Howdy

As with most words in my native language (Texan) - "howdy" is actually a contraction. Minus the apostrophe.

It's a word we are all so used to, that people don't typically think of it as a contraction, but it is. Apparently we, despite our easy-going, slow-talking natures, are in way too much of a hurry to spend a ridiculous amount of time saying "how do you do," so we shorten it to "howdy."

LOOK AT ALL THAT TIME I JUST SAVED!

I can spend that time listening to exactly HOW YOU DO!

Isn't that nice?

We're nice people, Texans.

You know who else is nice? Fleurette Bloom from Inkon3.

I *met* Fleurette (over the phone) after falling hard in love with her magical Fadeout Ink. It turns out we have a ton in common. We are the same age, and she has a daughter named Lidia.

We hit it off instantly, and will be going as a team to Junkie Fest to teach classes on the wonders of no-line watercolor with her ink. Hopefully I will see some of you there! There's a large Texas contingent going - some of whom I believe are even on my flight to the great white north of Minnesota, where I have not visited since 1992!

Anyway, since we are the same age, we have the same graphic favorites in our psyches, like the marvelous puffy letters we used to doodle in our notebooks in the (redacted decade) when we were in school.

When I saw that she had brought that style to life in an alphabet die set, I knew it had to be mine.

The card base here is my fave bright white linen cardstock. I blended pink, orange, yellow and blue oxide inks across the front, and then I cut the letters from both white and black cardstock and glued them together, offset before adding them to my card. So cute and simple. (I pay a little extra to have them cut and round the corners on the linen cardstock when I buy it.)

Phat Alphanumeric Die Cuts - Stand... [ INK ] Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad... [ SSS | JGG | CRF | CST | MFT ] Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad... [ SSS | CRF | JGG | MFT | ART ] Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad... [ SSS | JGG | CRF ] Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad... [ SSS | CRF | JGG ] 8 1/2 x 11 Bright White Linen... [ PPR ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] 8 1/2 x 11 Licorice Cardstock 100#,... [ PPR ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSW | HA | SSS | ELH | SBC | MFT ] Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth [ AMZUS ] Fabriano Extra White Cold Press... [ BLIC ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] 05816-1008 - Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin... [ BLIC ] Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding... [ AMZUS ] Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675 [ SSS | ART | AMZUS ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two... [ SSS | ART | BLIC | ELH ] Ink Off Cloth [ INK ] Sizzix BIG SHOT EXPRESS Gray and... [ SSS | CST | ART ]

What are your plans for the weekend?

I'm going to start the World Watercolor Month challenge on Sunday. Are you going to play along? This is the challenge that started my work in a sketchbook and I love it so much - I always learn a ton working on these prompts. I'll share some on Instagram.

So how about a giveaway? I accidentally ordered duplicates of the following inks from Gina K Designs: Key Lime, Tranquil Teal,  Sea Glass, Plum Punch, Lucky Clover, Slate, Coral Reef and Tangerine Twist. You can click through to see the colors.Yes - I ordered doubles of EIGHT ink pads. I'm awesome like that. But now I can share her awesome ink with you - if you've never tried it, you'll love it, I promise.

So do you want to win one of these beautiful inks? You just need to do two things: 1) Leave me a comment with your weekend plans, and 2) Sign up for my RAK database! That's it! (No need to sign up if you have already done so.)

I will choose eight winners and announce them on my next blog post!

Loveyameanitbye.