Send your own ElfYourself eCards
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
My Deviled Egg Tray
This dish was my major contribution to Thanksgiving 2009.
I also was responsible for the table set up and dished brigade.
I managed to forget to put out the centerpiece. Sorry!!!
I also was responsible for the table set up and dished brigade.
I managed to forget to put out the centerpiece. Sorry!!!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
I asked my Flickr friend Heather HOW TO USE TEXTURES. This post is her answer. Thanks Heather.
Thank you so much. I'm probably not the best person to explain using textures, as I myself am still learning to use them, but I'll give it a go. This is actually a tutorial I got from another person on flickr which was very helpful to me from AndreaRenee www.flickr.com/photos/30282864@N02/. She also has a bunch of free textures on her site and amazing photostream so worth checking out, but here is her tutorial. Oh and the software I use is photoshop elements 7.0.
1. Open your picture of choice.
2. Open your texture/background in a new window.
3. Right click on your texture, go to Select>All.
4. Right click on your texture one more time, go to Edit>Copy. Minimize your texture.
5. Now on your picture, right click on it, go to Edit>Paste Into.
6. Most of the time your texture will have to be scaled up or down to fit your picture, the scale tool will be in your toolbox.
7. Your texture will appear as a floating selection in the layer doc, right click on it and make it a new layer.
8. Now the fun begins!! Playing around with different modes(drop down box on the layer doc) and opacities(slider on the layer doc), Yay!! =D
9. And if you don't want the texture/background on the skin or anything else, just use the eraser.
10. And when you're done playing around and you like what you see, right click on the layer doc and go all the way done to Flatten Image. Now save =)
***Tips***
When I'm working with a background, the mode is usually multiply and the opacity is usually set between 40-60%, this mode is more forgiving with erasing!! I hardly ever leave the opacity at 100%, you want the natural shadows to show through so it looks more natural.
1. Open your picture of choice.
2. Open your texture/background in a new window.
3. Right click on your texture, go to Select>All.
4. Right click on your texture one more time, go to Edit>Copy. Minimize your texture.
5. Now on your picture, right click on it, go to Edit>Paste Into.
6. Most of the time your texture will have to be scaled up or down to fit your picture, the scale tool will be in your toolbox.
7. Your texture will appear as a floating selection in the layer doc, right click on it and make it a new layer.
8. Now the fun begins!! Playing around with different modes(drop down box on the layer doc) and opacities(slider on the layer doc), Yay!! =D
9. And if you don't want the texture/background on the skin or anything else, just use the eraser.
10. And when you're done playing around and you like what you see, right click on the layer doc and go all the way done to Flatten Image. Now save =)
***Tips***
When I'm working with a background, the mode is usually multiply and the opacity is usually set between 40-60%, this mode is more forgiving with erasing!! I hardly ever leave the opacity at 100%, you want the natural shadows to show through so it looks more natural.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Celebrating Mildred's 83rd BD
My mama came over and brought Captain D's plates for lunch. Today is Gma's 83rd BD and she wanted a catfish plate from Captain D's.
After we ate, we took pictures outside.
After we ate, we took pictures outside.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Additional Info on Making Mosaics
The grout sealer automatically is absorbed into the grout
lines as you paint the whole piece, and you do paint the
whole piece because it would be too time consuming to just
try and paint all the interces-another name for the gaps
between the tiles- that we fill with grout.
Because the tiles or glass or other things you may use do
not have the same absorbency- or virtually none at all, the
grout sealer just sits there or pools on their surface. Your
objective is to just remove the excess that has not been
utilised or needed by the grout. Wiping over the whole
piece will not remove the sealer from the grout, just the
addtional that we don't require. Sometimes I get lazy and
forget to do this and it is okay- other times I find that
the grout sealer has left a hazy residue on the surface of
the glass. So in short it is to make sure you have a lovely
end result.
Liquid nails is a good product, but if you are going to be
sitting for a time and making things, the fumes often are
hazardous. I don't use it. This product is also expensive in
comparison to the thinset, and as thinset is cement based
and you are using it on cement- it is always going to have
better adhesive properties than liquid nails.
In Australia, I use a premixed flexible adhesive that I buy
in a 90 litre tub. This was the product they used where I
did some classes, and because I have long term proof that it
works I am happy to trust it. They had made huge big round
cement planters mosaiced using this adhesive and they have
been there for 10 years and are still okay.
