MORE BLOGGER UPDATES (MESSAROUNDS?)

I'm so upset, I'm ready to stick my head in a bucket!

I'm wondering whether you too are experiencing major problems with your blog?

This could be anything from your 'Older Posts' button at the very bottom of your page no longer working, or giving you an error message - to the problem I'm having. Which is that all my 'quick edit' icons have disappeared (the little pencils) and the New Post button at the top of my blog. I'm having to sign in to my blog every single time to even get to the Dashboard! And no, I don't have a solution for that.... yet....

So what's causing it? Read this post: Blogger is doing more major updates and giving us a whole new look. All I can say is... if it ain't broken, DON'T FIX IT. Because now we are all in a mess - again.

Make mine a [very] large one!

All I can advise is that we panic (very quietly) and go ahead and bear ourselves with patience. Failing that, I recommend copious amounts of chocolate and strong alcohol.

This is definitely a 'two-large-bars-of-chocolate' crisis!

In the meantime, for those of you having the 'Older Posts' problem, where you get an error message every time anyone clicks on it, here's a temporary solution.

Create a 'sticky post' under your header. This is static, and will stay where it's put until you delete it.

You don't need to put anything in the title section unless you want to: 'Read This' etc

Add a text widget into the 'Add A Gadget' box directly under your header, and type in a message along the  lines suggested above.

This is how the box will look when in Design view.

And here is how it looks, 'live' on my test blog.

Another suggestion: change the number of posts per page:

I hope this helps!


When I think of a solution to the other problems (no 'quick edit' widget etc) I'll let you know.

PINK SATURDAY BLINKIE

Spring has finally sprung - it's official, and the clocks go forward on Sunday. Everything seems brighter and more shiny in the Spring sunlight, so it's Spring Cleaning time - and as you can see, I've given myself a blog makeover and tidied up my sidebars!

I've also made a fun blinkie for you all.

<a href="http://1stfloorflatblogology.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/uu313/1stFloorFlatComputery/930462a1.gif"/></a>

Just copy all the code and paste it into an html widget right into your sidebar!



Finally, don't forget to visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound to see all the other wonderful Pink Saturday posts!

TIM HOLTZ STYLE - MY DISTRESSED CANVAS CLASS

My finished piece

Now I've got my wonderful new camera (with face recognition, camera shake correction etc etc) I'm a lot braver about taking photographs - and thought you'd like to see the results of the Tim Holtz Style class I taught at Rainbow Silks last Saturday (12 March).

This was as far as I got in class - I wasn't that happy: I felt it needed... something....  I regretted placing the cartouche over the original stamped image (Claudine Hellmuth's 2-piece set of foam stamps & outline stamps). The whole piece felt kind of straggly...

The finished piece - I removed the clock face & cartouche (bottom right) which I'd stuck over my original red torso stamp, and cut the image from the cartouch and re-attached them over a horizontal strip of lace.

Distress crackle in Rock Candy over the clock face and cog wheel. The snap fasteners were as I bought them, apart from a little light distressing with an ink pad to kill the orange slightly.

I used ruler tape just under the torn paper edging the top, then added a Tim Holtz ticket stamped with my own Beret Girl stamp design (from Blade Rubber Stamps if anyone is interested) and lightly tinted cheeks, eyes & lips with Distress inks.

I over-wrote the stamped lettering (Dawn Houser Shoe Fits stamp) with Lumiere ink and a very fine nozzle.

I thought you might like to see the 'before' and 'after' - it's not often I think to actually photograph any changes!

THE RAINBOW SILKS CANVASES

I had the pleasure of teaching a great bunch, who all did some wonderful work. Two ladies had to rush off so I didn't get photos of their canvases - so 7 out of 9 ain't bad - and if they read this, maybe they'd send me scans?

I lost my crib list of who was sitting where, so re the wonderful work you see here - please contact me so that I can credit you!

THE SPECTRE'S BRIDE - CONFIGURATION BOX

I have just finished another Configuration Box - this one is the smallest size available, so just shows it doesn't have to be big to be beautiful!

Closeup - the red torso is actually a mould and UTEE!

I had this brilliant vintage sheet music titled 'The Spectre's Bride' - so that was the inspiration for this piece.

Detail of the top - a large key acts as a handle

A little spooky, it isn't intended to be for Halloween or anything like that - more Phantom of the Opera, if anything.

I found the strange Gothic Queen Elizabeth I skull piece in a charity shop of all places: modern, resin, I treated it to several coats of Tim Holtz Crackle Paint in Rock Candy, which gave it a German glass glittter effect and aged it down, without needing to 'grunge' it up with paints or dyes.

 I hope you like it.

ART PIECE FROM THE LEANDRA/LIN CLASS

Finally! Here are the pix from the project at the Leadra/Lin class (see post below this one):

Grungeboard hinges painted iwht metallics

Rather a nice metal project - the tree was debossed into metal, then a paint effect applied. Much fun!

The design is meant to have a pitched roof - I hated it, so folded mine down instead

This post is a bit brief as the computer crashed yet again - it's getting very unstable due to age (aren't we all, lol) and the abuse I put it through (FAR too much 'stuff' on it). So, having battled with it all day (decluttering, defragmenting, doing a full virus check) I've basically had enough!

HAPPY PINK ME & TIM HOLTZ PIX

Happy Pink Saturday to everyone! 

Camera envy! O how I love this one!

My first pic is another shot of my wonderful new camera: metallic pink, and a rather nice muted raspberry at that. I already posted one pic of it, but I'm so pleased with my new toy that one is not enough! I can actually operate and was able to use the zoom lens (which is more than I can say for that last disaster).

1st shot of my Configuration Box - this is the one I started at the Tim Holtz gig last week, but didn't have time to completely finish

Closeup detail (yes, I actually managed to operate a zoom lens)

A 2nd zoom closeup shot, just to prove it wasn't a fluke

And a 3rd closeup (yes, now I'm just showing off)

And my box in all its glory again (different shot, just to prove I COULD, lol)

I finished my Configuration Box today, and these are the very first pictures I took with the new camera - lovely and sharp, no wobble. I amazed myself!

TOTALLY IN THE PINK: PIX WITH TIM HOLTZ

Tim with the Blade Rubber Design Team - Sue on the far left, then me, Tim, Chris and Liz. Did you notice Tim had his hand on my shoulder! My little claim to fame - be still my beating heart etc, lol lol lol

In fact I'm so overcome I have my head on his shoulder. And he's STILL smiling. That man has the patience of a saint, seriously.

Me with Mario - who also has unfailing patience (and remembered me from last week at Birmingham, and said he liked my hair). A thousand blessings upon him. I so admire a man with taste, lol.  (Shame I don't look nicer - I wasn't ready for the shot. And in case you were asking, it's a Mickey Mouse Tshirt.)

My friends have all sent their 'Tim' pix, so I'll be editing them over the weekend and posting them for everyone to drool over ASAP. So although technically these photos aren't pink, we're all feeling 'in the pink' so I say they qualify!

Now you've finished drooling over my pix, do go and take a look at How Sweet the Sound to see how the rest of Beverly's gang are doing. Happy Pinks, folks!