Dragonfly Lady 223-006H

Well, we have surpassed 500 e-mail subscriptions and they still keep coming. And we reached this plateau without the help of the phantom subscriber, who has apparently entered a holding pattern at eleven subscriptions or felt that eleven copies were enough for anyone.

New images abound, the polymer is shiny, classes are coming and shows and conventions are upon us. Read on! And please feel free to pass this newsletter on to anyone who breathes... breathes rubber, polymer clay, and creativity!

ding! dong! the witch is dead! bc (big change) number one

The new catalog is not only completely redone (reassigning images to appropriate sections, resizing, relabeling, etc.) but is in a completely new format. While still 8 1/2" by 11" in size, it is not bound but hole punched so as to fit into a standard loose leaf book with the pages numbered by section so as to facilitate updates. Big deal, right!

While I will not be including a loose leaf book as part of the catalog, they may be purchased quite inexpensively at any stationary store. They are available with clear plastic sleeves on both the cover and spine to facilitate inserts. My cover and spine inserts are designed to easily slip into these pockets. Additionally, a set of tabs may be added to separate the various sections.

A heartfelt thanks to Karen Kolander for the hours and hours of work she put in on the redo and to Christina Gibbs, aka Xina the web mistress, for her contribution.

As I write this it occurs to me that our standard 8 1/2" by 11" page is not the standard in other countries. There the standard is Din A4 which is slightly larger. Thus if someone wishes a fully bound book I will offer the binder and tabs at cost. Give me a chance to figure out the cost components and I will come up with a price.

I believe that this incarnation of the catalog is flexible enough to serve my customers needs for many years to come and that aside from issuing new updates I will never again have to redo the entire catalog. Yea!!! Well, it's a big deal to me!

Togetherness 220-006H

please do not take it personally! bc number two

There are those who would say "How ungrateful, she is getting increased business and is unhappy about it?" Please do not misunderstand me, I am grateful for each and every order. I have worked very hard over the last seven years to build up a business I can be proud of and that on occasion pays the bills.

However, I believe that a crucial aspect of my success has been my devotion to quality and customer service. I have never refused to replace a stamp no matter how insignificant the cause and I have gone out of my way to provide the kind of service I would personally want. All this takes a toll as I often work seven days a week and each day is very long.

With all this in mind I have made the decision that, as of July 1, 2000, I will offer only unmounted dies to retail customers. I will still be offering mounted stamps to wholesale customers.

While this may seem drastic to some, it is a natural progression. First, a significant majority of my retail customers already order only unmounted stamps. It saves them money (as unmounted are 50% less) and just as importantly to many, they take up a great deal less space. Also it is much easier to hide new unmounted dies from your spouse than mounted ones. And you do not have to "dirty up" the mount to make it look like it has always been there.

Secondly, I hope to be able, once again, to ship orders within five to ten business days. Lastly, I will not be competing directly with my wholesale customers who induct and educate the novitiates to our order, and supply the accouterments to stamping that makes life so much better, such as pads, ink, papers, embossing powders and the like. And, less we forget, provide the love and TLC expected of a retailer.

I will post, in a prominent place on my web site, information that will address the issue of dealing with unmounted stamps. And, as nothing in my world is fixed except death, taxes and The Hun's complaining, if anyone wants one or two mounted stamps as a gift, or for any other reason, I will be happy to accommodate.

That was so easy I'm sure you are wondering what all the fuss was about!

the golden goose is on life support

This show, which was in planning as far back as 1998, had carefully chosen both its geographic and calendar position so as to complement, not compete with, other shows. However, a promoter who, is in it just for the money can not only hurt others but shoot itself in the foot as well. This is happening in the stamp world as well with promoters getting into the game to make a "quick" buck, or so they think. They are over saturating the market as the stamping community is not expanding rapidly enough to accommodate all the new shows and much lower attendance for all is the result.

road trip

• The next show for me will be Lori Blaauw's State Of The Arts 2000 in Hayward, CA (near Oakland) on April 29, 2000. Classes will be held Friday and Saturday April 28th and 29th. I will be teaching a new class I have been developing, Intuitive Collage Card Decks. Deve Blackburn will be flying up from LA to team teach this class with me and Vickie Reinhart, certified Egyptian numerologist and card reader.

  This one is going to be a winner and will use stamps and all the little bits and pieces crafters save up because they are too good to throw away. Also a great place to use the collage packs created by Christina Gibbs (aka, Xina the Web Mistress par excellence). Booths and class space are going fast, so contact Lori at: TheBoss@HeritageShows.comfor more info and reservations.

  Art by Los Angeles artist, Deve Blackburn. Because this image is very detailed, it shows up poorly on computer screens. For a clearer image, click Detailed view and look at the enlarged picture.

  Lilith (the woman who dumped Adam) 227-001L

• We are off to Florida in May, hopefully just before the summer heat starts. I will again be teaching the Spirit Guide Vessel Class and take a booth at The Artful Journey in Daytona Beach, May 11th through the 13th. This is a terrific convention, as Donna Kazee organizes one of the great shows of the stamping and mixed media world. Florida is fast becoming one of the hot beds of stamping, clay and beads.

• On June 4th I will be teaching the Intuitive Collage Card Deck class at First Impressions in Portland, Oregon. This will coincide with the Bead and Button Show, also in Portland, so, as they say (remember who they are) - two birds with one stone. Contact Donni at 503-288-2338 for class info.

