My Obsession

Creative Imagery Forum

Mon, 28 May 2007 21:14:02 GMT

The Creative Imagery forum has a new home!
You can find it at http://creative-imagery.elspethmac.com
Please update your bookmarks!!
It has an entirely new layout and the forum is now much easier to manage and I am sure that our members will find it easier to navigate and post entrys.
I hope you'll come and join.

A spot of creating!

Sat, 12 May 2007 09:44:19 GMT

I've actually been feeling creative lately and have come up with the following things.
Two wallpapers and a whole bunch of icons which include:

Chris Cornell
CSI: MIami
Catch & Release (A film with Jennifer Garner & Timothy Olyphant)

These two wallpapers were made for challenges over at Creative Strokes.
I won first prize with my Anna Paquin entry. The Katherine Heigl challenge is still open.

Chris Cornell

CSI: Miami

Catch & Release

Feel free to snag... but please remember to credit me. Thanks. :)

A new look

Tue, 01 May 2007 11:32:16 GMT

I changed the look of my website and ended up using the banner from my livejournal. So rather than having the same banner here I thought I'd try something simple and I ended up with this rather simple hillside view. But as grooni pointed out my James Bond icon didn't really go with the new look so I also created a variety of vector style icons.

My hubby asked me why they were so small (he doesn't get the whole lj thing) so to keep him happy I made a bigger version of the balloon watching icon and altered it slightly until I was happy with the look.

Click to view larger version.

Please let me know what you think of the new lj look as well as the icons and wallpaper.
I'm still relatively new at using the pen tool and I'd appreciate feedback so I can improve.

Feel free to snag... but please remember to credit me. :)

A couple of wallpapers

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:36:04 GMT

I decided I would try to create a white and black collage using the same images and stocks and these are what I came up with.

Stock images came from Stock Xchng and the one texture was created by tihana.
Brushes are my own and Touchstone's

Feedback is appreciated and.... let me know if you snag either or both of them.
Thanks. :)

Bond icons and light bursts.

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 15:44:20 GMT

I am really looking forward to the new James Bond film - haven't seen it yet. It comes out on dvd in March so it's going on my "must buy" list for that month. I've read the book many years ago and I like the James Bond series... okay not Roger Moore... he was just too naff... my favourites have been Sean Connery (of course!!) and Timothy Dalton. For me TM came the closest to the character in the books.. granted the stories didn't but you can't have everything. And while Pierce Brosnan did an okay job... I didn't think he was anything startling. I've seen quite a few of Daniel Craig's work - I first saw him in Tomb Raider and liked the character of Alex West... loved the way he said "And now a *cold* shower." :D But from what I've seen of "Casino Royale" - it looks good and dare I say slightly more intelligent than some of the latter James Bond films.
Anyway I decided to create some James Bond icons with of course Daniel Craig.

One of the members over at Creative Imagery asked me to create some larger versions of the light burst icons I had previously posted so I made a total of 10 today.

Please comment and credit me if you snag any. Thanks. :)

Preview

Some text icons.

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 16:40:52 GMT

I did a spot of icon creating and came up with these animated text icons.

All quotes are by Billy Connolly
Textures by dearest and iconistas.

I'd appreciate feedback and if you snag any of them, please let me know. :)

Salmond in New Year message

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 08:41:11 GMT

SNP leader Alex Salmond has posted his New Year message on the video-sharing website, YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cD1g11yYZc
The SNP claimed it was the first New Year message from a Scottish political leader to be broadcast online. Mr Salmond used the speech, recorded at Kinnaird Head Lighthouse in Fraserburgh, to outline his party's aim for peace, prosperity and justice.
He said: "Let us resolve this year to steer our country out of rough waters and bring her under the safety of the independence light."

A belated Merry Christmas to everyone!

Sat, 30 Dec 2006 14:10:15 GMT

I finally got my computer back after the Christmas break.. a sneaky virus had made it almost impossible to do anything on my computer... thankfully it didn't do anything to the files so I was able to backup the major ones like graphics and some programs. My hubby bought me a new hard drive (350GB) for my Xmas so I transferred everything to that and reformatted the old hard drive which had a measly 180GB.... so now I have a lovely new hard drive with hardly anything on it. And boy does it run a whole lot faster than the whole hard drive.

I hope everyone had a great Xmas and had a lovely time with their family and friends... we did! And only one argument which has to a new record for us. Normally there is some kind of argument before the presents get opened... it's all that waiting... it's just not good for you!!! :D

Anyway I wanted to wish all my friends a safe and enjoyable Hogmanay (New Year). I hope you have a lovely evening no matter how you celebrate it. Me.. I'm going to settle for a wee dram and some shortbread... standard Scottish greeting to the new year... and hope that a tall dark man crosses my threshold... it's supposed to bring good luck to the house.

Lang Mae Your Lum Reek!

