Happy Birthday Erica! Owl Video Part II + Giveaway

Hi friends! I'm back with part two of the owl card video - the trees and this amazing moon! And this video celebrates my friend Erica's birthday!!

If you want to click through to the video over on YouTube, there's a giveaway in the description too!

VIDEO: The Owl Did It & New Journal Class!

It's here! Part one of my video of the beautiful white owl! But first - a story!

I referred to this in another post, but one time, on the way to New Mexico (an 11 hour drive from here), a turkey buzzard came through my winshield, covering me, and one of the cats in glass. 

We were in a rental vehicle and also in the middle of nowhere, and this set off a completely nuclear chain of disasters. It took hours for them to get to us with a replacement, and when they showed up - they didn't have it - they just had a tow truck. Well we had two cats, two people and an SUV full of luggage so what were they thinking?? So they went back and got us a vehicle - more hours of just sitting. It's hard enough to travel with the cats - this was brutal. 

6 hours later, they bring us a vehicle. We transfer everything and us and the cats and head out for the remaining NINE HOURS of our drive. When I got up to about 60 miles per hour, a piece of weather stripping on the windshield that was loose starts thumping really loudly in the wind, which it did for the next nine hours. 

By the time we approached the outskirts of Santa Fe, it was 3 AM and I was beyond exhausted and stressed and the cats were beyond beyond. It's VERY dark outside Santa Fe - they are really good about not adding light pollution, but it makes driving in the middle of the night scary. 

Around one little curve just outside of town, a ginormous barn owl appears out of nowhere headed right for the windshield! He got so close I saw his eyes, his claws, his pretty little pin feathers on his chest. We both screamed hahah. He glided over the roof, just barely, and I managed not to roll the SUV. 

It was too much, the birds on that trip! But we made it, and now I know what it's like to be buzzarded! Zero stars!

Also, I rage returned the stupid Ford to the airport the next day and got the third SUV of the trip, but not before recording the thumping sound as I was driving. Somewhere on an old phone that video waits!

So speaking of videos - today I have a new video - part one of this amazing owl card - part two for the background is coming soon. And I have a new $5 journal class on an adorable travel bujo.

Here are the supplies:

Lovely Layers: Owl - Honey Cuts –... [ HNB ] Lovely Layers: Trees - Honey Cuts –... [ HNB ] Adventure Awaits Paper Pad 6x8.5 - 24... [ HNB ] Summer Cabins - Honey Cuts – Honey... [ HNB ] Olo Chisel-Tip Half Marker - Y2.3... [ BLIC ] Olo Chisel-Tip Half Marker - BK Blue... [ BLIC ] Bee Creative Easy Squeeze Precision... [ HNB ] Honey Bee Detail Blender Brushes -... [ HNB ] Premium Dye ink Pad : Metropolis –... [ PNK ] Tim Holtz Idea-ology Label Stickers... [ RNG ]

One Stamp Set, Four Ways - Let's Talk About Birds! (Giveaway)

I love a good quirky bird. Who can resist the urge to PUT A BIRD ON IT? Not I.

So today I'll show you four super cute ways to use this adorable quirky bird set.

First, I created a black and yellow background with this fun city map texture in yellow. I used the zigzaggy sentiment from this set and added some adorable planner-style elements from this journaling set. I did die cut the bird, but it's essentially a one layer clean and simple card!

Mixed Textures [ HA ] Textured Compliments [ HA ] Essential Journaling [ HA ] Be You [ HA ]

These little birds just seem so positive! So I thought I'd drop some encouraging messages into my stenciled background THROUGH the dots stencil that I ink blended through. I created my own simple greeting with these alpha dies. This is the script stamp with the affirmation messages.

Be You [ HA ] Sprinkled Dots [ HA ] Alpha Dies [ HA ] Positive Script [ HA ]

The alpha dies - if you leave them tabbed together before running them through your die cutter make an ADORABLE background for two of the birds from the set. The little heart is from the alpha dies.

