Thursday, June 7, 2012

Latin Mass Supplies and Materials

Hello everyone. There are many items necessary to prepare for and to celebrate the Roman Catholic Tridentine Latin Mass. Here at Myriad, we specialize in those materials and supplies relating to the variety of Latin Mass cards that are needed. From design to sales, we try to provide what is needed and wanted by priests. The following is an overview of what we offer.

Pictured above is our flagship set of Latin High Mass Altar Cards, "Vintage Diamond." This is our most popular set among many. High Mass altar cards include the extra three incensing prayers necessary to celebrate Solemn High Masses. This design incorporates historic altar card liturgical art combined with sharp, clear, easy-to-read Latin prayers in a layout that is most practical according to what our customers have told us they need and want.

Our other categories of Altar Cards include Low Mass, Requiem Mass, Travel Mass, large print, and "Starter" altar cards for priests new to the Latin Mass. Again, we have designed a number of choices in the these categories to choose from. All of them are available as print, laminated, or framed versions.

A priest prepares to celebrate Mass in the Sacristy. Probably the most commonly requested card is our red "Vesting Prayers" card. However, we have several other Sacristy cards to choose from as well.

Once a priest leaves the Sacristy to celebrate Mass, there are a few companion cards that he refers to besides the altar cards. Probably the most commonly requested among these is our card, "Prayers At The Foot Of The Altar." Some of the companion cards that we offer are the direct result of priests calling us and suggesting a specific card to be designed to make it easier for them to celebrate Mass. These custom-designed cards are so practical that we have included them for sale to other priests too. Refer to our website to read the details about these unique Latin Mass Companion Cards.

To celebrate Mass on the road, we offer both Low Mass and Requiem Mass altar cards in smaller, briefcase-sized versions that are laminated.

In Catholicism, there are a few branches or Rites that require their own unique prayers on their Latin Mass cards. By request, we designed and now offer beautiful altar cards for the Bragan, Carmelite, and Dominican Rites.  These cards are some of the nicest ones that we have created so far.

Lastly, to support altar cards on the altar, we offer inexpensive but durable altar card stands. They fold up nicely for storage and are strong enough to hold both laminated travel sized altar cards as well as framed sets on large home church altars.

For more information about our wide selection of Latin Mass materials, feel free to visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts. And, as always, if there is something that you need but cannot find, let us know and we may be able to custom-design for you.

Thanks for visiting.


Monday, June 4, 2012

Latin High Mass Incensing Prayers Revised

Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the revision of our Roman Catholic Latin High Mass Incensing Prayers card. This "Gold" version is a 5 x 7 inch card with the three Incensing Prayers in large print with an attractive gold border. This is the version that we will be offering for sale when we run out of the present "Roman Pillars" version presently listed on our website.
 
When celebrating the Tridentine Latin Mass, a priest can use High, Low, or Requiem altar cards depending on the Mass to be said. A set of High Mass altar cards will include the extra three Incensing Prayers and can be used for Low Masses too. But, if a priest has Low Mass altar cards, he will need to read the Incensing Prayers from another source. This small card laid flat on the altar would be ideal for situations like that.

Our present, Roman Pillars version is a very nice card. Its artwork is attractive but its print is only 12 points. For most priests, the 12 point type is just fine but for those with poor vision, we wanted to revise the card to suit their needs too. Plus, a card with a more generic border would go better with a wider variety of art on a priest's altar cards. So, this revised design is going to be the one we run with.

If you are interested in this large print version and would like to order it specifically before we run out of the Roman Pillars version, just include a note when ordering from our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts, and we will substitute with this new revised card.

That's it for today. Have a great week everyone!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Latin Starter Altar Cards For New Priests Just Released

Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the release of Starter Altar Cards for seminarians and new priests to celebrate High, Low, and Requiem Masses. A priest new to the Tridentine Rite made some cheat notes and asked us to design special sets that include them.

