Six crazy girls...one special project...

This week we are celebrating the release of the newest Paper Crafts special issue...Go-to Sketches. 

About six months ago I had the chance to meet up with five other women... who before then, I had never seen in person, had no idea what their voices sounded like, and only knew them through the little modern marvel we call e-mail. 

But we clicked.  Instantly.  It was like meeting up with old friends.  I couldn't believe how much we had in commen, despite coming from different parts of the country, different stages in life.  We chatted and brainstormed.  And we laughed.  And laughed some more.  See, chances are that in this photo Maren is actually letting out one of her famous "cackles".  Seriously.  She's one funny girl...who needs to say "cheeeese" with her around?  :-) 

They had the set all prepped...the plan was an all white set with the Go-to Gals in bright colors.  You can read about Matt's adventures with spray paint here.  We all got to choose our color...wanna hear how I ended up with yellow?  Well, I was gone to a Copics class several hours away the day the e-mails about the set plan began to fly...and by the time I got home to check my e-mail, all the good colors were taken.  ha.  :-)  Just kidding.  I like yellow, so all was good.  The tough part though, was finding a bright yellow top at the end of September, since I had nothing yellow in my closet. 

The photo shoot was a blast...we got to head over to BPD Studios..they had just moved into their new space and it is awesome...you should check it out on their site.  And now I'm going to embarrass myself and show you this outtake.  Keep in mind that by this point in the day I was a little slap happy.  I had been up since about 4:00 am to catch an early flight.  Thank heavens for Photoshop....'cuz I'm pretty sure they needed it.  alot.

Then there's the sketches.  Each Go-to Gal was challenged to come up with eleven sketches.  When creating mine, some were based on cards I had made previously.  Some were fun shapes that I could see lots of different possibilities for.  I tend to use lots of layers and details, and I wanted my sketches to reflect that. 

I think the one of the most exciting thing about this issue was seeing how other designers interpreted the sketches.  It was fun to see some of my favorite card designers working with my sketches.  They of course came up with all sorts of things I would have never thought of! 

So are you ready to party this week?  The Go-to Gals along with Moxie Fab World and the Paper Crafts Connection are ready to celebrate this week!  Join us!