Adding a PDF to Your Blog - Ask Candy

This weeks question comes from Lindy of Crafted by Lindy.

Hello! Please help. I've wanted to do this for a long time. You know those blog posts where the person posting offers up a pdf for their readers to download and use, like tags, labels, etc. How do they do that? I mean I know how to make a pdf but how do they link it in their blog post so that readers can click and the pdf comes up and then they can print out the tags? Here's a link to exactly what I want to know how to do! How About Orange Printable Jar Labels

Hi Lindy! I know exactly how frustrating it is when you see something on someone else's blog/website that you'd like to do and you don't know how - my biggest problem is not knowing what the thing is called in the first place! Now, the example you sent me from How About Orange (a fabulous, fun site) the PDF isn't actually hosted on her blogger blog: if you look in the address bar of the PDF itself you'll see that it is located on her website. That's because you can't upload PDFs to blogger blogs! But have no fear, I've figured out a workaround for you, and I thought I'd try to make this post useful for lots of people, so I'm going to give instructions for Wordpress & Typepad Folks too! (Please note! I'm just providing info the way I see it - I'm sure there are other ways to do things!)

Inserting PDF's in Blogger Posts

Whenever you post something on your blog, you're uploading information that other folks are going to be accessing to a network of computers - they "host" your data. With Blogger blogs the hosting is controlled by Google, and because blogger is free, anyone using it has to accept that. So there are some limitations to what you can upload! Blogger only allows you to upload and store pictures and text. So what you need to do is find another place to host your PDF document.

There are many sites that let you do this (Scribd, Keep and Share are just 2, there are tons), but most often with these sites the user has to log on and create a profile, and sometimes that's a hurdle folks don't want to go through. So dear old Google comes through for us by letting us share PDF's using Google Docs!

1. Make your pdf and save it on your hard drive.
2. Head on over to Google Docs.
3. Upload the PDF (see the button circled in green):
4. Once the upload is complete, you'll see the name of your file as a link - click on the link. In the upper left hand corner is a button that says "Share" click on that and change the sharing settings to "public on the web".
5. Here's the counter intuitive step: go back to your Google docs page, you should see your document. Click on it, and this time when it comes up in your browser you'll see 2 helpful windows in the right hand side (circled in green):

6. Those are links you can use. The top "email" link will give you this result if you link to it, the bottom link will allow you to embed it in a page like this.

Please note, that the pictures look grainy and the text may look a bit wonky if you use a special font while being viewed on Google docs/your web page - but once the file is downloaded and opened on the computer everything looks hunky dory. (Test this before going live, I personally would have changed my fonts if I this had happened to me).

I sent these instructions to Lindy ahead of time and tested them out - and she was able to post a PDF to her blog, how exciting! Go check out what she did!

Inserting PDFs into Wordpress & Typepad blogs

Well, we Wordpress & Typepad folks have it easier! (I checked this out with Jan of Daisy Janie, who has a Typepad blog).

1. In the Wordpress create post window is a little button you press that says "add media" when you mouse over it, very close to the "add picture" button, I've circled it in green here:

2. When you do, you'll get the add media window - navigate to your file on your computer and select it, then add a title (the top circle) and press the button that says "file URL", this will give you a link to the file for the words you typed in the title box above.
3. 
4. Press "insert in post" and Bob's your Uncle, a link to a PDF! Easy Peasy!

And although the pix from Wordpress won't match up to you Typepad folk,s it ought to be something similiar. What I find fascinating is our inability to see something right in front of our face...I had been blogging way over a year before I wanted to attach a PDF and it took a bit of Googling before I realized that little button had been there all along!

And, I know that this answers Lindy's question - because she already tried this all out! Let's go see what PDF she posted!

Don't forget to send in your questions! Next week - now hold your excitement - sewing machine feet!

[Candy lives in California with her husband, 2 boys, and dog. Aside from being wife, mom, teacher, crafter, web guru and all around doer extraordinaire she manages her own business, Candied Fabrics. You can read her blog here.]

