APRIL FOOLS DAY VIRUS ALERT

Just to remind you that the Conficker virus looks set to go out from midnight tonight.


Copyright-free image from Tack-o-Rama



The usual April Fool's Day fun (not). This warning was sent to me by Dawn (GoldBettyBoop). God bless you, girl!

Here are the links:

• Yahoo
• Snopes re Conficker

So can I PLEASE urge you all to update your virus checkers and firewalls.

Here is the Microsoft link to install the Windows Live OneCare scanner (free) which will eradicate the virus. You need to download this via Internet Explorer (not Firefox) and then run it - it will take several hours to do a full scan, so allow yourself enough time.

And if you have just one password for all of your stuff (your bank, PayPal & eBay etc) please change it so you have separate passwords - a mix of letters and numbers is best. Just think of something off the top of your head, the sillier the better. And don't forget to write them down - this means NOT typing a list on your computer and saving it, by the way. Keep a little book by your computer and hand write this stuff in. If you get a trojan or the Conficker virus, they will go through your entire system and rip any passwords you may have thought you hid there. Also any banking details.

Whilst you are at it, you might as well do a little housekeeping:

• Go to Accessories > System Tools > ScanDisc to remove any clutter in your system
• Go back to System Tools and Defragment
• Back to System Tools to create a System Restore point
• Back up all your stuff onto CDs or DVDs or an external hard drive
• Go to Microsoft/Windows Update for the latest downloads
  

I know this is something we don't usually bother to do regularly (although you should be updating your Virus Checker & Firewall at least twice a week, and running Scan Disc and Defragment weekly) so you might as well do it all now for your own peace of mind.

After all that, your computer should be skipping around like a newborn lamb and you should have all the latest security stuff ready to swing into action to protect you.

And the usual common-sense stuff: don't open any weird-looking emails or attachments (run a scan first if you think you need to see them) and if you get emails from any banking groups, insurance companies etc - or eBay or PayPal - don't click on any links the email. Go to the company's main website and then go into your account to see any messages. There are a lot of clever spoofs out there, and the web pages LOOK genuine, but aren't (I got caught that way).

I'm sure you'll think I am paranoid - but better safe than sorry.

PINK SATURDAY POST: BUTTONS

This week's Pink Saturday post is all about buttons!

This is cheating a little, but I couldn't resist! It still features buttons.... of a sort...
Image from Art-e-zine


I've always been fascinated by buttons.

I'm sure most of us had grandmothers with button drawers (mine also had a thread & ribbon drawer and a jewellery box with odd earrings, brooches with stones missing, and broken neckalces) and kept us quiet for hours by letting us sort out, play, admire and generally drool over their collections ... only if we were good, mind!


Image from Art-e-zine



So I was delighted to find this interesting little article written by Lorine Mason in the current Sewing Savvy Newsletter.


When Did Buttons First Appear on Clothing?
A Fun History Lesson

Buttons have been around for over 3,000 years and although recognizable as buttons, they were not actually used to fasten anything. They were fashioned from bone, horn, wood, metal and seashells and were purely decorative, more like a brooch as pins were used for the closures. That remained the case until clothing became more fitted, creating a need for a closure using items less likely to cause injury, i.e. the pin or the brooch. The button was first used as a closure with the addition of a thread loop sewn on the opposite side of the garment. The buttonhole slowly evolved, starting out as a simple slit in the fabric just large enough to pass the button through, holding the clothing closed. Inspiring a fashion revolution, the button quickly became big business. More elaborate buttons and button holes were created, and their popularity quickly became a driving force in clothing design.


OK, not strictly buttons although she's wearing them, and this advertises a different fastener... but still fun! Image from Art-e-zine






All Buttoned Up

Why do women button their clothing from left to right and men from right to left? The thought is that while men generally dressed themselves, and most were right-handed, it only made sense for buttons to be sewn to garments along the right-hand side. Women who could afford buttons at the time employed dressing maids who were mostly right-handed, requiring a mirror image of the button placement on a man's garment. The tailors of the 15th century were accustomed to this and following this thought pattern, fashioned men's and women's clothing accordingly. The custom of placing buttons on a particular side of clothing for men and women remains in place today.

Well, I never knew that!

And of course it makes perfect sense: when we are dressing the male sex (little boys, partners struggling with too-tight shirts etc) that being used to the buttons being on the LEFT (correct for us) that of course their buttons would now be in what WE consider the proper place!

To read everyone's Pink Saturday posts and to find out how to join in the fun, go and see Beverly's site, How Sweet the Sound for the full list of participants.

