Matchitecture Wood Models

By Christina VanGinkel

The first time I ever saw a model built from matchsticks it was just a picture. I was about ten years old, and one of my older brothers was working in Oklahoma. He sent me a picture postcard, and the postcard had a picture of the Taj Mahal built out of matchsticks on it. I thought it was one of the grandest structures ever, and that it was built out of matchsticks just made it all that much better. I actually kept that postcard for many years, not because my brother sent it, but because I was so fascinated by the building. I could not get over the fact that someone took the time to create something so detailed out of something as ordinary as a matchstick.

Matchitecture has created models made of what are called Microbeams. Essentially, the basis of the common matchstick was turned into a mini beam used to create all sorts of structures. From the Eiffel Tower, to the Empire State Building, the Taj Mahal, to a Mississippi Steamboat, to a train from the Gold Rush days. There are now pre-assembled kits for all sorts of amazing structures. The kits include everything you will need to turn that pile of Microbeams into whatever design it has intended. Included in each kit are all the required Microbeams for the project at hand, one acetate sheet, one Microbeam cutter, one bottle of wood glue, 1 Microbeam tweezers, all necessary plans for the project, and complete instructions. Some kits may include additional contents.

The construction process for assembling one of these kits can be a challenge. With the included plans and cutter, the builder will need to measure each beam and cut accordingly. If you have a child that is interested, in model building of any kind, or one who is interested in the prospect of architecture, these Matchitecture kits can be a great way for them to explore the world of building and creating magnificent structures from common materials.

When compared to how kids at one time would have had to collect used matchsticks and save them until they had enough to create whatever it was they were dreaming of creating, these kits might seem like a breeze. Save for the fact that all of the supplies are included, along with plans and instructions, these kits are still a great challenge. They might come pre-assembled, as in all of the materials are included, but from the cutting of the first Microbeam, until the last one is glued in place, there is a lot of work and potential fun in between, and a lot of room for the great feeling of accomplishment one will feel upon completing any of these structures.

From bridges to cathedrals, prop planes to trains, if you are interested in any sort of model building, but are looking for something a bit different to try, then do check out the Matchitecture models. Amazon.com has a good selection of Matchitecture kits available. Prices range from less than fifteen dollars (bulldozer kit) upwards to around thirty-five dollars (windmill). Refill kits of Microbeams are also available. Amazon.com has one with 2000 Microbeams for $13.99. It is ideal for finishing off any pre-assembled Matchitecture kits where you might have made a few miscalculations and are in need of a few more Microbeams to finish your structure in the making, or these refill kits could also be used to create your own one of a kind designs. With your imagination as your limit, the possibilities are endless. I like the idea of these refill kits as much if not more so than the kits themselves. They are much more reminiscent of the first matchstick structure I saw, with each builder having to come up with their own creations.

I was unable to find a recommended age for the Matchitecture kits but would say that kids as young as elementary age to adults would find these kits to be both fun and challenging. They would be a great way to challenge the mind and end up with something that one could be proud to show others and display. If you or someone you know enjoys building models, or has shown an interest in the hobby of crafting models, then try one of these for something a bit different that your typical kit model.

Rainy Day Craft Ideas for Kids

Even though it is summer time, there are many days when it is too hot or rainy for outdoor activities. Most kids love to work on crafts ands a bad-weather day is the perfect time to pull out the crafts and get started. By making a trip to the cart store ahead of time-- and by having basic craft supplies on hand-- you can be ready for a rainy day any time.

There are a few basic supplies that are good to have on hand at all times. Kids are creative and can come up with their own ideas how to use these items. Or, you can check online at craft websites or in craft books for some fun things to make. Here are some basic craft supplies that you may want to have on hand:

Construction paper
Card stock
Paints-- both watercolors and acrylics
Colored pencils
Crayons
An assortment of paint brushes
Glitter glue
Tape
Felt
Pipe cleaners
Sequins
Beads
Stencils
Stickers
Child scissors

The craft store also has some great craft kits that are easy to use and can provide hours of fun for you and your kids. Some favorite kid crafts include:

"Stained glass" ornaments-- These are actually plastic ornaments that can be painted with special paint to make them look as though they are stained glass.

Stepping stone kit-- These kits come with molds, cement mix, glitter glue and multicolored stones for decorating. Mix the cement with water and pour into the mild. Let it dry (usually for about a half an hour) and then decorate with stones, glitter, etc. It will be a day or two before you can remove the stepping stone from the mold.

Jewelry making kits-- Little girls will love to thread beads and stones onto wire to make bracelets and necklaces. Look for ready-made kits that include every thing you need or scout around for a variety of beads and stones that you think your kids will love.

Photo scrapbook kit-- If your child is a little photographer, help display his or her talents by making a photo scrapbook together. Many scrap booking kits can be bought with everything already included. If you'd rather make a more customized scrapbook, buy a scrapbook in any style that you wish. You will also need background papers, adhesives, scissors, a mini paper cutter, page protectors, stickers and other embellishments. The background papers and stickers are especially fun to shop for, as these can make your scrapbook very customized.

Paint by numbers. Remember these fun kits from the 1970's? Well, paint by number kits are back and they're a great way to give an unconfident or budding artist a much-needed boost. Ready-made templates are easy to paint-- just paint each numbered section with the corresponding color (example, all of the areas that are marked with a number 1 might need to be painted blue). Paint by number kits provide instant gratification for young painters!

Wood items to paint-- And speaking of painting, if your child is a bit more advanced, check out the section in the craft store that houses assorted wood items. From mini shelves to wall letters to small ornaments-- these wood pieces can be painted with inexpensive acrylics. Stock up on a variety of colors (small bottles of acrylic paints run well under a dollar each). You may want to also buy some glaze or varnish top coat to protect your child's works of art.

Make your own:

Play dough by mixing together 2 and a half cups of flour, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of salt. Roll the dough into a few balls and tint with the food coloring hues of your choice. This dough can be stored in your refrigerator after you use it.

Wrapping paper or gift bags by decorating a plain roll of brown paper or plain white or brown shopping bags. Embellish them by gluing on sequins, felt and by using markers, crayons and glitter glue. You can use a rubber stamp to decorate a roll of plain paper-- just stamp away.

Creative crafts will keep your kids busy during those long summer days-- and you may even find that they look forward to shopping for supplies with you as you plan your next craft!

If Your Hobby is Reenacting: Keeping in Character

It doesn't matter what time period you're portraying; staying "in character" and never mentioning cell phones, computers, on any other 21st century amenity is hard. So how do you know how to watch what you say and actually act as though you're a person from another era? It's easy if you keep a few simple rules in mind.

(1) Study the time period you are portraying. Study so hard that you think, feel, and breathe that era. Learn what people ate, how they talked, and what they wore. Acquire a liking for fried eel, poached quail, or any other historical favorite that may no longer be on the menu (okay, you don't have to go *that* far). Find out what people knew of geography at the time; it's hardly appropriate to be talking about the Australian
Aborigines if you're portraying a man or woman from the Middle Ages.

(2) Dress the part. Don't come to a reenactment, a historical wedding, or a Renaissance faire dressed like a 21st century American. Not only is it embarrassing to your fellow reenactors, but people will think you're not as much of a history buff as you claim. You don't need to spend tons of money on an authentic reproduction outfit, but you *can* find sewing patterns and create your own gowns, coats, trousers, etc. Whether or not you go the whole mile for historical authenticity, buying or sewing petticoats, shifts, corsets, and stockings, it's your call. You have to decide how much is too much.

(3) Check your accent when you speak. Is somebody from Cockney England going to have a Southern accent? Not likely! If possible, listen to tapes, watch TV shows, or talk to a friend with the same accent you are trying to copy. After you've spent enough time practicing, you'll realize that you know the inflections that will help you sound like a true Cockney. (Don't expect to sound exactly like them, however. Accents are extremely hard to copy perfectly unless you grew up in that part of the world. If the person you've "become" would have spoken in a voice that you simply can't duplicate, don't worry. You don't need to impress anyone; you're just having fun. Every other bit of you can be historically accurate, and no one is going to notice if you have the right accent, unless you call attention to the fact.

(4) Check out personal habits. For instance, if you're reenacting a Middle Eastern person from any era, you have to know that only one hand was used for eating. If you use the wrong hand, there's a chance no one will notice, but you won't be staying in character. If someone *does* notice, it's kudos to them, but embarrassment to you! Study the personal and cultural habits of the time period in question. There are limits, however, as in any extreme hobby. If you're portraying Attila the Hun, you don't have to pillage and plunder to stay in character, even if it was a habit of his culture! Be yourself.

(5) There are even certain rules that apply to eating. If you're visiting a medieval banquet, and everyone uses their hands to tear into that boar's leg, you don't want to be the only one with a hamburger and bottled water. Even if it's not your favorite food, you might want to grin and bear it; after all, your ancestors did, and you're trying to be just like them, right? Don't be overly obsessed with hygiene if it's not a staple of your time period; of course, a *little* hygiene is just fine and actually expected, but you don't want everyone to know you're new in the reenacting guild.

(6) Make sure you can answer a few questions about your time period. If you make it very clear that you're a 17th century Puritan, and somebody asks you what the Puritans believed, you won't look very historically accurate if you don't have a clue what to answer. This is another place where research comes in handy. You want to feel like you're a part of the culture you're trying to emulate, and finding out the basics of that culture is the first step. You don't have to be a genius and know every single little thing about your chosen era, but knowing a few basic facts always helps.

