# Design Techniques Spreadsheet



## CaraBou (Jan 22, 2017)

I started compiling a list of design techniques and was surprised to identify over 60 pretty quickly. I want to share it like we do with fragrance reviews, so people can add more designs and tips on achieving these artistic endeavors.  I put in columns I thought might be useful and posted it to google docs with one row somewhat completed.  I say somewhat, because I would encourage adding to even those cells that someone else has already populated, as long as it represents a new idea.

Take a look, and post here suggestions for improvement (e.g., adding columns or tabs, changing headers, etc).  When the format seems fairly stable I'll open it for edits so collectively we can add more techniques and populate the cells.  I would do that now but it might get a little funky while we're still changing it around.

Here's the link - bookmark it and share your ideas for more utility.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G40lIPTgWTf6n6i5JoT09_3iUen_JhylZSZTstSv_-g/edit?usp=sharing


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## dibbles (Jan 22, 2017)

What a great idea. I noticed that confetti soap, which is popular with many it seems, and tiger stripe (and modified or tilted tiger) are absent from the list. Or is that just another name for zebra stripe?


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## snappyllama (Jan 22, 2017)

What a great idea!  I can think of a few to add: Camo, Layered, Leopard spot, Molded, and Piped (though that's mainly for the the tops).


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## CaraBou (Jan 22, 2017)

How could I forget confetti of all things! And those beautiful piped soaps.  Aye yi yi!  I was actually going to let people add their own ideas for additional designs so I'll leave those for you to add. I'll open it up for edits before next weekend.

What about additional columns or tabs? Right now tops are mixed in but should we give them their own tab? It does seem like they are different.  I currently have a tutorial column, but should we also have a thumbnail pic of a good example? And what about design versus technique? That's blurrier to me because sometimes they're the same. But sometimes they're different so I could go either way.


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## cherrycoke216 (Jan 23, 2017)

This is genius! Moderator should put this on stickies!
Thank you for your work. So when our head start spinning and come out of nothing, this is THE PLACE to go!!!


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## lsg (Jan 23, 2017)

How about faux swirl in cavity molds?


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## Omneya (Jan 23, 2017)

Thanks! This is awesome to see and have. Never heard of "Burl" technique though


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## CaraBou (Jan 23, 2017)

cherrycoke216 said:


> So when our head start spinning and come out of nothing, this is THE PLACE to go!!!



That's one reason I did it cherrycoke, when I was stumped what to do. The other is because I've heard several people say "there's only so much you can do with soap design". I'm not that creative but I think there's more than we give credit to.



lsg said:


> How about faux swirl in cavity molds?


Another good one! It will be super important to get cavity molds represented, since many will overlook them. Please add this when I open the spreadsheet to editing.



Omneya said:


> Thanks! This is awesome to see and have. Never heard of "Burl" technique though



Check this out Omneya, from our own newbie
http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=51954


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## Soapprentice (Jan 23, 2017)

Wow! I just can't wait for the finished sheet.. so excited.. YAY!!


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## LilyJo (Jan 24, 2017)

What a brilliant idea - its so easy to get stuck using the same techniques and to think there is no where to go so it will be great to have a list of ideas and stuff in one place.

Fantastic!


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## earlene (Jan 24, 2017)

Pointillism is another one.

This is so cool that you decided to do this.  What a great idea.

PS.  You've got Ribbon Pour in there twice.


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## Dahila (Jan 24, 2017)

Fantastic ide, Carabou, it should be sticky


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## artemis (Jan 24, 2017)

I just saw thus one for the first time. "Wind blown" and "fluid painting" techniques:  https://youtu.be/LZri4HTCsLQ


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## cherrycoke216 (Jan 25, 2017)

artemis said:


> I just saw thus one for the first time. "Wind blown" and "fluid painting" techniques:  https://youtu.be/LZri4HTCsLQ




I've been following her for a while. She seem to have some art roots like Clyde of Vibrant soap.  

This is cool grandma of Black cat Blues' soapy friend on YouTube. She went quite some miles for this cool soap. 

Soap clay. And some I can't remember from the top of my head. 

