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MMS Tutorials

2012-07-13T18:15:00.002-07:00

Hey everyone!

How are you all doing?

I’m great and I’m back with a new blog post!

For those who are new on my blog. The My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software is the #1-rated scrapbooking software which is easy to use + pretty affordable and it’s compatible with Windows as well as with Mac computers. With over 1,500 papers, over 1,000 page elements, and over 30 album templates, I don’t think you want to miss this software, so add this software to your shopping cart! You can create beautiful scrapbooks looking like professional books with all the old pictures you have lying around or you can enhance your scrapbooks with music, narration, video, and even the Internet. There are endless possibilities with this software. Use the discount code STMMMS35043 to get $10 off, so you will be paying only $29.97 for your software instead of $39.97 if you use this code. Software also comes with a $10 coupon for downloads-a total value of $20!!! Plus you can always download new freebies at www.mymemories.com and/or on my blog, so it’s never boring working with this software, cause you’ll always have new things to work with. Just copy and paste the discount code to avoid typos when using it.

Want a totally FREE My Memories Suite V3 Digital Scrapbooking Software? Then you have to participate in my GIVEAWAY and if you’re lucky, who knows....;) Just give it a try. You do need an internet connection on you pc or Mac to download and install this software if you are the winner of my GIVEAWAY. I am extending the My Memories Suite Scrapbooking Software giveaway till the 4^th of August 2012 and it is open internationally. Go to my GIVEAWAY post at http://www.superenergeticpics.blogspot.com/2012/06/mms-v3-software-giveaway.html to participate!!!

I have some new tutorials for you guys on how to work with the My Memories Suite Scrapbooking software. Below are 3 video tutorials for you guys:

This week’s FREEBIES are Cupcake Liners and Toppers which you can use at birthdays, weddings, showers etc.!!! Here’s the link for everyone who has an MMS software to download this week’s FREEBIES: http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

If you are participating in the software GIVEAWAY which I am hosting or if you are planning on purchasing this software, you can also download these FREEBIES. If you don’t have this software you will be able to download these freebies, but you won’t be able to work with them.:) The Freebies automatically install to your software.

Here’s a sample created with this week’s freebies:

I haven’t created my own sample yet. I think that I’ll wait till it’s my birthday.;)

Here’s a tutorial for you guys on how this sample was created:

Cupcake Liner Tutorial

1. Purchase or Bake and Cool Cupcakes. If cupcakes are frosted, place in refrigerator and chill cupcakes before putting liners on. It is easier to put liners on if the frosting is cold.

2. Print your Cupcake liner templates on cardstock and gather supplies. Each printed page will have enough supplies for 2 cupcakes. (Recommended supplies: small craft scissors, tape, foam squares, 1.25" circle punch, toothpicks and ribbon)

3. Using the scissors cut along outside line.
TIP: Use a 1.25" circle punch to cut out the toppers. If printed at full size, the circles should be exactly the same size.

4. Wrap liner around cupcake and tape at seam.
TIP: If using a smaller cupcake, just wrap around at the desired height. You can place a smaller cupcake at the bottom of the liner or make it tighter and wrap it around at the top.

5. Using foam squares or tape, attach the front and back circles together to form the topper. Insert toothpick between the circles.

6. Add a ribbon.

7. Insert toothpick into cupcake. Enjoy the finished cupcakes and share. Don't forget to use your imagination. The possibilities are endless!

That’s it for today’s post.

Love you all!

Sharda

Purse Card Freebies

2012-06-27T07:34:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!
I’m back with new freebies!
Here’s the link for everyone to download these freebies: http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

You do need your My Memories Suite software to work with these freebies. If you don’t have this software yet you can participate in my My Memories Suite software GIVEAWAY. Everyone can participate and it’s open internationally; check out my previous post for details.

I have a tutorial for you from My Memories Suite on how to work with this week’s Purse Card freebies:
1. Print your Purse Card templates on cardstock and gather supplies. (Recommended supplies: small craft scissors, bone folder, 8-12" of ribbon, stapler, tape or velcro)

TIP: To print your information on the inside create another page with the template in place. Put all your text and embellishments in (leaving a little room on the edges) and then remove the template right before exporting or printing the inside page on the back of the first. This will keep from having to worry about if the templates line up exactly when cutting out your card.

2. Using the scissors cut along outside line.

3. Fold card at indentations.

TIP: Using a bone folder will help you get crisp edges on your project.

4. Repeat by folding down top flap.

5. Staple ribbon to both sides of your card on the inside to look like a strap or handle.

6. Enjoy the finished cards and share. Don't forget to use your imagination. The possibilities are endless!

I created a gift bag with this week’s freebies by adding some extra pieces to the layout. I can place some gifts in my created shoulder bag and gift it to someone.;)

See you guys next time!

Hugs

Sharda

MMS V3 software giveaway!!!

2012-06-12T16:45:00.000-07:00

I am inviting everyone to participate in my 3th My Memories Suite scrapbooking software giveaway which is sponsored by My Memories Suite!!!

Grab your chance to win this fun software with which you can create wonderful scrapbooks, cool postcards, amazing gifts and lots more within minutes. In my last giveaway Meenu from Suriname had received this software totally FREE and without any competition, cause although I had received lots of comments, only one person had participated in my giveaway. The rules are very simple, and this competition is open for kids as well as for adults, so don’t wait and watch this time.

My Memories Suite is standing on the #1 position of all the digital scrapbooking softwares in the world.

Here are the rules for you guys to participate in this giveaway:

· Follow this blog publicly via Google Friend Connect. If you already are a follower, you can skip this step.

· Go to www.MyMemories.com and pick a favorite kit from the Free Kits. Come back to my blog and tell me in the comment section of this blogpost which of the Free Kits you liked most. Do leave your first name and e-mail along with the name of your favorite free kit in the comment section so I can contact you when you are the winner.

Extra entries (+2) for people who have a blog and want to blog about this giveaway or want to place it on their sidebar or you can also earn extra entries by tweeting about this giveaway or telling your friends about this giveaway through your fb wall. Do let me know if I have to count you in for extra entries.

If you have any problems at all, you can e-mail me at ssewdien@yahoo.com .

Contest ends on the 11^th of July 2012 at 12.00 AM EST and it is open internationally.

If you aren’t lucky this time and you still want to own this software, you can always use the discount code STMMMS35043 to get $10 off your purchase!

This is the cover of the invitation card I had created for my granny’s 80^th birthday. I had used Flutters My Eyes Quick Page and Cutout-Green frame which comes with the software. You can easily give your text a matching color with the picker option. I actually don’t have a printer of my own, so I had exported my layout in a JPEG format and gave it a green border in Microsoft Word to print it out via my dad’s laptop. I added a smiley on granny’s face cause I haven’t asked her permission to place her picture on my blog.

I had created these long back with freebies. You can easily create different layouts using a single quick page; turn around your quick page with one click for your next page(s) of your scrapbook with this software. You can also let your text follow a certain shape.

This is a postcard I had created with embellishments from the My Memories Suite scrapbooking software. I also gave this card a border in Microsoft Word.

I hope that you guys have saved the freebies from previous time; I had left the link to the Doorknob Hanger freebies open for you guys. I took some time off after my thesis presentation, that’s why I haven’t created any samples. This is a sample that I received from Liz.

Here’s the link to this week’s freebies: http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

If you are participating in my giveaway, you can also save these freebies if you like, in case you are the winner or if you are about to purchase this software later on. Kids love crowns, weather it is for a birthday party or just for being a prince or princess for a day. At Hindu weddings out here in Suriname, sometimes the aunts who bake grains and popcorn also get a crown and funny vegetable necklaces for fun. You can customize your crown with pictures or ages or however you like. Here’s a sample from Liz for you guys.

Check out my previous posts for more samples created with My Memories Suite scrapbooking software.

Hugs and best of luck everyone!

Sharda

Happy belated Mother’s Day!

2012-05-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

How’s everyone doing?
I am wishing all the creative moms, who visit my blog, a happy belated Mother’s Day! Moms, did you get any surprises? I am curious what my blog visitors got for their mom and/or how they made their mom’s day special? Do tell me in the comment section of this blog post about your Mother’s Day. I finally took some time off to do creative things with my Freebies, because it was Mother’s Day and I wanted to create something special for my mom. I have new Freebies for you this week. Here’s the link for everyone to download photobox Freebies: http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

This is what I had created with these Freebies for my mom; mom can place these photo boxes on her working table. The colors aren’t how they were supposed to be, because my dad’s printer is almost out of ink, but mom loved my gifts.

This is actually how the colors are supposed to look like; I received this sample from Liz.

Photobox Tutorial
1. Download template file and install it into your software. If you don’t have your My Memories Suite scrapbooking software yet, use my discount code STMMMS35043 for $10 off your purchase at http://www.mymemories.com/ . You will be paying only $29.97 with this code for this cool software plus you will receive a $10 coupon which comes with the software and you can download lots of free kits at http://www.mymemories.com/ which are replaced by new ones from time to time, so you will never get bored working with this software.

2. Double click on the icon of your My Memories Suite software and choose for the option ‘Create Album From Designer Template’. Choose a template and then click on ‘Next’, then again on ‘Next’ and then on ‘Finish’. So your album has opened now. Now click on ‘Insert’ from the Menu bar and then click on ‘Add Page...’. Choose for blank page. Now you have a blank page. Click on the ‘Embellishment’ tab, then click on ‘Add’. A window will open and you can type in ‘photobox’ in your search box and hit the Enter key. From here you can choose the elements you want to work with and apply it on your page. Click on the ‘Photo’ tab from your ‘Contol Panel’, then click on box, then double click on the box and insert your picture. You can right click and lock your photobox layout if you like to bring changes to your picture.

3. When you’re done creating your layout, print it out, fold it and glue it into a photo box and you’re done!!!

I also gifted mom a cuff bracelet with a locket, in which I had inserted my mom and dad’s picture.

I had packed my bracelet in a little gift bag with a flower card on it, which I had created with the Freebies from my previous posts. I think that my little bag with my flower card on it looks cute. I had attached the flower card with a stapler and then glued the circle on top of the staple.

What do you guys think of the gifts I have created for my mom with Freebies from My Memories Suite? You only have to fold and glue to create your own little bag, flower card and photo boxes. So don’t forget to save the Freebies if you don’t have time yet to create fun things with them.

