CCR

The Stitch-- Final project

Here it is! The final product of The Stitch! Thank you all for joining me on this journey, hope you guys enjoy!

Practically done!

     I finished my magazine!! I'm so happy with how it came out!!!! I am currently working on my CCR script. I answered all the questions separately and now I'm just working on my script. At first, I struggled with the questions but when I sat down and though them through, it wasn't that hard. After I answered the questions, I started my script with an intro and I incorporated the questions into the script. I think it helps when someone is there to help you or give you some of their opinions.

     I am going to Panera again to work on it with Connor. Panera has such a good environment to work in and I feel like it motivates me. I always get a lot done there. It's better to work in a different environment that isn't your room. Your mind incorporates your bed or your room as a comfy environment, it makes you want to sleep. You end up being on your phone and not getting anything done. That's why I like to go to Panera because now that I've done a lot there, my brain now incorporates it with work and makes me work hard.

Last group meeting!

     On Friday, we had our last group meeting and it was just to show the progression of our projects and to get last minute critiques. When it was my turn to present, everyone LOVED my project. There were some slight critiques that people had, but they were very minor, like a color change on some text. Knowing that makes me thrilled because I've worked so hard on this project and I'm really happy with how this turned out. 

   Throughout the process, there were plenty of struggles and bumps in the road. I did have a lot of trouble with Joomag, it was very intimidating in the beginning because it looked so professional. I also had no idea how to use it so I spent a long time watching tutorials on how to align text and all that jazz. 

     I am currently blogging at Panera with Conman (nickname for Connor). We decided to meet up here to work on the finishing touches on our magazine and to start the CCR (Creative Critical Reflection). I'm planning on writing a script and doing a screencast of my computer to show you guys my magazine and talk you through it. Until then!

Updated two-page spread!

     Today, My teacher had an amazing idea for my two-page spread. This idea really helped me because I needed a little push and a few ideas to help me get back on track. 

     I really like this idea because before the pictures looked wonky and misplaced. This layout looks more linear and clean, but it still needs some tweaking. On Friday, we are going to have another group meet up so I will get some opinions from others. The group discussions are really beneficial because you hear opinions from others to benefit your project. 

    The last layout was definitely better from the original one I had, but this is a big improvement. I am almost done with this project and I am proud of the progress that my project has been through and I cant wait to share it with all of you!    

Edited-ish

     I got some constructive criticism from my teacher and she pulled up examples for me to follow. I have this one in particular that I thought was cool, but I had some trouble trying to follow it while making it my own. 

     That is the example I'm trying to follow but it isn't turning out that well. My teacher recommended changing the finished product picture and make that the first page, as seen below. 

     I took a better picture with the grass ass the background which I think makes the project pop. I wasn't sure where to put the materials list, and I don't like the placement of it now. There are a few aspects that are going to be changed but this is the idea. I also think that the background color of the right side will need to be changed because blue doesn't look right anymore. The placement of the pictures and text doesn't look right, this is one of my main worries. I like how the finished project picture takes up the whole page, but I may need to delete a picture from the right side because it may not be needed. Again, I'm having the same problem with it looking blank! Something is missing from the page that is preventing it from looking like a magazine!

Citations:

H., & Rayfield, A. (n.d.). Art In Wax : Encaustic Art By Hazel Rayfield. Retrieved April 02, 2018, from http://www.artinwax.co.uk/blog/tag/popular-craft-magazine/  

  

Two-page Spread

     I worked on my two-page spread a few days ago, and to be honest I was having a little trouble with it. I wanted my two-page spread to be a tutorial on a specific DIY.  When I set it up, it didn't look like a magazine spread but more of a presentation. I asked my friend Connor for some constructive criticism and he agreed that it didn't really look like a magazine spread.

     I think one of the main problems was because the background was white which made it bland. Connor and I facetimed and he thought a pastel blue or purple would look good as the background. I didn't want to do pink because then that would be too much pink, I needed a color that would pop. So, we both took close up pictures of items in our house that had a pastel color. The item also had to be flat, which was a bit difficult because I was taking a picture of a UNC t-shirt and there were wrinkles. Connor ended up finding a journal and that's what the background is!

