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• The Easy Guide to Creating the Orton Effect using Photoshop - UPDATED
  by Peter Hill

  The aim of this Guide is to provide easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions to achieving the Orton Effect without the necessity of bei…

  The aim of this Guide is to provide easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions to achieving the Orton Effect without the necessity of being a Photoshop guru. I still call myself “new to Photoshop” and I have found a lot of tutorials on this topic assume a much higher level of knowledge than I have and are not very intuitive. I have revised the Tutorial to show a shortcut to the 2 Blending Option steps, which I only found myself after posting the original tutorial (doh), but I have left the long way as well, as you may wish to play around with the default settings applied by the short way. To achieve the Orton Effect you will be creating Layers, but don’t worry if you haven’t done this before. I hadn’t. The method I am about to describe is the simplest I have found. It’s not my method, but the description is all mine. When I have more time (yeh, right) I will revise this tutorial to include screenshots of the various steps. But for now, you might like to print this Guide and have it next to you while you create your first Orton Effect. I use Photoshop CS2 v9. The method described below originally came from someone using Photoshop Elements, so you can see this is not advanced stuff. The steps described below assume almost zero knowledge of Layering, and ignore other adjustments you might be making to the image, for example Sharpening the image before you start work on it (recommended). Step 1 Choose your image. Any image will do, you are just learning at this stage, but if you have that favourite flower shot or portrait – cool. Step 2 Open Photoshop. Open the image you have selected to be your first amazing Orton Effect image. Feel the excitement. This is your Background Layer. Step 3 Look for the Layer toolbox on the right hand side of the Photoshop work area. There should be a rectangular box with a small eye icon, a tiny thumbnail version of your image, and the word Background in italics. Right-click the word Background and select Duplicate Layer. A small box should immediately appear in the middle of your screen. It is asking you to Name the Duplicate Layer. Name this Layer Focus and click Enter. (Note: It doesn’t really matter what you name it, but Focus will do for our current purpose.) Step 4 There should now be a new rectangular box immediately above the original, and called Focus. (If there isn’t, stop, curse quietly, then try Step 3 again.) Pause now and look at the tiny eye icon. You will see that it is now the Focus layer on your screen, so this is the “copy” you are working on. OK, moving on ….. Right-click the Focus rectangular box and select Duplicate Layer again. This time when the naming box appears just click Enter because we will use the default name for this Layer, being Focus copy. Step 5 OK, now we are going to blend the Focus copy. There are 2 ways to do this – the long way and the short way. I will show you the long way first, just in case you want to go back and play with it after you get familiar with the process. Long way – Right-click the Focus copy rectangular box and select Blending Options. This will open a new box with lots of options. Ignore them for now. In the top part of this box you will find a window showing the Blending Mode and the default setting of Normal with a pull-down menu (A downwards arrow). Open the menu (left-click) and select Screen. Click Enter to close the box. OR Short way – look at the window which shows your layers. See the drop down menu at the top left, showing Normal as the default? Scroll down the menu and select Screen. The Focus copy layer should now have a bit of a washed-out look to it as a result of selecting Screen as the Blending Mode. (I have found that if the Screen effect still leaves a fairly good image, the Orton Effect will be enhanced. Too washed out and the Effect is diminished.) Step 6 Right-click the Focus copy rectangular box again, only this time select Merge Down (it’s near the bottom of the menu). This will collapse the Focus copy layer onto the Focus layer. Step 7 Right-click the Focus rectangular box again and select Duplicate Layer again. Name this copy Blur. Click Enter to close the box. Step 8 Now, find and open the Filter menu on the Tool bar running across the top of your screen. Select Blur. Another menu should open. Select Gaussian Blur (don’t ask). A new window should open. You will see a Preview of the image with a default blur Radius setting of 15.9. You can play around with the radius later. For now, just click OK to close the window as we will accept the 15.9 (I have found 15.9 to be right for most images anyway). The blur you are to achieve with this step should be enough to discern the shapes without the detail. Step 9 – The Magic Happens! This is the fun part. We now make one more blending option. Again, here’s the long way and the short way. Long way – Right-click the Blur rectangular box and select Blending Options. As described in Step 5, this will open a new box with lots of options. Again, ignore them for now. In the top part of this box you will find a window showing the Blending Mode and the default setting of Normal with a pull-down menu (A downwards arrow). Open the menu (left-click) again and this time select Multiply. Click Enter to close the box. OR Short way – Click on the same drop down menu you used to create the Screen effect, only this time select Multiply. You should now be able to see the Orton Effect! Step 10 If you want to accept the result, right-click the Blur rectangular box one more time and this time select Flatten Image (it’s the last option on the menu). This basically collapses all the layers into one final image and is the last thing you do in Layering. You can now save the image as normal. Does it look something like this? If it looks too dark though, you can adjust the Opacity level with the sliding bar before flattening the image. Look for the tiny Opacity tool in the top right of the Layering toolbox. But if you find you need to go below 90% the Effect is significantly lost and maybe it wasn’t the right image. Another option is to adjust the Fill and leave the Opacity at 100%. Have fun! I am. Peter

