Harold & The Purple Crayon - Hero Kit Sneak Peek

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I LOVED Harold and the Purple Crayon as a kid. The idea of creating your world with a colorful crayon did end up being what I love doing most - art. 

And even though I read the story long before I'd created any art, it resonated in my little brain. 

So when I saw the new Hero Kit, with its telescoping little fairy forest, and the sweet little peeking critters you will see more of, that's INSTANTLY what I thought of. 

So I present to you a little purple world, with a little purple bear that is as cute as can be. 

Come back Monday for the rest. I'll have a fun video for you then with a very easy way to add foil accents with no machine!

Loveyameanitbye.

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VIDEO: The Great Apple Still Life Disaster

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If you do not believe watercolor is a forgiving medium, then you're going to need to buckle up for today's video, because I am going to rock your world through my sheer, bumbling incompetence!

I wanted to do a sort of classic still life with this beautiful apple, because I thought it would be a nice composition for fall. 

And then all hell broke loose! But the lesson here, is everything turned out just ducky, so don't be too scared going into the video. But be a little scared.

This was done on a 5x7 piece of watercolor paper, and for once, I think I'll frame this and send it to a friend instead of turning it into a card. I just think the colors would look nice in a frame.

I set up the apple slice in my MISTI and stamped it in no-line ink on 5x7 watercolor paper. Then I stamped it again on masking paper and masked it. I stamped the central apple over that, and masked that, and finally stamped the rightmost apple. Then I removed the masks and got to work with my Daniel Smith watercolor - colors listed in video. FYI if you don't want to mask - you could stamp the apples in no-line ink and then die cut them and just arrange them on your paper. 

Here's the video - dramatic disaster and all:

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Hope you have a great weekend lined up!

I'll be working.

Loveyameanitbye.

VIDEO: Hologram Style Images: EOINA

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Today I have a video for you on an old technique I'd forgotten about! It traps color and metal for such a unique holographic look and is super easy. I thought it would be absolutely perfect for fish scales and I'm thrilled with the way it turned out.

The supplies for this are pretty simple, but which type you choose does matter so listen to why in the video if this process is new to you. I have this fish stamp, which I thought would make an awesome hologram. 

The ink I used is very important because it allows you stamp on acetate just one time and get a super clear image as you will see.

The foil I used is this very thin one - this doesn't work as well with regular weight foil and I don't think it would work at all with heavy duty. 

You need a heat resistant acetate like this. You definitely need your cottontail tool. And I used OLO Markers for the color. I used a double sided adhesive sheet that is smooth, not dots. I love both and use them for different things, but in this case you want the smooth to get a really good bond.

Here's two of the fishies - they just sparkle. I was being indecisive about which of the woodgrained papers to use here. 

Fish Set [ HNB ] Sentiment Dies [ HNB ] Sentiment Stamps [ HNB ] Woodgrain paper assortments [ HNB ] Cottontail Embossing Powder Tool [ THR ] Clear EP [ HA ] Adhesive Sheets [ SBC ] Heat resistant acetate [ SSS ] Ink Pad: Black - Concord & 9th [ C&9 ] Foodservice foil [ AMZUS ] PGP [ MSP ]

Here's the video!

Hope you have a great weekend lined up!

Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES

10% off stamps, stencils and dies at TRHD here with UNDERSTANDBLUE

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OLO MARKER

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10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10

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Reimagining Shape Dies

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I'm SO glad squirrels are experiencing a stamping renaissance for obvious reasons. :)

I have so many different styles of little squirrels now - I could happily make years worth of squirrel cards.

But today I wanted to give you a couple tips on dies.

I'm not very good at figuring out dies on my own by looking at the actual die. I have to cut them out and look at the pieces, and even then I don't always figure it out without instructions.

But what that means, is that I often find a different use for dies through my own inability to see them right 😆.

Today's card is a perfect example of that. 

I saw the little dies that you can make into rocks, and I combined them with one of the tree dies to make what I thought was the perfect mushroom!!!

I stamped the little squirrel and fussy cut him to perch on top. The stem of the mushroom is ink blended, and so is the mushroom cap, and I used a paint pen for the dots. The squirrels are OLO marker, enhanced with colored pencils. 

I ink blended the card base after cutting these little clouds out of masking paper. Then I took pieces of green cardstock and I used these grass dies to cut them in half - then I used BOTH halves (my fave trick with border dies) to layer them up for texture on the bottom.

So all in all a super simple card, but lots of texture and color. 

