Let's DO IT!!!!! :-D

Ok, I'm just letting it go!!!!  If I wait until I have everything "PERFECT".....I'll never be done! :-{

I did a few little messages for registration and then under "Forum Policies", but that's all....so far!!  Like I said in my comment to Karen, *I* am the administrator -- so if we want to add anything later, or change anything as we go along, it will be EASY PEASY for me to do it!!!! :-D  Just let me know! (that has become my mantra these past several weeks, I think....LOL)

I've unlocked it, so it's ready to sign up to and post on!!!!  I haven't added anything at all, except under "Forum Policies", and my signature/avatar.  It was pretty simple and typical, so there shouldn't be any real problems for anyone.  I have to get off the computer to make dinner and work on a few housecleaning things (BLEGH!!), but I'll be back on later to see who has joined and if anyone needs me for anything.

Hopefully.....I did everything correctly and it will be easy to get on and post....MY FINGERS ARE CROSSED!!! LOL

Here's the link...... (eeek!!!) (haha!)

http://agatheringofprimlovingfriends.freeforums.org/


GOOD LUCK....!!!  I'll be back on after dinner! ^-^

Forum Update -- FINALLY Getting It (I Think....!!)

This is NOT as easy to understand as I thought!!!! :-P
But I think I'm getting the gist of it finally, and I've been writing notes to try and keep it straight.
(SOOOO funny -- I used to be able to understand complicated Calculus formulas in high school, but I can't understand how to set up Forum Categories!)(*emphasis on USED TO!!*)

Well, in my defense (as much as anyone might want to listen to it...), the site didn't really do a great job explaining any instructions or what the words they used actually symbolized! :-P
But after doing it WRONG several times, I think I am clear on what "Categories" actually means to them!! LOL

I have MOST of the Categories and Boards set up now (I think!), so I'm going to post a screenshot to show you what I've created.
BUT....BEFORE I DO.....I want to repeat something I put into a comment the other day --- I'm definitely NOT personally connected to anything about what I'm creating, naming, picking, etc! So if there's anyone with better ideas of names or anything, I WELCOME that -- let us all know, and if everyone wants something changed, I'll happily change it!!!! 
This isn't "MINE" for "ME".....this is for ALL of US, I'm just doing the put-together of it. So anything, ANYTHING that one of you might really want to change or add, just let me know (here or in an email) -- I'm open to any and ALL suggestions!!!!

PLEASE keep that in mind when you look at the forum picture, and if anyone has an opinion about anything, I want to hear it! :-)

Here it is! (I can't seem to get it any bigger! :-P  Just use the "Control" key and either the "Page Up" key or scroll-up on your mouse to bring it closer) (STUPID Blogger!).....

***I FIGURED IT OUT -- Click on the picture, then in the next screen, RIGHT-click on the picture and click "View Image", then LEFT-click the picture again, and it will get HUGE!  I knew I made it big enough!!***
Just a little history on THIS style....I GAVE UP on the other "Free Forum" website with the confusing CSS-thing, and used this site -- I could only pick a preset style/frame, with all the colors and fonts already picked out and unchangeable.  All I could do is upload my "Logo", which is the picture you see on top.  I think I can also upload "Logos" for each category, if I wanted to, but that's the extent of the CHANGES that can be made on this site.  THANK GOD!!!!!  That CSS was killing me! :-P  LOL

I DO wish I could change the size of the forum title, which is in tiny blue words just to the right of the logo on top.  Maybe sometime I'll make a Logo with the title in it.....maybe...! LOL

So after looking at the general "LOOK", check out the boards I have, and let me know if I missed anything.  Or maybe it's too many....???  I DO still need to add a board for Seasonal Decorating, I think -- Christmas, Fall, Spring, Summer -- and I could put them under the "Decorating" category, OR, I could put them in their own category ("Seasonal Decorating").....

*SIGH!*  SOOOO many decisions....!!!!

Anyway, that's where I'm at after tonight!  I'd LOVE to hear any thoughts/opinions/ideas....!!

