I am a paper crafter, illustrator, and aspiring visual development artist based in Ann Arbor, MI. Aside from art and design, I am also a knitter, wannabe librarian, and film nerd, with a soft spot for super heroes, boy wizards, and other pop culture staples. Interested in a commission? Leave me a message or email me at [email protected]. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-25131636-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();
Long time with no posts! It’s been a crazy season, including some great travels, big life decisions, and fun new art projects.
I was contacted by family friends to help create a graphic for a wedding announcement/invitation for their daughter who recently got married in San Francisco. They were totally open minded about what design they wanted, so we went through a fun sketching and exploratory stage before settling on this design!
The final piece was digitally and hand cut with painted details to show off their wedding duds and an interpretation of their gorgeous wedding flowers.
I’ll also try to post process shots if I can find them on my very messy computer!
In other exciting news, I have also spent this month packing up to move to Los Angeles to start at Art Center College of Design in September. I’m excited for the adventure and hope I will have some more work to share soon!
In the midst of doing paper pieces, it's always fun to take a break and try a new craft. I had done some bead weaving in the past and remembered really enjoying it, so when I ran across a huge collection of beads I inherited from my godmother over the holidays, I immediately knew what project I wanted to try first!
Like with the knitted projects I've done (like Oaken's Sweater), you have to start with a color chart to determine the pattern.
I had some pretty lofty goals with this design and had absolutely no consideration about how long the design would be once I got down to it. Once I realized that having six different girls at this size would make the bracelet 2x bigger than the average wrist size, I did some wheeling and dealing to make it more practical. Based on the colors of beads I had available, I knocked the design down to four and got working.
Getting the first girl down and takes some time to establish the pattern
Trucking through all the girls. You can see the extra thread that is left hanging when you swap to new thread.
The final piece before clean up and adding the clasp!
It's a tedious process, but incredibly fun! Working on a few more design ideas for the future too!
Since the final piece ended up being a little big on me, it's now available on Etsy.
I love the end of the year because it is always such a great excuse to try new projects, especially as gifts! This holiday season, my main experiment was trying to make a birthday/Christmas present for my mom.
Click through to read more details about the project!
Since I was a little, my mom has collected German Christmas decorations -- pyramids, Schwibbogen, the works. From displaying them around the house to lighting them and crossing our fingers that they won't burst into flame during Christmas Eve dinner, they have become a huge part of our family traditions around the holidays.
Erzebirge Pyramid + Crab Legs = Talsma Christmas Eve Done Right
In 2006, FAO Schwarz and Neiman Marcus paired up to produce an enormous and extravagant advent calendar designed in the same German tradition. After seeing it in their catalog, my mom fell in love with it and thought it would be the perfect addition to her collection, but with a $1,125 price tag, it was out of the question. We all ogled it from a distance and were not surprised when it disappeared rather quickly.
When my mom's birthday rolled around this year, the rest of my family had a pow wow about the perfect gift and realized that, since 2007, we had all independently searched for The Calendar or Calendar equivalents every year. But to our dismay, each year turned up nothing, except this immortal blog post with a few pictures (presumably snatched from the FAO site back in the day.)
The only images that exist of the original. So small. So pixelated! Made it a bit tough to use as reference.
Now, here comes the fun part. After experimenting a bit with laser cutting over the last couple of years and getting very familiar with Illustrator, I got it in my head that we could try to recreate the thing. From scratch. Probably one of the crazier ideas I've ever had, but I was excited to take a creative risk and even happier when [spoiler] it all worked out in the end!
The process included a multitude of steps. Like, so many steps I didn't even fathom when we started out. It was such a trip!
I started with an Illustrator file, trying to mock up a design based on the reference image. I ended up doing the design twice, the first kind of winging it and the second spending more time figuring out how to optimize the design for the materials we wanted to use.
The final Illustrator document. The paths were separated, duplicated, and rearranged in individual documents for cutting.
Once the structure was designed, we also needed to find little figurines for each window. Based on the original, there are little scenes that are revealed behind each window when you spin it. Since the windows were slightly smaller for this model, we decided to include one figure behind each. We searched all over to try to find the right pieces and ended up with a sort of wacky assortment (normal wintry animals, like deer and a beaver and vole for good measure.)
The final version with all our tiny, festive pieces!
When we found the appropriate pieces and did a foam mockup to make sure everything would work, it was time to cut! The laser cutter was able to get about 80% of the pieces finished, but my fearless dad and I did have to cut a few by hand during various stages of the assembly process.
Painting. Painting. Painting.
Cutting very precise spindle wells for the windows to spin around.
Bringing it all together, slowly but surely.
The final product! Took a few major calculations right at the end to finish the midsection of the roof and dormers, but we did get it wrapped up in time for the last days of Advent.
So pleased with how the project came together and excited to try a more original design next year (maybe with fewer windows, definitely with fewer windows.)
P.S. A little GIF to show the calendar in all its window-spinning glory!
