Paper Squid ❤ b l o g

Visual Explorations

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:44:00 PDT

I'm really enjoying creating these new designs using repetitive geometric shapes. I find that when I create them it's relaxing, almost meditative. I'm working on another design similar to this one, which I shared the work-in-progress on instagram, and I'll definitely post it here when it's done.

I have to admit, it's nice to create pieces just because I want to, almost need to, in the moment, whether they're experiments for me or whether they're intended as gifts for friends. It's almost like they're energetic releases, and sometimes I do create with the intention of future use for when I reopen my online shop, but in the meantime it's nice to just not put that pressure on myself and direct my attention elsewhere. Next step, get coffee and plan a trip I've had in mind for a few weeks.

©2012 Paper Squid Inc.

The Stick Figure Chronicles - No.11

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:11:00 PDT

Once again and very realistically drawn, everyday random moments and wishes
drawn in traditional stick figure – today we have....

{ CHOPPY WAVES...}
This happened like 3 times, ha. Have a wonderful day everyone. :)
You can find chronicles No. 1-10 here.

Li Hui

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:22:00 PDT

I saw this first photo by Li Hui and was immediately intrigued. It's called Diamond and the girl in the picture seems likes shes swaying in a grid of light. The images are soft and seem to have this relaxed mood. In the photographers own words, "I think shy people take pictures in a different way and approach subjects differently." To see more photos you can find Li Hui's website here and flickr here. Enjoy :)

Visual Explorations

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Sun, 06 May 2012 09:47:00 PDT

Something I finished over the weekend. Don't know where I'm going with these, but I enjoy making them.

©2012 Paper Squid Inc.

Hand Drawn Recipe Cards Printable

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 05:08:00 PDT

Over the weekend I was organizing all my printed and written recipes from complete and utter chaos (alright, I'm exaggerating). But seriously, there was a full notebook, cards and tons of pages ripped from magazines (lots of Martha Stewart pages in there I noticed) that needed a little rearranging. I have this wood box to hold recipe cards, and decided to make some that you could use as well for your recipe boxes for organizing and decluttering. These were created by hand using black ink and watercolor and wanted to share them with you!

Download the recipe cards here :)

There are two recipe card designs, each one measures 6x4 inches when trimmed. The printable itself is on standard letter-sized paper, 8.5x11 inches. Print, cut and enjoy...and let your friends know where you got those cuties.

Good ole' common sense rule: Paper Squid Inc. free printables are for personal use only. Not for sale or resale in any quantities or for any reason. All rights reserved. Copyrights never transferred. ©2012 Paper Squid Inc. FULL TERMS OF USE FOUND HERE.

Visual Explorations

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:10:00 PDT

Hey everyone. You may have seen this already if you're following me on instagram – username papersquid – but it's a design/pattern I just finished up. I used black micron pens (which are drawing pens that come in different colors and thicknesses. If you're curious and want to try them out, they can be found at most art stores, crafts stores and online). They're great, archival and I love that I can use them with watercolors since they're waterproof.

It's funny, and this is sort of random, but I just realized as I look over this post that I've had that eraser in the photo since elementary school :)

As for this piece, I'm thinking of turning it into a print or perhaps a pattern for textiles, finally delving deeper into that area. I know I've mentioned it before but my freelance graphic design job has kept me busy, but this will be a new and fun next step. As for right now, back to doodling...

Curious, what projects are you working on?

©2012 Paper Squid Inc.
*Note: Nothing was received in this post for mentioning microns; I mention them because I like them, that's it.

The Stick Figure Chronicles - No.10

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:22:00 PDT

Once again and very realistically drawn, everyday random moments and wishes drawn in traditional stick figure – today: sleeping.

{ WAKING UP BEFORE WORK...}
This was just a funny moment that happened when trying to get up one morning. Once my boyfriend pointed out how I was sleeping, and I noticed the position of my arms, I couldn't stop laughing. (Try doing the position now :)

You can find chronicles No. 1-9 here.

PenaBranca

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:08:00 PDT

I forgot exactly how I came across this tumblr site, Pena Branca, (really trying to remember but I didn't make a note for myself.) It may have been through pinterest or a blog, but regardless I immediately loved the work. There is something otherworldly that the work communicates to me, and I love the dynamic collage-like compositions and colors. In fact I found it hard to choose the pieces to show here without featuring most of the tumblr site, ha! I also wish there was more immediate informaiton on the "About" page, but oh well. You can check out all the collages / designs / art / music at the PenaBranca site here.

Hope you enjoy as much as I did. Have an amazing week everyone.

It's the Little Things: Mr. Happy Man

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:22:00 PDT

This made me smile.

(Note: If you're receiving this post via email, you must view it on the blog to see the video).

Read more here.
via Amaeil.

Visual Explorations

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 09:44:00 PST

This piece was inspired by a flowing dress I saw in a fashion magazine; they really captured a moment in movement and it immediately caught my eye. The drawing then took a life of its own and it reminds me of flowers and coral in the sea floor, but as usual a bit abstract. It's also probably inspired from this new desire I have to go swim with dolphins, ha. :) I think I'll be giving this one away to a friend who is always sending me surprise packages in the mail, along with another visual exploration I posted last week.