When I joined the yahoo group I am in- mainly americans-
they said no no no don't use that adhesive it is all wrong-
blah blah blah.... I continue to use what I trust. It is an
Australian product. I am sure you have the equivalent- I
think the call it Mastic, they say (the mosaic head
honchos..) Mastic is NOT to be used in mosaics. Because I
cannot tell you by comparison if your mastic is the same as
my adhesive I won't recommend it to you. I will only
recommend what I know works. They all use thinset there- all
the american mosaic makers. Thin set works well in all
climates and can be used indoor and outdoors.
.....the gloves I referred to in the pother post are those disposable ones they
use in food preparation- 20pairs in a box. They are better
than regular dish washing gloves, because you need to use
your finger tips to feel the edges of the glass without
pushing the grout around....
lines as you paint the whole piece, and you do paint the
whole piece because it would be too time consuming to just
try and paint all the interces-another name for the gaps
between the tiles- that we fill with grout.
Because the tiles or glass or other things you may use do
not have the same absorbency- or virtually none at all, the
grout sealer just sits there or pools on their surface. Your
objective is to just remove the excess that has not been
utilised or needed by the grout. Wiping over the whole
piece will not remove the sealer from the grout, just the
addtional that we don't require. Sometimes I get lazy and
forget to do this and it is okay- other times I find that
the grout sealer has left a hazy residue on the surface of
the glass. So in short it is to make sure you have a lovely
end result.
Liquid nails is a good product, but if you are going to be
sitting for a time and making things, the fumes often are
hazardous. I don't use it. This product is also expensive in
comparison to the thinset, and as thinset is cement based
and you are using it on cement- it is always going to have
better adhesive properties than liquid nails.
In Australia, I use a premixed flexible adhesive that I buy
in a 90 litre tub. This was the product they used where I
did some classes, and because I have long term proof that it
works I am happy to trust it. They had made huge big round
cement planters mosaiced using this adhesive and they have
been there for 10 years and are still okay.
When I joined the yahoo group I am in- mainly americans-
they said no no no don't use that adhesive it is all wrong-
blah blah blah.... I continue to use what I trust. It is an
Australian product. I am sure you have the equivalent- I
think the call it Mastic, they say (the mosaic head
honchos..) Mastic is NOT to be used in mosaics. Because I
cannot tell you by comparison if your mastic is the same as
my adhesive I won't recommend it to you. I will only
recommend what I know works. They all use thinset there- all
the american mosaic makers. Thin set works well in all
climates and can be used indoor and outdoors.
.....the gloves I referred to in the pother post are those disposable ones they
use in food preparation- 20pairs in a box. They are better
than regular dish washing gloves, because you need to use
your finger tips to feel the edges of the glass without
pushing the grout around....
How My friend Karen Taught Me to Mosaic a Paver
Paver- make sure it is clean. Seal with Ornamental Sealer-
should be a milky looking liquid that you use a paintbrush
and paint on. Concrete absorbs a lot of liquid, so if you
don't put this layer of seal on, it will try to absorb the
liquid from your glue and grout and it will mean the piece
will crack/fail over time. One coat of this is sufficient,
and all over, all sides/edges.
The second product you need is what they call there
'thinset'. It is a cement based adhesive for tiles and
ceramics. You ask for thinset, and I think flexible thinset,
and it comes in white or creamy colours I think- maybe even
black. It is in a powder form, and you mix it in a throw
away container with a small amount of water until it looks
like peanut paste. Only make enough of this to use for each
session you plan, because apparently it goes hard and
doesn't last. They say you get used to mixing it up and
making enough...this is just a case where less is best.
You use this thinset with a wooden stirrer and 'butter' the
back of what you plan to stick down. Then you stick it down.
You sill see that some comes up the side of the piece, but
don't put on too much so that you are filling all the gaps
with the thinset. This is the job later- of the grout. I
suggest white thinset if you are using glass gems etc,
because the colour of the glass looks better. White is also
fine for tiles.
So really all there is to do is to design what pattern you
want. You can do that with pencil directly onto the paver
cos you won't see it later. You can do this before you put
your layer of sealer on.
I don't use thinset, but I think it dries fairly quickly. I
think if you make a mistake you have to really price it off.
But you will work it out. It really comes down to practice.
So make your design and stick all the pieces down, and
don't leave huge gaps between the tiles. You will have a
stronger piece if you only leave a few millimetres gap
between.
Let it dry for a day.
Then the third product you need is a flexible sanded grout.
