Breaking Down a Collection

Is there ever enough space to store all of your crafts supplies???

I remember when we first moved into our house, I had more cabinets than I had stuff.  I mentioned this to my now husband and he mentioned my comment to a female friend.  She got a good laugh out of it and assured him that eventually the stuff would grow to fit the space.  Now I always seem to be cleaning out a cabinet, or closet or a space under the bed to store more stuff!

The craft room continually goes through changes as I use product, buy new things and change my interests.  A couple of years ago, I moved some of my sewing stuff up the the craft room that had previously been only papercrafts.  Now I need about half the space for sewing which means a lot less papercrafting storage.  I'm spending more and more of my time sewing again so I need the space to fit the function.  I'll have more on this change in an upcoming video.

In the meantime, I'm working through collections and emptying drawers. In this video, I share my process for breaking down a collection.  I still save a lot of stuff but not in a drawer devoted to one waning collection.

Video: 



How do you break down your collections or kits?  Do you move items to other areas, donate supplies, throw out what you haven't used?

Thanks for watching today!

I think I can!

There are bicycle paths all over Hilton Head Island. This one stretch though you biked by the road until just a few years ago when they added paths through the trees. The only catch is there is a fairly steep hill to get over.  I cut over to the roadside and bike around it.  DH bikes over that hill every time he can.  He really has to get a running start.

The page also captures some photos on the beach and a good one of the two of us together.

Here's the process video.


Thanks for visiting today!

"Reading" while crafting

My husband has always loved books on tape. That's how far back it goes.  He started listening to books when they were actually on cassette tapes!  Then Cd's and now he listens to audiobooks.

I have taken a lot longer to come around to this type of information and entertainment. I read traditional paper books until about 2 years ago when I bought a tablet.  I still like to read a book and I think it engages the mind in a different way than an audiobook.

However, an audiobook does engage my mind.  I can see now why he wears his headset everywhere listening to books on the go, while working, or walking.  I haven't gone that far but I have found one place I particularly love to have a good novel being read to me or listen to an author share their non-fiction book and that is my craft room.

When I'm cardmaking or cutting fabric or even practicing free motion quilting, I can listen at the same time and I love it.

We download books through our local library system; however, sometimes the wait is long and the selection more limited in audiobooks than ebooks so I went looking for another option.

I've been using Scribd for about a month now and I like it a lot. (see link below)  Books aren't unlimited as it does hold back some popular titles for another month; however, I found the book I most wanted to read.  Our next book club choice was Educated and the library wait was too long. I've listened to another non-fiction book, a popular novel and am now starting another book club selection that had a long library wait time.  Another advantage of Scribd is that you can download the book or you can just stream. I've streamed a few to decide whether I wanted to continue or not.  Mostly I download so I can listen from anywhere.

The main reason I like audiobooks now when I didn't like CD's before is that I can adjust the speed.  I often speed up the speaker to 1.2x and that little extra can make all the difference.  Some books have both male and female voices so it is more like listening to a play.

Now when I'm cutting quilt fabric or making cards, I'm usually 'reading' as well.  It's fun and informative.

If you like audiobooks or would like to give them a try, here is my Scribd link for 2 free months. Full disclosure, I get one additional free month for anyone who signs up. You can cancel at any time so you don't have to continue past the first 2 months if it isn't for you.  At $8.95 per month it is much cheaper than Audible.com and gives you far more books per month.

Scribd Free 2 Month Trial

Hope you are having a crafty fall!

Working with a collection

I've been cleaning out my craft room again.  This time it is to make way for more sewing things which means some papercrafting product must go.  This collection by Crate Paper is one of those that I loved the idea of it more than the practical application. I figured it had one more scrapbook page in there, so I found a photo of my cousins, my mom and me and did a page commemorating a day we spent together when one cousin traveled to NC for a visit.  The journaling captures snippets of our day together and provides memory triggers that I hope will still be working for me in years to come.  If I can't remember everything, I can always call my cousins. Good memory is a family trait.

