Two weeks ago I busted my right tibia (shin) while in Atlanta. This thing blew up so badly, the goose egg wrapped around the entire calf. After about 4 days, there was a bruise that developed from the immediate injury site extending down to the ankles.
When things failed to improve - actually getting worse - I had some x-rays taken. Never, not once, did I claim the bone was broken in two; rather I believed the tibia was cracked. The radiologist report stated, "No acute fractures or bone displacement." That written in a large and bold font. That's as far as any doctor will review. There was some other notes taken from the x-ray, but at a normal font... who cares?
I contend the tibia is still cracked. Walking with a normal gait is impossible. The injury site, which can be marked with a definitive X, when touched sets another series of fresh bruises down my leg. I found the bottom of my foot black and blue among with goose eggs (large hematomas) all over the back of the calf. Not broken, my butt! (Okay, not my butt.)
The good new is this doesn't need casting, because "the tibia didn't break cleanly in two." The bad news is that there's nothing to stabilize the small fracture, and based upon close observations, this is stressing the fracture, maybe making it worse with each passing day. I simply don't get how a bruise on the shin bone keeps getting worse instead of showing some hint of improvement. Last I knew bruises don't cause tingling, numbness and full out spasms. Call me silly.
So the standing joke (ha ha!) around the house is that I'm faking it. Well, if some idiot doctor won't bother actually examining the film, then faking become the more obvious conclusion. I hope the medical staff feel really, really bad when the time comes to admit me for several DVTs. So help me, I'll sue if they originate in the right lower leg.
I'm fairly bound to sitting/lounging all day, That would be extra nice because I could do a whole lot of scrappin'. Not when my leg has to remain fully extended, putting me way out of reaching league. So 0% scrapping until the "bruise" heals.
Bummers & Boogers
Showing posts with label gone wrong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gone wrong. Show all posts
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Friday, August 31, 2012
Learning by Mistake
What a week. Seems as if every project is somewhere up in the air... or in the mail again.
Got the photos. When building the travel mini I designed everything to accommodate 4x6 photos, although there were a few pages designed with smaller mats. I realized there would be many, many pictures to include and adjusted for that. What I'm learning in putting the final touches on the album is that my matting skills have everything left to improve. For example, in one booklet alone I punched an eye out - totally avoidable - placed photos in such a way the booklet requires constant turning to view the pictures, and as cute as the booklet is, the photos still needed an additional mat, which of course I didn't allow for. It's still okay because the approach to this album was to treat this as a learning experience. That certainly happened! The next "solo" designed album will mark a dramatic advancement of skills.
While watching the daily subscription YouTube videos, I ran across someone very excited about a find at TJ Maxx getting in a huge variety of EK Success punches for $3.99 each. That is something to get excited about. I couldn't get to the Maxx until yesterday and it initially appeared as if all the punches I'd hoped to find already sold. It wasn't a total loss as I managed to find one EK Success Halloween punch and a bonus Martha Stewart Halloween Punch Around the Page set for only $8.00.
I learned an surprising fact about EK Success punches. (This also includes Martha Stewart as EK Success manufactures these as well.) They come with absolutely no guarantee, implied or otherwise. And when calling customer support, they all but told me: too bad in just about those words. It's a shame there's no alternative punch companies out there that back their products. Perhaps Fiskars, but would have to look.
I've been a very good scrapper and chained myself to a strict budget; because I've realized it's not a good policy to buy something just because I "might" need it someday - sales or not. (I must admit that I'm still working on that "chained" part :)
So... today I finally bought a couple packs of I am Roses and doing the happy dance for it. The flower inventory is still very limited, so I've decided that for the next couple of allowances to add a few packs each time.
It's very fortunate we live so close to the national Tattered Angel's warehouse as bottles and sprays can cost as little as $3.00 a bottle; fortunate because my investment for glittery sprays and paints has been minimal. After watching so many videos, it's obvious Lindy's Stamp Gang's various forms of micas are far superior to Tattered Angels. I'm buying my first four-bottle set that happens to marry up with several Graphic 45 collections already on hand. Between I am Roses and LSG, I'm going to have a blast over the next few weeks learning new techniques. Like the I am Roses, I also plan to slowly build the LSG spray/paint inventory.
