So Much For November

Well, November has been pretty much a bust as far as creativity goes around here.  I have several works in progress – but the progress has been So-o-o-o Slo-o-o-o-o-w!  So slow, in fact, that there hasn’t been much of anything to take photos of. 

One reason I haven’t been very crafty involved a trip to the ER and a quick surgery to remove a “rotten” gall bladder.  Medical procedures are so advanced these days!  Quick in and out and three weeks later I’m as good as new.  Except for those four little scars, anyway!

 

But the MAJOR disruption has been a new laptop for my studio/sewing room.  I do a lot of planning, designing, and creating on my computer and it was past time for an upgrade.  I was running out of space, and everything was getting bogged down and frustrating!  So I shopped around and worried about the cost and all that, and finally ordered a Toshiba.  I knew it would take some work to install my software and transfer (a lot of) data files, but I used to do this all this time.  Plus, I had a PLAN.

I’m sure you can see what’s coming . . . even Plan B was not.quite.working.  You see, several of my applications need to have internal data exported and imported, which I did.  The real problem, tho, was with tagging my files in Photoshop Elements.  I have about 40K digital art files cataloged in PSE, and without tags I would never find anything.  (I want to note here, that each letter of the alphabet in each style and/or color is an individual file.  Still, I DO have a lot of stuffs!)  So I was careful to write-to-metadata and import-with-tags and likewise mumbo jumbo.

Imagine my reaction when I discovered that roughly half of those files did not come through with any tags at all!  Well, maybe you don’t want to think about that!  So, for the past most-of-a-month, every moment I can spare has gone into re-tagging all those files.  Thankfully, I have learned some tricks and shortcuts over the past year so it isn’t quite as awful as it could be. 

And I’m down to about 2 thousand files, which is pretty darn good!  I’m hoping to have something creative to show you pretty soon.  Thanks for your patience.  And thanks to Microsoft ClipArt, ClipartOf.com and DeviantArt.com for the pictures in this post.  I couldn’t post without pictures of some kind!

Another Dare Answered

I’m back with another page of digital “art.”  This time it’s actually a scrapbook page!

Credits:  Dawn Inskip, Create collection; Manuela Zimmerman, Sound of Music; Studio Viva, Revel-Alissa, font – Harabara Hand
I don’t normally scrapbook in the traditional sense.  Our pre-digital photos are all stuck in those “magnetic” albums with no notes beyond an occasional date.  Of course, nowadays we realize how insecure those albums were.  I’ve been trying to scan photos, but it’s all in fits and starts.  These photos are all from the early 1970s and when I notice a theme developing I decided to do this page.  Just for fun!
About half way through, I realized that I could use this for The Digi Dares Dare #392.  The dare requirements are (1) use a layout that goes from edge to edge.  Check.  (2) use paper strips.  Check (although I used just one, it counts!).  (3) use two photos, one horizontal and one vertical.  Check.  Yeah, I know there are more than two photos, but I think I nailed the horizontal vs. vertical thing!
If you’d like to see other interpretations of this dare, head on over to the Digi Dares web site and read the comments for Dare #392.

Digital Art

I have been spending Sundays this year, working on digital art journal pages.  I’ve managed to keep up all year, as well as learn my around Photoshop Elements.  Pretty well, if I do say so myself!
Since it is November, I’m thinking about what I will do next year.  The Art Journal Caravan will not continue next year, so I have looked around to see what else I might be interested in.
One option is The Digi Dares.  I guess the only way to tell if I like it is to dive in!  So this is my page for Dare #393.  The focus is on daily gratitude for the little things.  You can find the terms of this Dare here. 

Credits:
The Daily Digi – Inbox Party, Amanda Yi – You’re the One That I Want, Studio Ztampf – Enter the Dragon, Lynn Anzelc – Together, Cinzia – Holiday Cheer.
My regular readers (all 3 of you!) will recognize Jake and Barney.  These fur babies never fail to make me smile and I’m so thankful to have them.

In the Bag

Last week I took a class in using Electric Quilt.  Yes!  I finally took the plunge!  I am still playing with it a lot, so no results to share yet.  But, oh my, the possibilities are amazing.  Actually, the possibilities are that I will become lost in the computer world.  LOL!

But, this post isn't about EQ (yet).  This is about the carry bag I made for my laptop!  If I'm taking it to classes, I need to carry it safely and all together.

I looked all over for a ready-made or a pattern.  But, of course, nothing was just exactly what I had in mind.  Sounds like a perfect excuse for a new project!  Yeah.  Like I need another one!

I wanted to have pockets for the adapter and my mouse, and maybe for the thumb drive.  And I wanted zippers!

When I open it all up, I have a surface to work on, and I don't have to stash the bag anywhere.  The bottom section is lined with a thermal fleece - like you put in potholders - plus a solid piece of plastic foam in case I don't have a table top to set it on. 

It worked great!  Well, almost.  Of course, there are some issues to be worked out if I ever do another one of these.  But that's not too likely!  I may need to strengthen the strap.  It seems a little thin - and this is one bag I definitely do NOT want to drop!

A New Toy - er, Tool

My brother found this little time waster. It's called Burning Sand by Max Nagl. It's a computer program you can find here and it mimics falling sand. You place globs and shapes of color and when you activate it, the sand disperses. Here is one of my first efforts (OK, the first one I wanted to save!). There are several different tools and the "sand" behaves differently. I haven't figured out all the details yet. Goodness - I might have to read the manual! Anyway, in the second picture I rotated it so the gray pile on the bottom started falling the other way, and look at the interesting pattern that made.

I'm thinking I can use this for generating designs or at least to jumpstart my creative ideas. For example, I really like that little gray area, kind of like a waterfall. I'm pretty sure I can use that in an applique or embroidery piece. Oh joy - another thing for my ToDo list!