May Desktop Calendar

Well hello, and check me out being ON TIME with this month's calendar!
I know, I can barely believe it myself ;)

This month's challenge to myself, was to create a pattern brush in Adobe Illustrator using one of my own doodles, and to then use that to write May using the brush.

Above is a scan of the original drawings from my sketchbook - after these were scanned, the one top left was brought into Illustrator to be turned into a vector image to be edited and used to create a seamless pattern brush.
I used this course from Skillshare, which is so good - really clear and thorough, and easy to follow.

I was watching and working simultaneously - with the course open in Chrome, and Ai open at the same time - after each section, I then put what I'd learned into practice, rewinding and referencing the course as needed.

Anyhoo, a little playing around with the design later, and I created the pattern brush and then used it to write the word May for the calendar - another trick learned!

I added a few berries with the blob brush tool, a light coloured background, and the calendar itself - it's a clean and simple design this month, a rather calming change from the bright colour that was the April one :)

Simply click on the image below to download the calendar for your desktop.

Have a super May!!

Cheerio for now,

Sarah
♡

April's desktop calendar

hello to you!

I set myself a bit of challenge this month - I wanted to design the calendar digitally, creating it all in Illustrator and/or Photoshop.

I'd already doodled the lettering for April, in my sketchbook, so it made sense to use that as a starting point.

I scanned the doodle and then pulled it into Illustrator to clean it up and make it usable as a digital design element.

I then set to, recolouring it, working out to add texture to it, and adding the chicks and butterflies. These last two were done in different way - the chick was on the same sketchbook page as 'April', so that was scanned, traced and recoloured...then copied and pasted in different sizes around the page. The butterflies were drawn by hand directly in Illustrator - not something I've done very often but it was fun, and a good way to practice using the program. I drew one butterfly, and then copied it to create a second one, and recoloured that one so they looked slightly different.

Confession - AI crashed on me...twice!...but I refused to give in, as each time it had crashed, I'd learned how not to do something immediately before the crash. This way I got to redo the work, taking into account what I'd learned and how to do it better the second time around.

There is so much more I could have done with this, but honestly it took me hours! and at some point, you have to just go with what you have.

So, here it is, this month's desktop calendar...

I hope April is a good month for you!

Until next time...

Sarah
♡

March desktop calendar download

Hello and happy new month!

I had a wonderful sunny walk around the village this morning, and managed to get through the front door, just before the rain came.
It was such a treat to see the new season's lambs in the field - so tiny and fragile looking, but they are hardy little babes.
I also saw my first curlew of the year, and heard it's call...Spring is coming lovely people!!
I'd been struggling with inspiration for March's desktop calendar design, until I got home, looked through the photos I'd taken, and fell in love with this scene!

So there you have it...this month's calendar :)
Simply click on the image above, and that will take you where you need to go to download it.

Until next time,
Sarah

♡

A free printable for subscribers

Hello there!

I have had plans for years, to set up a mailing list of subscribers, with the intention of sending out a monthly newsletter to those lovely people who sign up.

I'm still working on what to put in said newsletter, but if you want to be on the list for when I launch it, then do please head over here and sign up!

One of the things I intend to do, is to send occasional little treats to my subscribers, and I'm kicking this off with a free printable...

The printable comprises two A4 pages - one with gift tags and one with bookmarks (these could be used as larger gift tags) in four exclusive, Ditsy Bird designs.

If you'd like to get your hands on these, simply head over to the Newsletter page on the website, and enter your details. Once you've confirmed your subscription, you'll be given a link to click, which will take you to the document. You can then print from there, or download it to your computer to print at a later date.

If you share images of the tags and bookmarks, do please tag them with #dbdsubscribers, as I'd love to see what you do with them!

If you have any thoughts on what you would like to receive as a subscriber gift, I'd love to know - either leave a comment below, drop me a line, or leave me a comment on IG.


Sarah
♡

February Desktop Calendar

Good morning!

I realise I'm a couple of days late, but this month's desktop calendar is now ready to download...
simply click on the image below :)

Wishing you a fruitful month full of love, fun and laughter!

Sarah
♡

New Year, New Challenge

Hello, and a very happy new year to you!

I do hope you've had a wonderful festive time of it, over the holidays?
Ours was fun, quiet and relaxed...and I woke up today, raring to get back into my normal routine (with a few tweaks for the new year).

One of the tweaks, is a new monthly challenge that I have set myself.
I want to test myself creatively, and also keep practicing my digital design skills...there is loads of room for improvement so the more practice the better!

My first challenge for this year, is to create a monthly desktop calendar, that can be downloaded and used by my online friends and followers.

I realise I'm a little late for January's but that's okay.

It's also not the best effort I think I could have made - but then hindsight is often 20:20.

Unsurprisingly, it took way longer than I expected...but isn't that the way when you're trying new things? I did learn a few 'what not to dos' for next month's calendar:

1. I was happier working in Illustrator than Photoshop for this exercise
2. I really need to create the numbers and punctuation for the font I was working on, at the end of last year.
3. It's quite tricky to find a photo with the right dimensions, and good areas of interest in exactly the right places - so you've ended up with a Wintery scene overlooking the Aire Valley where we live.
4. A bit more prep time would have been a wonderful thing - I will make sure I make time for this for February's, and it might not feel quite so 'chucked together' ;)

You can download the January desktop calendar by clicking here

Have a lovely day,

Sarah
♡