be AUDacious

project: December Daily

I've long been enamored with the idea of completing a December Daily, but I've never actually had things together enough to participate in the project. The closest I came was when I did Capture the Season at Simple Scrapper; here's an overview of my layouts.

After looking back through those layouts, I was inspired to give it another shot this year. Rather than completing a layout a day, I wanted something that would be more of a general overview of our annual holiday traditions. This way, I would be able to look back over the past 15 years with the girls and talk about how our traditions have evolved as our family has changed and grown, as well as reflect back on my own childhood holiday traditions.

DIGITAL SUPPLIES: I've selected Tiffany Tillman's Elegant Christmas templates for the foundation of my album. I love the ease of using templates, and this set gives me plenty of room to feature large photos, lengthy blocks of text, and simple accents -- all design details that I want to feature in my album. Using templates also allows me to vary the length of each entry; for days that require lots of photos (decorating our Christmas tree, opening gifts on Christmas morning) I can use additional pages with minimal fuss.

I've also selected Karla Dudley's Cheers digital scrapbook collection. I love the subtle color scheme and the variety of brushes and elements that come with this kit. Everything is designed for a more streamlined, graphic, modern take on the Christmas holidays.

PROJECT DESIGN: I decided early on that the easiest way for me to complete this album would be to make a list. Lists are my go-to method -- for brainstorming, for remembering, even for journaling. So I created a list (see below) of the traditions and concepts that I wanted to make sure to include in my album. Some of these things are connected to specific items in my calendar/planner. Others will just be general topics that, simply through the act of writing them down, will be in the back of my mind as I have my camera out through the month, so I'll remember to get shots of them then.

• Dickens Alley (a recreation of an authentic English alley at Christmas, held in downtown Murray)
• the Murray Christmas parade
• the Parade of Lights in Central Park and Mike Miller Park
• the lights at Opryland Hotel
• decorating the Christmas tree
• holiday baking
• winter weather
• Christmas Eve at my sister's house
• Christmas morning at our house
• preparing Christmas dinner
• Christmas celebration at Chris's parents house
• Christmas movies/television/music
• Christmas Eve girls' pajamas
• spending time with Christmas cousins

The plan is to have these pages all bound into a Shutterfly book, unless I find a great Christmas themed binder that I really like. I'm probably going to condense the templates down to 8.5x11 pages, but I won't make that decision until I actually start playing around with the design. 

I'm excited to see how this turns out, and I'm really enjoying all the glimpses of December Daily that I've seen on blogs, galleries, and Pinterest. Here's to documenting your holiday season, in any format!

the beginning of a big project

The girls took a trip out west with David and Marilee (Chris's parents) a couple of weeks ago, and I've been itching to get the photos (from 4 different cameras, no less) into a photobook. Of course, I've had grand plans to do this with all our trip photos -- the ones from our two trips to DC, our two (soon to be three) trips to San Francisco, our camping photos, my Shaker Hill pictures -- but I've never made the time to do it. I decided that it was finally time to get started, and I'll be honest, it was a set of templates that helped me pull this project together and get it out of my head and onto the screen. Tiffany Tillman's Modern Masters template collection, to be exact. The brushwork works beautifully for large background photos that fade into the paper, and then I can add all kinds of frame clusters and office-type elements on top, while keeping the look very photo- and story-centered.

Here's a look at the first four pages, with a credit list at the end.

credits:
from Design House Digital:

Tiffany Tillman: Modern Master template collection (I am modifying these, but the base begins here) 

Tiffany Tillman: Summer Templates 14, 15, 16

Sarah Schmutz: Travel Log Phrase Stamps

Jen Allyson: Real Simple Clean Frames

Karen Funk: Photo Clusters 1 and 2

Karla Dudley: Digi Essentials 11 (grungy edges)

Celeste Knight: Happy Tape

Robin Mierotto: Tag You're It

 

from Oscraps:

One Little Bird: Vagabond (white paper, compass, car tag, You are Here tag)

Paislee Press: On the Road (word art)

 

on my needles: knitting projects

I've been bitten by the knitting bug this winter. I find that I really prefer a knitting project to almost anything else lately -- it's been really meditative and soothing for me, and that's a mindspace I've been craving.

