I went in a few weeks ago and said hi to Damian. He was so happy to see me and wanted to tell me what had happened since I asked you guys to send him cards.
Before it was all over we were both in tears. He said that John Mackey himself had contacted Damian about the cards, because it was a great illustration of how something one of their people does locally can have global consequences - Bridget - he mentioned your card "all the way from Ireland" specifically! The global team recognized him as well, and as a result of all that - he got a promotion - he's now a trainer for them, so that he can teach people how to be as awesome as he is. He called his supervisors over and I met them as well. They are going to display the cards in the store and we are going to take a selfie in front of them. :)
Then, after convention, I came home to a beautiful card from Alex, who said this:
This might be my favorite card I've ever received.
Thank you all SO much for your kindness to these two people - your cards DO make a difference in people's lives. It's a heck of a lot more than a hobby or an excuse to hoard glitter. :) Please celebrate the change you made in these two people and continue to mail ALL your cards and be a blessing where you can.
Nowhere was the difference we make with our art more evident than in Salt Lake last week. I can't tell you how many times I heard people say to someone "I stalk you" or "I'm so excited to meet you - I've followed you online for years."
I got to spend some quality time with many of the people I stalk. Here are just a few:
I love Stella even more in real life. And THANK YOU for the gift that was waiting for me at home Stella!
Diana and I require backlighting for all selfies.
Brian and I are not happy when they tell us we can't bring our kitten in to the opening session.
Here is a kitten terrorizing everyone as a result.
Brandi and Andrea are so uplifting!
And there's no one I'd rather share a fluffy kitten with than Wendy Cranford.
Here are two of my favorite people in the world - Melody and Jen - concept artists at Stampin' Up! - and their cats.
Michelle Zindorf and I are each other's favorite people. She brought her kitty too for the photo booth.
As you can see - there are a lot of great people to stalk. And not enough time to really hang out with them all. I was very sad when everyone started leaving, so I thought I had better make them a card to let them all know how much I miss them now that I'm all alone in my studio with just their pictures.
I just want you all to know you're in my thoughts.
Now that I'm back I can start playing with some of the holiday catalog goodies that we had a chance to pre-pre-order while we were there - my box came today. I will have four new online classes with these products posting this week.
AND - great news - even though the holiday catalog won't be live until September, if you want to purchase them earlier at a discount, they are available as part of the starter kit beginning August 4th - with FREE shipping! The kit comes with instant access to my fun online group, with lots of inspiration, frequent contests and challenges, and great people, as well as access to all my events free or at reduced rates. Why wait? This cute bear and the birch tree embossing folder are waiting for you!
That's all for now - time to catch up on work and life. I'll be back with the holiday online classes and some fun samples soon :).
I've recently made a few discoveries that I think are worthy of the Nobel Prize.
One of the most important ones is the cheese voice.
I have two very ornery creatures living with me, as you know. Smart, ornery creatures.
So when I call them to try to put them up so I can set the alarm and leave, they ignore me. I have to chase them around, try to lure them with treats, throw mice - do everything but lasso them or taser them.
HOWEVER, when I get out a piece of cheese to give them a treat, and I say just PART of a syllable of one of their names, they come SCREAMING out of wherever they are and start trilling these cute little trills and hopping up and down like furry Mexican jumping beans.
This will happen even if they are sound asleep at the time that I start to speak in my apparently unique cheese tones.
I cannot tell the difference between my cheese voice and my regular voice. But they can, because apparently their very survival depends on it.
I've even deliberately tried to disguise my cheese voice with an exaggerated weird clown voice - it doesn't work. They can detect cheese voice underneath my greatest acting skills. It's kind of spooky actually.
I've tried the opposite too - I've tried to fake the cheese voice when I'm trying to get them to do something I want them to do - this is completely ineffective. One cannot fake the cheese voice. Apparently cheese actually has some sort of transmogrifying effect on my vocal chords.
Which it should, because cheese is magical. That's probably all we need to know.
You know what else is magical? This month's Paper Pumpkin.
This is without a doubt the CUTEST kit we've ever had. I have two subscriptions because I like to gift one every month - to new team members, to my friend in Bryan in the art program at the assisted living center - or to someone I've never stamped with before, but it will be hard to give one of these away, I'm not gonna lie.
