A Print A Day Archives

Girls in a Bottle

2010-06-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

I get the same dreams often, especially when I'm sick. In this one, I am at a crowded party. And in this crowded party, there is a small bottle on the side table. Inside the bottle are Thumbelina-sized girls I see from a distance. One of them manages to escape and she starts crawling on the wall like a gecko. No one at the party seems to notice. I go, "A girl is crawling on the wall!" I run closer, and the closer I get, the little girl morphs into a gecko. And all the girls in the bottle become geckos. Then I'd wake up.

April/May Download: Oversized Ruffle Tote Pattern

2010-05-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot to make a download for April, so I hope this makes up for it! April/May's download is a template for an oversized ruffle tote. You can get it here for free, or you can proceed to the Parasol website to download.

I love this bag. It's nice and roomy :)

Have fun making one!

Shop Update: Brush + Icon - Flutter By

2010-05-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

This digital kit contains:
12 butterflies in color (png)
12 butterflies in black outline (png)
1 set of 12 Photoshop brushes

You can find it here (there's an image without the logo obscuring the butterfly in the corner).

Or you can get it here :)

------

How are you, by the way? I've been incredibly occupied...which is a good thing. But I think we may be due for a mini vacation. I'd like to go to the river and go kayaking once it gets warmer. San Diego sounds nice about now too. I miss SD. I used to live there--in Normal Heights. I love that little neighborhood.

It's been quite nice here in the Bay Area though. Victor planted artichokes, tomatoes and peas. I think our artichokes may be ready in a few days for eatin's :)

Anyway, I'll see you later!

Veil

2010-05-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

This is a rough draft from my sketch book. I'll be finishing it on a thicker, nicer stock later on.

Oh and I'll be putting up new prints and originals in my print shop soon.

Parasol•CRAFT ISSUE 3 Giveaway Winner

2010-05-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

And the winner of Parasol•Craft 3's $100.00 Fred Flare gift certificate giveaway is...

Anna B.!

---

Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who has purchased my fabric. The response was overwhelming, and we've been cutting fabric 'til 12+ am the other day. I totally appreciate it. Really!

I'll have a fabric giveaway soon!

Random drawing from my sketch pad. I might turn this into a pattern :)

Parasol Co. Textile Shop Now Open!

2010-05-03T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Our little fabric shop is now open! Yay!

I have two mini themes: Little Matryoshka and Mushroom Patch. Both main prints have a coordinating ikat dot pattern, which I thought would be a nice twist to a regular dot repeat.

The fabrics are a nice and soft 100% cotton, and a good weight for quilting and other crafty projects.

You can download the Mushroom Patch pdf inspiration lookbook here.

You can download the Little Matryoshka pdf inspiration lookbook here.

You can find the fabrics at our online shop here! :)

I have more designs to come, so stay tuned!

Oh, and we also redesigned ParasolCo.com! Click here to check it out.

X-posted in Parasol Co.

PARASOL•CRAFT ISSUE 3

2010-04-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Parasol•Craft 3 is now available! This issue is inspired by spring, by children, by playfulness. The cover itself is inspired by the fairy tale Thumbelina. I loved that story and I totally enjoyed illustrating the cover as it reminded me of my fantasies as a child. Sigh.

This issue has 118 pages, and includes the following:
Super talented crafters, artists & photographers
Download: 5 12x12 backgrounds
Paper crafts using the downloadable files
Download: 8 pngs/brushes for Photoshop
Idea: Hand drawn tote bags
Local Shop: Britex Fabrics
Books!
Article: Part 1, Finding Your Creative Self

We also have a giveaway: a $100.00 gift certificate from Fred Flare! Yay! Just follow the instructions and email me the secret code!

You can purchase the magazine here.

Don't forget to click on each feature's links to visit their blogs, websites and shops :) They're amazing!

Thanks all!

x-posted in parasolmag.com

April Download: Notepad & Envelope

2010-04-12T00:03:00.000-07:00

April's download is a notepad and envelope. And it's also a mini preview for the "look" of Parasol Craft 3, which I will be releasing this week.

Aaand you can download it here!

Tsuguharu Foujita

2010-04-05T21:53:00.000-07:00

Tsuguharu Foujita is one of my favourite artists. He loved cats, created beautiful paintings, and hung out with amazing artists.

How fierce is he?

Gosh I love cats too.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Project: Shabby Spring Tea Envelopes

2010-04-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

Shabby Spring Tea Envelopes

A sweet and quick project for anyone who loves tea! Fill the envelope with a personalized tea blend for personalized gift giving. Also makes a wonderful tea party favor!

Materials:
Board paper
Shabby roses digital file from Parasol Digital Shabby Rose Pattern Kit
Pink scallop lace
Sewing machine
Pinking shears
Pastel colored baker’s twine
1.5” x 1.5” square board paper
Double sided tape
Stapler

Directions:
Print shabby roses file on board paper.
Cut board paper into 8 inches x 4 inches size.
Fold as shown.
Sew scallop lace on the top edge of board paper
Fold envelope and sew edges. Trim sides using a pinking shear.
Insert tea bag(s) inside the envelope.
Hand stamp desired title on 1.5 inches x 1.5 square board paper. Make a loop of baker’s twine and staple at the back of the paper square.
Seal tea envelope with hand stamped square using a double sided tape.

Crafter: Christy
Sweet Tidings Blog
Sweet Tidings Shop
Kit: Shabby Rose

***Note from me: I LOVE this project from Christy! It's a neat way to customize little giveaways. It would probably nice to use scrap fabric too with pick stitch edges, or you could use a vintage button as an enclosure.

Collections

2010-03-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

I have hundreds of these vintage book pages filled with drawings of animals and plants and fungi. I also have a lot of Audubon books. We've been fortunate in finding them at flea markets and thrift stores and estate sales. When we move to a bigger place, I'd like to get those flat file cabinets for my vintage prints.

Aside from vintage books and prints, I collect sewing machines. I have 8 and all but one are super old. I also have a big fabric stash, which I need to organize by color. It doesn't help that I live close to a 2-dollar fabric scrap shop and that Britex Fabrics is at a walking distance. Aaaaaa!

What are your collections?

March Download: 12x12 Florals

2010-03-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here's my March download! Yay!

Sorry I've been gone. I've been working on my magazines, hanging out by the river, doing business, sewing and drawing, watching cheesy movies, hanging out with the husband, dogs and cats, blowing the fuzzies off dandelions that have pretty much taken over our yard...You know. Everyday life stuff and then some.

But I'm still here.

How are you? I hope all is well.

xx
Yasmine

Captain Kitty

2010-03-11T08:56:00.000-08:00

Victor found this little book at a swap meet for a dollar. The book is Called Captain Kitty and I love it so much.

A fancy queen...

and king with a hot pink shell crown.

Pearls! Pearls! Pearls! Pearls!

Mommy and Poppy kitty

Baby kitties

I think you can still find a used version of this book online. It's super cute.

Book is by Godfrey Lynn, illustrated by Elizabeth Webbe.

Disco Strawberry

2010-03-10T09:18:00.000-08:00

My husband puts disco balls in our planters. It makes the strawberries happy.

It's a fat strawberry!

Nom!

Goodness it's Wednesday already.

Still working on magazines. See you later.

xx
Yasmine

Florals

2010-03-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

Oh flowers.

I was in Phoenix recently for my sister's wedding, and I was pleasantly surprised that the desert was so green. It had supposedly been raining quite a bit, and there were lots of wildflowers and little shrubs all over. Come late afternoon, clouds had formed but the sun still shone so brightly. It was like a painting.