But most importantly - a squirrel. My great great grandsquirrel Tailette has babies. She stopped by, starving today, and her face and paws were all black - I don't know why my squirrels do this - but they go get the GREEN pecans that are not ripe out of our tree  - they have a sticky green, bitter hull, and the pecans inside are inedible, and they peel this away - get the sticky stuff all over them - bite into the unripe pecans and then discard them. Not sure why they don't learn - but anyway it turns their faces and paws black.

I can't make my squirrels smarter! I've tried.

Anyway - I have  a crazy week this week. I will probably be quiet, but I have a fun video coming Thursday.

Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES

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Hassle Free Masking & A Squirrel

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I had a power outage yesterday and way too much excitement as about ten Austin Energy showed up for whatever the huge problem turned out to be. 

First, my neighbor, who is deaf, ran the crew out of his yard, because the guy wasn't in uniform and there was no one there to explain via sign language or a phone, which is what we usually do - type things on our phones to talk to them. It was after five, so the lineman had just come from home in street clothes. 

When he came back, our entire street was filled with vehicles. I have video and pictures on FB if you are over there. They finally figured it out after about 6 hours and a lot of lost edits on my photos.

So what I'm super excited about today I had to completely re-edit and didn't have time to edit the video - so that's coming. 

But this is so freaking genius. This adorable little squirrel set HAS PRE-CUT MASKS! NO FUSSY CUTTING THE IMAGES TO MASK THEM. Yes, I'm yelling. Every image, including the small ones has these perfectly cut masks that sit inside the line a bit so there's no halo.

Freaking brilliant. 

So I stamped this little guy, popped a mask on him - and look how intricate it is - with his little topknot and the fronds of his scarf - and ink blended around him before coloring. So EASY. I just love her for thinking of this!

The rest of this set is freaking adorable too. I'll try to show it on my live today, so be there for that - on my YouTube channel. There are several sets with these genius masks including a really cute Christmas one, so have a look around! But you know I had to have the squirrel.

I'm off to have alllllllllll the coffee in the world - I am worn out by this week. Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES

10% off stamps, stencils and dies at TRHD here with UNDERSTANDBLUE

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OLO MARKER

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VIDEO: Using Rice Paper on Cards - How It's Different from Patterned Paper

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I have inadvertently kept a little bit of a secret for a while, but only because I don't really show my art journaling publicly very much, and that secret is rice paper.

I love it. It's so very different from patterned paper, and I'll show you why in a video below. If you are as old as me, and remember mulberry paper, rice paper is like an evolved version of that - more color, more pizazz, but a lot of the same benefits.

Today, I'm doing the tutorial at Splitcoast with it, and I think you'll find it as fun as I do. 

I won't spoil the surprise of how I did this first card, but the rice paper is this beautiful, brightly colored assortment. The rest will have to remain a mystery until you watch. The sentiment, so very me, is from here. 

I got tricksy with the second sample - using a rice paper from the same assortment, but adding this embossing folder. You'll see two ways to accent the texture in the video.

Finally - I layered two rice papers - this black and white one and the pretty colorful one to show you how transparent they can be, which is one of my favorite things.

Here's the video:

Here's the step by step tutorial.

Hope you love it as much as I do!

Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES

10% off stamps, stencils and dies at TRHD here with UNDERSTANDBLUE

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10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10

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Fall - In Spirit Anyway! (Video Teaser + Giveaway)

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Someday it will be fall in Texas, right? If  I keep making fall cards, maybe... It's worth a shot.

Luckily, it's fall crafting season so I'm in luck with fall themed images like this month's kit - it's so cute. There are these little dancing critters that all look like they are at a party. It's so funny - when I was coloring this little guy literally the whole time I thought he was a wolf, like the Big Bad wolf, but now I think he's a bear!

Anway, I put some happy non-traditional colors into the leaves to match his coat and his fur with OLO Markers.

It's such a cute little happy vibe I left it clean and simple.

Here's what the full premium kit looks like.

That layering stencil goes with that window die - that's what I used in my sneak peek this weekend! SO pretty - wait until you see some of the other samples with this in the hop - Emily used pinks and purples and it's SO pretty. 

Speaking of sneak peeks! I have a process video coming up for colored pencil and these beautiful mushrooms! I did some masking to include this adorable fox, so watch for this video on the Hero Blog on the 11th. I will walk you through my process for using pencils on dark cardstock.

Here's what all the add-ons look like this month. Lots of fall potential! The gnomes are so cute. 

So that brings me to the window die & stencil I sneaked from the regular kit. I used a combo of dye inks and reactive inks on the same kraft I used with the pencils - I just love color on dark cardstock. I put all that over a Paradise card base and highlighted the images on the sentiment with a white gel pen. The fonts & images are so whimsical.

