Category Archives: Links

Fall Festival Freebie and Links

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Good Monday to you!  It’s a new month and, so, we have a new kit for you.  Autumn is my favorite time of the year.  It’s cool, here, this morning.  I think it around 45 degrees out.  I know!  For many, that’s a heat wave.  For Floridians, it’s the first time we can shut off our air conditioners.  Savings!  LOL  My last utility bill was over 400 dollars!  That is outrageous!  
Halloween is fast approaching, too!  It’s fun dressing up the children and seeing them trick-or-treating.  To me, the whole year is hinged on these few weeks.  Historically, this is the time of the harvest.  This is when we reap what we have sown.  People give thanks for a bountiful crop and healthy livestock.  Festivities abounded the world over.  This was the time when folks stocked up for the long, cold winter months.  Long ago, your goal was to have enough from the harvest to endure these months.  What you didn’t grow, you traded or bartered to get.  Obviously, you dealt only with other local folks, assuring the freshness and quality.  These occasions are what maintained a sense of community.  What a long way we have come, eh?  Now, it is almost a novel concept to ‘buy locally’.  Do you know where your head of lettuce came from?  Maybe humanity is coming full-circle.  Localized trade and resources are the goal, these days.  Our ancestors could teach us a few things. 
True to the season, I found a cute website that you will get a kick out of.  ‘Haunted Portraits’ is a trip!  I can’t give you an example here, but, you’ll see why if you go there.  Check out the menu panel for all of it!  It is fun!
Textures are addictive!  Anyone who has ever applied a texture with an ‘Overlay’ or ‘Multiply’ Blending Mode will attest to this.  They can change the entire theme of an image or piece.  I’ve shown quite a few folks’ websites who deal in textures, but, I guarantee they are only the tip of the iceberg.  I keep one eye out for them while perusing the web.  So, it came as no surprise to stumble upon another one.  This one is different.  Free Textures at ‘Hadania’s Blogspot’ is unique.  Across the top are choices in which to view the textures, such as ‘Classic’, ‘Flip-Card’, ‘Magazine’, ‘Mosaic’, etc.  The link I give is for the ‘Classic’ view, which sets up the textures in a blog-type format.  ‘Flip-Card’ shows collections.  Click on one and a page will open up with all the textures in that collection or artist.  As for the textures, they are some of the best I have seen!  Some have been ‘pre-made’, in that there is some design or pattern in them.  Others are just the textures.  Either way, they are NICE!  Here is one of the textures with a floral theme blended in.
And, one without any ‘theme’.
You really must check out these Free Textures!!
Want to take a little trip down Memory Lane?  Then ‘Museum of Childhood’ is what you want!  They have collections of antique toys, games to play and neat things for children to make.  The Museum is a place you can go to at the Victoria and Albert Museum, if you live nearby.  The online pages give but a glimpse into what they have at the museum, but, it is awesome!  Give it a glance!
The last link I leave you with is special to me.  If you like anything ‘Victoriana’, then, this is your Nirvana!  LOL  Victoriana is a magazine that exhibits and goes into anything from the Victorian age.  What I liked is that there are ‘e-books’ that you can download, for free, on a variety of topics.  I clicked on the ‘Blog’ menu item to see what they had.  That led me to an article on Fabric Swatchbooks.  They feature vintage fabrics that are gorgeous!  At the end of the article, they credit ‘PowerHouseMuseum’, with their ‘Electronic Swatchbook’ as their source.  Select a year and/or colors and they give you fabric swatches for it.  Their large, easy for downloading.  They list their swatches as ‘Public Domain’ in Australia. You really should check it out!
Okay, I lied!  LOL  I’m giving you one more.  This one has a bunch of Photoshop goodies!  Camxso’s DeviantArt site has a great assortment of patterns, brushes and shapes.  There are also ‘scrapbooking’ goodies.  You really must check it out!
So, we come to the monthly kit/freebie.  Miss Edna and I have been busy again, this time with ‘Fall Festival’.  Today, we are giving you a couple of Quick Pages(QP’s) to use.  They are Pts 1 and 2.  Then on following Mondays for the next couple of weeks, we’ll give you the elements and papers, the kit in 4 more parts, for you to create your own layouts.  Below are the previews.  Click on mine and you’ll be taken to the download page at Minus.com.  Then, Miss Edna’s preview will take you to her blog for her parts.  If you are interested in previous freebies, all of mine are still up. Be sure to come back for more!
Mine(Pts 1 and 2)
Both QP’s are in the zip.  
Miss Edna’s Place Preview
CUTE!!
So, that will do it for now.  Do come back for the rest of the kit.  I think you’ll find it a little different than many of the Halloween-themed goodies out there, tho, there are some awesome goodies!
Until the next time…
Hugs,
Su

