Almost 500 email subscriptions and still counting. And the phantom subscriber has struck again. Since we last wrote to you she has ordered another two subscriptions, numbers 10 and 11. If only we charged for each subscription she would be our best customer.

road rage

The winter weather in the desert was great and Mary Senn and husband Allen could not have been more accommodating. Stamptacular is a beautifully arranged store, with terrific class space, well worth a visit the next time you are in Las Vegas.

The Hun commented, after tasting the brunch spread Mary provided on the first day of classes, that New York and Chicago have nothing to fear from the Las Vegas bagel bakers. By the way, he kept himself under control and only spent a few drachmas on the slots. He said the $31 million Megabucks pot was too good to pass up. (Needless to say he didn't win or we would be writing to you from Maui.) He borrowed against his allowance until May and thus will have to forego that odd chocolate bar after hitting the gym for the next few months. They do say (more about they later) that deferred gratification is a sign of maturity, but you do not have to sit here and listen to him whine all day.

Las Vegas is an adult Disneyland/Fantasyland. It is almost impossible to describe the excess and opulence of the new hotels. This is something you have to see for yourself. While having dinner with our son Marc (who was in town on business at the same time as our visit) at Piero's (a truly old Las Vegas over-the-top restaurant where they take a second mortgage on your home in return for dinner) the Hun remarked how nice it was to see how many older gentlemen were taking the time to have dinner with their nieces. Probably discussing next semester's class schedule.

Collage Border 1
219-007H

I will again be teaching and take a booth at The Artful Journey in Daytona Beach Florida, May 11th through the 13th. Do not miss this one as Donna Kazee puts on one of the great shows of the stamping and mixed media world.

Lastly, for the first half of the year schedule, on June 4th I will be teaching the Intuitive Collage Card Deck class at First Impressions in Portland. This will coincide with the Bead and Button Show, also in Portland, so, as they say (that's the They Family, Robert, Jane and little Billy) - two birds with one stone. Contact Doni at (503) 288-2338 for class info.

Hey, I am confused, now with the Bead and Button Show and Embellishment at odds with each other and only six weeks apart and both in Portland, is this family spat going to kill the golden goose? I have not heard why the conflict and who is teaching at which show, or... Do me a favor, enlighten me as to what the heck is going on and who looks like they are going to come out on top.

Tattooed Sun
99-001L

go suze!!!

Small Tattooed Sun
105-002H

news of xena

By the way, not a week goes by that we do not get four or five compliments on the look, feel and efficiency of our web site. This is completely due to the engineering genius of Christina. While anyone can learn HTML (the web design language), it takes years to understand the internal efficiencies of the language and the little tricks that go into making an efficient web site. We cannot begin to tell you the sad tales we hear from other stamp companies who spent a great deal of money with so called web designers who do not understand that there is more to the job than what meets the eye. Check references, 'nuf said!

grab bag alert!
check the web site now!

Contrary to popular belief, and contrary to that of many of the other stamp companies out there who offer grab bags, I do not throw in junk, doubles and/or seconds. OK, I do put in, on occasion, a few of the dies that are overstocked, the result of being on the same plate as an out-of-stock stamp and thus pressed at the same time. I offer a variety in size and style, the only limitation being that I do the selection. (Yes, I have actually had requests for grab bags specifying the specific images.) I have even, on request, made up bags with no duplicates for multiple bag orders.

Please understand I really do not make money on this deal but do it to keep my inventory at a manageable level and to provide an occasional special to my great customers. Thus, grab bags are a special event and they will appear sporadically AND FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY. When the expiration date arrives, they are no more.

There is no guarantees of duplicates with the last grab bag. If you happen to get one or two dupes please still consider it a good deal and give the duplicate dies to a friend.

the albatross

Also, I have decided that this is the very last complete redo I will ever do. With over 1400 images and about 100 pages the task is monumental. To make this work I have decided on a new binding and page numbering system. Stay tuned to this station for future news. Help me, help me! I beginning to sound like Paul Harvey.

why are there socks all over the floor?

We have designed two new kits that will knock your socks off. And I filled out the inventory by raping and pillaging Quartzite. I actually went with the Hun just before teaching at Stamptacular, as Quartzite is about a four hour drive from Las Vegas. I bought and bought and the Hun schlepped (carried) the stuff. It was great having him around if you tuned out the whining - "It's hot." "How many beads does one person actually need." "This looks like the same stuff you have at home."

As readers of the last newsletter know we have decided to offer 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. For the full story and great photos, check our Sera Designs web site out and tell us what you think.

bead tips

Great glass beads are coming in from India at a wonderful price. However, they are very poorly finished and the raw edge around the hole will often cut the thread when stringing or when wearing them. However, do not pass on these little beauties for their faults can by tamed with a little clear nail polish (the beader's best friend) around the hole on both sides of the bead.

Judy Miyakawa wrote:

"When I make my glass beads there is sometimes a sharp edge after removing it from the mandrel. I take an emery board designed for acrylic nails and file it down. It doesn't hurt the bead and removes the sharp edge so that you and your thread do not get cut."

bistro hun

"Yes dear."

There is nothing like simple, deeply flavorful dishes to warm the stomach and heart during the winter months. A great way to add to the protein (restaurant speak for poultry, fish or meat) and green vegetable or salad of a meal is to roast root vegetables. Nothing could be simpler yet looks like it took a lot or time and energy. And there is really only one, but very important, trick. Place them in a roasting pan, or on a sheet pan, in a single layer. This way they will roast and not steam.

The selection is very wide, potatoes, in all their wonderful varieties, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips (remember to quarter them length wise and then remove the core as it is woody and tough), onions, fennel, carrots, squash, even celery. Even if you thought you never liked turnips or parsnips this will make a convert out of you, and they are cheap and nutritious. OK, I know some of the above are not root vegetables but they work well when roasted. All the time is in the peeling and cutting, the roasting takes place by itself.

The trick is to cut the vegetables into approximately the same size pieces, nice big pieces (to even the cooking time). Throw on some salt and pepper, some herbs (you know parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme) and a drizzle of olive oil. Or just leave them alone, the natural sugars in the vegetables will come out all by themselves. Put into a 375 degree oven for 50 minutes or so until nicely browned and caramelized, but not so soft as to be mushy. Turn them once if you remember, but don't get panicked if you forget. Your kids will kiss your ring.

I also roast tomatoes the same way. Halve them, cut off the stem end, squeeze out the excess juice and seeds, place them on a sheet pan at 250 degrees for three to five hours. Yup, the time is right. Many restaurants put them up at 225 degrees and leave them over night. You will not believe how much flavor they can add to sauces, stews and just plain old steamed vegetables.

why?

There are four or five of my images that have never been ordered (have you figured this one out yet?) They were usually part of a series and no better or worse than the others in the set. Rather than get paranoid I just accepted this as part of the game. Now I realize that I inadvertently left them out of the catalog. Remains to be seen if they will get ordered now that they will appear in the new catalog.

beware of country singers bearing gifts

debutante debut

double cross marketing

Kerchunk! has the most comprehensive stamping links anywhere. You can find this great zine here.

collage your heart out

That's all for now!
Roberta