Giveaway Ends Tomorrow

Just a reminder: if you haven't signed up for my birthday giveaway, please do so today by leaving a comment below. I will be choosing 2 winners tomorrow. Don't forget to let me know which house you prefer. Good luck!

Treasures from Oiseau deNim

Look what I have received from Oiseau deNim's Etsy shop! A Treasury of goodies. A Salami Set (to go in my Tuscan kitchen), Raspberry and Caramel St. Honore (her French pastries are to die for), and, speaking of death, her spooky bottles would be a must-have drink at every skeleton's cocktail party.

It gives me much pleasure to own such beautiful work. I wish that my photography could accurately depict just how detailed these items are. Thank you, Peiwen!

Birthday GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate my birthday with my blog friends, I'm giving away some of my new glitter house kits. Two winners will be drawn randomly. Winners may choose one of the five styles of glitter house kits.

If you are interested in taking part in the giveaway, please leave a comment and let me know which house you would like to win. A link on your blog would be appreciated. The giveaway is open to followers of my blog only. I will draw two random names on Wednesday, December 1. I ship internationally.

Thank you for participating in my birthday giveaway!

Tuscan Treats from After Dark

I returned from vacation to find a package from Eve at After Dark. I mentioned to her that I have a Tuscan kitchen in the planning stage, and she has supplied me with a fantastic assortment of Italian goodies. They are lovely. The tiny little nuts amaze me. I especially love the apples! Perhaps they will find a home on the window sill of the kitchen. Thank you Eve!

Below the photos is a quick video that I shot while on vacation. I thought that you might enjoy seeing some of the unusual foods available at the night market in Beijing; including snake's skin, squid, octopus, scorpion, silk worm larvae, etc. I wasn't brave enough to try any of them. However Hubby said that the scorpion and silk worm larvae were delicious! 

Printable Book "Botanique de la Jeunesse 1812"

Another printable book for your collection. You may wish to create a cover for this one. Thank you to Caterina for finding these beautiful graphics!

For the best print quality, download the pdf.

Blog break
I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone's blogs when I return from vacation!

Free Photos for Your Blog and Copyright Info

There are many reasons to use pictures on your blogs. First, it draws attention to your post. Second, it may add to your blog's search engine visibility. But what if you don't have a picture? Do you do a quick Google image search and hope that the author of that pic doesn't mind that you're using their image? If you blog is for personal use only (in other words, you are not helping to promote your business with it), the authors of the photographs or illustrations may not mind. But why take the chance that you are violating the copyright by using protected images?

Copyright and fair use
This has always been an important subject for me because I deal with it in my career as a graphic designer. Generally, I assume that everything on the web is copyright protected, unless it states otherwise. If no copyright or trademark information is given, it is still protected. You may wish to check out this easy explanation of copyright and fair use.

Where can you find copyright-free pictures?
Some websites offer inexpensive royalty free stock photography and illustrations. These can be purchased for a couple of dollars. But if you're cheap like me, you may prefer these free alternatives:

• morgueFile
• Stock.XCHNG
• Google Images Didn't I just mention not to go there? However, Google Images provides an option to filter for image type. If you click on the "Advanced Image Search" link, you can do a search for different image rights. Try searching for images "labeled for reuse" or "labeled for commercial reuse with modification".

Who is using your images?
If you're wondering if anyone on the web is using your personal images, there are a couple of tools that can help you find them:

• TinEye
• GazoPa

Credit: FreelanceSwitch.com

A Fire for the Fireplace

I have been a terrible blogger lately. With so many things going on, it's been difficult to keep up with posting and reading blogs. However, I have made a bit of progress on my 1:24 scale Art Deco library. I've finally completed the fire!

Printable Book "Livre de Fleurs" from 1620

Here's a book ready for you to print out and put together. The gorgeous graphics are from Vintage Printable and are copyright free. Download the pdf.

If you'd like the book to look more authentic for the time period, you may wish to create your own cover from leather, polymer clay, etc. The cover in the pdf can then be moved to page 1 to become the title page.

I recently came across a tutorial on creating miniature books that you may find interesting.

Thanks to Caterina for finding these beautiful graphics!

For the best print quality, download the pdf.