Domestic Diva Day

Monday is my "Domestic Diva Day" were I schedule to do all those household chores that have to be done. DDD sounds so much better than chores. :) All the grocery shopping, clean up the house and studio (which took over 7 hours to do - yes, I get messy) car washed, laundry and any other random errands that get on my list. I love to have fresh flowers (which is always on my shopping list) in my front hallway and I just couldn't pass these up when I saw them. I think I will dig out some of my sunflower stamps and make a few cards today.

Zindorf Night Owl Workshop

Isn't this ceramic owl by Chris Bing too funny?

We are tossing around the idea of doing a "night owl" workshop while Michelle Zindorf is out here in CA on October 24, 2008. It would be from 9:00 - 11:00 p.m. The advanced workshops filled up so quickly, we wanted to give those who missed out a chance. Michelle is only out here for such a short period of time, it was all we could think of doing. Maybe we will do a less formal workshop, more a cocktail type setting. What do you think?

Remmeber there is the beginning workshop at Cranberry Hill in Sunnyvale from 10:30 -2:00

Honey Harvest - Mr D's Bees Honey

It's honey harvest time at our house. After several hours of removing the bees wax for the frames and spinning the honey out in a huge honey extractor, we have over 5 gallons from just one hive! Really,
I just helped cover everything with plastic sheeting and stayed out of my husband's way. He's very picky about working with his girls (99% of the bees in a hive are female) and their honey The honey is now resting in strainers all over the kitchen before being put into jars. My mom used to call honey "bee spit" and couldn't understand why someone would want to eat it. I thought that "Bee Spit" would be a good name for our label, but Doug wanted "Mr D's Bees Honey".

Quick and Simply Halloween Card class

I had to do one more quick Halloween card class with this set from Inkadinkado "Ghouls and Goblins". I think they are too funny! It's only an hour long class, so the cards had to a on the simple side. I did a little of Zindorf style on the card with the cat under the sheet, well I like to think it's like a Zindorf card. :) The "spooky" card is a window pop up, but you can't see it in the photo. There will be a bonus card if there is time.
Sunday October 12, 2008
Cranberry Hill
12:00-1:00 or 2:00 - 3:00
$11.00

National Card Making Day October 4, 2008

I will be hosting a "National Card Making" event at my studio on Saturday, October 4, 2008. 11:00 - 1:30 The $35.00 workshop fee includes:

1) "A Flower for All Seasons" stamp set

2) Five markers used on the cards

3) Card making materials to make four sets of each card.

4) Lunch (made by my dear hubby)

Purrcy will also make an appearance for his fans.

Hi Mom

My son is currently on his fifth deployment over seas. For those who have children serving in the military, you know what it means to get a "Hi Mom" phone call. Really doesn't matter what come after that, you're just happy to hear their voice. So as we get closer to the holidays, don't forget about our troops who can't be home with their families and those who are waiting for their "Hi Mom" calls.

How to make Faux Dichroic Glass

I got the idea from Tim Hotlz's DVD "The Journey Continues" by PageSage. Since I didn't have all the ingredients used on the DVD, I worked with what I had.

1) Fry pan (got this on ebay years ago to use when I was in my bee wax phase)

2) Glass tiles. I used ones that were NOT etched

3) UTEE clear, UTEE black (can make you own but I had a jar) & UTEE gold (this melts faster for some reason)

4) Alcohol inks (I used lettuce, stream and eggplant)

5) Mylar tissue paper which you can get at any Craft store in the tissue paper or gift wrap section.

6) Spatula to lift tiles out of pan. Has to be able to take high heat.

7) Non stick craft sheet

This is the basic information and steps. I'm not going to list all the safety stuff you should already know. If you need that information than go get the DVD. Just remember this stuff is SUPER HOT and smelly.

1) Mix alcohol ink and clear UTEE. It takes a while to get the color to blend with the UTEE. I had all my UTEE in small containers so I could quickly pick up a pinch and sprinkle on the tiles.

2) My pan has no numbers on it, so I had it on as high as it would go. Add glass tile to pan and cover with black embossing powder then sprinkle a little gold over the top. 3) Have the mylar that has been crumble up (this is important) cut to fit over the tile. Place over UTEE once it has melted. 4) Sprinkle clear UTEE over tile (this is an important step) 5) Sprinkle your alcohol ink UTEE over parts of the tile. 6) If you don't like the edges of the mylar showing, I add just a tiny bit of gold around the edges. If you add too much it will cover the whole tile again - not good. If this happens (can you tell I made with mistake?) add more clear UTEE which will make the gold UTEE melt off to the sides. 7) Remove from pan and let cool on non stick craft sheet. Remember this is super hot. 8) After I finished making all the tiles, I melted some black UTEE in the pan and edged all the tiles in black.

Page Sage Marathon

It's been a marathon of watching DVDs from Page Sage this week. www.pagesage.com On one of the DVDs, I saw how to make faux dichroic glass. I went out to try and find all the "stuff" to make it, only to come home empty handed. Not giving up, I made do with the supplies I had inmy stash. It took me about and hour to figure out how and when to throw the embossing powder on the glass tiles. Tomorrow is my meeting with my card swap group, the Cornflakes and I think everyone will be getting a faux dichroic glass magnet instead of a card. :)

Purrcy's Play Pen

Yes, another picture of Mr. Purrcy in his play pen. Every morning when I'm in my studio, Purrcy likes to play with his favorite toy mouse in what I call his play pen. He loves those little stuffed mice and will flip it out of the box then run around the room with it and then wait for me to throw it back into the pen.