I also had picked a flower for my mom from our garden.;)
At the moment, I am busy preparing for my test presentation of my thesis. If it goes well I can give a presentation for the big day. So I am very busy at the moment and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, because I still have to work on my report. Do pray for me that my presentations go well and wish me best of luck!;)

Happy scrapbooking day!

2012-05-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Today is National scrapbooking day in the U.S., so I have lots of surprises for you guys this week!!!

To start with I have cool freebies for you this week also. From now on all the freebies will be My Memories Suite Compatible, so you can download your freebies directly to your My Memories Suite software. If you don’t have the My Memories Suite software yet, you won’t be able to work with these freebies. I think that you probably already have purchased your My Memories Suite scrapbooking software by now; if you haven’t, do use my discount code STMMMS35043 for $10 off your purchase at www.mymemories.com. Software comes with a $10 coupon; so a $20 value in total!!! And Guess what? My Memories Suite was Featured on the Mother’s Day special for Lifetime Television Morning show * The Balancing Act *!!!

In conjunction with the appearance of My Memories Suite on *The Balancing Act* you can get a free 20 page Softcover 6 X 6 Photobook for FREE!!! (Free Photobook offer is only valid in the continental United States and you do need to pay $7.99 for shipping and handling).

Tip: Photobooks can be used as theme books such as a wedding, a family vacation, a special person in your life (Mother’s day is on it’s way, so maybe you could create a photobook about your mom as well) etc. You can use the templates that comes with the My Memories Software or you can choose from a template at MyMemories.com Design Shop.

Check out FREE Photobook for the details to get your free Photobook.

I think that you guys were anxiously waiting for your freebies. Didn’t get time to create samples for you guys for this week either, but I received pictures from Liz of her samples. So if you don’t have time to use these freebies yet, do save them, cause it’s Mother’s Day over a week. I’ll show you my samples hopefully next time.

Here’s the link for everyone to your flower card freebies: http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_3

Download template file and install it into your software
Using MyMemories Suite, choose Create Album From Designer Template and find your project
Now you can print and enjoy the provided template, or customize it with your own papers and embellishments.

Flower Card Tutorial

1. Print your card on card stock.

2. Take your card template page and fold at all fold lines. A bone folder helps make the creases neat and crisp to help your finished card to look nicer.

3. There should be a total of 9 folds when you are done.

4. Cut out your card.

5. Turn your card over so that the printed side is down and pinch the sides of each petal together until all 6 petals are standing straight up.

6. Gently push all the petals in one direction until they lay flat.

7. You now have a flower card.

8. Tie a ribbon (not included) or something equivalent around the card to hold it closed.

9. Embellish as desired. This card was embellished with a circle cut out from a piece of background paper.

For the final surprise visit www.mymemoriesblog.com and hop on a Blog Train!!! You will find more FREEBIES out there; you can also participate in their fun challenges for fun prizes to win.

See you guys next time for more wonderful FREEBIES!!!

Sharda

Gift bag freebies

2012-04-20T05:52:00.000-07:00

Hey creative visitors!

I have new freebies for you this week!!! I didn’t get time to create samples for you guys, but I received sample pictures from Liz from My Memories Suite, so I’m going to share her sample today. With these freebies you can create your own personalized little gift bag. Here’s the link for everyone to download these freebies: http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_1

These freebies can be used in any software!!! ;)

Here are the steps which Liz used for creating her little gift bag:

Open My Memories Suite software and choose your album size (Liz chose 8.5 x 11). Add the papers and elements that you wish to use to create your own printable project and when you’re finished, click: SHARE ALBUM  EXPORT PAGES and save as a .jpg. Print, cut, score, fold and use! Liz also added a little ribbon handle.;) Nice looking gift bag isn’t it? You can print out your gift bag layout over and over as many times as you need a gift bag and also personalize it every time the way you like.

XOXO and till next time!!!

Sharda

Extra freebies this week!

2012-03-23T04:27:00.003-07:00

Hey everyone!
I have something very special for you today! Guess what I have for you guys today...Candy Wrapper Freebies!!! I am pampering you guys with two sets of new freebies this week! These freebies can be used in any software, but I’m recommending the MMS software. If you don’t have this software yet, you can order it using my discount code STMMMS35043 ; you will get $10 off your MMS software purchase when you use this code at http://www.mymemories.com/ ! And remember, when you purchase your software using my code before the end of this month you will be eligible to receive a one year free RAKStar Membership worth $247.35!!! Isn’t that wonderful! Just mail me your receipt at ssewdien@yahoo.com for your free mega gift!;)
Here’s the link for everyone to download these freebies:
link to these freebies has expired; check out my newer posts for new freebies.
And here’s a sample I received from Liz.

You will definitely put a smile on your friend’s face by gifting a candy with a very special wrapping to him or her.

Here are the steps for you to create this candy wrapper:
• Open you’re My Memories Suite software and choose your album size (Liz has choosen 8.5 x 11” )
• Add the papers and elements you wish to use to create your own printable project
• Click ‘SHARE ALBUM --> EXPORT PAGES and save as a .jpg! The new .jpg papers you created are now usable as stand alone printable projects to use and reuse anytime!

Here’s the link to your second free gift: link to these freebies has expired; check out my newer posts for new freebies.
This is a sample I had created with these freebies. We had celebrated our granny’s 80th birthday on Saturday, so I had created an 80 with the ‘DesignsbyShelle_Cherished-BG6’ background and also had printed out ‘DesignsbyShelle_Cherished-FlowerDoodle’ freebie twice which I had cut out and stuck at the sides of the 80. I had stuck the 80 in the balcony of granny’s house, so everyone could see it.

Here are the steps for you to create your birthday cut-outs:

• Open your My Memories Suite software and choose your album size (I had choosen for an A4 format).
• Click on your ‘Embellishments’ button and then on your ‘Browse Other...’ tab and insert the flower.
• Right click on the icon of your page which you see at the bottom of your screen and choose for ‘Insert Duplicate Page Mirrored’. So now you have two pages with two flowers.
• Now insert another blank page and click on your ‘Word Art Designer’ tab, then click on the ‘Add’ tab and now you can type in your number. I had typed in 8. Click on your ‘Fill’ tab of your ‘Word Art Designer’ and choose for ‘image’. Then click on the ‘Change’ tab and use the background you like from your freebies. Click on the ‘Stroke’ tab and pick a color with your picker. I had chosen the color of my flower. You can do this by clicking on your ‘picker’ tab and then clicking on ‘previous page’ and choosing your color. As simple as that!

You guys have fun with your freebies! I’ll see you guys next time!

XOXO,

Sharda

Mega deal on purchasing your MMS software with my code!!!

2012-03-05T07:29:00.005-08:00

Hey everyone!
I’m back with a great offer for ya’ll!!!
Everyone who buys My Memories Suite Software using my discount code STMMMS35043 during the period February 24, 2012 – March 31, 2012 is eligible to receive a One Year RAKStar Membership for free!!! That’s a free HUGE Digital Scrapbooking kit every month – and it’s My Memories Suite compatible, so it’s like getting a free software content upgrade every month!!! Total one year value of $247.35; absolutely free with purchase of the MMS V3 software!!!

This is how it works: buy your My Memories Suite software by using my discount code and then e-mail me your receipt at ssewdien@yahoo.com .

Here’s the math for you:
$39.99 My Memories Suite Software
-$10.00 Using my promo code
----------------------------------------------
$29.99 Payment
+$10.00 in free merchandise
----------------------------------------------
+$19.95 RAKStar Membership each month
----------------------------------------------
=$29.95 Free Bonus!!!

Definitely an incredible deal for the best Digital Scrapbooking Software on this planet!

I also have freebies for everyone for this week!!! Here’s the link for everyone to download these freebies: link to these freebies has expired; check out the newer posts for new freebies.

These freebies can be used in any software. I’ve created a sample by using the embellishments of this pack and I’ve used the backgrounds for my WordArts. Great for creating your Holi postcards! The paint embellishments come with the MMS software and are from the pack ‘Building Blocks’.

Enjoy your Holi and wishing ya’ll a great day!!!

Sharda

New freebies and a new tutorial

2012-02-24T03:38:00.004-08:00

Hey everyone!
This week, I have a new tutorial for you guys. This tutorial is showcasing My Memories Suite V3 on How to Find Purchased Content in your software. You can see how easy this software is and how your software gets upgraded with each compatible kit. Don’t forget to use the discount code STMMMS35043 if you’re interested in purchasing this software at www.mymemories.com ; you will get a $10 discount by using this code!;)
Here’s the tutorial link for you: http://mymemories.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2db59f577e9668b002ca5c0af&id=3399e9a712&e=e016845246

I also have new freebies for everyone this week. These freebies can be used in any software! These freebies include two 4” x 6” Quick Pages, and all the papers and elements used in creating them. The Quick Pages and elements are .png files and the papers are .jpg format. My Memories Suite Templates are auto installed in the software, but these are for everyone, even if you don’t have a My Memories Suite software!!! You can do lots of wonderful things with these freebies: create smaller projects like postcards, photos for printing et cetera or add elements to a larger layout and use it as a photo mat!
Here’s the link for everyone to download these freebies: Sorry, link has expired; check out the newer posts for new freebies.

Just layer your photos behind the open box and add some text and you’re done! I’ve created a sample for you to see. I think that the designer forgot to create two open boxes in the Quick Page I’ve used; there’s only one open box, but you can layer your picture on top and then add the ric rac on top of the picture.

Don’t forget to participate in my My Memories Suite V3 software GIVEAWAY if you still haven’t participated yet. Check out my previous post for a chance to win Amazon’s #1 digital scrapbooking software.;)

Hugs and till next time!
Sharda

Valentine's GIVEAWAY

2012-02-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

February is a month of love and gifts, so I am also giving away a free gift filled with love to a lucky winner. I am inviting everyone to participate in my free International Valentine’s giveaway! You can win a My Memories Suite Version 3.0 software worth $39.97 which is sponsored by My Memories Suite!

