Here's the video - enjoy!

Happy Friday! 

It's been a long week, but I'm happy to report that I've let Maddie out of her cone after three weeks and she's done with her antibiotics. In the last few days, she's perked up a bit. I was seeing a ton of depression in her with the cone. Splotchy hissed at her non-stop, she couldn't play - it was really sad. Now she's getting back to her feisty little self. 

I have a new video for you today with several different ways to do one single technique and ONE of the results is so different from the others - I think you'll love it. 

I used photo paper and a few watercolor mediums: Neon liquid watercolor, powdered watercolor, and reactive ink.

You'll see in the video what happens with one of the mediums - it's really neat. I used this background stamp for all the testing, and I used a Christmas and a Thanksgiving word die and kept the cards simple.

I experimented with a new meatloaf tonight and this is big news. I make a GREAT meatloaf, so I actually never try anything new. I'm sort of the same way at restaurants - once I find something I love I rarely order anything else. Bad habit! But having to cook every meal since 2020, I've branched out by necessity even from my most sacred recipes. This branch was a hit! It was a green chile meatloaf and it was delicious. It had tomato sauce in it and on top, which is not my habit, but it was absolutely delicious in this recipe.  My friend Dana told me about a great salsa macha she had recently and now I want to try to make some of that. But the good news is - I made TWO meatloaves last night - the green chile and my normal one, so I don't have to cook for a while. 

My neighbor gave me a big envelope of seeds from her oriental poppies! I scattered them yesterday, so I'm really hoping I get poppies in the spring. Hers are STUNNING - like 4 feet tall - they line her "hell strip" - the little strip between the sidewalk and the street. I've been keeping a little garden journal - it's a now discontinued EC perpetual calendar I got off my Buy Nothing group, so I write down each time something blooms or goes dormant on the day it happens, and then it becomes like an almanac. So for the poppies, I just drew out a little map of where I scattered the seeds. You're not supposed to bury them - they need sunlight to germinate. We will see! 

Enough about mundanities. I love that embossing folders are having a bit of a renaissance. I probably still have the first embossing folder I ever bought and I'm still intrigued by them. It just seems like there's no end to the techniques, and like stencils, they are an inexpensive and durable supply. 

Today's video is like an EXTRA light version of the three different fresco videos I've done. 

It's absolutely perfect for watercolor, as you will see in the video. So much fun to do. I used this 3D embossing folder, which I also used in one of the fresco videos above! It's so pretty. I haven't moved it off my desk since I got it. I think this ended up looking like silk the way the watercolor blended. The sentiment set is this one. I had no intention of making this a Christmas card until I finished it, and noted that the colors were very much holiday colors. 

Isn't that fun? You have to look closely to see the three little silver embellishments but they are super shiny in real life. 

Here's the video:

Here are all the supplies I used today.

What are you cooking? I'd love to hear!

Loveyameanitbye.

Here's the video! Enjoy!

Here are all the supplies I used today.

I'll be back Wednesday with part one of two in a fun embossing series, so I'll see you then! Loveyameanitbye.

I don't know where November is going, but it always, every year, feels like there's just not enough time to enjoy Thanksgiving and Halloween, so I like to push pause every now and then. 

And my favorite way to push pause, as I did on a recent live, is to use Christmas/Winter stuff to make fall stuff and that's what I'm doing today.

I spent many an hour upstairs on a pile of blankets in our linen closet reading Peanuts books. We didn't have a TV during this period, so I never saw the movies, and honestly, once I did see them as an adult, I found them disappointing - as I do most movies that are made from books I loved. They just live so large in your head, that someone else's "vision" of them just never lines up. 

So to me, the Great Pumpkin narrative had a very different feel than the movie - it was such a special part of the entire Peanuts canon, I think.

So today, I turned a Christmas sweater die into a Charlie Brown shirt! I doubled up the little chevron, which is actually meant to go up on the shoulder portion of the sweater. I used these pumpkin dies, and cracked myself up when I found this sentiment lurking in my Airtable. We should never forget the Great Pumpkin!

Loveyameanitbye.

If you know me, you know I'm never going to pass up the opportunity to make a card supporting the owl theory. For those of you not deeply embedded in the true crime community, I'm referring to that sham of a documentary - the Staircase. It was obvious that that was an owl attack, unless you routinely happen to have a handful of owl feathers in your hand. I saw the feathers myself at CrimeCon! However, it's a very spirited debate among case followers and you are either solidly #teamowl or solidly not. 

