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Thursday, May 31, 2018

Squirrel!!

Well another awesome retreat is fun & done as I say!

At each retreat I host, I invite guest teachers for a few of the classes. This is to prevent every class being just my style, and it allows people to get to experience teaching a large group of crafters. The classes this time were amazing, and I am now addicted to a few new techniques! Examples of classes that have been guest taught are: flooding iced cookies and cookie decorating, jewelry, kumihimo, a Gel Press transfer technique, a wet felting class, a needle felting class, a magic journal class and more.

There's just nothing more fun than finding out all the cool things your friends know. Crafty friends are the best friends.

We also did a few bits of research while we were there. One Nobel-Prize winning theory I'm working on is one involving some very unique traits of people who were born in the year 1962. I happen to be related to one and have several good friends who were as well. These people all have a LOT of things in common - shockingly specific things. A few examples include: a) The inability to look at a web page and actually see what is on it. So, a #62 will stare long and hard at a search result, let's say, and still be completely unable to find, among other things, the settings menu, the large orange button in the middle of the screen containing the info they want, etc. b) They are afflicted by the removovirus on the internet or on their computer. Symptoms of this include: opening Netflix and immediately screaming that all the suggested videos and saved video icons on the screen need to be removed. They like blank computer screens. c) They fill up their cups with beverages so full that they are actually domed on top and must be sipped from before lifting. d) They use off-brand search engines, computers/devices and obscure software to do things that most people use Google and Iphones for. I'm quite certain that 100% of Bing users were born in 1962. e) They have never been able to successfully log in with any password on any account. f) They have 300 email addresses, at least 299 of which are AOL. g) They start a new Facebook business page every time they turn on the computer.

We even tested our theory this weekend with a NEW 62 friend - we didn't know she was a 62, but certain traits led us to conclude that she was, in fact, one of the 62 tribe, and sure enough - she confirmed that she was.

Actually now that I think about it - I don't think I've ever met a man born in 1962 - all the ones I know are women. Do you know a 62 man? I'd like to include him in my Nobel research.

62s are my favorite little nuts.

So I'm slowly catching up on life after work, and I found a card that I probably made six months ago that I never blogged. I have a big stack on my desk that my goal is to mail, so I'm trying to work through the blog posts as I send them off around the world.

I actually bought this set in the fall, and you all know that squirrels are pretty much my favorite of the stamp animal world. This one might be my favorite of all the squirrels. I stamped him in Fadeout ink and watercolored him with Daniel Smith watercolor. Then I painted a panel of watercolor paper to match the background of him, and painted little swooshes over it with Iridescent Gold watercolor. Then I got the watercolor very goopy and splattered it. I cut the panel into two pieces with this - my favorite stitched edge die. The little polaroid frame is this die set. I stamped the sentiments in Nocturne Ink (perfect for watercolor paper) and added his eye and nose detail back with a multiliner.

Favorite Nut Squirrel Watercolor Card by Understand Blue
My Favorite Nut | Neat and Tangled
[ N&T | SSS | ELH | CST ]
My Favorite Nut - Nice and Neat Dies...
[ N&T | SSS | ELH ]
Die-namics Stitched Scallop Basic...
[ MFT | SSS | ELH ]
Die-namics Precious Polaroids (1915)
[ MFT | ELH ]
Fadeout No Line coloring Detail Ink
[ INK | ELH | SSS ]
Tsukineko VersaFine Clair NOCTURNE...
[ SSS | ELH ]
Iridescent Gold Watercolor
[ BLIC | SSS ]
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors
[ BLIC ]
Da Vinci Cosmotop Sable Mix F Brushes...
[ BLIC | ELH ]
Fabriano Extra White Cold Press...
[ BLIC ]
Whisper White Cardstock - Thick
[ SUP ]
Copic Multiliner SP 0.03 BLACK Ink...
[ SSS | BLIC | ELH ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | SBC ]
Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045
[ SSS | ELH | CST | ART | SBC ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Nesting Porcelain Bowls - BLICK art...
[ BLIC ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding...
[ AMZUS ]
Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675
[ SSS | ART | AMZUS ]
Bone Folder by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]


I am now that happy kind of tired that comes after a fun event like retreat. I'll catch up in a week. For some reason, I decided to have my used stamp sale and put together IKEA furniture immediately following retreat. Not sure what I was thinking. But Advil is my friend!

My retreats are open to the public, but alumni get to reserve spots first. Watch for registration for my September retreat - I'll announce a few days before public registration opens. 

Here's a link to our "enablers" list from retreat. We do a "my favorite things" swap, where we wrap something that is one of our favorite things - some are crafty, some are food, tools, books, etc. - always amazing, and then there are always little supplies and gifts people bring that we always want to buy for ourselves, so to make it easy - here's the list

Here's a fun collage that my friend Kat did of the weekend and our post-weekend shenanigans in Austin.



Loveyalittlenutsmeanitbye.

Saturday, May 26, 2018

There's Nothing Like Fingerpainting

My favorite techniques are actually the ones I learned as a tiny tot in art classes.

My String Theory video is a great example of that, and it's busy making the rounds of crafters again right now.

I also love the Duoprinting technique with plants. I came across some of my prints yesterday and need to make them into cards.

