Holiday Re-Cap

This is a photo heavy post...be forewarned!

The holidays are still with us here at IHAN....if you can believe that.  We were hoping to get our holiday decorations down tonight, not happening!   Too much going on...still...so it will have to wait until later in the week.  I don't feel too bad because I see plenty of neighbors who are still turning on their outdoor lights :)

This photo hasn't been posted yet....hate to be so late in wishing everyone a Happy New Year from the Flamingos, it just happens sometimes :)

(Monday morning now and I'm finishing this post.  You may be shocked to know we no longer have a Christmas tree in our living room....giggles.

Back to the Re-Cap

Wait until you see what "the girls" gave their grandparents for Christmas.  Keep in mind Maddy has less than 3 hours of sewing time under her belt and Krista has none...zero...up until they decided they wanted to give their grandparents matching aprons. 

They purchased some aprons and came with these designs all on their own....using only what I had in my stash.

 Here they are Christmas morning surprising Grandma and Grandpa (they call one another "Hun" and "Babe").

This is their "daytime" aprons.  Grandpa's tie is put on by velcro so it can be changed out for his "evening" apron.  The bottom of Grandma's apron is buttoned on so it is interchangeable.

All Grandpa had to do was unsnap his apron to unveil his "evening" look and Grandma just buttons on her matching evening wear....complete with crystal bling across the top...look closely.

The pride I felt watching those two girls go to work on those aprons made my heart swell.  They did a great job, don't you think?

This is one of the gifts I received from all three girls (yes, we have three grown daughters for those of you who are new to the IHAN blog).  My own sewing tool belt.  They went to the internet and took images of the notions I have and printed color photos and taped them into the tool belt.....they are just tooo clever!  I think I'll wear this and use it to hold my phone too!

A few other very noteworthy gifts I received:

Fleece socks from LLBean.  I have made several pair of fleece socks for myself because I love fleece socks in the winter.  When I saw these in the LLBean catalog, I made sure to point them out to Mr. McSteamy!  I am crazy about these socks.

These PJ's, given to me by my mother, really tickled me too.

Fun frogs really make me smile and boy was I surprised when I opened a package and found these frogs looking back at me.  Yep, I'm a frog lover....and elephants too.  No clue as to what this says about me....but I'm sure it reveals something...lol.

Five days before Christmas my mother moved to a seniors apartment.  It was 40 years to the day that she had moved into my childhood home.  I knew her space was going to be smaller so I bought these small canvases, probably 3 x 3, and let the boys create some "apartment art" for grandma.  Who could help but laugh when you see what they boys drew....too funny.  They were a big hit, grandma loves them and they fit perfectly in her new apartment.

Mr. McSteamy has a snow globe collection so I thought it would be fun for the boys to make him some snow globes for Christmas.  I Googled "hand made snow globes" and came up with several methods of making snow globes.  The biggest challenge was finding glass jars with wide openings that would still look good.  I found some fun things at a rummage sale and at the Salvation Army to decorate the inside.   I found this tiny jar and Zach found a way to get this tiny house into the tiny jar.  He was very proud.

Not all hand made gifts turn out as planned......

These carolers look more like pickled people then a snow globe....oops....stuff happens :)

Just a few more fun pix....

Christmas eve the boys put their cookies, carrots and glass of milk by the fireplace and went to bed.  The girls were up late helping wrap gifts and Maddy decided she should be Santa this year.  After all, someone has to take bites out of those cookies, right?  In true Jackson style....she went full measure with her new job....

As you can see, we don't have much fun around here.

Last week, Maddy returned to pick up a few things including the sewing machine I had given her (by way of MJ :) and some sewing notions to inspire her creativity.  She had just finished a 2 day road trip from FL and her car was stuffed.  I was told the sewing things wouldn't fit.....you'd think she'd know me by now!

 I was able to fit a sewing machine, fabric and some rulers into her already full trunk.  She was traveling with her two dogs as well so I had to plan accordingly.

