There is so much going on for the December holidays this year!  Here is a sneak peek.  For all the details, see the special Christmas Contests & Giveaways forum on the PhotoImpact International bulletin board.

• Gift A Day with gifts from your fellow PI-I'ers just for you!

• Christmas Card Contest, where you will create a card and everyone will vote for the winner.

• Voice Greetings; don't be shy!  Send a message to your friends at PI-I and maybe win a great prize for your efforts.

• Decorate A Snowman; you'll be given a snowman kit to start, then it's up to you and your imagination.  This will be voted on by PI-I members.

• Holiday Sig Tags; you're eligible for a super door prize if you've got a holiday signature tag on the Board and you remember to stand up and be counted by posting in the forum!

• Holiday Avatars ditto the above but a different very cool prize!

• At the Beginner's Workshop there's a contest going on for present mentees and graduates.  You'll need to visit the BW Board to find out all about it.  There are some grand prizes :-)

• Expanding Horizons' assignment, should you accept it, is to decorate your own store window!

• At the Animation Station we're making snowglobes for the season, along with the regular Sparklie Project and the bi-weekly challenge.

• Dynamic Path Objects will have seasonally-themed challenges all through the month.  Come try your hand at making your own Path objects!

• Make a Christmas‚or holiday of your choice—image using the filters of your choice for the Filters Forum.

• Fun With Images & Shapes means just what it says this month!  You'll find some Christmassy photos provided, then combine one with the shape and come up with something fabulous.

• The folks at Painting Basics takes the scary part out of painting digitally.  If you find a holiday scene that speaks to you, go here for advice!

• The Pixel Art Workshop will challenge your imagination; you'll be making a Christmas scene entirely in pixels.

• Over at PhotoMagic the usual PhotoTalks, Effect Plays, and Two-Week Themes will be available and while holiday subjects will be welcome, you might like a brief respite from all the excitement!

• The Scrapbooking & Crafts forum is making printable Gift Tags!  You provide the imagination and the moderators will have tips how to set the pages up—and they'll be available to all members.

• The Tutorial of the Week forum will ask you to create a stocking and then fill it with wee gifts.

• Camera Club will be THE place to find out how to use a new camera, plus you can share favorite photos at the Shutterbug Shootout.

• The Show & Tell moderators are asking to see your Christmas decorations, in any form you care to post them!

2008 has come and is almost gone.  This year has seen some changes at PhotoImpact International.  Norma (aka Acadie) stepped down from her position as Owner of the PII Board.  She will be missed by the board members.

We would like to introduce ourselves as the new owners.  We have some very big shoes to fill and we are going to do our best to live up to your expectations.  We want everyone to come to the Board, open up your creative mind and have some fun.  In our busy and troubled world, we all need a place to go and relax and have, as Spirit says, "no worries".  We hope we can provide just such an atmosphere at the PII Board.

We want to thank our team of Moderators and Administrators for all the help and patience you have shown us.

We are planning on some changes to the Board in 2009 plus lots of fun activities in the different forums.  We are available through PM (our usernames are below) or e-mail to answer any of your questions and we always invite new ideas.  So come on and join us at the PhotoImpact-International Board, where you can meet friendly people and let your creative side run wild!

Happy Holidays to you and yours,
Billie (Mardaleh) & Spirit (Spirit13au)

We love our sponsors!  These wonderful companies have donated prizes for our holiday celebrations.  Some have also given us special discounts and offers; we will soon have a special place for you to find these great deals.

• Visual Arts Academy

  Visual Arts Academy, under the new ownership of Grace Farquhar and Virginia Miller, is pleased to announce our continued sponsorship with PhotoImpact International.

  VAA is also pleased to announce that returning in January are the two painting classes originially written by Sparrow and now newly updated by our instructor Lin McBee.  The UltraFractal classes are back for the next couple of semesters—please see our announcement schedule in the forum for dates as some classes are filled already.

  Coming in March is a brand-new pixel class that will be taught by Virginia Price (better known at PII as Boopalotta or Ginny).  You can see some of her stellar work on her website.

  The staff at Visual Arts Academy, where fun and technology come together, wish you all a Festive Season and a prosperous New Year.

• FM Tile Tools

• Corel

• Redfield Plugins

• Diard Software

• The Plugin Site

Have a joyous holiday season and a happy and healthy new year!
From the PhotoImpact International Team