Sneak Peek!

At a new sketch contest in the September issue of ScrapStreet.com Magazine. Our sketch diva has created three fabulous new sketches and is holding a contest with a fun prize basket. Paper, digi, and hybrid scrappers are all welcome to play!



This is the first of three sketches by Michelle McClung. Grab the mag tomorrow to catch the other two! We can not wait to see what you create! Send them to submissions@scrapstreet.com.

Hey hey Its Saturday

Time to put your feet up and spend a minute or two enjoying your weekend. Settle down with a cup of coffee or tea or your favorite beverage and let's have a bit of fun.
Just been making a simple paper pack to use with simple elements. I was thinking it would be nice to have specific small kits for just a couple of layouts. We all have large digital kits with 'all you ever will need' in them but let's be honest, it's not about what we need so much as what we want and don't we always want something new when we start to scrap a new set of photo's.
I have come up with a little freebie for you, this week the papers next weekend the elements. The theme Boy's Toys, subtheme All at Sea.
The papers are a textured collection of sailing boats and blue. 8 12x12's in all. remember you can always make your layouts extra interesting by using several of the papers as you you might in paper scrapping. Cut blocks of pattern and then frame them with a thin frame of a darker paper from the collection. Or cut out 5 or 6 circles of papers and place them haphazardly across the page. Always remeber that an odd number looks more artistic than an even number of anything. 3 is the magic number but any multiples of 3 work and odd numbers always. So make yourself a challenge. Using just a set of papers use cutouts to make your page, use the cutouts as your elements and whole decoration. You will surprise yourself what you can do if you restrict yourself. Like the artist restricting his color pallette to only 2 or 3 colors is surprised to find the work he/she produces is far better than they expected.

New Vocabulary

Well maybe not new to everyone, but this is not something I had seen before so I thought I would share it! A collection of essential workplace (and elsewhere) words to add to your vocabulary this week from the Sayings blog.

BLAMESTORMING : Sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.

TERDBIRD : A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.

ASSMOSIS : The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.

CUBE FARM : An office filled with cubicles.

PRAIRIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm and peoples heads pop up over the walls to see what’s going on.

MOUSE POTATO: The on-line, wired generation’s answer to the couch potato.

SITCOMs : Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage. What Yuppies get into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids.

STRESS PUPPY: A person who seems to thrive on being stressed out and whiny.

SWIPEOUT : An ATM or credit card that has been rendered useless because magnetic strip is worn away from extensive use.

IRRITAINMENT : Entertainment and media spectacles that are Annoying but you find yourself unable to stop watching them.

PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.

SEAGULL SPHERE : The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the sphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.

404 : Someone who’s clueless. From the World Wide Web error Message “404 Not Found,” meaning that the requested site could not be located.

GENERICA : Features of the American landscape that are exactly the same no matter where one is, such as fast food joints, strip malls, and subdivisions.

OHNOSECOND : That minuscule fraction of time in which you realize that you’ve just made a BIG mistake. (Like after hitting send on an email by mistake).

So true aren't they?

Here is a little freebie for you this week. I had this done a while ago, but changed up the elements. A sweet and pretty mini kit aptly named BonBon (sweets in French).

As usual this is free for about a week or so and then moves into the Digi Dollar Spot in the ScrapStreet Store. Grab it here and enjoy!

Blogger Got the Blahs?

Scrapkit Header by Mary Fran of Nitwit Collections

Over at Joanne's blog she has designed some beautiful Blogger templates from Digital Scrap kits. Included in the downloads are the full instructions on how to beautify your Blogger with her designs. She has gotten permission from some very nice designers to use some of their scrap kits for the Blogger Layout Templates. Be sure that if you do use any to leave a credit on your own Blog back to Joanne.

Put your happy shoes on!

I read the cutest quote today: Cinderella is proof that a good pair of shoes can change your life. Now isn't that the truth! A fabulous pair of shoes can make an outfit, change your mood, oh and totally hurt.

Want to make your own pair of shoes using digi designs or other artwork? Keds Studio will let you upload designs, craft your own shoes, and order them online. A bit pricey, but totally YOUnique.

Here is the pair I made up tonight playing with my Puckered Place elements. I can definitely make lemonade or lemon drops out of the lemons life tosses my way wearing these babies! What will you create?