I taught myself to knit a couple of years ago and made a scarf for each of the girls. I also bought several skeins of yarn for future projects, but never went any further on those projects. This winter, I pulled the needles back out and ended up making my mom two gifts for Christmas -- a large scarf/wrap out of a soft bulky blue yarn and a variegated cowl with a simple double-ribbed pattern. Unfortunately, I didn't get photos of either.

Since then, I've been working on and have completed a number of projects, and I thought I'd share them here with you.

Over Christmas break, I knitted up several pairs of these cute wristwarmers (though I had to do a lot of pattern modifying to get them to fit the smaller girly hands I was knitting for). Cami and her cousin Kendall each got a pair in similar colors, and Cass got a pair in a colorway that I ADORE (blue, brown, flecked cream) -- though hers still need to be seamed. Oops. I knit a simple ribbed cowl for the younger girls as well, which is so versatile. They can wear it around the neck or pulled up over their ears. The yarn was an acrylic variegated type -- just the cheaper stuff from Hobby Lobby that would stand up to a lot of everyday abuse. I love how the variations in the coloring added some fun striping to the knits.

I also knitted up two cute little twirly scarfs -- well, one is completely finished and the other is still on the needles. The variegated one is for Cami, and it's really just for "decoration." She wears it with cute little thermal shirts and it adds just the right touch of color and fun to her outfits. Plus, it isn't bulky or long, which means she can wear it all day at school without it getting in the way (or getting on the teacher's nerves). Here's the pattern.

I'm also working on this one for Cass -- I'm having to take breaks from it a little more often than normal, because those short rows over and over tend to get a bit tedious after a while for me. Still, I think it's going to be really cute once it's finished.

I've had this Debbie Bliss eco cotton in my stash for ages -- I also have it in a gorgeous blue, a mustardy yellow, and a lovely orange/red. I cast on for this cowl (the first thing I've ever knitted in the round) last night while watching TV with the girls. I thought the leaf pattern would look nice with the green cotton, and while it isn't bulky, it will provide a nice "transition to spring" look and feel, I think.

I've got a scarf for Chris in the works for next week while I'm traveling, plus a couple more cowls and some baby hats and legwarmers. I've added several blankets to my Ravelry favorites list and I've even made note of some vests and other more elaborate items to get started on. I've found that keeping my iPhone handy so I can watch stitch demonstrations on YouTube has been the best knitting tool I could find -- I've branched out so much farther/faster than I would've otherwise done.

 

10 on Tuesday: the summer to-do list edition

One of the perks of my job is that I do get two months off in the summer. Since I work primarily with middle and high schools and they aren't in session during this time, there's not much for me to do in terms of work. However, there's always plenty to do at home -- things that have been put off until I have more time. Time that rolls around in just a few more days. So here's a peek at the list of things I plan to tackle this summer:

1. Paint the wire shelving unit in the bathroom. This thing is a definite hand-me-down. When we moved into our first apartment here in Murray (after leaving Clinton), we found this shelving unit out on the upstairs balcony. At first glance, we thought it might be a plant rack or something like that, but then it hit me -- it's a shelving unit to go over the toilet in the bathroom. (Which was a good thing, because that bathroom and the one in our current place are both very, very small). It's metal and somewhat rusty in places, so I plan to give it a good sanding and then paint it white.

2. Put all of these layouts into albums. I don't even know how many there are -- a couple hundred, give or take a few. They have been separated into different categories -- layouts for Cam's albums, Cass's albums, the family album, etc. I've experimented with a number of different albums, and I've found that I much prefer to just put them into three-ring binders. Last year, Wal-mart had some really pretty binders in their back-to-school collection. I didn't buy them, but I should have done so. This year, once school supplies are put out, I plan on stocking up and finally getting these layouts finished. The plan is to get a certain color or design for each person's album -- that way, we'll be able to find what we're looking for more quickly. I'll probably also add some type of label to the outside spine -- perhaps to indicate general dates or something like that.

