A Byte Sized Look at My Apples!

Dear Scribblers

Way back in July 2011, I uploaded this post: http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/my-favourite-things-part-5-and-project.html

called, "There's an Appealing Apple Aparatus for that!" My titles haven't changed, have they? They may not be funny, but often punny (or should that be puny!)

I felt it was time to show you my latest Apple tech, along with those cases and gadgets that I use along side them. 

This are my Apple collection now:

You'll probably notice that I still have my original iPod Classic, which I use as storage, and the iPod Touch which lives in its dock on my Gear4 bedside alarm clock. I update it with my latest music, podcasts and keep all of my audiobooks on there, so they are always close to hand. 

As you can see - although it does look like a shiny slab in the photo. Please see better pics below - my 13 inch white MacBook was replaced in November by a gorgeous new 11in MacBook Air. Oh my goodness, I adore the speedy 251GB flash drive, and I have 8GB memory, 2GHz Intel Core i7 running Mavericks. Quite meaty for such a svelt machine. The white MacBook is still going by the way, although the casings in chipping around the front edge and it's only running "Lion". My hubby has taken use of it. 

The iPhone 3GS was replaced my iPhone 5, and the one improvement I adore is the upgraded camera. Great for my Instagram photos. Please follow me @TheCraftyScribe, I try and post everyday. 

Plus added to my gadget collection is an iPad 2 - it's quite old now. Although it is taking all the new programme updates, I'm noticing it is slowing now and feeling clunky, but I'm still happy with it. I've recently had a new back cover for it. 

I found it in the sale items at Next for £5. A bargain! The colour doesn't show well on this photo, it's a beige/grey background with white, taupe and two tones of rusty red typewriters - quite subtle vintage shades. I thought it when well with my Lulu Guinness padded cover and pencil case. (Strange colours on the covers, too. The main one is white, but the smaller pencil case is light cream, but not as yellow as it's appearing.)

The cover I'm using with my MacBook Air was also a bargain. 

It's a black/blue/cream clutch bag I snapped up in a sale at New Look... for £4! I bought it in the off chance that it might fit, I liked it anyway and thought if it didn't, I would use it as a clutch. When I tried it, I couldn't believe it, it was like it was made for it! 

The laptop slides in perfectly, so safe and secure, plus there's room for a separate hard drive and SD card reader (more on that tomorrow) and a small zip pocket on the front for holding USB drives and SD cards, plus a larger flap pocket for leads, although there's no room for the power supply. 

I'm considering buying a snap-on cover to protect the aluminium case. I wonder what your experiences are of these? Are there any you would recommend?

You'll see from the photo, my iPhone is in the black quilted wallet style case. I prefer a case that protects the screen, as well as the back, and I like the sleek chic look of this one. 

As promised above, here's a better view of the MacBook Air - 

Do you recognise the pen lying on the iPad? It's the Ted Baker stylus pen, as seen in my previous blog series, "Popular Pens for Particular Purpose" http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/popular-pens-for-particular-purpose.html

Please come back tomorrow to see all the gadgets which I use to support my Apple core products. (Apple?!? Core!! Geddit? Geddit?!? Oh, well! I think I need to watch where I drop my puns.) ;-)

Happy Scribing!

Important Notes

1. Please note that I am not connected to any company mentioned in this post. I do not receive any products, funding or gifting from these businesses. All products shown have been bought by me, or gifts from family or friends. I mention the items because I like them or have my own private opinion about them. It's just little old me talking about ma stuff! ;-)

2. If you would like to see more of anything in this series, please write a comment below, or 'like' and leave a comment by my 'A Byte Sized Look at My Apples' Instagram photo, letting me know what you would like me to post photos and write about. 

3. If you like what you read, don't forget to bookmark this site, and please share it with your friends. 

4. You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram - @TheCraftyScribe which I update regularly with all things crafty, scribbling, beauty, fashion, the cats, sci-fi, fantasy, and the ephemera of 42*................... *42 = Life, The Universe and Everything!

I've got a New Pencil Case! Now, What do I Fill it with?

