Lately my list has been getting longer rather than shorter!

I know that …

• I should reorganize my craft room.
• I should tell my DH that I love him more often.
• I should get my car washed.
• I should finish sewing up those fabric bread baskets that I started for Christmas 2006! [I did get five of the fifteen done for 2007. Five down; 10 to go!]
• I should make some soup from those duck bones in the fridge before the carcass spoils.
• I should keep in closer touch with all the family (I really do miss them!).
• I should write more timely articles for The Artful Crafter.

My DH mentioned three weeks ago that it would be nice if I designed a couple of Valentine cards for the website. But I haven’t gotten around to it. I really do know better.

I spent a two-year stint with a major magazine publishing company when I began my career in finance. I know that the articles for Christmas were probably written in June and the pictures taken in the heat of summer.

Or sometimes, they were shot the prior winter and the story done later.

It seems a crazy way to live – always out of sync with what’s going on in the real world – but I guess you get used to it after a while. My biggest goal for The Artful Crafter is to get onto a schedule that would allow me to be out of sync in that positive way.

Toward that end, we’ve begun to hire other crafters to create projects and write articles for us. I’m really excited about this because it will also allow us to expand into craft forms that I personally don’t have expertise in.

One which you can expect to see more of is needlework like crochet, embroidery and cross stitch.

Also look for big changes on The Artful Crafter – and maybe some glitches along the way. Please hang in there with us while we go though our “labor pains”.

These things never go without some stressful moments, but the outcome should make all the effort worthwhile.

If you would like to see what’s going on at The Artful Crafter more frequently than this monthly newsletter allows, please visit The Artful Crafter blog and mark it as one of your favorites.

Thank you for subscribing to “The Artful Crafter Digest”. As always, your comments, suggestions and questions are welcome.

Paying the Bills

In order to allow us to bring you The Artful Crafter website, blog and newsletter without charge, we have always carried advertising and our advertisers thank you for your patronage.

Over the next few months you will notice new and different kinds of ads on the site and in the blog. If you have any comments, positive or negative, about these ads, please send us your opinions.

We would also appreciate it if you would take this brief demographic survey to help us serve you better in the future.

Thanks.

Eileen

How to Create Your Own Calendar Using Calendar Creator Express

My letter above is a perfect segue into telling you that I’ve put up an article on how to make a personalized calendar for family and friends.

I know you all have your calendars for 2007 already, but I didn’t finish mine in time for the January newsletter and I do want you to know how easy it is.

I made my calendar using Calendar Creator Express. Calendar Creator Express is bundled into PrintShop Pro Publisher Version 20 which I have recommended frequently.

I didn’t even know I had the program until I stumbled upon it. I know – it would help to read the manual, but who has time to read manuals?

I’d rather learn new software by just poking around and getting right to work. I was pretty impressed with Calendar Creator: nice artwork; nice layouts; and user friendly.

It also has a very cool Event List feature. You select what holiday list(s) you want included. The choice is extensive: Christian, Jewish, U.S., Canadian, Mexican, and on and on.

If you use the Calendar Wizard to create your calendar, select the most inclusive. If you want to add others later, you can do so by clicking File>Import>Event and selecting them.

I didn’t have time to put in all our family birthdays and anniversaries for this year’s calendar, so I hope to add them to my Event list month by month throughout the year. Then come December, I should be able to create my 2009 calendar in a jiffy and tell you about it in time for you to make your own!

What Else is New on The Artful Crafter This Month?

If you’re looking for The Perfect Wedding Gift, check out this very personal digital scrapbooking idea.

Learn how to Iron a Photo onto a Tile for a unique plaque.

If you want to do Professional Printing with PrintShop, here are a few things you should know.

Here is some marketing advice for a new latch hook technique – or any new technique for that matter.

Do you know how to create a .jpg file from an unsupported format (like that found in CreataCard) to give you more design flexibility?

Have you ever thought of your Art as Therapy?

Do you need any Valentine’s Day projects for kids?

Oooooo, I Wish I Could Read Faster!

I’m struggling through this wonderful book, “The Photoshop WOW Book”.

Why, you ask, am I struggling if it is such a wonderful book? There are two reasons: 1. the book is a humongous 792 pages of quite small print; and 2. I am slightly dyslexic.

I’m one of the lucky dyslexics who have a mild form and enough I.Q. points to figure out ways around the disability. It never goes away. But I’ve learned to do pretty well despite it.

I transpose numbers a lot, so always double and triple check my math. I read the numbers back in groups of two and then three. That catches a lot of mistakes.

And I’ve become quite good at apologizing for my math errors. Most people understand. At my current age, I can simply say I had a senior moment – one of the few advantages of growing older. LOL.

As for reading, even if I enjoy the subject matter, reading is a chore. It is a plodding, frustrating struggle. My DH flips through the movie descriptions on TV before I can even find the relevant paragraph – much less read it!

But there are certainly worse things in life. On balance I consider myself very, very fortunate. God has given me many special talents and helped me find a way to make a living with them. Then He threw in a few embarrassments – a big nose and dyslexia – to keep me humble.

Now that I’ve vented, I’m going to go read more of this wonderful book!

Reader Letter of the Month: How Did She Do That?!

"Hi, I was admiring your creations and I will study your website more tomorrow, I just love it. I was wondering how you did the tag on the rose for your friend's wedding? I hope you could share it with me. Hope to hear from you soon.

Thank you,

Christine

P.S. You are a gift to us crafters, may more blessings come to you!"

I’m happy to share. Digi-scrapping is so much fun! Find step-by-step directions for the Digital Tag here.

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