Twine tips

If you've spent much time around this blog, you've probably noticed my affinity for baker's twine. I use it on everything from buttonholes to flower stems. Often, I combine my twine with another love: banners.

Here are a few ideas for working with twine on your projects:

1. Embrace color. The thing I love most about baker's twine is that you can get it in every color in the rainbow. Some manufacturers even sell an assortment of different colors in the same package. Using a coordinating color of twine gives that extra little "oomph" that really finishes off a project, so don't be afraid to branch out from the standard black and white or brown and white varieties. If in doubt, lay a few colors down on your project and stand back to see which one catches your eye.

2. Attach creatively. I've experimented with different adhesives, including dipping my length of twine into a wet adhesive before placing on the page. But I prefer to adhere the twine only at a few points on the page for a looser, more casual feel. Use a staple to fasten it to certain points. You can even work a couple of loops into the design. Another trick I use is rolling a glue dot between my fingers to make it really thin, then slipping it behind the twine to hold it in place.

3. Hang loose. Twine is relatively cheap compared to other scrapbook supplies, and you only use a few inches at a time. So be generous with your cuts and leave the ends a little longer. You can always trim them down, but having a little length allows them to lay freely on your project, like they're blowing in the wind.


What are some creative ways you've used twine on your projects? Leave me a link to your projects so I can check them out!

Six?

On this day in 2006, I brought home this sweet, cuddly baby...

For most of that first year, I wore her in a wrap as many hours a day as I could because I knew she was the last baby I would have to hold and cuddle.

In fact, I wore her around so much that Avery (at age two) thought that's how all babies, including baby dolls, were supposed to be carried.

Even when she was too big to hold, I still thought of her as my baby. Admittedly, I sometimes tried too hard to protect her and comfort her. But I liked the thought of her needing me, so I kept wiping the tears and holding her close as she went from a baby to a toddler.

And now, she's six years old! Six?!

She is beautiful...

And full of life...

And definitely NOT a baby. There are still tears to wipe, but not as many. The opportunities to hold her close are fewer and further between. But I love the girl she has become -- confident, curious, funny and a total chatterbox.

I'm so proud of her.

The best laid plans...

Well, the weekend didn't quite go as planned.

It started on Thursday, when I noticed a little tickle in the back of my throat. "Hmmm. Better take some zinc," I thought to myself.

As it turned out, the zinc was pointless. Somewhere in the middle of the night/early morning hours, that tickle turned into a full-blown sore throat, and by Friday morning I was a miserable wreck. The Sick had set in.

Impeccable timing because:

(a) I had 27 gifts to wrap for a corporate client, due on Monday

     AND

(b) Cecily's 6th birthday party was scheduled for Saturday.

To make a long story short, I did deliver the gifts on time, and Cecily's party did go off as planned. But it wasn't easy. It was exhausting. And some things just didn't get done...like blogging (and FRAK!) and laundry.

Hopefully, I'll get caught up this week -- if I can evict The Sick and reclaim my productivity.

Since I have no projects to share, I'll leave you with something that's equally fun: a few photos from the birthday party. It was a Polymer Party at a place called The Lab, and the kids had a blast playing with the critters and making all sorts of slime and goo.

 Avery with her old pal Einstein the Ferret

 That's a bowl full of "super-absorbents" (a.k.a. beads that feel like Jello)

 I'm not sure what I love most about this photo: the serious look on Cecily's face or the "oh. my. goodness." look on her friend Alex's face

Lesson of the day: the only thing better than slime is slime with glitter in it!

 Yes, that is a cake made out of donuts. Her request. Second year in a row.

Not a baby in sight

I'm back with another project from the We R Memory Keepers Baby Mine collection. Except this one has nothing to do with babies.

This collection has the most beautiful color combinations and patterns -- most of which are not baby-oriented at all. They remind me of quilting fabrics, and there's so much you could do with these sweet, simple patterns. I especially love the blue/green/yellow papers. Yes, they'd be great for baby boy pages, but they work just as well for photos of a pretty eight-year-old girl.

I chose to skew my design a little and create the grid on an angle.

It was a great way to use the Baby Mine 6x6 Paper Pad -- I simply cut 1.5" strips and started laying them down with my photos to piece together the lines in a staggered way. You'll notice some are thicker, some are thinner. And I filled in any empty space with Sew Easy stitches.

The Sew Easy made the holes for me, in perfect formation, so all I had to do was stitch the embroidery floss through the holes to make these cute little stars.

I cut the title with my Silhouette Cameo -- I wanted something light and feminine to juxtapose the strength I describe in this layout. She really is a brave little girl, and I desperately want her to keep that fierce courage and will to win.

Thanks for stopping by!

Rainy weekends

Rainy weekends are wonderful. They toy with your mind...making you question whether you should rethink all those outdoor plans you've made. They tempt you with thoughts of all you could get done if you'd just stay in all day. And they laugh in your face when they've taunted you for an entire day, causing you to change your plans...probably unnecessarily.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up my weekend. But during those "will it rain or won't it" periods, I managed to get a lot done in my scraproom.

First, I tore into the Baby Mine Collection from We R Memory Keepers. Obviously, it's a baby collection, so I dug deep into my old box of photos to salvage a few baby pics of Cecily that never made it into her book.

I love the colors in this collection, and the WRMK die-cuts are always fabulous. I altered the "hanger" section on the onesie to hang perfectly through the hole on the plaid scalloped frame.

I tried the new Sew Ribbon tool, and it added the perfect, simple threaded border along the bottom. I think I'm going to like that tool! Lots of possibilities to change the look with lace, glitter ribbon, etc.

Perfect colors in  this collection, and the prints are really fun to work with, too. Tomorrow, I'll show you a totally different take on the Baby Mine collection  -- with NO baby photos!

If you haven't entered my Spring Training giveaway, you still have until the end of the day to do that. Just leave a comment on Friday's post for your chance to win.