Abstract: A voltage controlled oscillator comprises a negative resistance, a first inductor, a fixed capacitor, and a frequency control component. The frequency control component comprises at least one varactor and at least a second inductor connected in series with the at least one varactor. A magnitude of an inductance of the second inductor is selected such that the frequency control component has an effective capacitance range larger than a capacitance range of the at least one varactor.
Abstract: An automatic antenna impedance matching method for a radiofrequency transmission circuit. An impedance matching network is inserted between an amplifier and an antenna. The output current and voltage of the amplifier and their phase difference are measured by a variable measurement impedance, and the complex load impedance of the amplifier is deduced from this; the impedance of the antenna is calculated as a function of this complex impedance and as a function of the known current values of the impedances of the matching network. Starting from the value found for the impedance of the antenna, new values of the matching network are calculated that allow the load to be matched to the nominal impedance of the amplifier. The measurement impedance has a value controllable by the calculation processor according to the application and notably as a function of the operating frequency and of the nominal impedance of the amplifier.
Abstract: A circuit, device and method for controlling an output signal of an amplifier are provided. The output signal may be controlled through a first stage located before a digital to analog converter and/or a second stage located after it. The first stage boosts the digital signal to match with the full signal range of the converter. For the second stage, the circuit comprises: a first resistor coupled to an output of the amplifier in series, the first resistor having a resistance value Rs; a second resistor coupled to the first resistor in series, the second resistor having a resistance value Rp; and an output terminal for a transducer connected to the electronic device, the output terminal connected in parallel to the second resistor. In the circuit, the resistance values Rs and Rp are related by an inversely proportional relationship.
Abstract: A pulse width modulated/pulse modulated PWM/PPM power amplification circuit includes a load modulation circuit coupled between an output of the amplification circuit and a load. In one embodiment, the load modulation circuit comprises a plurality of capacitor elements switchably coupled such that in response to a control signal provided the load modulation circuit presents one of a plurality of different capacitance values at a terminal thereof. By changing capacitance values associated with the plurality of capacitor elements in accordance with the output of the amplification circuit and the load, improved (and "optimum") power levels that exhibit a desired (and best) efficiency can be selected. Such results in an amplification circuit having an efficiency level which is relatively high compare with efficiency levels of conventional amplifier circuits over a wide dynamic range of output power.
Abstract: It is presented a power amplifier assembly comprising; a radio frequency multi-order power amplifier comprising a circuit board; a grounding structure connected to the radio frequency multi-order power amplifier and comprising a recess; a combining network connected to a plurality of outputs of the radio frequency multi-order power amplifier. The combining network comprises: a plurality of input connection points, wherein each of the plurality of input connection points is connected to a respective output of the plurality of outputs of the radio frequency multi-order power amplifier; an output connection point; and a conductor arrangement comprising a plurality of conductive paths arranged between the plurality of input connection points and the output connection point; wherein at least one of the plurality of conductive paths is at least partly formed by a suspended conductor positioned in the recess of the grounding structure.
Abstract: Apparatus, systems, and fabrication methods are provided for biasing amplifier arrangements inside device packages to a target quiescent current. In one embodiment, an amplifier device has an output interface and includes an amplifier arrangement having an amplifier output and impedance matching circuitry coupled between the amplifier output and the output interface. A method for biasing the amplifier arrangement involves measuring or otherwise obtaining a voltage between the amplifier output and the output interface, determining an estimated quiescent current through the amplifier arrangement based on that voltage, and adjusting a bias voltage provided to the input of the amplifier arrangement based on a difference between the estimated quiescent current. In exemplary embodiments, the bias voltage is adjusted until the estimated quiescent current is substantially equal to a target quiescent current.
Abstract: An antenna device includes an impedance-matching switching circuit connected to a feeding circuit, and a radiating element. The impedance-matching switching circuit matches the impedance of the radiating element as a second high frequency circuit element and the impedance of the feeding circuit as a first high frequency circuit element. The impedance-matching switching circuit includes a transformer matching circuit and a series active circuit. The transformer matching circuit matches the real parts of the impedance and matches the imaginary parts of the impedance in the series active circuit. Thus, impedance matching is performed over a wide frequency band at a point at which high frequency circuits or elements having different impedances are connected to each other.
Abstract: This disclosure is directed to devices and integrated circuits for instrumentation amplifiers. In one example, an instrumentation amplifier device uses two non-inverted outputs of a first multiple-output transconductance amplifier, and a non-inverted output and an inverted output of a second multiple-output transconductance amplifier. Both multiple-output transconductance amplifiers have a non-inverted output connected to an inverting input, and a non-inverting input connected to a respective input voltage terminal. A first resistor is connected between the inverting inputs of both multiple-output transconductance amplifiers. The outputs of both multiple-output transconductance amplifiers are connected together, connected through a second resistor to ground, and connected to an output voltage terminal. In other examples, two pairs of outputs from triple-output transconductance amplifiers are connected to provide two voltage output terminals, and may also be connected to buffers or a differential amplifier.
Abstract: Embodiments of a capacitance sensing system including an integrating amplifier and methods for operating the same to provide a higher slew rate and bandwidth are described. In one embodiment, the integrating amplifier comprises an input stage including an inverting input coupled to an electrode of a capacitor to sense a capacitance and a non-inverting input coupled to a reference potential, and an output stage including a compensating capacitor coupled to an output. The compensating capacitor comprises two smaller capacitors coupled in parallel and a switching element configured to open when the integrating amplifier is operated in a RESET mode decoupling one of the two smaller capacitors from the output to decrease capacitance of the compensating capacitor.
Abstract: A receiving apparatus in a wireless communication system includes: an antenna configured to receive a wireless frequency signal including a first frequency band signal and a second frequency band signal; a low noise amplifier (LNA) configured to amplify the wireless frequency signal, output the first frequency band signal as a differential phase signal, and output the second frequency band signal as a common phase signal; a differentiator configured to pass only the differential phase signal between the signals outputted from the LNA; and a combiner configured to pass only the common phase signal between the signals outputted from the LNA.
Abstract: An impedance matching circuit is disclosed. The impedance matching circuit includes two or more mutually coupled inductors. A total self inductance of the impedance matching circuit is less than a corresponding impedance matching circuit that includes inductors that are not mutually coupled. The two or more mutually coupled inductors may have known current ratios that match current ratios in the corresponding impedance matching circuit.
Abstract: Techniques for reducing undesired source degeneration inductance are disclosed. In an exemplary design, an apparatus includes first and second connections. The first connection includes a first parasitic inductance acting as a source degeneration inductance of an amplifier. The second connection includes a second parasitic inductance magnetically coupled to the first parasitic inductance to reduce the source degeneration inductance of the amplifier. The amplifier (e.g., a single-ended power amplifier) may be coupled to circuit ground via the first connection. An impedance matching circuit may be coupled to the amplifier and may include a circuit component coupled to circuit ground via the second connection. The first connection may be located sufficiently close to (e.g., within a predetermined distance of) the second connection in order to obtain the desired magnetic coupling between the first and second parasitic inductances.
Inventors: Jose Cabanillas, Calogero D. Presti, Norman L. Frederick, JR.
Abstract: An impedance matching circuit with at least one tunable notch filter for a power amplifier is disclosed. The power amplifier amplifies an input radio frequency (RF) signal and provides an amplified RF signal. The impedance matching circuit performs output impedance matching for the power amplifier and includes at least one tunable notch filter. Each tunable notch filter has a notch that can be varied in frequency to provide better attenuation of an undesired signal. The at least one tunable notch filter attenuates at least one undesired signal in the amplified RF signal. The at least one tunable notch filter may include (i) a first tunable notch filter to attenuate a first undesired signal at a second harmonic of the amplified RF signal and/or (ii) a second tunable notch filter to attenuate a second undesired signal at a third harmonic of the amplified RF signal.
Abstract: The present invention reduces the size of a power detection circuit. An RF power amplifier includes an RF amplifier circuit and a power detection circuit. The RF amplifier circuit subjects an RF input signal having a predetermined frequency band to power amplification and generates an RF amplifier output signal. The input terminal of the power detection circuit is coupled to the output of the RF amplifier circuit. The power detection circuit detects a harmonic component having a harmonic frequency that is a whole number multiple of the frequency of a fundamental wave component of the RF amplifier output signal, and generates at an output terminal a detected signal indicative of the signal level of the fundamental wave component of the RF amplifier output signal. The power detection circuit includes an input circuit, which detects the harmonic component, and an output circuit, which generates the detected signal at the output.
Abstract: An audio-output amplifier circuit for an audio device includes an output amplifier and a switching element connected between an amplifier-output terminal of the output amplifier and ground, to short-circuit the amplifier-output terminal of the output amplifier after transition to ground-level voltage is finished.
Abstract: An output stage module for a power amplifier device (e.g., for a power amplifier device of a transmit unit of a magnetic resonance device) includes a housing and a carrier that is arranged within the housing. The carrier is made of a non-electrically-conducting, thermally-conducting material with low electrical losses (e.g., a ceramic carrier). At least two transistor dies are arranged on the carrier. At least one transistor, in each case, is assigned to a phase of a symmetrical input signal. In and/or on the carrier, a first conductor structure connecting (e.g., inductively) a drain output of the at least two transistor dies to an output signal and to second conductor structures each conducting an input signal to at least one gate input of the at least two transistor dies are provided. At least one cooling channel routed adjacent to at least one transistor die of the at least two transistor dies is provided.
Abstract: The switching arrangement is used for the redundant power supply for a power amplifier, especially a high-frequency power amplifier. The power amplifier in this context provides several output-stage components and several power-supply units. The power-supply units are connected together at their load-end connections and supply the output-stage components jointly with energy. If a power-supply unit fails, at least two output-stage components are actively switched off, so that the power amplifier can continue to operate although with reduced output power.
Abstract: Embodiments include but are not limited to apparatuses and systems including a quadrature lattice matching network including first path having a series inductor and a shunt inductor, and a second path having a series capacitor and a shunt capacitor. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.
Abstract: The invention relates to high power radiofrequency amplifiers, in particular to amplifiers having output impedance matching networks, exemplary embodiments of which include a radiofrequency amplifier having an active device mounted on a substrate within a device package, the amplifier having an output impedance matching network comprising a high pass network provided at least partly on the active device and a low pass network having a first inductive shunt connection between an output of the active device and a first output lead and a second inductive shunt connection between the output of the active device and a second output lead, wherein part of the second output lead forms an inductance contributing to the inductance of the low pass network.
Abstract: Power amplifier (PA), regardless of the process used for the manufacturing of its devices, suffers from a nonlinear output capacitance that has significant impact on various aspects of the PA performance. This output capacitance is dependent on the large output voltage swing. Accordingly a compensation capacitance is added at the output of the PA that has a behavior that is inverse respective of the output voltage of that of the output capacitance of the PA. Connecting the compensation capacitor in parallel to the PA output capacitance, results in a total capacitance that is the sum of the output capacitance and its compensation capacitance. The total output capacitance is therefore essentially stable throughout the output voltage swing.
Abstract: A device includes: a power amplifier, including a supply voltage terminal, an input port and an output port, and the power amplifier being configured to receive a supply voltage at the supply voltage terminal, an input signal through the input port, to amplify the received input signal, and to output an amplified output signal through the output port; a variable impedance matching circuit having an input terminal connected to the output port of the power amplifier, and having an output terminal for being connected to a load; and a controller including a voltage measuring unit configured to measure the supply voltage, to compare the measured supply voltage with a threshold voltage, and to control the variable impedance matching circuit based on a result of the comparison so as to adjust a load impedance seen by the power amplifier at its output port.
Applicant: Avago Technologies Wireless IP (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.
Abstract: There is provided a track current suppression device. An exemplary device includes an input coupled between rails of a railway track and configured to receive an input voltage corresponding to a track current. The exemplary device also includes an amplifier configured to receive the input voltage and generate a cancellation current. The exemplary device also includes an output coupled between the rails of the railway track and configured to deliver the cancellation current to the rails with reversed polarity compared to the track current.
Abstract: A current control mechanism for use in low power consumption circuits with limited headroom includes a differential transistor pair from whose collectors a current output is taken. The current output is a function of a reference voltage provided at bases of a reference transistor pair having emitters that are coupled to the bases of the differential pair. The reference voltage is controlled by a pair of control transistors that control current through a load. A pair of tracking transistors can be provided to track supply voltage. A single-ended topology can also be implemented.
Abstract: In accordance with a representative embodiment, an impedance matching circuit for use at an output stage of a power amplifier is disclosed. The impedance matching circuit comprises: an input port for receiving a frequency band signal; and a plurality of paths, each path being allocated with a principal band signal to be transmitted therethrough and including a path on-off network and a fixed-value impedance matching network. Depending on a type of the received frequency band signal, the path on-off network is configured to activate a selected one of the plurality of paths by rendering an input impedance of the selected path to have a lower absolute magnitude so that the signal is transmitted therethrough, and to deactivate the remaining paths of the plurality of paths by rendering the input impedance thereof to have a higher absolute magnitude so that the signal is not transmitted therethrough.
Abstract: A coupling isolation method for preventing a load signal from coupling into an operational amplifier is disclosed. The coupling isolation method includes generating a system signal before the operational amplifier outputs a computation result, switching off a Miller compensation signal path of the operational amplifier at a first time point according to the system signal, and electrically connecting an output end of the operational amplifier and a load at a second time point according to the system signal to output the computation result.
Abstract: An output buffer circuit capable of enhancing stability includes an operational amplifier, a capacitive load and an output control unit. The operational amplifier has a positive input terminal, a negative input terminal and an output terminal, and generates an output voltage to the output terminal according to an input voltage received by the positive input terminal. The output control unit is coupled between the output terminal of the operational amplifier and the capacitive load, and is utilized for controlling electrical connection between the output terminal of the operational amplifier and the capacitive load to forma signal output path and for adjusting impedance of the signal output path when the signal output path is formed.
Abstract: A power amplifier comprises a plurality of primary inductors provided on a substrate in a circular geometry as a whole; a plurality of amplifier pairs; a secondary inductor; and a connection wiring. Each amplifier pair is coupled to two ends of a corresponding primary inductor, and amplifies and output to the corresponding primary inductor a pair of first and second signals given as differential input signals, respectively. The secondary inductor is provided adjacent to the primary inductors in a circular geometry, further combines and outputs signals made by combining first and second signals in each primary inductor. The connection wiring is provided inside the primary inductors on the substrate and electrically couples middle points of respective primary inductors with each other.
Abstract: A multi-chip system in which at least one of the chips includes a performance parameter encoded thereon. After system assembly, the performance parameter can be obtained by a companion chip and used to automatically or semi-automatically fine tune the companion chip to the specific parameters of the at least one chip.
Applicants: STMicroelectronics, Inc., STMicroelectronics S.r.l.
Abstract: The present invention provides a harmonic processing circuit capable of miniaturizing a circuit, and an amplifier circuit using this harmonic processing circuit. A first impedance adjustment section and a second impedance adjustment section are provided. The first impedance adjustment section is provided with a coupled distributed constant line CT. The coupled distributed constant line CT receive as input the output of an amplification transistor S, and have a length of ¼ the wavelength (?) of the fundamental wave at the output of the amplification transistor S. Further, the first impedance adjusting section is configured to adjust input impedance with respect to the even harmonics to one of effectively infinity or zero. The first impedance adjusting section and the second impedance adjustment section are configured to adjust input impedance with respect to the odd harmonics to the other of effectively infinity or zero.
Abstract: An RF amplifying device includes a transmission line transformer coupled to an output electrode of a power transistor for generating transmission power to be fed to an antenna. The transmission power from the output electrode of the power transistor is fed to one end of a main line of the transmission line transformer, and one end of a secondary line of the transmission line transformer is coupled to an AC grounding node. The other end of the secondary line is coupled to the one end of the main line, thereby generating the transmission power. Coupling energy is transmitted from the secondary line to the main line. Coupling members electrically coupled to the output electrode of the power transistor are electrically coupled to a joint formed in either the main line, or the secondary line, at part of the energy coupling part.
Abstract: A buffer varies the size of its output stage in response to a varying capacitive load. The capacitive load may vary in a predictable or a random manner. The buffer includes an operational amplifier having an output stage of multiple transistors, selectively connected in parallel. During operation, data regarding the size of the capacitive load is obtained and used to determine the size of the output stage. In general, as the capacitive load increases, the number of transistors connected in parallel at the output stage also increases.
Abstract: A system and method are provided for delivering power to a dynamic load. The system includes a power supply providing DC power having a substantially constant power open loop response, a power amplifier for converting the DC power to RF power, a sensor for measuring voltage, current and phase angle between voltage and current vectors associated with the RF power, an electrically controllable impedance matching system to modify the impedance of the power amplifier to at least a substantially matched impedance of a dynamic load, and a controller for controlling the electrically controllable impedance matching system. The system further includes a sensor calibration measuring module for determining power delivered by the power amplifier, an electronic matching system calibration module for determining power delivered to a dynamic load, and a power dissipation module for calculating power dissipated in the electrically controllable impedance matching system.
Abstract: A power amplifier controller circuit controls an adjustable impedance matching network at the output of a power amplifier to vary its load line to improve the efficiency of the RF PA. The PA controller circuit comprises an amplitude control loop that determines an amplitude correction signal. The amplitude loop is configured to control or correct for distortion from the adjustable matching network based upon the amplitude correction signal.
Abstract: An integrated circuit arrangement is disclosed. In one embodiment, the integrated circuit arrangement includes an output circuit having at least one first output connection which can provide a data signal, at least one first data output connection; and at least one first inductance connected between the at least one first output connection and the at least one data output connection.
Abstract: A radio frequency (RF) generator for applying RF power to a plasma chamber includes a DC power supply (B+). A radio frequency switch generates the RF power at a center frequency f0. A low-pass dissipative terminated network connects between the DC power supply (B+) and the switch and includes operates at a first cutoff frequency. The switch outputs a signal to an output network which improves the fidelity of the system. The output network generates an output signal fed to a high-pass subharmonic load isolation filter that passes RF power above a predetermined frequency. A low-pass harmonic load isolation filter may be inserted between the output network and the high-pass subharmonic load isolation filter, and a high-pass terminated network may connect to the output of the output network. The high-pass terminated network dissipates RF power above a predetermined frequency.
Abstract: A circuit and method for electronically tuning an RF power amplifier. The output filter includes at least one electronically variable reactance. The electronically tuned power amplifier may be tuned rapidly to a selected frequency, to a selected impedance, or to produce a selected output amplitude. An optional controller translates frequency, impedance, or modulation inputs into tuning signals. High-efficiency, wideband amplitude modulation is produced by varying the amplifier load impedance along preferred loci.
Abstract: An access destination determining section determines whether an access is directed to region 1 or region 2. A region 1 drive capability register and a region 2 drive capability register set drive capabilities of output buffers when accesses to region 1 and region 2 generate, respectively. For example, if "1" is set to region 1 drive capability register, when an access to region 1 generates, a Buf2 output enable signal is output at high level to enable outputs of Buf2s. Therefore, a drive capability of a bus can be altered according to a region to which an access is made by a CPU or the like, thereby enabling prevention of unnecessary power consumption and generation of noise.
Abstract: Cabling (10) is provided for interconnecting amplifier (12) having a positive side (14) and a return side (16) to a load (18) having a positive side (20) and a return side (22). The cabling comprises a first open circuited conductor (24) having a first end (26) connected to a selected one of the amplifier positive side (14) and the amplifier return side (16) and having a second end (28) extending towards and terminating free from connection to the load (18). A second open circuited conductor (30) is provided which has a first end (32) connected to a respective one of the load positive side (20) and the load return side (22), said respective one being of a different polarity than the polarity of the selected one of the amplifier positive side (14) and amplifier return side (16) to which the first open circuited conductor (24) is connected and having a second end (34) extending towards and terminating free from connection to the amplifier (12).
Abstract: An R.F. amplifier circuit having a high selectivity with a simple and inexpensive construction is provided. An R.F. choke coil acting as a bias supplying element is connected to a collector of an amplifying transistor to supply it with an optimum biasing current for a high electric field strength. A first capacitor is connected in parallel, at a high frequency, with the R.F. choke coil, which is connected to an LC tuning circuit through a second capacitor. A resonance frequency of the R.F. choke coil and the first capacitor is chosen to be sufficiently lower than that of the LC tuning circuit to maintain a single tuned circuit while at the same time an output impedance of the amplifying transistor is stepped up by the first and second capacitors to insure a high quality factor.


