Most households in North America own at least one pet, and most people care for their animals as much as they would for their own child. People spend thousands of dollars a year on their pets to pamper and spoil and them. If you enjoy photography and love animals just as much as their owners do, you could be making money by combining these two things into a rewarding business.

All you will need is a room set up as a studio, good quality cameras, lighting equipment, tripods and of course film. You could also have different back grounds and props to make the picture more interesting, or fit certain occasions. To get the best picture you will want to get down to pet level and use toys and treats to get the pets attention. When you get the animals attention, you should have a squeaky toy, or flash that will make the animal look strait at you and perk up it’s ears.

Since cats are particularly hard to get to cooperate, you will want to schedule longer appointments for them in order to become comfortable around them. You should be knowledgeable in animal psychology and also a people person, since most pet owners will be present and a lot will want to be in the photographs with their pets.

If your photography skills aren’t the greatest you can take classes at your local community college to ensure you will be providing your customers with what they want. To attract customers you could make enlarged copies of some good pet photographs you have done and post them up at your local library, veterinary office or coffee shops. Make sure to include a phone number and your name so they can get a hold of you! You can also establish yourself by creating a small portfolio with pictures of your own pets, as well as the pets of family, friends and neighbors. You can then turn this into a flyer and distribute in people mail boxes. Of course you can always publish an add in the Yellow Pages as well. Offering weekend and evening hours will also attract more customers.

Most pet photographers charge a basic rate of $5 to $10 per person or animal and then charge between $40.00 and $175.00 per package of photographs, depending on the number of photos, number of poses, etc. You can also sell pet photos at art fairs for about $20 to $200 per picture (as long as you have written permission from the owner), or sell your pictures as cards, or note book covers.

If you are a Scrapbooking addict then you already know how fun Scrapbooking can be. But did you realize that Scrapbooking has also become one of the hottest home businesses today? A full 14% of scrappers today are involved in the business of Scrapbooking. Here are some tips to help you get started on Scrapbooking for profit.

When it comes to finding clients to work with in your new scrapbooking business, start with your family and your friends. This is a great way to help you to get some beautiful scrapbooks to showcase to your future clients. And, of course, one of the most powerful (and profitable) forms of advertising in any business is that of word of mouth.

Just imagine: You do a gorgeous and unique scrapbook for your friend and she takes it to show off to her other friends and family. They, of course, just have to know who created it and soon you have a few new customers. Do a great scrapbook for them and then they will do the same thing and, well, you can see how your scrapbooking business can grow and become very profitable.

There are many moms, college students, busy brides and others that would love to create scrapbooks for themselves or as gifts for their family and friends. But they just do not have the time or maybe they do not have the creative skills for it. These are just a few of the many opportunities for someone that has the talent to create scrapbooks for profit.

Try promoting your new scrapbooking business in your local school or church newsletters.

And don’t forget that you can also advertise for your scrapbook business here on the internet.

Of course, there are the always popular craft fairs to attend. With so many potential customers coming by to view your work, there is a huge possibility here to make some real scrapbooking profit.

Scrapbooking for profit can be a lot of fun but don’t forget to treat it as a business. Keep organized in supplies, files and forms. And remember to provide excellent customer service to your scrapbooking clients. They will expect that you are going to provide them with an excellent finished product (based on your past work) in a timely manner. Treating your beloved scrapbooking hobby as the business it is will help to insure a loyal following of customers and referrals for many years to come.

Scrapbooking is an extremely popular and fast growing craft. If you have the time, love and the talent for creating stunning scrapbooks then you have what you need to make a profit with scrapbooking.

Although digital cameras have been around for a few years and are becoming more and more popular many of us still have a large number of older film camera paper prints, slides and negatives. Most people keep their paper prints and negatives at their homes and only use digital formats for new photos they shoot with their new digital cameras. In this article we will discuss converting your old paper prints into digital format.