I combined it with the Garden in Bloom set and some sponging for a beautiful desert scene.
And I added a new Blue2You class today - it's a digital only class - from my real live card class today - so head over to my Online Class section and check it out. I have a fun bonus there for you too. :).
Don't forget - my live convention coverage starts Tuesday. Tune in for a week of high desert shenanigans and MAYBE some prizes :)
So when we bought the house we live in now and remodeled it, we invested a lot of money in our plumbing fixtures. We were having the sink and all the counters replaced in the kitchen - it had previously had shiny black bathroom tiles with white grout on the counters - and we wanted nice, pretty things that would last to go with the new look.
At the time, Grohe faucets were considered very high end, and we found a sleek, nice gooseneck fixture that we went with. It was NOT cheap.
Now never in my many years of having and using faucets have I EVER seen a faucet corrode from the inside until there were holes in the chrome finish on the spout - but that's what I have now.
On the gooseneck part of the faucet no less!
I found this very odd and about a year ago I began trying to contact Grohe with no success. Their contact form on their website went unanswered, I couldn't reach them by email and their phones terminate in a never ending voicemail death spiral.
So I called my plumber yesterday and told him all this. He seemed surprised and said he had always gotten great service from them, so he gave me a different phone number.
I called. I was in hold music hell for an hour, at which point an extremely grumpy person named Matt answered. I told him my situation and said I had photos and would like a warranty claim, as Grohe pretended they had a lifetime warranty.
At this point, things went sideways.
Matt asked me if I had the receipt. I had located the instruction manual and the warranty card at that point, but not the receipt, as the faucet was purchased in 2003. I said "No, I do not, but the faucet is actually in my sink - I didn't steal the faucet, and I have both the warranty card and the manual." He said "Well, anyone can just say they bought a faucet - I need a receipt to start a warranty claim - you can't just tell me you bought it."
I said, "Look, Matt - this is not TJ Maxx. This is a high end faucet which is IN MY SINK and has been for 12 years. I'm not a faucet fence. Even if I WERE a faucet fence - what would my angle be, exactly? I have a faucet with two big holes in it in my kitchen - the only possible benefit to telling you that is that I get a faucet that works. To replace the one that is in my sink. Which is attached to my house. That I bought 12 years ago. I will not be standing on South Congress hawking the replacement faucet. Besides, it's not like you can't prove it's a Grohe faucet - it says Grohe right on it."
He said: "You need the receipt."
I said: "I need a supervisor."
Now you know what happens next, because it happens every time you ask for a supervisor. He put me on hold and then disconnected me, as per the m.o. of such people. I think he has a great career waiting for him at AT&T.
However, I called back. I held for another hour of hellish hold music, during which time, I went into the garage, dug out my giant remodeling notebook and I FOUND THE DAMN RECEIPT. I also Facebooked and Tweeted Grohe my wrath. When you're on hold for an hour, you can get quite a bit done.
When, with 2% of my phone battery remaining, I was connected, I got a young lady named Tonya. I told her my whole story again, and she says: "Can you email me a photo while we're talking?", which I did. She processed an order for the gooseneck and the cartridge (which had also failed) while we were on the phone. She did not ask for the receipt. After we hung up, the social media team contacted me, although they have not sent me an email yet, which they said they would.
This is the second time this week (the other was with American Home Shield) that I've felt like companies should switch the social media teams into the customer service teams - they do a much better job at both response time and resolution.
Is there a ring of faucet criminals that I'm not aware of? A faucet cartel? I completely understand in a retail situation that a person needs their receipt. But how in the world could someone think asking for a warranty on a faucet with a hole in it was a scam? People have stopped using their brains entirely, I'm starting to think. I hope it's not the result of cat videos or the Apple Watch, because if so, things are going to go downhill fast.
Now I'm the host of today's Mix-Ability challenge on Splitcoast and I wanted to do a transfer technique. This is SUCH a fun way to do an easy background and recycle at the same time. I found a fun image on an article about LAUNDRY of all things (horrors) in this month's Martha Stewart Living and I thought it would be PERFECT for the challenge. This just takes a few minutes and all you need is this heavy gloss gel medium from Liquitex. If you try it, be sure and use keyword MIX129 when uploading to the gallery at Splitcoast.
