blog

Long time no see

2010-10-27T16:10:00.002+10:00

Well. I have been neglecting my poor little blog of late, haven't I? I often think about it, but often run out of time to post! I'm thinking if I had an iPad.... maybe my blogging life will come back more easily :P Wouldn't you agree?

Things have been busy busy busy this year - with the move from Brisbane to Sydney as well as a new job at Bullet. Amazingly it's already the end of October, in 2 months time we will have been here a whole year already.

This means I HAVE to start blogging again. It's been too long and I apologise to all.... I will be back :)

Little girl with an up-side-down heart

2010-09-27T22:15:00.005+10:00

This weekend, feeling inspired to paint one of my many blank canvases, I created a little painting (just a little smaller than A4 size). I recently bought some new paint colours so have been very eager to test them out! Now.... what will I paint next weekend?

*Thank you to Miss A's gorgeously lovely gift (little deer salt & pepper shakers) to make this picture just perfect!

My trip to work today :)

2010-05-17T14:54:00.003+10:00

This morning I had my camera with me, so Drew took some piccies from the car while I drove showing my trip to work! My favourite street is Baptist St, which is just at the end of Crown St. It's lined with terrace houses and gorgeous trees... and at this time of year it's absolutely breathtaking and well worth taking a photo of :P

Sketching while listening to speakers :)

2010-05-04T12:07:00.002+10:00

When I was feeling inspired during the Semi-Permanent I attended in Sydney earlier this year - I did some little doodles in my book (as every designer should when listening to speakers!:P ). Was quite happy with how this one turned out - the moleskin books themselves are such a source of inspiration!

Moleskin illustrations

2010-05-04T12:00:00.002+10:00

Here's two little illustrations I did a while ago but have finally gotten around to scanning in :) First one is for my lovely boy Drew and second one is lyrics from... well I'm sure you can guess! :P

Deer Girl

2010-04-03T13:06:00.000+10:00

An illustration I have been working on... :)

A glimpse of some new work :)

2010-03-10T17:41:00.003+10:00

Well hello friends. Yes, my blog has been very neglected of late. VERY neglected. There have been a lot of new things happening this year. Like moving interstate and starting a new job at Bullet Creative! ...And by 'new job' I mean - the best job ever!

Am now living in Sydney, working in Surry Hill- right in the hub of all things creative :) Good coffee too!

Our new studio is coming together nicely - almost everything is in place except we are in desperate need for some artwork. BIG canvas artwork. I have many ideas, of course, but it's hard knowing where to start!

Anyway, this little image above is a taste of things to come - it's part of a self-promo item I am working on for Bullet. Very exciting... but can't show you any more just yet.

New Blanket mag out now!

2009-12-08T20:46:00.005+10:00

New Blanket mag (issue 19) is out now! Download your copy of the holiday issue and you'll also get some neat desktop patterns (done by Natalie) and a calendar for next year and a few other very nice little treats!

This issue, I designed the spread for the very talented Brissie artist, Natalie Perkins. I love her work!

Some inpsiration

2009-12-08T20:43:00.003+10:00

Some lovely design inspiration for today. This is the exact apartment I would like in the future. Except would like to replace the black chair for an Eames. Perfect.

My new brand: The process

2009-11-05T22:04:00.003+10:00

Recently I rebranded myself. Thought I would post a couple of little pics of some of the process. I was originally going to do some sort of shield, or elaborate emblem, but decided in the end to go with something cleaner. I know it's a fad at the moment, but am loving antlers (isn't everyone?). I'm sure I'll get sick of them soon but for now, I love them :)

A fresh new look!

2009-11-03T21:57:00.003+10:00

At last, I have updated my blog with my new branding. Enjoy! x

NEW SITE IS LIVE!!

2009-08-16T17:32:00.004+10:00

At last I have finished the redesign of the Nushka Dolls site... and it's now proud and live for all to see!

Check it out here!

White sensation illustration

2009-07-16T10:37:00.005+10:00

Am quite excited about this job I got to work on yesterday at work. I had to design an email invitation for someone holding a 'white sensation' party, where everyone has to wear white. I decided to create this illustration of people dressed in white. It's the first time I've properly used the Wacom tablet I'm borrowing from my Dad so it was heaps of fun!

check out my Flickr

What have I been up to?!

2009-07-13T16:06:00.005+10:00

I know, I know - I have been neglecting my blogs! It's terrible! It's not like I haven't been doing anything! Have actually been very busy! Been doing lots of crochet lately - trying to get my skills up but struggling a bit... Geez it's hard trying to de-code crochet patterns when it's all new to you!

I have also been working on some major changes to my Nushka Dolls website... it's in dire need of a refresh... and I have just the thing for it! ...So will keep you all posted on the progress of that.

