Digital Scrapbooking Hybrid Projects - Candle Wraps

Hi everyone! I'm so excited about some of the projects that my sister, Terri, and I worked on over the long, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend!  Terri has a huge, well stocked craft room with about anything you'd ever want in it!  We didn't even have to go shopping!  Before Terri started digiscrapping, she did a lot of paper scrapping and regular crafting.  At one time, Terri and my mom made some beautiful candles that I wanted to try.  Terri took a wedding invitation, scanned it, printed on very thin paper (which was very frustrating she said!), pinned the printed invitation to the candle, then heated it with her embossing heater.  It barely melted the candle and put a thin coat of wax over the invitation making it look as though it was embedded in the candle.  She put a bit of lace and pearls on the bottom, put it on a glass plate, and presented the bride with a gorgeous gift that she just adored!  We didn't do anything quite that fancy but what we did do turned out pretty nice I thought!

I just have to share! We will soon have a hybrid project gallery at Heritage Scrap along with a forum to share instructions and so forth, but I just couldn't wait until it all got *formally* set up!! hehehe  So, it's my blog and I'll blog if I want to, blog if I want to, blog if I want to - you would blog too if it happened to you!!  dood, dood, dood, do, da, dooo!  Whoops!  Sorry, gotta knock off all that singing!  Usually I'm shy about singing in front of people but y'all just bring it out of me!!!  hahahaha

Anyway.....  Our first attempt was with all paper.  I had this idea in my head for some time so we started with that - I wanted to try our five generations of mothers and daughters that I've done other projects with.  We were just going to put their pictures on varying heights of candles but then went with some coordinating background papers.  We put it all on with brads to come up with this:

We added some bows and put them on a plate.  I want to add a small bud vase in the back by Grama Grover with a single red silk rose and some greenery.  I also want to get some of those clear smooth glass stones to put on the plate for a little something extra.  The backs look like this:

Now, I really like these with the pictures nice and large and close up.  I love the papers and think that it will be really nice when I finish up with the displaying portion.  But when we were done, Terri looked at me and said, "I thought we were going to digiscrap these!"  Oh yeah!  duh!!  We ARE digiscrappers now after all!!!  LOL

So we came up with these:

Aren't they soooo pretty!!  That's my husband and I on the largest candle with our son and his girlfriend on the left side and our daughter and her boyfriend on the right side.  I wanted to make a votive cup sized candle with little Jake on it but Terri only had a blue one handy and I wanted white or maroon.  So I can add that later.  Terri had a clear, glass decorative plate to sit them on but they just didn't fit exactly the way I wanted them to.  She put her set on a mirror tile and it was beautiful.  So that's what I'll probably end up getting for mine too when I add Jake's candle.

They are so incredibly easy to make!   First you measure around your candle remembering to add some overlap room.  If you print on cardstock or some other heavier paper, you'll need a little more overlap so that it lays nice and flat.  If you use thinner paper, your overlap area can be smaller.  Then you measure the height of your candle, leaving room at the top and bottom for the candle to show some - maybe about a half inch or so but really just whatever you want.

These are the measurements you use when creating your canvas in your digital scrapping program.  Because you will be printing these, you'll need 300 dpi or higher usually.  I used my favorite Heritage Scrap kits to create my layouts and backgrounds.  For the back, I used a background paper that would give me plenty of room for that overlap area without looking funny because it doesn't align properly.

After creating your wrap in your scrapping program, print it out, cut it out, and wrap your candle!!  Use straight pins with small heads to attach them in the back.  You can also use brads, buttons, or whatever you like to decorate the candle but the straight pins give you a good, solid hold.

The rest is up to you!  Add what ever other embellishments you'd like - ribbons, bows, buttons, lace, patches, and such to make your candle your very own creation!  Display your single candle or a group like mine on a decorative plate, tile, doily, or just by themselves on the shelf.  Any way you do it, I'm sure you'll come up with a masterpiece that you and your family will cherish for a long time to come!!

Heritage Hunting - Special Societies

Many times in genealogy, we all hit the “brick wall”!  It gets frustrating and we may also hit the end of our patience!  We will be exploring many ways to overcome this, including getting into the new book my sister gave me called the Desperate Genealogist’s Idea Book:  Creative Ways to Outsmart Your Elusive Ancestors.  Doesn’t that sound fascinating?!?  Well, I haven’t gotten to read it yet, so for this week we will stick with one of my ideas – Special Societies.

There are basically two types of societies to talk about tonight – the ones that our ancestors belonged to and the ones that can help us today.

I have seen hundreds of obituaries and one of the main things that they always mention are the churches and organizations that a person was associated with.  Of course, you would check out the church mentioned.  But you can also check the organization mentioned.  Some examples might include the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), Freemasons, Grand Army of the Republic, local Granges, and so forth.  Many of these organizations were quite large and organized, complete with published member lists and short biographies.  Always Google or otherwise check this information regarding the person’s involvement.

