Google Reader? Followers? Bloglovin? Confused??

This is my second post today.

Last week, I published an article on Feedly which is going to be my personal alternative to Google Reader.  As I read other blogs and get questions via email, I realize there really is a LOT of confusion about the whole thing.  It seems that a lot of people are connecting Google reader with the "follow" button and there is really no connection.  Let me try to clarify...

NOTE: I've only ever played in Blogger - I have NO idea what happens if you use Wordpress or Typepad and you press the follow button on somebody else's blog...but everything about Google Reader, Feedly or bloglovin' can work for you.

NOTE 2: A few of you get emails from blogs.  Personally, I read so many blogs I couldn't keep up that way.  That's not part of ANY of this!

Believe it or not, I've left out a ton of details already, BUT there is an even shorter summary towards the bottom that you can skip to if you don't want any details!!!

The characters:

The "Follow" button - (officially called "Google Friend Connect") - when you click on somebody's "follow" button, it puts their blog into your blogger feed.

Blogger - besides writing your own blog posts, you can use blogger to read the blogs that you have "followed" and it also gives you the ability to cut-and-paste blogs in that don't have the follow button.  You can read all of your favorite blogs in blogger...but it is JUST a list...nothing fancy!

Google Reader - completely unrelated to the "Follow" button and Blogger.  It's only a front-end.  It's a way to read blogs you love and it has more features than using Blogger.  You can put blogs into folders, you can tag them and save them, and you can just scroll through instead of clicking and looking at each one.

Feedly and bloglovin - two alternatives to Google Reader


HOW YOU READ OTHER PEOPLE'S BLOGS:

The plot so far...

• Google has announced the death of Google Reader.

• That announcement did NOT mention the death of the Follow button.  

• Just an FYI to cover my rear! Even though Google didn't announce the death of the Follow button there have been rumors back to 2011 that it was going away.  Google even officially announced that it would die in March of 2012 - but it's still around!!  Who knows what will happen in the future?

• Blogger definitely still exists and there has been NO mention of taking away the ability to read blogs in it.

What this means for you...

• It you "follow" blogs and read them in Blogger - you shouldn't be affected at all!!  Don't worry about Feedly's or bloglovin's or anything else that we are all talking about!! 

• If you are a Google Reader fan - then you just need a new front end.  At this point, that is the ONLY thing that is changing!  

• The two biggest replacements being mentioned in our cardmaking world are Feedly and bloglovin'.  I chose Feedly because it has an iPad app.  I wrote up a a tutorial on Feedly.  Bloglovin' looks good too - see more details below.

HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO FOLLOW AND READ YOUR BLOG:

The plot so far..

• There has been a lot of concern that people won't be able to read your blog when Google Reader dies.  But...remember...Google Reader is ONLY a front-end.

• Readers can still "follow" you. You will not lose your followers!!!  (But please note my CYA above just in case in goes away in the future!)

• Readers can still read you in Blogger

• Readers who switch from Google Reader to an alternative - can still read you.

• Technically, you don't have to do a darn thing for people to still read you.

So why all of the bloglovin' talk?

First - it is really important for me to remind you of something that I said in my Feedly post - I suggested you all check out bloglovin' also - it looks very attractive.  It just doesn't work for me because they do not have an iPad app and I do 90% of my work on my iPad.

• Bloglovin' is a front end - it replaces Google Reader

• Bloglovin' has their own personal "follow" button - pretty cool!
• IF you put their button on your site and IF your reader reads in bloglovin', it's just a simple way for them to add you.
• IF you put their button on your site and your reader doesn't use bloglovin' - it doesn't help anything.

STILL CONFUSED?  HERE'S THE SHORT VERSION

The current "Follow" button adds blogs to blogger (if you have it) - handy dandy

          This HAS NOT changed

                  You WILL NOT lose followers.

The Bloglovin' button adds blogs to bloglovin' (if you have it) - handy dandy

If you read in blogger - click on the follow button

If you are going to read in bloglovin - click on the bloglovin button

Personally, I don't read in blogger or bloglovin' - so I don't use any of those buttons.

I used to read in Google Reader and will start reading in Feedly.  If I like your blog, I copy its address and I add it to Feedly, it saves it and I read it!  Easy peasy!!

WHAT ABOUT OTHER APPS LIKE FEEDDLER PRO?

I have loved, used and promoted an iPad app called Feeddler Pro.  There are also hundreds of others like it.  They are all front-ends to the Google Reader front-end!  They just make Google Reader look or act a little differently.  They CANNOT function without Google Reader.  They are all scrambling right now.

Even Feedly and bloglovin' won't be able to function.  But...in researching Feedly, they have been working for quite some time to add the functionality they used to get from Google Reader.  I've not researched bloglovin' to know where they are in the curve.  Fingers crossed on both of them that they will be ready on July 1st.

My guess is that it is still clear as mud!!  But I love getting your question - and I will continue to answer and research anything that you want to know!

Fab Friday Colors and a little iPad fun!