Photos are usually kept at home in one of three formats:

<li><strong>Paper prints:</strong> the most common format, usually at sizes like 4X6 and 5X7. Over time paper prints tend to lose their quality. Depending on how well they are kept the paper might turn yellow and bend and the colors might fade. </li><br>
<li><strong>Negatives:</strong> also known simply as film. This is the processed film usually 35mm from which the prints where made. Although negatives can get damaged over time they are more likely to maintain their high quality. Negatives are hardly used unless new paper prints are needed. </li><br>
<li><strong>Slides:</strong> very similar to negatives used for projecting photos on a large screen. </li><br>

There are many advantages to digital photography. Having your photo album in digital format allows you to easily print paper copies either at home or using a printing service, to view your photos on your computer, to share photos with friends and family and maybe most importantly to practically archive your photos for eternity. So if digital format is that good why not convert all those old photos from traditional paper and negatives to digital? Here is how:

There are different considerations when converting from paper to digital. Professional photographers spend a lot of time and money on this process. For most amateurs and consumers very simple methods can be used which are both cheap and easy. Scanning paper prints and negatives requires different equipment and considerations. For most home users scanning the negatives is not necessary.

<strong>Scanning paper photos prints</strong>

Photo paper prints are easy to scan. You can choose to scan them yourself at home (purchasing a scanner that can do the job is usually cheap and costs less than a $100). You can also choose to mail them (or hand them) to a professional scanning service that will scan them for you and mail you back the originals and a DVD with the digital scans (such services include www.digmypics.com, www.digitalpickle.com, www.britepix.com and many more)

There are pros and cons to scanning at home or using a professional service. If you have a small number of photos scanning at home is easier. If you have plenty of photos using a service might be easier but you can end up spending more money. In addition mailing your one and only hardcopy of your photos is a risk since they might get lost.

If you are going to scan at home consider the following:

<li><strong>Resolution:</strong> the resolution of a scan is measured by the number of dots per inch that the scanner can produce. Most scanners can scan at 1200 DPI or more. Usually the scanner can be set to scan at different resolutions. The higher the resolution the slower the scan and the bigger the photo file size will be. For most paper prints scanning at 300 to 600 DPI is enough but you can experiment scanning at higher resolutions if you feel it provides better results.</li><br>
<li><strong>Speed:</strong> If you have a small number of photos speed is not an issue. If you have hundreds or more of photos scanning speed becomes important. To get fast scans you would have to scan at the lowest resolution possible that results in good enough scans – for most paper prints 300 to 600 DPI is enough.. Also if you’re going to buy a scanner check the scanning speed (usually measured in the number of scans per minute make sure that you check the speed at the DPI you’re going to use).</li><br>
<li><strong>Photo feeding:</strong> if you only have a small number of photos this is not an issue. If you have many photos make sure that the scanner you buy allows fast and easy loading of photos. Some higher-end scanners will let you load a stack of photos and will automatically feed and scan them for you. These scanners are the right choice if you are planning on scanning hundreds or more photos. </li><br>

<strong>Scanning negatives and slides</strong>

Scanning negatives and slides is harder than scanning paper prints. In most cases it is easier and maybe cheaper to use a professional scanning service (such services include www.slidescanning.com, www.myspecialphotos.com, www.pixmonix.com and many more). If you want to scan at home your standard flat scanner will not be good enough. In most cases you will need to spend money on purchasing a film/slides scanner. Those scanners are more expensive than the flat paper scanners. Negatives and slides are small high resolution sources and thus require scanning at higher DPI than paper prints. In most cases 2400DPI or higher should be used.

The considerations for scanning negatives and slides are similar to scanning paper prints. If you need to scan just a few negatives or slides speed and ease are not important but if you’re going to scan hundreds or more you should spend more money on scanners that can feed the negatives or slides automatically or can just load a roll of film and scan it.

The good news is that in most cases scanning negatives is not needed at all. For most amateurs and consumers scanning home photo paper prints is more than enough and scanning the source negatives is a not needed. It is recommended of course to keep the negatives in a safe place. You can use the digital scans for future prints or just for viewing on your computer screen and sharing with your friends and family.

In conclusion scanning your photo paper prints is easy. You can do it yourself at home or you can use a professional scanning service. You can convert all your memories into digital format with a small investment and make sure that you can enjoy those photos and also keep them in their original quality for eternity.

