New Top-bar for "sweetpeaboutique"

Added a new category to Maggie's shop and re-did the top-bar to fit all of her links!

Hyena Cart Congo Mockups for "Avant-Garde"

I'm working on a wonderful new Congo with Meaghan and April. They're looking for a design that incorporates pictures taken by April's father-in-law, with a description on the home page about the artisans of the Pacific Northwest (which is where their Congo will be focused).

The pictures provided are just beautiful! I think the hardest part will be deciding which ones to use. :)

Here are a few rough mock-ups to get an idea of which direction Meaghan and April would like to go with the design. (Click on the image to view the larger version)

Proofs for "Katydid Creations"

Kate was looking for a new Blog header to match her website and Hyena Cart. She wanted the size to be about the same as her current Blog header so it will be easy to replace it with the new.

I created 3 samples with slightly different borders for her to choose from. :)

Click the proof below to see the full-size image.

About our New JoyfulRose Site Design

About the new Design:

My husband suggested that I sketch out the new design and then he'd help me figure out how to incorporate it within the Hyena Cart parameters (it can be a bit tricky!) In March I spent about a week sketching the design and creating the appropriate images.

Our shop name, JoyfulRose, came about when our family was going through a very difficult time several years ago. I reflected on my experiences and decided that I wanted to focus on finding more joy in life. The "rose" part of the name comes from my middle name, Roseann. I am named after my wonderful grandmother whose kindness and generosity I have always tried to live up to.

I loved the idea of creating a rose vine for the border of my design and my husband suggested that I create a briar patch-type background. Originally, the background I created was made of browns. After trying it out with the rose vine and header, however, we decided greens helped the main design stand out.

My husband helped me with the coding so that the rose vine borders appear to be on top of the briar background as you scroll down. This is one of my favorite aspects of the design!

Unfortunately, right after we finished the coding my computer caught a virus and then the hard drive started failing. :( We installed a new hard drive, cleaned up the computer, and I'm excited to finally have my new design online!

To enter our new design contest please see this link:
JoyfulRose New Design Contest!!!

Samples for "Zany Zebra Designs" - Take 2

Second set of samples for Amy Sue!

The first ends right below the purple ribbon; second a little below the bottom white box. That should help reduce the height a bit. :)

Samples for "Zany Zebra Designs"

Amy Sue was looking for a header that incorporated her main site design, but something a little bit different and fun. :)

Here are some sample headers. I created them the same size as her original HC header so that she wouldn't have to change any of her coding (note: the samples are shown smaller than actual size). All can be saved as .gif or .png files. The 4th sample has a transparent background where the zebra stripes are so that the actual background will be seen behind the image.

Let me know what you think!

Samples for Sweetie Bird Fashions

Sarah already had a darling logo and wanted her Hyena Cart Design made to match. I thought stripes would be a nice accent to the cute bird, so I tried several different ideas to incorporate her logo.

Hope you like these Sarah!



Tina :)

A La Mode Congo

I've been working with the ladies of the new "A La Mode" Congo and we've finally perfected their design! Now I just need to get to work on the vendor buttons, regular buttons, and JoyfulRose icon. :)

Below are some of the ideas we worked on together. I'm thinking I'll probably work more with these designs, clean them up, create all of the necessary buttons, and offer them in my shop as "premade templates" for Hyena Cart.

Shameless plug here: email me if you're interested in purchasing one of the designs below and I'll offer it to you at a lower price than on my Hyena Cart. :)

Sample 1:



Sample 2:



Sample 3:



Sample 4:



Sample 5:



Sample 6:



Sample 7:



Sample 8:



Sample 9:



Sample 10:



Sample 11:



Sample 12:



Sample 13:



Sample 14:



Sample 15:



The vote for their design was split; some liked the ice cream idea of a la mode, others liked a chic-boutique look (a la mode means "to the fashion" in french), and others liked a parisian-type theme.

I worked with the admin on quite a few different ideas and in the end they decided to go back to the original ice cream theme. Their little kawaii ice creams make me hungry! And they make me smile at the same time. :)

I'll post pics as soon as their design is complete!

Tina :)

Congo Design - "Bitty Fluff"

Here's the new Congo Design - "Bitty Fluff" on Hyena Cart:



I've been working with Jenny from "Jenny's Simply Clean" on a redesign of the "Bitty Fluff" Congo. The Congo itself is such a cute idea; all of the vendors sell things specifically designed for newborns and infants.

Jenny requested an overall theme of "chocolate brown, sage green, blue, and pink", and a design that would reflect the excitement and joy that comes from having a newborn.

I thought a lot about it and the color scheme reminded me of cherry blossoms (our family lived in Maryland when I was in high school and went to the cherry blossom festival in DC every spring).

