Hiya.

Six new backgrounds are now up!

To make this group of patterns, I used acrylic paint, markers, a circle template, design software, and um… lipstick.

Enjoy!
-Sarah

Oh hi.

Here are seven new backgrounds for you!
I don’t usually do colorways of the same design, but that floral just looked too good for me to decide. I took all the photos last week, during the height of allergy season, which involved a lot of sneezing. You see, I suffer for my art!

There’s also a pattern with the chorus from the song "California Here I Come." I don’t know if the song is under copyright or not. If I go by the date it was written, it’s public. If I go by the date it was first recorded, it may not be in the public domain until 2019. So it’s probably fine, but if not then I blame Sonny Bono for the mix-up.

I got ahold of a book of paper toys last week, and I thought, I COULD MAKE THESE MYSELF. And so I tried. Seven discarded printouts later, I had my own little creature- a smiling, goofy-looking house. Just print, cut, fold and glue to make your own paper friend. This fellow’s based on a fabric I’ve been selling for a while now.

There are about a million paper toys already available on the internet, but ummm… now there’s a million and one. I’m late for the paper toy party but at least I showed up!

Enjoy!
-Sarah

Hiya.

Here’s a new wallpaper for you- MAY YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES. I’ve heard it’s an ancient Chinese curse (though no one seems to be able to attribute it to China). This thing took ages to make, and I exhausted all my resources for public domain images.

Also, five new backgrounds. Four of them have a nautical theme. Did you know that the Titanic sank 99 years ago today?

Also I made a background of the cutouts from the wallpaper, since there was some good color to be had.

In my next life I’ll be a minimalist who finds harmony in beige and taupe. They say taupe is very soothing.
-Sarah

Well hello.
I’ve added eight new backgrounds for you.

I spent some time making faux-Rorschach inkblots on computer paper using acrylic paint. They don’t resemble their inspiration all that much because I couldn’t resist adding some blinding colors.

Have a good day!
-Sarah

Hi. I’ve only got four new backgrounds for you this time.
I was working on making more but then I realized that I hadn’t posted an update the entire month of February and felt guilted into posting these early.

One of the backgrounds is a collection of old advertisements found in the back of science magazines printed between 1917 and 1923. This background took an enormous amount of time to make and it involved me typing out full-scale promotions for such products as vacuum hats, canoe glue, and macerated wheat. And in the end I had to shrink the damn thing so much you can’t even read all the amazing things these terrible products promise. Oh well. It was not a golden age for advertising.

I am working on creating a new wallpaper, but the new image is so large that my poor old computer
can barely stand to open it. Lately I’ve been reading entire Russian novels while waiting for Photoshop to load (Mr. Karamazov, you old lecher!).

Until next time, please enjoy this image I made two years ago of Edward Norton selling ice cream. I believe at one point this image made sense to me but now for the life of me I have no idea what the hell I was thinking.

-Sarah

Howdy.

Here are seven new backgrounds for you:

According to Pantone, the hot new color for 2011 is ‘Honeysuckle’ (AKA pink). But I’m going with my own selection, seafoam green. Not because it’s a flattering color for fashion but because I’m a little sick of pink. Maybe pink should be used sparingly, much like habanero chilies or Botox injections. A little bit goes a long way.

Ciao for now!
-Sarah

I’ve created eight new backgrounds this time, bringing the total number of patterns I’ve made up to (a pretty ridiculous) 250.

That background with the janitorial supplies pretty much illustrates my 2010. It was a rough year for me. Rough to a point of hilarity (Run out of a burning building? Check. Fend off a gypsy robbery? Check.)

In making the drama llama background I was able to draw entirely from my vast personal library of llama photos. No, seriously. I really have taken an unusually large number of llama-related photos.

Happy New Year’s, everybody! Here’s to 2011! Good riddance, 2010!

-Sarah

Well hello there.

Somebody wrote to me a while back and asked me to make a wallpaper with John Collier’s painting Priestess of Delphi, so I thought, yeah, sure, what the hell. So here’s a new wallpaper that ties in with two previous ones that I’ve made.

I’ve also made three new tiled backgrounds, all in blue. A shiny new penny to anyone who can tell me where the term "buffalo plaid" comes from.

I uploaded 16 iPad backgrounds on Flickr. They’re either new colorways of previous designs or all new creations. I know ya’ll are getting one of those iPads dealies for Christmas, so here’s to making it fabulous.

Today I worked the 3AM Black Friday shift. YOU’RE WELCOME, shoppers of America.

Don’t be tardy for the party.

-Sarah

Hi again. I’ve added nine new backgrounds.

To make this set I used drippy printer ink, tracing paper, the lace from an old tank-top and all manner of paper scraps lying around the house. I’m getting a little bored with making completely flat-looking designs using software. I’m trying to use a little more texture these days.

I’m not sure if I even like the look of the collage background, but collages are too fun to make. I used to get terribly arty with collages a few years back, doing all sorts of crazy crap to scraps of paper (Cooking oil! Plastic wrap! Dental floss!) with all manner of mixed results.

One thing I do not recommend is Wintergreen oil. The oil is a handy way to transfer images from a photocopy to another piece of paper. I’ve run across a few craft websites that suggest wintergreen transfers are a fun and easy project that will make super cool art that smells like tasty chewing gum. LIARS, I say! It’s not easy, fun, or aromatic. Wintergreen oil is a deadly toxic substance, and so potent in minuscule quantities that cracking every window in the world will never get rid of the dizzying stench. WORST. COLLAGE. EVER.
Now you know.

-Sarah

I am still alive! And I’ve added ten new images.

I made this batch of backgrounds using a bunch of different mediums: design software, collage, acrylic, cheap watercolor and imported Venetian ink. When I was done painting, I scanned the paper towel that I used to sop up the extra paint, so now that’s a background too.

I will try to update more often!
-Sarah