The Wonder of Christmas

I have a card for you today for two different challenges, but first I wanted to tell you why I chose the sentiment I did.

I am very nervous about this hurricane approaching Florida today. I have lots of friends in the area where the hurricane is expected to make landfall and I'm terrified for them and their pets and their property. Just the fear they will experience while things slam into their shuttered homes at 140 miles an hour makes my heart hurt for them. I know I, and my animals, would be freaking out.

While we will all pray for their safety, there is something else to think about. I've heard lots of stories of people helping each other board up their houses, do all those things that increase your chances of living through such a thing. Imagine if you live alone, or you're in any way mobility challenged, trying to get heavy metal storm shutters up, moving your patio furniture somewhere where it won't be a projectile, all while frantically shopping, getting gas, filling up containers with water, and generally panicking. You really would depend on the kindness of friends and neighbors literally for your life.

My friend Kat said that times like these bring out the best in people. Her neighbor - a firefighter, came over and helped them shutter their French doors and she was so grateful.

Wouldn't it be just fabulous if we were always doing things like that and not just when we are worried it's your last few days on earth? That's something to work towards.

And that's why I chose the sentiment I chose today. I'm worrying with all of you! I hope the news is good a few days from now, or a superhero flies up into the storm and turns it around.

LINKS TO SUPPLIES

InLinkz.com

This card is for two different challenges - tomorrow's Mix-Ability challenge by Anna Wight at Splitcoast. Since I'm blogging it early for 3,000 complicated reasons, I can't tell you what the challenge is - you'll have to peek at it in the morning here.

It's also for Lori McAree's Falliday Fest challenge on the 21st.

To make this card, I just cut a triangle of watercolor paper, and applied Rainbow Tape to it (I used the Crepe White in 1/8" and 1/16") to mimic garlands. Then I used some postbox red acrylic paint to cover everything, and rubbed on some InkaGold to highlight the texture. I used turquoise Schmincke watercolor to make a wash on another piece of watercolor paper, matted that with Poppy Parade (retired) and put that on a white card base. I love that poppy red with aqua. Such a great combo.

On my favorite things list this month is the following items. I've been meaning to tell you about these, but keep forgetting.

• These amazing pantry storage containers. I love them - the lids come totally apart for cleaning, drying. They are stackable and see-through. My old containers were those round ceramic canisters - and that just leads to wasted space and mystery. These are worth every penny.  
• This apple cake recipe. I don't eat much cake, but this one is FANTASTIC, with or without the icing. 
• This graph paper - it is reinforced, can go in a notebook and is perfect for zentangling. It is at a crazy great price right now.
• This password book - I finally found one with enough space per letter for my 80 billion websites. I use these erasable pens because I'm a frequent password changer. FYI - the clickable versions of these are not as good. Get the ones I linked with the caps. I don't know if the clickable ones dry out or what, but they're not nearly the same. 
• This Family Cookbook site - I'm intrigued. So you can work on your family recipes and have a custom cookbook. Wouldn't that make a great Christmas gift? When my schedule slows down, I'm going to make one. Personal cookbooks are free, so if you just want a place to collect your recipes, this is cool!
• Do you have little kittiots that play fight and sometimes scratch each other? You can keep that from turning into a $300 vet visit with this amazing antiseptic - my friend Rebecca (in the path of the hurricane as I type) told me about this and it's been a lifesaver. Sometimes a little scratch turns into a really bad thing on a kitty and I have had no issues since I've started using this. I just spray it on a cottonball and wipe it on the scratch for a few days until it starts to get better. 
• This Project Life kit - it makes GORGEOUS cards. Gorgeous. 

If you are in harm's way today - I doubt you're reading blogs - but I'm thinking about you! Please make sure you keep tennis shoes on - that's my best tip from tornado country - most people are seriously injured walking over debris AFTER a storm because they were barefoot or in flip flops. And help your neighbors if you can!

Loveyameanitbye.

 

Cuttlelola GO!

