Mariannes Motifs

Knitted Kitty You'all

knitted kitty
Originally uploaded by mar1annec

Check out my cute little kitty cat toy I knitted. Its based on this pattern from Angry T Rex Roars livejournal page.  (warning some profanity in pattern)

This is going to be a present for my niece Lydia. I am making another one for Melanie. Oops - this might be ruining the secret. Well who cares anyway. It'll be something for them to look forward to when our tribe visits theirs for Thanksgiving. Yeah... the face is kind of funny looking but hey - I am not a professional.

Hanukkah and Christmas Photo Cards

Its that time of year when all good digital scrapbookers go into a panic of last minute card, calendar and gift planning.

Storebought cards?  Feh!  Not good enough for us crafty souls who feel we must outshine all with pictures of our beautiful families on custom made Christmas Photo Cards.  We might lose our membership in the Digi club if we didn't!

Well, folks, first of all take a deep breath and think about what the holidays really mean.  For me they are a beautiful "down time" where I get to do some nice things for my kids, see fancy light shows, and light some ceremonial Hanukkah candles. 

I didn't do cards at all last year.  I made gorgeous photo calendars for my family through Shutterfly and let the card thing go.  The year before last however, I did a really cute "Christmakkah" card which I ordered through VistaPrint.  VistaPrint has great prices on photo cards.  I recommend them for price and speed of printing.

Its very easy to do custom photo cards with Photoshop Elements and great templates and elements from Scrapbook stores such as Kim Hill's CG Essentials and Scrapbook-Elements stores. 

Here is the link for Kim's Holiday Card templates:

And here is Kim's Contemporary Christmas kit. 

If Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver can do it, we can too!

As you may know, in my house this political season has been a bit sticky.  My husband and I have vastly differing ideas about Obama.   Basically I really like him and Jin hates him.

So when I saw this CNN Political Ticker item about Arnold Schwarzenegger saying that now that the election is over he is allowed back in the bedroom it made me chuckle.  I can relate!   I am so glad this election is over.  I'm not running around rubbing it in for Jin though...I am just letting him be.  My sincere hope is that Obama will do a decent job and convince Jin and the others like him that there was nothing to worry about.  We are not starting a slide towards socialism - ok!

Hot Images for Your Blog

How would you like to be able to add clear gorgeous images to your blog without having to worry about wrestling with copyright protection, complex coding, or taking your own pictures?  There is a new services called Acobox that makes adding blog pictures a complete breeze.

Everyone knows that the human eye is drawn to striking pictures, and adding the right graphic style to your blog or website can really make it pop.  One of the neat things about Acobox is that they take all the hard work out of this process.  Once you find the picture you want from their database they give you all different options and you can just copy and paste the code you need from their buttons.

The thing I don't really understand is what their business model is.  How can they offer this all for free to the blogger?  The images are very nice (all under free use) and the site is very easy to use.  I wonder if they have a plan for a pay service later or something? The site is based on the open source content management software called Drupal - http://drupal.org.  So perhaps its that open source spirit coming through that allows the site to be free.

Here is an example of a picture I snagged from their site - a habanero pepper in honor of "hot images for your blog."

2 Good Freebie deals for the day

Walgreens is again offering a free 8x10 photo from their photo center.  I love it when they do this.  I have a 3 ring binder with page protectors where I keep all the 8x10s I get from photo sessions and Walgreens deals!  Its so fun to look through.

Walgreens
Use Coupon code FREEPIC valid for one use per account only by November 8, 2008

The other great freebie is from Walmart.  Walmart freebies are great because they always show up!  Not like some freebies that just never seem to get sent out.  And they don't take very long either.

Walmart.com freebie is at bottom of page
All dressed up for the season’s festivities, improved
GLAD Food Storage and Freezer Bags are easier
to grip, open and seal.*

Friday Chit Chat

I have a cold.  Blech.  I am so glad it is Friday - my plan is to come home from work and crash.  This is one of those days when the kids and hubby are just going to have to fend for themselves.  Although I did pick up a frozen Public Mac and Cheese family size dinner and some SteamFresh broccoli last night when I picked up my prescriptions.  I can microwave up a dinner that will make everyone happy at least before I crash out.

I feel like my head is wrapped in bubble wrap.   At least we have jeans day at work and I am in comfy jeans not having to feel all dressed up in my usual business casual. 

Hey - for those who are in the market for tactical pants the folks at operator-tactical-pants.com bought directly from the manufacturer and have some great prices.  Can you imagine a website that only sells tactical pants?  Weird.  The internet is a wild and wonderful place, is it not?

Name this loom contest from DALOOMS

Isela at DALOOMS is having a contest to name their latest prototype 4 loom.  My contest entry is in a comment on the LoomyLicious blog as below.  I hope I win!  I love DALooms and know that I have a wonderloom, Adjusta Loom, and sock loom I don't think I would use anyone elses.  I really prefer the plastic pegs which are so much easier on your hands when you knit on the loom than metal pegs.

I think it should be called the "Pin and Peg Adjustable loom." With the emphasis that the addition of the pins allow for a smooth "u stitch" type flat knit stitch without the loomer having to hold the yarn into the u shape when wrapping as in the u stitch without pins.

Obama's Acceptance Speech

The full text of Obama's acceptance speech can be found on the LA Times blog. 

The American people need to know that this sea change in the house, senate, and Presidency does not mean we are going to lock stock and barrel switch over to socialism.

I particularly liked how Obama reached out to those that did not vote for him.  I think that we need to avoid the polarization seen in this election.   People are bitter about our elected leaders right now, and yes, deservedly so.  But I hope that just because the Democrats have a majority they don't run roughshod over the Republicans or Independents. 

To quote the 44th President of the United States:

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn -– I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.

Simple Automated Online Business

The 70th most popular search on google today is "simple automated online business."  There are folks out there peddling turnkey business opportunities - the compute program does all the work - all you have to do is cash the checks.

Guess what?  If it were that simple the people selling you the software would be doing it themselves, not trying to ge you to buy their magical turnkey solution.

There is no get rich quick scheme.  Getting rich takes time, work, and smarts.  If you have those three things, you too can make money on the internet.  Or for that matter in your local community.  However, starting a business takes more than just writing and cashing checks.  It takes creating a relationship with your customers, and providing a useful service or product.

In this blog, my service is the blog posts I write.  I have have some free patterns, recipes, digital scrapbooking tutorals, and the ever popular holiday coloring pages links.  I put some work into the blog, and in return I get a few dollars worth of ad revenue, and even some Amazon affiliate bucks.  Believe me I am not yet buying my retirement villa in Italy - but I do make $20-$30 a week.  And I think that's pretty cool.  Its $30 more than nothing.  I use the money as my mad money for snagging up good shopping deals. 

SO take it from someone who has tried to take over the world with Internet Entrepeneurship, it is not smooth sailing. There is money to be made but you have to take it step by step.  And you have to have something to say. 

Just like there are no magic weight loss pills that will allow you to lose weight without eating right and exercising, there is no magic automated online business that will bring checks flowing to your door with no work.