Happy 2014

Designs © Melissa Camacho

Hello everyone! Another year is soon to pass. How fast. For me, 2013 was a time to heal, reflect, recharge and prep for exciting things in 2014. Wishing you all good things in the new year.

Here are some recents designs I have created that I am excited to post. It is from the current New Year Card Collection at Tiny Prints (check it out here and here). They also offer die cut edges.

Happy New Year!

It Never Gets Old

After designing for the gift industry for close to 20 years (wow, I am dating myself...LOL), I still get excited when I see products produced with designs I have created. I was happy to purchase a couple of these cups to send out to my mom and mother-in-law from Tervis. I haven't bought their products before and I have to say, when these arrived, I was impressed with their high quality. You can keep drinks cold or warm for a long time. Tervis has lots of cute designs and a bunch that you can personalize. I may have to get a couple for myself. And I think they are affordable and nice gifts to give. I may keep that in mind for kids' teachers.

Color Story - Peony Retro

Photo © Melissa Camacho

We are not much of a green thumb when it comes to gardening in our household but we are working on it. So, when something blooms in our backyard, I get super excited. I did not realize I even had peonies in the backyard (they are one of my fave flowers) which were planted by the previous owners. I had to get a cutting. They are beautiful and fragrant! I thought it looked interesting against a retro style geo paper pattern in my studio.

Swaps for Our Girl Scouts Camping Trip

Photo © Melissa Camacho

I'm gearing up for a camping trip with my oldest girl for our Girl Scout Troop. One of the traditions in the camping trip is to create a little souvenir (ideally something you can do with your child) that you exchange with other girl scouts who are also attending the trip. These little charms are called "swaps". If you want to check out the many cute ideas of these little charms, search the web with "girl scout swaps". We have to make between 50-60 and this is my work in progress. I was laying these petals out on my work table to make sure that I had enough to swap. I liked how they looked . So here it is on my blog. LOL! Will share my final creations soon.

Color Story from My Home to Yours

Photo © Melissa Camacho

I like to surround myself with color and pattern. Sometimes you can find inspiration for color combos in your own home. Here is a photo of a vibrant coral hued gerber daisy from a bouquet I got from my friends when I was recovering from surgery. I have it on top of this cobalt blue and taupe batik tablecloth that my mom gave me from the Philippines. Saw this unexpected color combo and had to take a pic. Hope to use this color combo on a surface pattern someday and maybe you like it too and use for a creative project.

New Graduation Design at Tiny Prints

Design © Melissa Camacho

Know anyone graduating this year? I have this new collection exclusive for Tiny Prints available. It was fun developing this design and making the damask feel like a chalkboard illustration. It's a technique I did in Adobe Photoshop using the eraser tool with a texture brush and randomly erased areas of the damask. Then I placed the file into Adobe Illustrator over a chalkboard texture. This collection is available in other colors. It's a perfect look for your artistic or girlie girl grads.

Books worth reading or creating or to be inspired

Photo @ Melissa Camacho

Hello there. Sorry long time no post. I had a pretty rough winter dealing with some health issues. Now, things are better. With Spring in the air and a new beginning, I am feeling good and full of energy. I hope to post more on a regular basis.

I wanted to share with you some recent books a I purchased from Amazon. I highly recommend all that you see. I tried a couple of Lidia's dishes and it turned out yummy. Easy to do. And I have been reading the illustrated books to my girls which they love to hear about. Very inspiring drawings and great stories. The book, Secret Garden, I had to get a couple. One for myself to "ooh" and "ahh" and the other to color with my girls. I have to try the crafts from the book Rosette Art by Cathe Holden who has a site called, justsomethingimade.com. The projects in the book look so pretty. Great ideas for gifts and home decor.