Scrapbook Themes

By Christina VanGinkel

Whether you are new to scrapbooking or have been at it for years, choosing a theme to scrapbook can sometimes be hard to do. We might have files full of photos, yet knowing how to categorize all of them is not always easy. Some pictures are self-explanatory, such as photos of our children, and might even fall into a sub-category, such as when those same children are caught smiling at their own birthday parties. However, other pictures might leave us staring at them so long we end up tossing them back into the box or closing the folder, we are viewing them in, because no matter how much we might want to scrap them, we just cannot figure out a theme to use with them.

When those times happen, consider a few of these less common themes:

All about Me

The theme All about Me could include photos of you or a family member that are obviously all about that person. If someone has captured a photo of someone doing nothing more than being themselves, maybe standing in the yard, sitting reading a book, playing with a lone toy all by themselves, instead of setting the photo aside because it does not really tell a story, use it as the center of a page that is full of journaling all about that individual.

Home

Do you have various snapshots of your house that do not correlate into some other theme such as the holidays? If so, and they are snapshots that have managed to capture you house as you would hope future generations might remember it, or even your own children might love to look back at when they are all grown up, then create a layout called Home.

Faith

If your church is an important aspect of your life, take the time to create a layout or even a whole album that is about your ties to your church. If your kids are active in youth group, or sing in the choir, if you have helped with a drive for the needy, or worked in the kitchens to help feed hungry people during the holidays, record some of these special times. Even a few snapshots can further be embellished with journaling to make a record of just how important your faith and the church have been to you.

Nature and the Seasons

If you are like half the camera carrying population, you have at least a few photographs of the fall leaves, the snow banks piled high during the winter, the first flowers of spring, and the storm clouds moving in on the hottest days of summer. Take all of these and create a scrapbook about the seasons or your love of nature herself in all of her various presentations.

Dreams

Possibly similar to the All about Me theme, especially if you did the All about Me about yourself. Dreams is a great theme for anyone who has snapped photographs of places or activities that they would someday love to see or try themselves. If you have dreams of parachuting and have attended every balloon festival you could find, then a layout about your dreams to be up there yourself someday would make a great layout. A Dreams layout might also be about your personal dreams and aspirations for your family, your job, your life in general. Some might say subjects such as these belong in a journal and not a scrapbook, but there are those who would disagree. A journal can seem more personal than a scrapbook layout. So contributing a layout on this subject to a scrapbook that you create can lend a much different aspect of who you were to future generations who find it within a scrapbook than they would in the pages of a private journal.

What is so great about scrapbooking is that really any subject can be scrapped. If something is of interest to you, go ahead and create a layout about it. There are no rules when it comes to scrapbooking, no set of laws governing what can, and cannot be included. Family, friends, jobs, houses, what you love, what you hate, the holidays, the foods you eat, absolutely anything can be included in your next layout, so get busy scrapping!

Altering Chipboard for your Scrapbook Layouts

By Christina VanGinkel

Chipboard, for those new to scrapping, is the thin sheets of cardboard that you often find in the back of a pack of paper to keep the paper stiff and crease free. Chipboard can also be purchased from most art supply companies, as it is sold for mounting various types of arts and craft projects onto and is used for other crafts such as book making. The free kind is the best though, for the simple fact that putting something to use that would otherwise end up in the trash is always good.

Once you have acquired some plain chipboard, found or bought, you will be ready to create some fun and unique embellishments for your scrapbook layouts. Altering chipboard to fit your needs is easy, in part because it is sturdy, and so will accommodate almost any alteration you have in mind.

Before altering though, you will need to cut your chipboard into the lettering or shapes that you want. Chipboard can be cut with a good pair of scissors or craft knife. Simply trace your pattern onto the chipboard and cut. Keep in mind that many of the newer computerized cutters that have found their way into scrapbook domains will not cut chipboard, as the chipboard, even the very thinnest kind, is just too heavy, save for a few of the higher-end machines, which are made for cutting heavier weight materials. If you plan to use such a cutter to cut your chipboard designs, read your manual that came with the machine to be sure that it is capable of doing so; otherwise, you risk dulling or even possibly breaking a blade, or even causing damage to the machine.

Once you have you shapes or letters cut, it is time to alter them. Altering chipboard can be done in just about any way you can imagine. Look around at your scrapbook supplies and see what you have available. Stamps, ink, paper, heat embossing, and more can all be sued to alter chipboard. Paint is also great for altering it, as are many forms of distressing. A combination of practices is always good too.

The best way to see the results of these forms of altering chipboard is to a try them. Cut a few simple shapes or letters and practice. If you have a Xyron sticker machine, a simple way to alter a chipboard letter or shape is to run it through the machine mirrored. By this, I mean to run it through so that the top side of the shape or letter will be the sticky side. Once you have run it through, place it sticky side down onto a sheet of cardstock or paper of your choosing. With a craft knife, carefully trace around the shape so that you end up with your chipboard shape or letter with the paper of your choosing adhered to the top of it. Once applied, you are tentatively finished, or you could alter the letter or shape further by then using a distressing ink around the edges to give a more rustic look to the now altered chipboard. You could also take a piece of fine sandpaper and rough the edges first, or just rough the edges, foregoing the ink altogether.

Another fun way to alter chipboard letters to make them look much more sophisticated than the piece of cardboard that they really are is to use an embossing heat gun with embossing ink and powder. Simply press the chipboard shape down onto an embossing inkpad, fully covering the surface. I always roll the edges of the shape onto the ink, making sure that when I apply the powder I am getting as full a coverage as possible. Next, cover the inked area with embossing powder. Embossing powder comes in a wide variety of colors and sheens, so you choices are almost limitless. Once you have applied the powder, lightly tap away any excess, heat as directed, and voila!

Altering chipboard letters and shapes is a great way to add that little something extra, some pizzazz, to your next layout without adding a lot of extra cost. For the budget scrap booker, chipboard is really a dream come true when you consider all of the many ways it can be embellished and altered. Try it yourself and you will soon be wondering why you never thought of it before.

Is Astronomy the Right Hobby for You?

By Christina VanGinkel

From young to old, astronomy is a favorite hobby of many people. Stargazing might theoretically be the oldest hobby when you think about it, as the stars have been here from the beginning. Like just about any hobby that you might imagine though, astronomy has made advancements in recent years in large part due to the computers that many of us use each day both at home and at work.

While stargazing will always take place by stepping out your door and gazing skyward, with aid of a telescope or just the naked eye, some hobbyists are also taking advantage of software applications that allow them to see much more than the telescopes that they can afford would ever allow them to see on their own. Starry Night Pro Plus 5.0 Astronomy Software, by Imaginova and available for use on both Macintosh and Windows based computers, works with the following computerized telescopes, by helping you align the telescope properly with the stars you are in search of:

Orion SkyQuest Intelliscope series (XT6, XT8, X10 and X12)
Meade LX200
Meade LX200 GPS
LX200 Compatible Scope
Meade ETX Autostar
Autostar V2.2 or later (ETX, LX90, LXD55)
Celestron NexStar 60, 80, 114 GT
Celestron NexStar 5 or 8
Celestron NexStar 8 GPS
Celestron NexStar 11 GPS

Advertised as a desktop planetarium solution, the Starry Night Pro Plus 5.0 Astronomy Software, by Imaginova is much more than just a fancy way to control your computerized telescope though. It comes complete with an in-the-field features and equipment checklists to help the serious stargazer, online updates, to make sure that information on sunspots, auroras, and weather patterns around the globe are kept as current as possible. The task panels are easy to navigate, and anyone interested in astronomy will be able to quickly understand how the user interface works. Planets, comets, asteroids, even satellites are mapped with ease thanks to the powerful search tools and amount of information that is included.

Keep in mind though that fancy tools such as these are not needed, especially for someone just beginning or someone who is just testing the waters, per se, sampling the hobby to see if it is something that even appeals to them. To start a hobby in astronomy, all that is required if I were pressed to give a short list, would be a basic telescope and a set of books such as Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe, by Terence Dickinson, along with The Backyard Astronomer's Guide, by Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer. Nightwatch is considered by many to be the best book that any beginning astronomer could have on his or her bookshelf. The spiral bound book includes star charts, along with a lot of practical information hat the average person interested in astronomy might never have access to otherwise. Out side of a book such as this, a class in astronomy might be the next best suggestion. The Backyard Astronomer's Guide, by Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer will take you one-step further than Nightwatch, and help you with shopping for the perfect telescope for your needs. I would recommend this book for those who are sure that astronomy is something they want to delve further into, but are in need of guidance when it comes to acquiring some of the tools that many astronomers use.

If you are even more of a beginner than even this, just someone who is marginally interested in what all the fuss is about when it comes to the stars, I suggest you do the following. The next clear evening, when the clouds are not blocking the view, head outside. Pick a spot away from the bright lights, somewhere that cars are not flashing their headlights, where streetlights are not commandeering pedestrians and vehicles alike. While a rural hillside would be ideal, I know that is not an option for most, so think about there you might be able to go, such as the rooftop terrace of a high building, or your backyard where the streetlights do no cast their glow. Once you have found a good spot free of the intrusion of artificial lighting, look up. Take the time to gaze at the stars. If you can see the night sky, filled with the brightness that the stars cast, and not be intrigued, then astronomy most likely is not a calling that you have. If however, you end up gazing skyward until someone calls you back to earth, then checking out this fascinating hobby a bit more is surely something that you should do.

