Inspired by Ashli and Giveaway Winnner #1

Hi, it’s Ruth here with two fun things for you, first up, the winner of the Neverland Studio Calico kit was drawn using random.org and I videoed it to show it was a fair selection and the winner is

congrats, Claire! Check your email please, you should have an email from me there.

Note that the other giveaway is STILL OPEN (since the post is unbelievably slow this month and I still have not received the box with the stamps in it!!), so if you missed out this time, you can still get in the running for that giveaway.

Secondly, a layout to share. This one was inspired by the wonderful Ashli Oliver from purplemailbox.com, who recently did a post about puffy paint and it inspired me to pop into a craft shop and get some puffy paint to play with

This is the fabric kind, I don’t know if that is exactly what Ashli used, but it was 5 for $10, which seemed like a good deal to me.

I used the puffy paint on an overhead transparency placed on top of a printout of a few typography images from Pinterest and then left it to dry overnight. They did NOT come off the transparency easily and after destroying one of them, I carefully cut around the next one and used it for a layout.

I also recently got a few sheets of paper from the new Amy Tangerine line, “Yes Please”, the new Maggie Holmes line and the new Dear Lizzy line, and used them on this page, along with a photo I really like from a week ago, when my daughter went supermarket shopping with my husband and asked him to let her bring me home some flowers .. what a sweetie!

And that weekend, I also discovered that she now fits those awesome pants she is wearing, yay! I love those pants! LOL Dressing her is so fun, I am not looking forward to relinquishing that delight one day.

So thanks to Ashli for the inspiration for a really fun layout, go check out her blog for lots of other ideas for artsy ideas that you might not have otherwise thought of, she is great like that.

One more quick share, this one is thanks to Rosalie, who challenged everyone to use a less than stellar photo and talk about the details that it brought to mind, prompting a great story for your layout. I was looking at older photos and came across a gem, which I made into this layout, using more Dear Lizzy papers and a sketch from Shimelle:

I did consider not sharing this, as I am letting you all in on the fact that I am a pretty big nerd, but I guess you guys might have already figured that out?

See you later in the week with my Project Life week 12.

Saturday Science Roundup #3 – This Roundup is TOO WEIRD!

We’re up to three weeks already? The weeks fly past so rapidly.