Last spring, I was asked to design some Save-the-Dates and invitations for a wedding that took place last weekend. As a little surprise for the bride and groom, I updated their digital invite design into a little paper cut piece. I also changed up the design of Meghan's dress to reflect what she wore on the day, since she didn't want to spoil the surprise beforehand!
I had such a fun time making this piece, that I'm also offering customizable versions in my Etsy shop!
Over the last few (inactive on my part) months, I’ve passed some great milestones across my various forms of social media! As a way to thank all of you loyal followers and relative newcomers, I’m going to be hosting a giveaway of some silhouettes from my overstuffed portfolio!
I will be picking 3 winners from across all of the entries. Each winner will get to pick one set (or two individual characters) from my previous silhouette pieces.
Just like and/or reblog to enter!*
A full list of the characters available (including some that I’ve never posted!) will be sent to the winners. Please note that the pieces in the giveaway will be sent “as is” — depending on which characters the winner selects, some pieces are samples or test runs and may differ slightly from the final designs posted on the blog.
*For extra chances to be selected, you can also get an additional entries by commenting on the giveaway posts on my Twitter and DeviantArt pages. In order for those submissions to count, you must also be following me on those sites!
The giveaway will end Sept 8th and winners will be notified through their inbox, so make sure they’re open! Winners will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.
Feel free to drop me a message with any questions regarding the giveaway or anything else!
Over the last few (inactive on my part) months, I've passed some great milestones across my various forms of social media! As a way to thank all of you loyal followers and relative newcomers, I'm going to be hosting a giveaway of some silhouettes from my overstuffed portfolio!
I will be picking 3 winners from across all of the entries. Each winner will get to pick one set (or two individual characters) from my previous silhouette pieces.
Just like and/or reblog to enter!*
A full list of the characters available (including some that I've never posted!) will be sent to the winners. Please note that the pieces in the giveaway will be sent "as is" -- depending on which characters the winner selects, some pieces are samples or test runs and may differ slightly from the final designs posted on the blog.
*For extra chances to be selected, you can also get an additional entries by commenting on the giveaway posts on my Twitter and DeviantArt pages. In order for those submissions to count, you must also be following me on those sites!
The giveaway will end Sept 8th and winners will be notified through their inbox, so make sure they're open! Winners will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.
Feel free to drop me a message with any questions regarding the giveaway or anything else!
WE ARE GOING THROUGH OUR LAST DAYS!
Thank you everyone who has been sharing/contributing to our project!
However we need your help now more than ever, Help us spread the word!
We still have a long way to go but we can still make it! >8D
GET THE BOOK!!
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/en-voyage-an-illustrated-journey/x/7826996#home
PARTICIPATE IN OUR GIVEAWAY!
http://gobytheshadow.tumblr.com/post/89872657083/its-giveaway-time-is-the-prize-a-free-cruise
Let’s make this happen you guys!! <3
If anyone is in the mood for some delightful art about traveling, check out and support this book! There are only a couple of days left and it needs a little extra push.
I personally can't wait to see what Lissy has in store for the book, so please consider contributing to the project. There is plenty of great info on the IndieGoGo page and details about the giveaway below.
I got to help Katie with one of her new prints for San Diego Comic Con! If you are at the convention, make sure to stop by her table at HH-17 in Artist's Alley to see the print and check out her other awesome work!
And also make sure to swing by and say hi at the Extracurricular Activities (Booth 1734) where I'll be helping throughout the week!
Rolling out a new look for my icon on various forms of social media! This little self portrait was made for my new business cards (finished just in time for SDCC) using a mix of paper cutting and digital painting. Hope these turn out once I get them back from the printer!
Meant to post these ages ago -- some of my favorite looks from this year's MET Gala in super quick sketchy form! Probably won't touch these again, so I figured I would share them in their various states of sketchiness.
From L-R: Beyoncé, Anne Hathaway, Dita Von Teese, Liu Wen, Emma Stone, Claire Danes, Janelle Monae, Blake Lively, Felicity Jones, and Taylor Swift.
A recent commission I did as a wedding gift for a family friend. They were married in Montana and sent out postcards of vintage travel posters for their save-the-dates. The design (with a few personal touches added) was based on the card they sent us. The original can be seen here.
Just looking back through some of my older works and had completely forgotten about this one! I loved working on this little wedding gift for our family friend -- maybe I'll make a few more down the road!
I've been practicing with patterns in Photoshop this week, including whipping up this deliciously avocado themed background for my new Twitter profile. It was super fun and easy to make this one, so I'll definitely be trying more out in the future.
You can also follow me on Twitter at isabeldoodles!
I am traveling a lot in the next couple weeks, including heading to both WonderCon in Anaheim and C2E2 in Chicago! I will be helping the lovely Katie Cook at her booth and I won't have any of my work with me, but if anyone is headed to those conventions, definitely stop by to say hello! Table AA-161 at WonderCon and TBD for C2E2. Hope to see you there!
