Thursday, March 31, 2011

Spotlight

Hi !

Today i thought it would be fun to share some great (etsy ) shops with you... i am planning to do this regularly, so if you have a shop that you love, just let me know !
If i think it is inspiring, original, something that i love, than i will use it for my blogposts....

Here are 2 of my favourites ....
Very different styles, but i love the colors, the feeling that they give me, very inspirational, beautiful....



Off to get some work done now .... Have a great day !! 

Love
Miss Polkadot

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Freebie : Printable Label/Tag

Hi All !

A couple of days ago i posted a beautiful picture with a color pallette.... it was my inspiration for creating this premade logo design ( now available in my shop ) :


I am planning to make a freebie every week, so this week i have made a printable tag-label.

You can download it, print it, cut it out as square, or punch it out with a circle punch....
So you can use this label/tag design as square tag/label or round....

Just click on the picture to download it.


I would love to hear from you if you use it, or see some pics ;-)
And ofcourse i would love it if you follow my blog.... for inspiration, graphic design, tutorials, freebies and lots more !

Love

Miss Polkadot

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Glue Yarn Ball Tutorial

Hi !!

Today another bright and sunny day, so i thought let post a fun and bright craft tutorial that will bring the spring inside your home !


Supplies for Yarn Balls:
  • yarn (I used 4 different colors)
  • a bag of balloons: I used 5 inch round balloons to make smaller yarn balls
  • white craft glue

    FYI – this craft is messy! Fun and messy!

Step 1: Make a mixture of glue and water (avoid making it too watery).
Step 2: Slightly blow up one 5 inch round balloon.
Step 3: Pull out a big bunch of yarn from the yarn ball itself. It is helpful to wrap it around your hand holding onto the end as to avoid tangling of the yarn (I learned this one the hard way – what a mess!) Dunk the yarn into the glue/water mixture making it all wet. Squeeze it out before wrapping.
Step 4: Begin wrapping the wet yarn around the small balloon. There is no method here, just wrap it in every which way.
Step 5: Once you have covered up a good majority of the balloon, cut off the yarn and tuck the end under.
Step 6: Roll the yarn wrapped balloon one more time in the water glue mixture, and then squeeze out any excess.
Step 7: Once all your yarn balls are completely squeezed out, let them dry with the balloons inflated inside overnight. This is an important step.
Step 8: In the morning of the next day, the yarn should be stiff and hard. If it is still damp, I would give it a second day. If it’s dry, you can pop the balloon! You should be left with a colorful decorative yarn ball.
That’s it! Now fill a basket or a large apothecary jar or even a big glass trifle bowl would be fun too!

Tip: Use different shapes of balloons, for example oval, and you will have eastereggs ;-)
With these bright spring colors, it’s bound to bring a little happiness indoors.

Hapy crafting and have a great sunday !

Miss Polkadot
Tutorial from MakesandTakes

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Color Inspiration

I thought it would be nice to post some color inspiration today...
I just love these flowers, the colors, the feeling that this picture gives me.... Really gives me a ¨ spring¨ feeling....

So, on my list for the coming week :  make some premade logo designs with these beautiful colors !

Another thing i really am going to start with is to make a moodboard/inspiration board.... All these great blogs i come across are so inspiring.... so maybe more about that later....

And now.... i am going to enjoy the sunshine...

Have a great saterday !

Love
Miss Polkadot
Photo courtesy a creative mint

Friday, March 25, 2011

Grab My button Tutorial

I have had some questions from clients asking for information on how to add a ´grab my button ´widget on their blogs for example...
 So here it goes...This is my first tutorial, and I would appreciate it if you found it helpful to leave a comment!
First you need a button... ( of course i can design it for you too ;-)

Then you need to upload your button to a host site for example Photobucket ( this is the one i use ).
This way your button gets a direct URL...
Now you need to add a HTML widget to
Choose add gadget, choose html


Put in the name “Grab My Button” in the title, or something else if you want a different title
Now paste the following code :
<center><a border="0" href="WEBSITEURL" target="_blank"><img src="IMAGEDIRECTLINKURL"/></a>
<textarea rows="6" cols="20">
<a border="0" href="WEBSITEURL" target="_blank"><img src="IMAGEDIRECTLINKURL"/></a>
</textarea></center> 
 Replace the ¨WEBSITEURL with your own website url, and the IMAGEDIRECTLINKURL with the direct link url which you can find here at photobucket :


Now click on save and voĆ­la !

Now you have a button, and a place for people to copy your button code, so they can paste it on their pages...

Love,
Miss Polkadot

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Colors & Banana Cupcake Recipe

Hi All !


I have selected some new pictures today.... i totally love these colors ! I often need to make logo designs for bakers-baking companies, so you can imagine this site inspires me a lot !


So if you like baking, you have to visit this site, so much information, beautiful pictures and ideas.....







Also found a delicious recipe for Banana cupcakes:


175g (6oz) sugar
125g (4oz) butter
2 eggs
2 large mashed ripe bananas
1 tsp Baking soda
2 Tbsp boiling milk
1 tsp baking power
225g (8oz) flour


Cream butter & sugar till light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time.
Mix in mashed bananas.
Add baking soda that has been dissolved in hot milk.
Lastly mix in sifted flour & baking powder. Dont overbeat the batter.


For a cake bake it in a 20cm ring pan on 170 C (325 F) for about 45 mins.


This mixture will produce around 18 standard size cupcakes and they are baked at 170 C (325 F) for approx 18-25 mins. You want them to be light golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.


They seem to be even better the next day


Back to designing now......


Enjoy!


Miss Polkadot

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Design Inspiration....

Hi Everybody....

Often i just surf the internet for some inspiration... looking at prints, pictures etc....
Here are some of the pics that inspire me...






Love

Miss Polkadot



Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Freebie

Hi !

Here is the first freebie ....
A dotted frame in jpg and png....
Free for personal or commercial use ....

Click on the download link to download the images.




Have Fun !

Miss Polkadot Designs

The beginning.........

Hi everybody !

A new shop, a new blog !  I will use this blog to show you new designs, inspiration, ideas, freebies, and more !

I have been working on some new designs... Curious ?
Here are some of them!


Some of them are available in the shop

Talk to you soon !

Love
Miss Polkadot