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnbnyyrSYOg[/ame]


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## toxikon (Jan 25, 2017)

This lady also does clay soap/moldable soap... she makes some amazing stuff! https://www.instagram.com/sorcerysoap/?hl=en


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## CaraBou (Jan 28, 2017)

I unlocked the spreadsheet for editing and added another tab for tops. Please add techniques and other info that you've had success with. Don't worry if you can't complete a whole row -- just add what you know and others can augment.  I imagine it will take quite some time to fill in the blanks, and some cells will probably never be populated.  

I haven't added the new techniques mentioned here but will down the road if no one follows up.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G40lIPTgWTf6n6i5JoT09_3iUen_JhylZSZTstSv_-g/edit#gid=0


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## HowieRoll (Jan 28, 2017)

CaraBou, I think this is just an insanely fabulous idea, and appreciate your taking the time to corral the information.  I've tried many techniques once or twice only, so don't feel I can contribute all that much in terms of useful advice (it's always a surprise and bit of a wonder if/how something worked), but will be keenly watching the developments on the spreadsheet.


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## dibbles (Jan 30, 2017)

CaraBou said:


> I unlocked the spreadsheet for editing and added another tab for tops. Please add techniques and other info that you've had success with. Don't worry if you can't complete a whole row -- just add what you know and others can augment.  I imagine it will take quite some time to fill in the blanks, and some cells will probably never be populated.
> 
> I haven't added the new techniques mentioned here but will down the road if no one follows up.
> 
> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1G40lIPTgWTf6n6i5JoT09_3iUen_JhylZSZTstSv_-g/edit#gid=0



CaraBou, I tried to add a couple of techniques, and did. But when I tried to add a second tutorial link to the Clyde Slide, it went into the technique above - the butterfly swirl, no hanger. So I tried to change that to a link for butterfly swirl, no hanger and it went into butterfly swirl. Sorry, I'm not so good at this, and I don't know how to fix it  I'm going on vacation tomorrow and will be gone for a couple of weeks, so I'll be keeping my little dibbles fingers out of it.


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## CaraBou (Jan 31, 2017)

Thanks for giving it a spin dibbles,and for letting me know your troubles.  I've not worked with google spreadsheets much let alone created & shared one, so I'm not surprised of glitches. I'll see if I can figure it out after I get back from traveling. In the mean time, it would be great to know if others have tried editing and any problems or successes they encountered.

Have fun in Hawaii dibbles -- it sounds like so much fun!


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## KristaY (Feb 1, 2017)

Geez CaraBou, you're brilliant! I really love this idea. I find myself at the FO spreadsheet often when I'm thinking of trying a new one so this fits perfectly. When I'm in a hurry or having a creativity brain fart, this will be such a helpful resource. Now I have to think of a way I can help add info.....


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## earlene (Feb 1, 2017)

earlene said:


> Pointillism is another one.
> 
> This is so cool that you decided to do this.  What a great idea.
> 
> PS.  You've got Ribbon Pour in there twice.





dibbles said:


> CaraBou, I tried to add a couple of techniques, and did. But when I tried to add a second tutorial link to the Clyde Slide, it went into the technique above - the butterfly swirl, no hanger. So I tried to change that to a link for butterfly swirl, no hanger and it went into butterfly swirl. Sorry, I'm not so good at this, and I don't know how to fix it  I'm going on vacation tomorrow and will be gone for a couple of weeks, so I'll be keeping my little dibbles fingers out of it.





CaraBou said:


> Thanks for giving it a spin dibbles,and for letting me know your troubles.  I've not worked with google spreadsheets much let alone created & shared one, so I'm not surprised of glitches. I'll see if I can figure it out after I get back from traveling. In the mean time, it would be great to know if others have tried editing and any problems or successes they encountered.
> 
> Have fun in Hawaii dibbles -- it sounds like so much fun!



I added the pointillism technique.

Problems I find and the best solution of which I am aware:  Adding multiple links in a cell is difficult, but if you unlink the first link, then you can add the others.  But you end up with URLs that aren't really links anymore.  If you try to relink them all, they don't work as separate links.  You get a message that multiple links in a cell is not possible.  So just leave them unlinked.  The person who wants to use the link will have to copy and paste into their browser it seems.