But just a quick share, and I hope you enjoy. Have an amazing weekend guys!

Design Copyright 2012 ©Paper Squid Inc., Karyna Amador

The Stick Figure Chronicles - No.9

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:08:00 PST

Once again and very realistically drawn, everyday random moments and wishes
drawn in traditional stick figure – today: cooking.

{ I'M GETTING PRETTY GOOD, BUT SOMETIMES THIS WOULD HAPPEN...}
And now cooking is a bit more fun (it used to be just baking). :)
Speaking of cooking, I'll soon have some downloadable recipe cards available for you! Have a great day guys.

You can find chronicles No. 1-8 here.

Dutch Door Press

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:11:00 PST

This past weekend Juan and I went to a local comic book store here in South Florida, Tate's, where you also find Bear and Bird Boutique + Gallery. (If you're in the area and haven't been, it's definitely worth checking out for illustrations, crafty goodness and comics). Here I found these beautiful letterpress prints by Dutch Door Press.

I've been aware of their shop for a while through Etsy, but definitely seeing these prints in person was even better. I ended buying these two 5x7 inch prints, one as a birthday gift for a friend and the other one (the blue bird) for me. They're actually from a series, Birds and Blooms, featuring state birds and flowers. Before I realized what the series was, I just picked the prints I liked best based on design and color. So yes, though I live in Florida I ended up with the New York print and Jenny with Washington; but it doesn't matter. Beautiful art!

You can visit Dutch Door Press here. Enjoy! And curious, which is your favorite?

Life on the Balcony

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 18:33:00 PST

(If you're receiving this post in your email, you must view it on the blog to see the video).

Last year I was inspired to start a garden. The thing is I live in a small apartment, on the second floor with a very shady balcony. But that's no excuse. I love plants, and I've been inspired once again to create a beautiful mini garden with pretty flowers, succulents, and some herbs. Last year when this sudden desire clicked, I found this awesome blog called Life on the Balcony by Fern Richardson. She comes across as very sweet, knowledgeable. As you can tell I really like her blog. Hope you find it useful!

What happened to my sudden garden inspiration of last year you ask? Well, I grew some basil and thyme from seed in soil pellets and was actually pretty successful - you can view some of these here and here. I ended up giving many of these to my friend Jenny who started a garden in her home, kept one plant and another plant died. (I felt horrible, but it's a process). After that I didn't grow anymore because I wasn't sure my balcony was the right place to have a garden. What was I thinking! I can at least have some flowers. I'll keep you up-to-date on this garden journey...and hope to not harm anymore plants.

Have a great weekend.

Visual Explorations

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:10:00 PST

You may or may not have noticed but I put my etsy shop on hiatus. I don't think I'll be returning to it and the local wholesale/consignment I was doing anytime soon. Nothing bad, just other projects and things going on so something had to give and change. For a while I had also felt I wanted to create brand new items for the shop but I had to let go of it because of time and other priorities. Though my energy is being directed in other areas - on purpose for right now - that doesn't mean I won't be messing around with inks and paints! Maybe in the future I'll re-open the shop, new and fresh, like a reboot, selling a few new prints and goodies using Big Cartel instead of Etsy* (update: see comments).

I have some ideas, but in the meantime I just want to explore more with patterns and illustrations and so I made this piece over the weekend. I used a pencil, black copic pen and color pens. Here I've scanned it in and enhanced the colors. Hope you enjoy and have an awesome day everyone :)

Design Copyright 2012 ©Paper Squid Inc.

Overheard No.4

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:08:00 PST

Most conversations that start with "Soooo, when are you gonna have kids?" can be a bit annoying, but one I had this past Sunday wasn't like that at all.

I overheard this quote (alright it wasn't technically "overheard" but I'm going with it) from a friend. You can find a lot more in the Overheard series here. Have an amazing day everyone!

Sweet Links

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:10:00 PST

Today I'm sharing some links that I've found recently and not so recently. Regardless, there's a bit of awesome here that you'll hopefully find useful, funny or at least inspiring.

• A Full Sky Aurora over Norway
• Breaking Bad Valentine's Day Cards (via)
• Don't believe all those bullshit magazine photos
• So good, so relevant - at least for me lately
• Love this keyboard (via)
• Thinking of incorporating? Great info.
• Galaxy Song
• 2 for 2: Pay it Forward
• Got a Girl Crush, Magazine
• Pretty useful info, keep those colors poppin'

Anything you'd love to share? Please do; I always love your feedback, and have a great weekend everyone :)

Back to the Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:11:00 PST

Though I live in Miami and the beach is not a long drive away, I still don't always go. That changed this past weekend and I want to share these snippets from the ocean and Biscayne Bay. I forgot how much I love the water. Our friends Ananda and Juan took my boyfriend Juan and me (lol, that's a lot of Juan's) out on his boat. It was awesome and the not-so-hot weather helped as well.
I've felt the need to do less and I feel these pictures reflect that. (I have/had easily 6 full lists of to-do's. Insanity, it was getting ridiculous). In case you've visited my etsy shop, you'll notice I put it on vacation and am on hiatus with it. I feel I'm in this transitional period. I hope to go out on the boat again soon and share more photos with you .

