Sock Challenge – Beautiful Cuteness

The Story of…Penguin Rock and Roll Band

Valerie — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 19:05:38 +0000

(Please note: Some of these links are affiliate links. That just means that I make some extra money when you purchase through one of the links at no extra cost to you! Thanks for helping out an independent artist!)

Penguin Rock and Roll band is the result of a sock design challenge I started a few years ago. (For those of you who don’t know, when I was in a design rut, I decided to take pictures of my socks for the month of February. The idea was I would do a daily design based on the socks I wore that day. Only things didn’t work out that way and here I am a few years later trying to finish it. Oops.)

I wore these socks on Valentine’s Day. As much as I like the penguin hugging a heart idea, I didn’t want to just copy the design. I was working on something and caught a glimpse of Kitty Cat Kawaii Band file and thought to myself, “I have a cat band, a sloth band, a unicorn band and a cthulhu band, so why not a penguin band?”

Thus, Penguin Rock and Roll Band was born. Of course in order to have a penguin band, I had to create Penguin Playing Guitar, Penguin Playing Bass and Penguin Drummer.

The other bands also have art pieces of their individual members for sale.

Musical Penguins
by ValeriesGallery

Penguin Rock and Roll Band, Kitty Cat Kawaii Band, Sloth Rock Band, Unicorn Kawaii Punk Band and Cthulhu Kawai Music Band are available on Zazzle, Red Bubble and Imagekind.

Which band is your favorite? Penguins? Cat? Unicorn? Sloth? Cthulhu? Let us know in the comments!

The Story of…Surfer Penguin on Beach

Valerie — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 18:12:14 +0000

Surfer Penguin is a continuation of The Sock Project I decided to do in 2013. For those of you who don’t know, in 2013 I found myself in an artistic rut. I decided one way to combat the rut would be to take a picture of the socks I wore everyday during the month of February and then do a design based on the pair of socks I wore that day.

Originally, I had planned to do a design a day. Oops!

Anyway, here is the sock that the design is based on:

For some reason, a penguin and the word chillen made me think of a penguin relaxing on a beach with a surfboard while watching the sunset.





Surfer Penguin on the Beach

by ValeriesGallery

Even though I’m not much of a beach person, I’ve always found it relaxing walking on the beach during a sunrise.

This design was originally done in marker. It can be found in my Zazzle shop, Redbubble and Imagekind.

What do you think of Surfer Penguin on the Beach?

The Story of White Circle Pattern Black Background

Valerie — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 17:02:07 +0000

In the beginning of 2013, for a variety of reasons, I was feeling very uninspired and in a rut. Knowing I needed to do something about it, I decided it would be a good idea to take a picture of the socks I wore everyday for one month and do a design based on them.

The original plan was that I would do the design on the same day I wore the socks. Needles to say, that’s not how it worked out, considering its now 2021 and I still haven’t finished the project. Oops.)

On the bright side, even though I haven’t fully finished the project yet, my idea seemed to work! I got pulled out of my rut and ended up with some cool designs that I wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. Some examples are: Grim Reaper with Flower, Bokeh Inspired Colorful Hearts and Bears Flying Planes.

Due the pandemic and Florida summers being a little to hot for me, I figured it was as good a time as any to continue the sock picture project from 2013.

When I looked where I happen to leave off it was a pair of white socks.

A photograph of the white sock I wore on February 10, 2013

I had originally picked February because it was the shortest month, thinking that would make it the easiest. One thing that I forgot to factor in was due to my birthday, anniversary, and a bunch of other reasons, I had a bunch of weekend getaways planned.

When I travel, despite all the fun socks I own, to make life easier, I pack black and/or white socks. This way, my socks always match my outfit no matter what clothes I pack.

Luckily, I can still come up with designs based on plain white socks without just doing a blank page.

After thinking about it for a while, I realized I had a design with red circles on a white background, so why not white circles on a black background?

White Circles Black Background Classic Pattern Satin Ribbon

by ValeriesGallery

Voila! White circles on a black background was born!

This design can be found in my shops on Zazzle, Redbubble, Society6 and Spoonflower.

I’m hoping to wrap up the socks project sooner than later! Seven years is a long time, but sometimes life gets in the way.

What’s the longest it’s taken you to complete a project?

The Story of…Grim Reaper with Flower

Valerie — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 22:05:59 +0000

Several factors came together for Grim with Flower to happen. The color scheme was inspired as part of my sock challenge. It’s the six in the series.I came up with the subject after watching the documentary Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story. (It’s an interesting documentary. I’d recommend checking it out.) Tomi Ungerer was a childrens’ book illustrator among other things. One of the themes that seemed to keep cropping up was opposites and the juxtaposition of opposites.

