VIDEO: Opacity / Luminosity Effect With Alcohol Ink and Embossing

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It has felt like Friday all day today! I wonder if we are time traveling when that happens. 

Speaking of time traveling - we have started rewatching X-Files. It's SO good - right from the beginning. I had forgotten how much affection I have for those characters. And I was SO excited to get an email telling me that Killing Eve is coming back! Loved that show. 

Other shows we've been watching are:

• A Murder at the End of the World
• 24 Hours in Police Custody (British crime docuseries)
• Wild Crime: Blood Mountain (A friend of mine was almost a victim of this man)
• Rewatching The Middle - honestly one of the best sitcoms ever - underrated.
• An Unknown Compelling Force (about Dyatlov Pass)
• Lost In The Wild: Hike Into Hell

We watch a bunch of food shows too and last night Chef John (Food Wishes) made these amazing coffee-flavored cinnamon rolls. Here's his video. Watch that and tell me that does not look incredible!

So I have a video for you today, and then, I did a BEAUTIFUL riff on this technique on my live today. If you are on Patreon - you can see the replay of it here. It has a different twist at the end that is so pretty. I'm not sure I'll post between now and New Year's but I will make the results into a card around then. 

Anyway, I LOVE this technique today - it's a technique I did many years ago with a few tweaks. It's absolutely stellar with this leaf embossing folder. Other things you will need are gesso, alcohol ink, double sided adhesive sheets, a super lightweight foil, a burnishing tool, a brayer, gold paint and I used this word die and blue glitter paper.

If you watch the video, you can come back and look closely at the background for the details I talk about.

Here are the supplies. 

3D Embossing Folder [ SPL ] Hello die [ HNB ] Ranger Ink - Tim Holtz - Adirondack... [ SBC ] Liquid Gesso [ BLIC ] Deep gold paint [ BLIC ] Precut foil [ AMZUS ] Speedball Soft Rubber Brayer - 6' [ BLIC ] Double sided adhesive sheets [ BLIC ] Scraper/Burnisher [ AMZUS ] Glitter Paper rainbow pack [ SBC ]

Here's the video! Have a very merry Christmas! 

Loveyameanitbye

CURRENT COUPON CODES

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

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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

Watercolor + Detailed Stamps

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Some of the earliest stamps I ever used are House Mouse stamps, and they are full of nostalgia for me. It's the children's book style of the illustrations, and the whole fantasy world they've built around the little critters through decades of designs that just charms me. 

My friend Kelli sent me a treasure trove of them recently and I have had so much fun looking through a lot of the classics. 

The two I'm using today have a theme and it's BRR. We are getting a cold front today and it's supposed to be super gusty and cold, so these seemed right. 

The first one is more autumn themed, but because of where I live, the few trees that get color (it's very rare here because we have mostly live oaks) turn right now. My dogwood tree's leaves are a brilliant red and blowing around the yard. 

So this adorable little image spoke to me. I watercolored it with Daniel Smith, leaving just a hint of a sky around them with Pthalo Blue Green Shade.

I reflected the leaf color a bit onto the stump - painting hte mice was very simple. Look at their sweet, squirrely faces. The cardbase is this super thick kraft paper I love.

The second one I think calls attention to this artist for a few reasons. The way the little mouse is wrapped in the part of the scarf that is finished, and the way the unfinished part is on her needles, while the yarn travels over to the ball makes me think this artist knows how to knit. The other thing is the way the yarn is drawn on the ball - I enhanced that by adding a dark blue, but look at how the yarn is wrapped  - it's incredibly accurate. There's nothing theoretical about this little scene, other than the fact that there's a mouse knitting - but for all I know - they do! 

Anyway - there's a LOT happening in these images and the detail just stuns me every time. This, too is watercolored.

I toyed with the idea of learning crochet this year - or should I say attempting to learn it again - but poof - the year is gone. Maybe next year. A lot of people I follow are self taught so maybe I can do it. We will see.

Have you learned a new craft this year? I BARELY started on pyrography, which I am going to learn more about this weekend.

Never enough time.

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

Don't Forget Yourself!

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What are you getting yourself for the holidays? Write your name down on that list, please. We have done no-gift Christmas for a long time, but that doesn't mean we haven't gotten things for the house, etc. 

This year, I'm treating myself to a few cooking related things. I went back and found first editions of cookbooks I love. Some cookbooks edit for food trends like low carb and low fat, and I wanted the originals of some that I loved, like this classic vegetarian cookbook from my homeland. I wish the revised edition contained the original plus the revisions, like my own recipe notes.