For High and Low Mass, we designed a set called "Blue," pictured above. This set includes a list of Kyries on the top left portion of the center card. Next, there are places on the center card that are underlined to cue the priest to bow. On the bottom of the center card, a list of elements immediately after communion is listed for easy reference. Lastly, diacritical marks have been added so that the new priest can be sure to pronounce the Latin words correctly.

Like most of our High and Low Mass altar card sets, the first part of the "Supplices" prayer is listed on the center card. (The remainder of the prayer is to be read from the altar missal.) Also, the Lavabo card contains the full text of the "Corpus tuum" prayer.

For Requiem Mass, we modified our "Formal Black" set to include cheat notes. This set includes the Kyries on the top left portion of the center card and the list of communion elements on the bottom. It also includes diacritical marks. This set of Requiem cards also includes the full text of the "Supplices" prayer on the center card and the "Corpus tuum" prayer on the Lavabo card.

These two sets are arguably the finest sets of altar cards available for seminarians and new priests thanks to the ingenuity of our customer who took the time to make his cheat notes and asked us to design these sets to his specs. For more information or to see our wide selection of Latin Mass cards, visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts. These two sets are temporarily listed among our New Releases and will be on sale for a while.

Thanks for visiting.



Friday, May 18, 2012

Carmelite Rite Mass Celebrated

Hello everyone. Recently, we finished designing a set of altar cards for the Roman Catholic Carmelite Rite. Last night, on Ascension Thursday, the altar cards were used for the first time during a very special Carmelite High Mass. The following was posted online describing the Mass: 

Ascension Thursday, May 17, 2012

On Thursday, May 17, 2012 at St. Joseph's Church (416 3rd Street, Troy, New York) Father Romaeus Cooney O. Carm. used the historic Missale Carmelitarum for the the Feast of the Ascension.  This was a Missa Cantata according to the Rite of the Holy Sepulchre; the rite of mass proper to the Order of Carmelites.  This  form of the liturgy was not been celebrated publicly by any priest in the Order of Carmelites since adopting the Roman Liturgy in 1972.
  
The Carmelite Rite
From the very beginning of its existence Carmelite liturgy has been connected with the Rite of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. For centuries, in all the official documents, the Liturgy of the Carmelites was described as the "Rite of the brothers of our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel according to the custom of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem". The Holy Sepulchre is important for Carmelites not because it was the site of burial for Jesus but because it was the place of the Resurrection. The Rite itself comes from France as it was brought to the Holy Land by French crusaders. There is also influence from the Augustinian tradition as the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre followed the Rule of St. Augustine.  It was this liturgy that the Carmelites took as the source of their inspiration. Different Carmelites who have studied our liturgy suggest that the Carmelites from the earliest times on Mount Carmel celebrated the Rite of the Holy Sepulchre. The first written proof of this is in our Constitutions of 1281 from the London General Chapter. These Constitutions are important for a number of reasons since they are the earliest Constitutions to survive. It is suggested that the Carmelites of that time formally adopted what was already their custom since the days on Mount Carmel. -Francis Kemsley O.Carm.
We celebrate this form of the Carmelite liturgy as part of the living tradition of the Church and the Order of Carmelites, in accordance with the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum and the instruction Universae Ecclesiae (Ref, art.34).  It is our hope that this treasure of the Carmelite Order, and this historic liturgy of the Church will continue to nourish the lives of the faithful.
The Lord God lives,
in his presence I live."
Here is the link to the web page where you can view the pictures of taken during Mass. 


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

To Like or not to Like, that is the Question.

Hello everyone. As a newbie to Facebook, I must confess that I haven't been able to figure out the simplest thing about it: the "Like" button. So, if you notice that I don't seem to like anyone it is simply because I don't see Like buttons to click on!

This evening, someone "Liked" my company, Myriad Creative Concepts, and I found it frustrating that I couldn't figure out how to Like them back. I saw a button that says a million other people Like them but for the life of me, I couldn't see how I could make that a million + one. I thought, "a million people figured this out, why can't I? But, try as I might, I could not find that Like button anywhere.

