tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76191165936522254442024-03-22T11:47:34.810+00:00Diane RooneyWritings, art, observations & expressions of my life as a UK based surface pattern designer living in the heart of Cornwall.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-60453463558336744792012-10-19T15:41:00.003+01:002018-09-30T11:02:43.201+01:00Join MePop over and join me at my new website and blog. I'd love to <a href="http://www.dianerooney.co.uk/" target="_blank">see you there</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.dianerooney.co.uk/">http://www.dianerooney.co.uk</a><br />
<br />Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-60690232335201941672012-06-03T08:00:00.000+01:002012-06-05T19:44:09.350+01:00Basic Pattern Overlays *Giveaway*Today, I'm really thrilled to be taking part in the "<a href="http://clairesmillie.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/cant-wait/" target="_blank">Passion for Pattern</a>" bloghop. Welcome if you just arrived from the <a href="http://colourbookstudio.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Colour Book Studio blog</a>. We all recently met through the fab e-course "<a href="http://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/pattern/" target="_blank">Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design</a>". As you can imagine, we're passionate about pattern!<br />
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As a digital designer, I'm always looking for ways of smarter working. My digital toolbox is a vital part of my creative process and is full of design staples. These make my workflow smarter and a little faster. For example, when I design a new pattern, I always keep the original Illustrator & Photoshop files in their full layer format. Apart from proving a working timeline and good work practice to have your original files, it makes for easier editing if you decide to change a colour theme. It can even make a great starting point for a brand new pattern.<br />
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For every new pattern I design, I always add some basic patterns to the set. With each new basic pattern created, I've saved it in a folder in my "Digital Toolbox" folder as basic "go to" patterns. I now have a neat little time saving collection of everything from geometrics, florals to damask.<br />
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<br />And so I decided it would be neat to do a special giveaway for this blog post to celebrate the "Passion for Pattern" bloghop. I've put together a little set of basic pattern overlays that inlcude chevrons, dots, circles and stripes. They are in transparent PNG file format, 12"x12" and 300dpi. You can grab the giveaway <a href="http://www.dianerooney.co.uk/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=29" target="_blank">HERE</a> in my online store. Hope they'll be of some use to you!<br />
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<a href="http://www.dianerooney.co.uk/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13&products_id=29" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DDdBjNvUgUA/T8o7PpU5JYI/AAAAAAAAB5c/X3CT6YBwdoc/s1600/DianeR_OverlaysFreebie-Basic_MED.jpg" title="Freebie Basic Pattern Overlays by Diane Rooney" /> </a></div>
If you've never used pattern overlays, I've also got a <a href="http://www.dianerooney.co.uk/using_overlays.htm" target="_blank">great little tutorial</a>, that'll show you ways to colour them. Be sure to check it out as it shows you how to create a clipping path and how to use layer blend modes. Enjoy!<br />
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Please be sure to leave a comment. Let me know what other patterns you'd love to see as overlays. Also, if you have any "working smarter" tips! I'd love to hear them! <br />
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Be sure to jump ahead to the next gorgeous <a href="http://lesliedoughty.com/" target="_blank">pattern blog, Leslie Doughty</a>.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-52511432677766862172012-06-02T11:00:00.000+01:002012-07-31T10:00:15.867+01:00My StoryFor just over 20 yrs I was blessed to be doing what I had always
wanted to do. I was a housewife and Mum to four beautiful kids. As a
little girl I loved playing with my dolls. Playing family. Playing
house. I knew I would, one day, love being a real Mummy. And then,
before I knew it, at 19yrs, I was married and within months I'd had my
first baby. I was so young and so happy. I then had three more babies
in quick succession, including twins! I had 4 babies aged 3yrs and
under!<br />
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And
as happy as I was, loving my babies, being their Mummy, there were days
of utter despair. Post natal depression. A failing marriage. More often
than not, I was tired. Exhausted. Yes, even doing what you love isn’t
always a bed of roses. But the days of bliss, of pure joy being a Mummy
to those beautiful children, far outweighed any of the normal bad days
that all Mums face.<br />
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And then in a blink of an eye, my eldest left for university. I remember
sitting at my desk watching him packing his stuff in the car and I
silently stood up, closed the door, rested my head in my arms and cried
my heart out. I knew it was the beginning of a new era for me. For him.
He was so happy. I also knew his siblings would be following him out
that door within a very short space of time. I was facing an empty
nest. A marriage that was still failing. What was I going to do? Over
the following months and into a couple of years I started to make some
huge changes to my life.<br />
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During the years that my children were little, I’d been given a
computer, some software and taught myself to become a web graphics
designer. My beloved father had initially got me interested in the
internet back in 1994. He and his (then) business partner had just set
up the UK’s first Internet Café in Whitfield St., in London. They were
also setting up one of the UK’s first internet providers, Easynet. As
such, Dad had wanted to me to learn html and how to create web graphics
as they needed help setting up various web pages. It was “on the spot
learning as you go” work. I loved it. And my love for this new found art
and creative outlet just evolved. I wasn’t earning much money. It was
more of a hobby with pin money thrown in.<br />
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My family was still growing. I
was a full time Mum. Little did I know though, that my creative outlet
would lead me to a new and wonderful bliss. I’d always been crafty and
loved art. Both my parents were artists. My Mum was a published poet and
Dad had always painted when we were younger. When I was a little girl
my grandmother taught me to crochet. And my Mum spent hours making
things for my Sindy doll. From cereal boxes, egg boxes, bits of fabric
and odd bits of wool, beautiful accessories would be created. My best
birthday and Christmas presents were always the ones that meant I could
make something or draw or paint. So using a computer, to me, was just
another tool in my creative outlet toolbox along with my sketch books,
pens, paints and wool!<br />
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After my eldest left home, I went to art school. I started a degree in
multi-media design. The creative environment was incredible. I just
absorbed it all. I made new friends. I soaked up every lecture in art
history, my favourite subject. However, during this time my emotional
state took a battering as my 20yr marriage really broke down and I
decided to leave. My ex-husband and I spent a couple of years trying to
work things out but in the end we both wanted such hugely different
things. We parted. It was traumatic. Divorce is horrible even when you
want it. Years later, though, we are good friends and we stay in
touch. It’s been good for our children (and grandchildren).<br />
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Not long after my marriage ended, I’d left my degree course and started
working on setting up as a freelance digital artist. I initially worked
as a 2d texture artist creating textures for 3d models for a company in
USA, Daz3D. During this time I did some collaboration work with other 3d
and 2d artists. And then out of the blue, I found myself falling in
love with one of them. We had done some work together and just developed
a friendship online through work. He lived in the north east (UK) and I
was in the south east. To cut a long story short, we met up, moved in
together and were married 6 months later. We live and work together
24/7. We just hit it off. Everything just worked. And we believe our
deep and passionate love for all things creative and arty was a sure
foundation to build a relationship on.<br />
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We needed that sure foundation as
the following few years proved horribly tragic for me. Within the space
of 2 years both my parents got sick and died of cancer. I also lost a
beloved aunt during that time. Their deaths were all sudden and
unexpected. Grief consumed me. Slowly though with much love, support and
some grief counselling I came through the other side. Changed. More
determined to live in the moment. To dream big. To not settle for
less. My Dad ran his own business. He was a good man with much
wisdom. My Mum believed in happy. She collected those yellow smiley
faces. I came from great parents. Their legacy was strong and I knew
they would want me, my brother and sister and our families, to be
happy. And to truly live our lives. To be fully immersed.<br />
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In 2011 hubby and I set up our own digital art company and decided to
develop our own individual brands. Talking shop is no chore for us. We
understand the jargon. We love critiquing each other’s work. Steve is a
traditional artist with a God given talent for drawing and painting. He
is also a professional photographer and 3d modeller and artist, whereas,
I come from a more crafty, “hobby into a business” kind of background.