Captured: Bergeronnette printanière

Bergeronnette printanière | lilian.lemonnier All rights reserved
(featured with permission from the artist - instants-naturels.com)

[Captured is a weekly column curated by Diana Brennan of D. S. Brennan Photography. Diana lives with her husband in Rhode Island, where she spends her time immersed in photography, gardening, cooking, and home renovation projects. You can read her own blog here.]

September Giveaway with Spiffing Jewelry - custom stamped id bracelet

Giveaway CLOSED

Congratulations, Trixx!!

Thanks to all who participated and promoted.  I appreciate it greatly.  While you may not have won this giveaway, I'm offering a 10% discount 'til Sept. 30, 2010, to all who participated.  Simply add the code SpiffingJewelryGiveaway to the note to seller at check out and I'll refund your discount to your Paypal acct.  I will be double checking the list of participants so no non-participants, please.

Today, for us, is the first day of school.  The kids got off okay and I am breathing a sigh of relief.  September (I know it's technically still August) is a month of many changes.  Additionally, September 2 is my 3rd "Etsyversary."  I officially opened my shop on that day in 2007.  So, I thought this would be a great time to have another giveaway!

I'm excited to have Annie Nygard's, Spiffing Jewelry, as sponsor for this giveaway.  I came across Annie's shop a while back and loved it.  Simply visiting her shop will put a smile on your face.  It's bright and cheery.  Annie's jewelry is both casual and fun and make a great gift for yourself or a friend.  Here's more about Annie:

I've been crafting since I was old enough to hold a paintbrush, and I've tried every craft I could get my hands on... but once I discovered jewelry making, I just couldn't stop.

I got into making jewelry after discovering these handmade charm bracelets that I wanted to get for my bridesmaids as a thank you gift for being in my wedding... but I soon found out said bracelets would cost me nearly $200 a piece! The crafty-gal in me quickly said "I could make that", and off I went. I made my bridesmaids, junior bridesmaid, flower girls, grandmothers, mom, mother in law all jewelry for the wedding, and my own wedding jewelry as well. I then made cuff links for all of the men in the bridal party.

Shortly thereafter I used leftover beads to make the original Spiffing necklace, which I wore so often, I had to replace the cheap-ish beads I'd used with higher quality crystals and pearls. Every time I wore that necklace out of the house, I would get a compliment from a stranger, followed by the inevitable question: "Do you sell your jewelry?" For nearly a year I kicked myself each time this happened, wishing I had simply a business card or a website...

After getting married I decided there was no better time to take on a huge project like starting a business.  My goal is to provide super fun jewelry to help all women wear a bit of their personality on their sleeve (or ears, wrist, or around their neck)." [source]

Annie has generously offered a custom id bracelet for this giveaway.  That's right, you can have any one word (including signs for those who may want their Twitter user name) custom stamped onto an aluminum tag and strung onto 30" of  genuine suede cord.  You even get to choose the cord color.

Thank you Annie, for making this giveaway possible!

Entry details:
Visit Spiffing Jewelry and come back to this post and leave me a comment about your favorite item.  Make sure your comment includes contact information. (1 entry)

4 Additional entries when you:
1) Tweet about this giveaway. Be sure to include @alamodestuff in your tweet so I can keep track. (1 entry)

2) Blog about this giveaway with a link to the post. (1 entry)

3) Follow this blog.  If you already follow, let me know. That counts, too. (1 entry)

4) Follow Spiffing Jewelry's blog, Twitter, and/or Facebook and let me know. (1 entry)

Please let me know if you done any of these to ensure you get your extra entries.


One (1) winner will be randomly chosen (through Random.org). Contest ends Friday, September 3, at midnight EST.  Winner will be notified by Monday, September 6.

Hiking Pack Monadnock in New Hampshire - another dog friendly find

Yesterday was utterly beautiful and much needed after a week of rain.  We loaded the family, including Sophie, into the car and drove 2 hours to Miller State Park in New Hampshire for a day hike.

