Saturday, April 6, 2013

It's FUSION time!!

If you are a bloglovin' user - be sure to read to the bottom of this post.

There's an amazing new challenge hosted by the amazing duo of Jackie Rockwell and Lesley Croghan who between them have started so many top challenge blogs, it's hard to list them all - CAS(E) this Sketch, Dynamic Duos, Muse, Freshly Made Sketches - and more!!

This challenge is called Fusion and you can use the sketch, the inspiration or both!  If this week's combo is a good sample of what's to come - this is going to be FUN!


I absolutely had to make a card for my son before he got up this morning and headed out to take a big test that he is very nervous about.  So I was tied into a masculine card and couldn't use the flowers in Lesley's photo - but I did use two of the bright colors!

Your Best Game

I thought the graphic squares gave a video game impression, thus the sentiment.  Hopefully my son is not so literal that he things I'm actually talking about a "game"!?

The interest in this card does not show up well in the photo.  Here's a close-up of the dimension.

Your Best Game closeup

I am definitely looking forward to being a regular player in this challenge.
  • Stamps: Papertrey Ink Square Prints, Boy Basics Game On
  • Paper: Papertrey Ink Smokey Shadow
  • Ink: Papertrey Ink Smokey Shadow, Poppy and Orange
  • Accessories: misc square punches and various heights of pop dots
Now a totally different subject.  As I have been posting about Google Reader, etc., a number of people have come to me for help and advice.  I love that because I am total geek and I love trying to track things down.  

First - I have written so many words, that I think I have not effectively communicated something very important.

If you didn't use Google Reader to read your blogs, 
you are absolutely NOT affected by its loss.
You will NOT lose followers.
You do NOT need to add anything to your blog.
Your blog will go on as usual!!!

But one of the recent problems shared with me is concerning - hopefully just a little concerning, but I really don't know....

A WARNING FOR BLOGLOVIN' USERS:

A fellow blogger was getting reports that bloglovin' users were not getting her blog updates and she came to me wondering what she had to sign up for at bloglovin' so that people who read her blog could keep reading her.  The answer is "nothing".  

Bloglovin' is used by readers of blogs to collect a list of their favorite blogs and then bloglovin' nicely tells them when those blogs have a new post.  It absolutely doesn't matter whether their favorite blogs are signed up for bloglovin' or not.  That's a definite fact and proof is that I signed up for bloglovin' to test this lady's problem and the day I signed up, I already had 69 people following me there - I did NOT need to be in bloglovin' to collect those followers.

But there appears to be something broken in bloglovin'.  When people try to add this lady's blog, it says NOT FOUND.  I am very concerned about people who simply moved everything all at once from Google Reader - I don't know if they even got a warning.  All I know is that her blog didn't make it over.  There is nothing unique about her blog - she uses blogger, and Google Reader and Feedly find her - I don't believe the problem is at her end.

Even more concerning is the fact that they have a problem form specifically for this issue - so it is NOT a one-time thing.  And what really annoys me, is that I submitted her blog as a problem days ago and I still haven't heard back.

I'll let you know when I finally hear - but in the meantime, if you have moved to bloglovin' - you really might want to check that all of your favorites are still there.

ON OTHER HAND:

Keep in mind that Google Reader users are moving by the millions to other blog readers.  Feedly reports 3 million new users in 2 weeks.  These blog reader companies are scrambling.  Not to mention the minor little detail that none of them will actually work when Google Reader dies as they were developed as a pretty front-end to Google Reader, using Reader's functionality - they have just a few months to program it all.  We have to have a little patience.  Feedly is pumping out updates as fast as they can.  They aren't all good - I'm definitely having some visual hiccups on my iPad Feedly after the last update. 

But knowing this doesn't help my friend with her bloglovin' problem.  We have to figure out how to get her in and then the bigger task is how to let people know that bloglovin' lost her!!
I'm hoping it is all working for you!!

{There's a label on my sidebar near the top of the list - Feedly/bloglovin/Google Reader - that yu can click on if you want detailed information}

33 comments:

  1. Good morning Kim! Such a cool graphic look you have created with your card! Love that sentiment and the dimension in your design. So happy to see you join us at FUSION!

