Last post on this blog. I'm moving!

Hello all... time for a new life for me on the www :o) I'm revamping Amretasgraphics hence a new blog is created with a brand new newsletter subscription and I'm ready to take off  with more structured contents.
From now on, change your bookmark to www.amretasgraphicsblog.com

See you there! :o)

My Thank You Book link is corrected

Hurray!

The link to download MY THANK YOU BOOK is now corrected! :-)

Just click the link(s) and enjoy! It's here ...

Find this post a good news? Do share it with your friends and give them a graphicalicious treat using the share buttons on the post-footer below :o) sweet thanks!

Starting over....

Here you'll find out why almost all download links in this blog do not work, why I will have to start over and the Plan B on how my new graphics will be published. So here's the story.... The day after I published my last blog post, I got several emails reporting that they could not download the graphics from the download links I provided in the goodiebag email (new subscribers), and a colleague of mine said she didn't manage to download My Thank You Book... Oh dear, this had never happened before...I thought it would only a temporary server problem or something, until in the evening when it was my schedule to upload the new graphics as planned...I COULDN'T EVEN ACCESS MY OPENDRIVE ACCOUNT!! That was such a pain! I was in the middle of my excitement of having new artwork ready. After so many attempts which resulted in "access denied", I emailed the support dept at OpenDrive and the next day I got their reply, giving me a new password to login. Strange, huh? I didn't request a new password. Was there somebody trying to access my account? I have no idea. OpenDrive.com didn't answer my question, they just gave me a new password and reset my account. So finally I managed to access my account again. And I thought all the download links were restored. Wrong! My colleague still couldn't download My Thank You Book. I couldn't either. I still couldn't download all the PDFs and Zips files stored in my OpenDrive account. My new subscribers still couldn't download the graphics in the goodiebag...even if my account was already reactivated. I checked again the files in my OpenDrive account...they were all there, in the same folders. How come that the download links didn't work? Then I noticed... since the account had been reset...the URLs changed!! Oj!!!! Which means, I would have to change ALL the incorrect links in the blog. Well, I thought, probably it is a sign I had to change everything and just start over? And I thought, again, it's good that I know about this OpenDrive resetting now than later when I already have sooo many links with my graphics. OK, now the problem's figured out. Next step is finding the easiest way to restore the links and to display my new graphics. Then I thought it would just be easier if I start over with new fresh contents and so I transferred the existing contents to my old blog. And to minimize the zip files, I will just display my new graphics (free version) on the blog. Okay we'll see! I hope I can start very soon :-)

Find this post a good news? Do share it with your friends and give them a graphicalicious treat using the share buttons on the post-footer below :o) sweet thanks!

Graphicalicious diary: the whimsy woodland fairy school

A little reminder of what's soon coming to Amretagraphics! : a bunch of cute fairies in coooolorful fairy dresses. They can be a bunch of happy classmates at a fairy school, right? So last night while I finished the last basics of these webset, the Whimsy Woodland Fairy School at Amretasgraphics was born.

Oh dear, I thought, now I have the whole whimsy woodland as my graphicalicious playground. Yippii! And today, besides the previously published graphics (I'm putting together all my existing autumn graphics as one set now) I  have finished drawing 25 fairy characters, various dresses, hats and shoes, based on these background tiles (the dotted tiles are from my previously published decoflora set).

It's typically me, you know. I really have to limit the color palette otherwise the variations of the graphics would grow uncontrollably, and the set would never be finished :o)

Even with those 10 color themes above, I could make more than one hundred elements for dresses and other accessories.You can imagine the variations...

Anyhow, I will have to publish what's ready tomorrow or Monday at the latest, depending on the internet connection (as I might wrote earlier, I still have no stable internet connection at home, so I'm moving places...for my heart's delight, too! :o))

And there are always happening at the whimsy woodland, no? *wink*. So, our little friends at the fairy school will be very happy to help out. As I have promised you earlier in my previous post I will use this blog as a diary to report the progress made on my drawing board. Now, I will say: the progress and what's up in Whimsy Woodland :o)

(besides the fairies, my fuzzycuddly kindhearted bears, puppies and bunnies that some of you already know from before will be residents of the whimsy woodland, too! no worry, they will join soon. And the little girls and boys will also come to the woodland as well when it's time to play).

Do you have any great idea, question about the whimsy woodland or request? Please post them in the comment box below, or in my Facebook Page.

Find this post a good news? Do share it with your friends and give them a graphicalicious treat using the share buttons on the post-footer below :o) sweet thanks!

Birthday Thank You! and New Plan for the Blog

Hello all!

What a lovely, amazing feeling to read all your 'birthday wishes' that came to this blog, my facebook pages and emails! Thank you sooo much! They all made my day!