I love Arizona. I wish I took photos.

Anyway, I'm back in San Francisco.

How are you?

Beautiful Grey Day

2010-03-01T20:03:00.000-08:00

This area is in between Ocean Beach and the Golden Gate bridge. We waded in the water and climbed on rocks, looking for interesting looking things. Fortunately I had my iphone camera. The water was so so cold my feet went numb! But the Bay is absolutely gorgeous even during grey days.

February Download

2010-02-25T20:53:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've done paisleys yet so I've incorporated them in placecards. There are backgrounds included so if you want your cards to have a patterned back, just turn your card-stock around and print on the other side as well.

You can download the February kit here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

xoxo
Yasmine

Little Princesses

2010-02-22T19:27:00.000-08:00

Snow White & Rose red is one of my favourite stories.

My favourite newer fairy tale is A Little Princess.

A more recent version from 1995 which I love:

And of course, the Shirley Temple version.

There are full versions on youtube, but I think it's better to watch on a bigger screen.

I love Shirley Temple so much. She's such a doll.

Pinch cheek :)

ParasolMag Issue 6

2010-02-15T18:05:00.000-08:00

6th issue of Parasol Magazine is now available for download!

You can download it for free here.

Or view via Issuu below:

Issue 3 of Parasol+Craft will follow.

Doilies & Hearts

2010-02-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple more projects by Christy and Stina!

A. Novel Idea Personalized Greeting Cards

Sometimes you encounter beautiful passages from a favorite novel that you want to share with your friends or loved one. Why not inscribe them on a personalized greeting card?

How to make:

1.Open a blank folded card template on MS Publisher.
2. Insert and resize the square doily frame element ( frame 3) to fit the dimensions of the card.
3. Insert text box and insert favorite quote from book or novel. Print and embellish card with ephemera or scrapbook accessories.

B. Gift Book Box

Why not recycle corrugated postal shipping boxes the next time around? They make handy eco-friendly boxes for gift items such as books and diaries.

How to make:

1. Reverse and rebuild the postal shipping box. Fill with shredded bonbon paper or japanese paper.
2. Carefully place book items inside the box.
3. Wrap paper doily ribbon around the box and secure with transparent or double sided tape.
4. Open, resize and print and lace patterns (patterns 1-4) on Photoshop or MS Publisher. Print and handcut.
5. Embellish box with handcut lace patterns, doily gift tags (see tutorial below) and other scrapbook accessories.

C. Doily Gift Tags

Doodled doilies make the cutest gift tags! You'll enjoy using them on all your gift wrapping and craft projects.

How to make:

1. Open a letter sized document on Photoshop. Open and resize doily elements (doily 1-5) to 500px by 479px.
2. Drag and duplicate doily elements to Photoshop document.
3. Print file and cut out doily patterns using scalloped or round paper shapers.

Kit: Doodles and Lace, Parasol•Craft 1
Crafter: Christy of Sweet Tidings
Sweet Tidings Shop

---

You can find Stina's tutorial here!

Kit: Tiniest Garden
Crafter: Stina of Sagolikt Pyssel
Sagolikt Shop

Have a great weekend all!

xoxo
Yasmine

Doilies

2010-02-09T22:00:00.000-08:00

I'm back! Sort of. Lovely Christy of Sweet Tidings sent in this little project, and I absolutely love it!

This project makes use of recycled materials such as grandma's old doily blanket or vintage buttons. Likewise you use your worn out denim jeans or jacket too. Enjoy!

Materials:

1. Bamboo embroidery hoop
2. Lightweight denim (new or recyled)
3. White buttons (new or vintage)
4. White embroidery floss and needle
5. Old crocheted doily scraps
6. White thread and needle/sewing machine
7. Carbon paper for tracing patterns onto back of denim
8. Embroidery patterns from Parasol Craft Issue # 1 or Doodles or Lace Digital Kit

Directions:

1.Trace the shape of the bamboo hoop onto fabric.
2. Using carbon paper and pencil, trace embroidery patterns onto the back of the denim fabric.
Make space for other embellishments such as buttons or crocheted doily scraps.
3. Secure fabric to embroidery hoop.
4. Embroider patterns using white embroidery floss.
5. Applique doily scraps onto fabric using sewing machine. You can handsew too if like.
6. Sew on some vintage buttons. Voila! It's done

You can use the same technique to embroider doily designs to throw pillows, pouches, bags etc.

Kit: Doodles and Lace, Parasol•Craft 1
Crafter: Christy of Sweet Tidings
Sweet Tidings Shop

Thanks Christy!

I'll be back next week to release ParasolMag Issue 6. It's going to be a good one! See you then!

xx
Yas

Oranges

2010-01-21T23:08:00.000-08:00

Hi all. Sorry I've been scarce. I'm working on the magazines at the moment. ParasolMag will be released first, then ParasolCraft.

Anyway, happy weekend all! See you next week!

xx
Yas

Orange Blossom Download

2010-01-18T00:03:00.000-08:00

You can download it here.

Happy Monday all!

xx
Yasmine

P.S.

Hey thanks for the super nice emails and messages from the previous post everyone. Totally appreciate it. xx

Raoul Dufy

2010-01-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love Raoul Dufy. He's one of my favourite painters and print makers.

I chanced upon a collection of wrapping papers at a second hand bookstore and there was an entire book of it. I purchased it, of course. His patterns are beautiful, and I love his bold use of color.

Digital Shop

2010-01-11T00:03:00.000-08:00

Hello All!

I just reopened my shop.

You don't have to wait for me to email you the files anymore! Yay! Also, you will notice, each kit is bundled by type, ie, Patterns, Brush + Icon, etc...This is because I get a LOT of requests from people asking if they could just purchase the 12x12 only, or elements only and so on. So going forward, I'm doing the shop this way. Oh, and I'm still in the process of uploading the older kits as well as new ones.

I also changed the standard license slightly. I am allowing SOME commercial use. Before I didn't allow use on blogs and websites that sold stuff. I am changing that to allow the use on commercial blogs with at the most 6000 impressions a day or less with credit to me. You can read the terms of use for full details.

I'm still working on other licenses for those inquiring about photo and design for hire projects and other such things. Those will follow later.

AAANND I made over my Parasol blog. Aside from my magazine, it will cover my larger downloads, shop news, etc...You can visit it here. APAD will still be my drawing and downloads blog--the way I initially intended it to be.

Muir Woods

2010-01-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my home! This redwood tree is the entrance to my underground home.

And this is my Victor lounging on our patio log.

A moss upholstered tree trunk.

Checking the mail. Our packages are delivered by squirrels and bats. They're pretty efficient.

The back entrance to our underground home. You jump through a hole carrying an umbrella to slow you down. Then you land on a bunch of spiderwebs to soften the landing. Then you enter a series of tunnels. I don't know what the tunnels are for, but an underground home needs tunnels. But the main tunnel leads you to our living room with a skylight. Our couches and seats are giant mushrooms like the one below.

The end.

+ + +

Speaking of Muir Woods, PBS & Ken Burns have a documentary called The National Parks: America's Best Idea. It is an amazing series, and have seen it on PBS. I highly recommend purchasing the series. It makes you appreciate these treasures as well as the amazing people who made it all possible to preserve them.

Love.

Hello!

2010-01-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday all! I'm guest blogging at awesome art blog PICDIT until Friday. And of course, downloads and patterns in APAD throughout the week as well. I'm currently working on my digital shop which I'll be releasing later in the week.