The process video is here:


After completing this page, I did about 2 more cards and then put the rest in my donate bag.  It's cute stuff but I just couldn't make it work for most of my cards and scrapbooking.  It's hard for me to part with pretty paper but I have to realize I can only use so much.

Thanks for visiting today.

Cute Little Umbrellas and 10,000!

To celebrate with friends, I made some pina colada cupcakes (minus the rum) and I wanted them to be a little more festive.  What these cuties needed were those little umbrellas you find in drinks.  I didn't have any and live in a small town with few shopping options so I decided to make my own.

I'm using a scallop punch, toothpicks, paper and glue.  Here's the video:



The cupcakes spelled Congratuations with takes a remarkable amount of table space to display.  Next time I might try just Congrats.  :-)  The cupcakes are coconut flavored with a pineapple filling and then buttercream frosting and a sprinkle of coconut. 

Oh and I'm celebrating too.  My YouTube channel at LisaEDesign now has 10,000 subscribers!!!
Thanks for visiting!

Flipping a Sketch

Have you ever trained a cat?

Are you laughing at me right now?  Yes, you can train a cat as long as the cat gets the best end of the deal.

Our kitty has a certain routine he uses to get doors opened and to get fed.  He puts his paw up in the window when he wanted dinner and we put our hand up to meet his.  Once that occurs, he hops down knowing his order is in place.  The best trick is the sunroom one that is talked about in the early part of the video.

This layout uses one of my old sketches.  The sketchbooks are still available for purchase through my Etsy shop:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/LovelyLayersArt

Here's the video:



Pet pages are always fun to do.  Thanks for watching!

Two videos

I posted this first one on YouTube a couple of weeks ago but failed to get it here on the blog.  The next one is new.

The multi-photo spread is of a visit to the uptown Mint Museum in Charlotte.  My Mind's Eye chalkboard themed paper with little frames makes up the background with cardstock to separate it from the photos.  Keeping all the background in neutral colors allows the colorful photos and gelliprint embellishments to show up.  For a change of pace, my journaling is handwritten.  I dislike my handwriting so you will seldom see it on my pages.

The most recent layout is a mixed media page for a 5x7 photo of my husband walking on the beach.

I used mists and bookpaper to create a more masculine background.  The embellishments are wood, metal and ribbons, many items of texture.  There is no designer paper at all on this page.

2 Pager process video:



5x7 Photo process video:



So this catches me up for awhile. Hope you enjoy the videos!

Altering Designer Paper

Sometimes the perfect pattern isn't the perfect color.  I'm continuing our trip to Charleston from last spring.  As I was looking at the photos for inspiration, I thought that a brick background stamp or paper would be perfect to accentuate the lovely architecture of the town and that we were on a garden tour which are often behind the brick walls of private residences.  Unfortunately, I did not really have a brick stamp.  I knew I had a brick paper; it just took me a long time to find.

When I did the brick were very red.  A good color for brick but not for my photos of Charleston.  So I decided to distress the brick with some white paint.  I didn't quite get the true effect yet it toned down the red enough to make the paper work with my photos.

Here is the video:



Thanks for watching!  I try to monitor comments and get back to you with answers to question.  I am close to 10,000 subscribers which amazes me.  Thanks for following me, liking the videos and adding comments.  It is very motivational.

Layout and a Video...finally

Sometimes being busy and procrastinating pays off.

When I started this two page layout, I had a different idea of how to embellish it but when I finally got back to the page nearly 2 months later, I realized it needed a little more chic look to tell the story.

The process video starts with the first idea and then migrates to the 2nd.  While this isn't my most original layout, as I've done this kind of arrangement before, it pleases me.  Hopefully it will inspire me to do a few more pages.  Process video 



I have slightly more room in my crafting space as I bought a new printer and put it back in the office downstairs where we used to keep our printer.  I don't print that much for anything anymore so I figured it could take up space there rather than on my worktable - and my husband was starting to invade my space with clutter.  I moved the Silhoeutte to my crafting table, freeing up a little more space in the sewing section.  Clearing and reorganizing is always motivating to me.