Now tomorrow is my regular monthly card class, so I'll have three projects ready for you this weekend in a new Blue2You digital only class on demand - have you seen these? I have a fun one out there right now - here are the ones I packed up last night. :)
I finally spent some time this weekend doing something I've wanted to do (and you've wanted me to do) for a long time. This summer it has been especially apparent that because of summer travel schedules, etc. my regular local students have had to miss a few classes and they don't want to miss the content, so I have fulfilled my promise to give them an option to take the classes later.
For those of you who are far away and sad that you can't come to my classes (mostly because I torture you endlessly on Instagram and Facebook with photos of the fun we have) - now you, too can have the classes come to you!
I have added a page for online classes and you can register any time and immediately receive your instructions, and your kits and stamps will ship within 72 hours. I appreciate those of you who have kept asking me - it feels good to get this up and running.
My current class is a 10 thank you card stamp-a-stack featuring the One Big Meaning stamp set. You will make 10 cards - 3 each of 2 designs and 4 of the third design.
You can choose from one of three options:
Local - you are one of my local students, you couldn't make my class and you don't want to miss out on the fun. You will get a class kit, stamp set and instruction and supply download. (Pick up only on the kit).
Postal - you are outside of central Texas and want to take the class and you cry every Saturday morning. Stop crying - this option is for you! You will get a class kit, stamp set, instruction and supply download and your kit ships within 72 hours.
Digital - you already have the stamp set and just want the instructions - NOW. Your wish is my command.
Once you have purchased a class, I will add you to my student sharing group on Facebook (by request only - I try not to kidnap people into groups) where we can chat and share ideas.
Now - not stamping related - I am going to bring you one more recipe because I made it for my brother's birthday today and it was AMAZING. It's a veggie lasagne and I just made it up because I had a lot of stuff that had just come out of the garden and MAN did this make a good combo. A friend of mine on Facebook named it vegan vampire lasagne because of my declaration that it was both meat free and garlic free. I REALLY like that name, so it's now immortalized forever. So here you go:
Vegan Vampire Lasagne A box of oven ready noodles - I like the Skinner ones.
Real Salt (the best - you just need a tiny amount)
Fresh basil
Fresh oregano
Mezzetta roasted red bell peppers (1 jar, drained), or home roasted peppers
Crumbled goat cheese - 2 4 oz. containers.
Large casserole dish or foil lasagne pan - the deep dish kind
Make marinara. Carmelize onions and squash in butter with just a sprinkle of salt.
Put a little sauce in the bottom of the pan. Put down a layer of noodles. Break noodles to fill in spaces. Sprinkle on one container of goat cheese crumbles. Top with half the squash onion mixture and half the red peppers. Add a layer of sliced provolone, fill in gaps with mozzarella. Top with sauce. Repeat everything starting with pasta. after you top this layer with sauce, do one more layer of pasta, top with sauce and top with mozzarella. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Whisper my name.
Seriously beyond amazing. I know what I'll be having after my walk today.
I have to say - you've all overwhelmed me with your funny comments, sweet comments, generosity and kindness towards Alex, and your talent! Many of you sent me photos of your cards by email, Instagram and Facebook - you are talented people!!! And NICE people.
NICE people like the winner of this giveaway! And after you squeal, don't forget to head over to Sandy's site to see if you are her winner!
Terri - I love this comment. I agree with you - sometimes a card arrives just at the right moment. That's what our hobby should be all about. Thanks for sharing your talent to uplift people! Please email me using the link in my sidebar with your mailing address and I will get your pretty pencils on the way. And, your message is timely - I'm sorry to tell you that a beloved member of our crafting community suffered a terrible loss this week. Heidi Swapp - a lovely lady who has brought so much joy to other people through her creativity - lost her son. I cannot even imagine what her family is going through. If you have a moment to share a kind word, please send a card to the address below.
I'll be prepping for my Salt Lake retreat this week in every spare moment after work, but I do have a video on the way for you that I think you'll love. :) That is, if I can clear the felines off my desk. Loveyameanitbye.
