D.I.Y Greeting Cards and Tags

Yesterday, Jill commented on the gift tag post:  I never thought to make my own. Do you print them on stickers or paper? How do you like Publisher?

Yes, or yes. I usually print on whatever I have hanging around. Stickers, business cards, card stock. I've used Publisher for many, many years so I'm very comfortable with it to make greeting cards, labels, tags, business cards, and long ago my webpage. I like Publisher especially if I don't have label paper or business cards that are already marked and scored. In the Print Set up function, Publisher allows crop marks which makes it easier to know where to cut if you are using plain paper or cardstock

However, you're not limited to using Publisher, espeically if you don't own the program. You can design cards and labels in Word. Microsoft Office On Line offers hundreds of templates for all Office products. The service is free. The templates are easy to use as is or to edit for your own desgins.

Don't have Office? Not to worry. Avery Products offers free templates plus free software for their paper products. Avery also makes it easy to customize a template. The site also has project ideas with step by step instructions. A myriad of Avery products can be found at office supply stores like Staples and Office Max.

Long  before Publisher came along, I used  Print Master  by Broderbund to make cards and things. This program is not free, but provided a lot of entertainment for my girlies when they were little as the program was easy enough for them to use.  I liked it because I could scan in my own artwork or my girlies' art as well as use the clipart provided. Got artsy-crafty kids? This would make a great gift. You can find the software at Staples, and I think I've seen it at Target.

Wouldn't Grandma love a set of address labels with artwork by the kids?

And of course you can hand make items without using a computer. The Welcome sign above was made by decoupaging wrapping paper snow people onto a scrap of mat board using Mod Podge as the glue. Torn tissue paper was glued on for the snow. Snowflake and holly stickers were added. Don't have Mod Podge around and don't want to buy it? No worries. Use a 50-50 mix of PVA glue (good ol' Elmer's white glue) and water.

Have fun crafting!

M.A.H.O.D.

Before being dragged into the season crush, thought this little drawing would make a cute gift tag. Will import the image into Publisher. The business card template will make a nice size and yield 10 tags on each sheet.

Have you started your season preparations?

The Friday Five

Four things I won't be doing today. One thing I will be doing.

1.  I won't be getting up at the crack of dawn. Not if I can help it. Himself is an early riser getting up between 4am and 4:30am.  I usually try to roll over while he goes out to milk the chickens or whatever he does at that ungodly hour.

2. I won't be out and about at the malls looking for those Black Friday deals. I'll leave the thrill of the hunt to the experts, BVMom and her sister. I may get a jump on Black Monday point and click shopping.

3. I won't be driving. Anywhere. Not here. Not there. Not in a car.

4. I won't be cooking. When someone asks, "What's for lunch?" I'll reply, "Pretend I'm dead." Same reply to dinner question too.

5. What I will be spending a good portion of the day on will be figuring out why the smartphone no longer syncs properly. The calendar syncs, but not the contacts and why my administrator settings crashed and burned. Thank Gawd the data is backed up all over the place.

What are you doing today?

Today is...

Pie Day! Well, not THE pie day. That's 3/14. Today is pie making day. Pumpkin pie, coconut custard, and I shall attempt Dreamy Apple Pie from The Pioneer Woman.

Are you baking pies? What kind?

The Friday Five

One of my favorite places to hang out when I was a kid was the library. Sometimes I would just wander through the stacks running my hand along the spines of the books. I used to dream of one day having a library of my very own. Floor to ceiling bookshelves and a ladder on caster tracks to reach the highest shelf and roll from wall to wall.

I also love electronics. Shiny, sleek gadgets, with glowing screens and the gentle hum of power. Wouldn't it be great if someone could put a library ino the palm of your hand? Enter e-readers and my dream come true.

1. iPad. A Holy Grail of bells and whistles is out of my price range unless I win a lottery. I think I have a better chance of being struck by lighting.

2. Kindle. Affordable. 3500 book storage. Be still my heart. Wi-Fi and free 3G for life. Limited Internet. Upload your own PDF files, but may need to pay small upload and reformatting charge

I was lusting after the Kindle and came very close to purchasing, but as I always think when a new gadget comes down the Pike, will something better come along shortly? Should I jump in or wait and see?

3. Barnes and Noble Nook COLOR. Affordable. Wi-Fi and an SD slot. Be still my heart SD. That means unlimited amounts of storage. That means more than 3500 books even if I couldn't read them all in my lifetime. Upload PDF files with USB cable. No fee

4. Wi-Fi vs. 3G. Wi-Fi not as fast as 3G still able to connect to my own home network and can pickup the hotspot in any Barnes and Noble store, airports

5. 3G fast and free for life. But what happens when  4G (that is fourth generation) comes along? Will 3G still be supported and will it still be free or is that for a short time only?

I am leaning towards the Nook Color.  with the SD slot the storage becomes giddily unlimited. Color makes it atrractive to read magazines. I have some PDF art technique reference files and would be nice to have them handy to the drafting table instead of running back and forth to the desktop or having to print out and store a hardcopy. ditto recipes in the kitchen. Not having to pay even a minimal fee is attractive too. I was hoping to see a demo at my local Barnes and Noble, but as the product hasn't been released yet, the store didn't have one. They are supposed to get one in on Black Friday (sales high holy day the Friday after Thanksgiving). I'll wait until Monday to go see it as the crush of crowds and the thrill of the hunt do not beckon me.

Now, if someone could just create a device: lightweight, thin, small, but with a large enough screen, powerful to surf the web, color, capable of unlimited storage and had phone capabilities (with a Blue Tooth headset for privacy) so I didn't have to carry around a bunch of devices: laptop or netbook, phone, and e-reader, I'd be right there.

What do you think?

Calligraphy Meets Technology

Had to share this chuckle from a colleague.

How's your project going?

Wed Letter Day

While it's still Wed, today and last week's letter B and Z. B Sharpie markers over tissue paper. Z, Ziller Glossy Black with the ever faithful Nikko G, Pearl Ex pigments because I felt sparkly today.

What are you working on?