Bird Song New Year Card | Zazzle #Sold!

This sale was a surprise as it’s a long time since I sold anything with this image.

Getting more and more tired the further away I am from the wisdom tooth extraction. Odd.

The good news? The lasering-of-the-scar-tissue-in-left-eye appointment has come through for 26th January.

Size: Greeting Card

Birthdays or holidays, good days or bad days, Zazzle’s customized greeting cards are the perfect way to convey your well-wishes and salutations on any occasion. Add a photo or pick a design and brighten someone’s day with a simple “hi”!

• Dimensions: 5″l x 7″w (portrait) or 7″l x 5″w (landscape)
• Printed on 110 lb, 12.5 point thick, semi-gloss paper
• Matte finish inside for smudge-free writing
• Add photos and text to all sides of this folded card at no extra charge
• Printable area on the back of the card is 3″l x 4″w (portrait) or 4″l x 3″w (landscape)
• Standard white envelopes included

Source: Bird Song New Year Card | Zazzle

Take care and keep laughing!

The Little Glass Slipper 1 Postcard | Zazzle

Original & vintage art © First Night Design [www.firstnightdesign.wordpress.com]

Source: The Little Glass Slipper 1 Postcard | Zazzle

Take care and keep laughing!

Thanksgiving Hideaway Greeting Card for Sale by Sarah Vernon

Thanksgiving Hideaway Greeting Card for Sale by Sarah Vernon. Our premium-stock greeting cards are 5″ x 7″ in size and can be personalized with a custom message on the inside of the card. All cards are available for worldwide shipping and include a money-back guarantee.

Source: Thanksgiving Hideaway Greeting Card for Sale by Sarah Vernon

Take care and keep laughing!

Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Stannard Square Sticker | Zazzle

Oil on canvas by British artist Eloise Harriet Stannard (1829–1915). Original & vintage art © First Night Design. Other shapes available.

Source: Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Stannard Square Sticker | Zazzle

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | May Easter Joy Attend You in 2016!

HAPPY EASTER!

FROM THE ARCHIVE 31st March 2014 & 2015 because another year has gone and I still haven’t created a new Easter image!

May Easter Joy Attend You © First Night Design

I’m never quite sure how to categorise creations like May Easter Joy Attend You. Is it a collage? Is it digital art, a term that applies to everything I do? Why do I concern myself? Sites like Saatchi Art and Fine Art America need  you to add this information when you upload an image. It drives me nuts, partly because I loathe categories.

The method I use is collage in that I prepare a background and then bring in elements around a particular theme and blend to a seamless whole, rather than what is strictly known as collage where elements are arranged seemingly haphazardly such as in Indian Glories.

In this instance, I prepped a background by doctoring one of Kerstin Frank’s textures, the same one I used for Alice’s Adventures.

Kerstin Frank Texture

Some of the Easter elements I brought in were discarded and replaced but not before I’d worked on them quite substantially — all good experience and not a waste of time!

Stock-Images-Easter-Bunnies-GraphicsFairy

These rabbits looked best in the Darken mode. But this meant the egg was far from clear. I used the Lasso Tool to select it (the Magnetic Tool is never accurate enough unless you are working with sharply defined objects) and created a new layer for the egg alone. This layer I left in its Normal state and placed it on top of the original egg. It needed touching up with the Brush and Clone Stamp Tools before I was satisfied.

The Darken mode also meant that the lower part of the right-hand rabbit had taken on the green of the background. This needed adjustment which I did by tracing the exact shape of the offending part with the Lasso Tool.  I moved to the background image and chose a lighter area in the ‘sky’ to create a new layer of the rabbit-leg shape. I left it in a Normal state and placed it behind the rabbit. Several colour adjustments were needed until the rabbit’s nether regions matched the rest of his body!

GraphicsFairy.jpg

The Multiply mode was ideal for the hot air balloon but left the chicks in the basket more green than yellow. Mind you, one could argue that would be appropriate as surely the poor little blighters would be air sick! I used the same technique on them as I did on the egg to bring their yellow feathers back to life.

This left me with the bottom half of the balloon which, like the chicks and the rabbit, had taken on too much of the background to match up with the rest of the balloon. I used the same procedure as with the rabbit’s nether regions to bring it up to scratch.

I had originally planned to use the Easter greeting on the hot air balloon graphic at the top of the image but it failed to make the impact I had envisaged so I made a type layer instead with a font called Great Vibes.

Vintage-Christmas-Label-GraphicsFairy

The last touch was using the graphic [left] by removing its border and background and applying a ‘drop shadow’ and ‘bevel and emboss’ effect.

 

 

 

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America
Fine Art England

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Standard

Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Stannard prints & gifts from Fine Art America

I had never heard of the Norwich-born British artist Eloise Harriet Stannard until I discovered her on Wikipedia and used a detail from her Christmas Still Life (oil on canvas) to create a book cover for The Romantic Manifesto. Such luscious colours and textures, such exquisite detail. Just look at those part-peeled oranges and you will start salivating. I believe I’ve seen the painting before — probably a chocolate box or two — but had never known the artist responsible.