I don't consider myself a picky eater at all - but I think I base that on my love of most vegetables. Except beets. Beets are Satan's work. Oh and okra. I don't eat vegetables with fur. And of course green bell peppers, which are also Satan's work.
Well anyway, my point is I do not consider myself a picky eater UNTIL I start going down my list of quirks.
I hate seafood. Blech. I consider shellfish to be ocean bugs. Or, in the case of the god-forsaken crawdad - sewer bugs. Fish is gross. Unless it's sushi, in which case it's delicious. Quirky, right? I used to confound my parents by going to Luby's, ordering fried fish, and then just eating the batter with tartar sauce. I considered the fish just a molding prop for the delicious cornflake crust. I do like tunafish though. I consider myself exempt from criticism on this because I grew up on a giant, boiling hot savannah, a.k.a. Texas.
I'm only allergic to one food - and that's horseradish. I really don't even like to be within a few feet of that noxious plant, but I do love radishes and ginger - I'm OBSESSED with ginger actually.
I can't eat anything gelatinous. Jell-O makes me want to barf. I've tried to track down this phobia, and I think it's because I had tapioca while recovering from the removal of my appendix when I was in 4th grade and I just got gelatin PTSD. But I don't think I liked it much before that either, even though my childhood friends loved it. And then when I made a homemade gel printing plate from unflavored gelatin a few years ago and almost DIED from the smell of that, and realized they just cover that up with colors and flavors and smells for regular Jell-O - HORRORS. It seriously smells like death.
And speaking of food that smells like death - let's go ahead and talk about the elephant in the room. Or should I say the DEAD elephant in the room - cantaloupe.
Cantaloupe should be banished from the earth. And it should take honeydew melon with it. I feel like cantaloupe is some gross marriage between a pumpkin and a NORMAL melon, like a watermelon, which is God's gift to overheated Texans. Cantaloupe has a nasty, squash-like flavor (and I love all squash, BTW, but not mixed with melons) coming through its lame attempt at melonhood. Set the cantaloupe fields on fire.
I do not approve.
So today, on my walk, I was laughing HYSTERICALLY at my audiobook, because it was saying all these things that are in my head.
I think this was recommended to me by my friend and artistic idol - Dina. She's a huge fan of Jim's as am I, but I had only seen the comedy shows prior to this book. His comedy is very clean, which I really like. But his rants on food make me think that we actually might have been separated at birth.
Here are a few examples - here are his/my thoughts on oysters:
“Often on the menu, oysters will be listed as “oysters on the half shell.” As opposed to what? “In a Kleenex?” Even the way you are supposed to eat an oyster indicates something counterintuitive. “Squeeze some lemon on it, a dab of hot sauce, throw the oyster down the back of your throat, take a shot of vodka, and try to forget you just ate snot from a rock.” That is not how you eat something. That is how you overdose on sleeping pills.” And this on avocados: "Avocados are so delicious they should just petition to be reclassified a cheese.”
So true. And his tour of each state's signature dish just had me laughing like a crazy person alone in the woods this morning. Especially his observations about southern food. I HIGHLY recommend this audiobook if you want a laugh. He's the narrator, which closes the deal. Here's the real book, if you like that sort of thing.
So that brings me to today's project, which revolves around one of the world's most perfect foods - watermelon.
One of my team members was having trouble putting together the Curvy Keepsake box, and so I told her I would shoot a quick video for her, because I thought I knew what was happening. The two pieces that overlap have a square corner and a rounded corner, and you just want to line them up on the square corner. So I cut the pieces from Watermelon Wonder and sat down to do the video.
And while I was doing it it struck me that this box would make the PERFECT watermelon!! I don't know if I'm the first person to think of this, but I was pretty excited about it when I thought of it.
So I did a little video for you - super quick with just the alignment tips for the box.
(PS - If you order the Curvy Keepsake Box from me before the end of July, you will receive 4 hand watercolored backgrounds from me to use on your card fronts!)
And THAT my friends, is the only melon worth eating. Or crafting.
Sometimes I just have to out myself in the interests of truth.
I was talking with my friend and fellow demonstrator Brian about the catalog not too long ago.
We sort of did a stroll through the catalog and pointed out things we'd like and would use.
During the stroll, we came to the Talented Trio set, which we both loved.