Anyway, I hope everyone's been having a great start to the year so far. For New Year's Eve, we went to Ocean Beach in SF and hiked the hills around it, had a nice dinner and played board games at the restaurant, and saw the fireworks in SF from a parking lot next to Hangar One.

What about you?

xx
Yas

January Download: 12x12

2009-12-31T00:03:00.000-08:00

You can download it here.

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you prosperity and much happiness for 2010.

xoxo
Yasmine

*Personal use only please. Terms of use included in download. And please credit me when using.

Edit: Link fixed

Hey!

2009-12-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

Hey I'm on vacation in Arizona! I forgot to let you know last week.

Oh and giveaway winners for Parasol Mag 2 are:

Shelley G. > A LOT of felt and Cute Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo
Rose > Japanese Craft book, Girls’ Everyday Dress (I love this book!)

I emailed you ladies, by the way.

Don't worry. I have more coming up in following issues. I didn't get a chance to do the mags for November-December as the holiday seasons are quite hectic for me outside the blog world. But January-February, I shall have mags out, both ParasolMag and ParasolCraft.

And for those asking about my digital shop, I had to take to down temporarily as I'm repackaging everything based on your suggestions. It will be new stuff.

This is a mini preview of one of the 12x12s.

Anyway, Happy Holidays+Merry Christmas+Happy Kwanzaa+Happy Hanukkah+Happy Winter Solstice to you. I love this time of year. I'm spending it with family and friends and pets like I always do.

If I don't see you this week, it'll be the next. Love you all.

xoxoxo
Yasmine

Trailers and Tupperware

2009-12-17T22:58:00.000-08:00

I found this little book, Tupperware Know-How at a Goodwill thrift store in Oakland. I bought it because I was curious as to how such businesses were conducted at the time. That and I liked the little illustrations.

"Identify yourself with the product"
If you talk that way all the time," said Ann, "you'd be known as 'The Tupperware Lady!'"

I think this holds true 'til today. I used to work in advertising and marketing for a very very large corporation. And often, it would be implied that if you bombard people enough with your brand, you'll become synonymous with what you're selling.

Considering the tough economy, they're actually doing quite well.

"Husbands Enjoy Parties"
If we were to adapt this book to more current times, I wonder how the wording would be.

I can only imagine what 1958 was like. I like the design of things that come from around that time.

Speaking of vintage...ta-dah!

No it's not mine. Victor and I stayed here for our anniversary (and Thanksgiving weekend roadtrip). We flew in from the Bay Area, hung out in Phoenix with friends and family, then drove and stopped by Tucson, Tombstone and our last stop, Bisbee, AZ. Bisbee, by the way, was once a mining town and currently has a population of under 10,000. Old town Bisbee is charming, with very good restaurants, a vibrant creative community and lots of quirkiness. I'm in the process of sorting out through photos and will be uploading them soon in flickr.

The said Airstream trailer is in the Shady Dell, which is just outside old town Bisbee. It's a quaint little trailer/rv park with vintage Airstreams/trailers, a tiki bus, an old yaught and a tiny 9-seater old fashioned diner. And I LOVED it. And accommodations are quite reasonable too. I highly recommend it. Even the Yelp reviews are quite good.

Do you have an Airstream trailer? I'd love to have an old one similar to the model we stayed in.

Treehouse

2009-12-14T21:48:00.000-08:00

My dream homes are (in no particular order):
1.) A semi-underground home that is covered with moss and kind of looks like a hobbit home with roots going through it (an underground house is also my husband's dream house!)
2.) A tree house
3.) A yurt
4.) A boat house with a slide that goes to the water
4.) A vintage Airstream trailer
5.) A cave house
6.) A Queen Anne Victorian house with secret rooms
7.) A tree stump house (like a hollowed out sequoia)
8.) A cat house, because I like cats
9.) A barrio-style house (like the ones you find in Tucson)
10.) My current house--which needs a major cosmetic makeover

I think my dream homes are pretty easily attainable. They're not fancy or anything.

What are your dream homes?

Lonely Doll + Dare Wright

2009-12-13T16:01:00.000-08:00

Have you heard of the Lonely Doll books by Dare Wright? Her children's books are super sweet (with a teeny hint of unintentional creepiness).

This is Dare Wright. I want her little straw hat.

Images from her books.

This is a book I found at a used books shoppe and it is now mine. Some of the doll poses in the book are a bit awkward actually. I think it makes the book more special. I love it so much. The image above where the doll and kitty are swinging in a basket is from this book.

Source: Dare Wright's site

APAD Print Shoppe is now open!

2009-12-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

Hi all! My print shoppe is finally open!

I have 3 series up:
Amanita
Miniature Woods
War + Peace

And there are 3 prints in each.

You can find them here!

Thanks all!

xoxo
Yasmine

edit: 12/9
For those who have inquired, the digital shop is being repackaged and updated. I will be releasing most likely after Christmas.

:)

Downloads: Holiday 2009

2009-12-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

Holiday 2009 has 6 papers, 5 tags and a to-do list. It's available to download here!

You can supplement this with Holiday 2008 as I did not deviate from colors much.

I want to see what you make! You can upload photos or share links to your site or blog in the FB Group. Yay!

xoxo
Yasmine

Download: Matryoshka Calendar

2009-11-24T19:11:00.000-08:00

Simple 4"x6" matryoshka calendar in different colourways.

As with the carnivorous plants calendar, I did not put dates so you can use over and over.

You can download it here.

Aaaand I am off on vacation. If you have any questions in regards to the shop/blog/mag, I will respond by Monday of next week.

Have a great week everyone!

xoxo
Yasmine

Greg Girard

2009-11-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite photographers.

I so love this image.

He has two books: City of Darkness, Life in Kowloon Walled City, and Phantom Shanghai.

I own City of Darkness and it is worth every penny. I highly recommend it.

I interviewed Mr. Girard in ParasolMag Issue 3. Check it out here.

All images are from Greg Girard's site.

Sleeps

2009-11-19T22:45:00.000-08:00

Name one thing I don't get a whole lot of.

Happy weekend everyone!

xo
Yasmine

Hair

2009-11-16T00:03:00.000-08:00

I was at a neighborhood in SF one day and I saw a small shop with brightly coloured and glittery things. Among the brightly coloured things were wigs.

I've always had a fascination with hair. I find it quite amusing that we always want what we don't have. I grew up in a place where a majority of my friends and classmates had long, black, stick straight hair. Mine was pouffy and unruly so I had it straightened for a few months. Not a good thing to do, by the way. It wasn't until late last year that I've FINALLY learned how to tame the hair naturally. Sort of.

+ + +

Oh, and I will be closing down my APAD digital shop this week to replace it with a real paper print shop. I think I shall open it next week. It'll contain my favourite images, including new ones.

I'll re-open my digital shop next year in a different format and look.

Black Lacy Dresses

2009-11-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

Have a great weekend!

Working Proof Prints

2009-11-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

Hi!

Remember my distressed lace dress? I have 50 signed and dated prints on sale exclusively at Working Proof. 15% go to Kids in Need, a charity that gives school supplies to children who cannot afford it. In addition to the 15%, I am donating an additional 100% of my portion to Kids in Need and Puppies Behind Bars. I think both charities are awesome in that they help people lead productive lives through giving and through education.

Working Proof, by the way, is the brainchild of talented duo, Anna Corpron and Sean Auyeung. They also author one of my favourite blogs, Sub-Studio.

You can also find other great prints by other artists. Samantha Hahn and Justin Richel have prints at Working Proof as well. And if you've read Parasol Magazine, both were featured in my mag in previous issues. They are awesome and really talented.

