I'm Playing Again, This Time With OpenOffice.org

I've been playing, yet again. This time it's with OpenOffice.org and I have to tell you I'm loving it.

Just writing that my computer shook. My Microsoft Publisher program doesn't like that comment one bit. It's getting nervous thinking I'm about to abandon ship.

Hold on to your hats "Publisher" I'm just playing. You know I just LOVE to play and recommend things I find to my readers.

I think you all know how much I LOVE Microsoft Publisher as it has been able to handle everything I have needed over the years for my business, websites, and blogs.

However, not everyone has Publisher and since I started using Publisher back in the stone ages, well - a LOT of wonderful programs have come along that are very helpful to small business artists and crafters on the web. Including me. Well, one such program, that I have been playing with lately is OpenOffice.org.

According to OpenOffice.org: OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

Unlike GoogleDocs.com, which I told you about in a previous post, you have to download the OpenOffice.org software to utilize it. So, I downloaded it and started to play. And, I kept playing, and playing and playing.

This program can create text documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Drawings, Databases, Formula's, and more. The drawing program saves your file with an OpenOffice.org extension (.ODG) so if you want it to be saved as a .JPG, .GIF, .PNG, etc. you have to export it. All of the programs have a separate export to .PDF link for creating .PDF documents.

I found EVERYTHING to be easy to understand and use. Within a few minutes I was able to utilize just about every program - almost as if I was an old hand at it.

If you want to create e-patterns, e-tutorials, e-articles, e-projects, e-printables, graphics, slideshows, etc. or just have some fun with your pictures and are looking to purchase software do yourself a favor and download the free OpenOffice.org suite first. You will not be disappointed.

I'm sorry Microsoft Publisher, but this is a GREAT suite of programs and I do like the drawing program. Just like Publisher it works with my Bamboo drawing pad and within a few seconds I was creating all sorts of shapes, sizes, circles, curves, etc. And, when I went to rotate them, well, the capabilities here are simply AMAZING. I may never stop playing with it.

With that statement my computer literally started sputtering. If I didn't know better I would think Publisher was "crying."

Not to worry Publisher I still LOVE, LOVE, LOVE you and while the capabilities of the OpenOffice.org drawing program are good it still can't replace you. I can do everything I need to do to create my e-patterns and e-books in one Publisher file. Creating e-patterns and e-books with OpenOffice.org would require using both the text document program and the drawing program. Plus, the drawing program doesn't seem to have the capability for a two-page spread, which Publisher does, and which is required for creating an e-pattern booklet cover.

With that statement I think my Publisher program just breathed a sigh of relief.

However, because I love to play I may create a few new things in OpenOffice.org just to get the real lay of the land.

Don't worry, Publisher, just because OpenOffice.org is the new kid on Linda's block it doesn't mean this "old gal" is going to give up her #1 best software program of all time. We've been through thick and thin together and I don't see any need to change that.

With that statement my Publisher program started crying - tears of joy!



Posted by Linda Walsh Originals- "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

GoogleDocs For Creating and Displaying .PDF's

I've been playing again testing a few different avenues for small business crafters who have .PDF free e-patterns, e-tutorials, e-projects, and e-articles that they have created and want to display on their websites or blogs. I recently posted about Scribd.com which is a document hosting website in a Linda's Blog post entitled "I Decided To Try Scribd For Some Of My Free E-Books and E-Patterns." Today I experimented with GoogleDocs.com which is not only a document hosting website, but a document creations website.

Now you might be thinking that all hosting document hosting websites are the same.  Au contraire!

Not only can you upload .PDF's to GoogleDocs.com to obtain a linkable URL, but you can CREATE a document right on their website using a suite of office type programs. Their programs are free to use and do not require you to download anything to your computer and include documents creation, presentations, spreadsheets, forms, drawings, and tables. Each of these programs automatically store the items you are creating in your Google account. So, they are available to you everywhere.

If you've been a reader of my Linda's Blog for awhile you know that I LOVE Microsoft Publisher which is part of Microsoft Office. For me, Microsoft Office and Microsoft Publisher are still the best for me to use for my purposes, but GoogleDocs.com is a great way to get started if you want to create .PDF e-patterns, e-tutorials, e-projects, and e-articles and don't have Microsoft Office.