You can tell by looking at the owl in the new Hero kit that he's SUPER sketchy and has plans! LOOK AT HIS SCARF. It's so obvious. 

I love the mail theme in this kit, murdering owls aside.

Speaking of envelopes - the snowflake stencil AND this adorable layering house stencil were both designed for envelopes too! They leave an opening for the address block - people are definitely going to open your Christmas card first with one of these. I used this envelope and three green inks - it's a three step stencil.

Here are all the add-ons this month:

And back to my sneaky peeky! I cut the four little stamps with the dies and ink blended them with Summer Sky before adding the mice. See the little meta mouse lower left holding one of the squares like he's sitting on? I ink blended a stripe to match. Love that little airmail pattern you can use with them.

Of course there's a giveaway - you can see all the other inspiration HERE. 

Leave me a comment to be entered, and watch out for owls!!

Loveyameanitbye.

Getting ready to let Maddie out of prison this week, so I'm excited about that and celebrating with a Maddie themed card and a big Patreon giveaway! So be sure and head over there if you want to win the stamps and dies I'm using today.

I fell hard for this cat tree die! And you can make it ultra realistic with embroidery floss and no stitching. I used this gold floss. 

The kitties are from this set - I just used the dies. 

You'll see in the video how the tree layers and gets put together, and I used these awesome little shaders on it to make sure no white showed through the floss. 

Here's the video!

There's also a blog hop and giveaway today - you can see the full hop list HERE.

They are giving away THREE $25 gift cards!

And they are also having a big moving sale HERE.

Loveyameanitbye.

Living in a tent with poor little Maddie is rough! Tile floors are amazing until you have to sleep on them. And - thankfully - she has been eating every hour or so since her surgery, so I haven't gotten much sleep. But I'm really glad about that because she is so, so, skinny and tiny - she's well under 6 pounds now. Other than being super depressed that she's in a tent for two weeks, she's really doing better. She's a tough little kitty. ❤

She's also an expert at escape, so we've had to lock the zippers - that's really fun in the dark in the middle of the night if you have to pee! I'll be glad when next Monday rolls around. So will she.

I have a new video for you today, featuring this gorgeous set of deer dies. They are so spot on to our beloved white tailed deer here in Austin & the Hill Country. 

I used the doe for the video and I ink blended her in shades of Distress ink before assembling her. I designed the whole placid scene around the sentiment, with the moon taking center stage.

Other than the deer die and the sentiment - the supplies are super simple - circle dies, a paper cutter, ink and blending brushes - but look how much atmosphere you get for such a simple process. 

And you still have time to get in on the $50 giveaway on my Instagram post if you want with this card! This is the same die set, but the buck - and I assemble him in today's video - and I used this embossing folder two ways - the replay of this process is available on Patreon for the blue strip. 

Here's the video!

Loveyameanitbye.

Loveyameanitbye.

You know those studies that talk about how reading and writing on paper improve your retention of what you are reading or writing?

You know how I know this is true?

I don't remember what I had for lunch today, but I VIVIDLY remember certain days reading Winnie The Pooh, The Silver Nutmeg, our Peanuts books, Little House on the Prairie, and yes, Helter Skelter. 

There's something about holding a book in your hand and shutting out all else. 

I read the Pooh Bear books MANY times over. I loved them so much. Like Nancy Drew and Alice and The Hobbit, I loved the in-book illustrations so much. These books are the perfect bridge between your left and right brains. 

There are a lot of different ways to do fur textures, and I have many lives and videos on this process, but today's video is new. I wanted to recreate that sort of matted texture stuffed animals get - you know what I'm talking about. 

I used the same Pooh Bear stamp for both cards, but did two different backgrounds. This first one - I used this grid tape and ink blendedn aqua ink. The second one will be a video soon. I colored both with OLO Markers. I hand cut the images out because they were such simple shapes. When I do this I always color the edges black - it makes a big difference when you are looking at the card up close.

The second bear I did in a similar way, but I did some blending - you can do as much or as little as you like. The background will be in an upcoming video. The sentiment is from this set.

Here's the video:

It pays to save your notes, y'all. Or to be a notebook hoarder and then just run across them unexpectedly ten years later - whatever!