Scrapbooking Fun with Fonts

By Christina VanGinkel

If you have a computer, with a basic word processor installed, such as Microsoft Word, along with a printer, you have everything you need to make fun, font engineered embellishments to personalize your scrapbook layouts. These same techniques will also work well for embellishing note cards and other handcrafts too.

To start, let us look at some of the many ways you can put to use your printer and your collection of fonts.

Depending on the type of printer you have, you will be able to print on a variety of materials. From fabric, to overlays, to cardstock, most printers, whether inkjet or laser, you should be able to find a variety of compatible consumables that are made specifically for whichever kind of printer you happen to have. Once you know what can safely be run through your printer, consider how these products might be used with your scrapbooking.

Once you have an idea of what can and cannot be printed on, consider the fact that most word processing programs have the capability to print fonts in a variety of sizes. With this most basic feature in mind, print a large font, much like a monogram, to begin a spot of journaling, or to make some or all of the letters of your title be much more prominent.

Print your own stickers with the use of sticker backed print safe paper. No longer will you have to worry about finding a sticker that says exactly what you want it to say, just print your own. Overlays can also be created, and your imagination is pretty much the limit.

With fonts available for purchase and for free, the possibilities for creating embellishments are nearly endless. I know I have talked before about this, but you can even print on twill ribbon. Imagine the possibilities. However, all of these suggestions would be mundane without the use of a variety of fonts. No one wants to flip through a scrapbook and see the same font, page after page. Variety is good.

So where do you find that perfect, elusive font to use in your next layout? Start by looking through some of the many places you already turn to for scrapbooking ideas. The magazine Scrapbook Answers is available in two versions, with or without a CD. The one that ships with a CD includes a selection of fonts, free to use for personal use, on each disk. I can say from personal experience that if you go this route, chances are you will never need another font, scrapbook wise or other, at least for those projects that are personal in nature, and not intended for profit.

An online search for free fonts with any major search engine will provide you with quite a selection. Many online sites that are intended for those individuals that scrapbook will often have free fonts and dingbats suitable for layouts. Many will also offer fonts that are for sale. Dingbats are fonts that look like pictures, and are great for adding decorative touches in addition to your lettering needs.

Lettering Delights online is another example of how your computer can be used to help you with your scrapbook lettering needs. They specialize in decorative lettering a bit more refined than your typical font, but that are ideal for all your creative lettering needs. They also offer a free downloadable image browser that allows the user to work with and customize the alphabets that they sell.

Once you start downloading fonts, free ones and those you buy, you will soon need a way to help keep them organized. Font organizers are a great way to keep you scrapping instead of wasting time searching through your fonts for that elusive one that you know you have, but just cannot remember the name. A search online for a font organizer will provide you with a wide selection from which to choose. Many offer demos for you to try, as each seems to work a bit differently. Sample a few and you are sure to find one that works for your needs.

With fonts such an everyday part of so many of our lives, it is no wonder that we have overlooked them when it came to our creative activities. We are so use to working with them and seeing them that it can be easy to forget just how useful they really can be! The next time you have a scrapbook project in the works, look to your computer first, before you spend another dime on any store bought embellishments.

Scrapbook Journaling

By Christina VanGinkel

Knowing what to write on your scrapbook layouts can be enough to bring even the most prolific scrap booker to a screeching halt. You have the pictures, you have the title, and you have all of the embellishments such as tags, frames, and fibers all in place, but what you really want is to somehow express the feelings, the meaning of it all, into words.

Yes, I know that many of the best layouts do not include an ounce of journaling, but many do. Sometimes the journaling is needed to express something about the photo or event that is just not going to be apparent without the addition of words. Especially to those who will view the scrapbook sometime into the future. Yet, the words will just not come, you just cannot grasp what you want to say or how to say it, so you end up sitting there, staring at the page.

For those times, I have discovered that simply writing down, on scrap paper, what needs to be conveyed, will often lead to journaling worthy of the layout. What I mean by this is to state the facts. Put them down on paper. Sometimes, that visual aid is enough to get those words from their roughest form into a piece of journaling that is perfect for the layout. If you are not even sure of the facts, then look at the layout as it is, and write down the first words that come to mind. I am often surprised myself when I do this little writing prompt just how many words and phrases pop into my mind. Sure, some of them have absolutely nothing to do with what I want to convey about the layout in front of me, but many more times, what does come, are dead on, and even aspects that I did not think I would have ever thought of without such a prompting.

Other times you will end up with the facts, and little else, yet you still want more. Look at the facts, and consider if there is someway to make the facts fit the page more eloquently than just writing them down as you just did on the scrap of paper. Could you arrange them into the layout into some physical form that will be pleasing to the eye, yet still work to convey the facts, as simple as they are? For example, write them in a circular shape, use them as a border, place them into a bulleted list, something besides just writing them in plain text across a still barren looking part of the layout, so that you end up with something visually pleasing, but still conveying the facts all together.

When all of this fails, then maybe it is time to turn to someone else for the words. Ask your best friend, your mother, the person sitting next to you at the crop, what they see when they look at the layout. You could also try a book or two created just for those times when no matter what you try to say, it just does not seem to work. A few to check out:

Scrapbook Journaling Made Simple: Tips for Telling the Stories Behind Your Photos, put together by Memory Makers

One Minute Journaling, by Joanna Campbell Slan, which includes journaling tips and story starters, plus much more

What About the Words, Creative Journaling for Scrapbookers, also by Memory Makers Books.

While none of these books can just magically make the words appear they can all provide you with the motivation to at least begin journaling.

Music lyrics are another good place to search for inspiration, and with scrap lifting such an open aspect of creating good layouts, using the lyrics from a song can be just as uplifting.

Finally, remember that longer is not always better, and then remember that shorter is not always better. What I mean is that no matter what you journal, whether it is a few short sentences, a quick phrase, or a page full of writing, then it will be perfect. Journaling is not always easy, but it is always worth it. So at least try it, you might be surprised at how well the words flow after that first one that ahs been silently blocking the dam.

Teddy Bears from Recycled Fur and Mohair

By Christina VanGinkel

Constructing teddy bears is a hobby that many people enjoy. The finished bears appeal to both children and adults alike. While teddy bears may be crafted in a variety of ways, recycling old fur coats and mohair pieces, are a favorite.

The idea of reusing old materials to create something innovative is not a new idea, but when someone takes the time to create a teddy bear from old materials, the results are always unique, with no two bears ever the same. It lends each one a sense of uniqueness, of individuality that other stuffed animals just do not have, in this modern age of assembly line products.

The first time I encountered a recycled bear was actually at a craft fair. And, it was not a single bear, but a completely filled table of them. Some sat on the table, some under it sitting on crates and filling a small wooden wagon. More were also stacked on a display shelf that the artist had set up. As to me referring to her as an artist, that is what I would call her, as anyone who could take a pile of old stuff, and from the pile create the loving, funny, some serious looking, bears from it, was surely an artist and not just another crafter. The woman had taken old mink stoles and fur coat pieces and created bears ranging in size from just a few inches tall all the way to those that were about eighteen inches tall. Each bear was also dressed in salvaged materials. Several of the boy bears wore re-crafted jackets that were made from wool dress coats, and several more sported silk vests and ties, re-crafted from men's silk dress shirts.

The girl bears were decked out in lace and bonnets, crafted from old, damaged lace tablecloths. Several of them also wore spectacles, again, old, recycled ones. I even discovered what the artist who made them referred to as a granny bear. The bear wore an apron, and was holding a child's sized wooden rolling pin. Tucked into another corner sat a small boy bear, with knickers and a small cap, sitting atop his head at just the right angle that it made him appear as if he was on his way to school to maybe boss someone around. My favorite though was a small bear, obviously a grandma bear, with a very old pair of spectacles hanging around her neck, and a small ball of wool yarn in her one paw, with a crochet hook in her other paw. Each way I turned was yet another bear, another personality, and I would have bought each and every one if I could have afforded them all!

The only thing on them that I could ascertain was new was their glass eyes. In talking with the woman who made them, she said the hardest part of the whole process was selling them. She stated that when she began each one, she had just the roughest plan in mind, and just let her hands guide her. As the bears were assembled, she would then dress them in much the same way, with no real plan of action, just allowing each one to come together. This resulted in a gaggle of unique bears, with no two ever alike. While she used a sewing machine for some of the stitching on the bodies and the clothes, she also hand stitched on each and every bear, embroidering their noses, and some other small touches.

When I pressed her on why she made the bears, she at first looked at me as if I had asked her why she breathed. She just did was her first reply. She had been a crafter for as long as she could remember, and had always had a fondness for sewing. One day, a friend asked her if she had any use for an old fur jacket that she had come to own when her Aunt had moved from a much larger home into a smaller one. She also had a garbage bag of other odds and ends that her Aunt had thought she might have a use for, but after looking through the bag, there was not much of anything in it she wanted. She went on to tell me that the bag was actually filled with a huge assortment of old pieces of clothing and embellishments, including two pairs of spectacles.

She ended up taking both the fur coat and the bag, and that was it. She had seen a bear years before that someone else had made, and with a granddaughter just born, she thought she would make one for her. That had been many bears before, and she said she would continue to make them until her hands decided otherwise.