The strange this is that I can Like a picture that they have or some post that they wrote. But, I can't like THEM. It's like telling a wife that you love her necklace but you never tell her that you love HER. We all know where that relationship would be going: "You only love me for my necklace. See ya. Adios, amigo. Here's the necklace that you love so much. I hope the two of you will be very happy together."

Maybe the Facebook gods just don't Like me or do not think that my Like is good enough for them? I don't know ... But, whatever the problem is, I hope I get this thing figured out before too many people think that I am snubbing them or something. I hope that for the time being they are just being polite and assuming that I will eventually start liking them back.

But, that brings me to the next Facebook dilemma that I have been having: "Search." That's right, another basic thing about Facebook that a gazillion other people have no problems with but stymies me. For some reason, my Search bar is buried deep in the Admin panel and when I type a company name in there, it lies and tries to tell me that the company or person is not on Facebook. I can type my own name in there sometimes and it doesn't even see me!

I don't know. I think that Facebook is highly over-rated. To Like Facebook or not is definitely the question.

So, for anyone reading this that CAN see Like buttons and you happen to Like Myriad Creative Concepts, please don't expect me to reciprocate until I can hire a computer geek to show me how to do it. Maybe I can email a picture of a Like button as an attachment to you. I guess that would be better than nothing, eh?

Sigh. Thanks for visiting. :)

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Carmelite Rite Altar Cards Updated

Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the release of our newly designed side cards for the Carmelite Rite Latin High Mass. Last week, we released the center card and with today's release, a full set of three altar cards are now available. This design has been named, "Shield," after the picture on the center card, "Shield of Carmel of the Ancient Observance."

Like the center card, the side cards include diacritical marks to assure the proper pronunciation of the Latin words. Since these cards are placed at the sides of the altar, we made the print a bit larger so that they can be easily read from a distance. The Last Gospel card includes a picture of "Our Lady of Mount Carmel."

For more information about these Carmelite Rite Latin High Mass Altar Cards, visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Thanks for visiting.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Prayers After Low Mass Latin / English W / Diacritical Marks Just Released

Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the release of our latest Latin Mass card, "Prayers After Low Mass Latin / English." This card is special because it has both translations on one page in two columns for easy reference. It also has diacritical marks for the Latin words so that priests learning to speak Latin can be assured that they are pronouncing the words properly.

Letter size. Available laminated or as a print to be laminated or framed.

For more information or to place an order, please visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

At Myriad, we offer a wide selection of altar cards and other Mass cards for the Roman Catholic Extraordinary Form Latin Mass as well as several English cards. If you do not see what you need among our listings, simply contact us and we may be able to custom-design for you.

Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Dominican Rite Prayers At The Foot Of The Altar Just Released

Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the release of our newly designed Roman Catholic Dominican Rite Latin Mass card, "Prayers At The Foot Of The Altar." A Dominican priest helped us design this card and many others.
These Prayers At The Foot Of The Altar have both Latin and English translations with diacritical marks. Diacritical marks assure the proper pronunciation of the Latin words. Its graphics are simple with the Seal of the Dominican Order placed prominently on the top. Letter size. Available as a print to be laminated or framed and also available laminated.
For more information or to place an order, visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.
Thanks for visiting.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Dominican Rite Vesting Prayers Just Released

Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the release of our newly designed Roman Catholic Dominican Rite Latin Mass card, "Vesting Prayers." A veteran Dominican priest helped us to design this card and graciously proofread it to be sure that it is accurate to the letter.

These Vesting Prayers have both Latin and English translations with diacritical marks. Diacritical marks assure the proper pronunciation of the Latin words. Its graphics are simple with the Seal of the Dominican Order placed prominently on the top. Letter size. Available as a print to be laminated or framed and also available laminated.

For more information or to place an order, visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Thanks for visiting.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Rest In Peace Thomas Kinkade

This post has nothing to do with Myriad. It is just a little something that has been on my mind.