Now I'm off to ~VEG-OUT~ for an hour before I try and fall asleep!  I'll be checking back in the morning!!! :-D

HELP!!!....or, Forum Update (LOL)

Ok, I'm down to the final details of this forum, and I'm STUMPED!!!  Here is where I need some input, ladies!!!! :-D

I need to set up CATEGORIES for the posts, but I'm not sure what they should be!  I almost always posted in the "General" category on the APP forum, but I remember there being lots of other subject-specific categories on there.....I just don't remember what they were!!!!

So I'll list what I could think of, but I'm not going to set any of these up without input from everyone who wants this forum -- I truly have NO idea if these are good, helpful topics or not!

General (of course)

Decorating Ideas/Advice

Crafts

Tutorials (but these would probably be in Crafts, right??)

Recipes

Gardening

Prim Projects

Pinterest (would we even NEED a special category for favorite pins or ideas from Pinterest??)

Home Pictures (I can't think of what it was called on APP, but where people posted pictures of their decorated homes)

Links/Favorite Prim Places

Members (where we could all put our names and a small intro/blurb about ourselves that would always be available for other members to see)

That's what *I* could think of -- but I'm not even set on having these, I was just trying to remember what the other Prim forums had.
And I never really liked having to post in certain categories on the forum, so maybe we only need 2 or 3 categories??  Or maybe more categories helps people find what they want to read about, and we need more??

So PLEASE.....everyone chime in with their thoughts and ideas about "Categories" -- did I miss anything?  Should there be more or less?  Is there anything that you would like to see discussed on a Primitive forum that we could make into a category??  Should these be titled differently?

I'm not moving forward with the forum until I get everyone's feedback so I can be confident it's being created the way everyone WANTS it to be.....

......So HELP!!!, my Prim-Forum Sisters!!!!! :-D

Well.....

Ok, I'm a day late with my "update", and actually.....I HAVE NO UPDATE!!!

So many things have conspired against me this week, and now I'm having BROWSER problems....!!!  UGH!  SO annoying, but I'm hoping that my much-loved (computer-nerdy, er...."savvy"!) brother-in-law will give me some direction about how to FIX it today.... (Amy....?? Are you reading this...?)!!! :-D

So in the meantime, my browser keeps freezing ("not responding") constantly, and then CRASHES!

But that's not the real thing holding up my forum creation ---- I'm STILL NOT FINISHED with the little yarn mutants!!!
However, I am ALMOST done, and after posting this blog entry, I'm going to crochet until finished!!

Here is a picture of the last few I have made.....

And once I finish the purple one, I'm DONE!!

Cheryl's comment on my last post made me laugh out loud! :-D  But I wanted to clarify about the women wanting these -- there's actually only 9 of them (I think...), and they have two different sizes of dogs: small and smaller!! LOL  The craziness started when I made the first three, which were identical to the biggest pink one in the middle -- that woman wanted one and her sister wanted two -- and she brought her dog to her Bible study or something like that and all the other women with little dogs wanted one or two!  Three women asked me to make (huge!) ones for their larger dogs, but I wisely declined THAT "adventure" -- modifying and then crocheting a person-sized sweater for a dog....??  WAAAY too much work for me right now!  They are buying the yarn, but I'm doing the crocheting for free (just because I want to).  And even if I was paid, I don't want to make huge ones!! LOL

Anyway, I wanted to share some fun things too!  Well, fun FOR ME...! :-D
I saw and pinned this MONTHS ago.....

It's from an Early American Life magazine article about Windsor Chairs, but what caught my eye was that STENCIL!!!!  Look at it -- it's gorgeous!  I've never seen anything like it in all my stencil resources and searches over the years, and I love it!!
The problem is, it's too small of an image for me to correctly draw and cut it for myself!  I even own the issue that this is from, and the picture in the magazine is zoomed in a bit more and cuts off the stencil! :-(

So for months, literally, I have been looking everywhere for this stencil design -- I've done Google and Bing searches, I've looked through every stencil website I know of (and others I never heard of), I spent hours pouring over Pinterest pins of stencils, I've scoured all my many books and magazines and stencil catalogs -- nothing!  NOTHING!!!   BOOOO HOOOO!!!!!

Where did this come from???
I was almost ready to contact EAL directly to get any info I could from them!  But then in my third book scouring, I noticed a book I had forgotten I owned, and it had been accidentally put away with my Christmas books in the back of my craft closet....."Early American Stencils on Walls and Furniture" by Janet Waring" -- it's a GEM of a book, and I can't believe I forgot all about owning it!!  It's a Dover book published recently, but it was originally published in 1937 after the author went all over New England looking at old houses with original stencils, and even to the descendants of Moses Eaton who gave her his stencil kit!!!  It's a wonderful book!