Eloise Harriet Stannard in 1904 (1829–1915) [Wikipedia]

Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Stannard Address Labels

Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Stannard Oval Stickers

Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Stannard Serving Trays

Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Stannard

Christmas Still Life by Eloise Harriet Stannard Cushions

Available at the following galleries:
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America
Fine Art England

Related Links

• BBC – Your Paintings – Eloise Harriet Stannard

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | Thanksgiving Hideaway #Art

Thanksgiving Hideaway © Sarah Vernon

Original photograph by Mr FND adapted in Photoshop for Thanksgiving with textures from 2 Lil’ Owls and Grand Hotel monogram from The Graphics Fairy.

Thanksgiving Hideaway 4.25×5.5 Paper Invitation Cards from Zazzle

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“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.”
― Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance

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“I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.”
― Jon Stewart

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Thanksgiving Hideaway Drawstring Bag © Sarah Vernon from FAA

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America
Fine Art England

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | May Easter Joy Attend You in 2015!

Sadly, I haven’t had a chance to create any more Easter designs this year, partly because I’ve run out of ideas. I’m bored with eggs and rabbits and whimsy, and nothing amusing is coming to mind, so here’s a re-post of May Easter Joy Attend You from 2014 of which I’m rather fond even though it contains rabbits and chicks and an egg!

I dedicate this re-post to the artist Mary of Oil Pastels by Mary because we were discussing working with layers in Photoshop a couple of days ago. Do visit Mary’s blog to see her beautiful work.

May Easter Joy Attend You © First Night Design
Available as Posters, Cards, and Prints [Redbubble]

I’m never quite sure how to categorise creations like May Easter Joy Attend You. Is it a collage? Is it digital art, a term that applies to everything I do? Why do I concern myself? Sites like Saatchi Art and Fine Art America need  you to add this information when you upload an image. It drives me nuts, partly because I loathe categories.

The method I use is collage in that I prepare a background and then bring in elements around a particular theme and blend to a seamless whole, rather than what is strictly known as collage where elements are arranged seemingly haphazardly such as in Indian Glories.

In this instance, I prepped a background by doctoring one of Kerstin Frank’s textures, the same one I used for Alice’s Adventures.

Kerstin Frank Texture

Some of the Easter elements I brought in were discarded and replaced but not before I’d worked on them quite substantially — all good experience and not a waste of time!

Stock-Images-Easter-Bunnies-GraphicsFairy

These rabbits looked best in the Darken mode. But this meant the egg was far from clear. I used the Lasso Tool to select it (the Magnetic Tool is never accurate enough unless you are working with sharply defined objects) and created a new layer for the egg alone. This layer I left in its Normal state and placed it on top of the original egg. It needed touching up with the Brush and Clone Stamp Tools before I was satisfied.

The Darken mode also meant that the lower part of the right-hand rabbit had taken on the green of the background. This needed adjustment which I did by tracing the exact shape of the offending part with the Lasso Tool.  I moved to the background image and chose a lighter area in the ‘sky’ to create a new layer of the rabbit-leg shape. I left it in a Normal state and placed it behind the rabbit. Several colour adjustments were needed until the rabbit’s nether regions matched the rest of his body!

Stock-Image-Easter-Chicks-Balloon-GraphicsFairy.jpg

The Multiply mode was ideal for the hot air balloon but left the chicks in the basket more green than yellow. Mind you, one could argue that would be appropriate as surely the poor little blighters would be air sick! I used the same technique on them as I did on the egg to bring their yellow feathers back to life.

This left me with the bottom half of the balloon which, like the chicks and the rabbit, had taken on too much of the background to match up with the rest of the balloon. I used the same procedure as with the rabbit’s nether regions to bring it up to scratch.

I had originally planned to use the Easter greeting on the hot air balloon graphic at the top of the image but it failed to make the impact I had envisaged so I made a type layer instead with a font called Great Vibes.

Vintage-Christmas-Label-GraphicsFairy

The last touch was using the graphic above by removing its border and background and applying a ‘drop shadow’ and ‘bevel and emboss’ effect.

May Easter Joy Attend You © First Night Design
Available as Posters, Cards, and Prints

Available at the following galleries:
Redbubble
Crated
Zazzle US
Zazzle UK
Fine Art America
Fine Art England

Take care and keep laughing!

First Night Design | Happy St Patrick’s Day!

First Night Design

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all my Irish friends and followers!

Shamrock for Ireland Cover For The iPad Mini by FirstNightDesign

Take care and keep laughing!

View original post

First Night Design | Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all my Irish friends and followers!

Shamrock for Ireland Cover For The iPad Mini by FirstNightDesign

Take care and keep laughing!