For fear of retiring the collection I'm hoping to buy Graphic 45's Travel Travelogue in the 12x12 and 8x8 pads. If the collection proves to be a fairly new, then I'll just sit on this week's allowance until a good sell comes along. I wonder if there's a place where you can go to learn when a collection came out and approximately how long the sets stay in publication.
Great, great news!! I misunderstood what the seller was offering with the partial 8x8 pad Once Upon a Springtime paper, but now accidentally own TEN face pages of the collection. However (squeals of joy) I located a company that had the postcard page for 70c each, and had them in stock!!! Four of these should arrive any day now. That leaves the tag page to locate, and should I desire, the chipboard frames.
The post here is too long, but in the next day or so I'll share a project I'm coordinating.
Got the photos. When building the travel mini I designed everything to accommodate 4x6 photos, although there were a few pages designed with smaller mats. I realized there would be many, many pictures to include and adjusted for that. What I'm learning in putting the final touches on the album is that my matting skills have everything left to improve. For example, in one booklet alone I punched an eye out - totally avoidable - placed photos in such a way the booklet requires constant turning to view the pictures, and as cute as the booklet is, the photos still needed an additional mat, which of course I didn't allow for. It's still okay because the approach to this album was to treat this as a learning experience. That certainly happened! The next "solo" designed album will mark a dramatic advancement of skills.
While watching the daily subscription YouTube videos, I ran across someone very excited about a find at TJ Maxx getting in a huge variety of EK Success punches for $3.99 each. That is something to get excited about. I couldn't get to the Maxx until yesterday and it initially appeared as if all the punches I'd hoped to find already sold. It wasn't a total loss as I managed to find one EK Success Halloween punch and a bonus Martha Stewart Halloween Punch Around the Page set for only $8.00.
I learned an surprising fact about EK Success punches. (This also includes Martha Stewart as EK Success manufactures these as well.) They come with absolutely no guarantee, implied or otherwise. And when calling customer support, they all but told me: too bad in just about those words. It's a shame there's no alternative punch companies out there that back their products. Perhaps Fiskars, but would have to look.
I've been a very good scrapper and chained myself to a strict budget; because I've realized it's not a good policy to buy something just because I "might" need it someday - sales or not. (I must admit that I'm still working on that "chained" part :)
So... today I finally bought a couple packs of I am Roses and doing the happy dance for it. The flower inventory is still very limited, so I've decided that for the next couple of allowances to add a few packs each time.
It's very fortunate we live so close to the national Tattered Angel's warehouse as bottles and sprays can cost as little as $3.00 a bottle; fortunate because my investment for glittery sprays and paints has been minimal. After watching so many videos, it's obvious Lindy's Stamp Gang's various forms of micas are far superior to Tattered Angels. I'm buying my first four-bottle set that happens to marry up with several Graphic 45 collections already on hand. Between I am Roses and LSG, I'm going to have a blast over the next few weeks learning new techniques. Like the I am Roses, I also plan to slowly build the LSG spray/paint inventory.
For fear of retiring the collection I'm hoping to buy Graphic 45's Travel Travelogue in the 12x12 and 8x8 pads. If the collection proves to be a fairly new, then I'll just sit on this week's allowance until a good sell comes along. I wonder if there's a place where you can go to learn when a collection came out and approximately how long the sets stay in publication.
Great, great news!! I misunderstood what the seller was offering with the partial 8x8 pad Once Upon a Springtime paper, but now accidentally own TEN face pages of the collection. However (squeals of joy) I located a company that had the postcard page for 70c each, and had them in stock!!! Four of these should arrive any day now. That leaves the tag page to locate, and should I desire, the chipboard frames.
The post here is too long, but in the next day or so I'll share a project I'm coordinating.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Persistence
Persistence pays, but oh boy at what a cost!!
I've decided mini-albums fit our lifestyle better than the 12x12 inch layouts. Everything has a place and purpose, so I'll never totally abandon the larger version; perhaps the "best of the very best" annual album, or something along those lines. From now on, most of my creative energy will go into the mini's.
With that thought in mind, I've come to the solid conviction made-from-scratch mini's are probably best left to professionals. I hate, (scorn, despise, revolt, etc) putting out inferior products. There are allowances for skills not yet mastered, but not by much. There has to be an exponential learning curve to scrapbooking skills, but more rational people would try to master one before going on to the next. Not I, heavens no! I want to master it all in one horse pill sized, gagging swallow.