But I just casually said "I love this set - but I'm not sure why that one girl has weird peg feet - anyhoo - I love it anyway."
Y'all.
I live in a VERY hot climate.
I'm practically on the equator.
I'm infinitely more likely to encounter a pirate than an ice skate.
Which is what the girl ACTUALLY has on her feet. Her real feet, which are not pegs.
To Brian's credit, he did not laugh until he had to be hospitalized when I said this. He just said (perhaps with a "your hair is so pretty" tone in his voice, for which he can be excused) "Um, those are ice skates." And we moved on.
It's good to surround yourself with people of different backgrounds so that if you think someone has peg feet, a friend can tell you about ice skates. With very little judgement and an appropriate amount of amusement. It's also good if they don't live in the same state, so they can make fun of you later after you get off the phone. Come on - I know you did.
Well now that I KNOW they are ice skates, composition with her is SOOO much easier.
I shot an awesome video of the card I made with her and it vanished into the thin air of the Iphone, so you'll have to settle for a picture of pegfoot-turned-ice-skater.
I made her for today's Color Challenge on Splitcoast. I am honored to be a guest designer for this challenge for July. And today's color challenge is stunning: Melon Mambo, Sahara Sand and Island Indigo. For some reason when I saw it, my mind went to winter, and to pegfoot.
With the exception of Blushing Bride on her face, the ONLY colors I watercolored with were these three. And I think they look great together.
I did it with an Aquapainter on a watercolor card base after stamping her in Sahara Sand - I have a bunch of these card bases left over from the retreat that I like to experiment on - this one was a keeper! Stars and skate blades, a.k.a. pegs, are silver glimmer paper.
You have to admit - pegfoot is looking pretty sassy here. This card took maybe 15 minutes to make. I did restamp her face with the MISTI and Sahara sand when I was done coloring just to put her features back.
I hope you enjoyed laughing at my ignorance of all things icy. I live to serve.
It might be Monday, but you will NOT notice that after you make your way through this post. OR, you will think it's the most awesome Monday EVER. Because it is.
Not too long ago my sweet friend Sandy Allnock and I cooked up an idea to do a double Derwent Inktense world domination tour and do some giveaways as part of our plan, so as to spread our colorful plot far and wide throughout the land.
Now - I'm not gonna lie, it's very intimidating to be doing a joint ANYTHING with one of my complete arty idols, but I'm being BRAVE. I have an immense amount of respect for this woman - not just for her insane amount of artistic talent (which I've been fortunate to observe live), but for her spirit. She is a beautiful, kind, sweet, service-oriented woman who has this innate drive to learn and to push her OWN boundaries constantly. She's a student before all other things, and those are my favorite people to learn from, because they have limitless curiosity. And, that thing I prize most - a sense of humor - was bestowed upon her in spades. If you aren't familiar with her, please spend some time on her site after you read this post. She's a gift to the art world. (And to me).
However, before that happens I have SERIOUS breaking recipe news.
Our celebrity chef for the retreat - Melanie Hopes - made the most unbelievable creamed corn - this is the creamed corn of your DREAMS. We all ended up calling it crack corn because it was HIGHLY addictive and quite possibly the reason no one's pants fit now. She was kind enough to share all her recipes with us, and I just HAVE to share this one.
Now if you're like me, you have PTSD from creamed corn. You, too, have been to a Wednesday night service at a Baptist church - also known as a pot luck dinner - the service was pretty incidental to the food - and you have been subjected to................ CANNED CREAMED CORN by someone who was totally phoning it in for the pot luck.
In my mind, this offense is worthy of the death penalty. You do NOT phone in something as sacred as creamed corn, people.
First of all, there is no CREAM in canned "creamed" corn. There is a gelatinous substance that resembles dirty dishwater assaulting the innocent kernels of corn. It's HIDEOUS. It's like pretending SPAM is a standing rib roast. It's ABSURD.
So, since I'm suffering from CCPTSD, I refuse to eat it at restaurants - I've been tricked by the slimy version too many times. I walk alone.
But MEL. MEL is a person I trust. And as I tasted her creamed corn, a single tear, representing decades of suffering and then subsequent liberation, rolled slowly down my cheek. I had finally come home.
