stiching scrapbook details

My favorite mounting weapon? Wonder-Under! First I iron on the fusible web to the back side of my stitchling, peel the backing paper off, trim my design, and then iron it right onto the scrapbook background paper. Of course then I have to cover the raw edges with glitter glue, right? (I love glitter!)

Sometimes I iron the stitchling onto a piece of cardstock first, to create a matted look:

I am not a huge fan of regular-sized brads, but I do love to use those cute teensy brads to mount a matted piece onto a page like this:

For larger count fabrics and any sewing/quilting related designs, I prefer to skip the fusible web and just sew them directly to the page. I have been using the zigzag stitch on my machine:

For my pages with a hodge-podge of little bits, I like to use a variety of mounting methods:

I started off with a regular 12 x 12 postbound book, but the pages were heavier than normal (or I just wasn’t very careful) and the page protectors kept getting ripped near the post in the center. I recently found a D-ring style album that closed on both sides and also has an elastic band in there to help keep the pages aligned and started using that instead:

It’s probably not all completely archival, but I’m pretty sure it will last longer than I will! This is just something I’m having fun with. I’ve noticed a few others having fun with it, too– Teejay has pretty embellishments in hers, and Danielle has been noting her stitching details… anyone else?

 

more stitching scrapbook pages

It’s been raining steadily so I haven’t had much time in the yard… and we’ve had a lot of storms, which means limited computer time. I’ve been stitching, reading, and working on my scrapbook stitchbook instead of doing anything that I really should be doing. BTW, these are 12 x 12 pages:

My stitchbook is just like a normal scrapbook except that where family photos would normally go, I have focused on my stitching. I started doing this because I had so many stitchlings (small XS finishes) that I wanted to keep but didn’t necessarily want to finish as fobs, ornaments, or other things. I didn’t want to just toss them out, either, because I did enjoy stitching them and for the most part I can remember what was going on in my life when I stitched each one.

I have kept all of my driver’s licenses from my very first one until my latest renewal this year. (the new anti-terrorist laws don’t allow for driver’s license historians) This “Drive Safely” page is where I’ll stick them, once I remember where I put them.

A few photos sneak in here and there. Above is my daughter’s Easter picture from a few years ago… she had live rabbits around her (she’s feeding a carrot to the one sitting next to her), very cute stuff. The photo was getting beaten up in my wallet and so I stuck it here on the Easter page. There’s another photo on my Harry Potter page, and of course the DL page will include photos, but the main focus of this scrapbook is cross stitch.

I need to stitch a couple more little snowmen for this page!

I’m planning to put a few HP quotes and the list of titles on my Harry Potter page… or maybe journal my memory of the midnight release party… ?

Obviously, none of these pages is finished yet. My method for doing the stitching scrapbook is to mount a batch of stitchlings on pages first and then go back through later and add embellishments, quotes, more stitched bits, etc. Right now, just 2 of the 26 pages in the book are actually complete. I’ve already got a lot of pics here, so tomorrow I’ll post a few of the close-up pictures and share the different methods I have been using for attaching the stitchlings to pages.

 

stitchbooking progress

I started a few more pages for my stitchbooking project! And then I spent about 3 hours at Michael’s trying to figure out what doodads I wanted to add to each page… and wound up buying almost nothing. I did buy a huge stack of paper (because it’s 5/$1 this week) which I will use in other projects not related to scrapbooking, but I kept getting so sidetracked when looking at embellishments! I’d think “ok, I need to find an angel thing” and begin hunting for that when I’d spot a cute cat sticker and go off on a cat tangent. And then during my mental planning of a cat page, I’d spot something related to tea and remember that I had a friend who liked tea things and wouldn’t it be nice to make her a card… you see where this is going. How do you stay “on topic” when looking at scrapbooky things? (tips & hints welcome) I’m thinking I’ll need to just drag my scrapbook into the store with me, because honestly I couldn’t stay focused.

For attaching my stitching to paper, I mostly followed my original plan of using fusible web… it gives the fabric a bit of stiffness and I don’t have to wait for any glue to dry. I used my sewing machine for a few pages, though, just zigzagged around the edges right onto the base paper. For the angel, I used tacky glue to attach the beaded ribbon trim. Now, I really like the way the beads look, but they swing free and I’ve noticed that after a few times of opening and closing the book the ribbons get all out of whack. I considered gluing them down, but the whole effect would be ruined.

Anyway, I’ve obviously got a lot left to go on this project. Technically I haven’t even completed one page yet! I still need to add doodads, journaling, and stuff. I like the way it’s going so far, though, and (most importantly) I’m having fun getting my *fuppies out of their box and into a place I can see them when the mood strikes.

*fuppie: Finished, Unfinished Project

 

making a stitching scrapbook

I have a TON of stitchlings. You know, those very small stitched things that serve no real purpose unless you are the type to finish them into fobs, ornaments, and such. OK, I admit that I had good intentions of using them to make fobs, ornaments, and such, but they just kept getting piled up in a box… so I decided to begin scrapbooking them instead.

I used heat-n-bond to iron them right onto paper, which worked well because I was able to trim the designs without worrying about fraying issues, and I didn’t have to worry about glue-glops, either. I plan to go back and add embellishments and/or little written blurbs about them, too. If I were a “regular” scrapbooker, I’d certainly use little stitched elements on my photo pages… I have often wondered why more people don’t add stitchlings to their scrapbooks, because it would be my first instinct to do so!

Anyway, here’s the start of my stitchbook. It’s a 12 x 12 album and I have 3 pages done so far. Well, not “done” really because I need to go back and add doodads & journaling, but still. And I plan to take better pictures, too, as I go along. I started a new category over there on the right, thinking maybe it will keep me motivated to carry on with this project. (I really do have a TON of stitchlings!) So what do you think? Is this a weird idea? Anyone else doing this?