• Could there be 100 billion potentially-habitable planets in the Galaxy? The simple answer is “yes”. There are hundreds of billions of stars in the galaxy, and most of them probably have planets. We’ve only known about these planets for 20 years, and we’re biased towards only finding the really weird ones – because if you’re bigger than jupiter and orbit your star every few days, it turns out you’re pretty easy to find. To see Jupiter at Jupiter’s current distance from the sun, it would take >12 years, and you would need a pretty fine telescope to see the effect it has on the sun (the planet itself would be too hard to see). And small rocky planets like the earth are nearly impossible to find, but we’re getting better at looking for them. The article goes into the details of how we estimate how many planets there are, and what makes a planet suitable for life (and then stops because defining what life is and figuring out how we could detect it is a whole other mess.)
• Mystery SETI Signal Set Rules of Engagement: Fortunately, we have SETI to step into the breach and come up with guidelines for chatting to aliens and looking for signals from them. In 1967 astronomers discovered the first pulsar, a super dense ex-star that beams out radio signals like a lighthouse, spinning so that every few seconds you see the flash of the lighthouse. They are incredibly regular, and in some cases are better timekeepers than atomic clocks. The only problem is that back in 1967, no one knew what they were looking at, so they dubbed the signal “LGM?” for “little green men?” After several months of careful analysis they calculated that the signal was not coming from a planet, but rather a neutron star, and the panic in that crowd was over, but I imagine it must have been somewhat scary for a little while there. (Prompted by this paper by Alan Penny, which was a nice read, tells several sides of the story, but tends towards paranoia at the end.)
• How Beer Gave Us Civilisation: New science is pointing to the idea that human ancestors grew grains for beer before they figured out proper staples such as bread and the like. All the evidence so far is circumstantial, but that’s okay. We had to start somewhere.
• Gravity Satellite Felt Japan Quake from Space: When an earthquake takes place, the ground shakes and we can hear the rumbling as sound waves are generated from the movement. But it turns out, the slower movements also cause slower-moving compressions in the atmosphere, infrasound waves, which can travel great distances through the air. And some of these “sounds” will head straight up, to low orbits where they can be detected in the movement of satellites such as the Gravity Ocean Circulation Explorer. I’m not sure precisely what else this satellite is used for, but it’s pretty cool that they were able to “feel” such an earthquake from almost-space.
• A Billboard that’s also a moisture farm: This is brilliant and ought to earn its engineers big bucks and all the prizes. They’ve built a billboard that captures and purifies water from the humid air in Lima (Peru) to provide drinking water for the community below. Given that Australia is both full of billboards and frequently in drought, maybe we can employ some of these for our farmers, once the developing world has enough. (Maybe advertisers could sponsor them in a buy-one-get-one-free-in-Peru deal?)
• The Other Russian Meteor: Tunguska, the science, and the conspiracy theories! I think my favourite is that it was all Nikola Tesla’s fault, because he was testing one of his death rays up there. We’re not actually sure whether it was a comet or a meteor, or which type of meteor it was (there’s evidence for all of the above), so there’s at least one research group still looking into it. We are certain that it came from space and wasn’t an alien spacecraft.
• Elephant Feet, Arizona: Ooh, Geology! There’s not enough of that in my casual reading. These pillars look like a pair of elephant feet, which makes me wonder, what happened to the other two?

The title of this week’s post comes from an error I was getting this week while trying to do some calculations.

Birthday Card

Just a reminder that our Studio Calico Neverland Kit and Lost Boys and Hook Stamps giveaways are still open. All you have to do is tell us that you’ve subscribed to the blog or linked to us, or that you absolutely love my random science posts, and you’ll be in the draw to win.

Catherine, reporting in: This has been a very mixed week. For instance, on Wednesday I took some great photos of some of the uni students playing very competitive Quidditch. Pretty cool. And then ten minutes ago, when I took my camera out of my bag, I realised that the screen had cracked. And the memory card was complaining about corruption. So, up and down and all around, and it’s 10:30 and the three-year-old is still awake despite him going to bed at 8. The housemates have the flu, so I’ve been doing extra housework and cooking lots of soup, and I have also been run off my feet at work. Just mixed.

So it was with great pleasure that I sat down tonight to assemble the birthday card that I’ve been thinking about all week. I’ve been trying to find a way to do more papercraft while on public transport (on those days when I’m not working on the trains), and while I don’t always have enough elbow room to break out the scissors and glue, one can do a lot of thinking and planning, so it’s good for assembling small kits such as those for cards.

Please excuse the poor lighting not showing up the gold card, as I said, I was startled to find that my camera is a little bit broken. This is loosely based on the card Ruth made me for my own birthday, which was much more stylish. The card is made up of scraps, with the cardstock leftover from my first stamp camp, the paper embellishments from the old “easy scrapbooking” page-a-day calendar I picked up on the cheap, and the ribbon and washi tape from Heidi’s collections.

I’m still compiling my crafting on the bus kit, the only permanent items so far are my snail and scissors. I think a lot will depend on whether I decide to stick with small items like cards, wherein I’ll take enough with me to actually make a card, or if I’ll just bring a folder of papers to match into kits to use at home. But what’s important here is that I’m loving the idea of doing all the plotting and planning in advance so that I can simply assemble things in the only half hour I might have free all week.

Project Life Week 11 using Allison Davis Sketch

Giveaway for the Studio Calico Neverland Kit and for the Lost Boys and Hook Stamps are still open

This week I tried something experimental with my Project Life layout. Just for fun. I decided to combine an idea that Shimelle mentioned on her blog with a recent sketch (doing PL with a regular sketch) with the sketch week on Allison Davis’ blog. She is using this sketch which can be downloaded for free (go to her blog for the link).