Hope you have a great weekend!

What's happening

Hi!  I've been blogging since February 2009 and I realized that 1) I let my 10 year anniversary go uncelebrated and 2) I am in danger this month of not posting for the first month ever.

I started a scrapbook layout video and then had to set it aside for another project. So that will be coming along one of these days.   I have been doing some crafty things mixed in with some fun travel, some family obligations that were less fun and home maintenance which is never fun but turned out well.

So here are things I've completed in the last few weeks.

This is the first cowl I've ever knitted.  Honestly, I didn't really get why anyone would want to knit a cowl probably because I still remember cowl necks from the 70's or 80's and was hoping to not wear that trend again.  Yet knitting shawls is the most popular choice of my knitting group.  While I like making them, I don't like wearing them.  I find it difficult to place my work so that the right side shows the way it should and for it to stay put as I wear it.  If they cover my entire shoulder area, they aren't flattering on me either.  Broad shoulders, round face, it just doesn't work.

But I do like making them and using that pretty fingerling yarn without having to buy so much for a project.  So I bought one hank of Baah La Jolla in the March colorway and gave the Naranj pattern a go. I couldn't get gauge so I had to adjust the design just a bit adding two more stitches to each repeat and redoing the math. I'm incapable of leaving a pattern alone.  I added some beads I had to the bottom section.  I enjoyed making it and I love wearing it!  I plan to wear it more this fall with my denim jacket.

My big finish was this quilt I started last summer.  And it is big.  Maybe a bit too big.  The photo is taken on a double bed but it is even a little large for our queen.  I wanted to make something large enough in case we changed to a king mattress.  That may happen as another thing I've been doing is trying mail order mattresses without success.  Ugh, that is a whole other story.

This is the largest project where I did free motion quilting.  I did the quilt in sections and used the joining methods in Marti Michell's wonderful class on Bluprint called Machine Quilting in Sections to help me.  I took a few months off in the fall but I'd say I worked on it as a primary sewing project for about 7 months.

Also I recently was invited to do a demonstration of mixed media techniques for boxes.  I started a set of nested boxes in the demo, brought them home and added a few embellishments.  They were gifted. I'll post those on Instagram soon.

I have a baby quilt done and fabric for another.  I just haven't taken any photos.  So I guess I have been busy lately just not in making videos.  I do hope to get back to those when life settles a bit.

You can always find me on Instagram with projects I have completed, flowers and goodies from the kitchen at https://www.instagram.com/lisaecherd/
Thanks for your patience and I hope you have a very crafty summer.

Quick page using a Gelli Print, Supplies from stash

It's getting warmer here in N.C.  Fingers crossed, we have covered the plum tree for the last time to protect it from late frosts.  With warmer weather comes the opportunity to visit our NC Mountains for days out.  That is still a month or more away as their season hasn't started yet.  For this page, I remembered a trip last summer where I spent a lovely day by myself walking, reading, shopping and enjoying the cool mountain air.

One of the background papers is from a gelli print video I did awhile back. I said in the video that it is linked with the little "i" symbol in the right corner. Apparently YouTube has done away with that feature, too so it is linked in the description.

This page full of typed journaling came together quickly in this video:



Thanks for watching!

Art in Bloom and Card

We love flowers.  The NC Museum of Art in Raleigh has a special exhibition in the spring of floral arrangements.  Each floral designer takes inspiration from a piece of art and interprets the piece through their floral design.  Some were small table top arrangements, others large floor to ceiling depictions.  Here are just a couple of photos.  More on my Instagram feet @lisaecherd

A depiction in white flowers of the marble statue in the background.

