Tagxedo: Making Great Cards Just Got Easier

This started out as an experiment and turned into a little project. Have you heard of Tagxedo (click here) ? It's a word cloud creator, a bit like Wordle only even more fun. As soon as I tried it out once I could see lots of possibilities.

You can paste in any text you like, choose a shape, colours, fonts, themes, whatever. I put in a few lines of "Jingle Bells", picked out a tree shape and came up with this:

Both photos today edited in RadLab

Then I gave it a bit of From High In The Sky and it gave me this:

which I'm pretty pleased with. Both of these are printed out at 7x5 and put into little Ikea frames.

But they would also make great cards or Christmas tags. And there's more: you can upload a photo and shape a favourite bit of text round it. I'm thinking of snaffling some schoolwork and turning it Tall and (Not So) Small shaped. That would make a different kind of birthday card next year. Or a poster..

I'm Pushing Paper

I'm pulling paper, pushing pins and generally playing around with preparations for my 2011 Christmas album. So that means I've been using my new board again - 

I've made mood boards before for rooms I've been decorating; but never one for an album. I'll be doing it again, though. That's for sure. It really helped me to sort through my stash becasue I knew what I was looking for. I started with the Lily Bee memorandum collection; and the ledger paper look. Love that.

And then I added magazine cutttings, scraps, some old October Afternoon, a few Studio Calico scraps and a couple of photos.

Like last year it'll probably be a December Daily/ Journal Your Christmas mix. I'm aiming to prepare before December starts; but I do enjoy the JYC Forum, so you are bound to find me on there. Oh, and I've signed up for the Christmas photography class with Katrina Kennedy at Debbie Hodge's, so you might find me there too. And you? Where will you be this December? 

Calm, Calmer, Calmest

..or is that most calm? We are certainly hoping for a quiet, restful week here as we head into half term after a busy few days. Time for a bit of what The Tall One laughingly calls "Family Togetherness".

While I've been breathing deeply and thinking about keeping calm, I've been noticing a new kind of poster popping up on Pinterest. As you do. It's a sort of subway art. Like Keep Calm, you can adapt it and make it your own. Have you seen the ones I mean? Those posters with words to live by; rules for life; funny tips for getting through the day?

Words to live by: I've started thinking about my own. If you had to list the rules - no, not rules, let's call them aims, of your household, what would they be? Or are they values? Anyway, which ones do you hold dear? I made a few notes. Quick ones, stream of consciousness ones; and this is what I came up with. It's interesting, what you can find out about yourself when you do something like this. Seems like I love learning and laughing; and I value honesty and - hope I guess you'd call it.

I used this tutorial from Oopsey Daisy to help with my poster. If you don't have Photoshop, you can make something similar in Picnik - I tried this tutorial and found it very helpful. Or, use up all your leftover alphas instead and glue it down!

And that brings me back to the slogan competition from last week. I had intended to pick my favourite; but that turned out to be too hard because I liked so many of them. So I did a random drawing and Suzy came out as the winner. She said "Keep Calm, it's Only a Creative Opportunity!" and I think that's perfect. Suzy, drop me an email with your address and I'll put something in the post.

So really that just leaves me time today to remind you that it's Storytelling Sunday next week. The penultimate! let's make it a really great one.

The Post Of Procrastination

Today I have lots of things I could be doing. I have lots of things I should be doing. But then again..

• I could spend hours Mad Men -ing myself (I found this thanks to Rosie - please do some more blogging soon Rosie!)

• 

  Do you think she looks like me?

• I could start googling "sinus problems", so that I know what I'm talking about when I see the Specialist on Thursday. Then again, maybe not. I'll leave it to him to know what he's talking about.
• I could browse Daily Post for some fantastic blogging prompts. There's a new one every day, all year.
• I could stop knitting Little E's sweater (again) and look out some new wool for Knit-A-Square which sends hats and blanket squares to South Africa. Now, this one I will get round to.
• I could thank Carmen, Kelli, RachelB, Sandie and Sandra who have all given me blog awards recently. But I'll do that properly with a Random Five on Saturday.