{For a tutorial on Feedly - a replacement for Google Reader - read this post}

This card is still one of those I made last week with the-friend-who-has-more-than-I-do. Fab Friday has a color challenge that includes Sahara Sand.  In their write-up, they specifically mentioned that some people may not have Sahara Sand - which I interpreted to mean that maybe it wasn't a fave color.  I arrived at my friend's house with no idea what I was going to make, but the rest of the group was in a discussion as to whether any one ever used Sahara Sand.  Obviously, I had to give it a try!

I really had no idea Sahara Sand was so low on everybody's list.  The team at Fab Friday must like it because they also included it in their second ever challenge and that color combo is one of my all-time faves - here's my card for it.

Do you like Sahara Sand?

The real problem for me in this color combo was Calypso Coral.  That's my least favorite color!!

So, I solved all of these problems by just including a dash of each color!!

The sketch is from an old sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch!

As I think that I have mentioned this once or twice - I love my iPad and I use it regularly for crafting (or at least organizing my crafting).  One of the things that I do is provide direct links to archives of my favorite challenges.  I create my links, then place them all in one folder on my iPad - I'm never short of inspiration.  Here's how you do it.

1. Find out if your favorite challenge has an archive.  For CAS(E) this Sketch - it is here.  It's just a page that shows all past sketches.
2. Bring that page up in Safari on your iPad or iPhone.
3. Click on that little box with the arrow coming out of it (the sharing button)
4. Choose the option to "Add to Home Screen"
5. It will prompt you for a name for this icon, just type in the challenge name.

You now have an icon that, with one click, brings you immediately to all of the sketches!!

I check out my favorite challenges, created icons for all of them that I could, then added them to a folder called "Inspiration".  It's my favorite folder on my iPad!!

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Bloomin' Marvelous (a sale-a-bration set), That's the Ticket
• Paper: Stampin' Up Lucky Limeade
• Ink: Stampin' Up Lucky Limeade, Sahara Sand, Calypso Coral, Pink Pirouette
• Accessories: Stampin' Up Ticket Punch, Pink Pirouette button, white twine 

Intro to Feedly - a blog reader

ETA: I have received lots of questions on the whole situation and I ended up writing this post with some basic definitions that hopefully clarify things.

After shaking off my shock at the demise of Google Reader - I started looking around for an alternative and have found a fantastic option.  If you loved Google Reader or even if you've never used a blog reader - perhaps you read your blogs in Blogger Dashboard or you have had them emailed - you should keep reading!!

There are three very important reasons to have a reader of some sort:

1. It will find any new blog posts - you don't have to go to each of your blogs to check!
2. It allows you to categorize your blogs and your posts
3. It allows you to save and file posts that you want to keep

Just a couple of details:

• Many of the other blog readers out there may not be called Google Reader, but they are based on Google Reader.  They are only a front-end - they do not have the functionality of tracking blogs.  I currently used Feeddler Pro on my iPad.  It is ONLY a front end - so unless they do some major modifications, it will cease to work on July 1.  They have tweeted that they will not go away - but no details yet.  That does concern me - I have read that it is a significant job to add all of the Google Reader functionality and I find it hard to believe they will meet the 7/1 deadline.
• Personally I have two criterion - I want it on my desk top and I want it to sync with my iPad.  This did rule out one that many card bloggers seem to be excited about - bloglovin.  So far they don't have iPad so I didn't explore them at all.  Their desktop seems very attractive and they have already added instructions for those coming from Google Reader.

My choice  is Feedly (and frankly it probably beats my long-time fave Feeddler Pro).

Currently, Feedly is also only a front-end, but well before Google announced the death of Reader, they had been working on their own functionality.  They shot to #1 on the iPad app sellers with 500,000 new users in 48 hours because they are calmly and confidently on top of it!  (Cut them a little slack in the first few weeks - that's a lot of volume all at once!)

If you are a current Google Reader user - you can import all of your blogs into Feedly now 

and they will be captured by Feedly before Reader goes away.

Here are my tips and hints on Feedly.

USE WITH PINTEREST                                                
Feedly currently has lots of sharing options but they don't yet have Pinterest.  Run here to their Suggestions forum and vote on adding Pinterest!!


DESKTOP                                                                                   

GENERAL

Just go to www.feedly.com and download!  BUT - they only support Firefox and Google Chrome, not Internet Explorer (IE).  I have to tell you that I hung on to IE for a long time while my kids hounded me to move on.  They finally wore me down, I installed Google Chrome, and now I'll never go back to IE.  Chrome is faster and cleaner!

 When you log in, it brings in all of your Google Reader blogs.  

Isn't it pretty??!! 

OR - if you don't use Google Reader - just start adding blogs!! 

ADDING BLOGS

Just click the "+Add Website" button on the left column.

You can paste the URL there or search by a person.  You can also search by a subject using a hash tag.  Try #stamping - LOTS of good results! 

ORGANIZING

      Categories

If you want to add a category, you click on "Organize" just below your name.  You then just drag a blog to the new category section and it's added!!

I like to keep my blogs organized by such things as Challenges and Companies and Friends.

