Got some bits and pieces left over from your issue 11 kit? Make this sweet card! It's perfect for friends and family who like a spot of gardening.

Harvest festival

Use the template to cut fruit and veg pieces from your papers, then apply glue to the peas and plums. Wind pieces of the cord from your kit tightly into a spiral and place it on the glued pieces. Trim the paper to fit. Score and fold the leaves for an extra 3D touch. Stick the pieces down on a blue card. Give the peas a few curled cord tendrils. Use scraps of the patterned paper in your kit as colourful borders.

Digital Camera magazine is running its Photographer of the Year competition and to help you get the most from your snaps, they've given us some great tips. We set Pete Gettins the challenge of seeing how well they worked on yarn.

Colour Matters


 
“Nothing comes close to the textile industry for the sheer range and inventiveness of its colour use,” says Pete. “Glancing through Miriam’s yarn stash throws up some interesting colour combinations. You can’t deny this shot has impact!”

Getting the colour right

• Light is crucial here. Try to shoot in natural light, if possible.
• If your camera has a light setting, use it. It will make shooting indoors a lot easier.
• Take several shots in different lights – indoors, outdoors, lights on, lights off and see which one matches your yarn best.
• Diffuse the light from a desk lamp by covering it with tracing or baking paper. Just make sure it doesn’t get too hot and start to burn!
• Turn the flash off, it can make the yarn look strangely shiny and rather like all your luxury yarns are a nastier sort of acrylic!
  
• Go macro and make the colour the main focus of your shot.
  

Monochrome

Even we struggle to get excited about grey, but nothing brings out texture like stripping the colour away. “This piece of a cable knit almost looks like volcanic rock,” says Pete.

Many cameras will shoot in black and white and most photo editing software will let you turn a shot into monochrome. Try it both ways and see which one you prefer.



There’s a Black & White category for your monochrome shots, or if you’ve shot stunning colours, why not submit them to the Creative & Vision category? You could be the Photographer of the Year 2008!
 

BIKE CARB FITTING GUIDE LINK Here's a link to a PDF of the bike carb fitting guide from 2006 that we did, and get asked about quite a lot. I posted it before, but I can't find it... Cheers - DougieRead More

We have a bit of a problem at the moment... lots of news, lots of embargoes. So, until we get the OK on new product info, here's a brief taster of what the next issue of Hi-Fi Choice will have to offer: The Logitech Squeezebox Duet solves a problem that...Read More

Nickelback have reportedly engaged celebrated producer Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange, of AC/DC, Foreigner, Bryan Adams and Def Leppard fame, to oversee their sixth studio album. The Canadian band’s last release, All The Right Reasons (2005), has sold almost seven million copies Stateside.

Vocalist Stephen Pearcy and guitarist Warren DeMartini have begun writing material for Ratt's next album, tentatively due in early 2009. The band recently replaced guitarist (and former Mötley Crüe singer) John Corabi with ex-Quiet Riot man Carlos Cavazo.

Queens Of The Stone Age vocalist Josh Homme is to produce some songs for the Arctic Monkeys for an unspecified project.

Lynyrd Skynyrd have been working on material for a new album with former Marilyn Manson/Rob ZombiePaul Stanley guitarist John 5. “I was surprised that this guy could sit down and play Glen Campbell and Roy Clark better than they do, it blew my mind,” says guitarist Rickey Medlocke. The album is expected to be released early next year.

With work on a reunion album still in progress, a DVD of FM’s return to the live stage, at last year’s Firefest, is now available. Back In The Saddle can be ordered from www.thefirefest.com for £19.99 + postage & packing. A trailer can be viewed at: www.fmofficial.com/fmofficial/video12_dvd_trailer.htm.

Tigertailz have recorded a new version of their song I Believe with opera stars Bryn Terfel and Shân Cothi as tribute to their late bassist Pepsi Tate. Available as a digital download on September 22, proceeds will go to the pancreatic cancer charity, www.amserjustintime.org.

