Behind the Scenes: The Making of Gifted Magazine
Hello lovelies! Before I do anything else I have to let you all know just how very much I appreciate the incredibly warm welcome you gave Gifted Magazine Monday (and Tuesday, Wednesday, and today too)! I am practically speechless with gratitude for your outpouring of support and kindness. Thank you all so SO much! Every single one of your comments means the world to me.
So I thought it would be fun today to do a little behind the scenes post on the making of Gifted Magazine. The idea for Gifted came to me in a flash as I was driving to my parent's home one afternoon a few months ago. Little did I know what I was getting myself into (the good, great and sticky of it).
{the binder that each page went into as it was designed - numbered and organized with sticky notes}
Here's the super simplified breakdown of what went into getting this magazine from just a spark of an idea to the finished publication that you've hopefully had a chance to enjoy now:
- Have a little dream. Let it grow and flutter around inside your mind for a little while until it's ready to be set free.
- Invite a group of your amazingly talented and generous online friends to believe in your little dream and contribute to it's realization. Hope that they say yes, and then do a happy dance as each one does (thank you guys so much).
- Compile a gargantuan list of awesome finds from shops and indie artists that you can dig through for your gift guide.
- Open up your first blank Photoshop page and wonder how in the world you are going to make it look like a real magazine (have a mini panic attack and call a friend - thanks Biz).
- Start putting together a bunch of your own projects and then set them aside once you see the awesome contributor projects start to come in (there is a lot of work to do and you are only one person after all)
- Make about 10,000 versions (small exaggeration) of each page before finalizing anything.
- Remake a few more pages and hope you haven't royally messed anything up.
- Ignore the housework piling up around you (like the massive heap of unfolded clothes on the couch). Fondly remember the days when you used to sleep and eat semi-regular meals.
- Have an awesome family that is willing to give up their weekends to watch your daughter so that you can live in front of your computer for days on end (I love you Mom and Dad).
- Upload each individual page into a PDF file and start adding the links.
- Save a final copy and test it out then re-upload everything again once you realize you'd forgotten pages and missed links.
- Upload the magazine to Issuu, take a deep breath and send your little dream out into the world.
There you have it. The simplified version of how this magazine came to be. Again I just have to thank everyone who was a part of making Gifted Magazine a reality, and all of you who have welcomed this project so very warmly. I love you all. xo Ez
P.S. All the projects that I was working on for Gifted that didn't make it in the publication will be making an appearance here on Creature Comforts this month and next. Stay tuned for those. xo
64 Lovely Comments | Email Article | found in About Me / My Shops Print Article | Share This | 
| by Ez Thursday, November 4, 2010 
Reader Comments (64)
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!
I've always been a HUGE fan of your aesthetic and now I get pages and pages and pages of it! :O
Don't mind if I forward the link to everybody on my email list :D
such an enormous and divine project ~ you did a great job, it looks amazing :)
am definitely going to make a couple of things from gifted.
xx
I got the time to look at and read every single page of the magazine this week. EZ, you and your little helper elves did an amazing job. Your magazine is a stand out amongst all the others out there. Inspirational and unique. I love it to pieces.
Thanks for sharing the process with us. It's nice to know that all the polish and perfection start out just as human as the rest of us out here. Bravo.
Great to know how it came together. And to learn that you're a mum too which makes these kinds of projects so much more challenging. Good on you for pursuing your dream.
I just had the loveliest time reading through all of your wonderful comments everyone. Thank you so much for taking the time to read through my behind the scenes post and leave such kind comments. Each one means the world to me. xo Ez
Awesome Ez! Such a cool dream come true! Congrats!
This is such a beautiful online magazine. Seriously, I'm more of a hold in your hands magazine girl, but you did this so well. It's so easy to read all the details of each of your blogger interviews and all the tutorial instructions - didn't even need to squint! :)
I have shared the 'Gifted' love on my blog today too...
http://polkadotprintsstudio.blogspot.com/2010/11/inspiration-gifted-magazine.html
...it's spreading like wildfire, well done!
CONGRATS! I'm so very impressed and inspired by you. Just spent some time going through the magazine and can't wait to do it again. I love it!
this magazine sucks and the backstory is worse
congratulations for Gifted Magazine, I love going through it, so much to discover ! and this "behind the scenes" is delightful and shows how much you have worked hard ... I am glad you acted on your dream :) really enjoy this moment of accomplishment !
Yay for you! Your magazine is fantastic! I know I'll be dipping into its pages again and again in the next few weeks. In one swoop, you have organised my gift list for literally "everyone" and helped me figure out how to create toddler-friendly ornaments that I can make with my son. We are going to have so much fun! Shhh...I already ordered the beer print for my husband...more shopping tomorrow (squee!).
This may be a simplified version of the process but it still looks extremely daunting! Good for you Ez! I am really impressed. You should really be proud of yourself because the end product is amazing. Hope you get some time off now and get to relax a tiny bit. ; )
Well, as soon as I knew about Gifted Magazine I flipped it all, I grabbed your button to my site...but it deserves a post, so here it is: http://www.tricotaria.com/2010/11/open-publication-free-publishing-more.html
I had the time to go through gifted only today. I really have a huge admiration for you and the whole team that made this! It is awesome. Well done Ez! You are always a source of inspiration and this behind the scene is precious.
Ciao!
This is so great of you to share with your readers!! Thanks for always being true and genuine :) I love seeing the behind the making of your magazine!
cheers,
~Liz
thanks you for your sweet mountain of work that translated into a place where we want to perch, read and forget about all our housework...........!!! We are new readers and where have we been? Oh, that's right we have kidlets + a biz!!
xo
k&d
Fun post, Ez. I know what you mean about the housework. When I am in an artistic groove, my house quickly becomes a pig sty and I feel so guilty about it. I start to make meals from whatever jars are on my shelf and my dogs become restless without walks. I feel terrible about all that but the quality of work I can get done in a week or to of serious focus is so worth it. As long as nobody drops by the house unexpectedly :)
LOVE LOVE LOVE the new magazine! Congratulations on all the hard work and organization. It's really inspiring and I can't wait to see more.
what an incredible magazine. I adored it from cover to cover. thank you!
So many beautiful images & fantastic projects. I hope your magazine is wildly successful EZ!
I'm so inspired!
What a great post! You really did put your heart and sole in to this, and it definitely shows!! Good luck with it! I hope you'll be publishing many many more issues :)
Wow! Thanks so much for putting the time and effort into such a beautiful publication. It's got such great ideas and great advice. I was feeling pretty uninspired this Christmas, but after reading your amazing magazine (cover to cover), I'm feeling excited and inspired again. Independently created online magazines blow all the major players away. I don't think I'll ever purchase a magazine from a drugstore again.
You are so funny! Ignoring the mountains of housework, I bet! But thanks for ignoring it and truckin' on cuz now we get to benefit! It was all worth it!
Such a lovely project-- and clearly, one that was lovingly done!
So fun, Ez! Love the behind the scenes look!