Pillows, 67 years in the making

In the last year both my godparents, my father's brother and his wife, passed away.  He was the last of my parents siblings.  After my cousin cleaned out the house and distributed what was to go to the children and grandchildren, she generously let each of the nieces go through and select something for ourselves.  I chose a cake plate and an embroidered dresser cloth.  My cousin told me that my aunt had done the embroidery on this cloth when my uncle was serving in Korea during the war.  They were newlyweds and she wanted to make some things for their housekeeping when he returned.  She was training to be a nurse while he was away.

The cloth had embroidered flower basket designs on each end that were in good condition.  However the rest was in terrible shape. There were large holes, small holes, brown spots. I soaked the cloth in Oxyclean for several hours and got most of the staining out.  I was amazed that the embroidered areas were unharmed save for a tiny shadow and one tiny hole.

The embroidery was a youthful design so I thought they should go to some of the younger girls in the family.  I cut them up, added quilt fabrics in a log cabin design and turned them into pillows. The purple pom pom fringe finished the outside.  On the back, I was able to use the only other salvageable thing from the cloths, the lace, on the zipper plackets.  I embroidered my aunt's and my initials on the back as well.

This week I was able to give the pillows to their new, young owners so they can have a little piece of their great grandmother for themselves as their time with her was too short. She lived across the road from my parents and was part of my life for over 50 years.  My mother only recently told me that my aunt was in the delivery room with her when I was born.  That must have been comforting for mother because back then, dads didn't go in with the mother. So typically a new mom would have no one she knew well there with her during delivery.

My aunt was someone you could always talk to and seek advice.  She paid attention to our lives and was a joy to visit.  She and my uncle even sweated (literally) through a 3 hour graduation ceremony in a gymnasium when I finished college.  I loved them both and I miss them.  Working on the pillows was a gift to me as well.

Soon I'll have a new scrapbook process video for you to kick off the new year.  Be safe as you travel and celebrate the arrival of 2019.

Mixed Media for a Decorative Box

My favorite holiday event is an annual party at my local knitting shop. I love the company most of all. We have good food, door prizes and a fun gift exchange.  With the exchange, you keep the gift you get, none of the time consuming swapping.  Everyone brings a small dollar value gift.  Many people do gift certificates to the shop wrapped cleverly or included with something handmade.

I wanted to do nested boxes.  Unfortunately, Hobby Lobby seems to have stopped selling the ones in the mixed media supplies. I found a box at Home Goods that I liked and decorated that.  Then inside I put my gift which was some gold $1 coins in a little bag; I thought they would add weight and tinkle a little as gifts were passed around.  So the recipient had to take the paper off the outside, open the box and then open the little bag.  She seemed to really like it.  I chose neutral colors because I didn't know who would get my gift.  There are several ladies like me who love the blues and greens but I couldn't be sure one of them would get the gift.  The recipient said she had just redecorated a room that this would be perfect in.

Here is the video for how to decorate a plain box:



I won a door prize - yarn to make a cowl and it is in green, my favorite color!  Such a fun event. Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

Thankful for You booklet

Happy Thanksgiving!

Several weeks ago I wrote my mother a letter to say some of the things I always wanted her to know that I felt about her.  I even made some discoveries as I was writing.

This was prompted because I didn't say everything I wanted to to my father before he died.  As far as I know, Mother and I are both in good health.  I didn't want to wait until one of us wasn't or something happened and I missed my chance.  I was going to say these things out loud to her and someone suggested I put it in writing instead.  I think that was wise as she has something she can read again if she wants.  If her memory fails her, she will always have the words written down.  None of us remember that much of what we hear anyway.

The video shares a bit of this idea and the process I used for making this card which is sort of a booklet. It is only 2 pages inside front and back but you can pack in a lot of text in those two pages.  You can use this idea for anything you want to capture and share.

Here is the video in YouTube:



Thanks for watching! I'm very thankful for my viewers and all the wonderful feedback received.

Young at Heart

My husband will always be young because he is young at heart.

He had fun running through the fountain on his birthday last summer.  I know he picked this location because he knew Mother would enjoy an outing to a garden. What a sweet man!

For the layout, I used plain cardstock for the background and punched some elements from bright papers.  I wasn't sure about these at first but they worked.  I think the title here is a key element to set the mood.  The page really didn't need a lot of journaling.

Here's the process video:



Thanks for watching!

ETA photo of new refrigerator to post on a message board.  There is a story behind this and it will surely make a scrapbook page some day...

Quilting Update: Hourglass Quilt pieced, Baby Quilt finished

This quilt was completed for the Linus project.  This organization pairs quilts with children in need of security.  Just as Linus had his security blanket, a handmade quilt or blanket gives comfort to a child.

I shopped my stash first and then added a few other fabrics for the pink and lavender color scheme.  The pattern is a combination of a couple of designs I saw in Crafty classes. It is a simple 4 patch design of 6 1/2" squares joined together with friendship stars in the sashing.  I got to practice several free motion quilting designs while quilting.  I quilted this one as one large piece.

For the next quilt, I'm dividing it up and that is part of what the video is about. The Hourglass quilt made from some fabrics from Northcott's Chloe collection and many others that I've found will be a large bed quilt for us.  I love the red, yellow and teal color scheme.

I filmed this the weekend that Hurricane Florence made its way across the Carolinas.  I left that part in the video even though I'm just now getting it posted. After Florence cleared and we knew we had no problems, we left on a trip so I'm just getting home and caught up.  I've never done so much advance prep for a storm.  I did so much that I really didn't end up cooking much the actual weekend of the storm.  I think my Dh got a little tired of eating my 'storm food' even though much of it was home baking I'd done in advance.  We were fortunate to only get 5 inches of rain, a little wind and not lose power.  Many of use still remember Hugo (1989) for which we were not prepared and had a 5 day power outage here 260 miles inland.