Be You [ HA ] Alpha Dies [ HA ]

I saw a post last night that was so very sweet, and also so very sad. It's from my favorite allergist on TikTok - a sweet, kind man that does a TON of education on important allergy issues - for example, recently, debunking the "hypoallergenic dog" myth, and talking about the importance of food allergy awareness.

He approaches everything with humor and love and curiousity, so I could tell that this post came from a place of a kind of pain that never goes away - and that's the pain of being bullied as a child. No matter how successful you are, you're always still that hurt little kid inside when you remember those days and you can really feel it in this really sweet post, despite the joyfulness and spirit of overcoming. He also has a followup video on this as well.

Anyway, that's the spirit of this last card today. Just be you. Try hard to shut out anything that makes that difficult. 💜 I used this grungy background stamp, this fun little wheel die, a polaroid frame die (there are little textured washi tape dies in there!) and the adorable bird.

Be You [ HA ] Rough Dots [ HA ] Fancy Circle [ HA ] Frame Dies [ HA ]

Nighttime Scene with Only Dies

I've been waiting so long to show you these cards! I have had SO much fun with this amazing owl die - because you KNOW I'm on the true crime #teamowl after attending CrimeCon. If you aren't familiar with the case I'm talking about - I highly recommend the series that the Southern Fried True Crime Podcast did on the case - the series is called The Never Ending Staircase. 

BEHOLD the detailed owl and trees on this scenic card! I will have TWO videos coming up next week - one on the owl and one on the background, so don't worry - but you can grab them both while you wait HERE! The owl dies were cut from this paper. 

MIX538 Thoroughly Modern Art!

I'm the host of this week's MIX-Ability mixed media challenge at Splitcoast and I'd love it if you joined me because it's an inspiration challenge from one of my favorite sources - modern art!

I studied a lot of art history in college, and it informs so much of my own art practice now that I love to tie it into challenges I host. 

My squirrel godmother sent me some Distress Crayons this week, which I had never tried before, and I used them with this ultra modern bird stencil and sentiment strip. I did some doodling after the technique to add some whimsy. 

The stencil that inspired the challenge though is this woman one. I love this so much. After doing the same technique as on the bird, I added a little texture around the image, shaded with colored pencils and added another sentiment strip. 

If you play along with the challenge, be sure and tag Splitcoast and use hashtag #MIX538.

Here's a quick take on the technique!

I'll be back tomorrow with a SUPER fun and easy die cut card.

Loveyameanitbye.

VIDEO: Birthday Clubbing + Giveaway!

Okay I PROMISE I'll shift away from birthday cards soon, but I'm just on a roll! I've cleared out a TON of old cards and am refilling my rack with a purpose, because I really need to get better at mailing birthday cards.

I did something I RARELY do with this month's 3D Embossing Folder Club - I mass produced! I really did! Because these oversized embossing folders let you do two slimline card fronts at a time. I'm all for that. 

All I did was simple spot ink blending with brushes on it. 

However, my photo of this is one of those visible illusions. If I stare at it long enough, the dimension FLIPS and it looks indented instead of raised. And of course now that I've said that, you will be unable to see it the right way. It's like the blue black / gold white dress all over again! You're welcome! :)

The sentiment is these dies. 

We are having a blog hop & giveaway today to celebrate ALL the clubs. I'm very, very selective what recurring subscriptions I have, because I'm a budget person, and I love these. My favorites are the Embossing Club, the 3D Embossing Club, Small Die, Large die and Stamp & Die. I think I told you that I destashed my embossing folders hard on a recent decluttering, so this is a good way to slowly build them back up with new themes, but honestly, the size of these make them so very versatile. For example, they are ready made journal covers.

A Lil' Squeeze for a Good Cause!

We hacked Chipotle's rice last week. This shouldn't come as a surprise, since it's cilantro lime rice, but we added lime juice and cilantro to rice. It was perfect! It's amazing how much that changes the rice. 

