As I type this, it is the early dawn of Mabon. In case there is any question as to what Mabon is all about, I feel that this layout from Snowraven at Magickal Scraps, exhibits the spirit of this day.

Isn’t that beautiful!? Isn’t our earth magnificent! For an overview of Mabon that best explains the day, go to About.com. Personally, I am grateful for the sun which is coming up, right now. I thank goodness for having enough food to take care of my family and myself. As we settle in for another Florida winter, all eyes are on the Gators. For both, I am so blessed. Not nearly as blessed , though, as having a loving family, some cherished friends, online and off, and my health.

There’s another cool thing about this time of the year. Some believe that the veil between heaven and earth is at it’s thinnest. Halloween, or All Saints Day, has roots in the beliefs that the dead return to visit. The costume concept derived from people wearing masks to hide from the evil spirits that can cross over during this time, as well. Being such a believer in the paranormal, I look forward to, hopefully, receiving some sort of contact or sign. My father has been weighing on my thoughts, here, lately.

Holy Moly!! I almost forgot! I am so excited! I commented on a design website I frequent and was contacted to write an article on the subject. “FuelYourCreativity.com” has some interesting articles on working in the design field. On one, we were pondering whether it was better to learn or to be taught. I mentioned some good learning ‘habits’ I gleaned from a college professor of mine. This is what they requested from me – an article on these habits. I’ve written the piece and will submit it today. Just as soon as it comes out, I’ll post the link here. My professor had paid quite a bit of attention to details that work very well in learning any new material. They were something I learned in my first semester in college and I carry them with me, still.

While I am on the subject, FYC has about cornered the internet market in design sites. Have you seen what they are doing now? They just released a new site, “FuelYourBlogging.com“. Check it out. I am curious to see if they will be of some help with these Blogger blogs. But, more than that, there’s Fuel Your Photography, FYCoding, FYIllustration, or FYWriting, just to name a few. At FYC, click on the “FUEL BRAND NETWORK” item in the uppermost menu bar, at the far right. There is a list of all their ventures.

Speaking of learning, the 6-Month Photoshop course is working out fairly well. So far, I have had about 10 “ah-ha!” moments. LOL For all the times I have tweeked an image in PS, I just learned about the settings. This week we’re going to cover “masks”. It helps that I have a basic working knowledge of the program, already. Feels like we’re speaking the same language, at least.

Last, but, not least, I had been working on a new kit for a Yahoo group that I belong to, Casual Scrapping Group. The topic, as it was a challenge, was ‘late summer’ and we were given a color palette.

Since this time of the year, for me, is a time to celebrate the harvest, so to speak, I celebrate the bounty, so splendidly produced for us by nature. I give thanks for all we have, no matter how minute. What I did was to celebrate some of the less glamorous elements of nature. I will leave it to your imagination. That is, until you go download the kit from the Casual Scrapping Blog. I named it, “Celebrate Nature”.

Here is a preview:

Thank you for your interest. I enjoy the comments, too. Thank you!

Have a great day!

Su