Now You Can Translate This Blog

Because my blog traffic has increased, I've noticed on my FEEDJIT widget that I've had quite a bit of foreign bloggers on my site. I want everyone to be able to read, as well as see my blog. So I have added a Babel Fish Translator box.

If you have your own blog, do your readers a favor and help them read your blog by being able to translate it into their native tongue.

I also use this Babel Fish Translation site if someone leaves me a comment I can't read. I just copy and paste it into the box and can read what they wrote!

New Year's Template Freebie

Has this year just flown by or what??? Today I am posting a template for your 12 midnight photos (or any other New Year's picture you'd like to use.)

There are a few tweaks you can make if you know how to move around inside a template. The confetti layer can either be made more transparent or you can move it to a layer behind the photo if you don't want the decoration on top of your picture. Also, it's hard to see here, but the corners are photo corners (I did them in white on the template so you could see them easier.) It just looks weird on this white back ground!

I used Photoshop styles for my layout because they have such good 3D stuff. (You can download a ton of styles at Adobe's website.) I'm not even sure if Paint Shop Pro has the equalivent of Photoshop's style elements. (If you know, please tell me where they are. LOL)

So here is the New Year's Template in Paint Shop Pro and here is the New Year's Template in Photoshop.

And NO, that isn't me in the picture! I couldn't believe I didn't have 1 single photo handy of ANYONE in my family kissing anyone else...not even a pet! LOL The picture is of one of the women from Desperate Housewives. (No, I have never sat down and watched the show, amazing as that may sound.)

Happy New Year everybody!

A Thank You and A Reminder

First of all I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has posted my freebies on their website's freebie list! My traffic is really picking up. You guys do everyone a great service!

Also THANKS for all the really sweet comments you are leaving...mostly on 4Shared. Your opinion matters! If you like a certain style like the textures in the New Years Collection or the colors in the Sleigh Ride Collection then it helps when you tell me. I don't want to make a bunch of junk no one is interested in! LOL

Now, the reminder is to check out my new list of "Sites I Like To Visit" that is on my sidebar. I did you guys a favor and only put in scrapbook related links. You won't all of a sudden be looking at Dale Earnhardt Jr's website or a cool website that lists all the players in the NHL who get into fights and how they are ranked as far as that goes! (But see now you have the links to both sites just in case you are curious...hey, it's a new year and time to broaden your horizons!!! LOL)

clipart from the Chilly Tilly collection by Susan Seal available for purchase at www.pccrafter.com

On the "Sites I Like To Visit" are some pretty neat places that aren't really blogs. One place is where you can make your own dog tags. These work well in military layouts. So check out the neat places I've listed. And look for more in the future.

Please let me know if you'd like for me to list your blog or website in my list and I'll be happy to check it out!

Look for some really great New Years freebies coming tomorrow and New Years Day. I've been working all afternoon on them! Gosh, this is FUN! LOL I'm having a blast!

It's Still Winter (Freebie)

Well, for most of you it is still winter. It was in the 80's here yesterday! I miss the cold weather (until I go somewhere where it is cold!)

This past Thanksgiving we visited my family in North Carolina. It was cold there, but by no means unseasonal. However, when we decided to go out driving we didn't have to go far to find REAL winter weather

My famliy has property in the Blue Ridge Mountains and we always meet them up there for Thanksgiving when we make it to NC. This year we decided to go riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway and our drive took us to Mount Mitchell.

Mount Mitchell is the higest point east of the Mississippi River. A little over half way up the road, we crossed the "freeze line." Everything ahead of us was covered in snow, but everything behind us was just like a regular fall day in the mountains. It was absotuley stunning!

My freebie today is overlays using the pictures we took that day. Hopefully you can find some creative ways to use thes pictures in your winter layouts. You can dowanload the Winter Overlays here.

And please let me see the results! Also, if you want the original photos (maybe for a screensaver) I'll be happy to pass them on.