I found this information about the symbolism of cherry blossoms:
Cherry Blossom info at Wikipedia
Whereas in China the cherry blossom symbolizes feminine beauty, the feminine principle, or love in the language of herbs, in Japan the cherry blossoms are believed to exemplify the transient nature of life, because of their short blooming times.
Sakura, or Cherry Blossom is an omen of good fortune and is also an emblem of love, affection and represents spring. Cherry blossoms are an enduring metaphor for the fleeting nature of life, and as such are frequently depicted in art.
Symbolism of the Cherry Blossom
A cherry blossom is the symbol of spiritual beauty.

It seemed like the perfect symbol for the Congo because infants are only small such a short time and then they grow into silly little toddlers and then preschoolers...and before you know it, they've grown into beautiful people!

I designed "Bitty Fluff" Congo around cherry blossom trees with a blue background. Each of the vendors' shop names buttons is a different arrangement of different-colored cherry blossom flowers.

Here's the new "Bitty Fluff" Congo design:



Here was the original design:



I hope the ladies at Bitty Fluff enjoy the new design as much as I loved creating it!

New Creative Mamas Blog!

Our new Congo leader over at Creative Mamas approached me yesterday about creating a Blog for our Congo. It was a lot of fun to design!

Come check out our new Creative Mamas Blog:



We'll be using the Blog to announce special announcements, stocking news, and free lotteries. :)

WAHM Thread Banner and Animated Banner for "Home Hooked Play Food"

I'm finishing up a trade with Kim from "Home Hooked Play Food"; she's been a lot of fun to work with!

She sells crocheted food items that look scrumptious! I can't wait to get ours. :) She was looking for banners with "bright, earthy colors" so I created a piece of pie with a cartoony, crocheted look and found a font that looked like yarn.

Here is the Banner I created for the top of her WAHM Thread at DiaperSwappers:



And here's her matching animated signature banner for DS:



Kim, thanks for your helpful input on the creation of your logo! Hope you enjoy your new banners. :)

Hyena Cart Design for "Earth Baby Cloth"

Melisa wanted an earthy design to match her beautiful "earth tree" logo.

Completed design for "Earth Baby Cloth":



In exchange, Melisa made two of her beautiful fleece longies and shirts sets, and an embellished prefold. My sons LOVE their "Frosty the Snowman" longies sets!

Thanks for a wonderful trade Melisa. :)

Pics to come soon!

Hyena Cart Design for "Jenny's Simply Clean"

Jenny has been such a wonderful lady to work with! She was looking for a Hyena Cart design that incorporated the nice greens and browns from her logo, and kept the nice "clean" feeling to set off her awesome laundry soaps.

Finished Design for "Jenny's Simply Clean":



I'm so excited to try out our new detergent when it comes!

Thanks for a wonderful trade Jenny. :)

Hyena Cart Design for "Zabi Baby"

Glorimar from "Zabi Baby" is one of the kindest ladies I've worked with. She sells diapers and covers at her Hyena Cart shop. She was looking for a nice, earthy design with leaves and branches to match her pretty logo.

Here's her finished Hyena Cart design:



In exchange, she made me some beautiful bamboo velour prefolds and a wonderful cover. (Pics coming soon!) Thanks for a fantastic trade Glorimar!

Hyena Cart Design for "Somapants"

I really enjoyed working with Eevaleena on the design for her "Somapants" Hyena Cart. She makes knit longies and her work is just stunning!

She was looking for a design with "longies hanging on a clothesline with grass in front and maybe some bees or butterflies". I had so much fun creating this Hyena Cart; it's one of my very favorite designs!

"Somapants" Hyena Cart Design:



Thanks for your helpful input concerning your HC design Eevaleena!

Hyena Cart Design for "Dimpled Derriere Designs"

Kate had a lot of wonderful ideas for her Hyena Cart shop "Dimpled Derriere Designs". She makes felt food that is mouth-watering!

She sent me several sample images from different clipart collections and we purchased a special collection with cute baby images for her design.

"Dimpled Derriere Designs" Finished Hyena Cart design:



Thanks for your input on your HC design Kate! We can't wait to get the felt food for our boys. :)

Hyena Cart Design for "Northwoods Toys"

I loved working with Jen on her husband's new Hyena Cart design! Jen does hand-painted shirts and totebags; her husband makes hand-crafted wooden toys. Their work is so gorgeous!

They were looking for a woodsy-type feel to match their logo and the items he creates. My favorite part about working on this design with them was drooling over their creations every time I updated their Hyena Cart. :)

"Northwoods Toys" Hyena Cart Design:



In exchange, Jen made 4 beautiful shirts for our boys. A turtle and train for AJ (he's 2), and an elephant and a firetruck for K3 (he's 4). Pics coming soon!

Thanks for such a lovely trade Jen!

Hyena Cart Design for "Howling Wolf Knits"

Deanna was such a pleasure to work with. She knits longies and hats and her work is just lovely.

She was looking for a design that included "a wolf howling at the moon; either cartoon-ish or real images". This was the first design (besides my own shop) where I was able to create all of the images from scratch. I LOVED working on it and am so pleased with how it turned out.

"Howling Wolf Knits" Hyena Cart Design:



Thanks for letting me work with you on your HC design Deanna!