Dragon Dictate software
This is a test of the
Dragon Dictate software for Mac. I am writing this post in Microsoft Word, then pasting it into blogger. Over the holidays I watched a lot of Hallmark Channel movies. Late night Dragon dictate seems to own the advertising on the Hallmark Channel. I ordered the software because it was inexpensive compared to their regular price and because it looked cool.
My mother bought me the PC version several months ago after seeing an ad on TV. She said I would be able to get more done and post more frequently to my blog. I also think she bought it so she could write on the computer without actually having to type. She doesn't even know how to turn the computer on yet, but with Dragon Dictate she might be able to send emails or letters to her sister in Texas.
So today I am testing it. I don't mind typing, but I'm a much better editor that I am a typist. If I can speak to you and spew all the thoughts in my head then go back and edit the content, it's so much easier for me.
The software has a learning curve. I need to learn how to speak so it can recognize what I say. And it needs to learn what I'm saying and how I speak. When you speak there is a box in the middle of your screen that says, “Recognize Text,” with the text it just recognized. This is slightly annoying but I'd rather speak then type. I can speak a lot faster than I can type.
The software comes with a headset microphone. I must look like I'm at some kind of call center. Small price to pay for not having to type. There's one earpiece, and the microphone is on the same side as the earpiece. The other side has a bar that goes above your ear. I have a ponytail today and every time I take the headphones off the bar gets caught in my hair. Again small price to pay for not having to type.
Tags a lot
Today's post features tags I made before the holidays. All my holiday tags were put on gifts. But I was in a tag making mood before the gift tags were made and I have several to share.
This tag was inspired by
Tim Holtz and
Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. The background is very Tim, and the leaves are very Julie.
This tag is also inspired by Julie and Tim. This time the background features circles that remind me of work. The music and lamppost stamp are both from Tim Holtz. Many of these tags also include postage stamps. The postage on this tag is a Christmas stamp. The wreath on the lamppost was created by me in Illustrator and cut out on the Silhouette SD. The red dots on the wreath are Smoosh ink. (Dragon doesn't like brand names sometimes - I had to type Smoosh).
This tag was an experiment with glue and glitter. I am not a big glitter fan. I won a bunch of glitter from Amy at
Mod Podge Rocks, and in the package was a note saying that I would hoard this glitter and Mod Podge but I would use it within 13 years. The Mod Podge has been used several times, but the glitter was harder for me to use at all. A friend of mine calls glitter the herpes of the craft world, "because you can never get rid of it," and I believe it. So this experiment was important as I was testing adhesives to see if they would hold the glitter without it flaking off. The chunky glitter is never going to move. The finer glitter comes off if rubbed, but does not come off if you don't work at it. Thank you Glossy Accents.
This tag features embellishments from K and Company. When I purchased the package I did not realize that each embellishment had several layers. They were not going to work for the projects they were purchased for, so I use them on tags. The background uses Distress inks, and a template of wood grain by fill this in later. This stamp of the postmark has been in my collection for years, the postage stamps have also been in my collection for years. It's nice to finally get the old stuff out and use it.
This tag also features a K and Company embellishment, and an old postage stamp, as well as a page from a book. The background was colored with metallic Distress ink. The leaves are from a very old stamp. I used Versamark ink and embossed with green Zing embossing powder. Upon close inspection the words on the page are also embossed. I will have to experiment a bit more to see how what else I can do with that.
This ta
g was super easy to make. It features a laugh banner stamp from the dollar bin at Michael's. The cherries are from that K and Company embellishments collection, and the stripes are washi tape. The edges have a bit of Distress ink to give it some depth.
The next tag features a green background thanks to a Distress ink dauber. A stamp from Stampin’ Up provides the stems for the flowers and the grass around them. The flowers are fallen fakes picked up from the floor at Michael's. The “private collection” stamp has been in my collection for a very long time, I'd forgotten I even had it. The green tape at the bottom is florist tape. The butterfly is from K and Company.
The background of this tag was colored with blue Mr. Huey ink mister. I put some repositionable tape on the tag first so I would have a space to put the word "voyage". The voyage stamp was stored with the “private collection” stamp so I forgot I had that too. The postage stamps are from all over the world but the colors worked so well together for a monochromatic or duo-chromatic tag. The butterfly is from the K and Company embellishments collection mentioned before.
The last tag features a butterfly from the K and Company collection. The background is from a calendar, I cut just a small portion of the wall behind a floral arrangement for this tag. Sort of like having free paper. "Friends forever" is a stamp from Stampin’ Up. I used a punch from Stampin’ Up for the scalloped border.
Hopefully I will be able to post more frequently now that the holidays are over and the crazy has died down.
Happy Crafting,
