VIDEO: Layering Stamps with Shimmery Heat Embossing

*Compensated affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. No posts here are sponsored or paid.*

Still one of the top three classes I've ever taken in my life was the embossing class I took with Fred Mullett. For a lot of reasons, not just what I learned. He is a warm and joyful human.

You'll see a little Fred in today's video as the second technique is one I learned in his class.

I feel like we have UNDER explored the potential of layering stamps, and this is one little step in the direction of doing more in that area.

So today I'm not using anything new except the technique - you can do this with any layering stamp. As you will see - you can use however many layers you want - you don't have to use them all, and I didn't on the first card - this is actually one of my favorite ways to use layering stamps - omitting one of the layers. The secret is the transparency that the copper and purple shimmery embossing powders bring to this layering tree image. They just glow.

Isn't that glowy and fun?

Here's the video, where you can see closeups of this and the second card. You KNOW I love black on Christmas cards, so these are some of my faves.

CURRENT COUPON CODES

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Hope you are happy we are halfway through this week!

Loveyameanitbye.

VIDEO: Simple Highlighted Embossing Part 2 of 2

*Compensated affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. No posts here are sponsored or paid.*

Hi friends! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving if you are in the US. We didn't do anything except try out Chef John's loaded sweet potato recipe and it was excellent. 

I worked all weekend on the Hero spring catalog and you will not be disappointed. However, it got really cold and windy this weekend - I have my space heater on as I type this, so it definitely doesn't feel like spring. 

I added a new recipe to my True Crime & Cooking tier on Patreon if you are a member over there - it's the best pasta salad in the world. I am trying to balance each category so there's about the same number of recipes in each category at all times, and I noticed I needed to catch up on salads, so that's what I'm working on at the moment.

Gardening is on pause right now - it's been cold and wet - so I don't really need to be out there watering. And there's no need to weed at this time of year - everything will die back soon enough. I have been thinking about dirt lately though - there are so many plants that I need to repot and add dirt to in the spring, That is always such an ordeal - trying to figure out the right amount of dirt - it's always too much or not enough. BUT - for whatever reason, repotting a plant in new dirt is sooo satisfying. I wish I could get someone to just deliver it to my driveway. 

I am back today with part two of my highlighted embossing mini-series - this is much simpler than part 1, but still really pretty. This will work with regular embossing folders if you have a very light touch, but it works best and most quickly with 3D folders like today's snowflake folder.

I used liquid watercolor - believe it or not, the same colors on both - and this copper paint on the right, white paint on the left. 

It's hard to see, but the snowflake on the left is die cut from clear glitter paper. I used this sentiment set and these embellies.  

This is absolutely an easily reproducible holiday card - each one will look different! Just get a big sheet of watercolor paper and then cut it up afterwards - my favorite type of process for holiday cards, which I really need to get going on. I'm trying to de-stash and that's taking priority right now. If you are interested in a de-stash bundle, you can get on the waiting list here. 

Here's the video - enjoy!

CURRENT COUPON CODES

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Bujo/journaling supplies - 10% off with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

10% off everything at Acorns & Twigs with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

Loveyameanitbye.

VIDEO: Photo Paper Resist Three Ways + New Patreon Benefit

*Compensated affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. No posts here are sponsored or paid.*

Happy Friday! 

It's been a long week, but I'm happy to report that I've let Maddie out of her cone after three weeks and she's done with her antibiotics. In the last few days, she's perked up a bit. I was seeing a ton of depression in her with the cone. Splotchy hissed at her non-stop, she couldn't play - it was really sad. Now she's getting back to her feisty little self. 

I have a new video for you today with several different ways to do one single technique and ONE of the results is so different from the others - I think you'll love it. 

I used photo paper and a few watercolor mediums: Neon liquid watercolor, powdered watercolor, and reactive ink.

You'll see in the video what happens with one of the mediums - it's really neat. I used this background stamp for all the testing, and I used a Christmas and a Thanksgiving word die and kept the cards simple.

On the medium that behaved so differently - look at the difference in the stamp lines! - I finished the background with this geometric stencil and glitter paste. It's hard to photograph so here's a closeup.

Here's a side view closeup. 

Here's the finished card where you can REALLY see the difference in the reaction.