So what can you do with this software?
You can easily create professional looking postcards, covers for your essays, scrapbooks, photo books or DVDs with your videos and/or pictures you have lying around or which are somewhere deeply stored and hardly looked at. Think of all the wonderful pictures you will be taking soon: baby showers, birthdays, weddings, vacations, graduations etc. Wouldn’t it be nice having them printed out like a professional book? You can also e-mail your created layouts to your family and friends or place it on your facebook page. Check out my beauty and fashion blog CREATIVE D-ZINE to see some more samples of layouts I’ve created with this software. You can also read my 1st My Memories Suite giveaway post out there to know some more about this software. The rules are very simple, so do try out your luck. You do need internet connection on your PC or Mac to download and install this software. I won’t leave anyone empty handed, cause if you haven’t won the software, you will receive a free pack containing 2 Quick Pages and all the papers and embellishment used in creating them. You will be able to use these Quick Pages in any software.;)

The rules for my My Memories Suite Version 3.0 software giveaway are:
• Follow this blog publicly via Google Friend Connect. If you already are a follower, you can skip this step.
• Go to http://www.mymemories.com/ and check out how many Page Elements the kit Luvbugs contains. (You can type in ‘Luvbugs’ in the search box to easily find this kit if you don’t see it. Click on the kit and you will find the descriptions of this kit. I’ve placed a picture of the Luvbugs pack below). Come back to my giveaway post and tell me in the comment section of this blogpost how many page elements the kit Luvbugs contains. Do leave your first name and e-mail along with your answer in the comment section so I can contact you.

Extra entries (+2) for people who have a blog and want to blog about this giveaway or want to place it on their sidebar. Do tell me in your comment if I have to count you in for extra entries.

Tips for people that have a bit of problem with the rules:
- If you don’t have a blog, you can use your Gmail account to follow my blog via Google Friend Connect. Simply sign in with your Gmail, open my blog and then click on the ‘Join this site’ tab on the side bar at the right. If you don’t have a Gmail, then you can sign up first.;)
- Simply click on ‘comments’ below (at the end of my Giveaway post), type in your comment in the blank comment box, and then click on ‘Publish comment’; as easy as that. When you are done you can sign out from Gmail if you prefer. If you don’t want your e-mail to be publicly visible, you can mail me your e-mail at ssewdien@yahoo.com , but you do need to place your first name and answer in the comment section of my blog to participate. If you have any questions at all you can send me an e-mail.

All the comments and entries will be publicly visible on my blog after the contest is closed, so there will be no cheating.;) Contest is open till the 29th of February 2012 12:00 AM EST.

Best of luck everyone!
Sharda

Valentine's freebies

2012-02-04T10:05:00.002-08:00

Hi everyone!
I’m back with this week’s new freebies!
Here’s the link for everyone to download these freebies: the link for these freebies has expired; check the newer posts for new freebies
Barbara Eastwick has a tutorial for you on how you can create Valentine’s Cards for your child’s class with these freebies HERE's.

The My Memories Suite software is so easy that even your child can create his/her own Valentine’s Cards. And remember, you can use my discount code STMMMS35043 to purchase your software.
Here are some advantages of purchasing the My Memories Suite Version 3 software:
• The cool thing is that with the discount code you will be the owner of this software for only $29.97!!!
• You will receive a $10 coupon, which comes with the software. With this coupon you can choose a kit for free at http://www.mymemories.com/ when the kit costs $10 or less. When you purchase something that’s over $10, it’s minus $10 off your purchase!
• You can download lots of kits at http://www.mymemories.com/ for free!!! The free kits at http://www.mymemories.com/ are available for a limited time and are replaced by other new kits. So you will never get bored working with this software, cause you will always have new items to work with, which are absolutely free!!!

You can create your Valentine’s card within a minute or two with this software. I have created a Valentine’s card and I’ve used items from the MMS software, the Cherished Wedding Pack and from the free kit Loved Ones Extras which I had downloaded from http://www.mymemories.com/ .

Here are the steps for creating this card:
• Open a blank page in MMS.
• Place a background by using the Background Papers tab on your Control Panel: Background Papers --> Purchased --> Weddings --> white petals --> OK
• Place some embellishments on your background: Embellishments --> Add --> Purchased --> Love --> Loved Ones Extras --> 2HeartsShdw --> Apply --> Weddings --> Cherished Wedding Pack --> Tags --> 4ever tag --> Apply --> Love --> Side by Side --> Perfect Couple --> Apply --> Close. So you now have all the embellishments on your page. Arrange the embellishments the way you like, make them a bit bigger or smaller if you like and you’re done!

You can use another background and/or embellishments to create your own unique Valentine’s card. Print out your card or save it for sharing through mail, fb etc. If you use packs which are created by StoryRock you could even sell your created card.;) Packs/kits sold at http://www.mymemories.com/ which are not created by StoryRock have their own policies, so if you use packs created by other parties, you will have to find out yourself if you are allowed to sell your created cards.

That’s it for today’s post! Do come back next week, cuase February is a month filled with love and I have something very special for you!!!

Sharda

This week's freebies and questions for you

2012-01-20T22:55:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
It’s a New Year and a new time to renew, so I am going to ask you guys some questions.
Question 1: What do you guys like about my blog?
Question 2: What would you like to see more of on my blog?

These are this week’s freebies for everyone, but you have to participate in this week’s scavenger hunt in order to find and download them!;) Have fun finding them! (Hint: On which blog post is the link for this week’s freebies?)

Here’s a layout I created with this week’s freebies. I encourage everyone visiting my blog to try these freebies out! These are fast and fun, and a great way to embellish your photos. If you think that you can’t scrapbook, think again! With these free Quick Pages it is easy to just layer your pictures behind the page. Add a little journaling or extra embellishments if you wish and you’re ready for printing or saving for the web! If you need some help, please check my previous posts for tutorials.

I am getting lots of visitors on my blog, but not many people follow me out here. I would love having more followers out here, so please be a follower on my blog! Wishing you guys a wonderful day!!!

Sharda

Tutorial 6: How to create your own calendar

2012-01-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

I have a New Year’s gift for you guys this time! Everyone visiting my blog gets a special Quick Page. Don’t forget to unzip your Quick Page when saving it. This freebie can be used in any software.
Here’s the link for everyone to download this freebie:
Sorry, link has expired. Check out my newest post for new freebies.
Repaste this link in your browser, because it doesn't seem to open from my blog. A download window will open from where you can download this freebie.

You can add a picture with some text on this layout, then print your layout out and insert it in a blank 11 x 8.5” album. Follow my previous tutorial if you need help creating your album. It’s also possible to let the creator print and bind the perfect album for you in this size!!!

This is a finished sample from Liz Gardner from My Memories Suite.

What I am going to do today is, I’m going to show you guys how you can create your own calendar using this Quick Page. So start by opening your My Memories Suite Software. Choose the option ‘Create Album From Designer Template’. Now choose for an 11 x 8.5” album. I am just going to pick a Casual template. Click on ‘Next’. We only need one page, so delete the rest of the pages by holding your control key in and selecting all the pages leaving just one; press the remove button when you’ve selected the pages.

Your pages have been removed, leaving only one page. Click on ‘Next’.

The ‘Pick and Click’ option is selected, so click on ‘Next’. You can change your album location and name if you want; I’m just going to leave it the way it is and I’m going to click on ‘Finish’.

My album with only one page has opened.

We don’t need the photo and text boxes, so select all the photo and text boxes, right click and choose for the option ‘Delete’. You can select the boxes one by one or you can use a window selection to delete all the items on your page. The window selection is done this way: place you arrow cursor at the upper right of your page, then hold your mouse in and draw a window to the bottom left of your page. The opposite can also be done to select all the items; this mean drawing a window from the upper left corner to the bottom right corner. All the items are now selected, so right click to delete them.

Now we have a completely blank page.

Now click on ‘Embellishments’à ‘Add’à ‘Browse other…’ and then go to the file where you have saved your Quick Page. Select the Quick Page and then click on ‘OK’ and then on ‘Close’.

We now have our Quick Page inserted on our blank page.

I’m going to add a calendar grid which I had downloaded from the free kits at http://www.mymemories.com/ . You can download it, if you haven’t done it yet, but you can also skip this step if you want. Go to ‘Embellishments’ and insert one of the calendar grids. My grids are too big, so I’m going to make it smaller. Simply drag the grids to the left or right so you can see the handles and make it smaller with the handles.

My Grids now have the width of the window on my layout.

Now click on the ‘Calendars’ tab on your Control Panel, then click on the ‘Add Month’ button. January 2012 appears automatically and you have your calendar on your page. I haven’t selected the ‘Lines’ function, because I already have grids. If you aren’t using grids you an also select ‘Lines’ to have lines between the dates.

We need to move the calendar onto the grids and make it a bit bigger with the handles. Stretch it a bit out to get the dates on the grids. Use the ‘Lock Object’ function to select the grids if needed.

Now right click and send the grids to the back. My dates are on the embellishments of my QP which doesn’t look nice, so I’m going to stretch in the grids and the calendar dates a little bit. If you make a mistake, you can simply click on the ‘Undo’ button.

I’m going to place a background for the window area of my layout. I’m doing this by using a ribbon. Click on ‘Embellishments’ à ‘Add’ à ‘Ribbons’ à ‘Plain Ribbon’ and then choose for the color ‘Bubblegum’ and then click on ‘Apply’ and then on ‘Close’.

We now have a ribbon on our page. Stretch it in and out and make it big enough to get the white area covered. Right click and send it to the back.

We now only need to personalize our layout a little bit. I’m going to add a picture of me and my cousins and nephew and some text and Word Art. The 2012 buttons are embellishments from the ‘Heritage Pack’; it costs only $0.99 at http://www.mymemories.com/; you can also use a Word Art or Text if you prefer. I’m going to show you some other time how you can let your text follow a shape.

I’m going to do one last thing; I’m going to change the font of my calendar dates. Double click on your calendar dates; you will get a ‘Calendar Settings’ window. You can change your font, size, color and opacity of your header, lines and number. I’m only going to change the size of my header and numbers. The two Style buttons are for Bold (1^st button) and Italic (2^nd button). You may need to move the calendar dates a little bit.

Tada!!! This is my January Calendar page!