Hey,hey its Saturday

Another week over in August and Autumn is fast approaching. I love this time of year it is quite magical. The warmth of the sun on the ground and the smell of dampness on the ripened grass. It has a real feel good factor for me. Although we havent had much of a summer, and the ground is very wet from the excess rain, none the less when the sun is out it is magnifient. August and September mean Blackberry Time here in these parts. Behind my home is a wonderful park Llyn Llech Owain. In the centre of the park is a lake, but on the approach from our home there is a long winding path through woodland in all it's natural glory. And the blackberries well, last yearI had around 5 kilos from the immedaite area at the back. Beautiful juicy huge berries. Needless to say I made lots of blackberry pies and blackberry crumbles.Gave a few to friends and froze a kilo or 2 for later in the year in fact i still have a few left. mazzie loved to put a handfull in a jug in the microwave with a bit of sugar to taste and miked it for 3 mins and poured the result over icecream..yummy!!



Here is my recipe for Blackberry and Apple crumb pie



Take enough of your favorite pastry to line a pie dish or make it as I do

6ozs flour

3ozs hard vegtable fat or marg or a mix

1teaspoon of icing sugar or powdered sugar

chop fat into flour or process quickly in a processor , keep it cool as you work, when like fine breadcrumbs add enough icy water to make a dry stiff paste. Bring altogether and quickly knead into a lump. Wrap in cling foil or clean teatowel and leave to rest 20 mins in cool place or refrigerator.



Take 2lbs of cooking apples ( will be more than enough but just in case use the 2lbs)peel core and slice or chop add 6ozs of sugar or to taste (If the apples are not very tasty try using a spoonful of lemon juice and more sugar). Put in a pan with 3 tbsp of water and simmer gently until they are pulped. Alternatively put into a jug or basin with at least 6 inches headroom cover with clingfilm, pierce and microwave at full power for 3-6 minutes depending on your microwave, until they are pulped.



Clean 8 ozs of blackberries and set aside.



Take a further 6 ozs of flour,

3ozs of butter

30zs of any sugar as long as it isnt lumps

1/2 oz coconut shredded or desicated

whizz together in processor or blender or by hand rub butter into flour until like breadcrumbs then add the sugar cocnut and mix well.



Assemble all parts together

Grease plate or dish

First roll out pastry to fit pie dish or plate , DO NOT TRIM

Strain the apple of juice, put on top of pastry and spread out near the edge. Sprinkle the blackberries on top.

Take the crumbed mix and sprinkle thickly over all making sure all fruit is well covered..

Take edges of pastry and roll oveand pinch round edge of plate or dish to contain the crumb. Cut off if there is too much pastry to make more than an edging. Bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes or until crumble topping is golden brown. Use oven temperature that you would use to bake pastry at. Ovens and countries vary with how they measure power, but for UK I use 185 degrees centigrade in a fan oven for 20 mins.

Serve hot with thick cream, icecream or custard, serve cold with icecream or cream.

Absolutely delicious. Right that's me off to do some blackberry picking. Wellies and basket here I come.

See you all next weekend.

Little Miss Summer

I scrapped today! My youngest started Kindergarten leaving me with 3 hours all alone in the house. What's a girl to do? Ok, so there was some housework that could be done--but isn't there always? Instead I headed into the ScrapStreet Store and found Little Miss Summer by Handmaid Designs.


I loved the bright colors and the fun embellishments. While I was scrapping, a huge storm blew through blackening skies and pouring rain down on me. The clouds inspired me to mix in some black as a contrast to the softer shades. By the time the layout was finished, so was the storm and I headed to the freezer to ponder dinner preparations. Don't you just love when you can zip up a quick page in the middle of the day? Thanks for the inspiration, Katey.


Sunshine by Dora Phillips. Supplies: Little Miss Sunshine by Handmaid Designs. Bracket: Summer Border and Frames by Jenna Desai.

A Little Learning

It is that Back to School time in a lot of countries...I have two more weeks to go, but the shops are full of school supplies. So for this week let's consider school, learning and education.

Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day. Zen Proverb

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. W.B. Yeats

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils. Louis-Hector Berlioz

The important thing is never to stop questioning. Albert Einstein

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. Henry Adams

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday. John Wayne

An intellectual is someone who has found something more interesting than sex. Edgar Wallace

When a teacher calls a boy by his entire name it means trouble. Mark Twain

Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself. Chinese Proverb

To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society. Theodore Roosevelt

I have been described as a lighthouse in the middle of a bog: Brilliant but useless. Connor Cruise O'Brien.

