Christine Adolph Designs

Fabric Samples

It's like Christmas when I recieve products samples. I just recieved these bolts of Vintage Butterflies, which came out in November. So excited and proud of this line. This line was lovingly hand painted and then collaged with bits of vintage ephemera and the art was translated beautifully onto fabric. My studio assistant took a photo with the original collages just to show how close they got to the original art. I am going to do a giveaway of some fabric in a couple of weeks so check back:-). 

Off to CHA tomorrow. If you're attending, please stop by Creative Imaginations to say hi.

Tableware Design

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One of the fun things I get to do in my job is to take my designs and mock them up into different products. I did these tableware mock-ups a few months back for a presentation my agents were giving. I imagine they would be fun melamine or even paper partyware too...Just thought I'd share:-).

On Trend

As I entrench myself in this class and do some soul searching, I've begun an archeological dig into the depths of my studio flat files. I remember as a young mom of preschoolers doing this work, and being so resourceful, I was full of passion for creating and not even thinking about end product. Such heart went into this art and to me it seems so fresh and on trend with what's going on in the licensing industry. I was so encouraged to read this verse this morning and it gave me peace knowing that the God of the universe has got my back and is faithful to complete the work He has begun. 

Philippians 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

 

LOVE never ever fails

1 Cor. 18:4-8

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

 

New Collection: Indigo Butterfly

This collection was inspired by the colors of indigo dye and ikat patterns...the message was meant to inspire and encourage and although it's not particularly aimed at the teen market, I did get a thumbsup from my teen (especially for the BE FEARLESS design).

I would love to see this collection as a set of greeting cards, wall art or gift items. I did some product mockups for tableware and I think it would be fun in a melamine collection too:-).

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Faith

Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved. (Psalm 127:1-2)

This verse is so meaningful to me and essentiial to write on the tablet of my heart as I build my business, my home and my life here on this planet. I love how God's word brings so much clarity to my life. 

HOME: An Art Journal Exchange

My family is camped out in my studio, we've sort of made it our home away from home, while we do a kitchen remodel. It's been a fun few weeks as I take a vacation from the normal housework and get a change of scenery. It has also been a great opportunity to spend off hours in the evening working on business and art related things. Recently, while cleaning up my studio I came across this journal project done in 2003 (pictured above), it was a part of a six month round robin journal exchange with a group of artists that I highly respect and in particular one of my all time favorite mixed media artists that is sadly no longer with us. I cherish this journal and the experience of creating it with such a stellar group. When the round robin was over we all got together for an art show and many of us met for the first time, I remember how warm and encouraging Janice was as she was cheering me on as a young mother and sharing her story of being in art school with two young children. As I take this course I'm on a journey to ask the why's and dig deep to find more depth and meaning in my creative business pursuits, part of this process is looking back and remembering the times that you really "got it"...this journal reminds me of those days when I stayed up all night working just because of the passion I had for the art. It feels good to reflect and be challenged to get your fire back. 

Another topic to challenge myself with is the idea of social media. The last couple of years I have not wanted to self promote, it just felt uncomfortable, but I'm coming to the conclusion that it's a necessary part of running the type of business I have. So in light of this, I'm going to post more to my blog and figure out the social media thing. I'm by no means a techie and navigating facebook has been a bit frustrating. Nevertheless, I can proudly say that I do have a FB business page. I'm posting a link and if you wanted to "like" it, I'd be real honored:-).

Here is the link

 

Introducing the Oceanside Collection

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The Oceanside collection will debut at CHA in a variety of scrapbook paper and papercrafting products. The product is manufactured by my wonderful licensing partner Creative Imaginations. The collection includes a paper pad, doublesided paper, specialty paper, chipboard shapes, diecut shapes, stickers, and my favorite thing an Artist Trading Card (ATC) kit. There will be a ton of ATC make and takes at the upcoming CHA show and I'll be in Creative Imaginations booth so if you are a store and you're at CHA come by and make a card and say hello. 

I spent a lot of my time this summer taking beach walks and gathering coastal inspiration and these designs came from my heart felt love of the beach and my early morning summer sketches.

Kelly Rae Robert's: Hello Soul, Hello Business (An "AHA" moment)

I signed up for KRR's Hello Soul Hello Business e-course today. I was dragging my feet trying to decided if I had time to do it or not and I had an "AHA" moment in the wee hours of the morning as I was wrapping up a design project, I decided that I couldnt afford not to take the time to do this soul searching course. It's high time for me to re-ignite the original passion for my work I started with nearly 10 years ago when I got my first licensing deal. As part of this process I'll take the time to do the assignments and really evaluate the reasons "WHY" I do what I do. I've been thinking about my biz and how I somewhat stumbled into the crafting culture around 2002 with my first line of rubberstamps for Stampington and Company (never having rubberstamped until I got my product samples and needed to write an article for Inspirations). It was such an exciting time as I was getting published and featured on the covers of several of their magazines like Somerset Studio. When I discovered this publication it was like I finally found "my people", I'd been doing mixed media for several years in the 1990's and it was so exciting to find others with the same love. Below are some journal pages I did during those early years and in my opinion they have so much life and SOUL to them compared to other things I've done that have made more $. Somewhere along the line I lost my steam as I had to get up to speed with the computer in order to keep up with the demands of the licensing world and found myself painting less and less.My hope is that I can stir that orginal love for the tactile art making process and marry it with the demands of the licensing business and its need for everything to be digital. Most importantly I want to get back to really "loving what I do".

The journey begins today and we will spend the first five weeks dreaming and the second five doing. I'm so very excited...

 

CHA Demo: Artist Trading Cards (ATC's)

I will be doing a make and take at the Creative Imaginations booth during CHA using my Marrakesh collection. Come by the booth and make an Artist Trading Card (ATC) or come trade cards with me, I'd love to collect some:-). I'll post the schedule as we get closer...