And when I've done all that, there'll be nothing else for it: I'll have to do the ironing. But first? I think I'll change into something green, so I look more like my Mad Men image. After all, round here they do call me:

The Queen Of Green

Bring On The Blue And Green

I'm on the hunt for new colour combinations to use when I'm making things. Maybe it's something to do with spring peeping her head round the corner, I don't know, but this fresh blue, green, grey and white combo had me cutting up last week's paper pretty quickly.

It's an Amy Butler design and it helped me to come up with this:

A simpler look for me, but I like it. I think the journaling will go on the back when I've worked out what it is I want to add. My parents had just thirteen years together; and it's only at my age now that I'm starting to realise how very much more they must have had to say to each other. Maybe that's enough of a story for this page. It's certainly where I'm going to leave it for today.

Have a good Tuesday!

Five Blogs Into Books

Five blogs which have been turned into books (or vice versa)

1. Angry Chicken - Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing is a favourite of mine.
2. Meet Me At Mike's - Pip Lincolne's new book Sew La Tea Do looks like a fun sewing compendium. It's newly released here this month so I haven't seen a copy yet though.
3. Inside A Black Apple - with The Paper Doll Primer. This one is on my wish list. I love paper dolls, always have, collected them into my teens and beyond. And who could resist a book described as "a fully illustrated wondrous oddity"? With "activities and amusements for the curious paper artist"?
4. Pure Style - The books came before the blog with this one , but I'm not complaining. More of Jane Cumberbatch's chic-ly simple style can only be a good thing. There is a new cookery book in the works too.
5. And finally, a reminder of Orangette - the nicest cookery blog I know. And, of course, the blog of the book featured in Pass The Book this month. If you are quick there is still time to enter, but you'll have to be fast because I'm doing the draw Sunday morning..

And now you've got the idea..what about 5 steps to finding the book that's hiding in your blog from Cats Eye Writer. It's certainly something to think about!

Bringing The Background Forward

It's Thursday again, and that means another new lesson up at Yesterday And Today. Wow, it has me thinking, this one. Backwards and forwards, the "then" and the "now". It's all good, though.

I've been taking a closer look atlots of older photos, even found some I hadn't scanned yet, and it has brought me back to something I wrote about here a year ago. It's that tension we have today: the choice between cropping a photo to produce a beautiful image; and leaving in the background.

Still, to me, the background can be the best bit. All those little details we thought we'd never forget - the colour of the front door, the crazy wallpaper - I'm glad they are still there to make me smile.

Not that I have a picture of everything I'd like. Think about it. You might have photos of the people you want to remember; but do you have a photo of the little things? Is there anything you conjure up with your mind because the photo isn't there? I have a few:

• My Grandma's kitchen. Her "scullery" with its proud collection of china teacups carefully displayed on shelves built by Grandpa
• My last schoolbag. Blue, roughweave army surplus. My mum hated it. I loved it, with its pin on band badges and scribbles marker messages from friends
• My cereal packet puppet theatre I made when I was six. ...

I've been asking the rest of the family for suggestions and The Small One brought out her very first pair of glasses and asked for a picture. That's exactly the kind of thing I mean. Let's see what else we can find..

Gotta Craft Sale starts today...Gotta Craft sale starts today...Gotta Craft Sale starts today..Gotta Craft

Talking, Then Listening

"Mum," said The Small One, idly picking up a very sticky glue runner and then failing to put it back down again, "you haven't done any scrapbooking for days and days.."

Well, I haven't felt like doing anything much this week, really. The felt farm is waiting for its finishing touches; and the beautiful papers Sandra sent (Gotta Craft Sale! Soon!) are waiting for the attention they deserve. But I have had time to think.

I came across a quote in the paper at the weekend - and it has worked its way into my brain and twisted itself around all the other thoughts being stirred by Yesterday And Today.

