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Scrapbook photos are a big part of most journals or memory books. It’s

a given that you’ll need a few snapshots to fill out a page and tell

the story. Yet, it’s also pretty easy to go overboard with your

pictures.

We all have that show box full of old photos, and snapshots. For some

of us it’s lifelong goal to use everyone of them in a scrapbook but

this isn’t always a good idea.

I remember many years ago when I attended a college photography class

the instructor made a point to tell us that not every picture we took

would end up perfect. Most in fact would not be usable at all and only

a few, if we were lucky, were worth keeping. I’ve since learned that

this is true, and it’s always a good idea to crop the chaff from the

wheat.

With this in mind, don’t feel too bad about throwing away some pictures

that you simply know your never going to use. We all have them. If

they’re blurry or out of focus, or simply not a good angle of auntie

Jane, throw them out and you’ll be doing you both a favor.

If they are special in some way you can always store them digitally on

disks or in archive boxes. In this way they won’t get mixed up with

the really good shots that have potential in your pages.

In the old days, I shifted from prints to slides since I knew I would

only get a few good shots (maybe) out of a roll. These days with the

new digital cameras it’s a snap to save or delete what you want, then

download it on a computer and print it out on high quality photo paper

or take it to a developer as a disk. Photo technology is an amazing

thing!

Photo editing also lends a good deal of creativity to your scrapbooks.

Using a tool like Adobe Photoshop or other picture editor, you can take

one might look like a rather basic snapshot and play with the colors

and tones to make a unique picture. I did this with some recent photos

of my two daughters. They were simple posed head shots that we tinted

and created a colorful addition to their memory books.

Also remember that using a degree of spacing actually gives the really

great photos more attention and exposure. Don’t just cram every photo

you have onto a page and fill it up. Mix them up with some simple

embellishments and details. This way you’ll highlight them rather than

diffuse them into a collage.

Try to remember that as important as pictures are to our scrapbooking

efforts, they aren’t everything. In fact, some of the very best pages

we have ever seen had few pictures on them. You can tell a story in

many ways. With words, with images, with accents and with color. Your

photos are just one of many ways to create that perfect page.

Kim Washburn has been scrapbooking for nearly two decades. She founded and continues to publish her scrapbooking resource site at http://www.scrapbookphd.com

With an estimated 130 completed quilts to her credit (and counting), Trudy Schwader at age 75 has had a rich lifetime of quilting experience. Conversations with Trudy to make a record of these experiences resulted in a series of articles. What follows here is article Number II.

[Question: You have a legendary fabric collection - enough inventory for a small store! How did you collect so much fabric?]

Trudy: I had 8 kids and I sewed for them all the time - cotton dresses, shirts, whatever. When I sewed I always saved the material that was left, and I still have lots of those scraps (laughs). In fact, I know I have a few scraps from material that my mother used when she made clothes for us back when I was young. Unreal, but I really do have some of those fabrics from the 30s and 40s.

So when I started sewing a quilt, I would usually have scraps to begin with. And then I would go into stores - fabric places you know - and if I needed something special to go with the quilt I was making, then I would buy it. Of course, while I was there I would see other materials, and as I say, some of these bolts of material would jump out and say, “Buy me,” and so I’d buy some of that cloth, too!

[Q: What happened to those pieces that you bought on impulse? I mean, sometimes, you’d have fabrics for a long time that you’d never use and then all of the sudden it’d be just the right thing for a quilt? Or did it end up that those that jumped out and said, “Buy me,” never quite fit for any quilt you made later?]

Trudy: Some. I do use a lot of them, but there’s still a few that I’ve never used. I think this is not unusual for quilters. It takes some time and some ‘mistakes’ to acquire a really good on-hand quilting fabric collection. You need lots of variety and color.

[Q: What advice would you give a beginner? What are some things that you know now that you wish you had known earlier in your quilting experience?]

Trudy: For a beginner, the thing to do is to go to a book, find a simple pattern that you might like and the instructions will tell you about how much material to get. And if you ask them about it, most of the people in fabric stores will give you a lot of advice about what goes together and what doesn’t. There are plenty of books out there that tell you how much material, say for instance for a log cabin. Simple ones like that will give you a good place to start. Those simple ones are the ones that I make now to use up my scraps.