• Profile How To
  by Gracey

  Almost every day I see people asking “how do I put pictures in my profile”. There are quite a number of tutorials on how to do this, and …

  Almost every day I see people asking “how do I put pictures in my profile”. There are quite a number of tutorials on how to do this, and here is yet another. This one explains how to use the image from your “preview/buy” page in your profile, and also gives an explanation for creating a profile with smaller images, like the one below. The tutorial is written in a pdf format (for windows PC users – sorry mac people, I wish I could put the instructions in for you) and includes full link texts (difficult to put into a journal on Redbubble because the code you need to type in converts to images unless you leave spaces) and some screencaptures to help along the way. Download it from here: Profile Pics Tutorial This is only one of many other tutorials on this subject. Some can be found in the community forums - This helpful one How to Add a Portfolio in your Email Signature can be found in the Learning Centre Community Forum Others can be found by searching (try searching for profile help, or profle tutorials), or by visiting the How To Redbubble Group Some of the tutorials in this group that are geared towards profile modification are: How To Make Sets in Your Profile by Craig Shillington How To Add Pictures to Your Profile by StacyLee How To Tag Your Work by Jo O’Brien How To Create a Most Popular Link for your Profie by GerryMac Linking Photos in Redbubble by Craig Shillington Buttons and Links to Sets by Craig Shillington Making Your Redbubble Profile Badge by webgrrl Not included in the How To Redbubble Group are these two handy journals by Helen Bascom: Creating Landscape Thumbnails the Correct Size How to Link Thumbnails If you have links to other tutorials relating to profiles or image links, please feel free to add it by leaving the link in a comment. And How to Add Buttons to Your Profile by Patricia Montgomery>

• T-shirt colour guide with Red Bubble conversion (Updated 22 May)
  by Chris Wahl

  I’ve posted this over at the forums but I thought it was important to post here as well. The following chart was made to help take the…

  I’ve posted this over at the forums but I thought it was important to post here as well. The following chart was made to help take the guess work out of how your t-shirt design colours will look after Red Bubble’s colour conversion. I simply took a CMYK swatch palette from Photoshop and put it on a t-shirt in Redbubble. As a result, all the colours were converted. Update- I’ve now added coordinates so you can easily find the relating colours between each swatch set. -In the first block of swatches is an extensive range of CMYK colours which you can use while in RGB or CMYK mode to colour your designs. On the bottom is how these colours will be converted on RB’s shirt design preview. For a larger version of the colour guide you can go here (copy and paste in your browser)- http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/1130/tshirtcolourguidenewwl6.jpg Hope this helps everyone.

• A quick update on February ...
  by RedBubble

  Greetings! It’s the start of a new month and I’ve just spent a few minutes looking at all the stats from last month and thought you migh…

  Greetings! It’s the start of a new month and I’ve just spent a few minutes looking at all the stats from last month and thought you might be interested in a quick snapshot. We’re a chatty bunch – last month there were 627933 comments on the site. We continue to receive feedback that the positive and supportive environment at RedBubble (often expressed via comments) is one of the most valuable aspects of the site. Here’s a graph of comments since launch: To put this into context there were 144690 works added to the site in February. Groups have steadily been building momentum: We have grand plans for the groups (after we get through our current roadmap) but it pleasing to see more activity happening in the groups. The sales on the site have well and truly picked up after the post Christmas lull. RedBubble is much more than a place to sell your work – in fact we think the most important thing we think we do is facilitate the evolution of a supportive, safe and encouraging environment where your talents can be shared and you can be encouraged and inspired to delve more deeply into your creative side … but I digress (for those who want to know more about what drives us try here or here). Here’s a graph of the number of unique works sold each day on RB: . In February we sent out 2204 sales notifications. If we consider a seller as someone who was sold something before on RedBubble (there’s some folks on RB who are just interested in sharing their work) then the average sales are at $150 per year (per seller). There’s no one yet making a full time living on RB but there are quire a few folks making 1/3 to 1/2 a living – and it’s not always the people you would expect. Some of the most prolific sellers have quite a low profile on RB – and they do a lot of work off site marketing themselves. As a general note – we’re a very entrepreneurial company – if you’ve ever got a business idea that you think we can help with drop us a line. In the last week we’ve had about half a dozen companies approach us wanting to distribute some of the t-shirts on the site (for example). That’s probably enough for today … in the next couple of days I’ll be calling for volunteers to help us road test a few new products we’ve got in the pipe line. So if you’re interested please keep checking out these RB journal entries. Ciao, Peter