It works so well. Brainstorming new ideas for products or art has often
led us into the wee small hours! We have a lot of amazing creative
energy between us. He understands my passion and love for what I do and I
understand the same in him!<br />
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Family is still a huge joy in my life. They are at the core of the why I
do what I do. I’m inspired by them. At the end of the day, ultimately
what we do is for those we leave behind. A legacy of love. I believe
there will be a day when my children and grandchildren will go through
my art, my creations and see me. Understand me. They will also see
themselves in what I create.<br />
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After what has been an interesting and sometimes hugely traumatic few
years, I’ve settled into a life of doing what I love. No matter what
life throws up at you, I’ve learned to just push forward. Hold onto the
dream. Continue you to take steps on the journey. Suddenly you will
realise you are living the life you want. Don’t be scared of change. As I
continue to build my brand, my business, I still fight past demons that
tell me I’m not good enough, I’m not strong enough or what I do is
rubbish.<br />
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Those days get less and less as I continue to push
forward. Stop thinking about it and just do it! I just keep creating. I
surround myself with positive words, art and photos. And then there’s
the ultimate motivation – when a customer buys a product from us; emails
us to show us what they’ve created; or thanks us for an article or
tutorial. That tells me I’m in the right place, doing the right thing.<br />
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Tell me your story! Leave a comment and a link to your story.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-44133586514247052232012-05-25T10:11:00.002+01:002012-05-25T10:11:34.442+01:00"The Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design"Back in November, I signed up for an e-course, "<a href="http://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/pattern/" target="_blank">The Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design</a>", by UK surface pattern designer, <a href="http://www.rachaeltaylordesigns.co.uk/" target="_blank">Rachael Taylor</a> and "<a href="http://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/" target="_blank">Do What You Love</a>" life coach, Beth Nicholls. From the second I saw it on Beth's blog, it spoke to me and I knew I had to do it. <br />
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I've always doodled. I've always loved pattern and colour. But I'm not someone that's ever had yearnings to be a fabric designer or any kind of surface pattern design, actually. I saw an opportunity to learn more about pattern design. And hopefully be inspired to create some new product lines for my online store.<br />
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There are 3 Modules, each one can be purchased as separate e-courses and are wothy in their own right. However, I wanted to do all 3 Modules. I somehow felt I would miss out if I didn't do all three! From the start of Module 1 to the end of Module 3 it was pretty full on. The content, which included creative exercises, industry information, technical workshops, business advice and much more, was top notch. Inspiring. Motivating. Challenging.<br />
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The first thing that spoke to me was that my incessent need to doodle hasn't been (and isn't) a waste of time! Ha! What a simple revelation. In Module 1 of the course, I discovered the joy of putting my doodles to good use. I'd only ever used my sketch books as a way of putting design ideas together. Creating mood boards and themes for each new idea or graphic set. Now, I had a whole new creative process.<br />
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As the course progressed, I did have moments of confusion. Maybe I could be a fabric designer? Or, I know, I'm going to be wallpaper designer!! Yes, that's it. Oh no. That's not for me. I'm going to design a new range of home decor products. Yep, that's it. But it wasn't. Ultimately, I believe it was just inspiration. A realisation that I could actually do any of those things if I wanted to.<br />
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It's knowing that the possiblities are there for me and my business. I have an open heart and mind to continue to learn and evolve while staying true and grounded to my original vision and dreams! "The Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design" course was an investment into my business and my ongoing love and passion of colour and design! Worth every penny, and then some. <br />
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Anyone else loving all the Union Jack designs around at the moment? I love them. Wander what St.Andrew, George and Patrick would make of it all? Red, white and blue everywhere. Celebrating our Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics has a lot to do with it, of course.<br />
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From home decor, paper crafting, fabrics to soft furnishings, these patriotic Union Jack designs are everywhere. Even food. I saw some yummy cupcakes at a local shopping mall. So red, white and blue. So British. So en vogue.<br />
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I love it! I'm proud to be British. Design trends come and go. I'm hoping this wave of patriotism remains for a very long time. We need it!<br />
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For more inspiration I created a "<a href="http://pinterest.com/diane_rooney/i-love-great-britain/" target="_blank">I Love Great Britain</a>" board at Pinterest. <a href="http://pinterest.com/diane_rooney/i-love-great-britain/" target="_blank">Go take a peek</a>!Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-4061515310700914192012-05-11T15:59:00.000+01:002012-05-11T15:59:35.755+01:00Digikit Creativity: DIY Wedding Stationery<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was recently commissioned by <a href="http://www.daisytrail.com/" target="_blank">Daisy Trail</a> to create a set of DIY wedding stationery using their gorgeous "Love Birds" digikit and CraftArtist software. I love working on these kind of projects. Demonstrating that digikits are so versatile from creating beautiful scrapbook pages, greeting cards and, of course, your own wedding stationery. And much more!<br />
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I created a step-by-step tutorial for creating a "save the date" card, wedding invitation and a little favour box. You can view all the details here on "Brenda's Wedding Blog" <a href="http://www.brendasweddingblog.com/blogs/2012/5/10/diy-wedding-stationery-set-how-to-save-the-date-invite-favor.html">HERE</a>Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-4972356205242356862012-05-04T17:35:00.000+01:002012-05-04T17:43:52.762+01:00Like Minded Souls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I got to meet a couple online friends this week, <a href="http://www.sarahhurley.com/" target="_blank">Sarah</a> and <a href="http://www.stickydots.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Emma</a>. Sarah is a fellow graphic designer and business owner. I've admired her work and how she's grown her business over the past couple of years. We had connected via Twitter, Facebook and emails.<br />