SU CheshireCat

Freebie Collab Pts. 3 and 4, Plus Links

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Good Monday!  Hope all is well with everyone.  I had promised to post some links for ya’ll and didn’t have the time last week.  For someone who doesn’t work, I sure am busy!  But, that’s okay.  I’ll have plenty of time to rest when I’m down.  LOL
If you are familiar with DeviantArt, you may know that this is a community of artists who protect their rights rather strenuously.  They deserve that much.  So, when one Chad Love Lieberman was revealed as having been selling other folks’ art, you can just imagine the caustic effect.  This isn’t just a piece or two.  This guy stole hundreds of pieces of art, removed the artist’s markings, claimed them as his own and sold them in an online art site, Art4Love.  The site is no longer active, obviously, but, the damage is done.  Rather than try to give you all the details, the best thing is to read about it yourself.  In particular, go to Alexiuss’ page, click on the image to enlarge it and read about this dog!  He even committed plagiarism of written pieces as well!  
Can you believe someone could have the audacity?!  Did he not think he’d ever be revealed as the thief he is?  The DA community is abuzz with folks trying to find out if they were victims, or not.  Fortunately, one wise member had the presence of mind to take screenshots of every one of the pages at Art4Love.  From those, a list has been compiled and they are searching out the artists whose work was there.  Art4Love is a Fraud is a website that has popped up as a result of this guy’s actions.  They have a listing of the art and artists, where possible, so, anyone who is in doubt can go check to see if they were victims.  A class action law suit is no doubt in order, but, it will take time.  If you have a DA account and believe you may have been a target, go see the lists.  Rights are something we take for granted.  When someone infringes on our rights it is disgusting!  For that someone to gain monetarily from that infringement is down right mean!
I do have one link I’d like to share here.  If you are a butterfly nut, as am I, you’ll appreciate this site.  ‘The Butterfly Website’ is just that.  A site for all things butterfly.  I stumbled across it searching for clip-art, which there are quite a few.  There are articles on everything related to the little fluttering fauna, as well as, photos galore.  There are guides to draw butterflies to one’s garden, activities for children and links to other sites and places that know their butterflies.  I found it quite enjoyable myself.  You may, also.
One more and I’ll stop.  LOL  I love flowers – any kind, any color!  So, when one of my fave digi-designers, Karen, from Karen’s Scrap and Graphics, introduced her mom, I was absolutely delighted!  The flowers are painted with PSP and they are gorgeous!  Pat’s Flora and Fauna is the lady’s blog.  She has been giving away free samples of these beautiful buds.  Go check it out!  Pat sells them in Karen’s store, so, you may want to check it out, too.  They’re worth it!
That will have to do for today.  I want to get the next two parts to the monthly collab with Miss Edna posted for you.  Last week we gave away QP’s.  This week we are giving away scrapbooking elements for you to design your own layouts.  Below are previews.  Though they depict the elements and papers separately, each download is a mix.  Today, you get Pts. 3 and 4.  Don’t forget to come back next week for the rest of this fun kit, “Chicken Anyone?”
Part 3
Part 4
And, don’t forget to visit Miss Edna’s Place for her two parts:
I’m giving Minus.com a try with this set of downloads.  They recently upped their file size max, up to 2 gigs per upload, so, they can accommodate this sort of download.  There is a limit of 10 gigs per account for the free one.  Give them a try!  If you have any issues at all, please let me know.  I don’t anticipate any, but, just in case.
That will do it for today.  If I can, I will post more links for you this week.  I hope to!  Until next time…