You can find my prints and an interview here!

xoxo
Yasmine

Download: Garden Bunny Notepad

2009-11-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

You can download this little bunny notepad here.

Personal use only please ;)

Happy weekend everyone! See you in a few. I have another download soon.

xoxo
Yasmine

Parasol Magazine Issue 5!

2009-10-29T22:01:00.000-07:00

Issue 5 is up!!!

You can download it here!

Or view through the Issuu reader.

I hope you like it! It's got an interesting mix of artists, designers, crafters and photographers. Oh and I have 2 covers. I couldn't decide between the two so I made a cover with 2 options. One is by Lola, and the other by Lala.

Artists, designers, crafters, photographers featured in the magazine are:

Lala Gallardo

Jenny Kendler

Molly Schafer

Gerry Alanguilan

Lola Andrew

The Working Proof

Lawrence Valencia

Traci French

Holly Stalder

Chromalab

Craft: Woodland Plush by Becky Jorgensen

Next up, ParasolCraft 3, which will be released late November, early December.

*Cross-posted in ParasolMag.

Tiny Deer

2009-10-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

I'm making a repeat around this. I want to turn it to fabric so I can make pillow cases for myself.

Aaaand, ParasolMag is to be released tomorrow! I'm most likely posting the links tomorrow night, California time!

Peruvian Textiles

2009-10-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

I love folk art and indigenous crafts. I have a modest collection, and I would like to expand once I have the space.

I also have a fondness for Peruvian embroideries and textiles.

Peru has textile/folk art/market tours. Gosh I would like to go!

Source:
Puchka
William Siegal

Lace Dress 2

2009-10-19T00:03:00.000-07:00

My second lace dress. The first one is here.

I like drawing fancy dresses. I'm not a fancy dress wearer, but I like to draw them.

Oh, and ParasolMag Issue 5 will be released next week!

P.S.

Aw. Stina did a great job embroidering the Little Girl embroidery template in ParasolCraft 1. See here. Thanks for sharing Stina!

And the Winner of the Mushroom Fabric + Print is...

2009-10-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

DANIELLE!!! (October 5, 2009 8:30 AM)

Gosh I wasn't expecting so many would enter! Over 150! I wish I had more to give away. Don't worry I will have more giveaways of prints and fabric soon!

Thank you for joining everyone!

xoxo
Yasmine

Parasol•Craft 2 is Up!

2009-10-08T00:23:00.000-07:00

Again, as I've said many times before, THANK YOU for supporting the first issue and for all the feedback. It really means a lot!

Parasol•Craft 2 is Kawaii themed. Now, I loved putting this mag together. I've designed for the children's and gift market through most of my career, so you know, I like cute things. A lot. So I really enjoyed this issue and getting to know more creative people in the process. They're awesome and their talents are truly inspirational.

Aside from my interviews, I have downloads!!! This includes:

1.) A Kawaii Mini Kit with 4 12x12s backgrounds, 1 To Do List, 1 Book Plate, 2 Tags, 1 Index Card, 3 Border Patterns
2.) Kokeshi Family and Kawaii Fruits Embroidery Templates
3.) 2 Panel Kokeshi Family Doll Templates
4.) A Flower Pom Tutorial by Kristen of Domestifluff, Craftig & Papercrave which includes templates
5.) A Glass Marble Magnet Tutorial which includes downloadable Kawaii artwork

And I have 2 GIVEAWAYS!!! So 2 will win this time. Just email me the secret code in the mag to what you'd like to win.
Giveaway 1: A LOT of felt and Cute Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo
Giveaway 2: Japanese Craft book, Girls' Everyday Dress -- This is in Japanese but the photos are gorgeous, the instructions are illustrated and there are paper patterns.

Of course, I have a bunch of other features as well. They are linked by the way! If you are interested in a website, blog, book or if you want to listen to my soundtrack, just click and it will lead you to the website.

As mentioned, the mag is over 100 pages of good stuff!

You can download it here fore $2.50.

If you still haven't gotten Issue 1, it's right here :)

THANK YOU!!!

xoxo
Yasmine

Winner of Parasol•Craft 1 Giveaway and Another Giveaway!

2009-10-05T00:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the winner of Parasol•Craft 1's giveaway is...

Miriam Kaye!!!

Yay!

I have 2 giveaways coming up in the next issue, by the way, so there will be 2 winners next time.

Oh, and remember when I accidentally won 5 yards of fabric from Spoonflower? Well I finally got it and it's fab! Stephen actually asked me if I wanted the tree print or something else. I told him I wanted something else, so I sent my favourite one--the mushroom pattern! Thanks Spoonflower!

Giveaway: 1 yard of mushroom print fabric and a mushroom terrarium print

This is what the fabric looks like more spread out.

I've given and/or will give away the remaining yardage to friends/family (and 1 yard for myself so I can make a tote), but I kept 1 yard as a giveaway to an APAD reader. Yay! I'm also including a signed print of my mushroom terrarium (click the link to see the image close up), which is printed on archival paper with archival inks. It has red cap mushrooms like the fabric.

To enter, just leave me your name and email in the comments below and that's it! I'll reveal the winner in a week-ish.

Speaking of Parasol•Craft, I'll be releasing the 2nd issue this week. Stay tuned for that! It's got over 100 pages of good stuff :)

Santigold

2009-10-03T21:51:00.000-07:00

I absolutely adore Santigold as always. I also love this video and how it incorporates patterns.

A Boy and the Sky

2009-09-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

+ + +

Oh and to answer your questions:

a.) Parasol•Craft will be released next week. Page count will be over 100+.
b.) Parasol Magazine will be released mid October.
c.) The doll download link is now fixed.

Have a great week everyone!

xoxo
Yasmine

Clumsy

2009-09-20T23:58:00.000-07:00

Some graphic content...

A few years ago, I was living in San Diego while my husband was still packing in Phoenix to move with me. I had purchased a temporary sewing machine as the Bernina my husband brought home needed some repairs. As I was trying out the sewing machine using several layers of fabric, my hand somehow slid and got caught under the foot. The needle had sewn through my index and middle finger. It took me a couple seconds to realize what had just happened. Upon seeing the blood, I sharply uttered an expletive that rhymes with the word "puck".

As I was trying to pull my fingers out, the needle had broken off. I hobbled towards the couch, half fainting. I sat down for a bit as blood trickled down my arm. I cleaned the wound, but since I had just moved in and had no first aid kit on hand, I wrapped my fingers with cotton and leftover electric tape.

And in the words of my 6th grade math teacher, "Yasmine! You have no finesse whatsoever!"

---

Oh, and thanks so much everyone for being so supportive. I feel humbled and grateful for everyone's kindness.

I'm trying to stay positive on the matter, and hopefully, in the end, all of this becomes a good learning experience for all those involved. I know it has been for me.

Anyway, have a great week everyone. I hope all is good and well.

xo
Yasmine

Yayoi Kusama

2009-09-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

All by Yayoi Kusama.

I've seen one of her installations in person. It awes and boggles.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Roots

2009-09-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

My husband arranged a bunch of clear bottles with vine-y plants on our window sill, and some of them have an abundance of roots.

I have a fascination for tangly things lately. I like unruly things.

Hello Dolly

2009-09-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

Stina made all the dolls! I think she did a great job. The left two are from my Parasol•Craft and the right two are free from this post! You can see more of her crafts in her flickr.

And here's Maitreya's post on bubble jet set and iron on transfer comparisons. You can see her results above. The left is bubble jet set, and the right is iron on. You can view more of the details in Craftlog.

FYI, I'm in magazine mode right now, so if my posting is sporadic, you know where I am.