"What one wants to say is formed in one's chiildhood, and we spend the rest of our lives trying to say it."

It's from Barbara Hepworth, the sculptor, and it is saying something to me at the moment. I sift through the old photos, looking for stories to tell, and I look at that little girl with the big smile (and the even bigger hair bows).

And then it comes to me that what she is trying to say, what she still wants to say, is that everybody's story deserves to be told. The family "Gazette" I gathered contributions for, Grandpa's life story I typed up laboriously (what was I? nine? ten? ), the school magazine I edited - it's all been about listening to those voices and letting them be heard.

It's been right there this week (and every other) in the blogs I've been reading. (You know - in that golden hour when you think the paracetamol is actually working. Before it wears off again.). Stories that deserve to be told. Like Ruth's brave retelling of a health scare, Becky's pleasure in her son's new job, Amanda's first blogaversary, Sandi's Design Team appointment, and Karen's; and all those other bits of news I wouldn't miss for the world. Everybody's story deserves to be told.

So, I haven't got any new pages to show you this week; but I hope I've given you something to ponder. Is there something you've been wanting to say? A theme to whatever you do? Maybe since before you were old enough even to work a pair of scissors and your favourite paper punch? You know I'm listening...

Journal Your Christmas - Picking Up The Pace

Oh, it's less than a week to go now, and we are nearly ready. The scrapbooking is getting faster as the preparations get more frantic* - how about you?

Sometimes I like to spend hours on a page, in a contemplative kind of way. But when I want fast, I want really fast. So I found a quick fix (which I spotted first on Snaps and Snippets, thanks S! and then on another favourite Beautiful Blog Designs). It's a site called joliprint and it's a little bit of magic. All you need to do is copy and paste the URL of any web article you'd like to keep, and almost at once it turns it into a PDF for you to print out. Almost at once! It's really simple to use and, um, addictive. I need to buy more printer paper. You can quickly make a print of any blog post you like - and that's what I did. I turned It's Thursday And I'm Thankful into a PDF, printed it out on photo paper and put it in my album. Try it! I'd love to know what you think (would a print-out-this-post button be good?)

I didn't photograph that page for you (because that would be a funny copy of a copy of a copy of a post), but I do have two others finished up. My numbers and dates are a bit pick and mix, because I wanted to use certain photos on certain days so each double spread in my album looked good together. These two are blue and brown, but still papers from the Basic Grey Nook And Pantry line.

That snow has certainly been a surprise! We have had no post since last Wednesday and school had a snow day for the first time in 23 years. But we are warm and comfortable and it really is lovely to look at. All we need now is a fresh supply of mince pies and I'm going to see to that Any Minute Now. .

*Sorry. Artistic license. We are actually feeling quite calm. Especially when we think about mince pies..

A Few "F"'s For Fursday

From High In The Sky today I am:

• Fantasizing about an hour curled up with a book this afternoon. Instead we are off to the orthodontist (wish us luck)
• Fielding a clutch of questions all beginning with  "At Christmas, when I get my hamster.."
• Finding Folksy easier to navigate than Etsy
• Ferretting through the fashion at a favourite new blog That's Not My Age. For the ahem,(slightly) more mature among us
• Feeling just a little bit foxy in my new cord dress
• Fessing up to feeling slightly tearful, but very thankful, every time I think about the blog hop. Still. Thank you to everyone for your comments and mentions and everything.
• Flying a flag (alright then, a banner) for Kate of Liberty Cottage who is the winner of my blog giveaway. Please get in touch Kate and I'll put it in the post.

Since I finished my little banner, I've been thinking about sewing some more felt. So I've searched out my favourite felty finds and here they are:

• a nice tutorial for felt trees at Allsorts
• Feltorama has lots of makes and links to other felt fans as well as a shop
• Bugs and Fishes for tutorials and felt to buy - her service is excellent
• Or you could try The Felt Fairy - her blog is fun
• Betz White has some lovely tutorials like this Christmas ornament
• And finally Fa La La La Felt - a book on my Christmas list this year I think

Whatever you are up to this Thursday - have a good one!