A large cutting mat fit perfectly against the back seats.

What fun would all those notions be without some beautiful fabric? 

Yep, we had a wonderful holiday season and I'm sooooo glad it is over and all that food is out of the house!

Smiles,
Kelly

Mandala Wall Hanging

Christmas, yes it is still up here at IHAN headquarters.  Last Sunday we finally wrapped up celebrating with family and hopefully by the weekend we'll have our decorations taken down.  Notice I say hopefully.  Something always comes up and last Friday was no different.   A group of gals were meeting to make a Mandala Wall Hanging and my girlfriend, Diane, was demonstrating and teaching.  How could I pass that up? 

Diane has made 5 of the Mandala Wall Hangings and here are photos of two of hers:

I figured if she could make 5, I could at least make one and as it turns out, I'll be making two...LOL.

Here is the pattern we used by Nanette's Quilts.

Mandala Wall Hanging by Nanette's Quilts

Choosing fabric became quite the adventure for me.  I wanted to use Aboriginal Fabrics by M & S Textiles but I couldn't find more to go with what I had.  Then I thought about using Patternista by  Paula Nadelstern and I could not find enough coordinating fabrics locally. 

Then I found Love Lives Here"by P. Carter Carpin for P & B Textiles and that's what I went with.  You need a 10 degree wedge ruler to make a Mandala.

 I used Cheryl Phillips 10 Degree Mini Wedge ruler. 

The neat thing about Cheryl's ruler is that it comes with a free pattern on the back...can you say BONUS :)

This is how far I got in a 4 hour class.  I thought I did pretty well considering that included cutting out my fabrics.  Once I put the Mandala in the frame I realized the stripe section that I used emphasized the orange.  Sort of clashing with my border.  When I got home I took my stripe fabric and color copied a variety of sections so I could preview the combinations before making another Mandala.

Believe it or not, each of those sections are different and bring out different colors.  I decided to go with a smaller bird for the center as well.

I believe I have settled on the dark red spiral in the center.  Now I just need to re-cut my fabric and make another Mandala.  No worries, I will find another fun fabric to use the Mandala with the orange emphasis.  Unless of course someone says that it is just perfect for something they already have and I'm likely to pass it along :)

It has been awhile since I posted a Flamingo Family update....so here you go :)

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Smiles,

Kelly

e-Bosser by Craftwell Product Reveiw

I saw the  e-Bosser by Craftwell last Fall at Quilt Market in Houston. Unfortunately, the person I spoke with while at Market didn't know much about the machine. 

When I returned from Market I decided to order one so I could review it for all of you.   I have owned and reviewed the Big Shot, Big Shot Pro, Vagabond, AccuQuilt Go!, and the Go! Baby.  With all of this experience I thought I'd be a good person to give the e-Bosser a whirl.

December 12, 2012 was my first trial of the e-Bosser.  The machine itself weighs apx. 15 lbs and measures 6.9H x 12.4W x 8.9D.  It is fully automatic, no handle to crank.  The Vagabond by Sizzix is also automatic.  That is a wonderful feature for anyone who doesn't like to crank a handle multiple times. 

The e-Bosser comes with a variety of cutting platforms, a shim, a rubber embossing mat and an embossing folder.  The bed of the e-Bosser measures 8 1/2 x 12 inches which means it will take the compatible dies that are no more than 8 1/2 inches wide by 12 inches long.  It is important to know the size of the dies you have or are interested in purchasing when choosing a fabric cutting machine. 

I opened the instruction manual and started with the first set of instructions, which is for embossing paper.

I opened the embossing folder(8 1/2 x 11) and placed a piece of scrapbook paper inside.

 

Next, I placed the embossing folder between platforms A and C and then tacked them on top of platform D as instructed in the manual.