I promise to post something nice soon - it's been far too long now.

Sweet thoughts,

Mel x

Mr Space Bee

2009-06-18T10:24:00.006+10:00

I have been itching to do something creative lately. So at the end of work yesterday I decided to start creating a little character, who turned out to be a rather wicked looking space bee, who I have named 'Mr Space Bee'.

Black and yellow being two of my most favourite colours was an obvious choice to make him come alive. I would like to do a whole little set of these charcters. Maybe make up some badge sets... ooh how exciting!

Check out my Flickr site

Nushka Dolls in Real Living Mag!

2009-06-10T09:41:00.002+10:00

I wish I had found this out earlier - but my Nushka Dolls got a little mention in the Jan/Feb issue of Real Living earlier this year! Read a bit more on my Nushka blog here.

Brand new Nushka Doll set done with pen!

2009-05-26T22:51:00.005+10:00

I have just finished this new set of Nushka Dolls for my lovely friend Vee at work, for her birthday. I'm very excited about this set, as I have wanted to do some black and white ones for ages now! This particular set is not for sale, but I do have another very similar one coming out shortly.

Before & After

2009-05-25T11:05:00.005+10:00

So today I have decided to show something a bit different. A 'before & after' of a job I did at work last week. Even though the task is quite mundane, I often find it interesting to see what other people ACTUALLY have to do in their jobs each day - not just the fun, creative and thought-evoking work :)

This little job I had was to design a flyer which would be sent out as a PDF via email. The brief was pretty open, but I was instructed not to use any imagery and the design to be quite corporate - nothing 'flash'. LOVE those kinds of briefs... hehe! No, it was actually one of those jobs where you end up feeling quite satisfied as your page looks heaps better than it did previously in Word.

Would love to see if anyone else has some 'before & after' jobbies to share too...?

My first proper granny square

2009-05-22T20:48:00.003+10:00

Last Sunday I went to my second Brown Owls meet. I was so excited that they were doing crochet again as I had missed the previous one. So I have finally learnt how to crochet! I didn't finish a square in the session, but did start and unravel, start and unravel about 7 times! After Brown Owls I went straight to Spotlight to pick up some supplies so I could practice that night until I got it!

The picture above shows my square - done in a crochet twine with a very small hook. I want to make lots of things now!

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend ahead :) x

Nushka Dolls featured on Apartment Therapy!

2009-05-21T22:00:00.004+10:00

Well this is a little delayed... I have been meaning to post about this since it came out but I just hadn't found the time! My Nushka Dolls were featured on Apartment Therapy's website in at the end of last month. Someone very lovely on Etsy (Kay from OhKayK) told me about the article, which was lucky because I had no idea it had been posted!

If you'd like to check it out, pop on over here.

Daydreamer

2009-05-07T10:56:00.002+10:00

This week I have been inspired by a new t-shirt competition that's happening. The theme is "Dream" so I decided to do a few entries! This one is my 'Daydreamer' girl with Medusa-inspired hair...

I'm back online & have a new illustration!

2009-03-18T20:01:00.008+10:00

Ok. So for some strange reason my blog has been down for the past week and I couldn't for the life of me work out why! I was using my own domain name and with my very limited knowledge of HTML, I was unable to work out why the link was no longer pointing to my website - especially seeing as I hadn't changed anything!

Anyway, in the interim.... I have switched the domain back over to a blogspot one, so MY ADDRESS HAS CHANGED! It's now melgardner.blogspot.com (someone has very rudely already taken MY full name! haha).

Righto, so now that I'm back online I am posting a little drawing that I did today.... called "Green with Envy", as I'm in ENVY of all the people out there who manage to have no problems with using their own custom domain name! :P

New dolls have their first coat of varnish!

2009-02-28T20:55:00.004+10:00

Today I have been coating my new dolls with their first coat of gloss varnish. They're looking pretty good so far! I am especially liking the new doll (yet to be named) with the exposed wood. Read more over at my Nushka Dolls blog.

New little 'Sweet' canvas :)

2009-02-27T15:28:00.002+10:00

A new little canvas I painted last night... read the full blog entry over at my Nushka Dolls blog.

Brown Owls hits Brisbane!

2009-02-23T17:09:00.003+10:00

So how is everyone today? I am actually not feeling the best today, but wanted to do a quick blog update as I do have some little things to share. On the weekend, I went along to the first Brisbane Brown Owls meet - it was lovely to meet some other crafty ladies and I can't wait to get to know everyone better and start creating and sharing ideas! I have posted some pics above of the two little things I made using the kits provided on the day. The first one was a little bird badge and the second was a felt owl. Very cute indeed and lots of fun.