Anyway, here's the video:  (baby quilt at 12 minutes 44 seconds in.)



Since I filmed this, I've started the actual quilting. The results are mixed and I try to remember I'm still learning to machine quilt.

Thanks for watching!

Knitting Update on Projects and Setting Dye

Have you ever bought a yarn or fabric only to be heartbroken when you washed it and the color runs?  I found something that works for me - Rit Dye Fixative which I bought at Michaels. I can't guarantee it will work in all situations but I've tried it with several quilt fabrics and recently with a sweater made from yarn that bleeds.  I'm very pleased with the results.  This product and how it works are in the last part of the video below.

I did not get into many details about how I constructed the completed light blue/green sweater (shown at right) in the video.  I did not use a pattern for this.  While I have many patterns added to my favorites on Ravelry, increasingly I find it more enjoyable to just work up my own sweaters using a stitch pattern from one of the Treasury of Knitting Pattern books and figure out the fit as I go using my own measurements and working off of a favorite sweater or top.

To create the blue/green sweater, I worked a swatch for the gauge and then calculated how many stitches I would need for the bottom edge based on my measurements.  As I explain in the video, I made a simple math error and did this wrong the first go round but after restarting I got a good fit.  I knitted the pattern for a few inches and switched to all stockinette.  I also mentioned in the video how I left some stockinette all the way up to work decreases to the waist and then a little increasing up to the bust line.  I learned about this in the Sweater Modifications for a Custom Fit class on Craftsy.com. This is an excellent class to help with fitting.  I use some of these concepts now but I do not use her pattern.  I also tend to remeasure a lot.

When I get to the armholes, I follow another sweater or top that fits the way I want the one I'm making to fit.  I just measure how much I need to decrease and work out how many stitches to bind off at the beginning of rows and for how long to get my desired fit.  For example, if I have a gauge of 6 stiches per inch and I need to lose 1 inch over the next 4 rows, I would bind off 3 stitches at the beginning of every other row.  I added a little more pattern stitch to the top of this sweater as I felt it would be a bit plain otherwise. (And I get bored with stockinette.)

For the neckline on this sweater, I had a Talbots blouse that had a rolled collar and a keyhole back and it was my inspiration.  To get the rolled effect, I picked up stitches around the neck working in a 2x2 rib for about an inch and then did all stockinette for a few more rows which naturally rolls after binding off.

This is a simplified version of what I do.  I like playing with different stitch patterns and I don't mind doing fitting for myself in knitting.  Knitting has far more give than sewing does which to me is far harder to get a good fit.

I'm doing this same idea with the vest using a zip front vest in my wardrobe as the model.  I've never put a zipper in my knitted garments so that will be a new adventure.  I love making things that I know I will wear.  So far I've worn all my knitted sweaters several times each.

Here's the video of my projects for the last couple of months:



Thanks for watching!

2 pager with Stenciling

I'm back with a two pager and process video.  I FINALLY got some photos printed. The first part of the video shares some of those and selecting which photos to jump back into scrapbooking on my first layout in several weeks.

For this two pager, I used kraft cardstock, stenciling and some wood veneer to fit the mood and keep it simple.  Here is the process video:



Soon, I'll have an update on some of my other crafts as well. 

As a reminder, if you have purchased a class in the past, please watch any videos from the classes you would like before October 1.  As announced earlier this year, all classes will go away at that time. This does not affect sketchbooks. All of my other process videos will still be available.

Thanks for watching!

Art Journal Page and Clearing out Mists

I can't believe how long it has been since I played with my art journal.  It started because I wanted to move my mist collection.  I'm not using the mists that often anymore so they really don't need to be on display.  To move them to a basket inside a cabinet I needed to reduce the collection by at least 10 bottles.

The art journal page is where I used some of them one last time and also played with a few mists that I haven't used in a long time.  See both the sorting and the process for this page in the video.  In the video, I use some bookpapers.  You can find bookpaper and music paper collections at my Etsy shop:  Lovely Layers Art
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LovelyLayersArt

The video is here:



Thanks for visiting today!

Traditional Quilt in Progress

Quilting has been a craft I've picked up from time to time, making a couple of projects and then putting it aside for something else.  Most of my projects in the last 20 years have been less traditional.  I've done watercolor quilts where you take 2" squares and arrange them by value to create a design.  I've done other modern things of that type.  I did make a string quilt for our bed a few years ago but that doesn't really take a pattern.

I was finally in the mood to go back to more traditional quilting. I wanted to make something with half square triangles but I did not want stars.  Turns out such a block is a bit tough to find.  I settled on this block from Generations Quilt Patterns called the Hourglass block.  There are many other free quilt block patterns on this site.

I wanted mine to finish at 12" square and I wanted to use some quick cutting/piecing methods.  Here are a couple of those I found that I liked.

No Waste Flying Geese (this is the site I consulted though there are others)

Making 4 Half Square Triangles at once  These may finish at odd sizes and need to be cut down. 

The main fabric I used is from Northcott, the Chloe collection. 

This video shares how I selected my fabric and how the quilt is coming along.  Also it shows the No Waste Flying Geese technique starting about 12 minutes in.



I'm alternating working on this quilt along with the baby quilt and other projects as I have time.  I enjoy having several things going so I don't get bored working on one thing all the time.  Also if I get to a tough spot on a project and just have a few minutes, I can jump over to something easy on another project.