If there's a mistake to be made, almost corrected, and the same mistake made again, I'll do it every time; hands down. Subsequently, a weekend project for most will take the weekend and the following week - and that's if I'm lucky. It can be so very discouraging. Fortunately, persistence runs in my DNA or this hobby would have been abandoned months ago.
At present I'm learning everything possible about book binding. There are as many techniques as skilled crafters out there, but a couple of methods keep popping up as the most reasonable and flexible. Maybe, if I can calm my butt down, I'll get reasonable skilled at this. But not today. Oh, no, not when this skill was critical to the project. In common fashion, I'll have to put the project aside for a few days and practice this new skill until proficient. That's why the weekend project takes ten or more days to complete. Every project taken on has a whole new area of discovery, and learning.
On a more positive note, I've mastered a few skills; which makes a significant advancement for timely project completion. (Down from three weeks to ten days.)
I've discussed adhesives before. It comes as a surprise to learn there's more to learn. When using the highest quality adhesives, there are tricks to make a tighter bond. Burnishing goes a very long with with tape adhesives, and the brayer does a great job with wet glues. The demands on adhesives are taken to new heights with all the moving and swing parts of the mini. This was yet another hard learned lesson.
It's no secret I'm totally smitten with Graphic 45 papers. I kept running into BoBunny projects and couldn't resist picking up a pack at one of my last hauls. The colours are very soothing and even the brighter packs have a subtle tinting. I simply can't wait to tear into this first package! Someone special on my list will receive a very, very nice Christmas present this year.
It's possible I forget to post the adapted shoe organizer photo.
Just for kicks I decided to begin hanging some of my favourite embellishments on the 6x2 cork board running along the desks back panel. I've only just started, but it's way too cute not to share.
I've decided mini-albums fit our lifestyle better than the 12x12 inch layouts. Everything has a place and purpose, so I'll never totally abandon the larger version; perhaps the "best of the very best" annual album, or something along those lines. From now on, most of my creative energy will go into the mini's.
With that thought in mind, I've come to the solid conviction made-from-scratch mini's are probably best left to professionals. I hate, (scorn, despise, revolt, etc) putting out inferior products. There are allowances for skills not yet mastered, but not by much. There has to be an exponential learning curve to scrapbooking skills, but more rational people would try to master one before going on to the next. Not I, heavens no! I want to master it all in one horse pill sized, gagging swallow.
If there's a mistake to be made, almost corrected, and the same mistake made again, I'll do it every time; hands down. Subsequently, a weekend project for most will take the weekend and the following week - and that's if I'm lucky. It can be so very discouraging. Fortunately, persistence runs in my DNA or this hobby would have been abandoned months ago.
At present I'm learning everything possible about book binding. There are as many techniques as skilled crafters out there, but a couple of methods keep popping up as the most reasonable and flexible. Maybe, if I can calm my butt down, I'll get reasonable skilled at this. But not today. Oh, no, not when this skill was critical to the project. In common fashion, I'll have to put the project aside for a few days and practice this new skill until proficient. That's why the weekend project takes ten or more days to complete. Every project taken on has a whole new area of discovery, and learning.
On a more positive note, I've mastered a few skills; which makes a significant advancement for timely project completion. (Down from three weeks to ten days.)
I've discussed adhesives before. It comes as a surprise to learn there's more to learn. When using the highest quality adhesives, there are tricks to make a tighter bond. Burnishing goes a very long with with tape adhesives, and the brayer does a great job with wet glues. The demands on adhesives are taken to new heights with all the moving and swing parts of the mini. This was yet another hard learned lesson.
It's no secret I'm totally smitten with Graphic 45 papers. I kept running into BoBunny projects and couldn't resist picking up a pack at one of my last hauls. The colours are very soothing and even the brighter packs have a subtle tinting. I simply can't wait to tear into this first package! Someone special on my list will receive a very, very nice Christmas present this year.
It's possible I forget to post the adapted shoe organizer photo.
 |
| Most stamps & some punches |
Just for kicks I decided to begin hanging some of my favourite embellishments on the 6x2 cork board running along the desks back panel. I've only just started, but it's way too cute not to share.
 |
| Embellishments! |
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Finishing Touches & Adhesive Lessons
I've gotten a bit of scrapbook work done in the new craft room during the last week, and there's no comparing the before and after differences. Any kinks have now been worked out to all satisfaction! Now, having said that...