And guess what, I took a break after writing the birthday post, and yesterday, too. And I feel so good now. Fresh and more motivated :-) I do think that giving myself a break is really a good treat. You know I work full time on weekdays, and mostly work on my graphics on weekends and in the evening after work. And so if I take a break from my fulltime job on weekend, it's just so fair to take a break (and recharge!) from my graphics on weekdays! *LOL*

During the break, I couldn't help but pondering how my 11 years online have been. It wasn't an easy route, but most of all everything in it has brought me joy. And lovely friendships. And a lot of lessons.

If there is something I regret, it's that I realised I never really took note of how I created my graphics. Some of my earlier work has been gone with two server crashes, and the physical journals I wrote in are also gone with the big floods...especially the one in 2007 when the water reached 2m high in our place, and I didn't have the chance to save many of my belongings.

Now that I kinda want to start (almost) all over again with my site and blogs, I see a great potential for this blog as a tool and place to chronicle my 'endeavor', my 'trial-and-error' on creating graphics and www, thus it will make it easier for you who might be curious about how I created my artwork, my blogs, etc... I've received emails asking me these questions and I felt so bad that I didn't always have the time to answer. Now hopefully with my plan to chronicle what I call my "graphicalicious journey" on this blog, it would help!

That's why I'm happy about my previous decision about 'recycling' my existing graphics and start all anew. I hope you, too. Besides publishing the updates, the plan is to also to write around those graphics my inspirations, actions taken, and lessons learned.

PS..PS...I'd like to warn you, though, that what you'll read here about me creating graphics is a self-taught thing.

You might know a more efficient and easier way of drawing graphics your style, so here my intention is rather sharing what I know and what I do on my artwork, chronicling what I learn day by day. See if that could serve as inspiration to others too :o)

PSS..PSS...the picture you see above is a sneak-peek of the first update this coming weekend :o) See you soon!

Amretasgraphics 11th Birthday!!!

TODAY is Amretasgraphics' 11th birthday! Yippiiii! It's a celebration!!

And as you will see .. the website, the shop, the artwork and the blog are in the process of being totally "recycled".  

Bit by bit. Since I can only work on my graphics on weekends and in my sparetime, that's how the site, the shop and the blog will be updated. 

I'm so glad to say I've made a plan for the next 52 weeks! Yay! :o) 52 weeks of graphicalicious updates! And hopefully my 4 year-old dearest only laptop will behave well so the plan can run smoothly *knock on the wood* (yes it run into some troubles lately - so I'm determined to run the shop extremely seriously this time - so that I can get extra income especially to buy a new computer with more powerful and updated programs) *wish that for me!* :o)

The 'recycled' materials (updated with new, blogging-related stuff) and the new graphic kits, photobooks, etc will be added weekend-ly, so you can have a reason to come back and visit me at least every week! :D

So voila the update for today. I'm celebrating Amretasgraphics' birthday now, doing the first updates + sipping my favorite green tea with lemon (my absolute favorite!).

PS: attention members: you will get the link and password to access the 'secret page' in about a week from now through the mailing list (you can subscribe if you haven't done so), and you will get with the first week update: the first "recycled" web+blog sets, my ever growing tile collection and one of the graphic kits. Yummy, no? *wink*

Like this news? Do share it with your friends and give them a graphic goodness happy good news using the share buttons on the post-footer below :o) sweet thanks!

Sweet surprise! Sneak peek number 2

Oh, this is going to be a sweet sneak-peek surprise...

Ready?

Here's the little background: 11 years ago I started my joyful trial-and-error, drawing my own graphics and published them for my heart's delight. The happiness poured in as I made so many wonderful friends over the internet, thanks to my artwork :D

During those years, there were some down-moments as well, when my free-to-use graphics were misused, resold, etc, all those heartbreaking stuff. Thanksfully I still have a lot of friends who encouraged me (You!) and so I decided to keep staying online and to have my graphics protected.

Now, I want to bring back those happy moments to celebrate my 11 years online (duh :o)) at the same time, still protecting my artwork and getting sweet extra income to support my creativity. How? I was thinking thinking and thinking.

And here's probably a solution which will make everyone, including me, happy :o) At least for now, and probably over time we'll see if this works...

My graphics will be F.R.E.E. to use, again!

However, they will be kept in a secret treasure online cave :o) so membership is required. Really, F.R.E.E.? Yes, you will find the details in the new Term of Use. It's free, but there are also some limitations. With the free membership you will have the access to my graphics and use them "as is". All that is required is a proper credit with a link back to amretasgraphics.com on the page where the graphics are used. And would you create a good karma? I will have some badges, and it would be appreciated if you put one of them on your website or blog, spread the happiness and tell all your friends about these free treats... ;-)

You do not want to display a link back? It's okay, but you need to buy a no-link-back licence. I haven't decided on the price nor the details but you will find them on the website when the shop is ready on 1 August.

