Saturday 17 November 2012

Getting Up To Speed (NoMoBloPo #17)

A little while ago I got excited about this pin on pinterest.
Source: lolalina.com via Alex on Pinterest

I've had it in the back on my mind since and so I used one of my work lunchtimes to do a little work on it. I don't know about you - but at my work Avery L7163 is our label of choice. 14 to a page and the right size for addresses.
Christmas labels for printing
Now I just need to cut them out with suitably crazy bladed scissors. Now I 'just' need to decide on the string. Do I faff about with baker's twine or shall I just use proper string? Certainly not buying it.
Cunning. 

6 weekends til Christmas people...


Friday 16 November 2012

Thursday 15 November 2012

Keeping Track Tutorial (NaMoBloPo #15)

Sister Diane of CraftyPod has been looking at keeping up to date with what your favourite bloggers are doing. I'm going to share what I do.

She mentions an aggregator called FlipBoard and this is what I use. It's a free app I've got installed on my phone. You can use it to keep track of multiple media sites, or not, as you desire. For me the main use is for keeping track of blogs. This is my first screen when I open the app.
Flipboard one
The top section is what the app decides are the top stories from all the other boxes you have. Then below that I've chosen to have UK news and Technology news. I can touch any of these to go into them in more detail. Then this is my second page of the app (I only have 2).
Flipboard two
From the top I've got Science news, Flickr uploads by me and my Flickr friends, Google reader (this is the one I use most), Craftzine, Twitter and Facebook. It's Google reader I'm going to concentrate on as it makes keeping track of blogs so amazingly simple.

First up you need a Google account. I defy you not to have one already. If you use Google+, blogger or gmail account you've already got one. If by some chance you don't just click here and create one. If you do have one go to http://www.google.com/reader, click on the red 'subscribe' button and think of a blog you enjoy reading. Type or copy and paste the blog address into the box and click 'add'.
Adding something to Google Reader
Simple!

Now the clever part. Open your Flipboard app and one of the grey squares will say 'More'. Tap it then select 'Accounts' and 'Add an Account'. This is where you add your Google Reader account details.

And that's it. Now, whenever you want to see what's new with the blogs you follow you open Flipbook and tap your Google Reader square. It will bring up the most recent updates. So for example...here we have something from the book guru Knitting on the Green.
Fifty shades
It gives me the main pic and a few lines of text. To read the whole post I tap and it opens up. I can comment on and read other posts if I want to. If I don't want to read the whole post I just stroke the screen to flip it upwards and move onto the next most recent post.

And that's it!

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Pay it Forward Attempt Two (NaPoMoBlo #14)

Someone on the U'R Priceless bloghop mentioned 'pay it forward' which reminded me...

I did a Pay it Forward post a month ago and no one took me up on the offer.
unhappy party people
A bit of googling gave me this TED event last December where they talk about pay it forward as "the values and proactive attitudes that need to make their way from generation to generation, in order to boost commitment towards a better world". I kinda like that.
happiest cat

Now get to that old post and sign up before I slaps ya.


Tuesday 13 November 2012

We're All Mad Here (NaMoBloPo #13)

Disney - This Way to the Mad Tea Party
The best definition of patchwork I've seen was "cutting up bits of fabric and sewing them back together". It captures exactly what happens from both the crafter's point of view and from that of the bemused looker-on. It is something that *had* to have evolved out of necessity - making things out of other things which had part worn out - because you'd not deliberately start out with that intention in mind when you could just get a piece of fabric printed with any patchwork pattern. Plenty of examples can be seen on Spoonflower.


And yet...there is this compulsion to do exactly that. There can be only one explanation. Quilters are obsessive compulsive. Which in itself reminds me...

International Charm Square Swap Image


Sunday 11 November 2012

Idealist (NaMoBloPo #12)

I was on Pinterest last night, pinning away merrily, when I wanted to check if I'd already pinned something. I very quickly realised I'd forgotten a lot of what I pinned. It was time to give those Boards an airing.

For example, I've been looking for a belt to wear to my sister's wedding. Then I see this.
Source: flickr.com via Alex on Pinterest

That way I can make it exactly the size I want.

I've been pinning lots of little house blocks for more than a year now. I have the wooden blocks my Dad made me to paint and I have more than enough supplies to make some of these little ones.

I could kill two birds and make them into a mobile. Possibly to go alongside some of the other zillion mobiles I've pinned.
Source: etsy.com via Alex on Pinterest


Source: etsy.com via Alex on Pinterest


Then there are all the patchwork blocks I want to try. There are too many to share here but I bought a dresden plate template when I saw this.

Perhaps that will be next!

So, people of Pinterest...don't just keep pinning. Remember to revisit your neglected Boards!