Jennifer Schaerer
We try not to, but sometimes we get so focused on publishing our magazines that we lose sight of the final product once it’s “out there.” We’re so used to Christmas in July and Mother’s Day in December that we’re always well on our way to the next inspiring issue.
That wasn’t the case with Go-to Sketches. From the very first moment we sat down to discuss the concept, we were giddy with anticipation. It all came together so perfectly, including the photo shoot that coincided with our annual editorial board meeting. As Paper Crafts Go-to Gal Teri Anderson said, it was an instant connection for our newly-minted Go-to Gals even though they had never been all together as a group before.
Oh, the laughter! The teasing!
And, of course, the primping. Since these six lovely ladies had to pose not only for their official headshots (the black and whites we use here and in the magazine), but also the colorful opener shots AND group shot for Go-to Sketches, you can only imagine the quick changes and hair brushing going on.
Brian takes a test shot and looks back at the monitor to check the lighting.
One of many attempts at a group shot. Can't you just hear the laughter?
Then it was on to the individual shots for the section opening pages. Not only were there six boisterous Go-to Gals in the studio, there was also an audience of editors to help keep things lively.
Is it any wonder there are dozens of outtakes for each one of these shots?
And here’s your insider secret for the day: although the final shots in the issue are just beautiful and appear effortless, each one was meticulously arranged and checked on the monitor.
Matt, Brian and stylist Claudia Daniels check the all-white set on the monitor.
It was only after their shots were complete that the Go-to Gals remembered to have a quick bite to eat. After all, we literally whisked them straight from the airport right to the studio and then ordered them to smile pretty.
Maren, is that a little lettuce between your teeth? Just kidding!
This has truly been a fun and fulfilling journey bringing this very special issue from early concept last August to the newsstand a few weeks ago. Your other insider secret for the day: we’ve got something else up our collective sleeves for later this summer, so you might want to hang around and find out more. Shhhhhhhh. Don’t tell anyone, though.
If you haven’t already gotten your copy of Go-to Sketches, you can check out our sneak peek HERE. (Psst…today’s the last day for the 20% off plus free shipping offer! Just enter the promotion code “SKETCH20″ HERE.)
I’m sending heartfelt thanks to our fantastic group of Go-to Gals for making this week so much fun with all the blog hopping and exclusive new projects using some of the sketches from this issue, because we sure couldn’t have done this without the group effort. You ladies are the very best!
And since our readers are the very best, too, I’ve got three more copies of Go-to Sketches to give away! Leave a comment telling me your favorite aspect of this promotional week (so far!). All comments must be received by midnight (MDT) on Friday, April 9.
Jennifer
P.S. The fun is just beginning! Hop over to Moxie Fab World as Cath talks about stretching a sketch to suit different styles, purposes, occasions, holidays, gender, age, etc. And the Go-to Gals each take a single sketch and turn it six different ways to create six unique new projects!
I really enjoyed some of the sketches and how different people took them in different directions. Heather
My favorite aspect of this promotional week so far has been all the behind the scene photos and the Go To Gals favorite photo shoot moments!
I love all the ways a sketch can be interpreted.
There is so much inspiration!!! I love seeing how people will take a sketch and turn it into something amazing with their specific touch! Love it.
lisa a.
It’s hard to pick just one aspect of this week as I have been greatly enjoying everything. Since I have to choose, I think the best part of this week has been hearing about how nervous all of the Go To Gals were doing the photo shoot. Just like I would be!
I am inspired by all the different takes on sketches…I love to see the sketches come to life!!! SO inspiring!
My favorite part must be seeing the photoshoot and the results. It’s so nice to see all the go-to gals coming together like sisters and friends in spite of the fact that they’d never seen or heard each other before!!! Awesome! And all of them have such talent!!! Wow!
So far, my favorite aspect of this week has been the addition of each Go To Gals friends to the hop!
They all looked like they were having fun! And so colorful! Love the color coordination. I am incredibly inspired by all the different sketches in this copy and hope to get my hands on one soon!
My favorite has been the blog hop. So much inspiration and the talent of all the contributors wasz top notch! I looked at and commented on each and every card. They were all fantastic!
Well, I love the behind the scenes items because I get to learn more about my “friends” and their personalities. And Love, LOVE, love the sketches with everyone’s interpretations. Great way to get the mojo flowing again. Thanks!
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I didn’t discover any “new” blogs with your blog hop this week – I often check all of the Go-To-Gals blogs. But my favorite is Betsy – I check her blog every day for inspiration. Her colors and style always give me a lift. Thanks for the chance to win the Doodlebug card kit – it looks fun!
I loved the blog hop! So much inspiration!!
I loved the blog hop. I always have fun discovering new blogs and seeing lots of great creativity.
Thanks for the behind-the-scenes peak! Would love a copy of the magazine!
I just love all these sneak peeks!
I loved getting a new set of sketches!
It is hard to pick just one. One of my favorites was Friend Day. I loved seeing all the different takes on one sketch!
My favorite aspect of promotion week is all of the extra finished cards we get to see from all of the designers via sketches and interpretations. Thx, ladies!! Been an inspirational week!
I ♥ sketches and all the fabulous inspiration that you have been sharing with us.
I loved the go to gals picking their friends to do a card with their sketch – it was fun to see what everyone came up with and to visit a few blogs I had never seen before!
The behind the scenes look of the photo shoot was very interesting.
I love to go on the blog hops. The one that was new to me was Jessica Witty…I had never seen her blog before. Very cute.
the sketches, the blogs, the behind-the-scenes pics–it’s all been fun!
I really liked Jessica Witty’s blog Witticisms…she has great style and I loved how clean her designs are yet still fun. Great Job Gals!!!
I love all the fun photos !
This week I have been bouncing from Facebook to my email to see what’s new at Papercrafts!
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