I Finished my Homework - YAY!

The second session of my Dynamic Stitching class is this afternoon. I only just completed my homework from last Thursday’s class. It took me forever but I’m pretty pleased with it.

I used a photo of a friend’s daughter at her quinceaños. Isn’t she pretty? This journal strips say, “Quinceaños”, “Gisela”, “2005” and the main journaling is ,”lovely as the Flowers of May.”

This layout uses papers from Syndee Nuckles’ French Market and Paris Pink collections, Angie Briggs’ Scenic Route Biggie, Brandy Murry’s Rain Dance collection and Erica Hite’s Love Always Biggie.

The stitched flowers are from Amanda Sok’s A Blooming Fancy and Erica’s Love Always. I made the cream flower myself (that was part of the assignment). The lace frame came from Syndee’s Faded Beauty collection; the stitched butterfly from Sarah Batdorf’s Butterfly Fairy collection; and the buttons are by Angie, Erica and the Scrap Girls Refresh collection.

[By the way, the Refresh Biggie is free. It is a complete Scrap Girls kit intended to entice new people to digi-scrapping. Sure worked for me!]

Finally, the whole point of this class is how to use dynamic brushes. So we are using the Dynamic Brush Set: Basic Stitching along with Melissa Renfro’s EdgeIt Styles. The dynamic brushes are so cool. You know how, when you stitch by hand, every stitch is sewn individually? Well using the dynamic brush stitches is like using a sewing machine. Whirrrr … all done!

This layout was done using Photoshop CS3 .

Tags: digital scrapbooking, Scrap Girls, Photoshop, dynamic brushes, scrapbooking

Is this a Blog? Or is it a Website??

Sometimes I get confused. I find myself blogging day after day about “yada yada yada”. And then I catch myself and think, “Oh my, what about all my readers who don’t do “yada yada yada”?

Quickly I change course and start a new topic thread. Whew!

After much consideration, I’ve realized the main difference between a blog and a website. My blog is all about me. (Sorry!) It’s about what’s on my mind at any given moment.

Frequently my blog entries develop into full-blown articles for The Artful Crafter website. Other times, they kind of go nowhere and then fizzle out. Hey, that’s life …

My website, on the other hand, is kind of an online magazine about the nuts and bolts of crafting. It’s also like a database that you can search when you’re looking for something specific.

So if you’re interested in what I'm up to at the moment and what might be appearing soon on The Artful Crafter, read this blog and mark it as one of your favorites.

If you want in-depth information on specific crafts, craft projects, crafting supplies or are having problems with a project you are working on, go to my website and surf around. Or use the search box to look for what you need.

And if there’s ever anything I can do to help you out with your crafting, please leave a Comment on this blog or use the Contact Us button on the website. I personally read all my mail and answer all (serious) questions.

;-)

In a nutshell: the blog is all about me; and the website is all about crafting. I think I’ve got it!

Tags: blogs, The Artful Crafter, websites, all about me, all about crafting

How to Make Candied Blossoms

Candied blossoms are easy to do and add an elegant touch to a food display or dessert.

Some choices for candied blossoms are calendula (pot marigold), carnation, cornflower, chrysanthemum, daylily, scented geranium, gladiola, hibiscus, honeysuckle, impatiens, Johnny jump-up, lilac, miniature or wild rose, nasturtium, pansy, sweet pea, tuberous begonia, and violets.

Some of the common herb, vegetable or fruit flowers include: anise hyssop, chamomile, flowering thyme, garlic chive blossom, lavender wand, orange, peach and plum blossoms, sage blossom, and squash blossom.

Leaves alone can be used also, but be sure they are edible leaves, for example mint.

You can collect the flowers ahead and keep them in water or in the refrigerator for a day or two. A few hours before sugaring them, select the parts you want and separate them from their stems.

Remove the bitter pistils, stamens and the white section at the base of the petal if the candied blossoms are expected to be eaten. Clean thoroughly and lay on paper towels to dry.

Line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap. Spread 1/3 cup of fine or super fine sugar on a piece of wax paper.

In a small bowl, beat one egg white lightly with a fork to liquefy.

Dip a flower or leaf into the egg white and then run your finger lightly over each side to remove excess egg white.

Lay the leaf or flower in the sugar and sprinkle additional sugar on top.

Press down with your fingers so the sugar covers completely and adheres.

Transfer the coated flower or leaf to the plastic wrap.

Let your creations dry at room temperature (4 to 8 hours), then store in a metal or plastic container with a tight lid. Use within a week.

Click here for the Taste Characteristics of Edible Flowers.

Tags: candied blossoms, edible flowers, dessert decoration, sugared flowers, flower tastes

More on Carbonite and Other Online Backup Systems

I received this anonymous comment on my May 10 blog and thought it worth sharing more prominently. [See my blog entries for May 9, 10 and 12 for the entire thread.]

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On the subject of file backup, sharing and storage ...

Online backup is becoming common these days. It is estimated that 70-75% of all PC's will be connected to online backup services within the next decade.

