Author Archives: Sheila

Spoonflower and Sprout Patterns Design Challenge

My entry, Pattern design - Kaede Ha (Maple Leaf). Watercolor leaves in shades of orange, red and Merlot on pale yellow green. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Spoonflower and Sprouts Patterns are presenting a joint design challenge this month. Designers were asked to submit a Japanese Garden-themed design they thought would look great on Sprout Patterns’ Asaka Kimono by Named Clothing. The winner’s design will be featured in the launch of this new pattern and all top-ten designers will receive great prizes! Click on the image above for a closer look.

I love Japanese maple trees, and that was the first idea that came to mind. My design is very simple, a basic toss pattern. I took leaf shapes, and filled them with watercolor mixes I had painted on paper. For added interest there are leaf outlines mixed in. I think it would be great for many applications. Quilting, children’s clothing, gift wrap, a blouse. Spoonflower allows the purchaser to modify the scale for their project needs.

Sprout Patterns is a new service that allows you to combine indie sewing patterns with Spoonflower designs to create customized cut and sew projects. Sprout takes away the work of tracing a sewing pattern onto fabric and lets you truly enjoy the process of making your own garments and accessories.

The winner receives $100 in Spoonflower credit and $100 in Sprout credit, has their design shared on Spoonflower, Sprout, and Named Clothing’s social channels. They will also be featured in a Spoonflower press release
The rest of the top ten receive $50 in Spoonflower credit and $50 in Sprout credit

Here is a peek at my design on the Sprouts Kimono Pattern.

Kimono Mock-up. Kaede Ha (Maple Leaf). Watercolor leaves in shades of orange, red and Merlot on pale yellow green. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

The winner and the rest of the top ten designs will be selected by community voting. Voting is now open to everyone and I would love to have your vote! Click on the link below to cast your vote. Scroll down to find my design, click on the white box with a circle to select, then scroll to the bottom to submit.

I appreciate your vote!

You can only vote once, but you can share the link with friends and family. Voting is open until 4/27/2016. Thanks so much for taking the time. There are over 700 entries, but it only takes a minute or two. I have already received many “favorite’s” by fellow designers, so I am hopeful.

Thanks again for voting – have a super weekend!

Sunny A.T.C.

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Small Sunny One. 2.5 x 3.5 ATC. Watercolor on paper. © 2016 Sheila Delgado

Art supplies for a road trip. sheiladelgado.com

Packed and Ready to go.

I was getting ready for our trip to Arizona. Cleaning off my desk, packing art supplies. Gathered small scraps of paper and pieces that had gone unused. But before the supplies climbed in my backpack, I had to play. Mostly just for the sake of playing. But also if I did not have time to paint on the trip, I would still have something to post. So it was play, but practical.

You know. Like when you really want to buy something you don’t need. But if you can think of a practical use for it, then it really isn’t just an impulse buy. I know at least a few of you know exactly what I’m talkin’ about. Uh Huh.

Here is another view of this. I painted it from the bottom up, but I think I like it in landscape better. I filled in that white spot in the center after the first scan. Didn’t even notice until I saw it on the screen.

Have a sunny one!

Liberate You Art 2016 Blog Hop

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2016 Liberate your art cards received. sheiladelgado.com

So glad you joined me for the 2016 Liberate Your Art Blog! Just look at the beautiful cards I received this year. So many fabulous artists and photographers! And look what arrived just today!

L.Y.A. Side swaps #19, #20. Juana Almaguer, Darlene Cunnup.

I surprised Juana Almaguer with a side swap, we swapped last year and her address was on my list. She was kind enough to send me one in return. Her’s is on the left. It felt familiar from the start. (She uses it as part of her blog header.) Juana told me that this is the first postcard she sent out when she joined L.Y.A. years ago. I love the bold graphics in contrast with the soft, watery, earthy colors! Very soulful.

Darlene Cunnup’s blurry photo of a handmade doll is so endearing. Takes me back to childhood. Days spent playing outdoors, the smell of fresh-cut grass, and tiny treasures found along the way.

Thanks Ladies for sharing these beautiful works with me! There are still one or two on the way. I will update this post when they arrive.

A look at the cards I mailed out this year.

2016 Liberate your art cards received. sheiladelgado.com

My five official swap postcards.

2016 Official five swap postcards. sheiladelgado.com

And here is our host, Kat Sloma‘s 2016 Postcard. I love her work! She has a thing for trees and leaves, just like I do. Can you believe she uses her iPhone to create?

Kat Sloma Liberate Your Art 2016

It is always fun to see Kat’s stats for the swap.

1050 pieces of art liberated
175 artists participating
12 countries represented

Two of those countries were new to the swap, and I received a card from one of them – Carol in Israel! Kat created a stellar video with art from the participants, be sure to check it out!

I lost count of how many I sent out this year. Roughly 37, with six of those sent overseas. So far I have received 20 side swaps and the six official cards.

Liberated Artists

I have posted about each artist as the cards arrived. But for those of you visiting for the first time on the hop, the links below will introduce you to each one.

Last Days to Liberate
First cards Arrive
Card #3
Magenta Mail Art
Side Swap And a Postcard Template
Side Swap Surge
Postcard #4
Side Swap #9
Number Five Has Arrived
Side Swap #10
LYA Loot
Postcard Profusion
A Postcard And A Doodle

Last year I got the idea to start an album for the postcards. This year, I received two of the same card from Michele Matucheski. One was an official swap card, and one was a side swap. Naturally I used them for my front and back covers. (It was the first card I received) These small albums are at the dollar store, and fit postcards perfectly.

My L.Y.A. Collection 2016

My Liberated Art History

This is the sixth year I have participated. That is even before I started blogging. Click on the links in the sidebar (scroll down) to see my art, and the videos from the past blog hops. Needless to say, Kat has been a major influence in getting my art out into the world!

LYA-2011-my-art Here is a peek at the collage Kat created the first year, 2011. Those are my trees. I had my cards printed that year and shared them with friends and family. That was a big step for me!

See the full collage at Kat’s site. I could not find those particular trees to show you, but I did find some that were painted at the same time. They are pretty terrible, but I am fond of them because of what they stand for. A brave new step!