[Q: Speaking of books, do you have a big collection or library, or how did you get your patterns that you use for your quilts?]

Trudy: No. Not a big library. Just a few books that really have a lot of patterns in them. And then, like the log cabin - it’s so easy now for me to put one together or to make variations. The way I make the log cabin, I learned from talking to another quilter. I had gone to a mall to one of the fabric stores, and they have classes. They have people come in and tell about quilts and other types of sewing projects.

[Q: So you learned an easy way, a short-cut way to put together a classic like a log-cabin, by taking a class?]

Trudy: It’s a good idea for beginners to take a class, but this one wasn’t a class actually. The speaker was just showing us some quilts and talking about how to do a few things. It was part of her demonstration with some other items she was selling. It’s like with any craft, knowing a few little tricks can save you a lot of time.

[Q: Can you give an example of a time-saving trick?]

Trudy: Well. Most people might already know about a tool called a rotary cutter, but it is probably the biggest single thing that made quilting so much easier for me than using scissors. It’s a cutter kind of like a pizza-cutting wheel. I can stack up fabric, line it up along the edge of a special ruler that belongs with the rotary cutter, and get a perfectly straight cut every time without the effort of squeezing a scissors over and over to cut out all the little pieces of a pattern.

It’s the best, and anyone today quilting without this tool is really making it hard on themselves. Go get a rotary cutter right now if you don’t have one already.

Theresa Modine’s studies of American folk art and women’s history includes an emphasis on quilting. She is contributing author of The Quilt Box, your resource for a world of quilting information. Addtional articles by Theresa are found at First Class Fabric.

FROM NATURAL FLAWS TO PICTURES
Everyone will I am sure appreciate well hollowed stone antique Chinese snuff bottles, once handled, as the lovely shapes and purity of the stones used just cannot fail to impress. One would imagine that the approach would have been to avoid any inclusions or flaws, and to form the bottle from only the best parts of the stone. This often was the case. But what I find even more fascinating, is the amazing way they deliberately and brilliantly, took advantage of natural flaws and inclusions often found present in these stones.

Most quartz and jade stones have an outer layer of a different colour, particularly the pebbles from the riverbeds. They also have faults and flaws plus other coloured material, often deep in the stone. Sometimes these can be very thin skin-like inclusions, whilst in others large chunks are found.

When one considers that no one knows just what is inside any of these rocks until, as the cuts are made and the secrets of the stone are revealed, they discover how pure, or otherwise, the stone really is. It is with the stones that have inclusions or flaws that ‘Picture Agate’ snuff bottles are made. The best of these incredible bottles, once completed, manage to make the inclusion, that forms the image, look as if it has appeared in just the right place as if to order!

There are different types of work within this group of snuff bottles and the first ones are what we call ‘Cameo’ carvings. These take advantage of any outer skin or blob type of inclusion (of a different colour); they can be quite thick and are carved in relief. Another type is called ‘Shadow Agates’ and these take advantage of markings in the stone where, with the help of only a little carving, an image is created. Lastly, the most fascinating ones are called ‘Silhouette Agates’ but in this group no apparent carving is required. The image is achieved mainly by the angle and choice of shape, as well as the size and position of the bottle to be formed out of the rock so that the inclusion becomes an image. These bottles have to be seen to be believed.

What is really mind blowing to me is the fact that there are even some of these bottles with pictures on both sides!

Sadly, few of them were signed. We only know that there was a certain school of carvers known as the ‘Suzhou School’. Their works are easily recognised by the style and quality of the carving, plus the fact that they make use of every mark in the stone to form the picture. They are amazing bottles when good, but there are many later works that tend to look too stiff and the carving lacks the more fluid artistic touch of the master carvers. Unfortunately, hardly any of these bottles are really well hollowed.

OUR FIRST SNUFF BOTTLE
So to describe my first purchase, this was a ‘Shadow Agate picture bottle’ involving a little carving, and very well hollowed. It is a most appropriate subject and colour for a snuff bottle because the russet inclusions have been used to show ‘Putai Ho-Shang’. He is always depicted as a very corpulent man with a bare chest and abdomen and he is the patron saint of tobacconists. In this bottle he appears surprised by a bat whilst sitting below some tobacco leaves. The bat to the Chinese is a good luck symbol. You can see how easily he appears, nicely placed within the bottle yet only his head and a suggestion of his hand have been carved. (See the photograph by using the link at the bottom of this article).