Want more inspiration & an entry in this month's $50 giveaway? Head over to this post for a list of destinations, and be sure and leave a comment here and on those stops for your chance to win! Don't worry if your comment doesn't appear right away - most of us have comment approval on to defeat spam!

Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES

10% off stamps, stencils and dies at TRHD here with UNDERSTANDBLUE

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OLO MARKER

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10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10

5% off at LBC here with code LYDIA5

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Highlighting Dry Embossing in Seconds!

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I feel like there was a little while where embossing folders had a little lull in popularity, and in my opinion, they are back in a big way. 3D embossing folders, oversized embossing folders, and then even embossing dies. 

I have two fall embossing folders - well no - I have tons haha - but I have two I wanted to show you that look SO different with exactly the same super quick process - just brayering them with ink or paint. 

I started with this beautiful mushroom 3D embossing folder. What you need to realize with 3D embossing folders is that you will only be highlighting the most prominent features, and not the lower features, and so this gives the finished result an abstract look that I adore. For that reason, I really like black for this technique. 

I loaded up a brayer with this black ink, which works best for this technique. Other dye inks that don't have this thicker ink won't work as well. The key to making this look good is to go over it as few times as possible, which is why the ink matters. Black paint will also work well - just be sure you have a thin, even layer on the brayer. 

Then just roll over the convex side of an embossed piece of cardstock with it, and just a few passes. You'll be left with this stunning result!! I used my OLO Markers and palette blending on these die cut leaves to separate my letterpress greeting from the background. I think it's so striking and fun. 

But to show you how very different this technique can look, I used this regular 2D embossing folder to emboss an ink smooshed  panel. Then I brayered a thing layer of white paint onto that - and you can see how it highlights the whole design - because 2D folders have a consistent height for the entire design. 

I finished it with this set and have you seen these knobbly gems? They look like costume jewelry to me, so I hoard them a bit. But I thought they looked perfect here. 

I almost hate to jinx us, but we are feeling a change in the weather. I wouldn't call it fall in the sense you might know it, but it's definitely less nuclear than it has been. So it feels right to make fall cards. 

And if you want to see a quick video of my ghost door hanging, here you go.

@understand.blue I used a fun tutorial from @The Navage Patch -DIY & Crafts for a ghostie! Sixty days till #halloween y’all #diy #fyp #spooky #ghosts #hotglue ♬ Ghost - Confetti

PS - I have a podcast update. Stitcher is officially gone now (sobs), so none of my podcast links will work anymore, so I've removed my list from the blog. The full list of all my curated true crime, cooking and other podcasts is now on Patreon, and I've relinked them to Spotify. These are hundreds of podcasts I've listened to and personally recommend. I've gone above just a list, and categorized them as follows:

• Single story deep dives
• Single case per episode
• Cons/scams/cults
• Funny/uplifting
• Sleep podcasts
• Food
• Science/Medicine/Technology
• Fiction

Loveyameanitbye.

CURRENT COUPON CODES

10% off stamps, stencils and dies at TRHD here with UNDERSTANDBLUE

20% off anything at Glassboard Studio  - UNDERSTANDBLUE.

OLO MARKER

10% off at Sweet Sentiment with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10

5% off at LBC here with code LYDIA5

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Bujo/journaling supplies - 10% off with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

10% off everything at Acorns & Twigs with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

Using Dark Foregrounds for Window Dies

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Am I still on my kraft cardstock kick? Yes, yes I am. Thanks for asking.

It's just perfect for fall, that's all.

With window dies, I love to use them with darker cardstock and lighter backgrounds for a sort of hopeful mood - like a light at the end of the tunnel sort of feel. Or in today's case, a feeling like you are emerging from a forest into a field. 

I'm glad everyone is leaning into mushrooms this year too - it makes me happy. 

This die is from the upcoming kit, and it has a matching stencil, which is why the coloring matches the die details so perfectly. 

I have some other SUPER fun cards and a video that will be on the Hero blog in the next week that you won't want to miss with some fall goodness. So stay tuned!

CURRENT COUPON CODES

10% off stamps, stencils and dies at TRHD here with UNDERSTANDBLUE

20% off anything at Glassboard Studio  - UNDERSTANDBLUE.

OLO MARKER

10% off at Sweet Sentiment with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

10% off the whole store at A Colorful Life Designs - LydiaFan10

5% off at LBC here with code LYDIA5

Arkon Mounts -  - 20% off sitewide with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

Bujo/journaling supplies - 10% off with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

10% off everything at Acorns & Twigs with code UNDERSTANDBLUE