We also inherited this teeny tiny food processor (ours is from the 80s), and you would not believe how useful this thing is. If you're cooking for one or two people, a 16 cup behemoth is not going to work. I made mushroom pate in this the other day and it was to die for. Would not have worked at all in a regular sized one. 

So my card today is with this amazingly realistic die set to remind you to do just that! I threw all my best markers at it and it's really realistic!!

The dies have stellar - what I call - glue tabs. Little places on the dies for the adhesive to make them easier to assemble. What did I do before the glue press?

I cut the jewelry and the nail out of this blue glitter paper. The jewelry wraps around the wrist - so cool. There are two styles of nails - the "claw" style and the shorter one I used here. I just cannot get over how much this looks like a real hand after coloring. One tip - on the sleeve piece, which is its own die - the perfectly straight side goes on the inside of the wrist.

Don't Forget [ C&9 ] Rainbow Glitter Paper [ C&9 ] Precision Glue Press [ MSP ]

Leave me a comment with what you're treating yourself with this year!

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: Faux Stained Glass + New 8 Lesson Stencil Workshop Now Open!

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

Happy Wednesday! 

I'm finally getting around to releasing some of my private pandemic online classes, this many years later, so I wanted to let you know that one of my most popular workshops is now available in my classroom - my 8 class stencil workshop!

I've updated the supply list to include current products, as many of the ones I used in the private class have been discontinued, AND my friend Mary Kay was nice enough to even create a custom stencil for the workshop and it's gorgeous! (coupon on the supply list) Because this does not have a live or social component I have also lowered the price, so there's a win! 

I am also up on the Splitcoast tutorial page this week with - SQUIRRELS - you can see that here.

Today I have a new video for you on a super simple faux stained glass technique I think you'll love!

I'm using this gorgeous angel stamp again - I absolutely love this image - this is my second or third video with it. It was the perfect size for this hexi die that lends itself to this technique. The background of the card base is a clover shaped texture plate and I love the small sentiment. The markers are OLO Markers and I will walk you through every step of the coloring process in the video.

angel stamp [ HNB ] Piercing Plate Clover [ HNB ] Joyeux Noel [ HNB ] Copic Multiliner SP Pens | BLICK Art... [ BLIC ] Stretched Hexis [ SPL ]

Here's the video:

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

Loveyameanitbye.

Easy Garden Journal + Giveaway

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

Happy Monday! I spent the weekend wondering where the base of my turquoise Christmas tree went. I have the three legs, but not the center! So we had to DIY a new stand and now it's very festive in here, even without ornaments. I also gave away a bunch of stuff on Buy Nothing - the crafters in our group are going to make out like bandits this week. For example - I no longer use the 11x17 grid paper pads I used to use for classes, etc. and I had SO many pads of them. It never struck me until I went to give these away how very sustainable my glass mat is. I spent a TON on those pads and the insane shipping cost of them because of their size. So that felt good to clear out some space and make some art teachers & moms happy. 

I also re-painted our curb numbers this weekend. A few notes here. First - this service has gotten so expensive. When we moved here I think it was around $15, and usually done by a kid, which is always money well spent, in my opinion. Now it seems to be companies that come around and do it and it's $100! That's just way too much, so I decided to use my craft skills once again, because earlier this year, I restored our cast concrete house number by repainting the recessed letters black again - they had completely disappeared. The curb was more challenging, because it's a curved, rough surface. So here are my tips. These letters are modular with little tabs, so you put your address together and then tape it to form a single stencil. This tape works great, but you need to mask off outside the tape with packing paper because spray paint does what spray paint wants. I used this white and this black, and holy cow the coverage was great. I put double sided tape on the back of the stencil to try to hold it to the curb, and that definitely helped, but you will still need to put a glove on and press the number stencil tight and flat to the curb for a nice crisp number. I'd also recommend gathering a few rocks to hold the packing paper down on the grass and in the gutter while you work. Also if your knees are only 20 years old, that will probably help as well. 😂 But they look great now and I'm so glad I did it. I'm passing the stencils and paint around my Buy Nothing group for a while too - you don't use much paint, and you want to use spray paint while it's fresh, so share!

This card from this month's Hero Arts kit and release is probably what put the curb painting idea in my head, because the die reminds me of the big bold stencils. Wait until you see all the cute ideas people have with this die. I used the fine tip applicator with white ink to create cinema style dots on the U, and then added a modular sentiment from this add-on set.

Here's what the full premium kit looks like. I think this would be fun for kids. You can see the applicator I used and the inks.