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Last week Sarah had posted on her Facebook page that she needed some help with a craft project she was taking part in, in London. I didn't really think it through as I found myself sending her a message saying I was interested! I thought it would great to meet her and have an opportunity to do some crafting with her too. I understand the value of getting out of the studio every now and then and connect with other creatives. So important when you work from home. I hadn't done that for a very long time and just grabbed the opportunity.<br />
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After a further few exchanges via email, we were set to go. Sarah introduced me to her friend Emma via Twitter, who as also going to be there. I was thrilled at the prospect of meeting other like minded souls and making new friends! Networking. That's what Dad always told me to do. Networking, Di, you've got to network.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Card supplies: "Meadow" printables - my own design (in my online store soon), A6 card blanks - Create&Craft, ribbon - The Ribbon Reel, buttons - my own, Candi, fix, foam pads and other adhesive courtesy of Sarah - thanks for the goodie bag!</td></tr>
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Imagine my delight when I found out the project was taking part in the filming of <a href="http://kirstieallsopp.co.uk/" target="_blank">Kirstie Allsop's</a> new craft series! Oh I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a fan of Kirstie (and Phil!). While I love Location, Location, Location, its her craft series that I love the most, obviously! Perfect. So having this opportunity to take part (in whatever way, and however small a part) was truly a bucket list moment for me. And so unexpected.<br />
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It was a great day. Tiring. Funny. Interesting. Thrilling. The
experience warrants a blog post on it's own and since the project is
still ongoing, I'll do that post another day. For now though, I'm just
thankful and grateful that I trusted my gut and went for it. I made new
friends and came home extraordinarily inspired and motivated!Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-22640456021463288032012-04-25T16:59:00.001+01:002012-04-25T16:59:53.635+01:00Rain, Rain Go AwayTorrential downpours and gusty winds all day. Really? Almost the end of April. Showers, I can deal with but thus rain has been so full on. Time for the rain to move on, me thinks. <br />
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Alas, not even these downpours can dampen my excitement and joy at what's happening. New opportunities, new friends and experiences!<br />
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Looking forward to explaining more when I can.<br />
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For now though I'm just happy seeing goals reached and dreams being lived!Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-51996433394883374112012-04-24T11:43:00.002+01:002012-04-24T11:43:49.640+01:00Fanning the FlamesSometimes we just need a bit of motivation. A little kick up the bum. Something to inspire us. I know I do. More so recently. I'm fairly certain grief plays alsorts of tricks on your mind and affects our emotions in many ways. It's getting easier. Every day is better. My confidence in who I am and what I'm doing is growing each day. But it doesn't hurt to have a bit of a push.<br />
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I've always struggled with a lack of self-confidence. I think it stems from getting married really young and having kids almost immediately. Listening to media (at the time - I'm talking almost 30 yrs ago now), that I wasn't "enough" just being a Mum at home with my kids. Yes, I had a couple of part-time jobs to supplement our income but I never had a career per se.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me. Just turned 20yrs. My eldest child, Daniel. Bliss.</td></tr>
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Truth be told, I was blissfully happy at home with my babies. During those years I pursued my love of colour, art and design through fulfilling hobbies. I loved my crochet. Sketching in my notepads or any scrap of paper that was around - it was a crazy household. Web graphic design on my computer. Books and books and magazines about Photoshop, art, graphic design. I absorbed them all. I had four kids aged 3 and under! Including newborn twins. Yes, it was crazy. Busy. Tiring. Blissful. Depressing. I envied those mums that seemed to juggle career and family. I just couldn't do it. Funny thing is, I never really wanted to. I just had that feeling that I was "supposed" to.<br />
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I had many down days. I lost sight of me. And now, when I look back, I actually think that was ok. I was ok. I still kept hold of my loves and passions even if they were just grabbed moments. It got easier as they got older. I was happy to be Mummy. That time goes by so quickly. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My beautiful children. Grown up. This was taken in 2008.</td></tr>
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Fast forward to today. My eldest is now 28yrs old. My second son is 26yrs old. My twins are almost 25yrs. I went to art school as a mature student. I've been divorced. Remarried. Moved away. Moved back. Lost both my parents. And everything in between. Its been a journey, for sure.<br />
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I'm excited about my life right now. My art. My designs. My passions. My confidence is growing. I'm learning that it was ok to be a stay at home Mum. When I look at my children now, as grown adults and all that they are... all that they are achieving, I know I did the right thing. I know it was right for us as a family for me to be at home with them. My ex and I are incredibly proud of them. So now, it's time for me. To let go of those insecurities and go with my passion.<br />
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I'm reading an excellent book by <a href="http://www.daniellelaporte.com/" target="_blank">Danielle LaPorte</a>, "<a href="http://www.daniellelaporte.com/the-fire-starter-sessions-danielle-laporte/" target="_blank">The Firestarter Sessions</a>" which I'm finding so helpful, insightful and downright inspiring. Talk about getting motivated. Its another little push for me, in the right direction.<br />
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I first came across Danielle via her initial online e-course of the same name as her book, early last year. That was awesome enough. I had a notebook full of my "to do" and "what to do next" lists. Ideas, plans. At the time I was dealing with the loss of my Dad and then Mum got sick and so I was all over the place. It was all in the back of my mind though. I knew I'd be reaching deep again once I got through the trauma of that time.<br />
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So when I saw she was releasing her book by the same name, I was curious. A little worried that it would be too much like the e-course and I didn't really want to spend money again. Having read a couple of reviews, I didn't think twice and bought it for my Kindle - I love the gratificaction of instant download!<br />
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I'm about half way through. I love her energy, love and passion. It's infectious. Learning that it's ok to go with your passion. And it's now always about what you can do but what you <i>love</i> to do. Yes, it's been a great dose of motivation and flame fanning!<br />
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I thorougly recommend it. Oh and it's not just about business. It's a blueprint for living your life soulfully and with passion.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-49285087627697235182012-04-16T18:37:00.003+01:002012-04-17T07:33:45.595+01:00Where I Create<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was recently asked about my work space. Where I work and create my designs. And so I decided to take some photos and tell you a little bit about it.<br />
