Pickadoo Design

Envelope stamps

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:40:00 +0000

I've just finished some line art that I'm going to carve into stamps. After the stamps are carved, I'll be able to decorate the envelopes for my card sets. I'm through with using store-bought stamps for my designs.

MOO stickers

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:42:00 +0000

Here's a collection of images that I had printed into stickers at MOO.com. They turned out great and I plan to use them as envelope seals for my cards. The cool thing about Moo is that they can print a sheet of tear out stickers with different images on each sheet. So fun!!!

Thank You card

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:04:00 +0000

I made these cards for my sister to give out after she receives baby shower gifts. I work in layers of paint and paper and then combine illustrative or photographic elements for a soft, textured look.

Kayla

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:21:00 +0000

I'm doing some cards for a friend of mine who recently rescued a beautiful Golden Retriever from Homeward Pets. Here is the first of three designs. I started with photos that I took of flowers and then with some pictures of Kayla. I printed the images out on vellum to give them a softer look. I played around with collaging the paper images on a painted background and then scanned them. I think the cards have a sweet, vibrant look that matches Kayla herself.

Opal

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:11:00 +0000

This lovely lady was transferred using an inkjet printed transparency that was rubbed onto a painted scrap of wood with a bone folder. I love how she came out looking like a delicate pencil sketch.

Birds like Math

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:08:00 +0000

It's time to dust off the primer and get the kids back to school!

Jenkins and Bessie

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:10:00 +0000

I made these cards for my cousin who does genealogy and has tracked our family over several generations. Her work is amazingly detailed and helps us all to understand the folks that came before us. She was also kind enough to give me lots of gorgeous vintage photos that provide a wealth of inspiration! Thanks, JF!!!!

Mixed Collage

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:22:00 +0000

Mixed media using gel medium transfer on a paint chip sample from Home Depot. (Finally found something to do with all of those pretty paint samples...). Next I digitally pasted the paint chip lady onto another paper collage with sheet music and a napkin poppy.

A Day for Moms

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:30:00 +0000

We've got a couple of mom's to be in our extended family- Blessings to them and all Mothers. Have a beautiful day.

IF- Hierarchy

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:12:00 +0000

This piece came together as a series of happy accidents. The khaki and red colors speak to the military theme. The background is smeary like a dirty window or one that is streaked with rain. All that we know about this soldier is his numeric label which is backwards and nearly unreadable. Despite questionable barracks, this young fellow is fresh-faced and appears in good spirits. We can only hope for the best for him.

Transparency transfer

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Both the woman and butterfly were rubbed onto a painted background using a bone folder and a transparency that had been printed on my inkjet printer. My printer was out of ink and so both images printed in red only. Thank goodness for Photoshop and color correction! I noticed that it was starting to look like she had a wing on the right side so I pasted another 'wing' in on the left. I love doing transfers and can't wait to try more.

Illustration Friday - Breezy

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:59:00 +0000

I knew I wanted to do a dandelion for this right away... I tried out several different kinds of backgrounds before getting to this one.

Furniture Cards

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:51:00 +0000

One of the designs from a Victorian furniture card set that I did for a friend. I liked the idea of an antique chair in front of a more contemporary background. I got the chair outline from a Dover book.

Illustration Friday - Instinct

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:46:00 +0000

I worked on this long after the week for Instinct had passed. It came out differently than when I had thought of it. The text behind the birds came from an old 'Mechanics of Flight' book that is now out of print.

Illustration Friday - Time

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:10:00 +0000

It's time for LOVE... and wine, and chocolate and strawberries!!
On second thought, I've always got time for those. I've been doing more of what I call 'scratch paintings' where I use up scraps, paint, glue various papers and scribble in pencil. They come out kind of random but when scanned they make quick backgrounds for my illustrations.

Preschool Valentines

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:55:00 +0000

My nearly 4 year old daughter and I worked on her cards this week for her party at school. She wrote the word "Love" and drew the flower. I made the heart and we printed out on white label paper. We both painted the hearts with acrylic paint and stuck them on some ripped music sheets that were mounted on printed cardstock. She signed her name on the back and now they are ready for giving.

We had lots of fun and she's super excited to hand them out.

Batik Bird Cards

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:25:00 +0000

I wanted to make a set of note cards for my daughter's teachers for holiday gifts. I was inspired by these nice ladies and the colorful bird imagery resulted. I gave two of each design for a total of six.

I'm Back!

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:03:00 +0000

After a brief hiatus, Pickadoo Design is back online with a whole new look. I took some time to re-tool, re-group and play with our new puppy, Bodie. I'm looking forward to posting my latest card designs as well as IF. See you back here.

Illustration Friday- Memories

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:36:00 +0000

The memories clung to the walls like layers of old paint.

Recently, my grandmother-in-law gave me several old photos that didn't quite make it into her photo album. Ironically, she gave me the picture of the little girl (at the bottom) because she didn't remember the girl's relationship to the family- a child of some acquaintance. The back of the picture is labeled "Alma's youngest daughter Janice 1917."

I kept wanting to add more and more to this image and finally I had to tell myself- enough, it was getting too crowded. Somehow it still seemed appropriate because some memories are like that.

Illustration Friday - Sail

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:25:00 +0000

I did this awhile ago for a card design. I make my own cards for family and friends. As you can see, I love working with color. One of these days I'll have to do something in monochrome or black and white..... Nah! :)

Illustration Friday- Poof!

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:59:00 +0000

With a wave of the wand and a poof, the magician disappeared. He was as astonished as anyone but the crowd loved the trick.

I busted this one out really fast and am hoping to get back to work on it some more. I found this vintage magic trick book online. It had great visuals and so I sketched on top of it.

Illustration Friday- Canned

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:31:00 +0000

I had a tough time coming up with something for canned... canned laughter, canned ham, tuna can, canning jars? Finally I settled on sardines all lined up in a can, looking all the same. But what if there was one special one?

Illustration Friday- Enough

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:05:00 +0000

How do the bees know when they've made the right amount of honey? They just keeping working, diligently and harmoniously to make sure that there's always enough.

Illustration Friday - Foggy

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:12:00 +0000

The starfish began to get worried... not only was it a frosty, foggy morn- but the good captain was blind in that eye as well.

After I did this, I was reminded of the water in "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak which I've read to the kids over and over. I don't love the story as much as I love the illustrations. It's funny how visuals can influence you and then get re-imagined.

Illustration Friday - Fierce

monica@pickadoodesign.com (Monica) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:09:00 +0000

I tried doing some fashion-type sketches to pay homage to Christian Siriano (the winner of Project Runway who said everything was 'fierce') but they didn't turn out at all so I had to go back to Plan B - some fierce strappy, red heels! :)