At my retreat, as you know, we all got bitten by the Pokemon Go! bug HARD. It's SUCH a fun game, and I love that suddenly I now see - wait for it - LIVE HUMAN CHILDREN OUTSIDE.

Prior to this game, it would have been impossible to detect the presence of any children within a ten mile radius of my house. Since the game launched, I have discovered that my neighborhood does, in fact, have some live young in it, and they have now discovered the OUTDOORS.

It's so strange to me that kids here never go outside, and so different from my childhood experience. I worry about their imaginations and their vitamin D levels and their lack of contact with animals. Our days were filled with lizards and snakes and ants and all manner of wildlife. I could have done without the hot water we drank from the hose, but other than that, pretty much all we knew as kids was outside, and it was delightful. I still don't consider a day to be well spent if I haven't had a walk.

On my daily walks I NEVER saw kids and teens on the trails - now the trails are full of the Pokemon hunters - and I love it.

Bravo, Nintendo. The perfect blend of today's technology and the real world. Someone in that company has a lot of soul, a lot of brains, and now, a LOT of money.

Before you get the urge to fun-squash by coming up with a story about how someone fell off a cliff playing Pokemon - stifle yourself. There were stupid people prior to this game. Shoot - I see a woman on Mopac - our expressway - SEVERAL times a week, eating soup while she drives. Just like Facebook and beer don't make you stupid, Pokemon doesn't make you stupid. These people were stupid before they downloaded the app. Now they're just famous and stupid.

You know what's not stupid? Any new technology that brings us together and gives us common interests - across every sort of cultural or temporal divide there is. That is truly the wonder and value of things like this game. People who are quick to write off or criticize these unifying fads, whether serious or silly, are missing the opportunity to find joy in unexpected places, and I think everyone can agree that the world could do with a bit more joy and wonder. 

So try looking for Pikachu and just see if you don't find a little more.

Speaking of technology - I am in love with my newest toy - an early birthday present I bought for myself, along with an art journaling class that I'm LOVING. More on that one later.

But the toy is the Cuttlelola Dots pen. It's basically an electric pointillism machine! And I LOVE stippling/pointillism, but on large projects it can be time consuming and a bit fatiguing.

So I was THRILLED to run across this little wonder and it jumped instantly into my cart. I tried it out for the very first time on this card and filmed the process, so you will see in the video how easy it is to use right out of the box. Check out this stippled version of a rose I did with it.

It's just a thicker pen body, with a little lithium battery inside that powers the stippling motion of the pen. Incredible! Just press the little button (mine is blue, not red), and you're off to the races!

I used the ArtOGraph light box and an image stamped from Rose Wonder to trace the image with the Dots Pen. To finish it off, I used the Hero Arts prayers die for the sentiment for a friend who lost her mother recently.

SO easy and fun and it just took a few minutes - it would have taken me forever manually. When I showed the etched and Zentangled Blended Bloom samples at Convention a few years ago, I had done a stippled version, and just had to show the finished card because it took so long to do by hand. You can see the video on those samples here, and here is my video showing my first time with the Cuttlelola.

I hope you enjoy that - this is quickly becoming an obsession.

So go outside with what's left of the weekend and meet your fellow Pokemon Players. Enjoy the little things. Life is too short to be a fun squasher!

Loveyameanitbye.

Bridge May Ice In Cold Weather - and My MISTI Winner!

Suddenly all over my swelteringly hot Texas city, signs have been popping up, saying Bridge May Ice In Cold Weather.

A few observations.

Back in the old days, people knew that cold weather - strangely enough, seemingly ALWAYS below 32 degrees - produced ice.

I'm quite sure my grandfathers didn't need to be told that bridges would ice in cold weather.

Apparently we are far removed from this knowledge now. We've forgotten. We need signs to tell us it's cold outside and water freezes, quite predictably, at the same temperature since forever.

And while I understand that we live in a warm place, we are not STUPID. We still understand that cold weather freezes things. At least some of us do. (The obvious exception here is politicians.)

NOT THAT ANYONE GOES OUTSIDE WHEN IT'S COLD HERE.

