Archive for January, 2010
Add A Die Cut Machine To Your Scrapbooking Supplies
A die cut machine is a really neat addition to your scrapbooking and card making supplies. This fun tool allows you to cut out intricate shapes, designs, letters, frames, and more with ease and without scissors.
There are a number of styles of die cut machines available on the market, and they vary greatly in price and how they perform. Some of them are manually operated, others are electronic, and some of them require a computer to operate them. It is a matter of personal choice as to what you choose and how much you are willing to pay.
Regardless of which you choose, be prepared to spend more money after your initial purchase, as all of them (as far as I am aware) require additional cartridges, templates, dies, or software. Even if you purchase a die cut package which includes the machine and additional supplies, you more than likely will be tempted to buy more.
If you do not have one and decide to purchase one, be ready to have fun and create some neat projects!
Scrapbooking has become so popular in recent years that supplies to create fabulous scrapbooks are readily available in abundant supply nearly everywhere we look. It would seem as if embellishments are available for absolutely any subject or topic we could imagine. The problem then arises – Where do we keep all this ‘stuff?’
If you are serious about your hobby/craft and have looked around much, then you’ve seen the really neat scrapbook totes on the market, and you probably even have one. The totes come in a great variety of styles and are a really practical and convenient way to store and carry all your supplies from place to place. If you haven’t invested in one, now just may be the perfect time to do so.
In the past, scrapbooking consisted of buying a plain album and attaching photos or post cards with photo corners (which were usually, if not always, black) to plain ugly pages. That was about it! Any information included with the photos was generally, as I recall, written on the back of the photos. All one had to do was slip the pictures out of the photo corners to read the back sides.
Those days are, thankfully, far behind us. Scrapbooking has come a long way since then. There are scrapbook pages of so many colors, designs and themes that I imagine one could spend hours browsing them all. Crafts stores have aisle after aisle of neat embellishments of everything one can imagine along with tools to enhance your scrapbook pages.
All one has to do is browse through all the supplies available to get the creative juices flowing. Even a beginner should have no trouble finding ideas to get started.
Making a scrapbook is, in essence, recording history of your life and that of your family and friends. It is an account of special occasions and events in your life that you want to remember. You are telling a story with photos, journaling, and embellishments.
It is important, then, to plan your scrapbooking page layouts so that you can properly convey these events to others who may browse through your album.
To find ideas for your pages, try searching the internet. See how others have laid out their pages. Often you can find free layout ideas, which will inspire your own imagination and creativity.
If you want to start scrapbooking, but feel inhibited by the cost of all the supplies needed, why not consider starting with a scrapbooking kit? Kits come in a variety of color palettes and styles and include everything needed to get you going at a one-time reasonable price.
One of the kits that I purchased included a scrapbook album, a wide variety of two-sided scrapbook pages, card stock, several frames, tags, stick-on letters, borders (many with pre-printed sayings), a marker and a glue stick. The entire contents of the kit were color-coordinated. The only supplies I have to add to this kit are my photos. I don’t even need to get out my scissors unless I have to trim my photos.
It’s a new year! What a great time to start a new scrapbook album if you haven’t done so. The old year has come and gone and hopefully the coming year looks much brighter for you and your loved ones.
If you are a beginner to scrapbooking, the timing is perfect. You can start with your activities from the first minute of 01/01/2010 -( unless you did what I did. I watched the ball drop on TV and went straight to bed.)
If your family is like our family and a lot of others, January is a busy month. We have 3 wedding anniversaries and 3 birthdays to celebrate. Once you get started, you’re sure to find many reasons to scrapbook and many occasions to record.
It’s cold here in Florida now, and when it’s cold here that usually means that most of the rest of the U.S. is cold too. That tells me that it is a good time to stay inside and get busy scrapbooking!
Now having come here from Ohio, I realize that it is not really cold, but when you’ve been here for a while and endure the hot summers, 50 or 60 degrees for daytime highs and 30 degrees, maybe even in the 20′s at night, feels quite chilly. Besides, our cold spells usually last only a couple days, and then it is back to the 80′s. This one is lasting over a week!
Anyway, whether you’re into scrapbooking or another craft or hobby, now is a good time to work on it. Keep warm!
One of the most exciting and fun types of trip can be the road trip. Although it requires a lot of stamina, it’s a fantastic way to see a lot of things in a short amount of time. Because the trip is likely to be a blur of activities and events, it’s a good idea to keep a personal log. It doesn’t have to be anything involved or special, but it’s a great way of reminding yourself of all the fun things you did every day of the trip.
If you keep this log, you can even incorporate that text into a scrapbook. One of the best scrapbooking ideas is to print out the text of your specific day and paste it in the middle of the page. Then the pictures you took on that day can be creatively placed around that text. In this way, anyone who enjoys your scrapbook after the fact will not only get to enjoy some snapshots from your trip, but they will also get to read about your day to day adventures.
….continued from yesterday…..
American Flyer New York Central
World War II ended the production of toy electric trains from 1940 through 1945. When production resumed after the war, their popularity skyrocketed.
By the 1950′s, electric trains were the most popular toys among boys in the United States. Lionel was the largest toy train manufaturer, and they had become much more affordable.
Over the years various gauges of toy trains were introduced to the public. Realistic sounds and digital control systems were eventually added to the electric toy trains in the 1980′s. It has been estimated that there are over a half million train collectors in the United States and Canada.
Not only do toy electric trains provide a lot of enjoyment for the entire family, they have a history almost as rich as that of the real railroads.
Toy trains first appeared on the market during the 1860′s. These trains were simply designed and were made from wood and metal. It is highly unlikely that the designers of them had any inkling of what these simple floor toys would evolve into.
The first electric toy train was introduced to the world in 1901, a product of the Lionel Toy Company. Originally this train was meant to be used only as a window display. However, customers soon grew more interested in the trains in the window display than in the merchandise.
During the 1920′s electric toy trains became really popular. All of the kids wanted one, but only the rich could afford them.
…more tomorrow…..