     The next thing I had to do was to add more text and detail to the steps. I added lines to separate steps so it didn't look like an essay. I've seen in some magazines where there are decorative lines on the top and bottom of the page, so I recreated that, and I think it brings everything together. The pictures were a problem for me because I couldn't get them to fit correctly. I couldn't make them too small because then the readers couldn't see them, and I couldn't make them too big because then I couldn't fit the rest. I eventually got them to fit, but the spread still needs work. I think it could be a little better, so I am going to ask for some advice from my peers and my teacher. After I do some final touches to my magazine, I am going to start my CCR. Connor and I are going to do them together someday next week so we could answer them to the best of our abilities.

       

Table of Contents

I am SO happy with how my table of contents turned out! I think it looks so professional. I got a lot of opinions from people and they all liked it. They thought it looked like it came from an actual magazine off the shelf!

I decided to do a two-page spread table of contents because I felt like I could fit more information into it. With only one page of a TOC, it would have been too cramped and I wanted to space it out a bit. The picture in the background really makes everything pop. What I did was took this wooden board and spray painted it white. I thought this would be a good background for the pictures because white accentuates the item and makes the picture brighter. I put four squares of cloth that are bright (to brighten up a room-- see page 45) at the bottom of the board and I purposely left all of the space on the top. While I took the picture, I pictured putting all the text in the empty space so the background wouldn't just be plain white. While the background is still white, it isn't blank, it has texture to it which I like. I then just mirrored the same picture to make it continue to the next page. Not to toot my own horn but I think it is very neat and organized and I am very happy as to how this turned out!

Cover page

     Today my main focus was to complete the cover page, and that's what I did! I wanted the cover page to be clean and appealing to the eye. Since my issue of the magazine is about rooms, I wanted the cover picture to be a bedroom so it is clear to the audience that that is what they are reading about when they pick up this magazine. 

   I made some changes on my cover page. I needed another color for '25 DIYs under $20!' cover line and I couldn't find any color that looked really good with the picture. The first picture is the old version and the second is the updated version. The pink in the old version looked out of place. Any recommendations on a color? 

    The color of the masthead is a coral color that parallels with the accent on the blanket laying on the bed featured in the picture. The main cover line is the '30 easy at home projects' and I really love the font because of its different and fun, and whats wrong with that? Tomorrow I am going to work on my table of contents and organize it. Stay tuned! 

All is well

   I fixed my issue! 

  Since my last post, everything has been crazy. I was freaking out about my magazine and the fact that I had lost it. I ended up contacting a Joomag operator about the problem and they were able to resolve the problem (Thank you, Susan!). I told her the whole issue and how this is for a school project. She ended up extending the free trial for 2 more days which I am grateful for.

  Susan gave me two links to export my magazine to a PDF and then another link that would help me create a new issue from a PDF. She said that I was able to upload the PDF to a new account and start where I left off, which I had no idea was possible. 

   Anyway, I started my DIYs today and it was super fun.

This was the only picture I have of me in the process of making the DIY. Making the craft was easy, but getting the right pictures made it difficult. I had to get good lighting so I went outside to get natural light. I had to do my best to avoid shadows, which was hard. I got it done and I kinda liked it. I feel like doing this whole project has opened a door to different interests that I may have not known I actually liked. It has really made me think of different fields that I may want to major in. So possible new career?? 

I LOST MY MAGAZINE (NOT CLICKBAIT)

     This is just a quick update on what just happened. Oh, and before I begin,  the title is a joke in our age group because vloggers tend to exaggerate their stories and titles in order to gain more views. Yesterday I was making my magazine layout, I had all my content on the magazine already! My table of contents was all organized and I had all the titles made and my two-page spread had all the text on it already. All I needed was pictures and I was practically done, and now it is all gone. 

     It turns out that I was on a 14-day free trial and it ended today, now I'm on the basic plan and I'm guessing all that allows you to do it view your profile because I can't even see my publications. Every tab I click on, a popup comes up that forces me to upgrade. I checked the packages and the cheapest one is the business plan which costs $39 a month. I was considering paying for it until I read the small text that says 'billed annually'. That means I would have to pay for a whole year and that is VERY EXPENSIVE!!! $468 is A LOT of money when I just need it for one project. I don't know what to do now;(((

Group meeting// update

     Last week in class we met up in groups to discuss our projects. We brainstormed ideas and provided constructive criticism. One of the group members suggested that the font for the table of contents will be made from the floral initial diy (see the previous post). We would then add a little text box next to it and say “If you want to know how to create this, go to page 24!” Something along those lines. That was a cool idea and I feel like that would really make it personal and fun!
    