Yesterday I told you that I am very fortunate in that I have all of my free e-patterns and e-books on my own Linda Walsh Originals E-Pattern website. However, some of my small business artist and crafter friends don't have websites that are capable of housing their free e-patterns, e-tutorials, e-projects, etc. They want to share them on their blogs so, what do they do? Well, they use one of the many document sharing websites available and either provide a link on their blog or embed the code into their sidebar or post.

As mentioned GoogleDocs.com will not only upload already created .PDF's, but will let you create your own document. In creating them you can download your document as a .PDF to your own computer or you can PUBLISH your document online. If you create your own .PDF in another program and upload it to GoogleDoc.com you can only obtain a distinct URL that you can link to and which would  display your .PDF.

However, if you create the document using GoogleDocs.com office suite you can PUBLISH it which creates an HTML version of your document that can then be embedded within your blog or website.

Since I already had created my own free e-patterns and e-books I decided to upload those and obtain distinct URL's that I could link to. If you'd like to see how my free e-patterns, e-books, and e-catalog look on GoogleDocs.com just click on the link you want below:

LW207 Hang-10 Bunny E-Pattern

LW188 Oh, My! It's So Late Santa E-Pattern

LW048 It's me Ginny E-Pattern

LW225 Marsh Me Snow E-Pattern

LW161 Punkin Ornaments Are We E-Pattern

LW236 Trio of Annies E-Pattern

HTEBFREE3 Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Create Fast and Easy Cloth, Paper, and E-Printable Ornaments E-Book

HTBFREE2 Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Host A Folksy Family and Friends Bridal Shower E-Book

HTEBFREE8 Lindas's How-Do-I Series? How To Make A Pinecone Wreath E-Book

HTEBFREE7 Lindas's How-Do-I Series? How To Make A Small Pinecone Tree E-Book

HTEBFREE4 Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Make A Painted and Stenciled Terracotta Pot Decoration E-Book

HTEBFREE5 Lindas's How-Do-I Series? How To Make A Little Sachet Basket E-Book

HTEBFREE6 Lindas's How-Do-I Series? How To Make A Green Painted Pinecone Basket E-Book

HTEBFREE9 Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Make A Fabric Covered Round Basket E-Book

LWOECatalog Linda Walsh Originals E-Catalog

I like how the GoogleDocs.com displays the .PDF with the separate pages showing as clickable icons in the left hand sidebar. You can search the document, zoom in or out, download it, print it, and make a copy of it. You can move from page to page via the sidebar or using the left and right arrows.

You can also view it one page at a time or two pages at a time like in the picture shown below:

As far as visibility is concerned you can share it as follows:

1) Public on the web - Anyone on the Internet can find and access. No sign-in required.
2) Anyone with the link - Anyone who has the link can access. No sign-in required.
3) Private - Only people explicitly granted permission can access. Sign-in required.

Using the office suite to create a .PDF takes a little getting used to, but you can create a document and then insert images into it. I think this works best for e-tutorials, e-projects, e-articles, and e-books as all their pages are generally letter size.

However, for e-patterns if you intend to create a two-page cover that can be turned sideways and folded to pattern size then you will have to create this in a separate picture program and then insert the image into your GoogleDocs.com document. GoogleDocs.com only accepts .jpeg, .gif, and .png image files so if you have created your pattern piece sheets as .bmp (to keep the size of your .pdf down) you'll have to convert them to .jpg before you could insert them into your document.

You can also use the suite to create a response form that users can fill out which you can email or embed into your website or blog.

I'm still partial to Publisher, but that's me. I'm old school and very loyal to programs that have worked wonderfully for me for years. However, I do like to play so the next time I'm in the mood to create another free e-book I'll give GoogleDocs.com another try.


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals- "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Do You Have A Viewable E-Catalog?

After finishing a 10-month long pattern revision project the first of October I was finally able to update my e-catalog and posted abut it on my Linda's Blog. In that post I told you that I had updated and created a new Linda Walsh Originals Print Pattern & E-Pattern Catalog and that you could download it from my Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns website.

