You can teach an old dog new tricks

I have 2 boys, ages 13 and 11 and they both like to play video games, surprising I know.  Well back in the day I did too! My favorite was a toss up between Centipede and Q*Bert... oh then there was Frogger and Jungle Hunt, oh the memories!  So I guess it will come as no surprise that I’m a casual gamer today. My boys and I have a lot of fun playing Roblox together and we’ve been playing Minecraft for about 7-8 years now.  Yes they were very young when they started playing video games.

I’m sure you’re wondering what video games has to do with crafting. Well, I have found a few apps that let me transform on pictures into watercolors or Monet-type paintings. And while this is fun, I want to be more creative. Enter the world of drawing apps! I NEVER thought I’d find this art form satisfying but guess what? I do!  My favorite one is called Sketchbook although I’ve downloaded Procreate because everyone says that’s the best one to get.  I can see why everyone says it’s good but it doesn’t have the one feature that I like about Sketchbook: the division aspect. Let me show you:
I start out like this:

It’s like a pie that has been divided into 10 sections.  I add color to one section and it mirrors it in the other 9 sections.  Then I use the smudge tool to start blending the colors and eventually I end up with something like this:

Then I add my curly-q’s in there and polish up the lines and end up with this:

Here is another one, start to finish:

 And I post one last one:

During this quarantine I haven’t stopped creating but quite the opposite, I’m teaching this old dog new tricks!

I have put a few of these designs on Spoonflower, the app that lets you create custom fabric, but I haven’t gotten the alignment right yet.

Fabric Designer

I am now designing my own fabric!  I joined Spoonflower last year but didn't really understand how it worked until last weekend when I decided to play around on it some more.  Spoonflower is a website that allows you to create and sell your designs on fabric, wallpaper, gift wrap, drapery and much more.
If you want to get your creative juices flowing, Spoonflower has design contests.  They post a theme and leave it up to you to do the rest.  This weeks theme is "Endangered species" and since my nine-year-old loves rhinos I decided to take on the challenge.  I drew a zentangle rhino then shrunk it down to the appropriate size for a fabric print.

There are also a few drawing apps I use on my phone to create abstract designs like this:

When I was in church on Sunday I kept looking at the architecture of the building.  I took a few photos, changed them to black and white, and after sizing and mirror-imaging them I came up with another beautiful print.  This is the initial photo I used:

Tuesday, when I was on a field trip with my son's class, I took a picture of this little frog.  I first manipulated the colors in the picture, mirror imaged him, then turned him into fabric as well:

You can be a customer or vendor or both!  Here is a link to my virtual storefront but I encourage you to use the search engine and look up anything your little heart desires.  I can almost guarantee someone will have designed exactly what you are looking for.

My shop name is October Cat Studios, the link is October Cat Studios

Thanks for stopping by!