3. Get these prints framed for Cami's room. We bought these from The Black Apple's shop for Christmas, but we still haven't gotten them framed yet. (That's something I was really excited about -- that both the girls got art for Christmas. Here's what Cass got.) At first I thought I'd buy some frames from Target, but then I remembered these older prints in the garage with these ornate gold frames. They'll look great painted white, and they won't cost me anything either. It's a win-win situation.

4. Spruce up these bulletin boards in Cassidy's room. While they're nice and functional right now, I'd like them to be prettier. And Cass has a request as well -- she wants them paint-splattered! The idea is to paint the frames white and let her splatter them with green, blue, and purple. The cork will likely get covered with fabric, though I haven't taken Cass to pick anything out yet. I'm sure it will be something in stripes, though. (There are rumors that Grandad perhaps may be working on some type of storage/display unit for all of her medals -- but I'm not sure about that).

5. Find some way to frame or display these larger prints. One is my Hatch Show print from the Damien Rice concert here on campus almost three years ago. The other is a really cool painting that Cami made in art class. I've got different bits and pieces of the girls' artwork hanging in the house, and I love the personal touch it gives everything.

6. Style this corner cabinet. The Nativity is still there because I haven't put it back into storage, and because I don't know what I want to put in its place. I think I might have to bring my sister in for this project, as she's much better at this type of thing than I am. Usually I'm okay with styling, but the triangular space is just throwing me off. This will likely be a project that will bleed over into other areas of the house, especially since I just plan on shopping what I already have (and finding a new place for the dragon collection should prove...interesting.)

7. Create a new pair of kitchen curtains from this vintage tablecloth. My mom had this tucked away, and I'm so glad she asked if I wanted it. It fits in nicely with my kitchen plans -- and the colors pick up the color of my new bread tin and some other vintage goodies really nicely.

 

8. Fill these photo frames. I've had them hanging on the wall for at least a year now, and while some are full, some still feature the generic kids from the store in them. The plan is to rework them all and fill them with a mixture of family and travel photos.

9. Clean and organize the mudroom. I'm not even going to show you a picture of this space. It's a small room that's between our garage and our laundry room, with a separate door opening to the back deck. It closes off from the main house completely and it's not airconditioned or heated, so it's really just a staging area for outdoor equipment and shoes, or storage for items that don't need to be put completely away (in the garage, for example).

10. Have a yardsale. We finally moved all of our "extra" belongings out of storage and into the garage. Not only are we saving some bucks now, we can also see that most of this stuff is just that -- stuff that we don't want or need anymore. While there are a few things we plan to keep, most of it will be finding new homes.

Hopefully I'll be able to check back in during August and update you on the progress of these items, in another 10 on Tuesday post. What kinds of makeover or other projects do you planned for summer?

project: 2010 calendar

Right now I'm sitting at the airport, waiting to board a plane for Houston, where I'll be until Wednesday. I wanted to remind you that r3wind will start tomorrow, so make sure you pop in to check out the first lesson. I'm really excited about how this whole project and class has come together -- serendipity.

Last year, I ordered a great little printable calendar from Etsy and hung it in our living room on a series of small clipboards that I had stashed away in the craft cupboard. Fast forward to 2010: I knew I wanted to do something similar again, but I just couldn't find a calendar that really caught my eye. Then Liz released her calendar templates, and I knew exactly what to do with them -- combine them with some of my favorite photos from our San Francisco trip last summer.

I love the graphic style of the calendar at the bottom, mixed with the faded retro feel of the photos.
I originally printed the pages at 4x6, but they just looked too small on the clipboards, so I reprinted at 5x7, which turned out to be the perfect size.

To get the photo effect, I combined Pioneer Woman's Seventies action with her Sunshine action. On top of that, I added one of Emily Powers' new Photology overlays -- these can be purchased as part of the Songbird Avenue Port au Prince kit benefiting the charity Doctors Without Borders.