      Specific blogs within categories

If you have added categories - you will see this on the left panel.  Just click on the arrow next to the category and it will "open up" to show you all the blogs.  Click on the blog to view.  It sorts out very nicely by date.

      Tags

If you know what tags you want, you can them in the Preferences section.  Just type them in with commas in between.

You can also add new tags while you are reading.  It's at the top of the post - just click on "+tag".  All the tags you have already added will be listed - just select it if you want it - or there is a "Create Tag" to add a new one.

Then at any time, the tags are listed in the left column - click and you can see anything you tagged.

 I have tags for such things as "Must CASE" or "Read Later".  You could also tag by such things as holidays, occasions, etc.

READING YOUR BLOGS

      Views

There are multiple options for viewing.  There's everything from just a list of titles to a "card" view!!  Besides the list view, all the others are very photo-based so it's a great way to scroll through your card blogs.

To change them all - go to Preferences and look for "default view".  I like "card" view but I'm sure I am just biased by the name!! 

ADVANCED: You can also change the view by each category or blog by clicking on the gear icon when you are in that category or blog.

      Read/Unread/Saved

I like reading by category but you could also click on "All" which really isn't "all" - rather it's "all unread".  

When I first click on the category - I have all the pictures in front of me.  You can scroll up and down just to see the summaries of all of the loveliness that awaits you!

Reading One Post at a Time 

If you want to just look at a few selected posts, just click on the post.  You can save it (the pennant icon), tag it or many other sharing options - or just read it!  When you are done click on the "x" to shut it down.  Feedly knows you are done and won't show you the post again. 

If the rest of the posts don't interest you, Feedly doesn't know that!  You have to click on the checkmark at the top of the page that will tell Feedly  you've "read" them all.  Feedly won't show you those posts again.  (There are some things you can mess with in Preferences about marking things as unread - but they scare me - I want to choose that they are unread.)

Reading All Posts 

I don't tend to read just certain posts - there might be more cards and info than just that first picture and I don't want to miss anything.

To read/glance through everything, click on the first post to big it.  You could still read one post at time by using the "x" to close it and then click on the next post.  OR - use the magic "j" key.  Just typing "j" moves you to the next post!!  (And "k" moves you backwards!) 

ADVANCED: I was having some problems when I was using "j". I got done and some of the blogs still showed up like I hadn't read them.  It turns out that I was clicking through too fast - there is a time delay.  In Preferences, toward the bottom there is an Auto-'Mark As Read' On Selection.   Change it to -1 and it will know that you have read it just as soon as you selected it.

Saving, Tagging 

If you want to tag the post, just click on "+tag" toward the top center.  Select a tag or create a new one.  Then anytime that you want to view tagged, items just click on them from the list on the left.

If you add a tag, that post is technically "saved" as it will always bring up that post when you select the tag.  But sometimes, I just want to save it because I want to do something with it later.  Just click on the pennant icon at the top.  (It's like starring it in Google Reader.)  Then you can retrieve it later from the left sidebar by clicking on Saved. 

There is an option at the top of the post to keep it unread.  I don't like using it, because if you just happen to scroll by again without meaning to - it becomes unread and lost!  I'd rather save it and make the decision later to unsave it.

Commenting or Pinning

Click on the title of the post and it will open in your browser so you can comment or pin.

Saving an Image

Right click and save!

      Looking at Older Posts

If there are no new posts and you click on the blog in the left sidebar - it shows you everything from new to old. 

Also in the gear icon is something you can click to toggle between looking at unread and all.  I leave it at "unread" but sometimes I know there was something on a blog that I want to find - I unclick "unread only" and then I can see everything.

iPad                                                                             

(There are also iPhone and Android and Kindle apps - I haven't looked at them.)

Since Feedly currently syncs through Google Reader - the iPad and desktop stay in sync!!

Unfortunately, there are some shortcomings in the iPad version.  There are things that it doesn't have but it typically makes up for it in how easy it is to use.  It still works for me - I love to view on the iPad which it does very well. The things that it doesn't do well are things that I would have done on the desktop anyway.  (The only major problem is tagging which is detailed below.)


GENERAL

Just go to app store and download!  Right now, it's free.  It would surprise me though if they don't start charging when it turns to Feedly Pro and has Google Reader functionality!

 When you log in, it brings in all of your Google Reader blogs.  

It's even prettier!  Here's the menu screen.

 Here's what it looks like when you are reading.

If you don't use Google Reader - just start adding blogs!!

 ADDING BLOGS

Just click the search icon (the magnifying glass) in the upper right corner.

You can paste the URL there or search by a person.  You can also search by a subject using a hash tag.  Try #stamping - LOTS of good results! 

ORGANIZING

      Categories

Very sadly, you cannot currently add categories on the iPad.  They do come over from Google Reader or the desktop Feedly but you can't add them or rearrange them on the iPad.  So you have pop over to the desktop, set up your organization structure and then come back to the iPad.