All The Words, None Of The Pictures

I've been thinking some more about pages without pictures. Most of us have a story or two missing a photo, but that doesn't mean the story isn't worth telling. It might actually mean it needs more telling because you have to describe what we can't see. Making room for a big chunk of journaling on a layout can be hard, though, so I decided to come up with a simple basic design I could use over and over again. On the days when all my thought had gone into the story.

Here it is:

It's a simple speech bubble shape trimmed from a piece of lined patterned paper and then placed on a brightly contrasting background using the paper applique technique.

•  It's fast to do
• The line of black stitching (that's just me - why not pen or paint?) seems to help two different patterns sit well with each other
• The speech bubble shows you've got plenty to say..
• ...though I have an idea that my Christmas album this year might be pages of simple appliqued festive shapes

What do you think? It's half term round here and time is tight - but if I can fit in another couple of these, I'm ready to get writing.

Today I'm Loving...an old Irish saying I was reminded of recently. "If I did it yesterday, I can do it today, and if I did it today I can do it tomorrow" It's a good one when you have a lot to be getting on with.

Busy, Busy

Do you ever have one of those days where you have a little time to create and you make something

Crate Paper, spray ink and a photo of a one wet, small boy

and you quite like it; but it's not enough, because you have seen so many wonderful, glorious ideas all over the internet and you want to try them all, but there aren't enough hours in the day, and then you think that you might be getting a little overstimulated and you need to STOP?

I'm having one of those days.

But if you have a minute, what I'm admiring is the handstitching on the Kinseygirl blog (wow!) and the folded paper flowers on the Sassafras blog this morning. That's what I'll be doing this weekend. After I've made the draw for Pass The Book, of course. See you then?

September Wrapped Up..

..and with a bow on top. I have put together my complete Learn Something New Every Day project and here it is:

It started out as this box

and now each day has a little card of journalling slipped inside an envelope.

It's been a great class and I'll miss those prompts arriving in my inbox every morning. The big thing it has taught me, I think, is to be more mindful, more alert to the little things that make up a whole day. Learning doesn't have to be big. Little can be perfectly fine.

Most of my stories are only little, after all. Lately I've had a few of you ask me if I'm ever tempted to add or embroider to make a better tale. The answer is a definite No! Every conversation is a true one.

Every happening has happened. In this house I don't need to put words in anyone else's mouth. They all have more than enough of their own. But what I do do, is write things down as soon as I can I have a very dangerous notebook and I use it a lot. On Monday, for example, I wrote " I was doing a bit of vacuuming the other day when I spotted a gin bottle under the desk in the dining room" (because I just had) and then I added "This came as a bit of surprise" (because it did). Now, this might become part of a story about our Autumn hedgerow harvest, or it might never appear again. I don't know yet. I'm going to do a bit more listening every day before I decide. Then you'll be the first to know. Hey, Listening Every Day: do you think there's a class in that?

Today I'm Loving..a new cookery blog I found. It was the name which drew me in.  A Sofa In The Kitchen. Love it.

New Looks

Today I've got a favour to ask. From High In The Sky has got a completely new look! If  you are viewing this through your Google Reader, please, would you click through and let me know what you think? I'd love to know. Change is good; change is fun. But it can be a bit scary. I think I'm still waiting for the dust to settle..

While you're here, in honour of New Look Day I've found some different ways for you to give your photos a change of style:

funphotobox.com is the one to use if you've always wanted to see your other half look a bit more like Johnny Depp (and while you are there, you can see yourself in a whole new light too).

funny.pho.to has some nice montage effects, including a pretty heart

and

befunky.com has a staggering array of effects to get lost in. My favourite so far is "stencil" - give it a go and you too can Banksy yourself

So: New Look Day. Does it work for you?