This Time It's Bret Hedican

photo by:Bruce Kluckhohn

"Bret Hedican left Friday night's game with a right knee injury and could now miss significant time as a result. Hedican sustained the injury via falling awkwardly with his knee getting caught underneath all of his weight, after getting entangled with Chuck Kobasew in his own end. Hedican wore a brace after the game and will miss tonight's game against Columbus to undergo further examination and is hopeful that it is nothing more than an MCL strain, rather than more severe ligament damage." Rotoworld.com

Just a note of intrest for those of you not in "the know" about Hedican, he is married to former Olympic gold-medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

I Made A Blinkie!

Here is my very own blinkie for my blog!! I'm not going to tell you how long it took me to make it.LOL (The figure on the left is a woman doing Pilates and the figure on the right is a hockey player).



But now I think I can do it a little faster! Most of the time spent was looking for the tool or screen setting called for in the directions. I still can't find the "link" column on my layers palette in Photoshop, but I did the linking by right-clicking. Thank goodness for multiple ways of doing things, Bill Gates. LOL

You can grab my blinkie for your own site. PLEASE PLEASE take it. I almost lost my mind creating it! Let me know if you take it because I'd like to see it on someone else's page. (Vanity, I guess.)

If this isn't the way you share a .gif, will someone please correct me! My brain is like a sponge that is dripping wet. I'm losing data here! LOL

Thanks for your help.

Saturday Morning FREEBIE

Good morning! Don't you just hate it when you can sleep in, but you wake up anyway? I was so excited to post this freebie that I couldn't get back to sleep. So here I am up early on my day off to get this new alphabet to you.



I call it Ripple Alphabet Pink because I used the ripple effect in Paint Shop Pro to get the distortion of the letters.

This is the same lettering style I used in my New Year's Collection and New Year's Collection Add On. So if you like those, grab the entire alphabet here.



Also, this alphabet will go great with my Flamingo Kit and my Flamingo Kit Add On. If you haven't gotten those kits, be sure to check them out.

My First Template and My First Closeout

You have until December 31, 2007 to download the first thing I posted on my blog. If you haven't grabbed it yet you can get the Paint Shop Pro version here and the Photoshop version here.

SORRY, this link has expired.

It may be a little plain because it was my first attempt at designing anything, but remember with a template you can spruce it up anyway you want.

Act fast before it is gone forever! LOL

Today's Freebie: New Year's Collection Add On

As I promised, here is an add on to my New Year's Collection. It contains 6 more items, including 2 colored papers and an overlay.

Try the overlay on top of photos to give those ordinary group pictures a little flair!

Download the add on HERE.

Credit for the knotted ribbon in both sets goes to The Ephemeral Victorian. Thanks again for a great designer aide!

Think Outside the Box When Downloading Freebies!

Shelia left me the following comment on 4 Shared: "TYVM!! I needed a top hat for a LO on A. Lincoln....yours is perfect."

This is the best part of desiging and sharing! It was something she needed and ta da, there it was! LOL

Glad I could help. I'll have to remember to re-post the hat around Abe's birthday!

Try Again

I've gotten a few notes about the link for my latest freebie, New Year's Collection. I have fixed it, I hope.

I downloaded it and opened it just fine. So please try again if you were having trouble before.

New Year's Collection FREEBIE

Today's freebie will get you in the mood to go out and celebrate the New Year right since you know you have a great kit to scrap the pictures with! Don't forget to color co-ordinate your wardrobe to the kit's cheerful colors so that you don't clash in the pictures! LOL



Enjoy making the memories and then scrapping them with my New Year's Collection.



And come back again because I always have add-ons to my kits!

Christmas Movies

Besides doing things inside the theme parks around here, another one of my fiance's duties is movie trailer checks at a couple of local theaters. Since we had to be there any way, we decided to catch a few movies.

First we saw The Water Horse. It was a good movie! Set in Scotland during World War II, this is good family movie and I highly suggest you go see it. I won't give away the ending or try to tell you what it is about, but I do think it is worth seeing.

Later in the day we had another movie to check, National Treasure: Book of Secrets. If you saw the first National Treasure movie then you probably already have plans to see this one. It is very entertaining and it is another movie I would suggest you go and see. I am not making any comments on the history aspect. I don't really know that much about the events that are the basis of the film (Civil War era.) I just know I enjoyed watching it.