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First thing you'll notice is that it appears untidy. Maybe it's very untidy to some of you and really neat and tidy to others! For me, I'm happy that I know where everything is and it's a lovely space to work in. The room is actually quite big for a "spare bedroom". I share the space with my hubby who's also my business partner. Yes, we work and live together 24/7!<br />
I definitely take up more space!! I do a lot of crafting and painting, so the table is my space. His work is almost exclusively done on his computers. We do have a serious lack of storage space. For now though, the space works.<br />
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My crafting table changes on a regular basis. It's very rarely
completely bare. What's on the table reflects what I'm working on at
any given time. Although it has also been used as a "dumping" place
when I suddenly go into "I have to tidy up" mode. And then after that,
it might be free of stuff for a couple of hours!<br />
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I've never really put a huge amount of thought or design into how I wanted the space to work or what is in the space. When we moved into this house, we knew that the spare bedroom would be our office/studio. We knew we needed two desks and lots of storage for our books, art and craft supplies. We bought all the furniture from Ikea apart from the book/filing case (photo below).<br />
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This lovely piece of furniture belonged to my Dad and was in his office. After he died and we were sorting out his belongings, I knew I had to have that unit in my office. My brother and sister were happy for me to take it. Apart from sentimental reasons for wanting it, it actually seemed to be a perfect fit in my office. I love it and I know Dad would've been thrilled to know it's being used by me.<br />
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Taking these photos, I've realised that I've surrounded myself with a lot of things that inspire me. I also realised that I have the most amount of my special photos and nic nacs in this space rather than the living room or bedroom. Truthfully, I spend alot of time here so it makes sense. If I get a new photo, drawing from my grandchildren, gifts from my kids and family, I almost instinctively put them in my office.<br />
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I love my photos of my family. I have a little photo heart tree thingy on my desk that has photos of all of them. It's just there and I love that I can just glance up and be reminded how blessed I am to be part of such a great family. <br />
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And then there's my grandchildren. I also have their little drawings on my desk and notice board.<br />
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I did the painting of the robin for my Mum as a Christmas present a couple of years ago. It's obviously become even more special to me since she died and reminds me that I must do more painting!<br />
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The print on my top shelf (see below) is of a painting by <a href="http://kellyraeroberts.com/" target="_blank">Kelly Rae Roberts</a>. I bought it for it's inspirational words such as "embrace vulnerability", "own your talent", "ask for what you need", "speak of your gratitude" etc.. I think you get the picture. Just so inspiring. It's the same with the green tin and storage box (photo with Yankee Candle), a present from my daughter. She knows me so well. I love all the inspirational words and quotes.<br />
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Oh and Yankee Candle. The room has to smell nice. I love to have a Yankee Candle burning most days.<br />
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On my monitor stand are some cotton reels that belonged to my grandmother. Again, someone who was very special in my life. We were very close and it's been 17yrs since she died. I still miss her so much. I love being surrounded by her things. I have jars of her buttons as well as various other haberdashery bits and pieces that belonged to her.<br />
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There's also a cute little Mickey Mouse ornament on my monitor stand. My youngest son bought it for me when he went to Disney a few years ago. It's so perfect and I love the thought that went into it when he bought it. I love Disney. I love Mickey Mouse and snowglobes. And Mickey has a paint brush in his hand. There's a book with the words "Once Upon a Time" in the snowglobe. <br />
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Basically, I have what I need on a daily basis to hand. I think that's why it gets untidy. There are certain books and supplies that I use every day and so they never get put away. It just works for me. My workspace is definitely me and definitely a refleciton of my great loves and passions. It's practical as well as inspirational. Yes, I'd love a great big studio one day. I'd love a nice sofa or reading nook. I'd love very specific storage solutions and our paintings on the walls. For now though, this is where I work and create and I love it!<br />
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I'd love to see your creative space/office/studio. Send me links! I love seeing where others work and create.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-78414980935261170562012-04-12T19:04:00.003+01:002012-04-12T19:07:44.563+01:00Spring Forward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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How was your Easter? I had a lovely time with my family and also a totally chilled out couple of days with just me and Steve at home. Ate too much chocolate and too many hot cross buns but hey ho! It was Easter. You're allowed. Needless to say, straight back to Weight Watchers this week!<br />
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We've been having some interesting weather this past few days. I love it. It's so Spring-like. April showers. Sunshine and showers. It's perfect for making things grow. I'm enjoying this new Season and all that it brings including Mother's Day, Easter and pretty flowers in the garden. Love, love the magnolia tree at my sister's.<br />
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As well as enjoying all these wonderful seasonal changes, I've been experiencing new opportunities for my work. Work. Well, I call it work as it's how I earn my money, running my own business. But my oh my I love what I do and as such, it's hard to call it "work". Anyway, I digress.<br />
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My website is still being worked on. I'm itching to get my online store back up and running. In the meantime, apart from working on my new website, I'm designing and creating new digital scrapbooking products, paper crafting downloads etc.. for the new store and for<a href="http://www.daisytrail.com/" target="_blank"> Daisy Trail</a>. I was thrilled to be recently accepted as a designer, creating digikits for their online store.<br />
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I've had to go through a learning curve to get to grips with their <a href="http://shop.daisytrail.com/Products/Category/Software/CraftArtistProfessional.htm" target="_blank">Craft Artist software</a> and I've been completely blown away by what you can do with it. I'm a hard core Photoshop & Illustrator user so was a little worried about having to learn new software. I needn't have worried. It's extremely intuitive. And they have a ton of fantastic video tutorials to help you learn everything from basics to more complex features such as cutting backgrounds from photos, layer effects and so on. It's not just for digital scrapbooking. They're templates for a greeting cards and printables.<br />