Dumpr Fun

Although I'm always looking for ways to take better photos, it's true, I'm also always on the lookout for things to do with the (very) many poor photos I already own. I'm not good at deleting them (it's so final). I keep them, hoping I'll find a way to offer them a reprieve. And today I have one! It's Dumpr. I hadn't ever really played with silly photo effects until I found this. It's not a new idea, I know, but these are fun and quirky - and great for a disguise.

A very badly blurred shot in bad light?

Make it a sketch

A portrait with too much in the background?

Crop it tight and make him a star

A horse with an ego the size of a house?

Let him believe people really are looking

The very worst of the worst?

Little E, you've been papped

There are other things you can do too: I like Rubik's Cube and Christmas Ornament. But what I like best of all is that if you print them out, you have a story to tell. Maybe not the one you thought you had, but a story all the same. And you can scrapbook it.

100 Up

Funny how one story sometimes leads to another. Leads right to another project, in fact; and it's a project about a scrapbook. This one right here:

It's the book my Mum used to collect together all the ideas for things she wanted to create, pages from magazines, that kind of thing, and that's where the hand puppets came from. A simple, cheap cuttings folder with magic possibilities.

And right up until her illness took hold she produced a steady stream of dolls and toys, wants and wishes. Now, the story of her fight with that cruel disease isn't mine to tell; but I will say that I have the scrapbook now because her hands won't stitch or sew or knit or craft again. It brings me up short every so often when I remember that her fight began when she was only a couple of years older than I am today. So I use that scrapbook; kind of carry the torch, you know? And my new project comes from that.

I've got a pack of manilla Bazzill Basics, a Bind-It-All and a pen. I'm not adding much more. It's going to be my cuttings book with the recipes from my blog, for a start, and anything else I can find. It has to be simple. It has to be written in my own handwriting. And that's all.

Today marks my 100th post, so I'm raising a glass and reflecting a little. I've forced myself to start using my camera properly; I've met some lovely, good, creative people; and I've learned that, if I try, I can make a story turn on a sixpence. I like to pick one little nugget from today or yesterday or before and when I'm telling my tale I'm leaving the rest behind. Sometimes I spend the day washing dishes and ironing shirts. Sometimes I chip plaster from a wall, choose paint colours, or argue with the planners. Sometimes I even shake a hand and make a deal. If it's a good one. But that's not really what my blog's about. It's about the little things. So, here's to the next 100 posts. Who knows where they will take us?

Days Like This

We had a bit of fun yesterday when the sun finally came out. On Sunday I had spotted in the paper a selection of photos by Jan Von Holleben. He takes pictures of fairy tale scenes staged around children lying on the ground, like this:

and I wanted to use them as a starting point. But it was Monday morning and I couldn't quite conjure up a fairytale fantasy, so I scaled back my ambitions and asked if anyone was interested in choosing a few objects to represent their week.

Well, we ummed and ahhed and fetched and carried and sorted and arranged; and this is what we came up with:

The poor Accountant has a bad back at the minute. He said getting down onto the floor would be do-able; but he couldn't guarantee to get up again before next Christmas, so we let him shout encouragement from his place of pain instead. I hope he'll be able to join in next time, now that I've learned that lying on the ground makes your hair look strange and your eyes go funny, because it turned out to be a really nice way to record what we are getting up to in a week which is going to go like this:

• Me: lots of knitting for my friend Helen's appeal here; coffee with a friend; birthday cake baking; blogging; trying a new recipe or two; reading a new book; ignoring Horsey; getting up at 2.00am to wave my boy off
• The Tall One: Big week here because he left this morning for a prize trip to Strasbourg (say hello to the European Parliament);  cricket and exam revision when he returns
• The Small One: Birthday anticipation (all week); dancing; revising; reading her new magazine; and going for a milkshake (she hopes).

Something for everyone, then. I hope you've enjoyed it..I've got to run because I've talked about it, photographed it, blogged it. Now, I need to live it.