One of the more stunning displays evokes the theme of the painting 'Eruption of Mount Vesuvius' 

I used this concept in creating a card for my Mother's birthday.  We had attended the exhibition as part of an outing to celebrate her.  The print on my card is downloaded from the National Gallery of Art's open source collection.  It is called Young Girl Reading by Jean Honore Fragonard.  I took my colors and arrangement for the Silhouette cut flowers from the painting.  I die cut most of the flowers out of cardstock or 6x6 papers and added a little Distress Oxide ink for shading.  The sheer fabric on the bottom is to pick up the rouched collar the girl is wearing. The entire card is mounted on a dark green cardstock like the background of the painting.

This was fun to do.  My mother is an avid gardener and she can create beautiful floral arrangements and interesting combinations in the pots in her gardens.  She enjoyed the exhibit very much.  If Raleigh were closer we would go every year.

When I can narrow down my choices, I'll print some of the photos and do a layout. We have several good photos of mother from that day.

Thanks for visiting today!

Combining two different color schemes

My Mother and I are very different in many ways.  One is color. She likes neutrals and does amazing things with her neutral wardrobe.  For me it is all about color.

This photo exemplifies that.  I also talk about our similarities and differences in the hidden journaling.

To marry the two color schemes, I used some watercolors on the background and added a variety of embellishments.  The background starts with a layer of gel paste to get a relief effect.

Hope you enjoy the video:


Thanks for watching!

Winter Poncho - just in time for Spring

I've been joking with my knitting group that I would finish this poncho just in time for warm weather.  If I hadn't knitted about 4 hours on Saturday and 2 more hours on Sunday to get it blocked so I could wear it this week, I might have missed the cold weather.  I've worn it twice already and I really love the warmth and the design.

This is not only the first poncho I've ever made but the first one I've owned.  Never thought I would like one but I do and it won't be my last.

The pattern is Camybe which you can find here on Ravelry.com.  I almost always alter patterns sometimes a lot but this time the only change I made was to substitute a simpler cable for the two side ones in the main design.  I wanted something I didn't have to constantly look at the chart for and I got it.  Once I got one repeat, I hardly looked at the pattern again.  It is just one big rectangle, folded in half and sewn up the shoulder.  I like how she designed the cabling so that the shoulder looks like one cable when it is two come together.

Used Berroco Vintage yarn in color Aubergine.

So now that spring is right around the corner, I'm staring a 3/4 length sleeve sweater which will probably be done in late May.  You guessed it, when it is too hot here to wear it!

Close up of shoulder.  Two different cable edges sewn together in the middle.

Thanks for visiting!

Mixed Media Layout for larger photo

This page was inspired by an art journal page.  I had not done any art journaling for over 6 months.  One day I just took a notion to play and created a page using paint, deli paper and mists that I liked.  So I used those same techniques on this layout just in different colors.

Most of my pages tell a story. This one is meant to convey a feeling.

Also on the page is some stitching using the free motion quilting foot on my sewing machine. I've been working on a quilt so I gave it a try on paper.  I only changed out the needle to an older one I didn't care to dull.  Paper dulls needles just as it does scissors.

It was a fun page to do and I love the effects with pearl paint, mists and the crinkled paper.  Here's the video:



So looking forward to when I can walk on this beach again.  Thanks for visiting with me today!

Using bold paper with photos

I love doing pages with children's photos. I get to use bright colors and fun embellishments.

For these three photos I have used a bright collection called Go Now Go from Shimelle Lane For American Crafts.  Using my old Creative Memories circle cutters I trimmed down one of the photos to allow a little more space for embellishments and journaling.  One of the journaling cards created a space for the title.

Here is the video:


Thanks for watching today!

Gelli Printing with 3x5 Plate

When I first got into gelli printing, a fellow crafter told me her favorite size plate was the 3x5.  This didn't make sense to me, why use a small plate when you could cover so much more ground with a large one.  After I bought the smaller size I got it. It's really versatile and I love the prints I get whether I'm doing something small or large.