I am always ready to learn, but I do not always like being taught. Winston Churchill

You have one mouth and two ears. You should listen twice as much as you speak. Unknown

This week's freebie is of course another alpha! Great for those Back to School LO Titles. If you are a paper scrapper, why not create your title with the words and print out onto card and then use on your LO?

As usual this is free for a week and then will disappear into the digi dollar spot in store along with a blue version, so two for the price of one!

Get your copy here. Sorry link expired. See the ScrapStreet Store for more alphas.

Cluck Cluck

I am finding myself more and more at The Chicken Coop. It's the first place I go to find out which stores are having sales because who doesn't love a bargain? Mrs. Chicken (I apologize for not knowing her name!) makes this very convenient indeed. She has brought our community a much needed touchstone! The site is super easy to navigate and overflowing with interesting bits pertaining to the Digital Scrap community such as Challenges and Freebies.
While there be sure to leave some love in the cluck box for this amazing Listing Blog.

Got Style?

Ok, so we all have style, but do you know what yours is called? Does your scrapping represent the same style as your home decor?

Here is a fun little quiz to help you figure out a few answers.

I took it twice--once for my house and once for my scrapping since they are totally different.

My home is Sweet. It includes cottage and English country. Like this:


My scrapping is eccentric with a touch of sweet. Guess there is a little crossover for me, though my scrapping is much more streamlined and simple than my decorating style!

So, what is your style?

Hey hey it's Saturday

Hi all, Sorry bout the lack of last Saturdays hey hey, Not been well for some time with this poorly tooth. Bad toothache from abcess in the gumline and oohh hurtt!!
Not felt like chatting 'bout anything really. But here I am this rainy (at least here) Saturday afternoon, feeling a bit better after looking at fridge freezers at Comet. Did you know that frost free freezers that never need defrosting actually should be defrosted at least once every 1year to 18months? They don't know and don't tell you this in the shop where you make your purchase. they don't tell you this anywhere, until the thing breaks down and you have the repairman out.
Repairman says, 'Missuss, its ice build up that has caused the fridge part of your combi to stop working'. Happens a lot apparently. the frost free gizmo relies on a fan that gets frosted up and stops working. I have had 2 exactly same manufacture,, but this one later design and both have broken down in same way, been opened up and repaired and I have seen the problem.
So now I want an ordinary fridge and a seperate chest freezer. Save all the hassle of this happening in another 4-5years.

Why is sod's law dictating that once one appliance is on the blink everything else follows suit. Washing machine was first , then the TV, then the fridge freezer, then the vaccuum cleaner, and the tumbledryer is threatening to give smoke out of it too. Phooey.
On a positive note though, its back to school time again, tell you what I would love to see your back to school layouts and ideas for layouts. Leave us a comment and a link to your latest project of school days. Can be any colors, any style just having a school theme. Love to send you a little freebie if you leave me your link.

Some Pooh Thoughts...

Winne the Pooh thoughts that is.. LOL! I am a true fan of Pooh and his friends and there are some memorable quotes to be found in A.A. Milne's books.

Here are a few... see if you can guess which quote is whose:

It's not very pleasant in my corner of the world at three o'clock in the morning. But for people who like cold, wet, ugly bits it is something rather special.


For I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words Bother me.


Just because an animal is large, it doesn't mean he doesn't want kindness.


If the person you are talking to doesn't appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.


Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would I'd never leave.


I used to believe in forever, but "forever" is too good to be true.


Nobody can be un-cheered with a balloon.


My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling, but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.


I have my friends. Somebody spoke to me only yesterday.


I think that I have just remembered something. I have just remembered something that I forgot to do yesterday and shan't be able to do tomorrow.


When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you sometimes find that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.


.... and to go along with those quotes here is a lowercase hunnypot tag alpha for you . The letters are sunk into the 'hunny' but there is hole to nail it up with!
This is available here on our blog for a week and then it will move into the digi dollar spot in the store - along with some numbers and punctuation.





Get your copy and enjoy! Sorry the link has expired

Before I go I made a mistake with the letter B from last week's Agean Seas Alpha, so for those of you who downloaded it, here is the correct version!

you can get that for a week Sorry the link has expired.

Check Your Fonts

This is a very quick and handy way to check all your installed fonts from within your browser. It's the STC fontBrowser 2.0
It's been around for awhile but I still find it to be one of my favorite ways to check my onboard fonts, especially when I'm shopping for new fonts. It keeps me from downloading duplicates.