• Creative Arts Festivals, United Kingdom - Updates
  by Faizan Qureshi

  You remember UK art festival that I’ve been…

  You remember UK art festival that I’ve been trying to arrange? Well, here are some updates and questions. I have had several meetings with our sponsors in the past 2 months and we’ve been working out a plan. As it turns out, Victoria Square in Birmingham is extremely difficult to book and they were giving us too much trouble. So… what’s the plan? Well, if any of you have heard of art streets like Brick Lane, London, you’ll know what I am talking about. We’re working closely with the Custard Factory on their very expensive project to bring art culture to the West Midlands. So, here’s what we’re proposing. We will be arranging an art fair every Sunday where people can come and hang out, buy art, enjoy great company, food, alcohol, performances, etc etc. We will be working on a contract basis with the artists, and let them book stalls for a little longer than one off. Let’s say, if we work out a package for 8 weeks, it’d work out MUCH CHEAPER to hire a stall than on a one-off term. The great thing about this is that it will be very well advertised so you’ll be making lots. This plan is starting in a back street of Birmingham city centre, the footfall will gradually increase as we advertise nationally through various media. I have a list of those people that were initially interested in this on my website So, are any of you interested in getting a stall for a few weeks? Some of you might even want to think about permanent stalls. The prices will vary depending on the period of your contract. Prices? We haven’t worked them out yet but they’ll be MUCH cheaper than what I initially worked out. They’ll be very affordable, even for students. A lot of us are ‘starving artists’ so this is a great opportunity to get ourselves out there and recognised, and not to mention the cash coming in. I will be talking to the RedBubble staff about sponsoring the artists as well, so let’s see how that one goes. I’ll keep you posted.

• The Easy Guide to Creating Samples Of Artwork on Redbubble - UPDATED
  by Peter Hill

  Have you ever wondered how people add samples of stuff like this? !http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/border:blackwithdetail/produc…

  Have you ever wondered how people add samples of stuff like this? Want to do the same? Good! How well you present your work is a measure of the pride it holds for you and is a key driver of sales and the appreciation and interest of others. Due to popular demand, the aim of this Guide is to show how easy it is to insert artwork into a Comment, a Description, and even a Journal. Anywhere on RB you can write stuff, basically, you can include a pretty pitcha. I have written this guide in plain language, not IT guru nerds language. If you already know how to do this, please leave now. First, some key points: You can only show samples of artwork which have been already uploaded onto RB. You do not have to publicly show any artwork just to get a sample of it. You can remove an artwork from RB and this will not affect any sample of it you have already posted on RB elsewhere. When I say below do not leave a space between typed characters I really do mean do not leave a space. This is because you will be typing an instruction to the computer to go and grab the image and insert it in a specific spot and the computer can’t read spaces like we can. Ever noticed those Group Bubblemails with all that funny writing, like http: and .jpg! ? Those are examples of attempts to show samples done wrong. Usually it’s because they left a space! The point is: always check before you click Save or Reply and especially afterwards! (Memo to self: remember to check this posting!) Finally, this guide may seem long, but as Morgan Freeman said in Deep Impact, “It only seems that way.” Once you get the hang of it, creating samples will take mere seconds. Righto, here we go … mouses at the ready? Step One Upload the image you want to show a sample of, if you have not already done so. If the image you want to make a sample of is already on RB, go to Step Two but make sure the image is available for sale. If it isn’t, go into Edit and follow this step. When you upload the image (or Edit the upload), make sure you select Make this work available for purchase as a … and tick all the boxes. It doesn’t really matter if the image is too small for a poster. Just tick ‘em all and find out. As long as the image is at least big enough for a card, you can create a sample of the artwork in a card form. If the image is too small even for a card you cannot create a sample and you will have to go back and increase the size of the image and try again (hmmm, could be another tutorial there). Note: If you are uploading an image for the sole purpose of showing a sample of it, do not bother writing a Description or ticking any of the Group boxes, and make sure you tick Hide this work from others. Step Two Go to the Public view page for the artwork you wish to create a sample of. Pretend you are buying the artwork. Click the buy/preview icon to the right of the image because you will be creating your sample from one of the displayed examples of each purchase option. Step Three Decide which of the product options you want to use as a sample. Try a few different ones to see which is the one which really shows off the work. If the image size only allows for Small of anything, your best option usually is to choose a laminated print over a framed print because the actual visual size of the artwork in the framed print is generally too small. Step Four Once you’ve decided upon the type and specifications for the sample, Right Click once while holding the mouse over the image. A list of options should have appeared. At the very bottom of this list is the word Properties. Move the mouse over Properties and Left Click once. A new window should have opened. Halfway down the list of properties you will see Address: with the acronym URL immediately under it. This is the place on the RB big computer (server) where the pitcha of your sample product is stored – it’s address. (OK, all you tech heads are now cringing at my howler, but it’s ok, okaay :)) You need to copy the address and paste it (Step Five) in the exact place you want it to be shown. To copy the URL, hold the mouse over the start of the address, just to the left of the term http. When I say “just to the left” I mean right up against the “h” of http. The mouse needs to change from an arrow to a symbol which looks like a capital i in traditional font (Times New Roman). When that happens and with the mouse still right on that “h”, press and hold the Left mouse button and then, while still holding down the left mouse button, move the mouse straight down vertically. The address should now be highlighted. Keep moving down until the end of the address is within the highlighted area. The end of the address is always .jpg and you will always need to scroll down one line before you reach it. Now let go of the left mouse button, leaving the address highlighted. Keeping the mouse over the highlighted area, Right click once. Two options will appear. Select Copy (left mouse button). Now click on the Cancel icon at the bottom of the Properties window. This is just to close it. Step Five – Wallah! Now go back to where you want to show the sample. Let’s assume you are making a comment on a brilliant piece of artwork and you wanted to show a sample of it framed or laminated as part of your comment (the artist will love you for it!) All you need to do is Paste the address of the sample where in your comment you want the sample to appear, eg at the end. To do this, firstly Left click on that space so that the cursor is blinking. Now Right click once and select Paste. The address you copied in Step Four should now appear as part of your comment. (But it isn’t really). It must start with http and it must end with .jpg. If it doesn’t you need to delete what you just pasted and go back and re-copy the address and re-paste it. You are allowed to swear while doing so. Step Six – Really Important Before you hit the Reply button, you need to add the symbol that tells the computer to go get the pitcha. You must type this symbol once at the start of the address and once at the end of the address without leaving a space between the typed characters. The symbol is the exclamation mark. So, make sure the start of the address looks like this – !http – and the end of the address looks like this – .jpg! Now you can hit the Reply button. Step Seven – Really Really Important Check to make sure the linking worked. The address should have been replaced by the pitcha. But wait…there’s more You can create a sample of an image in its own Description in exactly the same way as I have described above. I normally do this by uploading the artwork, making it available to purchase as … whatever, but hiding it from public view. Then I simply go into the buy/preview page, grab the address of the sample, then paste it into the Description while still in Edit mode, then click on *Allow anyone to view this work before saving. Hope this guide answers a few questions for you! If so, you might like to also check out my guides to creating clickable images and creating links Any problems feel free to either bmail me or email me at peter_h111@msn.com. If you already know how to do all the above, please don’t feel the need to leave a comment, thanks. :)