Making recycled teddy bears is a hobby that many people enjoy. The uniqueness of each bear is something that never loses its appeal. If you are interested in making your own recycled teddy bear, be sure to check out one of the many online resources for teddy bear supplies. For more information, be sure to check out Amazon.com's book selection on this favored hobby including Teddy Bears with a Past, by Nancy Tillberg, Ted Menten's Teddy Bear Studio: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Your Own One-Of-A-Kind Artist Teddy Bear, by Ted Menten, or The Complete Book of Teddy Bear Making Techniques, by Alicia Merrett and Ann Stephens. Each of these books has something to offer anyone interested in the hobby of crafting teddy bears!

Online Craft Clubs

By Christina VanGinkel

If you have dreamt about joining a local craft club, but there is none in your area, and all of your attempts to create one have failed, do not despair. Joining an online club that could be even better than anything in person you would ever find, may well be the answer to your quest.

My first introduction to an online craft club was some years ago. I was not even looking to join an online club, but was actually in search of an outlet to buy supplies for my bead hobby. Local stores did not carry what I was in search of, and shopping online was only given me mediocre results. In my online search for some other outlets though, I stumbled across a few online stores and individual people's websites that offered access to groups related specifically to the hobby of bead working.

These groups, on the surface, appeared to be just places to chat about the hobby, about beads in general, but reading some of the saved messages, I discovered that they were much more than that. They were information clearinghouses, and places for friends to share resources, get in on bulk buys, make trades, sell unwanted supplies, and of course, to chat about all sorts of things, both hobby related and otherwise.

Even if there are craft clubs in your local vicinity, they may not be accessible to you for a variety of reasons. They might meet at times that are awkward for you, you might have tried them, but the group was just not, what you expected, nor did you seem to be getting anything from them, not even the enjoyment of meeting others with the same interests.

So now, you find yourself considering joining an online club. What can you hope to find in the way of an online craft club? Ideally, exactly what you are searching for. There are clubs that are about a specific craft, and those that are for crafters in general. Most share resources and access to supplies, with some even offering club kits that arrive monthly or following some other specific timeframe. Most clubs that offer a service such as this are hosted by an online store, though most do not require you to participate in order to be a member. Such a service is usually only offered as one service of the club among many other services, mainly a meeting place to hook up with other individuals who enjoy the same hobbies as you.

Most online clubs meet via a message board. A message board ahs many advantages over a group, such as the all familiar Yahoo group. They often have rooms, specific to different needs of the group. A club that meets to discuss crochet for example might have one room for the sharing of patterns, another room to upload pictures of finished projects, several rooms dedicated to various types of crochet, such as Filet Crochet or Tunisian Crochet, or rooms dedicated to fixing pieces of old crochet, or how to block your work.

One of my favorite aspects of being a member of an online craft club is that there is never a bad time to visit. Messages are stored, so even if everyone else is online in the morning, if you cannot pop in until later in the day, it is never a problem. You can read what was going on earlier, and then post your own messages whenever it is convenient to you. Rarely is everyone online at the same time anyways. Most clubs have people popping in and out at all different times of the day.

Membership in some online groups is by invitation only, and requires that you submit an application on why you would like to join. Once the club owner has read your application, and approved your membership, you are then sent information on how to enroll. Others just require you to set up a password and fill out a bio.

If you are having a difficult time locating a group locally, or just would rather check out the online group options, jump right in. You are sure to find a group, or even two or more, that is just what you were looking for.

Start a Crafting Club in your Hometown

By Christina VanGinkel

Many people are solitary crafters, preferring to create their crafts on their own; taking advantage of the quiet time provided them to feel productive while enjoying their solitude. Others like to create crafts with the added inspiration of others though, at least occasionally. A large proportion of scrapbook enthusiasts seem to enjoy the camaraderie that a group of like-minded individuals provides, often seeking out others to share their much-loved hobby. Other craft enthusiasts do too, from those who crochet or knit, bead workers, even painters. Even those who are solitary crafter the majority of the time, might sometimes encounter times when getting together as a part of group has advantages.

Creating crafts for a fundraising event is one such example, or as a way to combine two loves, meeting friends to chat and share a cup of tea, along with trading ideas, patterns, even supplies to make your solitary crafting times that much more enjoyable. For whatever reason you are in search of a group atmosphere, starting your own craft club in your hometown is an ideal answer to your needs.

If you do not have a group of people in mind, run an ad through a local penny saver or similar paper, requesting interested parties to call. You could also post a notice on a church or other organizations bulletin board if you would like to keep a more tight control over those who first contact you. If your place of business has a board for private messages, that is another good option. Once you have an idea of how many people are interested, search out a location to hold your first meeting. This might be somewhere you intend to continue holding meetings, or just somewhere to get together to work out the issues of starting a group in the first place. If your local library has the space, ask if they allow such meetings. If they have conference rooms available they might charge you a small fee, but try to avoid paying anything until you have the ground rules set and only if others are willing to contribute to the cost.

Churches are often quite willing to host craft groups, especially if a sale of some sort is in the makings, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the church fund. If you plan to keep membership limited to just a few people, meeting in a home might be a good idea too. Some of the best groups I know of have members rotate who hosts the meetings each month. That person is also in charge of refreshments for the meeting, keeping the refreshments limited to just a snack and beverage.

If you cannot find enough people who participate in the same crafting hobby that you do, a general craft club, where each member brings an item of their own choosing to work on can also be a good foundation for a craft club. It is actually a great way for members to see and learn about other crafts.

Once you have your members, a place to meet, and a general idea of what you all hope to gain from such a club, set up an initial meeting to set your actual rules. Write them up; even if the rules are, there are no rules, so everyone knows where other members are coming from. Some examples of things that rules might cover include how often you plan to meet, if new members can just join, or if approval will be needed, and by whom, what goals the group might have, especially for fundraisers, and if there will be any fees including those to cover the cost of meeting. Also, keep track of issues such as rules of trading supplies, and use of other's tools at meetings.

Consider some of the advantages of being a member of a craft club too. If you all enjoy the same hobby, the possibility of buying supplies in bulk can add up to big savings.

Starting a craft club in your hometown can be a great way to meet other likeminded individuals, or to gather a group of friends to put their talents to work for a good cause. Take the first step and put together a club today!

Quilting

By Christina VanGinkel

With quilting bees from days gone by, to computer-generated sewing machines that will create fancy stitching on your quilts of today, quilting is a hobby that has endured throughout time and one that is appealing to both men and women of all ages.

With so many different types of quilting, it is hard for someone not to encounter a form that appeals to them. The history of quilting alone is extensive enough to keep someone reading for eternity. When you start to realize just how important quilting and the quilts that were produced were and are it is just amazing.

Quilts have been created to tell a story. They have been created to keep track of an historical event. Quilts have been used as wedding gifts, as a gift to a newborn child, and as a final gift given to a loved one being put into the grave, referred to as a burial quilt. They have also been created as a form of bereavement, to be given to the survivors of a loved one, to mark the life and memory of the lost life. Many family members of soldiers who have lost their lives in the current war, taking place in Iraq, have been the receivers of just such this type of quit, created by volunteers wishing to honor the lives lived and lost. The largest quilt ever made is actually just such a quilt, and is the NAMES Project quilt, in honor of many of the victims of the AIDS epidemic, now referred to as The AIDS Memorial Quilt. Quilts have also been created as a form of artistic impression, in much the same way as a painting, and in my humble opinion, many are as beautiful if not more so than those paintings considered to be top pieces of artwork.

If you are a quilter yourself, or a quilter wanna be, shopping for supplies, including fabric and accessories, can be difficult, especially if you are not located near a large fabric store. As with many hobbies and activities that people participate in, the Internet has made it abundantly easy to shop, even when people do not have local access to a store.

With quilting though, not being able to feel and see certain products can be a hindrance. Swatches are a great way to deal with this issue. Many online companies sell swatch books of all of their fabrics, allowing you to see and feel every single fabric choice that they have available. Other companies will make available individual swatches, at a cost per swatch. While most will charge you for these swatch books or individual swatches of samples, most will also refund you the cost through applying it to your next purchase. Another way to deal with this issue is to learn how certain brands of fabric differ from others. Some fabric is clearly quality made, while other fabric brands can only be described as adequate or less so.

Quilting software is an advancement that the age of the computer has made available to those interested in designing their quilts. If this is something, you are interested in, keep in mind that many software programs are available in what is referred to as a Software Demo. These programs are available in a somewhat limited format free, and allow you to load and use the software with limitations to see if it is suitable for your needs, before you actually purchase and pay for the full version. There are also shareware and freeware programs available. Knowing what you expect to achieve with one of these programs will greatly increase the chance that you will get a program that does what you expect.

If you are just starting out, the purchase of a sewing or quilting machine may also be something you need to do. Features vary greatly from machine to machine, so comparison is your best tool. Also, consider the warranty that is offered with each and the availability of service. If two machines are almost identical, but one can be serviced locally and the other would have to be packed up and shipped in order to receive service, you surely want to consider that. If you know someone who has recently purchased a machine, ask him or her, what swayed their decision and if they would now change their mind in their selection, now that they have the machine they chose home.

Radio Controlled Airplanes

By Christina VanGinkel

One of my fondest memories of childhood is recalling when my three cousins from Illinois would head north, to our small town in Michigan to spend several weeks with us each summer. They would come with sleeping bags, fishing poles, and always their radio controlled airplanes.

This was a time period where radio controlled airplanes were built from the ground up. Where as much work went in to them as some people now put into professional airplanes. They would be constantly working on them, designing this changing that, re-painting the entire airplane, all because they enjoyed doing it all immensely, and it was just what they did. It was their hobby. It was what all the rest of us cousins thought of whenever we thought of them.