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Oh and it's a fraction of the cost of Photoshop!! And if you want software specifically for digital scrapbooking and and computer paper crafting, I'd recommend it over Photoshop Elements too. Wow! Never thought I'd say that. No, I'm not getting paid to big up Craft Artist ha! I honestly think it's a great little piece of software. The paper craft industry is moving forward. I've seen so many huge changes in the past couple of years. Digital technologies are being fully embraced. <br />
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I'm going to be doing a couple of craft projects for them in the next few weeks. Can't say much more than that for now but once they're done and have a green light, I'll post them here. I'm just thrilled to have the opportunity to be working with this UK craft company.<br />
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I love new seasons. New beginnings. New opportunities. And always when you least expect it. When you're not looking for it. Those are the best.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-43348434041244449902012-04-07T13:43:00.000+01:002012-04-12T17:57:03.744+01:00Happy Card Making Easter!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's Easter already! Where did that first three months of the year go?! I'm so happy to see Spring here now and I love long holiday weekends!<br />
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Last week, I was invited to take part in a family Easter craft evening at my son's church. He asked me if I would host one of the craft tables. It was so much fun. Kids and parents alike went from table to table making fun Easter crafts.<br />
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I designed and created a fairly simple, fun Easter card kit comprising of backing papers, eggs and crosses in Spring colours. My daughter bought some fun little embellishments for the kids to add to their cards. And they all turned out so great.<br />
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My daughter and I made some sample A6 cards for inspiration. If you're new to creating cards using digital backing papers and digi stamps, these cards are really a great way to get started and inspired. They're really simple to make. I love digital and using my computer for paper crafting. You can use the designs over and over again. And as you get more confident, you do find yourself being more creative in how you use your digital supplies. Anyway..<br />
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<i>Here's how I made them</i>:-<br />
<ul>
<li>I printed out the designs onto some inkjet printer paper</li>
<li>Once printed out, we cut out all the various designs, backing papers and "Happy Easter" sentiments</li>
<li>I like to leave a small border round the printed out images. This also makes cutting out a little easier.</li>
<li>We then stuck the backing papers to the A6 cards and started adding the toppers, sentiments</li>
</ul>
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<i>Supply List:</i><i> </i> <br />
<ul>
<li>Printable Easter Card Kit - my own design (<i>I'm hoping to make this available to download very soon</i>) </li>
<li>Pack of 100 A4 Sheets of Super Smooth Matt Inkjet Paper 100 GSM here</li>
<li>A6 White Cardblanks with Envelopes - Matt Finish (240GSM) here</li>
<li>Double sided tape and foam pads as adhesives. I can't remember where I bought these now but they're available from most good craft stores as well as QVC and Create and Craft</li>
<li>Set of foam and glitter Easter embellishments from Tesco</li>
</ul>
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We all had a wonderful evening making cards. I love watching kids getting creative. Just give them some simple instructions and they're away. In fact, a lot of them just got on with it and made some lovely cards. <br />
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After seeing how the Easter card kit worked, I'm inspired to make more card kits. It's quite possible I'll be spending some of the upcoming holiday weekend working on them on some new designs! Yay!<br />
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Hope you all have a Happy Easter and an enjoyable, long holiday weekend.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-65248657175909418592012-04-06T13:07:00.001+01:002012-04-06T13:07:34.709+01:00Celebrating 5yrs of Marriage!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I just celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary with the love of my life! Yes, I know. It sounds corny. However, it is what it is and it's true. Steve is the love of my life. Its been an interesting and challenging 5yrs. We've faced some fairly difficult times. Difficulties from both sides of our families. From losing both my parents to cancer, to the joys of grandchildren and Steve suddenly becoming stepdad to my four grown up kids. It's all been a rollercoaster ride of emotions.<br />
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Family mean everything to me. My children, their partners, my grandchildren. My beloved parents. My sister and her family, my brother. And Steve has embraced it all. Was welcomed into the family fully and unconditionally. I'm sure it must've been so overwhelming at some points but he just took it in his stride. I'll forever be grateful to him for that alone. <br />
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For us, the difficulties and challenges have just made our relationship deeper, stronger. He's my closest confidente and friend. He's been my encourager. My mentor and cheerleader. I've been up and down like a yo-yo. Back and forth. Uunsure of myself. Heartbroken. Grief stricken. And to the other extreme of emotion, celebrating the births of my grandchildren.<br />
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In the midst of all that, we decided to set up our own business. We met through our mutual love of art, design and graphics. We worked together before we met. It seemed the natural thing to do. To continue to work together and run our own digital art company. I don't know how we managed to do it, but we did. And we've just celebrated our first yr in business with a nice profit. Something we're very proud of considering this economic depression.<br />
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So yes, we're together 24/7. We love our life together. Oh and we don't argue. We've never argued. Just the way it is for us. I almost get embarrassed about admitting that to people. It's true. We discuss. We debate. We always laugh together. But haven't ever had a cross word. We're very similar in personality and I believe that makes the difference. We love the same things and are passionate about our time together. I don't really understand it or question it. I just go with it.<br />
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I would say laughter together is so important. And talking. Oh boy, do we love to talk. We've often chatted into the very wee hours and then again into the mid-afternoon. We have great brain-storming sessions. We inspire each other. Oh I know it all sounds too good to be true. It's not. It's two people that met and were clearly meant to be together. It's marriage at it's best. It's, to me, how marriage should be.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-3568568349811485292012-03-15T18:52:00.002+00:002012-03-20T19:09:23.239+00:00Starting from ScratchOh my goodness, what can I say? How stupid am I? Do I listen to my own advice? My own wisdom. Do I practice what I preach? I thought I did but clearly I don't.<br />
