I AM A SEMI FINALIST IN BRAND THUNDER CONTEST

 

Perfect Christmas Eve

Hi, all...I don't  think I mentioned that I was entering some holiday themes in Brand Thunders contest. Today they announced the 5 semi finalists. and I actually have two that are semi finalists. One is  Perfect Christmas Eve, which is my favorite and the other one is called A Year to Celebrate. Actually having 2 in puts me at a disadvantage because I can't ask you to vote for just one!

I don't do Facebook, etc. so don't have a social network except for family and the fans who happen to read this. But I am going to ask you to go to:  http://brandthunder.com/2011/announcing-best-holiday-browser-theme-finalists-vote-for-your-favorite/ 
and vote for one of my designs.  You can vote every day through December 22nd.

I included a shot at the top of the one I like best and hope you check out Brand Thunder, vote, and tell your friends. Thanks one and all and  a Very Merry Christmas. And thanks to Brand Thunder for getting me involved.  


I will check in on the 23rd of December and let you know if I should happen to win.

Brand Thunder

I just wanted to report that I now have quite a few designs on Brand Thunder and they are being used. The designs they have can be used on Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Firefox, so anyone that doesn't use Firefox can now fancy up their browser. If you are interested, you can find their site at: http://gallery.brandthunder.com/en-US/ 

I got my 2012 calenders finished for the family and also got our Christmas cards designed and printed out. Now just have to get  the letters written to go with them. Then I have to start getting Christmas decorations up. I don't put up as much as I used to. Putting them up isn't so bad, but taking them all down is a big job.

I doubt if I get back on before Christmas so I will wish you all a Happy Holiday. Call the ones you love that you won't be seeing!

December, December

A Purple Christmas Delight

 https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/445900

It is really hard to believe but the last month of 2011 is here. Where has the year gone? I have worked so hard on Christmas and winter designs and have a bunch more made to submit so I should quit making them, but I still have some good ideas and will probably work up until Christmas eve. I have more spirit for Christmas this year and it will be so much more fun with toddlers around. I had a great time doing some shopping for them this year. I personally do not like going to town to shop so love Amazon. The things come right to me and I don't have to get frustrated with crowds!

I have made quite a few designs for Brand Thunder and they are being used, too. I think I mentioned that they were going to feature me on their site and I was so surprised that they actually did. The link to see it if you are interested is: http://brandthunder.com/2011/theme-spotlight-firefox-personas-theme-designer-madonna/  So many places say they are going to do something and never do, so I was kind of pleased. Brand Thunder is having a contest for the best browser theme and the winner gets an IPad. Wow, I would love to win, but I don't have the social networking it takes to get the word out. I had to sign up for Twitter to submit the designs so I do have a Twitter account but my sis is the only follower, so it isn't too popular. I really wouldn't know what to tweet anyway!

There are so many good designers anymore and I am amazed at some of their work when I have time to look which isn't often. I did notice that animated designs are becoming the big thing. I doubt if I ever try to make one, though. If it comes to the point where that is all users want, MaDonna will retire! Again!

My favorite thing to make, though is the wallpapers. They are so much easier to really get all the graphics into because of space. And I am getting so many fans it makes me feel very good. For this old lady it is kind of neat. I got to thinking the other day about designing and came to the conclusion you have to have an imagination to design anything.  And I have always had an imagination, ever since I was a little kid.

Well, I am going to sign off for today. I don't have much new to report so will say good bye and if I don't get on before Christmas, have a merry one. But I will  try to get on before, I swear.

Have a good night everyone and thanks for writing.

HAPPY THANKSIVING

 Frost on the Roses

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/443997

Hi, all. I wanted to take the time to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and hope you get to spend it with family. As many as can make it to our house will be here so have started my shopping. We just got a call from our oldest grandson that we will have a new family member for next Thanksgiving. So that is exciting. Our family is very heavy on the boy side so it would be nice to have at least one more girl! But as long as it is healthy we will be satisfied.

More good news, anyway for me. But it involves more work which I really don't need. But as I posted earlier this month I was invited to make designs for a site called Brand Thunder. They are in the early stages but it sounds like a good deal for people that don't use Firefox or even if they do. The Personas from Brand Thunder can be used on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome. So today I spent some time submitting some. The way they have you submit is much easier and faster than Mozilla. So I may try to match wallpapers and Personas for both Mozilla and Brand Thunder. Their home page is:  http://brandthunder.com/homepage/ so you  might want to check it out.

I just finished reading an email from them and they want to feature me on their site so I have to put something together tomorrow! So that is exciting for this old lady. 

The design I featured today is a nice winter design. The wallpaper to match is available, too and the link to the wallpaper is under details at the Persona site. The wallpaper got a lot of hits very quickly and I got tons of comments on it so hope the Persona becomes popular, too. It makes all the time and work involved worth while.


So I am going to sign off for the day. You all have a great holiday and I will get back soon.

Glow Lilies

Glow Lilies

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/438875

Just a quick post to let you know I am putting some of my Persona designs on Brand Thunder and they can be used for either Firefox or Internet Explorer!  The link for this one, Glow Lilies is: https://bt-engage.com/themes/i4i4p/Glow-Lilies/download. Just in case you use Internet Explorer rather than Firefox you should be able to click that link and download it. I may try it...probably should have before I posted here.