The next video will be back to papercrafting as I try to pare down my mists and do an art journal page.  Thanks for watching!

4 card designs, one stamp set

To create all of these cards, I started with Stampin' Up!'s Blooms and Wishes which contains several small floral designs, leaves and a few greetings.  This set is discontinued; however, any set with floral or other small designs would work.  I used a few other stamps for greetings and one background stamp - the wood grain.

Here is the process video for creating these cards:


Follow me on Instagram for more crafts, flowers and a little food:  https://www.instagram.com/lisaecherd/

Thanks for stopping by!

My first Free Motion Quilt

It's done!  My first free motion quilted quilt!  I've tied or tacked quilts.  I've used the walking foot, I've even hand quilted - a very long time ago.  But I'd never done more than a few frustrated minutes of free motion quilting until April.  I was determined to finally learn this. I still have quite a way to go but am very pleased with this first effort.

This is also an Improvisational Quilt - something I'd never heard of until a few months ago. You can learn many of these skills from YouTube videos. I used my Craftsy unlimited subscription to help me.

I used several Craftsy classes or rather parts of them to help me complete this project.  Here are all the ones I can remember:

Machine Quilting in Sections
Machine quilting Borders and Backgrounds by Angela Walters for the swirls
Improvisational Piecing
Start Up Library - Quilting
Fearless Free Motion

Here is the video sharing the quilt:


I have already purchased at least some of the fabric for 3 more projects with one underway.  I'm pleased that this one used a lot of what was in my stash so that makes me feel extra good.  So good that I bought all that new fabric.  Oh well, it means I must get to sewing.

(Adding these photos of a dress I bought at a consignment store so I can link them elsewhere on a Tag sale thread.  Great deal for $30 - fully lined.

Thanks for visiting!

Papercrafting Projects using my Stash and Upcycling

I remember the days when I kept a well stocked drawer of wrapping paper and ribbons. I really didn't like gift bags, I preferred a wrapped gift.  I still enjoy wrapping gifts but admit that I'm more likely to do a gift bag particularly when it is an odd shape or didn't come in a box.  Since I don't do a lot of gifting, I don't think to pick up gift wrapping supplies, which leaves me scrambling to make my gifts presentable.


In this video I share a couple of gift bags I've made from store bags.  The main part of the video shows some cards I did for my husband for one of his trips.  I tuck them into the pockets of the clothes in his suitcase as a bit of a surprise.  It isn't that much of a surprise anymore as he has come to expect them but I still think he enjoys reaching into a pocket and pulling out a handmade card with a little note. They take hardly any time and are a great way to use up supplies particularly stamps and stickers.

Finally, I have a canvas I made a year ago for a baby shower.  It was prettier in person than the video.  I hope the still shots will help.

Here's the video:



Thanks for watching.  I hope you have a safe and fun holiday week.

An update on my knitting projects

My latest vlog shares an update on this shawl:

And the start of this project:

Here's the video:

At the end is a quick look at where I am in quilting.  It's been a busy week as I did some cushions for my mother as well.  I haven't done in papercrafting this week but I need a couple of birthday cards so I know I'll be making those soon.

Thanks for visiting!

Inspiration from Paper

Almost always, I choose my photo first.  This time I was just puttering around my craft room looking for inspiration and decided to pick a paper collection that I liked and wanted to work with.  Then I would choose the photo.

The collection is a kit from Kaisercraft.  It has been partially used but I found plenty there to work with.  The process video is here:


Stay tuned for another vlog video coming along. I've been busy quilting. I've finished a small knitting project and am forced - forced, I tell you - to shop for yarn for another project.  :-)

Thanks for visiting!

Quilting Progress Video

For my Vlog video this week, I am concentrating on quilting.  I had much to share and thought it made sense to do just one craft per video.  I'll probably do another quilting one soon.  Also I'll do separate videos on papercrafting and from time to time, knitting.  I don't knit that much per day so I typically only complete one project every couple of months.

In the video, I share a quilt top I pieced a few weeks ago after doing a portion of an Improvisational Piecing class on Craftsy. I'd never heard of Improvisational quilting until I was watching one of their series featuring several quilters telling their stories. I love the freedom of this type of piecing.  It is sort of an anything goes approach and you don't have to be super picky about measuring and cutting. When I started I just wanted to use up some of my older fabrics.  For the background the only thing I had enough of was a black and gray fabric.  I added another one and it has created some drama. It is also going to create a little bit of a headache and eyestrain, too.  Quilting on black fabric is akin to knitting black or navy yarn.  It's just harder to see.  I hope it means it is harder to see the imprecision of my free motion quilting, too.  ;-)

A class I bought on Craftsy last fall but only recently watched is Marti Michell's Machine Quilting in Sections.  Marti shares many methods for joining your quilt pieces after they are quilted. I give some of my impressions of these with some sample quilt blocks.  I used Angela Walters Dot to Dot techniques for much of the quilting.

I am planning to use a swirl design on the background of Improv quilt.  My swirls are looking a little better thanks to some YouTube videos by Melanie Ham and Leah Day and the practice I'm doing.  I share in my video how I'm replicating my quilt top on a practice piece so I can get the feel, literally, of how much fabric I can manage on my machine at a time.  This will also help me determine which of Marti's methods I want to use to finish this quilt top which is about 65" square.  That's not so terribly big but for someone new to free motion working in now a much smaller space, it seems huge.

Lastly, (surprise!) I went shopping.  So I have a sneak peek of some fabrics new to my stash. I do have a plan for these and will share that in another video.

