Thank you so much for replying Minnie. I went back to Michael's and bought the $25 pair of five or six scissors (with a half off coupon of course, I love those coupons). They cut a little better but again, some would get stuck on the metal piece on that first swipe down. Others, again, got caught on the cardstock or paper and ripped/shredded a bit and it looks so unsightly on my projects. I ended up bringing those back too. I think I will try the Martha Stewart or other "rotary cutters" next. Again, they're pricy but with coupons I can get them for about $14 or $15. I think the store might be getting tired of me buying these things and bringing them back. However, tonight I showed the gal on the returns register how they would get caught closing them down or ripping the paper. She could understand why I brought them back so I didn't feel so bad. They all know I'm a gooooood customer at Michael's!! Sal

The paper sold by Carol Wright is perfect for the bedroooms and I'm ordering it today. I was in a remodled barn now house recently and in thier pantry they lined the shelves with newspaper with overhang that had been cut into different shapes. One pantry closet had zig zag, another had basic paper doll shapes, etc. Newsprint never looked so cool. Thanks for the feedback. Cheers, Carol

Mabelgeldine, Sooz, wintercat, mitchdesj, kitchendetective, sweetbetsy, sally2, rustyone, mustangs --> Wow! Thank you all for your nice compliments. You filled my bucket :) therustyone --> the effort was spread over two days. I started Saturday morning and my final piping was done and the cake carefully placed in boxes. Sunday around 3pm when I rushed off to shower and get ready for the party. Colleenz, cloud swift --> I did grease with crisco and used a parchment round for the bottom of the cake pan and then sprayed with baker's joy. Pretty much all the instructions in the cookbook. The bottom was OK. I think for one of the lemon cake layers, I should have let it cool some more. I think I will use parchment paper strips for the side as well next time. I am also thinking to make the jasdip better than pam coating to use intead of baker's joy as I did not like the spray as much. Cathy --The kids loved the cakes with many of them negotiating for a smaller slices of both as they wanted to try both. I was surprised how many 9-10 yr olds liked the lemon cake. Many of the moms loved the carrot cake and the lemon lovers loved the lemon cake. DH loved the carrot cake.. I do think the addition of 1TBSP of dutch cocoa makes this cake a lot better. DD loved the lemon cake the best. I must say I was very very pleased with the lemon curd.. I used to buy an occasional bottle to use with scones. Now that I have made it, I will make it instead of buying it. I must say I loved the precision and the clear writing from Rose Levy Berenbaum. My kind of cookbook. pink_warm_mama --> Here is the recipe from Marcella Hazan's Essential Italian Cookbook. It is not too sweet and tastes really good the next day too. Marcella called it a popular cake in Venice and said she made it for James Beard. Polenta Shortcake with Raisins, Dried Figs, and Pine Nuts Serves 6 to 8 (I got around 16 smaller slices out of a 9in round) 1 cup coarse cornmeal Salt 1 ½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil Heaping ½ cup granulated sugar 1⁄3 cup seedless raisins 1 cup dried figs, cut into ¼ inch pieces 2 Tbsp butter plus more for greasing the pan 1 egg 2 Tbsp fennel seed 1 cup all-purpose flour A 9-inch round cake pan Fine, dry, unflavored bread crumbs Procedure •Preheat oven to 400°F •Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan. Adjust heat to medium. •Add corn meal in a steady stream by grabbing handfuls and letting it run through your partially closed fist. With the other hand, stir constantly with a wooden spoon. If you add it too fast, the corn meal can clump. •Add salt and olive oil and continue to stir for about 15 seconds until the mush thickens and starts to pull away from the pan when stirred. •Remove from heat and add sugar, raisins, pine nuts, figs, butter, egg, and fennel seed. Mix thoroughly to combine. Add flour and mix to form a cake batter. •Smear cake pan with butter and dust with bread crumbs. Add cake batter and level with spatula. Bake 45 to 50 minutes. •When cake is still warm, loosen its sides with knife and shake to drop onto plate. Turn cake over again onto serving platter. Serve when it becomes completely cold.

Here's a website with sample photos for couples. Some are romantic poses, but not all. I'm thinking a church directory might want a tight shot of your heads and shoulders, but I could be wrong about that. sample poses Here's another website, this one using actual photos. These are mostly romantic poses, but you might like #30.