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I've had this Christmas/Hanukkah cartoon for a while and don't know where it came from other than on the internet. The background is from the greenery in the art. Added a selection frame with inner bevel.

Still trying to get jolly. Decided on a layout that is NOT made of traditional red/green colours. The image is AI-generated by a designer on Etsy (AI WearGallery), and I thought it was something different to work with since I don't take a lot of pix in everyday life. Concentrating on a layout and all the details keeps my mind off other things.

The doors etc in the center are from a photo I took yesterday with my new camera, standing in the the foyer of my church. The other elements are some I have saved over the years probable from C F as that is where a lot of them are from.

This is Christmas card #2, the one that took me quite some time. Again, I used the techniques from the Lab 13-1(and the Vector Workshop) and made a grid with Vectors. Boy, that was hard to get all the squares even. If you think grammar isn't my forte, well, math just makes my head spin. At first I forgot to account for the thickness of the edges to know where to put the inner grids, and of course having to centre the thickness of those inner grids came into the equation too. Whew! It's exhausting to think about it. I'm sure I went about it the hard way, would love to know a faster easier way to make grids and get them even. Next time I'd make the outer frame thicker than the inner grid part. Same as the last two cards, I cut off the bottom sentiment and put it on ivory cardstock with a deckle edge. Cards are all out except a few to yet to hand deliver. The other main concern was making sure I got the inner photo spots centred within the squares. I used the magic want to make a selection and then contracted, add new raster layer, flood filled with black then turned them into mask groups so I could position my photos how I wanted. If you wondering what that cheeky cat is saying (with that look on her face): "Move along human, nothing to see here."

Christmas Card #3, not another fall back, but a card I made in one of the Challenges I think last January. I'm guess because the pictures are from that time. I added the snowflakes and "WINTER" to the front. Again, printed as 4x6, cut off the bottom and put the sentiment on the inside. The sentiment is thanks to the Vector Workshop where I learned how to use "text on a path." (notice the correct use of the period here, I'm on a grammar roll). Also, attached to warm white cardstock (Strathmore) with a deckled edge.

Christmas Card #1. The top square portion is the outside of the card, the bottom is what went inside the card. I printed them as 4x6 then cut off the bottom and put it inside. This went on a warm white textured cardstock with a deckled edge (Strathmore). This is also Lab 13-1 I believe, and was my fall back card if I got too busy to make cards. I ended up making two more. I found the inner sentiment color is too strong. If I did it again, I'd make it lighter, and change that one darker blue circle as it seems quite out of place.

I was taught on the inside; like "bumbershoot." But those rules vary by country and change over time so don't "quote" me! 😁

Wow! such a lot of great info. Thanks so much Susan. I do need to hear of the successes folks have had with surgeries for this type of issue. I will get in touch so we don't drive everyone else on here a bit batty with the pain talks.

The doors etc in the center are from a photo I took yesterday with my new camera, standing in the the foyer of my church. The other elements are some I have saved over the years probable from C F as that is where a lot of them are from.

Surgery is for sure the last option. Let's hope yours is soft tissue related. I am still doing recovery for a partial hamstring tear. I didn't know I tore it and left it for over a year before I got it checked out. I was told surgery is not an option since I'm not an athlete (hmph! we are all athletes is our own mind aren't we?). Anyway, I turned to massage as that helped when I twisted a QL (back muscle). It helped but I still couldn't do certain things, then my massage person suggested Dry Needling. It's one needle that inserts into the knot in a muscle and relaxes it. Without this I'd not be able to do much, just swinging my leg to get out of the car was agony. The dry needling worked, but it does/can take many sessions. And you need a good practitioner who uses the smaller gauge needles. I just go in for touch ups now and have 90% mobility. I will tell you, it can hurt (I'm a baby when it comes to any needle), but it's worth it for me. I hope you find a good resolution because any injury really sidelines you and chronic pain really messes with your mind.

Julie I got a hip replacement last year, it is something else but I know the relieve when the pain is gone after surgery. For me it was so worthwhile and now I'm back myself without that constant pain. I hope for you that, whatever your choice will be, it works out well.

I've been a bit distracted and not feeling great for a while (back pain), so the Festive Season has not been on my mind. But I'd better get on it b/c the time is getting shorter! I have so many kits and elements to use, so that's what I did. No photos included, just decorative elements mostly from Di Hiller and Ericka Designs. Trying to get jolly....

Lab13-01_Stencil Alpha: Freebie cass-ChristmasCookies-Alpha (Blog) Tubes: cass-LitLights-Red Pine branches: Snowy Winter-DBMagnolia - themagnoliapatch.blogspot.com Snowflakes come with PSP (I think) Background from photo

Freebies are great resources that you can find in many places to build a library of elements, graphics, and tools. Since they are free, they are available to all. For this challenge, I would love to see you use the Christmas Cookies alphabet. Although these cookies are made for the Christmas theme, your project does not have to be Christmas-y. It could be about a favorite baking recipe. It could be about a local bake sale. And so on. It is available at the bottom of the Theme blog post HERE. Of course, if you happen to have any of the cookies scripts, you can add more flavors!

