Make an eco-aesthetic cover for your favorite paperback in 5 minutes, without glue or tape

It is no secret that I am in love with pretty packaging. It warms my heart to see the expanding attention to detail and visual awareness in this area. Like the paper bags and napkins at Starbucks. Say what you will about the company, but their bags are made from 100% unbleached recycled fibers, with at least 80% post-consumer content (PCC). And how much other beautiful packaging material is out there? It’s sad to think that most of it goes to waste after single use. Surely we can reuse all these papers, and practice a sort of eco-aestheticism? ^_^

If, like me, you don’t like throwing away pretty things, here’s one way to extend the life of a paper bag, or any paper packaging that tickles your fancy.

The Eco-friendly (+ super easy) book cover

The small Starbucks bags are the perfect size to cover paperbacks, no matter the page count. My assistant for this project will be Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. The only tool you will need is scissors.

1»
Cut away the bottom, and remove the handles from the bag. Spread the paper flat. (You can smooth out most major wrinkles with a warm iron, if desired.)

2»
Trim the paper approximately 4 times width of the book, making an allowance for the spine. There should be enough paper to wrap around the book, with 3–4 inches for the cover flaps.

3»
Make folds on top and bottom edges of the paper, matching the length of the paperback.

4»
Place the book spine in the center of your paper, and fold one side over the cover, forming a flap. Slip the book cover into the folds of the flap.

5»
Repeat on the other side, and you’re done!

You can reuse the cover many times, simply adjust the flap widths to compensate for differences in book thickness. For larger format books, try the Trader Joe’s paper bags!

Enjoy your newly beautified and protected books, and do share what other papers you’ve been able to take to the Second Life. (ha! :)~ I couldn’t help myself.)

What fantastic news, now artists all over the world have a day to call their own and to celebrate, well, being themselves. ^_^ October 25th has been chosen to honor artists worldwide. (Which also happens to be Picassos’ birthday.)

As the official website says:

Picasso was instrumental in bringing art to the masses more than any other artist up to that time. He is the iconic artist personified.

Now more than ever it is important to focus on art and culture. Mainstream television, globalization and the internet are wiring everyone down to the lowest common denominator. True living requires attunement to our common humanity which is accessed through inspiration and the arts. By giving our attention to artists, we have the opportunity for one day to focus on what is eternal and timeless in our civilization. Just as Remembrance Day is important for reflection, Oct. 25th can give us a reason to participate in the arts personally.

Alyson Stanfield of Art Biz Blog has some great suggestions on how you can celebrate this day. More information is available on the website www.internationalartistday.com.

Artist cousins,
On Oct 30th Graphic Artists Guild is hosting a workshop about the do’s and don’ts of finding and using an artist representative. Might be of interest to some of you. (Info via Colleen Doran’s blog.)

I’d like to share with you, cousins, a useful series of articles by Muhammad Saleem on Freelance Switch. Titled Social Media and Simplicity, this 10-part series focuses on how to manage your presence on Web 2.0, and consequently how to simplify your online life.

While this definitely applies to all social site participants, I think this overview would also be very useful to artists and freelancers. We all know that we should be “out there” promoting our work and socializing on sites like MySpace, Facebook and so on—but the sheer amount of places to do so can be overwhelming, and incredibly time consuming! Which ones are worth your time? For how to manage it all and not succumb to media overload, check out the articles.

I was happy to discover that I already adhere to the first principle - Reduction. Reduce your web presence to a manageable size. Couple of years ago I realized that I simply don’t have the time and energy to “get around” the web, and so I limited myself to the following sites:

• East-27 personal site & blog (naturally)
• Etsy - for my art & merchandise sales
• Deviant Art - for the unparalleled community interaction, ease of use, inspiration and staggering talent to be found
• LiveJournal - which used to be my main journal, but is now used for promotion and to keep in touch with LJ cousins & communities
• TalentDatabase - most recent discovery, for professional contacts and promotion. Still need to fill it out! :)
• Epilogue - I remain a member with minimal participation (& minimal upkeep)
• MySpace - after two years I finally gave in and filled out my profile. Still not really feeling it tho. :/ The design team has made progress by leaps and bounds, but the site is still extremely confusing and annoying to navigate.
• Google Reader for keeping up with favorite sites through RSS feeds

And that’s it! When on the computer and not working, I hang out in one of these places. There used to be days of multi-hour IM sessions, but those are gone. Since starting my current job (staring into the computer screen for 8 hours a day), coming home and getting back on the computer is becoming less and less appealing.

What about you, cousins? How many sites do you participate in? Where do you enjoy hanging out the most?

Cousins, I want to share with you a fantastic resource for print/web designers in the Seattle area: CreativeTechs. They provide Mac IT support for creative groups of all sizes, and publish a free QuickTips newsletter which is a veritable treasury of knowledge on the Adobe Suite, Mac OS and other things a creative might not even know they need to know. (yes, I said “veritable.” Yes, it’s that good. ^_~)

Do you know how to make animated GIFs in Photoshop? Or how to touch up skin tones? Ever wish you had a handy cheat sheet on the pen tool in PS/Illustrator? Search no more: Subscribe to the newsletter and expand your skills.

More than that, CreativeTechs also offers 90-minute mini-workshops. “Pick up a couple new skills, and get back to work before lunch.” I attended a workshop on color correction this Wednesday, and I am just stoked. Clear, exhaustive explanations in a comfy setting, full demonstration and a complete handout to take home. In 90 minutes I’ve learned more about Curves and Selective Color features than in all the years of playing in Photoshop on my own.

Check out the mini-workshop schedule for December, and if you’re close to Seattle give them a try!