Tag Archives: sewing

Nov 13

Redefining the ‘die-hard scrapbooker’.

Yes, that’s me. I work full-time at a hospital; difficult, stressful, demanding;  my idea of relaxation is coming home to my bedroom (where my ‘studio’ is) to scrapbook. Case in point: I got off a night shift last night, not my usual shift, and what did I do when I came home?  Sleep? No. I looked for something pretty to create. Tired? Shmired!! I wanted to scrap. My husband once told me that I have an addiction, and I think he’s right. But, there could be worse addictions, okay? 

December is right around the corner, and for once, I really want to make a December Daily. I want to enjoy and appreciate this holiday season in any way, shape and form it arrives. I want every day to count, and I want to document it all. I have a Christmas tree (thank you, Mom!!); decorations (hand-made); and ideas for some really wonderful things I can do to make our home comfy, cozy, and delightfully festive. It’s been a long time coming, and I am really excited about the fact that I am so inspired and motivated. Yes, I do have to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas day (after all, cardiac disease doesn’t take any holidays, so, why should I?), but that won’t diminish my holiday joy. I am so grateful to have what I have, and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Except one. Silly? Yes. Important? No…but to me, it was. I love stars. I’ve said that before, but when I saw the canvas star on Ali Edwards‘ December Daily part II photos (Nov. 4, 2011), I fell in love. That is so me. I immediately looked online for some of her beautiful embellishments to go on my own December Daily (thank you Ali for the links!), but when it came to ordering the canvas star, I was out of luck. And I wanted that star! No emails ever arrived to announce that this particular product is back in stock, so today, of all days, I needed to get into a closet I rarely frequent, and found some duck cloth canvas sitting there from I-don’t-know-when. I have my star! was my first thought. I know how to sew. I have a star die (to go with my trusty Sizzix Big Kick). I have the right material. Nothing was going to hold me back. My poor husband didn’t even know I was home before I was getting things going.

My inspiration, from Ali Edwards.

My own humble version....

...inspired by Ali and ready for my own December Daily

Not knowing that Scrapbook.com now has these canvas stars back in stock, I made a lot, and I made them to sell on my Etsy shop to share with all of you. Who knows how many of you were looking for this, and couldn’t find them, either!

I am so looking forward to this holiday season, and I hope every one of you reading this has an a beautiful season as well! Okay, time to get some shut-eye before the next shift. Zzzz.

Oct 11

Sewin’ love.

I’ve always loved sewing on my scrapbook layouts using my sewing machine, but lately, I’ve gone crazy for hand-stitching on my pages as well. I’d seen the trend on various blogs and magazines, but when I started noticing the creative things Amy Tangerine does on both fabric and paper, I really took notice. I’m currently taking her class The Good Life at Big Picture Classes and I’ve learned how to do some of the fabulous things she does. Now, I want to sew on everything!

For a recent mini album I made, I cut a piece of a map showing where I vacationed a week and a half ago, and stitched around the exact area we visited. I got this idea from Pinterest a while back:

This, I could not wait to do. Talk about easy and gratifying. I also wanted to use a large photo of our trip for a layout I attach to our wall calendar in the kitchen area, but I wasn’t sure how to embellish and add to it. I really wanted to keep it simple and let the photo shine, so I stitched a simple design on that, too.

I just wanted it clean and simple, yet it feels ‘decorated’ and complete without too much fussiness. I still find it easier to sew on paper than fabric, especially stretchy fabric, but I want to get better at reverse applique. I picked up some t-shirts at Michael’s recently (2 for $10!), got more colors of cross-stitch floss, and had my mom help me pick out some cute quilt quarters in a rainbow of colors so I can make more cute tee’s like I learned in class:

If you haven’t tried anything like this, don’t be intimidated. It’s really quite easy. I have discovered that when I’m sitting with my husband in the evening, it’s a great way to relax, too. I’ll be back with more on the t-shirts I make. Until then, happy sewing!

Sep 21

Day 21: Favorite Skill

Just a quick note for today; it’s the 21st, and today’s prompt is to use a shaped photo (non-square or rectangle). I’m using a template by Cathy Zielske, from Designer Digitals that I made hybrid.

As simple as this looks, I have never had a more difficult time getting a layout done!! I kid you not, I’m not really happy with the way it turned out, but after much frustration, I finally decided enough! It’s done. Thanks for stopping by!

Apr 18

Remains of the Day, Part II

Okay, here we are. Again, I was not happy with the cover, so I started over for the second time. I neglected to take photos of that process, but you will see the results. I think it looks pretty shabby, which is exactly the point. In the class, however, Mary Ann Moss uses shabbier pieces of paper to make up the pages, which looks neat, but I opted to use some scrapbook papers to use them up, and they don’t look as shabby. Next time I will use scraps of old papers and magazine pages, like she did.

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I am so looking forward to filling in my new journal. I normally go for a simple look when I scrapbook, but I think it will be fun and interesting to do something totally off-the-cuff, becoming shabby, worn and loved. I can just go crazy and be wild and fun with it…another side of me I usually keep in check! Anyone interested in pursuing a project like this may click here to check out Mary Ann Moss’ blog for more information. Happy journaling!