However, I can't quite figure out how Carabou got the space inserted between the two URLs listed in the cell for the Pipe Divider Technique.  If I figure that out, I will add it in the cell for Pointillism URLs and post here how it's done.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ETA:  I found it with a simple Google search:

Now you need to *add carriage return* or hard *return* manually in *cells*. 
Step 1: Double clicking the *cell*  you will work with, and get to edit it. 
Step 2: Put the cursor at the  specific position that you want the long sentence wrapped. 
Step 3: Press  the Alt key and Enter key together.


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## artemis (Feb 1, 2017)

I saw "dragonfly" on the list and that intrigues me-- I love dragonflies.  But, when I google I can't find an example. Is this a thing and I've just never heard of it?


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## ngian (Feb 2, 2017)

Very interesting project Carabou.

Although I have limited time available I can only contribute with a link from Kenna's Cold Process Soap Design Techniques article that has quite a few videos also.

http://www.modernsoapmaking.com/cold-process-soap-design-techniques-and-tutorials/


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## CaraBou (Feb 2, 2017)

Way to go Earlene, you defined a limitation and the less than perfect solution (Alt-Enter to paste more than one web address, none of which would have an active hyperlink). That was my exact workaround. 

Because >1 tutorials are often desirable, should I create multiple columns and place them as the end columns?  They won't be up front but they'd have more room and could each contain a live link so that cut and paste isn't needed.  

Another idea is to create a database rather than a spreadsheet, but I have not explored whether this is possible in google docs.  A data base can accommodate more complex data and be set up in a different format than simple rows and columns. 

I won't be in a position to explore these ideas until I am home again. I fly back tomorrow but we're leaving to ice fish this weekend. So for now I'd say dump the links into a shared cell without active hyperlinks using Earlene's instructions, and we can sort out the rest later. Or if anyone wants to take a crack and creating more tutorial columns at the end, feel free. Or any other promising idea, for that matter.

Artemis - the dragonfly should probably be considered an alternate name to the butterfly. You get them with a similar technique but different motions. I listed them separately because I wasn't sure whether I'd find a tutorial specific to the dragonfly. I have seen some neat dragonflies so wanted to recognize them as separate if that was realistic. 

I really wish we could do thumbnails for a quick easy glance but I'm hitting a wall on that one.  It seems way more involved than a collaborative sheet should ask.  This shouldn't be frustrating, it should be fun!

You found a jackpot ngian! Feel free to patch in the tutorial links and other tidbits you've learned from your own experience. Ethically, it can get gray very quickly if we're simply copying what others have reported. The tutorials seem fair game to me since they're open on youtube for tutorial purposes, but I'm hoping we fill in the other columns from our collective experiences or extensions of logic from other projects. Speak up with thoughts on this approach.


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## artemis (Feb 2, 2017)

CaraBou said:


> Ethically, it can get gray very quickly if we're simply copying what others have reported.



Does that gray area go away if there is also a column that properly cites the source material?


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## earlene (Feb 2, 2017)

CaraBou said:


> I really wish we could do thumbnails for a quick easy glance but I'm hitting a wall on that one.  It seems way more involved than a collaborative sheet should ask.  This shouldn't be frustrating, it should be fun!




There are 2 ways to do that, but the best way is to use the 'Function' code, as described in the video at the end of this post. 

It is the best way because it keeps the image within the cell and does not interfere with adding or deleting columns or rows, whereas the other way does.

It is a bit more detailed, but not at all difficult.  I went ahead and inserted a column and titled it Thumbnails and put in an image to test it out.  The instructions are:

1. Select or highlight the cell where you want to insert the image.
2. In the Formula Bar (where you see the grey 'fx') type:
   =("url") 
_where url is the actual url of the image you wish to insert_
3. Enter

You will now see the image inside the cell.

The = sign, the parentheses and the quotation marks surrounding the url are required for this formula to work in a spreadsheet.

Issues of concern:  The url will need to be for non-copyrighted material or material for which we obtain permission.  The one I chose is a 1887 Vincent Van Gogh painting done in the pointillism style (Self Portrait) obtained from a site stating it is in the Public Domain.  But to choose a picture of actual soap done in this style, I think finding a Public Domain link would be very difficult, so I would suggest we use our own photos if we are willing, or leave them blank.