• 

  here is chi (update)
  by mlgkats

  US$3.42–US$91.20

  he is now 6 weeks / he is giving dolly a message / for every one following his story / for any who does not know / his mother died when he turned 2 weeks old so i / i have been handing feeding him since / he is the only survivor out 4 babies / !All The Materials Contained May Not Be Reproduced, Copied, Edited, Published, Transmitted Or Uploaded In Any Way Without My Permission. My Images Do Not Belong To The Public Domain. / © melynda galbraith (mlgkats) 2008: using this image for any purpose and in any way, without prior permission, may lead to legal action. / / if you have not seen henk stolk work please check it out , he is a very talented artist henk stolk www.stolkphotography.com / check out his own web site as well

• Updates to the User Agreement
  by RedBubble

  Hello – we are about to make a few updates to the user agreement that I’d like to bring to your attention: 1. We’ve removed the follow…

  Hello – we are about to make a few updates to the user agreement that I’d like to bring to your attention: 1. We’ve removed the following paragraph referring to the RedBubble Beta Phase: “Beta phase RedBubble is currently in its beta phase. This is a trial period during which we will be offering limited functionality to the RedBubble service. There may be interruptions to this service while we upgrade our website and its capabilities. We will let you know when the official website launches and this beta phase is complete.” 2. We’ve included a line detailing how people can close their account: “You may close your account at any time by logging into your account, clicking on the hyperlink titled ‘cancel your account’, which appears at the following address: http://www.redbubble.com/mybubble/account, and by clicking on the button titled ‘Yes, really cancel my account’ that appears on the subsequent web page.” 3. We’ve removed the following line from the Agency Agreement (as we’ve stopped applying rounding): “3.2 When calculating the retail price for your product we may round up to the nearest dollar. Any rounding up amount will be paid to you.” 4. We’ve changed any reference to ”$” in the User Agreement to “US$”. - Peter

• Weird
  by JenniferB

  Weird… I dreamt I was asleep in a forest under a canopy of leaves and branches and then I woke up with a cold… hahaha.

  Weird… I dreamt I was asleep in a forest under a canopy of leaves and branches and then I woke up with a cold… hahaha.