That's even more baffling - who the heck is going to SEE these signs? Foreigners? No native Texans will see them. We will be cowering inside with our hoarded milk and bread, binge watching Breaking Bad if the temperature falls below 70.

I just find it insulting to drive past these things with my AC at full blast, knowing that some state senator's brother-in-law owns a sign company, and is sitting on a beach somewhere while I commute past his stupid signs, sweating and wearing sunglasses, and forfeiting 70% of my income to fund their boat drinks.

I'm onto you, bro. I'm watching.

I joined a Pocket Letters swap on Splitcoast last week. Have you heard of these? They are ATC swaps, where you end up with a 9 pocket page filled with ATCs or other art. This is the brainchild of Janette Lane - a beautiful girl with a big idea.

One of my teammates - Ceal Pritchett - and I are both teaching technique series classes right now, and using some Project Life Pockets to keep the technique swatches in, and so this week I've been very pocket obsessed.

So I decided to try out the We R Memory Keepers Fuse Tool to make my own pocket page for this swap - I needed 9 pockets, and my Project Life pages weren't big enough - so I DIY'ed with a page protector (These are my favorites - heavy weight and very clear).

EASY AS PIE.

I love this thing and am about to start fusing everything in my path. I saw this in action at a class in January and just now ordered it and played with it - what was I thinking??? I'm always late to the party. But I do stay late. :)

It's seriously so fun and easy. We sell our Project Life pages in multi-packs, but now I can change the size and shape of those pockets to fit my technique class needs and I am STOKED.

You can get the tool - which is pretty inexpensive - here.

So before you watch the video with a demo of this tool, here is the ATC I'm swapping.

And here's a closeup of the shimmer, that you can't see in the main pic.

That's gold and clear Wink of Stella.

Sparkly, eh? That beautiful image, thankfully, carried over to the new catalog - it's called For All Things.  Here's the rest of it.

So here's the video on the fuse tool. Before you watch though, a few important notes.

• I'm within striking distance of earning my first trip ever with Stampin' Up! and I'm really hoping I can make it. If you enjoy my blog and have gotten $10 worth of value from me, would you consider placing a $10 order with me? You can do that here. If you use hostess code EDU9X7MK when you place your order, you will be entered into a drawing for all the new In Color Ink Pads, the refills and the assorted cardstock. Thank you! (You will be asked for the code after you add products to your shopping bag and click to view your bag.)
• I have a winner for the MISTI giveaway! Thank you to everyone who suggested techniques in your comments - I will try hard to bring you those techniques this year. I really loved your answers and read them all - the winner is below. 
• My Convention Retreat registration is open - space is limited, so register quickly to ensure a spot - you will see the link below my header or click here.
• Please watch this important video on how cats help mock you while you exercise This could save lives.  
• I made an awesome dinner tonight. Both recipes were new to me. See them below. Delicious and low carb and gluten-free and sustainable and low carbon footprint and pro-Yeti and BPA-free, dolphin friendly, sweatshop-free, local, organic, whole trade and all that jazz. 
• Please, whatever you are doing, stop and watch the documentary 20 Feet From Stardom. It's a fantastic story about shining your light wherever you are on earth - told by the backup singers of all of your favorite bands. The music is amazing, but the women - they are fierce. It was very inspiring and a great lesson about what a spotlight really means. It's on Netflix. 
• If you're done with that movie -  - please listen to or read the book, Still Alice. A beloved friend recommended this to me, and it's amazing. If you know anyone who has a friend or family member who has experienced having a loved one with Alzheimer's disease - or even if you haven't, and you're worried that forgetting where you put your car keys means you're coming down with it, I think this book will really be an eye opener. It reminds me of Oliver Sacks' books. Very well told story.

Okay - so first the recipes. I started with this Lemon Butter Chicken recipe. I tweaked a few things - the original wasn't very lemony at all, and was a little too fatty, so I messed with it, and my version is below.

• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• Real Salt (the best salt in the world) and ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 3/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup organic chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 4 TBS fresh thyme (Please grow this - also perennial and very low maintenance)
• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (This is NOT the temperature that freezes bridges, FYI)
• Season chicken thighs with paprika, salt and pepper, to taste.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof skillet or Le Creuset over medium high heat. Add chicken, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.
• If needed, add butter in the skillet (I didn't need to). Add garlic, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in chicken broth, heavy cream, Parmesan, lemon juice and thyme.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until the sauce has slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet.
• Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, about 25-30 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

I served this with spaghetti squash "hash browns".

• Cook a whole spaghetti squash in the oven at 350 until it's soft. Stab it a few times before cooking. This lets out any unnecessary aggressions brought on by politicians. I cook it on a cookie sheet. 
• When soft to the touch and slightly brown on the outside, cut it in half and let it cool. Scoop out the gross squishy part around the seeds and also the seeds. Then separate into "spaghetti" with a fork, and put on paper towels to cool and drain. 
• Squish cooled squash between dry paper towels until all excess moisture is removed. This takes a while - be patient. Roughly chop it. No finesse needed. 
• Mix in chopped fresh chives (I grow my own - they are easy to grow, perennial and delicious), salt, pepper and parmesan cheese as desired. Be sparing with the salt if you use the cheese - I love salt but these don't need much. 
• Form into thin patties with your hands - the thinner the better. 
• Fry until crisp in a skillet with oil of your choosing (I use Whole Foods' Safflower oil because it's one of the few that comes in glass)
•  - they are delicious if you let them get browned and crispy. I bet they'd have been even better with a bit of sour cream, greek yogurt or creme fraiche on top.
• Whisper my name.

READY FOR THE WINNER OF THE MISTI PACKAGE????

Here's who my magic random drawing machine selected!

LeAnne - please use the "email me" link on the sidebar to email me your mailing address and Iliana will ship you the most amazing stamping tool in the world. :)

Thank you all for your kind comments and your input on what you'd like to learn - I will consider this my to do list for 2015 and try to touch on all the things you mentioned. 

So anyhoo - here is my video of the Fuse tool and my ATC for the swap. Hope you enjoy it. 

Loveyameanitbye.

MISTY with the MISTI #heh

I went to bed at 8 last night. I don't know why - but I was wiped out.

I'm a sleep camel. I don't need much sleep really - 6 hours a night is plenty. But I do need that. And if I go a little short for a week or so, I have a point at which I collapse like a fainting goat. A good night of 10 hours and I'm back to normal. Last night was that night. As much as I wanted to finish Dr. Who, I could not. It was fainting goat city. Then SOMEONE, whose name rhymes with BLOTCHY decided to sing the song of his people at about 6 and ended my restorative slumber.

I decided a breakfast taco would ease re-entry so I headed out in the morning, and this is what I saw.

It was spooky.

We don't get fog often, and so people really don't know what to do with themselves when it looks like this. There was a lot of unnecessary stopping and brake tapping coming between me and my taco.

But I prevailed.

I drove in it for so long that it started to look like art to me, so I thought I'd try to re-create it post-taco.

It was surprisingly easy and fun, and I have a little tip for you for the MISTI in the video below. But here's the card. It uses Lovely as a Tree, Mossy Meadow, Baked Brown Sugar and Coastal Cabana Ink, the MISTI, and Golden Fluid Acrylic - Titanium White.

Now I learned a few things. Your base colors need to be more saturated than you think if you want any color in the final result.

You need to clean your hands. As you'll see in the video I got paint all OVER the place. Oh well. It is what it is. :)

Here are a few cool and/or funny things I saw this week, before the fog rolled in.

• I met a sweet friend and her daughter at Mandola's for some stamping on Thursday, and while I waited for them to arrive, I saw the most beautiful baby girl who was SUPER outgoing and smiling at me. When they got ready to leave, I noticed that she had been attached to her chair by this super comfy, easy baby harness thing! It was SO much better than those gross restaurant boosters with seat belts, and much less germy I'm sure. I asked her mom about it, and she said it was this. I thought it was genius. 
• This man is totally blind and paints beautiful paintings by touch. So cool. 
• This amazingly confident young lady painted Starry Night on a second-hand dress and wore it to prom. Love. 
• This lady transforms grotesque (and in my opinion, offensive) dolls into beautiful ones with a little paint. 
• This cat does not value your opinion. 