Hugs,
Su

SU CheshireCat

Collab Freebies – Parts 3 and 4, Plus Links

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Good Morning!  I trust your weekend was relaxing and that you are ready for the week.  It’s here!  It’s a Monday morning, both g-kids are home with me and another one is on the way.  The little one, my son’s son, is coming so his mommy can go to an appointment.  I’m slugging back my first cuppa and trying to get ready for the day.  You know how it is.  You’re ready ’cause you gotta be!  In hind sight, one may wonder why we put ourselves through such difficult times – three little kids, first thing on a Monday morn.  Well, it is rather like the song,  “The Dance”.  I might have missed some pain, but, then, I would have missed the ‘dance’.  Life is a dance.  We dance our little hearts out all our lives.  Sometimes, we try to avoid ‘bad weather’ and we hide in our shells.  Other times, we’re right out there, dancing in the rain, making the most out of a rainy day.  That is me.  It took me quite a few years as this is a learned attribute.  When you get older, you relish any dancing and try to withstand any inclement weather the best we can.  You roll with it.  That is when life becomes the best, to me.  I can choose to react to every situation with the same panicky anticipation, or, I can choose to pick my battles.  Life sure gets a lot easier when you do.
Alrighty, then!   Onward, I have some links to share with you.  How do ya’ll like vintage clip-art?  I found a website that has a ton of clip-art and it’s free.  Let me tell you.  The website is from the University of South Florida.  It is a part of Florida’s Educational Technology for educators.  From their site they, “provide digital content, professional development, and technical services supporting the appropriate integration of technology into K-12 and preservice education.”
The terms are that you may use up to 50 images at a time for educational purposes.
The screen shot above shows the 4 main categories, Clip Pix, Clip Art, Presentations and Maps.  The first two are self-explanatory.  So is Maps.  Presentations is neat!  They are designed for PowerPoint, but, there is an awesome collection of paper figures.  Here is an example:
What’s even nicer is they come in several sizes.  They’re ‘.TIFF’ files, which are supported by many programs.  I know you will be interested in the variety, as I was. In addition to the people clip art, there are frames, some Alphas and some PowerPoint templates.  There is bound to be something you can use.  Go give them a visit.
For a quick run through of some old standards worth paying a visit, let’s start with Atomic Cupcake.  Their new freebie is a ‘barely stamped’ action.
The Coffee Shop, has posted some new frames and storyboards.  Rita shows you how to get the most out of the frames, which come complete with a vintage texture.
Next, if you are into digitally mastered images, like DAZ and Poser, I have a link for you for very nicely done ‘stock’.  DeviantArt is an entity in and of itself, but, one stock provider I found, Cheyenne75 has an awesome collection.  The menu is down the left-hand side.  Be prepared for ‘creatures’, in that she has all kinds of aliens and unusual ‘monster-ish’ goodies.  I like this site with Halloween coming.  After all, where else are you going to find a ‘magic beanstalk’ or a ‘zombie dog’?
Another site, Made to Be Unique, is similar.  There, you can find all kinds of images, digitally produced, to help with designs.

If you’ve never considered this kind of stock, these folks have done a good job and their goodies are worth checking out.