It's a great way to find new blogs! Much fun!

POLL - TITLE FOR NEW PAGE

I can't make my mind up what to call my new page, which will archive all my computer-related stuff: tips, techniques etc

I am going to put everything in the one place so people don't have to scroll through the entire blog to find it: eg: System Restore, fonts and all of that.

So I have put the choices in the sidebar on the right, if anyone would like to vote on this. I am none too good at picking names!

Thanks everyone!

HOW TO STRETCH PAPER

I think stretching paper is one of those "need to know" things - but nobody talks about how to do it! So here you are.

Cirque 1 skinny book page by Susie Jefferson


SO, why would you want to stretch your paper?

Whenever you want to work with wet mediums (watercolour, acrylics, collage - anything involving paint, glue etc) and you don't want the paper to buckle. Very useful for ATCs, skinny books, fat books, deco books, as well: you can do a whole series, then cut them off the board when you have finished.

You can also leave stretched paper on the board for months (I left one board I forgot about for around 2 years) with no detriment! Stretched paper gives a great professional finish to any artwork - watercolours especially are spoilt if the paper has buckled.

I learnt this method when I was at art college, back in The Day, and having seen other methods (soaking with sponges etc) I think this is still by far the easiest way.

This is an A1 (parent-sized) sheet of heavyweight watercolour paper, by the way.





Dunk a sheet of paper in a bath or sink (depends on the size of the sheet of paper) with around an inch of water in it.

To do this, take the paper at the corners with your thumbs and forfingers (short edge) and dip into the water at one side, guiding the paper along the curve at the bottom of the bath and up and out at the other side.

Take the paper out straight away, shake the excess water off and then lay the paper straight onto your board (plywood, MDF etc). Smooth out roughly with your hand so it lays flat(ish) but not too much: let it lay how it likes.






Use gummed brown paper tape, dip into the water, then place over the wet paper, long sides first then short sides. Don't worry about wrinkles in the centre of the paper as long as the edges are smooth. It'll sort itself out when it dries.









Place half the gummed tape on the paper and half on the board, making sure you overlap the edges.









LEAVE IT ALONE until completely dry. You can stand it up on end to allow the water to drip off, if you prefer. When dry, you will see a beautiful expanse of absolutely flat paper!






Do all your work whilst the paper is still on the board. This means all paint, paper, glue etc. Allow to dry thoroughly. You can see here that I drew my guide lines on the board, leaving small margins for excess collage work. This was a series of 16 skinny pages, each 3 inches x 6 inches, all of them different.

When it's all dry, and your work completely finished - THEN you cut it off the board (use a metal ruler and craft knife). If you need to do more wet work, leave it on the board or you may still get buckling.



Cirque 2 skinny book page by Susie Jefferson







The poodle was from a packet of tissues (I tore off the top layer). Who could resist a poodle so PINK?



Cirque 3 skinny book page by Susie Jefferson







All these pages were perfectly flat, and bound beautifully!

IDEAS GRATEFULLY RECEIVED

I had a lovely message from one of my dearly cherished subscribers CookieVF, in response to this post:

http://1stfloorflat.blogspot.com/2009/03/make-your-own-blog-button.html

This got me thinking - so I'm going to make a new page for all the techno stuff, so it's all collated in one place and people can find it without scrolling through the entire blog.

However, I am stuck for a title! Here's what I am thinking of:

• Techno
• Geeks-R-us
• IT Stuff
• Computery

Any votes - or any better suggestions? I'm not the best at thinking up names for things.

Thanks!

CREATE YOUR OWN RUB-ONS

Just saw this great little video on YouTube: I just had to share!



Well, I think it's just brilliant. Who knew you could transfer from acetate this way? (by the way, it needs to be heatproof - don't use the acetate they use for document covers).

CABINET CARDS

I've posted some cabinet cards for you to download.


This image is unretouched.




These are from my private collection, so download away! The only proviso is that you do not add them to commercial CDs or copyright sheets.


This image has been tweaked a little.

Don't you just love his baldy little head? Just perfect for a vintage Easter card?




Seriously, I love the way his hair curls - including the beard. He must have been devasted at the first signs of a "high forehead". I'd have loved to see him with a comb-over. Did you know that in Japan, they call comb-overs a "barcode head"? Love it!

See the unretouched, large file versions on my Freebies page. Left-click to copy, then right-click to Save Image As directly to the My Pictures folder on your hard drive.

Why large files?
So that you have room (pixel-wise) to play around: crop, sharpen etc, and you'll also get a good quality print at a decent size.

Have fun - and if you make anything with these pix, I'd love to see it.