HELLOmynameisHeather

I like it a lot

My kids are the best appreciators.  Both of them.  They have their foibles, but they know how to appreciate a handmade present.  I like this.  I'm not sure how we got there, but I like it a lot.

My mom made a sweet little blanket for Chloe, with help from Chloe's big sister, Haley (8 years old).  Isn't it pretty?  Haley was so excited. 

So, as I was laying the blanket out to take a picture of it for them, in trotted Charlotte with a sprig of jasmine.  Her freshly-picked bouquet was quickly abandoned for the rapture of a soft new blanket. She climbed right up onto the table to demonstrate, wiggling, giggling & swooshing her hair about.

So adorable. 

When I sew, Charlotte hovers around eagerly waiting for the finish line when she can hop away with whatever-it-is, to her imaginary world.  Makes me crave sewing.  More sewing.  I could sew her a whole new world if I had the time.  And she'd love it all, whatever-it-is.  I love that about her!

Earlier this week Charlotte packed up my new handbag (still had a couple of pins in it) for the movie store.  She had been waiting & circling till it was off the machine.  And she had a plan.  She quickly filled it with all the necessities and we were off:  Ariel, Snow White, a sash from one of my shirts, sunglasses.  She was looking pretty hip too.  Comically hip.

Every teenager working there heard all about it, "This is the purse that my mom made.  I like it."   "My mom made this.  Look, here's my Ariel." "Look what mama made."  "See my purse?"

Elijah's the same way.  When I make him a new pair of pajamas, he grins and saunters about.  Maybe sauntering isn't exactly the right word, but he definitely swaggers or something.  And big hugs.  Very big hugs.  I'm thinking he could use some new pajamas here soon.

∆   ∆   ∆ 

So, Quilt Market is next week.  And it sounds like I might have some sample yardage coming in.  It was accidentally shipped to Heather Ross, but we've got it sorted out, I think.  If I can pull it off before Market, I'll put together a snappy preview for you.  Waiting for that box though.

And I'm looking forward to meeting so many of you this weekend at Blissful Living.  If you can't stop by on Saturday, definitely come by some other time.  And there's a well-loved mexican cafe along the same downtown corridor (Mangos) and a handful of fantastic antique shops. Make a day of it.

Blissful Living

I was toying with the idea of putting together a local meet 'n greet - Phoenix, AZ area.  I was getting serious about setting one up for May.  And then good fortune winks my way and I meet Kristin, designer extraordinaire and owner of my favorite local boutique, Domestic Bliss (amazing! Like Anthropologie, but better), who has plans to open a new facility for local creative types to meet up & frenzy off each other's energy, take classes, etc.  We became fast friends. She's naming the studio Blissful Living.  And her concept is very close to my heart.  (We had an amazing dinner at their home a couple of weeks ago - should have brought my camera! - must go back & take photos. She even has chickens - fantasy of mine - in the most adorable chicken coop you'll ever see.)

And Kristin is quick to it -- Blissful Living opens on Friday!  I'm planning to be there this Saturday, May 10th, from 11-2 to meet up with, well, whoever stops by.  A meet 'n greet.  Thank you, universe.  So, come see me & maybe even bring some of your creations with you!  And if you stick around, hopefully you'll make some new friends with similar interests who live in your neck of the desert.  Visit Kristin's Blissful Living blog for more info.  And here's the address: Blissful Living  166 W. Main St. Mesa, AZ.

I'll be teaching a workshop there toward the end of June too -- details to come.

And meet Chloe, my new little niece!  My brother's fourth child, second girl.  (And she looks just like her big sister, Haley.)  They've had a couple of rough years and couldn't be more ecstatic about welcoming home a new baby.  It's a thrill to witness.  We're so glad she's here & safe!

Continuous Loop

So this cracks me up.  I get off of my plane, head toward baggage claim and am greeted by "Charlotte," with a crown on top.  Every day I'm greeted by Charlotte with a crown on top.  Always a crown .  I grinned, as the last thing my Charlotte had said to me before I left town was, "Goodnight, Queen!"  (You see, if she's a princess, then I must be the queen -- for continuity's sake -- her idea, not mine.)  Then, on the road, I notice that many of the road signs have a crown on them as well, I have a brief Twilight Zone moment, then have to ask. 