We now own a number of ‘Picture Agates’ and to illustrate the different types described, the photograph of the Duck with Lingzhi fungus in its beak is a good ‘Silhouette’ example. Incidentally, the fungus is a symbol for wishing long life. This bottle is very unusual as there is a recess carved originally to create the image that serves as a built in dish. (See the photograph by using the link at the bottom of this article).

Lastly, a superb bottle of fishes with pictures on both sides: the pair of fishes on one side are ‘Cameo’ carved and to the Chinese represent fidelity and happy conjugal rights in marriage. On the other side a fish and aquatic plants make use of every mark in the stone, all this on a well shaped bottle that is very well hollowed. All these bottles illustrated were made between 1750 and 1860. (See the photograph by using the link at the top of this article).

ASSESSMENT
To effectively judge hard stone snuff bottles, the first consideration should be concerned with the overall artistic impression. You need to be satisfied that the work looks well composed and well positioned and that the images formed are flowing rather than stiff and awkward. The next stage is to have a closer look at the technical skills. When I look at a cameo type of carving I study the shape and finish of the background, close to the edge of the carving. On poorer bottles this can be indented, uneven and not so well polished as the rest. Really fine examples look as if the raised cameo part has somehow been glued onto a beautifully formed bottle. Engraved work at its best is very precise and provides the detail. When closely looking (under magnification) at a poor bottle these engraved parts can look very crude.

The author has been a very keen Asian antique collector for many years helping to create ‘The Cohen collection’.

To view the photographs that relate to this article please use the following link: -
http://www.jncohen.net/antiques/articles.htm

For more information about Chinese snuff bottles please use the following link: -
http://www.jncohen.net/Chinese_Snuff_bottles/index.htm

There are no specific rules stating that all photographs or mementos must be placed in chronological order. Therefore, it is completely up you the order you wish to place your items and embellishments. You can place your items in a formal chronological order. You can also group items into formal or informal categories such as similar colors, events, activities, individuals, or families. Items can also be placed into random, abstract, or collages.

Each order has its own place in scrapbooking. For instance, chronological order might be useful for an anniversary scrapbook. Pictures and mementos of the couple’s years together could be placed from the first day they met through the wedding day to the present day with each time period on a different page. This presents a feel of as time goes by.

However, a scrapbook for a parent might just have a collage of pictures and drawings. In this case, a collage lends to a feeling of overwhelmingly being loved.

You may or may not want to add text to your scrapbook page. You may want to just write captions below the pictures. You may want to add your own stories or poems. You may want to add journals describing the day to day life of your baby or your child’s accomplishments. Text can be used as either a focal point or simply as a supporting piece.

Text may be hand written. Alternately, computer fonts, letters, text, or three-dimensional images can also be printed or cut and pasted onto the page. In this way, various styles, colors, textures, and visual text effects are possible.

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.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. There are plenty of crafty brides out there looking for a unique design for their unity candle. They want something that is as special and unique as their wedding day. Many artists are ready and willing to custom make a Unity candle for an eager bride - and charge anywhere from $30 to $200 - and that’s not with any gold-plating or diamonds set into it!

As an alternative, take some of the “momentos” from your upcoming wedding - perhaps a copy of your invitation, some ribbon or tulle to match the gown and do it yourself! This project is as simple or as complex as you make it out to be, and you’re only restricted by your imagination. The best part about this candle is that it will never burn away! We will embed a tealight in the top of the pillar so that you only have to replace the tealight when it burns out. Ultimately you will have a lasting momento of your special day that you’ve made.

You will need:

7-9″ pillar candle
2 clear-cup tealight candles
1 pencil
1 teaspoon
1 tape measure
1 hot glue gun
as many items to decorate your candle as you see fit.

