Archive for October, 2009

Free Scrapbooking Software Sources

If there's one great thing about scrapbooking, it's that this is a very affordable hobby that shouldn't take a huge chunk out of anyone's budget. Howe...

 

If there’s one great thing about scrapbooking, it’s that this is a very affordable hobby that shouldn’t take a huge chunk out of anyone’s budget. However, as cheap as it may be, many are still on the lookout for some free scrapbooking software in order to create some digital albums and pages. Of course there are quite a few options available, but it’s surprising where and how you can discover free scrapbooking software either in stores or online. The key is knowing what to look for!

What this means is that digital scrapbook pages don’t need to be designed with free scrapbooking software or any other program specifically designed for scrapbooks. You can actually create great pages using a variety of programs and adding your own design elements. For example, instead of specifically scrapbooking software, you can try Microsoft Publisher which is a software program designed to create graphics like business cards, advertisements, flyers and brochures. This software also works well for designing scrapbooking layouts because it can work easily with added photographs, clipart and text boxes. You probably already have Publisher on your computer! So while using some good quality free scrapbooking software is one idea, learning how to use Publisher may be an even better idea. Using this program, it’s easy to import your photo, put a border around it, add some text or wording, and move items around until you find a design you like. When you print your scrapbook page, you can even add more embellishments to your layout like eyelets or ribbon to add some texture to your design.

You might even have a scrapbooking software program on your computer and not know it.  Photoshop and Photoshop Elements can be used for digital scrapbooking.  You can take online digital scrapbooking classes that specialize in using Photoshop for scrapbooking, like jessica sprague class. Jessica Sprague is a contributing editor at Creating Keepsakes, and she also teaches digital photo editing techniques.

You can also find free scrapbooking software if you look for software that doesn’t actually advertise itself as being designed for scrapbooks. Software that is designed for marketing materials can also work well for scrapbook pages. There are lots of places to find free fonts, free clipart, and other free digital elements that are perfect for scrapbooks. If you collect enough of these elements you can make up your own digital scrapbooks on your own. Some even design scrapbook layouts using Microsoft Word, once they have learned the skills to move different elements around the page. You can even shop for affordable and sometimes free scrapbooking software if you go to discount places like eBay or even the bargain areas of your local computer store.  Are you looking for scrapbook ideas?  There is no end to the number of programs you can use to make up scrapbooks if you take the time to learn these programs.

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The Only Known Cancerless Animal

 
Unlike any other mammal, naked mole rate communities consist of queens and workers more reminiscent of bees than rodents. Naked mole rats can live up to 30 years, which is exceptionally long for a small rodent. Despite large numbers of naked mole-rats under observation, there has never been a single recorded case of a mole rat contracting cancer , says Gorbunova. Adding to their mystery is the fact that mole rats appear to age very little until the very end of their lives. The mole rat’s cell

Pro Acai Max Review

 
Past few years, the miracle berry “Acai” has been raved as the top weight loss colon cleanser in several news channels and Medias. Tremendous benefits of this super fruit have been utilized in healing numerous illnesses since centuries. It is primarily known for its rich antioxidant and anti-aging property all over the world.As a result, many companies are engaged in preparing different a wide range of Acai supplements. But, the increasing number of acai products in the global markets has really

Your grandchild’s fine motor skills – ways to improve them

 

Fine motor skills are defined as the coordination of small muscle movements which usually occur in the fingers and usually in coordination with the eyes. When in relation to the hands (and fingers) the term dexterity is most commonly used.

Manual dexterity is the ability for the hands and fingers to make coordinated movements. Strong fine motor skills, such as used with writing, knitting, sewing and other activities that involve the hands and fingers, rely on manual dexterity.

In young children, manual dexterity is developed normally through routine activities that also require hand-eye coordination. Some children’s fine motor skills develop faster and are stronger than those of others and some children with weak fine motor skills may struggle when learning to form letters and beginning to write.

Because there are many reasons why fine motor skills and manual dexterity may be affected, paediatric occupational therapists often work with children to improve their manual dexterity.

Thankfully however, there are many ways to help your grandchild improve manual dexterity through simple every day, hands-on activities. Exercising a child’s fingers and hands can dramatically improve their manual dexterity so do try some of the following activities:

Threading cereals that have an O-shape – Threading cereal onto yarn is an activity that requires fine motor skills and is repetitively exercising the same muscles, all the while practicing hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity.

Sewing with yarn and cardboard – This is another activity to improve manual dexterity and builds on fine motor skills. Children just feed the yarn back and forth through holes which requires concentration and can also satisfy a child creatively.

Coloring pages – Coloring in – more so than ‘random’ drawing, requires children to grip crayons and stay within the lines of the image they are trying to color. This too requires concentration and gives the child an end result to be proud of. At sites such as Bratz Coloring Pages you’ll find the best colouring pages of Bratz for little girls, while little boys would perhaps enjoy the Pokemon coloring sheets at Pokemon Coloring Pages.

For particularly young grandchildren who cannot color yet or play with small objects, a classic shape sorter toy is a great place to start. For older grandkids, small, interlocking building blocks such as those by Lego or Duplo are great ways to play while improving and strengthening their manual dexterity.

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Ideas for Writing Your Scrapbooking Journaling

 

Do you know what scrapbooking journaling is?Basically, this is when you document your memories in words on your scrapbook page layouts in more than just a phrase, quote or title.  These words may explain the photo or memento on the page or may just be used to express your feelings about it.Including scrapbooking journaling isn’t the same as using phrases or basic titles, and knowing how it is different will help you design an attractive and effective page as well.

To begin with, keep in mind that scrapbooking journaling involves a lot of words, and you will need to use a font that can be read easily.  Often titles and phrases are added to scrapbooks using a fancy font possible made with  cricut studio. Because they are usually just a word or two, this is okay.Especially when you are including an entire paragraph or even more, you need to use something that is easy to read.  Typically the contrast between a fancy font for your title and a simpler block font for your scrapbooking journaling is perfectly acceptable and may even add more visual interest to your page. 

Second, you need to be careful about the space needed for scrapbooking journaling and about how many other embellishments you add to the page.  It’s easy to underestimate the space you’ll need for your wording and just how busy they make the page seem.One tip is to first write out your scrapbooking journaling on a scrap piece of cardstock and try it on your layout before adhering it to the page so you can check to see how much room you are going to need.You then can add or remove other page elements if your layout seems a bit busy near the journaling.If you do this with your scrapbook journaling you will also be able to make adjustments to the number of words you use, how big or small your font will be, and so on.You may even recognize that it is out of place and that you need to edit your journaling or remove it all together.You will want to look for more wholesale scrapbooking supplies .

Your scrapbooking journaling is like any other embellishment.  You need to work with it before making final decisions, so using a separate piece of paper before you adhere anything is always recommended, as is seeing how it fits with all other elements on a page.Don’t forget you can also use your computer to type out your scrapbook journaling, you won’t even need  digital scrapbooking techniques.  Just type our your journaling in any font you like, print it and adhere it to your layout. If you follow these tips, you will find that scrapbooking journaling can enhance your page layouts and make you pages really come alive.

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