You should be able to buy this from the hardware store as
well. Grout comes in lots of colours. I mainly use black
because I like bright colours and dark grout, but you will
see when you buy it there are white, cream, green, brown,
all kinds of colours. I am no good offering help with
choosing grout colours. You can always look at my
photostream and my contacts list and go to any of their
mosaic sets and see what they use, and get some ideas. I
think I will always use black. I made one group of three
kitchen trivets where I used white, only because black
would have looked ridiculous, but all other things I have
made I have used black. We will see if that trend continues
or not.
You need to mix up the grout so it is a little like the
thinset, maybe a little runnier, and mix and mix and mix-
you will hear the sand in it...and get rid of all the
powder. It is like cream I guess, maybe not so runny though.
So you just put the grout on the stepper, making sure it
sits and covers the whole piece. Use those disposable
gloves, I always put two pairs on top of each other, because
one always gets a hole in it. Then you can take it off and
put another one on and still have clean hands. Grout stains
your hands and gets into your fingernails, and some people
have like an allergic reaction to it.
Help the grout with your fingers or like a cheap cake bowl
scraper to assist the grout into all the gaps of the mosaic.
If you have too much grout for the job, scrape it from your
bowl and put on newspaper. DO NOT WASH GROUT down the sink.
It will sit in your pipes and eventually set them like
concrete.
When the top of the mosaic is looking a little cloudy, get
say a quarter of a piece of paper towel- I cut about 20 into
quarters for each grouting job..... and gently yes GENTLY
rub off the grout from the tiles. This takes some practise,
but just make sure you are only removing the grout from the
tiles, not from the gaps in between- you want it to stay
strong. Just do a rough job the first time, and gently
expose each of the tiles. If I am using gems I get a
shaslick stick and gently go around the gem to make sure
enough of it is exposed. Some people wait till the final
clean up and use a toothbrush around the edges of the gems
exposing more. Be gentle doing this. Then clean it a bit
more. It should be stronger now and happy for you to be
cleaning it. If all your pieces of glass or tile are all at
around the same height the cleaning should be easy. All
things come with practise. You will probably need to clean
it a few times until you are left with a lovely shiney
beautiful paver that you have made.
The last thing you need to do is let it dry for 24 hours
and then paint it with a grout sealer. It will penetrate the
grout, and just sit on the glass, tile. So paint it on, and
then wipe over with a paper towel again. Usually one, coat
is enough. Then it is ready to use outside. Just be careful
when walking on stepping stones especially if you use glass,
as sometime when they are wet they may be slippery.
Sometimes ceramic tile is less slippery. The glass gems are
good though cos they are uneven- give you some grip.
should be a milky looking liquid that you use a paintbrush
and paint on. Concrete absorbs a lot of liquid, so if you
don't put this layer of seal on, it will try to absorb the
liquid from your glue and grout and it will mean the piece
will crack/fail over time. One coat of this is sufficient,
and all over, all sides/edges.
The second product you need is what they call there
'thinset'. It is a cement based adhesive for tiles and
ceramics. You ask for thinset, and I think flexible thinset,
and it comes in white or creamy colours I think- maybe even
black. It is in a powder form, and you mix it in a throw
away container with a small amount of water until it looks
like peanut paste. Only make enough of this to use for each
session you plan, because apparently it goes hard and
doesn't last. They say you get used to mixing it up and
making enough...this is just a case where less is best.
You use this thinset with a wooden stirrer and 'butter' the
back of what you plan to stick down. Then you stick it down.
You sill see that some comes up the side of the piece, but
don't put on too much so that you are filling all the gaps
with the thinset. This is the job later- of the grout. I
suggest white thinset if you are using glass gems etc,
because the colour of the glass looks better. White is also
fine for tiles.
So really all there is to do is to design what pattern you
want. You can do that with pencil directly onto the paver
cos you won't see it later. You can do this before you put
your layer of sealer on.
I don't use thinset, but I think it dries fairly quickly. I
think if you make a mistake you have to really price it off.
But you will work it out. It really comes down to practice.
So make your design and stick all the pieces down, and
don't leave huge gaps between the tiles. You will have a
stronger piece if you only leave a few millimetres gap
between.
Let it dry for a day.
Then the third product you need is a flexible sanded grout.