You will need to have Adobe Flash already installed on your computer in order to take full advantage of Font Browser.

About the company
Founded in 1992, STC Associates (STC) is an independent, global, and forward-thinking branding and marketing firm that offers cumulative expertise in the practice of Image Management, Integrated Marketing and Interactive Methodologies.

Inspiration Gone?

I usually don't have any trouble coming up with something for the blog but today I am dry. Chalk it up to an overly busy weekend and going back to work so I feel like I am on overload today.

So where do you go for inspiration when your creative juices are all dried up?? Myself I will look through the galleries or maybe a store getting inspiration from what a designer has created. Sometimes ideas just pop into my head for a layout or a new kit. Taking a walk and looking at what God has created can get them going again too, it calms me down enough to shut out the world and be inspired by what my eyes see.

I put up a humming bird feeder just for that very reason I had every intention last year of buying one but never go around to doing it. So last week I bought one and I was so excited about getting this put up. I had seen a humming bird going around the hosta's so I knew it would like the feeder.
But..........what a bummer that when I arrived home only part of the feeder was in the box. I did finally get everything and put up the feeder, I have enjoyed watching them come and go.
I didn't take the picture for this but did you know there is such a thing as a Humming Bird Moth? Yep, looks just like a humming bird until you look closer and see they have antenna's.
I did finally see these in person the other day my friend has a butterfly bush and it was flying around there just like a humming bird would. Such stunning colors! I know I will use the colors from this stunning fellow in a kit soon. See my creativity is already coming back and I will be itching to be designing this evening.

So when you feel like all your creativity has left you just take some quite time to be with yourself and nature. There is plenty there that will inspire you and get them flowing again.

Inspiration

Happy Sunday, blog buds!

What are you up to on this beautiful day? Me? I am in an Olympic daze. I cannot turn it off! I love watching the events, hearing the stories, seeing the tears and triumph.

And while I am watching I have been playing with paper. Yes, you read right. Actual paper. I have set up an entire land of scrapping all over the coffee table in front of the television. And I am having a ball!

Did you watch the opening ceremonies? I couldn't look away and kept wondering "how could someone think of that?" Did you notice how much of it was done digitally? How the digital and the human elements worked in perfect hybrid coordination to create stunning visual and symbolic stories?

And are you being inspired by the athletes themselves? I have a tab open so I can peek at the athletes info in between events. I was watching indoor volleyball and thought one gal was moving a bit slow. Until I read her bio and realized she is 35 years old. Hmm, 2 years younger than me, but not sitting on her couch. Guess I can give her a little slack.

And then there is Dara. The 41 year old swimming mom. With a body that screams "go away chocolate!" Who has been accused of doping so much that she took additional tests and gave blood to be stored so that when new tests are invented they can test her again. That is an athlete who is sure she is all natural. Not quite the same response as we see from countless baseball players who are racing to retire before they get caught in a drug mess. Dara is a warrior queen who inspired me to set down my coke and pick up a bottle of water. Baby steps. Maybe I will even have a salad for dinner.

In between all of these wonderful events have been some of the greatest commercials. Several times, I have reached for my sketch pad and paused one (tivo rocks!) so I could capture the lines of the advertisement. Oh and the preview for the fall television shows have me all excited for the back to school season.

Want to join me on the couch? Just slide over the scrappy supplies and sit on down.

One of my favorite things about belonging to online scrapbooking communities is the way women will come together to support one another in times of need. Certainly, there is plenty of drama and "smacking" that turns my stomach, but with that nonsense aside, there exists so much positive support among women. I love watching women cheer one another on as they celebrate both scrappy and life successes. The way we soothe each other through tears and loss. And, most of all, the way we give when there is need.

Here is an example of the digital community coming together to support a special cause. Please read the story here. And then head here to purchase the kit. It is a gorgeous collaboration by a large number of talented and giving designers. Put a little good karma out there and join the digital community in making life a bit easier on this family. Thanks!

I have some interesting and useless information about a variety of words for you this week as well as a freebie...

"karate" means "empty hand."
"samba" means "to rub navels together.
"Kemo Sabe" means "soggy shrub" in Navajo.
"Rhythms" is the longest English word without vowels.
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.
The double X in a word is common in the Maltese language.
"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
"Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand; "lollipop" with your right.
The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).
The world's largest alphabet is Cambodian, with 74 letters.
The Hawaiian alphabet has 12 letters.
TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.
The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."
A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is "uncopyrightable".
"Euouae," a medieval music term, is the longest word in English that contains only vowels. It’s also the word with the most consecutive vowels.
"Bookkeeper" is the only English word that has three consecutive double letters.

