I not only have baby wrens in my mailbox, but in a nearby flowerbed, I have baby cardinals! They were testing their wings today and it was soooooo cute! They are fat, fluffy little things, and so awkward and adorable!
Anyway, I'll miss all the cheeping by the front door when they move on. The circle of life sucks sometimes when you just want your birds to stay babies.
I am finally home for a bit, so I thought I'd revisit something I haven't done in a while - a colored pencil project. I find it so relaxing.
I pulled out my favorites - Luminance Pencils, and some kraft cardstock. I love these pencils the most on darker cardstock. These pencils are not only the creamiest, most blendable pencils in my arsenal, but they're available in open stock, so you can build your collection slowly if you want. They are not inexpensive, but they're worth it.
I used this gloriously colorable July free with purchase set, and stamped it onto kraft cardstock in Sandy Beach ink, before coloring - you'll see the entire coloring process in the video at the end of this post. The sentiment is from the same set, stamped in Nocturne. These flowers are great for practicing deep shadows for dimension, plus the clever heart shape is so sweet and ingenious.
I LOVE when they include a turnabout stencil in a release. Stencils are pretty much my favorite, and I love coming up with four color combos that tickle my fancy. This is definitely a tickly one - Wild Dandelion, Sea Glass, Key Lime, Slate and black. This stencil is unique because it's a twofer. You get the little cross-like shape in a turnabout but also the octagon (which I call a hexie in my video - ignore me - it's been a crazy few years) that fills in the open spaces in the first stencil. I'll have a video on this card tomorrow. The dies are from this set, and the little outline on that one yellow guy is from this companion stamp set.
This next card reminds me of my friend Kat. We've talked a lot in the last few years about where to find joy. And it's not on the top of Niagara Falls or on an African Safari. It's really in little ordinary things that happen every day. Like baby cardinals and wrens and a few moments to make a card, uninterrupted.
The background is the fun new tropical turnabout - yes, in Key Lime again - I REALIZE I HAVE A PROBLEM. IT'S JUST MY FAVORITE.
The builder word stamp and matching dies are super fun, you can make enjoy, oh joy or just joy and then there are companion sentiments in the set like the one I used here. Once you have your turnabout set up - MAKE A BUNCH. It's fun and a very zen process.
And finally - a trip back in time to the 80's - which, if we're all being honest, have yet to be topped as a decade.
I got into needlework at some point in that decade, and I remember many a happy hour spent on the couch with my mom. We watched the world's best TV shows - Magnum PI, Murder She Wrote, Simon & Simon, Moonlighting - and I would cross-stitch or needlepoint.
My mom and my sister actually know how to sew - I have a strange allergy to sewing machines, but I love hand stitching so much. I miss those days of needlework, but I'm so happy that it's making its way into the stamping world, because now I can have both.
This new stitching die is very well designed - the center of the larger flower is a larger hole because you'll be going into it multiple times. It's an easy and quick project to finish, and they even have a little stitching kit with floss and needles, and an extra cardstock pack to match! The matching stamp set coordinates too so you can do a part stitched, part stamped card, but I enjoyed immersing myself in stitching.
As usual, you can hit the buy it all button for this release right here.
Want to watch me color that first card? Wish granted! This was really fun and relaxing. It's a longer video, even sped up, so you've been warned :).
Here are all the supplies I used today. Stay tuned below for an AWESOME recipe and a great life tip!
Oh before the recipe, please remember as hurricane bears down on those of us in the former vast inland sea - you do NOT need liquid bleach. I sent this bleach via Amazon to Harvey impacted areas in Houston after the hurricane and was SHOCKED at how many people didn't know about it. It's always in my house - several containers of it. When you need it, you don't want it to be after a flood when everyone has cleared the shelves of everything useful.
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Oh before the recipe, please remember as hurricane bears down on those of us in the former vast inland sea - you do NOT need liquid bleach. I sent this bleach via Amazon to Harvey impacted areas in Houston after the hurricane and was SHOCKED at how many people didn't know about it. It's always in my house - several containers of it. When you need it, you don't want it to be after a flood when everyone has cleared the shelves of everything useful.
I have a lot of food allergies, and so I try to make 99% of my own food from actual whole foods that don't have a bunch of garbage in them. I've been on the hunt for the perfect veggie burger recipe since the 90s, and I've finally found it. I LOVE these, and have them in the freezer at all times.
Here's the link to my modifications as well as the source of the recipe I modified. Hope you enjoy!
Loveyameanitbye.
Oh! The pencils are going on my wish list! Thanks for sharing the video with us! You made me smile with the 80's comment. I agree! I am having a lot of fun introducing my daugther to 80's movies! I was a cross sticher back in the day but I have lost my patience and my eyes for it. I think I would really enjoy this stitching though because it looks like it would be a quick project and a bit of a surprise for the recipient. :) I love our birds. My daughter says I am getting ready for the empty nest with my new found love for the birds. Some mornings there are so many songs and sounds I feel like I live in a jungle! Enjoy those babies, they grow up so fast!
ReplyDeleteI love to relax with colored pencil coloring. I keep a cheaper set in my car with coloring pages on a clipboard. It's great when taking my car in for service or waiting rooms. I definitely like open stock or smaller sets to try before deciding if I want the complete set. I only have white in the Luminance, but want to try some other colors from this brand. Your cards are great and I love the Toucan!
ReplyDeleteProbably everyone knows this but me, but why are the bleach crystals better than liquid? Is it the weight? The footprint size? More convenient? I too was unaware such a product existed but definitely plan to try it. Is it widely available in grocery type stores? I come to your blog for the paper crafts, but really enjoy your humor, recipes and (sometimes hilarious) product posts.
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