WOW, it really snuck up on me this year....Christmas. Not that it's a bad thing. It's actually really great. I've been having a couple of really bad months with the lay-off of my husband and a really disappointing diagnosis for my daughter. But the wonderment from my children has already brought this season, has made up for some of the gloom and doom. Their smiles and shrieks and all-around good cheer is inspiring to see. And they had such fun putting up the tree. We've been able to scrape up enough money to get one thing each that they really want so I know we will see some big grins on Christmas morning. And they've asked to visit snow this year so that will be easy to do. I know lots of you "visit" it every day. Maybe you might like our Southwestern clime for a while? But I do know that I really miss snow at Christmas. It just isn't the same. And I hope you all enjoy it.
All the wonderful parts of Christmas.

And remember that we are always here to fulfill your siggy, blinkie or glitter needs anytime. Maybe something for the holidays or New Year?

We all here at Graphic Central wish you the merriest of holiday seasons!



Each month, someone here at Graphic Central with share an aspect that they do here with everyone. Sometimes it will be challenging and sometimes it will be easier to follow.
But I'm sure it will always be interesting to learn.

How to Drop Shadow in PSP

First you make sure that you are on the layer that contains the element you are going to drop shadow.

Then go to Effects>3D Effects>Drop Shadow

Then you can find a setting that will look good for what you are doing. And that will be up to you. With words, I usually go with a setting like this:



If you want to "spread" the drop shadow further out under something,
the numbers would look something like this:





You can set your color to any kind of grey setting you like. Some will look better with a dark color and some with a lighter color. You can also move the drop shadow around and make it come
from the left or right, up or down.
It's all in the eye of the maker.


There is also another bit more difficult way to do it.

Make sure you are on the layer of the object you are drop shadowing.

Then go to Layers>Vector Layer

Go to your Ellipse tool and set your Colors Materials Box to Gray in both Foreground and Background. I use the 3rd Grey color.

Then you DRAG your cursor from the bottom to the top right and it will make a elliptical gray egg that will sit in front of your object. You will then take your cursor and put the ellipse into a working mode. I've put an arrow where that is. It also looks like the figure I've shown on the ornament. I want you to make the ellipse the size of the ornament as shown.



Next you will take the layer that is covered, make sure it's highlighted in the palette, and drag it over the gray egg. Next make sure you have the egg highlighted in the palette and you will be able to drag that into a drop shadow. Right? Left? Anywhere you want. But you want it to "peek" out from behind the object.

But there is one more step.

Next you need to go to Adjust>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set it for what suits the object. Here I used a 7.



I hope you all liked it and have fun drop shadowing.




Our Get-To-Know-You question of the month is do you wrap presents well or are you a bad present wrapper. All host please leave the answer to this question in the leaders board and also your
email address so you can get your P&P points.



Earn points. Win prizes.

It sounds easy because it is! You can earn points to win fabulous prizes -- like movie and TV show DVDs, CDs, gift cards, books, calendars, planners, beauty products, magazine subscriptions and much more -- by becoming a Points & Prizes member!

Want to know more?

Here's how it works:

Get free points by visiting web sites
You'll have lots of chances to find point codes throughout our partners' web sites. You can pick up even more points by subscribing to and reading email newsletters, entering contests and doing other easy, everyday things.

Redeem your points for a variety of prizes
Our prize box is regularly updated with all kinds of new goodies you can "buy" with your points.


It's free to join, and registration is fast and easy. Sign up here!




