WELCOME TO SUMMER!

 I hope you are enjoying the warmer weather and longer days! I cannot believe June is almost ready to come to a close!

 Some things I would like to share with you:

 Have you read the helpful hints section on this website?  I just added another hint regarding using Liberty Matte Sealer Spray [or actually, any matte spray] during the warmer and humid months of the year. A lot of people do not realize that heat and humidity can affect your spraying!  Please check out what I wrote, print it out, and it will make things go a lot smoother and possibly save the life of your brushes!

 We have a local seminar here in Lockport, scheduled for the end of July.  These seminars are scheduled 2 times a year for right now, and they have been going wonderfully.  People from PA, Albany, MA, and even Connecticut have been joining us for our weekend “package”, and it has been very successful!  We invite you to come and join us if it is something you can fit in to your summer schedule!  We have details on the website, along with the pictures for you to see!  The class includes absolutely EVERYTHING, and you don’t even need to bring paper towel!  Students usually come in on Friday night, get settled at either the Holiday Inn or the Comfort Inn, and go grab dinner.  After class on Saturday, they go visit Niagara Falls [the Canadian side is prettier], or go to the Casino, and then, come to class on Sunday!  They are home Sunday evening and back to work the next day.  Please email or phone if you are interested, there are still some seats available.  The Community Center where we hold the classes is a comfortable building with ample parking and is really easy to find.

 Not too much new to report.  The kids are out of school for the summer, we will probably change our hours in the office to accommodate til September, but, I haven’t discussed this with Cindi as of yet!

 We have an In-Depth study seminar scheduled for August, and if you are not familiar with it I would like to explain what it covers!  We have had many people ask about a seminar that would be more than just a one day project; kind of like our certification, but, not based around teaching and business strategies.  Please check into the section on the website that will give you all of the details, if you are interested.  A funny note is the fact that we had to change the name from Intensive study to In-Depth Study because students were afraid to sign up because it might be too “intense”, especially if they were new and not experienced with the technique at all!  The purpose of the seminar is to give you an in-depth experience with my technique and cover so many more things than I cannot go into during a one-day seminar.  So; all in all, it is not difficult and over-whelming, just more experience and more knowledge than in my usual seminars! A more relaxed and slower pace allowing for the maximum experience in this technique! A beginner student would benefit from this along with the student that has some basic knowledge of my technique.  So many times experienced students tell me that when I bring a new person into this class and go over some of the basics, that THEY appreciate my covering things in class that they have forgotten about and the review brings the technique back to the forefront of their mind!  The textbook that is included, along with all of the new pattern packets is loaded with technique and materials that will cover every aspect of what this is all about!  I have often thought that I wish I had MORE time to share my trick of the trade with students! I find it so rewarding for me, as a teacher, to be able to pass on so many of the things I do not have time to cover when we only have a one-day seminar!

 We have some exciting conventions coming up!  Houston, HOOT, Paint-In Alberta, Northwest Toleliners, NET, and Montreal!  I look forward to hopefully seeing you at one or more of these conventions!

 One more thing; I have been mentioning in all of my seminars that I have the complete pattern and magazine article about my candle jar that was featured in Tole World magazine!  If you burn candles in jars all the time like Cindi and I do, you end up with quite a collection of empty jars!  We etch them, ink and rouge on them and I have the pattern and all of the notes and instructions for etching and completing this project!  Tole World is no longer in business, but, I have the complete article with photos saved and can forward it to you as an attachment!  New students have printed out the 2 free patterns and notes I have on the website, but, so many people do not know about the candle jar!  It is called Holiday Hearth Warmer!  Email me requesting the article and I will forward it to you at no charge!  Let’s recycle and create gifts and projects to sell at shows!  I have another NEW secret about the candle jar I did!  I used my tiny micro-fan brush with bottled black acrylic paint, to stipple in my pine trees instead of inking them in with my scribbles, then, I used a Liner brush with the same acrylic paint to set in the fencing as shown in the photo, along with the small twiggy trees in the snow!  Sprayed with my Liberty Matte Sealer Spray, then rouged color, and the whole thing came together in so much of a shorter time span than if I were to ink in everything with my tech pen!  Same results; less time and tedium!

 We also have recently posted new certified teachers to our website!!  If you cannot get to one of my seminars because of location, visit the “certified teachers” part of the website to see who is in your area!  We have some wonderful dedicated teachers that I have been working with for several years as well as my new ones and I am so proud to be associated with such a great group of fellow teachers! Starting the certification program was so rewarding for me because I knew that teachers would be teaching my technique the way I would hope it would be taught, but, as the years are going by, I am so thrilled that I get to travel and work with these teachers as well, and it is rewarding to all of us!  And to my wonderful teachers; you know who you are!!!!

In closing, I look forward to hearing from you and PLEASE, share some of your hints with us so we can post to the “Helpful Hints” section of the website!  I have lots more to share with you!

 Love and best wishes for a wonderful summer!

God Bless!

Mary, Cindi, Ralph, and Lynn