I also remember that one of the reasons that they always brought their airplanes when they came to visit, was because my father had a real airplane, a small Piper Cub that he flew out of the small airport a few towns over. Each summer, he would not only give all of us kids ride, including the visiting cousins, but he would arrange for them to fly their airplanes at the real airport. Even back then, nearly forty years ago, living in town meant dealing with things like power and telephone lines.

The thought of having a wide open space to fly their airplanes in, without having to worry about them hitting a line, crashing into a house, or making an emergency landing on the highway that ran by our house, meant less chance of damage to all of their hours of hard work.

My dad would have it all set up for about the second week they spent by us, and all of us kids, and adults alike, would pile into our family's station wagon. This was before seat belts were required, there would be half a dozen kids jammed into the backseat, two in the far back of the wagon with the airplanes, along with all their gear, including a gas can, and at least two kids jammed up front between the adults.

One year I remember that my Aunt and Uncle also came with for this yearly event, but we had to take two cars, theirs and ours, ad we would not all fit. All of us kids still wanted to ride in the station wagon with the airplanes though, so my Mother rode with my Aunt and Uncle, and all of us kids still rode with my Dad.

Radio controlled airplanes are still a huge pastime that both kids and adults alike enjoy. They are available in gas and electric models, and can be purchased all set to go, as a kit needing to be built from the ground up, or partially constructed with painting and other final additions still needing to be applied. On the other hand, for the most enterprising people, even by setting out from the ground floor with no kit, just an idea in your head, and the fortitude to make it something tangible.

Radio controlled airplanes (Besides radio controlled airplanes, there are also helicopters, boats, cars, and trucks) also come in enough of a variety to fit most budgets. You can get started for less than a hundred dollars, or easily rack up the cost into the thousands of dollars, depending on what you choose, and how serious you take this very fun hobby.

It is a good hobby for families to participate in together, with adults and children finding enough about the activity to keep both age groups satisfied. If you are interested in learning more about radio controlled airplanes, or one of the several other radio controlled vehicle types that are available, be sure to check out one of the many online sties that sell supplies, such as eHobbies.com. Alternatively, check locally for a group or organization that has been formed for the sport, possibly providing you with a chance to view the fun that is just waiting to be had. You can test the waters by seeing what all the fuss is about, before you buy one of your own. Be warned though that once you see a demonstration, it will be difficult if not entirely impossible to not want your own!

Get your Kids Dancing!

By Christina VanGinkel

With a lack of health and exercise a concern for many parents where their children are concerned, getting their children interested in a hobby that can provide access to action is a growing goal of many parents. Dance is one such hobby that can provide an advantage such as this. In addition, it is a hobby, which if the child enjoys it, can lead to many years of fun and activity. With tap, ballet, jazz, Celtic, and other dance forms to choose from, you and your child are sure to find one that is of interest and that your child can have fun at while getting the extra exercise that many children need, but often lack in their day-to-day lives.

One young girl I know, the daughter of a good friend, has been taking dance lessons for several years already, and is only four years old. She attends class once a week, where she has had the opportunity, to not only gain knowledge of the basics of tap dancing, (her chosen genre) but to also make many friends that she would not otherwise have the opportunity to meet, as the school teaches students from several small surrounding communities. They spend their hour of class each week learning the very basic steps that make tap dancing the fun and exhilarating dance that it is. They have also been learning exercises that will help them progress to more complicated dance routines as the years go by. The hour is filled with fun, learning, and exercises in a safe environment, with teachers trained for dealing with such young children, and trained in teaching the various dance genres safely, and correctly, helping each child build a foundation in dance from which to build on.

My own daughter attended ballet classes when she was the same age. She danced until the early years of elementary school, then switched her energies and focus to the game of basketball, which she continued to enjoy throughout school. I firmly believe that her beginning in dance at such a young age gave her many advantages both physically and mentally for the other sports that she participated in throughout her school years, not to mention in life itself.

My niece also attended dance classes around the same time that my daughter began, but went on to make dancing a part of her complete school life, dancing with the company through her senior year in high school. She never lost interest, and said that it helped her tremendously with her ability to compete as a cheerleader.

Whether your child sticks with it for a year or two, or makes it a long-term hobby, there is a lot to be gained.

Taking part in dance will provide your child with the opportunity to build coordination, learn discipline, and build strength and stamina, alongside of building their self-esteem and teaching confidence. Dance provides so many benefits, that I often wonder why more children are not involved in this wonderful pastime.

We had the opportunity to go to the dance recital of my friend's daughter last night. Ages of the children, boys and girls, ranged from the pre-tot age, through the senior year of high school. Besides all of the regular dance genres, the dance school also teaches a gymnastics class, and the kids that were performing for that class seemed to be having just as much fun if not more so than the children representing the various dance genres. So if you have a child that rally does not want to dance, this might be something to consider too.

If you do have a child who is interested in taking up the hobby of dance, or you are looking for a hobby that will get your kids moving, off the couch, active, and enjoying themselves, consider dance in one of the many available genres. Even the littlest children can join, which makes it a perfect hobby to get involved in if you happen to have kids across a wide age range.

Do not assume that all of the schools that teach such classes expect your child to look at such an activity as a career move. Most children join with the intent to have fun, to learn the basic steps of a particular dance, and to participate in some group-oriented activity other than their regular school activities. Dance can be the best hobby your child will ever participate!

Locking Focus and Controlling the Exposure on your Digital Camera

By Christina VanGinkel

How often have you snapped a picture, intending to capture a special moment, only to have the main focal subject clearly not in focus, yet the background image, the part of the photo that is not very important, in focus? If you are anything like me, you can probably not count how many times this has occurred. Rarely, if ever, should this have to happen though. And the fix for it is so simple, that once you understand and learn how to avoid it, you will be chastising yourself for all the ruined photo opportunities that you have wasted through the years!

The work around to keep this from occurring is to center the intended snapshot on the part of the photographs that you want to be the focus. Once you have done this, depress the shutter button half way, then frame the shot as you want to, and then snap the shutter button all the way, taking the picture.

With all the different features available on the myriad variety of digital cameras now available on the market, keep in mind that some cameras might actually have an independent function specifically to accomplish this. However, the way I just described is by far the easiest and quickest way I have ever found to get the picture as perfect as can be.

Getting the exposure of a picture right can also be just as easily fixed. By simply fooling the camera, into picking up the proper lighting of the area of the photo that you want to be the most prominent, almost always results in a picture that is just as you pictured it. Take for example a photograph of a stunning cactus plant in the desert with a massive bright blue sky behind it. If you just swing up your camera and snap the picture, you risk losing the details of the cactus because of the brightness of the sky when your camera actually snapped the picture. By first focusing your lens on the cactus itself, then halfway depressing the shutter button, before pulling back and getting the whole scene, cactus and sky in the frame, before you snap the final picture, you will have a snapshot that not only has captured the cactus in all of its beautiful detail, but also the bright blue sky behind it.

By taking the time to play with these two quick to learn tricks, you can immensely improve the outcome of your average photograph. You will avoid all the blurred shots that have been the cause of so many memories being lost forever. No more will you have to wonder why you snapped the picture of a fence, with all of its details, and wonder at the same time if your daughter was that blurry in the foreground when you actually snapped the picture. The next time, it will be the fence that is somewhat blurred, as it is of no importance, yet your daughter will be crystal clear with her huge grin and armful of wildflowers.

When someone is learning the basics of photography, it is sometimes too easy to be caught up in all of the technical jargon. We can read manuals, take classes taught by people who seem to speak some foreign language, and read article after article on the subject of taking better photos, and still not understand the basics. If someone would just show us or tell us a shortcut such as these though, we would notice the harder things quicker and easier. We can learn how something as subtle as moving a camera just a bit and halfway depressing the shutter before swinging it back for the intended shot can have such a deep impact on the outcome of the photograph.

Of course, the best lessons are those that you can practice, and practice some more. So with this in mind, grab your camera and go practice these two easy lessons until you not only understand how simple they are to execute under various circumstances, but also until you capture that one photograph that you have always dreamed of capturing. Only then will you truly understand how simple does work, when it comes to getting the best photo you can ever hope to capture.

Learning from Taking Photos

By Christina VanGinkel

I snap photos of everything. My kids, our dogs, the moon, and the local black bear population among my favorites. I will also snap a photograph of a spider that was kind enough to spin his web on the opening of an empty birdhouse, an upended wheelbarrow with a flat tire that is in the middle of a field and a close up of a Sandhill Crane (the feathered kind) after it landed in our yard. He appeared lost, and in need of a break. Our yard must have looked appealing for some odd reason.

I have photographs of all sorts of odd and unusual things, and just as many of more ordinary happenings and items. Sometimes something catches my attention and I am just compelled to take a photo of whatever it is, and other times I am just in what I call a snap happy mood, literally snapping photos of anything that is lucky (or unlucky depending on your own point of view) enough to pass in front of my lens.

Back before my ownership of a digital camera, many of these odd photo opportunities were developed into the traditional 4 x 6 format. With the advance of digital ownership, I have accumulated hundreds of these photo opportunities that are stored in a folder on my computer labeled simply as Tina's Snapshots. A friend who knows of my habits asked me what plans I had for all of these assorted photos. Why, I use them all the time was my instant response.

As a scrap booker, some have ended up as page backgrounds; some have been used as layovers, with journaling added, and some have actually been used as the focal point of a layout, as was the spider.