Here's the Foggy Day card video - enjoy.

Loveyameanitbye

Micro-Shopping

I thought it would be fun to talk about some of my favorite small businesses that you could shop with this year for fun, unique gifts, which help a real human being I know personally prosper.

I remember many years ago when Sandy - at that time the owner of Stamp Salado (Central Texas' last independent stamp store, sadly) - was passionately explaining to a group of people taking a class in her store the benefit of $1 spent locally versus $1 spent at a chain store. Then last year, I heard +Alton Brown speak in Austin about how you should pay for your groceries with $1 bills, and look at each dollar as a vote for the things you are buying. Are you voting for food from China or food from America? Are you voting for products which have a label detailing country of origin of each step of the process, or are you voting for food that says "distributed by" and that's it?

I do consider every dollar a vote, and especially when it comes to buying gifts at this or any other time of the year. I know what a dollar to a local artist means because - well, I AM a local artist and I know how awesome it is when people vote for me with their dollars. :)

On average, $1 spent locally returns about 4 times as much to the local economy as $1 spent in a national chain does.

So this holiday season and in 2015, consider shopping with some of my fave independents - I know all these people - not all are in Austin, but all offer online shopping. These are truly some of my favorite things.

• Confituras - locally produced jams, flavored salts and preserves.
• Love Bean Fudge - I don't even really like chocolate, but this stuff is like crack. It's what Nutella wishes it was. It's not really fudge in the traditional sense - it's more like a chocolate spread. My favorite is the coconut.
• Keith Kreeger Porcelain - beautiful, beautiful stuff. I go see Keith every chance I get at local shows.
• T. Marie's Toffee - I told her that she needs a new word for this stuff because it's not like any toffee I've ever had. It's light and crunchy and unbelievably perfect. I have sent this to my co-workers in California and to the demonstrator support team at Stampin' Up! and they can all back me up on its amazeballness.
• Kreativlink - the most beautiful handmade journals I've ever seen in my life - I have four of them. Renate does incredible work and is such a sweet human being. 
• Patti Backer art - Patti is one of a small circle of beloved humans that I "met" on Twitter and later got to meet in real life. Her whimsical art just makes me smile and I have several of her paintings hanging in my studio. She and her husband are such sweet people, and you could not patronize a nicer artist, I promise. 
• Miles of Chocolate - Again - I'm not a chocolate fan, but this local food artist produces something that is like a cross between a brownie and an angel. Trust me. You need this in your life.
• Sunny Carvalho - Another artist whose work hangs in my studio, Sunny has a fun, silly style that's edged with a little darkness. Something about her style reminds me of Edward Gorey and I just love her. When you see her work up close, the detail is astonishing. Add that to the fact that she sings and dances while she paints and you have a charming combo. I love her line of rubber stamps as well. Here's her Etsy shop, and you can see her paintings and buy them from her through her Facebook page.
• Fairbanks Fancy Goods - the artist is Julie Vician - again a sweet person and a talented seamstress. Since I can't sew a lick, I like to leave the pillow making and whatnot to Julie.
• The Stitch Lab - I cannot recommend this small business enough. The owner, Leslie Bonnell, is an incredibly talented, funny and gracious lady and a real Austin original. I first met Leslie on some sort of studio crawl years ago, when she was operating the Stitch Lab out of her home. At that time, she was teamed up with Jody Haller, who opened the The Furry Godmothers and became my pet sitter for our kitty Spot. The Furry Godmothers no longer work in my zip code, but maybe they work in yours!
• Speaking of pet sitters, a friend and former co-worker of mine (I've known her for nearly all of her life - she's the daughter of a good friend of mine) operates Paws and More pet sitting here in Austin. If there's anyone you would trust with your furry critters, it would be Allison! She loves animals and has a kind heart.
• Blue Bridal Boutique - owned by my sweet friend (and former employee) Ruthie - is Austin's favorite bridal store! Her goal was to provide an affordable option for Austin's brides after several years of wedding planning, and her boutique is beautiful, as is she, inside and out.