For your February page, right click on your thumbnail of your January page and choose for the option ‘Insert Duplicate Page’. So now you have a duplicated page. Change your text, Word Art and Picture. You can change the calendar dates by selecting the January calendar dates and changing the month on your Calendar tab on your Control Panel into February; your have your February calendar page ready in just one click.;) Here’s my February page!!! You guys complete the other pages in the same way.;) The pictures out here on my blog are not that clear because I have to resize them to be able to place it out here, but the picture quality actually is very good when you print it out and of course that’s the case when your picture itself is of good quality.;)

I think that you definitely want one of your own created calendars now, if you haven’t purchased this software yet. You can get a $10 discount using the code STMMMS35043 to purchase your My Memories Suite Version 3 software.;) If there are any questions you can place them on the comment section of this blog post. This week’s Quick Page was created with the content from my giveaway freebies, which I am giving away next week, so leave your name or nickname together with your e-mail address in the comment section if you want to participate in next week’s Quick Pages giveaway!

Love you guys,
Sharda

Tutorial5: How to work with your freebies in MMS

2011-12-30T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
How are you guys doing? And how had your Christmas been? Not every day is a day of sunshine; but I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas. In the daytime at Christmas, a car had landed upside down in the canal not far from our house, because it was in a very high speed. Good thing that my neighbor immediately jumped in the water and broke the car window to rescue the victims; they were unharmed. So be careful in the traffic everyone and save your life and those of others. At night on Christmas we had a lot of guests, yummy food, fireworks, and lots of fun.;)
I had already placed a tutorial out here about how you can work with your freebies in Microsoft Word. Today I’m placing a tutorial which teaches you to work with your freebies in My Memories Suite. If you haven’t purchased your software, you can use the discount code STMMMS35043 to purchase your software. You will be paying $29.97 instead of $39.97 with this code for your MMS version3 software. Software also comes with a $10 coupon, so a total of $20 in savings for you guys! With this coupon you can choose a free kit or some other product at www.MyMemories.com. If you choose a kit that’s $10 or less, it’s totally free for you with the $10 coupon!!!
No one has participated in this week’s giveaway, so the freebies stay with me. I am going to work with this week’s giveaway freebies. You can work with the freebies from previous week; scroll down to my previous post to download your freebies if you haven’t done it yet. Download the freebies and unzip it. Open an album and click on ‘Insert’ from your Menu bar, then click on ‘Add Page’ and choose for the option ‘Blank Page’ and then click on ‘OK’.

So you now have a blank page.

Now click on ‘Embellishments’ from your Control Panel, then on ‘Add’. You will get a ‘Choose Embellishment’ window; click on ‘Brows Other…’.

Now open the file where you have saved your freebies, then click on one of the Quick Pages that you want to work with and then click on ‘OK’ and then on ‘Close’.

I now have my Quick Page inserted on my blank page.

What we are going to do now, is to insert pictures. I’m going to use firework pictures that my brother and cousin had fired at Christmas. So click on ‘Photos’ on your Control Panel, then click on ‘Box’; a picture box will appear on your page where you can insert your picture. I am going to change the shape of the picture box, so click on ‘Shape’ from your Photos tab and choose for a ‘Circle/Oval’ shape and then click on ‘OK’.

The picture of your picture box has now changed to a circle shape. Move the picture box to the place where you want it to be and make it smaller if necessary. If you are working with the quick pages from the previous post, choose for a ‘Rounded Corner’ shape for your photo box.

We need two more photo boxes for this layout. We can simply copy the photo box we already have by clicking on the ‘Copy selected object’ button and then clicking on the ‘Paste copied or cut object’ button twice. Move your copied photo boxes to its place.

Now double click on one of the picture boxes to add your pictures; you can edit your pictures the way you want. Do the same for the other picture boxes. You can use the Zoom function if you want one particular part of your picture to be shown. The zoom function is also very handy for if you have a group picture and you want only one person to be shown on your layout. Double click on the picture to get the position of your picture right.

Now we are going to add text to our layout. Click on ‘Text’ on your Control Panel. Then click on ‘Add’; a text box will appear on your layout. Move your text box to its place and make the textbox bigger or smaller if necessary and then type in your text. To move your text box simply click on some other object and then select your text box to move it. Double click in the box to add/edit your text. I’ve chosen for a centered alignment for my text and I’ve used picker for a matching text color. You can change your font, size, etc. the way you like.

One final step I forgot to do; right click on one of your pictures and choose for the option ‘Send to Back’. Do the same with your other pictures. If you want to edit your picture after sending it back simply select your layout, then right click and choose for the ‘Lock Object’ option, now you can select your pictures and edit it the way you want. Right click on the Quick Page again to unlock your Quick Page. I’ve zoomed the first picture a little bit in. When you don’t lock your object, you will only be able to edit your pictures by sending your Quick Page to the back. When you have lots of objects on your layout the lock function is handier, cause with the send back or forward function a lot of objects can get out of place which will cost you much more time to edit your layout. We’re done now; that was as easy as 1-2-3!!!

You can export your layout to a JPEG image and share it online with your family or friends or print it out.

Wishing you a prosperous and happy New Year everyone!!! And be careful with the fireworks.
Sharda

Tutorial 4: How to create a layout for your envelope

2011-12-25T06:19:00.000-08:00

I’m back with a new tutorial and today I’m going to show you how you can create your own envelope. You can open your album in MMS in which your had created your Christmas postcard and we are going to create a layout for the front of our envelope.

Method 1 for creating a layout for your envelope in MMS

If you are not planning on using the layout of the back of your postcard, you can simply make some changes on the layout you already had created. If you are planning to use your layout again, there are two options from which you can choose. Option no.1 is to right click on the thumbnail of your layout for the back and then click on ‘Insert Duplicate Page’. So we are now going to make a little bit of changes on the layout we had already created. If you hadn’t created a layout for the back of your postcard scroll down and try method 2.

Drag your embellishment(s) to the side of your layout to create some space for typing the addressee’s name. You can make your embellishment(s) bigger or smaller with the handles of your embellishment if you like. Now drag your text somewhere in the middle. Delete the text by selecting the text box, then clicking on the text; you will see a cursor. Place the cursor at the end of your text and backspace it. Your text is now deleted and you can type in the recipient’s address now. You can also make some changes to the font if you like.

The Curlz MT is to curly; I’m afraid that the postman won’t be able to read the address easily, so I’m going to change the font back to ‘Times New Roman’. Simply select the whole text and then choose for another font. You’re now done creating a layout for your envelope! Sorry, I’ve blurred the address I had typed, cause I don’t want the address to be seen on my blog.

Method 2 for creating a layout for your envelope in MMS

The second option for creating a layout for your envelope is to click on ‘Insert’ on your Menu bar and then click on ‘Add Page’, ‘Blank Page’ and then on ‘OK’; this way you’ll have a blank page in which you can add your embellishment(s) and/or text. Start by inserting an embellishment or embellishments which you had used for creating your postcard.

The second step is to click on ‘Text’ from your Control Panel and then click on ‘Add’. You will see a text box on your page which you can make bigger or smaller with the handles of your text box. Choose for a font, size etc. and type the address of the recipient. That’s it; done in a jiffy!

How to draw the shape of your envelope in Microsoft Word

Now it’s time to draw the shape of our envelope; this way it’s easier to cut out the shape. You can print out the layout which you had created in MMS and then draw the shape with a pencil or you can also draw the shape on your pc or Mac using a software; MMS can also be used for this task. I’ve worked with Microsoft Word to draw the shape of my envelope, cuase I had printed out my layout in Microsoft Word. So open your previously saved file in Microsoft Word.

We are going to insert two more lines at the top and bottom and then we are going to delete the pictures.

I’m going to move my rectangle a little bit downwards by selecting all the lines. First select one line, then hold your control key down and select the other lines. Now move your rectangle with your downward (↓) key.

Move the line at the top of your rectangle a little bit upward; I’ve hit 3 times on my upwards key (↑). Now move the line on the right of your rectangle also by using the rightwards key (→). Close the rectangle by pulling a little bit on the lines. We’re doing this cause we need a little bit extra space for the card. If you have stuck embellishments on your postcard that needs some more envelope space, just move the lines a little bit more. Now you can draw the wings of your postcard by inserting lines.

You can select the lines and use ‘Copy’ ‘Paste’ to get exact lines of the same lengths for your wings. You can now also insert your layout that you had created in MMS.

When you’re done drawing your wings, move the line at the bottom of the rectangle a little bit upward to create some space for the recipient to be able to easily get your postcard out of the envelope.

Make the vertical lines a little bit shorter, so all the lines are closed now.

We are now going to round the corners of the wings a little bit by inserting arcs at the corners.

Delete the line at the top of the rectangle and make the lines on the left and right of your rectangle a little bit shorter, so this way you won’t see the lines when your are done creating your envelope.

You are now ready to print out your envelope!

Cut out the shape of your envelope.

Fold up your envelope.

Glue the right and left wing and then you’re done!!! My camera lens was dirty; sorry about that.

Wishing you guys a merry X-mas!!! And I have a Christmas gift for everyone! You guys are getting 2 Quick Pages, and all of the papers and elements used in creating them. The elements and Quick Pages are .png and the papers are .jpg format. They can be used in any software. Here’s the link for everyone to download these Simply Adorable freebies: http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_2

Here’s an image of how your free gift looks like. If you want more Quick Pages just leave your name and e-mail in the comment section of this post to participate in next week’s giveaway!

And remember, everyone can use the coupon code STMMMS35043 to purchase the My Memories Suite Version 3 software; you will get a $10 discount by using this code. It’s still not late to create your Christmas postcard if you don’t need the postman to deliver it.;) But even when your postcard arrives a bit late, the recipients will be happy that he/she still received something from you.You can also use this software to create your own unique calendar for the New Year!

XOXO
Sharda

How to print out your MMS layouts if you don’t have a printer of your own

2011-12-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
How are you guys doing?
I’m good; just pampered my feet in a hot tub. It’s good for your body as well as for your soul to pamper yourself now and then.;)

Today I’m going to share my printed postcard with you guys. I don’t have a printer of my own, so I had placed my exported JPEG images which I had created with my My Memories Suite close to each other in Microsoft Word to print it out.

First I had inserted my JPEG images by right clicking on the thumbnail of my JPEG image and then clicking on ‘Paste’ in Microsoft Word. I had created another layout for the back of my postcard in MMS. So when you insert your layouts in Microsoft Word they will be on two pages. I’m going to place them on one page. So how do you do that?