Out And About

We managed to find a bit of a break in the clouds at the weekend and we took a trip to our very favourite Garden Centre. Usually when we do this one of us finds he has other places to go and people to see; one of us looks forward to the cafe with its cakes the size of dinner plates and its cool little glass bottles of coke; one of us takes the job seriously and actually shops for compost and other essentials; and one of us plays about with her iPhone:

Today I'm Loving...the incredibly generous Cate who sent me a fabulous parcel of magazines and chocolate all the way from Australia. Just the thing to keep me going through a wet Easter break! How kind is that?    

A Bit Of Better Blogging

When I started blogging, and it's still not really very long ago, my blog looked like this:

But since then I found out more about what I think looks good and I've found new ways of doing things. I just love to learn something new; and because my most clicked on link ever was this one about bloggers block I'm guessing that you do too. So I've gathered up some of my favourite links and tips on blogging and I'm posting them today for  (I hope) your blogging pleasure:

• The link that got me started thinking about this post (and I have Cate to thank for it) is Marta Writes. If you only pick one place to go, go here! Last week she did a blogging workshop with plenty of tips and thoughts right there on her blog. It's an excellent read.
• Another great link from a new blogging friend of mine Carmen: Blogger Buster. Lots of technical help here. It's easy to follow, too.
• Fresh Blog Tips Love this one.
• Blog Herald I like his thoughts on recognising your own blogging achievements
• Copy Blogger Blogging lessons from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo? That's hard to resist
• Thou Shall Blog
• Top Ten Blog Tips Watch out! You could spend all day in here
• Blog Writing Course
• Tricks For New Bloggers

and a few other useful bits:

• Web2pdf I haven't tried this way of making your pages printable, but it sounds good.
• Photography tips at Digital Photography School
• Blog Challenge running this month at Get It Scrapped
• This book would be a nice treat Kirtsy Takes a Bow

• And finally, the ultimate bloggers Look Book Artful Blogging by Stampington Just gorgeous.

So, that's it for now. I'm going to keep on collecting and, if you like, I'll do another roundup of favourites soon. Let me know if you see anything great!

It's World Book Day

Today is World Book Day! I don't think it's the same date across the world, though?  But, you know, read something you love anyway! Old favourites are always good. Or perhaps something new might be even better. Here's what I'm reading for inspiration this week:

Table Inspirations and Tricia Guild's Inspiration both came from Tk Maxx. Their bookshelf is always worth a rummage, especially if you like cookery books. A great place to look for a gift book.

And here's what I'm smiling about this week:

From the lovely Cheri (whose weekly gratitude posts are a joy to read)

And from the lovely Melissa (who posts with style and grace every time)

So, in return I should be posting 7 interesting things about me and 10 things that make me happy. Would it be alright if I said simply I'm in a happy mood today and- leaving it there for now- move on to the interesting things. Though I'm wondering: are there 7 interesting things about me you don't know already? Mmm..

1. I was a Queen's Guide. In my longest ever recorded burst of physical activity I got all the badges..camping, hillwalking, knots, gadgets, the lot. I'm guessing my semaphore is a bit rusty by now, though.
2. I've never been able to click my fingers. One of life's little mysteries to me.
3. I learned to rollerskate inside because it was too wet to go outside. For an entire Easter holiday. My Mum let us use the hall instead. Nice one, Mum.
4. I fainted during one of my A level History papers. Funny for everyone else, but not for me because the headmaster phoned me at home to ask if I had any idea why it had happened and was it hormone related. Do I have to go on? Never fainted before, haven't fainted since; and really, really don't want to have that conversation with a teacher ever again.
5. I drink way too much coffee. But I've never considered cutting down.
6. My name is pronounced "Shan" and it's Welsh for Jane.
7. When I go out for a meal I always choose a starter, but I never have a dessert. I prefer savoury to sweet. all the time.

So, there you have it. Thanks, Cheri and Melissa! Now, please, if anyone fancies a go at either of these- 10 happy things or 7 interesting ones- be my guest. Have an award! Treat yourself! You know you're worth it.