Choose a candle 7-9″ tall and about 3″ wide at the top. Round candles are easiest to decorate, but the candle must be at least 1/4″ larger around than the tealight. Pick a candle that sits flat. We’re going to carve out the top in a minute so that the tealight will nestle down inside. If you have unusual colors for your wedding, try finding a candle in a coordinating color.

Place the tealight cup in the center of the top of the pillar. Do your best to center it. Trace around the outside of the cup. Set the tealight aside. Measure the height of your tealight.

Using a warm spoon, melt out the wax around the wick of the pillar candle. We want to “carve” or melt out a space for the tealight to fit. Work slowly. It’s easier to melt out extra wax than it is to add back wax. We can fill in with hot glue, but we’d rather not do that if we don’t have to! Continue to melt down the interior of the candle, and trim away the wick, until you have reached the depth of your tea light cup height. Test your “well” by fitting the tealight cup into the space you are creating. Once it sits flush with the top of the pillar, you’re all set!

Let your candle cool. Once we begin to decorate, you’ll need to work quickly - especially if you’re using High-temp hot glue. The softer your pillar candle, the more likely it will melt under the heat of your glue gun. Therefore, always apply the glue to to your decoration, not your candle. If you are applying many items - beads for example - allow the candle time to cool every 5-10 minutes to prevent melting.

Because the candle doesn’t burn down, most any type of decoration can be used on the candle, including paper, cloth, etc. The wax should never drip, as it is contained in the tealight cup. This is a great and economical way to add a personal touch to your wedding ceremony. Some decorating suggestions:

1. Cut your invitation out in an oval or heart shape. Adhere it to the candle and edge the invitation with lace or ribbon.

2. Take beads that match your gown and push sequin pins or hatpins into the candle to hold them into place (no glue required).

3. Glue your picture on the candle and decorate with ribbon. This not only makes a wonderful momento for you, but a great gift for your wedding party, as a reminder of their role in your special day.

4. For my wedding, I took a new white pillar candle, spiraled old silver ribbon from the top to the bottom, then turned the candle over and spiraled pale blue ribbons in the opposite direction, creating a checkerboard effect. Then I glued blue and clear crystals borrowed from some old earrings in the center of each “square”. Something old, new, borrowed and blue on a candle that will last for a lifetime!

Best of luck, and best wishes on your special day!

Lisa Robbin is the Director of Product Development for the giving candle, the maker of Heavenly Gems resin-based clear candles. Lisa writes articles on all things candle related in an effort to educate consumers about making the most out of their candle purchases.

You can email her directly at lisa@thegivingcandle.com

Just in time for the holiday season!

SUPPLIES:

# assorted holiday fabrics - this means anything from cotton prints to silk or velvet,why not try something really exotic!
# matching thread
# pins
# chalk or other marker

STEP 1:

For each coaster cut 4 5″ squares of holiday fabric.

Layer two of the squares on top of one another with wrong sides together. You will be looking at the right side of the fabric.

STEP 2:

Fold remaining two squares in half wrong sides together and place on top of first two squares. The folded edges face the middle. These two folded edges should overlap slightly.
Pin all layers together.

Trace around base of your wine glass.

Stitch 1/4″ away from markings thru all layers. Backstitch on folded edges for added strength. Trim away excess fabric and turn.
Push out fabric gently and press lightly. Now comes the fun part. Embellishing each one. Use whatever you may have on hand.

As you can see these are easy for anyone to make. Ideally, each one should be a different fabric so everyone knows which glass is theirs. You can embellish these with ribbon roses, embroidery or leave them plain. Almost any fabric can be used. They can be very elegant or more casual, depending on your lifestyle.

Mary Wilkins has three grown children and six perfect grandchildren. Completely self taught, she has been sewing, and crafting for over 30 years. Her website http://www.sew-whats-new.com has been recognized in many sewing magazines and newsletters alike.

Mary Wilkins
http://sew-whats-new.com
sewwhatsnew@hfx.eastlink.ca
Creating with Needle and Thread

Consider Your Ways
 That you be not left in a daze
 When the time of singing has come,
 And the voice of the Lord is heard
 Througout our land
 When the remnant and holy band
 Arise with power and God's glory
 To rewrite this nation's story.
 History I call it
 His story from beginning to end
 Yes dear one, God is my friend.