STAMFORD, Conn. -- Tradewinds®, a brand inspired by a family tradition of real brewed sweet tea, will give fans a reason to sing this summer by announcing the launch of the Sip & Sing Your Way to Paradise™ tour and karaoke contest. Both initiatives will support the launch of the new Tradewinds® Jimmy Buffett's Island Tea, a line of tropical-flavored ready-to-drink iced teas now available in select grocery, mass and convenience stores.
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still in its infancy but it is very hard to believe blockchains won't completely revolutionize the entire system, fully decentralized or not. from my understanding many altcoins are complete scams.
i'm trying to learn about it all with hope to make wise long-term investments.
Still holding my airdropped TRX. All $100 or so of it. I think it's an elaborate pump and dump.
Dragonchain is up ~25x since the ICO and 12x or so since I told you kids about it. 8x in ETH terms. Still has plenty of room to grow as well. Current market cap is $800 million and its a development protocol on par with any other. Wouldn't be shocked to see it hit $20B.
My eth is still climbing. Shudve bought more!
AST and MYST are worth looking into. AST is the token for Airswap, a decentralized exchange that features intents to trade instead of a market book. AST has already increased from a couple days ago, but is consolidating for another potential move. Current market cap is about $180mm, and token price is only 25% above ICO. Airswap got into the Extreme Tech Challenge at the CES conference and is rumored to be announcing a connection to Goldman Sachs.
MYST is a decentralized VPN. It has been totally quiet since ICO and is trading at 40% or so of ICO price. it has stagnated enormously based on the apparent lack of response from its develepment team. However, the team has added new members and added code to Github recently, and is discussing putting out a "pre-alpha" version of the product in the immediate future.
As always, do your own research and buy Dragonchain.
What are you guys' feelings on Bitcoin being moved to the futures markets?
First BTC futures contracts expiring Jan 18th (2:45pm Chicago time) and guess what?
Winklevoss Twins wrote the contracts??
Last edited by Racer1; 01/16/18 10:36 PM.
Well the futures sure ain't helping!
I guess I am WAY late to the game on this. Alas. Can anyone speculate whether colored beads and seashells will be next cryptocurrency?
the real blood bath hasn't even started. sub < 1,000 on bitcoin in a year or less.
So you've opened a short on it?
BTC futures opening increase the probability of short-term "corrections." The futures trader buys a ton of BTC to drive the market up, then shorts the future and dumps the owned coins when futures trading opens. Makes money on the way up, makes money on the short, rebuys the dip to make money on the way back up.
Dragonchain is starting to climb again from a dip low. All shitcoins are cheap at the moment.
i'm not going to short it; i only invest in my retirement accounts. i will say this though. anyone that bought bitcoin in mid-december sure as hell wishes they went long gold with that money.
BTC futures opened on 12/18/17 with the contract at 19,595; it's now 10,940.
near 50% down in one month is not a "correction"; it's a collapse and there's more to come.
50% down in one month is a normal fluctuation for crypto. BTC has done it several times.
Anyone who bought BTC any other time than mid-Dec 2017 is sure as hell glad they did.
A bigger drop looks to be incoming on Chinese news, but it will rebound.
which exchange are you using to buy those?
glad I sold some eth at 1200.
papa getting a more powerful motorbike!