A Dog is For Life!

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 08:42:17 GMT

I saw an article about puppies being bought as Christmas presents which reminded me of a Blue Peter program about how pets were for life and not just Christmas so I thought I'd make some icons to try and get that message across.

Feel free to snag them... but please credit.
Thanks.

St. Andrew's Day - Scotland's National Day

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 17:48:53 GMT

I am proud to be born on this day since it's Scotland's national day, but I think it's a shame that it's not celebrated more by other Scots around the world. It's not even a celebrated holiday like St. Patrick's. But MSP's backed a bill yesterday which allows businesses to declare it a holiday. The proposals will see 30th November become a voluntary holiday from next year. Banks and other organisations will be legally allowed, but not compelled, to close.

Ninth century Scotland didn't really exist as a unified nation. The Picts ruled over much of the east and north, while the Scots ruled out of the Kingdom of Dalriada (now Argyll) in the west. What is now known as the Lothians belonged to neither Scots nor Picts and was in a constant state of flux between the Angles and the "Picto-Scots".

In 832AD a raiding party made up of Picts under King Angus and Scots led by Eochaidh, King of Dalriada, were fleeing from a large contingent of Northumbrian Angles under the command of Athelstan.

The Northumbrian force pursued the Picts to Markle, in East Lothian - now Athelstaneford. There they found their passage barred by the wide valley of the River Peffer. The Northumbrian army surrounded the Picts and King Angus realised he’d have to turn and fight. The night before the battle, as the forces mustered around him, he prayed for a miracle. According to legend, Saint Andrew came to him in a vision and not only promised that he would survive but also that he would be victorious in battle. King Angus vowed that if this came true he would adopt Saint Andrew as the patron saint of Alba (Scotland).

As the two armies met the next day it is said that a white cloud formation of a saltire - or X-shaped cross - formed against the blue sky. This highly effective morale-boost encouraged the Picts to fight on, and they triumphed on the battlefield, killing Athelstan and routing the Angle army.

From that day on, the Saltire was adopted as the emblem of Scotland and Saint Andrew was indeed adopted as our national Saint.

Anyway since it's my birthday I thought I would make some icons celebrating my birthplace and symbols associated with it.
Some with text... some without.

Feel free to snag any you like... but please credit.
Thanks.

My Star Sign in Celtic Astrology - The Elder Tree

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 14:50:28 GMT

The Elder tree was sacred to the faeries and branches were hung above stables to protect horses from evil spirits. It was unlucky to burn Elder and an omen of death to bring it indoors. Elder people are self sufficient, lively, impetuous and outspoken. They dislike routine and refuse to be pressured by others. Restless and highly energetic, they thrive on change and need constant mental and physical challenge.

25 November - 23 December

Happy Birthday Thuemy!

Tue, 21 Nov 2006 09:36:30 GMT

I created this little birthday card thingy for thuemy.
She's having a bit of a rough time at the moment so I hoped this would help cheer her up.

Challenge entry

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 16:23:44 GMT

I created this for a challenge over at blend_it and thought I'd post it here as well.

What a cutie!

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 16:30:22 GMT

Every week I get a newsletter from The Scotman's Heritage & Culture. It keeps me up to date with what's going on in Scotland and has lots of other little titbits. The cover image this week was this and I just had to post it since he's such a cutie. He's a Highland cow calf, one of the most canny creatures there are.

Doctor's visit.

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:29:23 GMT

I was at the doctor's today as I've had a cough for over 3 weeks. I've also had trouble swallowing and my voice gets all hoarse and I start coughing if I say more than three sentences at a time. My husband is enjoying the peace and quiet!! Anyway the doctor had taken blood from me last week to run various checks. They all came back normal. So he had a look at my throat both inside and out and I have an enlarged thyroid gland so I'm being referred to a specialist and will more than likely have to have an operation to get my thyroid or part of it removed. It's supposed to be a fairly easy operation but it'll mean that I have to stay at least 4 days in hospital. Oh joy... hospital food! So it's not really been that good of a day for me.

On the other hand I did have a chance to get my new layout up... and I got all the kinks out. The layout style is by cartonage but the graphics (banner and icon) were created by me. I'd like to hear what you think of it and if it looks okay in your browser.

Tidy up Dad!

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 15:38:57 GMT

I was browsing the web and found this site http://www.flashearth.com/ which is able to show things in greater depth than Google Earth. So I did a bit of browsing about with it and then decided to check my parents house. My dad has moved his car from his usual postion and I could see that he hadn't tidied up after doing some hedge trimming, all the cuttings were left in front of the garage. So I phoned them and he couldn't understand how I would know something like that so I told him and he was quite startled that the satellite was able to get such detail.
So was I... but not everyone would be able to see what it was. :)
Anyway here's the closest I could get to their house which is way closer than Google Earth had ever been able to.