Now, her recipes, as she says, are sort of guidelines, and they do not have instructions, just ingredients, so I sort of made up the other steps. And it came out perfectly. So here's my version of it. Please note - this is the retreat sized recipe - feel free to cut in half. (Her instructions to follow):
Ingredients:
2 C Heavy cream
2 C Whole milk
2 tsp. salt
1 4 oz. can green chiles (I used Hatch hot)
4-8 TBS Polenta/Cornmeal
White pepper if desired
1/4 C. Sugar
2 20 oz. bags frozen sweet corn (I like the Bird's Eye Steamfresh Super Sweet Corn)
Sharp cheddar cheese
I brought the milk and cream to a low boil and added the polenta (her recipe called for 4 TBS, but I ended up having to use 8). Continue cooking until the polenta thickens the mixture. Add more if you need to - polenta cooks at a boil in about 7 minutes, but you might need more time - you just want the sauce to have some body. When thick, remove from heat and add all the other ingredients - I added some cheese to this mixture, but you'll want some for the top. Add to buttered casserole dish, top with more cheese and cook at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly. DIVINE.
Now I didn't have Mel's instructions when I made it - so this is what she says to do - she puts it ALL together into the pot on the stove and cooks it all together until it is the right thickness. She also only adds the cheese on the top, I believe.
This stuff will change your life. Trust me. Also - you'll need to go for a run. Or two.
I found this technique from another of my favorite Mels - Mel McCarthy - who is such a phenomenal artist that basically my head explodes every time I go to her beautiful blog. She is so generous with her time, talent and techniques - I just have complete admiration for her.
I took her Fresco technique and did a MUCH less spectacular version of it. Please view her amazing, amazing technique here. I loved the detail of the embossing folder she used, but I didn't have anything that would really lend itself to that beautiful painterly technique she did.
But I DID have an idea for the Fluttering folder, since the Inktense pencils are suitable for layering under wet media, like her Copic version was.
I thought I'd go for a little impressionistic background rather than a precise one, and I ended up LOVING it. These pencils give such vivid color that it's SO perfect for the reveal this technique does.
So here was the resulting faux fresco.
What's funny is, before you go through all the steps, it's a HOT MESS. But don't worry. The technique will not fail you. Here's a side view where you can see how the faux plaster comes up almost to the edge of the butterflies, and the little shine you add at the end.
I did a little video for you - and you will see how fast and easy it is, and how much new life you can breathe into your embossing folders with some beautiful colors and a little paint.
Fun, eh? And really pretty fast for such a cool mixed-media result. I hope you try it! The pencil case I show in the video is here and the pencils I used are Fuchsia 0700, Iris Blue 0900, Golden Yellow 0230, Apple Green 1400.
So for our giveaway today - we are both giving away these amazing pencils. I won't even tell you the embarrassing story about why I have these to give away, but just insert your favorite episode of I Love Lucy here and be grateful that my embarrassment is your WIN today.
So here's what you need to do to win the set of 72 I'm giving away today. All I ask is that you send a card to the guy who is the greeter at my Costco. His name is Alex, and he is having a double knee replacement today. It's funny how these people become part of your daily life. He told me last week about the surgery and that he could use some prayers - he gets one replaced today and then three weeks later, he gets the other one replaced. That's some tough rehab right there. He won't be back to work until September. So I think he could use some love from the stamping community to get him through his hard days. I have always appreciated his friendly smile and short chats over the years that I've been shopping at this store, and I'd love to return that friendliness when he could use a lift.
Alex
c/o COSTCO
4301 West William Cannon Drive, Suite 100
Austin, TX 78749
So find a card for Alex, mail it, and then leave me a comment and I will draw for the set of pencils on Monday! Go forth and uplift!
Here's the set one of you lucky card mailers will win.
NOW - you are not going to BELIEVE what Sandy has done. Seriously - she is amazing. I have a particular soft spot for the project she made for today, and you will see why. Please head over to her blog now and prepare for awe.
AND you have ANOTHER chance to win a set of Inktense on her blog! Also, check out her amazing Copic hex chart if you're a marker fiend - this thing is a triumph of the visual display of information. I don't know how her brain fits in her head!