"Located on the 2,290-foot summit and flank of Pack Monadnock in Peterborough,Miller is the oldest state park in New Hampshire. A winding 1.3-mile paved road leading to the scenic summit is open for visitors to drive in summer and on spring and fall weekends. Picnicking and hiking are popular activities at the scenic mountain park. Three main hiking trails ascend Pack Monadnock to the summit. The best known is the Wapack Trail, which is a 21-mile footpath that extends from Mt. Watatic in Ashburnham, Massachusetts to North Pack Monadnock in Greenfield." [source]

Hard to believe that tomorrow school begins again.  I'm sad to see it come yet eager to find our routine.

Here's what's new at à la mode - rubber jewelry and red messenger seatbelt bag

buy here

 buy here

Fleeting moments- OM [one moment] meetup #19

This week, my brother-in-law and 3 yr old nephew visited us from Park City, UT. They came last Saturday as it started to rain and left on Wednesday when the sun finally started showing itself. Regardless, we had a great time seeing them and simply spending time together.

X is a cutie pie. He's a 3 yr old ball of energy that brought back tons of memories of when my boys were that small. I could not get enough of his innocence and little phrases such as, "no way" and "I so love you." He ran around trying to keep up with his big cousins he called "my friends."

M's shoe and X's socks - toe to toe

My boys have grown so quickly. Time doesn't fly, it soars. My youngest, E, turned 9 this week.

My oldest, M, surpassed me in height this summer. It seems cliche to say, "seems like yesterday," but it is so true. When people mention high school and college, I shudder. I know we'll be there very soon.

 Head to head

Savor each moment for they are fleeting.

What was your 'one moment' this week? What took you out of your present moment and made you reflect, remember, reminisce?

Share in the blog comments here, on your own blog (and link back below) or on my Facebook fan page. If you are on Twitter, I've started a hash tag - #omMeetup so that we can converse if we'd like. We'd love to hear your moment this week!

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Auto-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.

Beeswax - posted by Crafted by Lindy - Fab Finds From Etsy

Top to Bottom, Left to Right

1. Honey I Washed The Kids Lush Dupe Cocoa Butter Soap - My Natures Art

2. Honey Sugar Scrub - Hydration Plus by Valley Green Naturals - Valley Green Naturals

3. Handmade Bee Hive Linen Zipper Pouch - Sea Pinks

4. Sterling Silver Honey Knuckles II - Rachel Pfeffer Designs

Top to Bottom, Left to Right

1. Eco Friendly Honey Bee Chocolate Scoop - Circular Accessories

2. Honey Bee - Dog Collar - Cody's Creations

3. Hand Dyed Merino Wool Silk Cashmere Yarn - Honey Mustard Goldenrod Yellow - No Two Snowflakes

4. honey comb necklace - oxidized silver - Miki and Nora

[Lindy lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband, son and new baby girl. Besides blogging, she enjoys running her stationary business and creating new designs for her Etsy shop. You can read her own blog here.]

Find Sophie's Choice on Scout's Dog Blog

Happy Thursday!

When Cyn at River Dog Prints asked if I (and/or Sophie) would like to contribute to her dog blog, I didn't hesitate to say yes.  You can now find Sophie's Choice over on her blog every other week.  Sophie has a nose for finding great handmade items for both dogs and their humans.  Please visit River Dog Prints, Dog Blog for this week's great finds.


If you haven't had a chance to get to know River Dog Prints, please visit their website.  You will find great custom paper goods including custom cards, stationary, and home products (fantastic canning tags and labels). You'll love what you find!

Hump Day Humor: More creative ads

These may have been floating around the internet for a while but are new-ish to me.  They made me laugh when I saw them so I thought I'd share them with you.

caption: " ...camera with delete function and all."

Source for these photos and additional funny ads: theberry.com

How a disjointed career path can lead to one girl's dream

[credit:  mimidoodles]

Today you can find me over on Allisa Jacob's blog, Quiltish.  As her guest blogger, I wrote about "my other life" in architecture, marketing, pr, fund raising, etc. and how my disjointed career path lead to my dream of owning my own business.  Please hop over to her blog to read all about it.  Oh, and visit Allisa's bright and cheery shop.  She makes beautiful handbags, card and checkbook covers and a whole lot more. 

