Amy Krug Expert Guru
Amy Krug is a writer, artist and teacher from Dayton, Ohio.

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Channel Experience

 Health/Wellness
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Career Experience

 Web Writer
 Copywriter
 Editor
 Hobby Writer

Project Experience

 Articles

Industry Experience

 Appliance
 Educational
 Medical
 Entertainment
 High Tech

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Quick Grammar Tips

Even if you don't have a lot of time to proofread a document, you can keep these quick grammar tips in mind when editing to make sure your work is as professional and error-free as possible.

Its vs. it's: Remember, an apostrophe can be used to denote both possession and to take the place of a letter; in the it's vs. its case, it is taking the place of the letter "i" in "it is." Think of the apostrophe as the dot on the i, rather than as a possessive. So "its" is possessive, as in "The car needs its tires rotated," and "it's" is a conjunction for "it is," as in "It's a nice day."

There, they're, and their. These three words can trip up even great writers. Remember this sentence: "They're going over there to pick up their car." "They're" is a conjunction for "they are," with the apostrophe taking the place of the "a" in "are." "There" is used to denote direction, and you can remember that by thinking about the "here" within the word. And finally, "their" denotes possession, and you can remember that by the "heir" contained in the word.

Quotation marks. Because of technology, people can get confused by the use of quotation marks and where to put them in relation to a period. Always put your period on the inside of your quotation mark, like "this." Unless you are quoting a specific password or username that should not include a period, make sure your period is within your quotation mark.

Using Up Your Yarn Scraps

If you're a knitter, you know all about yarn scraps -- those little balls of yarn that won't work for a large project, but you can't bring yourself to throw away. What do you do with them? Here are some suggestions:

Knit them up, funky-style. Knit up a funky purse or scarf using up all your scraps, throwing color theory and pattern to the wind. Just grab all those balls and knit them like crazy, making a long, multicolor scarf or a harlequin-colored bag. Chances are it will look better than if you tried to coordinate the colors!

Host a knitting party. Knitters love to get together, and you can hold a little knitting party to get all your knitty friends together. Ask everyone to bring their knitting scraps, and you can toss them all into a pile and people can swap. Then you can pick out colors that match from the pile for a project that you've been meaning to work on.

Think small. Do you have some small projects that you've been meaning to work on? Cat toys, pot holders, coasters? You may even be able to squeeze out a funky headband or wristband, or clutch purse from your knit scraps. Small balls of yarn may be good to give to a beginning knitter (like a younger person), for some of their smaller projects as well.

If all else fails, cats love balls of yarn!

Making Your Own Shower Invitations

If you are giving a bridal or baby shower, here's a do-it-yourself guide to making your own invitations using a block printing technique.

At your local art store, get supplies for block printing. You'll need an artist's block, water-soluble printing ink, a brayer, ink trays, and a cutter with various tips.

Either find a design (clipart works great) or make your own that is shower-related; for a bridal shower, flowers and hearts work well. For a baby shower, a bottle, baby shoes, or a baby buggy would be cute. A design with less detail is best, and one that will look best in black (or one other color) and white is best as well.

Once you have your design, trace it to a sheet of vellum, tissue paper, or transfer paper.

Place the transfer paper on your block and trace it, using a black marker.

You should now have lines on your block. Using your cutter, cut out the space you want to be white (or not have color), and leave solid the spaces you want to be inked. Be careful not to cut yourself!

Once you've cut your design, put ink in the ink tray and ink up your brayer by rolling it over the ink.

Ink your block and do a test print by pressing it onto a piece of scrap paper or newsprint.

If you need to, go back and cut more on your design.

Once you have your design as you like it, use cardstock purchased at a craft or paper store and print your design on the cardstock. Ink your block between each printing for best results, but don't let your block get too inky; wash or wipe it off every 5 prints or so.

Now you have beautiful, handmade invitations for your shower or party!