Tangled Ranbow

2009-08-31T00:03:00.000-07:00

I was at the beach earlier. It was quite nice as I needed the fresh air--I was feeling a weak all weekend. I saw a bunch of tangled sea weed on the sand. And because I was drawing a bunch of rainbows earlier, I ended up with the graphic above.

Oh, and I'm also going to start putting my blog's name on my graphics on a regular basis :)

Have a great week everyone!

xo
Yasmine

Hello.

2009-08-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

First off, I'm impressed with Spoonflower for correcting the situation in a speedy, courteous and sensitive manner! Second, the lady who lifted my work apologized. And I accepted.

Unfortunately this is not the first time this has happened throughout my career as a designer and illustrator. It just so happened that this had taken place within a very tight-knit community.

I started this blog as a creative exercise and as a means of sharing my downloads for personal use. This is not my professional portfolio. Most of the images you see are done the same night I post them. But APAD often gets featured in style/trend forecasting sites, mags. blogs, boards and etc...and I am well aware of the risks. As someone who is in the creative industry, I feel that it is important to share one's work -- with a bit of caution. Creativity would be useless if it's hidden in the dark. As members of the creative community, we all influence and inspire each other in one way or another. But companies big and small, and individuals should respect other people's work. Sometimes they don't and make a "mistake" by thinking things are okay to use as one's own among other things. I don't usually worry until that bridge has been crossed--though that bridge has been crossed often enough...

This particular situation is a rather unfortunate one but I personally think that it should be treated as a learning experience for all parties involved, more than anything else.

I've learned how awesome and supportive our indie community is. I'm extremely happy that it exists. You have no idea how grateful I am. We're all connected somehow in a way, we're all in the same boat. And It feels nice when people look out for you. THANK YOU so much for that.

And THANKS to Spoonflower! Stephen & Kim are the best (and super nice too).

Lastly, THANK YOU to the kind lady for letting me know about this in the first place. I have a surprise for you coming through the mail soon.

xoxo
Yasmine

My Favourite Artist*: Hieronymus Bosch

2009-08-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

Garden of Earthly Delights. There's just so much to see in this painting. His influence on artists after him is quite obvious isn't it?

Image Source: Bosch & Bruegel Society

*After my husband, parents and aunts of course...

Project: 2-Panel Dolls

2009-08-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here's the download! It has 2 templates and 2 printed 12x12s.

FYI, the project is fun and easy. You can find the tutorial and their little sisters Snow White & Rose Red in Parasol•Craft 1--if you haven't already :)

I used to be a toy designer for some big companies, and I still design toys at times, and one of the first samples I made was a 2-panel plushie.

I missed making plushies, which is why I added this tutorial to the magazine. I was going to do a block printed canvas shopper or printed ballerina slippers but the plushy dolls won. In some future issue, I'll do a nice, simple printed grocery shopper as a tutorial. It'll give me an excuse to sew more. If you have suggestions, let me know.

I don't usually work off patterns. I just kind of "wing it". Sewing is pretty intuitive anyway. But if I post tutorials, they will be more like step by step photos with patterns and sizes so it's easier to understand.

This is my sewing machine. It's old school. I have about 8 sewing machines--7 vintage, 1 new. But I like this one. It's built like a tank. We got it at a Salvation Army. Another lady was eyeing it, so I bought it. It makes a nice, quiet "purry" sound.

I've posted this picture before and I'm posting it again! I love my kitty and my sewing machine!

And a HUGE thank you to everyone who purchased the magazine! And thanks to all the blogs and mags posting about my mag! I have a thank you page coming up soon :)

xoxoxo
Yasmine

Temescal Park

2009-08-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

I promised myself 1 day a week of not working on things. I really needed to take a break so Victor and I went to Lake Temescal in Oakland. We just went on a whim really. I can't believe I've lived so close to this park and haven't visited it. It's tucked in the middle of a nice neighborhood, and there a lake with a small beach for swimming. There were lots of people on picnics as it was such a nice day.

It's nice to not have to draw or anything at times. I have a tendency to be very hard on myself and work myself to tears. I've been like this since childhood and now I'm a grown-up, I've started to realize that being easy on one's self is okay too.

*Photos by my husband Victor :)

PARASOL•CRAFT ISSUE 1

2009-08-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

I'm super pleased to announce the debut of Parasol•Craft! It's an online/pdf magazine dedicated to Handmade, Inspiration and lots of Downloads. It's a spin-off of Parasol Magazine in that Craft is the primary focus and the objective is to promote and inspire creativity. You can see the previews above.

The magazine is 111 pages and includes the following:

Featured crafters, artists and photographers

Desktop Design Tutorial: Make an Illustrator Brush--with downloadable vector files to practice on

Make Your Own Snow White & Rose Red Dolls--with tutorial and downloadable templates

Digital/Hybrid Scrapbook Kit:

3 12"x12" papers

2 Note pads

1 Scalloped journaling block

1 Fancy roses journaling block

1 Framed journaling block

1 Rose icon

2 Heart ribbons

2 Fancy borders

4 Sets of Embroidery Templates

And other features and resources!

There is also a GIVEAWAY! To make the dolls in the tutorial, you will need some these components:

12 Heat transfer papers

1 Yard of red grosgrain ribbon

1 Yard of cream grosgrain ribbon

1 Yard of cream fabric

15 Patterned tags to match

The first issue's theme is Fairy Tales & Mist, based in tea-stained cream, reds and navy blues with polka dots, roses and gingham.

Download all 111 pages + all files mentioned above for $2.50, and you can purchase it right here.

The file name is parasolcraft1.zip, and contains BOTH magazine and downloadable kits. If you want the email delivery option, you can still opt for below.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

xoxo

Yasmine

p.s.

A HUGE thank you to all those featured! You're amazingly talented and I'm so glad that I got to know a bit more about you.

And FYI, Parasol•Magazine is still FREE. You can view previous issues here. The 5th issue is currently in the works.

Cross-posted in ParasolMag.com.

Be Right Back

2009-08-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

This is my official, I'm Busy I'll Be Right Back image. Ha!

I'm actually in magazine mode. Will be back in a week (ish).

I know I said I would be skipping August because of my move. Well, I wanted to release something so it's just going to be a late issue. It's not going to be your regular magazine. This one is going to be different than my previous ones. And it's going to be WAY thicker, with more content and a *LOT* of stuff with tons of featured creative folks and activities galore. So stay tuned! I'm very excited about it because it's new.

In the meantime, you can check out my downloads archive for free things, or my FB group for mini kits and a *HUGE* list of online resources and freebees in one of the discussion boards. Feel free to share your own resources--even your own website if you'd like.

And if you haven't read Parasol Magazine yet, just click here to read past 4 issues. It's free!

And see you in a few days!

xo
Yasmine

Mushrooms & Trailers

2009-08-07T00:03:00.000-07:00

There's a party store about 2 miles from my place. It's pretty neat. They had paper doilies galore. So I bought a few packs and drew on them. I tried to paint with watercolor on them but the doilies crinkled rather quickly.

Aaand I was given several loose pages of a wildlife book from the 19th century. This is one of the pages...The images are beautiful.

Oh, and since my husband had a bit of free time, he started framing some of my prints. This is one of the first ones :)

My little trailer and plastic swimmin' pool.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Little Birds

2009-08-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

We went to an estate sale located in a really old Victorian mansion a few blocks away from our place. It was a home owned by a professor. I believe he specialised in birds. He had a LOT of bird books and some books on wildlife. He also had a bunch of taxidermy in one room. I would like to have a Victorian house one day. This one was a beauty. They were even selling a lady's outfit from that era. It was old and crumbly but beautiful.

