iPhone Photography: crayfish color palette

This colour palette based on a photo I snapped at our annual crayfish party this weekend. Late summer brings out fiery reds, hot oranges and darker blue skies. Colour is one of the things that inspire me deeply. Colour sensations can light me up, illuminate me with joy.

Six links for colour inspiration

• Want to make your own colour palette? Jewelry designer Brandi has made an excellent tutorial for how to make a color palette, and is hosting a Color Palette Blog Walk where you can share your color palettes.
• In The Mod. Color Analytics: A Study of Color Palettes. Explores the color palettes and hidden relationships of (in)famous paintings.
• Tips for choosing color combinations for your palette. By illustrator Veerle Pieters.
• Color + Design Blog by COLOURlovers. Lots of colour ideas and thoughts here! Don’t miss Color Inspiration from the Masters of Painting.
• kris’s color stripes. Kristina shares her striped palettes to celebrate her biggest passion of all – color.
• Colorstrology. Find out what your birthday colour is. A fun Pantone production. My birthday colour is a shade of purple (no surprise)! What’s yours?

Tags: color, color story, color swatch, colour, how-to, inspiration, palette, tutorials

Welcome to the third roundup of useful and inspiring resources and links. This time the theme is recharging your creative batteries, connecting with the creative community and learning new things.

It’s still summer, but we’re reaching the back to school part. I still can’t help but think of this time as a perfect time for learning something new, connecting with people and starting new projects. Refreshed and rested from the summer.

CREATIVE COURSES

Sister Diane of CraftyPod offers a range of e-books and courses for creative entrepreneurs and has got such a talent for making the technical side of running a creative business, simple and easy to understand. I’ve just signed up for Diane’s new e-course Write, Publish, & Sell Your Crafty E-book. Seeing as I finally got the printer to work, I need to plant the seeds for a new long-term dream!

Author Stephanella Walsh created The Creative Identity eCourse as an offshoot of the live workshops she’s run in Manchester since the beginning of the year. “The online version is an expanded study of the eight constituents of our writing identity. During the course we shall investigate the products and the reasons of our creative endeavours while paying close attention to our fears. I have devised The Creative Identity Map as the starting point of the exploration, with pit-stops at Creative DNA, Creative Yearning and Creative Loss amongst others. The course will include Q&A sessions, podcasts, movie clips, live chat and lots of reading and writing. It begins on 19 September, join us now!”

Get started making beautiful mixed media art projects for your home using salt, sand, paint and charcoal with 4 Mixed Media Art Techniques from Cloth Paper Scissors. Free e-book with amazing paper craft techniques to inspire you to make creative gift tags, postcards and other mixed media art. Both for beginners and veterans.

Includes: “Who Can Resist Magic”,  ”Fusion-Dyed Collage”, “Mixed Media Watercolor Technique” and “Textured Backgrounds for Collage”.

Beginner Drawing Lessons (the first part of three). Written with kids in mind, but perfect for adults, too.

“This series is the result of many sketching sessions with my girls, during which I realized there are a few recurring concepts that I am always reminding them of. For these lessons, I have reduced lots of information into three basic ideas that can be utilized when drawing: Line, Value and Color.” By Amy at Elemental.

CREATIVE PROJECT

The Sketchbook Project – “it’s like a concert tour but with sketchbooks. Anyone – from anywhere in the world – can be a part of the project. To participate and have us send you a sketchbook that will go on tour, start by choosing a theme.”

(A big thank you to Wini who blogs beautifully at art love joy, for the suggestion!)

CONNECTING WITH THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY

If you’re looking for a space to connect with other creatives, sharing the downs and celebrating the ups of your creative life, check out Celebrating Each Step on our Creative Path. Every first Sunday of the month. By Concetta at Glittering Shards.

Did you miss the first roundups of Resources For Creative Entrepreneurs?

• Here’s part one: Resources for Creative Entrepreneurs
• Part two: Resources for Creative Entrepreneurs. About Easy Blogging, Digital Downsizing and Inspiration for Life.

Have you got any useful reads or resources or inspiring projects around being a creative entrepreneur that you’d like to share?

Tags: community, connecting, courses, creativity, fresh start, how-to, inspiration, resources, tutorials

Here’s a second roundup of useful and inspiring resources and links.

It’s a mixed bag. Ideas for easy blogging. Thoughts on digital downsizing and social media as well as some beautiful and thoughtful inspiration for life.