Here's the Vlog video on YouTube:


Thanks for watching!

Hidden Photo and Journaling

When I first started making this page, we were several days into a very rainy late May.  The photographs though were taken on a very sunny day in late April at Hunting Island State Park near Beaufort, South Carolina.

To put all five photos on the page is a bit crowded, so I have two photos back to back and am using a Washi tape trick I spotted on Pinterest long ago to create a little door so you can see the other photo and also some journaling.

The embellishments are a hodge podge from all sorts of places.  I don't think any two things came from the same collection or even manufacturer.

Here's the process video for the page:


Thanks for watching today!

Cardigan finished! Stamp catalog here! and fabric find

For my Vlog video this week, I'm sharing a completed cardigan, a cap I knitted, my thoughts on selecting stamps, some stamps sets I want to move out eventually and some fabric I found in my stash.  The video runs a bit longer and I've marked the location for the knitting part if you aren't interested in all the stamp stuff.  The fabric bit is short and at the end.






Here's the video with the links below:



Here are links to things I mentioned in the video:

Stampin' Up! online catalog:  https://www.stampinup.com/en-us/product/catalogs
My demonstrator is Mary Fish at:  https://stampinpretty.com/
When I get them photographed and published, the stamp sets in the video will be on LovelyLayersArt Etsy shop for a few weeks or until they sell.

The hat I knitted is a pattern that came from this book:  Weekend Hats on Amazon
(I checked out a copy from the library)
The cardigan is from a tunic pattern in the spring Creative Knitting magazine.  You can find it here: Spring 18 Creative Knitting
I still think it would be beautiful as a tunic; a cardigan just fit my needs better.  I do not have my version typed up; I tend to work out bits as I go and no nothing about sizing or other people.  I'm still working on sizing for myself - ha!  Oh, and that would be easier if I'd lay off the Tostitos (one of my weaknesses.)
The Craftsy knitting class mentioned is from Anne Hanson and is here:  Button Bands and Buttonholes

I hope you enjoyed the video.  I'm combined a lot of stuff in one.  I haven't decided yet if it is better to do that or just save up projects and perhaps do a knitting video every few weeks and then a quilting video now and then.  Still figuring out the best way. I appreciate all the positive feedback I received on last week's effort.

Adding these photos of the cardigan so I can link other places:

Thanks for watching!

New Two Pager

There is something I've always wanted to learn to do.  Free motion quilting.  I have myself a Craftsy Unlimited subscription intending to watch more cardmaking classes and cooking classes and soon ended up in quilting.  All this is to say that I've been mildly obsessed with making an improvisational quilt (from one class) and learning to free motion quilt it (from about 4 other classes).  So I just haven't done a lot of papercrafting.

Finally I got some photos printed and I'm pleased with this two pager is a two pager.  We went to Hilton Head Island a few weeks ago before monsoon season hit, fortunately.  This is one of those 'around the island' collages of various things we saw. Many of them were biking but a couple from the beach.  I've used items from two different paper collections and lots of embellishments.  I even broke out the mist.  Mist is something I like when I remember to use it and it actually still sprays.  It is not something though I want to further invest in. When what I have is gone or stops spraying, it's gone.  I'm short on space.

So here's my process video:


Thanks for waiting patiently for a new video. I'll try to get some more things up soon.  Did you see my Vlog video?   It's sort of an 'around the craft room' video  likely weekly or bi-weekly just to show what I'm working on.  It could be sewing, knitting or papercraft or even cleaning out stuff. Thoughts?



Thanks!

What's been happening

If you have followed me for awhile, you know that it is very unusual for me to go several weeks without doing a papercrafting video.  I've done a few cards but mostly I've been learning to free motion quilt.  I thought it might be fun to share what I've been working on in a video so I have my first Vlog on YouTube:








Let me know if you like this type of video and what you would like to see.  Thanks!

Stamps to move for shipping cost only

Edited:  Package now has a new home!  Stay tuned, there may be more things as I keep cleaning up.

I am cleaning up my craft room and moving some things out.  These stamps are available to the first person who emails me at lynnelisa@bellsouth.net with an email address I can send a PayPal invoice to. Cost is $15 which covers priority mail shipping to a US address only. Payment must be received within 48 hours of Paypal request.

All sets are complete except the Amy Tan one is missing the safety pin stamp and the Christmas one is missing a couple of snowflakes.  The ATG does not have adhesive included.  Two of the sets have matching unmounted wheels you can use as regular stamps.  There are two small punches also.

I will update this when the stamps are gone.

Molding Paste and Mist Background

For this beach themed background, I used molding paste and mist.  I wanted to recreate the beach effect we have when the tide isn't all the way out. 

Here's the process video:


Thanks for visiting today!

Card with Gelato Background

I was trying to make a quick card before we traveled to Charleston with my mother.  I wasn't going to have a lot of time when we returned to get her card done.

In reality, I completed the background before we left but didn't finish this one off until we got back.  I'll admit it isn't my favorite card. I love the background.  The gelatos really show off on this black cardstock. I think the flowers would have been better if I'd given them a coat of the iridescent medium before adding color.  Mulberry flowers are very absorbent so a coat of any type of gel based medium before adding color works best and really has a pretty effect.

Mother did love the card and that is all that matters.

Here's the process video:



Check out my Etsy shop for mixed media supplies including flowers and trim at Lovely Layers Art.