The idea of opposites fascinated me. After I thought about it, I was inspired to do Grim with Flower. The idea of the Grim Reaper taking some time to enjoy the beauty of a flower and life struck me as being an interesting idea and an interesting opposite.

A few fun tidbits:

This adorable Grim Reaper character first appeared in Grim Reaper with Heart

The cute Grim Reaper character came about because I was learning how to draw kawaii style

Grim Reaper with Flowers is available in my Zazzle, RedBubble and Society6 stores

Some of the other sock challenge designs are: Bears Flying Planes, Polar Bear Eating Ice Cream, Stripes in Gray, Bokeh Inspired Colorful Hearts

For those of you who don’t know, in the beginning of 2013 I was in an artistic rut and decided to do something about it. I photograph the socks I wore everyday in February 2013 and planned to make a piece of art based on the socks’ design)

I am a fan of the show Grimm

Do you have a documentary recommendation or a way to get out of a creative rut! Feel free to leave a comment!

Grim with Flower not your thing? That’s okay! Check out some of the work by other talent artist! (These links (and other inks throughout the post) are affiliate links. If you would like to purchase any of the pieces, just click on the pic!)

From other talented artist:

Vintage Drawing: Flemish Pink Flowers iPhone 5 Cases by TheBooker	Sympathy Pink Camellia Flower on Black and White Card by Valerie’s Gallery	Lotus Flower Blossom Mouse Pad by wheresmymojo
Skeleton on Guitar Unusual Tie by skeletonalley	Happy Birthday Grandpa card by Fritz Cartoons	Lilac Flowers Mugs by DigitalSolutions2u
Gentle Pink Rose Blooms – Flower photography iPad Air Cases by dandellion	Mom – Happy Mother’s Day – Alphabet Art card by ABC by Sue	Dandelion Clock lamp in turquoise and blue by GeeWhizArt
Goth Purple Ornament and Skull Throw Pillow by vamporium	Humorous birthday on tax day cartoon card by Bruce Bolinger	Colorful Skull Tshirts by elizme1
Purple Lavender Petunia Flower Blossoms Throw Pillow by ImageRecollections	Korean New Year card with rose of Sharon card by Eugenia Bacon	English Tea Roses Paper Plate 7 Inch Paper Plate by DizzyDebbie
Summer Flowers Accent Pillow by TheShirtBox	Grim Reaper with Heart card by Valerie Waters	Watercolor Iris in Lavender and Blue iPhone 6 Wallet Case by elizme1

The Story of…Bokeh Inspired Colorful Hearts

Valerie — Sat, 17 May 2014 02:08:45 +0000

For those of you who don’t know, in the beginning of 2013 I was going through a creative rut for a variety of reasons. I decided to do something about it and came up with what I call The Sock Challenge.

For the month of February 2013, I photographed the socks I wore that day and planned to come up with a design based on them. The Bokeh Inspired Hearts is the fourth in the series. You can read about the first three designs, Bears Flying Planes, Polar Bear Eating Ice Cream and Stripes in Gray by clicking on the links.

Although these socks are striped, I didn’t want to just make a striped design. After all, where’s the challenge in that?

Since I had just made an invitation for a dadchelor party (aka male baby shower), I thought maybe I would make another invitation, perhaps a wedding invitation or something. To me weddings equal love which apparently equals hearts and that’s how the heart aspect of the design was born.

Bokeh Inspired Colorful Hearts Poker Deck by ValeriesGallery

I knew that I didn’t want to do a design that was just plopping colored hearts against a colored background. Since I’m a photographer amongst other things, bokeh is a term that comes up from time to time. Most of the time, I find that bokeh pictures are really pretty and I like the look. Thus, Bokeh Inspired Heart design was born!

What inspires you?

Bokeh hearts not your think? That’s okay, check out these works from other talented artist!

(Please Note: These are affiliate links)

Super cute gothic damask skull heart black fuschia tee shirts by My_dark_heart	A Bouquet of Wishes card by Marilee Harrald-Pilz	Paper Air Plane Love Letter Watch by presentsoflove
Classy Bokeh lights texture Graduation party Custom Announcement by RoseRoom	Reflecting Reindeer with Christmas Tree card by Star Stream Design	Rainbow Bokeh Nail Art by KaleenaRae
Hearts on Pink Table Lamp by ArtByApril	Valentine card by makiko kimura	I Love Cats! (Black+Red Outlines on White) SQP Pillows by HoMeArts
Emotion Black Heart on Tiled Squares Tee Shirt by alleyshirts	Birthday – To my Husband, why do I love you? card by Rycky Creations	Hearts Gift Wrap Wristlet by Ixodoi_Art
Lovely Pink & Purple Heart Doodles (Pink Back) Sticker by designsfromscratch	Be My Valentine? – Hearts, Ribbon, Bow – Pink, Red, White card by sitnica (Strawberry and Hearts)	Yarn Ball Hearts Fingernail Decals by InspiredMeStudio
Faded Denim Pocket Heart Luggage Tag by elizdesigns	Valentine´s Day – Love Music card by Cartita Design	Flower bouquet heart art add your name pillow by Mylittleeden
Home Sweet Home Coat Rack by tjustleft	Yellow Bird Flying from Birdcage with Heart, Valentine’s Day card by Ron Magnes	Love Heart Wine Glass Charms by RusticHarbor