Let me know if you see these movies and if you liked them. Thanks!

Freebie: Sleigh Bells

Good morning. Sorry I didn't post yesterday, but from the looks of it not many people were visiting blogs yesterday anyway.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Here is a quick freebie for today, Sleigh Bells. I've sort of been out of it for a day or two and will try to get back into the swing of things as soon as I can.

Merry Christmas

Just to let you know that Mickey and Minnie send everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Freebie: Light Bulbs

Here is the post today. It is sort of "left over" from my experiments with making my other Textured Light Bulbs. It's called Patterened Textured Light Bulbs.

Not a very original title, but it gets the point across! LOL I hope you can use them for some of your layouts.

Off To Disney Tomorrow

Tomorrow is my fiance's birthday so we decided to finally use our Disney Dollars we've had forever and go to The Magic Kingdom.

We've been there for Christmas before...one year we did all 4 Disney parks, Sea World and both Universal parks during the Christmas season to see the decorations and all that.

At Universal we actually got to participate in the Macy's parade as balloon handlers. It was fun!

Ah, the beauty of living so close to the attractions! (And also the beauty of my finace' s job giving us the ability to get into most of the parks for free so he can do his job!)

HINT: If you ever go to Disney's Boardwalk, the ESPN Zone has THE BEST chicken wings! Of course I get the honey BBQ ones. (I'm not into my lips being on fire!! LOL)

Bells, Bells, Bells Freebie

Sorry, no angels today! LOL

But I do have something to give you today. Here is Bells, Bells, Bells: a set of 14 bells of different styles, colors and textures. I used the bell from my Sliver bells Template I posted a couple of weeks ago.

Christmas Rainbow Freebie

Ok, so this isn't REALLY just an angel post since I did say that I had already posted all the angel sets.

This is a set of 2 angels and 2 light bulbs that I put together because of the same color scheme. Use it however you see fit!

Christmas Rainbow

Last Angel Freebies. Have You Collected Them All?

Good morning! I have the last 2 installments in the Angel Series today. (Did I hear cheering or a sigh of relief?!)

Here is Green Angels. There are 12 angels in this set. Some of them are not completely green, but green is the primary color. Pastel Angels are different colored angels all in the same style. That's the beauty of each Angel Set...there are so many different styles, colors, etc that you simply have to download each set to see what's there!
Once again I am asking for layouts using the angels so that others can "scrap lift" your ideas. In case you don't know what that means, it is simply looking at someone else's work and "copying" their layout ideas but using your own stuff.

For those of you that struggle with coming up with a new layout idea (instead of always using a template) then it is a fun, creative way to think outside the limits of a template and really begin to grow as a digi scrapper!

Before you know it you won't even need other people's work for inspiration! YOU'LL be the one that OTHERS scrap lift from!

Hey, go for it! That's why you do this, isn't it? To exercise your artistic abilities?!

Steelers RB Parker out for season

Ok, so last night wasn't a good night for our sports teams as far as injuruies go. Not only did one of our hockey players get injuried, but so did a Pittsburgh Steeler.

From Steelers.com: "The Steelers were dealt a major blow on their opening drive when running back Willie Parker, who at the time was leading the NFL in rushing, went out of the game with a season ending fractured fibula" (a bone in the lower leg.)

Williams to Have Reconstructive Knee Surgery

My heart goes out to Carolina Hurricanes forward Justin Williams who tore his ACL last night in a loss against the Florida Panthers. He'll be out for 4-6 months after his surgery! If you aren't familar with this type of injury, here is an explination from ehealthmd:

"The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the most important of four strong ligaments connecting the bones of the knee joint. It is often injured."

What a tough break! He was on the ballot for the NHL All Star Game which is played January 27th.

Freebie Tripple Header: More Angels

Today is your lucky day! I have 3 freebies for you! The first is my absolute favorite of all the angels I made. It is Fabric Angels. A little unconventional, but still very versitle!
The second freebie today is called Red/Orange Angels. I hope you like the variety in this set!
And here is a little more traditional set of angels, called Silver Angels. These can go with just about any color or style of layout.