Thomas Kinkade, an important and controversial American painter, died last week facing bankruptcy and struggling with alcholism. Kinkade made a small fortune making art that appealed to the common folk. Critics loathed his paintings that were an endless stream of the same general nostalgic theme. It must have been hard on him to paint day after day knowing that he was considered a joke in the art world.



An example of his work is pictured above, overlaid with a cheezy rain effect and a strange frame that someone thought was a good thing to do for some reason. But, you get the idea. It is kind of a forced Norman Rockwell style of pining for the good old days or a bad night at a Rodney Dangerfield concert where the audience just laughs to try to be polite.

Thomas Kinkade was popular among the masses and made a fortune cranking out his paintings-by-formula. A lot of people loved his work and those paintings are hanging on a lot of living room walls. Personally, I kind of see him as a contemporary version of those guys that used to make velvet paintings of Elvis. But, if you think about it, a hundred years from now just about everything that we think is "it" now - will be considered just as cheezy as Kinkade's art.

No, you weren't a Rembrandt, Van Gogh or an Edward  Hopper. But, you brightened a lot of people's lives for a long time and that is worth being proud of. There's a lot to be said for the cheezy side of Americana: 50's sci-fi movies; Buster Keaton slapstick; Robin Williams as Mork; and the self-proclaimed "Painter Of Light," Thomas Kinkade. In the end, we make our contribution one way or another. Thank you for yours, Mr. Kinkade.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Dominican Rite Requiem Altar Cards Just Released

Hello again everyone. This is our newly designed set of Roman Catholic Dominican Rite Latin Requiem Mass Altar Cards, "Ornament." Ornament has a great layout, large, easy to read type, and accurate Latin texts with diacritical marks. It includes the Gregorian Chant notation for the Requiescant. See it in detail on our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Besides being practical, Ornament is also beautiful. Its elaborate border art and scrollwork are from a set of antique Requiem altar cards. The shield emblems are Dominican Order-specific. And, the highlight is an image of Fra Angelico's beautiful painting, "Crucifixion with Thieves, Virgin, St John the Baptist, St Dominic, and St Thomas Aquinas."

Like all of our altar cards, these are available as prints to be framed, framed, or heavily laminated. They measure 12 inches high. The center card is 18 inches wide while the two side cards each measure eight inches wide. Framed sets are framed in-house with ornate wood frames in two choices. Next, we insert lightweight acrylic glass, the prints, and archival foamcore. To finish things off, we attach a beautiful black moire fabric-covered back for a formal presentation on the altar.

For more information about Ornament, or to see our other fine altar cards, feel free to visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Thanks for visiting.

Dominican Rite Latin Low Mass Altar Cards Just Released

Hello everyone. We have really been busy designing Mass cards lately. One of our brand new releases is this beautiful set of Roman Catholic Dominican Rite Latin Low Mass Altar Cards. "Predella" is arguably the finest set of altar cards available right now for the Dominican Low Mass - short of contracting an artist to make them by hand.

Most of the beautiful art of this set was painted in the middle ages by Fra Angelico, a Dominican priest/painter who was, as you can see, a genius. The wide center card picture was painted on the predella, or altar step, of the San Domenico altarpiece. The two side cards have pictures of paintings of St Michael the Archangel, St Peter the Martyr, and more.

"Predella" is also very practical. Its layout is orderly and easy to follow with large, easy to read print. The Latin prayers are accurate and include diacritical marks to assure their proper pronunciation as they are recited.

Like our other sets of altar cards, "Predella" for the Dominican Low Mass is available as a set of prints to be framed, framed, or heavily laminated. They measure 12 inches high. The center card is 18 inches wide while the two side cards are eight inches wide.

For more information or to place an order, please visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Thanks for visiting.

Dominican Rite Latin High Mass Altar Cards Just Released

Hello everyone. This evening, I would like to announce the recent release of a beautiful set of altar cards for the Roman Catholic Dominican Rite High Mass. "Pereira" has all of the bells and whistles that a priest would want in High Mass altar cards: large print, accurate prayers, diacritical marks, and chant notation.

