Archive for the 'Crafts' Category



The Popularity of Frances Meyer Scrapping Supplies

Wednesday 30 July 2008 @ 1:43 am
by Christine Perry

Any serious scrapper is probably familiar with Frances Meyer scrapbooking supplies. From stickers to paper and embellishments, and everything else you need to create wonderful and memorable scrapbooks, you’re sure to find it in the Frances Meyer scrapbooking supplies line of products. They’re fun, creative, and best of all they coordinate so you can make some really professional and beautiful scrapbook page layouts.

Scrapbookers love the wide range of stickers that the Frances Meyer line of products offers. They offer themes in their stickers that many other scrapbooking manufacturers don’t. Look over their line of products and you will see stickers for things like barnyard animals, fishing, kids at wedding, and even doctor’s visits.

Now you can scrapbook every day events in your live, as well as your hobbies and interests. You aren’t limited to the typical scrapbooking themes like baby albums, weddings and vacations.

Frances Meyer scrapbooking supplies product line also has a great selection of papers for your scrapbook albums. You’re sure to find just what you need for your next page layout. Virtually any theme you can think of for your pages, you’ll find a Frances Meyer paper to coordinate with it. They offer papers for seasons, sports, vacation places, and holidays.

Designed to coordinately perfectly, you can mix and match a lot of this product line. Frances Meyer also sells templates to help you create better scrapbooking pages. They are creative and give you guidance and expert direction for beautiful page layouts.

Everything you need to create lovely page layouts is included in the template, including photo frames, journaling and layout ideas. Use the template as a guideline, but remember to add your own personal touch to make it more a reflection of your taste and creativity.

France Meyer may have perfectly coordinated supplies and expert designed, they leave plenty of room for you to add you own unique ideas and apply your personal scrapbooking style. You want your scrapbooking pages to reflect your personality. They should be as unique as you are.

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Graduation Scrapbook: Ideas for High School Graduation Memories

Tuesday 29 July 2008 @ 9:07 pm
by Christine Perry

Did your child graduate this year? Four years of high school seems to go by so fast. Wasn’t it just yesterday that are graduates started kindergarten? Now they’ll be headed off to college by fall. Don’t forget to preserve and document your child’s high school graduation memories with a graduation scrapbook.

Even if you already have a school scrapbook album for your child, the high school years can fill an entire album. You don’t need to use a large album unless you want to include professional senior portraits. Otherwise, you can use a smaller format album.

The summer before your child senior year of high school, he will usually sit for senior portraits. Those special pictures should have a page in a graduation album.

There’s so much to include in a graduation scrapbook. Reserve one copy of your child’s graduation announcement and showcase it on a page. Following that page, include cards and letters from family and friends, especially ones with graduation advice. You might even include a letter from you with a personal message to the graduate. Write your hopes and dreams for their future along with advice you wish you would have been given on graduation day.

If your child is receiving a special award or honor at the graduation ceremony, be sure to design a page to highlight this accomplishment. Once the graduation is over, either include the original certificate in the album or make a copy.

If your child is giving a speech at the graduation ceremony, take some photographs of the graduate preparing and practicing the speech. Preserve his notes including any drafts and use them on a scrapbook page.

Newspapers often cover graduations. Clip articles from your local paper for a graduation scrapbook page. If you or another family member have placed a congratulations newspaper ad for your graduate, make a photocopy of it to preserve it in the album. Newspaper articles tend to fade over time, and copies will last longer.

There are so many photo opportunities during a graduation ceremony. Make a list of photos you want to take before the ceremony. Don’t forget to include pictures of your child with his family, friends and teachers.
Include high school mementoes in the scrapbook album. One page layout should show the graduation ceremony program. Scrapbook two copies on the page showing both the cover and the inside as much as possible.

Create a special scrapbook page for the graduation ceremony program. Save at least 2 copies of it so you can show both the front cover and the inside on a page layout.

Candid shots are a fun way to document graduation parties. Send a camera with your child when he attends graduation celebrations. Plan to exchange photographs with your child’s friends as well. That way you’ll have plenty of candid photos to choose from for your graduation album.

You may want to include a copy of your graduate’s final report card or grade transcripts. A nice complement to this would be a copy of the acceptance letter to the college he plans to attend.

For the final page of the graduation scrapbook, create a special page layout highlighting a photograph of your child leaving for college. You could even place a picture of your child on his first day of kindergarten next to a graduation photograph.

A graduation scrapbook will become a family heirloom. You don’t need to make it complicated. The most important part of a graduation scrapbook is to preserve and document your graduate’s special day.

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15 Tips to Chase Away Scrapbooking Burnout

Tuesday 29 July 2008 @ 5:12 pm
by Christine Perry

Are you suffering from scrapbooking burnout? Are your photos and scrapbooking supplies piling up and you don’t have the motivation to create a single page layout? Here are a few ideas to help you cure your scrapbooking burnout.

