Thats Graphic

Escape in a Winnebago

Going on a road-trip holiday is still a popular way for people to really explore a region. A comfortable option for accommodation is to hire a motor home. A website I've recently completed is for a local Loxton couple, who have invested in a 4 berth Winnebago to hire out to holidaymakers. Visit their website www.picktheriteholiday.com.au for more information. It just might be the right solution for your holiday adventures.

 

One reason that it has been a while since my last post is that I've been designing all the artwork for the 2010 Loxton's Voucher Book. The 28 page booklet is free to visitors to the town, giving information and special offers from local traders.

This is the third year that the Voucher Book has been published, so coming up with fresh new ideas for the design is always challenging! The design for this year's cover was inspired by a Thailand tourist operators brochure.

 

This is the Voucher Book cover.

 

And then I followed this theme through to all the general information pages throughout the booklet.

 

So if you are going to be a visitor to the Riverland region, make sure you call into the Loxton Visitor Information Centre and request a Loxton Voucher Book. You can also have one sent out to you as there are accommodation specials as well. You might save some $$'s on purchases.

...annette

Garden tour

Our local plant nursery organised a local garden tour last Sunday. Starting at 9.30am, all 85 of us boarded the 2 buses and commenced what was a fun and inspiring day of viewing some stunning gardens. We enjoyed scones and a cuppa at one of the gardens and then a bit later indulged in a beautiful lunch at another garden which featured large shady trees, surrounded by manicured gardens full of colour. I didn't get very many good photos but have put a few together of some plants that were just blooming to their hearts content!!

I have planted 3 Pierre de ronsard roses on our lattice panel so I'm hoping they will one day look like these!

The following photos are where we had morning tea. The purple/pink border is petunias. The water for the gardens is recycled from the home.

 

 

I could have taken this vintage bird house home with me!!  The hedge below is saltbush a very waterwise plant.

 

The below garden has just been madeover and a lookout built to take in the river views.

 

We finished the day at 5pm and we'll all be putting our names down again for next year!

...annette

A couple of designs and Kombi restorations!

For as long as I can remember our eldest son who is now 24, has enjoyed purchasing older cars and working on them to give them a new lease on life and making them look really good. In particular his passion has been for Kombi's. Over the years he has collected quite a few of them all in various states of repair.

The first one he restored a few years back now was this one. It started out army green and has ended up being a promo van for his Music Shop.

 

His latest one which he has only just finished, was used in a wedding on the weekend.

 

He has another one under restoration at the moment, but will be a while before I can show you that one!

The Riverland region has some lovely self contained holiday accommodation, some within walking distance to main town centres and others a bit further out and on the river.

I've been developing a website and promotional material for a new holiday home near Paringa out of Renmark. This accomodation is not too far from Renmark but is in a lovely secluded spot close to the river. A perfect place to relax and recharge your batteries!

The website can be visited at www.bordercliffsriverretreat.com.au Here is a screenshot of the site

Here are their brochures and business cards to complete the design family of promotional items.

Another website that I've just completed is for a recording studio at Loxton North in the Riverland. This was a fun site to do, working in black/white and a splash of green. You can visit the site at www.northstudios.com.au

 

...annette

Christmas Card Designs

Each year I offer a Christmas Card range suitable for businesses or those who send out a substantial quantity of cards to clients, associates, family and friends. You are able to provide the greeting message and a logo for the inside of the card.
I refresh the range each year with some new designs and keep the ones that have been popular.
You can find out more details and view the designs at my website www.thatsgraphic.com.au

Here are a few of the cards included in this years collection.


 

Mel who works for me is a good drawer so I asked if she would draw me some Christmas designs in coloured pencil so that we could then make into cards.

Here were her drawings.

 

And these were the finished cards.

Quite scary to think that Christmas isn't that far away. I noticed this week that fruit mince pies and other Christmas goodies are already available for purchase!

...annette

Create your own font for FREE!

I discovered a great little tool for creating your own font. It is so simple and a big bonus is that it is free. All you do is go to www.fontcapture.com , download the sheet of letters, write in each box, scan your sheet and upload it to the website and within a minute your font is created, ready for you to download and install on your computer.

I plan to experiment a bit further with it, but here were my 2 initial attempts.

Have a go, I'd love to see your results.

It has been that time of year again to design the Loxton Lights Festival brochure and website. This is my 7th year of creating the look for the festival. Here is a sneak peak at the brochure that is currently at the printers.

And the website which you can visit at www.loxtonlights.com

We've had quite a few family and friends celebrations lately, but most of our families don't like their photos being shown on blogs etc, so I respect their wishes!! When we were down at Victor Harbor recently we did a bit of whale watching. The whales were in so close to shore it was amazing. Here is a photo of a mother and baby and there is another one just a bit further out.