Some links for this type research:

Cyndi’s List
Family Tree Connection - Fraternal Organizations
Freemasonry
Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF)
Grand Army of the Republic


The other type of societies that will help us with our “brick walls” are the special societies of today.  I mentioned First Families in one of the first Heritage Hunting chats and several people were unaware of the organization.  There are First Families groups at almost every level including America’s First Families.  Most states and counties also have such groups.  There are also DAR and SAR groups throughout the country recognizing the sons and daughters of the American Revolution.  There are hundreds of specialized groups such as International Black Genealogy, German Genealogy, The Federation of East European Family History Societies, Rabbinic Genealogy Special Interest Group, and many more. 

Most times, the entry requirements for these groups are very strict and thoroughly checked and rechecked by the group’s members.  There can be no assumptions and no questionable sources.  Each and every connection and fact needs to have a verifiable source that leaves no room for doubts.  Many of the organizations then publish or otherwise make available the lineage and the research associated with it.

Some links to get further information on this type group:

Cyndi’s List
America’s First Families
Daughters of the American Revolution
National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
German Genealogy


Besides the special interest groups, there are more generalized groups such as state and county genealogical societies, historical societies, local history groups, oral history projects, museums and libraries.  On the web, there are sites such as US Gen Web, Find a Grave, and other volunteer organizations.  You can usually contact these types organizations in the areas your ancestors lived or visited and obtain information for a small fee or donation.  Small groups sometimes have a lot of information and know how different families and clans intermarried and interacted within the community.  Oftentimes there are pictures, journals, family Bibles and artifacts that the local members of the family have donated to a museum or library collection. 

Links to generalized groups:

Allen County (Indiana) Public Library
Somerset County PAGenWeb
New Mexico Genealogical Society 
Allen County (Ohio) Museum


There are virtually an unlimited number of resources available with just a small amount of digging.  Many will turn up nothing at all; but one may just turn out to be the mother lode!!

Life Book and Heritage Hunting Update

Hello fellow Heritage Scrap scrappers!!

Join us tonight at at 9 pm eastern time, 6 pm pacific time for the Life Book II chat at Heritage Scrap in the Life Book chat room. We will be discussing our *maternity leave* options!! Our leader, Vicki from Victorian Rose Designs, will soon be delivering her little bundle of Arabella joy and we all get to celebrate with her! Vicki will be sharing little Bella with all of her cyber aunties and grannies via photos and stories of her cute little antics! So in the meantime, we will be suspending the Life Book II chats until January 4. There are still layouts and chapters available to work on while we are on leave if you so choose. Or you can sit back and wait for the next batch of Bella photos!! hehehe

But alas, the Other Vicki - Vintage Vicki aka LisasMom - is not so blessed! No more babies here!! So Heritage Hunting will continue as normal during our Life Book leave. We will be touching on some interesting topics this month - Special Societies, scraping the present for the future, and many more. So please continue joining me, Vintage Vicki aka LisasMom, and all the other Heritage Hunting ladies in the Heritage Scrap chat room each Tuesday evening at 9 pm eastern, 6 pm pacific time for a pleasant hour of chatting and sharing genealogy and family history information!

Happy Hunting!!
Vintage Vicki aka LisasMom
Creative Challenge Team at Heritage Scrap

Black Friday Holiday Sale - Save 40% at Heritage Scrap

Important Message From Kate, Owner of Heritage Scrap:

We are pleased to offer you a Black Friday MEGA sale - Save 40% through Friday at midnight ET.

The savings continue on Saturday and Sunday with 30% off storewide!!

Be sure to check out our newest products, join the fun challenges and pick up a gorgeous freebie!

We are also excited to introduce our December Designer Collabs, BELIEVE! Catch the magic today!

Enjoy!

12 Day Progressive Challenge

WoooooHoooooo!!! It's almost time for Christmas Palooza at Heritage Scrap!! I just can't stop thinking about all the fun, the challenges, the prizes, the food .... Wait, someone is bringing food?? I want some!!! Hey .... if you have chocolate, I have a sneak peek at something really special and fun .... come on, bring me some chocolate .... its in the mail??? ..... Oh, ok, then let me show you .... THIS!!!



From Helene, Creative Challenge Team Member (aka Victoria32):

We are planning some fun and festivities here are Heritage Scrap to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas. I am hosting a "Progressive Challenge" where we will build a layout over the course of 12 days. We have chosen Dec 1 to 12th. Each day, I will post an item in the forum thread for you to add to your layout, along with instructions. The designers have put together a wonderful set of Christmas kits which will be perfect for creating your layout. You can post your work in progress in the gallery.

There will be a random drawing for a prize from among those who complete the challenge using Heritage Scrap products.

Helene

The 12 Days of Christmas

Hello!! I pray that all is well with my readers and their families as we approach a wonderful but oftentimes, hectic Thanksgiving and Christmas season!

My fellow Heritage Scrap Creative Team member and wonderful friend, Helene aka Victoria32, has found some fascinating history on the web and has agreed to share it with us here on the Vintage Vicki blog.