Most of us have a favourite flower. We plant them in our gardens, we buy them at the florist, we are given them as bouquets to celebrate a a birthday, anniversary or to wish us a speedy recovery. Unfortunately, most blooms have a short life. I adore flowers and as an artist, I have learned to preserve something of their essence in a flower painting forever. If you have ever wished you could do this with a favourite bloom, then read on.

Flower painting has a wonderful history. Botanical art has been used to document numerous species of flowers and plants. There is something very satisfying and magical about painting a flower and preserving just what it was like forever. Of course, flower photographs can do the same but when you paint you have the added pleasure of carefully examining the curves and colours of each petal, stamen, stem and leaf. You have to observe the way the light catches the flower and use this information to give it a 3D presence on your paper. By painting flowers, you get to know them intimately.

I would advise anyone wanting to start painting to begin with their favourite flower, no matter how complex it might seem. By choosing your favourite, you will be motivated to try again to render it well. Your feelings have a better chance of being transferred into your flower painting too. When a flower painting makes you gasp, it is because it initially did the same for the artist and they have found a way of sharing that with you. It doesn’t matter if your attempts aren’t perfect. Each time you try you will become more familiar with it’s shape. It will seem easier to paint and you will notice more about the nuances of colour and the way light can affect it.

Of course, there are some useful techniques which might help you learn flower painting. Many excellent art books have been written about this topic and your bookstore will certainly have several. But be wary of simply copying another artists’ techniques. You may be surprised to find that you are less satisfied with the results than you are with simply observing your favourite flower and perfecting your vision of it with each attempt.

Try drawing with different materials, have fun and keep all your attempts. You will be encouraged to see how your vision and skill improves simply by practise. I use pastels, both the soft powdery ones and the deliciously oily variety. I love them because of their beautiful range of colours, from very pale to vibrant hues. I can extend this even further by overlaying thin veils of colour, allowing the underneath ones to sing through. Or perhaps you could try watercolour? This has long been a favourite of flower painters and botanical artists and for good reason. The way you can allow one luscious colour to randomly bleed into another, just as it does in nature, is very mouth-watering!

As you can tell, I am fanatical about flower painting but I do hope I have managed to awaken a little curiosity in you. Have a go! What have you to lose?

Whether you’re a classical buff or you think pop music rocks, chances are one of the best places to find the music you love isn’t the radio-it’s your TV.

Americans across the country now say they find out about new music, watch performances and even record their favorite songs from TV. In addition, televised concerts have become a great excuse for friends and families to gather and listen to favorite music. So what’s hot on TV this season? Here’s a look at some upcoming concerts. They’re being televised as part of PBS’ March fund-raising period:

• “Barry Manilow: Music and Passion”-Superstar Barry Man-ilow’s hit Las Vegas show is an exciting, multifaceted production that features contemporary hi-tech music and effects mixed with the classic entertainment values of Las Vegas legends such as Sinatra, Presley, Davis and Martin.

• “Chris Botti Live”-Acclaimed trumpeter Chris Botti is considered a virtual genre-of-one in the realm of contemporary jazz. His most recent album, “To Love Again,” is the inspiration for this new concert, a magical evening with a star-studded lineup: Sting, Jill Scott, Paula Cole, Burt Bacharach, Renee Olstead, Paul Buchanan and Gladys Knight.

• “The Four Tops 50th Anniversary Celebration”-Friends and peers joined the Four Tops as they celebrated 50 years in the entertainment industry with an all-star concert at the famed Detroit Opera House. Hosted by Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, guest stars include Mary Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Dennis Edwards and the Temptations Review, Paul Rodgers and James Carter.

• “Queen and Paul Rodgers: Return of the Champions”-Queen’s 2005 world tour was one of the live concerts of the year, with Paul Rodgers (Free and Bad Company) stepping into the legendary Freddie Mercury’s shoes alongside Brian May and Roger Taylor. The spectacular show includes all the Queen classics, including “We Will Rock You,” “Under Pressure,” and “We Are the Champions,” as well as Rodgers’ anthem, “All Right Now.”