Here are all the supplies you'll see in the video:

Snow Background [ HA ] Frame Stencil [ HA ] Seasonal Word Dies [ HA ] DF089 Grateful Words Fancy Dies (D) |... [ HA ] Golden Sands [ SSS ] Sunset Beach [ JGG ] Root Beer Reactive Ink [ HA ] Neon Yellow Watercolor [ HA ] Neon Pink watercolor [ HA ] Mister [ AMZUS ] Photo Paper [ AMZUS ] Neutral Glitter Paper [ C&9 ] Sticky Mats MINI 3 pack [ MSP ] Black MISTI [ MSP ] Glitter Paste [ HA ]

And here's the video!

I added a new Patreon benefit today to the True Crime & Cooking level! A lot of podcasts will do series on certain topics, but they are all mixed into their feed, and you have to hunt and peck to find them, especially if they come back to them after there's a resolution in a case after a long period of time.

One such case happened recently, so I've gone and put together playlists so you can listen to them all with no interruption, and the first one I posted is INSANE. So far there are 17 episodes, but they aren't done. You can binge the first 17! I'll add the new ones as they come. PS this is not a violent crime. No spoilers. :)

I hope you have a great weekend! 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

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

VIDEO: Easy Embossed Highlights - Part 1 of 2

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I experimented with a new meatloaf tonight and this is big news. I make a GREAT meatloaf, so I actually never try anything new. I'm sort of the same way at restaurants - once I find something I love I rarely order anything else. Bad habit! But having to cook every meal since 2020, I've branched out by necessity even from my most sacred recipes. This branch was a hit! It was a green chile meatloaf and it was delicious. It had tomato sauce in it and on top, which is not my habit, but it was absolutely delicious in this recipe.  My friend Dana told me about a great salsa macha she had recently and now I want to try to make some of that. But the good news is - I made TWO meatloaves last night - the green chile and my normal one, so I don't have to cook for a while. 

My neighbor gave me a big envelope of seeds from her oriental poppies! I scattered them yesterday, so I'm really hoping I get poppies in the spring. Hers are STUNNING - like 4 feet tall - they line her "hell strip" - the little strip between the sidewalk and the street. I've been keeping a little garden journal - it's a now discontinued EC perpetual calendar I got off my Buy Nothing group, so I write down each time something blooms or goes dormant on the day it happens, and then it becomes like an almanac. So for the poppies, I just drew out a little map of where I scattered the seeds. You're not supposed to bury them - they need sunlight to germinate. We will see! 

Enough about mundanities. I love that embossing folders are having a bit of a renaissance. I probably still have the first embossing folder I ever bought and I'm still intrigued by them. It just seems like there's no end to the techniques, and like stencils, they are an inexpensive and durable supply. 

Today's video is like an EXTRA light version of the three different fresco videos I've done. 

It's absolutely perfect for watercolor, as you will see in the video. So much fun to do. I used this 3D embossing folder, which I also used in one of the fresco videos above! It's so pretty. I haven't moved it off my desk since I got it. I think this ended up looking like silk the way the watercolor blended. The sentiment set is this one. I had no intention of making this a Christmas card until I finished it, and noted that the colors were very much holiday colors. 

Isn't that fun? You have to look closely to see the three little silver embellishments but they are super shiny in real life. 

Here's the video:

Here are all the supplies I used today.

3D Embossing Folder [ HNB ] Peace Dies [ HNB ] Peace Stamps [ HNB ] Clear embossing powder [ HNB ] Embossing Ink [ HNB ] Watercolor [ HA ] Continuous Spray Mister [ AMZUS ] Cold Press Watercolor Paper [ BLIC ] Mixed Metallic embellishments [ HNB ]

What are you cooking? I'd love to hear!

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

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

VIDEO: Easy Faux Watercolor

*Compensated affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. No posts here are sponsored or paid.*

We need our sunlight back! It's been chilly and grey for about a week and I'm ready for this warmup they say is coming. Coinciding with the lack of light from the time change - OOF. However, I whipped out one of my very favorite recipes to match the winter energy that's out there - my homemade chicken pot pie. I've added that recipe to my Patreon cookbook if you are a member over there. It's the ultimate comfort food - and the filling is the world's best cream of chicken soup that you can just eat or use in other recipes. It would also make a fabulous tetrazzini! Mine is dairy free but I noted the dairy options.

Maddie update. The surgeon released her at two weeks, so I liberated her, but she instantly messed with her incision and is now back in the cone and on antibiotics 😭. Poor thing. I'll be glad when this is all over with.