The Story of…Stripes in Gray

Valerie — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 20:20:15 +0000

For those of you who may not know, I started my sock challenge about a year ago. In the beginning of 2013, I was not really feeling inspired and was in a design rut. My creativity was low. This is the third in that sock series. You can read about the first and second designs here and here respectively.

As you can see from the picture, the socks I wore on February 3, 2013 were an argyle pattern in black and various shades of grays with a hint of white. Now, I didn’t want to just copy the argyle design. I’ve been wanting to try and make my own plaid patterns for a while and thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

Stripes in Gray Folio Planners by ValeriesGallery

But wait, you say! This pattern obviously isn’t plaid! What happened?

After researching how to make plaids in Illustrator, I decided to give it a go. I made the vertical lines and liked how it looked. So, I decided to continue on and added the horizontal lines which I learned is called the weft. (And who says design can’t be educational?) Unfortunately ,it looked horrible! Although, I can’t quite put my finger on it, I think it’s because there ended up being too much gray for my taste.

However, since I liked how the vertical lines looked before hand, I decided to keep them and have a striped design instead.

Although the plaid didn’t work out this time, I definitely intend to try again in the future. Do you have any tips for making plaids? Feel free to leave it in the comments!

Stripes in Gray is available at Valerie’s Gallery at Zazzle, RedBubble, Skreened and Imagekind.

Gray stripes not your thing? Then check out these other striped, sock and black and white designs from other talented artist!

Chess Tees by Brandless	Happy Birthday Blue Stripes card by Mariana Musa	iPhone 5c Case Pop Art Giant Pandas Black & White by SocolikCardShop
Black and White Pawprint Flip Flops by AugieDoggyStore	Fleur de Lis Thank You Groomsman card by Penny Cork	Emergence – Dramatic Black & White Abstract Design Flask by elfinart
Bold Striped Mosaic by ObservationCreations	Fourth of July, with Fireworks, Stars and Stripes card by Teri Nelson Kuster	Simple Black White Personalized Monogram Initial Flasks by alleyshirts
Monkey with a Sock. Shirt by Animal_Art_By_Ali	A Perfect Match card by Ivy M. Brown	Scarf – Ship Anchor and Helm (black) by bkmuir
Where Is The Zebra? Fridge Magnet by worldofnature	Missing Sock Funny Father’s Day Card by NobleWorks Funny Cards	Black White and Gray Argyle iPhone 5 Case by tjustleft
Pattern zigzags (pink, green, yellow and brown) iPhone 5 covers by Astriddesign	Socks and Sandals Birthday Card by Lisa Crisafi	Moo Cow iPad Cases by Mewmew34
Harlequin Op-Art (Stickers) by IconDoIt	white satin be my bridesmaid card by eugenia bacon	American Flag Freedom Drinking Bottle by HoMeArts
Thank You Socks Card by funnylife	Hands Holding Baby Feet Please be my Godmother Request card by Cherie Haines	Space Cowboy Pillow by geo_barr
As Time goes by… Original Drawing – Watch by PBworks	Mom – Happy Mother’s Day – Alphabet Art card by ABC by Sue	Pink Monogram Chevron Stripe \| Apple iPhone 5 Case by Plush_Paper

The Story of…Polar Bear Eating Ice Cream

Valerie — Sat, 28 Sep 2013 01:32:48 +0000

In the post, The Story of…Bears Flying Planes, I wrote about how I was in a design/creative rut and decided to get out of it by doing designs based on the socks I wore in February 2013. Well, what I’m referring to as The Sock Challenge apparently worked and I’ve had ideas flying around my head like crazy!

Unfortunately that means I haven’t been updating about The Sock Challenge as much as I would have liked to. However, I’ve finally gotten around to doing a design based on the socks I wore on February 2, 2013! Here’s a picture of the socks I wore:

Photo Credits: Valerie Waters 2013

I know, white socks. Not overly exciting. (I was traveling at the time and when I travel, I usually bring white or black socks to keep things simple. This way, no matter what I wear, I know I’ll have a pair of socks that goes with it without having to bring a lot of extra things.)