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I lost my whole website. My online store. Everything. The lot. Gone. Forever. No more. Non-existent. Yes, I do back up but my last back up was a couple of months ago. I've been out of it and working so hard to try and re-brand, make new stuff, deal with grief and so and so forth. Not good enough. You can't miss any back-ups. Not one.<br />
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It appears there was a misunderstanding between me and my hosting company. I'm still not sure what's happened. I thought my hosting account was set on automatic renewal. They told me it wasn't and when I didn't renew, after 30 days, they deleted my website off their server. Fair enough. I guess. But what about emails to let me know? Yes, apparently they sent them. But no, nothing. Not in my spam folder. Nowhere to be seen.<br />
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I cried. I actually cried and sobbed. Heartbroken. All my hard work. My whole store. Everything gone. All my tutorials, products, blog posts (on WordPress). Gone. I haven't looked at my backed up database yet. I know I'll be able to pull some stuff off of it. After the initial shock and tears and a tantrum - kicking myself for my own incompetence at not doing the last 2 backups - I decided to go out. I was meant to be meeting my daughter anyway for our usual walk. I knew I had to go and it would do me the world of good. To walk off my frustration and anger. To be in the sunshine. To get exercise and figure things out as I walked.<br />
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And I did. I had been re-designing my website. I had decided that WordPress wasn't working for me and so I started to put a new website design together and re-launch it in the next few weeks. Following on from doing Module 2 of "<a href="http://dowhatyouloveforlife.com/pattern/" target="_blank">The Art & Business of Surface Pattern Design</a>", I realised I wasn't 100% happy with my brand and new business. I knew I wasn't ready to launch my business. Not really. I knew I needed to re-think my online store and the products.<br />
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Losing my website may well be a blessing in disguise. I have nothing to work from now. I have to work from scratch. It's a good thing. It seems huge. I'm determined to make this a positive experience. To turn it around and make the best of it. And I will.<br />
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New logo. New website. New store. New products. It seems the right time. Its been up and down like this for a number of years as I've battled with huge changes in my personal life. More so in the past 2 yrs after losing my parents. I thought I was ready to move on before but clearly it wasn't the right time. Maybe it is now. No is the time. From scratch.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-44278955392953322042012-03-03T00:14:00.000+00:002012-03-20T19:10:16.542+00:00Forgive Me, BloggerI just can't get on with WordPress. Don't like it. I've tried for a number of months now and it's mainly been huge headaches including being hacked. Nope. WordPress, be gone. I'm choosing Blogger for my blogging delight. And I'm restoring my old website; new content obviously but I'm going back to my original design and ditching WordPress completely.<br />
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I'm happy.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-90449775116302398212011-04-07T23:19:00.000+01:002012-03-20T19:12:14.053+00:00Behind The ScenesSo much going on here. I'm excited. On fire. Motivated. Scared. Filled with trepidation. Inspired. Time challenged. Always time challenged. Feeling good. Healthy. Personal goals. Business goals. Big dreams. Shooting for the moon. Oh don't you love the cliches??!! I do. It's a great way to describe what's happening just now.<br />
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And it's April. Wow! Spring is here. The air. The flowers. The new green shoots. I'm feeling it in so many ways. Love the coming of a new Season. Always.<br />
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Behind the scenes I'm working very hard and it feels good. It's honestly a dream come true for me. Something that has been stop starting for several years now. Up and down. Round and about. Never quite there. Missing something. Fear would show up just at the last moment. Send me running. That moment has past and fear gave me a new impetus. In the right direction.<br />
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At last. Did I say I'm excited??!!Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-53636159944215696742011-03-25T21:58:00.002+00:002012-03-20T19:13:22.686+00:00Snapshots from My Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8OLOVwopy-c/TY0PfHWJ2oI/AAAAAAAABlI/XIpgMrFn19Q/s1600/DianeR_thisweek-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8OLOVwopy-c/TY0PfHWJ2oI/AAAAAAAABlI/XIpgMrFn19Q/s320/DianeR_thisweek-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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a heart in sunlight on my office floor </div>
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Whitstable - i used to live here - love this place</div>
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yummy texture</div>
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love having coffee with my daughter </div>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-829F_6UVEN4/TY0PoFrm6XI/AAAAAAAABlY/tj0Tom2zqtU/s1600/DianeR_thisweek-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-829F_6UVEN4/TY0PoFrm6XI/AAAAAAAABlY/tj0Tom2zqtU/s320/DianeR_thisweek-06.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div>
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beautiful Spring daffs outside village church </div>
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fresh veggies from local farm shop</div>
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me - this is a moment of me facing the real me - feeling tired, exhausted most of the time since my Dad died</div>
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another self portrait - as I am most days at the moment - no make-up and actually ok with that</div>
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working on a new collage - scanned this in "as is" and used it to create a digital paper</div>Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-5495259720605218732011-03-14T16:14:00.002+00:002012-03-20T19:14:37.510+00:00Inspiration for the WeekI love Mondays. A new week. Lots of possibilities. So this week I thought I'd start off with some inspiration. First off, my new office. This is just a small snapshot. My desk. It's an inspiring place to work and create. Surrounded by the things that I love. Things that inspire me and motivate me. We've done a lot of re-organising, painted and alsorts of other great stuff to create a place where both Steve and I are happy to be. Happy to work. Happy to create. I'll do another post soon about showing the whole room and all the before and after shots. Fun, fun, fun!<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-50YrNqLEwNU/TX45_VxdnNI/AAAAAAAABks/NInBhhESVKU/s1600/DianeR_Inspiration140311-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-50YrNqLEwNU/TX45_VxdnNI/AAAAAAAABks/NInBhhESVKU/s640/DianeR_Inspiration140311-3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Next is VisualizeUs. I've recently set up an account to start collecting lots of inspiring images. Being a natural creative and a digital artist as my work, I used to just save a bunch of images to a folder on my computer. I love these new websites where you can have them all on display. Easy to look at. Easy to use. And so great to share. Here's my list so far: <a href="http://vi.sualize.us/dianerooney/" target="_blank">http://vi.sualize.us/dianerooney/</a><br />