I love doing delicate and painstaking watercolor work, but sometimes, a person just wants to fingerpaint.

My sister and I took a private class with a VERY cool mixed media artist in Santa Fe - her name is Lauren Mantecon, and her website is here. She had us create art in ways we hadn't tried before, and mostly using our hands, which was fun and really broke our comfort zones in an awesome way.

We started each piece on a table and then moved to a wall. We combined paint and pastels, and she had us fingerpaint with the pastels - drawing the color out as far as we could on top of the paint.

She probably had 2,000 pastels in various containers, and we could just grab any color and scribble and then fingerpaint. It was such a fun day. At one point during the day - I was just mushing everything around on my paper, and I created something (accidentally) that looked like the northern lights, which inspired today's video.

When I got home, I wanted to turn it into what I call "clean" mixed media to do at my retreat, which is starting right now, actually, and I'm teaching this and 8 other techniques this weekend, so you get a peek into the kind of things we do.

I like CAS cards, but I also like mixed media, so I'm constantly trying to prove to people that mixed media can be clean.

So I thought it would be fun to mask off the fingerpainting to create just a clean line. I used the holy trinity - turquoise, magenta and yellow with these oil pastels and Post-It tape. You'll see this five second process in the video below. The sentiment is from this set, which is retiring this week, so you'd better hurry!
Oil Pastel Northern Lights by Understand Blue
20012-1019 - Sakura Cray-Pas...
[ BLIC ]
Lovely Friends Photopolymer Bundle by...
[ SUP ]
Post-it Labeling and Cover-Up Tape ,...
[ AMZUS ]
Whisper White Cardstock - Thick
[ SUP ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | SBC | MFT ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding...
[ AMZUS ]
Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675
[ SSS | ART | AMZUS ]
Bone Folder by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT EXPRESS Gray and...
[ SSS | CST | BMS | ART ]

Then I thought - why not try dies with the same fingerpainting? I used the negative space from the big Love die from Concord & 9th. WHEE. 




20012-1019 - Sakura Cray-Pas...
[ BLIC ]
Hearts BUNDLE - Concord & 9th
[ C&9 | SSS | ELH ]
Whisper White Cardstock - Thick
[ SUP ]
Avery Self-Adhesive Removable Laser...
[ AMZUS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | SBC | MFT ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding...
[ AMZUS ]
Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675
[ SSS | ART | AMZUS ]
Bone Folder by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT EXPRESS Gray and...
[ SSS | CST | BMS | ART ]


Then, I had to try the textured cardstock, to see how that changed the look. It's very cool. I layered the thinner die cut on top and just added "you". This is on my linen cardstock I order pre-cut, and corner rounded here.
Oil Pastel + Linen by Understand Blue
20012-1019 - Sakura Cray-Pas...
[ BLIC ]
Hearts BUNDLE - Concord & 9th
[ C&9 | SSS | ELH ]
Altenew PAINTED ROSE Clear Stamp Set...
[ SSS ]
Whisper White Cardstock - Thick
[ SUP ]
8 1/2 x 11 Bright White Linen...
[ PPR ]
Avery Self-Adhesive Removable Laser...
[ AMZUS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | SBC | MFT ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding...
[ AMZUS ]
Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675
[ SSS | ART | AMZUS ]
Bone Folder by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT EXPRESS Gray and...
[ SSS | CST | BMS | ART ]

Still on negative space, I tried a heart infinity die and this Hello from Gina K. I cut this negative space from masking paper to keep it from moving while I fingerpainted.
Oil Pastel heart by Understand Blue
20012-1019 - Sakura Cray-Pas...
[ BLIC ]
Bundle Stamps and Dies- Tropical Blooms
[ GNK ]
Nesting Hearts Dies | Hero Arts
[ HA ]
Whisper White Cardstock - Thick
[ SUP ]
Avery Self-Adhesive Removable Laser...
[ AMZUS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | SBC | MFT ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding...
[ AMZUS ]
Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675
[ SSS | ART | AMZUS ]
Bone Folder by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT EXPRESS Gray and...
[ SSS | CST | BMS | ART ]

Then I took the positive mask and did the same with the same sentiment.
Oil Pastel Reverse Heart by Understand Blue
20012-1019 - Sakura Cray-Pas...
[ BLIC ]
Bundle Stamps and Dies- Tropical Blooms
[ GNK ]
Nesting Hearts Dies | Hero Arts
[ HA ]
Whisper White Cardstock - Thick
[ SUP ]
Avery Self-Adhesive Removable Laser...
[ AMZUS ]
MISTI Stamping Tool
[ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | SBC | MFT ]
Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth
[ AMZUS ]
Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -...
[ BLIC ]
Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding...
[ AMZUS ]
Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675
[ SSS | ART | AMZUS ]
Bone Folder by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Multipurpose Liquid Glue by Stampin' Up!
[ SUP ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT EXPRESS Gray and...
[ SSS | CST | BMS | ART ]

If I can find the paintings we created after I finish my craft room annex, I'll share those.

In the meantime, here's the video. It takes two seconds and is super fun! Click here to watch in HD on YouTube.





Now - back to my retreat!

Loveyameanitbye.