However, I did come up with what I think is a cute design:

Polar Bear Eating Ice Cream Napkin by ValeriesGallery

How did I come up with this design? Well, I use to be a computer teacher and taught computer graphics. When giving the students a graphics assignment, I use to say and don’t show me a blank screen and tell me it’s a polar bear eating vanilla ice cream during a snow storm!

So I wondered, what would a polar bear eating vanilla ice cream look like?

Did You Know?

Students actually did laugh when I said the polar bear line
Sometimes I would substitute polar bear eating vanilla ice cream with Beatles White Album
I make my own ice cream.
My favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip
Polar Bear Eating Ice Cream is available at Valerie’s Gallery on Zazzle, Red Bubble, Skreened and Imagekind

What’s the most interesting thing that you’ve been inspired by?

A huge thanks to Valerie of Abundance Love Trip for allowing me to promote my children’s book Cookie and the Frowny Face Day on her blog, Ask A Zombie House Wife.

Also, on Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28, you can get Cookie and the Frowny Face Day free on Amazon!

Here’s some other polar bear, ice cream, sock inspired art from some artist you might enjoy!

Chocolate Ice Cream Cone T Shirt by LittleThingsDesigns	Parfait Perfection Happy Sweetest Day Card by Olivia A. Kneibler	Cute Kawaii Ice Cream Postage Stamp by Supercutekawaii
Guilty Penguin and Crying Polar Bear Greeting Cards by curiosityshop	Happy Holidays- polar bear photo card with lights and tinsel card by Maria Dryfhout	polar bear mug by greendeer
Pink Ice Cream Cone Children Play Date Card Business Card by DizzyDebbie	ice cream social invitation card by asyrum	Strawberry Ice Cream + Sprinkles + Your Text iPad Mini Cases by TrastoFino
Ice Edge Polar Bear iPhone 5 Case by Bluestar48	Polar Bear Christmas Card by makiko kimura	Polar Bear Leap Note Card by FalconsEye
summer joy pins by almawad	Cats Eating Ice Cream Birthday (Bud & Tony) card by Betty Matsumoto-Schuch	Cute Ice Cream with Pink Daisies Tees by Amethyst_Mouse
TEE Polar Bears Custom Jewelry by teepossible	Big Bear Hugs For Granddaughter On Valentine’s Day Greeting Cards by Tammy Moody	Polar Bear Electronics iPhone 5 Covers by AnimalParade
Kitten Socks Tee Shirts by fstasu51	Missing Sock Funny Father’s Day Card by NobleWorks Funny Cards	Make Socks Not War Knitting Design T Shirts by Sideview
Neutrino Flavors Physics Fun Shirt by Pastimedesigns	good luck card by brenden howard	So Sweet Ice Cream Shirt by RoseFleurDesigns
Ice Cream Pattern Pillow by JenHoneyDesigns	Polar Bear Cubs T Shirts by fstasu	Save Me Polar Bear Shirt by ValeriesGallery

The Story of…Bears Flying Planes

Valerie — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 00:27:01 +0000

One of my newer works was inspired by these socks:

I was in a bit of a design rut and not feeling very creative. One day I opened my sock drawer and realized I had a lot of cute socks! (Yes, I will freely admit to having a sock obsession.)

Then it hit me! By doing designs based on my socks would be a fun and interesting challenge that could help get me out of my creative rut.

So, for the month of February, I photographed my socks daily and am currently coming up with designs based on various elements (design, color, etc.).

I wore the airplane socks on February 1st and this is what I came up with:

(Clicking on the image will let you see a larger version at Greeting Card Universe.)

Interestingly enough, this design was just approved by Greeting Card Universe today! It is also available in my Zazzle, Red Bubble, Imagekind and Skreened shops.

What do you do to get out of a creative rut? What’s the most interesting thing that has given you inspiration.

Here’s some other artwork and artist you might enjoy!

Train Alphabet Bear Name Pillow by hungaricanprincess	Kid’s Airplane Theme Birthday Party Invitation, panda card by Gail Pepin	Bear & Bee Mouse Pad by sicara	Sky Heart card byBuffaloWorks Photography
Colorful & Adorable Cartoon Aeroplane Trucker Hat by RustyDoodle	Teddy Bear in Pencil: Thinking of You: Bear Hug card by Joyce Geleynse	USAF Fighter Jet Airplane at Sunset Military Gifts iPhone 5 Cover by azlaird	Teddy bear cuddles card by Mylittleeden
Fly Kawaii T-shirt by BCImages	I love Panda Tshirt by likeit	Monkey with a Sock. Shirt by Animal_Art_By_Ali	T-TAIL TSHIRTS by LabKitty