Honestly, this works for me.  I LOVE reading on my iPad, I don't like typing on my iPad.  If I am going to do any major rearranging or typing, I'm going to do it on my desktop anyway.

I like to keep my blogs organized by such things as Challenges and Companies and Friends.

      Specific blogs within categories

If you have added categories - you will see this on the left panel.  Just click on the arrow next to the category and it will "open up" to show you all the blogs.  Click on the blog to view. Another little iPad flaw - the desktop sorts nicely in reverse date order - the iPad seems random.

      Tags

Very, very, VERY sadly - you not only can't add tags on the iPad, you can't even view them.  This is the most substantial problem that I have found in all of Feedly.  I like tagging - and if I can't do it on my iPad, it becomes extremely cumbersome - I have to save it (see later), then go to my desktop, and tag it.  This is already in Feedly's error forum as a high priority item, although they are the first to admit that their priorities were changed slightly with the loss of Google Reader.

I have tags for such things as "Must CASE" or "Read Later".  You could also tag by such things as holidays, occasions, etc.

READING YOUR BLOGS

      Views

There are multiple options for viewing.  There's everything from just a list of titles to a "card" view!!  Besides the list view, all the others are very photo-based so it's a great way to scroll through your card blogs.  (The list view isn't currently working on the iPad but I figure cardmakers like to see photos so no big deal.)

The desktop has a default view - the iPad doesn't, but it's still simple.  Just pop into the category (your categories or "today" or "latest") or blog by clicking on the gear icon when you are in that category or blog.  I just set them all once the first day.

      Read/Unread/Saved

This is where the iPad shines. 

I like reading by category but you could also click on "All" which really isn't "all" rather it's "all unread".  

When I first click on the category - I have all the summary pictures in front of me. If you want, you can swipe up and down to see all of summaries of blog posts.  (It's such a visual reader, that it just feels good to swipe up and down and get a preview of all the loveliness that you are about to see!)  ADVANCED - you can change this from an up and down swipe to a side swipe or a scroll in Advanced Settings.

Reading One Post at a Time 

With the easy swipe function of an iPad - you really don't have to read one post at a time.  It's so easy to swipe through everything - see the next section!

Reading All Posts 

Tap on the first post to make it big.  Read it, then just swipe from right to left to bring over the next post - SO easy!! 

As you are swiping, Feedly is marking them as read so they won't show up again. 

Saving, Tagging 

Bummer - no tags yet. (But it's a high-priority fix for Feedly!)

But you can save a post.  Just click on the pennant icon at the top.  (It's like starring it in Google Reader.)  Then you can retrieve it later from the left sidebar by clicking on Saved. 

There is an unread button (tape on the sharing icon (rectangle with arrow out)) then tap on the open circle - it keeps it unread.  I don't like using it, because if you just happen to scroll by again without meaning to - it becomes unread and lost! 

Commenting or Pinning

When you are in a blog post, click on the clock-looking icon in the upper right and the post will open in Safari.  You can comment and pin from there.

 Saving an Image

Tap and hold with one finger and you will get the save menu.  FYI - a short tap bigs it if you just want to see it better.

       Looking at Older Posts

If there are no new posts and you click on the blog in the left sidebar - it shows you everything from new to old. 

Also in the gear icon is something you can click to toggle between looking at unread and all.  I leave it at "unread" but sometimes I know there was something on a blog that I want to find - I unclick "unread only" and then I can see everything.

I have noticed that the iPad doesn't always sort based on time when you do this.  It's not totally off but you'll get a brand new post, then a post from a week ago, then yesterday's, etc.  But since you can look at a lot of posts at once, it's easy to scroll through until you find what you want.

      Other Strange iPad Issues

Sometimes Feedly doesn't seem to update on iPad

If you ever bring up Feedly and nothing has changed - you need to shut it down all the way.  When you open it again, it will be updated. (This seems to be an intermittent problem - it doesn't happen often.)  

Did you know that multiple apps can run at the same time on your iPad?  Apps stay "open" even when you aren't in them.  Swipe up on your iPad screen with all four fingers to see all open apps.  Push and hold on one of them until the apps start "dancing".  Then close them by tapping on the "x".  (If you didn't know any of this and you think your iPad is slow - shut them all down.  It will help!

Sometimes There is Strange Formatting

If you are reading this post on Feedly on an iPad - you'll know what I mean!!!  To indent on blogger, I use the quote mark icon which on any other reader just indents.  But Feedly on the iPad shows a big quote mark.  I don't know why - it just does.  If you find a strange formatting issue, just click through to the website and it will look fin! 

A FEW MORE THINGS TO KNOW

Linky lists do not show up in Feedly - but they didn't in Google Reader or Feeddler Pro either. A number of my favorite challenges are showing their winners in a Linky list.  You do have to open them to the internet to be able to see the linky list.

I don't believe Feedly has the functionality to search within all of your blogs.  Google Reader has it and I used it once in awhile.  For example, if I remembered that someone had used a specific stamp set but I couldn't remember who or when, Google Reader had the functionality. 