I just had a notion to play the other day with little in mind of what to do with the prints.  After a few prints, I remembered that I needed some purple paper for an upcoming page.  Purple is a difficult color to find in scrapbooking but I had plenty of paint so I just made my own.

Here's the video



Thanks for watching!

What's in a name?

How did you get your name?

My mother swears she named me after the Mona Lisa.  I did not believe her because Lisa was such a popular name in the 1960's.  There were always other Lisa's in my class at school.  In one of my high school classes, 5 of us were named Lisa.  The Mona Lisa had been around for centuries.  Why would it suddenly be a popular name?

Mother says that she was doing dishes one night and Daddy had the news on.  She heard on the news that the Mona Lisa would be coming to NY for a showing. She decided then if she ever had a daughter, she would name her Lisa.  The Mona Lisa did come to NY for a showing a couple of years before I made my showing.   I just didn't know that for several years. The reason I doubted her is that there was a popular soap opera character on As The World Turns named Lisa. She was played by NC native, Eileen Fulton.  I thought she must have named me after that Lisa or because it was so popular.

I'm sorry I doubted her.  She and my father did get to see the Mona Lisa in Paris in the late 1970's. She probably didn't expect that to happen when she was washing her dishes in her kitchen in NC in 1962.

My page about this starts with a present day photo.  Here's the process video for the page.


Thanks for visiting and for all the positive feedback on my videos.

Using Photos as Embellishments

We try to find things that the three of us can do together.  Gardens and shopping are favorite outings.  This one was in Hendersonville, NC.  The gardens outside of town specialize in dahlias.  Mother grew some dahlias herself last summer until the voles got ahold of them so she particularly enjoyed seeing the ones there.  They also gave her tips to avoid having her dahlias munched on by garden invaders.  She is supposed to plant her dahlias in black nursery pots that have holes in the bottom and put the entire thing in the ground.  The roots will grow out through the holes but the voles can't get to the main part of the plant that way.

For this layout, I used a circle punch to punch photos of flowers into embellishments.  I often take photos of the flowers and plants in gardens we visit. This is a way to incorporate them on the page without taking up too much space.

Here is the process video:


Thanks for visiting today!

Fall Knitting Projects

During the fall, I compelted 3 knitting projects.  My favorite is the zip front sweater made from Malabrigo Rios in color Liquidamber.

I'm also getting a lot of wear out of my red/pink scarf made with one of my favorite yarns La Jolla by Baah.  This is the third project I've made with this yummy yarn.  This time the color was a monthly special from September 2018.   The pattern is the Best Friend scarf from the knitting buzz and I used an edging I found on Ravelry.

My last project of the year was the Moab Shawl using Hedgehog yarn in Beach Bunny.  I also threw in some black fingerling, a little of the La Jolla September and some orange I had in my stash.  It is striking but I'm still not sure I like it.  For both of the scarfs, I added beads thanks to this Craftsy class:  Knitting with Beads  

I share many more details as well as challenges I had with these projects in this video:



Thanks for watching!

New Year, New Layout, New Video

Happy New Year!  It's time to do my favorite scrapbook page of the year.  For this layout I use a selfie, lots of journaling that needs a little creative hiding and a paper collection chosen simply because it is pretty.

For this layout, I've used some old Basic Grey with lots of the stickers.  I also added a few 6x6 paper scraps.  The video shares the folding technique to get a lot of journaling about my accomplishments from 2019 and my plans for the new year on one page.  Also in the video are links with a little 'i' in the corner to some of my past pages with hidden journaling.

Video:


My resolution this year has to do with one of my least favorite things in the world - housework.  Ugh!  But I have to admit that I really like it when the house is clean - well, cleaner - so I want to get more done each week.  I find resolutions work best when it is something specific you do for a little bit each day.

Have you made a resolution for 2019?