So what if you are already a paying member?

Paying membership will give you the rights to alter the graphics to suit your need, and you will be able ask my assistance to make the alteration, too. Paying membership will also give you access to my other works (such as My Thank You Books, etc) + special discounted price when you order a customised version.

Otherwise you can also pay per alteration / set.

You have a little business and want to use my artwork to create items to sell? You can purchase the little biz licence. Web / blog designers fall into this category, too.

More details are coming soon! In the meantime, I'm still working hard preparing everything for the grand relaunching on 1 August :o)

If you haven't joined my mailing list, please do so. You will be the first to know about all the new fun stuff (+ the secret password to enter the protected page with links to the delightful downloads!).

And if you have any thoughts or bright ideas... do not hesitate to leave a comment on the box below, or on my facebook page... because I LOVE feedback and comments!

Talk to you again soon my friends! And enjoy a lovely weekend!

Like this sneakpeek? Do share this post with your friends using the share buttons on the post-footer below :o) sweet thanks!

Where is Amretasgraphics? :o) Sneak-Peek Series no. 1

Oh yes, right, where exactly am I?

Did I tell you over and over and over again that I was preparing the relaunch of Amretasgraphics Shop... now it's planned on 1 August which is Amretasgraphics' 11 years online! Trumpet and confetti please!

I got goosebumps!*

Is it already that long? Really?

Well, some of you are so very curious already what 'surprises' I'm cooking right now 'behind the screen'...

So here comes a ’sneak-peek series’ to what I’m working on. There will be quite significant changes on the new amretasgraphics.com, so bit by bit you will get a taste to what I will offer in the new and revamped site.

You see when possible you’ll find some visual hints as well…cool changes I hope :o)

Let’s start with Sneak-Peek Series number 01:



Hint no. 1: picture above. Notice something different from my usual graphics?

Some of you might have known me these past 10 years through my mouse drawn country graphics. So this time I need to make a confession…*taking a breath* …actually I also create abstract artwork, I draw sketches on paper, doodle on my journals, make collages and play with layouts.

I wasn’t that confident though, to bring them online. Possibly I just wanted to focus on ‘being known’ as a country graphic artist. But, hey, things happen and possibly it’s time!

I went around Etsy.com lately. And I found so many handmade inspirations as well as small business and blogging advices. I came across lovely sites and blogs offering creative insights and voilà!

Finally decided.

Changes no. 1:

the new amretasgraphics.com will come in several ‘styles’:

a. country graphics (they’re getting bigger too!!)

b. abstract artwork (also consists of web graphics, prints, blog set, etc., basically the same as my country graphics only in different style)

c. project layouts (blog sets, photobooks, ebooks and zines layouts) in country, abstract and a bit of little-biz styles (or mix of styles)

So…

That’s the sneak-peek for today. I hope it answers your curiousity why I’ve been so quiet lately :o) I’m coming back with sneak-peak number 2 in two or three days from now, there are more suprises I promise you!

In the meantime, if you have any thoughts or ideas or question…leave them on the comment box below….because of course I’m interested to know ;-)

Talk to you again soon, stay tune!

Like this news? Do share it with your friends and give them a graphic goodness treat using the share buttons on the post-footer below :o) sweet thanks!

Amretasgraphics Blogzine issue 04 - June 2011

Open publication - Free publishing - More amreta

Amretasgraphics Blogzine is BACK! Yippeee!!!

How wonderful it feels that finally it’s up online again, as colourful as the previous three issues, plus happy, tweaked contents! For this issue I’m so excited to be able to team up with four inspiring ladies across the oceans from where I live in Indonesia...Emmanuelle in Belgium, Natasha and Robyn in the US, and Petrea in Canada .... Isn’t it fantastic, the lovely internet world? :-)

I hope what you find here will help you get inspired, get energized, get creative, get ahead, and love your life! I appreciate very very much your support and participation to keep this blogzine up.

Everyone is welcome! If you’re interested in taking part in the next blogzines, I already have it up on the last page of the blogzine. I will also post it soon in this blog. It’s a chance to be our guestblogger, to share your insights, gifts, experience, and especially if you have something lovely to offer from your website, blog or shop. Let people know how awesome you are!

This month’s theme is.... Get Inspired. I believe you will enjoy tips and stories shared by this issue’s contributors about getting and staying inspired. A must read for you all creative souls :-)

Enjoy the graphic goodness!

Right-click-and-save-as this link if you want to download the blogzine (pdf file)

Like this blogzine? Do share it with your friends and give them a graphic goodness treat using the share buttons on the post-footer below :o) sweet thanks!