Thousands of online backup companies exist, from one guy operating in his apartment to Fortune 500 companies.

Choosing the best online backup company will be very confusing and difficult. One website I find very helpful in making a decision to pick an online backup company is BackupReview.info.

This site lists more than 400 online backup companies in its directory and ranks the top 25 on a monthly basis.

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Good resource. Thank you.

I was pleased to see that Carbonite has ranked #1 every month this year - since I've already subscribed to it! :-)

I was also interested to see SugarSync in the current review, because I'm trying that out for syncing my files. It would also be good to have as a secondary backup.

Experts advise us to have triple backups of anything we care about. Usually they suggest: your own backup to CDs; a backup to an external hard drive; and a backup to an online service.

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time getting around to doing my own manual backups. Online and automatic are very good insurance for me!

Tags: BackupReview.info, data protection, automatic backup, Carbonite, file protection

Artsy Bloggers Roundup #10

Mary Emma at Quilting and Patchwork wonders what you think of the proposed Orphan Works Bill in the US Congress and how it will affect artists, writers, and artisans. This is a must read if you are an artist or care about supporting them and their ability to protect their intellectual property.

The incredibly talented Judy Coates Perez has done an artist profile for Layers Upon Layers. In this day of fast food and fast cars, Judy confesses that some of her creations take a year to form in her mind before she can pick up brush or needle.

If you have a die cut machine and some pretty cans, you can make your own darling Aluminum Can Scrapbook Embellishments. Just don't cut yourself to ribbons while you're making them!

Noreen has posted pics of some of the ways that she organizes and figures out Storage Solutions for her Yarn Stash. If you have storage “issues” with your art and craft supplies, you’ll enjoy this. Or it can satisfy your voyeuristic tendencies. We all seem to love to peek into other artists’ workrooms.

If you save precious photos on your computer, you need to know about Carbonite Online Backup subscription service.

Here is a link to the amazing 1000 Journals Project, in case you've missed it so far.

Chloe, from Tangled Thread had finished the Memorial Textile Altar Cloths created in honor of her grandmother. This is a beautiful tribute – don’t miss it.

Make a Scrapbook Planter to display your vacation (or whatever) memories from a plastic sour cream container.

Tags: art blogs, craft blogs, textile art, 1000 journals project, online backup, Orphan Works Bill, scrapbooking, scrapbooking embellishments

I’m Back in School Again!

I never thought I would say those words again – and especially with glee. The last formal courses I took were for the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. They were grueling, to say the least. Just something I needed to do to further my career in finance.

Now I’m back in school to further my career as an artist. (I love the sound of that – “artist”.) I can’t express how different this feels. I am loving every minute. I certainly don’t regret my finance career, but it was hard work; whereas this is pure fun.

Maybe I’ll tire of this too and need another career change 20 years from now – when I’m 82. LOL.

So let me tell you about my new school …

I just took the first session of a four-part course on Dynamic Stitches at Scrap Girls. The class is being given by graphic designer, Katherine Weaver. It was online. We got the “syllabus” ahead of time so we could have all the necessary supplies at the ready for each session.

Then Thursday afternoon, I logged onto the live classroom at Scrap Girls with the password they had provided. For the next hour, I was entranced. It was a challenge to follow the chat (or chatter!) because sometimes there were three or four questions going on at once.

I gotta go now. I have homework to finish and then I have to read the syllabus for next Thursday. Woohoo!!!

Tags: live chat, Scrap Girls, Photoshop, Dynamic Stitches, scrapbooking

Decoupage Quamut

“Quamut?” you ask. No, I haven’t misspelled “comet”; though I feel like I may have hitched my wagon to one. Tuesday I received a call from a senior editor at Barnes and Noble asking if I would be interested in writing a Quamut on decoupage.

Quamuts are comprehensive quick-reference how-to guides published online and in print. “Quamut” is from the Latin quam for “what” and ut for "to.") Quamut.com has an extensive section on Hobbies and Leisure; but, lucky for me, they don’t have anything on decoupage yet.

Decoupage started out as a small part of The Artful Crafter website four years ago. But, mainly in response to reader questions, it is now the largest category on site. The Artful Crafter was listed as one of the top three decoupage websites in the HGTV.com decoupage forum.

It seems many DIY-ers are frightened away from decoupage or try it once with unsatisfactory results and throw up their hands. I know this because nine out of ten questions we receive at The Artful Crafter relate to decoupage issues.

“Why is my ink bleeding?” “Why won’t my images stay down?” “How can I get rid of air bubbles?” “How can I decoupage a bar top for our sports bar?”

I’m here to tell you, decoupage is not rocket science. You just need a few basics to create your own professional-looking decoupage projects. If you can use scissors and glue, you can do decoupage.

I just shipped my decoupage Quamut proposal to Barnes and Noble by email. I’m so excited; I’m just about dancing on my chair! I’ll let you know their reaction next week.

Tags: Quamut, decoupage, The Artful Crafter, how-to guides, Barnes & Noble