It was awesome. I scored a bunch of Audobon books and small trinkets. My husband got a building blocks set made out of real mini bricks. Oh, and I bought two beautiful scraves that were Russian in origin, I believe, but my dog ate one of them.

Anyway, I was thumbing through one of the wildlife books that I'd purchased and I found this between the pages.

It even gives an idea of the bird sizes in the bottom right!

Poll Time!

2009-08-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

Click Here for Poll Online Survey
| Website Polls
| Email Marketing

| Crowdsourcing
View MicroPoll

I get requests at least a few times a week for fabric or paper options, so I'm considering it. The kits are here for your reference.

xo
Yasmine

edit: The poll isn't showing in google reader so you have to go to my blog to vote :)

Download: Little Houses

2009-08-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

Yay!

You can download the first set here!

Both sets are in my APAD group ;)

Personal use only please xoxo

Inspiration Day: Alameda Flea Market

2009-08-03T00:03:00.000-07:00

First Sunday of every month, we have the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectables Faire. It's like a really really big flea market but it's only for things that are 20 years or older--which I like! I'm there practically every month--except when we were moving. It's so awesome. You can check out the Yelp reviews here.

Most of the things I own are vintage/antique. I love how things were made back then.

I scored this. I love how it opens. It looks small but it expands like so. Not only that, it came with all this stuff! All of this was only 30 dollars. We got a whole bunch of other stuff, but I was excited about this because my husband just unpacked my sewing machine!!! I'll be adding sewing templates/downloads soon.

Lace Teepee

2009-07-29T21:20:00.000-07:00

I think this is doable in real life. I'd do this in Arizona. Only it's sometimes dusty over there. And I have scorpions galore in my yard.

My cats liked playing with the scorpions.

p.s.

Oh this is so awesome. What if Ghostbusters was filmed in 1954 instead of 1984?

via @typefiend

Plates!

2009-07-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

Miss Caro from Germany made these plates from some of the digital papers from my kits! They turned out nicely! I'm quite impressed with the printing quality. They came out very clean.

Thanks for sharing Caro! You can see more in her crafty blog here.

Gregory Blackstock

2009-07-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

I highly recommend this book.

Gregory Blackstock is one of my favourite artists. He really is. I love him, and I love Darger. They are both fantastic artists, and they both have autism.

I went to a school for special children during grade school and high school, and I've had some classmates who were awesome artists. Just amazing people.

Sticky steam :)

Even Rainn Wilson hearts Outsider art.

Source: Garde Rail

I am finally done moving! I just need to set up my art materials and whatnot and I'm ready to go.

Oh, and if I'm scarce again, that means I'm in magazine mode. I'm working on two right now to make up for being late in August.

Pardon the Dust & Cobwebs

2009-07-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

We're still moving, and we're in cleaning mode. At least our new tiny house is neat and organized now.

Anyway, I don't have the strength to draw anything right now. So I'll just share my Thrift Stores of the Bay Area Google Map with y'alls. Yay!

View Thrift Stores of the Bay Area in a larger map

A little disclaimer: I think some spots may have closed down or are actually vintage shops, so call first if you're not sure. I made this map early last year as husband and I like to go thrifting quite a bit, but I haven't had the chance to update it in a while.

Let me know if you'd like me to add a shop (or remove one if it no longer exists)!

xo
Yas

P.S.
I'm also putting a Thrift Stores of Phoenix and the Surrounding Areas. I'll post it here when it's done.

Veil

2009-07-17T00:03:00.000-07:00

Heart Lab

2009-07-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

You can see a tiny bit of my process it putting Parasol Magazine together in Heart Handmade.

Check out Heart Handmade for awesomeness.

Thanks again Marichelle!

*I totally forgot to unsave as draft this entry. The post was from last month. Eep!

Arpilleras

2009-07-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

I love all the newness that's coming out right now, in terms of textiles and paper. I've been to textile and design conventions before and it's amazing what small and large manufacturers are coming up with. But I must admit, I am also very drawn to humble traditional, folk-arty, vintage and old school crafts--basically the foundations our grandparents laid out for us in order for us to make the things we make now. My grandma taught me how to sew and embroider (cross stitching mostly) and I owe her a lot for that because I've used those skills in my profession.

Anyway, speaking of folk art, I've love Latin American crafts, like Mexican embroideries and Peruvian and Chilean quilts.

These quilts aren't trendy or hip. They are down to earth and depict every day life, but some of them are sad and illustrate harsh realities. The quilts are beautiful nonetheless.

I'd like to see a Dutch, Japanese, Native American and Ghanaian Arpillera.

Oh and I'm not switching to needlework and fabric crafts! I'm just adding this category to my downloads and I've been very very into needlework and folky crafts lately. I've gotten some emails and comments asking if I'd still make stationery downloads. I will, most definitely. If you want to use the embroidery downloads for your paper crafts, go right ahead. I'd like to see what you make!!!

Source: Crosstrade, The Art of Survival: International & Irish Quilts

Download: Cups & Saucers Embroidery

2009-07-15T00:03:00.000-07:00

I'm glad you liked my Little Dresses embroidery templates. I'd LOVE to see what you make with them! Email me the link to your flickr and I'll post.

Anyway, here's another download.

I'm in the process of moving to a house a few blocks away so all my supplies are stowed away for now. But once I'm settled in, it will be projects galore. I've been itching to sew! I'm also getting into making toys again, so maybe I'll plush templates next week or so.

Here's a simple project though:
Using tea, you can dye tea towels for a used, vintage look. It depends on the kind of teas you have and how long you place the towel in the solution on how dark your fabric becomes.

Once dry and ironed flat, transfer your teacup images onto the fabric. You can do this by tracing the teacups with a soft pencil, putting the traced image face down onto the fabric, and rubbing it on from the opposite side.

The harder you rub, the more defined the transferred image will be.

Now you're ready to embroider! It'll look neat because it'll have a nice aged feel to it, which I personally like.

Oh, and if you happen to be in Berkeley, you should visit the Lacis Museum of Lace and Textiles.

Pretty!

Ich Liebe Schneewittchen

2009-07-14T00:03:00.000-07:00

She looks a bit ghostly here.

I love Snow White. It's a really sweet story with the right amount of creepiness.

I also love this German adaptation. I think there's an English version around somewhere, but we all know how the story ends up anyway. There are several parts to this. The intro is rather long, so slide to 1:46 if you'd like.

Part 1

The rest are here.

Peter Max Needlepoint Book

2009-07-13T00:03:00.000-07:00

One of the more interesting craft books I own is The Peter Max Book of Needlepoint. It lays out instructions on how to make things like accessories and homegoods incorporating Peter Max's art.

Peter Max has a look that's his. The bright, saturated, psychadelic colors, the curved, flowy lines...

These images are from the sixties. I prefer his work from back then. He does a lot of painterly looking stuff now. He has a large image hanging in the De Young Museum at the Golden Gate Park which I like a lot and reflects vintage Peter Max.

Source: Peter Max

p.s.
Oh, and please update your email subscription service to my blog. Just enter it on the top right of my sidebar.

Thanks!

Have a great week all!

Download: Embroideries

2009-07-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

I'm crossing over from digital paper crafts to--embroideries!

My grandmother taught me how to cross stitch. And in grade school, EVERYONE had to know each specific type of stitch, and we had to complete a project at the end of that semester. I think I made a cross stitch princess in a rocket ship or in a really tall house.

So for my first free embroidery template download, I made simple little girl dresses.

