Unravelings

Sumo Backup

For all you PC users out there...this is a must read: Sumo Backup is an online backup and recovery company that sells high-end data protection solutions. And right now they’re having a really clever contest in order to promote their new service.

Have you ever had a laptop stolen, or a computer crash? You know how bad it can be to lose 5 years of your life in an instant.

Well, Sumo Backup has a Data Loss Horror Story contest where they give out prizes when you tell them about how you lost your life’s work. In order to enter, you can visit their web site at http://blog.sumobackup.com, or you can leave your story as a toll-free message on their voicemail at . (Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. You can try as many times as you want until you get it right).

So go check out their site right now. It’s really interesting.

Arazi and English Food

Optimism

An optimist is a person who sees a green light everywhere, while a pessimist sees only the red stoplight...The truly wise person is color-blind.

--—Albert Schweitzer

Review: 3-in-1 New & Improved Color Tool

This review was written by a guest reviewer, Ron Davison. Ron is a professional photographer. You can view his work at Raven Productions.

My wife gave me this interesting packet to play with. The 3-in-1 New & Improved Color Tool is designed for quilting, crafts, home decor, knitting, sewing, scrapbooking, floral design and graphic design. My background is photography, and I approach color differently than those who work in other media. When working with negative film, the opposite of red is cyan, the opposite of green is purple, and the opposite of blue is yellow. Not so with the CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow Black) model used in printing. I've got a lot to learn about color theory outside of the photographic world.

The tool is a booklet of 24 color swatch pages, six introductory pages (a printed ruler, a how to use this guide, and some basic information on the color wheel, color theory, and choosing a color scheme), two value finders (one red and one green transparent plastic strip that is used for determining the value of a color) and one set of fabric preview windows (square, triangle, circle). The booklet is well made using high quality cardstock. I took a few minutes to carefully fan out each card and separate it from its neighbor, as they can stick together when new. Each of 24 hues is represented on a separate card, with the pure hue shown, as well as its tints (white added), shades (black added), and tones (grey added to the pure hue, tint, or shade).

Things really start getting fun when you have made your initial color selection. Flip the card over to get recommendations on complimentary (opposite each other on the wheel), analogous (several colors next to each other on the wheel), split-complimentary (a combination of complimentary and analogous), and triadic (your selected color, plus the color 120 degrees left on the color wheel and the color 120 degrees to the right on the color wheel, forming an equilateral triangle. It can be surprising to see the combinations this produces - there's no question that they work!

I'll be using this tool for matching the card matting and frame colors to the photographs I take and have printed. I'll use the cards to match the dominant color in the photograph, then use one one of the color plans (complimentary, analogous, split-complimentary, or triadic) to choose the mat or mats and frame - probably not what the author was intending, but useful to me!

Purchase the 3-in-1 Color Tool here!

Mistakes

Don’t worry about mistakes. Making things out of mistakes, that’s creativity.

---Peter Max

Revised CPSIA Guide affects online sellers and crafters

Auction Bytes has posted a report entitled Revised CPSIA Guide Affects Online Sellers and Crafters. It is a must read for all crafters. Don't be caught not knowing the law.

Perfection

Perfection is attained by slow degrees, it requires the hand of time.

---Voltaire

Review: Mostly Metals

When I begin reading this book with the intention of reviewing it, I put myself in the shoes of a beginning jewelry maker. For this book I became someone who had no idea what tools she needed to start making jewelry, what all the findings were in the bead store were used for, and what the heck I even wanted to make.

Written by Karin Buckingham, Mostly Metals is billed as "A Beginners Guide to Jewelry Design" and for once this is a book that lives up to its title. Beautifully photographed, the book begins by explaining the tools and materials you will need to begin creating. The whys and why nots to tool selection is an especially impressive section.

The following chapters deal with designing and creating jewelry, as well as learning basic jewelry making techniques such as plain loops, wrapped loops, crimping, working with jump rings, and more.

The projects are attractive (I especially love the Cluster Bracelet) and are described and photographed in a way that a beginner will feel comfortable taking on any project in the book. The great thing, however, is that they projects don't look like beginner projects..they are classy and something to be proud of.

Amazon Kindle 2

I've raved about my original Kindle. I love it. Amazon has now released the Kindle 2...lighter, faster, with more storage, quicker page turning, and a better screen. What's not to love?

The Savvy Seller has my things I learned the hard way up!

Marlene at The Savvy Seller posted my tips about things I learned the hard way as well as a link to the podcast I did on Wednesday. Find all the good stuff here.