I have been thinking over the past couple of days that I must check when I first started my blog as had a feeling it must be nearly a year. What do you know....I just checked and it is a year TODAY since my first post!

...annette

Garden makeover

Around 6 weeks ago we had the back part of our garden madeover. Due to the drought it was a section that we had just let die and has just been basically dirt for the past couple of years.
Now we have had it converted back to a simplistic cottage garden, with drippers.
It's lovely again now to look out the big windows of our family room, past the lawn, to some flowers and greenery.


 

It's amazing how much they have grown in a few weeks

These are some Princess Lily's that I have by our back door, they are just coming into bloom.

Workwise I have lots of interesting and fun projects on the go. I'll update you at a later stage.
One website I have just completed is for the Australasian Motor Museums. So for those who like to check out where these type of Museums are around Australia, this is the place to find out!

...annette

Catalogues, dresses and cakes!

I recently came across a website portal which features Australian shopping catalogues. The website is apparently about to undergo a makeover in the next couple of days, so it might have more features, but simply click on 'All Catalogues' and it will come up with all the current onsale catalogues from many Australian stores. Click on the one you want to view and turn the pages. You can even click on a product and it will be enlarged with the details about that particular product. You can't actually purchase on line but gives access to those stores that we don't necessarily get in our mail boxes.
Go to www.lassoo.com.au
 
To continue the shopping theme, I heard a radio interview a few months back about an Australian business that hires out dresses for proms or special occasion events. The website can be found at www.indiangiver.com.au. To view the range of dresses available click on 'enter the teepee' and scroll through the showcase of what's on offer. You then click on the dress you're interested in to view the price and availability etc.

For those that enjoy cake decorating or for those that have children and just have to make those 'special' birthday cakes, this website will give you some inspiriation, visit www.pinkcakebox.com
It has some interesting designs. Here is a cake that they entered into a competition. The creation is called 'Bloom of the Ball'  which was a nature inspired party dress adorned with sugar roses, vines, and leaves hanging on a dress form. The cake was a sour cream orange zest cake filled with pistachio and white chocolate buttercream. You can view more of this cake at their website.

Hope your daughters don't see these pictures and want you to make one for them!

...annette

A logo, gourmet fruit and some knitting!

I'm typing this and listening to some rain on the roof, not a sound that has been heard around here for a while, the garden will be loving it!

Finished a logo for a courier company in Tasmania recently, Courier Direct. Once the logo was decided on I then designed and supplied their business cards and letterheads, next will come the website. Here is their branding.

Another client Anne, from Ausnat Fruits will be attending the Sydney Food Fair with her qulity fruit products and wanted a card designed that she could hand out, giving details of not only her products but serving suggestions as well. This was the finished product...a postcard size, with gloss laminate on front and back.

 

Anne's products include chocolate and yoghurt dipped dried fruit, bottled liqueured fruits and she has just introduced jellies which is wine flavoured with spices, ideal served with crackers and cheese. Her products are simply delicious!

I visited Amanda Brooke's blog the other week and she posted about knitting dishcloths! I wasn't aware but apparently in an era past women used to knit and crotchet dishcloths from 100% cotton. She gives details in her blog about what ply to use etc. This fuelled my enthusiasm for getting the knitting needles out, which have been well buried in my craft cupboard for some years, and making one myself. This is it so far, and while I watch the footy this arvo, might make some more headway on it. Very easy!!

 

Do you have any memories of your mums, grandmothers etc making dishcloths?

...annette

Giveaways - Find out where they are

Just a quick post...Thanks to Sipiweskequilts post I came across a blog where they list current blogland giveaways. For those that like to follow and participate you might like to visit it at Blog Events Dex Giveaways.   Good luck!

...annette

Australian flavoured greeting cards

One of my sisters, Joy, has a passion for photography and loves the rustic and natural charm of the Australian country and seasides and the beauty of rambling cottagy gardens. She had a great eye for capturing these images when driving around and has recently turned this hobby into a greetings card business called 'Postcards Alive'. She has created a website where you can purchase some of these either singarly or in packs, you can visit it at www.postcardsalive.com
Here are a few samples from her current range.
 

This week I finished a make-over of the Loxton's Historical Village website.
Here is a screen shot of the previous design.

The Historical Village is a great tourist attraction and has an educational program for schools as well as hiring their facility out for special functions. Here is a couple of screen shots of the new design. You can discover more about Loxton's Historical Village here.

Australian Shopping Directory...I've created a page on my website that lists a selection of mainly online Australian shopping stores. The list on the right are sites I have designed and know the owners and recommend them for quality products and services. The ones on the left are just some you might find interesting. Enjoy browsing here!

...annette