Turns out Charlotte, NC is nicknamed "The Queen City," as it was named after Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg, great-great-great grandmother of the current Queen of England.  I had no idea.  Just as I had no idea my daughter was royalty when I named her Charlotte.  Just a happy coincidence.

Spent my Friday with Westminster/Free Spirit, the company that produces my fabric.  Great people.  Good, honest & visionary.  We all had lunch at a place called Sugar Magnolia & I had a go at my first authentic Southern food:  fried green tomatoes (yum!), hush puppies, collard greens & shrimp calabash. Found out that one of the four key people at the company went to the same high school as me. He was there when my brother & sister were there.  We had teachers in common and shared some funny stories.  Mainly about our spit-fire math teacher and her fabulous wardrobe.

Our school had been built in the 70s with some bright idea to have all of the classrooms open to each other.  Imagine 9 classes taking place in one big hall or 'pod'.  Ridiculous idea.  Well, that didn't work out too well, so they quickly had to install wall-dividers.  My mother taught at the school and I clearly remember her frustration at the constantly moving walls. Kids would lean their chairs back into them and disrupt the class next door.  It was built in a big circle, with the library in the middle, a large hallway around that, and then 4 or 5 'pods' fanning out from the hallway.  Navigating that main hallway between classes prepared me for driving later on.  Stick to your lane, signal when you need to turn, etc.  It was people soup.  Most of the classrooms could be entered from outside though too.  It was California after all.  Our lockers were all outside.

Jeff stopped me by Sewing Arts Studio for a Hello and some giddy chatter about sewing with Timtex.  They pointed out a snapshot of me on the wall from a couple of Quilt Markets ago.  I didn't think twice about it till this week (as that photo now leads me to another crazy coincidence).  I received an email just this week from a old friend from high school who says she saw my photo at that same quilt shop recently & told the owners, "Hey, I know her!  We went to high school together." They responded, "That's Heather Bailey.  She's designed these fabrics over here."  Brandi told the story better.  Here's what she said, "And I know it has to be you because you look exactly the same...So I already owned some of your fabric and I had pulled a Free Spirit ad out of a magazine over the summer because I loved the fabric and wanted to find it…it was yours!!!" 

So, here's my brain thread...

Princess Charlotte -- Charlotte, NC -- high school connection with colleague in Charlotte, NC -- visit quilt shop with same colleague, see photo on wall -- receive email from another high school friend who found me from photo on wall at same quilt shop in The Queen City of Charlotte, NC -- Princess Charlotte... and it loops.  Though I'm a little weirded out, I'm also quite reassured by the interconnectivity of it all. Like a snowflake under a microscope, intricate & mesmerizing.

And though I should end it there, all poetic and thoughtful, you have to see these new headrests on Continental airlines.  They can be bent around your head!  Now you don't have to have a window seat in order to catch a nap.  Someone should sew up some shower-cap-like fabric covers for these things and start a little business.  Or Continental could offer them for a buck on every flight, like they do with headphones. 

Les Machines

Found my card reader.  And I'm doing what I can to hop back on the tool train too.  I receive regular requests for sewing machine recommendations, but am a little shy about recommending a starter sewing machine as I've been entirely spoiled on the sewing machine front and haven't had to shop for a starter sewing machine for, well two decades almost & I'm not that old!   

I have three sewing machines and two sergers.  My newest machine is a Bernina Artista 640.  The coolest thing about this one is that I can design embroideries on my computer & then stitch them out at will. Of course, I confess, I've only done this once so far.  But that's because I've been designing more than sewing in recent months. (Isaac wrote an article for Sew News about how to interface with these machines if you're a Mac user & not on PCs. The embroidery I designed for that article is available as a free download in my sidebar under "Free Embroidery File.")  Anyhow, I'm not up to a comprehensive, statistical review, but I can say that Berninas are a very pleasant machine to sew on.

Speaking of Berninas -- Quick story -- Partway through my Apparel Design degree our workshop space was re-outfitted with an army of new Bernina 1620s.  Reading through the manual late one night (many all-nighters were pulled at school - Project Runway pretty much wraps up the experience), there was a mention of 'memorized buttonholes,' but the instructions weren't clear what exactly those were or how to set the machine to do it.  Oh, but the idea of 'memorized buttonholes!'  I proceeded to poke & prod & tap out all manner of button sequences before I was successful.  I think it took me an hour or so to break the code.  Completely worth it!  And, of course, I got to be Santa Claus the next day showing my friends that new technology.  We all took a renewed interest in buttons that season.