I printed them on white cardstock, although matte photo paper would be a great option as well. I've been superbusy, so I didn't get all 12 months taken care of, but I do have my photos selected and a workflow in place, so I'll be able to quickly sit down, edit the pics, add them to the album, print and trim them.

oh my holy crap

Yes, those were the words that came out of my mouth just a few minutes ago. Actually, they followed a huge GASP that brought the girls running: 'What, Mama? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

The answer is an emphatic YES! I am more than okay, because the Internet Gods love me today. They do.

You know how you can get caught up in the whole blog-hopping, link-clicking goodness that the internet provides, right? (I know I'm not the only one guilty of looking down and realizing I've been reading blogs for the last 2 HOURS, am I? AM I?) So here I was, checking out a post by Kerry Lynn (she's got a great giveaway going on, fyi), and I noticed a link to Inside a Black Apple in her sidebar and thought, 'Hmmm...haven't visited in a while." So I click over, read exactly 2 posts, and saw these words.

Renegade SF.

Could it be? The Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco, that lovely place I will be visiting exactly one week from tomorrow?

I was almost too afraid to click the link. But click it I did, and OH MY HOLY CRAP, look what I found.

San Francisco indeed. And do you see the dates? Do you? DO YOU SEE THEM?

That's the Saturday I'll be arriving in town, around 11:30. Sunday is full of other plans, but I plan on begging, pleading, and promising any number of things if my husband will agree to a few hours at the craft fair on Saturday afternoon.

I plan on pouring over the list of artists this evening and making up a little wish list of booths I'd like to visit. I know I won't be able to see them all, so I'm going in with a plan. Oh, I'm so excited!

tutorial: iron-on transfers

I love using t-shirt transfers to make personalized tote bags -- that's become my go-to birthday gift for kids and friends. It's perfect packaging for a few well-chosen small items, and so easy to create and personalize. I wanted to put together a nice tutorial for you, so enjoy!

T-shirt transfer paper (also called iron-on transfers) is specifically designed to transfer a printed image onto fabric with the application of heat from an ordinary household iron. T-shirt transfer paper works with any number of software programs, from the easy-to-operate Microsoft Word to more sophisticated graphic design programs such as Adobe's Photoshop CS or Elements. Many brands of t-shirt transfers, such as Avery, also feature pre-designed templates that make image design a snap. Most transfers are designed for use with inkjet printers, as the heat from laser printers can affect the transfer paper and printed image.

TYPES
T-shirt transfers come in two types: transfers for light fabrics and transfers made specifically for dark fabrics. If you're going to be printing your designs onto white, light gray, or other light-colored surfaces, then choose transfers designed for light fabrics. Dark materials, such as black and dark blue or gray, call for transfers created expressly for use with these colors.

What's the difference? Light colored transfer paper is much thinner and essentially allows the color from the t-shirt to show through the transfer. That's why images printed on light transfer paper don't show up on dark fabrics -- the images end up blending into the material. Transfer paper created for dark t-shirts, on the other hand, is solid white, so no color from your backing material shows through the printed image.

PROS / CONS
Light transfers are most susceptible to peeling and cracking (because they are thinner) and can often feature a "halo" effect around your ironed-on image, even with careful trimming. On the other hand, dark transfers always require trimming unless you want a solid white outline around your transfer image (these transfers feel more like a thin vinyl sheet). However, colors are richer and more true-to-life with the dark fabric transfers, which is a definite bonus.

AVAILABILTY
T-shirt transfers are sold in packages ranging from 5 to 12 letter-sized sheets; prices range anywhere from $10.00 to $15.00 per package. Whenever possible, print multiple projects at once so that you can combine them onto the same sheet. This allows you to get the most use out of each sheet, thus saving money.

HOW TO USE THEM:
Although manufacturer directions for each brand of transfer paper vary, the basic procedure is generally the same. (*Note: The photos shown use light-transfer paper.)