Find me on Instagram

More and more I post on Instagram.  Flowers, cards, knitting, new recipes, weird visitors to my bird feeder.  Mostly I want to share colorful images that give a glimpse of what I'm doing and hopefully some will be inspiring, too.  I hope you will check out my feed and follow me if you like. You can find me at https://www.instagram.com/lisaecherd/

While my favorite social media are blogs and message boards where I can follow a topic of conversation, Instagram is my favorite of the common, popular platforms. Facebook is my least favorite.  Lately, Facebook has come under heavy criticism.  Personally, I've never liked it.  Why?  The best way to explain is to compare it to a platform that is worlds better imo.  Instagram is owned by Facebook but they could not be more different.  I'm still learning what is available but this is what I've learned so far.

The Instagram interface is clean and uncluttered.  The advertising is scattered within the posts but you can easily breeze by it.  (And a little hint, if you view Instagram from a computer as opposed to a phone or tablet, there are no ads.) There is one column of content.  My favorite thing about Instagram is that posts are in order by most recent to oldest.  So when you scroll along and come to something you have seen before, you are done.  It usually takes me less than a minute to browse my feed so I can do this several times per day and easily keep up. You can change this view order in Facebook but you have to change it every single time you view.  Facebook is based on a popularity contest so they want to most viewed and talked about posts on top.

I also like that I only see the people I follow, not the people they follow because they shared a post. Sometimes I enjoy seeing on Facebook what has been shared but usually it is photos of people I don't know.  The drawback on Instagram is that I can't see the interesting things people might share nor can anyone share my content to increase followers except in their 'stories.' The only other drawback to Instagram is that you must have a mobile device and post from the app or respond to comments via the app.  You can view, like and comment from Instagram.com.

Instagram has added a 'story' feature where you can have a photo or video each day as part of your ongoing story.  I do this a couple of times per week.  My stories expire after 24 hours and you can't see the old ones.  I think that if I get enough followers, I'll have the option to share more stories but I'm not sure of the details yet.  To see my story or anyone's story, click on their photo.

I've only done one video so far in Instagram but I plan to do more.  I will continue to do YouTube videos but this is faster and will allow me to share quick techniques.  You can always find my posts at the above link so even if you don't keep up regularly you can go to anyone's Instagram that isn't private and see what they have posted.  And the interface for that is also very clean just a 3 column wide shot of all the photos and then you click on the one you want to see in detail.  No advertising is in that view.

Personally I believe that what you put online might as well be open to the world.  If someone sees it on their screen, they can capture it and post it on a forum like Twitter that is open to all users anyway.  My least favorite thing about Facebook is the concept that everyone you know and many people they suggest who you don't know are 'friends.'  I have friends - close friends, old friends, acquaintances, business associates, family, etc.  I don't share the same personal information with all of them.  If I share it online, I make it available for everyone who wants to read it.

I choose people to follow on Instagram based on content.  I get to know a little about them, get inspired and see beautiful things and places.  I follow people from all over the world.

And the number 1 thing that is better about Instagram than Facebook?  You can Pin from Instagram.  You can not Pin to Pinterest from Facebook so all those great cards and pages I see on Facebook can't go to Pinterest which is the best place to store ideas for future reference in my opinion.  Instagram also has a Save feature where you just click on the heart and it saves a posts for you to refer to anytime on yet another very clean, orderly screen.  There are a dozen other things I find cumbersome and annoying about Facebook but you get the idea.

So if you haven't tried Instagram or you haven't found me, I hope you will check out my feed and follow if you find the photos interesting.  For now I will keep Facebook and post an update when I add a video but I don't post other photos that aren't linked to a video nor am I adding 'friends.'  LisaEDesign on Facebook is open to all.

You can find me at https://www.instagram.com/lisaecherd/  Thanks for visiting today!

Gelli Printed Cards

Some of my most popular YouTube videos are on using various inexpensive or found tools.  In this video I'm using a few more 'found' objects. One was given to me by my BFF.  It has something to do with cake decorating and it makes a great impression for gelli plates.

I use bookpaper to make the prints and at the end, create a card using some of the prints and an older stamp set.  The best thing is that I already have my husband's birthday card done months early.  Video:



If you are interested in bookpaper, check out my Etsy shop at Lovely Layers Art.  Thanks for watching!

How Nerds do the Beach

After years of going to the same place, I still take photos and still want to capture memories.  I just find it hard to come up with new twists on an old, beloved subject.  Last year, we traveled to Hilton Head in October.  With the days shorter and the possibility of some cool days, we knew we needed things to occupy ourselves besides beach walking, dining out and bicycling.  There was one day that was almost too cold to be outside.  I persevered but was glad I had some indoor activities as well.  Dh took along some work in the form of circuit board diagnostics.  I took my knitting and had some things to watch on-line when we weren't out.  These are typical activities for us at home.

Based on these photos, I thought we looked a little nerdish so herein lies the title for the page.  I do wish he had been wearing his super magnifying headband.  The stamping technique came from a Craftsy class I took during their free watching weekend called Radiant Stamping.  The class was designed for cardmaking. I'm using a couple of her techniques with a few of my own twists for scrapbooking.  I highly recommend the class as it shows you some new ways to look at stamps and inks.

Look closely to find the pattern paper.  Ha!  There is none!  This is an all cardstock page as well.

Here's the video for this layout:



Thanks for visiting today!

Silhouette Die Cut Background

I don't do kid pages often so I really like to have some fun with them.  These photos taken at the park are full of colors so I raided my 6x6 and other scraps to make the triangles.  The page needed little embellishment as the die cut background served that purpose.  I was inspired by the beautiful layouts I see form Paige Taylor Evans Instagram feed.

Not finding a die cut that worked for me, I created my own.  You can use it too if you have a Silhouette.  Here's the Silhouette file I created for your personal use.