Anyhow... sewing with a quality machine is really important, especially if you're new to sewing.  I've taught many people to sew who were originally convinced they were stinky sewers.  In every case I recall, it was their cheapy cheap sewing machines taunting them. The machines would lock up & the threads would get all tangled.  Hands in the air, "I stink!" I'd re-thread the machine & get them going again, only for the machine to grunt & groan once more.  "My friend, it's your machine that stinks!  Here, try mine."  "Oh, hmmm, maybe I can sew."  Yes, I've witnessed this many times.

Of course, you don't need that Cadillac up there in order to be successful either.  Most new sewers should look for a machine with a straight stitch, a zig-zag stitch, buttonhole capability, back-stitch button, ability to change needle position, interchangeable feet, etc. But go with one of the better brands.  (Can't say just which models though as I haven't researched any of this lately.)  Get a good quality machine so you're more likely to succeed & to like yourself as a sewer.

Otherwise, just know that if you're learning to sew with a $50 machine from the drugstore that half of your sewing battles are not your fault.  Blame the machine.  That works too.  And don't give up sewing!

My other machines...
• Viking #1+ Sewing Machine - Not as new as the Artista 640, so it's not in prime position anymore, but I still like this machine a lot.  This is the machine I take out when a friend comes over to sew.  And I like to do buttonholes on this one too (out of familiarity, I think).
• Bernina 840 Sewing Machine - Old machine.  It was old when I got it too.  But it has metal parts! And everyone I've ever heard discuss this machine has given it the - same - exact - nickname -, "workhorse," which really weirds me out. I've lent this machine out to many friends who were learning to sew. And this is the machine I do all of my upholstery and slip-cover sewing on.  It's not an industrial machine, but it's tough.
• Bernina 2500 DCET Serger - Haven't mastered this one yet, but it does all of those cool hem stitches for sewing with knits.  I like to keep this one set on a cover stitch and use my other serger for overlock, so I don't have to switch the threading around too much.  See, totally spoiled.
• Bernette 234 Serger - I love this serger. Just a good, straight-forward machine that's easy to troubleshoot.  Perhaps its our history though.  Loyalty.  I bought this one used.  It was the summer I turned 20.  I had already survived one fashion show in college (huge collection, one-of-a-kind hand-sweaters too, so tiring!) & I knew I'd be putting together another collection the following year.  This serger was my ticket to sewing at home & pulling fewer all-nighters at school (yes, those were crazy-fun, but I was newly-married & trying to be more sensible). It was $200 or $250 at the time, which was about as much as we paid in rent, but neither of us flinched.  It was a good call.

So, those are my machines, a couple of which came as presents from my generous MIL who opted to be paid in machines in exchange for design work (machine embroidery, I think) over the years .  She's just about outfitted all of her daughters with top-of-the-line machines now.  Ridiculously fabulous & indulgent pursuit, don't you think?  Yes, there were times when my sewing machine was worth more than my car.  Not the nicest cars back then though.   

I'll take some photos of my other machines & mix them into this post later this week to break up all this text. I could probably go on, but I'm actually sewing today & am anxious to get back to it.  I'll upload some N.Carolina photos for next time too.

Impressive.

Where's my card reader for the point n' shoot?  I was going to show you some random shots from my trip to Charlotte, NC, but I can't find the card reader & I don't want to wake Isaac up over it.

I was going to name the post "Old News," as I'm finding it hard to be very current with my updates (still meaning to show photos from our Disneyland trip months ago & my antique store finds with Laura). Now, when I do find the card reader, I'm going to have to name the post "Very Old News," as it will have been a whole week since I headed out to Donna's Inspired. event.  Which was mightily impressive!  What a tremendous feat, Donna & Bill.  You must be fearless.  And everything was beautiful & seamless.

Donna has two new books out.  I picked up a copy of each while I was at the event.  I knew that she had used a couple of my pincushions in some photography for Fabric Scrapbooking, but I had no idea that my Freshcut line was used throughout the whole book & on the cover.  That was a fun surprise.

Cool projects too.  Donna has no fear of fabric, though she doesn't profess to sew.  And she's spreading the love.  The owner of Scrapbookin' Adventures is all jazzed now to carry my Freshcut fabric collection, as well as the whole Freshcut scrapbook collection (coming in June, I'm guessing. I'll get some dates.)  I think Donna's to blame. Or maybe Christina.  She taught a fabric/paper project too.  Anyhow, I can't wait to see what projects they put together.      

And a big thanks to all of the wonderful women I met last weekend.  I had a ton of much-needed fun.

Lotsa Lotsa

I didn't realize it until later, but "Random Debris" was a pretty sad-sounding post title, huh?  That wasn't my intention.  We're doing quite well for all of the hubbub.  My dad's heart tests went well and he was released from the hospital on his birthday - best present possible.  Home-cooked meal at our house & chocolate cake too. Four family birthdays this week in fact, and one little baby girl on her way.  Lots of birthdays, lots of design projects, lots of catching up, lots of Lotsa.

I'm heading out to North Carolina in the morning for Donna's big shindig.  Humorously, business trips seem to be my best chance to relax.  It's those long plane rides: sketchbook, embroidery, audiobooks, iTune movies for my Nano.  I'm all set.  Watched a rental from iTunes on my way to the Country Living event last month.  Pretty cool.  I just wish they'd give you longer than 24 hours to complete a movie once you start watching it.

photo:curious    fabric:coming soon

More on that later - *Pray for May* - Gotta go.

Random Debris

My intentions are good.  I keep meaning to take out the camera to photograph my sewing machines or my Foredom drill, but it's been a crazy week.  I'm busy wrapping up some huge projects that were put on the back-burner months ago when the paper collection cut in line.  You know that stage of moving where all of the furniture, boxes & other obvious items have been put on the moving truck, but the floor's still swimming with random debris: the broom, several floor lamps, thread racks, spinning wheel, cleaning supplies, whatever?  I'm at that stage on a few business projects.  Not the fun part -- but it does mean we're almost done.

My brother's wife is on bed rest trying to make it one more week before delivering their fourth child.  We've had their youngest over a couple of days this week & that's been big fun for Charlotte.  Then my dad went into the hospital today with a heart issue.  Word is that it's not too serious, but the doctor wants to keep an eye on him tonight.  So there we are. Just enough added jazz to make picture-taking less important for today.  But a quick blog post is still a nice change of pace for a few minutes :)   

Keepin' it pretty, here's a photo of Miss Charlotte showing off her favorite accessory (a snapped up point-n-shoot from our day at the Renaissance Festival).

And for good laughs, check out this April Fools Day banner!!

10,000 Points

Such a great week!  We had Laura with us for four days, kids included (Luke & Lily below).  We hit the best antique stores & boutiques, my favorite new grocery store (a few times) for gelato & aisle-coursing entertainment, and we ate out more than we ate in. Whoa.

I scored 6+ yards of vintage flaming-orange fabric, now destined for a bedskirt in my yet-to-be-decorated bedroom.  Got an old donut-maker tool too - in a cool paperboard box (that Charlotte later tore to shreds). Then more vintage buttons, a hand-knit yellow baby sweater, a bizarre basket purse, and a cool leafed table with a green & orange metal top.  I promise to show all at some point.  The donut-maker definitely fits into this month's theme (a theme which will have to extend well into April as I didn't expect my Chicago trip, Elijah's Spring Break, and an Easter week with Laura to be such wonderful distractions).

On Tuesday, Isaac took Charlotte & Lily out for an all-day girl-extravaganza.  Lily practically bubbled out of her skin to tell us all about it that night.  Here's Isaac's outline of their day.  Perhaps he's planning a thesis.

1. Glitter Box -- ultimate girl store
    a. Girls get princess up-dos and chat up the proprietresses
    b. Girls shop
        i. Lily - glitter journal, magic glitter face stamp, girlie bag
       ii. Charlotte - set of seven heart-shaped, flavored lip-gloss rings (cherry, orange, vanilla, etc.), magic glitter face stamp, girlie bag

2. Puppies 'N Love--puppy super store
    a. Watch puppies
    b. Pet and play with miniature schnauzer

3. Lunch at Johnny Rockets -- hamburger joint
    a. Nickel juke box
        i. Del Shannon, Runaway
        ii. Lollipop
    b. Waitress makes ketchup (catsup) drawings
        i. Lily and Charlotte get ketchup puppies
        ii. Isaac gets ketchup winkin' dude
    c. Burgers Fries & Chicken Tenders
        i. Cherry 7-up

4. Disney Store
    a. 'Nuf said

5. Play in Park
    a. Make a new friend

6. Apple Store
    a. Sponge Bob game
    b. Okay, this one is really for Isaac

7. Pick Up Elijah from School

8. Cold Stone Creamery -- ice cream mixed on a chilled marble slab
    a. Lily - finally settles on mint ice cream, cotton candy ice cream & rainbow sprinkles
        i. First idea - mint ice cream, chocolate ice cream & gummy bears
        ii. Second idea - cotton candy ice cream, pineapple sorbet & gummy bears
    b. Charlotte - strawberry milkshake
    c. Elijah - mint ice cream, chocolate cake batter ice cream, chocolate chips
    d. Isaac - chocolate cake batter ice cream, banana ice cream, graham cracker crumbs, YUM!

9. Movie Rental Place
    a. Aladdin
    b. Fox and Hound II
    c. Miss Spider's Tea Party

10. Back Home
    a. Princess photos by the front door
    b. Dump tablespoon of purple glitter on tile floor for special, girlie, princess grout-treatment 

11. Heather & Laura Return
    a. Lily bounces down the stairs to report 
    b. Charlotte twirls

12. Bedtime Bath
    a. Remove dozens of bobby pins 
    b. Rinse off glitter 
    c. Scrub out hairspray 
    d. Play some more

In simple mathematical terms ...

Princess Day for the Girls + Shopping Day for the Moms = 10,000 Points for Isaac & a Good Night's Sleep for Everyone.

Sketchy

Probably the most-used, most-carefully-placed tool around here, the sketchbook. Not to be lost.  When one fills up, there are several new ones on hand, ready to go.  Small one for discreet sketching, at meetings or whatnot.  The spine of my latest sketchbook has developed leprosy or something so I'm giving the spiral-bound a try.  If the pages stay in then I'll convert.

Isaac on Lenses

So this is new.  I mentioned to Isaac how I needed to do a tool post about camera lenses at some point this month & look what he put together & surprised me with... a guest post.  Too fun.  It's kind of technical though, so perhaps we'll need to discuss this in the comments till it all makes sense.  I'll make sure Isaac reads the comments & chimes in if you have any questions about photo equipment, lenses, etc.  Here's Isaac:

"I get a lot of questions about the equipment I use to create the photos that you see on my website, which is the same equipment used to create photos for this blog. First of all, let me say that Heather is quite a good photographer and does 99% of the photography for her blog herself. That being said, we do share the same equipment and since it is March of the Tools, I thought I'd chime in and share one of the tools that makes my style possible. There is no substitute for a good eye and an active, observant imagination, but certain looks just can't be achieved without the right tool.

When I want to get the effect in the photo of the lavender flowers, where the flowers in the foreground are the only thing in focus and the background seems compressed and close, I use my 70mm to 200mm f2.8 lens. Set at it's longest focal length of 200mm, this lens all but eliminates depth of field. Depth of field is the distance between the first object in the foreground that is in focus and the last object in the background that is in focus. The depth of field is determined by two properties, the focal length of the lens (longer focal lengths -- telephoto lenses -- have less depth of field built in) and the aperture of the lens (f-stop) which is the size of the opening that lets the light into the camera. A very fast lens like this one opens very wide and hence has very shallow depth of field.

A third factor in the look is the effect of compressing the foreground and background, which eliminates a lot of extraneous details from the shot and has the effect of making shots look tightly-cropped in the camera. This is a result of the length of the lens -- imagine looking through a long tube where all peripheral vision is eliminated.

The 70-200 mm f2.8 lens is a bit pricey, but for the serious amateur or pro, it creates a look that can't be replicated by other lenses. While you will not be able to fully achieve this look with a point-and-shoot, try setting the camera on macro focus (it's usually the little flower icon), zoom in as far as your optical zoom will allow, then back in and out until you find the absolute closest place you can focus.

By the way, thank you for all of the compliments on the MEHC article. That was a very intense and fast paced shoot, but extremely fun!"

--Isaac

All of this camera talk reminds me that I never showed you the slideshow from Heather Tinsley's wedding (click here).  Heather is a blog reader who flew Isaac out to photograph her wedding last December.  Love that!  Hi Heather.

It was in D.C., I think, as Isaac went to the Spy Museum the next day. The Spy Museum!  Can you believe there's a spy museum?  I wonder how much James Bond reflects reality -- or vice versa. 

There's certainly nothing discreet about that camera lense up there.  I usually use a smaller 24-70mm f2.8 lens because the other one makes my arm ache.  They both have a similar effect in my opinion. Similar enough (don't tell Isaac I said so).

Finally Used My New Pink Coat

I just got back from a fantastic weekend in Chicago with dozens, make that hundreds, of inspirational women.  I enjoyed the tremendous honor of participating in the web panel at the Country Living Women Entrepreneurs event at the Renaissance Hotel.  Wow.  I think we'd all agree. Wow. 

A much-needed, much-enjoyed energizer!

They dyed the Chicago river green that day.  I hear there was a fantastic parade.  Though it was tempting to sneak outside for a quick peek, we were all plugged in for a serious re-charge and not likely to disengage. I spent the event shoulder to shoulder with Anna Griffin, as dynamic as she is beautiful.  Such a treat to get to know her.

*Panel photos courtesy of Anna herself, who thoughtfully dug out my camera for a couple of quick shots.  (Thanks, Anna!  Your photos were the best ones of the batch.)  There she is with miss Beth Ferreira of Etsy -- lots of exciting things in the works over at Etsy*

Dozens of business owners gathered from over 40 states to attend the event.  I had the pleasure of meeting many of them during the breaks -- I wish I could have met them all.  Evenings were spent getting to know the panelists & the well-knit Country Living editors & staff. What an amazing group!  Contagious electricity.

I'd share more photos, but most of them are blurry & psychedelic.  I did get one sharp shot of the audience to my left. That's Vicki Bodwell in front (sunshine embodied) of Warm Biscuit.

My Saturday night ended with a winding tour through the maze-like hallways of the House of Blues with Maggie Pace of Pick Up Sticks (love her!).  I'd have been set with blog photos if I'd had my camera at dinner that night -- imagine walls upholstered with crazy quilts & painted shoes.  And the pokiest elevator in modern Chicago -- good company makes all the difference.

Then there was Sunday.  Bonus day.  No work, no plans, just a last-minute meet-up with a gaggle of gals from the event.  Joanna Figueroa & I drove out to Lincoln Park to window shop and fabric talk with the delightful Paula Prass, her beautiful daughter, Jennifer, miss Bari J., and Anita Hopper who makes handbags of recycled leather jackets (great concept).

What a fantastic weekend!  Kudos to Country Living for bringing women business owners together for such a meaningful event.  If you're revving up to focus your creative dreams into a real business, I highly recommend attending next year.  Thanks Country Living for your hospitality, I had a wonderful time. 

Extra, Extra

Last shot of the day and it was remarkable we got anything as it was pretty dark by that time.  It looks like I'm kicking my leg up in a pose, but I'm really just keeping my balance.  Isaac says this adds to the 50s-postcard-feeling we've got going on here - happy girl in skirt packing licorice-laden picnic into outrageously-fabulous orange truck. Sounds good to me.

This is the parting shot from an 8-page feature in the current Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion magazine.  The April/May 2008 issue just hit news stands this week.  To help answer questions about the article & to help keep up with all of the new visitors popping in (Hello friends!), I've put together some information about the projects & patterns featured in the article.  Here's a link to that info page. And congrats to my talented husband for a beautiful cover! 

Home Companion is an amazing magazine.  If you've never picked up a copy before, do it!  You'll think, "Dang-shoot, I've been missing out!"  Then you just might have to track down all of the previous issues & catch up.

There's also a little spot about my blog in the March issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.  A few of the editors from the magazine approached me at The Cheesecake Factory while I was in Anaheim a couple of weeks ago.  They handed me an issue of the magazine and said," Well, I guess this was fortuitous timing!  Congrats on your new scrapbook collection."  Odd to be spotted in public, but kinda fun too. And the paper-craft crowd seems just as fabulous as the fabric crowd;  cool ladies having all-together too much fun (well, mostly ladies).  Oh to get invited on a trip to Italy;  it seems paper-crafters know how to go all-out!