Saturday, August 28, 2010

Doodley Squat

I've gotten doodley squat done as far as digital scrapping this year. I got a few layouts done in February. There's one from May, one from March. Wow.

Whassup? I don't have a lot of pictures from the move out of Virginia that I want to do anything with and I didn't take a lot of pictures during the move in to Florida and the unpacking. There were a few things that I should have taken pictures of, but I didn't. Lack of pictures is not an excuse.

Lack of time is no excuse. I have plenty of time.

Lack of kits to work with? Hah! I can't even think of trying that. I have plenty of neatly organized kits on my EHD.

I haven't been totally idle. I've created 'we've moved' cards, I finished a mini-book and I've done a lot of pages on the photo carousel. But digital layouts? Not so much.

Friday, August 27, 2010

I Should Know Better

Every so often I forget that the average forum reader has very little expertise. They are capable and competent people, but they aren't subject matter experts. When I post a question on a forum, I'm usually asking something that the average person can't answer. I'm looking for information from a SME. There are a few SMEs on forums. A very few. Often, they are so tired of always answering questions that they don't bother any more.

I asked a question on a forum recently. The answers I got ignored the icon I use, which is a D300, and gave me some simple photography tips. And I do mean simple. I responded via PM. And I only PM when I'm pissed.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Patternmaking

I've created a few custom garments, making patterns from a set of measurements and a roll of brown craft paper. One of my favorites would be this dress.

It's actually an under dress and the over dress, but the two together were a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I made the under dress before I started an aggressive fitness program and I developed so much muscle that it never fit again and I had to get rid of it. I couldn't put my arms into the sleeves.

There was also a set of dresses made from this pattern.
There aren't any pictures of me in it full length that I have ever seen. But it is based on a 13th century garment, and I added a side lacing, because I was not the shape of those 13th century women. They were much more solid than I will ever be. To make the garment small enough, I just gathered it at the sides with lacing. Unlaced, it was a pullover. Laced, it would never pull over my shoulders. But the skirt swirled beautifully and the belts I wore with it were so flattering. I miss those dresses.

None of my custom dresses fit the new shape I built through diet and exercise and they went the way of the recycle bin. The old me was so small, through both frame and muscle that there was no way I could even hand my old clothing down to a child.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Uninspired

If I'm not inspired to create, I can't create. I can encourage myself to create by looking at things that make me happy. I've been looking through some of my old scrapbooks. Wow.

I have photographs of things that really are pretty neat. I've got a set of shots from Hong Kong that I almost don't remember taking. It was back in 1989, about the time I got married for the first time. We had originally planned to marry in Hong Kong, but there was a paperwork snafu and we ended up getting married in Tokyo. And there are a few fun shots of Tokyo, too.

Do I want to go back there? Possibly. But before I start going back to places, there are a lot of new places I haven't yet seen. Once I've checked off the entire list, I'll start going through the list again.

Lists aside, I've been reminded that I can take a decent photograph now and then. I have a few winners that I'm proud of. I had been thinking of trying to create something that would be portfolio like. I have not got enough to fill a portfolio, but I do at least have a start.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Beginner Programs?

People frequently ask about beginner applications for something. It's not an easy question to answer.

My answer would be to tell the person asking about what application to get to think about how they use a computer. Do they have something out-of-the-box from the store and use it as it came? Or do they have a machine that they have loaded many different applications on?

I'm an application loader. That's why I own a computer. I want to use the applications I've loaded to do specific things. I've set up my computer the way I like, which is not the way it came out of the box. I don't ever want a beginner application. I'll outgrow it quickly and be annoyed at having wasted money on something that must now be removed and replaced with something else.

My husband is an out of the box person. For the most part, his computer is still set up the way it come out of the box. He's happy with beginner applications, if he even has them at all.

If you fall between the two types, and even if you can see yourself clearly as one or the other, you have to make your own decision. I'm not going to tell you how to spend your money.