Triangle Breakout.

You may use for your personal projects.  This design may not be used for contest or design team submissions.  The design may not be sold or shared.  Credit to Lisa E Design is appreciated when posting projects made with this design on your blog or social media.

And here is the video:




If you are on Instagram, I hope you will follow me. I post papercrafting projects as well as knitting, a little baking and some pretty flowers.  I'm at lisaecherd at Instagram

Thanks for visiting today!

The best new show on Netflix

If you are a TV lover like me, we are blessed with plenty of good programming the last few years.  At our house, we don't have cable but we do have Netflix and recently added a subscription to Hulu. Between the over the air programming from broadcast networks, originals from subscription sites, British and other international programming and the older cable shows like Mad Men that we never saw the first go round, there is a ton of stuff from which to chose.

Yet, despite having a far longer list in my queue than I really have time to watch, I still look for things to add to keep a balance of drama and lighter programming.  One day I noticed this new show on Netflix and I had a few minutes so after perusing quickly the glowing user reviews, I decided to give it 15 minutes and see how it went.  I couldn't stop.  I watched the entire 40+ minute first episode without even leaving my chair for a break.

The show is Queer Eye. This is a remake of Bravo's Queer Eye for the Straight Guy from many years ago.  Having never had cable, I didn't know anything about the original other than it featured several gay guys.  I didn't know if it was a comedy or drama.  I certainly didn't know it was a reality, makeover show.  And that is a very good thing.  Because had I known, I probably would not have watched.

I really detest reality or as I call it UNreality TV. I'll watch makeover shows now and then particularly when we are on vacation and I have access to cable and the show "What Not to Wear" though I'm not sure why since I have quite a few criticisms of that show.

Most reality shows are so far from the real world, it isn't even a joke.  What's realistic about putting a bunch of attractive strangers on an island and making them do silly games to see who can survive?  Contest shows waste so much time not spent on the singing, dancing or whatever.  (Maybe that is where NBC got their idea for drawn out Olympics coverage).

Makeover shows are interesting again if you could actually get to the content.  Those shows though tell you at the beginning what they are going to do and then repeat that and a synopsis of what they have done at every commercial break.  Plus the useless interviews of how everyone feels about everything.

What I loved about Queer Eye is that is breaks those molds.  Five guys - all gay, each with different areas of specialty such as fashion, design, cooking, etc - spend 1 week making over another guy's life including his home, wardrobe, relationships, nutrition and hair.  Oh, the hair!  The guys they makeover are almost all straight but that is about all they have in common demographically.  They are single, married, young, old, with children, living with a roommate, living alone, living in the city or living in the suburbs.  The only thing they have in common is that they could all use a little help with their appearance and home design.

Oh and there is one other thing which is what gives this shows such rave reviews.  Each of these men let themselves go for a reason.  Tracking down that reason and helping them through it is a key element to the show. This happens naturally through conversation.

The interaction between the main cast and their fixer upper of the week often breaks down stereotypes and deals with current issues in a moderate, mature way.  It's these natural conversations that make the show really shine and also mean you ought to keep a box of tissues handy if you watch.

The show hasn't yet been renewed for Season 2 but if the cast is game I certainly think it will be.  It has received critical and viewer top reviews.  I did read that the would probably move from their base location of Atlanta to a midwestern city in a colder climate.  Apparently Hotlanta is just a bit warm for filming.

Wherever they end up, I look forward to the next season to see how they can transform a guy's wardrobe, nutrition, house, social interactions and well, life.

Holiday Page from Object Photos

I really didn't think I had any holiday photos to scrap this year.  We went to several events but I didn't take photos for one reason or another.  I have many good memories and could always do a photo free page.

Then I went through my Instagram and found quite a few photos that represent the holiday season, the parties and the visiting we did.  One of them is of my Mother; the rest are food, a family pet, a door prize I won and a photo of the cards we received.  So this page is packed with memories, photos and hidden journaling.

The papers are from a warehouse box I bought from Fancy Pants. I haven't bought any scrapping stuff except a few inks in months, probably close to a year now.  Working through my stash and enjoying getting my pages completed just from what I have on hand is as rewarding as anticipating the UPS man's arrival - and a good deal cheaper.   I don't have a plan to use a specific amount of stuff.  I figure that eventually I'll be in the notion for some new things.

For now, here is a page made with warehouse box papers and some older stamp sets.  The video:



I have a kid page on my worktable right now.  It's definitely made from scraps with a little help from my Silhouette.  Thanks for visiting today!

Easy All Purpose Birthday Card

I'm using an easy marker technique on this birthday card that would work for anyone.  You just need a greeting stamp and some geometric stamps.  My colors came from the scrap of designer paper.

Here's the video:



There are still a couple of stamp sets left in my Etsy shop including one that wasn't in the video from last week. Check them out at:  Lovely Layers Art

Thanks for watching!

What NBC doesn't get and how to fix it

This Tuesday night will be celebratory at my house.  Why?  Regular TV will be back!  Actually it returns on Monday, but there is nothing on Monday nights that we watch. On Tuesday we will tune into the Middle at 8 on ABC and I will watch This is Us on NBC at 9.  The tissue box and remote will be close at hand.

And if something happens that prevents us from watching?  No problem, we will just catch them the next day. 

For more than 2 weeks, there has been almost no original scripted programming as most networks defer to the tradition of watching the Olympics. In truth, they don't want to compete with the competition, either the network airing the event or the events themselves.  It's sort of un-American to try to persuade us to watch something other than those who have worked so hard for the chance to represent their country in their sport.