Freebies!

I awoke to find that my son had done his magic again on that darn Label Cloud! Thanks!

I'm excited that you guys are still downloading angels. Here are the freebies I have to offer today:

Wooden/Metal Angels and Purple/Blue/Pink Angels. (The P/B/P Angels has 27 items in it!!)

Please send me some layouts to post so that others can see how you were inspired to use the angels! Thanks!

Try, Try Again

My son is going to reload the Label Cloud later tonight. He's a nocturnal creature! LOL Oh, to be young again!

If any of you have tried the Label Cloud let me know what issues (if any) you are having/have had. This is ticking me off. It was working earlier in the day. *sighs and shakes her head*

Also, if you have any ideas on how to make the blog more visable please let me know! Thanks for all your help!

(Christmas artwork: Christmas Village collection available for sale at www.pccrafter.com.)

Face Lift

Just a slightly new look to the layout here. I am trying to get stuff in my sidebar that will help direct more traffic to my site.

I added a "subscribe to" box. This just means when I add new content you will automatically be emailed. So sign up and you don't have to guess when I am uploading something. Sometimes I post early, early in the morning before work, but sometimes I can't get enough time until after I come back from the gym the second time (maybe 7 or 8 pm.)

Also, you will see a different look to my Labels. It is called a Label Cloud and I think it is a lot more eye appealing than just a long ole' list. Thanks to my son who is home from school for installing it for me (and no thanks WHATSOEVER to the guy who designed the darn thing...he was "too busy" to help me get it loaded.)

If I didn't like the way it looked I would have told the guy what he could do with his little cloud! I can't stand people who do something and offer it to the public but then have no time to help you actually use it!


Here is what the Label Cloud SHOULD look like.

Anyway, the Label Cloud is trying to get itself used to being on my site...sometimes it is there and sometimes it doesn't load quite right. I have that issue with my Counter as well. I think they take up more bandwith or whatever and so are slower to get going than the other small items. I'd ask the designer about the Label Cloud but..never mind! LOL

More Angel Freebies

Today's angel sets include Beveled Angels and Neon Angels. Keep in mind these don't have to used just at Christmas, so save the different colored ones for another time.

There are still a few more sets left to upload. I hope you aren't burned out on angels yet! LOL

Carolina Hurricanes Pull One Out Of Their...

Well, you know what I mean. Down 2 goals with only about 3 minutes in the game, the Hurricanes score to insure there isn't a shutout. Less than 1 minute later they score the tie goal. Then in overtime, they score first to win the game.

With hockey, it isn't over until the very last buzzer sounds! (Thank goodness!)

Dale Jr Having Fun Down Under

"In Australia on vacation with friends, Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Friday dropped in on Marcos Ambrose's V8 Super School for the opportunity to drive one of the school's 450-horsepower race cars around the 2.1-kilometre road course." NASCAR.com

Freebie Freebie: 2 Angel Sets

Hey! In an effort to get these angels sets out by Christmas, I am going to have to double up on my freebies!

The first set today is called Turquoise & Teal Angels. There are only 4 in this set, but I hope you will agree that they are pretty enough that is sufficient.LOL

Now for something totally different: The next set is Transparent/Glowing Angels. These are made with the same styles in Photoshop as the Light Bulbs and Glowing Light Bulbs I offered a few days ago.

Look out for more angel sets in the next few days.

Golden Angels Freebie

Greetings from chilly Florida. Ok, it's down right COLD!!! I thought I moved to Florida to get WARM!!! Oh well, it certainly puts one in the Christmas spirit to have some nippy weather! An 80 degree Christmas is such a bummer!

Here is a set of the angels I made Sunday. I'm going to try and get them all posted before Christmas, but I'm sure you'll still be scrapping way into January. I don't know if you are like me, but sometimes I see a photo opportunity that would go great with an element or paper I have downloaded from somewhere. So the page actually starts around the the tools instead of the picture.

I'm not sure if that is the "correct" way to do it, but you should know by now that my idea of "correct" isn't always...well, CORRECT!! LOL (Of course in my professional life I am just the opposite. Pilates and Spinning both require that you understand the principles of the exercises and stick to the proper way to perform them.)

