I placed fourth...

Can you believe it? I am still having a hard time... especially since there were over 280 entries in Spoonflower's "Retro Kitchen" contest.

Whew, that's a whole lot of really amazing fabric and indie fabric designers too!
Needless to say I am very glad (also very lucky) that I placed in the top ten.
Thank you kindly to all who voted for me, I am very grateful you took the time out of your day to do so! 

My "Retro Kitchen (Advertising)" fabric is now available for sale on Spoonflower.
There's a pic below of my printed fabric from Spoonflower Fabric's/Flickr photostream with a link, if you'd like to see a larger snapshot of this fabric.

I also have several postcards available on Zazzle with the same retro graphics I used for the fabric design.
Picture is from: © Spoonflower Fabrics/Flickr acct.

I also wanted to mention that the "Hand Drawn" contest is now up and running on Spoonflower.

My friend Lori Brechlin of Notforgotten Farm has a magnificent pattern called "Do Goode Witch", you can find it here and vote by clicking here.

You do not have to have a Spoonflower account to vote, so please pop by if you have the chance! If you love it, please leave Lori a comment to let her know!

Cheers for now! ~ Lori

Now available on SpookyTime Jingles

This month I have three new pieces up for grabs.

One is made from a combination of paper mache and hand dyed, spun cotton, the other two luminaries are made from hand dyed, spun cotton and completely hollow (one is pictured below). All pieces have been trimmed with vintage crepe paper "leafy" trim.

If you are so inclined please stop by my STJ page to check them out.

For more detailed pictures please pop over to my Flickr set.

Happy weekend all! ~ Lori
All imagery and content © 2012 Retro Rudolph's. 

"RETRO-VIRUS"

Not to worry, I am not sick - but RETRO seems to have spread across my desktop much like a virus this week.

I have spent the majority of said work week hacking around in my graphics program creating a design for the upcoming Spoonflower "Retro Kitchen" fabric challenge. 

I started out with one idea, wasn't 100% thrilled with it... so back to the old drawing board I went.

While I was playing with my first design ~ a basic teapot, teacup and bowls ~ my designs seemed to morph into something a little more "catchy" -  retro food advertising.  I love old ad art, worked at a local newspaper for several years off and on and spent many hours designing and tweaking adverts. I can tell you I definitely had a heck of a lot more FUN making these mini ads.

After my fabric was completed I decided to turn these foodie graphics into something else - postcards. Fourteen postcards to be exact and they (unlike the fabric) are now available in my Zazzle store. You can find them here, if you'd care to take a peek. A preview of these "Retro" designs are posted below too.

Happy Friday all~ ~ Lori
All imagery and content © 2012 Retro Rudolph's.

Mini facelift... and a decision I have been struggling with

Well, as with most things in life... from time to time we all need a "little work" done.

In this case, it's our century old home that could use a little bit of fresh lipstick and a smattering of rouge. So with that in mind we ventured out to a local paint store yesterday to buy several gallons of paint to freshen this old lady up.

Admittedly, she's grown tired of the white and green trim she has been sporting for the past decade (and so have I), so much so... that we wanted something a little more "classic" looking, you know something that will carry her through the next decade in style!

I believe Brian and I made the right decision yesterday when we chose two colours for her trim that we think she'll adore. She currently has a black, gambrel roof, white vinyl siding (yuck) BUT her old (somewhat) crumbly bricks are in gorgeous shades of warm, barn red and coppery oranges.

She deserves something that will compliment her basic good looks and perhaps garner some admirable glances. When's she's done, she may even receive a compliment or two... goodness knows it couldn't hurt at this point.

I do have the feeling that my neglected flower beds may start to voice their complaints upon her completion - so I just may have to dig out my garden gloves and get to work on overhauling them too. 

Ah summer... I can't wait to greet you!

I can't wait to enjoy you this year because it feels like I haven't really known you these past seven years. 

So with that being said, perhaps it's time I admitted aloud (to myself, and to you) that this year the art I offer for sale online will be considerably less than what's been available in previous years.

I have struggled and wrestled (both mentally and emotionally) with this decision since October, 2011. The end result (though extremely hard to admit) is this... 2012 will be (for the majority) a time spent with my family, in and out of our home, in the garden and on occasion in the studio working on new pieces.

Guess I am in need of a "mini" facelift this year too...

Dyeing to get to work on some new pieces

Not much to post this week, for two reasons... I have managed to catch another cold virus and (I'll get to the second reason momentarily.)

Anyway, all I could quickly snap today are a few pics of these twelve plastic bags filled with sweet cotton goodness. I spent this past weekend prepping, by dyeing some rather large pieces of cotton for new work. I do have one cotton/mache piece almost fully completed... but (2nd reason) my camera battery pooped out, so I can't show you a sneak peek... perhaps next week when I have (hopefully) a few more pieces to show.
Cheers for now! ~ Lori

Still tweaking and spinning... my wheels, so to speak!

I don't know why it happens? But it always does! I get ever closer to finishing a piece and then I tend to procrastinate (far more than I should.)

Visions of making HUGE mistakes dance through my head. I begin to question myself... "Should I change the expression?", "Does that nose need to be refined?", "Is it smooth enough?", "What colours should I use?", "What trim will I use?" etc. etc. The list is endless.

It's questions like these that make me drag my feet... and drive me nuts!! I begin to count the days until deadlines (if they are looming) and I just want sit back and continue to count them down... trying hard to ignore the inevitable. I think I need to "feel" the pressure of a deadline breathing down my neck - although I unequivocally dislike deadlines, I NEED them to keep me on track.

BUT, because I procrastinated (yet again), I have been tweaking these spuns (some of which you've already seen), and making more spun cotton pieces too. 

All that being said, time really is ticking... SO, I have set myself a deadline... airbrush day is tomorrow.  Please wish me luck! ~ Cheers for now, Lori

The "unusual" suspects

My apologies to those of you who stop by on a regular basis, looking to see/read something new. Admittedly, I have been "MIA" again... seems to be the norm these days. That's partially because I have been trying very hard to be "good" and spend the majority of my work days "offline" as it were.

As you can see from the pictures below I have been keeping busy and am trying my hand at something new (to me) "spun cotton", not "new" to the general public by any means. The first pic is of some basic torsos, arms and legs (still in progress) and another pics of some pieces that are almost ready to paint.

From what I know, which is very little ~ spun cotton is an old world craft. There is not a lot of information available to be found online about making spun cotton pieces. I am aware that there is an online class available, though I haven't had the inclination to take this class because it looks like it focuses on cotton batting vs. spun and/or wrapped cotton pieces.

Trial and error may not be the best way to go, BUT I firmly believe that by trying a new craft for yourself, and perhaps failing (in my humble opinion) is indeed the best way to learn any new skill. Trust me.... when I tried my hand at spun cotton last year, I couldn't get anything to hold its shape. It has been a learning process to say the least... it's tricky, time consuming, FUN and seriously addicting!

I am truly in awe of the talent of artists like Crystal Hanehan of Vintage by Crystal, Marie Patterson of Marie Patterson Studio, Flora Thompson of Bone Head Studio and Maria Pahl's of Mr. Crow's Garden. These ladies make what I consider  to be "top notch" pieces of spun cotton art... so you should pop by their sites and see what I'm talking about for yourself.

Okay, that's about all for now. Cheers for this week! ~ Lori