It's the book on the left, and the other two books are also TERRIFIC and filled with color pictures of stencils from walls and floors.  Janet Waring's book has TONS of pictures, but they are mostly black and white, which doesn't matter to me!!  I can still copy the stencils easily if I wanted to!

I had already checked (and double-checked!) the other two books for that stencil, but two nights ago, I became obsessed with finding it again, and dug further around here (after a 2 hour internet search), and when I found that book I was so excited, even if it didn't have my stencil!!
BUT.....IT DID!!!!.....

THERE IT IS!!!!!  I LOVE IT!!!! :-D
I think I'm going to use it for my bedroom, when I get to it!  Yay, Yay, Yay!!! :-)

Here are some other images from the book....

See how the lack of color doesn't detract from the gorgeous stenciling....SO amazing!!  I think I want to have a couple of these stencils! :-D

Look at Moses Eaton's actual stencils.....

WOW!!

See what a wonderful resource this book is?

The other two are equally as wonderful.....

Look at the last picture -- there is a whole section in that book about the stencils used and found on coverlets and quilts..... for real!  I had never heard of that before reading it in that book!!  As someone who has never quilted (and is a little afraid of it!), I love LOVE the idea of stenciling on fabric to make an authentic Early American coverlet!!!!
Something to think of for a future project.....! :-D

Lastly, remember THIS....

I finally finished painting mine two weeks ago -- I struggle when trying to create a two colored, layered paint look, but I did ok I think.....

Layer one..... (I LOVE this color!!  I almost didn't want to cover it! LOL)
And......

Layer two, plus sanding and staining, and it's all done!!!  It looks better in real life, but you can still see most of the details -- I tried to keep the drawer imperfections (in the wood) exposed, and I think it came out alright....I stressed over it enough! LOL
It looks great in my kitchen!  Now to clean the counters so I can see it better....! :-D

Ok, so I will be working on the forum ASAP (tonight, maybe??), so hopefully I'll have it ready by the weekend, or by the end of the weekend at the latest!!
Don't worry about me "working too hard" or being too stressed over it -- it's NOT difficult at all, it just requires time, that which I don't have at the moment! LOL  But once I get to it, it won't be hard for me at all......besides, the outcome/reward will be SO FUN and WONDERFUL, it's all worth it!!! ^-^

A Forum Update....

I was REALLY hoping that I would be posting with a NEW Forum for everyone by now, but things aren't going as smoothly as I thought they would, unfortunately!
I'm having some trouble understanding how to get the framework of the site set up, so I'm having to search and read about CSS coding and post questions to the forum-site-creator's FORUM (LOL!), all of which is taking me more time than I have right now! :-P

AND THAT'S BECAUSE.....I was volunteered (by my darling husband) to crochet little doggie sweaters for the wives of some men from his work -- BLEGH!!  I agreed unenthusiastically at first because it was supposed to be "a few", but that turned into 15 within a few hours of me agreeing!  I wouldn't mind, really, except that they all want them made with florescent colored yarn that is ACRYLIC.  I know lots and lots of people love acrylic yarn, but I can't stand it!  I intensely dislike the feeling of it in my hands, and when you couple that with the colors that I have to look at..... well, not only do I not really WANT to make these, it's actually detrimental to my spirit to make them!!!  Haha -- a teensy over-dramatic, but I have been struggling with these repulsive little eyesores for the past 2 weeks.... I've GOT to get them finished this week, not least of all because I want my life and creative joy back! :-D
So I have bounced back and forth between struggling with this forum creation website to attacking another little yarn monstrosity!!  If I could just FOCUS on setting up the forum, I would be done by now I bet!

So this is just a quick little update so you guys know I'm on it for real .....and I'll post again by Wednesday with another update.  I plan on crocheting these little MUTANTS continuously until finished, which should take me 2 days, tops!  Then I'll crack the CSS code and get the forum online, and our group fun can begin again!!!! :-D

SORRY it's taking me so long!!! 
Keep your fingers crossed, and I'll be back by Wednesday! ^-^