So now you know all that, here is your alphabet to make up your own words...


This uppercase alphabet co-ordinates with Scrapstreet's August free kit Agean Seas.
Get the alpha here for a short time and the free kit in store .

If you miss the alpha, it will be in store in the Digi Dollar Spot later this month.

Sorry the alpha link has expired, but you can buy the Agean Seas Alpha in the ScrapStreet Store next week for $1.

Wednesday Inspiration - dizzy about circles

I just love creating with circles - I think circles on any page or creation just make the layout a little more finished. I must have circles on the brain because I'm even looking for a new large circle cutter in my paper scrapbooking world. That's fine, but let's see what we can do with circles in the digi world. Ready for some digital finds? Here we go!

Brushes:
Obsidian Dawn: Arcane Circles
Obsidian Dawn: Gears
Graphic Illustrations: PhotoShop Magic Circles (you have to go thru a free membership * confirmation, but the freebie benefits are waaaaay worth it!)
Graphic Illustrations: Retro Shapes
Graphic Illustrations: LITE Circled Hearts
Graphic Illustrations: {circular} Swirls Set
Yourdigitaldesigners.com: 100 Circles 1 ($6.00)
graphicxtras.com: 100 Brushes 26 'Circles 1' ($9.00)
Brusheezy: Free Vector-Grunge Brush Pack
Illusion of Perfection: Circles
Seishido: Go to Brushycats//Bubbled ($1-$8)
Seishido: Go to Freebies//5th one down=BESIDE

Fonts:
dafont.com: page of Circle
Fonts.com: keyword: Circle
Urbanfonts.com: search: Circle
Free-fonts.com: search: Circle

Supplies: Green Grove by Dora's Designs for ScrapStreet.com
(available for free for only 2 more days!)
Fonts: Jenkins v.2.0, Goundy Stout, Times New Roman, Jellyka - Estrya's Handwriting.

Article
And a fun little article from Wikipedia on the CIRCLE!

Pie, anyone?

Supplies: Green Grove by Dora's Designs for ScrapStreet.com
(available for free for only 2 more days!)

Internet Safety

"Consumer Reports" September 2008 arrived in my mailbox with the cover story being, '7 Biggest Online Blunders'. Talk about getting one's attention! Immediately I thumbed to the index and found some rather interesting reading that I'd like to share today. Of course I can't post the whole article here, so I'll just share a brief synopsis of article.
The gist of the article pertains to protecting yourself whilst online and also how to keep your computer safe including ID Leak Protection. So without further adieu here's some helpful information for those of us spending time on the internet.

1. Never assume your security software is protecting you. Regularly check it to make sure it's activated and update it weekly if it's not automatically doing so.
2. If you get an email (they always look so official) asking you to update your personal information via email, do not click that link! This is called 'phishing' and the bad guys are trying to bait you.
3. Never use the same password for all your online accounts.
4. Beware of program freebies such as screen savers. They're usually bundled with spyware that will bog down your computer.
5. Macs are not immune from everything. Seems the incidence of Phishing scams for Mac users are at about the same rate as PC users. The Apple Safari browser has no built-in phishing protection. Get an anti-phishing toolbar like Netcraft or McAfee.
6. Never click on ads scaring you into thinking your PC IS NOT PROTECTED or UNSAFE or CONTAMINATED. This is usually Malware that will infect your computer. Use a Pop-Up protector or simply enable it in your browser settings.
7. Use a separate credit card just for your internet shopping and never use your debit card. Or use a safe third party such as PayPal. Another idea if making a large purchase is to get a virtual account number from your credit card company. It's only valid for that one time use.


Consumer Reports advises the use of Security Suites that include a firewall, anti-virus, and anti spyware that offer real time protection. To read further about how to protect yourself and your family online, pick up the September 2008 issue in your local stores or you can subscribe by going here.
Consumer Reports Mission Statement
We are a non-profit organization that is supported by the subscriptions to our web site and magazine. To maintain our independence, we do not accept any outside advertising and any free test samples.