Video:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCNfRC3-K-E"]here[/ame]


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## CaraBou (Feb 3, 2017)

earlene said:


> There are 2 ways to do that, but the best way is to use the 'Function' code, as described in the video at the end of this post.



That's awesome earlene -- you are the spreadsheet queen!  Thanks for taking the initiative and please keep that up!  Do you know how to use a pic from a hard drive or google drive instead of a URL?  Sorry I couldn't figure it out myself yet - just got home tonight and haven't had much time to poke around.



artemis said:


> Does that gray area go away if there is also a column that properly cites the source material?



I would think so, since we have a lot of that type of reference here. But I'd still prefer that we speak from our own experiences as much as possible -- it just seems like a better way to go.


I don't think we're going ice fishing this weekend, so hopefully I can play around with spreadsheet some more.  I'd like to get kinks worked out as quickly as possible, so keep posting troubles and ideas.


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## earlene (Feb 3, 2017)

CaraBou said:


> That's awesome earlene -- you are the spreadsheet  queen!  Thanks for taking the initiative and please keep that up!  Do  you know how to use a pic from a hard drive or google drive instead of a  URL?  Sorry I couldn't figure it out myself yet - just got home tonight  and haven't had much time to poke around.



You can used to be able to obtain the url from your Google Drive image* and insert it the same as previously explained.  But I am having trouble finding how to do it now.  They seem to have made some changes.  I'll keep trying, as I am pretty sure it can still be done.  Okay, got it.  It's kind of complex.  Instructions below.

But  since the image on your computer has no url, you can't really insert it  into the cell using the function menu bar.  If you use insert from the  drop down menu, it sits on top of the spreadsheet and not inside the  cell, so it just won't work in the way we would want within the  spreadsheet.  When ever new rows or columns are added it would mess up  the looks of the spreadsheet.

So I recommend using an image hosting site for photos that should go into the thumbnails.  That way you can get a url.


* How to insert a Google Drive image into a cell:

1. open Google Drive and find your desired image (make sure it has the image icon to the left of the name) 
2. right click on the image name (not the image, but the name itself)
3. choose Get shareable link
4. copy the link 
5. paste link
6. withing the link CHANGE only the word open to uc
7. proceed as previously instructed 

Example:  my link from my Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1YfnHB-I9RRAETiXqciu0jfM05IrXNENx5w
(It isn't showing completely above, but the last part is:  1YfnHB-I9RRAETiXqciu0jfM05IrXNENx5w)

within the url, find the word *'open*' and change it to *uc

*https://drive.google.com/*open*?id=1YfnHB-I9RRAETiXqciu0jfM05IrXNENx5w

becomes:

https://drive.google.com/*uc*?id=1YfnHB-I9RRAETiXqciu0jfM05IrXNENx5w

This is what is pasted into the function menu bar as:

=image("https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1YfnHB-I9RRAETiXqciu0jfM05IrXNENx5w")

I inserted it into the last row that I added to test this out.  It is an image of a glacier in Alaska, not a soap.  It was for testing purposes only.


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## CaraBou (Feb 4, 2017)

Thanks for investigating that Earlene, you have way more patience than I do! Who knew it would be such a big deal to add thumbnails, or be so restrictive. I wouldn't mind a few funky results but I'm afraid it would frustrate contributors & users, and possibly turn some away. 

A few options I see (though there could be more): 
1. Let the Tutorial Links provide the pics (whether they be videos or text & pics)​ 2. Change the column header to "Pic Links" so it directs people to provide a hyperlink rather than encouraging them to embed thumbnails​ 3. Move that column toward the end of the spreadsheet and let people try to figure out how to embed thumbnails (realizing we may get floaters)​
I am tending toward #1 but I am certainly open to different opinions and additional options.  What do you all think?

P.S. I forgot to say I love the AK glacier pic! Which glacier is it?


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## earlene (Feb 5, 2017)

CaraBou said:


> Thanks for investigating that Earlene, you have way more patience than I do! Who knew it would be such a big deal to add thumbnails, or be so restrictive. I wouldn't mind a few funky results but I'm afraid it would frustrate contributors & users, and possibly turn some away.
> 
> A few options I see (though there could be more): 1. Let the Tutorial Links provide the pics (whether they be videos or text & pics)​2. Change the column header to "Pic Links" so it directs people to provide a hyperlink rather than encouraging them to embed thumbnails​3. Move that column toward the end of the spreadsheet and let people try to figure out how to embed thumbnails (realizing we may get floaters)​I am tending toward #1 but I am certainly open to different opinions and additional options.  What do you all think?
> 
> P.S. I forgot to say I love the AK glacier pic! Which glacier is it?