• RedBubble Update - Greeting Cards !
  by RedBubble

  Cards Cards Cards / The big news this week is the launch of Greeting Cards – Nearly any image can be sold as a greeting card on RedBubbl…

  Cards Cards Cards / The big news this week is the launch of Greeting Cards – Nearly any image can be sold as a greeting card on RedBubble, any file of about 1Mpix or larger ! The product itself is beautiful, photographically printed, bonded with high grade paper and folded. Here’s what it looks like – Just click the card icon at the top. / / Please make your work avaliable as cards – RedBubble is all about artists choice, you need to tick the box to sell cards. / / / Updates to the Watermarks / So we pushed these out a few weeks ago and had a heap of feedback from confused buyers, not sure if the watermark would be on the final product. / / In response we’ve changed the way we are doing this. There isn’t a water mark on the smaller image so buyers can see it clean, on the larger image we are still displaying the watermark – we’ve tried to make it subtle and explain it a little better while still protecting your images.

• New Dad!
  by David Barnes

  Hi all, thanks to everyone for their comments on my work over the last 10 days or so. I hope to get back to you all with return comme…

  Hi all, thanks to everyone for their comments on my work over the last 10 days or so. I hope to get back to you all with return comments or replies. I’ve been a bit “busy” ... my first daughter was born a week ago :-) Stephanie is doing really well and thanks to all those who have asked after her. The new Mum and Dad are feeling so wonderfully fortunate to have had a perfect pregnancy and birth leading to this beautiful new person who is now with us. – David.

• New Features Update
  by Sandra Sigfusson

  Thank you to the following groups for featuring these images in the past week! Much appreicated. Cheers, S. The Live Love Dream Gr…

  Thank you to the following groups for featuring these images in the past week! Much appreicated. Cheers, S. The Live Love Dream Group featured Butterflies Are Free / The A Photographer’s Craft Group featured Awaiting The Wind / The Music Inspired Art Group featured Chrome Plated Heart /

• Real Photography Comp Update
  by RedBubble

  What a dazzling start to the RedBubble Real Photography Competition! Over 800 entries already, from all over the planet. We’re looking fo…

  What a dazzling start to the RedBubble Real Photography Competition! Over 800 entries already, from all over the planet. We’re looking forward to seeing even more as the competition continues through until August 24. However, an important reminder: only one entry per category If you got multiple entries in a category, please choose your best one and remove the competition tag from the others. Otherwise you won’t be eligible to win any of the cool prizes.

• *New Group "Nikon DSLR Users Group - Update"*
  by Philip Johnson

  Greetings all * We have established a new *Nikon DSLR Users Group the group is open to everyone , but especially those RB members th…

  Greetings all * We have established a new *Nikon DSLR Users Group the group is open to everyone , but especially those RB members that are using Nikon equipment. It is an area where we can swap advice and tips, we have built a group of Co-hosts with experience in various models that can help give advice and answer questions. So if you want to drop in and say hi even if you don’t use nikon products or if you are curious. Regards Philip

• Vestque Updates Quickie
  by Vestque

  Holiday related Vestque news in by newest blog entry, A Dark Christmas? Why not?...

  Holiday related Vestque news in by newest blog entry, A Dark Christmas? Why not? Coupled with that is a new artwork. Samantha Angelica Sylth Hot Dog! :P Also, wanted to let it known. We’re looking for a third host in the Shanime group, bubblemail me if interested. Thanks! Vestque

• Site Update - Art, Clothing and Writing
  by RedBubble

  Art, Clothing and Writing So there’s good news, and bad news … Lets start with the bad – Over the last few weeks we have…

  Art, Clothing and Writing So there’s good news, and bad news … Lets start with the bad – Over the last few weeks we have been working madly to break up the site into three major sections – Art, Clothing and Writing. We want to value and allow focus on each of these areas separately… Writing is ‘this’ close to being done, but it wasn’t quite right so we had to hold it back and polish it up a bit more… BUT you can look forward to a whole section of the site where written work is treated the same way as any other artwork with things like separate descriptions and excerpts etc. The good news … Art and Clothing are here – The T-Shirt previews in the galleries and zoom views acutally ‘zoom’ in on the artwork, no matter how big or small, so everyone should have a much better idea how hot some of these designs really are. And … One more thing … If you’re into T’s then you can’t miss Issue one of Stitched Comming Soon Writing, updates to ranking and some more special goodies.