Well, the other day I decided to upload it to Googledocs.com to allow you to view it online. So, if you don't want to download my e-catalog you can easily view it HERE.

I like how the GoogleDocs.com displays my catalog with the separate pages showing as clickable icons in the left hand sidebar. You can also search my e-catalog, zoom in or out, download it, print it, and make a copy of it. You can move from page to page via the sidebar or using the left and right arrows.

You can also view it one page at a time or two pages at a time like in the pictures shown below:

I created my e-catalog and .PDF file with Microsoft Publisher and then uploaded my .PDF to GoogleDocs.com.  If you'd like to view my e-catalog please CLICK HERE.

So, what do you think?

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals- "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Scribd.com For .PDF Document Sharing

View my profile on  

The other day I decided to give Scribd.com a try for some of my free e-books and e-patterns.

I am very fortunate in that I have all of my free e-patterns and e-books on my own Linda Walsh Originals E-Pattern website.  However, some of my small business artist and crafter friends don't have websites that are capable of housing their free e-patterns, e-tutorials, e-projects, etc. They want to share them on their blogs so, what do they do?  Well, they use one of the many document sharing websites available and either provide a link on their blog or embed the code into their sidebar or post.

One of these document sharing websites is Scribd.  I've been thinking about Scribd for a little while now and haven't had the chance to test it out until today. If you don't know what Scribd is it is the fastest growing social reading and publishing company on the web today.

Here's what they say about themselves on their "About" page:

Scribd is the world’s largest social reading and publishing company. We've made it easy to share and discover entertaining, informative and original written content across the web and mobile devices. Our vision is to liberate the written word, to connect people with the information and ideas that matter most to them.

And, here's what they offer for quick facts:

Scribd. \skribbed\ the world’s largest social reading and publishing company
Stats
>75 million readers every month
>20 million embeds
>1 billion pages converted to HTML5
Tens of millions of documents published
Millions of Readcasts every month

So, why was I interested in Scribd? Well, I thought it might be a good place to test some of my free e-books and e-patterns, and could potentially be a website I might be interested in selling of some of my e-products on in the future.

The former I could do right away. The latter requires more research on my part as to what the best website is for that and researching each websites terms & conditions are.  I want to make sure I pick the right website for supplementing the selling my e-products.  For now, the "freebies" are fine for Scribd.

So, I set-up a Linda Walsh (Linda Walsh Originals) account and profile page. If you'd like to see my profile page just click on the icon at the beginning of this post or CLICK HERE.

Scribd allows you to post documents in the following formats: You can upload documents in the following formats: Adobe PDF (.pdf), Adobe PostScript (.ps), Microsoft Word (.doc/ .docx), Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt/.pps/.pptx), Microsoft Excel (.xls/.xlsx), OpenOffice Text Document (.odt, .sxw), OpenOffice Presentation Document (.odp, .sxi), OpenOffice Spreadsheet (.ods, .sxc), All OpenDocument formats, Plain text (.txt), and Rich text format (.rtf).

Upload is very easy. You just select the file you want and then follow the prompts. You can make you documents public or private. In the case of the latter, they can only be viewed if you've given someone the URL.

Documents can be viewed on Scribd in Float mode, or they can be downloaded and printed, can be downloaded to a mobile device, or added to a collection. Documents can also be shared (i.e. readcast) on Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, or embedded within a website or blog.

The Float mode viewer displays a pop-up control bar on the bottom of your window that allows you to scroll through the document page by page, zoom in or out, convert to full screen mode, search the document, add a comment, embed/share, add to a collection and download. You can also "readcast" your document which is basically sharing it with your friends across multiple social networks.

You can embed your document in a website or blog utilizing the HTML coding they provide and it would look like the following:

How to Make a Little Sachet Basket

According to Wikipedia the technology used for this is: Scribd uses iPaper which is a rich document format similar to PDF built for the web, which allows users to embed documents into a web page.[27] iPaper was built with Adobe Flash, allowing it to be viewed the same across different operating systems (Windows, Mac OS, and Linux) without conversion, as long as the reader has Flash installed (although Scribd has announced non-Flash support for the iPhone).[28] All major document types can be formatted into iPaper including Word docs, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, OpenDocument documents, OpenOffice.org XML documents, and PostScript files.


