I’m not sure about you, but one of my biggest pet peeves is watching You Tube videos where the crafter isn’t in the frame when they are crafting.  I vowed that I would figure out a way to know where I am in the frame when I am doing videos and I wouldn’t be one of “those” You Tubers.  Unfortunately, our tripod system doesn’t allow for me to really be able to see where the frame is.  So now I am one of “those” You Tubers and hate it so badly that today I decided I had to trash two videos because I’m out of frame more than I am in frame.  And here is where my problem is.  I was going to make a mark on the counter so I knew exactly where the “frame” would be.  But every time I touch the camera, it moves the “frame’ to the left or right.  Every time I change the memory card or batteries, I move the “frame.”  Every time I bump it with my head I move…you get the picture.  I wish I could come up with a solution but we’ve already replaced the tripod, the camera, the software and the computer he does the post-production work on.  I think it would be great if we could use one of our bigger cameras that you can turn the video screen and then all I’d have to do is look up and I’d know I’m in the frame.  Of course I have absolutely no idea how to work that camera so there’s probably another learning curve.  And of course I’d have to talk my director, producer, editor into giving up said camera for this purpose.    I guess the bottom line is this.  For now I’m destined to be one of “those” You Tubers, darn it.

I was asked by Rubber Stamp Tapestry to review their stamps to determine if they work well for the disabled crafter.  I was thrilled by the opportunity and hope that I am able to do an effective job  evaluating their stamps for them.  I am excited by this opportunity because it not only allows me to evaluate their product, but also gives me the chance to help them make their product more effective for the physically challenged crafter.  It’s one of the main reasons I started my You Tube channel.  I haven’t been crafting for very long, but what I found early on is that it is very difficult to determine which product works best for me.  I buy a lot of repetitive products until I find the one that is most effective.  I’ve been trying to do product review videos because I am hoping I can help others avoid buying repeat products to find the “One.”  It is amazing how easily we can be tricked into buying more than one of anything.  I have so many tape guns and tape runners and glues and adhesives and the list goes on, only to attach item A to item B.  It’s just glue for heavens’ sake.  It shouldn’t require rocket science to stick one thing to another.  And yet I continue to buy more and more glues, glue sticks, hot glue sticks, glue guns, and the list goes on.

My hope going forward is that I am asked by both consumers and vendors for my opinions on products because chances are good that I have either not found the “One” of that particular product that works for me, or I have and haven’t done a tutorial on it yet.  I really want to help others avoid the repetitive buying I’ve done and this is a great first step toward helping other disabled crafters find products that work well for them.  I’m thrilled to have the opportunity and will be giving my opinion to the Rubber Stamp Tapestry Company in the next few days.

Rich uploaded the video of the memo boxes I made for my friends Mary and Beth.  The video was long but looked great.  And then somehow he deleted it from You Tube but thinks he still has it on a memory card. Yikes! The ups and downs of You Tube life.  I just made that up. There are no ups and downs, just ups.  We’ve had a good time learning how to do things and although we haven’t perfected the site, it’s getting better.  I’m starting to feel more comfortable with doing things off camera when I don’t feel I can easily do it on camera.  For instance, you cannot believe how difficult it is to tie a bow on camera.  More importantly it has nothing to do with my arthritis.  I’ve watched a ton of crafters who can’t do it either.  It makes me feel a lot better about myself when others can’t complete such a seemingly simple task.  I have a bunch of bow making apparatus’s  (is that the right word?) and should use those, but I’m just as uncomfortable trying those on camera as I am with using my hands.  I’ve got a new goal for 2016.  I’m going to master the art of the perfect bow.  No, I’m not going to make it right off of the roll of ribbon, I still think that’s beyond me.  I do think though that I can make a bow that others will envy.  I’m changing that goal.  In 2016, I’m going to make bows that others envy AND I’m going to make them on camera.  I know, I shouldn’t make a goal that I can’t achieve, but what if I can?  What if I make the world’s greatest bow?  Maybe that should be my goal.  I might be getting ahead of myself.  Ok, my goal will be to make a bow I’m proud of and on camera in 2016.  I can live with that.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 250 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

I delivered my memo holders that I made to my college friends today and they really seemed to like them. I think the video of them being made will go live tomorrow.  I think they came out pretty well and they seemed to be more impressed with the felt on the bottom than anything.  They were impressed that I thought of everything.
Spending time with old friends is really wonderful.  You don’t need to explain things because they know you so well and understand you perfectly.  You don’t have to apologize because you’d never do anything to intentionally hurt each other.  Spending time together is like sitting in a comfortable chair with a snuggly blanket and your favorite slippers.  You feel safe, secure and loved.   They both seemed worried about my upcoming hip surgery.  They brought me a big bouquet of roses, which made me feel loved but also conveyed their nervousness to me.  If I could change one thing about having this disease, it’s the overall anxiety it creates in those around me.  I hate how worried everyone is and how there’s nothing I can do about it.  When my parents were alive and my sister lived nearby, after every surgery, as soon as I was completely conscious, no matter how much it hurt, I would tell them the same bad (and kind of dirty) joke that involved a swearing parrot.  It was my way of letting them know everything was going to be ok.  I guarantee as soon as I wake up on the 13th, poor Rich is going to hear the parrot joke for the 9th or 10th time and everything will be ok.  Trust me.

So I finished two more gift projects that should have been done before Christmas but are done in time for the get together we have planned with our friends.  I saw this cute desk note holder that I made for my brother in law as a minion.  It wasn’t very hard and looked pretty great when I was done with it, so I decided to do the same for my college friends.  One is into “The Wizard of Oz” and the other was a math major and loves anything to do with math.  I found a rubber stamp that referenced Pi and knew it was perfect for her.  I made a bunch of stamped pages for inside and I’m ready to go.  When I give a gift that involves a stamped image that they will use, I like to give the stamp and some inks so they can replenish their notes once they use them up.  I think it makes it a gift that keeps on giving and I won’t have to keep track of a Pi stamp forever (that’s an added bonus if you have seen my craft room lately.)  My friend Linda asked if maybe a hurricane came through there, but no, it was just the messy side of crafting.  I’d like to be neater and am working on that as my resolution in 2016.  I don’t normally do a resolution as I never can think of one I would really want to commit to.  I’m not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but all of my imperfections seem to be ones I can live with.  What does that say about me?  Am I too lazy to fix myself, or maybe I just don’t care enough about my issues.  (Isn’t that another way of saying I’m too lazy?)

Normally I don’t think my house is really messy, but the same cannot be said of my craft room.  Every time I clean it and promise myself I won’t let it get bad again, it does indeed, get bad.  I’m trying to make sure I give people my projects because I accumulate those as well.  If someone compliments me on a project, there’s a good chance they will be gifted that project.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled when anyone likes something I make, I also happen to be my own worst critic and have trouble spending quality time with said project.  I want to make it and then find someone who likes it to give it to.   If I don’t give these projects away and they keep accumulating, I will be the hoarder formerly known as Sandy.  There will be no way to walk through that space and eventually Rich will put out a missing persons’ bulletin because I’m lost in the clutter.  No, this year I am going to make a resolution.  I will maintain a semi-normal crafting space where you can see the floor and the top of counter surfaces (most of the time).  I’m really going to work on cleaning there tomorrow, or the day after, or, well you get the picture.