May is here, that means Mother's Day is just around the corner! This is the time of year when we all think about mom. Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies, soon-to-be mommies, and grandmas!

Good Luck, to Kristina who is expecting her third baby this May!
A big Welcome to Richelle who is now a host on the Graphics board.

Remember that we are always here to fulfil your siggy, blinky or glitter needs anytime. Maybe you would like something for Mother's Day or Summer?

Our Get-To-Know-You question this month is: What is your most memorable Mother's Day moment? Please share. Please, all hosts answer this question in the Community Leaders board and leave your P&P email address so you get your points. Thank you.

*remember to answer this question as your monthly check-in in Community Leaders! When answering, please let me know your Points & Prizes username.

Each month we try to enclose a hint or tutorial written by one of our hosts. This month’s tutorial is written by Kristina


1 - Start with blank canvas

2 - Select two coordinating colors for your stripes by double clicking the foreground and background buttons

3 - Select the Gradient Tool

4 - By holding down the SHIFT key, drag your mouse over your blank canvas creating a straight, vertical gradient



5 - Select FILTER -> DISTORT -> WAVE



6 - Set the number of generators to 999 and wavelength to 25 and 25 (amplitude and scale are irrelevant)



7 - And, VOILA! Perfect stripes!



Strawberry Pie
RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
SHELL
1 9-inch frozen pie crust
FILLING
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
TOPPING
3 cups whole strawberries, washed and hulled
GLAZE
3 tbsp. apricot jam
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract


1. Bake the piecrust according to the package directions and then set it aside to cool.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Spoon the filling into the cooled piecrust, spreading it evenly in the shell. Arrange the strawberries, bottoms up, on top of the filling.

3. Next, heat the apricot jam, sugar and vanilla extract together in a saucepan, stirring occasionally, until the mixture just begins to boil. Remove the pan from the stove and use a pastry brush to paint each berry with the glaze (a fun job for kids). Chill for 30 minutes before serving. Serves 6.


Craft Of The Month is Making A Bookmark



Jam-packed with sentiment and unique as your child's thumbprint, these berry bookmarks make practical Mother's Day gifts for mom and grandma.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
Light-colored card stock
Scrap paper
Nontoxic red stamp pad
Colored markers
Hole punch
Ribbon

Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Cut out 2 ½- by 8-inch rectangles from the card stock. On scrap paper, have your child practice printing a heart-shaped berry by pressing her thumb evenly on the stamp pad and stamping two overlapping prints in the form of a V. Then she can print a berry on each bookmark.

2. When the ink dries, use colored markers to draw on seeds and stems, borders, a sweet message, such as "I'm berry fond of you," and her name. Finally, punch a hole in each bookmark and tie on a pretty ribbon.



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!

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Special days

1 May Day, Law Day, Loyalty Day
2 Join Hands Day
5 Cinco De Mayo, National Teachers Day
7 National Day of Prayer
10 Mother's Day
12 Nurses Day
15 Peace Officers Memorial Day, National Defense Transportation Day, Police
Day, Start of National Safe Boating Week, Transportation Week
16 Armed Forces Day
18 Victoria Day
19 National Garlic Day
22 National Maritime Day
25 Memorial Day
29 Shavou'ot / Pentecost Day



Month Long observances


Teelmark Month,National Physical Fitness & Sports Month, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, Better Hearing and Speech Month, Better Sleep Month, National Bike Month, Egg Month (National), Huntington's Disease Awareness Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, Military Appreciation Month (National), Neurofibromatosis Awareness Month, Older Americans Month, Pet Cancer Awareness Month, Physical Fitness & Sports Month, Teacher Appreciation Month, Tennis Month, Trauma Awareness Month







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 making something new. 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

Question - how do I get in touch with the staff at Graphic Central?
You can either email or PM ...

Please note, that our wonderful CD Amanda is going on a much needed holiday from the 12th to the end of the month, so if you have any questions please contact me Pamela the Graphic Central ACD.

Community Director - Amanda aka crisantemo amandamcwhinney@aol.com

Assistant Community Director - Pamela aka PamelaT Pamela_Tingle@yahoo.com

Would you like to have a special anniversary, birthday, or celebration you would like honoured in the monthly newsletter? Just let the Community Director know before the 25th of the month to get it into the following month's newsletter.