• June 23rd and 24th I will be in Aitkin, Minnesota, teaching at Laurel Ford's Create-A-Card Studio. I will be presenting the Spirit Guide Vessel class on the 23rd and both the vessel class and the Wild Woman Fetish Pin class on the 24th. Aitkin is about an hour and a half beautiful drive from the Twin Cities and will be well worth the trip. Contact Laurel at 218-678-3787 for more information.

hot flash

small, medium or large

While a precise size cannot be provided for every die since the outlines are irregular, the following scale will provide the size of the mount for each die size. Since we mount each die on the smallest possible mount that will accept it, this will provide the best approximation of each image's actual size. The die size is determined from the alphabetic character that is the last position of each image's the order number, e.g., 12-345A. (The following chart will also be posted on my web site.)

A = 3/4" x 3/4"
B = 1" x 1"
C = 1" x 1 1/2"

D = 1 1/2" x 1 1/2"
E = 1" x 2 1/2"
F = 1 1/2" x 2 1/2"

G = 2" x 2 1/2"
H = 2 1/2" x 2 1/2"
I = 2 1/2" x 3"

J = 2" x 4"
K = 2" x 4 1/2"
L = 3 1/2" x 4"

M = 4" x 5"

we can not find liz zobel but her locator indicates she is with the rest of the colonists

Kerchunk is simply the greatest zine for on-line stampers. (As for the name, it is the sound the stamp makes when hitting the paper.) I keep mentioning it because there are so many new subscribers to the newsletter who may not be aware of its presence. And for those of you older subscribers who have ignored this plug in the past and not availed yourselves of a great experience.

Kerchunk has the most comprehensive stamping links anywhere. You can also order your craft, and other books there through Amazon.com and the twins get a tiny little commission which helps keep the zine going. You can find this great zine at www.Kerchunk.html.

My continued plugs for Kerchunk have nothing to do with cross marketing, commissions, payola, kickbacks and the like. I just like it!

Kamon #3 Lg 220-003I

which word didn't you understand?

usage of images

put her in trauma three!

Linda Sarine, the bag lady who purchased this gal amulet bag from me several years ago, was totally distraught over the accident and had to be sedated along with the patient. A news conference will be held as soon as the patient is out of the operating room.

Dragonfly 22-006G

lost images

While we did not get the Internet Service Provider of the first victim, the second was a Prodigy user. Thus, my question, "Is anyone else who uses Prodigy as their ISP having a problem seeing the Celtic images?" Please let me know. First Celtic image page.

[Late Breaking News: WebMistress Xina has applied a special HTML anti-hex formula to those Celtic image pages. She believes the forces of evil have been vanquished and the images will now appear for everyone. Battle on, Xina!]

my pit poodle

new news of xina

Thank goodness for modern medicine as her collage packs are flying off the shelf and we needed her to make more. Check these babies out on the web site, they are an awesome value. During her recuperation in the AutoDoc she had the time to develop two new packs: an Oriental flavor and a small Kitchen Sink. More info here!

who picked up all the socks?

As readers of the last newsletter know we are offering super high quality, limited edition bead kits, with antique and/or specially designed focal beads. Between Embellishment and the follow-up orders about 65% of each edition is now sold. We have two new kits in the prototype stage and, now that Sheila is on the mend, will get them up on the web site soon. For the full story and great photos of the present kits, check us out at: beads.ERAGraphics.com

bistro hun

"Yes dear."

Restaurants put together a plate of food that is little different than what you do: protein (meat, poultry or fish), a starch and a vegetable. Unless of course it is a super high priced bistro - then they leave off the starch and veg and throw on a sprig of parsley. Great food is a function of the quality of the ingredients, the care in preparation and presentation. Most people buy well and have learned, through trail and error, to grill a piece of fish or chicken properly.

To my mind then, it is a matter of having on hand ALREADY PREPARED a series of condiments and flavorings to doctor up a bland, repetitive dish and raise it up to a new level WITHOUT making it a production of epic proportions. The following are just some of the little tricks I have developed over the years:

• Anchovy paste - a good-sized tube costs two bucks. Use a small squiggle (about one teaspoonful) to add complexity to any pan sauce or salad dressing without anyone knowing they are eating yuckie stuff.

• Tomato paste - now comes in a tube (which means you do not have to open up a whole can to get a teaspoonful). Use a good squish to add color, flavor and thicken a pan sauce, stew or chili.

• Sun Dried Tomatoes - I buy the dry ones, NOT those in oil, and put them in a jar with white wine to cover and keep them in the fridge. They get soft and retain their flavor, and are quick to use to liven up any dish. Cut them into a thin juillien or small dice and mix them into mashed potatoes, green beans, salad greens or over grilled chicken. And the tomato-infused wine is a bonus. No! not to drink but to use in pan sauces and other stuff.

• Roasted Garlic - I roast three heads at a time and peel them while watching cooking shows on TV. I keep them in a small jar in the fridge (will keep one to two months) and throw them into everything, especially mash some into mashed potatoes.

• Goat Cheese - I crumble some in with salad greens, use it on a prepared pizza shell (we get a great one out here made with corn meal), or over pasta with your regular sauce.

• Parmegiano Regianno - expensive, I know, at ten to fifteen dollars a pound, but the real stuff is worth it. To use it sparingly I keep a piece in the fridge and use a vegetable peeler to make curls over a salad or pasta dish. N.B. never, ever throw away the rind from the cheese, it is one of the great secrets of Italian vegetable soup. Just drop the rind into the soup when starting and take it out before serving. It adds immense flavor and richness.

tips etc.

A coating of Bissell Mop and Glow will give a great looking hard, shinny finish to your Fimo project. Easily available and reasonable in cost. Way to go, Jo!