Feedly is promising weekly updates to get themselves ready to totally take over for Google Reader.  Right now, their stated priorities are #1 keeping the site up and #2 listening and adding features.  This is good - but may also mean that my document is out-of-date each week.   

Have fun with it!!  Please comment with any questions or further comments.

A Little Bit of Calypso Coral and iPad Sketches

OK.  I have to admit it.  I think my least favorite color in the Stampin' Up rainbow of colors is Calypso Coral.  I don't even know why. Every time that I use it, it just seems to dominate.  So when I saw the color challenge at Play Date Cafe, I thought that pairing it with just black and white could work...and I think it does!


Last Friday, I spent a wonderful afternoon playing at a friend's house who has even more than I do.  (Yes, it is possible!)  I had to use this butterfly stamp - and I have a couple more Stampin' Up goodies to share throughout this week.  I'll try to do a little more with Stampin' Up.  A number of you started following me when I was doing a Stampin' Up countdown in an attempt to use every single one of my Stampin' Up sets.  Then I found some other styles of stamps that I truly love.  I don't dislike Stampin' Up   - I just got distracted.  My continually growing stash of SU stamps is feeling a little lonely and I'll be giving them some more attention!
This butterfly was the perfect fit for this week's Sketch Frenzy Friday.

And I would not have used these colors without The Play Date Cafe:

Sketching with the iPad:

I am an iPad fanatic.  I have shared many of my favorite apps for crafting in a tab at the top of the page. I will be doing a major overhaul of this section over the next month as I decide on a Google Reader replacement so don't spend too much time looking at it now.

In the meantime, I wanted to share an amazing write-up of an app called Paper53.  Amber, at Damask Love, details all the amazing features and shows you how she uses it to lay out her cards.

If you do your own sketches or constantly find yourself with ideas in your head - this app seems to be a great app to capture it all!!

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Swallowtail
• Paper and Ink: Stampin' Up Calypso Coral
• Accessories: misc black twine

Gifts for CAS and LIM!

I have been missing in action the past few days but I did warn you on my last post that my iPad was being delivered and being a total addict to my iPod Touch, I knew that I was going to spend all my free time setting it up.  More on this later!

This week's challenge at Less Is More is a one layer card using embossing - either dry embossing of heat embossing.  I use embossing folders virtually all the time, so I decided to challenge myself to use heat embossing.  I have many vials of embossing powders that I love, but it's been awhile since I used them and I had forgotten how that powder ends up everywhere!  My eyebrows are glittering!!

This morning's Splitcoast CAS Challenge is the word "gift".  I have some beautiful stamps regarding God's gifts so pulled those out.

And...in the end...it is all about the stamps.  CAS cards and especially one layer cards can be difficult.  I find myself hunting for fun and unusual techniques to show off on my CAS cards.  But, in reality, if I use a beautiful stamp, I have a beautiful card!

I did try to do something different on the sentiment, but likely I am the only one that can tell.  After I stamped it in Versamark, I used my fingers to sprinkle a little bit of the sparkly black powder on the main words.  I tapped it off and then added a plain black embossing powder on the rest.

• Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Ephesians 2:8-9, Eureka Crosses Border (Eureka carries many Christian stamps)
• Ink: Versamark
• Paper: white
• Accessories: Stamp 'n Stuff Starry Night embossing powder, Ultra Detail Black Embossing Powder, misc gem

Now...since I am practically giddy over my iPad2, you get to suffer through some of the really fun stuff I did regarding my cardmaking!!  You aren't going to be nearly as excited as I am - first, because I am more obsessive about organization than anybody that I know and second, these photos do not capture the spectacular clarity of the HiDef iPad screen!

I am going to do all of my blog reading on my iPad.  I found Feeddler Pro which totally replaces Google Reader.  (Another highly rated app - Reeder - just supplements Google Reader.  Feeddler lets me bring over categories, etc.)

I just click on a blog (the little blue circles tell me there are new posts) and here it is!  (Hi, Andrea!)

So then I found an app called Chronicle.  I am going to use it to save the challenges that I like to play.  When I am reading a challenge blog, I tap the photo of the challenge with two fingers, it saves it.  I pop over over to Chronicle and it's a simple touch of the button to bring it into the date of the challenge!  See the challenges listed for last week...

 Then I tap on the day of the challenge and up pops the sketches, colors, etc.!

The next photo is a really cool feature.  The app ibooks lets you download pdf files.  I have previously listed various sites that collect their challenges into pdf files (see the iPod app button at the top of my blog.)  Here they are all downloaded and nicely organized.  So...for example, if I click on that last file, a pdf of all of the Splitcoast Color Challenges opens up.  If I'm ever stuck on a card - I just come over to "ibooks" and I have files of ideas!!

FYI - the first document is actually the "pdf" download of all of the My Digital Studio stamps from Stampin' Up.  You can get that at the My Digital Studio website under Resources. 