All iPaper documents are hosted on Scribd. Scribd allows published documents to either be private or open to the larger Scribd community. The iPaper document viewer is also embeddable in any website or blog, making it simple to embed documents in their original layout regardless of file format.

Scribd iPaper requires that Flash cookies are enabled, which is the default setting in Flash.[29] If the requirements are not met, there is no message; the white or gray display area is simply blank.


If you don't want to embed your document you can just provide a link that would display the document in full screen mode for easy reading. Here's the link for the document above: http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/70100063?access_key=key-1fjo1x20uz80b7ctbszx

You could add the above link to the sidebar of your blog to provide your blog readers with a way of seeing and downloading your free e-product.  Or, you could embed the code directly into a post or, in the case of Blogger.com, onto one of the ten tab pages they offer per blog.

In Scribd you basically have bookshelves where you can store your uploaded documents, store other Scribd docs you like in collections, or store the readcasts you are sharing with your friends.

You can also set-up a profile page with information on yourself, links to your website, etc.

Plus, Scribd maintains pretty detailed statistics for you on your documents, such as: recent activity by document, by region, by jeywork, by referrer, embeds, readcast, etc.

Pretty cool, huh?

There are lots of document sharing websites out there like:

Box.net

Docstoc.com

Docs.google.com

Issuu.com

Slideshare.net

MediaFire.com

FileDropper.com

RapidShare.com

DropBox.com

DocShare.com

Esnips.com

wePapers.com 

I was impressed with how quick and easy Scribd was to learn and navigate.   Depending on what you have to share, if you are a small business artist and crafter on the web and you want to share some of your free documents you might want to consider using Scribd or any of the websites shown above.

I'm going to check my stats on Scribd in a few days to see how many views and downloads there have been. Hopefully there will be lots and lots.

I only uploaded two of my free e-books. If they seem to be getting a lot of viewing maybe I'll upload some more. We'll see.

If you'd like to see my profile on Scribd and the documents I've uploaded there please CLICK HERE.  If  you like what you see please FOLLOW ME.  Just click the green button next to my name at the top of the page.


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals- "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

I Just Created My First Lens on Squidoo

Well, I finally had the time to create my first Squidoo lens. I joined back in April of 2007 so I've only been a little delinquent in creating my first lens - ya think!!!!! Four years is not a little delinquent, Linda. It's a lot delinquent.

Well, in my defense, I have been just a little busy during these past four years. So, today I decided to give Squidoo a try. After floundering a little at first I finally got the lay of the land and figured out how the modules for the lens worked. And, I ended up loving it. I may just have to create more lenses.

If you don't know what Squidoo is it's a combination of a social community and publishing community that allows users to create pages (called lenses) for things they are interested in.

According to their FAQ's:

What kinds of lenses can you make?

All kinds. Every kind.

Not sure what you can make a lens about? You could make an About Me lens (well, about you). Or a review lens. Or a lens about your blog, to help point traffic to it. Or a lens about your art. Or your eBay or Etsy or Zazzle or CafePress shop. Or about your hobby. Or your dogs. Or your hometown. Or your favorite books or movies or video games.

For a small business crafter on the web who is trying to draw some attention to their website or blog Squidoo is a great way to do this. Why I waited four years to do so is beyond me.

In any event, I decided I'd create my very first lens based on my "History of Faceless Dolls" Linda's Blog post. It had a LOT of really good information in it that I thought everyone would love to read.

If you'd like to see my first lens "The History of Faceless Dolls" please CLICK HERE.

There's a guestbook at the bottom of the lens so if you decide to visit please leave me a comment. I'd love to know how you liked my first lens.

And, if you really like my lens please give a big "thumbs" up for "liking" it.  It's the button in the upper left hand corner of the lens.


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals- "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

How Fast Does Your Website Or Blog Load?

I've been viewing articles and statistics lately concerning the speed at which my website(s) or blog(s) load and how important that may or may not be. I had seen a reference to a website that allows you to test the loading speed of your website or blog and thought I'd test all of mine.

The website I used was Numion.com and I selected their STOPWATCH tab. When you click on the STOPWATCH tab it brings up a window that allows you to enter your website or blog URL.