Consider your ways
 Before you find yourself in a maze,
 Interlocked in a pathway,
 From which it is too late to move away.

Consider your ways.
 For most men are in part
 Typical of three characters
 In the children’s movie
 The Wizard of Oz.
 The lion who had no courage,
 The tin man who had no heart,
 And the scare crow
 Who was without a brain.
 And all Dorothy could do
 Was wish and complain
 Desiring to go home
 Realizing with them
 She would never personally grow
 This Dorothy assuredly did know.

Consider your ways
 For in the midst of a nation
 That has gone a craze,
 I the Lord
 Will begin to astound and amaze
 As I rearrange the order of your days
 And further establish you in My ways.
 For soon by My Spirit
 You I shall fill and emblaze
 Separating you with my chosen ones
 Engulfed in a fiery glory and haze
 To protect, empower and then to raise
 You above the heathen
 To give Me praise!

I am but a ‘Beacon,’
Like a lighthouse in the storm;
So, when it’s a friend you’re seekin’,
Come on in, I’ll keep you warm…

Like a fleece,
I will enfold you
To protect you from the gale;
‘though release,
No, I’ll not hold you,
When it’s time that you set sail…
Beacon Verse Series – Beacon© 1977 (part one)

The above poem is the first page of Beacon© Verse By Russ Miles which I published in 1977. Very well received within the local Portland, Oregon bookstores – which I had set up for distribution – I was ready to publish another 5,000 copies. I knew that the “Limited Edition,” hand numbered 1,000 copies would be sold out within a couple of months…

Then, I had – what I call – “An attack of conscience.” What if an unforgiving God were to hold me responsible for corrupting the minds – and influencing the actions – of innocents?

Frightening, purgatorial – and worse – images twisted my self-seeking, 29-year-old scruples. I’d only seen pictures – until that time – of Dante’s Inferno. Yet, having been raised a Catholic – I knew that hell was hot – and that the devil would administer no mercy.

I didn’t pray – back then. Certainly, I hadn’t seen the inside of a confessional – in years. I just hoped that I hadn’t already done too much damage. Immediately, I removed all remaining copies of Beacon© and my 2nd poetry book, Imperfections©, from the market – in early 1979. I felt my actions were consistent with the last poem’s promise in my 48 page, Beacon poetry book – as included below:

Beacon (part two)

When the waves break high around you,
And you fear you might capsize;
When the world is out to drown you,
And the storm clouds black your skies…

When adrift
Upon life’s oceans
So, your waters all seem strange,
Eyes uplift,
Dispel such notions,
With God’s help, you’ll find your ‘Range.’

Russ Miles writes romance books, poetry, songs, ezine articles, and mystery thriller novels that often include some of his early poetry. One, FOR SALE BY OWNERS:FSBO ISBN 0-595-28703-4,in trade paperback,is available by phone or Internet:1-800-Authors to order direct!

In 2006, his remaining copies of Beacon© and Imperfections© are being sold through his personal website http://www.MilesBooks.com and via “Poetry Book Orders” MilesBooks@gmail.com

Comments: MilesRuss@gmail.com

It was just after noon when the young President’s limousine made its way into a depository. He had stopped twice to shake hands with some nuns and school children. Suddenly, shots were fired; and at 1 p.m. President Kennedy was proclaimed dead.

Overnight, the number of inspirational poetry written about the president and the assassination that were received by the press could make up a few volumes of books. The question is, why poetry? Why not other forms of writing? What do you gain from writing or even reading one?

Let’s discover why poems are just irresistible during time of confusion and hardships.

It makes you feel better inside.

When we experience difficult time in our lives, sometimes we say that words just couldn’t express our feeling. That’s exactly right – if we’re trying to write a sentence or article. But not poems. It gives you freedom to write in fragments. It let your emotions out, freely and easily.

If you look at some of the most famous poets, inspirational verses that they write are almost related to their personal grief or difficult situation they experience.

Let’s take Helen Rice. Well known as the “poet laureate of inspirational verses” and famous for her motivational words, Helen Rice was writing those word of strength for her own self as well as for her readers. Those verses were written during the Great Depression when her rich young husband lost all his fortune in the stock market crash. Mounting debts forced Helen to work while her jobless and depressed husband lived in isolation and later committed suicide.

