I generally don’t trick out the look of my computers very much, but when I got a wide-screen laptop for Christmas, I decided I had to do something about that ugly wallpaper. There are lots of easy ways to change the look of your screen, and it only takes a minute. You can use one of your own pics, or you can always do a web search for wallpaper, or you can even make your own in a graphics program. I’ve tried all of the above, and every now and again, I get my wallpapers from DeviantArt.com. Check it out!
February 20, 2007 at 9:21 pm | Design and Multimedia
My PhotoBook Creator is here!
Fair warning: Another long post everyone…
Back in October, I did the photography for my friend’s wedding. Admittedly, I’m not a particularly experienced or knowledgeable photographer (yet), but I do have a good camera (Nikon D50), a decent eye, and I take a sh*t-ton of photos that make up for it.
I got extremely lucky with a beautiful fall day and an exceptionally hansom couple to shoot, and I ended up with nearly 700 photos. Now the question becomes what to do with them. I’ve already created a DVD slideshow for them to view the photos, and we’ve got through our first round of sorting them down. Digital is nice, but when it comes to a wedding album, that needs to be printed.
I investigated photobook creation services, and decided on Picaboo because they offer downloadable software in which to create your pages. (It would take forever to upload and work with my high-res photos.) I added the first batch of photos (the prettiest outdoor shots) and realized I had a book with over 100 pages, so I decided to investigate how much it would cost. At $29.95 for the first 20 pages, and $1.99/each additional page, you can see how this would get pretty expensive, pretty quickly. Another thing to consider was the size. The book is only 8.5″ x 11″, which I personally think is too small for a wedding album. 12″ x 12″ books start at around $55 through another service.
I figured it was time to a) pare down the number of photos, and b) contact the bride to discuss budget. (More later on the wedding book saga.)
Another option I investigated is binding my own book. I didn’t want that spiral binding, so I did a search and came up with thermal binding, and the PhotoBook Creator. At $130 from Target (with 6 covers - the best deal amongst the retailers), it took me a week to decide I really wanted it.
Essentially, a heating element in the binding machine heats the glue applied to the inside spine of the book cover. You insert your printed pages into the cover and after the adhesive is heated and cooled, you have a book. Neat, huh?
Anyway, it arrived today, so I’m off to print some photos. (Don’t bother with the Collage Creator software that comes with it. I checked it out for about 3 minutes before I uninstalled it.) I’m going to use PhotoShop/InDesign cuz I’m an elitist techy smarta** (and it really is the best if you know how to use it). But no worries if you’re not down with the Adobe stuff - try that Picaboo software. It’s actually pretty cool and easy. In fact, I’m going to try printing from it first!
February 19, 2007 at 6:46 pm | Scrapbooking
Good gravy - my blog’s only been up for about a month, and I’ve already slacked off on posting! I’ve been busy crafting instead, and so this is gonna be one long post as a catch-up. (You might want to get comfortable with some good jams while you read this. It’s gonna be a bit long.) ;0)
Ok, so first up: the Valentines cards. I wanted to make at least 10 more and I forgot to get a photo of one of them, but at least my procrastinating ass got these out! Here are the cards I made:
I also came up with these three ATC’s for my Vintage Nudes Swap. I read someplace that ATC’s are all about experimentation, so that’s just what I did with these:
If you ask me, silver nail polish looks pretty keen on black paper, especially on the edges.
For this one, I used a Kleenex box and shoe polish.
I got an eyelet setter the day before I worked on these, and the woman’s leg in the clip just begged for movement so I gave it to her!
And now, ladies and gentlemen.. for a nature craft in the middle of winterrrrr!
I have a friend at work, Natalie, who gives me regular knitting and crochet lessons over lunch. Another friend, Jim, would raz me over doing such a domestic craft, and one day, I said well tell me what you make! That’s just what he did. Jim is a talented woodworker, and he offered to show Natalie and me how to make a walking stick out of a sunflower stalk. Of course, we jumped at the chance and headed over to Jim’s shop over lunch for the next few days.
The first order of business was to pick out our stalks, which would become the shafts of our walking sticks. Jim gave us each one that had cured for about a year in the garage.
First, we cut blocks of wood for the bottom tip. Jim later added a piece of flip-flop to make it skid-proof. He also varnished it to match the wood tip. (Such attention to detail always impresses me.)
Next we cut and shaped blocks of wood for the handles. Then we sanded the stalks so they’d be smooth and free of splinters.
Then, we sanded the handles and attached it to a dowel, which would then be inserted into the stalk.
Finally, we taped around the top of the stalk and filled it with Gorilla Glue. We pushed in the handle/dowel and clamped it to dry overnight. Jim finished them with a few coats of varnish and sealer, and now all I need is some walking weather!
February 18, 2007 at 6:15 pm | Crafting
