All gone

I have shown you the three double layouts done with the Convention paper kit called Viva.  I finally sat down and made myself use it all up.  Let me clarify here that only the patterned B&T counts (you get 2 each of 3 double sided designs in a kit.)  Usually you have to ADD more cardstock but any scraps of cardstock left are just put away.  Here are the cards I was able to make.

I see that one picture should have been rotated, you will just have to lean sideways to look at it!  The happy birthday stamp shown in the last picture is from the new Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book and will be available to order on August 1st.  It is one of 8 new "M" sized mini stamps and each one sells for only $2.95.  That wonderful framed font set will also be available in a full "E" sized upper AND lower case alphabet set for just $29.95.  Our new "E" sized sets now come on two 6x6 carrier sheets and fit in the same size storage envelope as most of our other sets.  The mini's come in cute little 3x3 storage envelopes.

I must say it is a very hard thing to use up all of a pack.  Since our double sided B&T is heavy enough to support photos and embellishments, it helped that one set of the Corporate designed layouts used them.  2 sheets out of 6 used right there.  With everything else I made, I only had 3 tiny pieces left that put together may have equaled one square inch.  Normally I save EVERY little piece but I was comfortable throwing these last pieces away since it meant that this paper kit was GONE.  One down and I'm too overwhelmed to count how many are left, and a bit embarrassed, as well.  Sigh.

Stitching Progress July 27

Today I opted to play with paper all day at The Crop Room with Jennifer Bennett, another CTMH consultant, rather than go stitch.  But that doesn't mean I haven't made some progress.  I have finished my Small Sampler #4 except for the little woven flowers and one apple that I don't have the right color thread.  I don't like stitching that goes nowhere and these flowers wrap over and under spokes going around and around and around and around...  You get the idea.  So I will order the floss and finish these flowers at home where I can be distracted by the TV.

The Mary Smithies sampler has seen just a little progress, I had to "frog" (rip-it, rip-it) a couple of letters -- a couple of times!

I have added another Thursday project.  It is the Catherine Louisa Chamberlain sampler (1844) reproduced by Threads Through Time.  I don't remember when I started this but I didn't have much stitched.  It is on 25 count linen so will be easy to do at the shop.  I also don't have any idea why I started at the bottom, it is not my usual practice and is a bit more difficult.  This was a kit that included pattern, fabric and threads and there is not a lot of contrast between the thread color and fabric for most of it.  

Well, keep on checking my progress.  I will certainly try to make some!

Rock, Paper, Scissors

The conversation at the last Thursdays stitch got around to scissors, specifically the Gingher Designer scissors, which are issued a couple of times a year and then the handle design is discontinued.  Mostly, they are named with different girl's names.  They come both as sewing shears for cutting fabric and in 4 inch embroidery scissors.   I have been a collector of the 4 inch ones for several years off and on, especially when I could get them at a local JoAnne's, which has long since closed.  I like to keep a pair of embroidery scissors with each project and my WIP's (works-in-progress) are many!  And I have a stash of scissors still in their boxes, besides.  So yesterday I decided I should try to collect them all and photograph them so I knew which ones I have.  I had the empty boxes plus one lid (now that is worrisome!) and the unopened ones.  I was able to find all but one pair, Amanda.  That one has hot pink patterned handles so it can't be very lost!  In total, I have 14 pairs. I have found 14 other pairs that I do not have.  Since the asking price on E Bay for some of these is in the 3 figure range, I probably won't be getting them!  Here are a few pictures.

                                                                         
                                                 Roberta

Emily

Jamie

Coming in August

Beginning August 1st, I will be participating in a blog hop featuring CTMH's new Cricut cartridge, Artbooking.  So far there are more than 40 CTMH consultants participating and we will all feature a double layout, a card, a mini-album and a home decor or other project on our blogs.  All the details haven't been worked out yet but be sure to check back on the 1st to see some awesome stuff!

My time at Convention

Yes, I am back from Florida and catching up with everything.  I had a great time!  My roommate and I got along well, we spent a lot of time with Shari, our upline, ate and drank (not too much), walked a lot, and learned lots about the new products.  My bundles of goodies have just about all arrived, and almost all of my post convention orders are here or will arrive in the next couple of days.  I have about a mile of the green air bags that came  packed in the boxes for protective cushioning.  Since I don't have a grandchild around for the time being, I have been slowly popping them myself and putting them in with the recyclables. There aren't THAT many left, but there will be more, and more boxes.  Teddy likes both the green bags and the boxes.
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We did 4 different projects at convention.  Close to My Heart designed a paper pack and a stamp set especially and exclusively for Convention goers and gave it to us with the instructions for making two 2-page layouts.  I finished mine up at home (I have found I don't work as quickly in a group but do much better on my own) and I even got the Convention pictures printed and adhered.  Even got the journaling (the bane of my scrapping existence) done for one set!  This first layout has a fold out that holds extra photos.

 For the second set, I am waiting on one more Flip-Flap to finish.  As you can see, Flip-Flaps are the greatest thing for adding photos to a layout.  I will have six photos and my journaling piece in the space of one photo.  You can't see all of it because of the missing Flip-Flap.  (That black loopy thing is the strap of my camera, oops!  I am constantly forgetting to put it around my wrist so it doesn't get into the photo!)  That tall-appearing bird is not all that tall.  He is perched on the edge of a boat that just disappeared into the water color-wise. 

I took the remainder of the paper pack and came up with a third double layout.  I don't have photos on it yet but I really like how it came out.  This is as close as I have ever come to using up an entire paper packet.  I have just enough left for two cards, maybe 3, which I have yet to design.  I wonder if I can force myself to do that before I get started on my NEW Workshops on the Go?   Hmm.

There were 3 other projects but they are with product that isn't available to customers yet so I will wait to post these for another time, but it is pretty generally known that we have a new Cricut cartridge (WhooHoo!)  that will be available to order August 1.  There are many different double layouts where everything is pre-planned for you and several different mini-albums included on this cart.  We made an entire mini-album at Convention and since receiving my copy of the cart, I have made one half of a layout as well as some additional cuts that I used for cards.  Soon I will make the other page to go with this one but for now here is a small sample of how this cart works.  You set the size at 11 inches and everything cuts proportionally to fit your 12x12 layout.  

Isn't it fantastic?  Stay tuned for lots more goodies from our new Artbooking Cricut cartridge!

Stitching Progress 7/14/2013

Here are my two current stitching projects.  I have not been to a Thursday stitch night since I have been back from Florida, but I did work on it independently before I left.  I did go to 2nd Saturday Stitch yesterday and made a little progress on the Mary Smithies sampler.  The ladies there are always interested in how I get the blue lines in the linen and WHY?.