     A few days ago Juliana and I created out masthead for our magazine!

It looks really nice with the font but we aren't sure if it will be legible with our cover photo. Our color schemes are going to be mostly girly colors like pink and other colors, but it will be hard to choose because so many colors go with pink!

That's why the colors may change throughout each issue. Our main colors will be bright and cheerful. The colors may change according to the issue but the main colors won't change, but we aren't sure yet.

     My issue of the magazine is going to be room diys, therefore the cover photo is going to be a bedroom. I'm super excited to start making diys mainly because I will be able to keep them to put in my own room!

     Over spring break I expect myself to work on the cover page and get that finished. I've kind of been overwhelmed with this because I keep remembering that is is due in a few weeks and we haven't gotten to our table of contents yet. That's why I'm going to be working hard over spring break to get at least the cover page done!

Citations:
(n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.google.com/search?q=colors that go with pink&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYn9emzIDaAhXQ7VMKHbTNC8cQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=637#imgrc=i7L_aZkI-voWKM:

(n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.google.com/search?q=colors that go with pink&safe=strict&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiYn9emzIDaAhXQ7VMKHbTNC8cQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=637#imgrc=xq6eSFJD_an2DM:

Pink Color Schemes - Pink Color Palettes. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.colorcombos.com/pink-color-schemes.html

Content ideas

     We have some ideas of what the content is going to be!For the 2 page spread, we wanted to do tutorials on specific DIY's and these are those ideas:

-DIY flower initial

                                            -DIY paint chip calendar

-DIY crayon art 

Citations:
(n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2018, from https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&biw=1366&bih=588&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=N_qqWv3MBarNjwTm6baYBQ&q=crayon art diy&oq=crayon art diy&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0j0i5i30k1l2j0i8i30k1l3.158357.162562.0.162708.16.15.1.0.0.0.255.1734.0j14j1.15.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.16.1749...0i67k1j0i24k1j0i10i24k1.0.nxtvaIQYOZM#imgrc=72-nUPuvDlu8yM:

(n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2018, from https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&biw=1366&bih=588&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=2_qqWuvbIsy-jwSeia2oDg&q=flower initail diy&oq=flower initail diy&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i13k1.226928.232005.0.232098.18.15.0.2.2.0.165.1420.0j12.12.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..4.14.1446...0j0i67k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1j0i10i24k1j0i8i13i30k1j0i13i30k1.0.N8m6jSTmr5M#imgrc=FS244jxNDFyc3M:

(n.d.). Retrieved March 15, 2018, from https://www.google.com/search?safe=strict&biw=1366&bih=588&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=xfuqWojTHIvWjwTN4Ky4BQ&q=painchip calendar&oq=painchip calendar&gs_l=psy-ab.3...62963.68864.0.68954.23.20.3.0.0.0.115.1938.7j12.19.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..1.9.884...0j0i67k1j0i10k1j0i10i24k1.0.rZftc4ZICMI#imgrc=SM70hPGL3nqSuM:

The name for our magazine!

     The name of our magazine is officially going to be.....
"The Stitch" 
I'm really excited to start making the magazine and organizing it. We are working on the content and the next post will be some ideas that's going to be on the two page spread. 

Potential name?

    I hope this name isn't taken because i really like it. 'The Stitch' is our potential name for our magazine. Instead of the sitch, like situation, its gonna be the stitch, as in all things new with crafts! Really hope this name works out!!

Magazine layout (final)

    Here is our final copy of our magazine layout!

Obstacle #1

    We ran into our first obstacle. We had so many good ideas of names and THEY ARE ALL TAKEN. We decided not to do feline because it has no correlation with our genre. We are still brainstorming ideas and I've realized it a lot harder than I thought. We are starting to look at fonts to use for our title and we have some cute ones picked out. The font titles are on the left of the picture.

Possible names?