• Update on Grace
  by TREVOR IRWIN

  Greetings my precious friends. I am so thankful to all of you who are a constant encouragement to me and the people in isolated villages …

  Greetings my precious friends. I am so thankful to all of you who are a constant encouragement to me and the people in isolated villages on Africa. Please continue to pray for me, the people in the photographs and each other. GRACE UPDATE. I made contact with Mission Staff in our Mission Centre today Sunday 16th November. I also spoke to one of our heath workers in Tunga/Zuga village where Grace lives. Thanks to A special redbubble friend, who donated £60.00 toward medicines to treat grace, We started treatment on Wednesday 12th November. Grace is still very ill and response to the medication is slow. but Praise God she is fighting the illness, and God is healing her!. It was Grace that brought so much Bmails and comments on her photographs when I first loaded images of her and the mission work on Redbubble. I have many more Photographs of Grace, but do not want to weary viewers with her. if you want to see more of Grace, please bmail me and I will upload more. Please do pray for Grace. God does hear you and does answer prayers. TWINS: / The twins are also in great need of prayer. they to are extremely malnourished and sick. Also here I give a great bif thank you to all group administrators who also have played a big part in helping the Mission, bu featuring some of my work on their groups. This is a Blessing and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Thank you also to Squealia, for building my redbubble site, Plus adding button to my profile page, and grouping my images in groups. This save s viewers from tracking through many pages of my work. thank you so much my sister in Christ. I will keep you all updated on Grace and her progress. hopefully I will be able to upload a Video of some of the children on the Charity website by end of week. God Bless you all and please continue to pray for me, as I do for you. Your Friend and Brother in Christ. Trevor. Link to my Mission Africa Website: / http://www.philadelphia33.org/ Please Visit my profile page and click on the buttons to see all my work in organised groups. http://www.redbubble.com/people/joshuatree1 PLEASE VIEW MY ART WHICH IS AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE AND HELP US SAVE AND IMPROVE THE LIVES OF SO MANY DESPERATE PEOPLE WHO NEED YOUR HELP IN ISOLATED AND RURAL VILLAGES IN AFRICA ~ PLEASE CLICK HERE

• Update as Promised
  by InfinityRain

  Well a little while ago I let you know that I would be busy for a while and there was some drama going on that I needed to handle but cou…

  Well a little while ago I let you know that I would be busy for a while and there was some drama going on that I needed to handle but couldn’t get into at the time. / I don’t know how many people will be interested in reading this and I hope it doesn’t come off as a whining session, but I did promise an update when I felt it was safe for me to do so…....so here it is. / I was married to a great guy, we were best friends and shared everything, about 7 years into the marriage things started to change, he stopped telling me things, got very distant and would rarely but ocassionaly lose his temper with the children, slapping them around. He started to be suspicious of every little thing we did and expected the children to instinctively know and follow the rules (or comply as he would say…a handy little word he picked up with his job) As the years passed the loss of temper became more and more with the kids, and with me it was mental beatings, I’m worthless, won’t amount to anything, not worth the time…..you know keeping me down as low as possible. / I was terrified of how I would take care of four children on my own, especially someone so worthless as myself but warned him anyway to get a handle on that temper or it was over. He lost it again and I said I wanted a divorce, he threatned to kill himself and that the children would blame me for the rest of their lives for his death….....so I stayed and tried yet again to make it work, but one night he lost his temper again and I called the police. ............ok ok this ‘update’ is getting way to long….......we’ve been apart since the fall of 2001. Last year my oldest son Nathaniel wanted to go live with him and was getting violent at home with his brothers, it was the hardest decision of my life but in the end I let him go. Then on Nick’s birthday (my youngest) my ex’s girlfriend almost drowned Kristopher my 12 yr old. Threw him in the water over his head while he was screaming at her that he couldn’t swim and begging her to put him down. :( Later on the same day, my ex held Nate underwater, then when they got back to his place he put Kris in a headlock after chasing him down, when Nate tried to help his brother my ex punched Nate in the face and let go of Kris to go after Nate, that gave them the chance to run off and hide for a while. / So in this time I’ve been gone, I’ve been trying to get custody of Nathaniel back without my ex knowing to much about it for fear of how he would react to the children telling me what had happened that day. / The papers came in the mail yesterday, I have all my children back with me where they belong, safe and sound at last. / So I want to thank you all for being so patient with me and even though you didn’t know what was going on or what the drama was, you supported me and help give me the strength to get through yet another of life’s hurdles. / Thank you so much

• Birthday Contest!!! I Wanna Buy YOUR Design!!!!!
  by bchrisdesigns

  Today is the love of my life’s birthday!!! He is turning 30 years old!!! To help celebrate, I have decided to buy him some t-shirts…