Then I inserted the platforms into the e-Bosser and nothing happened.  I turned the machine off and on a few more times, still nothing.  I phoned the customer service department at Craftwell.  Oddly enough, while on the phone with the customer service rep. the motor started on the machine.  The platforms went into the e-Bosser and then it stopped working again.  The platforms were stuck in the machine and I could not get them to go any further.  The CS rep suggested I take a rubber mallet and a piece of wood to attempt to dislodge the platforms.  I was afraid that I would break it so I opted to attempt to pull the platforms out with my hands to no avail.

Now, I had a machine with jammed platforms making it difficult to re-pack so I could ship it back.  Craftwell did pay for the return shipping which was very much appreciated.

Late in December, I received what I thought was a replacement e-Bosser from Craftwell.  Come to find out, it was the same machine I had returned to them.  They had dislodged the platforms and sent the machine back to me.

Khris (SewPrimKhris blogspot) was here visiting with her husband from AU.  I invited her to join me in reviewing the e-Bosser so together we unpacked the machine and set it up for our review.

I repeated the instructions for embossing paper (the only difference was the color of the paper).

This time, even though it was turned on, the e-Bosser would not start.  I turned the machine on and off a few times and then after a few minutes, the platform fed into the machine.

Unfortunately the platform stopped and was stuck again.  You can imagine my frustration.  Because they sent me the same machine back, I don't know if it is just a defective e-Bosser or if this is prone to happen on all of the e-Bossers.

Then I had a beautifully embossed piece of paper.  The design was lovely and the quality of the embossing was excellent.

The e-Bosser is compatible with a variety of embossing folder brands as well as cutting dies.
The instruction booklet gives instructions for the order of platforms to use with the different dies.  According to the Craftwell website, the e-Bosser is compatible with the following dies and embossing folders:

• Craftwell eBosser Embossing Folders
• Sizzix
• Ellison
• QuicKutz
• Lifestyle Crafts
• Fiskars Fuse
• Spellbinders
• Cuttlebug
• AccuCut
• AccuQuilt

 The first cutting die I used is the Sizzix Bigz Hexagon die.

For Sizzix Dies, the instructions say to put platform C on the bottom followed by the cutting die, the fabric and then use platform A.  You can see that is exactly what we did.  There was no tips or instructions for where to place the die on the platform in the manual.  I am aware that there are several you tube videos with instructions for the e-Bosser but I'm considering the consumer who isn't connected to the internet.  Where would they find more information?   I think the instruction manual could be beefed up.

The first time through the machine, the platform stalled and would not go through the machine.  Again I was frustrated and told Khris it was on her to see if  she could get better results.  She was more than happy to take over for me....ya got to love friends :)

Now, it's Khris' turn to give the e-Bosser a go.  She put the platforms into the machine and......

yes....it went in

and came out. 

After removing the excess fabric, I had two very nice hexagons.  On other trials, we used up to four layers of fabric and found the e-Bosser to be a bit sluggish. 

Time to give an AccuQuilt Go! die a run through the e-Bosser.  

 The order of platform placement for the AccuQuilt dies is different.  The correct order for the AccuQuilt dies is, platform D on bottom, cutting die, fabric and platform A on top.

This time we made sure the die was in the front of the platform before we put it into the machine.  Khris said she had to give it a push to get it to go through the machine.

Success, we ended up with three circles.

Unfortunately I did not have an impressive experience with the e-Bosser.  I plan on returning this one as it still does not work consistently.  I won't be asking for a replacement because I've already spent quite a bit of time reviewing, photographing and now writing my post.  I hope others have a better experience that I did.

All of you who know me, know I don't write negative reviews.  I understand all products have a failure rate and this could be attributed to "one" faulty e-Bosser.  Who knows?  What I do know is that when I called Craftwell Customer Service the first time,  I did inform the gal that the only reason I purchased the e-Bosser was to review it on my blog.  I  also shared that I am the owner of "I Have A Notion"" not because I think I'm somebody.....but to give Craftwell the heads up that my purpose was product review and I figured they would want to put their best foot forward.  If it were me, I would have opened a brand new one, tested it to be sure it worked properly and then shipped a replacement.  But then again, that's just me.