So there you go - spend a few of your "votes" on some local people and make them count!

Now today is Friday, so it's the Mix-Ability challenge on Splitcoast, and Dina's challenge is SO creative! Perfect for our ONE HUNDREDTH mixed media challenge! Her challenge is to choose one color from each ring of her color wheel - a shade, a hue and a tint. I thought a fun way to do that would be with sponging through a stencil, because I can both layer different colors and layer the same colors to achieve different intensities. My colors are yellow (tint), orange (hue) and red (shade).

I used the Fade Horizontal stencil from Green Pepper Press and +Jennifer McGuire's masked tree technique with low tack tape. The greeting is from Christmas Bliss. A little bling and poof! :)

You know what Christmas bliss is? Not having to venture into a store! :) Since we did the handmade/re-gift Christmas we were all free of the shopping burden and there were some VERY cool gifts given. There were re-gifted books and DVDs - a delight! My sister made candied ginger for everyone, as well as a little packet with both herbs (rosemary and sage) from her garden, as well as a few little acid oranges off her tree. My nephew did this hilarious glitter painting for his mom that looked like a four year old did it (he's in graduate school). My nephew's girlfriend made us all homemade laundry detergent and homemade dish detergent (pictured below) that smells SO amazing. She also made these little Ball jar sewing kits with a pincushion built into the top. Too cute. My brother, who is a photographer, made all of us photo mugs with photos he'd taken of us at family gatherings over the years - my dad's is below. My mom re-gifted some awesome crafty stuff to us - a Xyron for me, an Anna Griffin Cuttlebug to my sis.

Here are a few pics of other fun items from the day.

I got the Book of Poisons - MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Just for writing purposes, of course. Heh.

My sister in law made chocolate covered candied bacon - it was amazing.

 My sister made homemade cat toys out of paper towel rolls that my cats went NUTS over. All cat owners received these.

 Here's the mug my brother made for my dad.

 This was Amber's natural laundry soap - I wish you could smell this. I'm a HUGE homemade soap fan, but I've only made the boring kind that smells like Dial. Hers smells incredible and it's so finely powdered.

I forgot to take pictures of the gifts I gave, but they included homemade Alton Brown fruitcakes for everyone, which have been sprayed daily with brandy for the last two weeks, Love Bean Fudge single serving packets from my pantry (linked in my list above), packets of True Lemon, True Lime, True Orange and True Grapefruit for everyone. I love this stuff and had bought a big variety pack of little packets of them this summer because I love them in tea. My sister-in-law does medical work in Haiti and said these would come in handy. I painted a little cactus watercolor for my niece's boyfriend who lives in West Texas, a sunflower painting for my niece, a pear painting for my parents, and also re-gifted some books and DVDs.

There were tools, pots and pans - other fun re-gifts that were fantastic too.

It was SO much fun and I highly recommend doing Christmas this way. Even people who don't *think* they are creative get pretty darn creative during these events and I love the uniqueness of each gift.

Thanks +Jenn Nahrstadt for suggesting that I list these out - it was fun!

Hope you had a great Christmas and have a little break between now and 2015.

Loveyameanitbye.

Do More of What Makes You Happy

This Christmas, we are reviving the best Christmas we ever had at my parents' house - the all handmade or re-gifted Christmas. What was cool about this event was that NO ONE had to venture into a store in December. We had more time to bake, to do our Christmas cards and to just RELAX in December.  Unheard of, right? The only gifts that were allowed were either handmade or they had to be something in your house you were re-gifting. This resulted in some HILARIOUS gifts, believe me.     

We then fell off the wagon for a few years, but now it's back and I'm really looking forward to what everyone comes up with.