text:
Home/Location/Australasia/Barnaby Joyce's decision to sell his story is a breach of professional ethics
AustralasiaDemocracyEthicsFeaturesJournalismLeadershipMediaPoliticsSocietyWorld
Barnaby Joyce's decision to sell his story is a breach of professional ethics
Barnaby Joyce's decision to accept money – reportedly $150,000 – from Channel Seven in return for giving an interview about his relationship with his former staffer Vikki Campion, calls into question his fitness for public office.
Denis Muller
It betrays a complete lack of understanding of the convention that in democratic political systems, public officials are accountable through the media to the people.
That responsibility to be accountable comes with public office.
It is not a marketable commodity.
To treat it as such is a…
Barnaby Joyce's decision…

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This June, the month when Saudi women will finally be able to take the wheel, Vogue Arabia celebrates the exciting and progressive changes transforming the Kingdom and, by ripple effect, our region. We also honor its incredible women in fashion, arts, and diplomacy, whose work deserves worldwide recognition. Embodying this new era of female empowerment is HRH Princess Hayfa bint Abdullah Al Saud, this month's cover star.
It was some three years ago that I first met Her Royal Highness. A press release announcing her solo art exhibition in New York dropped into my inbox and I became instantly captivated by her powerful work, where icons from Arab culture are reinvented with a colorful and surrealist touch. After interviewing Princess Hayfa for a feature, we worked together on a charity event in benefit of UNICEF. This was the beginning of an enduring friendship, even though we reside in different countries.
As I got to know Princess Hayfa better, my admiration for her grew. A generous woman with a truly elegant and noble presence, she is the daughter of the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. A mother of three, the princess dedicates her life to her family and her art. Instead of being a cliché "stay-at-home princess," enjoying the perks of a privileged life, she invested in her studies and flourished as an artist, with work exhibited on different continents.
I was deeply honored when Her Royal Highness decided to accept our invitation to grace our June cover. As people from the region are aware, the ruling families of Arabia are extremely private, and I am humbled by such an act of trust. The day we spent in the desert outside Jeddah, immortalized through the lens of Boo George, was unique and of great meaning for the Arab world.
I could not end this letter without a very special thank you to Her Royal Highness Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, who, besides inspiring us all with her open-minded spirit, was fundamental to the success of our issue. Knowing that such extraordinary women are taking part in crafting the future of the Arab world makes me look forward to the exciting times ahead.