You can do the basic back stitch or mini running stitch for the dress outlines and make satin stitches on the ruffles and details. You can also do cute little French knots or starbursts as accents.

There are 3 files in the folder, and each file has 2 dresses. The files will be in black and white. The image above is just a color suggestion. You can download the templates for FREE here.

Let me know what you think! Oh, and if you've made something out of it, send me the link to your flickr and I'll post it.

Oh, and personal use only please.

Parasol Mag 4 and Other Things

2009-07-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Issue 4 is up! And you can download it here.

Featured in the magazine are:
Sarah Applebaum
Annie Vought
Anders Nilsen
Kevin Bauman
Mike Bailey-Gates
Nicole Szenher
Stylesmith
Whitney Smith
One Red Robin
Rackk & Ruin
BROOKLYNRehab
Le Blahg, Brightside Project
Maria Adelmann
Tricia Aung
Maize Hutton
Hadley Smith

ALSO, I have a new kit up called Doodles & Lace. It includes Photoshop brushes and Illustrator brush & vector versions. It contains the following designs:

1 doily
1 frame
3 lace borders

You can find it here :)

AAAAAND I have a new banner. It's a culmination of things I find interesting yet they work together somehow.

Needless to say, I had a productive 3-day weekend.

Hope you have a great week!

xo
Yas

One Evening

2009-06-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

Oh, I've been busy. How are you? It's been a crazy past few days hasn't it?

Take care :)

xo
Yas

FB & Printed Things

2009-06-23T21:27:00.000-07:00

Our former neighbors moved and got rid of reams upon reams of good, clean paper still in their package and placed it in the garbage!!!

So what did I do?

Strawberry Fields Micro Kit, free to download in my FB group, some Hello Doily and Tiniest Garden papers.

I have binders and piles of scrap and printed paper in stock. I don't like throwing things away.

Oh, and I have my Lace Corners brush in my Facebook group now--free to download! Feel free to join here.

New Blog

2009-06-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hi! Victor and I have a new blog, Spore. My husband is a sculptor, and this blog will center on the 3d/sculptural form and process.

Victor made the Teardrop pendant for me. I LOVE it! You can see some photos of his process in the blog as well.

I feel pretty lucky to have a husband who can make things for me :)

---

The lovely lady in the photo is Liz of Claflin & Thayer. She's also a very talented accessory designer (you can see her interview in the 1st issue of Parasol). You can also find her studded clutches at Oak NYC.

Tiny Dancer

2009-06-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

I would LOVE to have:
a.) This Victorian house where I would wear period costumes in with my husband and we'd have tea and cucumber sandwiches. I'd also be steampunking the heck out of this house.

b.) A Shetland pony. I will name her or him Tiny Dancer. I shall braid its mane, brush its fur and feed it apples and baby carrots every day. I'd even let him or her sleep on the foot of my bed with my cats.

Big Dipper

2009-06-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

I want a Victorian house. It's one of my dream homes. The others being an Airstream trailer on a LOT of acreage in Northern Arizona by the Grand Canyon, Southern Arizona by Bisbee or Northern California by the coast. I'd also like a cave house, an underground house, a hobbit house wrapped with moss and berry plants, or a really old abandoned building made during the turn of the century, like an old ice house or mill. But I think the Victorian house is the most "normal" and attainable.

Have you been to Jerome or Bisbee? Those two towns, including Sedona, Flagstaff, Prescott and Tucson are my favourite in Arizona. They're pretty. When I lived in Tucson, my husband and I would go to the middle of nowhere with the telescope I gave him for his birthday and look at stars and planets. Arizona has some of the most beautiful skies, especially when there's a storm.

Anyway, hope your week has been going great so far. And thanks for the super nice emails on my 3rd issue :)

xo
Yasmine

Parasol Magazine Issue 3!

2009-06-02T00:27:00.000-07:00

Eep! The 3rd issue of Parasol Magazine is up! You can download it here!

I really like this issue. I like all my issues. But this one has 3 interviews with people whom I've admired for many years--since college even. I give more elaborate explanations in my editor's note and with each article, but to informally sum up why is the following:

Greg Girard: His photos are AMAAAZING. It's like modern day urban anthropology. I think it's awesome that someone had actually taken time to take photos of things that could potentially be wiped out, if not already. Most of his photos center around China, and they are beautiful. I mentioned in the mag that when I was in college, I couldn't afford his book at the time. And when I got my first paycheck, his book, City of Darkness, was one of my first purchases. And I still refer to his book 'til now.

Dame Darcy: She's one of my favourite artists. Some people may perceive her work as strange, but I think she's awesome. She's like Alice in Wonderland mixed with Edward Gorey mixed with a little bit of country mixed with a whole lot of sugar, goths, vampires and fairies. Huh? Confused? Yeah, like I said, she's awesome. Her comics, aside from all the Sandman and Watchmen stuff were my gateway reads to more alternative lit pieces when I was a kid. I interviewed her through the phone and I was so giddy.

Alex Wrekk: I made a lot of zines when I was a kid. But I discovered Alex Wrekk's Stolen Sharpie Revolution several years ago. It was a super great reference for making 'zines, and she gave great insight on 'zine-making in general. Out of many 'zine reference books out there, Alex' is my favourite one. While I'm primarily using the digital medium to publish stuff, 'zines are still my roots. As I mentioned in my mag, I'd love to present Parasol in this medium one day: black and white, photocopied, awkwardly put together. I love it.

But aside from these folks I mentioned, I also have a lot more established and emerging creative individuals featured in the mag. They're all SUPER talented people and their work is definitely inspiring, to say the least.

Greg Girard
Yuli Sato
Aaron Feaver
Elena Marshall (whose photo is on the cover)
Lilly Piri
Melissa Bolger
Dame Darcy
Maria Lucia Squillari
Margaux Lange
Indie Fixx
Alex Wrekk
Tricia Aung
Maria Adelmann
Tina Winkle
Hadley Smith

Have a great day everyone!

xoxoxo
Yasmine

Download: Free Art

2009-05-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

As many of you may already know, Jen of Indie Fixx has a project called Feed Your Soul, which offers FREE downloadable art. The above image is my contribution. And you can download it here! There are a LOT of many cool artists in the site as well, and all downloads are free!

Oh, and I meant to post this days ago, but Jutta from Germany sent me her project. She made these blocks and use my backgrounds to decorate. They turned out very nicely!

Have a great week everyone!

Downloads-Tags, Stickers and a Notepad

2009-05-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't given a download in a while, well, aside from the magazine. And since today was a rather easy day, I made a quick one up with a hand drawn scalloped motif. You can download it here.

I hope everyone's having a great week!

xx
Yasmine

Parasol Magazine Issue 2

2009-05-01T00:03:00.000-07:00

Parasol is up!

The following are featured in this issue:
Justin Richel (whose work is also on the cover)
Antonio Vigil
Jessica Gonacha
Laurence Olivier
Cassie Kammerzell
Julia Paul
Olsenhaus Shoes
Lovetta Conto
Nest Pretty Things
Made by Mavis
Maria and Tricia of Stickers & Donuts
Metzalli Jones
Hadley Smith
Tommi Dungan

It's been really fun putting this together, and surprisingly took me 25% less time to do despite the redesign and additional features. I think the first issue has been rather successful--I've gotten about 8,000 downloads and 37k+ views in Issuu in its first month, MANY thanks to you. I totally wasn't expecting that when I started.

