Diversions

So, my friend Saad got married last December. Saad moved to Seattle recently and he isn't the best at staying in touch, so when I FINALLY got to see some wedding photos, I was so happy! I can remember back in '01 when I met Saad I had helped him scan photos from his older sisters wedding. Her wedding (like Saad's) was a traditional wedding held in Pakistan. I believe they usually last 3 days? It's just BEAUTIFUL – just like this newly wed couple.

So, anyways, when I got the photos, the first thing I did was open them in photoshop. My husband was like "What are you doing? Are you FIXING those?" and I was all sheepish and said "No...I just want to see something." I was totally "fixing" them. Not that these two need to be "fixed", but I thought they would look awesome with the background desaturated and a nice, dreamy glow. Anyways, at this small size the changes are subtle, but click on the image above and check it out.

In case you aren't a photoshop nerd like I am, here are the quick easy steps to a dreamy photo shoot!

1. Open image in Photoshop
2. Double click the image layer and rename to "layer 0" - this removes the lock on this background layer
3. Copy "layer 0"
4. On the copy layer, select filter>blur>gaussian blur
5. Bump the blur up until you are satisfied with the look.
6. In the layers panel, reduce the opacity on the blurry, copied layer to 50%
7. VIOLA!

Hand-sewn goodness! I've got plans for these little, stuffed treats. Hopefully I'll get all my ducks in a row soon. I just need to do a little shopping first!

Another great 'zine has been designed & delivered! HOWiezine 11 : Alphabet arrived just yesterday and I must say I am still so impressed with this effort. Eleven hand-made, limited edition 'zines over a couple of years time is a great feat for any group of artists. I was impressed by the number of participants this time!

This 'zine theme was "Alphabet", so I offered up my handwriting as a downloadable font! See the text on my illustration below (my 'zine page) for a sample-click to enlarge. If you are interested in downloading this font, I will make a link available to anyone who emails me. If you are a HOWiezine 11 recipient, a URL to download this font is available on the back of my designed 'zine page!
I used the Web site www.fontifier.com to create my font. Fontifier is a handy tool, but it does take quite a bit of tweaking before you get a file that is orderly enough to get the highest quality font set. My font requires a little kerning on certain letters, but many handwritten fonts are this way. Enjoy!

Granted, some people might look at the following images and say "She needs to organize". To those people, I would say "If you could have only seen this mess a few months ago, you'd call this room 'Heaven'". I still have stacks of things and I honestly just have too much stuff for one room, but here is my previously miserable and un-functional studio re-organized and relatively clutter free! I can actually work in here now!

I also picked out a chair! Nothing like the ones I had featured a couple of posts ago, but nicer, studier and much cheaper than my other choices! Check it out!

My new chair! Very comfortable, nice little ottomon. Got it at Big Lots!

My very first mac. 1998, graphite grey special edition imac. It still works fine when I need it.

My workstation. My new Intel Mac is great.

This is where I start to get artsy! My drafting table is great for crafty stuff or drawing.

I am a collector of stuff. I love stuff.