It was Holgate Glacier. We took a boat tour out of Seward. The shades of blue in the glaciers are incredible.

Re: the thumbnails in the spreadsheet:  I lean towards #1 as well.  Although being able to have them is cool, it is rather problematic, especially if someone isn't comfortable with the technical challenge.  And the are pretty small anyway, making them a little hard to see.


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## aphro1 (Jun 13, 2017)

Great! I just sent a doc request.


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## Jena (Jun 13, 2017)

There is a gorgeous confetti soap on youtube that is really more of an abstract painting. That may be the one you mentioned.


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## CaraBou (Jun 16, 2017)

Sorry guys - I had it down, and have been getting lots of access requests, so I put it back up.  You won't get an email notice I don't think.  Please add to the sheet!


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## Dahila (Jun 16, 2017)

Thank you Carbou it is accessible now


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## keelsoaper (Aug 26, 2017)

Great Idea! I have been looking for a listing and instructions on all of the swirling techniques. If anyone knows of any other resources I'd really appreciate it. How do you access the most current sheet? Thanks.


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## jmbuffy (Nov 27, 2017)

CaraBou- This will be such a great resource for information and inspiration. If I understand correctly, the Top Design tab calls-out entries from the Soap Designs tab. If this file is similar to an Excel file, Top Designs can be set up as links to rows on the Soap Designs tab instead of separate entries. That way there’s no need to re-enter the info, and all edits made to the associated row in Soap Designs will come through automatically. I hope that’s helpful. Thank you for your initiative, it’s a great example of the supportive nature of the soaping community.


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## shunt2011 (Nov 27, 2017)

jmbuffy said:


> CaraBou- This will be such a great resource for information and inspiration. If I understand correctly, the Top Design tab calls-out entries from the Soap Designs tab. If this file is similar to an Excel file, Top Designs can be set up as links to rows on the Soap Designs tab instead of separate entries. That way there’s no need to re-enter the info, and all edits made to the associated row in Soap Designs will come through automatically. I hope that’s helpful. Thank you for your initiative, it’s a great example of the supportive nature of the soaping community.


 
If you go back a few pages you will find the link to the file

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets..._-g/edit#gid=0


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## jmbuffy (Nov 27, 2017)

Thanks - shunt2011. I saw the link to the file. My misunderstanding was thinking the Top Designs tab was a subset of the Soap Designs tab - as in what is currently popular. Now I see it means designs for on top of the soap. (Douh!) [emoji51]


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## Ema (Dec 23, 2017)

Cool! As a newbie, I’m excited to learn as much as I can and now I really want to learn some of these techniques!


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## Mrsitaly22 (Oct 28, 2020)

putting this together! I requested access


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## AliOop (Oct 28, 2020)

Hey @Mrsitaly22 good on you for finding this ancient buried treasure! However, because this thread is so old, I'm not sure that the person who owns the Google Drive document is even connected with the forum any longer. Maybe one of the admins or mods can resurrect the document and make it generally available directly here in SMF, rather than having it sit in someone's private Drive storage. @shunt2011 are you able to help with this?


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## TashaBird (Oct 28, 2020)

AliOop said:


> Hey @Mrsitaly22 good on you for finding this ancient buried treasure! However, because this thread is so old, I'm not sure that the person who owns the Google Drive document is even connected with the forum any longer. Maybe one of the admins or mods can resurrect the document and make it generally available directly here in SMF, rather than having it sit in someone's private Drive storage. @shunt2011 are you able to help with this?


Ah! I didn’t notice the date. Been trying to access it. Cool idea though!


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## earlene (Oct 28, 2020)

Actually *CaraBou* posted just a few days ago, so try sending her a private message (conversations as it is now called).


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## maxine289 (Oct 30, 2020)

i requested access.  it would be great to have a list of techniques.  so much to try - so little time!


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## Wenda Rogers (Jan 25, 2021)

Is there a way to access the spreadsheet?


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