Smiles,

Kelly

Happiest of New Years to You :)

I hope you had a wonderful New Years Eve, I know we did.

Khris, from SewPrimKhris Blog, and her husband Glen are here visiting with us.  They are from Australia and have been traveling the US for almost 3 months.  How fun would that be?  To go traveling and visiting other Bloggers in other countries...sign me up!  If you'ld like to see their travel blog, click here.

It hasn't been all fun and games, I put Khris to work at IHAN and she helped me do a product review.  That will be the next post.

RESOLUTIONS- who likes those?   Every single New Years resolution I've ever made I've never kept.  Who needs a set up to feel bad?   Not me!!!  I've seen where people are coming up with a word or phrase for their New Year.  I'm one who can't seem to find one word ....but this year, I'm making a change.  I've decided my word for the year will be "Acceptance."  I'm willing to accept things in my life just as they are and when I'm not willing, I'm going to become willing.

Have you thought about any significant ways to mark the New Year?

Smiles,
Kelly

It's All Greek To Me- Floriani Total Control Software

Hey y'all, Karin here again.  Kelly's kinda busy right now, so I've hijacked her blog for the moment.

Once in a while, I get a design challenge opportunity.  That's a request where I have to step outside my comfort zone and think outside the box to come up with a solution.  I got one such request a couple days ago.  A lady wanted a luggage handle wrap embroidered with a Greek letter D.  OK, I know that'd be a Delta, but did I have that on my Babylock?  I wasn't sure, so off I went, right away, to check it out.  I'd always thought I had to have the embroidery  module attached before I could edit or create a design directly on the machine, but surprise!  Nope, not with my Ellegante anyway.

Lesson #1 - when faced with something new, TRY something new.  Instead of hauling out the embroidery module and turning on the machine, I decided to just turn it on and see if I could get to the embroidery edit screen....it was about midnight, so I really didn't want to go to a lot of trouble just to see if it could be done.

Surprise!  I did NOT have to load the embroidery module, I could get to the letters screen easily enough just by turning the machine on and pressing the Embroidery Edit button.  But nowhere could I find the Greek letters I was hoping for.  However, I did find some other symbols and characters I didn't know I had!

Lesson #2 - don't be afraid to go into uncharted territory.  Ya know, the options & characters were always there, I had just never clicked over to page 3 to see any of them!  (sad, but true, and yes, I've had this machine for well over 2 years now)

Lesson #3 - just because you can't get there from here doesn't mean you can't get there at all!  Enter Floriani Total Control!  I knew that Floriani TCP had many different font options - way more than the 8-10 that came with my machine.  One of them was bound to have Greek letters, right?  Oh yeah, baby, that they do!  And armed with that knowledge, I confidently answered the request with, "Sure, I can do that, just not until after Christmas."  The lady was in no big hurry, so I got the order, and we were both confident that I could get 'er done.

A couple days went by, Christmas came & went, and eventually I was ready to stitch out the luggage handle wrap.

And just how was I going to get the Greek letter to be the size I wanted?  Heck, even before that, how did I even know what size lettering I even wanted?  Well, I was going to put this lettering on one of my luggage handle wraps, and space is pretty limited on those puppies, both horizontally & vertically.  The embroiderable area is only about 3 1/2 inches by 4, total, and there's binding on both sides and Velcro on the top & bottom, so there's no allowance for fudge-factor or error.

So the first thing I did was to program the K, drop down a line & program the last name, Tayler.  Then I re-sized the last name to fit within the allowable area.  That gave me a good idea of how thick & wide I could make the K.  Once I got the last name shrunk down to size, I could shrink the K to be a comparable size.  But how was I gonna get that Greek Delta in there?  That's where Floriani Total Control software comes into play.