The past few days I have also been working on all my new Nushka Dolls as I am trying madly to have them all ready for the KILN Gallery opening night next Friday! It's a tight deadline, but I'm going to get there!

I have posted more info on my Nushka Dolls blog so check it out if you'd like to know more and to see a sneak peak of the dolls I am currently working on!

"Keep Going" doodle

2009-02-20T11:51:00.003+10:00

A little illustration I did last night...

I was inspired by this Type conference that my employer Tanja went to in New Zealand last week. Thought I should make an effort to try and do more 'type-related' illustrations and possibly one day soon do a canvas painting...! Just another thing to add to my massive list of creative endeavours!!! There's not enough hours in the day I swear!

My Valentine

2009-02-16T08:56:00.005+10:00

So this is my big secret!

For the past month, I have been working on a very special Valentine's gift for my lovely Drew – a cross-stitch of a famous Winston Churchill quote.

I searched EVERYWHERE to find the perfect frame – looked all over the world even! But no one would deliver a frame to Australia with the glass! So I had to find one locally - much to my dismay because I cannot find one single framing place in Brisbane that has a well-designed website where you can actually see the frames you are interested in!

But FINALLY (and very typically) I managed to find the PERFECT frame in a framing place right near my house!

Compared to other more "normal" frames, this amazing over-the-top ornate frame stood out from the pack and was exactly what I was looking for. It was the perfect size too - as I had already started working on the cross-stitch!

I'm so glad it doesn't have to be a secret anymore :)

...can't wait!

2009-02-12T09:04:00.001+10:00

I just can't wait any longer... I have to say something... I have been working on a new creative project that I'm very excited to share... but I can't share it just yet! All will be unfolded on the weekend... so stay tuned.

Blanket Magazine illustration

2009-02-11T14:57:00.004+10:00

I have been doing some work for Blanket Magazine for a while now by doing spread layouts for different artists and designers. This time though, I was able to submit some of my own art! I had to do an illustration after reading and listening to the lyrics of the Bob Dylan song, "Tangled up in blue". This was my 'reaction' to it...

For those of you who might not know Blanket - it's a really awesome online magazine started by a friend of mine, Bec Brown. She gets loads of cool illustrators, photographers & designers into each issue which is what makes it so good.

To read the whole article and the rest of the magazine, check out 'The Blue Issue' of Blanket.

Let's get back into it!

2009-02-10T15:19:00.008+10:00

Hi all!

Well it's taken me a while to get back into the swing of things this year and actually create a new blog entry! Things have been so busy. Have moved house, had a few weeks without my computer, then my laptop died so have been a tad upset about that - even though I still have a nice iMac to keep me going. Have had my laptop for 4 years though and really enjoyed having 2 computers! When something didn't work on one, it was more than likely it would work on the other.

So anyway... in tribute to my poor laptop (which I secretly hope can be fixed...) I have a post here for a very VERY beautiful hand crafted wooden case... Ooohhh it's just so lovely that I keep dreaming about buying a nice brand new Macbook Pro... ooh and the 17" model will look soooooo good, wouldn't it?! :)

Check out the site where I got this from here at Doobybrain.com

Lady with Polkadots

2008-12-18T21:14:00.003+10:00

Ok, so it's been a while since I've put something of my own up here, but finally - the other night I found some time to sit down with my new sketchbook to draw something. I was flicking through a fashion mag and this girl really stood out. I really loved her pose, her hair and her shirt so I thought it would be a fun one to draw.

I drew it with pencils and then took it into Photoshop to have a go at colouring it with green and cream.

I can't decide which I like more!

Lady with polkadots - digital colour

Lady with polkadots - original pencil

MORE packaging goodness!

2008-11-25T09:43:00.003+10:00

Geez! Just as I thought I had found the best packaging blog - along comes another one! Have a looksie right here at Packagings of the World!

The Dieline - some packaging inspiration for us all!

2008-11-25T09:02:00.006+10:00

Well today I stumbled across this great blog in one of my google image searches. It's a site all about nice packaging - which is fantastic because you don't always see a lot of great packaging ideas and designs.

The Dieline was established in 2007 by Andrew Gibbs, who is a senior graphic and packaging designer. The site's purpose is to define and promote the world's best examples of packaging, and provide a place where the package design community can review, critique and stay informed of the latest industry trends and design projects being created in the field.

Check it out here: The Dieline

I am in love with SUCK UK!

2008-11-21T16:55:00.004+10:00

Oh my god!! I just came across THE most brilliant website in the world! Check it out right here - SUCK UK.