How To Buy A Kilt

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 09:22:55 GMT

Dr Nicholas J Fiddes, Governor of the Scottish Tartans Authority, has written a free guide to why you should wear a kilt, and what kind of kilt to get; how to source true quality, and avoid the swindlers; find your own tartans, and get the best materials; know the outfit for any occasion, and understand accessories.

It's all available in a downloadable PDF format (1.5MB).

All views and information are the personal views of Nick Fiddes - but he has a lot of experience and background. It's written in non-technical language to be as clear and easy to read as possible. So if you are thinking of buying a kilt (and if you're not - why not?)

Download
Kilts & Tartan
free e-book

Recommended: Free Kilts & Tartan e-book

"Buying your Kilt - Made Easy"
An Expert Insider's Frank Views and Simple Tips by Dr Nicholas J Fiddes (Governor, Scottish Tartans Authority)

Why you should wear a kilt, and what kind of kilt to get
How to source true quality, and avoid the swindlers
Find your own tartans, and get the best materials
Know the outfit for any occasion, and understand accessories

Some new wallpapers.

Sun, 02 Apr 2006 09:52:54 GMT

I've been doing quite a bit of creating recently and the results are shown below.

If you can only see a Hotlinking Image: You'll need to either go to my RDAW website or my LiveJournal site to view these image since my site doesn't allow direct linking of any kind. You can link to my php pages but not directly to any image files. I was getting blasted with large amounts of bandwidth and this was the only way to stop people leeching images from my site. I know not everyone was or is doing it, but it seemed the easiest way to actually stop people trying circumvent my actual pages.

I've had quite a bit of feedback about them all, the most popular one seems to be the Torri Higginson one and the least popular seems to be the faded one of Daniel & Vala. Most people who've given feedback say that it's too glaring, I don't think so, but that could just be my flat screen settings.
Anyone have any opinons on them?

My fanart challenges are back online but they seem to be going quite slowly at the moment, we could do with more entrants so if you are interested, please have a look at the current challenges and feel free to enter.

Wallpapers and Hex icons... and some real life updates.

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 12:06:30 GMT

I can't believe that the last time I updated my lj was in Dec... sheesh that's dire!
I have managed to make some wallpapers and some lj icons.

Sample



Wallpapers


Hex Icons


I have had a few things to see to since the start of the new year, like my Mum being diagnosed with Parkinsons (that was a hard blow) and then my husband's aunt was diagnosed with cancer... turns out she's riddled with it and there are 3 areas in her brain that are affected.... so she's turning really loopy! And not in a good way. My brother is still m.i.a..... we've not heard sight nor sound from him since last summer.... goodness knows what's going on there! But my other brother and I talked about getting a dishwasher for my Mum since she's having such a hard time of it with the Parkinsons's and my dad's like, "Wash dishes... uh.. how do you do that?!" so we thought it would be nice for her just to load the machine and let it get on with the washing. It arrives tomorrow and my brother is installing it for her. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that it'll be easy enough for her to understand... but if she can understand her mobile phone (that I gave her last summer) and send txt messages then I think she'll do fine!
My dad did make mentionings that he would like a mobile phone as well... but that might not be a good idea... this is the man who when my Mum said she had to make or receive a phonecall every six months to keep her connection open asked her, "Wouldn't that be an expensive call!" Enough said!
What else has been going on.... oh yeah both my son and I have been ill with mild flu symptoms, but life definitley goes on when you are a housewife and mum. My husband's new anti-depression pills aren't working as well as they should, so there is major drama going on that area... sometimes I wish I had a recorder so I could tape him and then let him listen to his ramblings several years on... but I doubt I'd be that popular if I did that... it's tempting though.

Some new updates

Thu, 01 Dec 2005 08:57:15 GMT

I finally managed to get all my sites updated with new looks and new additions. I'm really bad at getting things finished especially since I always want to keep fiddling and adjusting things. My Celebrity Fanart site has new additions... it has 5 new wallpapers. They are of Shane West & Mandy Moore, Jay Leno, Carmen Electra, Gary Dourdan and Scarlett Johansson. There are also a couple of lj icons.
http://www.elspethmac.com/s-n-s/

And that's about that. Not much else to tell. My birthday was yesterday, on St. Andrews Day which is is Scotland's National Day. St. Andrew was also Scotland's Patron Saint, so I'm very proud to have been born on that day. I'm not going to say how many birthdays I celebrated yesterday, but my brother did manage to send some nice and a few rotten presents. The nice one was a polished/brushed silver broach done in a Charles Rennie MacIntosh design. And the other two were Nivea's Age Defying Cream and Denture Cleansing Tablets. Of course I don't need either but he's older than me and does like to tease me. I did get a good laugh when I say what it was he'd sent me. There is going to be some severe payback on his next birthday though.