Have a great day....♥♥

November

 Raindrops Keep Falling

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/434975

Wow, I can't believe I didn't take the time to post since the beginning of last month! I am sorry, but if you follow my work at all you know I have been very busy. I keep saying I am done with fall designs and then I get an idea or some graphic that I have to work on. But I have to start concentrating on winter and Christmas, which I am working on.

I have to say I like making wallpapers much more than Personas. I have so much more area to work on and can get an entire picture or theme made. But with Personas the space is so small it is hard to get an idea displayed so you can really see it. So some of the Personas aren't as good as the wallpapers that match.

I am beginning to think about the holidays and trying to figure out where everyone will be and who can make it here for Thanksgiving. This will be the 53rd year in a row I have fixed Thanksgiving dinner.  The first year we had a 1 year old baby boy and expecting our 2nd child in 3 weeks and I was 19 years old! We couldn't afford to buy a turkey and since my husband is/was a hunter and deer season was over we had deer. My parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all came for dinner. Our family always have each family bring something so it wasn't all on my shoulders. But I still remember it very well. I got very tired but it is a tradition I am very proud to have kept. My grandmother used to always bring candied sweet potatoes and after she passed on, my mother made them for years. But at a certain point I knew I would have to learn how to make them so I had gotten the "recipe" from my Grandma. I have to start working on my menu soon. It won't be hard because we have pretty much the same thing every year. But it is always so much fun to get together and with having little ones in the family again it will be so great.

But before we get to Thanksgiving we have our County Council voting next week on the Japanese developer that wants to build a luxury type hotel around his golf course with some commercial properties to go along with it. (This is all to be built on the 500+ acre farm that is next to us.) Of course the big, fancy homes will be clustered around his golf course, too. So far it has gotten approved going through 2 local government entities and this will be the last hoop they have to jump through. And I know the very conservative council we have now will OK anything that the development/real estate community brings to them.  So I am not looking forward to that. I know it will be appealed to the state and hopefully get tossed out then....but we shall see!

And of course the elections are next week! So don't forget to vote. Our state has mail only voting and that is great. You can sit down on a Sat. or Sun. morning and really take your time voting. I think you get more people to vote that way, too. This may not be a national election period but if you stop to think about it the local elections are actually more important and have more effect on you than the national elections, so VOTE!

Oh, I have to write about the unexpected surprise we had one morning last week! I went to go on the deck to hang out some laundry and there was a pygmy goat on the deck looking in the sliding glass door! It was the cutest thing ever and it was shivering because it was a chilly morning. I called neighbors to see if anyone had bought one but no one knew anything about it. We tried to catch it but that is impossible and it disappeared and we couldn't find it. A little later I looked out the window and it was sound asleep on the deck in the sunshine in front of the door. It wanted to come in the house! Well, we had to find out who owned this little guy so I called Animal Control and they said someone had reported it missing so it's owners came and he got to go home with them to be with his sister goat! They had just purchased them and when they were unloading them, he got away. They were afraid a coyote had gotten him since it had been 3 days. I wonder where he was all that time before he found our home. I am so glad he is home now and hopefully warm and well fed. But I have to say I fell in love with the little critter!

I hope you all have a great holiday season and thanks for using my designs. 

Love to all ♥

October

I am on my laptop while my husband watches football and I don't have my graphics in the laptop so this will be my first post without a graphic at the top.

I have started working on winter wallpapers and Personas. Kind of fun as I am having to hunt for more graphics. Last winter when I was making them I really didn't have a good hold on PhotoShop so didn't know as much as I do this year or how to do things so is a lot more fun this year and hopefully better designs.

Today was the first day I haven't done any designing at all for a long time. But I think it was good to take a rest from it. Just keeping a computer with everything updating constantly is a full time job. Firefox has new updates every other day seems like. And all of my extensions still won't work with the latest version. I have had one that I like called Gmail Manager that is so handy because it keeps your Gmail icons on the lower taskbar so you can see if you have new mail for more than one address. I had a hard time finding the update that would work with the latest Firefox so had to do a lot of searching to figure that out. It is hard for an old lady!  But keeps me on my toes. The one problem I am having with the new FF 7 is a jittery window and I don't like it. It is on my desktop and laptop so I tried opening FF in Safe Mode without any extensions and it was still jittery so I don't think it is my computers, but a problem with FF. I don't think I am the only person it is happening to, but you never know.

I have made some new Halloween designs and some are on line. One is called Haunted Halloween House and the wallpaper has become very popular. But the one I like the best is called Halloween Spirits and I will post that one from the preview on line:

Halloween Spirits

https://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/persona/435097

 

I am still getting letters from people that like my work and that makes me very happy. I work so many hours a day on them so I get gratification from receiving letters. Thanks to all that take the time to write. I try to answer all of them.

 

Well I am going to sign off for now and will get back soon with some winter ones. I hope everyone is well and in good spirits! ☺

♥ to all!