Sara's Blog

Imagine Amsterdam in the new summer sunshine, café tables on the sidewalks, flowers blooming and the park benches filled with people. Now picture everyone dressed in bright orange…orange shirts, orange hats, orange clown wigs, orange feather boas. (I even saw one person dressed in orange striped tights, not a look I’ll be adopting any time soon.) Monday night was, as I was told, The Most Important Game in the World—Netherlands versus Italy in the Euro 2008. This was major, and while I’m not really a sports fan, it was amazing to see the entire city celebrating the 3-0 win. You wouldn’t believe the energy in the air!

(I hope Martine and the other Dutch readers survived! :-) )

Between this and the Queen’s Day celebration, it seems I’ll have to break down and invest in some orange apparel, even though it makes me look like a pumpkin. This is how much I love the Netherlands.

Okay, on to crafting… several people have emailed, asking when I’ll be back in the UK for classes. The answer is next month! July is the big Crafting Experience with QVC, held in London. I’ve taught there for the past three years and I’m really looking forward to the three new workshops I’ll teach this year. And if you’re not attending that event and you live in the UK, I’ll be on air with Dawn on July 4th. (Somehow I don’t expect anyone to wish me a happy Fourth of July.)

What goes into prepping for classes like these? Well, I am a bit obsessive about preparation, so I recreate the projects to test the steps, see what kinds of challenges or questions I’m likely to bump into, and double-check the designer’s measurements and required tools. I sequence the steps, figure out extra tips I can pass on about the techniques, go over my notes and make sure everything is in the kit. Then I recreate the project again, just to make sure the timing is right. I’ll review everything from top to tail once more before I get on the plane. Yes, it is obsessive but it’s the best way I know to make sure a class goes well.

The downside? My home office/crafting room is absolutely covered in papers, instructions, stepped-out portions of a project, additional project samples and embellishments. Last night I had to leap over the pile to get to the door. This morning I had to leap back in.

Okay, just one more thing…we are also busily planning an online event called Week of Webisodes. I can’t spill any of the details yet, but keep an eye out as we get closer to October. We’ll have a new Webisode each day, plus tons of great deals and loads of fun tips and techniques. You’ll hear more later!