Free Antiphishing Toolbars
http://toolbar.netcraft.com/
http://us.mcafee.com/root/product.asp?productid=sa


Recommended Security Suites (Avira Suite is Free)
http://www.bitdefender.com/
http://www.avira.com/

Learn about Dangerous Sites
SiteAdvisor.com
StopBadware.org

Photo Fun- Pencil Sketch

Awhile back I stumbled across "Mama Shan's" video tutorials for photoshop on YouTube. I don't have photoshop but I do have Photoshop Elements so I watched the video about turning a photo into a pencil sketch. After watching it I wanted to try and see how far I could go even though I don't have all of the features that Photoshop has. I couldn't find the exact picture I used on this picture below as my computer crashed awhile back and I lost some items.




I did find the orginal picture of my dog, " Lexie" and below you see what I did using the steps from "Mama Shan's" tutorial to turn it into a pencil sketch. I was fun to try and I learn some more about my program which I didn't know how to do before going through this.






I took the finished pencil sketches and added a few more things to them so I could use them on some cards I was making to sell.

So a fun way to learn your program or learn something new is to go through a tutorial such as these. So I challenge you this week to try something new!

Sunday Freebie!

Ok, so I am one of the lucky gals going to trade shows and being bombarded with inspiration and yummy freebies. I am not about to apologize for it since I scrapped more in the 2 weeks since the show than I scrapped all summer before it!

but.

I do feel like sharing the wealth! So here we go--a new kit that is free for our blog readers for one week only. Expires on the 10th. You need to pop into our store and use code: bl08fr03

the kit: Green Grove


Enjoy the kit and enjoy your scrapping this week!

Hey hey it's Saturday

So glad to be back online..phew. 1st of august bought another months bandwidth with my isp. I can't believe that with 20gigs of bandwidth for the month I had used it up a week before the endo f the month.I know I had been doing a lot of uploading and downloading but boy did it disappear quick. Although I suspect that my Mazzie had been watching Dr Who on the bbc website even though she watches on real tv at least once per week then sometimes on satellite too. Kids. I know there is a free meter for checking this kind of thing but she knows more about pc's than I do and I guess she would get round any timers or limits put on.



Any one else loving Dr Who then? we live quite near to where they film it at Cardiff. Cant say I have ever seen any of the actors around though. I used to watch it when I was a kid, with the original Dr Who in it and was so terrified by it , it was recommended by our GP that I should not watch it or be kept away from it if it was on. Course I'm going back to the 1960's ooohhha now you can work out my age roughly , well that is if you have enough fingers and toes.



Waffling again aren't I? Well known for it here, but I digress.



In the digiscrapping world you in the US have been having your craft shows and scrapping conferences, hope you enjoyed them and bring some of that joy to us in your layouts. I have been slogging it with making wedding invitations, 50 gate folded, embossed, beribboned beauties, that have been hard work from day one.



Taking a large sheet of card A4 in european sizing. I used a folding template and bone folder to make the folds crisp and sharp in my card. It ends up as DL size or standard letter size. I am hoping you all understand what size this is. it is the biggest wedding invitation card I have made yet.



Inside there is the same gatefolded insert in 120gsm grams per square meter smooth paper, which I used Adobe indesign to design the wording and graphic decos. I had to trim the paper insert slightly because the fold did not look right.



On the outside I carefully measured panels in gold foil card and cut those to fit the centre of the card . Attatched with sticky pads to raise it about 1/8 inch. on top of this was mounted 2 white fluffy marabou feathers, one gold padded heart and in the corners 2 tiny gold gem hearts.



The tops of the cards , I had stamped and embossed earlier with Wedding Invitation.



To finish the card I used around 12 inches of gold organza 3/4 inch ribbon to tie round the card with bow to the front side. I attatched the ribbon with double sided tape , just a small piece to the back. The cards then each have a beautiful cream pearl envelope to be posted in.



This has been quite a feat as everything went wrong at every stage. Including running out of ribbon and having to scour ebay for 25 metres of it.To match!!



Still they are almost finished and I am hoping they will be pleased with the finished result. I think I would love them if they were for me.







Here are some photos of said cards.

What do you think when you see these photos? I see paper. Yummy, textured scrap paper. Last week my husband and I took our kids to the aquarium and as I snapped pictures of walls, signs, grass, and stone, he stopped me and asked what the heck was I doing? I tried to explain. Really, I did. I pointed out the glorious textures all around us. I know he didn't get it, but I did--lots of fabulous shots.

In addition to taking my own shots, I have a few favorite texture sites. Here is my fave--and the one these shots came from--CG Textures. Have some fun!