Deadline extended (no hurry! :o): Invitation to be part of the upcoming Blogzine :o)

At the earliest the first week of June – at the latest on 1 August (the 11th birthday of Amretasgraphics :o)) – it will be a big thing for me: the online shop re-open, the blog re-arranged, the activities re-scheduled, the fortune cookies re-planned and the blogzine revived! Yippeee! If Amretasgraphics seemed calm and quiet lately, I’m very very busy preparing delicious stuff behind the screen (oh, I love it, he he). It’s a bit ‘sneaky’ as the ‘computer-time’ is only in the evening after work and on weekends. That’s how I can’t guarantee the exact date for the big-day. Now I just wait for the good time to take a long summer days-off, and in the meantime, it’s all about preps and planning. Sounds exciting? *wink-wink*

And speaking specifically about Amretasgraphics Blogzine, I was ecstatic to see the statistics on issuu.com/amreta (where I placed the blogzines) that the three previous issues have been viewed and downloaded thousands of times since their publication in June and July last year. Don’t you think it’s just time to revive the zines?? I love creating them, to be very honest. As always I looove playing with layouts and color combinations on the pages. The problem, then? Why I stopped creating ones? You might guess: the contents. Sure I could create printables, sure I could add more graphics and journaling stuff. But I always wanted to have blogzines with more inspiring contents, not solely about amretasgraphics –  it should be about  ‘amretasgraphics and friends’ :o) Amretasgraphics Blogzines should be ‘owned’ by you as well, dear readers and fellow bloggers. I dream of a beautiful goodie space you would happily be part of, in an easy-to-distribute format (I think it is!) so it makes a lovely way to share your gifts and inspiration with the world through the inter-lovely-web. It would make a lovely way to spread the word and to promote your blog or website. Together we get ahead and grow, no?

Well, that is my intention. So, would you help me to revive the blogzine? *another wink-wink*

Here are the easy peasy PLAY-rules for the upcoming blogzine (issue 04 – June 2011). I would like to invite you to be part of it – your contribution is superduperly appreciated :o). The theme for this issue is “getting and staying inspired”.

All you need to do is answering / sharing your thoughts on the few points listed further below on this post.

There are three ways of submitting your story:
1. Post your story on your blog. When it’s ready, leave a comment on this post below, tell us your name, the name & URL of your blog / website / shop, where you live, and the link to your blog post with the story.
2. Post your story directly by leaving a comment on this post (text only), tell us your name, the name & URL of your blog / website / shop, and where you live. If you have pictures to share, send them to amretasblogzine@gmail.com with subject: Blogzine picture from …(your name).
3. Send your story + pictures directly to amretasblogzine@gmail.com

Ready?

Here are the questions / points :

Part 1: your thoughts about getting and staying inspired. What does it mean for you to get and stay inspired? When and/or where do you feel most inspired?

Part 2: your list of must-have’s, must-do’s, must-see’s, must-read’s, must-listen’s, must-visit’s, personal tips and recommendations, etc., to get and stay inspired. I know it can be very very long ;-) but you can list some of the top things you love the most.

Part 3: include picture(s)! yay! It must be a picture of you – a picture of your artsy-crafty creation - or a picture that you took yourself, which makes you feel happy and inspired everytime you look at it.

Part 4: if you have particular story or words or experience that makes you feel specially inspired and that lifts you up from the feeling of getting stuck…you can also share it here (+ links if it’s about or connected to a website)

The blogzine is planned to be published on 11 June.

Wanna see a sample + sneak peek on how it will look? View the sneaky-peeky-sample below, or download the pdf file here if you prefer to save the file for viewing it offline.

Once the blogzine is published and your story is in, I will email you attaching the buttons (samples below) that you can insert to your original blog-post, blog or website. You will also get the embed code if you want to publish the blogzine on your own blog. You will also get the rights to offer the blogzine as gift from your site, since you’re part of it.

Q: What if I miss the deadline?
A: Don’t worry, even if you don’t make it to the blogzine because you miss the deadline, your story will always be published on amretasgraphicsblog.com. It really depends on how many stories I receive until the deadline, whether I can include them all in one blogzine or I will make another series with the next issue. In any case, a link to the submitted stories will also included in the blogzine.

Q: What if I don’t have a website / blog, but I want to participate?
A: No problem. Tell us a little bit about yourself instead.

Do you have any more questions? Send your question(s) to my email amretasblogzine@gmail.com and allow me about one day to reply.

And voila! I hope you like the idea and that you will participate with your story and tips to inspire friends and more friends through the lovely net-world :o)

Like this project? Do you know some people who might be interested in submitting their stories? Do share it with your friends using the share buttons on the post-footer below :o) sweet thanks!