During the weekend of transition, my loving husband wanted to put in a new system for punch storage. NO! I couldn't take another thought of more arranging. He wasted no time today to rectify this and went out and purchased/assembled the adapted wooden shoe storage unit. It's more than adequate to store my entire, extremely limited, punch inventory, with plenty of room to spare. Tomorrow this system goes into place with minimum disruption. He also bought and put in place an additional unit to organize the laser printer, printer paper reams, with an additional small shelf area for quick mailing supply access. After completing this last small task, there will be no more talk of reorganizing for months, perhaps even years; however, the flesh is weak.
Miracles of miracles, the mini-album is 99.9% complete. One major mistake made in the beginning was punching holes in the book board (homemade) before tearing a single page out of the pad. In all fairness, the video never mentioned the need, and as a novice, I didn't realize how important this would be until much too late. So the book was finished, sans holes. No problem, we'd drill small holes into the completed covers and make up hole reinforcements to cover the blemishes. No problem. Except! The front cover came out exactly as prescribed; the back, no so much. The holes were drilled on the wrong side. I'm so disheartened at the moment. There doesn't seem to be a viable solution, unless crying counts. A solution does exist. I just don't know what that might be as of now. So much fussy cutting on the back, no more paper to replace it with; blah, blah. Inspiration will come, hopefully soon. Regardless, this is a lesson that will never be forgotten. That's part of the learning experience; but at such a great cost. *moan*
I learned a great deal during the construction. Yes, the greatest error was the holes; but less dramatically was adhesive function. LO's tend to be very forgiving, no moving parts, no stresses, and the page protectors contain/protect whatever might come loose. Conversely, mini-albums with all their pockets and tags, pages turning, etc, demand a higher degree of adhesive mastery.
I learned:
Remember: that which does not destroy us, makes us stronger!
During the weekend of transition, my loving husband wanted to put in a new system for punch storage. NO! I couldn't take another thought of more arranging. He wasted no time today to rectify this and went out and purchased/assembled the adapted wooden shoe storage unit. It's more than adequate to store my entire, extremely limited, punch inventory, with plenty of room to spare. Tomorrow this system goes into place with minimum disruption. He also bought and put in place an additional unit to organize the laser printer, printer paper reams, with an additional small shelf area for quick mailing supply access. After completing this last small task, there will be no more talk of reorganizing for months, perhaps even years; however, the flesh is weak.
Miracles of miracles, the mini-album is 99.9% complete. One major mistake made in the beginning was punching holes in the book board (homemade) before tearing a single page out of the pad. In all fairness, the video never mentioned the need, and as a novice, I didn't realize how important this would be until much too late. So the book was finished, sans holes. No problem, we'd drill small holes into the completed covers and make up hole reinforcements to cover the blemishes. No problem. Except! The front cover came out exactly as prescribed; the back, no so much. The holes were drilled on the wrong side. I'm so disheartened at the moment. There doesn't seem to be a viable solution, unless crying counts. A solution does exist. I just don't know what that might be as of now. So much fussy cutting on the back, no more paper to replace it with; blah, blah. Inspiration will come, hopefully soon. Regardless, this is a lesson that will never be forgotten. That's part of the learning experience; but at such a great cost. *moan*
I learned a great deal during the construction. Yes, the greatest error was the holes; but less dramatically was adhesive function. LO's tend to be very forgiving, no moving parts, no stresses, and the page protectors contain/protect whatever might come loose. Conversely, mini-albums with all their pockets and tags, pages turning, etc, demand a higher degree of adhesive mastery.
I learned:
- Murphy's Law applies to scrapbooking in general and adhesives specifically
- Zip Dry paper glue means paper-on-paper
- ATG glue buckles under stress/movement
- You get what you pay for; super strong double-sided red tape pays for itself in reduced frustration levels, measured in seconds
- Glue dots are woosies
- Wet glue does not include Elmer's School glue
- All glues take longer to set than expected, except when attaching large pieces onto pages within a precise 1/4 inch border, in which case, at that very moment, all glue becomes instantaneously and irreparably bonded to paper
- There exists a substantial "bite" difference between the textured and smooth sides of paper
- It's highly recommend not to Superglue your tongue to the lips, and keep in mind some glues are highly flammable (especially important if interested in keeping eyebrows nice and smooth) *kidding folks! except for the Superglue part*
Remember: that which does not destroy us, makes us stronger!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Not all Goes as Planned
Feeling much better now, thank you. There's still no clue as to what happened.