I used it to create my project life layout, I tried to stick to the sketch fairly closely, which reduced the number of photos I used. I think if I experiment with this again, I might drop the photos from the sketch and then add them where-ever I want. Hmm watch this space for how that works out!

I used the Studio Calico snippets line (thickers, papers, journalling cards, flair and sticker sheet) and I found that this line matches really well with the Project Life kit I bought last year, Clementine. I love when you find older product that matches something new, its my scrapbooking holy grail to be happy using something older from my stash.

As a new blogger I am constantly finding myself looking at my layouts as I post them and thinking of small changes I would like to make. For this one I wish I had done something to define some of the edges a little more. I went back and forth on it, since they are split by the pocketed page protector, but I dont want them to just blend together. What do think, would it have been better to edge the papers somehow? There is extra journalling for Sunday and Friday tucked behind the photos. As a side note I am now only using hidden journalling on the right page, since you can’t actually take the ones in the right page out easily.

That banner is looking much wonkier in the photos than it was on the page. I might pull it out and remake it and add it over the top of the page, it isnt really making me happy in the current format.

Anyway, experiments are always fun and somethign a bit different to share. Next week I will have my SC PL kit and will be using that again for my PL spread, so something a bit more standard for that one. Coming up soon, I want to blog about the current PRT episode, as it was AMAZING! Go listen to it, especially if you have a child with special needs, a really helpful episode.

Giveaway: Studio Calico NEVERLAND Scrapbook Kit

Hello Scrappy Friends, Yes, you read that title right! Even though I have not yet got my lovely brown box in the mail, which means our previous giveaway is STILL OPEN, we have another giveaway to entice you and to celebrate this new blog. This time the prize comes direct from Studio Calico and it is their March Scrapbook Kit: Neverland. I am a long time fan of Studio Calico’s kits, I enjoy the mix of supplies they include and find that they often push me to use something new or to try out the latest trends. For years they have been at the cutting edge of the industry, introducing new trends. Every kit includes some neutral cardstock, patterned paper from a mix of companies, some alphabets and embellishments. They are probably the most famous in the consumer circles for their stamps, which are usually very versatile and great for using on layouts. Their new Project Life kit for 2013 has seen me jumping on board the project life wagon and I am still surprised at how much I am enjoying it. They have a very friendly message board over there, monthly classes (the upcoming one with Lexi looks really awesome) and a regularly updated blog.

Fly away to NEVERLAND! We’ve pulled together a playful mix of brand new Amy Tangerine, Maggie Holmes and Basic Grey. This month, our exclusive stamp set and thickers are joined by an exclusive mask and a mini Mister Huey in a shade custom matched to the kit. Our March scrapbook kit is the perfect way to make sure your memories never grow old.

You can see heaps of inspiration in their gallery over there.

To enter for a chance to win this fabulous scrapbook kit, please leave a comment below with a suggestion for something you would like to see on the blog or tell us what you have most enjoyed that we have posted. If you send a friend over and your friend mentions you we will give both of you a second entry. (Tip: You can easily share this post with your friends on twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest or by email using the icons at the end of the post).

This give-away will be open for 5 days, and close Sunday 25th March (Sydney Time). The winner will be contacted using the email details left in the comment form and will have 24 hours to respond before an alternative winner is chosen and contacted. (You do NOT need to include your email in the publicly viewable section of the comment.)

Currently March 16

Catherine:

Oops, I forgot to hit Publish on this.