I launched the program, and opened a new project.  I selected the Text tool button on my toolbar (that's the big T in the very left, upper corner) and clicked once in the project window.  That brought up the Text Properties box and all I had to do next was select the Greek font from the drop-down list:

and type a D in the text box & click Apply:

Only one problem - it wasn't the right size!  Yeah, go figure - I wasn't surprised either.  Some people are lucky and it would be just right, but not me...if it can happen or be wrong, it usually does or is, and this time was no exception.  So now I had to figure out how to shrink it down to be compatible with all the other letters.  No problem, Floriani's got that figured out too!  

I just clicked the Transform tab (still in the Text Properties box), and set my desired size (when I programmed the K, I wrote down what its size was, based on the info from the embroidery machine sceen). I also UNchecked the Maintain Aspect Ratio Size box.  Bet you're wondering why, huh?  Glad you asked!  When I left it checked, as is the default, I couldn't make it skinnier without making it shorter, too.  So, since I wanted it kind of tall and skinny, to match the K and T, I had to uncheck the box that kept it all in proportion.  Surprisingly enough, sometimes the machine doesn't know better.

Once I had the D sized right, I just saved the file in PES format, on my thumbdrive.  I put the thumbdrive into my sewing machine and added that file into the design window:

I adjusted the spacing just a bit & I was ready to sew!  Couldn't have been much easier!  I was a wee bit worried about how it would look with the other letters, but I am plenty pleased with the results:

The underlay stitches were nice and plentiful, so there's no worrying about that letter coming undone or anything, and I'm happy with the way it sized out as compared to all the other letters.  I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, so you'll just have to take my word for it - it turned out fine and I got the wrap out just in time for mail pickup!

That's a wrap (no pun intended!) for today - I hope I encouraged you to try something new or do something different!  In the meantime, sunny stitches to you all!

Karin

THANK YOU Karin!  You so totally Rock :)

Smiles,

Kelly

Merry Christmas

To all who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas!

Zach and Aaron

 Krista and Maddy

Even the Flamingo Family were celebrating!

May all your days be merry, healthy, and enjoying the company of all of those that are near and dear to you!

Smiles,
Kelly

Looking for a Sign

Have you ever "looked for a sign?"  Sometimes seeing "the sign" helps. 

Life seems insane of late and I know I have it within my power to change the course of my current experiences....so why am I still running around like a chicken with my head cut off and choosing insanity instead of sanity? 

Perhaps it was all the excitement of two of our daughters arriving on Tuesday.  Could it have been wrapping all those orders in order to get them to people in time for their holiday.   Maybe it was helping my Mother move from her house of 40 years to a seniors apartment this week.  Do you think it could have been preparing all those teacher gifts and cookies for the boy's school Christmas party?  Well, then again, it could be all the dishes and laundry...and did I mention picking up after 6 people.  I guess it could have been any one of these things that has sent me off the deep end...LOL.

Self Portrait

I need to be reminded to slow down and breathe.  Have you ever gotten yourself into a tailspin and needed to remind yourself to wipe that crazed cat look off of your face?  ROFL

 

Taking time to slow down and enjoy the process of making 160 chocolate chip cookies.

 Enjoying the scent of fresh made chocolate chip cookies.....ahhh...that would have been nice.

And then there were those Oreo Truffles....they should be called "Dangerous Truffles!"

Krista, our oldest daughter, taught us about Oreo Truffles.  

You take 39 Oreo's and put them in the food processor and turn them into a very fine powder.  Add one 8 oz package of cream cheese and combine.  Then you make small balls and put them in the freezer or outdoors if it is cold where you live.  We put ours on the back porch.  Melt some mild chocolate on the stove and when the truffle balls are hardened, dip them into the chocolate and place them on wax paper and take them back outside to harden.  There is no recommended dosage so prepare yourself :)

The rest of the evening I'm going to focus on "being" and not doing....after all I am a human being,  not a human doing.  Why is it that I get confused so frequently?

Smiles,

Kelly