I have included some of my more silly photos in cards I send to family and friends. This has become sort of a tradition actually, and if I send a card to someone and do not include a snapshot or two, I am always asked why they did not get any! My Sandhill Crane photo was sent to a friend who had become totally lost the first time I had given her directions on how to find my house.

I once used a bunch of them to create an alphabet album for my two older kids when they were little, and in remembering this, I should make another one for my grandson. He loves to look at Nana's photos, so I imagine he would enjoy a book of twenty-six of them!

I have also discovered some amazing photos among the mix through the years, and these have been enlarged and used as art in my home.

Lastly, I learned so much taking all of them, and continue to do so each time I depress my shutter button, that the main thing I have gained from taking all of these 'silly' pictures is the knowledge to take better pictures of my kids, my dogs, the moon, and the local black bear population. I have learned about lighting, about moving in to get a shot of the subject itself and not all of the empty space or distracting background around it. I have learned that my flash is not always just for indoor shots, that it comes in handy for dispelling shadows even on outside sunny day shots. I have learned that the best composition does not mean that the focal subject of the picture always ahs to be in the middle, that moving it off to one side or the other will often give me a much better photo than I ever imagined. I have learned more in taking all of my silly photos than I could have ever learned by just taking the photos that I wanted. The learned knowledge has been indispensable when it comes to taking good photos. The next time you have your camera out take a few unexpected pictures. Experiment with the settings; learn what works and what does not through trial and error. Only by using your camera as much as possible will you ever learn to use it with comfort and ease, and only then will you be able to get that perfect photo (perfect to yourself that is) you have always wanted to capture!

When Scrapbooker's Block Strikes

By Christina VanGinkel

One of the most common issues I hear from fellow scrap bookers is that while they might have all the latest tools, a good supply of paper and embellishments, and photos galore just waiting to be scrapped, they just do not know where to start. They might have dozens of layouts finished, even complete scrapbooks, but then one day, they pull out their supplies or walk into their room they use just for scrapping, and the mood they encounter is similar to coming face to face with a brick wall. For all the supplies around them, and all the photographs calling out to them to be used, they just seem to run out of steam.

Many will say that they try, they really do. They will pull out a sheet of cardstock, maybe even create a title, or assemble a few embellishments on a page. However, when it comes time to pull it all together into a layout, nothing seems to work.

Take a Breather

Scrappers block can be dealt with though, and almost always successfully. Admitting that you might be a bit burned out is often the first step to recovery. If everything in your supplies looks blah, ho-hum, common, whatever terms you want to use, do not rush out to buy more. I know that is the first instinct of many of those who spend their leisure time scrapping. They figure if nothing looks good, maybe they just need to gather a few new supplies. You might need to, but before you do, first, take a breather. That is right, close the door or fold up your organizer, and put it all away for a few days. Resist the urge to scrap, if it even calls to you. If you are truly in the midst of scrappers block, chances are it will not.

Make a Scrapbook Starter List

Next, either search out a list of scrapbook starters, or create your own. Scrapbook starters are generic ideas that you can use when the scrapper's block strikes, to get you motivated to make a layout. Some scrapbook starters I have in my list are:

Create a layout completely in black and white.
Take your favorite photo you have not scrapped yet, and transform it on the computer into a sepia toned print.
Take a photo of your child's or pet's favorite toy.
Sort just your die cuts.
Sort your stickers.
Sort your rub-ons.
(Do not sort all of them, just pick one, and sort those. If you start sorting everything, you risk getting into an organizational mode, and that can explode into a cleaning frenzy whereas you will be lucky to scrap again for weeks, lest you be constantly cleaning!)
Create a sketch.

This is just a small sampling from my scrap starter list. I add to it whenever I am in the mood to scrap, so when I have times that I just cannot come up with any good ideas, I can turn to my list and possibly jump start my lack of enthusiasm. I include very specific ideas in my list too, such as Create a page about my son's love of snowboarding wax, including pictures of the various waxes, the iron he uses, and the photo I have of him actually waxing his board. In the heat of summer, without this note in my list, I probably would not even think about creating that particular layout, yet it was one I had always intended doing, yet other layouts always seemed to take preference. So, when I was having a case of scrapper's block, my note about this particular layout was just what I needed to get going.

Create Something Else

I have also found that working on an alternative project, such as altering a tin, or creating a card, are great ways to get over scrapper's block when nothing else will work. These tasks are great ways to see your supplies in a new light, without the pressure of incorporating photos. After making a card, or working on a project that includes altering something, I always seem rejuvenated to get scrapping once again. Work on a project that is for one of your other creative hobbies, such as crochet or painting. Be warned though, that this will often lead to ideas for incorporating those hobbies into your next scrapbook layout! If you are having a serious case of scrapper's block, try some of these tips to get you scrapping and on the road to recovery. Happy scrapping!

Is Becoming a Scrapbook Consultant Right for You?

By Christina VanGinkel

My enjoyment from, and time spent, scrapbooking has grown substantially over the last few years. What was once something that I spent only the occasional hour here or there taking part in, has now gone on to be something I do whenever I can grasp the opportunity. Sometimes, even when I do not have the time, I will one way or another find it, especially if it means I can sit down with my embellishments, papers, and pictures, and spend that time creating a memory. I have actually discovered all sorts of ways to make time for this hobby that I so enjoy. Two examples are:

Waiting at appointments provides me with the time to pull out my small notebook and create sketches of future designs, helped along by a short list detailing photographs and occasions that I would like to scrap.

If my husband and son are watching something on television, and want my company, I grab a single layout that I have been struggling with, and just study it. I will also take this time to sort through found embellishments, one of my favorites. Found embellishments are things like jars of buttons or bags of old sewing trim that I purchased at rummage sales or second hand shops. I have an old cafeteria tray that I keep handy for these times, and I can just dump whatever it is I am sorting through on there, and still watch the show with my guys.

With all of this interest in scrapbooking in mind, I have been mulling over the idea that I should become a consultant for one of the many companies that carry products I would personally use and would be more than willing to promote, essentially, to family and close friends.

While I cannot see myself selling on a large scale, to strangers and others I barely know, as I hardly have time to keep up with all of my current responsibilities, a few companies do offer a hobbyist level. This is a way for those (Like me!) who might not have access to a good scrapbook supply outlet (the closest scrapbook store to me is almost fifty miles away, save for Wal-Mart), to obtain the supplies that they would like, and at a discount. Somebody who is interested in just the hobbyist level might also choose to sell to a few friends and family. My daughter is very interested in me becoming a consultant, as it would mean access to supplies for her too.

Some people might make the choice to become a consultant to share the availability of the supplies the company in question carries, possibly earning a few dollars or else sharing in the discount, but ultimately, they are only becoming a consultant, per se, to gain the discount that other full-time consultants do. Some companies that offer a hobbyist level may have limits as to what the discount is, but at the same time, their quotas are often much less than what the other consultants are indebted too. Depending on the company, keep in mind that the rules for those joining to purchase on a smaller scale in comparison to becoming an actual full-time consultant, may vary greatly.

For others, becoming a consultant is a way to not only obtain their own supplies at a discount, but to also earn money by selling to others. Consultants that plan to sell products in order to make money, beyond their own personal savings, may do so on a part-time basis, or on a full time basis. Some scrapbook consultants even go on to make a career out of this opportunity. Making a career out of a hobby is the ultimate way to enjoy the best of both worlds, work, and play!

I have found the company that I believe will work best for me, I Remember When. They carry top quality products by many of the same brands that I already buy on a frequent basis, and they offer a hobbyist level with lower monthly quotas than their instructor level.

Whichever level happens to be the one you would fall under, be it hobbyist, part-time, or with true career aspirations, there are numerous scrapbook companies to choose from. Do not just pick one assuming they are all the same. Choose one whose products and services fit your needs, else wise you will just be wasting your own time and money. Happy scrapping!

Riding Motocross Bikes

By Christina VanGinkel

My youngest son enjoys riding his Kawasaki KX100. We have a short track right on our own property, and a sand pit just down the road from our house that he also enjoys riding. There are also several tracks within a short distance from our home that allow riding by kids and adults as long as they are fully outfitted in all of the property safety equipment, follow the rules, and sign a waiver releasing the owners from any liability.

When a friend of his obtained a new bike recently, I was thrilled to hear our son discussing the importance of safety gear, explaining why he does wear his, always and without question, and why he would never ride without. If you or a loved one is considering taking up riding motocross, or getting a dirt bike for trail riding, remember that safety gear is as important, if not more so, than the purchase of the bike itself. Each piece of safety gear has its own benefits. I have assembled a short list, not a comprehensive one by any stretch of the imagination, but a list of some of the very reasons safety gear is so important.

Helmets

A helmet is the most obvious piece of safety gear for any rider of any motorbike, and probably the most visual one. A good fitting helmet can protect a rider's head from serious damage. Whether a beginner or an experienced rider, a helmet should always be worn when riding. A rider may never wipe out his bike, but if he does, a helmet can mean the difference between life and death. The risks of riding without one are just not worth it. Full-face helmets can also provide a degree of protection for the face of the rider, including the mouth area, including the teeth.