Captured: Look at me with Starry Eyes Push Me up the Starry Skies

Look at me with Starry Eyes Push Me up the Starry Skies | Niffty.. Some rights reserved

[Captured is a weekly column curated by Diana Brennan of D. S. Brennan Photography. Diana lives with her husband in Rhode Island, where she spends her time immersed in photography, gardening, cooking, and home renovation projects. You can read her own blog here.]

alamode seatbelt pillows at New York restaurant, The Collective - OM [one moment] meet up #18

pillows can be seen around 1:02 on video

Last Saturday night, while in NYC, my friend and I decided to check out a restaurant, The Collective, in the meatpacking district. My seatbelt pillows were purchased by the architect and developer for the restaurant [blogged earlier here]. I had no idea what to expect but was surprised when we stepped out of the cab.

The restaurant sits on the corner of a cobblestone street. Surrounded by an outdoor patio, the walls were open to expose the eclectic interior.  This hip restaurant was hopping and getting busier by the minute. As we walked in,it wasn't difficult to see my pillows throughout.  What an exciting moment for me. 

Sorry the photos are dark and grainy.  They were taken with my iPhone and the lighting was, well, dark.  You can see better interior shots in my previous post here. BTW, the food was great.  I'd recommend trying the waffles and chicken.  Yum!

What was your 'one moment' this week? What took you out of your present moment and made you excited, happy, proud?

Share in the blog comments here, on your own blog (and link back below) or on my Facebook fan page. If you are on Twitter, I've started a hash tag - #omMeetup so that we can converse if we'd like. We'd love to hear your moment this week!

Mister Linky's Magical Widgets -- Auto-Linky widget will appear right here!
This preview will disappear when the widget is displayed on your site.
For best results, use HTML mode to edit this section of the post.

Pistachio - posted by Crafted by Lindy - Fab Finds From Etsy

Top to Bottom, Left to Right

1. Michela Brooch - Handmade Embroidered Felt Brooch - yalipaz

2. green/brown necklace - XauXau

3. Pistachio Pillowmint - Woodland Bear Plush  - SleepyKing

4. Small Oval Pistachio Memo Board - newleafhandmade

Top to Bottom, Left to Right

1. Spring Clearing - aliherrmann

2. French Pistachio Nougat Bars - haveitconfections

3. Eco Friendly Spring Summer Bamboo Shrug / Bolero - reflectionsbyds

4. Felted Wool Squirrel Tea Cozy - fuzzylogicfelt

[Lindy lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband, son and new baby girl. Besides blogging, she enjoys running her stationary business and creating new designs for her Etsy shop. You can read her own blog here.]

Adventures at the New York International Gift Show, part 1

This past weekend, I went to the New York International Gift Show with my friend Mandy who owns Studio Six in Bristol, RI.  This was my first time visiting this show.  What an overwhelming experience it was. Let's just say, I felt like a kid in a candy store. [click photos for larger view]

The show is at the Javits Center and Piers 92 & 94 twice a year.  It's big, really big.  I'm certain we only saw 1/4 of it.  I have a lot of pictures to sort through.  In this post, I'll highlight a few of my favorites.

We started in the handmade section, of course.  It was so fun to walk the aisles and see fellow Etsians  Figs & Ginger, and Mani Designs.

Rounding one corner, I was happy to see Hotcakes Designs from San Francisco.  I have admired their jewelry from afar for years, often visiting their website for inspiration.  I eagerly introduced my friend to founder, Caramia, whom I may have initially frightened when I shouted, "You're Hotcakes."  Luckily, she is very nice and I hope took my excitement as a compliment.  I'm happy to report that my friend Mandy ended up buying from the collection.  I've got first dibs, fellow Rhode Islanders.


Moving on to the main floors, we stopped by Fred and Friends.  Always fun, F&F has some really great new products that are sure to please this season.  Check out their new iPlunge here.  We had lunch with my friend, Jason, their art director.  You can follow his blog here.  Yippeee!  Studio Six will be carrying F&F products this Fall!