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I came across VisualizeUs via <a href="http://jessicasprague.com/" target="_blank">JessicaSprague.com</a>. I'm taking a digital design art course there at the moment. It's awakening my muse after a very long siesta. Time to wake up! I'm excited to be surrounded by so much creativity, motivation. <br />
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And then there's the inspiration I find in the every day moments of my life. At my Mum's over the weekend, I managed to snap this little Robin. Gorgeous blue sky, sun shining. Fantastic. Love that little bird. There's something about Robin's.<br />
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Oh and flowers. Love, love flowers but I especially love photographing them. And perhaps slightly more than that, love to get those photos into Photoshop. Edit. Edit. Play. Add texture, of course. Lush.<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lB5FPAE2oDI/TX4-6SKtjgI/AAAAAAAABk8/QNsrW5kTNPI/s1600/DianeR_Inspiration140311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-lB5FPAE2oDI/TX4-6SKtjgI/AAAAAAAABk8/QNsrW5kTNPI/s400/DianeR_Inspiration140311.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-20266616785718974902011-03-11T22:52:00.000+00:002012-03-20T19:15:15.555+00:00JapanI can't let this day pass without posting about the devastating earthquake in Japan. I've had the BBC news on all day and am shocked. So shocked. So sad. It really does make one look at one's life with a different perspective. Life is fragile. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-51405471904588050362011-03-09T23:24:00.000+00:002012-03-20T19:15:42.998+00:00Pushing PixelsI'm well and truly back in the saddle. It's taken a while but I'm there. Pushing pixels again. Designing digital art products. Putting together my own website. My virtual home and work place. Doing what I love to do and loving every minute of it. It is bliss.<br />
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Recently I splashed out and bought a new digital SLR. A Canon 1000D. I used to have one but had to sell it a couple of years for one reason or another. And just stuck with my ever faithful "point & shoot". But as I have been building up my website and business plans, I realised that I do need a decent digital SLR. I love taking photos of the details of every day in my life as well as my family. I'm not a professional photographer by any stretch of the imagination. I just love, love taking photos.<br />
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However, some photos I will be using for my business, digital art products. Steve and I go out every couple of weeks to take texture photos. You know the stuff, walls, doors, grass, rust, wood, etc.. etc.. Basically, anything that grabs us. He needs those kind of photos for his 3d models and I discovered a long time ago that I can use them in my photo editing to create my blended photo collages. More recently though I decided to put together a pack of textures to sell in my online store when it's up and running. I'll also be using them to create brushes for Photoshop, Photoshop Elements.<br />
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Here's an example of one of the textures. Feel free to click on it (so you get the original size) and download to try it out. It's about 8"x6.5". All you need to do is open the image in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or some other image editing software, open up the photo you want to add the texture to (make a duplicate so you're not working on the original), place the texture image on top of the photo and change the layer blend mode to "soft light" or "overlay". They'll be a full tutorial on my webiste (soon).<br />
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oH0YloJedA4/TXgJsTVzDeI/AAAAAAAABkg/zWKNnslvAr0/s1600/DianeR_TextureFreebie_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oH0YloJedA4/TXgJsTVzDeI/AAAAAAAABkg/zWKNnslvAr0/s400/DianeR_TextureFreebie_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Click on photo to see real size | then right click and save to your computer</div>
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Here's a couple of examples of what the texture looks like on a photo. Just adds a lovely subtle texture. I turned the opacity down to about 70%. This is different for each photo. You just have to play around with the layer blend modes and opacity to get the look you're after.<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FKd13zgWxg4/TXgLmDw1rlI/AAAAAAAABko/S_aOX71W7Z4/s1600/DianeR-FlowerTexture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FKd13zgWxg4/TXgLmDw1rlI/AAAAAAAABko/S_aOX71W7Z4/s400/DianeR-FlowerTexture.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5F7406vnnsU/TXgLjGoQPGI/AAAAAAAABkk/V6l8p_K85AA/s1600/DianeR-NoahTexture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5F7406vnnsU/TXgLjGoQPGI/AAAAAAAABkk/V6l8p_K85AA/s400/DianeR-NoahTexture.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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[click to see larger size] </div>
Yep. Gotta love pushing pixels!Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-50198502127048107632011-03-06T17:52:00.002+00:002012-03-20T19:16:37.729+00:00Embracing ChangeLife looks so different to me lately. It's honestly almost unrecognisable. I fought it for so long. Change. I used to scream with frustration, "<b><i>I just want my life back</i></b>". So much has happened and continues to happen since my Dad died. It isn't just that he died. It's the chain reaction that has death caused. I'm fascinated by it, somehow. That so much can change just from the death of one person.<br />
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Of course, I'm still in the deep throes of grief. That in itself is a big change in my life. I see it every time I look in the mirror. Grief is etched deeply into my face. I know what it looks like.<br />
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Instead of fighting it, fighting the changes in my life, I decided to embrace them. Grief is part of life. It's not nice but it's there. And you have to go through it. So go through it I am. I accept that my life has changed forever. Through grief counselling, reading and other resources, I'm slowly embracing the changes.<br />
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Trying to live a balanced, imperfect but altoghether, authentic life. Doing what I love to do. Being there for my family, friends. Saying "no" when I need to. Being brave. I don't say that lightly. It sounds corny, I guess. But it's not meant to be. I'm not brave, normally. It was about time that I made changes to my life anyway. I just never had the courage. I kept procrastinating. Putting my dreams and goals on permanent hold. That's why I had the same dreams and goals every New Year! ha! I was scared of my own dreams.<br />