Texas Zindorfians

Photos from the latest Zindorf workshop in Austin TX. Lydia (in the lower center) was a great host and took some fun photos. Love the photo of inky fingers, they were having fun! We will be waiting for hurricane season to be over before we book an advance class in TX. Living out here in CA, I forget that other places still have "seasons".

Memory Box Class

One of the three cards I will be doing in my Memory Box Quick Stop card class. I saw the card on the Memory Box website and decided I would CASE it, since the class is all about show casing (no pun intended) their stamps. People have been asking for shorter classes and quick cards that don't break the bank.

Cuttlebug Halloween Card Class

I will be doing a repeat class of my Cuttlebug Halloween card class on Saturday October 18, 2008 at Cranberry Hill. (still confirming the date).
For those who haven't used their Cuttlebug (there are a few of you out there) you will be amazed at how fast you can make some cool cards.

Road Trip 2009

During my card class this past weekend, one of the ladies mentioned a stamp store called "The Cat's Meow" in Oakhurst CA, hosts a stamping retreat in May. I just love the name of the store and volunteered to coordinate the arrangements for this road trip. So here is the link to the retreat. http://www.catsmeowstamps.com/gyse.htm Let me know if your interested in going and I will start making a list. We will car pool and sharing the cost of the housing. I've never been to this retreat, but for those who have, said it was nice and very well run. Something I should definitely check out. Class size will be big (25 people per class) but you will get a chance to work with all four of the guest artists.

Photo by Chris Seufert's Photography

New Classes

Here's a picture of the cards for my "Simply Halloween" card class in October. Many of my students have asked for more cards (per class) and ones that are fast to make. Most of the stamps are from the Limited Edition clear set "Trickery". One card is a tri-fold card, that could be used as a mini photo album, at least that is what I would do with it.
I think I liked this set because is had a cat and the saying " I trick and your treat" which is a totally what a cat would say. :)

I will also be doing a Memory Box - Quick Stop card class. Again people are asking for quick cards and really don't want to spend hours making just one. They will make 3 cards in an hours and get their fingers really inky. Will post photos when I've finished the third project.

U.S.A Flag

Everyone is asked to fly their flag today in memory of those killed in the 9/11 attack. At our house we fly the U.S.A. flag everyday. It's getting a little faded and will be retired soon and replaced with a new one. We display the flag in front of our house while our son is still on active duty in the military. Chad is currently serving on his fifth deployment in the Middle East.
We live in an area where it is not common for people to go into the military. The most difficult part is those who think if you don't agree with your assignment (which ever side of the war you're on) you should just quit or refuse to go. Can you imagine what our country would be like if our troops could pick and choose when to serve or if no one joined the military? So fly your flag and let the troops know we are thankfully for their willingness to serve and put their lives on the line for us.

Sneak Peek - Zindorfian Class

Here's a sneak peek at what the Zindorfian's will be doing in the advance workshops. We won't show all the cards, we want you to be surprised! The photo on the left is the new stamp set you will be using along with the Marvels of Nature set you received in the beginner class. Michelle is adding more techniques to the cards, making them a little more challenging.

New Zindorfians join the gang.

Some new Zindorfian's have been born!. Michelle had a blast at her workshop at Marco's Paper in Dayton. The ladies were all hard core stampers and were up for the challenge to learn something new. Michelle didn't disappoint them! I was told there were a lot of inky blue hands that left the store that day.
We have added an advance class to the calendar for those close to the Dayton area. Saturday November 1,
10:00 - 1:30.Sorry, but we won't post what the projects are, we want everyone to be surprised. I can tell you that they are great!

Purrcy

Purrcy was nice enough this morning to model for me when I was taking pictures of the Beckett Expression paper post. I usually use Lucy when I need a cat to pose (she will stay still long enough to get a picture) but she was in one of her "moods" again and wouldn't get near the camera. When I was finished with the shots for the paper, Purrcy did a few other poses before he went off for his morning nap.

SU Whisper White Sub

At one of my workshops last month, there was a discussion on what other white card stock is the same as Stampin Up's Whisper white card stock. After searching high and low here in CA at all the paper warehouses, I was not able to find anything. I was given names of companies to check out but when I did a side by side comparison, they weren't the same. I finally asked Greg at Marco's Paper in Ohio (yes, all the way across the country) and he said he's best guess was Beckett Expression "Iceberg". So I ordered 4 reams and waited nervously for it to arrive. When I check it against the SU card stock, it feels and looks the same. The reason I could not find it out in CA, is because Beckett has a older line also called Expression and that is what the warehouses near me still carry so be careful if you order it online from anyone other than Greg at Marco's Paper, he's got the real thing. :)
http://marcopaper.com/

A Place to Bark

Bernie Berlin is a multi media artist who runs a no kill animal shelter called " A Place to Bark". This is one of the non-profit groups that Purrcy, Lucy and I support. http://www.aplacetobark.blogspot.com/ The fur babies and I started donating money to Bernie when she did a video showing all the animals she was caring for. She was working on raising money to build a shelter so the animals would not have to be outside in the weather. As she was showing the elderly dogs she has to keep in her house (too old to be outside) she opened the bathroom door to show where the kittens were kept. You could hear all the dogs barking around Bernie (happy barking) and here were these tiny little kitten looking at the camera. Purrcy and I decided the kittens really needed their own quiet place in Bernie's shelter, so we started donating. If you visit her blog, you will see the building being built from the donations collected and some pretty darn cute pictures of the dogs that have been taken in. Thanks Berine for all your hard work!