It was great to see Jason and Ilira from Rag and Bone Bindery.  Their booth is always fresh and gorgeous.  I'm in love with their "12 ways" book series.  You can see their 12 ways to say I Love you book here.  They are fantastic for the writing challenged, like me, as they include prompts such as "I've always admired the way you..." or "my favorite way to spend the day with you..."  Great baby, Valentine, friend gifts!!

Here is Jonathan Adler's booth.  I have nothing more to add here other than, this is JONATHAN ADLER'S BOOTH.

 

I came away wanting to either sell at this show or buy for the awesome studio/boutique I do not yet have (or know that I even want to have).  I also came away with the realization that there are many, many creative people and ideas in the world.  There is enough creativity to go around.  I'll post more pics and details soon.

Ask Candy: Washing Quilts without Bleeding

This week's question comes from Amy, of AmyLouWho.

Dear Candy,

I know you hand dye all of your fabrics. I was wondering if you could offer any suggestions to an amateur quilter like me on how to care for my fabrics (hand-dyed, batiks, or otherwise) so that I don't ruin my precious creations in the first wash. I would hate for some of my brights to run into my white or light colored borders and/or sashing.

Thanks! amylouwho

Amy, what a great question! My advice for you would to always pre-wash your fabrics and then test them for bleeding before you spend hours turning it a beautiful quilt. Properly dyed fabric should have all the non-attached dye particles washed out – the test for that is taking your wet fabric and ironing a bit of it dry between 2 white paper towels – if there’s no colors on the paper towels, the fabric is ready for drying and using. I test all my fabric this way. (In fact, I dyed the fabrics for this baby quilt a few blogging friends made for Amy's baby Maggie - isn't she just a sweetie? Amy's posts about all the folks who worked on the quilt here.)

HOWEVER! Sometimes you can't prewash fabric, hand dyed or otherwise. Even after I’ve tested it, washing the fabric may still cause a few more loose dye particles to be released, so don’t be alarmed…but I would suggest for the 1st few washes you make sure the quilt gets transferred to the dryer (for that lovely crinkly goodness) or spread flat relatively quickly (i.e. don’t leave it sitting damp in your washing machine for 3 days, ahem!) because if there were some loose dye particles hanging out they could transfer from a dark part of the quilt to a light part of the quilt with the prolonged sitting.

So, Amy sent me this question about a week and a half ago, and I sent her my answer a few days later. Well, she washed the quilt and sent me pictures - everything looks beautiful, no running anywhere, and mmm look at that crinkly goodness!

Adding vinegar or salt to the water will do absolutely nothing to help fabric bleeding. These are part of some dyeing processes (the vinegar for acid dyes used on wool, and the salt for immersion dyeing) - but the dyeing process should be complete before you get your hands on the fabric. (I hope this doesn't sound too snarky - but if anyone selling you fabric tells you to add vinegar or salt - well, they need to do a bit more research. You should keep looking for someone selling fabric that has been properly washed out).

If you've got a fabric that keeps bleeding and you really really want to use it, you could use a product called Retayne. It actually physically binds dye particles to the fiber, almost gluing it on. (It also reduces the lightfastness of the dye, so this is something to use as a last resort).

And if worst comes to worst and you do get some bleeding after washing a newly made quilt, it may be those last dye particles that need to leave, and it may have been caused by some transfer as the wet quilt sat scrunched up in your washing machine. Don't dry it - re-wash it, with lots of agitation and detergent, and those particles will probably wash away!

I hope you folks found this helpful. I'm so happy Amy was able to wash her quilt without fear! Go visit Amy, she's having a giveaway for an 80$ gift certificate from CSN stores that ends this Thursday.

Tune in next Tuesday - I'm working on a post on how to attach PDF's to your blog or website!

Got a question? Ask me here!

[Candy lives in California with her husband, 2 boys, and dog. Aside from being wife, mom, teacher, crafter, web guru and all around doer extraordinaire she manages her own business,Candied Fabrics. You can read her blog here.]

Captured: LOVE

LOVE | I am Kat Some rights reserved

[Captured is a weekly column curated by Diana Brennan of D. S. Brennan Photography. Diana lives with her husband in Rhode Island, where she spends her time immersed in photography, gardening, cooking, and home renovation projects. You can read her own blog here.]