1. Create your image using the software of your choice. It's best to choose an easy-to-trim image with no free-floating text.
2. Print your image. If you are using light transfer paper, you will need to flip or reverse your image. This setting is normally included under printer options on most printers. Some printers also have a specific setting for transfer paper, which will automatically flip your image. If you are using dark transfer paper, you DO NOT reverse the image. It's important to pay close attention during this step of the process so that any text will print and transfer correctly. Also, make sure you are printing on the correct side of the paper. Most transfer paper will have a blue line or a manufacturer's graphic on the back.
3. Trim your design, sticking as close to the edge as possible. Save any portions of the page that can be used for future projects. At this point, if you are using dark transfer paper, you'll peel the paper backing from the trimmed image. You won't remove the backing from the light transfer paper until after you've ironed the image and let it cool.
4. Prep your workspace. Use a flat, hard surface (an ironing board is NOT recommended) no taller than waist height, and cover your work surface with a pillowcase. Set your iron to the hottest setting but do not use steam. In fact, it's best to make sure that your iron is completely dry so that you don't risk accidentally ruining your transfer image.
5. Iron your fabric surface to remove any wrinkles (and any moisture that might be present). Place your transfer image onto your fabric surface. Dark transfers should be placed image-side up, while light transfers should be placed image-side down. Cover the image with the parchment paper, if it is included in your transfer package.
6. Iron over the image, making sure to cover all areas of the image, particularly the edges. Use firm pressure -- it is best to apply as much of your weight to the process as possible. Begin by applying 20 seconds of pressure to all areas of the image and then continue with side-to-side and up-and-down strokes for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Check the edges of the image. If they do not look firmly attached to the fabric, continue to iron with more pressure. Allow the image to cool for a couple of minutes before removing the parchment paper (on dark transfers) or the paper backing (on light transfers).
8. Follow the manufacturer's directions for washing and care of your item.

TIPS
You can also add dimensional embellishments such as glitter, rhinestones, buttons, puff paints and more to your transfer image. If you are working with multiple images, I suggest keeping the original image covered with parchment paper so the iron won't melt and distort the base image. Here are a few more tips to keep in mind when working with t-shirt transfer paper:

• Keep your background color in mind. When using transfers for light colors, any white portions of your design will not be printed by your printer. Once you iron on the image, those portions will be blank and the color of your fabric will show through. If you need to have white portions in your design (teeth, eyes, etc.), then use transfer paper for dark material and trim closely around the main design.
• Conversely, remember that any design printed on dark transfer paper will have an opaque white background. If you want your background to blend in, either choose a color that matches your fabric or choose an overall design that allows for easy trimming.
• Always print a test copy of your image onto regular printer paper. This lets you check image size, colors, design and more without wasting your transfer paper on possible mistakes.
• Test on scrap fabric. If possible, print a small image and transfer it to a piece of scrap fabric, such as the cut-offf sleeve of an old t-shirt. If you are working with canvases for wall hangings, purchase a small canvas (3 or 4 inches) and use it as a test surface.

Here are a few additional projects that I've created using iron-on transfers; if you've created any, feel free to link them in the comments.

These three images are photographs, layered with a number of textures and edges, printed onto dark transfer papers and then ironed onto flat artist canvases. You can also iron these images on top of painted canvas too.

'cause that's what life does

I thought, with summer quickly approaching (the last day of school is Monday!), that it would be nice to do a quick check-in on some of the long-term projects going on around here. Once school ends, my work schedule will change too. Because the work I do involves high schools, there's not much for me to do (other than prep for the upcoming year) during the summer months. As a result, my work week decreases from 5 days in the office to just 3 a week. Of course, I'm responsible for still checking in via email during those two off days, but being able to do that from home makes such a difference in all the things I'm able to complete.