  Today is the love of my life’s birthday!!! He is turning 30 years old!!! To help celebrate, I have decided to buy him some t-shirts – one of my own and one from another lucky Red Bubblian. So, without further adieu, I present the Greg’s Birthday Contest!!!!!! From now until October 1st anyone can submit a t-shirt design to this contest by adding a comment below. Here are the rules: The design must be on a t-shirt. The design should be tagged with GregBday08 (please tag your work if you want to have it considered, because we will be using this tag to browse the entries). You should place a link to your work in the comments section below. A simple link will do, but a photo link will be even better (brownie points!). There are no requirements for theme, style, or color (just make sure it follows standard Red Bubble Guidelines). You may want to read the below, short list of his likes to get an idea of things that will catch our eyes. Designs should be your original work and all sources should be cited appropriately. If it is one thing I abhor, it is designers who use images or other material from the internet and then do not give proper credit. So, please give credit where credit is due. That is all we ask. <—This is Greg. Some of Greg’s likes: dragons, science fiction, fantasy, witches & wizards, video games, board games, astrology, sodoku, chocolate, music, food, sushi, cocktails, traveling, road trips, computers, technology, coffee, hot chocolate, baking, cooking, robots, anything mechanical, the paranormal, mysteries, Halloween, sarcasm/wit, humor, and books. Favorite colors: blue, gray, black, beige, brown, green, silver. How it will work: On October 1st, I will announce that the contest is closed for entries. On October 2nd, Greg and I will log on to Red Bubble and do a search of the tag GregBday08 and we will browse through ALL the entries and add the finalists to my favorites list. On October 3rd, we will announce the winner via a journal posting and buy the winning design. After we receive the design, Greg will wear it for pictures and the pictures will be added to the buyer’s booth and to a special journal along with an interview promoting the winning designer. The winning design will also be featured in The Amazing Little Pieces of Awesomeness Gallery (formerly the B.Christopher Designs Virtual Gallery) and in my Monthly Addictions Showcase for October 2008. So, not only will I buy the t-shirt, but I will promote the hell out of it as well! This is a fantastic opportunity, IMHO, and a great way to celebrate my partner’s b-day!!!! So, get cracking on submitting those designs!!! If your design is already in my favorites, you can still submit it – it just means you have one up on the competition but no guarantees. LOL! Good luck to everyone and all. Cheers! ~ Brian (bchris) :o) P.S. I may not be on here until tomorrow cause now I have to go to the party. P.P.S. I am submitting this to all of my groups because this covers a lot of area and I hope most group hosts would love their members to get in on the action! NOTE: I added a few more likes to the list. Tee-hee… =] / Sep. 28th UPDATE: WOW!!!! I want to thank all those who have entered so far!!! Such great designs!!! Yes, you can submit more than one design. There is NO limit to the number of designs you can submit! Yay!!! Greg saw the post briefly before going to bed last night and was so touched by all of your comments! Thank you so much! :) / October 1st UPDATE: Thank you to all who have taken the time to enter this little contest of ours, we are so thrilled and excited by all the entries!!! Today is the final day and at midnight (Pacific Time – that is like 10 1/2 hours from now) we will end the contest and start going through the entries. I have already commented on some of the entries and have not had time to comment on all the latest entries because this week is full of family birthdays for us. Last night was my cousins bday and today is another cousins bday…phew…!!!! LOL! So, tonight is the finale and tomorrow the selection process begins! I cannot wait! I have a feeling there will be some exciting news on the 3rd, when we announce the winner! :) / October 2nd Update: The contest is “officially” closed. Sorry I was not here to close it right at midnight, but I was out late last night taking some of my cousins from Wales to Knott’s Scary Farm and celebrating birthdays. Two of them are leaving today, so it has been hectic to say the least. But, never fear, we will be selecting the finalists. Right now!!!!! So if your design gets favorited in the next few minutes, it is a finalist. I will also be writing a journal entry regarding the finalists after they have all been selected. Thanks again to everyone – all the designs are amazing! You can view ALL the finalists here. :)

• New T-shirt design
  by SdeVarax

  !http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/clothing/backgroundcolor:fafafa/bodycolor:babyblue/size:large/style:mens/view:preview/2065453-1-amore….

  I like the way my art has been developing. I took this design straight as my latest piece Amore =D Other t-shirt designs /

• Say "NO!" to the Orphan Works Act
  by bchrisdesigns

  I found out about this ludicrous proposed law on Red Bubble...

