Re: embossing
 

I've done it, and a good friend of mine has a bit of a cottage industry started. She makes coordinating nametags, place cards, etc, using stamps & embossing. It's absolutely amazing!!

She did this one set for a seminar we had in the fall. Using two different leaf stamps, and three colors & the embosser, she stamped the edges, some all the way, some halfway on the edge - first in one color, then the others, then she embossed the rest in gold & bronze. She did the place cards & placemats the same way. They were absolutely lovely!! I just don't think I'd have the patience to do 200 things like that!

I have quite a few stamps & the heat embosser, but they're at my house. :( I'm thinking of retrieving them for Valentine's Day, because I simply cannot find any cards that say "You're wonderful but I hope you marry somebody else".

Re: Re: embossing
 

ROFL!!!

Hating the double post but...
 

t*p, I want to hear all about the scrapbooking party!! I have a TON of things that I want to put together, but I don't want to do it wrong.

I want to do somewhat of a send up on my one family tree line (I know, I'll go straight to genealogical hell!). There are just too many funny parts to this lineage. My favorite part is the Union soldier who filed a statement that he was shot in the groin during the battle for Richmond, and the minie ball was lodged there for the rest of his life, "causing him excrutiating pain at awkward moments". Well, not TOO much pain - the guy had 15 kids!! I keep saying that I think the real shooter was his wife! A few of his kids manage to become fodder for the Darwin Awards, and I think everyone will either love it, or have me killed!

yea i have a ton of things to put together too.. i figured with something like this I would HAVE to do it.. otherwise I would feel silly just sitting there while everyone else is scrapping!

i think it would give me the opp to learn about different ppl's techniques as well. I do a pretty good job, but nothing compared to the master scrapbookers that I have seen! :eek:

I know what you mean! I got all these scrapbooking goodies for the past few holidays, and I just sit and think that I don't want to do it wrong.

One question I've been wanting to know about: do you know if it's better to have copies made of old photos, or should I use the real things? I'm somewhat loath to mess up old photos...

This one that I mentioned will be a lot of journaling, too, and I don't know if I should write the things, or type them. And the people I have no photos of - should I just use their descriptions?

I think there are a couple of websites out there that give ideas on making Heritage Scrapbooks. I wouldn't suggest cutting up original pictures if it's all you have. You can always scan them or take them to a photo reprinter and get copies made of them. My mom did a scrapbook for her parents for their 50th anniversary. She didn't use original pics for wedding pics and such. We resorted to Kinkos, and they still looked okay. But I'd definitely see if you can get reprints.

Journaling always seems to look more personal if it's written out, as apposed to typed. But that's my own personal style. I'm sure typing it would be okay too. Depends on how you'd like the book to look.

My old neighborhood used to have craft night once a month. Everyone from the ct. got together in the evening and did her favorite UFO. As some of us sat and stitched or quilted, the scrapbook ladies traded scissors and books etc throughout the evenings. No costs, it wasn't a sales thing or even a fundraiser. Just a freebie night away from the kids.

It's better to make copies of the old photos. Store the originals in a acid-free box. If you are going to use original photos, please use acid-free tape or solvents(sp?) and scrapbooks. The name of the game is preservation.

I agree with JenMarie journaling appears more personal if hand-written but there are so many fonts out there that printing it out could look just as lovely.

Definitely, get detailed with your descriptions for the people you don't have a photo for.

If you don't want to use the actual old photos, you can have copies made and then give them the "antique" look by burning the edges on a stove. Be careful though! I always have at least doubles of my pictures - I use one set to actually put in the scrapbook and I keep another in a photobox.

There are many beautiful journaling pens you could use, but you would definitely have to be careful to not "mess up" if you are going to journal directly on the scrapbook. Or you could do the journaling on a seperate piece of paper that is color-coordinated and work it into the page after you have a "final copy".

I've done it both ways - typed and actually hand-writing, but I try to stay consistent in the entire book.

So it'll be awhile, lol, and I tried to cut and paste a picture of eBay with no luck. However, I think I can paste a link to a kit with this gorgeous and yummy-looking wreath....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Janlynn-Cross-St...QQcmdZViewItem

The Washington Post had 2 articles in the A section (local edition) regarding scrapbooking. If the link below doesn't work use scrapbooking as a search & get yourself a free account.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...67.html?sub=AR

That truly is a labor of love and counted cross too. Wow.

