Paper.li - Curate the Info You Want to Read!

Good morning, friends -

I was introduced to a new concept that I want to share: Paper.li - a site where you can create your own online newspaper!
You can "automatically find, publish &  promote engaging articles, photos and videos from across the web" - Here's a glimpse at mine:


You go in, give your newspaper a title and begin adding content sources.  I selected Twitter feeds that used the words "quilting", "knitting", "scrapbooking" and Pinterest to start.  Then, I chose websites I thought would have interesting feeds that fall in the same theme, such as JoAnn's & Michael's, All People Quilt and Scrapbooking.com.  You can find oodles more!

All you do is click the + sign and over they go, to the right hand column, ready to say "fetch" (so to speak). Once you give Paper.li the green light, out it goes, finding, checking and pulling together interesting articles, photos and videos from all over the world on that topic!  Seriously, this could get addictive.

You can choose whether you want it to publish 2 times a day, once a day or once a week.  The articles and information will remain the same till that time.  I embedded it on the side of my blog.  All you need to do, to go to the entire paper is click on the title "The World of Crafts" (you'll see the link come up) and off you go to a full-size copy you can read on the screen.

If you click on the little envelop next to "Share" you can subscribe to my paper, The World of Crafts and receive it in your inbox each day!  I am soooo excited!  Dee at Moonpreneur.net pointed me to this and deserves a BIG hug and THANK YOU! She does a nice job of explaining things and got me on my way.

Once you make your own, you can embed it in a post (like the one above) or put it in to your blog (like the one in the lower right here).  To find the HTML open the newspaper and click on "Share" - it asks you if you want to share it, embed it or promote it (both are viewed differently on a website).

What do you think?  Do you like the first version?  I will be toying with it over time, so take a peek later and see what you think.  I like some of the videos, myself.

The free version, which I am trying out, doesn't allow me to control the content very well - if you see something you think isn't appropriate, let me know.  Paper.li is choosing what is shown - which may very well change if I decide I like it.  The upgraded version is $9/month - it's pretty reasonable, but I want to see what you all think of it, first.  If you like it and find it useful, I will upgrade and have even more fun!

So, take a peek and if you have a chance, come back and give me some input.
Quilty hugs,
Carrie

Ipad App Review: Repix - Photo Fun!

Good morning, friends  -

I thought it might be fun to share our opinions on some of the apps ("Yes, there's an app for that...") we use here in Whitt World.  I'd like to start with a fun one I just discovered: Repix.

repix.it

I found it while checking out the App Store and gave the free version a try.  You start with a photo they have of what looks like a cherry tree branch.  There are a series of "magical reprix brushes" that you "rub" over the photo that give a variety of effects.  Don't like it? Hit the undo button and try again!

I found there was plenty I could do with the free options, but I was having so much fun that I sprang for the $4.99 upgrade to get all the brushes and it was totally worth it! 

Here is the original photo (that came with the app):

Here's my first "finished" picture:

You can see where the basic form came from, but I played with all sorts of brushes and ended up with a piece that I thought might look nice matted and framed!  How cool is that??

Here's one I did with a shot of my grandson:

Original

Repix Version

On this one, I took the saturation to -100 (removed color) and then used the Charcoal brush and the Edger once I had what I liked.  Looks like I drew it!

I see some GREAT Christmas gifts in the form of images in the works for the family this year.  I will have a follow-up posting on how I do that, for sure!

If you give Repix a try, let me know what you think!

Get creative today - Carrie