Apparently though many, many of us have been watching something else or nothing at all. NBC had 14 million viewers this past Thursday night - the night of the ladies figure skating final which is usually one of their top events.  That seems pretty good until you consider that The Big Bang Theory brings in that many viewers every week for a fictional show you can watch easily the next day usually spoiler free.  Looking at Thursday February 1 as an example, BBT had 14.5 million.  Another nearly 9 million viewers are watching Grey's Anatomy over on ABC at the same time.  Eight and a half million more are split between NBC, Fox and the CW all on a typical Thursday at 8 pm.  When you do the math, NBC only captured just over 40% of the broadcast viewing audience.

Now NBC's numbers (nor any of the others I sited) contain viewers who watch on-line.  The trouble with NBC is they made it so difficult to watch the Olympics on-line.  If I miss the Big Bang Theory, I can go to CBS.com the next day and watch it.  I can watch that episode for several weeks until a certain number of new episodes bump it off.  Anyone in the US can watch it on-line. NBC makes their regular scripted programming available to watch on-line the next day.

But what about the Olympics?  What if I don't want to watch 3 hours at one time or stay up until midnight to see who claims the ladies singles figure skating gold?

Tough luck.  As far as I can tell, I can only watch 45 minutes of Olympic coverage because we do not have a cable or Dish provider.  We use an antennae and get our TV over the air.  Despite the overwhelming number of commercials which I'm sure are in the on-line portion as well as broadcast, NBC doesn't let those of us who don't pay for basic TV anywhere near the bulk of the games without suffering through hours of coverage each evening often going until midnight.

This is what NBC does not get.  People don't want to watch TV at a specific time.  We no longer want to watch 20 minutes of commercials every hour.  

We want content.  Hulu, Amazon and Netflix have given us the best of TV. We can watch when we want and we can get excellent content for our viewing time.  The time difference made the Olympics a bit of a challenge but we almost always have some time differences to deal with.

So here is my wish list for making watching the Olympics a better experience:

1.  Create an online viewing subscription option separate from the cable companies.  Partner with Hulu or one of the other providers as does Showtime and HBO.  And I'm not talking about an option to watch live but to view taped events so people can watch just what events they want.  Commercials are fine if needed to keep the costs down.  As long as we can skip the commentary, I think people would buy into this for the convenience.

2.  When the time difference will cause viewing to go past 11 pm on a regular basis, plan to tape delay the programming. Figure skating is a big draw so make it available for people to actually watch and cut out the filler by...

3.  Firing at least half the commentators.  They are completely unnecessary. It's irritating to know that Tara Lipinski was actually paid money to say over and over again "she really wants a gold medal," "He came here to win,"  "They have their eyes on the podium."  Well, duh!  Don't all the athletes envision themselves with a medal around their necks?  Isn't that the point of all that hard work?  We don't want them talking over the performances as they relive their own glory days.

3. During live events when time is needed to scrape the ice or for the next set of skaters to warm up, why not show us one of the earlier skaters on tape?  Fill the time by showing the work of these athletes, not by exercising the jaws of those who have had their moments in past Olympics.

4.  Drop the meaningless interviews of athletes asking them how they 'felt' to lose or to win particularly when they lose.  That's just mean.

5.  Another annoyance was the amount of time spent on qualifying runs.  Personally I think almost all of the events other than skating are beyond boring.  But to have to watch people slalom down the same hill over and over for qualifying and then again for the actual event is just double boredom.  No wonder so few people watched.

6.  Keep the cameras on the athletes.

7. Make the figure skating gala which was apparently a taped event into an Event.  Run it all at once without cutting over to other competitions. Have one skater after another with a reasonable number commercials.  Having a 4 minute skate followed by 5 minutes of commercials every. single. time. was just greedy.  We know you need the commercials to make money but the same Chevy commercial ran over and over again until viewers would start holding a grudge against the advertiser rather than being persuaded to buy.

8.  Announce upcoming events with times displayed on the screen.  Networks have no problem putting stuff on the bottom of our screens during regular programming yet during the Olympics if you wanted to know what time something was coming up, you had to be listening or look at the TV at just the right few seconds to see the announcement. Face it, people want to watch certain events.  Clearly from the ratings, viewers will not be bullied into watching everything just to see what they want to see.

Not only was viewership down but this was the least buzzed about Olympics I can recall.  The only time anything related to the Olympics trended on Twitter that I noticed was when there was a costume mishap.  I participate in two message boards.  Early posts about the games were quickly lost in discussions about current events, hobbies and other things we regularly discuss.  A few posts popped up near the end but the responses were slim compared to other discussions.  No where did I go in the last 2 weeks, that anyone mentioned the Olympics.  I brought it up with a group of friends but the conversation quickly fizzled.

Personally, if I never saw another Olympics my life would go on just fine but I realize that many people enjoy the biannual event and athletes work incredibly hard to be seen.  It's would be a shame for the Olympics to fade into history because a network is so greedy and set in their ways that they can't reach their audience.

Cards to Share and Stamps to Sell

The video below shares some cards I've made using a few sets one last time before I find them a new home. Will it be your home?  If you are interested in any of these sets, head over to my Etsy shop Lovely Layers Art where they are listed.  This set is bundled with the Boho Blossoms punch. I've used this punch many times without a matching stamp just for flowers.  (Card is not included in sale.)

Here's the video:




Thanks for watching!

Where do we go from here?

(Note:  I will be back with plenty of cardmaking and scrapbooking posts.  I just had these things on my mind today.)

I live in the south.  This is the country of God and guns.  And you could say that about a huge physical portion of the US. 