This next one is going too far, even for me.  I have a number of databases to organize all of my supplies.  In this photo I have clicked on "Colors" and it shows me all of the PTI and SU colors with checkboxes as to whether I have cardstock, ink, refills, buttons, etc.  The ribbon column is really exciting, because I have another database with every ribbon that matches PTI or SU that I have - the database you are looking at runs over to the ribbon database and tells me the number of ribbons that I have!!

Even with my love of databases sometimes I just make lists.  "Manage" is a great little list make.  You can make tons of different lists, tag the entries, check them off - and even more fun, are the tools to highlight items or to handwrite little notes.  If you want a "color" list like I have in my database, you could make a list of the colors and then use the blue marker to indicate CS and the red marker to indicate ribbon and maybe highlight it if you need something!  So much fun!

So how many of you are totally laughing at how anal I am.  Not only am I anal, but I get absolutely giddy with excitement as I am organizing.  And just so you know, it isn't just cardmaking.  I also have apps for books to read, I have a checkbook, a todo list, facebook, cookbooks, etc.  It's organizing my whole life.

Of course, my kids have to play with it too.  Their favorite is the front-facing camera and an app that comes with the iPad2 called Photo Booth.  Here are my darling children distorting themselves!!

Now I have to go and start getting all of that embossing powder off of my desk (and my eyebrows) and...I'll probably do a little more iPad organizing!  (Or maybe I should do wash some dishes or do some laundry.)

Hoppin' with Sweet 'n Sassy

Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps is having a spring blog hop today.  It's one of those fun hops that I can link everybody who participates to my blog so you get to see a lot of fun examples at the bottom of this post!!

I was going to have my card up and ready to go when the hop started, but - being married to a geologist for the last 21 years - we have been watching this morning's earthquake and tsunami with utter fascination.  It is an interesting experience to watch these things with a geologist.  I got a clue over 20 years ago when the earthquake hit California.  We are in Colorado but we had the World Series on TV. There was a quiver on the screen and everything went dark.  While I was thinking my TV crashed - my husband is up dancing around the living room singing "shake, rattle and roll"!  He knew right away what was happening.  He is an interesting enigma because he has a very kind heart - he feels the pain of victims and he is the first to help when possible - but he is utterly and completely fascinated by the workings of our earth.

On to my spring card - - -

This is an absolutely darling digi image from Sweet 'n Sassy called One of a Kind.  It comes with two darling sentiments -  "You are one of a kind" and "God made you for a special purpose & no one can take your place!".  I didn't add a sentiment simply because our church card racks really need some blank cards. You could also get this set in an actual clear stamp set, or another option is a pre-colored digi.  I used the plain digi and I did flip the branch around to fit the sketch.

Check out the bow.   I am almost through with a "Friday Focus" post on various ways to tie bows and "toys" to help tie them - so check back later today (or tomorrow morning if my husband and I don't manage to break away from today's news).

And, I used a sketch from a new iPod App. (Click on the Label: iPod Apps in the left column for other recommended apps).  This app is called "Sketches 4 Cards" and I would highly recommend it.  It includes around 125 card sketches with a VERY nice sample for each.  It took me awhile to figure out where the samples are - when you are looking at the sketch, you simply tap on it and a nice sample with a full recipe pops up. 

As compared to other iPod Apps, it is quite pricey at $4.99.  But that is less than an average magazine and you get 125 sketches and samples!  There is a free version with 12 sketches that you can try out.

The company also has scrapbook apps called "Sketches 2 Scrapbook".  There is a basic version and a winter version - also both pricey but with smaller free versions.  I do have them in an app that I have that watches the price for me.  If the price dips - I want the scrapbook apps also!  And I promise to let all of you know if there is ever a deal!

• Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy One of a Kind digi
• Ink: copics
• Paper: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, Daffodil, Baja, Soft Sky
• Accessories: Stampin' Up embossing folder, scallop border punch and Crumb Cake seam binding
• Challenges: color throwdown color challenge 

And here are the other participants in the spring blog hop!  (This will update as others add their cards to the Sweet 'n  Sassy blog)

What a Difference Color Makes!

I was playing with today's Splitcoast Sketch Challenge and was focused on a sympathy card (which I often seem to be doing for our church card ministry).  But I also need a birthday card for my grandma.  After I finished the sympathy card - I simply found a color scheme I liked for birthday - these cards are the same except for the colors!  (And the border punch and the embossing folder and the ribbon!).

Many thanks to Lynda who recently cleaned out her stamp room and sold the Stipple Rose stamp!!  I have been hunting for this for a long time.  It's a very popular stamp and hard to find.  I even ran across a lady who owned two of them but wouldn't sell me her second one just in case something happened to her first one!

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I LOVE my iPod/iPhone!!  Every so often I have listed cardmaking/crafting apps that I particularly like - click on the iPod App label on the left side for my favorites.  Today my recommendation is a podcast.  There are tons of crafting podcasts - mainly focused on scrapbooking.  A few that are for cards just aren't very well done.  But I found one that I really like - it's called Dreaming About Rubber Stamps.  It's a great video tutorial for everything from how to mount and use Stampin' Up's clear mount stamps (did it ever occur to you to keep the paper backing to use for sponging the same shape as the stamp?), to swing cards, waterfall cards, dryer sheets, etc.  I find that she covers the details very well and you can definitely accomplish the project after she finishes.  Enjoy!