To combat the gloom outside, I am bringing you a very colorful set of Christmas cards today with a faux watercolor technique that bubbled back up recently in this challenge. I'm doing a little different take on it so definitely check out their version as well. 

I treated each panel a different way as you will see but they were done on a single sheet of watercolor paper.

I used three trees from this stamp set, along with the little bird and his tracks. The faux watercolor helps make the trees recede a bit - one of those perspective tricks I love on cards. On the one with the bird you can really see how the sharpening focus towards the bird creates a foreground (bird), mid ground (green tree) and background (pink trees).

Here's the video! Enjoy!

Here are all the supplies I used today.

Tree stamps [ HA ] Fabriano Extra White Cold Press... [ BLIC ] White pigment ink [ HA ] Taffy Ink [ HA ] Root Beer Ink [ HA ] Splash Ink [ HA ] White Paint Marker [ BLIC ] Continuous Spray Mister [ AMZUS ] Precision Glue Press [ MSP ] Black MISTI [ MSP ]

I'll be back Wednesday with part one of two in a fun embossing series, so I'll see you then! 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

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

One to Remember!

*Compensated affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. No posts here are sponsored or paid.*

I don't know where November is going, but it always, every year, feels like there's just not enough time to enjoy Thanksgiving and Halloween, so I like to push pause every now and then. 

And my favorite way to push pause, as I did on a recent live, is to use Christmas/Winter stuff to make fall stuff and that's what I'm doing today.

I spent many an hour upstairs on a pile of blankets in our linen closet reading Peanuts books. We didn't have a TV during this period, so I never saw the movies, and honestly, once I did see them as an adult, I found them disappointing - as I do most movies that are made from books I loved. They just live so large in your head, that someone else's "vision" of them just never lines up. 

So to me, the Great Pumpkin narrative had a very different feel than the movie - it was such a special part of the entire Peanuts canon, I think.

So today, I turned a Christmas sweater die into a Charlie Brown shirt! I doubled up the little chevron, which is actually meant to go up on the shoulder portion of the sweater. I used these pumpkin dies, and cracked myself up when I found this sentiment lurking in my Airtable. We should never forget the Great Pumpkin!

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

Arkon Mounts -  - 20% off sitewide with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

Bujo/journaling supplies - 10% off with code UNDERSTANDBLUE

The Owl Did It! + Giveaway

*Compensated affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. No posts here are sponsored or paid.*

If you know me, you know I'm never going to pass up the opportunity to make a card supporting the owl theory. For those of you not deeply embedded in the true crime community, I'm referring to that sham of a documentary - the Staircase. It was obvious that that was an owl attack, unless you routinely happen to have a handful of owl feathers in your hand. I saw the feathers myself at CrimeCon! However, it's a very spirited debate among case followers and you are either solidly #teamowl or solidly not. 

You can tell by looking at the owl in the new Hero kit that he's SUPER sketchy and has plans! LOOK AT HIS SCARF. It's so obvious. 

I love the mail theme in this kit, murdering owls aside.

Here's what the full classic + premium kit looks like - so many dies! All the sentiments have dies. The little peekers in the premium kit are made for the sides of envelopes!

Anyway - if you want to hide from the murder owls, you can try going into your house, but you have to make sure you're not followed! I love the little ultra mod house add-on. I went with simple black & white because the image is so crisp, but I might do some colorful ones on this week's lives. The left panel is made with this geometric stencil and white ink.

Speaking of envelopes - the snowflake stencil AND this adorable layering house stencil were both designed for envelopes too! They leave an opening for the address block - people are definitely going to open your Christmas card first with one of these. I used this envelope and three green inks - it's a three step stencil.

Here are all the add-ons this month:

And back to my sneaky peeky! I cut the four little stamps with the dies and ink blended them with Summer Sky before adding the mice. See the little meta mouse lower left holding one of the squares like he's sitting on? I ink blended a stripe to match. Love that little airmail pattern you can use with them.

Of course there's a giveaway - you can see all the other inspiration HERE. 

Leave me a comment to be entered, and watch out for owls!!

Loveyameanitbye.

MMH November [ HA ] Get them all Add-Ons [ HA ] Winter Town [ HA ] Layering Neighborhood [ HA ] Frame Stencil [ HA ] Scrubber Block Pads. [ HA ] Lime Envelopes [ GNK ] Summer Sky | Hero Arts [ HA ] Hero Scrubber Block [ HA ] November Giveaway [ HA ]

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