Ruth:

Currently watching: Weekend at Bernie’s and are planning on Groundhog Day in a couple of days, a bit of an 80s throw back
Currently Reading: The Princess Bride
Currently Listening: The Hobbit and Peter Pan
Currently Making: My many starting point layouts (see previous post)
Currently Feeling: Sad that Google Reader is going!
Currently Planning: on shopping for clothes for the wedding
Currently Loving: That James is using his new bike (and Milly is still awesome on hers)

Catherine:

Currently hiding in her bedroom, wishing she’d never taken on such a project, or decided to experiment with ‘art’.

Saturday Science Roundup #2

So that baby blanket didn’t materialise last weekend, but I did finish hemming a skirt that will hopefully make an appearance on the blog soon. Because the yellow scrapmachine is good for more than just papercraft. Now if only the baby would stop growing so fast. At this rate, by the time I’m done he’ll be much too big for such a thing.
In the meantime, here are some science pieces to add some sparkle to your weekend and distract me from the ever-increasing pile of unfinished objects.

• Cicada wings shred bacteria: This is awesome. The tiny nano-spikes in the wings of the cicada tear any bacteria that land on them to pieces. Now we just need to figure out how the spikes grow, and if we can reproduce them, and we can maybe start making antibacterial fabrics. You wouldn’t want to use them all the time, but they’d be great for face masks and gowns in hospitals.
• You don’t Have to blow up the universe to be cool, by AstroKatie (not AstroCate): This article is a good explanation of Dark Energy, which is the weird stuff pushing the universe apart. We know that it’s out there, and that it makes up roughly 75% of everything, but what is it, and what does it mean that there’s an anti-gravity out there? Katie throws an equation out there, but you can skim over the scary maths image and focus on her words instead. At least, I hope so. (I think it’s at a NewScientist level of detail, but on a topic they don’t usually like to dabble with.) Don’t worry, the rest of these links are less cosmological.
• What if the Hubble Telescope was pointed at Earth?: The What if? blog by Randall Munroe of xkcd is one of my favourite examples of a physicist gone mad with power using said power to improve the world. He takes simple questions like the one above, answers them using easy physics and maths, and then turns it all the way up to eleven. A few months ago, he figured out what kind of laser pointers one would need to blow up the moon. Oh, and the answer to the question above is “not very much”.
• Scientists and their emotions: the highs … and the lows: This one isn’t about a singular scientific result. It’s about the process of doing science, and how it brings you up and tears you down. I love being a scientist, when it works. One of the factors in my depression is just the fact that this stuff is hard, and some days it’s hard to get up and go into work when you know that next week you’re going to find a better way of doing the same task and you’ll have to start all over again. So it’s reassuring to find that other people feel the same way.
• 
• Curiousity kicks butt!: You knew I had to bring this one up, as it’s the most exciting announcement of the last few months. Evidence from the Curiousity Rover on Mars has shown that Mars at some point in the very distant past met most of the criteria for supporting life. There was running water, a nice temperature, and an atmosphere that was thin but composed of the right amount of oxygen to keep a lot of bacteria happy. We haven’t found fossils yet, nor have we found anything alive right now, but we have found a bunch of rocks that show it wasn’t too salty or sandy on Mars’ beaches three billion years ago. Which is pretty exciting when you think about it. (Unless you’re @SarcasticRover, in which case your response is: “DISCOVERY! Mars was once able to support life, not unlike how the economy was once able to support jugglers and mimes.”)
• New Fossil Whales: While digging up and expanding a highway in California, the project’s archaeologist (how cool is it that they’re required to have an archaeologist on hand during these digs?) found four new species of whale. They’re filter feeders (like whale sharks, for the Octofans among us), which means they don’t use their teeth to chew, but rather to filter the water around them and keep out anything big while letting little things like krill in.
• The world’s oldest portrait: This isn’t new, but I’d not seen it before: a 26-thousand year old carving of a woman, made from a mammoth tusk. She’s strangely beautiful.

This week’s science roundup has been brought to you by the boredom of repeating everything you did “for the last time” three weeks ago, because it turns out there’s a very slightly better way of doing it. I felt so clever for a while there.