Day Four - B for Beads

Just popping in quickly to share my Souvenir Foto School challenge photo for the day. This weekend is all about my daughter and her 13th birthday, so I didn't want to take too much time to set up or edit my shots (taking time away from her day). So with that in mind, I ended up just choosing a little photo that I snapped earlier in this morning of her new neon beaded bracelets, and then to complete my diptych I quickly photographed the bowl full of beads that we were using last night to make them. Done and done.

Day Three - C for Chai & Cookies

I woke up this morning to a stormy grey day. The mood was clearly calling for the comfort of my favorite chai tea and ginger cookies (of course), and I decided that they'd also make the perfect subjects for day three of the Souvenir Foto School challenge. It was pretty tough to photograph the dark background (which seems to change colors with the slighted shift in camera angle), but I enjoyed myself and am happy enough with the results. I thought I'd also include the individual shots here too...just because things look a bit nicer in their larger form. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. My daughter will be turning 13, so we definitely have a celebratory Saturday and Sunday ahead of us.  xo Ez

If you'd like you can also find all my images in individual and diptych form for this month-long class challenge over in my flickr album. | Souvenir Foto School is offered by Besotted Brand.

Hi sweets! Happy Friday! Before taking off for the weekend I want to leave you with the free downloadable February 2012 calendar page that I made available earlier this week through my newsletter (note: your download will begin as soon as you click the image above). Once again I've designed the calendar to be repurposed as a postcard or mini art print once the month is over.

Also, off topic...I just wanted to apologize for not sharing much about my Alt Summit experience with you yet. I filled half of a small notebook with notes while there, so I've been working on trying to compile all that info into helpful posts for you all. It looks like next week I'll finally be organized enough to share those. Phew! Anyhow, thanks for not giving me a failing grade on my blogger report card this week. You guys are the best! xo Ez

Psst...if you missed the January calendar download you can find it here. And if you also want to check out last year's calendar (the illustrations still make great cards or art prints, even if 2011 is over), you can find it right here.

Specimin Art Print by Lisa Sieczka a.k.a. Elle Moss. Find more from Lisa on flickr, her etsy shop, and her blog.

Day Two - S for Swan

So it's only day two of the Souvenir Foto School, but I'm already struggling. I first started out today by trying to fill my letter Z requirement with a photo of an old zebra art piece that I made as a tween. No go. It looked really flat and boring so I moved on to letter S. For it I decided to use my handmade swan by Paulina Temmes (one of my favorite possessions) to represent the letter. Unfortunately, as much as I love my subject matter, I just wasn't really "feeling it" while shooting and I think my photos reflect that. I also discovered after shooting, that a lot of post-processing in photoshop was necessary (the lighting was really off). I spent the better part of two hours trying to fix all the flaws. Finally I just applied a free texture to mask the ugliness and called it a day. I know the images aren't horrible, but they just aren't exactly what I would have liked. Sometimes I just need to remember to not be so hard on myself. Here's to a better tomorrow, right?! xo Ez

If you'd like you can also find my images in individual and diptych form for this class over in my flickr album. | Souvenir Foto School is offered by Besotted Brand.

But somehow her work has now reached a cavity-inducing level of sweetness with her Valentine's Day cards and love-themed art prints. I mean, come on! Are these little ones not the cutest things evvahh, or what?! Find more in her shop, flickr, and blog.

Image credits: 1. Untitled by Louis Reith, 2. T is for Twine. by Jamie Simon, 3.  'Q' IS FOR QUAIL EGGS by Miss B., 4. lost-pecan by Gerren Lamson

Day One - P for Plates

Hi lovelies! As I mentioned here on CC last week, I signed up to be a part of the Souvenir Foto School for the month of February. The daily challenge is for this session's members to use the alphabet as our guide, using a different letter for each day (not necessarily in order)...and a theme (whatever you want) is highly recommended. So I'll be sharing an image a day for the entirety of this month. I hope you don't mind indulging me. My hope is to learn new things, challenge myself, and of course have fun in the process.

Anyhow, here we are at day one! It took me ages to decide on a theme to use, but today I finally settled on a duel one: "Possessed" (possessions I own and/or feelings that possess me) shared in diptych form (two images juxtaposed alongside one another). Of course as a member of the class itself I'll get lots of helpful tips and advice to go along with each image, but if you'd like to try your own month-long photo challenge (sans class), then by all means I hope you will. I'd love to see what you come up with. xo Ez

You can also find my images in individual and diptych form for this class over in my flickr album. | Souvenir Foto School is offered by Besotted Brand.

Hi guys! I thought I'd start my Alt Summit posts off by sharing some of the many awesome business cards I collected while attending. This year I wasn't as prepared as I was the year before, so I only had standard cards to pass out. I must have had a momentary brain-lapse and forgotten how impressive all the cards were last year. It was kind of embarrassing handing mine out by comparison. Anyhow...here are a few of my faves that I arranged by the common themes that I spotted. I hope you enjoy. And by all means, be sure to pay a visit to some of the bloggers/businesses represented here (plus it took me ages to add in all the links, so it will make me really happy if you enjoy them). Everyone is super nice and talented...if you hadn't already figured that out. xo Ez

Turquoise crush:

Love Creative Blog | Linniebell Design | Turquoise Ink | Seconsister | Sweet Muffin Suite | Michelle Edgemont | Okay...this last one is totally not a business card, but I couldn't help but include the gorgeous letterpress coaster by Henry + Co. (given to speakers by Mail Chimp) along with these other turquoise beauties.

Pink and Black Pop:

Little Bird Soda Co. (I really hope she sponsors at Alt next year so we can have the chance to taste her yummy organic sodas) | SF Girl by Bay (Victoria hit it out of the park with her awesome tattoo "cards") | Joy of all Crafts (check out how she made her DIY Fabric-backed Business Cards here) | Armelle (P.S. I road in a car seat in the backseat of Caroline's car while at Alt - true story) | Biggest Little | Rachel & The City |  Camille Styles (check out her tutorial for her classy DIY Gilded Business Cards) | Beeteeth - the other side is a sticker!

Artistic:

Spark | The Bedlam of Beefy (Bradford is one of the sweetest and funniest gents you'll ever meet - even more beguiling than the illustrated caricature on his card) | Courtney Khail | Little Pincushion Studio | Cake | Creative Thursday (Marisa was my lovely roomie and another one of the most genuinely lovely people I've ever met) | Dose of Happy (Deb was my roomie last year, and has a permanent place in my heart. I adore this talented and kind lady!)

Photographic:

Chookooloonks | Tracey Clark | Oops...another card from Chookooloonks | Under a Pink Moon | The Cuisinerd - My Alt experience started off on the right foot when I happened to be seated across from Kristin at dinner. Not only is she hilarious (she had me posing with aioli only a little way into the meal), but she makes delicious food and blogs about it too. Yum! | Not Merely Living

Letterpress:

See Jane Blog | Big Cartel | Crow and Canary | The Lil Bee | Reverie Daydream | Alexandra Hedin | Mike Loveland - the reverse of the card featured his wife's details (true awesomeness in letterpress card form)

And one last snapshot for you:

Victoria's tattoo "business cards" were a huge hit. Here my daughter is rocking one. Awesome, right?!

I know it might be a bit premature, but I'm so wishing it looked like this outside my window right now. Blooming photographed by Sarah J. Fuller