You should be able to buy this from the hardware store as
well. Grout comes in lots of colours. I mainly use black
because I like bright colours and dark grout, but you will
see when you buy it there are white, cream, green, brown,
all kinds of colours. I am no good offering help with
choosing grout colours. You can always look at my
photostream and my contacts list and go to any of their
mosaic sets and see what they use, and get some ideas. I
think I will always use black. I made one group of three
kitchen trivets where I used white, only because black
would have looked ridiculous, but all other things I have
made I have used black. We will see if that trend continues
or not.
You need to mix up the grout so it is a little like the
thinset, maybe a little runnier, and mix and mix and mix-
you will hear the sand in it...and get rid of all the
powder. It is like cream I guess, maybe not so runny though.
So you just put the grout on the stepper, making sure it
sits and covers the whole piece. Use those disposable
gloves, I always put two pairs on top of each other, because
one always gets a hole in it. Then you can take it off and
put another one on and still have clean hands. Grout stains
your hands and gets into your fingernails, and some people
have like an allergic reaction to it.
Help the grout with your fingers or like a cheap cake bowl
scraper to assist the grout into all the gaps of the mosaic.
If you have too much grout for the job, scrape it from your
bowl and put on newspaper. DO NOT WASH GROUT down the sink.
It will sit in your pipes and eventually set them like
concrete.
When the top of the mosaic is looking a little cloudy, get
say a quarter of a piece of paper towel- I cut about 20 into
quarters for each grouting job..... and gently yes GENTLY
rub off the grout from the tiles. This takes some practise,
but just make sure you are only removing the grout from the
tiles, not from the gaps in between- you want it to stay
strong. Just do a rough job the first time, and gently
expose each of the tiles. If I am using gems I get a
shaslick stick and gently go around the gem to make sure
enough of it is exposed. Some people wait till the final
clean up and use a toothbrush around the edges of the gems
exposing more. Be gentle doing this. Then clean it a bit
more. It should be stronger now and happy for you to be
cleaning it. If all your pieces of glass or tile are all at
around the same height the cleaning should be easy. All
things come with practise. You will probably need to clean
it a few times until you are left with a lovely shiney
beautiful paver that you have made.
The last thing you need to do is let it dry for 24 hours
and then paint it with a grout sealer. It will penetrate the
grout, and just sit on the glass, tile. So paint it on, and
then wipe over with a paper towel again. Usually one, coat
is enough. Then it is ready to use outside. Just be careful
when walking on stepping stones especially if you use glass,
as sometime when they are wet they may be slippery.
Sometimes ceramic tile is less slippery. The glass gems are
good though cos they are uneven- give you some grip.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Steps to Making My Best Banana Peppers
So the first post gave an idea of the proportions.
Now for the steps.
Wash a mixing bowl full of fresh peppers in a colander
On a cutting board -- do the following
- Cut off tops and remove seeds
- Cut peppers into rings (some seeds can be removed at this point)
Remove jars from sink and fill with pepper rings, then return to sink.
I find surrounding the jars with wet dishtowels helps them stay vertical while pouring in liquid.
In a 2 qt boiler
- Pour 1 cup water
- Pour 2 cups vinegar
- Put 1 teaspoon curry powder
- Put 1 cup sugar
- Put a few shakes of salt
In a 1 qt boiler
- Boil lids
When both boilers are hot, you are ready to add liquid to jars. Be careful. The liquid is HOT!
I know that seems obvious, but I got burned by accident myself! I poured the liquid into a 2 cup measuring cup for easier managing. The liquid will stain a plastic measuring cup but badly, so be warned.
Now pour the liquid in the jars. Leave an inch at the top. Do not have more peppers in the jar than the amount of liquid. And be sure to leave the space at the top.
When all jars have liquid, remove them from sink and DRY mouth of jars.
Lids require the mouth of jar be dry. (Big, important detail.)
Add one lid to each jar. Twist one ring on each jar.
Set jars aside Lids will make a pop when they are sealed.
Leave product unopened for at least two weeks.