Some new wallpapers

Sat, 10 Sep 2005 17:08:32 GMT

I managed to do some creating this past week. About blooming time my muse came back, she's been on an extrememly long holiday! But hopefully she'll be around for while now. ;)
Anyway I finished 4 wallpapers in a new style for me... I like how they turned out, especially the colours.
To see samples with links to the larger 1024x768 version

I'd appreciate comments and feedback. Feel free to snag them if you like them. :)

A bit of self denial and PHP.

Wed, 17 Aug 2005 16:02:49 GMT

I can't believe I've been back from Scotland almost 3 weeks now. Time always seems to fly once I'm back and I tend to go through quite a bit of self denial about being back. I could quite happily have stayed over there longer, but yet when I was over there I missed my family here... does that make sense? Now if I could live 6 months in each country I would be extremely happy. :) Anyway enough of being maudlin, I had a great time and enjoyed spending time with both my brothers (and sister-in-law), my parents and my nephew, who is really cute and very cheeky. He calls me "Auntie Ellie" as Elspeth is too difficult to say. He's 2. The weather was absolutely gorgeous the entire time I was there, it only rained once and that lasted all of an hour and even then it was just drizzle.

To view some of my photos from Scotland go to my Photobucket account and access the Scotland folder.
http://photobucket.com/albums/y91/elspethmac/
Password: happy

On other matters I am in the process of converting all of my sites over to php, so far I've done my husband's tattoo site and my Resource site. The other two are taking slightly longer but that's because I'm now starting to fiddle with the code as I get the hang of things. I can't believe how easy it is to create a site using php, when I first looked at books about the language.... it really was another language and one I never thought I'd get the hang of.... not that I'm totally sure of it yet but I'm getting there. Plus it'll make changing any future new layouts that much easier.

Scotland.... here I come!

Sun, 10 Jul 2005 06:40:17 GMT

Can't believe today is finally here but it is. :) I head off for Scotland early this afternoon and arrive in Aberdeen around 5pm. My brother's meeting me and then we're going to his house. I'll be spending a few days with him and his wife in Stonehaven before heading down to Perth to my folks.
I'm nervous but it's a good kind of nervous, if there is such a thing. :) I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. I spoke to my mum last night and she said that they hadn't managed to sell the last of the Jack Russell pups that their dog Katie had back in May, so there will be a little 12 week old puppy there when I arrive. They are still hoping to sell it so if there are any takers?! :D I'll be sure to take some photos of her and post them when I get back.

Time fair flies!

Fri, 08 Jul 2005 07:37:28 GMT

Sheesh I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted. I started out having problems with my internet connection and then I had about all of one afternoon before my computer upped and died on me. Nothing I did worked and barring a complete reinstall of Windows XP (no way was I doing that as I would lose everything on my hd) I knew I had to take it in to get repaired. So I ended up doing that but the computer shop was short staffed and they wouldn't even get a chance to look at my computer until after the weekend. Shoot. Anyway I got my computer back last Thursday with a new motherboard and ram installed and a new cabinet (black.. my old one was a dirty white). I ended up paying 900Dkr which is roughly $150 which I'm assured is quite cheap. I had the money (holiday money) so I could pay the bill, I wasn't too bothered by it I just wanted my little computer back. It's amazing how quickly we get attached to having them in our houses. I'm glad I have my computer back, it's so quiet now and it now has so many usb ports that I don't have to root about round the back trying to find the port for my iPod Shuffle, now I can just stick in the front. So much easier.

I was so stunned by the terrorist attacks yesterday in London, there's not much I can add to the already growing response to the attacks apart from my heart goes out to the family and friends of all who died or were injured in the blasts. I hope whoever did this is found.

On another note, I head off to bonnie Scotland on Sunday for two whole weeks. Yipee!! I am so looking forward to seeing my family again and speaking Scots all the time (I speak half Scots and half Danish most of the time). The weather is supposed to be good but I know that might not last but I don't really care as I'm not going to sightsee but to catch up with my brothers and my parents. I'm also looking forward to spending time with my 2 year old nephew. I'm sure he'll be looking forward to getting into my suitcase to see if Auntie Elspeth brought him a present. :)
I will be sure to post some photos when I get back, but as I will be on the other side of the camera don't expect any photos of me. Good excuse eh?! :D

Pub Poster

Wed, 22 Jun 2005 11:26:39 GMT

When I read this news article and saw the poster being used in the campaign I thought it was interesting and worth showing others... hopefully making other women aware of the hazards of over drinking.

The posters are in over 500 pub toilets throughout the country (UK) and the campaign warns of potential dangers from losing valuables to being assaulted. "Alcohol affects your judgement," says chief executive Jean Coussins, of the drinks lobby organisation the Portman group. "You might think that taking that short cut or going home with a stranger is a good idea but you could be taking a huge risk:"

Click here to read full article.