Friday, May 27, 2011

Schaedler Rules!!!





I have to confess, I am one of those annoying people who feels the need to straighten other people's crooked pictures. Yes, if I walk into a doctors office, and there is the inevitable crooked, framed picture, I normally exercise great self control and don't touch it...but, on occasion, people, I do seize the moment. Yes, even in your house, I will be tempted to straighten out that baby. Part of me is a trained 'graphic' person and I like to see things lined up, well, straight. I worked for Gensler New York, in their graphic department about 5 minutes before computers took over the world. In the graphic department, the most valuable tool @ the time was a Schaedler Ruler. I still have mine, and cannot live without it. Schaedler Precision Rules are marked with thinner-than-hairline calibrations which represent divisions as fine as 64ths of an inch!!!

Which leads me to the meat of this post. I am getting ready for a craft show @ Garden City Center on June 11th. There is so much to do. Editing, printing, hundreds of photos, cutting presentation boards, gluing, matting, pressing, framing 5x7's, and then finally, laying out all those hundreds of 4x6 photos onto card stock, more gluing, pressing, signing, dating, labeling and then lastly, stuffing. When I am making the cards, the Schaedler Ruler saves my life. Yes, all the way down to the 1/64th of an inch as I need to know that everything is lined up. I have learned that if my margin is off by 1/16 of an inch, well, I can live with that now...good enough...yet, another part of the process. For the next 2 weeks, I will have my hand to the plow...starting today with 17, 5x7's glued, matted and now pressing overnight...let the games begin!!!

3 comments:

Azure Accessories said...

Oh my...I'm tired just hearing about all the gluing, matting, pressing, etc., you have to do for your craft show!!! :~) I do understand Amy...it truly is a great deal of work preparing for a show! As for wanting everything lined up just right I've had my issues in that area myself...

I remember when I first began working with silver sheet...I was such a perfectionist...I wanted each piece to be absolutely "perfect", as close to looking store bought as I could get it, I was very new at metal work and it wasn't up to the standards I though it should be. I cut, trimmed, sanded and filed the day lights out of everything.
Then one day, I'm not even sure why,I began wondering why I felt the need to make each piece "perfect", after all I was making it by hand, and as long I was taking great care and proud of the finished piece...it was fine for it to look hand crafted...in fact it was great, actually preferred, by anyone who buys hand crafted...I realized that is what makes each piece unique,
individual, for the most part one of a kind!
I think we are too hard on ourselves sometimes...better we enjoy what we are doing...our customers will tell the final story!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend Amy!
Cheers
Heather

Cornelius said...

Great post. I still have my Schaedler. It was a gift from a very talented artist who was crazy over Schaedlers...and still is!

Thanks Amy.

Cornelius

Amy Lilley Designs said...

I think I over-did it yesterday and made 80 cards...that's breaking my previous record of 75...ugh...you are so right Heather...as each piece is lovingly handmade, and whatever little quirks come out in the pieces certainly do make them uniquely 'ours'...it has been quite the learning curve for both of us, but I think that we've GOT IT now, yes???? Your work is so YOU and I know that, like the lady @ the market who had you remove the toggle from the bracelet, you are RIGHT, our customers DO tell the final story...

We were planning a day @ the beach, but the weather is stormy...just as well...I can still hit the drawing board...much love...XXXXXXX

Cornelius, I can't believe that you left a comment on the blog...what a great surprise!!!!!...AND, that you still have your Schaedler...hope that it has come in handy over the years...:)))))