14 Must-Have Art and Design Color Palettes for Christmas
Dec08

14 Must-Have Art and Design Color Palettes for Christmas

Check out these gorgeous color palettes handpicked by Andolaurina.  You will find 14 designer-quality color swatch groupings, perfect for Christmas web design, Christmas cards, artwork, brochures, programs, children’s rooms and much more.  All palettes are ready to go in HTML HEX colors. Enjoy & Merry...

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Ultimate Christmas Design Guide PLUS over 50 Free Packs of Brushes, PNGs and More!
Dec07

Ultimate Christmas Design Guide PLUS over 50 Free Packs of Brushes, PNGs and More!

  It’s almost time for Christmas, a commonly celebrated holiday to some degree worldwide and especially in predominantly Christian countries. Want to spread a little Christmas cheer? Here are some tips and goodies to get you started designing this year!   Design Basics: Why Christmas? If you live in a country where Christmas isn’t celebrated much or is purely secular in nature, you might not be familiar with all of the Western nuances of Christmas. (Westerners, bear with me… ) What is Christmas? Well, it all started to honor the birth of Jesus Christ (Christ means Messiah), hence the name “Christmas.” Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and came to earth to save humankind from their sins and restore their relationships with God. Today, Christmas is one of the pivotal holidays for Christians (along with Easter). During Medieval times, celebrating Epiphany (Theophany) was actually more popular than Christmas.  However, Christmas as a holiday was revitalized in popularity during Victorian times (1800s), in part due to the popularity of Charles Dickens’ novel, A Christmas Carol.  Since then, families have adopted all sorts of traditions across the world, including Santa Claus bringing gifts each Christmas Eve, decorating homes with evergreen garland and decorated trees, hosting parties for family and friends and much more. Most countries celebrate Christmas—the day of Jesus’ birth—on December 25th, although this date is commonly believed to be more tied to ancient Roman celebrations of the winter solstice than on the actual date Jesus was born.  Some countries such as Russia, Georgia, Egypt, Armenia, the Ukraine and Serbia celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar which places the date of Jesus’ birth on January 7th.  Some branches of Christianity still celebrate Epiphany as much or more than Christmas.  Christmas is not a formal public holiday in China, (excepting Hong Kong and Macao), Japan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Thailand, Nepal, Iran, Turkey and North Korea. Christmas is a time… to remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ the Messiah to spend time with our family and friends to be charitable towards those less fortunate to go to church to worship God through mass, advent services or other Christmas events to give gifts to the ones we love as the Biblical Magi (wisemen) gave gifts to baby Jesus to appreciate the beauty of wintertime, snow and nature to celebrate Santa Claus bringing gifts to boys and girls to enjoy wintertime activities like sledding, caroling, skiing, sleigh rides, etc. Here are a handful of places where you can learn more about Christmas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas worldwide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of Christmas dishes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas Sunday http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany (holiday) http://www.history.com/content/christmas http://www.cbn.com/SpiritualLife/Devotions/Noebel_MeaningofChristmas.aspx Two of the...

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Thanksgiving Freebies: Huge Collection of Free Brushes, Textures Actions, Stock Photos & More for Autumn
Nov24

Thanksgiving Freebies: Huge Collection of Free Brushes, Textures Actions, Stock Photos & More for Autumn

It’s almost time for our Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States. It’s a time of thankfulness towards God, our family and friends for all the blessings in our lives. Typical symbols of the holiday include turkeys, autumn colored leaves, pumpkins, cornucopias, trees as well as colors such as red, gold, green, orange and brown. Here are a few autumn-themed freebies to help you create some inspired artwork and designs for the season. Most all of them can be used commercially as well as personally, but always check the terms of use.  Some require attribution. Enjoy, re-tweet & please leave a comment – thanks! Happy Thanksgiving!   Thanksgiving III Photoshop Brushes Distressed Leaf Photoshop Brushes Thanksgiving Photoshop Brushes Branches Photoshop Brushes 10 Fall Leaves Photoshop Brush Set Leaves Brushes Mega Pack 32 Ultra Photoshop Quality Leaf Brushes Autumn Leaves Tennessee Leaves Photoshop Brushes Branches & Foliage Photoshop Brushes Autumn Decoration Photoshop Brushes Autumn Photoshop Brush Set Autumn Fairytale Photoshop Brush Set Autumn Wings PSD File Turkey PSD File Autumn Butterfly Wings PSD File Autumn-Colored Vintage Photoshop Gradients Autumn Photoshop Gradients Autumn-Toned Photoshop Actions More Autumn-Toned Photoshop Actions Autumn Leaves – Gimp Active Brush Set Cornucopia Stock Photo Harvest Bokeh Stock Photo Pumpkin Texture Stock Photo Fall Stripes Texture Fallen Autumn Leaves Transparent PNGs Corn Stock Photo Vintage Thanksgiving Postcard Turkey Stock Photo Squirrel & Nut Stock Photo Autumn Mucha Portrait Photo...

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