text:
anzac news speech
Pink telegrams
The telegrams that delivered bad news were pink.
Today pink is not a colour of loss.
Not a colour of sadness.
Or fear. Or terror. Or finality.
But during the Great War, the telegrams which broke the worst news were typed on pink paper.
The colour became a silent warning of the anguish that was about about to be unleashed. A knock, a door opened and the pink could be seen before a word was said.
Sometimes it was a junior postal clerk, a child by today's measure, who may very well have known, may very well have looked up to, the person whose grim story was written on pink.
Often the telegram was delivered first to a local clergyman, who would make his way to the home of the family to deliver the news.
The pink telegram took three possible paths: missing, injured, deceased.
If a telegram said that your son was missing, you could dismiss it as inaccurate, uncertain, surely to be proven wrong. You could lace the brief words with a frail hope.
If a telegram said that your husband was injured, the fear and dreading would grip you with a coursing malignancy. The breath stolen from your lungs as you comprehended the uncertainty of your future. From wife to carer; the convalescence; the shrivelled income; the invalidity. Yet he was still alive.
If the telegram extinguished all hope, the finality ripped through families like a tornado in a corn field. Mothers fell to their knees, wives crumpled on their beds, fathers turned and walked silently away.
The human story and the grave reality of the Great War was written in a few words on over two hundred thousand pink telegrams: 60,000 men and women killed, 156,000 men and women wounded or taken prisoner.
With the succinctness of the era, these telegrams outlined the facts and if the news was the worst, they provided brief sympathies from the government and from the King and Queen.
A handful of words on a piece of pink paper, a cover note to a tragedy playing out in hundreds of communities and thousands of homes across our fledgling nation.
Yet the telegrams told very little of the story that would unfold. They told nothing of the horrors on the Western Front and gave no insight into the carnage wrought at home. They captured a moment in time, but stole the potential from a generation: the marriages left severed; the children unborn, the careers unfulfilled, the homes never built, the Christmases uncelebrated, the paths not trodden.
A century ago, in 1919, the pink telegrams began to fade, as our diggers came home.
Their return was slow, stuttering, uncertain. Many feared that it would never happen and for some it didn't as the final few pink telegrams stole hope as illness and disease unfolded thousands of miles away and claimed the war's final victims.
And so we gather to remember,
Not glorify.
To bow our heads,
Not wave flags.
To honour,
Not celebrate.
And we think of the people whose names were written on those pink telegrams - and the people who loved those people, and the people who didn't get a chance to love those people.
And we give thanks for their sacrifice.


The applique and embroidery on this cushion is on a tiny scale and is all hand done. Its exquisite! The textile was originally the collar of a Miao minority costume and the sides have been sewn together to make the cushion front. The back of the cushion is a vintage Zhuang homespun textile and has the slubby texture and slightly uneven weave that is characteristic of this. The cushion has a zip fastener and feather pad.


The Santa Clara Central Park Library is one of our favorite places to go. And it's FREE! They offer so many fun things. Here is a list of our favorites.
Storytime: Usually Tuesdays-Fridays form 10:30-11:00. Go here for calendar list of days and times. They also have different ages including Baby Lapsit (Ages 0-12 months), Young Ones (Ages 12-24 months), Toddling Twos (Ages 24-36 months), Preschool (Ages 3-5).
1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Program: Great program to get you to read books with your children to get them ready for preschool or kindergarten. You can click here to sign up online or go to the library and get a keepsake folder full of instructions and your first reading log to fill out. For every 100 books you read you can bring your log sheet back into the library for a milestone sticker and the next log sheet. At the completion of you 1,000 books you get a prize.
Discover & Go Free Passes: The library offers admission to many museums around the bay for free with their Discover and Go Passes. Most of them say you can only get one pass per card holder per year. You log in here with your Library Card Number and last name. Then you can either search by venue or date and pick the passes you want. You may only have two reserved at a time. New passes become available on the first day of every month at midnight so if you want some of the popular passes like California Academy of Science or the Exploritorium you may want to stay up late. We have had so much fun with these passes trying out lots of new places for free thanks to the library.
Summer Reading Program: Great programs to give you incentive to read all summer long. You can sign up here or go to the service desk at the library to pick up your packet. Keep track of the books you read all summer long and then return your log sheet in during the month of September and receive your reward. We got a free book of our choosing, bookmarks, stickers, free meal to Chik-Fil-A coupons, Free personal sized Pizza at Round Table per person.
Summer Concert and Movie Series: Lots of fun free concerts around the fountains and in the pavilion at the Central Park Library. Go online for list of all events and times.