My Best Banana Peppers
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric OR curry powder for every cup water (one spice --- not both)
- 1 cup sugar for every cup water
- a few shakes of salt
- 1 cup water for 2 cups vinegar
- a mixing bowl full of fresh peppers
- added the juice from my last Mt Olive Banana Peppers
- Hint: turmeric OR curry powder ---not both...they are basically the same. Curry has turmeric in it and it costs less than pure turmeric. The spice gives them the nice color.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
CRICUT DESIGN STUDIO - TOP TECH SUPPORT SOLUTIONS
Top 5 CDS Tech Support Solutions:1. Before installing the CDS, please make sure your computer meets the minimum requirements. Many of the issues we’ve seen came from some of the minimum requirements being overlooked. Here they are: - OS = Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista 32 bit - Processor Speed = 800 Mhz - RAM = 512 MB - Free Hard Disk Space = 100 MB - External Media Drive = CD/DVD-ROM - USB Port = 1.1 - Display Resolution settings = 1024x768 or higher
2. For the CDS to be able to work properly, your computer needs to be running with a resolution of 1024x768 or higher, and your DPI setting needs to be set to Normal (96 DPI). Screen Resolution settings can be found by going to Start/Control Panels/Display, then clicking on the Settings tab. Just use the Screen resolution slider to make a change. To find DPI settings while still on the Settings tab, just click on the Advanced button, then use the DPI setting drop-down menu to choose Normal size (96 DPI). Changing the DPI requires a computer reboot to take effect.
3. For best installing results, please follow the steps outlined in the CDS Quick Install Guide (link at the bottom of this post) to the letter. Before installing anything, please make sure your Windows Operating System is as up to date as possible (internet connection required). To update Windows, go to Start/Control Panels/Windows Update. Give your computer a minute to determine what updates are needed, if any. If some are needed, choose the Express install option and go make a sandwich. When the update is done, reboot your computer, then proceed with the CDS install. Note: Be sure that your Cricut is NOT connected to the computer when you install the CDS. Only connect it after you’ve successfully installed the program.
4. Before you install the CDS, make sure there are no other programs running. This includes anything running in the background (locate these in the taskbar on the bottom-right of your desktop) and any Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware/Firewall programs (as they might misinterpret the CDS files being installed and block them).
5. Before updating your Cricut Firmware, you need to make sure your computer can see your Cricut (know it’s connected). After installing the CDS, plug your Cricut into your computer using a USB A/B cable. Any open USB port should work. Now when you turn your Cricut on, your computer should automatically detect a new device and let you know about it with a word bubble that pops up in the bottom-right of your desktop. If your computer does not let you know that it can see the Cricut, try turning off the Cricut, then plugging the USB cable into a different USB port (most computers have a few ports in front, and some more in back) and turning the Cricut back on, to see if the message pops up. If you try them all (remembering to turn the Cricut off before each new plug attempt) with no pop-up, disconnect the USB cable, reboot the computer, then try connecting it again to as many ports as it takes to be seen. This will ensure that your Cricut is communicating successfully with your computer, and will reduce the possibility for problems when you continue with the firmware update. Note: After your computer sees the Cricut successfully, and when you get to step 2 of the firmware update process (the steps page comes up when you click on Update Cricut Firmware), be sure that your Cricut is put into Firmware Update mode correctly. When you press and hold down Stop, and then press Power, you need to keep the Stop button down till the Cricut beeps at you. This usually takes about 5 or 6 seconds. This is how you know your Cricut is ready to receive new firmware. If the Cricut didn’t beep, it’s not in Firmware Update mode. Note: Updating Cricut firmware can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes, maybe even a bit longer (time for another sandwich). If your firmware update takes a significantly shorter time than 5 minutes, your Cricut isn’t getting the proper update. The process needs to be started again from the beginning. More Support Information is coming. As with any software launch, there are always unforeseen issues that can only be discovered and resolved after release into the general public. Most of you are experiencing the program as we intended, but our goal is to have all of you experiencing it that way.
Please call or email Customer Support if you require assistance, or check the Cricut Message Boards as many solutions to issues have already been discovered and posted by you wonderfully clever people. Please have patience with us as we resolve the issues that you are experiencing.
The Quick Install Guide can be found here: http://www.cricut.com/images/promotions/CricutDesignStudio/CDS_Quick_Install_Guide.pdf The CDS User Manual can be found here: http://www.cricut.com/images/promotions/CricutDesignStudio/CDS_User_Manual.pdf
Sunday, June 7, 2009
You say "POTATO". I say "GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU".
'GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU'?
If 'GH' stands for 'P' as in 'Hiccough' and if 'OUGH' stands for 'O' as in 'Dough' and if 'PHTH' stands for 'T' as in 'Phthisis' and if 'EIGH' stands for 'A' as in 'Neighbour' and if 'TTE' stands for 'T' as in 'Gazette' and if 'EAU' stands for 'O' as in 'Plateau' then wouldn't the right way to spell 'POTATO' be 'GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU'?
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