Students from Parkland High School have said they are going to be the last to be shot at.  I sincerely hope that is true.  Yet, I remember Columbine.  When we got over our shock, we were outraged. I remember Virginia Tech and Charles Gibons who normally ended his broadcast with something about hoping you had a good day ending that day with "And this has Not been a good day."  It still brings tears to my eyes.  I remember Newtown.  If dozens of parents holding up photos of their 6 year olds to Congress with a Democrat in the White House could not bring about a single change in gun laws or improve care of the mentally ill, what will?  How will these high school students make a difference if those highly motivated parents could not?  Almost everyone agrees that bump stocks should be banned. Yet months after over 50 people died in Las Vegas, they are still being sold.  I understand there was even a discount coupon available to buy one over President's Day weekend. 

The shooter from the church in Texas should have never had a gun because of his history of domestic violence. Yet a bill to reduce the chances of that failure happening again has gone nowhere.

I was thinking about writing this post when I got up this morning.  As I scanned several on-line news outlets I already noticed that other news is taking the place of Parkland.  US Figure skaters fell last night at the Olympics (no thank you to that spoiler from someone who has the skating taped because we don't want to stay up until midnight to watch!).  There was more about Russia, plenty of opinion about the President and his marriage.  There were still articles about Parkland yet they are getting crowded out.  It won't be long before this is not the lead story anymore.

It hasn't left my mind yet, obviously.  I've thought about 4 family members who work in 4 different public schools in two different states.  Any of them could become a target.  And of course there are many young family members who are students.  My mother and I went through a drive through on the way home from a child's birthday party on Sunday and I was a bit envious of the young woman waiting on us.  She was high school age and chatting with one of her colleagues as she waited on Mother's order to come up.  Ah, to be that young, to head off to high school on Monday morning.  And then it hit me that when she walks into the same school I went to over 30 years ago, she may wonder if today is the day someone is going to come in with a weapon and start picking people off. That never crossed my mind in the early 1980's.  Never. Suddenly being young again isn't very appealing.

So what do we do?  How do we stop school children and their teachers from getting shot?  How do we end the mass carnage of those gathered in public places? 

I think the problem is that there is no one fix.  We will never ban all guns in this country. Never.  Yet, I personally have no problems with enacting laws that restrict access for those who should not have weapons and make everyone safer.  Bump stocks should be banned immediately.  I personally see no reason anyone needs an assault rifle.  I looked up some statistics the other day.  Of the 23 mass shootings in the US that go back to the 1980's in which 10 or more people died, only 1 occurred during the 10 year period of the assault rifle ban.  That was Columbine.  It isn't just that these guns are so available.  It is that popular culture has made them attractive.  Video games, movies, TV have glorified their use, have glorified killing in general.  We must vote with our entertainment choices.  If we choose programs that minimize gun violence and avoid those that promote it, we are clear with Hollywood what we as a culture want. Hollywood, for all their talk, are like everyone else.  They go where the money is and will stop creating shows and movies that don't make money.

In the case of Parkland, it is clear that the FBI failed.  They received solid information and did not act.  Now I'm sure they get more tips in any one day than they can possibly act on yet they have admitted the content of this tip and that should have prompted an inquiry.  Someone or perhaps multiple someones should be fired.  Acknowledging their mistake quickly was a good first step.  Now fix it.  Let go the people at all levels who screwed up.  When I was in corporate America, a shakeup at the executive level had us buzzing for a couple of days but we soon settled down and went back to doing our jobs the same way we always had been.  Firing only the head of the FBI, which has been called for, isn't likely to make much difference.  After 911, only George Tenent, then director of the CIA, was the only one fired as far as I know.  Yet many mistakes occurred to make that event possible. 

When the FBI received their last tip, they had another tip from last September that should have matched up somewhere in some database and escalated this as a serious, probable concern.  Did it?  If not, fix the systems to make that happen.  In the last paragraph I'm advocating holding people responsible for doing their jobs because I'm convinced that there were human failures here.  Yet I know that wasn't all of it.  Systems need to be improved.

And if the FBI had investigated, could they have stopped this shooting?  A few states have a law that allows family members or police to petition a judge to remove gun rights to people who may become violent.  Florida is not one of those states. 

There were so many warning signs that Nicholas Cruz was going to become violent.  There were warning signs in Newtown, too. What have we done to change the way our agencies handle these signs?  I suspect they are underfunded and overworked.  That can be fixed or at least improved. 

We have not prioritized mental health care in this country for decades.  It's time that changed.  Those who oppose gun restrictions say this is a problem with the mentally ill and we should do more to treat them. True enough (though not the whole picture in my opinion) but what are we doing. Just blaming another problem doesn't get you off the hook.  We need our lawmakers in Washington and in our state governments to take this problem seriously and allocate funding accordingly.  There are plenty of things you can cut to make this happen because for all your calls for increased military spending, more Americans are dying at home.  The perpetrators of those crimes are US citizens or those who have been in this country most of their lives. 

This is an election year.  I hope that we will all not just vote for one party or another but to really listen to our candidates and really press them on the issues that matter to us.  "We get the government we deserve."  We have to do the work to make sure we get the government that serves us best.

Some Spring Photos

If you are like we are, you are ready for winter to be over, so over!  These photos reminded me that spring will be here.  Last year I did the glad planting.  Unfortunately with the bitter cold winter, we have probably lost a lot of those bulbs.  Normally we can leave them in the ground here and they come back year after year.  I think we will be planting more this spring to be sure we didn't lose everything to about 2 weeks of below freezing temperatures in January. 

Here's the process video for the page:



Thanks for visiting today!