I have a pretty crafty family, so this can be a challenge, but luckily, my friends at Uncommon Goods are enabling me this year, by sending me a few things I am quite sure are going to make you squeal. I squealed. So here goes the Christmas 2014 edition of the Blue List.

The first one might be our Christmas family craft, because it's so easy and portable and fun - it's their Hedgehog Needle Felting Kit.

O
M
G.

First of all, if there's any craft I l can truly say I love as much as stamping, it's needle felting. Maybe that's why I always say that things make me stabby - heh. It's a very zen-inducing process - repetitive motion, forgiving medium, tactile - and one that is as close to sculpture as I'll ever get.

Felting is like magic. The wool (in this kit it's from New Zealand and is so soft and beautiful) WANTS to stick together, and jabbing it with a needle grants that wish. I really enjoy "free felting" where I hold a little ball of wool in one hand and hold the needle in the other. I hold the needle like this - with just a tiny bit extending past my pinkie finger so that I know how deeply the needle is going into the wool ball and I won't accidentally jab myself.

 However, I don't recommend this for beginners, because you will definitely stab yourself and be mad at me. Try it after you have a little experience.

The instructions in the hedgehog kit are exactly what beginners need to use - placing the felt on a soft surface, like a pillow, or, what I did when I was working on the tiny pieces like the ears and noses - a kitchen sponge.


Speaking of instructions - they are fantastic. You do not need to have experience felting to make these cuties with the awesome step-by-step photos. It's quite the opposite of Ikea furniture. (Just bracing for December 23rd when my computer desk arrives. #twitch)

Now I don't usually present graphic content on my blog, but I thought you'd like to know how a cute felted hedgehog has a baby!

Ready?

I know - it's weird that they are born without their ears and eyes - but hey - I'm not The Master.

Heh.

 

 

The kit is a grand total of $17. I have no clue how you get this gorgeous wool here from New Zealand and package it up in an adorable Chinese takeout box with needles and beads and perfect full-color instructions for $17, but mine is not to reason why, mine is just to felt - OH MY!

There's OODLES of wool left over after making this momma hedgie and her baby - the kit says it makes two, but it makes much more than that! The mom is 3" long and 1.5" wide and baby is 1.5" by .5". Oh - and the beads are for the eyes, but I decided to felt my eyes.

Now while you're felting, you'll need to have some nice hot tea. Depending on what time of day it is, I recommend a London Fog (Republic of Tea Earl Greyer tea steeped in milk with sugar and vanilla) or a soothing cup of Tazo Rest, which I love. But there's no buzzkill like having your tea tag slither off the side of your cup and land in your hot tea, making the whole thing taste like an old library book.

So, I present to you a perfect, perfect tea cup. Yepper - it holds the tea bag for you so you are free to felt.

BOOM. Problem solved.

And finally, they sent me one of the most beautiful things I've ever laid eyes on - a Lumen shadow projector.

If I had had one of these when I was a kid I probably wouldn't have left my room.

First of all, they are made in Brooklyn, and mine - the Nest design - is so beautifully and perfectly made. It comes with two oil bottles, which surprised me. The wicks are pre-fed so you just pop off the childproof cap with a screwdriver and light it.


I played with different distances from the wall for different looks.

This is going to be on all the time in my remodeled studio, should it ever be completed. You'll notice the disassembled card catalog base the projector is sitting on. :D Keeping it real over here.

The oil is unscented (thank you!) and I truly cannot describe how magical this little projector is. I think my next one will be the Pine design for my guest bath.


I've loved Uncommon since I found them, because I know if I buy a gift there, it will be something no one else will get - gee, I wonder where they got the name? - and my absolute favorite thing about the site is that I can filter my search results just to see products made in the USA, and you all know how strongly I feel about that. They also have a zillion products made in OTC countries (Other Than China).  Here are some of my other faves from their site - these are all from their under $50 section:

• These cedar thumb pianos. Seriously - thumb pianos. Pianos for your thumbs. Handmade in Georgia.
• Pop-up postcard gardens called Postcardens. Made in Wales. 
• Who in their right mind does not need to occasionally transform themselves into a unicorn? Made in Brooklyn. 

