LizzyHouse

recess

I will be taking a bit of a recess from the blog. I am working solid for the next two weeks on my project so I won't be in. Here is a little look at what I am working on though. I can't wait to show you more, because that will mean that I have more done.

Have a great holiday everyone!

ps. if you have ordered something from the shop will you leave feedback? I just want to know that everyone has gotten their orders! and also, if you order something in the next two weeks it will be processed as normal.

kind coverage

i have had some really sweet, really thoughtful, and really awesome coverage in the past couple of weeks! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the support! Quite a few bloggers have added little ol' me to their blogrolls all over the world (literally) and I couldn't be happier. I feel like I have friends everywhere now.

If I came to visit could I stay with you? I'm a very good house guest. Ultra polite, never imposing and you should see my thank you notes. No kidding

It's something I always wanted too, to know everyone. So thank you thank you thank you! These are just a few, but I wanted to show some love. Thanks for all the kind things that have been said. I am so glad that you are excited for LizzyDish, and that you are finding the block print tutorial helpful. You are all dream peeps.

what is that fine back drop, you say? Could it be more LizzyDish?

special thanks to:

whipup.net and craftapalooza
bloesem blog
printpattern
design carousel
treasuring (jess gonacha)
denise at craft gossip
one pretty thing
Craftzine

trueup!

Bon Voyage

it isn't every day that you meet someone who helps you feel like a whole person. I think that we are blessed with people in our lives that prop us up when we need it most of all. I would have been so broken these past years had it not been for my dear friend, Mallori. But especially this past year. We've been through a lot of trying times, and she just understood me through it all, and I, her. What a special person she is. Anyone who knows her, knows that she is a dream come true. She is brilliant and hysterically funny and I feel privileged that we have shared this space of time together.

She'll only be in Florida... but I still imagine this could take a little while.

LizzyDish print

for those of you who were excited about the print, the rest of them are available in the shop.

*interesting fact
the print was originally called, "Call the Kettle" in reference to the phrase "isn't that the pot calling the kettle black..." a kitchen print about hypocrisy. I always just crack myself up.

Three Little Maids

I painted these little wooden pegs. There names are Yum-Yum, Peep-bo, and Pitti-sing... but Pitti for short (pronounced Petey).

Three little maids from school!
Three little maids who, all unwary,
Come from a ladies' seminary,
Freed from its genius tutelary
Three little maids from school,
Three little maids from school!

they remind me of the watercolor I did at the beginning of the year...

here is a source for the pegs!

check out this video from one of my favorite movies Topsy Turvy. I just love the Mikado!

by the sea, sort of.

I can't remember what airport I was in or what plane I was on, but I started drawing a whale that I really liked. So, I wanted to use it for end papers for some books, and for a limited edition print. Anyway I carved it into a block and here he is. The print is called "The Ghost Whale". Who is actually the "ghost" whale is up for your interpretation. Is it the outlined whale or the pod surrounding him..? Who knows. I have also done a tutorial for block printing! Check it out or download it!

this just might make good fabric. What do you think?

Also I went on a boat (boat with a motor) for the first time this weekend! So great! I never knew what the big deal was... but it's great. Also great for finding aquatic inspiration!

 

It's time!

Here are the peeps that random.org picked. I didn't like doing it. But I did it.

Kellie Shore and Robin Meyers!

just email me with your addresses.

Next time I do a contest it will be something with a definite answer. No more of this random business. Random is not for me. That's for sure. Nothing I do in my life is random, it always has a reason... why should my contests be? Nope it's all going to be about appealing to my better nature now... I think. I will decide later

thanks for entering everyone. I am so excited that you are all as excited about LizzyDish as I am. Soon, very soon. Stay with me though, I could use the support

Last Chance!

hello peeps,

this is your last chance to enter the drawing. I am going to pick to winners tomorrow (Monday) at around 10 AM (Mountain Time). So, if you haven't put in yet, go ahead while you still have time!

"still have time!" was said in a spooky voice.

LizzyDish print give-away!

It seems I have some new visitors. SO I have decided to share a little more with you. If you leave a comment I will enter you in a drawing to receive one of the original LizzyDish prints.

The frame isn't included but this print could be yours, and hey since it's an edition I'll give two away. Just leave a comment and this print could be yours! So we are clear, there will be two winners, and i'm Lizzy House, and the line of fabric being released is LizzyDish! Thanks peeps!

LizzyDish and how it came to be.

I wanted to reveal a little... share a little about LizzyDish.

I have received several, several emails asking about fabric design, and how I got started and where to go and what to do... so because I am not so hot at responding to every email, I wanted to share it with everyone. I want to be a helpful peep.

click here to read about how I got the deal.

Designing:

I always draw everything first. I always have about 3 sketch books with me. One of them is usually for lists, one is devoted to a specific project, and the other is for random stuff.

My style is either extremely sketchy or extremely graphic. I love flat! You can see all my influences in my work... Edward Gorey, Mary Blair, Saul Bass, Charles Schultz, David Weidman, Quinton Blake, Marimekko, and anything Mario Brothers or Legend of Zelda.

But I draw all the time. Church, class, especially airports. Some of my very best stuff comes from airports, and my most interesting stuff happens at about 3-4 AM.

For LizzyDish, the whole thing started with this sketch.

I took it the computer lab, scanned it in, and traced it with the pen tool so I could figure out some colors, because I wanted to carve some blocks and print it.

this is what I ended up with, I wrote about it here. I was really excited about it.

from there I carved three blocks.

the picture was from a terrible article written about me in the school paper. They knew it was bad too. Misquotes, misinterpretations... everything that could be wrong in an article was, but it was a cute picture, with the blocks of LizzyDish in hand.

I made an edition of twenty of the print:

 
I wanted it to appear like something out of a 1950's or early 60's cook book. Something you got from your mom or were excited about finding in thrift store or at a garage sale. I kept that in mind while I was designing the line. Especially were the colors were concerned.

Color is such a huge thing to me. So I kept the colors true to things that were happening during those decades. One color way reflects the color trends of Fiesta Ware that was being produced, another the idea of retro kitchen appliances, and the third: the craze of Beach Party movies and the love the US had for the new state of Hawaii.

I always make a color chart. The colors tend to change along the way, but it is where I start... after the initial drawings.

I also create a logo. The g-designer in me can't help but brand everything I do.

It is some months later and my part is done (for now), now it is in the hands of my Andover peeps, and the peeps at the mill. It will be up to you peeps to make stuff with it, and how great will that be? I already have some projects planned that will be a lot of fun.

so this is my break down

• get an idea
• start sketching
• draw it in the computer
• plan out color
• work out all possible accompanying patterns
• make a logo!
• edit edit edit edit edit
• submit

this is what works for me. Leave a comment if you have any other questions or what your process is. I can't wait to get my hands on this fabric. The line is actually extremely versatile and can be used for so much more than the kitchen, but think of the APRONS!

i hope that you are as excited as I am.

here is an FAQ that I will update as I receive questions!