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The irony is that my Dad was my biggest fan (until I met and married Steve!). Dad was always encouraging me to "do what you love to do". Set up your own business. Do whatever it is that you want to do. You can ahcieve the impossible. Dream big. Imagine yourself in that life. These were just some of Dad's mantras. Some of what he would tell me. I was still scared. And yet, since his death, I found courage. I've realised the importance of being authentic. Dreaming big. And embracing change.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-36229740398050556352011-02-25T22:47:00.000+00:002011-02-25T22:47:27.963+00:00Soon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P-OIsGLZ1K0/TWgwuGaJhnI/AAAAAAAABkM/oc_qiXUe_hc/s1600/dream-create-inspire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P-OIsGLZ1K0/TWgwuGaJhnI/AAAAAAAABkM/oc_qiXUe_hc/s400/dream-create-inspire.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-22766104546401009022011-02-19T12:55:00.000+00:002012-03-20T19:17:09.201+00:00Changes AheadSteve and I run our own business - Stedi Arts Ltd - designing, creating and selling digital 3d content. Our products are sold to 3d hobbyists and professionals and are used to create digital art, in films, advertising, etc.. It was always our dream to work from home running our own creative business and we're doing it.<br />
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However, I want to branch out a bit and get back to creating my own digital art designs. I'm so excited to have started work on them and to be slowly putting together my website and online store. At last. <br />
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I had originally started work on it last January but then had to take a long hiatus to help look after my parents when my Dad got very ill. Dad was always a great supporter of my work. He was the one to introduce me to the WWW back in 1994!! Can you believe that?? It was my Dad that got me into web design and creating art on a computer. He was an entrepreneur. He and his business partner back then, created the first internet cafe in London and set up one of the UK's first internet providers, Easynet plc.<br />
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I've had a website in form or another since then. Somewhere a long the road I lost my creative mojo; my dreams and aspirations seemed to fade away. It's been a long hard road but I'm back to that creative place. My muse returned. And I know Dad would be cheering me on. He would be proud of what I'm doing right now and telling me to reach for the stars. Go for my dreams. Be positive. Dream big. Yes, he used to say all those things to me! To us all. To my kids. And that's what I'm doing.<br />
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I'm excited. New changes coming.Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-3745810610420120062011-02-10T16:25:00.001+00:002012-03-20T19:18:01.647+00:00At the Moment<div style="text-align: left;">
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organising<br />
inspired<br />
journey<br />
grateful<br />
installing<br />
decorating<br />
learning<br />
exhausted<br />
loving<br />
relieved<br />
playing<br />
faithful<br />
reaching</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PG0ZFw4lv2s/TVQQc26mXlI/AAAAAAAABkE/6GK0AeYILlI/s1600/feb11-05..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PG0ZFw4lv2s/TVQQc26mXlI/AAAAAAAABkE/6GK0AeYILlI/s400/feb11-05..jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EBlUFEg5IvU/TVQQeUN6PAI/AAAAAAAABkI/vdNty6VdQ7Y/s1600/feb11-032..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EBlUFEg5IvU/TVQQeUN6PAI/AAAAAAAABkI/vdNty6VdQ7Y/s400/feb11-032..jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7619116593652225444.post-18821850022437099052011-02-05T00:40:00.003+00:002011-02-10T19:05:44.304+00:00Looking for my Authentic Self<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8VWJPeYhHxM/TUyb6U5SfTI/AAAAAAAABjo/9CWNtLPQA2g/s1600/family_hol1110-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8VWJPeYhHxM/TUyb6U5SfTI/AAAAAAAABjo/9CWNtLPQA2g/s400/family_hol1110-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> As I journey onwards & forwards, I realise what I'm searching for is my authentic self. In all my creative efforts, endeavours, goals and dreams, I'm looking for Diane. I recently made an impromptu decision to do an <a href="http://mondobeyondo.org/" target="_blank">online course</a> dealing with personal growth and living "wholeheartedly". Through the various exercises, without realising it at the time, I now know I've been lost. Lost in the roles of motherhood, daughter, wife, sister, aunt. Lost in looking for myself in all the wrong places. Trying too hard to be something I wasn't meant to be. A people pleaser.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div> There is no doubt that my greatest role to date has been Mum to my four beautiful children. And continues to be. Do we ever really stop being parents??!! Alot of that parenting came fairly naturally to me. I didn't think a whole lot about what I should or shouldn't be doing. And thank goodness. I had four children aged 3 yrs and under, at one point. If I had stopped for one minute or more to think about the sheer enormity of that fact, I'm fairly sure I would've somehow drowned in the hugeness of it. There were moments when I thought I couldn't cope. Moments when I lost my temper and yelled at my kids inappropriately. Moments when I thought I'd never survive the experience of bringing up four kids.<br />
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I survived. They survived. And I'm so proud of them. They are well rounded, stable, happy and well adjusted young adults. It wasn't just me. They were brought up by the rest of the village too. Their grandparents, my sister, their Dad as well as close friends. All had amazing influences on their lives. Still do.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8VWJPeYhHxM/TUybC3w5smI/AAAAAAAABjk/Ifj4mrGvui8/s1600/statue_jan10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8VWJPeYhHxM/TUybC3w5smI/AAAAAAAABjk/Ifj4mrGvui8/s400/statue_jan10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>In all of that time, when my children were young, like so many other women, I didn't feel equipped to stop for one moment and wonder about who I was meant to be. As far as I was concerned, I was meant to be a Mum. And I truly believe that to be a fact for my life. However, as the children headed towards independence, I started to question my life. I started to look inward. I realised I had dreams and goals. I knew I wanted to do something creative. To creatively express myself. But it was a battle.<br />
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I was going through a difficult, complex divorce. The reasons of which left me devastated and questioning my very being. As a woman. As Diane. I had no idea in the midst of all of the trauma and heartache where I was. Who was I, even?<br />
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On top of that, I've been battling a weight problem. Complex. Needy. Emotionally eating. Happy. Sad. Joyful. Grief stricken. Excited. Food was the answer. And to some degree, it still is. Getting less and less now as I move towards wholehearted living. I felt trapped in a fat suit. This isn't my authentic self.<br />
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Slowly. I'm hearing the whispers of my heart. Of my authentic self. Practising self-compassion. Believing in my goals and dreams. Taking action to see them through. Learning to take care of me and in turn, knowing that will have a positive and loving affect on those I love. Family and friends.<br />
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It's a journey. Self discovery. Rich. Rewarding. Frightening. Loving. Scary. Enlightening. Truthful. Finding my authentic self.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8VWJPeYhHxM/TUyZMe1kx5I/AAAAAAAABjU/Zj3JoHnfvpQ/s1600/Diane_AZ_SpotlightImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8VWJPeYhHxM/TUyZMe1kx5I/AAAAAAAABjU/Zj3JoHnfvpQ/s320/Diane_AZ_SpotlightImage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Diane Rooneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06887045089181317342noreply@blogger.com2