Much to my amazement, there are areas in life where paper, though decorative, doesn't enhance. The coloured pencil container - previously coffee container - came out splendidly. So, using great leaps of imagination and motivation, decided to decorate a few other recycled coffee tins.
{Before going forward with the story, it's necessary to note my husband is a closet garage hoarder. Only the garage. He'll come back and say it's my fault... blah, blah, blah. It most certainly is not. It's that I finally gave up trying to organize the area, only to find it totally junked up weeks later; wasted effort.}
Finding a particular item inside the garage is a daunting task. Not quite impossible, but we've lost 16x8x7 tents in there. I'll give credit and say he has a loose system of grouping like items in a particular part of the garage. He loves my homemade fire starters for BBQ and camping. He said he'd run out recently, and could I make some more?
This is where the story gets crazy. Why, we'll never know, but I decided to melt the paraffin so it would store neatly in three cans (first duh). Task finally completed, I though it would be nice to paper the exterior of the can to serve as a visual cue in the virtual wasteland. It finally hit me! Getting the paraffin out of the coffee cans would require heat... lots of it. Not so good for paper. What a total and complete flop. Live and learn! Is that funny, or not?
_______________________________________________
For my baby pictures mini-album, I'm currently studying every aspect of what makes a page work, or not. Since the album cover and pages will be created from cereal boxes, you can only imagine the intense labour required. From scratch! I only hope it begins to come together before the end of the year.
I gathered my baby pictures from all sorts of stashed areas yesterday, then decided which pictures to use. A huge task in and of itself. Now I have a good idea what size pockets to create. That's it so far.
The inspiration for all of this comes from a video from YouTube, from a user calling herself, Monkeydreamz1. Everything she does are pieces of art. Of course, I'll need to make many, many adjustments, beginning with painting the pages pastels instead of the bold black she (appropriately) uses in this video. I'm still looking forward to the project; but maybe because I haven't done anything but find pictures and collect chipboard, no labour as yet.
Much to my amazement, there are areas in life where paper, though decorative, doesn't enhance. The coloured pencil container - previously coffee container - came out splendidly. So, using great leaps of imagination and motivation, decided to decorate a few other recycled coffee tins.
{Before going forward with the story, it's necessary to note my husband is a closet garage hoarder. Only the garage. He'll come back and say it's my fault... blah, blah, blah. It most certainly is not. It's that I finally gave up trying to organize the area, only to find it totally junked up weeks later; wasted effort.}
Finding a particular item inside the garage is a daunting task. Not quite impossible, but we've lost 16x8x7 tents in there. I'll give credit and say he has a loose system of grouping like items in a particular part of the garage. He loves my homemade fire starters for BBQ and camping. He said he'd run out recently, and could I make some more?
This is where the story gets crazy. Why, we'll never know, but I decided to melt the paraffin so it would store neatly in three cans (first duh). Task finally completed, I though it would be nice to paper the exterior of the can to serve as a visual cue in the virtual wasteland. It finally hit me! Getting the paraffin out of the coffee cans would require heat... lots of it. Not so good for paper. What a total and complete flop. Live and learn! Is that funny, or not?
_______________________________________________
For my baby pictures mini-album, I'm currently studying every aspect of what makes a page work, or not. Since the album cover and pages will be created from cereal boxes, you can only imagine the intense labour required. From scratch! I only hope it begins to come together before the end of the year.
I gathered my baby pictures from all sorts of stashed areas yesterday, then decided which pictures to use. A huge task in and of itself. Now I have a good idea what size pockets to create. That's it so far.
The inspiration for all of this comes from a video from YouTube, from a user calling herself, Monkeydreamz1. Everything she does are pieces of art. Of course, I'll need to make many, many adjustments, beginning with painting the pages pastels instead of the bold black she (appropriately) uses in this video. I'm still looking forward to the project; but maybe because I haven't done anything but find pictures and collect chipboard, no labour as yet.
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