Saturday, August 18, 2012
New Brother Embroidery PE-770
If someone had told me how much fun I would have with a new embroidery machine, I would have bought one a long time ago! As it was, it was just kind of one of those ideas I had of something I might like, and with retirement about one year away, I decided it would make sense to buy it now while I still had a paycheck. I could have purchased the machine on Amazon for about $75 less than I paid, but I wanted to keep my dollars local, and have a resource to go to if I had questions, needed lessons, or needed repairs. So, I went to Riverside Stitchin' Quilt about 30 minutes from home and talked with the very knowledgeable Chuck Kennedy who steered me in the direction of the Brother PE-770. What a great little machine! It was relatively easy to learn to use right out of the box. I tried several of the included embroidery patterns, and they were fine, but what I really wanted to do was applique'. So I started searching online for downloadable applique' patterns. I found some really cute ones at www.secretsof.com. I decided to put the "crazy gecko" pattern I choose on a denim bib since I already had all the supplies. It wasn't the easiest thing I have ever done, but it was only moderately difficult to pull off, and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with the result. Do you agree?
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
"Beaches in Mind"
It happens to all of us. We've all had at least one classic craft fail. Here's the story of mine. Not to worry though, it has a happy ending. It started with something I saw on Pinterest (of course). Here's the photo from the original pin. 
I'll fully admit, that I didn't follow the directions, so I'm in no way saying that it couldn't work the way described. However, I have this thing against Mod Podge. I've never had good luck with it (am I doing something wrong? I don't think so, but admit it may be possible!) So, being anti-Mod Podge, I decided that I would use double-sided scrapbook adhesive to attach the pictures I had chosen to the canvas. It was looking good! I was feeling pretty proud...but then, the final step, putting the copper-looking foil between the pictures. This is when things went terribly wrong! I saw them going bad but kept going, hoping for everything to fall together in the end. Well, it didn't. The pictures were not attached to the canvas firmly enough, they were not laying flat, the copper tape was not laying flat. To be honest, it was now looking horrible! Not one to give up, I kept hoping maybe I was being over critical. I gave it a day to sit while I pondered where I had gone wrong and what I could do to correct the problems with it. I came to the conclusion that there was nothing that could be done to fix it. The only way to get the end result I was hoping for was to start over. So, I ripped all the photos and the foil tape off the canvas and headed back to Michaels.
I decided that to get the look I was going for, the canvas was the first problem. It was too flexible, and there was no way that the photos would adhere to it without using Mod Podge or something like it. Still being very anti-Mod Podge, I had to look for an alternative. I ended up choosing a 24 x 36 inch white poster frame. The original project was 24 x 30, but since my pictures were 6 inch square, another 6 inches really didn't matter. It just added a row of pictures, and I decided it looked better sideways than lengthwise. The backing in the frame was good and solid (much more conducive to attaching photos using double sided adhesive). I used Scotch Double-Sided Removable Scrapbooking Tape. It took two 8.33 yard rolls, and wasn't the cheapest product I've ever used, but it worked beautifully. I stuck rows of the tape all across the frame back in about two inch row intervals. Then, as I placed a row of photos, I peeled off the tape backing a row at a time. The photos were easy to place, could be re-positioned if necessary, and stayed perfectly flat once attached.
Thankfully, I had plenty of photos from three years worth of the "page-a-day Islands gallery calendars" which I've been holding onto because they were just too beautiful to throw away.
Now, the final step was to get the decorative tape between the rows. Since this is when the last attempt had started to fail, I was a little concerned. However, never having been one to give up, I crossed my fingers and kept going. I hadn't really liked the copper foil look with these pictures, so this time I opted for white, to match the white frame and hopefully look a bit like window panes. I used a product called Recollections Mounting Tape. It was double sided and acid free. I placed it between the picture rows, and just didn't remove the white covering of the double sided tape. If Michaels web site had a more comprehensive list of the products they sell, I would link to it, but I couldn't locate it online. I found it easily in the store however. It comes in 15 ft. x 1/4 inch packages. I used two packages. Now, the final step, putting it in the frame. So far so good. I was starting to feel confident now!
So, here's the final product. Granted, it really doesn't look like the original Pinterest pin, but I love it! It really looks exactly how I was hoping it would. Other than the original fail, this project went really quick. I had the whole second try done in one evening. I've named it "Beaches in Mind" after the title of a Beach Boys song on their new album "That's Why God Made the Radio". It's a beautiful song that matches this project perfectly!.
I'll fully admit, that I didn't follow the directions, so I'm in no way saying that it couldn't work the way described. However, I have this thing against Mod Podge. I've never had good luck with it (am I doing something wrong? I don't think so, but admit it may be possible!) So, being anti-Mod Podge, I decided that I would use double-sided scrapbook adhesive to attach the pictures I had chosen to the canvas. It was looking good! I was feeling pretty proud...but then, the final step, putting the copper-looking foil between the pictures. This is when things went terribly wrong! I saw them going bad but kept going, hoping for everything to fall together in the end. Well, it didn't. The pictures were not attached to the canvas firmly enough, they were not laying flat, the copper tape was not laying flat. To be honest, it was now looking horrible! Not one to give up, I kept hoping maybe I was being over critical. I gave it a day to sit while I pondered where I had gone wrong and what I could do to correct the problems with it. I came to the conclusion that there was nothing that could be done to fix it. The only way to get the end result I was hoping for was to start over. So, I ripped all the photos and the foil tape off the canvas and headed back to Michaels.I decided that to get the look I was going for, the canvas was the first problem. It was too flexible, and there was no way that the photos would adhere to it without using Mod Podge or something like it. Still being very anti-Mod Podge, I had to look for an alternative. I ended up choosing a 24 x 36 inch white poster frame. The original project was 24 x 30, but since my pictures were 6 inch square, another 6 inches really didn't matter. It just added a row of pictures, and I decided it looked better sideways than lengthwise. The backing in the frame was good and solid (much more conducive to attaching photos using double sided adhesive). I used Scotch Double-Sided Removable Scrapbooking Tape. It took two 8.33 yard rolls, and wasn't the cheapest product I've ever used, but it worked beautifully. I stuck rows of the tape all across the frame back in about two inch row intervals. Then, as I placed a row of photos, I peeled off the tape backing a row at a time. The photos were easy to place, could be re-positioned if necessary, and stayed perfectly flat once attached.
Thankfully, I had plenty of photos from three years worth of the "page-a-day Islands gallery calendars" which I've been holding onto because they were just too beautiful to throw away.
Now, the final step was to get the decorative tape between the rows. Since this is when the last attempt had started to fail, I was a little concerned. However, never having been one to give up, I crossed my fingers and kept going. I hadn't really liked the copper foil look with these pictures, so this time I opted for white, to match the white frame and hopefully look a bit like window panes. I used a product called Recollections Mounting Tape. It was double sided and acid free. I placed it between the picture rows, and just didn't remove the white covering of the double sided tape. If Michaels web site had a more comprehensive list of the products they sell, I would link to it, but I couldn't locate it online. I found it easily in the store however. It comes in 15 ft. x 1/4 inch packages. I used two packages. Now, the final step, putting it in the frame. So far so good. I was starting to feel confident now!
So, here's the final product. Granted, it really doesn't look like the original Pinterest pin, but I love it! It really looks exactly how I was hoping it would. Other than the original fail, this project went really quick. I had the whole second try done in one evening. I've named it "Beaches in Mind" after the title of a Beach Boys song on their new album "That's Why God Made the Radio". It's a beautiful song that matches this project perfectly!.
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