Dear Scribblers

My hubby surprised me yesterday, after he paid a sneaky visit to Bicester Village! 

He bought me a new pencil case to match the great typewriter iPad sleeve I found in TK Maxx last week. 

It's perfect! Now, what to put in it? Just pen and pencils? It would make a great make up bag too. Even an useful bag for those electrical bits and pieces you might need, such as: earphones, iPhone, iPad, computer plugs, sd cards and USB sticks. It's a decent size at 14x22x5cm (5.5x9x2in) approx. Made of durable black cotton on the outside and vibrant red inside. 

I've decided I'm going to use it for all the essentials I want with me at all times. It'll probably be a mix of the items above, along with stationery stuff I need for my scrapbooking, journalling and Filofax, like favourite washi tapes, date stamps and post-it pads. Once I've filled it I'll post a picture with details. 

What uses do you use pencil cases for? Do you have a favourite? I'll love to hear from you. 

You'll notice in the photo, he also bought me a gorgeous necklace with a cool lipstick (quite Estée Lauder shaped) and silver lips. It's gorgeous on, very comfortable and lies just below the collar bone. They were get well presents, I feel very loved and blessed. 

Happy Scribing!

By the way, I start a new course on Monday. I'll tell you about it in my next post!

New iPad Accessory, and what? Beauty... On this blog!

Dear Scribblers 

A different post for me today, as it's a beauty & fashion haul! Bare with me...

I thought you might be interested because of my first item from TK Maxx. It's a Lulu Guinness iPad sleeve, with a great typewriter design on the front. I thought it would appeal to 'Scribblers' especially those with 'tech geek' urges. It's a neoprene material in black, with a 'Lulu Guinness' label on the back, inside and in the pull tag. I've seen it in magazines in the past, and wanted it for ages. It was a great find, at a knock down price, too! 

I also bought Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Eyes Time Complex Capsules from TK Maxx. I love this classic, couldn't pass them by at half the cost of their retail value. 

The rest of my purchases were, all beauty, from Boots the Chemist. (I still prefer calling them chemists, rather than the American term of 'drugstore' which seems to be used more and more.)

My main buy was Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair - another adored classic. I've been using this on and off for 20 years! It's been re-formulated recently, I can't wait to try it out. 

Also in my basket, this journey, was Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Radiance Exfoliator - I've never tried this before, but I needed a new scrub so I thought I'd try a basic one. 

Soap and Glory Its About Prime Eyeshadow Underbase - there comes a time when your eye lids need extra support. This is that time! It's also a first try, but recommended to me.

Maybelline ColorSensational lipstick in 725 Tantalizing Taupe - I wanted a nude lippy, and liked the look of this one. 

L'Oreal Paris La Manicure 7in1 Saviour nail treatment - I can not write more highly about this product! It saved my nails after problems due to ill health. This is my second bottle. I recommend this favourite!

Lastly, Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover - also a repeat purchase, that I can't do without. It's the easiest and quickest way to take off your nail polish. They have bought out a pot for hands and feet, which I wanted to try, but unfortunately, it was out of stock at my local store. 

I hoped you like my first haul post. I hope to do more of products in my life. Mainly, craft, writing/stationery, organisational, technology related, but I drop some fashion/beauty and lifestyle ones like this in too.  

Happy Scribing!

I love my Kobo!

Dear Scribblers

Have you delved into the world of the e-book reader yet?

I must say, seeing as I like to touch and hold and feel, and adore the smell of books, I was a little skeptical of the lure of e-ink. Then I thought about it in the same way as writing, I keep a daily journal written with proper flowing ink, but I also blog, tweet and Facebook. I often make handwritten notes, but I also jot down ideas on my iPhone. I sometimes write out stories by hand, but also go great guns directly onto the MacBook.

This follows through to my crafting, I sometimes scribble my journalling, other times print out font. I even go the whole way and make complete digital pages. If I can be a hybrid-scrapper and writer, why not a hybrid-reader?

After checking out all the e-readers in the market place, I finally found my perfect match!