The last one is a designer who keeps a DeviantArt website and a blog.  JustieJ and Just Creations are there for designers.  ‘Justie’ creates templates and Photoshop resources to make designing easier.  Both websites of hers have about the same stuff, though, it looks like many of the actual downloads are on the blog, Just Creations.  On the DeviantArt pages there are a lot of ‘cut-outs’, .png files for you to use.  Like this:
In addition to her wonderful designs, she also has an blog devoted to tutorials, Just Creations Tutorials.  There is quite a selection.   She teaches the details of light and shadows, plus, a lot of coloring or recoloring of elements.  One tutorial shows how to make a paper preview for one’s designs.  There is also a free pre-made template for it if you just don’t have the time.  Like this:
And, that is it for the links today.  But, I’m not done with you, yet!  Today is the second set of parts from my collaboration with Miss Edna’s Place, “Tropical Sunset”.  Last week you received the QP’s. Pts 1 and 2.  This week and next week, we’ll be giving away the scrapbooking papers and elements.  We each give two(2) parts each week, so, you should have four(4) parts today.  Though my previews indicate the elements separately from the papers, each part is a combination of both.  The first preview will take you to Pt. 3, and the second one is to Pt. 4.  Then, after that, you’ll see Miss Edna’s preview.  Click on it and you’ll get to her blog for her downloads.
 Part 3
Part 4
Miss Edna’s Place Preview
(click on preview to navigate to her blog)
Isn’t that awesome?!
(Note:  All of my past links are still active.)
I want to share a little something else, real quick.  I found the neat ‘ant’imation, below, at Crafted by Gina blog.  Gina does beautiful scrapbooking designs and has taken part in several blog trains.  A lot of the links are still active for the older posts, so, check those out.  All this is is a .GIF image.  You treat it like you would any image.  If you want to use it down in the siggy on your own blog, here’s how:
On Blogger, go to ‘Dashboard’;’Settings’;’Formatting’.  Down the page you’ll find a text box labeled, ‘Post Template’.  There, you paste the ‘HTML’ link that Photobucket, or any other host site, provides you.  Then, after you save, the very next post will have the ant, or any other little goodie you like for the siggy part.  I have two, right now, the ant and the Cheshire Cat.  I thought you all might be interested, so, that is how it is done.

PhotobucketRemember to keep smiling!Hugs, Su SU CheshireCat

New Collab Freebie, ‘Tropical Sunset,’ and a Tut

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Hello, everyone!  How are you this fine, sunny morn?  I woke up with an horrible pain in my right hip.  Geez!  I’m hobbling around here, in slow speed.  What a pain!  I had things to do!  LOL  C’est la vie!
I’ve been doing a whole bunch of writing lately.  A friend of mine has a website.  He is a pc repair guy and website builder.  It’s very new.  He needed some content supporting the ‘design’ aspect of his site in order to get sponsors with ads relating to web-design, pc’s, etc.  He asked me if I would contribute to it to help him out.  
At the same time, I have been doing a segment over at Digital Whisper in PS101.  Yeah, me.  LOL  I’ve written sections on the Layers Palette and the general ‘workspace’ in Photoshop, so far, plus various other assorted ‘Secrets’ for a group by the same name.  I used the same content for my friend’s site as the DW articles are private.  You just have to be a member, but, it is rather ‘protected’.   The chances of a designer reading it at my friend’s site, then, again on DW are practically nil.
I tried to do a good job on all of it.  I have screen shots and step-by-step instructions where needed.  One of the tutorials is something you all might be interested in.  If you want to give it a read, you can go visit the site, DirtyBegger.com, then, click on “Graphic Design” on the left-hand side.  There are two tuts; the one for brushes is awesome, I think!  I just learned it recently and it has changed the way I work.
This week is the first release of the new August freebie kit that Miss Edna, from Miss Edna’s Place, and I have done, “Tropical Sunset”.  Each month, for a year next month, I believe, Miss Edna and I collaborate on a kit, decide the them and the colors, create, then, post what we do in three(3) weekly installments.  We give two(2) ‘parts’ away each week.  So, four(4) parts each week for three(3) weeks = twelve(12) parts when you collect them from both of us.  And, I repeat, they’re FREE!  LOL
“Tropical Sunset”
Below are the previews for my first two(2) parts, which is a set of QP’s.  Then, next Monday you’ll find two(2) more parts and the same the following Monday.  The parts for the next two weeks are scrapbooking goodies so you can design your own layout pages.  Click on the preview to go to Box.net to download my parts.  They’ll be in one file.
Then, here is Miss Edna’s preview.  Click on it to go to her blog for her QP’s today, too.  She’s done a beautiful job on them!
Aren’t they nice!  I love the jewelry look!  I sure hope ya’ll enjoy them.
That’s gonna do it for this week.  I’ve got to get up out of this chair!  LOL  I’m heading for my bed and the heating pad!  Sounds exciting, eh?
You know what?
I hope you
Photobucket
Hugs!
Su

