Dejected But Still Hopeful CD

In 2002, I put together a little CD collection of some of my favorite "broken heart" songs, just to give away to friends. No, I am not some lovelorn fool, pining away for someone from my past while gathering up melancholy MP3 files. I just like music, and I started noticing a thematic pattern in my favorite tunes from a lot of lesser-known bands that I like. Some people love a parade; I love a theme.

So I went through my personal photos and found a pretty famous (in my family, at least) photo of me in a goofy velvet tuxedo (the original was purple but I made it look black), acting as the Ring Bearer at my cousin's wedding in the 70's when I was about four years old. The story goes, moments after this photo was taken, I went down the aisle... then back up the aisle, crying for my Mommy who begrudgingly had to walk down the aisle with me. But that's beside the point...

Though this peachy-pink is not a personal favorite color of mine, it was so dominant in the image - and I liked the image so much for this concept - that I enhanced the color even more. I gave a little diffused glow to make it more dreamy, blurred the background a bit, and worked out a simple little logo. The final pieces:

CD booklet front...

...and back. Get it? The image continues!

Yeah, I know - it's me, I used my own kiddie photo on the CD packaging, which can be pretty lame - BUT (justification time) #1) I believe the image tells a little story (especially the angle of her face, and the peculiar position of my lips), #2) it's nicely composed, especially for a square format, and #3) I had it in my possession, and didn't have to hunt for something that would work, or take something new, or pay for a stock photo (which I wouldn't do for a personal, free CD sampler, after all).

Now if only my cousin would finally marry me, my life would be complete. Ew. Not true. Yuck.