First start by changing your page layout. Click on ‘Page Layout’ and choose for ‘Narrow Margins’.

Now I’m going to make my images smaller. First select your picture, then click on ‘Picture Tools’. Now you can change the size of your picture.

I’m gong to change the height and width of my picture into 4.84”, but you can also choose some other value if you like. So type in the value; I’m typing 4.84” for the height and width and then I’m hitting the ‘Enter’ key.

Select the other picture if you have also created a back in MMS. I’ve added a deer embellishment and a Text ‘Created by Sharda Sewdien’ for the layout of the back. If you haven’t created a back for your postcard, you can also leave a piece of white area and cut out the white area as your back after printing out your layout. So now I have both my layouts on one page.

Select the pictures one by one and and choose for the option ‘Rotate Right 90˚’ from your Format menu.

You could actually also have choosen for a landscape orientation; this way you wouldn’t have to rotate the pictures. There are lots of ways to get the job done.

When you only have one layout, you can place your layout somewhere below on your page and print it out and your done after cutting out your layout! When you also have a layout for the back of your postcard, we are going to continue. So when you’ve rotated your pictures, give it a borderline by selecting a picture border color; this way you will be able to view the borders of your layout.

You can now see that there’s a space between the two layouts. So what we are going to do is, we are going to select the second layout and then we are going to give it a Text Wrapping; click on ‘Behind Text’.

Now you can place the two layouts close to each other without any space; use your arrow key ‘↑’ to get the layout a bit up.

Now choose for ‘No outline’ cause you don’t want to see the line between the two layouts and then insert a line shape instead at the top and bottom of your postcard, this way you’ll know where you should be cutting your postcard.

To insert a line, go to ‘Insert’, ‘Shapes’, then click on ‘Line’ and draw your line by holding your mouse in. Now you can print out your postcard.

This is the front cover of my postcard.

The back of my postcard.

You can also decorate the inside of your postcard if you like. There are endless ways from which you can choose to decorate your postcard. You could for example also have created another layout for the inside or you could use cut-outs and or other decoration items. As a little girl I would love cutting out shapes and pictures from magazines and decorating my diary with them. I’ve chosen for this option this time to decorate the inside, cause I love reusing materials. You could also try this out when it’s for personal use. I’ve cut out a light-up penguin pal from the inside of an Avon brochure cover which isn’t valid anymore and I’ve glued it on the inside of my postcard. I’ve also stuck some glitter stickers on the side of the penguin and I glued a piece of red lace on the other side. This is how the inside of my postcard looks like.

The only thing missing is a handwritten message and I can do it in the post. I also have created my own envelope; maybe I’ll explain next time how I created my envelope.

I have something special for you guys this week! Everyone visiting my blog gets a free gift. You can download your full of spunk quick pages from this link: Sorry, link has expired. Check out my newest post for new freebies. . You have the time till Tuesday to download your free gift. Have fun creating your layouts with them!!!

I’m going to polish my nails now.

Till next week,
XOXO

Tutorial 3: How to place extra pictures and Word Art on your designer templates and how to export your layouts to a JPEG file

2011-12-10T05:52:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
How are u guys doing? I’m doing pretty good.

I’m going to start with my third tutorial in My Memories Suite V3. So you have to open your album that you had saved previously to follow along. I’m going to highlight the important steps. So if you find my posts too long just follow the highlights along with the pictures, cause this software really is as easy as walking.;)

So my album has opened.

We are going to work on the second page. So click on the thumbnail of the second page on the bar at the bottom. I am going to zoom this page out to 50%, so you can see the whole page.

There are no photo boxes to be seen on this layout, but I want to add a picture. What I am going to do is, I am going to click on Photos from the ‘Control Panel’. You can also click on the ‘Photos’ tab from your ‘Resource Gallery’ if you wish, this way you will have a better view of your pictures. So now your have two options: ‘Add’ and ‘Box’. When you add your photo with the ‘Add’ option you won’t have an option to replace your picture with another picture when you want to reuse your created layout. I am going to pick the option Box. When you want to replace your picture with another picture just right click and choose for the option delete; your picture will be deleted, but the picture box will still be there, so you can easily add another picture in the same box format. When you’ve clicked on ‘Box’ you will get a grey box with a lady on it saying ‘YOUR PHOTO HERE’.

Double click on the box and insert your picture the way I had explained in the first MMS tutorial. So now I have my picture inserted in my picture box, but it’s cropped.

I am going to change the crop area by double clicking on the picture.

Just push or pull the arrow corner and move and position the bright area the way you want.

Click on OK when you’re done. This is what I got.

I’m going to hide my ‘Resource Gallery’ so you can get a better view. So I’m going to stretch my picture out a little bit, I’m going to move it where I want it to be and then I’m going to give it a mat by clicking on ‘Mat’. You will get a Mat Properties Window. From here you can choose your Mat Size and Color. You can also decide weather you want to choose this mat for this page or for the whole album if you are going to place more pictures.

I am going to choose for Size 2 and I’m going to click on Change Color. You will now get a Mat Color window. Click on the Picker tab. With the Picker you can choose a color from your page. I’m going to hover over the text HOLIDAY and click on the black color. Then click on OK and then again on OK.

You now have a mat for your picture. I am going to make the picture a little bit smaller, cause it’s on the line and then I’m going to move it a little bit.

I don’t have a personal printer so I am going to use my dad’s laptop and printer to print this out in Microsoft Word. So I am going to make my trim area inactive, cause I am not going to print it from the My Memories Suite software this time. But when you guys are going to print it out from your pc or mac, leave the trim area as it is and don’t place text and embellishments that you want to be shown on this area. I am going to zoom out my page, so you can read what’s written on the right. You can add your text here, but I am going to add an embellishment and Word Arts here, so I’m going to remove this text area completely. If you guys want to add journaling, a poem etc. you can also do that.

So I’m going to select the text area, then right click to delete. I am going to add some embellishments. You guys can also do that and pick any embellishment you like and add them the way I had explained in my previous tutorial. I am going to pick embellishments from a ‘Gift for You’ which I also had used in my previous tutorial. I am also going to pick the Word Art embellishment from this pack. Here I have them!

So I’m now going to add a Word Art. Click on Word Art Designer and then click on Add. You will get a ‘Word Art’ area on your page. Enter your text in the white box where there’s written Enter Word Art text below. You can change your Font, Size, Line Spacing, Style, Opacity, Color etc. if you like. Move your Word Art to the right place and you can stretch it in or out if you wish. You can’t place two fonts in one Word Art box, so you have to add another Word Art for this. I’ve chosen the Fonts Lucida Calligraphy and Tahoma one by one for my Word Arts and I’ve clicked on the Bold tab, to make the text normal. The fill is Gradient, so I’ve changed my fill into a Solid Fill and picked a matching color with the Picker. I’ve right clicked on the text & A HAPPY 2012!!! and chose for the option Bring to Front, to get the other Word Art below. This is what I got.

One final thing I have to do with my layout; I am going to bring the embellishment that’s behind the cat to the front. Click on the embellishment and choose for the option Bring to Front.

Now you can print your layout or you can make a JPEG File from your layout and place it on Facebook or mail it to your friends etc. I’ll show you how to export your layout to a JPEG file. Click on Share Album from your Control Panel, then choose for the option Export Pages.

You will get ‘Do you want to save your changes to this album?’; Click on ‘Yes’, cause I hadn’t saved the changes of my album yet. You will get a ‘Photo Export Wizard’ window.

Now click on the Change Pages tab. I want to export my second page only so I’m going to click on the Clear All tab and then I’m going to select the second page. If your want to export your 1^st page as well, you can select both pages and then I am going to click on OK. When you’re back at your ‘Photo Export Wizard’ window, click on Finish.

So now your file has been exported to a JPEG image type. My output location is on my C drive in ‘My Documents’, so that is where I will find my exported file. When it’s exported, you will get a message that your album pages have been successfully written. Klik on ‘OK’.

This is my JPEG image.

I haven’t taken pictures of my postcard yet, so I am going to show you my postcard in my next post. Today I’m sharing a layout with you guys that I had created previous week with the giveaway pack that no one wanted.:) The bird, flowers and vail are embellishments from the ‘Cherished Wedding Pack’, which you can find at http://www.mymemories.com/ for $6.99.

So see you guys next week!
Sharda

Tutorial 2: How to insert embellishments into your album

2011-11-29T14:23:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

I’m back! Well, the special news is, as some of you may know, that a newer version of My Memories Suite has arrived! In version 3, you will find everything you received in version 2 plus lots more album templates, papers, embellishments etc., so you can choose from thousands of items to work with and to create something unique and of your own. On the control panel you will find two new tabs: the ‘Imprints’ tab and the ‘Calendars’ tab.
Use my discount code: STMMMS35043 to get your discount on this software!!!
I’m going to continue with my previous tutorial. So you have to open your My Memories Suite software by double clicking on the MMS icon or by clicking on ‘start’ and then clicking on ‘My Memories Suite’. It may take a moment for your MMS program to open.

Your ‘New Album Options’ window will open, and because I’m going to work further with the album I was working on previously, I’m going to click on the thumbnail of my Jingle Bell album which is one of my five ‘Recent Albums’.

So now your album has opened.

You can zoom in or out to get a better look at your page or page elements. I’m going to click twice on the '-' tab to zoom my page out to 50%.You can also click on the Caron sign 'ˇ' next to the zoom percentage to choose a zoom option.

The left corner of my page looks a bit empty, so I want to add an embellishment to this corner. There are two options how you can add your embellishment: you can click on the ‘Embellishments’ tab from your ‘Control Panel’ on the right of your screen or you can click on the embellishments tab (the flower) from your ‘Resource Gallery’ on the left of your screen. I’m going to start by clicking on my ‘Embellishments’ tab from my ‘Control Panel’ to show you how it’s done from here. Your embellishment options will open up when you click on your ‘Embellishments’ tab. Click on ‘Add’.

You will now get your ‘Choose Embellishment’ window from where you can choose an embellishment. What you see on the left of this window is that all the embellishments are categorized, so this way it’s easy to find an embellishment.