"Pereira," as you can see by the picture, has three cards: the center card, the Last Gospel card, and the Lavabo card. All measure 12 inches high. The center card is 18 inches wide and the two side cards are 8 inches wide. Available as prints to be framed, framed, or laminated.

A veteran Dominican priest helped us design these. He tirelessly proofed our work as we went along to make sure that each word was spelled correctly and that the diacritical marks were all in the correct places.

The border graphics and scrollwork are taken from an antique set of altar cards. We then topped it off  with Dominican Order-specific crosses and shields.

After this design project was finished, we were so pleased that we kept right on going and whipped up sets of Dominican Low and Requiem Mass altar cards too. I will write about them in upcoming posts.

For more information or to place an order for your set of "Pereira" Dominican Latin High Mass Altar Cards, see them in detail on our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Thanks for visiting.

Carmelite Rite Celebrant's Card Just Released

 Hello everyone. Today, I would like to take a moment to let everyone know that a Celebrant's Card is now available for the Roman Catholic Carmelite Rite Latin Mass. If you need one, please visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Last week, we put the finishing touches on a nice 12 x 18 inch Altar Card for the Carmelite Rite Latin High Mass. While we were at it, my customer and I went ahead and designed this companion Celebrant's Card  too. We used the same basic art so that they would complement one another.

This Mass card is two-sided letter-size with the "Prayers At The Foot Of The Altar" on the front and the "Marian Antiphon" on the reverse. Its type is large and easy to read with diacritical marks to assure proper pronunciation as the prayers are being recited.

Again, if you would like more information or to place an order, our regular business website is Myriad Creative Concepts.

Thanks for visiting.





Thursday, April 26, 2012

Carmelite Rite Latin Altar Card Just Released

Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the release of our newest altar card design, "Blue" Carmelite Rite. This new center card contains all of the prayers necessary to celebrate the Carmelite High Mass in a convenient, easy to follow layout with diacritical marks. For more information or to place an order for this card, see it on our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Thanks for visiting.

Note: This altar card has been slightly improved and renamed, "Shield."Also, two side cards have been added to complete the set of three altar cards. Please see our blog post dated 5/8/2012.

Friday, March 30, 2012

"Giotto" Latin High Mass Altar Cards Just Released

Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the release of our latest set of Latin High Mass Altar Cards, "Giotto." "Giotto" prominently features the pre-Renaisannce painting,  Giotto di Bondone's "Christ On The Cross Between Mary And John." This set includes diacritical marks to assist priests who are learning the Latin Mass and the proper pronunciation of the words. Giotto is very similar to our recently released set of "Red" set with its large print and practical layout. The type on the center card is 14 points and the side card type is 16 points. As always, we try to design the layouts so that prayers are not being blocked when the chalice is in front of the center card. Therefore, on the center card right column, the "Placeat" prayer is on the top, the "Incensing" prayers are in the middle, and the first part of the "Supplices" prayer is on the bottom. The rest of the prayer is to be said from the altar missal. The "Corpus Tuum" prayer is on the bottom of the "Lavabo" card. It has been suggested to include the Corpus Tuum prayer whenever possible. This set, in our opinion, would be an excellent choice for your consideration.
"Giotto" is available as a set of prints designed to be framed or laminated; laminated, or beautifully framed with moire fabric covered backs.
"Giotto" can be found among our New Releases at a temporarily reduced price. For more information or to place an order, visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.
Thanks for visiting.

