Oh hi

certainly has been quiet around here hasn't it. how about a quickie update:

My final semester of graphic design swallowed me whole, leaving this wee blog to collect digital dust. Months after graduating, a move to the west coast changed my focus. For the last couple years i settled in, made friends and got to know the beautiful city of Vancouver.  At the end of last year, i scored a contract with a small digital textile printing company as in-house designer and assistant until they unfortunately had to shut their studio doors. And now, i launched into a graphic and textile freelance designer gig and also cannot ignore the loud call of craft i hear in my heart.

What does this mean for the ol' hearts and crafts shop? Slowly, i'm revving up to relaunch the etsy shop and will be making up little pitch packages to drop off to all the lovely shops i'm finding here in Vancouver.
It took a little time to establish a little bit of a following in Toronto and the GTA and am excited to get my name heard out here.
I've a few mini sales and a giveaway in the works so stay in touch via my instagram and keep your eyes peeled for more wolves, upcycled vintage goodies and of course toasty things to warm your hearts!

S♥V

term two packed up

this second term was pretty fantastic, a little heavier on the workload but i was looking forward to it after the over all introductory pace of first term. my class has been warned that third term (which starts up next week!) is the heaviest workload of all the terms but i'm not anxious about it too much...yet.
i've been thinking of a design identity for my own work but the few ideas i have floating around in my head are just that, ideas floating in my head. which is why i am absolutely looking forward to our branding class especially and really looking forward to a typography 2 class, after affects and a creative direction class. we also get into a bit of coding and web designing which i've been itching to  get on. i hope my old school html coding days will come back to me.
to keep things short, here are some of my favourite projects from this term.

3D three horned beetle, illustrator.

probably my favourite piece of the term! 

redesign packaging project mock up, illustrator. 

search nescafe xpress if you're interested in seeing the original package design. 

"say my name" project, photoshop. 

this is subtle but i wanted to make the letters look like layered cut paper, giving each a bit of depth like topography.

band poster, photoshop and illustrator.

layered collage project, typography.

probably my second favourite piece of the term! completely hand drawn lettering for a fantastic carl sagan quote.

blog design, illustrator

a blog design with a time restriction of just 2 hours. i was freaking out about through the full two hours but happy with what i came up with considering the crunch.

before you go, i should let you know of a teeny sale that is happening on my instagram. once again i need to to get rid of some old stock and with how quick people change their phones this sale especially could use all the word spreading. 

i have a few packs of my iphone hard cases with three interchangeable faceplates made from vintage textbooks and children's books. each are going for $25 each, shipped! so get on over to my instagram and get in on the goods.

go on, git!

internally yours,

sister valentine

term one packed up

thought i'd post some work i've done closing off my first term in this new graphic design life i've gotten myself into and looking forward to more. 

i have the schedule for term two and a typography class will be happening. best part: it's all by hand! my knees nearly buckled when was told this goodness so expect in the next coming months to see more typography work. for now, enjoy the show.

stamp set: gemstones found in canada, illustrator

geometric newsletter, illustrator and indesign

menu logo, illustrator and indesign. fake band concert poster, photoshop and indesign

internally yours,

sister valentine

graphic design studenthood

going into my third month of this new graphic design life and it's looking mighty good!

within the first week of school my eyes opened up to the hidden graphic design in everyday life, by week three i knew what applications were used to make animated banners and the very simple things that make up adverts, posters and symbols everyone else just walks by. 

the end of this first term is not for another couple of months and i'm already looking forward to term two where we get introduced to typography, a class that is 90% of it drawn by hand, be still my heart!

thankfully too, there is a good balance between computer heavy work and a little more hands on work which you can see in this mini photo dump so go on, get to it.

my ideas doodling office is extra comfy

taking in some inspiration from the old world

when you study what you love, it doesn't feel like homework

completely hand cut via exacto knife and glues on shimmery paper, inspired by the victorian era

found some great package design with a nod to vintage design

everything starts with pen on paper and in this case, a bit of graphite too

watercolors, pen and cut papers, a ram's portrait inspired by the mod design of the fifties

i'm grateful that i am able to do even a little crafting on the side of this schooling and i'll admit that i can literally feel my brain stretch when i switch into craft mode. 

over the xmas holidays, i had to whip off a few new xmas stockings in my house and an always supportive friend liked them enough for her own home. she was the second wolf-pup adopter ever and so with her new handmade stockings, i sent along a little thank you for being a true heart to my craft life.

this teeny crochet vest with rabbit pockets just about popped my heart

but then it melted into a puddle when she sent me her little one and her wolf-pup in its new clothing

internally yours,

sister valentine

oh hey hallo hi

first, many merci's to all the true hearts who made 2014 a pretty exciting year for my petite craftlife. i'm always humbled by all the support that gets thrown my way. truly, from the top of my heart, merci.

second, now that the holiday madness is over, onto a bit of real life.

i don't think i mentioned it via this blog that in january i begin a one year intensive course in graphic design and multimedia at the toronto film school. 

no that's right, after two years out of a six  consecutive year spell of being in college, i am back at it to navigate this funny little craftlife to a slightly different direction than even i expected. 

after going through what turned out to be the wrong programin 2006, i switched to crafts and design and i found what made my bum ticker light up with almost a constant creativity, heeps of art, and making with my hands. deciding that is what i should follow was one of the best decisions i've made in my life and in a lot of ways has saved my life. for what felt like a lifetime, i had zero drive to do anything with myself. 

since then, i am forever trying to build a creative world around that funny muscle hanging in my chest.

tomorrow is my first day of this new chapter in my life and i'm anxious... in a pretty good kind of nervous and a good kind of excited way. 

so what does this mean for the hearts and crafts? probably no sales in the city, though i will be (finally) getting on a bit of an etsy shop update in the next few weeks. you can expect more handmade to order listings and a dash of ready to ship ones.

i'll of course be sharing any projects i'll be working on during this year and all the heart pops (and farts) along the way. 

stick around if you're into that. 

internally yours, 

sister valentine