Christmas Items!

Spring Break Sale! - Coolers 20% Off

Anyone looking to take a cute hand-painted and personalized cooler on spring break? If you order a cooler now through March 10 (this Thursday!) I'll take 20% off your order! Prices vary according to order, so contact me here for pricing info and we can begin talking about your cooler! 

Need ideas? Check out my facebook to see photos of coolers I've done!

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Step-By-Step - How I Paint a Cooler

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Hello friends! I thought I'd spice things up and show y'all some steps I go through when I paint. I freehand everything. I never use stencils, tape, etc. I've read a lot of blogs where people use stencils and tape to help guide them, and if you want to try out something like this for yourself, I think that would be a great start! But after many years of practice and hand-eye training, I just wing it! I do often look at photos of things I paint, but when it comes to Razorback stuff, I have it down and committed to memory! 

I start by sketching out rough outlines. I don't use a pencil, but it might help some people. I then fill in the outlines with the most dominant color I need for the design. I finish by adding detail like highlights, shading, decorative frills, etc. I like to jump around from side to side on coolers so I don't get burnt out on one thing. I usually do all the outlining first, then fill in as I go. This cooler is not a really fancy one, but it is a popular design, so it's a great example to show you! Enjoy!

Coming soon: video tutorial clips where you can watch me paint! 

Christmas Coolers Continued

I love this set of three coolers I did for some good family friends, the Goodson's. These coolers are Christmas gifts for friends, and all have a similar beverage theme! I think they turned out well. These coolers are especially spectacular because my mother helped paint them! She was channelling her inner artist and helped fill in some of the "paint by number" basic outlines with color for me! Thanks mom!

And the winner is...

It is time! 1/11/11 at 11 p.m.! The contest winners are announced! After a really close race, and just coming in a few votes ahead of the second place contestant, the Stuffelbeam group has won! Congratulations girls! You are the winner of a free hand-painted mini cooler to be painted as you wish!

In 2nd Place was Mr. Karter! And in 3rd was Mr. Hayden! Each of these parties will receive 20% off their next order from me!

Congrats to all of you and thanks to all your families and friends for participating!

First place winner! 

VOTE! The Fun Has Just Begun! Pick Your Favorite!

It's time to VOTE! The contest entry deadline has passed and voting is open! Simply click the "Vote!" tab to the right of this blog to visit the voting page.

Help a contestant win a free hand-painted mini cooler with the design of their choice!

Baseball Baby Boy!

So I've had a lot more entries in my contest for a free hand-painted mini cooler! Here is the link to my Facebook album, so go "Like" the entries and help someone win! They are getting creative, so check it out!
"Vote" for your favorite here! Like as many as you want!

Here's a sneak peak at Mr. Hayden sporting a Cubs cooler! For more photos, head to my Facebook page and see what people have shared with us!

This cooler is a small cooler with wheels, and it's the perfect size to take on a picnic, wheel into a baseball game or just have as a "personal" cooler! Not too big, but still convenient because it's not bulky but has wheels! I have painted a lot of this size and I think people really like it!

Contest Deadline Extended!

So I'm having a little contest to give away a free mini cooler, painted to the winner's liking...

I extended the deadline to this Friday, January 7th to enter! What I'm looking for is to let the world see how and where you use, hang, carry or tote your custom painted Creative Design! Just post a photo to my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/creative.designs.allyson of your cooler, canvas, ornament, etc. in-use! Be creative! I have an album of contest entries created and I'll keep updating it as photos come in! If you have more than one painted item from me, feel free to submit them all!

Remember to be clever, and feel free to "LIKE" or comment on entries you favor! That will help me decide who wins the big giveaway!  I am loving seeing what you do with your stuff!

Here is an example of what you might submit...but no bias, just a good example!

Kerri and Jordan are tailgating with Kerri's new Razorback cooler at a bowl game! WPS!

Good luck!

Inside-Out Cooler

 

 

This cooler was made for some sorority sisters of mine to give to their dad for his birthday! Their last name is Stufflebeam, so they wanted a play on their nickname "The Stuff's" on this cooler. I didn't know what "Stroh's" beer was until this, but I think it turned out well to change the name to Stuff's Light!

This cooler was the first cooler I did in the "inside-out" cooler theme. The sides are designed to look like the iced down inside of a cooler, complete with their favorite beverages! While this was not my first "booze-cooler" to do, it is still one of my favorites and the very first "iced" on the outside!

Just getting started!

So I've toyed with the idea of blogging about my work for a while. And I always come up with some excuse to put it off. I'm going to start posting pictures of interesting projects I'm working on and what they are for, etc.

Starting with this awesom

e cooler, which was painted for my friend's sister in law to give as a Christmas gift. This is the top of the cooler

painted to look like the Texas A&M graduate ring.

I used my typical paints for this one, but I have been trying out a new, more protective sealant on s

ome of my coolers. It's called Envirotex Lite, I believe, and it is a bit pricey and laborious to get on, but the finish is FANTASTIC and looks like nothing I've ever seen before! I'm going to have to charge more for this option but for the extremely detailed coolers, it really might be worth it.