Sara's Blog

  

Since it’s been so quiet here this week without Keith around, I decided it was the perfect time to do some heavy-duty crafting, so Saturday night I made up a couple of different teas and coffee and dyed manila tags and silk flowers.

Why different tea? Because Earl Grey will give a rich, aged effect while peppermint, lemon and rooibos teas result in a lighter, sometimes yellowish tinge. I dyed the silk flowers in black coffee. The white flowers change the most dramatically, of course, but I also like the subtle aged look on red silk flowers, or the vintage flea market look on pastel pink flowers.

Here’s how to do it: Brew a cup of tea or coffee like usual, letting the teabag steep for 3-5 minutes. Flowers can be dyed in a mug, but I usually put the tags in a wide, shallow container like Tupperware or the lid of a baking pan. Leaving the teabag in the container with the tags will make the color stronger. Let them soak during the day or overnight and then lay them flat on a paper towel to dry. You’ll get different results depending on the length of time they soak, and the strength of the coffee or tea. You can always add more water if you want a subtle effect, or brew with two teabags for stronger color.

And since Keith FINALLY comes home on Monday, I made him this welcome home banner from our Finished in a Flash™ Birthday page kit. (We haven’t seen each other for a month!) I stamped the letters, matted them on patterned paper and white cardstock for extra strength, then added brads and loops of ribbon. Turn the letters face-down (double-checking the order they’re in) and tape ribbon across the back to attach the pieces together. I love how bright and cheery it looks, and how everything I needed was in one kit. Then came the challenge of where to hang it…eventually I had to tape it to the windows!

(And yes, this is what I do on Saturday nights…pretty wild, isn’t it?)

  

Finally—I’m home! It feels like I’ve been gone for ages. Coming back from South Africa, I transferred from Johannesburg to London to Munich, Frankfurt and finally Amsterdam. I’ve ordered coffee in three different languages!

It’s great to be back, but unfortunately Keith left for a business trip to Arizona the day before I got home, so it looks like we’ll see each other for just two days before I go to the States for Webisode filming, Girlfriends Getaway and our MemoryTrends trade show in Las Vegas in September. In the meantime I’ve come home to a sparkling clean apartment and a beautiful bouquet of flowers. (Hmmm…I think he misses me too!) I also came home to a mailbox stuffed with packages from my mom and my sister, who sent me a treasure trove of collage bits and ephemera. I can hardly wait to play!

Our annual Girlfriends Getaway is coming up too—September 8 in Portland, Oregon. It’s a full day packed with hands-on projects, including scrapbook pages, cards and a special paper-crafting project that’s a sneak preview at an upcoming line we’re releasing in December called Sara’s Surfaces. I love, love, love this event and Paulette and I have such a great time teaching there! If you’re interested in coming, contact Tonya at tfodge@hotp.com or give her a call at (503) 266-9102 for more info. Hope to see you there!

This week I’ve moved onto the second leg of my South African journey—to Pretoria, which is close to Johannesburg. (Yes, my luggage came with me too!)

The classes in Plett went really well, I was delighted to see students from last year and so many new people. There were 120 students altogether! I’ve put some photos of them “in action” during class in the Photo Gallery. I think they all learned something new and had a good time.

Lots and lots of people entered the layout contest. Their work was excellent! I put a few snaps of some entries in the Photo Gallery—these are just a few of the many pages, basically the ones that didn’t get too much of a glare off the page protectors.

In between class sessions I got a chance to visit the nearby Elephant Sanctuary and Monkey Land. Both places are dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating animals—as an animal lover, that’s definitely a cause I can support. In the Gallery you’ll see me with my new elephant friend (and her caretaker, with his pouch of elephant treats). We got to walk trunk-in-hand and learned so much about these beautiful animals. Monkey Land was another great experience—they take in monkeys that have been used in laboratories and kept as house pets and reintroduce them to the forest. The black and tan monkey you see sunning himself was kept as a house pet. He’s drooling like that because his teeth were removed by the previous owners. They say there’s not much chance he’ll ever go out into the wild, so for now he just hangs about on the patio. In the midst of this, I’m so glad there are organizations dedicated to taking care of these amazing creatures and giving them at least a safe place to live. I’m also grateful to have the experience of seeing these beautiful, intelligent animals.

Well, enough of the tour guide! Wish me luck for the next round of classes!

So here I am in sunny but cold South Africa. My suitcase, unfortunately, is in England. Somehow it got “left behind” and after frantic daily phone calls to Lost Luggage I’ve been told, two days later, that it’s found and will be sent on the next plane from Heathrow—tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m wearing hastily-purchased clothes from Woolworths, which is different (thankfully) from the Woolworths we Americans know. One thing I forgot to pick up is a hairbrush, which means my hair immediately turned into one giant rat’s nest that would rival Amy Winehouse’s. Oh, the glamour of travel! Fortunately Aquila has been a big help, taking me shopping for necessities and providing me with fresh fruit, chocolate and sparkling water in my hotel room—plus this really cute handmade door hanger for my room!

Plettenberg Baai is beautiful. Even though it’s cold, the sky is bright blue during the day and the birds are singing and the lagoon behind the hotel sparkles in the sunshine. I had forgotten how dark it gets at night—there are no streetlights or city lights out here. From my little porch the night sky looks so close, like you could reach up and touch one of the stars in the Milky Way. I’m also fascinated with these unusual birds’ nests—they’re built by yellow birds who construct them to hang from the tree limbs like little baskets, except the nest opening is at the bottom. Photos are in the Gallery and I’m sure I’ll be adding more next week from Pretoria.

Classes start soon, so I’d better stop admiring the wildlife and get moving!

This week is flying by. Things have been really, really hectic and I am feeling a little overwhelmed. I’ve just unloaded my things from QVC-UK and am leaving for South Africa on Monday. I’m teaching 6 different classes in Plettenberg Bai, then going to Pretoria for four more sessions. It comes to 15 different projects which must be stepped out, timed out and all possible student questions or potential problems anticipated before I leave. I love it, but I could sure use another week!

Wednesday was a sunny 70 degrees, which in Amsterdam is tantamount to a heat wave—so early in the morning I turned up my iPod and went cycling in the park to relax. It really helped…then I got home to find a package of yoga magazines from my mom in the mail. There’s something about seeing my mom’s handwriting that somehow makes everything better. Then Keith and I went out to our favorite vegetarian restaurant, where the meals take over an hour to be prepared (never go there when you’re hungry) but are so worth the wait.

I’m excited to see some old friends in South Africa, and even more eager to meet some new ones. Next time I blog, it will be from beautiful Plettenberg Bai!

PS. Not going to be in South Africa with me? How about Portland, Oregon? We’re planning our annual Girlfriends Getaway for September 8. Contact Tonya at HOTP to find out more!