"Red" Latin High Mass Altar Cards Just Released


Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the release of our latest set of Latin High Mass Altar Cards, "Red." Admittedly, it isn't much of a name but this is a special set of altar cards. Why? Because this set includes diacritical marks that come in handy especially for those priests who are learning the Latin Mass and the proper pronunciation of the words. Red has simple graphics and large, easy to read prayers. The type on the center card is 14 points and the side card type is 16 points. As always, we try to design the layouts so that prayers are not being blocked when the chalice is in front of the center card. Therefore, on the center card right column, the "Placeat" prayer is on the top, the "Incensing" prayers to say High Mass are in the middle, and the first part of the "Supplices" prayer is on the bottom. The rest of the prayer is to be said from the altar missal. The "Corpus Tuum" prayer is on the bottom of the "Lavabo" card. It has been suggested to include the Corpus Tuum prayer whenever possible.

Like all of our altar cards, "Red" is available as a set of prints designed to be framed or laminated; laminated, or beautifully framed with moire fabric covered backs.

Since this is a new release, it can be found among our New Releases at a temporarily reduced price. If you are interested in a fine, easy to read set of altar cards, feel free to see this set's details listed on our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Thanks for visiting.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Linking a Business Blog to Social Media via TwitterFeed

Hello everyone. I am working on getting this Myriad blog, Altar Card Artistry (with its shiny new template), properly linked to social media via automatic blog posting. If you would like to learn to do this too, here are the simple steps:

First, you have to have accounts on all three of the big sites: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. So, that is step one. Next, go to Twitter Feed and open an account. Twitter Feed acts as a portal by capturing the outgoing blog feed and sending it on to all three of them after you set up the specs. I don't think that Twitter Feed will post feeds to other places. That's all there is to it. 

When this post is published, in theory, it should automatically post to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I've got my fingers crossed because setting up TwitterFeed seemed too easy to be true. They run a nice, tight ship there and that is a relief after trying to figure the Facebook maze. But, that's a story for another day - maybe. :)

By the way, the picture above, a representation of a social network, is a GIF file. Notice how its background blends perfectly with the white background of this Blogger template? That's because the picture's background is transparent. (The template generates the picture's shadowing effect.) Save your images as GIF's with the transparency box checked if you would like to do this too with some of the pictures that you upload to social networks. As mentioned in my previous post, Gimp for Windows is supposed to be a very good, free photo editing program.

Just a few things that I learned that you might be interested in too. Now, let's just see if this posts automatically or not ...

Take care and I hope that you enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Facebook Cover Ideal Size and more business web stuff

Hello everyone. Lately, I have been working on behind the scenes internet integration of Myriad. This post is about a few things that I have learned about integrating one's small business website with Facebook. I hope that a few of these things help you with your business too.

1. Facebook Cover Ideal Size. Facebook asks for a photo to be used as the Facebook Cover of your Facebook Page in its new Timeline style. But, they don't tell you what the dimensions should be. After some searching, I discovered that the ideal size of a Facebook Cover is either 850 x 315 pixels or 851 x 315 pixels depending on who you listen to. The big problem is that the height spec is static (doesn't change) but Facebook automatically stretches your cover picture which makes it fuzzy. I played with it a long time and I don't see a way to make the text look perfect on the Cover. The picture above is the current Facebook Cover picture that I uploaded. It is two good examples of the Latin Mass Altar Cards that I designed for priests.

2. Facebook Background Color: You might also be interested in knowing what specific shade of blue that Facebook is using for its Facebook background color. I did a screen capture (windows print screen key) and pasted it into a new Photoshop document, used the eyedropper tool to make it a foreground color. Facebook's current background color is: RGB: 231, 235, 242 respectively. For my Facebook cover, I wanted one of my framed works to be smaller than the other and white slivers of background didn't look right. To blend it with Facebook's, I used the the rgb values just listed. I hope that helps you if you are doing something similar. Remember, any pictures posted for display on computers are supposed to be designed with RGB values not CMYK. CMYK is for pictures to be printed.