Her motivational and inspiring verses are words written not only to sooth the hearts of her readers but also to let go off the hardship that she felt inside. It was only through poems that she could channeled her voice during the hard time. Those poems actually made her feel good inside.

Inspirational poems give you hope and faith
If you know any ex-soldiers who had been to war, I’d like to ask you a favor. Go and talk to any one of them. And ask them if they knew any poems. You’d be surprised if they tell you that they memorize several and had written a few.

Prisoners of wars (POW) are known to memorized poems or write one during their hard time in war camps. Apart from religious verses, poetry is another form of written words that could give them hope. It keeps their faith and more importantly their sanity!

US prisoner of war at Vietnam was known to pass along a poem called Invictus by Earnest Henley for morale boost. Meaning “unconquerable”, the poem begins like this,

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

When you’re deprived from the freedom of outside world and contact with your fellow colleague is limited, you need motivational words to strengthen your wills. Poems like Invictus are just what the doctor ordered.

It Heals Aching Hearts
Nowadays, poems are being used in a few hospitals around the world as a form of therapy. Similar to art therapy, the aim is to make patients feel more open in expressing their feelings. “Difficult” patients were said to be more approachable and showed improved attitude when they were enrolled in such programs.

Poetry therapy is a form of therapy to help heals aching hearts. It helps you get rid off burden from your chest. Overall, it makes you feel better!

Poems Touches Your Heart
Can you tell me how many essays touch your heart? Yes, there might be a few that makes you wept but they are hardly memorable! But it’s a different thing with poems. It’s easily memorable and makes you want top pass it along to friends.

I give you an example. Have you heard the poem called “An Interview With God”? This classic poem had touched the hearts of millions of people. The owner of a website that created a presentation of the poem had been able to distribute this poem to millions of people around the world just by word of mouth. The reason is simple - it touches people’s heart. The impact of the poem is so incredible that the site owner made multimillion dollars from products derived from the poem.

Okay, I understand your problem. Some poems may make you dizzy, left you mentally tired and leaves nothing but a confused brain and tied tongue. But not all poems are like that. Most inspirational poems by poets like Edgar Guest, Ella Wheeler Wilcox and Helen Rice are easily readable but still carry strong impact and have deep message embedded in them.

Unlike an essay where you have to be concern about your grammar and paragraph, you can just express yourself freely with poems because it’s just like your heart’s intimate diary. If you can’t write one, just read one. At this internet age, a quick search and a click of a button at the search engine is all you need to get an inspirational poem in a snap. So, tarry no more. Let’s go and read one right now!

Lela Iskandar Suhaimi is a young father who teaches high school math. If he’s not lecturing his three-year old “energized” daughter, he updates a website on poems - inspirational poems that is!.

Chicken Soup is good for a cold

Sleep is good for the Flu

When I get a case of the Fears

What is a person to do?

It is not bacteria

Although it can eat away my soul

It is not a virus

Yet, it can keep me from feeling whole

I know what will do the trick,

What will put me back on top,

A great big bowl of Ice Cream

Will really hit the spot

That was great and now I am done

One bowl just won’t do

If one is good, then more is great

And now I have eaten two.

Bowls three, four, five and six

Came and then they went

I think my case of the fears are fixed

Look at how my time was spent

I am getting sleepy

It is time to go to bed

My fears are no longer in my stomach

Now they are in my head

I close my eyes and I can see

The Fears I want to kill

I will do, whatever it takes

To keep the monsters still.

When I rise to greet the day

My fears are rising too

I know I need a friend right now

Whatever will I do?

I walk into the kitchen

And Open the freezer door

I stop myself and think real hard

I have been here once before.

I grab a seat in my comfy chair

And reach over for the phone

What will I say, if you are there?

I can hear a dial tone.

I enter all your numbers

You answer right away

You sit and listen, as I speak

You said I would be ok.

We say good-bye and I start my day

I knew I had been wrong

I start to read and then to pray

To keep me feeling strong.

If you are like me then you will see

That the fears, they come and go

Be the person you were meant to be

Let your feelings show.

http://www.reflectingrace.com