Nazareth singer Dan McCafferty and bassist Pete Agnew are to guest on The Dream I Had, a song from Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover’s forthcoming solo album.

Queensrÿche, whose new studio album is to be produced by Jason Slater, recently played their first show accompanied by an orchestra, at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Washington. Their 15-song set included Another Rainy Night (Without You), The Lady Wore Black, Suite Sister Mary, Empire and Silent Lucidity.

There are a whole bunch of Mac software bundles out there, with users able to snag a selection of shareware at a bargain price. However, the PMC Bundle is different: you make a selection from a diverse array of software, negotiate an offer, pay the agreed price to the Pan-Mass Challenge (a cancer charity) and then get all your apps in a download bundle.

It's a real win-win—you get a bunch of software at a potentially bargain price, and a cancer charity gets some cash. Be quick, though—there are only a few left of many of the applications on offer!

Freesat has officially announced that Metronic is to start producing receivers for the service. As recently reported on the Connected TV blog , the French manufacturer has a  Freesat HD receiver set to appear from before...Read More

Spooks spin-off Code 9 is proving an almighty flop, with episode four having lost nearly two thirds of the viewers who tuned in for episode one. The series debuted on BBC3 with 810,000 viewers, but last Sunday only 288,000 tuned in. That’s fewer than anything...Read More

Just Jared.com has posted some pics of Shia LeBeouf on the set of Transformers 2, shirtless and sporting some nasty scarring. Either his recent car accident was nastier than reported, or his character, Sam, gets roasted at some point in the next film.Read More

We have a Super Darkbox HD Rev 2008 combo satellite receiver to give away in our great caption competition.   To be in with a chance of winning, click here .  Good luck!  Read More

The Muppets are back on US TV with a series of specials partly designed to provide a build-up to the release of the next Muppet movie in 2010. But these specials all seem a bit US-orientated so it's unclear if there'll be any interest from UK broadcasters. ...Read More

The latest SFX Special is now on sale and it’s a cornucopia of CG eye-candy as we delve into the world of computer generated special FX. Here’s some of the goodness that awaits you: * An exclusive cover image designed specially for SFX by the Doctor Who FX...Read More

The smallest of the YZF family gets LeoVince’s SBK-GP full system, featuring a tuned header pipe into a small expansion box with a slim rear silencer. There’s a 65% weight reduction over the standard system and it features carbon fibre support bracket and...Read More

After bitching like a spoilt child last month about not being able to easily find extra power, I’ve changed tack this month. First up was a set of Brembo Road & Track sintered pads. After chucking them in, I took the ’Blade for 30 miles of fairly normal...Read More

Triumph will release a higher specification version of the Street Triple this September. The 2009 Street Triple R, as it is called, builds upon the already impressive standard naked middleweight, aiming to take down sportsbikes with improved handling. As...Read More

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Our Technical Editor, Angela, gives her top tips for easy crafting.

"Card toppers are designs that can be quickly attached to the front of a card, tag, bag or even gift box. They're so handy if you need an instant card and you can then add a simple greeting to suit the occasion. A card topper can be any shape of size but I like to make them small enough to fit on an A6 card blank (like the ones in your kit). Perfect if you want to do some crafting but don't have a particular card to make. To get the most out of your card toppers, keep them simple with flowers or motifs that can be used for more than one occasion. It's also handy to have a few card toppers suitable for men in your stash."

Keep an eye out for our crafty post-it style notes throughout You Can Craft magazine for more great ideas.

Issue 133 is on sale now! More info to follow.Read More

Subscribe to Redline today and save over 15%! It's only a few months until your misses, parents, bit on the side, nan or 'special' friend is asking what they should get you for Christmas. Well here's your answer: a subscription to Redline! In this...Read More

Classic Rock and Metal Hammer specials are now for sale online!

You can buy the Metallica special here…

…the Foo Fighters special here…

…and the Doors psychedelic special here.

Collect the set – you know it makes sense!