These little cuties had us at G'Day! The United We Flourish G'Day Mate set designed by our sweet & funny friends at Avery Elle, makes us smile with it's weird...we mean limited edition critters!
Hey everyone! Welcome to Day 7 of the 12 Tags of Christmas with a feminine twist! Today we're playing with Avery Elle and creating tags in a pink, mint and gold color scheme.
To create my tag, first I die cut a tag shape die and then stamped and colored in my christmas-y birch trees with copic markers to match the color theme!
Next, I added a snowdrift to the bottom of each tag cutting with a die to create a pierced border.
Then, I stamped and die cut a deer, coloring him to match as well.
Then I colored the bear and placed him on the tag with some dimensional foam. I did the same with the deer.
Finally, to tie in the gold, I die cut a gold border with a die and some gold foil cardstock.
I added the die cut gold foil to the bottom of the tag and then pulled some of my favorite mini gold star sequins to sprinkle across the card.
To tie my ribbon I folded a piece of ribbon and threaded it through the tag hole.
Then, through the loop, I tied some gold thread around the ribbon to secure it. Here's what it looks like from behind.
And here the tags are completed. Super sweet and very feminine!
Thank you so much and now be sure to scroll to see what Elena has created too!
We are so happy to have Elena Roussakis back in the CLASSroom today! Elena's work is always a show stopper!!! Her coloring is perfection and she crafts the cutest parties! We know you are going to love her tags and make sure you check out more of her work on her blog, Just Me.
Thank you for joining us once again this year for the seventh day of our 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist series! Simply leave your appreciation for the beautiful tags of today's dynamic duo, Heather and Elena, and you will be eligible for the random drawing of the $25 gift certificate to our store www.ellenhutson.com. Leave your comment here before noon on December 18th to be included (one comment per person please.) Be certain to return tomorrow to see what our next team will have to inspire you!
Good Tuesday morning and welcome to the CLASSroom. My project today was made using the Essentials By Ellen Diagonal Window Die paired with the Avery Elle G'Day Mate Stamp and Die Set, Impression Obsession Branches Corner, Grass, Grass Border and Small Grass Border.
I used the Diagonal Window Die to make a Surprise Thank You card for the CLASSroom a couple of years ago. I wanted to do something different with it for my project today. I did a search in the CLASSroom looking for inspiration and I found Julie's great post and video showing how she created a collapsible style shadow box card. I love using frames for my scene cards and loved the idea of creating a frame using the window die that would add dimension without the heaviness of mounting tape. I attached most of the elements of the scene flat to the card base and they created noticeable dimension yet could still allow the card to be mailed in a regular envelope.
Start by scoring an additional set of score lines to each section 1/4" inside the original score lines. Check out Julie's video to see this step more clearly.
Use a craft knife or scissors to cut where the diagonal lines intersect.
Turn the paper over and fold back each triangle section along the main score line and create a firm crease with your bone folder. Do you own a Teflon Bone Folder? It's a wonderful tool and doesn't leave a shine on your cardstock.
Fold the triangles forward on the 1.4" score line and firmly crease with your bone folder.
Sponge in a cloudy background with Tumbled Glass ink using an ink blending tool and cloud template. I love this small cloud template made by Inky Antics. I flipped it from front to back repeatedly as I worked my way down the page so my clouds wouldn't look so uniform.
Apply glossy accents to the back of the grass border and attach to the card base.
Apply 1/8" double stick tape to the back of the small grass border and attach to the card base.
Cut off the extra grass border on both sides.
Apply double stick tape to the back of the branches corner and attach to the card base.
I stamped the kangaroo image twice on Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper using Black Versafine and embossed with Ranger Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder. I'm sorry I failed to get photos of that step.
I used Antique Linen and Vintage Photo inks to watercolor the images using a Zig Waterbrush.
I cut the pouch and baby section of the image off to paper piece over the base to add a bit of dimension. I fussy cut the images out with my snips instead of die cutting so I could eliminate the outer edge for the paper piecing.
I used rolled up 3/8" glue dots to attach the baby pouch section over the base image.
I stamped the butterflies twice using the versa ink and embossed. I cut the little front wing section off and pieced over the base butterfly to add a tiny touch of dimension. Yes…..my fingers were too large to cut those tiny pieces well and my eyes are too old to see well…but I just couldn't help myself. I had to do it. LOL! I attached the butterflies to the base using glossy accents.
The kangaroo was tucked in behind the grass and attached with a piece of mounting tape. I added the taller grass sections to add interest to the scene and attached with glossy accents.
I attached a piece of 1/2" inch of double stick tape to each triangle section, set the scene base inside the opening and secured in place with the taped triangle sections. I used ATG adhesive to attach the framed scene to a green A2 card.
I hope you enjoyed seeing the new G'Day Mate kangaroo image used with the Diagonal Window Die in this collapsible scene card. It's lots of fun.
Keen On Koalas & Kangaroos!
We are thrilled to welcome 3 of our super talented friends and their adorable creations using the latest United We Flourish stamp & die set, G'day Mate by Avery Elle!
Thanks for stopping by and a MONDO thank you to Janette, Alice & Amy for sharing their talent with us!
Link: Watch in HD on our YouTube Channel HERE! Thanks for sharing some comment love and a thumbs up with Heather there and be certain to subscribe to our channel for other fantastic videos!
One of a Kind Creations from our Mates at Avery Elle!
Today the crazy talented Avery Elle team is sharing their one of kind creations with the new United We Flourish Stamp & Die Combo set, G'Day Mate! Get ready to give our mates a round of applause for these beautiful cards!
Outstanding right?! See more over on the Avery Elle blog (and click on each photo above to see more from each designer)!
In case you missed it, learn more about United We Flourish & G'Day Mate here! And hop over to see an awesome Hello Monday video from Julie here!
Thanks so much for stopping by and make sure to visit again later this week for even more inspiration!
This month our featured United We Flourish partner company is Avery Elle! The set features a "down under" theme with lovable critters that hail from Australia.
For a direct link to the G'Day Mate set, please click HERE.
LINK: Watch in HD on our YouTube Channel HERE and thanks for giving us a thumbs' up and for subscribing!
For mass production, try making a "die cutting template" as shown in the video; it can be reused many times.
You don't always have to color focal images to have a colorful, eye-catching card; try making a colorful background and keep the focal black and white for high contrast and visual impact.
Keep embellishments minimal but complimentary so they enhance, rather than complete with the focal.
Use white space to balance out the overall design so the colorful background doesn't overwhelm the focal.
Hope today's video gives you a good jumping off point to making even more fun cards with this new set!
Last November we began celebrating our 10th anniversary with the theme United We Flourish. What does United We Flourish mean? It means that our company would not be here without the amazing companies we work with, the designers who create stunning projects showcasing the wonderful products being created AND you, our fabulous customers! YOU are such a vital part of our creative community - you inspire & encourage us! Your response to United We Flourish was overwhelming and heartwarming. We heard repeatedly from you that you appreciate how our little company works together with the other manufacturers we carry to bring you their products and education showing how to use those products. To thank you for your constant support and encouragement, we have partnered with some of our friends to offer exclusive limited edition stamp & die sets!!! It is our goal to release a new set each month for the next few months. These sets will be available for a limited time (most likely 3-6 months) after each release, depending on how quickly you snap them up. The theme of these stamps sets are uplifting and fun.
We are thrilled to present the second United We Flourish set to you...G'Day Mate by Avery Elle exclusively for Ellen Hutson LLC.
Avery Elle has been an important part of our EH family since 2013. We love their adorable cast of characters and their sweet & sassy sentiments. And we really love when we get to meet up with them at trade-shows, go out to dinner and laugh until we cry! HUGE THANKS to Jamie, Heather and the whole Avery Elle team, we think you are one of a kind!!!
Greetings from Down Under! The Australian animals are here to say G'Day! The adorable koala in the tree with a baby koala, the kangaroo with her joey and the unique platypus, will help anyone feel special! The fun sentiments are the perfect finishing touch for your card from the outback!
The set comes packaged in the Essentials by Ellen durable clear envelope and magnetic sheet for easy storage.
This week our team, together with the Avery Elle team and some special guests, will be showing many different ways to use this set! Be sure to come back to the CLASSroom throughout the week for links to all the different spots where you can see these adorable weirdos in action and be certain to join Jamie and Ellen on Friday, July 28th at noon PDT as they go Live on Facebook! We will be sharing the recorded video here in the CLASSroom once it wraps up for those who do not have a FB page. Thank you so much for your incredible support - we appreciate you!
Hello hello! Happy Wednesday! Are you enjoying embellishment week yet? I sure love these themes - they're great! For today's card - I'm using sequins and twine. Immediately, I thought shaker card. I just can't get enough of them!
First, I cut out and arranged ballon dies in the shapes letters.
Then, to keep them put - I used some washi tape.
Then, I ran the letters through my Big Shot.
I cut it once with my card base and three times with other card stock to create depth for the shaker. By using the wash, it kept my die cuts perfectly positioned so I could create my shaker.
Next, secured all the layers and added sequins. All sorts of Pretty Pink Posh. I love these sequins.
I kept with a rainbow theme to add the sequins.
I added a layer of cardstock behind the shaker.
Finally, I added my layer to the card base and added some clear sequins to the front.
I added a bit of twine to the top.
Finally, I added white gel pen accents to the front of the clear acetate.
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing part of your day with me! I hope you have a marvelous day!
(click on the pics to enbiggan)!
Keep everything else relatively simple, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly and effortlessly you can put this fun little ditty together!
LINK: Enjoy the video in HD on our YouTube Channel HERE! Thanks for watching, giving us a thumbs' up & subscribing!
Hello all! I'm thrilled to be here for ink week! How fun is this? I'm here to share about Pigment Inks!
First of all, a little education on Pigment Inks! Pigment inks are some of my favorite inks because they cover great, stamp beautifully and the colors are amazing. Because of their thicker feel, they work great for stamps where you have a solid image or fine detail! Also, because the ink "sits" on top of the paper, the lines stay very crisp! It's very important when using a pigment ink to turn you stamp up and then bring the ink to the stamp - pigment inks don't work well for smooching the stamp into the ink pad - which is a reason the MISTI is a great tool for Pigment Inks!
Today, I'm using both Avery Elle inks and Mama Elephant inks. Both inks are very similar and compliment each other very well! Some pigment inks can be a little slow to dry but both of these dry very fast - which makes them much easier to use!
The cases are great because the color you see on the pad is the color that you get when you stamp an image!
You can tell by looking through the lid that the ink is very spongy!
Here's what I mean! Check out this coverage!
This was a two stamp process - but look at that amazing coverage!! Crisp and solid!
I couldn't use my MISTI for this TINY stamp but check out how great it stamps!
Now for a fun technique that you can do with Pigment inks! I used my MISTI and stamped the first color of ink.
Then, after using the stamp once with the lightest color ink, I lightly pressed against the edges of the stamp with a slightly darker ink color. This gives a little shading - but all accomplished with ink.
I kept working my way around the cat with the balloons.