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Stipple Rose, Papertrey Round and Round sentiments
• Ink: black, River Rock and So Saffron on the edges
• Paper: black, Stampin' Up River Rock CS and dsp, Porcelain Prints dsp, Le Jardin dsp
• Accessories: white sheer ribbon inked with River Rock, Stampin' Up Rose Red seam binding, EK Success border punches, Tim Holtz embossing folder and Stampin' Up embossing folder
• Challenges: Splitcoast Sketch Challenge and Inkspirations Color Challenge

Larkspur and iPods!

I had a very difficult time with this morning's SplitCoast Sketch Challenge.  No matter what I did it seemed to be tipping to the left.  Here's the sketch.  Panel "2-a" gave me a headache!!

After tossing a number of attempts into the scrap pile - I made two decisions.  I went with very subtle colors so the panels didn't stick out too much and I went with a border/corner punch for that panel.  Then it looked like an embellishment, not a panel - and I like the final results!

The sentiment comes from Clear & Simple Stamps and was a pleasant surprise.  In the midst of the hectic holidays, I got a card from them and it contained a "thank you" card and two little stamps.  This "thinking of you" and a separate stamp to use with this one that said "on the holidays".  I think that I only have one set of stamps from them and I do have their iPod App (read past the recipe to see more on iPod apps!).  But that simple touch of customer service puts them on my shopping list (right after I pay for my son's braces and my new crown!).

• Stamps: PaperTrey Larkspur, Clear&Simple sentiment
• Ink: Versamark
• Paper: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz dsp, Blushing Bride
• Accessories: Martha Stewart corner and border punch, Stampin' Up Word Window and Modern Label punch and rhinestones, white embossing powder
• Challenges: SplitCoast Sketch Challenge and Color Throwdown

Now if you want to descend into the geeky - I have posted before that I love my iPod Touch and I recently did an entire post on my favorite iPod apps for cardmaking.  Since then, I have a few new ones!

Jo-Ann: the official app from the craft store.  Overall, a very weak app - BUT it has a "coupon wallet".  You can access the coupons when you have internet access, then they are available offline at the store.   I have a 50%er and a 40%er in my "wallet" to spend today!

Readdle Docs: this app exemplifies my total geekiness - but I LOVE it.  It allows you to easily save PDF files to your iPod and to easily transfer any document between your PC and iPod.  So..why is this a good thing?

First,

You probably know that I need a starting point for my cards - a color combo, a sketch, etc.  There are so many good challenge sites out there and a number of them have gathered their challenges into PDF or Word documents.  With Readdle Docs, you use their browser, go the site, touch the document and save it to your iPod.  So, in my hands, I have a huge supply of "starting points!"

Here are the documents that I have so far:

• SplitCoast Sketch Challenges
• SplitCoast Color Combinations
• Taylored Expressions Sketch Book
• clean&simple Fall To Layouts

Now that I have them on my iPod even when I am crafting at home where I have wi-fi, I still pull up my iPod because they are all right there, in one spot, and I don't have to dig through the above websites looking for them.

Second,

Being overly organized (re: anal), I also have a Word document that includes all the challenges for the month.  It includes the start and end dates, the website, the code, and the thumbnail that each of these sites provide with the colors or sketches.  I use Readdle Docs to pull this over to my iPod.  I'm not giving instructions here because 99.9% of you are not as anal as I am.  But basically, the app gives you one of those strange numeric web addresses which I have saved to my favorites.  When you click on it, there is a "browse" box.  You just find the document you want from your PC, click Upload and it's on the iPod!!

Important Note:

I paid 99 cents for Readdle Docs, right now it's $4.99, and its history shows it has been free.  You might want to wait until it reduces in prices (although knowing what it does, I would have paid full price for it!

PhotoMgrPro: This is a simple app used to transfer photos between your PC and your iPod.  It has three HUGE advantages over the iPods photo system:

1. You can do it without syncing your iPod - just over wifi - using one of those strange numeric addresses I discussed above

2. It lets you organize the photos on your iPod!  Create folders, re-order them, etc.

3. It brings over the "name" of the photo that you had on your PC (iPod software doesn't).  This is super important to me as I save pix of cards on my PC and when I save them, the name becomes my info, e.g. stamp set used, colors, etc.  One of the places I save photos is to my "wishlist".  So I pull all my wishlist photos over to my iPod for shopping purposes!!

Always feel free to ask further questions in comments or e-mail me - it's a subject I LOVE to chat about!!

Friday Focus: iPod Apps

Set 289 - Alphabet Soup

I had a wonderful Friday Focus post all ready to go today except for one thing that was supposed to be in my mailbox yesterday so that I could include that product in my post.  Of course, it wasn't there.  So I am improvising today.  Since I mentioned a serious iPod Touch addiction in a recent post, I thought I would list all of the apps that I use for cardmaking!!

