Inspiration Daily: 11. 05. 10

Image credits: 1. Untitled, 2. ghost, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled

This has been such an amazing week. Thank you all again for your love and kind words about Gifted Magazine. I hope you will have a fantastic and relaxing weekend. I hope I'll be seeing you again Monday. xox Ez

P.S. Wish me luck (I need it)...I'm heading back to the gym for the first time in over a year! Eep!

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

Fancy This: Kate Towers Fashion

These images of fashion designer Kate Towers' work are feeling so deliciously Fall-like with all their sumptuous ruffles and gorgeous hues. See more of Kate Towers in her portfolio and etsy shop.

All images from Kate Towers. Photography credit (for at least some of the shots) belongs to Peter Vanbeever.

My Kind of Fall

(photo by me)

Hello lovelies. I decided that I'd share a photo of mine again today for this morning's post (I hope you don't mind too much).

It was an incredibly blustery day here yesterday afternoon, but I couldn't resist taking my daughter to the park for a bit of fun on the swings and a chance to photograph some of the Fall colors (which are in surprisingly short supply around here). Of course it hadn't been that long since I last held my camera (maybe a week or so), but it felt completely foreign in my hands and I almost put it away out of frustration (the wind wasn't helping anything either - imagine trying to focus on something that's flapping about wildly whilst dodging nature-y projectiles flying towards your eyes). I stuck it out and ended up with a few photos that are worth hanging on to. This one was one of my favorites. Post processing in Photoshop gives the leaf an almost florescent fuchsia color...which is exactly the kind of Fall that I like. xo Ez

I've also received quite a lot of emails recently regarding the camera I use, so I figured I'd just note that here for those of you who have been wondering. I use a Nikon D300 with a Nikon 18-200mm lens and Photoshop for post-processing.

One Good Thing: Bowtie Assortment 2011 Calendar

An image of this adorable Bowtie Assortment Calendar just popped up over on flickr and I had to quickly see if it was available for sale. It is! And isn't it just the sweetest. Take a closer look/purchase your own right here. xo Ez