I’m going to click on the ‘+’ of my purchased items. I can now choose from the items that are again categorized. I want a Christmas embellishment, so I’m going to click on the ‘+’ tab of ‘Christmas’, which is once again categorized. I’m going to choose for ‘A Gift for You’, which comes with the My Memories Suite V3 software. I love playing with embellishments and imprints. I’ll talk some other time about the imprints. So now I’m going to click on ‘Deer’ next, and I can now choose from three deers. I’m going to click on ‘Deer 2’ of the ‘Preview’ and then click on ‘Apply’ and then on ‘Close’.

I now have my chosen deer on my page, but it’s not where I want it to be. So I’m going to drag it to the place I want it to be with my mouse held in.

At the right on the ‘Control Panel’, you see all the options for your embellishment. You can give your embellishment a ‘Shadow’, ‘Mirror’ it, ‘Flip’ it, ‘Rotate’ it or change your ‘Opacity’. What I am about to do is to mirror my embellishment and change the opacity to make it matching with the grey on my page. To mirror it, simply click on the ‘Mirror’ tab, and to change the ‘Opacity’ value scroll to the left or type your opacity value and hit your ‘Enter’ key. I’m changing my opacity to 40. You can drag your embellishment again to have it exactly where you want it to be if you’re not satisfied. This is what I got.

You can click on your ‘Embellishments’ tab on your ‘Control Panel’ to hide all the options if you want to work with some other tab.

When you click on the embellishments tab from your ‘Resource Gallery’, you will get a better and bigger view of the embellishments. I recently worked with deer, that’s why I will get a view of all the deers. If I want to place another deer, I can double click on the image of the embellishment to get it on my page. By clicking on the ‘Select Category’ tab, you will find all the categories from which you can choose in the same way as from your control panel.

I can hide my ‘Resource Gallery’ to get a better view of my page by clicking on the left-pointing double angle quotation ‘«’

What you also may have noticed is that the borders of your page are grey; this is the area that will be cropped when you print your album, so keep in mind that you don’t place embellishments and text that you want to be shown, in this area. When you are going to export you album to a JPEG file for example, and are not intending to print it out, you can place your text, embellishment(s) or imprint(s) in this area, cause they will appear normally on your JPEG file. If you don’t want the crop area to be shown, click on ‘View’, then go to ‘Guides’ and click on ‘Trim area-large photo album’ which is active, to make it inactive. So now you don’t see the grey border. If you are to print your album it’s better to leave the grey area or make your trim area active if it’s inactive.

That’s it for today’s tutorial!

This is something I had created with the pack from previous week. The green background is actually from this week’s giveaway pack. Featuring on the picture are Indian actor Gurmeet Choudhary and his wife, and the quote in hindi is from the Indian actress Priyanka Chopra.:D The quote says: “Don’t look at how many moments there are left in one’s life, but look at how much life there is in each moment”.

As no one has participated in this week’s giveaway, this pack is completely mine!!! I really love this pack!

I will be offering scrapbooking Freebies regularly, so you can start with your album for photo books, printing or online viewing by using them!

Do leave your name and e-mail in the comment section of this blog post for a chance to win the next set of Quick Pages next week!

Hugs and kisses,
Sharda

Tutorial1: How to add pictures to your designer template

2011-11-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
I’m back with my first My Memories Suite tutorial. Follow my step by step instructions if you have purchased your software recently and you need some guidance to work with this software. If you still haven’t purchased this software you can always use my coupon code STMMMS35043 to get a $10 discount. Software also comes with a $10 coupon for downloads-a total value of $20! Just copy and paste the code to avoid typos when using it.

You can open your My Memories Suite Program by double clicking on your My Memories Suite icon or by clicking on ‘Start’ and then on ‘My Memories Suite’. Your ‘New Album Options’ window will open.

You now have two options from which you can pick; you can create an album with a designer template or you can build your own album. What you see at the bottom of this window are thumbnails of my recent albums. When you want to continue with your album some other time, you can easily click on the album you were working on to pursue further with your work. I’m going to work with a designer template today, so click on ‘Create Album From Designer Template’. A ‘Choose Designer Template’ window will open up now.

So now you have to choose a designer template. You can see how the designer templates look like on the picture at the right corner below. What you see on the picture above is how the template ‘A Day in the Life’ looks like. What you also may have noticed is that all templates come with a name, a theme, a size and the amount of pages they contain. The templates come in 8½" x 11" and 12" x 12" sizes, but you can convert them into other sizes. ‘A day in the Life’ contains 7 pages, so when you have more pictures, the 7 pages will repeat itself when you choose for the ‘Fast Fill’ option. Christmas is not far away, so I’m now going to choose for the ‘Holiday Simplicity’ template.

This template has the theme ‘Christmas’, it has a size of 12" x 12" and it contains 7 pages. So now click on ‘Next’. You will get a ‘Custom Page Arrangement’ window.

You can now remove, add, and/or place your pages in the order you like. To arrange the pages in a different way, simply drag the thumbnail images of your pages to the place where you want your pages in the ‘Page Arrangement’ bar. If you want to place some more pages, drag the thumbnails you want from the ‘Available Template Pages’ bar to the ‘Page Arrangement’ bar below. If you want to remove some pages, click on the thumbnail on the ‘Page Arrangement’ bar, which you want to remove and then click on ‘Remove’. If you want to remove more then one page, hold your control key in and select those thumbnails and then click on ‘Remove’. I’m going to remove the 3^rd and the 5^th page and I’m going to add the last page as my third page now.

I now have 6 pages, but you can add as many pages as you like.

Now click on ‘Next’ when you’re done adding and removing your pages. You will now get a ‘Select Photos’ window from which your can choose from two options: ‘Pick and Click’ and ‘Fast Fill’. You can choose for the ‘Fast Fill’ option when you have lots of pictures and the order of the pictures isn’t important. For example, when you want the hundreds of pictures that you had taken on your campus trip quickly put together in an album, this is a great option. I’m going to work with the ‘Pick and Click’ option today.

Click on ‘Next’ if you have selected your option. You will now get a ‘Name Album’ window.

You can now change your Album Name and location if you like. I’m going to name my album ‘Jingle Bell’. And the next step is to click on ‘Finish’.

You now have your album opened in your ‘My Memories Suite’ software. This is the page that you will get.

At the left you have your ‘Resource Gallery’ and at the right you have your ‘Control Panel’. I’ll talk about these two in my second tutorial. You can see all the thumbnails of your pages in the bar at the bottom, so if you want to go to your second page, simply click on the thumbnail of your second page to view this page. You can also delete or drag your thumbnails in this bar. I’m going to keep it short this time; I’ll show you how you can add pictures to these templates. To add a picture, double click on the dark square area that you see. You will get an ‘Add Photo’ window now.

Go to the file where you have saved or stored your picture, then select your picture and then click on ‘OK’. You can choose from selecting the name of your picture or clicking on the thumbnail image on the right. I’ve chosen to click on my thumbnail image on the right. I hadn’t placed any pictures of our cat Kido out here for quite some time.:)

Now, I have my picture in the picture frame of my template.

You can select the area that you want to be shown in the picture frame by double clicking on the picture. You will get your ‘Crop Photo’ window now.

So I’m just going to drag the bright area a little bit to the left. Click on ‘OK’ when you’re done.

So this is what I finally got.

That’s it for today’s tutorial. You can fill the other pages with your pictures if you like. Click on ‘File’ and then on ‘Save’ to save your work.

What do you guys think of this week’s Quick Pages?

Here’s the link for everyone to download these Quick Pages for free: Sorry, link has expired. Check out my newest post for new freebies.

I have great news this week; My Memories Suite is giving away an iPad 2 to a lucky winner very soon!!!

Do participate in this great giveaway of My Memories Suite. The only thing that you have to do is to like and share their page on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/MyMemories/140359372717593 . You can find the details at http://www.mymemoriesblog.com/2011/09/so-make-sure-you-check-out-mymemories.html . At the moment, they’re on 9,740 followers on Facebook, so be fast before they reach the 10,000!!! I would love it if not me, one of my followers would win this very cool giveaway.;) Nobody loses, cause you can download a Christmas kit for free on their Facebook page, just for liking their page.;)

I’m giving away another set of Quick Pages to some lucky winners next week. Leave your first name or nick name together with your e-mail address in the comment section of this post to participate in my giveaway.

And do visit my blog next week; I have something very special to share with you guys!;)

Hugs and kisses,

Sharda

How to use My Memories Suite Quick Pages in Microsoft Word

2011-11-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
I’m back to continue with my tutorial in how to work with My Memories Suite Quick Pages in Microsoft Word and how to save the Quick Pages made up in Word in a .jpg format. The last thing I had explained in my previous tutorial was how you can place a Word Art on the zipper pull. You can also maybe place a picture on the zipper pull. There are a lot of creative things you can do with these Quick Pages. So if you want to place a picture on the zipper pull, first open a new blank Microsoft document, and insert your picture the way I had described in the previous post. You can also insert a picture in your blank document by going in the file where you have saved your picture, then right click on the picture without opening it and choose for the ‘Copy’ option. Come back to your blank Microsoft Word document, then right click on the blank page and choose for the option ‘Paste’. So now you have your picture on the blank page.

The second step is to change the shape of the picture. You can choose from a lot of shapes, like you can give your picture the shape of a sun, a cloud etc. I’m going to choose for the ‘Oval’ shape cause the zipper pull has an oval shape. Make the picture smaller by pushing the little circles at the corners. Now right click and choose for the option ‘Copy’. You now have to get this picture in your previously saved document. So open that document, then right click and choose for the option ‘Paste’.

You now have your oval shaped picture on your page together with your Quick Pages. Click on the oval shaped picture, then click on the red ‘Picture Tools’ tab at the top. You can now change your Text Wrapping. Choose for the option ‘Behind Text’ from the Text Wrapping pull down menu.

I want my Word Art on top of my picture so I’m going to drag it somewhere on top of my page. The oval shaped picture is still too big and it needs to be stretched out in order to get the zipper pull shape. Give the picture the angle of the zipper pull in the way done previously by rotating the oval shaped picture. You can zoom in a little bit to get a closer look. Just move the zoom tuner, at the bottom, to the right; you will see that the percentage will go up. So this is what you will get.

