VIDEO: Zentangle with me + ZOMBIES

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Hey friends! If you have friends aside from me in CenTex - give them a break on being smart or dextrous today- we had crazy storms all night - so much lightning it was like all the lights in the house were on! So we are all very tired today. Good thing I already had my cards done for today's post - I don't think crafting will go well today.

The new kit is here and it's alllll about color theory! It has big, open images that overlap that are perfect for color mixing and layering - be still my heart! This is the main image from the kit, and all the sentiments are color-themed. 

Well technically this is HALF the kit image - I wanted to show you how absolutely perfect it is for mini-slimline cards. I buy my mini slim cards pre-cut and scored here. It's such a cute size - I prefer it to both A2 and slimline - small formats are my jam.

I stamped this on a piece of 8.5 x 6.5 cardstock and then cut it in half and colored it with Graphit Markers and dotted it with my skinny white paint pen, because this whole release is MADE for doodling, IMHO. 

Here's what the full kit looks like. LOOK AT THE DIES! So sweet. The stencil is a really fun take on a sunburst, and you may or may not see a swatch on the kit by yours truly :). I helped pick the watercolors included in this kit as they are a great holy trinity combo - you will get a mixing guide I created for the kit with formulas for just SOME of the colors you can create. It's a genius kit!

So let's take a peek at the zentangle goodness you can do with the kit and the add-ons! This is the card you'll see me create in the video with the add-on cling and it was sooooo fun! I used a Copic multliner and then colored the outer petals of this stunning cling in a rainbow with Graphit, and then colored the remaining space in black to make the focal point even more dramatic. (My voice is a little croaky in the video as I was dealing with the Saharan dust cloud during editing.) There's so much space in this image for doodling - I love it. And I created a smaller panel to leave room for a sentiment, but you can see how both this add-on stamp and the kit image are actually perfectly sized for A2 cards. 

As you'll see in my video - one of my favorite places to get zentangling patterns is these fun coloring books! I find similar shaped objects and use the patterns from those with little modifications. I also recommend tanglepatterns.com for learning and practice! But when I am crafting, having a book nearby I can just grab is super comfortable for me. I also LOVE this series - this series is how I started zentangling. 

Now here is that same cling, but done like the kit cling above - again in mini slimline format.

Now for my Lydia twist on this adorable hugs add-on - you'll see LOTS of cute and sweet and innocent cards with this today, but the SECOND I saw it, my dark and twisted mind went straight up zombie!

I did a wrinkle free distress background with Distress Oxides on a panel the same size as my pre-cut mini slimline card base. Then I ink blended Grape Slush Hero Hues around the edges to darken it and enhance the spookiness! I used my circle infinity dies to cut a moon on this panel and glued it onto my mini slim base. I colored the hands with Graphit markers, adding bruises and stitches - muahahahah!

After I arranged them, I tore a piece of Pitch Black cardstock for the ground at the bottom and used the sentiment from this set - it's a subtly spooky sentiment I have used on a lot of creepy cards this year..

So here are all the add-ons and here's a link to the bundle! The rainbow sets are so, so cute, and the other cling I will be using in one of my daily lives this week - I love the style of that artwork! It has a Picasso feel. AND - the new skin tone watercolors - EEK. I can't wait to get these and start mixing them.

So here is my video with the kit and add-ons - enjoy! Come back for the giveaway info and a FANTASTIC recipe I made last week!

So leave me a comment today to be eligible for a $50 gift card giveaway by Sunday the 8th - and do let me know if you win! Winner will be announced on the Hero Blog the following week.

And don't forget - DARE TO GET DIRTY starts this week. We have even more challenges this year and they are fantastic!

Here are all the supplies I used today:

MMH August 2021 [ HA ] Get Them All August Add-ons [ HA ] Floral Color Wheel [ HA ] Paper Hug Stamp & Cut [ HA ] United People Bold Prints [ HA ] CM477 Wheelbarrow Friends - Hero Arts [ HA ] Circle Infinity Dies (H) [ HA ] Amazon.com: Creative Haven Entangled... [ AMZUS ] Amazon.com: Angela Porter's Zen... [ AMZUS ] Zentangle 9, Workbook Edition: Adding... [ AMZUS ] AF432 Grape Slush Reactive Ink - Hero... [ HA ] Uni-Posca Paint Marker - White, Set... [ BLIC ] Copic Multiliner SP Pen - Set of 10 [ BLIC ] Graphit — Marker Universe [ MRK ] PS323 Hero Hues Premium Cardstock... [ HA ] Understand Blue MINI Slimline Folded... [ CTC ] Understand Blue Slimline Folded... [ CTC ] Understand Blue Card Making Bundle #3... [ CTC ] Understand Blue Card Making Bundle #1... [ CTC ] Understand Blue Card Making Bundle #2... [ CTC ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | SSS | ELH ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Scor-Pal MINI SCOR-BUDDY Scoring... [ SSS ] Storage Envelopes, Medium 25pk,... [ ELH ] CheckOutStore Stamp & Die Clear... [ CHC ] Extra Large -50 pk, Avery Elle Stamp... [ ELH ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | CST ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ] Hero Arts Blog [ HA ]

So here is my new recipe for the week. I subscribed to Cook's Illustrated recently (worth every penny) and I saw a tip in there for hashbrowns. I have ALWAYS grated my potatoes raw. Their tip was to bake them first and my mind was blown. PS we grate ALL our cheese and potatoes and whatever with the Kitchen Aid grater attachment, which we apparently have had for 30 years - wedding gift - and just now found it LOL. You can grate a block of cheese or five potatoes in seconds! (Pre-grated cheese just has too much junk in it.)

So anyway, I told my friend Bev, who is so very cheffy, and she said she bakes hers first, so I got busy making some potato leek hashbrown cakes to go with a steak last week. They are so amazing! I used the baked, grated potatoes and a little tip I got from a copycat McDonald's hashbrown recipe, because I think we all know those are the perfect hashbrowns. So here's what you do - leeks optional, but they were amazing! I just cleaned, thinly slices and soaked and re-cleaned two large leeks and let them dry in the fridge for a day first. Leaving the baked potatoes in the fridge overnight is NOT optional - it makes the recipe work. The grating process removes most of the skin.

Perfect Hashbrown Cakes

• Bake 5  large russets at 350 for an hour

• Let cool and put in the fridge overnight

• Shred using the Kitchen Aid grater attachment (easiest) or box grater.

• Add 3 TBS cornstarch, 2 eggs, 3-4 Tsp Real Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, mix well. 

Form into thin cakes and fry in avocado oil. AMAZING. I added two large leeks, sliced before frying but that's your call.

You will love these - and 5 potatoes makes a lot of these, so I put more than half of them in the freezer after frying - just use a foodsaver. They are wonderful just reheated after freezing.

Head over to the Hero Arts blog for more inspiration today. 

Loveyameanitbye.

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