I've just looked through about 20 products and every one is fantastic!! This tape is one of my fave's! But there are also things like a very flexible LED Clock that's so super cool or a funky Wooden Bulb or an Emergency Money Box or a Colour Matching Coffee Cup! Oh I could go on for hours! Seriously - check it out :)

Threadless Tee - Take Two!!

2008-11-05T13:43:00.004+10:00

So... I received an email from Threadless last week saying that my tee design had been rejected!! The reason being..? Because I had 'apparently' used imagery that I do not have the rights for. I am assuming they were referring to the picture of the girl I had in there previously, as it was not a Threadless model.

The silly thing is though - that I purchased that image from iStock, so I thought that WOULD give me the rights to use it in something like this?? Anyway, I queried Threadless and they never got back to me... so I've decided to go ahead and change both the images over. It was really hard to find a good image of models wearing plain black t-shirts from the images they provide you - but I thought these two that I edited in photoshop turned out ok. I think I actually now prefer these 2 than the first ones I used! heheheeeee

I don't really have any expectations for this design - I think it will be too 'boring' to win threadless... but I really wanted to do it because if I saw a tee like this I would buy it, cos I would know it would go with everything! I like having some 'stand out' shirts, but then some more subtle ones are good to have too for the every day wear.

Anyway, I've still got to wait 4-8 days for threadless to approve the design (fingers crossed!) so that people can actually vote on it! So I'll keep you posted :)

Over the hump Wednesday! Caixa Amerela

2008-11-05T13:35:00.005+10:00

Ok, so it's been a while since my last post. Hmm... busy times this end of year time is!! I came across this cute illustrator, Caixa Amarela today in one of my Flickr travels. You can check out his blog here or his flickr site here.

Pep me up Monday! > Malota

2008-10-20T13:38:00.002+10:00

I am completely is awe of everything Malota does. I came across her art on Flickr and she has some absolutely awesome paintings and some amazing babushka dolls and other hand-painted dolls! If I could be as creative as her, then I would be one happy person!

"Love your type" t-shirt design

2008-10-19T15:36:00.003+10:00

Well, today I have just submitted a design onto Threadless for a black t-shirt design. I always love really simple tee designs - especially black tees - and especially with simple graphics on them. Feel free to jump over to Threadless and vote for my tee! It's pending approval at the moment, but I'll post again when it's live and voteable!

nushka dolls featured in Living Creatively mag!

2008-10-01T09:59:00.003+10:00

Some exciting news this morning! My nushka dolls have been featured in a little article called "Russian Revival" in an online mag, 'Living Creatively'. Very cool indeed. If you'd like to read the whole article, you can right here.

Pep me up Monday! > Art and Ghosts

2008-09-29T23:58:00.009+10:00

Ok. I'm starting a new thing. It's called "Pep me up Monday". Every monday I'm going to post a link of someone who's inspired me. I absolutely love love love Flickr . You can find so many new and inspiring designers, illustrators and photographers. Whenever I'm bored or need some sort of reminder of why I do design, I always end up at Flickr.

Today's "Pep me up Monday" is from Art and Ghosts. Some new illustrations were uploaded not long ago and I think they rock more than a rockin' rockstar!

Check out Art and Ghosts' Flickr page

"Do you love me?" illustration

2008-09-29T23:35:00.008+10:00

This is my latest illustration. I drew it last night - with my brand new (and very lovely) pack of black fine-liner pens onto tracing paper. Then I scanned it into Photoshop, added the blue lines, the red of the scarf and then finished it off with some textures.

'Design This Design That' magazine

2008-09-22T14:18:00.009+10:00

One of my illustrations has been featured in the latest edition of 'DESIGN THIS DESIGN THAT' magazine - on page 20! Check out the site here. It's one of my little illustrations that I did in my moleskin book. There are some other really cool illustrators featured in this edition so it's worth having a flick through when you have some free time or when you need a break! (It's good on Monday's!!)

You can see more of my illustrations on my flickr site!

... and the blogging begins!

2008-09-15T23:19:00.005+10:00

Well here I am. After much "encouragement" from my co-worker and co-pal Kris, I am finally here starting my blog. A blog, that I have been trying to work out how to start! I have so many ideas of the kind of things I would like to use this blog for but I couldn't work out how to start it, so I'm just going to dive in and see what happens. I am currently working on my portfolio website, but would like to have a blog where I can upload the most current things I'm working on, or things I haven't yet finished, or even things that other people have done that inspire me.

Today I am going to show you some badges that my boyfriend and I have started making. We bought a badge-maker a few months ago, and since then have been completely addicted to making more and more badges. We've done all sorts - some with original illustrations or designs, some with type messages, some with photos, some with patterns, some from magazine off-cuts and heaps more.

go check out our flickr site