Sara's Blog

We’re finally home! Monday we moved into our new apartment on the Keizersgracht. It’s tiny but I love it love it love it! I’ve got my own office (which will also be my crafting room) with tons of storage for files, paperwork and of course patterned paper! This week I’ve been getting us situated in the apartment. It’s furnished, but we still need things like laundry detergent, milk, plates, sheets and a coffeemaker. It’s a little tricky since my Dutch is really limited—I can’t yet read the labels on things. I think I bought dishwashing soap but I was going off the picture on the front of the bottle so we’ll just have to see.

My current project is to outsmart our washing machine, which is mysteriously both a washer and dryer. The knobs are all labeled with undecipherable little symbols and the manual is in Dutch. This morning I dried some clothes...unfortunately I hadn't washed them first.

The apartment building is very old but the inside is all modern, different from my usual vintage style—but the clean lines and tall windows make it look light and open and bigger than it actually is. I can’t wait for our shipment to come from the States so we can really make it a home.

I did manage to squeeze some ArtChix things into my suitcase before I left. ArtChix is one of my all-time favorites…it’s a small company owned by Helga and her husband. I first met them when they exhibited at a stamp convention. They have absolutely divine collage bits, ephemera and other little treasures and I’d managed to squirrel away one of the Large Creative Keepsakes sets from the last issue of Paper Wishes. I love these! Take a look at this pretty piece Susan made:

Instructions for Romantic Charm:

1. Place the transparency sheet on top of the paper images sheet, positioning the bride and groom on top of the antique script. Hold the two together and trim right next to the edge of the images.


2. I personally like to cut a 2” square of leftover patterned paper from my stash and place it back-to-back with the white side of the collage image before sandwiching the pieces between two pieces of 2” square Art Glass.


3. Slip the piece into a Memory Glass Frame and close the top. My tip? Open the top of the frame as far as you can, insert the glass pieces and guide the side tab with your finger while you fit it into the “clasp” on the frame. After you slip the tab into the clasp, use a bone folder to make it completely flat.


4. Thread a ribbon or ball chain through the loop at the top of the frame.


5. Dazzle someone you love and give it as a gift!

This week we’re in Swindon, England—about an hour outside London. Why Swindon? Intel has an office here, where Keith can work while we’re waiting for the Dutch residency papers to come through. They’ve even given me a temporary cube at the office so I can work. It’s a whole new world! It’s a massive building of cubicles and thousands of people...very different from HOTP, with its plants and cozy atmosphere and 50 people. Here, everyone is required to pass security to get in and we all have to wear badges. (Here I am wearing my official badge!) And since I’m not an employee, I have to be escorted by Keith at all times. I’ve gotten lost twice on my way to the ladies’ and was actually captured and put in the lobby as I wasn’t accompanied by my escort. (Keith had to come fetch me!) One cool thing about it is the diversity. There are employees here from all over the world: India, Holland, Germany, China, Ireland and even a few other Yanks. It’s very quiet (another complete opposite from the “Hey, what do you think of this?” at HOTP) but the conversation you do hear is in a dozen different languages. And it’s great being able to go to lunch with Keith and see what he does at work all day (mostly finance meetings, it turns out).

Tuesday I took the train into London to see my friend Dawn, who hosts “Paper Crafting with Dawn Bibby” on QVC London. It was so great to see her! We talked about upcoming kits and the QVC Customer Appreciation Day in London in July, which she hosts and where I’ll be teaching classes and doing make and takes. I’ve done it for the past two years and we always have a great time. Then we went out to dinner with her husband JJ…a fun little French restaurant with the most divine chocolate-y dessert! And if schedules work out, I’ll also be teaching at her yearly event in Portugal this November.

First things first, though! I’ve got Skype video conferencing meetings today with Paulette and Elizabeth, who handles our Personal Shopper kits, then we’ve got to figure out our flight to Amsterdam this weekend. Whew, no wonder I’m tired…time for another pot of tea, I think!

Here I am, posting from London, one of my all-time favorite places in the world. Keith and I are spending a few days here, then next week in Swindon, England (where there's an Intel office) until the work visas come through and we can FINALLY go to Amsterdam and our new flat there. We're hitting all our favorite museums in town and catching up after almost a month apart. Next week I'll meet Dawn from QVC for dinner...can't wait!

Enough about the logistics of moving, though. Check out this super-cute graduation box my friend Laura did! It made the June issue of Paper Made Easy. Way to go, Laura! (I miss you!)

I can’t believe moving day is next Wednesday! All my must-have crafting supplies have been miraculously condensed into a few boxes to be shipped to Amsterdam. The freight company came on Tuesday and I had to go through each box with this poor shipping guy who just shook his head and said, “Hmmm…yeah, lotta crafty stuff here.”

And I got the lowdown on international shipping restrictions: They can’t ship liquids (think Mod Podge, paint and my beloved alcohol inks) or currency (little bags of foreign coin that I’m planning to incorporate into my New Zealand scrapbook). The other forbidden item? Stamps, like the postage kind. So there go my decorative foreign stamps too! We had to carefully label my giant (and heavy) box of rubber stamps accordingly so they wouldn’t get held up in customs. It’s a whole new world! Of course, I won’t get my hands on these things for another six weeks, which means I’m squirreling the way-cool new Use ‘Em For Anything Brights papers into my suitcase. These papers are exactly what I need for my Adventures in Amsterdam album—and I can’t wait for the silk flowers and brads that match. Keep your eye out for the new Paper Wishes, it’s absolutely packed with cool new stuff.

PS. Next week I’ll be posting from London, England, where Keith and I have to wait for the residency papers to come through before we can go to Holland. Keith left the States the middle of April and I can’t WAIT to see him!