So enjoy these golden/yellow/shinny angels and come back for more. There are different varities of the same angel in each package so you can do a "classical" type layout or maybe a more whimsical.

Don't limit yourself to jut Christmas photos. How about a precious baby photo or even your best friend, Spike the dog! LOL All I ask is that you BE CREATIVE.

Without further ado, here are the Golden Angels.

Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg Dies

How sad that Dan Fogleberg lost his battle with prostate cancer! He was only 56.

Preview: Angels and More Angels

I sure hope you guys like angels! While watching the Steelers crash and burn today I made just under 150 angels out of different textures, styles and colors. I have posted 2 here so you can see the totally different ideas I came up with. See what I mean?

Also, there were a few I had to re-do because they hung off the edge on one side. I'm still trying to fix that! I'm just sort of angeled-out right now!

Come back tomorrow for the first in who knows how many angels posts. I'm going to try to group them together in some logical way. Yeah right. LOL

FREEBIE: Textured Light Bulbs

Good Morning! Well, the nasty weather is starting here in Florida. The high today should be 69 with the low tonight 39.! That's COLD here! LOL

Time to snuggle up in front of a good football game today! The Pittsburgh Steelers play at 1:00 pm! But unfortunately I have to go out in all of this first and teach my classes at the gym!

Here is today's freebie. It's called Textured Light Bulbs and it is made with one of the new styles I downloaded into Photoshop.

There are 19 bulbs in this set. I just picked a few to go in my display bag. (You can pick up the display bags at The Ephemeral Victorian.)

I know that technically the ends of Christmas tree light bulbs are supposed to be metal colored. But technically they aren't textured, or look like Currier and Ives prints either. Call it creative license!

I hope you enjoy them!

Good News For Some

I know most of you come to this blog to get digital scrapbooking freebies. As you can see in my profile I have lots of other intrests as well.

But to be fair to those who don't want to wade thru all my ramblings about my hockey team's woes, I have installed a Carolina Hurricanes hockey widget on my sidebar.

That's not to say I might not mention the ' Canes occasionally!

Actually the team was doing super the first part of the season. But right now they are stinking up the place! But your favorite sports team is like your child...it requires unconditional love!

I'm woking hard on both the child AND the team!! LOL

Double Freebie Today: Light Bulbs

As promised, here are the results of my playing around with some new styles I added to photoshop.

The first set, Glowing Light Bulbs, has a shadow around the bulb giving it the appearence of an actual working bulb.

The second set, Light Bulbs, has no shadow but is still a very striking embellishment.

I couldn't decide which style I liked better so I decided to include both in my post today. Imagine using both style in one layout (perhaps a "burned out bulb" effect.) I think you'll have fun "decorating" with these bulbs!

But these aren't the end of the bulbs! My experementing in Styles took me in a totally different direction than these illuminated bulbs. Come back and see the results in tomorrow's freebie post!

A Big OOPS!

Thanks to raole for pointing out to me that my link to the Currier and Ives Light Bulbs actually pointed to the Currier and Ives Alphabet. I have correted it and you can download what you thought you were getting the first time! Sorry!

Currier and Ives Light Bulbs Freebie

Here is the latest in my Currier and Ives/Sleigh Ride series. I was experimenting with different styles in Photoshop and I designed something I will post tomorrow. These light bulbs were an "aha" moment while I was playing around. I wanted to get them posted while you were still downloading the original Currier and Ives Alphabet and the Sleigh Ride Collection (with Add On)

Ya'll Come On Back Now, Ya Hear

There's another addition to the Sleigh Ride Collection that will be posted tomorrow. If you liked that kit or the Currier and Ives Alphabet, then ya'll come on back!

Sleigh Ride Add On Freebie

Thanks for all the nice comments about the Sleigh Ride Collection. Here are some add ons that you can use with the original kit. I'm not as happy with these as I was with the original kit, but they aren't too bad. I wish I could figure out Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop a little more!

I downloaded some new styles into Photoshop and can't wait to experiment with them tonight! I will post what I come up with as my freebie for tomorrow. So please come back!