Now right click on your Word Art and choose for the option ‘Order’ and then click on ‘Bring to Front’. You can now drag your Word Art on top of your picture. You can also change the shape of your Word Art if you like. Simply click on the ‘Change WordArt shape’ tab (on the little triangle of a blue ‘A’ that you will see if you click on your Word Art tab), and choose for a shape. I’ve chosen for ‘Arch Down (Curve)’.

I want my Word Art a little bit brighter so I’m going to choose for a brightness of +10% for my oval shaped picture, then I’m giving my Word Art a shadow and I’m going to outline the Word Art with a dark blue color. This is what I am getting.

This week, the pictures on my blog are clearer, cause I’ve used my My Memories Suite software to resize them.;) Now I want to be able to mail the picture I’ve made up or to be able to place it on Facebook or whatsoever. So what you should do now is to press together your ‘Alt’ and ‘Print Screen’ tab on you keyboard. The next step is to open a blank page in Paint. I think that you guys know how to open a blank page in Paint. I’ll give you one of the options how to open a blank page in Paint. Click on ‘Start’, then go to ‘All Programs’, then go to ‘Accessories’ and then click on the ‘Paint’ option. So you will now get a blank page in Paint. Now click on ‘Edit’ and choose for the option ‘Paste’. You will see your whole Word Screen in Paint now. Save this Word Screen in Paint.

Now for the final step; go to the location where you have saved your Paint document and right click, then go to ‘Open With’ and choose for the option ‘Microsoft Office Picture Manager’. We are now going to crop those areas that we don’t want in our picture to be shown. Click on ‘Picture’ in your ‘Microsoft Office Picture Manager’ and choose for the option ‘Crop…’. You will get a crop toolbar on the right.

Move your picture borders inside with your mouse held in to crop those areas that are not needed. This is what you will get; you can see that the black corners and the black small lines in the middle have moved.

Now click on ‘OK’ on the side bar and save your modified document by clicking on ‘File’ and then on ‘Save’. Your picture is ready to be shared with friends and family!!! This is what I finally got.;)

Although no one has participated in my Quick Pages giveaway this time, I have my winners for this week!!! This is the pack that the winners Meenu and Francesca have received because they had participated in my My Memories Suite V2 software giveaway on my blog CREATIVE D-ZINE and I don’t want to leave the participants of my software giveaway empty-handed. Do participate next time everyone! You can use all your creative ideas to work with the 2 Quick Pages of my giveaway.

This is something I’ve created with the My Memories Suite software using pictures I had taken in our garden and using some items from this software. The cupcake paper is from the free kit ‘This is My Day!’, and the background is from the free kit ‘Honeycomb Solids’. If you purchase this software, you can download all the free kits at http://www.mymemories.com/. Use the coupon code STMMMS35043 to get a 25% discount on your MMS software.;)

Ciaoooo everyone!!! Come and get your new Freebies out here next week!;)

Scrapbooking tips and tools

2011-11-10T15:58:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!
I hadn’t posted anything out here for quite some time. I’ll try to share some scrapbooking tips and tools out here now on a regular basis.

Today, I again have something special for all of my blog visitors. Any guesses? Freebies for all of you guys!!! The freebies include 2 Quick Pages, and all the papers and elements used in creating them. The Quick Pages can be used in any software, like Microsoft Office, Photoshop, AutoCAD etc. But I encourage you to try the My Memories Suite Version 2 software if you still haven’t bought this software. You can get a $10 discount when you use the coupon code STMMMS35043 to purchase the My Memories Suite v2 scrapbooking software at www.MyMemories.com. Software also comes with a $10 coupon for downloads-a total value of $20! Just copy and paste the code to avoid typos when using it.

The elements and Quick Pages are .png and the papers are .jpg format. The Quick Pages and the Papers and Embellishments are for Personal Use Only, and are not to be used for any commercial use-either for profit or gratis.

How do you guys like these 2 Quick Pages?

This is the link for everyone to download these Quick Pages for free:
Sorry, link has expired. Check out my newest post for new freebies.

For those who haven’t bought this software, I’ll show you how you can work with these Quick Pages in Microsoft Word. I think that everyone has Microsoft Word on his/her mac or pc and knows to work with it. But for those having a little bit of problem I’m giving you step by step instructions this time.

I’m going to work with a picture I had taken of one of my friends and his friend. First you place your desired embellishment(s) with which you want to work, on your blank page of your Microsoft Word Document. You can get your embellishment(s) on your page by clicking on Insert and then clicking on picture. Choose the file where you have saved your downloaded embellishments and insert the embellishments one by one. I’ve chosen for QP1 en QP2 to work with for this example.

I want the two embellishments next to each other, so I am going to make them smaller by clicking on the picture and then pushing on one of the little rectangles at the corners of the pictures in a downward or upward way. The next step is to click on one of the embellishments, then right click and click on ‘Text Wrapping’ and now choose for the ‘Behind Text’ option in your pull down menu. Do the same for the other embellishment. This way you can place the two embellishments side by side without any problems.

I am now giving these embellishments an angle. You can do this by clicking on the embellishment you want to rotate and holding your cursor above the green dot that you can see in the picture above. When you see arrows around the green dot, hold your mouse down and move the cursor the way you want to rotate your embellishment. Now you can insert your pictures and this goes in the same way you had inserted your embellishments.

Click on your picture and push on one of the little circles at the corners of the picture to get the picture smaller. Now try giving your pictures the same angle you had given to your embellishments in the same way as described before. Do the text wrapping for your pictures as well and send them at the back.

Now for the final part; click on one of the embellishments and then right click on ‘Bring to Front’ and then again on ‘Bring to Front’. Do this step also for the other embellishment. You can play a little bit around if you’re not satisfied with how the items are placed.

You can also add a Word Art on the blank zipper pull if you want. Click on insert; then choose from a Word Art from the Word Art pull down menu. Click on your chosen Word Art and then type your text and click on OK. Now you right click on your Word Art, and then click on ‘Format WordArt’ and then you choose for the option ‘Behind Text’ for the layout. You can now give your Word Art an angle and drag it to the right place.

Sorry that the pictures are unclear, I had to resize them to be able to place them on my blog. That’s it for today; so save your Word file! I’ll tell you next week how you can save these two Quick Pages as one picture and use it on Facebook, Twitter, your blog or for mailing it to your family and friends.;)

I’m giving away a Quick Page to some lucky winners next week. Leave a comment with your first name or nickname together with your e-mail address in the comment section of this blog post to participate.

Enjoy life, have fun, dream, explore, play, be adventurous, create, run, skip, jump, laugh and smile,

Sharda

USA Trade and Exhibition Fair

2011-08-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I’m placing a blogpost out here today after a long time. I’m kind of busy to work on all my 3 blogs regularly. About 2 weeks ago I had been to the USA Trade and Exhibition Fair and I had clicked some pictures, so I’m sharing some of those pictures with you guys. It was kind of boring this year and there were fewer stands compared to the previous years.

'Going Green for Better Business' was the theme of the fair.

Fernandes is our no.1 lemonade company and one of the pretty ladies from the stand offered to get a taste of the blue PowerAde out there. The PowerAde and the Minute Made or imported products.

These are the soft drinks produced in Suriname.

Suriname only contains about 500.000 inhabitants, so recycling the bottles out here would be costly. The bottles are cut into bits and then they’re exported to some foreign company.

The pictures below are from the stand of another company ‘SUWAMA’ which collects recyclable materials.

Products from recycled materials.

Durable flashlight that works with solar energy.

Dad and I also received promotional items; these are highlighters.

Haaaaa…and there was a lot more, I’m not into writing today, so I’ll just place some of the pictures; you can see for yourself...haha.:)

Saturday and yesterday I went to the ‘Construction and Interior Exhibition’, maybe I’ll place some of those pictures some other time out here.

It’s party time! (Part 3)

2011-06-02T04:46:00.000-07:00

This time, I’m just going to tell further about the wedding party, cause there’s a lot to tell. It’s still hot out here in Suriname, and I have the feeling that I’m going to get the flu. I’m working on something different for next time on one of my other blogs.

Me and my brothers reached the wedding party a little bit late. At the bhatwaan on the day before the wedding, I was also late and had missed the hawan part, where the pandit cites some mantras and fire offerings take place. When we reached the wedding party, the nachaniya (dancer dressed as a woman) was leaving. The nachaniya comes along with the groom’s family, friends and acquaintances together with the groom. My sister told me that he hadn’t danced that much. She had captured a picture, so I can share that one with you guys.

The bride was just about to enter the maroh when we reached. All eyes were on the bride, and lots of people were taking pictures. She was looking very beautiful in her red wedding gharara. In Christian weddings, the traditional wedding gown color is white; in Hindu weddings it’s red. But just like not every Christian prefers getting married in white, not every Hindu bride gets married in red as well. In the past the bride would wear a saree, but now wedding gharara’s are also preferable. What the groom traditionally wears in Suriname, is a yellow jora jama over his shirt and pants. When the fire ceremony has taken place, the groom takes off his jora jama and wears his coat. The pandit (priest) wears a white dhoti and a white kurta. The bride and groom walked 7 rounds around the fire and took the wedding vows.

The fire ceremony taking place, where the baked grains are offered to the fire.

There was a happy atmosphere; people meeting each other after a very long time and having each other lots to tell about. The kids finding lots of other kids to play and run around with. One of my little nephews pulled on my salwaar and I looked down. He was like, ‘Take a picture of my shoes, take a picture of my shoes!’ His shoes were looking pretty dirty with sand, cause he had been running around with the other kids. The battery of my dad’s camera was low, and I wanted to take some more pictures of the bride, so I told him so. Some time later while I was sitting, he walked in my direction with a big smile and naughty twinkling eyes. He looked so cute that I wanted to take him in my lap, but was afraid that he would spoil my cloths, so I took him in my arms. ‘Do you want to see me turning you into a ghost’, he said to me. There was a grin on my face and he started messing up my hair. I was like, ‘No, no, no, all the people here will run away from this party.’

Bara anyone?

This is how the people at Indian wedding parties eat their rice, roti, daal, karhi, vegetables and chutney in Suriname. They sit on long bench rows, and people come with the food to ask them if they want it.

Aubergine with potatoes anyone?