Lime juice - actually all citrus - is kind of miraculous in the kitchen, honestly. I marinate beef fajitas in orange juice, use preserved lemons in my chicken soup, and I use lime juice in all the things. This week, I got these HUGE blackberries from Farmhouse, and because I'm very suspicious of how clean you can get a berry, (ever since a wedding with chocolate covered strawberries as the culprit required LITERALLY every ambulance in Austin as the guests started to fall like Agatha Christie wrote the script)  I always cook them. Let me tell you - a little bit of sugar & lime cooked with blackberries is straight magic in yogurt.

Anyway, because of those blackberries I cooked, I was in a limey mood! So I went all in with this pretty background stamp. AND, this is one of the Products With Purpose, so a portion of the sales - a hefty portion - goes to charity, and a Texas one at that!

A portion of the sales (15%) of the Hot & Cold Drinks stamp set and the Citrus Squeeze Background stamp will be donated to the Write With Light Project for retail sales placed at Ink Blot Shop through May 31, 2023. The Write With Light Project is a nonprofit organization that raises money to improve the lives of those struggling with rare conditions. In 2023, in honor of a spunky heart warrior named Sunley, profits will go toward the Fontan Go Clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital. This will provide specialty care for anyone who has had a Fontan procedure.

VIDEO: On Stamp Blending Part 2

Hope you're not tired of birthday cards yet, because I'm still making them! I'm also still re-visiting one of my fave MISTI tricks for the second time in two weeks - on stamp ink blending like I did with this rose with cosmetic sponges. I caught Gina's live the other day and she was doing it too, so we are all on the same wavelength right now. 

If you haven't watched her lives, you should. She does more fun stuff with the MISTI than just about everybody, and her techniques are all so fun. Plus Tom often plays his guitar while she is demonstrating - it's so relaxing.

But I digress. 

I'm also happy to tell you that now there are only173 days till Halloween, so I'm using this adorable Halloween cat for this non-Halloween card. Warming you up slowly for the best holiday everrrr.

All the inks I used are below, and because I made a mistake, you're going to see a completely different type of on-stamp ink blending 😂😂😂.

Moody Blue Farm Scene + Embossed Transfer

I know it's only May, but I got some dies that are giving me serious Halloween vibes, so I went all in on that mood. 

First, I wanted to make a nighttime scene with these beautiful rustic dies. They remind me of the ranch, and there's nothing spookier than being out in the country at night, when everything is the same color, and all you have is light from the moon. 

I mixed Distress Reinkers and my Twinkling H20s from the late 1900s and did some good old fashioned ink smooshing on this paper - it always gives me these billowy clouds you see here. 

I just dipped all the die cut pieces into the same ink. When it was dry, I used this classic tool and white ink with one touch to create that perfect moon. Then I brushed a tiny amount of white ink in the top of the birdhouse and pump for moonlight. 

I was going to add a sentiment - but I loved it too much as it was - all moody and blue. 

VIDEO: Stenciled Die Cuts Two Ways & Ephemera Colored by Friends!

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I have such a fun video for you today with some adorable new gardening themed ephemera (colored by friends!) that has matching dies. There's also a matching stamp set and a ton of other new fun things you'll see me use like a few of the stencils. Such a cute idea. 

I started with an older leaf die I love - there are two leaves in this set and I used the larger of the two for both techniques. I also added a sentiment from one of my fave older sets - the scripty font is so pretty.

On the left I used the botanical stencil, and on the right the geometric stencil. Inks are listed below. 

I'm going to cut out a bunch of these and take them on road trips for easy postcards.

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Here's the video! 

Here are all the supplies.

Gardening Stamp Set [ CRF ] Gardening Dies [ CRF ] Gardening Ephemera [ CRF ] Anniversary Release [ CRF ] Leaf Dies [ CRF ] Sentiment Stamp [ CRF ] Foliage Stencil [ CRF ] Geometric Stencil [ CRF ] Jelly Bean [ GNK ] Blue Raspberry [ GNK ] Wild Dandelion [ GNK ] Passionate Pink [ GNK ]

I got more live plants from American Meadows yesterday - I can't wait to get my hands dirty today!

Loveyameanitbye.