I love the texture and shading this technique yields! Also, do you notice how crisp those letters are?
Next I stamped the strings.
Now, another fun technique that you can use pigment inks for - daubing! I used a small finger dauber to add the appearance of grass. I simply stamped the image I wanted to cover up in the green ink, trimmed it out and then covered my card front. Then, I daubed the finger dauber sponge into the pigment ink pad and lightly added in some grass.
Check it out when I removed the mask!
Finally I die cut a border.
Then, I used a scalloped rectangle die to create the scalloped card front.
Lastly, I added sequins and stamped the sentiment.
I'm so glad you stopped by to enjoy ink week and learn about Pigment inks! Thank you so much and have a wonderful day!
To create the card, I placed a 5.50" x 4" panel of Ranger Watercolor Paper in my Misti so I could stamp the images in Versamark ink a couple of times. With the textured surface and absorbent qualities of watercolor paper, I wanted to be sure to get excellent ink coverage for my heat embossing. Next, I positioned all the stamps I wanted to use face down on the watercolor paper around the die sentiment, then closed the lid of the Misti to pick up the stamps. After inking and stamping the images twice, I heat embossed them with Ranger Gold Super Fine Embossing Powder.
Next, I used my Black Velvet Short Round 8 Watercolor Brush and Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36 color set to watercolor the images. Please allow me to talk a minute about this fabulous watercolor brush. For convenience, I had always used a water-fillable waterbrush but recently decided to give this wonderful professional watercolor brush a try and boy, I sure am glad I did! These brushes are made of a unique blend of natural squirrel hair and black synthetic filaments. Squirrel hair holds large amounts of color and is highly responsive to your touch, which allows for creating shapes beautifully while it releases color with great control. By itself, squirrel is delicate. Blending it with a synthetic helps it to resist wear and maintain a wonderful snap (snap is the ability to retain its shape) and spring. This soft blend allows multiple layer glazing without disturbing previous colors, yet it's firm enough to lift color with a gentle scrub. There are many sizes available, but I think this Short Round 8 will be very versatile and my favorite go-to!
To finish the watercolor panel, I used a little No. 50 Pale Aqua around the bottom edge. Then I masked off the colored images with a few sticky notes, and used No. 91 Bluish Gold to flick some golden dots over the top part of the panel. You'll notice in the photo below, the bottom three watercolors in the Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36 color set are No. 95 Silver, the Bluish Gold I used, and No. 90 Gold, which are all pearlized/metallics -- SO pretty!
To finish the card, I also watercolored the 1/4-inch strip I had trimmed off my 4.25" x 5.50" watercolor panel with the Bluish Gold color, then adhered it to the bottom of my Neenah 110 Lb. Solar White card base. I like using X-Press It High Tack Double-Sided 1/2" Tape to adhere heavier cardstock such as watercolor paper. After adhering the watercolor panel to the card base, I die cut gold foiled cardstock (swoon!) with Julie's Many Thanks die and adhered the pretty sentiment to the card.
I hope you will take the opportunity to browse the Avery Elle Clear Stamps and ELLE-ments Dies by Heather Campbell and all of Avery Elle's products in Ellen's store while they are still on sale thru Sunday, January 8th . . . Thanks so much for joining me today!
Hip Hip Hooray! It's Avery Elle week!!! Someone pinch me - I can't believe the sweet and amazing ladies at Ellen Hutson are spending a week focusing on my stamp designs. Seriously. So grateful for the tremendous love and support.
For my card, I wanted to play with one of my favorite Avery Elle Stamp sets - Be a Unicorn.
First, I stamped the images in black ink and used the coordinating die cuts to cut everything out.
Then, I colored the images in with Copics.
To get started on the card base, I used my distress inks and created an inked background.
Then, to create a frame I used these Avery Elle dies. I love how they create the perfect window.
I used my dimensional foam tape to pop it up.
I secured all of the images using dimensional adhesive.
Next I added sequins and a bit of Wink of Stella. I how the soft glitter of the Wink of Stella pen compliments Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling clear sequins!
Lastly, I touched it all off off with a white uni-ball gel pen! I love this accent!
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing part of your day with me! I do appreciate it!
Well, today I'm super excited because I get to feature one of our very own team members here on #TexturalTuesdays. AND she also happens to design super awesome stamps for Avery Elle. She is the über talented Heather Campbell! I'm using the ridiculously adorable stamp and die set of Hedgehugs and I can't wait to show you what I made!
I know. Too cute, right? Those little hedgies are just the sweetest things ever.
I stamped one little hedgie with black ink onto Neenah Solar White Cardstock and (wait, for it) I colored it in with Copics. I sold most of my Copics, but I had just enough to color this little cutie pie in. Below are the colors that I used -- the top colors are the ones I used for his cute belly and face and the bottom colors I used for his prickly hedgie quills. Then I used the matching die to cut him out.
I then shifted my attention to the heart balloons. Instead of Neenah, I switched the paper to Bristol and my coloring medium to the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers (set of 60).
After I colored the heart balloons (and the little fringes of grass) and die-cut those out, I knew I'd need some sort of base or background for the hedgehog and the sentiment that I had picked out. I knew that I happened to own an Avery Elle-ments Die called Burst that would be just great for this card. So I set to making the background.
As long as you start off the paper with Distress Inks and blend inward keeping the foam at a slight angle (to keep from leaving foam "circles" on your project) you'll do just fine. Blending the colors is super easy. And colors you'd never expect to blend and look nice? DO!
For the center I wanted it to look sort of look a blue sky, but not. I know, super helpful. The best way I could think of to achieve what I had in my mind was to take 3 Distress Inks and "smoosh" them into my work surface. Spritz very lightly with water so the inks pool. THEN with the tiniest acrylic block I have, tap that randomly into the colors so the ink transfers onto the block. Then tap that onto the center of the circle. Confused? Look at my photos below.
SImply? You're stamping using using the smooshed Distress Inks to create the background.
Once you have all your colors for the inner circle then you can start adhering the hedgehog into place. Since I'm a hug fan of dimension, but I didn't want too much on this one I used the Thin 3D foam squares in the mixed pack from Scrapbook Adhesives. The larger size can go behind the hedgehog and the smaller ones fit nicely behind the sentiment and fringes of grass.
The card is 4¼" square. I didn't want to overdo it with patterned paper but I did want to add a touch of color between the black and white cardstock. I used a bit of color from the Avery Elle 6"x6" paper pad Everyday Collection. So many fun colors in this collection.
Adding embellishments of sequins always comes last, if necessary. I added the sequins and a little sparkle with the Wink of Stella pen.
I hope you enjoyed this sweet Hedghog and check out some more closeups below. Heather has more of her designs in the shop, too. Be sure to look for all of her wonderful work all over the Internet!
We all love mail don't we?! As long as it doesn't contain bills! In this internet age sometimes we lose the art of staying in touch by snail mail but I'm guessing that if you're here today, you just might be a paper crafter who values making things and sending them the old fashioned way.
Today's project has two parts, a card and an envelope combo that will be fun to create and also receive. I'm reminded once again that everything pretty doesn't have to be inside the envelope. Why not decorate it as well? And while you're at it, why not MAKE the envelope out of some paper you have on hand. It's really not hard at all!
I'm crushing on this Technique Tuesday stamp set called Snail Mail. Aptly named, it is soooo cute! I just knew I had to have it and it has inspired today's project. I adore Technique Tuesday and today I'm giving them a little love. Some of my very first stamps were by Technique Tuesday when I started scrapbooking years ago. Fabulous quality and style!
With all these cute stamps, I wanted to stamp them onto an envelope and thought, why not make my own? I pulled out my Envelope Punch Board from We R Memory Keepers and decided to make the 4.5 x 6" size. It's perfect for fitting in an A5 card, especially if you make them a little bulky like I do. To create the envelop you check the sizes and cut the card stock to size, then follow the punching directions.
I wrote a post awhile back on how to use this board with all the steps and if you haven't seen it done, I have all the step outs here.
You'll end up with an envelope like this...but don't adhere it together yet! It's so much easier to stamp on when you leave it open.
So here's where the envelope magically turns into Kraft! Actually, my design idea went a different direction and I decided instead of a plain white envelope I could get anywhere, I'd love to have a Kraft one! So I made one, quick as a wink!
Now what I wanted to do was create a box for the address area so that I wouldn't stamp where I wanted to write. The Tim Holtz Ruler is amazing for this and I simply lined the ruler up with the edges of the envelope and then drew a box in pencil. Use light pressure so that it is easy to erase later!
Next I started stamping. I stamped some of the Snail Mail sentiments on the envelope in Jet Black Archival Ink.
And then, using the pencil marks for placement, I stamped a floral and leaf frame using another Technique Tuesday stamp set, Garden of Life by Cath Edvalson. Avery Elle Pigment Inks are some of my favorite inks and they are wonderful for stamping on Kraft!
Don't forget the envelope flap too! And just before you move on and put the envelope together, heat set the inks with a heat tool to prevent smearing.
Isn't the envelope cute?! Next step...make a pretty matching card!
I wasn't quite done yet since it came to mind that a sweet little envelope on the card front would make a great place to stamp another card sentiment and also hold a little gift card for the recipient. This one is the 3"x4" size and is created from a 6"x6" sheet of patterned paper. Once I put it together I sanded the edges to define them and add a little shabby vintage look.
Once the envelope is adhered to the front of the card, I added in some pretty coordinating die cuts from the Garden Leaves by Cath Edvalson die set. They are cut from both card stock and felt for lots of variation in texture and then adhered along with some sweet buttons from Lilac Lane and a little paper flower from Maya Road.
You can find all the supplies listed below to make things easy.
Do you love happy mail? I'm busy sending Christmas cards right now but this one is going out soon after the holidays.
Hello and welcome to day 7 of the 12 tags of Christmas with a feminine twist. This is always, by far, my most favorite of Ellen Hutson CLASSroom posts all year!
I went with a very loose interpretation of this sketch - using the lines for images and blocks of color.
To start, I die cut my tag and ink blended two colors to create the top two stripes from my sketch.
Next I colored in my images.
I wanted to jazz up the list so I stamped some fun snowflakes in Avery Elle silver fox ink.
I die cut my cute elf out and added some white gel pen accents.
Next, I added a snowdrift and also die cut some mountains. These form the bottom two stripes on my tag.
Next I assembled. Can you see the stripes?
Lastly, I added a sentiment using my MISTI. Genius tool. I couldn't live without it!
I added more white gel pen accents in the sky!
Finally, I added the ribbon!
I didn't get a pic of it, but I added some last minute sequins for sparkly snow drops! I love how creating a simple sketch can by such a springboard for ideas!
We are so excited to welcome the amazingly talented Melania Deasy back to The CLASSroom today to help us celebrate Avery Elle! We are sure you have seen Melania's colorful & happy work for companies like Avery Elle, Mama Elepahnt & MFT (just to name a few). We love Melania's interpretation of the sketch! Her tags are sweet, sparkly & sophisticated! Make sure you head over to Melania's blog to see more over her beautiful work!
Thank you for joining us once again this year for the seventh day of our 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist series! Simply leave your appreciation for the beautiful tags of today's dynamic duo, Heather and Melania, and you will be eligible for the random drawing of the $25 gift certificate to our store www.ellenhutson.com. Leave your comment before noon on December 17th to be included (one comment per person please.) Be certain to return tomorrow to see what our next team will have to inspire you!


