2018 Finish It Up Challenge

Well, this has helped me the last couple of years, so I'm going to do this again!

Here's my list for 2018:

• Stitch a design for the candlescreen that I have
• Finish hand-quilting the Bullseye Quilt
• Finish the log cabin star wall hanging
• Start hand-quilting my grand aunt's grandmother's flower garden quilt top
• Clean up the nook area in my sewing room
• Finish the mystery quilt top I've started (all clues haven't been posted yet)
• Clean and re-frame my hummingbirds cross stitch
• Post all the stuff I have waiting to be listed in my Etsy shop
• Clean up my scrapbooking area
• Make a start on archival scanning of all my family photographs
• Get my printed recipes put into my recipe software (Living Cookbook)

I might "find" a few more items to put on this list but I think I'll leave it here for now.

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

Waiting...

Hey All!

As most of you know, I've discovered digital scrapbooking.  Well, I finished a scrapbook of the photos from my childhood.  I've done it so that myself and my two sisters each have at least a couple of pages to ourselves.  Holidays, vacations, and pets we owned are each grouped together.

I ordered 1 printed and bound version.  I only ordered 1 right now, because I have never done this before and I want to see if it's worth the money before I buy 2 more of them.

The "waiting" part is, thankfully, only until tomorrow.  I just tracked it and it should be delivered then!  I haven't seen most of these photos in print since before I got married.  I've had the digital photos for about 5 years now but haven't been able to print them.  Most of them were polaroids and last time I checked, their size wasn't an option from some of the better quality photo printers.

Here's one of the pages of just me:

I ordered the album as a 12" x 12" hardcover with photo and lay-flat pages.  Here's the cover (using the only professionally photographed picture in the album):

I'm the tall one with my middle sister on the left and youngest on the right.  If the album is even half as nice as I'm hoping, you can guess what my sisters are each getting for Christmas!  My youngest sister doesn't have any copies of our childhood photos, digital or otherwise so I know she'll be thrilled.

There are some photos that I didn't use in the album but I'm going to put all of the digitals on a CD and include it with the album.

I've already got an album for my mother planned, showing her family tree, but I want to see the print one before I start work on it.

Well, now I can get back to stitching for a bit.

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

Cross Stitch & Scrapbooking Updates

First of all, I added Mini Wings in Repose to the progress bars at the right.

Next, I've got an update on PTP Floral Arrangement.

I've got 10 pages done now!

I do have to say I thought the orange/white flowers at the bottom were going to be the death of me.  While I do make mistakes in my stitching, usually it's just a stitch or two that are easily dealt with.  Not on these flowers though!  I made some sort of mistake near the top of the cluster that I just couldn't identify properly so that I could fix it.  I ended up doing some over-stitching (literally stitching over incorrect stitches) and some "This color is close enough" stitches.  They look fine now so that's the ultimate result.

Now I am truly back to my rotation so I'm back working on La Belle Dame...

As you may have read in a previous blog post.  I've discovered digital scrapbooking!  OK, I'll admit it, I'm addicted to it!  As my family's genealogist, I've certainly got enough photographs to work with - 1,001 just from one set of grandparents!

I've just completed my first book but saving my pennies to get it printed.  It's really quite a bit less money versus using real papers and an album but a bigger lump sum.  With "traditional" scrapbooking, I've purchased bits & pieces at a time so I've usually spent $20 or less per purchase.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple of the pages that I've put together.  I'm still a novice at this but I can only get better!  Just to be clear, I'm the child in all of these photos (I'm currently in my 40's).

Here is a list, with links, of some of the designers whose wonderful talent made these pages possible:

• Correen Silke
• Sheila Reed
• Scraps by Jessica art-design
• Jeanine Baechtold

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

FIU Challenge Update and Scrapbooking

Well, here is my list with the ones I have gotten crossed off.

1. Bind my 4-patch quilt (poor thing's been waiting for over 2years)
2. Remove last of carpet in sewing room (it's really in the way and is hampering my crafts)
3. Finish my "Merry Christmas" framed set
4. Tidy up all my quilting scraps
5. Frame my Mother's Tree.
6. Clean off my scrapbooking desk so I can actually scrapbook!  clean enough to work on 1-15-2016
7. Finish the Disneyland scrapbook for my sister
8.  List the rest of the items I have set aside to sell on Etsy.  finished on 1-7-2016
9. Re-starch/shape the rest of my crocheted snowflakes.

#6 has created its own side effect.  My desk is for traditional scrapbooking.  I enjoy doing it and it is a necessity do to the enormous number of photographs I've inherited (1,001 from one side alone).  However, I do have a bunch of digital photos that I need to take care of.  Now I'm getting into digital scrapbooking!

I started doing digital scrapbooking this past week.  Thankfully, I've always been a bit of a computer nerd so the software, My Memories, was easy enough to learn.  I'm currently working on the 9th page of the album I'm doing for me and my sisters.  There was only one copy of each photo from my youth.  Most of them were Polaroids (the kind where you pulled the paper off after a couple of minutes).   Before my Dad passed, my middle sister helped him take digitals of all our family albums.  She has the originals and she and I both have digitals.  That currently leaves my youngest sister without any photos from her youth.

Here's the cover of the album:

I've already figured out that the digital scrapbook, fully printed and bound, is going to cost me a lot less than the supplies would for a traditional scrapbook!  Making copies is also going to be sooooo easy!  I'd be jumping for joy, but I'd probably fall and hurt myself.  ;-)

I may get #7 off the list by going digital for it...we'll see.

Happy Stitching!

Stacy

Book Review: The Scrapbook Designer's Workbook

First, I should admit that I don't own this book (yet); I checked it out from my local library.

This is a great reference book for scrapbookers.  The photo illustrations are excellent!  Quite a few of the examples are shown in multiples as a visual explanations of what does or doesn't work in a layout.  The book is divided into sections:

• Introduction to Design
• Elements of Design
• Color
• Principles of Design

Each section is further broken down into specifics.  For example, the Elements of Design section covers:  Line, Shape & Space; Texture; Typography.

Pros: 

• The author obviously knows what she's talking about
• The book is hardcover ~and~ spiral-bound!  No worrying about losing your place!
• Beautifully photographed
• Every layout has source materials listed
• There is a two-page Sources listing at the back of the book
• Includes a Glossary of terms used
• Lots of great inspiration

Neutral:  Through no fault of the auther, some of the technology-related information is already out-dated.

Negatives:  Only the fact that I don't own my own copy!

Happy Scrapping!

Stacy

Almost like Christmas...

I got a box from Joann.com today!  Even though I knew what was inside, it was still fun to open and look at all the new goodies!

This order was for scrapbooking stuff.  I am making a dedicated effort (so far) to scrapbook the family photos that I got from my grandparents.  All the "stuff" is geared toward the heritage/vintage look.

Here's what I got:

• Un-Du
• Adhesive Backed Border Strips - Neutrals
• Cardstock Stack - Neutrals
• Clearly Stickers - Vintage
• Cardstock Stickers - Crowded Attic
• Die-Cuts, Elegance
• Glittered Die-Cuts, Elegance

The Glittered ones are a bit too much bling for my heritage album but I can definitely use them in any other album that I create.

Happy Stitching and Scrapbooking!

Stacy