Valentine day is approaching and although I don't like the commercial pressure of that day, it is nice to dedicate one day to love and friendship. In my country it is not custom to give cards on that day, but as I like cards, I made some - it was fun and easy, and I have plan to make some more. They can be used also for birthdays, Christmas or any other special day. Of course, I used chalkboard paint again, I just love it and use it whenever I can.
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As a novice in photography, I decided to buy new camera, nothing very expensive but good enough to take quality photos, shoot my projects and learn 'tricks and tips' step-by-step, and one day, when reach better understanding and experience, take something more advanced. So, I started to google - shops, photo sites, forums, first to see what could be important for my level of (in)experience.
I learned that Megapixels over 12 MP is not so important but optical wide-angle zoom could be. The sensor choice - CCD or CMOS ( I read the CMOS is better - don't know why) could be important. Battery is also rather important - the plain AA or AAA are probably the best choice as could be bought everywhere. The ease of use is also good to check. Video possibilities were not interesting to me, so I didn't check them. Finally, after spending few hours on Internet, I decided to buy Olympus SZ-14. It is travel zoom digital camera - a bridge between point-and-shoots and mega-zoom cameras. So far, I didn't shoot a lot, can't tell much about this.
The pleasant surprise is the PC software for photos storing and editing - very user-friendly with the number of possibilities. Unpleasant surprise was the equipment that came with the camera - I didn't get the memory card and got the USB-AC adapter FC-2AC which is useless here in Croatia (need to buy FC-3AC separately). And in all materials I read, it was not clearly written what you get with the camera. The memory card and adapter are rather inexpensive, but I am frustrated with the vendor's approach to hide those details. Few years ago, I bought compact camera from the same vendor and got everything - memory card and battery charger. So, as 'devil is in details', check literally everything before your purchase.
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Fonts and letters are endless inspiration for me in my craft work. There are number of sites you can download various font types for free. Look at this links, eg:
1001freefonts.com
dafont.com
fontzone.net
But there is a script I like very much, although it is not in use any more: Glagolitic alphabet. Look on the pictures how the letters are beautiful and interesting.
It is part of Croatian history and was used for centuries.
If you are interested in this font, you can download it from this site.
(Site is on Croatian, download is on the bottom of the page, right side - 'cijeli paket').
Nowadays, original jewelry and souvenirs could be found inspired by this alphabet.
If you'd like to read a little bit more about Glagolitic alphabet:
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Some time ago I was lucky to get the 100 years old Singer machine cabinet - some aquintances didn't recognize its beauty adn were happy to give it to me. Some wooden parts were not in a very good condition, but I wasn't worried, I saw the hidden beauty of the cabinet. First of all, I decided not to replace the veneer that was in a realy bad shape, but to remove and sanded the surface. After that, I dissasemble all parts of the cabinet (hubby helped) to clean them and sand them, particulary the wooden parts.
This is the unavoidable, but necessary work to be done, and the work I don't like very much, but if you don't do that properly, the finished piece will be defficient.
Metal parts painted with Hammerite silver, wooden with acrylic paint (white) and varnish.
Now I have beautiful table for my notebook, and in the same time, vintage Singer sawing machine. A lot of people get rid of the sawing machine, but for my point of view, this is sin. When you see how it is made, all those inventive details, you can only admire the old craftsmen who created it.
Below you can see how it looked like before I refurbished it.
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