I don't remember exactly what CHA show I saw this demo in - but it was a long time ago because I think it was when either 3D embossing folders or regular embossing folders were being introduced. Back then, my handwriting was legible, so I took copious notes, which makes me think it was in the pre-iPhone days, because after the iPhone, I just snapped photos and promptly forgot all details. Another reason notes are better. 

But anyway, I found the steps and paint colors for this - I had them written down with DecoArt paint, but I'm using Studio Paints and a fluid acrylic in my version today. It might surprise you looking at the photo to see that with the exception of the burnt sienna color - the colors in these two samples are the same! I used a turquoise, a light blue, transparent yellow oxide, and a burnt and raw sienna. I finished both with this shimmery copper paint.

The embossing folder is my old favorite - this 3D clover folder I've used in like eleventy thousand blog posts but I love it for this because it really looks like a tin tile pattern. I finished them both with this copper paint as you'll see in the video. The photo blew out the embossed details on my little frame die, but it's this one - there are little pinecones and leaves on each end. The sentiment for the blue card is from this set - and if you missed my holographic fish process, that video is here. The sentiment for the fish card is from this teacher set.

Here are the supplies, pretty much in the order you'll see them in the video.

Here's the video:

Loveyameanitbye.

This is actually my favorite card. I showed it on my live yesterday because the photo doesn't do it justice. It's so shimmery and amazing. It uses a 3D embossing folder, embossing ink, and copper and gold pastels. 

But here's where I prove how crazy I am about using every scrap of glitter paper  - see the little leaves flying out away from the sentiment? Those are the pieces from the inside of the letter die cut! YES I AM THAT CRAZY.

And, because I'm senile - I FORGOT THIS CARD yesterday! What a ding dong!!

I love this desert scene and I piled ALL the little scenic dies into it. So cute.

In case you missed my update - I'm taking a week off my lives, starting tomorrow to get some things done before Maddie's surgery. However, I will be scheduling premieres on YouTube during my normal slot, so we will still be able to chat live. FYI those two embossing folders are a little delayed, but you will see them here.

I hope you have a great week. 

Loveyameanitbye.

I'm off work today, so I will be catching up on editing videos, etc. I'll be updating my podcast list on Patreon too - I binged a lot while I was working this weekend - I worked all weekend so I had a lot of quality podcast time. I'll also be adding a few recipes today. I'm trying to get motivated to cook something - I did make my banana coconut bread this weekend, but haven't been inspired to cook any real food. It's been all survival food - hummus and whatnot. I need to get it together. 

The weather is glorious right now - cool and dry and we are looking forward to the eclipse - we will be right in the path, and supposedly it will be clear skies. 

My mom sent me these ADORABLE mini cast iron pans - I'm trying to think of all the dishes I can miniaturize. You know those restaurants that serve a little apple pie in a cast iron skillet and they are always WAY too big? These seem perfect. also perfect for a single egg, or a little individual cornbread, which I only make in cast iron. And these are made in the USA. So cute.

I was playing around with this texture plate this weekend, and I wanted to die cut quilting again, since I haven't done that in a while, and I have some tips for you.

This die is so fun because it's got such a tight texture that it's perfect for quilting. But since I wanted to use florals that were layering, the most important part was the gluing. Look at the stems for example - see how the little hashes go all the way across the stem in some places? I used my Precision Glue Press to make sure each stem was totally covered with glue before adding them to the panel. The larger sections - like the flowers and leaves - were not likely to be cut in half, so you can apply glue normally - but in general, when quilting die cuts, the more glue the better. And be sure it's dry. PS - the florals are from this year's calendar bundle - so if you like to give calendar gifts - now is your moment.

To prep the die cuts, I ink blended them with Peacock Feathers, Crushed Olive and Fired Brick distress inks. I love this combo - it's perfect for fall. Then I glued them onto the white panel and cut it with the cover die. Note - the cover die will cut a full A2, but I cut my panel down for layering. I love how this just unifies all the die cuts with the background just like quilting. I added the Hello die AFTER cutting the full panel. 

I made a few of my favorite recipes this week because I have a really stressful rest of the month coming up. I'll spare you. But now I have food for a bit.

I made my beloved sheet pan kimchi fried rice with a local vegan kimchi I get from the Farmer's market. Y'all know I hate shopping, and I have not been inside a grocery story since 2014 when Instacart launched in ATX. 