I decided to test my websites and blogs on two different days (each time clearing my cache first) to see if there would be a difference. The results are displayed in seconds. Here's my results:

Linda Walsh Originals - 5.428 then 5.384 seconds
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - 4.87 then 5.296 seconds
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - Handmade Dolls & Crafts - 4.424 then 4.514 seconds
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - 4.26 then 3.514 seconds
Gray Is Beautiful Products Gallery - 4.759 then 4.157 seconds
Linda's Doll Bookstore - 1.511 then 1.363 seconds
Linda's Crafts Bookstore - 1.712 then 2.633 seconds
Everything E-Directory - 8.754 then 5.851 seconds
Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog - 12.65 then 8.989 seconds
Linda's Blog - 12.69 then 11.196 seconds
DOLLS Blog 9.193 then 8.639 seconds
Victorian Dolls, Victorian Traditions, The Victorian Era and Me Blog - 11.868 then 12.186 seconds
Gray Is Beautiful Blog - 10.945 then 11.430 seconds
The Dollie Storage Room Blog - 8.466 then 5.477 seconds
The Best FREE Craft Articles - 8.275 then 5.701 seconds
The Book Review Corner - 12.125 then 11.432 seconds
Linda Walsh Originals Instant Download E-Patterns Blog - 12.945 then 11.5 seconds
Top Blogs By Crafters Toplist - 6.211 then 4.339 seconds
About Linda Walsh Originals - 2.129 then 2.179
I Love Crafts & Crafts Blogs - 13.793 then 13.316 seconds
Tips For Crafters On The Web - 10.382 then 9.903 seconds
Testing The Blogs Series & Helpful Blog Tips - 9.534 then 5.587 seconds
Linda's Twelve Months Of Sewing Club - 9.282 then 5.394 seconds
Tips From The Blogging Queen - 8.956 then 8.229 seconds

So, the question was whether or not my results were good.  Depending on which point of view you believe the answer is yes and no.  For some points of view if your website or blog doesn't load in 4 seconds or less you're in trouble.  Other points of view might have it at 7 seconds or under.  Their opinion is based on the fact that most of the Fortune 500 companies load on the average of 7 seconds or more. Others say 5 - 10 seconds is good while others say never more than 15 seconds.

So, you might think based on the above that most of my results were okay while others should be reviewed. Well, you'd be right and wrong. You see, there are so many factors that influence loading times that to know which is right or which is wrong is mind boggling.

For example all of the following influence website or blog loading times:

1. A users particular Internet connection speed (i.e. using dial-up, DSL, Fios, etc.)and load of their particular network.
2. The type of browser being used to access the Internet.
3. A users computer age, size, configuration, and settings.
4. The number of programs the user has open, number of tabs the user has open, the number of windows the user has open, whether or not their computer needs to be defragmented, etc.
5. Whether or not the website or blog being accessed is in the users browser cache (i.e. pages already in the browsers cache load faster).
6. Amount of traffic to the site being accessed and the server's access speed.
7. Anti-virus, anti-spam, etc. programs the user has protecting and running on their computer.
8. Design and size of the website or blog.
9. Amount of coding, widgets, images, etc. on the website or blog.

My results above were based on the fact that I have a medium range upload/download Fios connection, have a computer that is close to 7 years old, had multiple tabs open, had cleared my browsers cache, and had anti-virus and anti-spam software running.  

As a website designer and blogger of the 9 things above I only have control over #7 and #8. The first 7, which play a big part in page loading speed for my customers and my blog readers, are totally out of my control.

If you only have control over 2 of the 9 items on the above list do you need to pay attention to how fast your website or blog is loading?  Basically, yes.

Do you need to go crazy and remove everything you've added to make your website or blog enticing to your customers or readers? The answer is no.

Sometimes the reason why your customers and readers keep returning to your website or blog is they find it of use. So, first and foremost you need to look at the purpose of your website or blog and based on this determination decide whether you need to modify your website or blog at all. 

If you decide to modify your website or blog there are some things you can do to help your website or blog load faster. First and foremost you should know that four things can greatly reduce loading time: large images, music, video's, and widgets.