Dec. 1st - Rosa Park's Day, World AIDS Day, Eat a Red Apple Day
Dec. 2nd - National Fritters Day
Dec. 3rd - International Day of the Disabled Person, National Roof-Over-Your-Head Day
Dec. 4th - National Cookie Day, Wear Brown Shoes Day
Dec. 6th - St Nicholas Day, Mitten Tree Day
Dec. 7th - Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day, National Cotton Candy Day
Dec. 8th - National Brownie Day
Dec 10th - Human Rights Day
Dec. 11th - National Noodle Ring Day
Dec. 12th - Poinsettia Day
Dec. 13th - National Cocoa Day
Dec. 15th - Bill of Rights Day
Dec. 16th - National Covered with Chocolate Anything Day
Dec. 17th - National Maple Syrup Day
Dec. 18th - Wear a Plunger on Your Head Day
Dec. 19th - Oatmeal Muffin Day
Dec. 20th - Games Day
Dec. 21st - Hanukkah begins at Sundown, First Day of Winter, Look at the Bright Side Day, National Flashlight Day
Dec. 23rd - Roots Day
Dec. 24th - Christmas Eve, National Egg Nog Day
Dec. 25th- Christmas, National Pumpkin Pie Day
Dec. 26th - Boxing Day, Kwanzaa Begins, National Whiners Day
Dec. 27th - Visit the Zoo Day
Dec. 28th - National Chocolate Day, Card Playing Day
Dec. 31st - New Year's Eve

Special Goings-On
Hi Neighbor Month
Kwanzaa, African Harvest Festival (Last week in December)
National Stress Free Family Holiday Month
Read A New Book Month
Safe Toy and Gift Month
Universal Human Rights Month
Write to a Friend Month



Festive Eggnog Cake

You will have fond memories during your holiday get-togethers when
your family and friends taste this delicious cake.

Yields - 15 servings

Ingredients:

* CAKE
* 4 large eggs
* 1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) French vanilla or yellow cake mix
* 1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) French vanilla or vanilla instant pudding and pie filling
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 2 teaspoons rum extract
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
* 1 2/3 cups (10 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® SWIRLED™ Holiday Morsels, divided

* FROSTING
* 1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
* 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
* 2 cups powdered sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:
FOR CAKE:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease and flour 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

BEAT eggs in large mixer bowl for 1 minute or until frothy. Add cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, rum extract and nutmeg. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup of morsels. Spread in prepared pan.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup morsels over batter.

BAKE for 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Spread frosting over cake. Sprinkle with remaining morsels.

FOR FROSTING:
BEAT cream cheese and butter in small mixer bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in
powdered sugar and nutmeg until smooth.




Bead Wreath

The wreath can symbolize the circle of friendship, which makes this decorative sun catcher just the gift for almost anyone on your family's list.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
16- to 20-gauge silver-colored craft wire
Wire cutters
Translucent plastic beads (with center holes large enough to thread the wire through)
Ribbon
Fishing line or monofilament

Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Cut the wire to a length that will form a loop the size of the wreath you plan to make plus 6 inches (16-gauge wire works best for larger wreaths).

2. Curl one end to keep the beads from sliding off, then thread on the beads from the opposite end.

3. Twist the wire ends together to close the circle and wrap the loose ends around the wire between the beads.

4. Tie on a ribbon and a loop of fishing line or monofilament for a hanger.



The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards....
Kim Edwards's stunning family drama evokes the spirit of Sue Miller and Alice Sebold, articulating every mother's silent fear: what would happen if you lost your child and she grew up without you? In 1964, when a blizzard forces Dr. David Henry to deliver his own twins, he immediately recognizes that one of them has Down Syndrome and makes a split-second decision that will haunt all their lives forever. He asks his nurse to take the baby away to an institution and to keep her birth a secret. Instead, she disappears into another city to raise the child as her own. Compulsively readable and deeply moving, The Memory Keeper's Daughter is an astonishing tale of redemptive love.
Doesn't that sound fasinating? I think that will be something I will be reading in the New Year.



We thought maybe you might have a question about something that goes on here at Graphic Central. We have lots of forums here...Photography, Signature Fun-which includes, Blinkies, Glitter Names and Custom Signatures and Graphics. The hosts have added tutorials in each category if you would like to learn any of these graphics arts. Please read through the tutorials and have a go at it. And please show us what you make. We'd love to see. We are also very open to having volunteers and/or Hosts in our requests forums. Please inquire within about becoming a volunteer if you know how to make blinkies, glitters, siggies or graphics of any kind. If you have any other questions, something you would like to know about any of these fields, please let us know and we will give you the answer in the following newsletter next month. Just leave us a post.