dampened my knowledge of the seasons.

DoodleFactory Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 17:18:00 +0000

Ever wonder what it would be like to have the DoodleFactory gang show up at your birthday? Last month, Crissy Page of dearcrissy.com hired me to design the invitations and cake decorations for her son Evan's first birthday. His party was this past weekend, and I was thrilled to have my creatures at this milestone event.

I custom designed the invitation, but Crissy had them professionally printed and the final product was phenomenal. The colors were just as vibrant in real life as on the screen, and the rounded edges and watercolor stock added a nice touch. Here, I've photographed the invite with two sculpey characters I made as cake toppers. These two weren't the final ones - I'd never used sculpey in this way before, so there was a bit of a learning curve.

Here's Crissy's photo of the actual toppers that made it on the cake:

Cake Topper by Irene / Doodlefactory, originally uploaded by dear crissy.

This is where Crissy went all out. I designed some character buttons that she printed, then painstakingly cut out and assembled on what looks to be about 1000 cupcakes:

Evan's cupcakes, originally uploaded by dear crissy.

The Tower de Cupcake:

Evan's 1st Birthday Cupcake Tower & Cake, originally uploaded by dear crissy.

See more of Crissy's party photos on her blog. You'll probably want to poke around and add her to your favorites. Her site is always filled with gorgeous eye-candy (she's a professional photographer) and lots of great giveaways.

Sitting Pretty

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:50:00 +0000

See the post below for my rambling ruminations on the latest DoodleFactory® release to debut at StarvingArtistamps.com. By now, you can see the entire set at the shop, and even partake in the 3-Day sale going on. I only have two examples to share so far, but you should check out the design team's creations on the StarvingArtistamps blog.

As I mentioned earlier, coloring in people is a ton of fun. In fact, I spent so much time coloring the characters [I have about 5 others already inked up] that I ran out of time on the actual card-making process. All of the characters in these [two] sets are drawn in a seated position. They're made to coordinate with other sets like the DF Boudoir and DF Classic Decor, but as you see below, they can work entirely on their own as well.

First up is "Penny" from the Sophisticates: Take a Seat set. The Sophisticates are kind of the evolution between the DoodleFactory Grace Girls and the limited number of people I've ever drawn before on the DF line. The set of buildings in the background of this card is the DoodleFactory Neighborhood.

Next is "Daphne", who is probably my favorite character because I wish I could pin up my hair in curls like that. She's kind of a nymph and when I was rooting around for ideas, I pulled out my FlowerSoft snow globes that Tracey had sent me a few months ago. When I paired the image and globe with some flowers, I instantly thought of an iconic scene from a movie a few years ago. 50 imaginary points to the person who guesses what scene I'm thinking of. The fur is incidental - I threw it on the top of the card as an easy way to embellish the front, but the flowers [in red] are key. I even had to color a bunch of the flowers myself with my red copic pen since I didn't have enough in my supply.

That's it for now. I didn't get a chance to show you any of the images from the "Cutie Kids" set, so here's a look at everything you can find in these two sets. Make sure you stop by the shop to take advantage of the 3-Day 15% Off Sale and check out the SA blog to see more samples!

"Antidepresstamps: GBB&B" Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:00:00 +0000

Yay! It's time for the Antidepresstamps Giggle Bears, Birds and Bees blog hop! These new stamps have been designed by someone who always puts me in awe. Nina Aaslund is not only an extraordinary card-maker, but a fantastic illustrator as well. I know I will never do the same justice to Nina's stamps as she does with mine, but I'm very proud to be a part of this release and give you a glimpse of what you can do with this line.

This is the sweetest set full of fun and expressive characters. The bears are so cuddly, but I love the bees the most, especially the wide mouthed one who looks like he's got a smug little secret. I also liked the ice cream cone and how absurdly fun it is to create your own flavors by coordinating with the background papers (or maybe that's just me).

There's so much to do with these stamps, and I know you'll see so many more incredible examples on this blog hop. Your next stop is actually Nina's very own blog. Make sure you visit ALL of the stops because someone is giving away the entire set for free (TODAY ONLY)!

Here's the entire blog hop map in case you get lost, plus the direct links to the shop if you're already convinced you absolutely need this set in your life:
RIGHT NOW:

Start (@ the company blog): http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com
Irene: (You Are Here)
Nina: http://krumelurkonst.blogspot.com
Donna: http://www.deesstudio.blogspot.com
Juliana: http://www.stampinwinkyfingers.blogspot.com
Lydia: http://www.understandblue.blogspot.com/
Jenn: http://www.jennmcmillan.blogspot.com/
Dawn: http://www.dawnmercedes.blogspot.com/
Laura: http://www.adayinthelifeofthepaperpoppy.blogspot.com
Lori : http://www.inkingaloud.blogspot.com/
Eva: http://muffinspyssel.blogspot.com
Tracey : http://www.stampomatic.blogspot.com

Something Different

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 23:03:00 +0000

A good friend asked if I'd be so inclined to help her decorate the walls in her daughters' room. I was a bit apprehensive. I've always envied those who could paint, but alas, I never learned myself. Since painting is not my strength, I figured I'd work with what I have, which happens to be a lot of decorative papers, and what I know: drawing silly characters. I came up with 3 collage pieces. The larger is 9"x12", the smaller ones closer to 5"x7".

You might notice the Doodle Factory Neighborhood in these scenes. I drew a few more buildings on the computer and printed, then cut them out. The characters are all hand drawn and mostly colored with pencil and some markers.

I don't know if this is what my friend had in mind, but I hope she likes them!

Return of the Felties

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 02:39:00 +0000

Remember when I tried to learn needle felting? It's been almost a year since I first (and last) took a stab at it (har har), but I got the sudden itch to craft some creatures this weekend.

I used one of my favorite characters from the Creatures II set as my model. My first attempt came out a bit too small, and didn't allow for the detail I wanted, but he made a good little brother for the second, larger one I tried.

You guys, this may be my favorite thing I ever made with my own two hands. Who should I make next?

Danbo!

noreply@blogger.com (DoodleFactory) — Thu, 27 May 2010 03:04:00 +0000

[also x-posted to my other blog]

It ("It" being my OCD obsession of the day) all started when my boyfriend showed me this adorable photo of a tiny box person helping a tinier box person over a sidewalk ledge. The image was so enchanting, I had to know more.

That particular photo was taken by Anton Tang, but it seems to be part of a larger phenomena involving many different photographers and their own box people. The little cardboard robot(s) are actually plastic figurines from Japan, based on a comic character named Danboard, or Danbo.

A little internet sleuthing turned up literally hundreds of Danbo photographs on the web. [HERE] [HERE] and [HERE] just to name a few.

I wanted a Danbo figure to play with too! Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I was too impatient to eBay one from Japan, so I made my own, with some modifications to this handy template someone else made. I deleted the colors and printed it on some recycled paper. Folded, glued, and stuck his head to his body with a toothpick. I modified the face, arms and legs just a bit, and he's got dirty toes, but he still came out cute as a button. I know I'm really late to the Danbo party, but who can resist playing along when even a rip-off version of this little guy is so darn photogenic?