During the first century period, the dating of Shavuot varied depending on whether the Sadduceean or Pharisaical tradition was followed. As followers of Rabbi Yeshua we need to investigate, and determine which practice is the most biblical. So let us turn to scripture to see if there are any indications of which pratice seams more prevalent in the Scriptures.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD"(Lev 23:10-17, KJV).
In this passage the Lord mentions when the children of Israel are brought into the land they are to ofter the firstfruit wave offering on the day after the Sabbath. The Lord then desires for them to count off seven Sabbaths and on the day after the fourty ninth Sabath they are to offer, another wave offering that contains leaven.
The feast of Shavuot (Pentecost) is the next holy feast after Passover and unleavened bread. Shavuot is an extremely important feast, in the life of the believer. Shavuot is when HaShem begins to show Israel what it means to be set apart. The next step in the Lords plan is to take this mixed multitude (Exodus 12:38), and form a single nation based on righteousness.


text:
Q: Is there a way to use spark MLLib CrossValidator without parameter grid? I want to use cross-validation instead of the normal validation set approach just as a means to get a better estimate of the test error rate. I am using spark-MLLib Dataframe based API. However if I run the following code -
cv = tuning.CrossValidator(estimator=randomForestRegressor, evaluator=evaluator, numFolds=5)
cv_model = cv.fit(vsdf)

I get the error -
KeyError                                  Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-44-d4e7a9d3602e> in <module>
----> 1 cv_model = cv.fit(vsdf)

C:\Spark\spark-3.1.2-bin-hadoop3.2\python\pyspark\ml\base.py in fit(self, dataset, params)
    159                 return self.copy(params)._fit(dataset)
    160             else:
--> 161                 return self._fit(dataset)
    162         else:
    163             raise ValueError("Params must be either a param map or a list/tuple of param maps, "

C:\Spark\spark-3.1.2-bin-hadoop3.2\python\pyspark\ml\tuning.py in _fit(self, dataset)
    667     def _fit(self, dataset):
    668         est = self.getOrDefault(self.estimator)
--> 669         epm = self.getOrDefault(self.estimatorParamMaps)
    670         numModels = len(epm)
    671         eva = self.getOrDefault(self.evaluator)

C:\Spark\spark-3.1.2-bin-hadoop3.2\python\pyspark\ml\param\__init__.py in getOrDefault(self, param)
    344             return self._paramMap[param]
    345         else:
--> 346             return self._defaultParamMap[param]
    347
    348     def extractParamMap(self, extra=None):

KeyError: Param(parent='CrossValidator_a9121a59fda3', name='estimatorParamMaps', doc='estimator param maps')

I guess this is because I have not provided any parameter-map to search over. Is there no way to do cross-validation in spark-ml without a parameter grid?

A: Yes, you can do it. You need to pass an empty parameter grid though.
something like this should work, it will behave like a normal K-fold cross validator.
params_grid = ParamGridBuilder().build()

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Die Zeitschrift für Beamtenrecht (abgekürzt: ZBR) ist eine juristische Fachzeitschrift, in der Entscheidungen und Aufsätze zum Beamtenrecht und dem Recht des öffentlichen Dienstes veröffentlicht werden.

Die Zeitschrift erscheint seit 1952 monatlich im Kohlhammer Verlag. Die Schriftleitung liegt bei Matthias Pechstein. Die Druckauflage beträgt 1.800 Exemplare (Stand: 2013).

Sie wurde gegründet und maßgeblich fortgeführt von Karl F. Fees, Walter Grabendorff, Otto von Werder und Rudolf Summer, mit Unterstützung von Ernst Forsthoff, Herbert Krüger und Carl Hermann Ule.

Eine Zeitschrift gleichen Namens, gegründet durch Jacques Abraham, fortgeführt von Carl Heyland, erschien bereits zwischen 1928 und 1935; diese wurde 1936 umbenannt in Zeitschrift für Beamten- und Behördenangestelltenrecht und 1943 eingestellt.

Weblinks
 Website der ZBR

Juristische Fachzeitschrift (Deutschland)
Verwaltungsfachzeitschrift (Deutschland)
Beamtenrecht (Deutschland)
Antiquarische Zeitschrift (Deutschland)
Deutschsprachige Monatszeitschrift
Ersterscheinung 1952
Kohlhammer Verlag

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


I really enjoyd this session which was knew to me.
Everything that was thought was included, knowledgable and for goog & beneficial in future.
The course was very helpful. The speaker was awesome, helpful for our future studies.
Knowledge about the way at compaigns work.


Looking for a unique and charming place to host your special day? The Bendooley Estate Unique Wedding Venue in Southern Highlands. This 200 acre property is home to a thriving antiquarian book business and features gorgeous wedding chapels, and cool-climate gardens. The Bendooley Estate serves many purposes from hosting private functions and live events to wine tastings and fine dining. It is also a perfect setting for your big day. Here are a few of the reasons why we love the Bendooley Estate for hosting weddings.
Large or small, intimate or enormous, the Bendooley Estate will have what you are looking for. Their dedicated team will work with you to shape their venue to your needs. From their luscious gardens to lakeside pavilion, you will find the perfect setting for hosting your dream wedding. If you are looking for a place that will charm your guests and create memories for years to come, look no further than the Bendooley Estate.
If you are dreaming of a winter wedding, the Bendooley Estate just might be what you have been looking for. Between mulled wine and roaring fires, they make it the perfect little backdrop for a cozy winter wedding. And the best part of all is that the prices are lower in the winter. If you are interested in a winter wedding at the Bendooley Estate, you will want to act now as spaces are limited for 2017.
Instead of listening to our opinion, we can go straight to the source and hear what the bridal couples have had to say. Here are a few glowing reviews for you.
We had an amazing time on our wedding day—everything ran so smoothly and beautifully. We had so many people praise the staff, food and venue. We also had so many mentions of how amazing Mark was on the evening; he was so attentive the entire night. It was also lovely to receive a gift from Paul, Katya and the team. What a nice touch!
Thanks to the team at Bendooley Estate for putting on such a wonderful day for our wedding. Our guests all raved about the day and we had a superb time. Everyone was so friendly and professional, and everything went so smoothly. We look forward to coming back next year to celebrate our anniversary.
Thanks to Kelly and the staff at Bendooley Estate for the wonderful luncheon we enjoyed for my husband's 70th birthday. The food was superb and the wines you suggested were exactly right. Everyone enjoyed themselves so much. My thanks to the chefs and also Nicole.
Thank you for being amazing before and on our wedding day. We were so impressed with your attention to detail and coordination of our wedding. Not least to mention the saved canapés for the bridal party, bottle of champagne reserved for me and Tina, and the hugs and brunch of Saturday morning! All was noticed and appreciated.
If you are interested in this setting for your big day, you will want to find the best wedding band to make your day complete.


CarboJet™ Basic is a high calorie weight gainer specially designed for weight lifters, bodybuilders in gaining stage of training, power-endurance athletes and for athletes with an extremely high metabolism. CarboJet™ Basic is highly suitable for active people, who demand the benefits of top quality protein blend and complex carbohydrates. Calories come mainly from whey protein and carbohydrate complex, which feed muscle and store glycogen energy rather than energy from fat. CarboJet™ Basic is naturally rich in glutamine (glutamic acid) and branched chain amino acids (BCAA's).
Recommended dosage: Mix 1 scoop of CarboJet™ Basic (50 g) with 200 - 250 ml of low fat milk or water. Use hand held shaker Amix™, mix for about 30 seconds. Have 1-3 servings daily, depending on daily need of carbohydrates and proteins.
Warning: Do not use this product if you are pregnant or nursing. The product is not designed for children. Keep away from children. Do not exceed recommended daily dosage! Store at a temperature not exceeding 25°C in cool dry place away from sunlight. The product should not be used as a substitute for a varied diet. The producer is not liable for any damage caused by improper use or storage. Allergen warning: It may contain traces of eggs, gluten, shellfish, tree nuts and peanuts.


text:
Q: mplayer SVN r34540 update How can I update my mplayer to latest version? I am using mplayer integrated with smplayer.

A: I use this ppa: https://launchpad.net/~mc3man/+archive/mplayer-test
The daily svn builds are stable and bug free for me (archlinux stable repo contains such version), while the repo version contains some bug that I cannot stand.