I'm REALLY excited about the next project - there's a whole planner series in this release, and it was time for me to make next year's garden journal, so the timing was PERFECT. I use a garden journal to record what days different plants bloom and come back from winter. This has been invaluable to me in our last two catastrophic storms, because, like everyone else, my urge was to dig up what looked like dead plants and plant again. BUT I got some great advice from our local gardening expert to wait until in some instances - June - because the plants will come back and they will be even hardier if you let them return. They were right!! So by the second storm, I had already learned patience, and started to journal so I knew what to expect, and how long to give different plants. My garden is thriving as a result, so every year I make a new journal. 

This one is a simple one that uses a tape binding, but if you want to make your own, I have a handmade journal class you can learn bookbinding skills in to make journals of any size.

For this one, for the pages, I covered index cards with music paper someone was giving away on my Buy Nothing group. I hinged then with translucent washi tape. Then I created the covers using this stunning cork fabric that has little copper flecks in it - this comes in various colors and it's so soft and beautiful. I used this decorative die to cut the element on the cover and layered it on Pitch Black cardstock so it was dimensional. I used the Months stamps to stamp on gel prints and glued them as titles on each page. I then painted the edges of each page with gold metallic ink from the kit, and also painted little faux tape on the page titles with the same paint. It's so cute and a great size for my gardening apron pocket, which always has a pen, a journal and pecans for the squirrels in it 😍

Finally - here is yesterday's sneaky peeky of the kit. I used infusions with embossing ink for the numbers, then sprayed them and wiped them with a baby wipe. 

Here are what the add-ons look like this month - planner peeps rejoice! You can click any of the images to see the larger photos on the site.

Ready for more inspiration and a giveaway? Leave a comment here and at every stop on the hop to be entered to win a $50 gift card at Hero. Enter by December 10th.

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

The easiest way to navigate the list is from the first stop on the hop, or you can use my list below. 

 *easiest list* Hero Arts *easiest list*

Natasha Vacca

 💙 Lydia Fiedler 💙

Heather Ruwe

Seeka

Jeannie Lieu

Jennifer Kotas

Karen Brown

Pocono Pam

Channin Pelletier

Michelle Short

Rosie Lopez

Mindy Eggen

Natasha Polite

Charlene Madrid

Ilina Crouse

Rachel Kleinman

Essie

Kelly Taylor

Emily Midgett

Loveyameanitbye.

It's Just a Number! (Sneak Peek)

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

I saw the funniest post on Facebook this week, and I made a card about it. 

The post was this one. OHHH those lucky punks. My response was that I haven't known how old I am for a long time, and I'm just too tired to do the math, so I don't. Maybe I'll figure it out the next time the ending year matches my birth year. But also maybe not. 

So that is what inspired today's little sneak peek of the new Hero kit, which I'll show you on Monday.

This will give you a small hint at the theme, but I bet you won't guess it! What I will say is that the timing is perfect for you to do some important things for the new year. I used the numbers for a "it's just a number" themed birthday card, by adding random numbers so it will work for any birthday.

I used the Premium kit for this card - with accents from infusions and gold pearls.

If you want to see if more is revealed about the theme, you can see more inspiration on the Hero blog today.

Do you know how old you are? Or are you tired of doing the math?

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

Three Months To Go!

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

I'm REALLY hoping we don't have a catastrophic winter storm. I just can't do that three years in a row. So this morning, when I was trying to decide if I should disturb Maddie and get up (she sleeps on me), I realized that it's only 90 days until we are out of the woods. The latest we've had a paralyzing winter storm was February, and that's really not that far off. Since El Nino made for a milder hurricane season, maybe it will bring Texas a much needed break. We can hope. 

So I'm going to manifest that with some spring cards today, and revisit my own recent videos for inspiration.

First up is this beautiful embossing folder, that features a flat heart shape in the center for your sentiment. I used the process in this video for this background.

For this second one, I used the same embossing folder on the foreground and the background, because - can you ever have too many floral patterns? I think not! The swoopy little die is from this set. The colored portion was made with the same process above.

This cute, sort of French feeling die set has a swinging element - the little girl swings back and forth, like my little mariachis. I did it all in blue Distress Oxides and then splattered it with raindrops!

The last one isn't techniquey at all - just a cute layering stencil with the color combo that grabbed me in 2001 and still has a firm grip on me! I used the same swoopy dies as above.

For the last one, I used a regular embossing folder, and the same technique from the first card, but on the FLAT side of the embossed paper, if that makes sense, with yellow ink. 

Hope you have a great weekend, with no crazy weather!

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: 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

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

Hope you are happy we are halfway through this week!

Loveyameanitbye.