I wish I had seen this fun gift before my neighbor's daughter's bridal shower - I would have loved to have given her this wishing ball. Super cool idea - made in Rhode Island. See more of their Christmas gifts here and stocking stuffer here.

Life is short. Do fun things, like making felted hedgehogs and wearing unicorn horns.

OH - and open your pre-order and play with it. Then enable other people to hedgies and teacups and projectors and stamps.

Below is a sneak peek from both Sale-A-Bration and the Occasions Mini catalog. If you need one or want to come to my spring classes with these goodies, let me know!

This one features the stamp we all screamed about during the catalog premiere. It's called Lotus Blossom and is a three-step stamp, only available during SAB. I used Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point and Basic Black. Then I added a greeting from Hello Life (Occasions) and embossed it in gold.

It's great advice, really.

Here - you better have another look at the hedgies before you go just so that I know you really are doing things that make you happy. I'm always thinking about you.

Loveyameanitbye.

The Effect of Time Changes on Mixed Media and Refried Beans

Just to follow up on my last post, time changes are still stupid.

 Here's a video illustrating my point:



So if you are suffering from the after-effects of this stupidity, as am I, then I have some things to make you feel better!

Instacart - which has changed my life. Grocery delivery from HEB, Whole Foods, Central Market and Costco - yes, Costco - within two hours for a TINY fee! This has revolutionized my productivity! I'm kind of a daily shopper because I like to get meat and veggies the day I'm going to cook them, and so I used to spend a lot of time hoofing it to the store. Never again! These people are amazing - their website and app are incredible, their drivers are awesome and I am convinced it's saving me a ton of money because I only order what I *need* to cook, and do zero impulse buying. I hope it's in your area - now or soon, because it is GLORIOUS. Every day I give silent thanks to my friend who recommended this to me.

Virtual Stamp Night - Mini Edition starts tonight! The theme is Frozen - whee!! I'm looking forward to a Friday night where I can just stamp. Come join us!


Holiday Tutorial Blitz starts Sunday on Splitcoast! This is a week where we give you a new tutorial every day to prep you for holiday cardmaking and gift giving. Since I've seen the tutorials, I know what amazement is in store for you! Sign up for notifications of each new tutorial here.

I just found the most DELICIOUS American dates!! They are Del Real dates, and I found them in the chilled produce section. Organic and grown in California.

Dina Wakley has a new book out - Art Journal Courage. Just ordered it, because I'm DETERMINED to make 2015 the year of the art journal up in here!

Also, today, I'm making my millionth attempt at the perfect refried beans. While simple and beautiful, refried beans are also elusive and mysterious beans. They are like the unicorn of beans. The correct balance of salt, fat, water - it's a lifelong pursuit. So I try again. Pray for me. And for my beans. I'm loosely following this recipe. If the beans are a religious experience, I'll share my modifications. 

Finally, it's Friday, so that means the Mix-Ability challenge is up. I was excited to see that Ky chose one of my fave artists everrrrrrr - France Papillon - as the challenge inspiration. I LOVE her videos, and she's one of the reasons I really want to start an art journal.

I chose this video as inspiration - because she uses my fave colors together.

I started with the Dictionary background stamp, which I stamped in black onto a scrap of the paper I cleaned my brayer on while I was gelli printing. That's where the warm orange-yellow comes from. I applied turquoise paint with a credit card over that and sponged the edges with Soft Suede.

The flower is from Peaceful Petals. I stamped it in black on grey pastel paper and then colored it with my Luminance pencils, which I'll share a video for soon - they just GLOW!

I stamped that fun, bold hello from Four You onto a strip of  Typeset DSP and boom - Mix-Ability!

Now that Instacart shopped for me, and I don't have any classes this weekend - three glorious, unencumbered days stretch before me. WhatEVER shall I do?

Loveyameanitbye.