Rarest Words

Do you remember those days as a kid pasting newspaper clippings onto paper and bundling dozens of papers together with some fancy ribbon or a string? Do you also remember all of your hard work falling apart two months later?

Now there’s a grown up way to save and preserve your treasures: Scrapbooking.

The concept behind scrapbooking hasn’t changed since grade school. You can still place photographs, newspaper clippings, poems, and tickets into your scrapbook to display and preserve your memories.

However, scrapbooking techniques and tools have matured substantially since you were a kid. Scrapbooking albums have replaced the messy bundles of paper. These albums are generally bound or placed in a three-ring binder. In this way, your hard work won’t fall apart. Furthermore, new specialized covers allow protection from the outside elements.

Paste is also a thing of the past. Specialized glue dots and two-sided tape makes mounting your treasures simple and mess free. Many of these products are so strong that you can now decorate your scrapbook pages with ribbons, feathers, flowers, or even metal charms.

Due to these new techniques and tools, the uses of scrapbooking have expanded drastically. Scrapbooking is still used to hold personal keepsakes and for gift giving.

However, now scrapbooking techniques can be used to make baby announcements, grandparent books, gift cards, artwork for kid’s rooms, recipe books, and even educational tools.

What Do I Need to Start Scrapbooking?

The best thing about scrapbooking is that although there are a plethora of scrapbooking supplies available on the market, you really don’t need a lot to make your very first scrapbook. Basically, all you need to scrapbook is an album, some glue, a pair of scissors, and some photographs or newspaper clippings. Any fabric, ribbon, or bits of leftovers from other projects can be used to embellish your scrapbook.

As you get more acquainted with scrapbooking, you will find products that save you time and frustration. Many of these products are well worth the extra cost. At the top of this list is an exacto knife. This strong and versatile blade allows you to cut almost anything into any shape. When the blade is dull, the end is simply broken off to reveal another sharp tip. Just be sure to place the object you plan to cut onto a mat or wad or newspaper before using the exacto knife. Otherwise, the knife will cut right through your picture and into your scrapbook page or dining room table.

The next best tool is a pair of tweezers. Trying to pick up and place small gluey pieces is a hassle. Tweezers, though not very high tech, allow you to move pieces without touching them.

Speaking of gluey pieces, various glues and affixing options are available. These quick and less messy options include glue dots, two-sided tape, Xyron, acid free photo tabs, and polypropylene corners.

To increase the preservation of your scrapbook and your treasures, look for albums with acid free, lignin free pages. Both acid and lignin accelerate photo fading and general deterioration. Lignin is a chemical found naturally in the cell walls of plants. If the lignin is not removed in the paper manufacturing process, the chemical will cause the paper product to gradually yellow and crumble. Lignin and acid free products come in virtually any color and texture.

Lena Fields loves helping others to save special memories using the fun and exciting art of scrapbooking. For more scrapbooking resources, please visit Scrapbooking Success.

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When you work on a sewing project, do you have trouble trying to find your waist line?

Some waist lines are not as obvious as others. You think you know where it is, but you aren’t sure.

You need to know this even for basic sewing.

So many sewing instructions tell you to do this or that from your waist line.

If you can’t find it, how can you follow the instructions?

As women age, they get thicker in the middle and really have difficulty trying to figure out where their waist is.

Another reason so many of you have this problem is because you don’t wear garments at your natural waist line, especially in the last few years with so many garments cut below the waist.

There is a difference between where your natural waist line is and where you might wear your garments or be forced to wear your garments because of the ready-to-wear clothes available on the market today.

Here are some tips to help you find your natural waist line.

1. Tie a narrow piece of elastic around your middle

2. Bend to the right side

3. Bend to the left side

4. Bend forward

5. Bend backward

The elastic will roll to where your body bends.

Voila! That is your natural waist line.

It may not seem like the best place, but it is where your body naturally says it is.

Garments will be more comfortable there.

Don’t worry if your waist isn’t level. Mine is up in the front, down in the back, up on the right side and down on the left.

Have you ever put on a pair of panty hose, hiked them way up trying to hold in your “blubber” and watched what happened?

The minute that you bend, they will roll right to where your body bends and the “blubber” just spills out over the top.

Place a 1″ waist band at that spot on your body. Bend in all directions. Wear it around the house for a while. It should settle at your natural waistline. When it feels comfortable, continue with the rest of your measurements.

You really should use your natural waist line when you are fitting a master basic pattern. This is particularly true for pants and skirts.

Then, once you have your fit, if you choose to wear your garments below the waist, just make a design change to a copy of your master basic pattern.

Copy design changes from other sewing patterns or garments and learn how to apply them to your master basic pattern that you know fits you. Don’t start from scratch trying to fit another pattern.

The rule is: Fit your natural body, then create your designs.

It just makes sense!

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- by Marian Lewis

©2006 Marian Lewis - All Rights Reserved

1st Step To Sewing Success

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Marian Lewis is a sewing instructor and the creator of an amazing new fitting method for hard-to-fit sewing folks.

In her ebook, “Common Sense Fitting Method For Hard-To-Fit Sewing Folks Who Want Great Fitting Skirts And Pants”, find out step-by-step WHAT you really need, WHERE you really need it and HOW to apply that to a commercial sewing pattern.