1. Learning a new technique can spark your creativity. Just find some photos and try out the technique. It’s always best to try a new scrapbooking method as soon after you learn it as possible.

2. Don’t think you have to get through your entire photograph backlog. Just pick one photo today, and showcase it on a page. Just getting started may be just what you need.

3. Give yourself permission to throw out poor quality photographs. Your backlog will start to shrink and just looking through your photos may inspire you.

4. Go through and organize your scrapbooking supplies. Can you use your materials in a new way? Or can you create new color combinations?

5. Scrapbooking magazines are designed to bring inspiration. Read your favorite magazine today for new techniques or the latest products.

6. Sign up for a scrapbooking class. The excitement of a class is a terrific boost to motivate you to get more pages done.

7. Gather your friends together for a scrapbooking crop. There’s inspiration and motivation in numbers. If you prefer not to set up a party of your own, check out your local scrapbooking store for a group crop.

8. Go shopping! Browse through your local scrapbooking store or craft store and get inspired by all the new products available.

9. Don’t think you have to be perfect. Scrapbooking doesn’t have to be complicated. Allow yourself to make mistakes and make simple pages. Not every page needs to be a work of art.

10. Sell or give away some of your scrapbooking supplies. Scaling down can help you overcome supply overload. Sometimes too many choices can keep you from taking action.

11. Don’t try to take on too much. Are you trying to create a whole album in one night? Try to scrapbook just one page at a time.

12. Join a scrapbooking community online challenge. You can find these on message boards and forums. Competing with others may jump start your motivation.

13. Have you tried digital scrapbooking? Digital scrapbooking is becoming more and more popular among scrapbookers. It’s certainly less messy than traditional scrapbooking.

14. Read online scrapbooking message boards and peek in their members’ galleries. Just reading about the excitement of other scrapbookers may jump start your own creativity.

15. Put your scrapbook albums on display. Let your family and friends enjoy your page layouts. See their faces light up as they appreciate your pages will motivate you to get scrapbooking again.

Try just a few of these ideas, and chase away your scrapbooking burnout today.

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Brother Sewing Machine Features Embroidery, Quilting And More

Sunday 13 July 2008 @ 12:26 am
by Melanie Wells

The Brother sewing machine was among the first on the market. Back in those days there was a greater interest in sewing clothing, home accessories and other items at home. After all, nice things could be had for less money and many women were homemakers and didn’t work outside the home as many do today. Brother sewing machines were the economical answer for quality sewing help at an affordable price.

One of the most attractive features of any Brother sewing machine is the fact that they still and have always stuck to a built that was both sturdy and solid. This has given the company the ability to easily compete with other manufacturers on the market, which includes big names like Singer. However, one thing that sets Brother apart from the others is the fact that they do not need to compete in ways that other companies might have to. For example, they do not need to advance too much in the technological way or create too many new advances. Brother has stuck to the manufacturing of machines that are performance and style based. This manufacturer enjoys a wide customer base that includes both adults and teenagers, for in-home and commercial use as well.

Of the many different models available from Brother, one very popular is a sewing machine and embroidery machine combined into one unique machine. Such an example is Brother’s Computerized Sewing and Embroidery Machine, which costs right around $350.00 to purchase. This model, number SE270D, comes with a host of excellent features, such as 97 different designs for embroidery and 98 different functions for stitching. Some embroidery designs include Seasonal, Floral, and Mickey Mouse, while at the same time, it offers a panel that is both LCD and Touch Screen that allows users to easily switch between stitching and embroidery at will.

This Brother embroidery and sewing machine is ideal for beginners because it has three sewing speeds and features a self-threading function. As an added exciting feature, the Brother SE270D can be connected to the Internet in order to download free patterns directly to your machine. This machine is lightweight, but sturdy, and it is economical at a price range of around $350.

Quilters now also have a machine designed for them by Brother as well. Brother’s Multiple Stitch, Free Arm, Sixty-Stitch Computerized Sewing Machine is perfect for the quilters in your life. The CS6000I can easily and expertly deal with large or small quilts, as well as a variety of other projects as well. This machine can be used to design quilts, crafts, garments, as well as home dcor. You will enjoy the wide table that is standard with this machine as well.

Another attractive feature of this machine is that each and every foot that can be used on this model comes standard when you purchase it new. It is necessary to note that some customers who purchased this machine mentioned the quality wasn’t what they expected from Brother sewing machines. However, customer reviews overall are very positive about this model. At a mere $199, this machine and its versatility can’t be beat.

Machines from Brother are on the cutting edge of technology and packed with attractive features. You’d think they would be outrageously expensive but Brother continues to offer them at very affordable prices, without sacrificing quality.

If something were to happen to the machine, in most cases, the dealer from which you bought it will have the ability to service it. However, if not or if you need to find someone to service your machine, make certain that you are taking it to someone who has knowledge and experience with Brother sewing machines. Taking care of your machine will ensure its quality and optimal performance at all times, this means oiling and cleaning regularly.

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