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  2. Oh, well done!I had that set out for this challenge, too, but I didn't come up with anything near this cool!

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  3. Great looking card! Love your take on the challenge.

    and thanks for all the blog info...I've installed Feedly on my iPad...now I just need to get used to it! :)

    Susan

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  4. Wow Kim the way you created the chevrons from squares is very, very COOL! LOVE this very graphic card! So glad you played along with us!!! :)

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  5. Wow! This is so modern, graphic and fun! LOVE!

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  6. Kim what a great set to use for your chevrons, your card is so cool and edgy and just fun. Thank you so much for joining us at the first Fusion Hypothesis!

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  7. Love this Kim and I think it's perfect for your son! The popped up colored chevrons add super interest. Keeping my fingers crossed for him ;)

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  8. Brilliant, totally and absolutely brilliant!!! Your son must have been tickled to get this. Great (well, way beyond great)design. Love the little pops of color, and the sentiment is perfect for your purpose. Really love this! Bev

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  9. I'm really loving this graphic design!! What a thoughtful card to create for your son to encourage him!! He's lucky to have such a caring mom ;)

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  10. Absolutely perfect for a guy! Your son will love it.

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  11. Oh this is so awesome! I love how you combined the challenges - and stamp sets...that is genius!

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  12. What a great card, Kim! Fabulous sentiment--I know that this will cheer your son up! :) HUGS and hope you have a happy day!

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  13. Awesome card Kim! Love how you incorporated the colors into your pattern!

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  14. Coolest chevron pattern, ever! Love this!

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  15. Very, very cool card, Kim. ;-) I love the pops of color and dimension. This is a perfect 'guy' card - I'm sure your son will love it! You used all the perfect elements. Thank you so much for joining us in our first Fusion challenge. ;-)

    And thanks for all the blogging tips amidst all this Google Reader chaos!

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  16. Kim this is simply stunning! I love what you did to make this card so "with it". Perfect for this challenge.

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  17. Fantastic card for Fusion, Kims, and more importantly, for your son!!

    It doesn't affect me, but I still want to thank you for another informative essay about Google Reader and the successors. I'm glad I didn't more over to Bloglovin and I hope the lady you mentioned, and any others, get things straightened out soon!

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  18. Totally awesome. Hands down my favorite.

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  19. awesome card: perfectly perfect for your boy and I love how you were inspired. Terrific sentiment too! Thanks for joining us in the Fusion fun.

    bloglovin': oy, I hadn't heard of that glitch. I tried bloglovin' initially but well, wasn't lovin' it so I hopped over to Feedly. I think I'll email you with a specific Feedly question to see if you might have the answer...I'm so not techie:)

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  20. Completely cool and so perfect for your son, Kim ... truly awesome detail! Anita :)

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  21. cool challenge and very cool card. I love your take on things.

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  22. Just love those funky squares in the chevron pattern Kim, great fusion of the two challenges :0)
    Jenny x

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  23. LOVE, LOVE that you made a guys card Kim, just FAB!
    So glad you joined in the fun for the first FUSION hypothesis :)

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  24. Great card and nice sense of humour!
    Just bought the PTI stamp as well.
    Perfect for masculine cards,aren't they all just 'boys'... :-)
    bye from the Netherlands,

    Marjolein

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  25. Kim, I love this card! Did your son take it as intended, or literally? LOL!

    Thanks for the info on blog readers. I'll be watching it all with interest.

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  26. Hi Kim

    Love your take on the challenge and it's a perfect card for a male.

    Hope your son does well.

    x

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  27. Wow, what an original take on the fusion! Love your graphic design! back to read about the GR

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  28. You always find the bestest challenges, Kim! This one looks fabulous! Hugs xxx

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  29. Thanks so much for always sharing such great cards..you're always an inspiration to me...I have those stamps...now I need to use them!!

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  30. Blown away by your graphic design, Kim! Absolutely love it!

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