Thanks to WGSN, Creature Comforts, Samantha Hahn, Please Sir, Cicada Daydream, Family Living, Decor8, Spoonflower, Rafe Totengco, Elle Moss, Carisse Escueta, BUST, Jessica Gonacha, Christy of Sweet Tidings, One Pretty Thing, everyone on Facebook, LJ, Twitter, etc...for the mentions.

FYI, in the magazine, as before, you can click on the names of the features as well as their website addresses on the end of the page of each article to go to each person's website(s) because they have way more work in their respective portfolios. Same thing with the ads--all ads are directed to each sponsor's stores and/or blogs and there's just so much more to see. Also, in the table of contents, as requested, you can click on the name of each person to proceed to their page.

In the back, I've also divided the Mixtape section into 3: music, video and books. Each section is linked as well. For example, the books are linked to small independent online book shoppes (except for one, which was hard to find).

Best of all, magazine is free to download at the Parasol Mag site. Yay!

Have a great weekend everyone.

xoxo
Yasmine

"Exotic" Fruits & Veggies

2009-04-27T00:03:00.000-07:00

I grew up eating these things. Bok choy, rambutan and banana hearts are some of my favourite foods. But bitter melon, well, I have issues with that fruit. My mom would make bitter melon shakes when I was a kid, and when I was sick. It's like a nightmare in a glass, and I'd cry until it was over with. Drinking that thing felt like forever because she'd make really tall glasses or bowls of it. It's good for you, but it's SO bitter, whenever I think of it, I can't help but make a cringe-y face. You can find bitter melon in a lot of Asian dishes, cooked in a stew and such.

Rambutan is my favourite fruit, aside from lychees and Philippine mangoes. It's really sweet and a bit nutty in the center. I also like mangosteen, jackfruit and cherries. All (except for cherries of course) are hard to find, but you'll probably find a few in your local Asian supermarket. You can find many canned but the real flavour is drowned out by syrup.

Oh, off topic, I have a new kit coming soon :)

Have a great week everyone!

xx
Yasmine

Adult & Child

2009-04-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

Quickie self portrait as a child and as a grown-up

I was a very chubby little girl. My parents would dress me in a tank top with either a bib or a white hanky pinned on, kid undies and cloth mary janes (like the ones you find in Chinatown). All my other friends and classmates wore normal clothes. I also had a bowl hair cut. My favourite toys were scented markers (except for the black licorice one) and my Hello Kitty Lego dollhouse.

For PE, we had yoga and I had baby pink leotards and my teacher would go, "Reach for the sky like trees!" during stretches :) I loved all my teachers--except for the one who had a wooden ruler and a really really bad temper.

I had a very happy childhood despite certain circumstances. I'm very fortunate that I remember most of it very vividly. I hope to remember everything 'til I'm an old lady.

Pink Tree

2009-04-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

This is a tree outside my place. It's pink!

I have to confess, maintaining a blog where I have to draw quite frequently AND curating a magazine AND designing full time and having a handful of other projects is a lot of work. Enjoyable, yes, but all these projects drive me crazy nuts sometimes. I need to sleep too. So I apologize if I haven't been updating or visiting you as frequently.

But otherwise, lots of good things ahead :)

xx
Yasmine

p.s.
I was searching for Philip Glass* and found this awesome vid of gifs.

Animagifaqatsi from wreckandsalvage on Vimeo.

*Love!

Coral

2009-04-06T00:03:00.000-07:00

I made some coral as a repeat a long time ago.

I don't think I've made a repeat in a while.

Anyway, this is my 2nd favourite sea creature.

Have a great week everyone!

xx
Yasmine

Jelly

2009-04-03T23:18:00.000-07:00

My top 10 favourite water creature. Though this "jellyfish" is just made up.

Oh and thank you for the super nice emails and messages on the magazine. I've already started the 2nd one, and it'll have some really talented people--some of whom I've admired for quite a while now.

Anyway, I hope you have a great weekend.

xx
Yasmine

New Blog + Download

2009-04-01T01:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm back from Phoenix in time to post about my new project, Parasol Magazine. It's a monthly downloadable pdf magazine that features art + design + creative lifestyle, and it's absolutely free.

In the first issue of Parasol, the designers, artists and bloggers featured are:
Rafe Totengco of RAFE NY
Liz Thayer of Claflin & Thayer
Marjorie Tan of Minor Collection
Anja Verdugo of Clever Nettle
Diana Martini of Please Sir
Christopher David Ryan
Elle Moss
Samantha Hahn of Maquette
Shelley Kommers Luna of Oiseaux Noir
Alexandra Romano of Mothersvea
Maria Adelmann of Stickers & Donuts
Kathleen Dougherty of Grosgrain Fabulous
Michelle Engel Benscko of Cicada Studio
Lollychops
Rachel Klein of One Pretty Thing

I'm extremely excited about this project because a.) I get to meet fellow designers and artists who are very enthusiastic about their work and b.) I get to share it with you.

You can download Parasol Magazine here*. Yes, I made a new blog. So you will find me dividing my time between APAD and Parasol. Both sites will continue to evolve, and I most definitely have plans to grow both.

*You will need a pdf reader which you can download for free.

P.S. You can click on the names or sites of each feature in the mag to proceed to their site.

Download + Away

2009-03-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I forgot to mention that I'm in Phoenix, and will be back in a few.

And another thing, I will be having a really LARGE download next week. And it's free! I'm really really excited about it!

So take care everyone. I hope you have a great weekend!

xoxo
Yasmine

Cubes

2009-03-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Years ago, I used to work for a crazy large corporation in the Southwest. The designers were placed in a small gray windowless room with minimal lighting. There were 12 of us squeezed tightly in that space and many times it would get really stuffy.

I drew this back then. I've forgotten who the two ladies are. I'm sure they sat in the cubes outside of our little room. I do remember the man in the middle panel. He always seemed so sad and stressed, but he'd always put a happy face on whenever we'd stop by to say hello. He'd give subtle clues about wanting to quit, but he had a wife in school and two young children. I sometimes wonder how he is. I hope he's happy.

Downloads-Dreamcatcher List Pad

2009-03-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

You can download this list pad here!

Have a great weekend everyone!

And super thanks to those who participated in the not-so-secret project I sent out in Facebook :) Yay!

xoxo
Yasmine

Dreamcatcher 2

2009-03-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

Last dreamcatcher...I've become a bit fond of them. They're like my new doilies and lace :) I'd like to try my hand on patterns next time. I love the geometric patterns of Native American textiles.

Dreamcatcher

2009-03-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

I own a few of these. I should hang them up. It is believed to catch bad dreams so only good ones go through.

I don't remember most except for nightmares which only happen when I'm sick. And they're usually the same exact thing every time. My favourite dreams are memories of my childhood. They're not surreal or anything. They're just memories of a very happy, very simple time in my life when everyone lived close to one another and nurtured this sense of family and community instead of being separated by borders and large bodies of land and water.

What are your favourite dreams?

Tiger Lily

2009-03-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

I'm going to do a Native American-ish theme this week...with bright multi colors.

I'm still in busy mode, but I'll try to post as frequently as possible.

Happy Monday everyone!

xoxo
Yas

P.S.

I just wanted to write about Jeff and Erin's postcard project. It's based off their Free Encouragement project, and I think it's neat!

You can check out their Etsy shop here.

A Sketchbook Page

2009-03-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

I'm not officially back. I'm still in busy mode. But it's a good busy! I didn't have time to make a repeat in the computer so I'm posting something I drew yesterday while waiting for my lunch. I had a mushroom and seaweed salad.

I'll be back Monday. I might post something during the weekend. Maybe a download. Not sure yet.

See you later! And have a great weekend.

xoxo
Yas