EASY SUMMERTIME BLOGGING

• Take the 7 Link Challenge Today. The idea is to create a “sneeze page” that helps visitors to find the highlights of your blog, even as they drop off the front page of your blog. It’s an easy and fun challenge, and of course you can be creative and modify the questions if you like. From ProBlogger.
• Take a break from the pressures and expectations of regular blogging and let your photos do the all the talking for the month of August. The August Break is hosted by talented and lovely photographer & writer Susannah Conway.
• Blogging In a New Light: Simple Blogging. Turn your day into a poetic, enchanting poem accompanied by a photo. By mixed media artist Susan Tuttle.

TIME TO TAKE A BREAK FROM SOCIAL MEDIA?

• Time for a Digital Sabbatical? By Gwen Bell who owns a yoga studio, is writing a book about digital intimacy and is one of 2010′s Most Influential Women in Tech.
• Have you ever felt like you were spending too much time on social networking? Here’s a great read: Breaking Up the Social Networking Way. By paper aficionado Jen who creates delightful things made of paper and blogs at Simply Said.
• Social Media Has Damaged My Attention Span. An interesting article by jewelry designer and blogger Brandi who lives her life inspired by colour. Find Brandi’s jewelry at Catie’s Blue and her blog at Brandi Girl.
• Input vs. Creativity (Or, Thoughts on Surfing the Web) an interesting read by the ever resourceful, helpful, talented and friendly Sister Diane of CraftyPod.

INSPIRATION FOR LIFE

• Here are three thought-provoking articles for people who want to live life on their own terms by self development guru cowboy, Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind: Write Your Own Permission Slip, The Three Ways to Deal With Difficult Emotions and How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs.
• Finally, don’t miss writer and crafter Megs’ inspirational manifesto Live Like a Handful of Smarties. From Made By Megs.

Did you miss the first roundup of Resources for Creative Entrepreneurs?

Have you got any good reads about blogging, social media and digital downsizing that you’d like to share?

Tags: blogging, how-to, inspiration, resources, social media, tutorials

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by desktop clutter and you’re looking for a quick and easy method to tidy up your desktop and keep your digital environment tidy and organized, here’s a technique to get organized once and for all.

Maria João Valente has been using Workflow Desktop Icons to structure her digital workflow with a minimum of effort, for more than a year.

“Basically it allows me to keep files organized and an uncluttered desktop (both essential to my sanity).”

Workflow Desktop Icons

Everything revolves around three main folders, “Doing”, “To-do” and “Archive”. These can be accessed directly via the Dock on a Mac, and are regularly checked or re-organized according to the workflow. All other folders are out of sight and serve as permanent storage for further use.

Here’s a flow chart of Maria’s digital workflow.

• The Work Zone contains all the files or folders that are being used now (i.e. this week).
• The To-Do Zone has stuff to be reviewed as soon as I have the time. (Hint: most of the downloaded files get here, to be organized later. Another Hint: I use Hazel to keep this place organized by file type.)
• The Out Zone folder is where I place all files or folders that are going to be exported and stored off my computer, either on an external HD, a DVD or online.

Maintaining a peaceful and productive desktop is easy when you follow your workflow.

By sharing her process, Maria hopes to help you get you going organizing your digital stuff. (Or share with us the process you’re already using.)

Maria João Valente is an archaeologist, university professor and a passionate Mac user. She lives in Portugal and blogs about her interests at Mac ao Quadrado. You can read my interview with Maria here or follow her on Twitter.

Tags: customer story, desktop customization, digital environment, getting organized, how-to, inspiration, interface, organized, overwhelm, productivity, simplicity, tutorials, workflow

Here are two methods for changing the wallpaper on your iPad.

Changing The iPad Wallpaper Through Settings

1. Tap on Settings
2. In the Settings screen select Brightness & Wallpaper
3. Now you have several options. First select which screen you would like to customize, the Home Screen or the Lock Screen.
   • Wallpaper will take you to Apple’s pre-installed selection of Wallpapers. Switch to a new one by clicking on its thumbnail image
   • Saved Photos lets you pick any of the photos you’ve synced with your iPad. Select the one you want to use as a wallpaper by tapping it
4. At the top-right corner you have the option to set the chosen wallpaper for the Lock Screen, the Home Screen or Both.
5. Once you have selected an image, you can drag your finger to move the wallpaper into the position you like and use the finger-thumb pinch to zoom it in or out. When you’re happy, tap on Set Wallpaper

Changing the iPad Wallpaper Through Photos

1. Click on Photos
2. Select the photo you want to use as a wallpaper
3. Tap on the Actions icon in the top right corner 
4. Once you have selected the image, you can adjust it by dragging your finger to move the wallpaper into the position you like and by using the finger-thumb pinch to zoom it in or out. When you’re happy, tap on Set Wallpaper

Tip

You can make a photo library in iTunes for your iPad wallpapers and name it something like iPad Wallpapers to easily find wallpapers you want to use on your iPad.

Tags: desktop customization, how-to, iPad, tutorials