The rings were put on each others fingers and the marriage papers were signed. Me and my sister had hidden the shoes of the groom, and we got money for returning the shoes and letting the groom inside the house. That’s also part of the wedding tradition.

In one of the rooms inside the house, which is called the ‘kohbar’, the groom had to lick rice-pudding from the bride’s finger. Then it was time for the ‘who gets to catch the cuff bracelet’ game. The bride’s sister-in-law held a cuff in her hand and she would let it fall, while the bride and groom has to catch it. Sometimes they play a game of ‘who gets to find the ring’. A ring is placed in a bowl with milk, and the bride and groom has to search for it. If the bride finds the ring or catches the bracelet, the women around teases the groom that his bride will rule over him.

After this game, the couple came out of the house and sat on the special bride and groom sofa. There was a long line of people wanting to congratulate the newly wedded couple.

The bride’s bouquet.

Then it was time to cut the cake.

This is how the wedding cake looked like.

Beautiful bride and groom cake toppers.

The cake was decorated with 2 stairs meeting each other, on which yellow roses and bride and groom figurines were placed.

The tea lights were lighted around the cake.

There was another band (Face 2 Face), and they were playing romantic music while the cake was being cut. The cake was a bit too sweet, but the topping was yum. Then it was time to open the Champaign. Everyone got to taste it as well. The cake cutting and Champaign are actually Western influence. I don’t drink Champaign, so not for me.

The bride and groom then were the 1^st ones to dance and the band played a romantic Indian song. After this song everyone joined in. My cousins and nephew also took me to the dance floor, so I also danced along. I mostly don’t like dancing in public, but when there’s a family party, I do join in. The band rocked the floor.

It was almost 3’oclock when my parents wear leaving the party. I also wanted to get some sleep, so I left with my parents. My parents had to be back for the farewell at 4:30. I had slept for an hour and then left to the farewell at 5 o’clock. My younger sister was feeling very sleepy, cause she got home very late and took a nap for only a few minutes. I think my brother hadn’t slept at all. When we reached at my cousin’s, the groom & his relatives were about to have their meal in the maroh. And then it was time for the bride’s relatives to wish the bride and groom and say their farewells. Indians are kind of sensitive, so there was also a little bit of tears and crying. And no, I didn’t cry.:)

Packed sweets were ready to take along to the groom’s home.

The bride and groom left to the bride’s house in a decorated car surrounded by the smoke of fire crackers that were let off.

That’s the end of the wedding story, and I’m wishing my cousin and her husband lots of happiness for a lot of years to come!

It’s party time! (Part 2)

2011-05-27T06:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

How have you guys been doing? I’ve been doing well. Beautiful weather out here today, he hot weather finally seems to have taken a vacation.;)

I bought an Alcatel OT-303 past Friday with the money I had received for hiding shoes of the groom and letting the groom inside the house. Dad also had given me money to do shopping for the wedding, but I didn’t need to buy anything, so I also added some of that money for my Alcatel. I have two mobile no.’s and I don’t use one of them that often, so one of my mobiles mostly stays at home. My cousin calls me on that no. to chat at night. I wasn’t able to talk with my 10 year old mobile if the charger wasn’t connected, so I really needed a new one. But because I’m mostly using it for talking with my cousin, I was searching for the cheapest mobile I could find. One of the mobile companies has lowered their prices for Mother’s day till end of the month, so I bought the 2nd cheapest mobile at the mobile store.

My old Nokia mobile.

My new Alcatel OT-303. One of Kido’s kittens is on the wallpaper. The picture quality isn’t that good, cause it has a VGA camera and there isn’t much memory on this slow mobile. But an okay mobile for talking and texting and u can also listen to the radio.;) Kido’s kittens have become very naughty and are climbing all over the place, but I enjoy watching them.

The previous week, I had to do the cooking early in the morning, cause my brother takes his dinner along from home to his work. My mom actually had been operated on one of her eyes and she’s not allowed to bend. On Saturday, I completely forgot that it was Saturday and woke up a little bit late in the morning, and I was like, ‘Oh gosh, I’m not getting done with preparing dinner before 7 o’clock, I’ll ask bro to buy his meal outside today.’ I had already packed his bread and I still didn’t see my bro cause he was sleeping, that is when I realized that it was Saturday…haha. I actually was done with preparing the daal at 9.15; it took 3 hours before it was done, so I didn’t mind having started early with preparing dinner.

Anyways, I was about to tell you further about my cousin’s wedding.

This is the wedding card of my cousin’s wedding.

The next morning when I got at my cousin’s house, the guys from the decoration were busy working on some other decorations. Married women of the family were just about to apply haldi (curcuma longa) on the bride’s skin. Cloths get stained by the haldi, so new cloths aren’t suitable for this occasion. After the bride had been applied with haldi on her hands, arms, feet, legs and face, the bride made hand-prints with the remaining haldi mixture on a wall.

This is what the decoration guys were working on: the maroh where the traditional wedding ceremony around a fire takes place.

Then the hawankund for the fire with decorations around it was placed in the middle of the maroh.

And finally the blankets were placed, where the men (groom’s relatives) and pandit (priest) would sit. My nephew had placed the blankets this way, but it was later on changed and placed differently.

The red bench is the seat where the bride and groom sat during the traditional wedding ceremonies. It was placed in the maroh by the bride’s brother-in-law. The bench had been given a special welcome by married women before it was placed in the maroh.

The guys from the decoration worked further on the decorations for the special seat where the bride and groom would sit after the wedding ceremonies.

This is where the wedding cake would come.

The bride’s sisters also placed the gifts for the guests on a special table: scented candles.

Then it was time to help with the cooking, and we also got to taste all the yummy pastries before it would be served at night. There was ghugri, samosa, kroket and bara.

Bara being baked.

My younger sister saw my 80-year old aunt sleeping on the chair with her mouth wide open and pinched me to take a picture. I climbed on the chair next to her and took a picture. When I was off the chair, she woke up and I acted as if I was just about to take a group picture of my other aunts sitting next to her…haha. When I showed it to the others, they were all laughing. I don’t think I should be placing that naughty picture out here.:) I then enjoyed playing with one of my baby nieces, she’s cute and adorable. Then helped mom with making balls out of a meal and water paste for the welcome of the groom. Married women throw the balls in different directions when the groom arrives at the bride’s home. When my other cousin (the bride’s brother) was married, there was a white man who didn’t know about Indian marriages, and one of the balls got in his lap. He started eating it, and when I said that it isn’t for eating, he said that he wasn’t eating it…we laughed a lot about this incident afterwards.

When we reached home, my parents immediately took a shower and got ready for the wedding party. I did the dishes and after that, my elder sister asked me to take some pictures of her; she was looking pretty in her black saree. I was feeling tired and lied on my bed for 5 minutes before taking a shower and getting ready. I was wearing a salwaar which my sister had gifted me. For the bhatwaan I also was wearing a salwaar which one of my uncle’s had gifted me; so I didn’t need to buy any cloths for this occasion.

I’ll tell you about the final part of the wedding story next time.

Hugs and kisses,

Sharda

It’s party time! (Part 1)

2011-05-20T04:43:00.000-07:00

Hope you guys had enjoyed your weekend. It was my cousin’s wedding on the 14^th of May, so I had lots of fun in the weekend. We were all very excited, cause there would be one big day in the family again. There was a lot to do before the big day. The others had done some extra shopping for the wedding. I only bought a sirbandi (head jewelry) on the Tuesday before the wedding, and then picked up two Pizza’s at Pizza Boys with the coupons that the others at home had received after shopping at a store which had an Easter shop and eat deal. We suddenly received guests at home from Holland (the bride’s sister and brother-in-law) along with the bride’s dad that day, so the pizza was a double advantage; we didn’t have to bake anything. The medium Veggie Pizza was yummier then the mini Plain Cheese Pizza.

On Wednesday mom had to make 350 Gulab Jamuns for the wedding. I had baked about 400 Gulab Jamuns. We had made a few extras for at home, but gave away more then 350 for the wedding. It was very exhausting work; my back was hurting from standing very long in front of the gas, cause you have to bake with a very low fire. They were very yum.

On Thursday there was the Mehendi night at the bride’s home. I didn’t want Henna applied on my hands, so I just stayed home and polished my nails. Someone once told me that if you apply Henna on both hands, it means that you are getting married, and I wasn’t the one getting married.:)

This is how the bride’s Henna decorated hands and feet looked like.

I also had photographed the hands of one of my nieces.

Mom came late at night from the Mehendi night and at about 12 o’clock in the morning she started making a bouquet. It was 1 o’clock when she was done with this bouquet.

On Friday, mom woke up very early in the morning to make sew and khaja (sweets) to gift it to the bride’s mom along with some gifts and the bouquet.

Then she hurried to get ready and left with dad and my younger sister to help with the preparations for the Bhatwaan (celebration before the wedding day). I left a little bit later at 11 o’clock with my brothers to help along at the bride’s home. There was a lot to do; I had helped with decorating the tent with balloons and with preparing roti’s. The men also had helped in cutting vegetables and preparing the food.

Looking at these pumpkin pieces, I’m in a mood to make a pumpkin cake. I last had found a recipe for pumpkin cake; maybe I’ll try it out one of these days. And oh ya, wishing everyone a belated Halloween!

It’s always a good idea to have a flycatcher in your home in Suriname; the flies actually also came to party.:)

This sweet guy from the decoration also wanted to be on the picture.

This is how the light trees finally looked like.

At the Bhatwaan party at night there was Lawa bhujayi (grain and popcorn baking), dancing and yummy food.

The band ‘Mousi and Friends’ (Aunt and Friends).

The only bad thing was that my uncle had discovered in the morning that the radio, headlights and battery of his car had been stolen. The next morning when we were leaving from the wedding party, my brother also discovered that one of the headlights from his care had been stolen. The thieves had also tried removing another headlight; it was a little bit loose when my brother checked it. The criminality in Suriname is continually increasing. Thieves don’t even spare children’s homes; I heard yesterday on the news that thieves had robbed a children’s home. Some people don’t stay late at parties nowadays, cause they’re afraid that something in/of their car might be robbed or some or afraid of leaving their home for just a few hours.

I’ll tell you about the wedding day next time. Till then, wishing you a wonderful time!