For those of you that are seriously bored already - I do have a card for you before I move on to the geeky stuff!

Yesterdays Ways to Use It challenge was the first challenge hosted by Kim Hughes and she selected "All That Glitters".  I have had the idea for this card in my head for awhile as a way to use the set Alphabet Soup.

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Alphabet Soup
• Inks: Stampin' Up Real Red, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi markers
• Paper: Stampin' Up Real Red, Garden Green
• Accessories: Martha Stewart bell punch and antique silver glitter, small jingle bells from Michaels, Stampin' Up Scallop Border Punch, Sizzix Embossing folder

Now for the Friday Focus: iPhone/iPod Touch apps!

My hope is that some of you will read this and leave comments regarding apps that I have missed.  There seem to be a lot of scrapbooking apps out there, but there just aren't that many for cards.  Here are some that I like:

1. CSS Daily: Clean and Simple Stamps has an app that gives you one card and the full recipe for that card each day.  It's very nicely put together.  It's a pricey, but since there aren't many other cardmaking apps out there - I definitely purchased it.

2. CraftCard Gallery: This is a fairly new app that seems to have a very extensive card gallery.

3. Sayings - for Greeting Cards and Guestbooks: This app has 100s of sentiments for all occasions.  I am not going to say that this is the best set of sentiments ever, but it can come in handy.

4. Cartridge Checklist: A nice way to keep track of your Cricut cartridges - it also includes pictures of each cartridge.  It seems to be updated very regularly.  FYI: While I was looking at iTunes I just saw an app called Cricut Cutting Guide that appears to give the settings you need to cut a whole variety of papers...interesting??!!!

That's it for the very specific cardmaking apps, but I have a variety of things that I use regularly that are very helpful for my cardmaking.

5. Paperless: This is a nice list making app.  I use it every day for such things as:  keeping lists of cards that I need to make and, right now, I am listing stamps that I need to use to meet my stamping goal!  Here's a pix so you can see how nice it looks and works.

6. Byline: I read A LOT of blogs and I do it through Google Reader*.  Because I have an iPod Touch and not an iPhone I only have internet access when I am near WiFi.  But Byline lets me download all of the unread blog posts from Google Reader before I leave home and then, as I am waiting yet again for my children to get out of school or finish a rehearsal, I can read those posts and then sync back when I am home!  Love it!

*Just go to Google, set up an account, click on Reader and starting "adding subscriptions".  The Reader will keep track of new posts on each blog to which you subscribe

7. My Create Ink Color Combos.  No, they don't have an app.  If you haven't been there on your computer, simply go to http://www.mycreateink.com/.  It is a huge database of color combinations (using Stampin' Up colors). You put in the colors you know that you want to use and it shoots back possible other colors. I like to have it handy so I have created an icon for it on my iPod Touch.  Simply bring it up in Safari.  Then click on the "+" symbol and "Add to Home Screen".  You have just made your own "app".  Touch it and you have instant access to a full database of colors!

8. 2Do. This is the to do list for my life, but the reason that it relates to cardmaking is that it has a nice function for birthdays.  You can import all birthdays from your Contacts, then you can set it up to give you a specified amount of notice.  I have it set up to give me a To Do item one week before each birthday - then I can be sure to get cards made and out on time!

9. HanDBase - If you are not a former actuary/mathematician that now makes cards, you can skip this one.  I have included it because it is probably my most used app for cardmaking.  It's actually a relational database.  Relational databases are powerful things - one big step up from a spreadsheet.  This database is what causes the majority of my friends to call me anal.  But let me give you an example of how great it can be.  I have one database set up for "colors".  It has every Stampin' Up and PaperTrey color in it (including retired).  Then there are checkboxes by each color so that I can indicate whether I have coordinating CS, ink pads, buttons, ribbons, etc.  Then I have another databases for "ribbons".  When I input a ribbon, up pops a drop down box with all the colors from the first database - super easy to select.  So, here comes the powerful part.  The two databases keep talking to each other.  So after I input the ribbon, if I go back to the "colors" database, the database now shows how many ribbons that I have of each color.  Cool, huh?  (Or really, really boring!)

10. Photos.  I spend a lot of time managing photos on my iPod because I "right-click save" card photos when I see them on blogs or SplitCoast.  I then have to sync those cards over to my iPod.  But one feature that iPods are seriously missing is a good photo management tool, e.g. to sort those photos into such things as "Wishlists to Buy" or "Cards to CASE".  (FYI - one of my databases is a Wishlist database.  The database can hold photos so I can always see what I am shopping for.)  I am currently using Photo-Sort but it's not perfect.  In my case, it loses badly because it doesn't include the photo name that's on the computer and I often include information like stamp company and name in my photo name.  I just downloaded PhotoMgrPro.  It seems to solve the problem, but I haven't played with it long enough to know.  I would love to have any recommendations on this subject.



Congratulations - you made it to the end of the list!

If you made it to the list, that means you are as addicted as I am - and if you ARE that addicted I would love to read comments regarding the apps that you like!  Hope you found a new one in my list!