• “Great Performances: Andrea Bocelli: Amore Under the Desert Sky”-Opera tenor Andrea Bocelli has become one of the most famous and beloved singers in the world. In his new special, Bocelli performs songs from his forthcoming album “Amore.” Also featured are duets with 2001 Tony-award winner Heather Headley.

PBS music specials also feature Barbra Streisand, the Smothers Brothers, Judy Collins, Daniel O’Donnell, Patti Page, John Sebastian and others.

Playing your saxophone in tune with others in your band requires much more than simply playing a reference note into a tuner and adjusting the mouthpiece on the instrument. In order to really understand the tuning process and how best to tune your saxophone it helps to know the physics behind the sound that you produce while playing. When we are talking about physics and the saxophone we are dealing in the realm of invisible vibrations called sound waves.

To better understand these sound waves it helps to think about a guitar string. When you pluck a note on a guitar the string vibrates at a specific rate or “frequency.” The length of this string dictates what frequency the string will vibrate at. By moving your finger up and down the fretboard you can change the pitch to any of a dozen or so pitches. Now think about a fretless guitar. Instead of a dozen pitches you could potentially have hundreds of pitches, each very slightly different that the other. Saxphones behave in this same way but use a vibrating column of air instead of a vibrating string.

When you add or subtract fingers on the saxophone you are changing the overall length of the tube, creating shorter or longer sound waves in the process. Many things can affect this resultant wave. A key that is not adjusted properly can partially close over an open hole causing all notes above that key to be slightly flat. Likewise a key that is left open when it should be closed can make other notes out of tune or at the very least sound less focused.

Two saxophones that are not perfectly tuned to each other will always vibrate at different frequencies even when playing the same note. When two sound waves of the exact same frequency are played together they reinforce each other creating a stronger, more pleasing overall sound. When two pitches are slightly out of tune they occasionally collide with each other causing a disturbance in the combined wave form. This phenomena creates audible “beats” or bumps in what the listener hears. Each bump in the combined sound is literally the two sound waves slamming into each other. It is often easier to understand this process by seeing it visually. Take a look at the examples shown at http://library.thinkquest.org/19537/Physics.html.

As a saxophone player it should be your goal to learn how to play your instrument in perfect tune. Unfortunately this requires more than simply tuning your concert A or B-flat. Now that you know a little about the physics of sound however, you can begin to understand the inherent pitch problems of your saxophone and relate this to your overall performance and study routine.

TuneCab is a tool for converting any kind of audio and video
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Web Site: http://www.tunecab.com

Braided rugs are with us since the white men landed in the Americas. It is a tradition which we love to retain with all its old charm and grace. It is obvious that it does not require any high technology or computer controlled precision, otherwise how could the ladies hundreds of years ago make such exotic braided rugs out of rags. But what it requires is concentration, dedication and above all love and respect towards both the craft and the product.

So, if you really love braided rugs and admire their intricate artistry, let’s not waste any more time and get cracking with the job at hand.

How To Make A Braided Rug

Let’s go about making a braided rug from rags the way they were made in the early stages of colonization of the Americas.

Cut the material you have with you into roughly two inch wide strips. If you feel that the material is on the thinner side, make the strips about three inches wide.

Instead of sewing the strips together and rolling them into a ball before you start braiding, I would suggest you to begin braiding and sewing the material as you progress. I have found that in this way there are lesser number of tangles and knots which become a big hassle and take ages to unravel.

Tie the strips together and loop them over a doorknob or a handle or a hook of some sort and start making a three strip braid just in the same way as those who have long hair braid it. While joining the strips take care that there are no weak joints as they might spoil the whole show. The best way to join the strips is to hold them at right angles and sew a diagonal seam across the square so formed.

Another important point to note is when you start braiding fold the ragged outside edges of the strips slightly inwards so that there are no rough and jagged edges of cloth on the outer side of the rug you are going to make.

The first length of braid determines the final shape of the rug because the subsequent braids will only be laid one after another along the lines of the first braid. So, ensure that the length of the braid is adequate for the final rug size and shape you would get. The ground rule is that the first braid should be 1/3rd of the original rug size if it is to be an oval rug, and, it should be about half the original size if you are intending to make a runner.