Do you love the water or the beach? Maybe the mountains, the desert. Ooh a trip to the Northwest is calling. Love to hear you thoughts and enjoy.

Appreciating Little Things: Textures & Patterns

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 09:12:00 PST

I love patterns and textures, whether from nature, outside, created, doesn't matter. (Completely prompting my desire to want to create more patterns and move into textile design, but more on that another time). So today I wanted to share some interesting and pretty cool ones I've seen recently – and yes, these guys were all taken in instagram. If you're following me on there, sorry, you've probably seen some of these already, but if you haven't I hope you enjoy.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Vegan Banana Bread + Kitchen Printable!

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:10:00 PST

I wanted to share a delicious vegan banana bread recipe I came across, (I also love this vintage baking pan my mom gave me years ago – picture above). Did I mention this banana bread is delicious? You can find the full recipe from The Studio of Mae blog here.

But wait, there's more!

I also went ahead and created a useful kitchen measurements equivalent chart using my trusty markers and computer. Just print, cut and it have handy. You never know when you'll need it. Enjoy and feel free to pass along!

DOWNLOAD THE FREE KITCHEN MEASURE EQUIVALENTS PRINTABLE HERE (:

Good ole' common sense rule: Paper Squid Inc. free printables are for personal use only. Not for sale or resale in any quantities or for any reason. All rights reserved. Copyrights never transferred. ©2012 Paper Squid Inc. FULL TERMS OF USE FOUND HERE.

The Stick Figure Chronicles - No.8

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:33:00 PST

Once again and very realistically drawn, everyday random moments and wishes drawn in traditional stick figure – today: animals.

{ YES, YES, LIFE IS SACRED — BUT I'M WORKING ON IT... }

Yep, saw one when walking outdoors, not even inside and that was my reaction, but hey, I'm working on it. :)

You can find chronicles No. 1-7 here and just want to wish you a Happy 2012!

Everyday Nice Notes - Pass Along

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:11:00 PST

I was looking through some files this weekend (I've been in cleaning, purging, organizing mode) and realized I made these nice notes a while back; my newsletter subscribers received them but they were never put on the blog! Gasp. But this crime is no longer :)

Kindness (and humour) go a long way. It's always nice to be out and about and come across a random, truthful and heartfelt nice note. So please feel free to download the notes, print, cut, write your inspirational message, no matter how simple, and pass along. You can leave them at grocery stores, offices, for friends and family - anywhere. Let me know how you use them and enjoy.

Download the nice notes here.

Good ole' common sense rule: Paper Squid Inc. free printables are for personal use only. Not for sale or resale in any quantities or for any reason. All rights reserved. Copyrights never transferred. ©2012 Paper Squid Inc. FULL TERMS OF USE FOUND HERE.

Pop Sale – Better Than Hot Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:08:00 PST

Alright, it's as good as chocolate (or whatever your favorite treat may be)...but yes friends, for 2-days starting today, November 25th to tomorrow November 26, I'm having a Pop Sale!

Buy Any Print in my Etsy Shop and Get 1 Print FREE :)
At checkout, in the "message to seller" just indicate the print you'd love for free along with your purchase. The free print must be the same value or less.

That's it! Thanks and enjoy, and feel free to pass the word along. I hope you guys have an amazing weekend.

New Heart Print

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:11:00 PST

Hey everyone, how was your weekend? Mine was productive and equally filled with awesome bouts of lazines & hanging with friends visiting from LA, yay.

Today I want to share this work in progress (above) of a new heart print. Excuse the two top crappy pictures, especially that second one. They were taken indoors and at night. To create the piece I used a black micron pen and just lots of line work but I wanted it to have movement. The finished design was taken into photoshop to create the color.. Lots more pen work and geometric shapes to come!

Hope you enjoy. Now off to make a Thanksgiving baking freebie. :)

Design Copyright 2011 ©Paper Squid Inc.

Overheard No.3

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:12:00 PDT

Oh, the funny things one overhears from strangers or those we know. It’s kind of fun. Like that third quote below, I heard this from two guys in a car and one was really angry - but it was a bit hilarious. What made him say that? I hope he hadn’t gotten a tattoo and just noticed something, or maybe it was about an intense scrabble game? Hmm. Have you overheard anything lately?

You can find more Overheard quotes here. Enjoy! :)

Sweet Links: Video Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Karyna @ Paper Squid) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 08:44:00 PDT

I came across these two videos this week and knew I had to share with you. Consider it a short Sweet Links. Also I'm curious, are you dressing up for Halloween? As for me, I will soon be in a viking costume that looks more like an opera singer costume, but it was in my size and willing price range; let's see how it goes. Have a great weekend guys!

A Kite is A Victim (via)

Landscapes, Volume Two, by Dustin Farrell