Chest Protectors

Chest protectors come in various forms. Some cover the chest area alone, while others are made to protect both the front and back. There are even jackets available that will protect the chest, back, shoulders, and arms right down to the wrist area. Kidney belts are also available to protect the kidney area. Depending on the type of riding you do, your dealer will be able to point you in the direction of what type is best for you. Our son rides with a hard plastic chest protector that is made to protect the chest, along with panels to help keep his back protected, and shoulder areas, while still providing ventilation during the hottest days of the year. It is made to be worn over a jersey, and the shoulder protection is removable for those days when heat is a big factor. Be sure to choose one that is comfortable and easy to move in, otherwise you may find yourself or loved one skipping wearing it, and if it is not on, it cannot protect.

Boots

Boots made for riding will cover the shin area and provide the extra stability in the ankle area that is so important for any one riding a bike. The first time someone tries to kick over a bike and their foot slides off the pedal (it happens to the best), and the pedal drives into the shin, they will usually remember why it is important to always wear their boots. Good boots can literally mean the difference between wiping out and getting up and walking away, or wiping out and waiting for a ride to the hospital to have a broken bone put back together. Boots should fit properly, and if buying them for a child, avoid buying them too big, in hopes to get a second year of wear out of them. If boots are too big, it can be difficult to shift, and they end up more of a hindrance than a help. A proper fitting boot is important.

Goggles

Goggles will help you see where you are going, even on the brightest days, and they will help keep the dust and debris out of your eyes. Again, fit is important. Goggles that are slipping and sliding are not going to be a help. There are models made to fit right onto a helmet, and these are great for growing kids and adults.

Besides the gear listed here, there are also knee and elbow guards, neck protection, and other safety paraphernalia that you may or may not find useful or necessary. Some of it will depend on the rider themselves, the style, and type of riding they will be doing, and the requirements of the tracks they will be riding on. Riding motocross can be a fun hobby, but safety has to be a priority to keep the fun factor at the forefront. Rid safe and have fun.

Making Time for your Hobby

By Christina VanGinkel

Spending time enjoying our hobbies is not always the easiest task to accomplish. Work, family, and the daily grind called life more often than not intrude into any time that we might actually have. Sure, we might be able to carve out five or ten minutes here or there, but that is usually not enough time to accomplish anything beyond starting the most basic aspects of almost any hobby, surely not enough time to take part in any of the enjoyments that we so often search out a hobby for in the first place. Sure, there are always a few exceptions, where five or ten minutes of time is enough to enjoy a hobby, but more often than not, it is just not enough time. My favorite hobby, listed below, actually is one of the exceptions, as it can be accomplished in very short bursts of time.

Before you just chuck all your hobbies to the roadside though, take a good look at what you do enjoy doing, and give them levels of priority. Consider how much time each does use up, and take a realistic look at your schedule and see if any of your top priority hobbies can find a place in your hectic schedule. If you just are not coming up with any time to devote to them, then either you are not taking the job of relaxation seriously enough, or else the hobbies might not really be all that important to you. Maybe it is time to seek out a hobby or two that will provide the enjoyment aspect that should be a priority towards the use of your time.

To help you reconcile the differences of what is important to you and what is not, you must consider the fact that hobbies are good for people. They can help people lower their stress levels, or get people who might spend the majority of their time in a sedentary position, say sitting behind a desk, up and moving. Look at your hobbies of preference and ask yourself what they mean to you. Consider what they provide to your daily existence that nothing else does.

I have so many hobbies, that for me, this task was a bit difficult; in comparison to if I just partook in one or two outside activities, but I was still able to associate aspects that I considered benefits of almost every hobby I could list. I have listed a few of them below for you to see how I consider I have benefited from a few of my favorites.

Reading (my favorite hobby) provides me with quiet downtime that is pure pleasure. I am able to kick back and think about something that has absolutely nothing to do with my life. It can be accomplished in short bursts of time, so even when I am overly busy, I can still sneak in a few minutes of time that is devoted entirely to me.

Playing with my beadwork, working in one of my scrapbooks, crocheting, or cross-stitching, each provide an outlet for my creativity. They offer the opportunity to fill my mind with colors and textures, to create something that may be around long after I am not. The thought that a future grandchild of mine might someday enjoy something that I made myself fills me with pure joy. Each of these hobbies is somewhat self-fulfilling, as the best hobbies always are.

Time spent working on my writing falls somewhat into the realm of the hobbies I just listed, but is on a somewhat different level. Self-fulfilling for sure, my writing also provides something that no other of my hobbies ever could. I consider it my second favorite way to spend any free time that I have, proceeded only by reading itself.

Ask yourself what your favorite hobbies are and what you feel you gain from them. How much time do you devote to them, and if the answer is not enough, maybe it is time to either find a hobby that will prompt you to make sure you do find the time to take part in it, or else, figure out how to spend more time on the hobbies you are already have.

Ephemera Collectibles

By Christina VanGinkel

I love paper. When I say that, I know many of my friends would assume I am referring to my extensive collection of scrapbook supplies and they would not be totally wrong, as much of it is paper and I do covet each and very piece, and I am always in search of more. When I say I love paper though, I am most likely referring to any old postcard, or letter, advertisement, or photo that I possess, or possibly one of the many old documents that I have collected throughout the years. Two of my favorites are the title to an old Model A, crafted at a time when style meant a lot, even for such mundane papers as a vehicle title, and an old wedding certificate that I found stuffed in the bottom of a box of old postcards that I picked up at a rummage sale decades ago.

The term Ephemera actually pertains to not only the items I have just listed, but also to many other items too. Just about anything made of paper falls under the heading of ephemera when categorizing collectibles, from bank checks to sheet music, from baseball cards to valentines, even newspapers, maps, die-cuts, and business cards.

What I enjoy most about the items of ephemera that I have collected through the years is the history that is captured within each piece. Postcards often have tidbits of history written right on them, and items such as the title for the car detail who owned the vehicle. I have even come across receipts for tractors and other farm equipment that when I read the prices, I am just amazed at what things cost not all that far back into the past. Kids often can gain much from browsing through ephemera collectibles such as these, and can come away with a much better accounting of what the past was like than what they could ever learn from a history book.

To see first hand how different paper was decorated is another reason I enjoy collecting paper items. The wedding certificate, from the year 1925, is so elegant in comparison to the simple sheet of paper that my husband and I received when we were married a quarter of a century ago. Also with the certificate that I found, was a simple book, with the names of the wedding party participants, and a note from each in their own handwriting, all together with some gorgeous illustrations, and tied and assembled with a silken cord. This was surely a keepsake for the bride and groom that they probably reminisced over many a time throughout the years. When I realized what I had, I actually looked up the address of the sale and phoned the owners, asking them if the certificate and book had been accidentally placed with the postcards. They responded that they knew it was in there, and hoped whoever bought the box would appreciate it, as they had no desire to keep it.

If you decide to make collecting ephemera a hobby, always look for pieces to add to your collection is some of the most unusual places. Rummage and estate sales are common places to uncover finds, and be sure to look further than just the most obvious places. Papers and such were often tucked into pages of books, folded into clothing, stuck into crates, even folded and dropped into old cookie jars. Ephemera often pops up in some of the most unlikely places, so when you are browsing through a sale or second hand shop, be sure to check out any item that catches your attention.

Condition of ephemera is not always as good as we would like it to be, and you will have to learn to sue your own judgment on whether pieces are worth trying to salvage or not. I have an affinity myself for some of the roughest looking items, as they are often the most interesting. If you have similar tastes, just be sure to try to protect the item from further damage once it is in your possession. Fire, mold, and water damage can ruin a piece of ephemera beyond repair faster than you can blink, so be sure to take care. Happy collecting!

Check out the HP Digital Cameras with a Slimming Effect, Really!

By Christina VanGinkel

Now I have heard it all! In my mail yesterday was a magazine styled catalog of new products, and products that are hot sellers. There is everything in its pages from clothing to electronics. A digital camera with a unique feature caught my attention. A feature that I at first thought was a joke, that is until I read further, and then sat down at the computer to look it up, as I was still not convinced that it was not just a hoax. I had never read the magazine that I first saw it in before yesterday, it was my very first issue, so I considered that the editors had a bit of a funny side and liked to toss in a joke here and there, for surely the description of the camera's feature was a joke right? Wrong!

The HP R927, along with several other HP cameras, is sporting a new 'slimming' effect. Look a bit fat in a picture, no problem; just hit the slimming effect to make some subtle, but slimming changes to the picture. Let me stop right here and tell you that I have not seen this effect in action, I can only relate to you what I read in the review in the magazine, and what I read online at the HP site and from a few other reviews that I was able to find.

The feature is actually part of an in-camera design gallery. While altering pictures in various photo editing software independent of your camera has been available for some time, more camera makers have been adding editing features such as removal of red eye, and black and white lens right into the camera itself. Part of the trend I believe is because of the various photo printers now available that consumers can just pop their cameras onto or connect via USB cables, bypassing the computer completely. Sometimes this is done because the computer is not convenient to access, or maybe the consumer does not even own one, or is not comfortable going through all the steps required to import their photographs into the photo editing software. They want the ease of taking their photos via their digital cameras, and making any and all adjustments right there. This new line of cameras from HP is most likely the first step of many to do just this.

The in-camera design gallery features the ability to alter your snapshots instantly. You can apply the subtle (their word) effect to both people and pets. The effect is said to easily remove ten or so pounds from an average person's frame. The in-camera design gallery also allows the user to add simple, yet artistic borders, add special effects including the two Cartoon and Kaleidoscope, and the ability to enhance sky and ground colors. There is not software to learn to maneuver through, and all of these effects can be added after the pictures are taken.