3. Facebook Business Presence: For Myriad, I have a personal page, Jerry Myriadcreativeconcepts, a business (fan) page, Myriad Creative Concepts, and a Places page, Myriad Creative Concepts. From what I understand this is the way to do it. Apparently, if you merge them together, you lose many of the features so there is quite a debate on whether to merge them together. For now, I intend to go with these separate pages. If you have tips on how to make the various Facebook pages work well together, send me a message. Thanks in advance for any ideas that you have. :)

4. Free Photo Editing Software: I use Photoshop for my graphic design business. But, if you don't have it and would like a free program to edit photos or to make a Facebook Cover picture, GIMP for Windows is supposed to be very good.

5. Lastly, if you are interested in creating a small business website online, check out Yahoo Small Business. They have lots of templates for you to get it up and running pretty fast.

That's it for now. Just a few things that I found out that I thought would be good for you too. Take care and have a great weekend!


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Small Business Milestone Accomplished



Hello everyone. Today, I am just proud as punch because Myriad Creative Concepts has reached a small business milestone and I just have to share my good news with you.

Within the past two weeks, we have shipped our Roman Catholic Latin Mass Altar Cards to priests on four different continents! The Latin Mass is making a big comeback, folks, and we are proud to be a part of it by serving the needs of the Latin Mass community worldwide. Now, if I can just make sure that I grow into these shoes well and provide great service, I will be happy as a proverbial clam.

It always worries me when an order is in transit. I've heard back from the order that went to Australia so I know that it got there OK. But, I still have to hear about the orders that went to Ireland, Singapore, and Florida. We've shipped to these places before without incident and I have my fingers crossed that these orders get to these customers too.

Never in a million years did I envision this day that my little vocation would have such far-reaching effect. It is humbling and an honor to serve you out there in the "field." Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support for our work here at Myriad.

That's it. I just wanted to take a minute to share my good news. Carry on. :)

Friday, March 16, 2012

"Celtic" Latin High Mass Altar Cards Just Released

Hello everyone. Today, we are proud to release our newly designed set of Altar Cards for the Roman Catholic Latin High Mass, "Celtic." Celtic has elaborate art gleaned from the manuscripts of the "Book of Kells." Its center card type is 11 points on average while the two side cards (not pictured) have 14 point type. We laid out the prayers to make them most useful during Mass with the "Placeat" prayer top right on the center card and the "Incensing" prayers also in the right column about mid-way down. The Lavabo card includes the "Corpus Tuum" prayer at the bottom.

For full details about this new design, please visit us online at our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts. It is brand new so is temporarily listed in our New Releases section.

Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Latin Mass Sacristy Sign "One" Just Released


Hello everyone, by request, we have just finished designing a modest letter-sized Sacristy Sign in Latin for visiting priests to reference before Mass. The graphic art includes a subtle dark gray line so that the card can be trimmed to 8 x 10 inches for framing if desired. There are several "fields" to be filled in with church-specific information. We laid out this card so that when it is received, each church can print labels and affix them to the print. Or, if ordered laminated, a wet erase marker (not included) can be used to write on the laminated card. If ordered framed, we will use a laminated card without glass or plexiglas so that you can use the included wet erase marker to fill in the information or change it at a later date.

For more information about our new Sacristy Sign "One," see it online within our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts under Latin Sacristy Cards.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

"Formal Black" Latin Requiem Altar Cards Released

Hello everyone. Today, I would like to announce the design and release of our latest set of altar cards for the Roman Catholic Tridentine Latin Requiem Mass. This new design is called "Formal Black" and has a conservative style with an image of Francisco de Zurbarán's painting, "Christ On The Cross" as its centerpiece.

Like many of our altar card designs, "Formal Black" has been designed to be practical. For easy reference, the "Placeat" prayer on the center card is located top right. The center card also includes the full text of the "Supplices" prayer. The Lavabo side card contains the "Corpus Tuum" prayer at the bottom. Lastly, the font is easy to read and sized at 14 points. If you are looking for a good, all-around choice in a set of Latin Requiem Altar Cards, "Formal Black" would be a great choice.

These altar cards measure 12 inches high before framing. The center card width is 18 inches and the two side cards (not pictured) measure 12 inches wide before framing. We have our cards printed on card stock and are sold in three options: as a set of prints to be framed by your local framer, as a set of laminated cards, or professionally framed by us here at Myriad Creative Concepts.

