2009 November | the pixel boutique | blog, web & print design

Archive for November 2009

Today I Am Thankful For…

By Nicole · Comments (1)

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

The free country we live in that so many defend with their very lives.

Being able to make a living doing what I love.

Caring, dedicated, excellent teachers to entrust my kids to every day.

Music on Pandora.

My brothers and sister, who are all coming to my house for Thanksgiving this year (I think I was 4 in this picture…)

A double oven.

“Our” mountains.

A husband with a stellar work ethic.

Healthy kids who can play soccer. Lots of soccer.

Friends who sharpen me and encourage me and relate to me.

You, for taking time to read this blog.

And much more than I have time or space to write.

What are you thankful for?

Comments (1)

How to Make a Blog Button (or Badge) in Photoshop Elements

By Nicole · Comments (16)

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

I make a lot of blog buttons (or badges). A. Lot. I think its a blog prerequisite to have one. Just kidding. But it is a nice companion to your blog.

What exactly is a button, a new blogger may ask? Well, its a small square image, usually 125×125 pixels, that coordinates with your blog design, that represents your blog. It can have your blog name, an image and even a short blurb…just giving a snapshot. You can add it on your blog, along with the code for people to copy and paste onto their blog. And if you’d like to know how to add that code, here’s how.

So today I’m going to show you how to create a very simple but classy button using Photoshop Elements. Its quite simply really. Here are a few videos (about 12 minutes in all) to get you started…

One thing I forgot to say in the video is after you are done with your button, you’ll want to save it as a .jpg, by going to File>Save For Web. That will put it in the format you need for web use.

Hope that was helpful! If you create a button using this tutorial, I’d love to see it!

Comments (16)

Snapfish for the Holidays {Giveaway}

By Nicole

Friday, November 13th, 2009

UPDATE: The winner of this giveaway is #6…Tari! Congratulations!

Like it or not, its time to start planning for the Holidays. (If you are a more on-top-of-it person than I am, you probably have already licked and stamped your Christmas cards. But oh well. I do what I can do…!)

In years past, I’ve done everything from professionally printed (as in offset, 4 color printing) cards, to store bought, boxed card, to virtual e-cards. And last year? Well last year I claimed exempt from Christmas cards. Here’s why.

Anywho, one thing I have NEVER done (and I don’t even know why!) is those cute photo cards with a picture or two and a simple little Christmas greeting. I’m especially baffled at myself because I absolutely love getting them from my friends. And since we’re so close, I don’t mind telling you that I don’t always read all the way through the Christmas “letters” we get. I know that’s horrible, but for me a picture really is worth a thousand words…especially at Christmas time. Don’t tell anyone I said that.

This year I’m really considering this route, however. Though I must admit I don’t miss the addressing, stuffing, licking and buying the postage stamps by doing virtual cards, I realize there is something missing from them. My best girlfriend threatens terminating our friendship if I send one more virtual card that she cant stick on her refrigerator.

So I’ve been leaning towards some options on Snapfish. I love this one…

and this one:

There are also so many great gift ideas too, like:

and this:

Snapfish is offering free shipping on any order of 40 cards flat cards or more from now until November 30. Aaand, if you are a Flickr user, it is now easier than ever to process your photos. Now you can select and order photos to print, create cards, calendars, books, photo collages and more right from your Flickr account.

Giveaway! So here’s the deal. Go over to Snapfish and check out their wide array of photo card designs and Christmas gifts. Leave a comment on this post by Friday, November 27 and be entered to win a free desktop calendar for yourself or someone else. (For extra entries, you can tweet about this giveaway up to once a day. Leave a separate comment for each tweet.)

These cute calendars capture your favorite photos from the year, while keeping track of important holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. Display memories with a special photo caption on your desk at work, home or while traveling – you can even pick the starting month. Choose from 12 or 18 month calendars. Retail price is $14.99.

Good luck. Go get that tongue ready for some lickin’.

JumpStart Escape From Adventure Island: A Review

By Nicole · Comments (1)

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

The newest member of the JumpStart family has arrived. As promised, JumpStart just recently released Escape From Adventure Island for the Wii. This fun, educational and interactive game is targeted for 5-9 year olds.

I was looking forward to receiving my copy to review. My youngest, who is 8, acted as the guinea pig very willingly. He enjoyed the characters, the easy use of the Wii remote and navigating through the underwater cave.

As a parent, I appreciate intelligent games. I love how Jumpstart is able to combine a fun, relevant interface with learning. They dont go overboard, as so many video games do, on the flashy, crazy, frenzy of sight and sound. Thanks, JumpStart.

The goal of the game is to help players use their explorer skills and brain power to find a way to escape a mysterious island after a crash landing strands them there. As players race to collect the pieces needed to repair their blimp, they’ll need to ward off the pesky fur balls known as Punk Punks and navigate 3D worlds both above and below the water. Along the way, players can practice over 150 math, reading and critical thinking skills.

So here’s the fun part…a contest! JumSstart is hosting a contest of mammoth proportions on their blog.

The contest will run until November 16. Each person will be allowed two entries into the contest (details on contest page.)

The theme of the contest is “Time to Escape!” and there are tons of prizes:

50 winners will receive a copy of JumpStart Escape From Adventure Island

and…

3 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS will receive a family Escape Pack (over $1000 value)!
1 Nintendo Wii Console
1 copy of JumpStart Escape From Adventure Island
$250 in spa gift certificates
1 JumpStart branded flip camera
3 lifetime JumpStart memberships (1 for winner, 2 to share)
500 virtual coins for JumpStart.com
4 JumpStart pirate hats & 4 JumpStart kids T-shirts

Good golly, that’s a lot of prizes…cool ones at that! Hope you head on over to Jumpstart and enter to win. And consider Escape From Adventure Island as a fun Christmas gift for a child in your life this year!