SU CheshireCat

Final Parts of Collab and Links

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A good Monday morning to you.  I’m trying to keep it going.  It’s trying to escape me, but, I am not going to let it!  LOL  So far, this morning, my grand-daughter threw a screaming fit, first thing!  Then, I got yet another phone call from some collection firm, so they call themselves.  On a regular basis, like two to three times a week, I get a call from someone with an extreme accent, addressing me as Tommy Roberson, telling me that I owe money and they intend to collect it.  A couple of times it was a female voice, but, normally, it is a man, whose name changes with every phone call.  He’s been Mr. Smith, among other ‘generic’ names.  Today, he was Mr. Jones.  As usual, he says they have court records, so me or my attorney had better respond.  I’ve been told they are coming for me.  There will be a police man come to my door, if I don’t resolve this debt immediately.  The man always adds, “I feel very, very sorry for you, Tommy Roberson!”
This has been going on for the past 6 months.  Never mind that I am a female, not a male, so, I can’t be a Tommy.  I’ve told them I am not Tommy Roberson – repeatedly!  I’ve told them to stop calling.  They don’t care!  I’ve yelled and screamed.  I’ve begged to get them to give me their information, address, name, etc, in hopes of stopping them through legal channels.  Nope!  I don’t know who this Tommy supposedly owes this money to, or even how much and they won’t tell me.  The demands still come.  This morning, I called the number back, pretended I was Tommy’s lawyer and asked for their address.  They finally gave me: 42 Broadway, Fifth Floor, NY, NY 10044.  I’ll give that to my attorney.  He’s aching to get hold of these scammers.  Meantime, I found a really loud, shrill whistle.  I can’t wait for them to call again!  Muwahahaha!
 
On a much lighter note, this weekend, I found a cool site I want to share with you, Black Cat Photography.  If you like Photography, you’ll appreciate this one.  There are loads of tutorials, although, they are in Spanish, with some translation.  What I enjoyed was the number of textures and actions that are free.  This site features “Textures of the World”.   It’s a series of useful textures based on the colors and textures from different countries around this beautiful world of ours.  Here is the most recent example:
Click image to go to site
Go, check it out.  You can always use BabelFish or another translator, if you would like to be able to read all the content.  It sounds like a pain, but, well worth it.  I did that and it was easy.  Just go to Babel and enter the URL of the site, then, click on the languages selection that fits best.  In this one, I selected ‘Spanish to English’.  Be informed, though, that links on the translated page may not work.  It is necessary to click on the Spanish version’s links.  It’s a translation thing, I guess. 
 
I also found a site named “Maybemej”.   It’s similar to the previous site, as far as content and subject.  They offer textures, actions, brushes, and frames.   The webmistress has loads of goodies she shows how to make, coming up with some really cute ideas.  There is some foreign text, Swedish, I believe, but, most of it is translated.  The site is quite personable with lots of photos of her children on which she applies her techniques.  What I enjoyed, too, is that she does what I do – she visits a site, then, posts about it.  She shows a lot of goodies with links to the sites.  That was nice. 
Then, I found a link to Chris Wahl Art Brushes.  There is one role of this blog and it is to give away this dude’s brushes.  They aren’t just fancy brushes, either!  There are fifteen(15) brush sets, but, the last post at the top features all of them in one bundle.  Here are two of the examples:

For me, one who likes to ‘paint in’ color and textures, they are right up my alley.  They’re good brushes, not blurry or messy.  Give them a try.  You may like them!
And, with that, I give you this week’s freebies.  This is the third and final installment of “From Sea to Shining Sea”, a collaboration with Miss Edna’s Place.  All previous downloads are still available, if you are new to this.  Below, are my previews.  Though separated into ‘papers and elements’, the previews lead to Part 5 and Part 6.  Be sure you click on each.  Following those, there is Miss Edna’s preview.  Click on it and be taken to her blog for her two parts.  I hope you enjoy.  Come again next month for August’s collaboration and more free downloads.
Part 5
Part 6
Miss Edna’s Preview
So, there you have it.  Another week in the life of me.  LOL  As always, don’t forget
Hugs,
Su

SU CheshireCat