I'm impressed!! That's beautiful!! Just promise me that if you hang it in the kitchen, you'll protect it from cooking splashes!

Thank y'all for the scrapbooking hints! I have a vague idea of what I want to do - and I thought that copies would be the better way to go. Some of the Kodak machines that are do it yourself even have sepia now, too!

Some of the newspaper accounts are frankly so lurid, they're funny. The headline is in a 48 pt. font, for heaven's sake! I hate to shrink that, but I'll have to do so, even a little. If you've ever read a Victorian newspaper, you know the sensationalism I mean!

That's lovely! You'll be working on it for a while (especially if you're like me - I keep getting distracted by other projects) but it'll be beautiful when it's done.

I've always seen ads for these type of kits in Bust but I never ordered one. It's great to see a book is coming on the patterns.

For the subversive cross stitcher

Does anyone spin and card the yarn they use from natural fibers?

I'm presented my unit lesson plan today on fiber art so I thought I'd ask.

My sister and best friend do. I almost bought a spinning wheel but the cost/space plus I plan to move in 20 months made me rethink it.

I had a friend who, as a school project, helped shear a sheep, carded & spun the wool, dyed it with natural dyes, wove it, and made a coat out of it. I envy her to no end!

We had a spinning wheel in our building that flooded last year. Even though I offered to dry it out and shellac it or do whatever it took to save it, my brother told the salgavers to dump it. He almost went out with the ruined items! It was in our family for over 150 years.

On another note, I was at two different craft stores last weekend and couldn't find one stinking embroidery hoop! I'm trying a third tomorrow, but after that, I'll have to order one online. I remember when we had dozens of them. I never realized this, but my mother has squirreled away a sampler I've done every 5-6 years. This could make an interesting display or pillow set!

Try a fabric chain store ie JoAnn's/Hancocks for embroidery hoops. Anywhere that sells the DMC floss should be carrying the hoops.

Wal-Mart should have embroidery hoops and you can sometimes find them in the dollar stores if you look hard enough.

Wal-Mart doesn't carry cross-stitching supplies anymore. I went in there a few months ago looking for cross-stitch things and the woman at the craft counter said that corporate had decided not to carry that part of the craft section anymore.

I was up by my old LYS today. They used to carry cross stitch patterns and supplies, but they stopped a few years ago. I saw a sign in the window that said they had cross stitch stuff, so I figured they'd started again, parked and went in. Sadly... no. They still carry needlepoint, knitting patterns, and yarn (so... much... yarn...) but no cross stitch. :( I could have picked up some really nice yarns, but I'm on a self-imposed yarn diet. My stash is so big that one of the bedrooms in my house is known as the "yarn room". :p

Michael's carries cross stitch supplies, including kits, patterns, DMC floss, aida cloth, and embroidery hoops. HC, if there's a Michael's near you, check there. Unfortunately, they have yet to emerge into the 21st century - they do have a web site, but you cannot order online.

I was at the my state's art teacher conference and I had a chance to try felting with a needle. I loved it so much. I bought set of needles and wool.:D

Ohhh where's VandalSquirrel? We're all about knitting, except she's really good at it and I'm kind of a n00b. I'm almost done with a cable-knit scarf for my sister who moved to DC. It's getting chilly there, and it's almost her b-day!

I like to do crafty stuff cause I'm not artistic. Puff paint and googly eyes and mod podge, oh my!

What's felting? I'd love to try something new!

There are two ways to felt. One way is wet felting. I don't know how to do that because the class was sold out.

The other way needle felting is when you take roving, wool that has been washed and or dyed, and use the small barbs of the felting needle shaft to catch and lock the fibers together when the needle is stabbed in. You go at it in a straight up and down motion. There is a felting board made out of some kind of foam that you put underneath the item you want to felt. It can be done on felted canvas or batting, anything that's knitted, denim, pillows, and roving itself.

I know this isn't exactly fancy crafting, but my sister and I got really excited about making felt blankets today. You know, when you get two pieces and tie little strips together around the border? JoAnn's had a TON of different felt fabrics. Maybe 49ers blanket with tan on the other side? Hehe!