A: Perhaps this guide might be your answer:
Build the svn MPlayer under the latest Ubuntu release
http://www.andrews-corner.org/ubuntu/mplayer.html
Some compiling involved but the guide has a simple set of code boxes to paste into your terminal screen...


text:
ECONOMIC UPDATE: Unemployment Claims Drop To 787,000, Economists Expected 828,000
The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 787,000 last week as the economy continued to suffer the effects of the Congoing coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) figure released Thursday represented a decrease of new jobless claims compared to the week ending Dec. 26, in which there were 803,000 new jobless claims reported. Roughly 19.6 million Americans continue to collect unemployment benefits, according to the BLS report Thursday.
#NEW Weekly jobless claims fall unexpectedly@USDOL reports 787k Americans filed initial unemployment claims last week, down 19k from the previous week's revised 806k
Economists expected claims to rise to 828k
Continuing claims declined to 5.22mn for week ending Dec 19
— Greta Wall (@GretaLWall) December 31, 2020
Economists expected Thursday's jobless claims number to come in around 828,000, The Wall Street Journal reported. New jobless claims fell below 1 million in the first week of August, which was the first time the weekly claims had fallen below 1 million since March.
"Incoming jobless claims data continue to show weak labor market conditions with increases in initial and continuing claims (after accounting for extended benefit programs) consistent with a decline in non-farm payroll employment during December," said Lewis Alexander, and economist for financial services company Nomura, according to Yahoo Finance.
Investors, meanwhile, have focused on the passage of the coronavirus relief bill, according to CNBC. President Donald Trump signed a $900 billion stimulus package Sunday, which included direct payments of $600 and $320 billion in small business support.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged at the end of November, surpassing 30,000 for the first time in the index's history due to positive vaccine developments, according to CNBC. The U.S. economy surged by a record 33.1% in the third quarter.
First time jobless claims fall to 787K & total number of individuals on UI at 19.5 million. This time of year the data is distorted due to holiday calendar & understates the number of unemployed & pace of firings. pic.twitter.com/Kol9DTAakt
— Joseph Brusuelas (@joebrusuelas) December 31, 2020
However, in a sign of the economic recovery slowing, the U.S. added just 245,000 jobs in November, while unemployment fell to 6.7%, according to the Department of Labor data released Dec. 4. U.S. retail sales plummeted by 1.1% in November even as holiday shopping began, a Department of Commerce report showed Dec. 16.
Jobless claims hovered around 200,000 per week before the pandemic, according to The WSJ. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in March as coronavirus spread rapidly around the world.


text:
Int'l Coaching Staff for Para-swimming World Championships Announced
Ottawa, ON – Swimming Canada announces today the coaching staff for the 2009 IPC World Swimming Championships taking place November 29th to December 5th in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Top swimmers who will be vying to be the best in the world include multiple Paralympic champion and World record holders Benoit Huot of Montreal, Chelsey Gotell of Hamilton and Stephanie Dixon of Victoria.
Canada's 30-member IPC World Swim team will be led by National Para-Swimming Coach Craig McCord (Richmond, BC), as well as Coaches Ron Jacks (Victoria, BC); Pierre Lamy (Montreal, QC); Norm Carriere (Winnipeg, MB); Vicki Keith (Kingston, ON); Claude Picard (Montréal, QC); and Kevin Ross (Sackville, NS).
"The coaching staff, which represents Canada from coast to coast, has a good combination of veterans and coaches who are attending their first major international competition," states Craig McCord, National Para-swimming Coach.
"The short course world championships will be a great opportunity for our coaches to see what lays ahead for our swimmers at the IPC long course world championships next summer in Eindhoven and the 2012 Paralympic Games in London."
The Coaching Staff
Craig McCord is the National Para-Swimming Coach and has guided the National Swimmers with a Disability program since 2004. He was the Head Coach of Canada's successful 2008 swim team that won 23 medals at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
Former Olympian Ron Jacks coaches multiple Paralympic gold medalist and World Record holder Stephanie Dixon. Ron is the Director of Swimming at Pacific Coast swimming in Victoria as well as Swimming Canada's National Open Water Coach.
Pierre Lamy is the Assistant coach at the National Swim Centre in Montreal and the Quebec Provincial Junior Coach. Pierre coaches multiple Paralympic gold medalist and world record holders Benoit Huot and Valerie Grand'Maison of Montreal.
Norm Carriere has been a coach at the Manta Swim Club for 21 years and has been a coach of record at two Canada Games.
Vickie Keith is a former marathon swimmer who was the first person to swim across all five Great Lakes and she is the only person to complete the 104km double crossing of Lake Ontario. Vicki coaches first time IPC World Team member Jenna Lambert, who completed the Lake Ontario crossing in 2006.
Claude Picard is Head Coach of the Vmax swim club in Montréal as well as Swimming Canada's Para-swimming Technical Officer. Claude coaches first-time world team members Marc-Olivier Marchand and Maxime-Valé Olivier
Kevin Ross is the Head Coach of the Sackville Waves Aquatic Team in Nova Scotia. Kevin is the coach of first time IPC World Team member Danial Murphy who is a multiple Canadian record holder.
Full team roster is available at: https://www.swimming.ca/2009IPCSwimmingWorldChampionships25mTeam
About Para-swimming
Para-swimming is Swimming Canada's fully integrated swimming program for person's with a disability from grassroots to elite. Para-swimming combines a broad range of disabilities into three categories: Functional disabilities, Visual disabilities and Intellectual Disabilities.
About Swimming Canada
Swimming Canada serves as the national governing body of competitive swimming. Swimming Canada's vision of Swimming to Win; Winning for Life! reflects the lifelong attributes of the sport. The federation comprises 75,000 members and 450 swim clubs across the country. Canadians are global leaders in high performance swimming and development for both able-bodied swimmers and swimmers with a disability. Swimming is recognized as one of the most celebrated and successful Canadian summer Olympic sports. For more information on Swimming Canada, its activities and programs please visit www.swimming.ca.


text:
Siracusa.
Syracuse wasn't just a satellite of Greece's empire. It's where the nymph Aretusa was transformed into a fresh water spring and fled into the earth, but even here, she could not escape Alpheus, the river God. It's where Archimedes (287- 212 B.C.), the greatest mathematician and scientist of antiquity, stated the principle of buoyant force. It's where Cicero, the roman attorney, wrote part of his speeches In Verrem, against the corrupt governor of Sicily Verres. Sit at the top of the Greek theatre, carved out of the rock of the hill, and think back to ancient times, when Aeschylus attended performances of his own plays, and Plato watched the drama, perched on the top benches. Imagine the chariot races and the gladiatorial combats into the Roman Amphitheatre and don't forget the cave Ear of Dionisio, an amazing grotto with incredible acoustics, where the Athenians were imprisoned after their defeat. The ancient city is situated on the island of Ortigia, linked to the mainland by several bridges. It's now the charming heart of Siracusa, with a network of narrow alleyways, cafes as well as significant remnants of ancient architecture, ranging from the medieval Maniace Castle to the Temple of Apollo, from the gothic Palazzo Montalto or Palazzo Bellomo to Piazza Archimedes, lined with restored medieval buildings. Take your time in the beautiful eye-shaped Piazza del Duomo, whose baroque Cathedral was converted from the temple to Athena built in 480 B.C.: its Doric Greek columns are embedded on one side of the structure while Byzantine mosaics and a Norman font can be found on the other side. Stroll on the old city by day, with its fish market, its harbors, small shops, museums and picturesque alleyways – Syracuse is the eternal city, a place to die for.


Story of separation and longing – check.
Set in a pure sunlit rural locale – check.
Background characters are handsome/beautiful, all-American – check.
Soundtrack is a recently popular bittersweet lovesick ballad – check.
Main character is a cute widdle puppy – check.
There are horses – check.
The result is an emotional cruise missile targeted directly at your capacity for pathos. The ad does that extremely well.
Let me be clear. There's nothing wrong with appealing to emotion. This ad fails because it's a mis-match between the emotion elicited and the brand doing the eliciting.
Budweiser isn't about pathos. It's about having a good time with friends (responsibly!). Where does my unfulfilled longing to be with the one I love fit in with the Budweiser story? It doesn't. Or rather, if I'm mixing Budweiser with unfulfilled longing, I'm in for a night I'm going to regret.
This ad assumes that I'm stupid enough, as a viewer, to associate Budweiser with puppy love even though by emotional logic and conscious brand positioning they have nothing to do with each other.
We know you're trying to sell us stuff. It's cool to acknowledge that now. We've become smarter, as a public, in recent years. That's why successful advertising these days is more self-aware, and plays with it. No need to try and clothe your advertising in supposedly innocent narrative.
I believe Anheuser Busch has long targeted kids with their ads to keep the customer pump primed. And its working. Its market share is over 50%. So how do you target kids in beer ads without getting busted? Funny and touching ads that entertain adults that just happen to include dogs and frogs and puppies. The adults are distracted by the humor and the tug at the heartstrings and miss the fact that the eight-year-old sitting next to them is seeing a puppy and a Budweiser logo. Google the coverage of the ads and you'll find glowing reviews with no objections to using a puppy to sell beer. The only reason Busch doesn't use cartoon characters and Santa Claus in its ads is because, the last time I looked, the Beer Institute guidelines forbid it. Why doesn't the forbidden list include baby animals that are equally appealing to kids? Well it's apparent that Busch pretty much controls the BI and I think it's safe to assume Busch wouldn't allow that because it would severely damage its long-term marketing strategy.


In this consideration of media practice in the Arab region Mohammad Ayish and Noha Mellor explore the changing status and function of journalists and journalism given the new realities of reporting in the digital age. The authors draw on focus group discussions interviews and social media traffic surveys to examine how social and new media have been integrated into Arab and pan-Arab newsroom operations and harnessed to enhance engagement with an empowered audience. Efforts to engage with audiences in social space Ayish and Mellor argue are part of a broad and long-waged information war aimed at winning hearts and minds in the MENA region. Social platforms present excellent opportunities to engage with audiences but the extent to which such opportunities can be realized are hamstrung by limits on free expression and online access-and vary significantly from country to country and from media channel to media channel. Overall Reporting in the MENA Region paints a comprehensive and contemporary picture of how today's Arab journalists perceive and use digital media.