  I found out about this ludicrous proposed law on Red Bubble and wanted to let everyone else know what they can do about it! If you have not heard about the Orphan Works Act, then you should research it and speak out before it is too late (especially if you are an artist, writer, and/or musician)! No, this Act is not about displaced children or found animals. It revolves around works of art (including fine art, photography, writing, music, etc.) that are not registered with newly proposed agencies. ANY work not registered would be considered in the public domain. This is a dangerous concept and just goes to show how greedy and capitalistic our society, government, and big businesses have become. According to GoPetition.com: “If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we’ve created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won’t successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free. In short, if Congress passes this law, YOU WILL LOSE THE RIGHT TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR OWN CREATIONS!” We would be forced into a world where big business can bully us and use whatever they wanted and not be penalized for it. And, this law not only affects artists, writers, and musicians. It also affect the everyday consumer! If you are planning to get your the photographs of your cousin’s wedding developed at a Wal-Mart or other big box retailer, then you better be prepared to get every image copyrighted or you may just end up seeing them on Wal-Mart’s billboards! Gone would be the days of having rights the minute you create something. Now, if you don’t pay to protect it, then it is like no one created the image and it is up for grabs! Who wants to live in this kind of world other than greedy politicians and businesses? And, it does not surprise me that this has all happened under the Bush administration. Who were the idiots that voted for him and thought he would do us some good? Well, seems like the joke’s on YOU! In an April 10th article in Animation World Magazine, award-winning animation producer/director and speaker, Mark Simon, writes: “It is currently against international law to coerce people to register their work for copyright because there are so many inherent problems with it. But because big business can push through laws in the United States, our country is about to break with the rest of the world, again, and take your rights away. With the tens of millions of photos and pieces of artwork created each year, the bounty for forcing everyone to pay a registration fee would be enormous. We lose our rights and our creations, and someone else makes money at our expense. This includes every sketch, painting, photo, sculpture, drawing, video, song and every other type of creative endeavor. All of it is at risk! If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we’ve created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won’t successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free.” So, what can you do about it? Well educate yourself on the issues, write to your congress men and women, and sign as many petitions as your can. To get your started, check out this petition, which I have already signed: Say ‘NO!’ to the Orphan Works Act on GoPetition.com Also, be sure to check out these resources for more information: Say ‘NO!’ to the Orphan Works Act on GoPetition.com Mark Simon’s Mind Your Business: You Will Lose All The Rights to Your Own Art IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists U.S. Copyright’s Office Orphan Works Page ASMP’s Update on the 2008 Orphan Works Act You can also find more information about the Orphan Works Act on Red Bubble: Helen Bascom’s Protect Your Copyright – URGENT ACTION REQUIRED Erin Jay’s Something every artist should know about! Crockpot’s The Orphan Works Act of 2008 ~ RELEASE WanderingAuthor’s Writers’ Concerns bchrisdesigns’ Say ‘NO!’ to the Orphan Works Act The Red Bubble forum dedicated to this discussion Say No to Orphan Works Thread @ Burst Anime and Manga Mike Cressy’s IMPORTANT! READ AND ACT NOW!!!

• An update
  by Raven5

  Well it has been an interesting 4-5 weeks! I have had the break-up of a 6 yr relationship, an exhibition, the loss of my Paris exhibit…

  Well it has been an interesting 4-5 weeks! I have had the break-up of a 6 yr relationship, an exhibition, the loss of my Paris exhibition and trip in March 2009 due to the break-up and a partnership break-up at work too! The up side, is that I am now ready to put all this to canvas…. and I am already working on some interesting (and totally different) pieces. The exhibition is going well, finishes this week (Sunday 23rd) and I have now had confirmed from both the Paris Gallery and my Paris Apartment that they are prepared to “move” everything forward to a new date! The gallery has an available space in September 2009; still need to confirm the details and dates, and the apartment owner has been most gracious and has offered to re-let the apartment for March 2009 and “hold” for me September and October 2009 for the time being, until I can settle on dates/times etc. Everyone has been just so supportive and it goes without saying that this support has come from many of you @ Red Bubble – Thank you to all! I will keep everyone updated as things progesss but for now, thank you and talk soon! Raven PS: should have some new work rever soon too!

• RedBubble Update - Artist payments via PayPal and Color (Colour) t-shirt previews
  by RedBubble

  A couple of small changes were made to the site this morning. You can now elect to receive your funds transfers via a PayPal account…

  A couple of small changes were made to the site this morning. You can now elect to receive your funds transfers via a PayPal account (to change your payments settings go to mybubble->account->edit your payment details). And you can now choose what colour your t-shirt designs appear on the site. To change the default t-shirt colour go to mybubble->portfolio and click on the t-shirt design. Down the bottom of the screen you’ll see all the colour options and a new option called ‘preferred style’.

• Get your new RedBubble - Colour t-shirts and more
  by RedBubble

  Well this morning we’ve released a new version of RedBubble. There’s a whole bunch of changes and improvements (most of them under the h…

  Well this morning we’ve released a new version of RedBubble. There’s a whole bunch of changes and improvements (most of them under the hood) the three most public improvements are: / - 8 new adult colour t-shirts; / - international artists can sell via RedBubble; and / - images not for sale can be seen in the recent area of the gallery. T-shirt designers – by default all old designs are only available on white t-shirts. You can change this in mybubble->portfolio. Just select the t-shirt design and then select what colours you would like to make available. However no matter what colour you make available they will still only preview in white, but the options will be there for the buyer.