allsorts

Is it too much to ask?

Sometimes it gets to me, how so many people can take what I willingly share, and never say thank you, or even have the courtesy of coming to my blog to get their 'freebie.'

I just learned there are a zillion sites out there with my freely shared files on them, and even sites with direct links to the pdf's on my blog. They don't even have to spend the bandwidth, they just use mine. This makes me so sad.

Sometimes I think I should just throw in the towel, give up on making stuff to share, delete the blog and all of the things I've done. But I think of those of you who do come by and say hi, and I actually get choked up, because more and more it seems like nobody wants to take the time to bother with it.

So thank you to those of you who appreciate the connection, you know who you are. Big hugs.

Jenny

Instagram, ma'am!

As I am never one to miss out on the latest thing (I hear you snickering out there) I decided to give Instagram a try! In case you aren't as up to the minute as I am (ha), Instagram is an iPhone app with which you take a photo, apply some simple effects, then add it to your Instagram feed. Then you follow other Instagrammers'(?) photo feeds, and you comment or 'like' them, and they follow yours. It's kinda like a cross between Hipsomatic and Pinterest. You take the photo with the app, add some nifty effects, then people comment on them.

So far I am finding it an interesting challenge, although I can't say I am well and truly hooked just yet. The filter thing is still a mystery, as well as the other optional effects. You can add linear or circular blur, like in the photo of my bookshelf, or choose a frame. Also there is supposed to be a way to add them to facebook and other social media, but I'm still not sure about whether that's a good thing or not. I don't want to annoy my facebook friends with my Instagram photos.

Really, it's nice for capturing the simpler moments within a day, since it is much less intimidating than writing a proper blog post. I can just share a quick pic of whatever I happen to be doing, as in the photo above, when I decided to make some Dala Horse bunting and was cutting out the pennants in my lap.

Anywho, that's Instagram. If you you're already IG-ing and would like to follow me, just do a little search over there for jennybharris. I don't have many photos yet (or followers for that matter - ha) but I suspect I will be snapping more very soon...

See?

Cheers,

Jenny

2@11sorts ~ looking back over the last year

It's time for my annual Allsorts review! For 2011 I tried something new... creating different 'themes' for each month. The idea was each month's theme would be a creative 'jumping-off' point, but in the end, some themes were more inspirational than others. Also, I wasn't always ready to leave one theme when the calendar rolled over the next month. But I explored some new directions creatively, and I felt continually motivated to produce at least one theme-related project. Here's a look back on the projects and whatnot from 2011...

January ~ DOTS ~ A printable for Lots-O-Dots and pattern for a Fluffy Stuffy Bunny.

February - SWEET HEARTS -A printable paper Valentine angel, a dress for the bunny stuffie, and some sweetheart iPhone wallpaper.

March - WEE FOLK -A mini-bunting printable, plus an update for Bunnyfur's dress up.

April - BUNNIES - My first interactive book app came out, and I had a paper-doll giveaway.

May - MAY FLOWERS -interactive book #2, and I shared a To-Do list printable.

June - RED & AQUA -My third (and favorite) interactive book came out, and I added personalized Bride Angels to my etsy shop.

July - LOVE LETTERS - No projects, unless you count the graphic for the theme (lol).

August - CHERRIES - Also no projects, this is when the remodeling started to get underway, and it really put a crimp in my creative process.

September - HOME MADE - See August.

October - HALLOWEEN - I did better in October, with another interactive book, some printable Halloween dots, and some Halloweeny iPhone wallpapers.

November/December - SANTA'S WORKSHOP - Along with recapping many of my previous Christmas projects and freebies, I was able to post some Holiday/Scotty wallpapers, Elfie To-Do list and Starry Angel printables. Big finish!

Okay, so maybe I went a bit overboard on the iPhone wallpapers, and the books for iPad, I can see that now. Not everyone has either of those, so that was kind of unfair. And there were nowhere near enough stitching/sewing projects. I totally blame the remodeling for that (bad remodeling!). I found that I couldn't sit still long enough to focus on stitching anything, so most of my accomplishments were of the digital kind. I will do my best to remedy that in the coming year!

So, that's a wrap. Onward and upward into the New Year! I'd like to get back into quilting now that I've got the space for it, as well as pick my crochet up again. And I have tons of ideas for softies and even a dolly or two! My fingers are itching to get started. We still have Phase Two of the remodeling to get through, but I am determined to forge ahead with my ideas! So what would you like to see from Allsorts in 2012?

Cheers,

Jenny

Ring in the new!

Now that it is 2012, my blog headers from 2011 are sadly obsolete. I am afraid that no one but me appreciated how I cleverly combined the word allsorts with 2011 in last year's banners (snark). Ah well, it's not the first time that something I tried didn't exactly work out (haha). But I'm not clever enough to figure out how to incorporate 2012, so I put up the old standby cherries from before because I still love them. But I was playing around with this, which I also kind of like...

What do you think? Too plain?

I am installed in my new studio upstairs as I type this post, amid a terrifying amount of disorganized, brightly-colored, artsy-craftsy miscellany. All I can say is... yikes. This will take some time to pull together. You never know how much stuff you have until you try to move it from one place to another, even if the new place is much bigger than the old one. I keep making feeble attempts to capture the chaos in photos, but they all look so dreadful, I can't bear to share them. It's all sorts of... untidy.

And yes, I neglected to take photos of my Christmas decorations as well. I never actually finished getting them up, just had to stop because it was, well... Christmas. They are still up (such as they are) so there's hope yet that I will muster the will to point a camera at them. We'll see...

In any case... onward into the new year! Let's make stuff.

Jenny