    Juliana and I have a few ideas brewing for our magazine title. We are going for a feminine title because our DIY magazine is targeted mostly toward women. Also, we came up with a few names on international women's day which we thought was pretty cool. Here are a few ideas for titles:
   

• Handmade
• Artistry
• Handspun
• Handcrafted    

    While we were texting ideas, I texted " I kinda want it to be feline" not knowing I spelled feminine wrong (autocorrect is a pain sometimes). And Juliana thought that was a name idea and she liked it, I then caught the error but I kinda liked feline?? Even though it has no correlation to DIY it may be a cool twist. We are going to do some research tomorrow to see if these names are taken, let's hope they aren't!                                     

Layout rough draft

    Today Juliana and I made our magazine layout. Its more for our benefit of remembering things. We are going to make one a lot neater, but today we had to throw one together because we had something else planned to do. We were going to make a schedule for the next few weeks, but the internet at school is SO BAD that they want to block every single browser. Since Google didn't work we had to find something else to do that was productive. So here is our ROUGH DRAFT of our layout--> 

Target Audience

    I've been researching the target audience for DIY magazines and I finally came to a conclusion. Since DIYs are mainly marketed to be projects made out of cheap items or things you can find around a home, I would say the target audience would be people who are looking for a bargain and also looking to have a great time! (me). In high end magazines, they are targeted to people who are wealthier than others or well off financially, and in DIYs, you make your own products, making it cheaper, which is one of the reasons why I love them. Typically, DIYs are projects that make a product out of cheaper materials, instead of buying a name brand or pre-made products. For example, instead of buying an already painted jar with labels, make your own! Paint a jar and slap your own label on there and you are good to go! 




Citations
DIY Painted Mason Jars with Multiple Uses! (2014, November 11). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.decoist.com/2014-11-11/diy-painted-mason-jars/

Cool High End Interior Design Magazines Small Home Decoration Ideas Amazing Simple To High End Interior Design Magazines House Decorating. (n.d.). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from http://abwfct.com/picture-design/cool-high-end-interior-design-magazines-small-home-decoration-ideas-amazing-simple-to-high-end-interior-design-magazines-house-decorating

DIY Painted Mason Jars with Multiple Uses! (2014, November 11). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.decoist.com/2014-11-11/diy-painted-mason-jars/

(n.d.). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from http://www.diywebco.com/

Genre Research-- DIY magazine!

    Earlier in the year, our class had to decide if we were going to do a magazine or film opening. Juliana and I decided to do a magazine for the final portfolio project. Yesterday, when we met in class. we decided to pick the genre DIY or Do-It-Yourself. We felt that you don't see DIY magazines every day, and we thought it would be something different from what other people are doing. I also loved the idea because I am a big fan of arts and crafts so I am really going to enjoy doing this project. Although there will be some bumps in the road, it will be a fun experience overall. We have some ideas in mind of what we are going to do but they aren't carved in stone yet. 

                                              Research
DIY stands for Do-It-Yourself. There are many different types of mediums for DIYs. One magazine named Make is one approach to DIY. Their projects are mainly focused on robotics, woodwork, electronics, and metalworking. The magazine is marketed to people who enjoy spending their time making things. The first issue was released in 2005 and it was available through the internet, which is free for existing subscribers. Online, you are able to see a blog, videos, and more. Make made a television show produced by Twin Cities Public Television which aired 10 episodes that included projects, guides and tutorials, also available online.



A spin-off of Make magazine was made a year later named Craft, with focus on arts and crafts. Years later in 2009, Craft made news that the print version would be discontinued because of the rise of production cost. The magazine was still available online for subscribers, but all other printed content would be incorporated into Make.

Citations
Home. (n.d.). Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://makezine.com/

J., F., S., & B. (2016, January 11). Check out brand new monthly magazines! Retrieved March 02, 2018, from http://www.womansweekly.com/lifestyle/welcome-to-our-brand-new-monthly-magazines-on-sale-now-13979/

TPT. (n.d.). Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://www.tpt.org/

Craft: Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://www.makershed.com/collections/craft-magazine

                                           

It's just the beginning

    Hey everybody, welcome to my blog! Today was the first day starting the project, and to be honest, I was a little bit nervous. For me, it's always hard to start something than it is to finish it. My partner in this project, Juliana, and I met up to talk about what genre we were going to choose. After brainstorming, we have a genre that we both really like! My next post will go deeper into my genre. I do feel more comfortable with our project once we picked a genre after that, ideas just started flowing! I'm ready to take on this project!

        - Hannah:)