Janna Wilson

Creative Snowball

 

#484296151 / gettyimages.com

I often refer to my life as a "creative snowball." Something creative is happening here in our home continually...in the past few days Abby has baked dozens of cookies, Sara has sewn some new clothes (upcycled of course) while pinning and dreaming of her new room decor. I've been working on my blog and reeling from Alt Summit. I met so many like minded creatives, ladies in a similar season of life- juggling family, jobs and dreaming big dreams. I told my sister I came back completely inspired and depressed! Right now, all I know to do is keep working towards finding success. 

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!

I would love to feature some of the amazing ladies I've met- and I will...someone that really caught my attention is the super-duper talented Ciera Holzenthal. Wow. That girl just oozes talent. Serious. Graphic designer, crafter, influencer, social media wizard and blogger...must visit...

I was giddy when I met Melissa Esplin - fantabulous, talented calligrapher and all around creative lady. We geeked out talking about ink and nibs, oh my! And she's sews...just saying.

Another something I discovered...is WhimseyBox! --even got to meet the founder, Alicia!!! I especially love this recent post- how to host the best Crafternoon ever! Hello...speaking my whimsy! I get so excited looking at this site and all of the crafty-goodness!

Well, discovering and exploring these three treasure troves ought to keep you busy for a bit! I'll check back in later- let me know what you think!

 

 

Silhouette Portrait…freebie for me, freebie for you!

After a long week- I came home to a very sweet find on my porch...

Yes, a brand new - cute as a button, Silhouette Portrait courtesy of Silhouette America, a sponsor of Alt Summit Salt Lake City (yes, I'm attending!!!)

 

I've used Cricut, Pazzle and Silhouette cutters...I even did a video demo for Scrapbooks etc. magazine back in the day (when I didn't even own one- LOL!)...don't laugh that was 7 years ago and I hadn't lost baby weight..and well, I still haven't ;) lol! I can tell you if I were spending money on a cutter it would be the Silhouette even though I've actually owned and used a Cricut Expression for about 5 years (because I caught it on a deep clearance). I've been sold on the Silhouette ever since I did that video-It was my favorite back then and if you watch the video...you'll see they have made updates to improve it moreso. It's super compact. A cinch to get set up and works great. The software/interface is very easy for the average computer user.

Here's a card I made that mimics the luxe look of gold foil using the Silhouette. 

Prior to applying the gold vinyl lettering, I watercolored the heart on a 4" x 5.5" piece Crane Lettra- by Neenah (also a generous sponsor of Alt Summit) thick cotton paper. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE paper? Swoon. The card is very on trend with the hand-lettering, foil-look and the scrumptious paper makes it over the top! Ready to write a quick note on the back and put in the post...with a calligraphed address of course...

I also did a matching card and tag with the gold vinyl...love this look on Neehah's shimmery Metallic Premium Cardstock.

For me as a crafter and graphic designer, I like to create my own designs in Adobe Illustrator (like the handwritten word Thank You I did a few years ago) and I can do that and export the .dxf
files for use with the Portrait without any additional software. Awesome! But they do have a crazy amount of fun designs you can purchase at their shop for just .99 cents each. Some of my favorites are any and all by Lori Whitlock. She's amazing :)

A big THANK YOU to Silhouette for this generous gift! I will share the love here by giving you all this file for use with your machines! Follow me on Bloglovin or bookmark me-- there's more cuttable freebies to come! Plus I'll share my tips on cutting fabric and crafting with the Portrait! 

Download Thank you SVG

Download Thank you DXF (for Silhouette)

I'd love to see what you do with the "thank you" -- send me a shout out if you can use it! 

Interested in the supplies I used- they are available here at my affiliate, WhimseyBox!

I'm Ba…aaaaaaaaack...

Well, after a four year hiatus (insert crazy middle aged lady decides to go back to school to finish graphic design degree) from the blog...I'm back. 

Working on freshening the visuals, content, creating regular content...making plans and sharing more of our creative adventures from here at Wilsonville. I feel better when I write. And it helps me sort out thoughts. 

So my life is a dream right now. Being done with the grind of attending college full-time is akin to that feeling when you think you are missing a kid. You get real scared at inopportune moments (like when your head finally hits the pillow at night) OMG did I do my online class homework? When was that due!?? -- Not having to have those little panic sessions has definitely extended my life span.

A typical week for me now is three days working at the print shop and two days working in my office on freelance projects-- or now that its summer, running kids to and fro and working on projects in the evenings/weekend. Its nice to have a few days in the office/public setting and working with fellow creatives is energizing...and --keeps my mind sharp! And its even nicer to be able to work from home. Trying to find balance is really difficult. I've been hired on as a freelancer with DaySpring...so that is SUPER DUPER exciting. DaySpring is a division of Hallmark and it is like Heaven on Earth in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. I should be starting some projects next month for that sweet gig! 

I've had some super fun freelance projects the last few weeks this shirt for Luke Pruitt's first single release...love the song, Your Man that inspired the shirt design. Here's some of the work in progress...

I created a very unique save the date that incorporated a Hereford bull that I watercolored. I'm hooked on watercolor now. 

 In fact I went on to finish the custom commissioned piece below with a wreath of watercolored elements. It was my first time to paint with watercolors. IN LOVE! You can purchase a digital print of the design below in my Etsy shop.