Helene is researching this topic because she will soon be hostessing a fun and oftentimes, rowdy (!!) challenge at Heritage Scrap called The 12 Days of Christmas Challenge. It is a progressive challenge and for those of you who have done these challenges in the past, you know that they are full of surprises and can get pretty funny at times! Its easy to *scrap yourself into a corner* and some ways scrappers use to get out of these situations can be quite hilarious! Now, Helene is a fairly serious and conservative scrapper so I'm pretty sure she will not allow any food fights in her challenge. But, you know me and my temper tantrums, if I get too frustrated with trying to add 10 buttons or 5 ribbons or whatever to my layout and just can't find a nice way to do it, I've been known to throw my nachos or ice cream or whatever I'm eating at my friendly neighborhood scrapper - on occasion only, not very often, but I have ... done it ... a few times - hey, nobody is perfect ya know, don't throw stones and all that stuff!!

Anyway! Look for Helene's challenge coming up soon in the Heritage Scrap forum!! You will have a blast with this one! And of course .... there are prizes!! Shhhhh!!! I didn't say that!!!

Now for Helene's fascinating history lesson....

Twelve Days of Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas, and the associated evenings of those twelve days (Twelve-tide), are the festive days beginning on Christmas Day (December 25) and ending on the evening of the Twelfth Day of Christmas (January 5). Thus, the first night of Christmas is December 25–26 and Twelfth Night is January 5-6. This period is also known as Christmastide. The day after Twelfth Night is Epiphany on January 6.

Over the centuries, differing churches and sects of Christianity have changed the actual traditions, time frame and their interpretations. Originally this was a secular love song. It sounds to be by a single woman, whose "True Love", a man, sent her gifts. It was probably originally sung in the French language.


The first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A parteridge in a pear tree.
(Now "partridge")

The second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves
And a parteridge in a pear tree.

The third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three French Hens
Two turtle doves
And a parteridge in a pear tree.

The fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Four Colly birds . . .
(Now "Calling birds", but originally "Colly birds" = black birds., "Colly" means
"black as coal" in old English, as in "colliery")

The fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Five gold rings . . .
(Originally these were pictured as "golden ring"-necked pheasants, not jewelry.
All the first five gifts were birds.)

The sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying . . .

The seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven swans swimming . . .
(Now "a-swimming")

The eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking . . .

The ninth day of Christmas my true Love sent to me
Nine drummers drumming . . .

The tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Ten pipers piping . . .

The eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eleven ladies dancing . . .

The twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Twelve lords a-leaping,
Eleven ladies dancing,
Ten pipers piping,
Nine drummers drumming,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four Colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a parteridge in a pear tree.

In modern versions, the "lords, ladies, pipers, drummers" are often switched around.

According to some Roman Catholics, this carol might also have been used as a memory aid for teaching the Christian faith, but this is contradicted at Snopes. In particular, from 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their Faith openly. At that time (according to those Roman Catholics), this traditional English carol was adopted as a catechism song for young Catholics. For them, it had two levels of meaning: the original surface meaning as a love song, plus later hidden religious meanings.

The hidden meanings parallel the verses of the Anglican catechism song "A New Dial" about the numbers on a sun-dial, and, in modern times, the religious connotations in the popular song "Deck of Cards".

One partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

Four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

Six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophesy, serving, teaching, exortation, contribution, leadership, and mercy.

Eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

From here on, the order is different from the original song!

Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

Eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

International Digital Scrapbooking Day at Heritage Scrap

Do you have exciting plans for November 6, 7 and 8? We sure do! I think it's going to be a lot of fun, just like a virtual scrapbooking retreat!

Join us at Heritage Scrap Saturday morning, November 7 at 11 AM Eastern Time for a Scrap and Chat with Helene (Victoria32). She will have us going all over to find the scavenger clues which we need to complete our layout for the challenge. Everyone who attends will receive a gift from Helene and there will be a posting gift as well!

Are you up for more challenges? We've got some fun ones! Jan has put a lot of work into her Christmas card challenge, providing gifts of templates and elements to use and the winner will receive a coupon good for a holiday kit of their choice. You can read more about it in the forum.

Linda has a Songs of Yesteryear musical challenge for us, to scrap lyrics and memories. Turn up the radio and scrap away because the winner of this challenge will receive Annie's Digital Things' gorgeous Parlor Music kit.

Theresa Lindamood (aka ForgetMeNots) has a passion for journaling. She wants to hear your stories in the Stories To Tell challenge. Create a layout that includes journaling to tell your family's or photo's story and you could win one of her kits, sold exclusively at Heritage Scrap.

The designer collaboration for November is called "Vintage Kitchen" and it is fantastic for making layouts of all your kitchen and cooking photos and recipes. We will host a challenge using the Vintage Kitchen kits and you just may win 2 of the collaboration kits for yourself.

Various Prizes and freebies are being awarded for all challenges. Hope to see you there!