The cameras from HP that include this innovative in-camera design gallery, include the newer M-series, including the M425, M525, and M527, along with their R-series, the R725, the R727, and the R927. For an up-close look at one of these cameras, check with your local dealer, or head to the HP website for an HP Design Gallery Technology Tour. (While you are there, be sure to check out their free classes on digital photography too). With more than 25 creative effects available, including 13 artistic effects, if you own one of the M or R series cameras, you might never have to download your photos for editing again. Digging further on the HP site to find out exactly what is included, I came up with the following information. The 25 creative effects are broken down into 13 effects, 4 color schemes, and 10 borders, which can all be interchanged for really an unlimited number of changes. I also was able to determine that when you do apply an effect, that version of your photo is saved on your memory card independently of the original, so you can always go back and start over, or just use the original. All your touchups and quick fixes can be accomplished right in your camera.

Discovering a New Hobby at the Library

By Christina VanGinkel

If you have a child that is interested in finding a hobby, but neither you nor they have any clear ideas on the subject, summer is a great time to help explore the possibilities of a hobby that they very well may enjoy for many years to come. In addition, the library is the first place you should be sure to check out to see what wonders you might be able to find.

Yes, the books inside your local library are surely a wealth of information about hobbies in general, but I am talking about a more hands on situations that many libraries nationwide offer once the doors of school are closed for the summer and theirs start swinging open to students on a more regular basis.

Call your local library to see if they are holding any classes this summer for kids. Many libraries offer classes on a wide range of subjects, from computer learning to crafting to hands on photography. The library one town over from us held a weeklong class for elementary aged kids last year on beginning digital photography. The only thing I found inadequate about the class when I looked into it was that it was just for kids. The class had such a comprehensive list of topics that they were going to cover throughout the week that I would have loved to have taken the class myself. After several adults did approach the library with a similar request, they did set up just such a class for any age participants who wanted to attend.

Some libraries also offer one-day explorer classes where the subject at hand is an exploration into a specific hobby. They employ adults to come in and demonstrate their hobby to the kids. This is an ideal way, for kids to see up close, how something is done, and it can give them the information they need to understand if such a hobby is something, they would like to try. I have seen everything from glass blowing to woodcarving, metalworking, even pottery making with a wheel, all demonstrated at the library. This is a great way for kids to learn about a handcraft that they might otherwise never have a chance to be exposed to. Most of the adults also had information on where the kids could sign up for classes if they were really interested in learning more, and I thought this was just great.

Some libraries might employ guest speakers along a similar theme. The person might have visited a foreign country or traveled in an unusual means, say a river trip up the Amazon or camping in the wilds of Africa. While they might not be demonstrating an actual hobby, kids can come away from these presentations with a much broader range of information about the world in general, and this can open their minds to all sorts of possibilities.

Our small local library has a display case right next to their door with contents that change regularly. Locals are asked to bring in just about any collection they might possess to share with the public. I have seen collections of everything from Wizard of Oz paraphernalia to a collection of nutcrackers, a cookie cutter collection, to assorted collectible plates, and a collection of items relating to the sinking of the Titanic. One never knows for sure what collection might next fill the shelves of the display case. It is a great way for the youth of the community to see what others have deemed worthy of collecting. Most collections span years of work assembling and keeping the items in top condition, and are a perfect example for kids to get an up-close view of things they might otherwise never see.

The library in your community might be much more than just books, but unless you check them out you might never know just what they can offer you and your family. Head to yours this summer with your kids and help them open the doors to a completely new world of possibilities and explorations. They might come away with a brand new hobby, or at the least, a bit of knowledge about the world that is their community.

The Hobby of Writing

By Christina VanGinkel

If writing is a hobby that you have entertained thoughts on, but are not sure exactly what it is you would write about, first take note that there are no hard and fast rules concerning subject matter, or how to go about the process of the actual writing itself. Whether you are someone who is looking towards writing as a hobby, or even as a more prominent part of your life, a side job or maybe even someday as a full time source of income, you will be hard put to find two writers who follow the same path.

Some writers focus on a single subject matter, where as, other writers may write across a wide range of subject matters. Maybe they write stories for children, and feature articles for magazines, on subjects ranging from adult issues to home decor. Before many of us who write can even narrow that focus down though, we must first do the most basic thing. Sit down and write something, putting pen or pencil to paper or fingers to the keyboard.

This most basic element is often the hardest step for some people to take though. It is easier to talk about writing for many so called writers, than it is to actually sit down and do it. I always tell myself that amongst any given group of writers, you are sure to find some of the world's best procrastinators. For example, I can be plodding along with a story or an article, when suddenly nothing I write seems to work. Sentences are unrecognizable, and when I do manage to actually put something solid down on paper, when I read it back, it just does not make sense, and I wonder where I ever got the idea or the words from in the first place.

These roadblocks every now and then, for lack of a better description, often grow into a manifestation of denial where it is much easier to talk about what and why I cannot write, than it would ever be to just sit down and get writing again. If you intend to make writing a hobby that you not only participate in, but also gain pleasure from, then learning how to circumvent this most basic obstacle of writers worldwide is something you will have to deal with eventually.

This is also, where I think some people are at before they ever get going. They are stuck in some sort of perpetual roadblock. The only way I can think of to tell you how to break through that, if that is where you are at, on the edge of being a writer, but scared for any number of reasons to get going, is to just write. Nobody ever has to read what you write if that is your fear. Remember that you have the ultimate power over what you write. If you want to post it, sell it, or keep it under lock and key in a private journal, is all up to you.

This brings us to the next subject of where to write, and what to write on, or in. Some of the most prolific writers today still write longhand in notebooks. Some 'write' into a recorder, and then later on, will transcribe their words into a computer. They write wherever and whenever the muse finds them, be it the park, first thing in the morning before their feet even hit the floor, or maybe at a proper writing desk, in an office of their dreams. I once read of a writer who makes his living sitting in an old leather covered chair that had seen its best days long before the turn of the century, the last century that is, not the current one. His desk is an old wooden door that he removed from his closet solely for the sake of having somewhere to sit at to accomplish his daily ritual of writing. Others feel that unless they are sitting in front of the newest computer money can buy, at a desk that would please the finickiest of people; they are not a true writer. I say to each their own, and if the drive to write is strong enough, it will not really matter if you have the newest and the brightest.

If you want to make writing a part of who you are, then the best advice I can give you is to start. Do not wait until everything is perfect, or else you will always be finding an excuse to put it off. Instead, if an idea comes to you, write it down. That will be the difference between talking about being a writer, and actually becoming one.

Give your Father the Hobby of his Dreams

By Christina VanGinkel

When I wrote my previous blog posting, I was thinking about all of the gifts that someone who enjoys a creative hobby could make for their Dad this upcoming Father's Day. This got me thinking about all of the hobbies that many of these same Dads might like to participate in themselves, some of them creative, some of them not, but all things that they seem to talk about yet never take any action towards doing. Maybe they cost a bit too much, or your Dad feels it is something that he has left too long and he might feel a bit too old to have a go at it. That is when I realized that if you cannot come up with a good gift idea for your Dad this Father's Day; why not give them the gift of the hobby of their dreams? Unless your Dad is so old that he cannot get a pass to leave the nursing home, chances are he is plenty young enough to try just about any hobby of his dreams. Maybe it will be a one shot deal, and then again, maybe it will lead to many years of continued joy. Either way, they will realize that at least you were listening all those times they were going on about their interests.

First, consider what hobbies your Dad has talked about through the years, then take action:

Set them up with lessons and an accompanying adventure for anything from riding a motocross bike, deep sea diving, to skydiving. If NASCAR is there thing, check if the closest track to you offers half day, full day, or even week long classes that let participants get behind the wheel, or sit up front with an experienced driver, and experience the thrill of racing first hand. If you do not live close to a big track, check with a smaller track to see if they offer anything similar.

Get him tickets to the sporting event of his dreams, especially if he has made a hobby through the years of following a certain team.

If they have always dreamt of running a marathon or competing in some other sort of race, say bicycling, arrange for them to head to one of these events as a spectator, and maybe talk with one of the promoters about all that is involved.

If you Dad is the sort that has always talked about writing a novel, send him off to a conference. There are writing conferences geared toward various genres all across the United States and Canada. There are even conferences that are situated on board cruises for a vacation of a lifetime. A writers retreat might be just the ideal getaway if a conference seems like too much. Maybe he has not really started writing, so a conference might seem like overkill, while a retreat would provide him with the solitude to reflect on what he would really like to write.

If he enjoys the creative arts, such as painting or working with clay, see if you can find a class on a subject that he does not do, but again, has expressed an interest in, such as a photography class, a class on blowing glass, metalwork, etc.

If one of these examples or something you come up with on your own sounds ideal, but out of your price range, approach your siblings if you have any, and ask them if maybe they would like to split the cost, as this is a great way to make a dream that is a bit costly come true.

Often, the older one gets, the less time they feel they have. When all they really need is a gently push towards these hobbies of their dreams to realize that yes they do have the time for them, and yes they really are, or maybe are not, what they had always hoped they would be. Too often, we do a lot of talking about something, but never get up the speed to take action. Take that step for him by taking matters into your own hands and making all of his fondest wishful thinking a reality. Give your Dad the gift of a new hobby. Give him the permission to experience and try something that he has always dreamed about doing. He might try it and never try it again, or he might be begging you for more of the same when the next gift-giving holiday rolls around!