The Kobo Touch. It's a fantastic e-reader, with a responsive and easy to read touch screen, with only two buttons - on/off and home. Kobo Books is an amazing book store including plenty of free books and previews. You can even buy books elsewhere for use on it (drag and drop - including pdfs, plus Adobe Digital Editions), and loan e-books from your local library, if they offer that facility.

There's a whole social networking scene called Reading Life, including collecting rewards of virtual stickers as you read and then send them onto Facebook, and where you can also check your reading stats too.

The casing is very tactile and easy to hold, not to mention chic. Its quilted back reminds me somewhat of a very expensive designer handbag, that most of you will know is very close to my heart!

It can sync via your computer (PC and Mac, which is a bonus) or via WiFi, up to your own account at Kobo Books. If you've got an iPad or iPhone, you can app it to sync to that as well.

There are a couple of options I would like added though. These include being able to access the dictionary and notes sections directly, not just via a book, and also a crossword solver would be nice. There is already a sudoku game, plus sketchbook and internet browser in their extras section under experimental functionality.

In my opinion, it's so much better than anything that the other companies offer in the UK.  

I know this sounds like an advert, but it's not! I'm in no way connected with Kobo, nor am I getting any payment for writing this post. It's just I love it! I'm hooked on the free classics on my e-book reader.

It won't replace all my lovely books on my shelf, but it's a brilliant way to carry books with you, plus I've downloaded some of my long-term favourites which I can have with me at all times.

Happy Scribing... and Reading - however you do it!


NB: The extract shown on screen is from the free preview of 'The Eyre Affair' by Tom Fforde.

My Favourite Things Part 5 and Project of the Day

Dear Scribblers

There's An Appealing Apple Apparatus For That!

Hands up all those who love gadgets? Got your hand raised? Me too!

I'm a geek freak in a good way. What way could liking geek-feast goodies be bad, right?

Give me any new tech and I'm a happy girlie... especially if it's made by Apple.

I love my shiny smiley Apple products. I first used Macs at work 15 years ago and fell in love with their design and usability. We were able to play video and music on it at a time when the office still used Windows 5.1 on the other PC on my desk.

My first owned Apple product was the iPod Classic which still holds a mega amount of music and plays as well as it did when it was new.

An iMac was next, then the iPod Touch followed swiftly after.

I received my MacBook as a birthday present two years ago, and for my pressie last year it was my iPhone 3GS.

Okay, none of them are the latest models, but they don't need to be. They all do the jobs they are meant to do, and all are a pleasure to tap and swipe. They just work!

I bet you can guess what I want for my birthday this year? That's right, an iPad! It's a struggle, but I'm waiting for the iPad 3.

One comment I would like to make to all craft project CD makers. There's so many CDs available in the market, especially if you watch UK's Create and Craft channel, but most of them are Windows only. Please don't forget Mac users, we love craft too!

Project of the Day: Today's project came about when I looked through some of my hubby's old photos and found one of his desk in his teenage bedroom. Along with a pile of ignored school work stood his beloved ZX Spectrum computer. (Look it up!)

Do you have favourite technology that you use every day? Have you scrapped or written about it? Make a layout or journal entry about your gadgets, be sure to add a photograph. Technology design moves on so quickly, just think how fun it will be to look back at it in 5 or 10 years time and think how dated it looks.

Happy Scribing!

iPad Envy!

Dear Scribblers

It's iPad day here in the UK, but unfortunately I'm not one of the luck ones. Sigh! I'm going to have to wait for mine.

How many of you out there have your fingertip pads gliding across the glassy iPad screen? I previously wrote a post called There's An App for That! http://thecraftyscribe.blogspot.com/2009/10/theres-app-for-that_03.html and I wondered what is your favourite app? iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Even those of you with blackberry and android phones, I'm not restrictive!

Is there one crafty app that you just can't do without? Please share it on the comments, as I know I would love to hear all about it, and I'm such the other Scribblers would too.

Have a great day, especially those caressing your new iPads.

Happy Scribing!