But I can shop outside at two places - nurseries and my local farmer's market, and I love that, so those are the only two places I truly shop. This past weekend was the first time I've gone to the FM in a while because this summer has been so very brutal that no one could grow vegetables. But I went back Saturday and grabbed my favorite kimchi and this PHENOMENAL marmalade. 

Kimchi - if you think you don't like it - it may be the fish. I never liked it until I tried vegan kimchi. I hate fish in general and fermented fish can die in a fire. I never knew why I hated Worcestershire sauce so very much all my life, and it's the fermented fish. So now that I've found vegan kimchi and vegan worcestershire, I love them both. 

Anyhoo - let's get to the crafting. As you know - I had a prototype of the Precision Glue Press for a year before it was released. And I have not had to cap my glue in a year. I have a how to video coming, but today, I want to share with you an idea that was one of those half asleep inspirations I had that resulted in this technique. It's the perfect tool for it. I've waited a month to show you this so I sort of feel like I deserve a cookie. The beautiful stencil is this one. 

The video for this is below!

Loveyameanitbye.

You know how I am about symmetrical background stamps, and there's a new one this month - this magical circle bold print. I masked half my card and stamped it with on-stamp ink blending - but with a more rustic, distressed technique - you can see a video on that here. Look at the deer - the yellow parts are a yellow lacquer. The stamp set has images that are like the ones in the stencil - adorable. And look at the die cut sentiments!

If you've been with me for a few years, you know I've participated in Michelle Lupton's CASE me a Christmas card series, and Michelle is a dear friend. This year she's had some life challenges, and asked us if she should take a break this year, and we all encouraged her to take a break. She certainly has earned one. 

But being the sneaky people we are, we colluded to get together today and honor her by CASEing her cards and posting them - I'll link you to the hop - to honor her and her incredible contribution to the designer community every year. So I CASEd a very recent card of hers, as we have a shared love of gnomes! I used the same gnome stamp set she did and then just did a technique for the snow I learned in one of my earliest marker classes - it's so easy even I can do it! I used OLO Markers. The video is below.

Thank you so much Michelle for including me in this series - it's been such an honor! I hope this brings you a little cheer as you enjoy your break!

Since it's always such a festive holiday series I thought I'd add a few more of the holiday cards I've been working on. 

First - I will have a video on this background soon, but this is a very Scandinavian feeling 3D embossing folder I just love. The sentiment is from this set - I know I've used this a lot lately, but I like how mix and match it is. I used these transparent liquid watercolors and a little acrylic paint.

I LOVED Harold and the Purple Crayon as a kid. The idea of creating your world with a colorful crayon did end up being what I love doing most - art. 

And even though I read the story long before I'd created any art, it resonated in my little brain. 

So when I saw the new Hero Kit, with its telescoping little fairy forest, and the sweet little peeking critters you will see more of, that's INSTANTLY what I thought of. 

So I present to you a little purple world, with a little purple bear that is as cute as can be. 

Come back Monday for the rest. I'll have a fun video for you then with a very easy way to add foil accents with no machine!

Loveyameanitbye.

If you do not believe watercolor is a forgiving medium, then you're going to need to buckle up for today's video, because I am going to rock your world through my sheer, bumbling incompetence!

I wanted to do a sort of classic still life with this beautiful apple, because I thought it would be a nice composition for fall. 

And then all hell broke loose! But the lesson here, is everything turned out just ducky, so don't be too scared going into the video. But be a little scared.

This was done on a 5x7 piece of watercolor paper, and for once, I think I'll frame this and send it to a friend instead of turning it into a card. I just think the colors would look nice in a frame.

I set up the apple slice in my MISTI and stamped it in no-line ink on 5x7 watercolor paper. Then I stamped it again on masking paper and masked it. I stamped the central apple over that, and masked that, and finally stamped the rightmost apple. Then I removed the masks and got to work with my Daniel Smith watercolor - colors listed in video. FYI if you don't want to mask - you could stamp the apples in no-line ink and then die cut them and just arrange them on your paper. 

Here's the video - dramatic disaster and all:

Here's two of the fishies - they just sparkle. I was being indecisive about which of the woodgrained papers to use here. 

Here's the video!

Hope you have a great weekend lined up!

Loveyameanitbye.