The last and most intricate step is to be finished now. Take a large darning needle and pass the lace string you are using to sew the strips together back and forth between the braids much the same way as you put shoe laces through the eyes of the shoe. When you reach the desired length of the braid just flip it back and start sewing it with the lower strata of the braid. In this way you keep adding on and on to the previous braid and the rug grows outwards in size.

Keep the rug absolutely flat as you proceed and strictly avoid any wrinkles or dimples which may occur at this stage. Don’t ignore it as it would become more pronounced as you keep on braiding. So, if you observe a wrinkle, come back, smoothen it and then proceed further.

Carry on in this manner till the desired size is reached and then sit back and admire your handiwork!

My creative side has been blossoming in the past few months for some reason I cannot understand. Nothing in particular brought on my desire to explore my creative capabilities, I just simply started desiring to add a little spice and variety to my days. One of my first attempts at furthering my abilities in the arts was to sign up for a introductory illustration class at a local college.

I have always wanted to try my hand at illustration and I finally decided that it was my time. It was my time to see what my hand could create. I have always been fascinated by the illustration in various books and stories, particularly in children’s stories. I love the way that illustration can bring stories alive in ways that words alone cannot. I love the way that seeing a text with an accompanied illustration can bring laughter or tears within an instant.

My illustration class started off much harder than I imagined it would. I quickly learned that illustration is both a talent and a developed skill. I learned that someone could have all the illustration talent in the world and yet be lacking in elements that can only be developed by training and refining a skill. I started the illustration class with a huge need for learning new skills and practicing them. I wanted to walk into that class and be a natural at illustration and I realized that it just wasn’t possible.

If you are interested in illustration I would suggest you sign up for a class at a local college or art school. There will be days or weeks of frustration, but if you work hard at illustration you will see great improvements in your ability. Any natural talent you have (which most people have at least some of) will increase by leaps and bounds when it is coupled with some hard work on developing illustration skills.

If you are a little intimidated about entering the world of art and illustration, don’t be. Remember that even the best illustrators of the most famous books started out in much the same place you are at. A place with nothing but a little bit of talent (perhaps) and a lot of desire to do great illustration. You cannot let the talent of others discourage or intimidate you, instead you must choose to let it inspire you on. Illustration can be a beautiful way of bringing stories to life and of getting the stories that play in your head out onto paper for the world to see.

Are you about to celebrate a special anniversary with that special someone? If so, don’t forget that a proper gift is required to make any anniversary celebration just right. Don’t worry, though, because the perfect anniversary gift might be much easier than you think to come up with. Try writing some great anniversary poems for the one you love.

As an author and a professor of creative writing, it of course comes naturally to think about ways to incorporate writing into any gift situation. I love thinking of new ways to use words to express feelings or thoughts to people I love. One year I wrote each of my five children a unique children’s story for their birthdays, and my wife is never surprised by some special writing pieces on her birthday or other occasions. I believe that writing is powerful, and that’s why I think all people would benefit by writing great anniversary poems for the ones they love this year.

The idea of writing anything let alone poetry seems like too much for many people, but perhaps that is simply because they were never trained to write well. Take my advice: I have been watching non-writers turn into great writers each semester for nearly thirty years. Students frequently enter my poetry classes with a deep belief that they are not poets. Three months later they leave with an impressive portfolio and are convinced that anything is possible. Learning to write anniversary poems can be much the same process.

If writing great anniversary poems for the one you love sounds like a great idea, then start today. Begin by getting in touch with someone who can help you write great poetry. Hire a writing consultant to help you for an hour or two or attend a writing seminar. If going to class isn’t your style, then head to your local library and check out some books on writing anniversary poems. You might be surprised at how much there is to learn.

Giving anniversary poems is one of the most unique and romantic ways to celebrate with the one you love. So make a commitment today to begin learning to write special anniversary poems and you’ll be able to surprise and bless your special someone when your next anniversary rolls around. And don’t worry too much about being perfect, just write your thoughts and feelings in poetry form and you’ll have anniversary poems in no time.