I had already used the cookies for the Christmas challenge, so I used the cookies for a birthday, not intended as a card to print but to use as a digital image to wish a birthday, for example on Facebook or somewhere else. I'm not sure the shadows are okay, but I had fun all evening with making this. Cookie Monster and his party hat are from PNGwing, the balloons are freebies, but I can't remember where I got them The Alphas are from digidelights blogspot com

I was taught it would depend on the quotation. If the quotation ended the sentence, in a complete grammarly sentence, then the full stop would be inside. Otherwise it goes outside. For example " I love your creative style." "Effects, 3D effects, drop shadow was used in this project". The word the was taken away making the sentence incomplete.

I was born in a hospital in Newark NJ, though we lived in Union City at the time. We then moved to Hillside, NJ and my brother was born when we lived there. We then moved to Elizabeth NJ where I went to Blessed Sacrament Grade School for the 1st 3 years. We moved to St Louis MO in the spring of 1942, but I had only completed the 1st 2 months of 3rd grade as I had contracted a kidney disease and my mother kept me home until we moved.

Thank you. I thought that too, but wasn't sure. Grammar was not my strong suit. ( You probably have that figured out by now)

Where in NJ, Mary? I was born in St. Mary's Hospital in Hoboken, though my parents lived in Weehauken. Then we moved to Rutherford, which was on the rail line and convenient for my Dad to get to work.

S-Scrooge

Never done that, have you? But it would be fun.

Hi dear ones, Even though I'm not showing or writing anything here at the moment, I'm committed to learning PSP. Through a blog link I found a German forum that teaches PSP written tutorials. I'm now learning how to use the important tools. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to show teaching results there in other forums, but anyone who is in the DS can see from my latest scraps that I used the Messystitches from Caroles Fontstitches ("What if...") I already have a current watermark created with my current nickname. I just wanted to wish you a nice 2nd Advent weekend

S = Stocking - we hang empty stockings for Santa or his helpers to fill on Christmas Eve. And if you find one filled with coal instead of gifts you know that person has been deemed "naughty."

At my worst (with my back) I could walk and stand for about 3 minutes before the pain made my break out into a sweat and felt like I was going to throw up. Weirdly I could still work out with weights and ride a bike, but not walk or stand for any distance or time. When I was humming and hawing about surgery a guy I knew (who also had a major surgery on his back) said "get the surgery and get on with your life, you aren't 'living' the way you are now". My 4hr surgery turned out to be 5.5 hours long and the surgeon told my husband it was much worse than the MRI showed. So I am extremely thankful to him and that I got it done. Surgery is a very serious consideration and I did not take it lightly. I was and still am a very active person, I couldn't live with what I figured was coming (wheelchair) so I took the leap. I was lucky and had a fabulous surgeon and am pretty much pain free. The surgery took the compressed disc pain away. I did deal with soft tissue issues for some years after, nothing major just annoying (piriformis issue's) that didn't even need any pain meds (I cant take pain meds more than two days in a row , so I tend toward icing pain, then heat). If you ever want any specifics of what my pain was like before and after and what I went through I am always open to chatting via email or phone. You can private message me if you like for my email addy.

As far as I know, it's an extruded (not herniated) disc at L2-L3 that has been bothering me for almost 3 years. It got a whole lot worse recently, and I'm just worn down with pain, so any solution (other than long-term painkillers) will be my choice. I've had spinal injections of steroids several times which work...some of the time. This latest did not help much so there's one source of relief off the table. Not many choices left, but the surgery. I know it will be worth it, but it sounds scary right now. (Corrie's words gave me courage too.)

Gorgeous! Thanks for telling us how you created this.

My 2nd favorite part of Christmas; after the gifts, of course!🤩

That is beautiful Julie. I love your natural style. I hope your back pain subsides quickly. I know back/nerve pain all too well. Surgery in 2011, L4-L5 with rods, screws and a bouncy new disc (disk?), just call me Tigger. I'm pain free and active. Let's hope you get back to that point too.

I use A-4. I can use the full width of the calendar, but there is a little strip of 1,5 cm at the top (or bottom). I don't cut that strip off and use it to put two holes in with a perforator. So I can bind the pages with a nice complementary ribbon. You can also use that space for a spiral binding should you want it.

This is lovely, Michele, in its simplicity.

You can't see it at this size, but the background has a subtle texture.

You are so absolutely right. The brolly is a necessity, all year round. I've packed my British waterproof clothing. My Canada winter clothing will be to hot for home. I won't be taking a laptop this time, but I will have my phone to check in on you all.

I created this starting with a Globe shared on PSPManiacs.

Hi all, I'll continue writing here. My masterclass starts tomorrow. I've just had a look at all the lessons. I am pleased that they are mainly made for scrapbooking. I still have a question. I like to make 3-part woven patterns with ribbons, strings or paper strips as border decoration. Is there a script for PSP that makes this possible, perhaps even with several strands? It is an immense amount of erasing work the larger the woven piece becomes. Here is an exampel what I mean: