I'm Back!

Our travel schedule has been rather hectic due to my son's science competitions. We just returned from San Jose where he participated in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Amazingly even though it is the biggest pre-college science fair in the world, he did very well and placed first and Best in Category for Cellular and Molecular Biology. It was a perfect ending to his high school career. Now on to his graduation! Aargh, I'm so behind because of all the traveling we did in the last few months. Of course during this last trip I did have some down time and did a little shopping. My favorite store that I discovered was a Tibetan one in Palo Alto that had all sorts of handmade items. I fell in love with the handmade paper and hand carved wood printing blocks. Upon returning home I wanted to give something to those who had taken care of our pets, cars, and mail/newspapers. I usually bring home food items but this time I decided to do something different. I used the handmade paper to make thank you card sets. I didn't have lots of time because I need to do those leis and send out the announcements/photos, so I kept the cards simple. First I stamped the cards with a paisley design using gold ink, then I added bits of the Tibetan paper and embellished with mizuhiki cord, fiber, and/or tie-dyed flowers. The tie-dyed flowers were part of a Mother's Day gift from my craft club daughters, Regina and Carin. I love the look of the flowers and think they match well with the paper. I was able to acheive a look similar to the tie-dyed flowers by misting Prima flowers ( in the bottle that I felt were too muted in color) with water. Then I put tiny drops of dye on the wet flowers. After they dried rhinestones were glue in the center. Now I don't have to hoard the flowers that were given to me because I know that I can replicate them if I need more. Okay, I have to get back to graduation stuff. Thanks for reading this rather long blog.