So, reduce the size of your images or graphics if you can and try to make sure your images and graphics and include their height and weight tags in the coding.  The latter, from what I understand, helps speed up the browser.   I do reduce the image and graphic size for all my websites and blogs, but have to admit that not all of the coding includes their height and width tags.

Reduce the size of the embedded video you may have or eliminate the embedded video in favor of a link to the video page.  I try to keep the video's in my blog posts to no wider than 350.  On the sidebars of my blogs I try to keep this at no more than 250 in width.

Resist the urge to include music on your website or blog.  I don't have music on any of my websites or blogs as I've found that when I've accessed websites or blogs the music tends to freeze my computer.

What else can you do? Well, take a look at the widgets you're using. For the social networking websites widgets that just display a communities badge load a lot faster than those that include member's pictures and streams. A widget including a stream is going to load much slower than any other type.

However, just because you have a widget or some other coding that loads slowly that doesn't mean it's always bad and should be removed.  For example, I know that the Linked Within coding I have on my "The Best Free Crafts Articles" blog slows down the load time.  However, I believe for that particular blog that the coding not only enhances my blog but makes it easier for my readers to find posts that may be of interest to them.

I, for one, just LOVE widgets and I'll be the first to admit I probably have too many of them on my blogs.  If you love widgets (like I do)  then try to include them toward the lower half of the sidebar or end of the website or blog so users scrolling down aren't  immediately affected.  I need to review all my blogs for this. If the widget is beneficial to my blog then it will stay. 

For blogs you can make sure that your posts aren't too long. I, for one, have to admit I'm really guilty here. I tend to have blog run-on.

Blog posts with multiple numbers of images and links are going to load a lot slower than just a few so limit the number of images and links to those you really need.  As mentioned above I reduce the size of my images before I post them.

Before I ever took a look at all this I knew that certain things could bog down my website and blog load time. But, for the most part, some of those were out of my control and some may have only been a temporary problem.

For example, your Twitter or Facebook module or link might be hung-up. Your Google ad sense module can sometimes be problematical and slow loading. Image and links for Amazon Associates, Etsy, etc. modules can be slow loading at times. If you have Blogger.com blogs then you know that Picassa tends to load slowly. And, subscription links or overseas websites links can sometimes hang you up. I've even seen embedded statistical coding like Google Analytics hang up a website or blogs loading. You just never know.

So, the upshot of all this is you should pay attention to your website or blog load time - but, don't go crazy. There are just too many factors to this statistic that are out of your control. If you have a good design and there is logic to what you are including then don't lose any sleep over this statistic.


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals- "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Clipart Courtesy of Pierce Free Clipart Collection

Oh, What Fun! A Halloween Photo Collage!

I've been playing, again! This time with a collage photo tool website. If you want to see how I created the above collage, please read my Tips For Crafters On The Web blog post entitled "I've Been Playing Again! This Time With A Collage Photo Tool Website."

I had fun playing around. Now I'd better get back to work - or maybe not. Maybe another collage would be fun.......

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals- "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

A Terrific Widget From Box.Net For Blogs and Websites

I'm always looking for new ways of doing things and thought you'd like to see a new feature for previewing files over on Box.net.

All of my free e-patterns, free e-books, and free e-catalog are available on my Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns website, but you have to set-up an account (which is just a couple of extra steps) before you can download my free e-product.  So, I was looking for a another way to store and distribute my free e-patterns, e-books, and e-catalog and decided to set-up a Box.net account.

Well, in doing so I noticed this wonderful new preview feature that allows you to embed the HTML code for a widget within your website or blog. The widget allows your readers or customers to preview the WHOLE free download before they download it.

Plus, there are buttons on the lower right hand side of the widget that allows them to share the .PDF file, download the .PDF file, and even print the .PDF file right from the Box.net widget. They don't have to go to the Box.net website to do so.

Is that cool or what?

Of course, you can still just give them the download link that would take them to your .PDF file where they can also preview, download, and print your .PDF file.

If you have free e-patterns, e-books, or a free e-catalog, like I do, this new feature from Box.net is a GREAT way for your blog readers and customers to preview and then download your file.

Copyright © 2010 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com/