Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Twitter and Plushie Pattern!

I resisted the urge to set up a twitter until the other day. I thought it might be a good idea, since I do not have a Facebook fan page for my designs. You can click on the Twitter bird icon to the right to follow me (I'm @modgeekbykg). I will use Twitter to send updates on both of my blogs, my stores, and general announcements. I'm not going to get too crazy with it, because I have my personal Twitter (although I don't tweet much on it!).

The current Fabric of the Week contest at Spoonflower is a plushie pattern for a fat quarter (quarter of a yard). My entry is "Super Penguin Plushie!" and can be found here. I am waiting on my fabric to come in so I can sew it up. I will do a blog post as soon as it's sewn and photographed.


It's currently shown for quilting weight cotton at a fat quarter, but it's sized for wider fabrics such as the cotton sateen. The wider size includes more peppermint discs, a bracelet, and a sidekick plushie. The superhero penguin comes with a cape, mask, and peppermint discs to use as weapons. This penguin uses mind control to throw the discs! (I made that up due to the lack of wings on this guy. I'm sure a child would have the same logic, though!) Oh, and don't worry, the peppermint discs cause no actual harm to "bad guys". The discs just make the "bad guys" realize that they shouldn't be bad.

You can vote for my "Super Penguin Plushie!" and other fun plushie patterns here at Spoonflower. Voting for this contest ends tomorrow, so please vote for your favorites!

Next posts: Bowling fabric, dress sewn from commercial pattern, and (eventually) "Super Penguin Plushie!" sewn up.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Fabric: When Geeks Attack!

First, I want to express my extreme jealousy at everyone who attended PAX this year. I've never attended a convention, but I know I want to go to PAX at some point (hopefully next year!). I may have to play some Mario Kart later.

Second: I've noticed a lot of sudden interest in my geek/video game tagged fabrics, which means that geeks are finally finding Spoonflower! I know I've been promoting my current contest entries, but I thought I would also promote some of my fabric collections. (Also, please bear with me and my post topics; my blog is still new, I'm still getting back into writing (oh how I've missed it!), and currently dealing with some issues completely out of my control, which is not fun).

For my Console Colors collection, I have two stripes, two plaids, and one dot in two colorways. If I've lost you, let me explain. I have two colorways; one is inspired by colors from NES games, and the other colorway is inspired by colors from one of my favorite SNES games, Super Mario World. Each colorway has two stripes, two plaids, and one dot.

 NES inspired:






SNES inspired:






I also have a stripe inspired by Pac-Man, which is currently available for purchase in two colorways.

Available for purchase here.

Available for purchase here.
I have more Pac-Man inspired prints, but they are for my use only, since I do not want to deal with copyright issues. I also do not want to get on Namco's (or Nintendo's) bad sides, since I love everything Pac-Man and Zelda (among other games). I will be doing another Pac-Man inspired stripe, but strictly in colors from the game (well, actually the colors will come from Ms. Pac-Man). 

Spoonflower offers a variety of fabric that can suit almost any project. For casual clothing, the knit would be great as a top or dress. There's also cotton silk, a new fabric, that is soft and shiny, and could be perfect for a pretty, but still geeky, dress. For crafting uses, the linen-cotton canvas or upholstery weight cotton twill could work well, depending on the project. The linen-cotton canvas is a little thinner than typical duck cloth, but is much softer and nicer. The canvas could also work for a casual jacket, if someone would want a geeky jacket.

Upcoming post: My current Fabric of the Week contest entry, and my entry for the next contest. Until then, please look at my video game inspired fabrics and check out other geek fabric on Spoonflower. Also, play some video games!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Life is a Roller Coaster

I apologize for the lack of posts. I have been working on several fabric designs (plushie pattern and bowling print, among others), getting another online store setup, and trying to not go crazy. The picture below perfectly describes how I feel right now. Minus being around palm trees.

Tom Everhart's "Nobody Barks in L.A." One of my favorites.

I feel like I'm on a roller coaster right now. Yesterday, I got some awesome news that made me happy and excited. Today, I found out something health related that has me very worried and scared. The way I look at it, though, the only way to go is up. I need to stay optimistic and make sure my work is full of fun. Expect some more fun designs in future posts!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Modgeek goes to the circus!

The theme of this week's Fabric of the Week contest on Spoonflower is circus. Thanks to the multitude of creative designers on Spoonflower, the contest is filled with clever takes on the theme. Here is my entry for the Circus fabric contest:


My entry is titled "Mod about the Circus," and is slightly Mondrain inspired. It features tightropes, ladders, pedestals, balls, three rings (of the circus), stars, cycle wheels, and blocks of color. I'm really happy with this design. I was excited about it when I sketched it, but as I was creating it on the computer, I had my doubts. In the end, though, it turned out great (I think so anyway). I think the print would be perfect for pillows and even a mini skirt.

You can see the print in repeat here. You can also vote in this week's fabric contest here at Spoonflower.

I'm working on products images for my soon to be opened online shop featuring my cupcake illustrations. I'm also working on more fabric designs (as always!). Enjoy the weekend!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Illustration blog is up!

I have my illustration blog up and running at kill 'em with sweets. It will have feature illustrations I've done of various sweets, but mostly cupcakes. I might post recipes for sweet treats from time to time on that blog, too. Eventually, I would also like to post comics on there.

Please check it out! I will be posting more illustrations on there as I get them done.

Tomorrow's post will feature a new fabric contest entry.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Shark Fabric Contest

I really meant to post this earlier, but got slightly distracted by making truffles and looking at cool art. Oops. Without further ado, here is my entry for the Spoonflower Shark Fabric of the Week Contest!




The print is called "Shark & Seek," and features sharks hiding behind crates, cartoon-like with the rest of their bodies invisible, and stylized waves. The print is set in a blue/green colorway that feels slightly retro to me.

Today is the last day for voting on the Shark contest. You can vote here  and see my print in full repeat here.

I'm working on getting my illustration blog up and running, and should (hopefully) have it set by Friday. Stay tuned for a post that goes to the circus and an update on my other blog!