Our garden is coming along. We've had a good bit of a struggle with it. We got everything planted about a month ago, and then it proceeded to rain for two weeks straight. We lost all our carrots, spinach, most of our cucumbers, and most of my sunflowers. Luckily, we had enough seeds left over to go back in and plant more beans and onions. Everything seems to have fared nicely -- we recently got another bout of rain and everything just shot up over the weekend. I'm excited to watch it grow; I know that not everything will go perfectly, especially since this is our first year, but it's a process that I'm just enjoying as it happens.

My knitting has fallen to the wayside for the last month, as has the embroidery. I haven't given up on them; it's just a matter of finding a little spare time to work on them. What I'd like to do is ride up to campus with the girls on my off days and sit and knit or embroider while they play on the quad. There's so much great open space to run and play in, and the bike rides will be nice exercise too.

Speaking of exercise, Chris and I have fallen off the wagon. However, we just did some rearranging in our bedroom and made some room for the weight bench. Now that my thyroid meds are closer to the appropriate levels, I'll finally be able to see some results. Plus, we'll have some built-in exercise time in the evenings while Cass is at JV soccer practice.

I'm making good progress on my reading list too. I set an informal goal to read 96 books for 2009; I'm sitting at 48 right now, with two in progress. I'm hoping to have time to do some more formal-type reviews on the blog; we'll see how that goes.

I've been toying with the idea of making a list of things we want to do this summer with Chris and the girls; Erika does this with her family and I think it's a fantastic idea. What about you -- what's on your summer to-do list?

looking for fabric suggestions

I want to make a really lightweight blanket that I can roll up and tie; it needs to be big enough that Chris and I can sit on it at the park or cover up with it on the plane, but I also want it to be able to roll up into a really small bundle. I have a great messenger-bag type camera bag that I'll be carrying while we're in San Francisco this summer, and my plan was to just slip this rolled-up blanket under the flap so that I can carry it with me while we're out wandering the town.

Do y'all have any suggestions for fabric types that I could use to make this blanket? Thanks so much!

on my way home

Today is my last day in Frankfort (state capitol of Kentucky, in case anyone was wondering); the other Gear Up grant staff from various locations throughout the state and I have spent the past three days working on evaluation tools, activity design, and program regulations for the upcoming year. We'll head back to the office in Murray this evening and spend the next few weeks really processing this information and figuring out how to make it work in our particular area. We face a few challenges that the other host institutions don't have to deal with, so much of what we get from the state agency that wrote our grant has to be modified.

I know that my littlest will be glad that I'm home -- she's told me every single night that she hates me being gone and wishes I could come home right away. She's our homebody, and she likes being home with Momma and Daddy and Sis with her. I'm guaranteed to be welcomed with plenty of snuggles... I'm ready to see my big girl too, as she had an accident yesterday evening. Seems she was climbing a tree -- a tree where she had stacked some small logs in the fork -- and one slipped and down she fell. Luckily, no major injuries, but she does have a pretty nasty scrape/bruise on her thigh. See:

While I finish up my work here, I wanted to share with you some hybrid projects created by my team. I think they do an incredible job of really showing how versatile the digital medium and these products really are.

First up, this great card from Terri using Bitty Bots:

Pamela created a gorgeous wall hanging using the Express Yourself papers and quotes, plus those adorable (if I do say so myself) Thumbprint Birdies:

and finally, Lori created this genius clock, using a variety of products but really putting the Framed Quotes to FANTASTIC use (there's more great info on her blog):

Oh -- I almost forgot! Thanks to all of you who stopped by and left a comment yesterday. I think I'll just be keeping everything here in one spot, though I will try to do better about categorizing everything. I just started that recently, and I think it's helping a great deal. I'm also playing around with some different permanent pages too (like the one for my scrap resume). I think I'm slowly but surely getting things the way I want them. And just for playing along, Sandie was the lucky winner of my random giveaway! YAY!

I like the mix. But I would like the other way, as well. I know that's not much help. I enjoy reading your blog... and if you split it... some days I might have to choose which one to go to. I would prefer, I think, keeping them together.

Posted by: Sandie | May 05, 2009 at 10:37 AM

Sandie, send me your address -- I'll email you soon to get the info too, in case you don't see this.