For more information or to place an order for your own set of these newly designed Latin Requiem Mass Altar Cards, see them online in our "New Releases" section of our business website, Myriad Creative Concepts.

Thanks for visiting.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Asperges Me / Vidi Aquam Card Just Released

By request, we have just finished designing a nice, full Latin chant notation version of an "Asperges Me / Vidi Aquam" card. It is now listed for sale on our regular business website, Myriad Creative Concepts, for those of you who are interested. It is available as a print or laminated.

This card is letter size with The "Asperges Me" prayers on the front and the "Vidi Aquam" prayers on the back. At the beginning of Roman Catholic High Masses, these prayers are sung as the celebrating priest goes up the aisle sprinkling the congregation with holy water. During Easter Season, he sings the "Vidi Aquam." The rest of the year, he sings the "Asperges Me."

This card is a unique design that we are proud of because it is so complete and the type is nice and large. Its graphics are simple but attractive and consists of a modification of our "Prayers At The Foot Of The Altar" card, also for the Latin Mass.

We hope that you like our design. If there are other cards that you think should also be crafted, just let us know and we will see what we can do.

Thanks for visiting.


Monday, February 20, 2012

Roman Catholic Braga Rite Altar Cards

Hello everyone. I would just like to take a moment to announce the release of our latest graphic designs of Mass Cards for priests and ministers. Nearly two years ago, we were contacted by a Roman Catholic priest from Braga, Portugal to consider designing a set of altar cards for him to celebrate the Roman Catholic Mass according to the Braga Rite. We were thrilled to design them for him. They are  now listed for sale on our business website, Myriad Creative Concepts for others to purchase as well if you are interested.

It took nearly two years to design them because there were several cards to create with specific prayers that not only had to be accurate, but had to be presented exactly right too. Our customer is a very busy priest like all priests are and he could only proof the drafts sent to him when he had some free time to tackle them
We were asked to design artwork for these cards that incorporated ancient Celtic art because many Celts settled into northern Portugal. The "Book of Kells" has many beautiful manuscripts full of beautiful Celtic art and it was suggested that we first look there for ideas. The Book of Kells proved to be a virtual treasure trove of images to pull from to create a hybridization of art suitable in the graphic design of these altar cards. He was thrilled with what we came up with and we hope that you are too.

There are several cards used in the Braga Rite. As we designed draft after draft of each card, our customer meticulously proofread each one until they were absolutely perfect for him. The layout of the prayers is just right, the font complements the art, and the type is crisp and very easy to read.

If we had made these by hand, we would have had to charge him thousands of dollars to make them. But, thanks to modern graphic design software, we were able to create them very inexpensively. This has been one of the most enjoyable experiences that we have had so far designing for priests and ministers.

A complete set of Roman Catholic Altar Cards for the Braga Rite can be found for sale on our website on our Latin Mass Altar Cards Kits page. They are available laminated or as prints to be framed by your local framer. By request, we can professionally frame them for you. Contact us for details.

Thanks for stopping by today. Have a wonderful week!

SACRAS para a celebração no RITO BRACARENSE
Sacra do Centro (1) Sacra do Último Evangelho (1) Sacra do Lavabo (1) Antífonas Marianas Finais (1) Orações Leoninas em Latim e Portuguese (1) Diálogo ao pé do Altar Celebrante e Ministro (3)

 Complete Roman Catholic Braga Rite Mass Cards Kit, "Celtic"
This is our custom-designed nine card Roman Catholic Braga Rite Mass Cards Kit. The artwork features beautiful ancient Celtic art as found in "The Book Of Kells." Contains the three principal altar cards, "Prayers After Low Mass" in both Latin and Portuguese, the Marion Antiphons, one "Prayers At The Foot Of The Altar" for the Celebrant, and two "Prayers At The Foot Of The Altar" for the Servers.