For more information, go to:

=> http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com/fitting.html

Marian is also the author of other eBooks related to sewing including, “Sew A Tee Pee And Accessories For Your Tribe Of Kids” and “Classy Designer Straight Skirt” where she teaches basic and advanced sewing techniques.

To learn more, go to:

=> http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com/sewing.html

To discover sewing and fitting secrets to achieve sewing success, follow the link:

=> http://www.1ststeptosewingsuccess.com

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The popular reality TV show, Miami Ink, which transformed a South Beach tattoo parlour into a hotspot television haven, has ended after three years on the air. The stars of the show and the parlour, Ami James and Chris Nunez have declined an invitation to produce more episodes, which has ultimately ended the three year series.

The show provoked three “ink” spinoffs in Los Angeles, London and Rio. LA Ink gathered double the ratings of Miami Ink when it aired last year and set a TLC rating record for reality television. The end of the show may be an end to the popular South Beach tourist attraction. Fans regularly stop by the tattoo parlour on Washing Avenue to catch a glimpse of James and Nunez and see the legendary Miami Ink logo which adorns the front of the shop. However, James and Nunez are rarely able to be spotted; they keep their art confined to when the cameras are present and the windows blacked out.

James is worried that Discovery Communications, which own the rights to the show and the brand name Miami Ink, will force him to change the name of his parlour. So far this has not happened, and the logo still remains on the shop. The parlour has been changed into a gift shop where Miami Ink clothes and accessories are sold. Those still eager to be tattooed by the stars of the show are encouraged to check out the new tattoo studio on the same block, dubbed Love Hate Tattoos.

The good news for fans is that James and Nunez now have more time for customers. They haven’t been able to have a regular customer flow since the beginning of the show. “Now we basically have to go back to work, he said. “We all still need to feed our families.” (Quoted on MiamiHerald.com)

By Christine Pinella for Black Cat Tattoo Aftercare

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Decorative wreaths play a creative role in the decoration of homes and offices throughout the world. They can announce the start of a new season, offer condolences, or celebrate a special event, all depending on the message that one wants to convey. Wreaths can cheer up a door, window, wall, or porch. They can be made of just about any kind of materials, so anyone can have fun browsing for attractive craft items at good prices to enjoy their hobby.

If you like the looks of a wreath but you’re not sure how to get started in making one, here are a few tips that may help.

1. Take a wreath-making class. Check with a local fabric store or craft shop to find out if specialty classes of this type are being offered. If not, suggest that one become available at the advent of a festive season, like Christmas, for example. Encourage neighbors and friends to express interest or sign up and encourage the store to offer the class. Otherwise, find a helpful book at the library or bookstore.

2. Experiment with materials. You may want to start with a stock artificial pine wreath and decorate it any way you wish to see how it turns out. From there, you can try a twig or fabric wreath for a different look. You may even be able to come up with your own version of a wreath style that will look great in your family room or on the garage door.

3. Try a variety of decorating materials. You can buy cute little elves, holiday ornaments, sequins, yarn, buttons, glittery cloth, and a host of other items to make your wreath sparkle. You might even decide to make three or more, and hang them in coordinating positions throughout your home. You could mix and match the decorations to keep them thematically related, but with each one a little bit different than the others.

4. Don’t forget your pets. Make a dog bone wreath for Fido, a catnip wreath for Boots, and even a birdseed wreath for the winter birds that will be seeking food during the long, cold season. Hanging a decorative wreath on your lawn’s evergreen trees will add a festive seasonal touch.

5. Host a wreath-making party. Invite a few friends over for snacks and a wreath-making session. Set out a bevy of supplies, with each person adding to the stockpile. Then have fun putting together an assortment of designs from the collection of decorations. This is a great idea for young children’s birthday parties, especially involving girls, as long as the session is kept short.

You can make wreaths for your home or design others as house-warming gifts. You can even attach a small box of brand name chocolate or a package of nuts to go with it. Wreaths add a lovely accent to any personal space. If the first one doesn’t turn out, keep trying. You’re sure to make one that everyone can enjoy very soon!

If you would like to know more about this exciting hobby, pastime, or source of income, visit The Creative Wreath at
http://www.creativewreath.com

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Often photographs aren’t quite the right shape and size or the photographic image is improperly centered. Having oversized or off centered photographs creates an air of unprofessionalism.

Carefully cropped and sized photographs, on the other hand, enhances the overall look and feel of your scrapbook.

There are two ways to solve these problems.

The low tech way to solve these problems are to manually crop and shape the photograph using a pair of scissors or an exacto knife.

If you are manually cropping and cutting pictures, make sure that you mark the outline you want with chalk (or eye shadow if you don’t have chalk) before you cut.

Remember the old saying, measure twice and cut once.

To manually change a distracting or cluttered background simply cut out the background and replace it with a with a new paper background. This allows the eye to focus on the people instead of the clutter behind them.

The high tech solution to your photograph woes is to use modern computer programs such as Photo Editor.

Using these programs, photographs can be magically darkened, brightened, sharpened, enlarged, and cropped without ruining your original photograph.

Some programs even allow you to change the background of the photograph.

Mia LaCron is the founder of 101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - http://www.101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - devoted to helping individuals record, store, and preserve their most cherished memories via the art of scrapbooking.

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