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Purging Printables: The Henna Bluebird Illustration
As the TPK website gets a facelift, I’m giving consideration to what should stay in the catalog and what needs to go. This month, three printable illustrations will be retired, including a lovely little henna bluebird! In this post, I’ll explain why I’m retiring most printable illustrations and the various projects you can use them…
This printable henna bluebird illustration will make its exit from the TPK catalog on Wednesday, June 12th! If you’ve been following TPK for a while, you know that we rolled out a new website design a couple of months ago. While it is an improvement over previous designs, it still just hasn’t been “hitting the spot” for me! As a website that’s home to thousands of images and countless tidbits of information, it should have a clean interface and be super organized. So: that’s our summer project! With Ana‘s help, we’re better categorizing blog posts and working to build a different, more polished site theme.
I had Hernán take this preview screenshot of the website design-in-progress for me. It seems he may have tampered with my bio! (“I love chocolate and my Peruvian.”) To me, organization and purging go hand-in-hand. While Ana focuses on categorizing blog posts, I’ve been tinkering with the TPK catalog. It *has* to be super organized + easy to navigate by July, when we start selling calligraphy kits in addition to our digital goodies!
Look for these beauties in July! This month, I’m clearing three items out of the catalog. The first of these items is the Printable Henna Bluebird Illustration, which we’ll focus on in today’s blog post. (The other two are the Printable “Afternoon Shopping” Illustrations and the Printable “Rosy Arc de Triomphe” Illustrations — more on those later this month!)
Why I’m Purging Printable Illustrations
I’m trying to keep a “less is more” philosophy for the TPK catalog, and I want every item in it to have a specific purpose. Calligraphy worksheets are for learning calligraphy; hand-lettering exemplars are for learning hand-lettering; calligraphy drills are for improving your calligraphy, etc. Printable illustrations fall into a gray area as far as utilizations go because they’re so versatile! That versatility can be overwhelming.
In this context, the henna bluebird illustration stars as an elegant bookmark! While I am getting rid of most of TPK’s printable illustrations, I’ll eventually replace them with illustration tutorial eBooks. These tutorials will either focus on pen and ink or watercolor (do you have a preference?) and will teach you how create a specific subject! I believe that tutorial eBooks will be a better fit for TPK than readymade illustrations.
About the Henna Bluebird Illustration
I created the henna bluebird illustration last spring using a Nikko G nib and sumi ink on 32# smooth paper. I chose this subject because I love the combination of animals with imaginative and intricate motifs (see: Watercolor Henna Cat Illustration Tutorial)! Upon finishing the illustration, I scanned and digitized the drawing, then framed the original for display in our living room.
The best drawings tend to begin life as pencil drafts! I will retire the Henna Bluebird Illustrations pack from the TPK catalog on the morning of Wednesday, June 12th. After that time, it will no longer be available in the catalog. Once you purchase it, however, it will be available in your account and your order confirmation email for good!
Uses for the Henna Bluebird Illustrations Pack
As I mentioned, printable illustrations have countless utilizations, and this little guy is no exception. Here are a few things that I’ve used him for:
1. Greeting Cards
This bluebird is perfect as the subject of an all-purpose greeting card! Find tutorial instructions here. 2. Mail Art
As a mom who loves mail art but doesn’t have a ton of time, I’m all about decoupage! I left-justified the small henna bluebird on this envelope to add instant pizazz. 3. Artwork for Your Home
The Henna Bluebird Illustrations pack includes two frameable sizes: 8″x10″ and 5″x7″. I have this framed illustration on display in my living room! 4. Intricate Coloring Page
You can use the illustration as a coloring page “in real life” or play with it in Procreate, as I’m doing here!
If you can use this bird to enhance your projects or make your surroundings a little bit prettier, snag him before he flies the coop! In the meantime, I’d love to know: are you more interested in learning how to create pen and ink illustrations, or would you like to learn how to create watercolor illustrations? Having that information will help me to create eBooks that you’ll enjoy and benefit from!
Thanks very much for reading TPK, and we’ll reconvene on Thursday with an examination of Amy Style calligraphy. (I recently discovered that it’s the most popular calligraphy style on the TPK website!)
Warmly,
