So in honor of shark week, I'm bringing you a terrifying story ripped from my own life.
You should lock all your doors and windows, because you are about to be terrified! You've been warned.
So the other night, we're just minding our own business, watching some murder shows, and right outside lurked a massive threat we knew nothing about. In the darkness. Silent. Hovering near the door, any detectable sounds of its movement being masked by the screech of the August cicadas.
In our innocence, we didn't realize that the simple act of taking out the trash before we went to bed would change our lives forever.
But it would.
10 PM arrives, and the Other grabs the trash and heads for the door. He opens the door and I hear a terrified scream!
Now - when someone opens a door in Texas on a hot August night and then screams - no one really pays any attention. Everyone figures that the screamer got a huge spider in the face, saw a bat or a scorpion or was stung by something awful. So I wasn't too alarmed.
Until....
I smelled it.
Unbeknownst to us, a skunk (not common in my neighborhood) had apparently gotten in an altercation right by our front door.
The positive pressure maintained by the airconditioner, breeched by the open door ushered the skunk smell deep into the bowels of our abode. It was HORRIFYING. We could barely sleep. I was gagging brushing my teeth.
But wait - it gets worse.
As you do, we somehow acclimated to the smell overnight.
I got up the next morning and went to run an errand. When I returned, having breathed unskunked air for twenty minutes, I opened the door and realized our house still REEKED of skunk.
But wait - it gets worse.
Shaken to my core, I try to go about my work day. I decided I wanted to use some of my watercolor supplies that were in my travel pouch on my Raskog. So I innocently reach for the bag, pull it out, and everything that happens next happens in slow motion.
A glass jar of my lavender spike oil - what I use for blending colored pencil - is pulled up with the bag, over the edge of the cart and SMASHES on my tile floor, sending this HIGHLY INTENSELY SCENTED OIL AND SHARDS OF GLASS TO THE FURTHEST REACHES OF MY OFFICE.
So now my house smells like skunk and my office stinks to high heaven of lavender.
I tried alcohol - nothing. I tried Windex - nothing. I tried baking soda and vinegar which helped a bit, but y'all.
It was not a good day.
Not a good day at all.
Now the skunk smell is gone, and the lavendar has not, but it's faded quite a bit.
I must have angered the nose gods.
Anyway - speaking of sensitive noses - let's talk about SHARKS.
It's nearly the end of shark week, so I had to commemorate it somehow in card form, so since today kicks off Dare to Get Dirty at Splitcoast, I made a shark card!
I took
this adorable stamp set (you'll see another card of mine with this set this week) and cut it with the matching dies. ALWAYS die cut before coloring in case your die shifts and it gets messed up. Then I colored him with
Copics. Lori's challenge today was salted watercolor - so I took flaked sea salt and added it to wet
Daniel Smith Watercolor and let it air dry. Then I cut that with
this swimming pool die for a backdrop for Sharky McBiteypants. What's super cool about
this die is that they make
shaker pouches that fit the opening! Back in the olden days we had to fight with acetate and foam tape - you younguns have it so good.The stencil I used was
this one (I bought their
stencil bundle last month - it's great and it's on sale right now) with
Wild Dandelion ink and a
Life Changing Blender Brush. The sentiment is from
this stamp set.
Now here's a fun shark fact from my friend Paul Csomo, the host of the kid-friendly Varmints podcast. He loves animals, and thought since it's shark week, we should talk about how you're not going to get eaten by a shark, so stop worrying about it, and we should stop killing sharks that aren't eating us. Here's a helpful graphic.
Skunks, on the other hand....
Kidding.
Now onto something very cool. My friend Christy makes
these AWESOME permanent plant stakes and sells them on Etsy. I have such talented friends. They are a super durable and waterproof plastic, and they are so elegant and gorgeous! She makes cutting boards and photo boards as well. You can see
her whole shop here.
But check these out from my garden. These are the ONLY stakes that can survive our relentless sun and heat - I'm so tired of plant stakes that fade in about a week. I love these so much. She can customize them for any plant you have. So classy and easy to see.
So there you have it. A horror story, sharks and herbs - this post has it all.
All the supplies I used today are below, including
Christy's stakes. Watch out for skunks, not sharks, y'all.
Loveyameanitbye.
| BB Friends with Fins – MFT Stamps | Killer Messages Stamp Set | Swimming Pool Shaker Pouches – MFT... | Swimming Pool Die-namics – MFT Stamps | Ombré Stripes Stencil — Altenew | July 2019 Stencil Bundle — Altenew | BB Friends with Fins Die-namics – MFT... | Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors | MISTI Stamping Tool | Escoda Versatil Brushes, Travel Round... | Picket Fence Studios LIFE CHANGING... | Copic | Ellen Hutson | VersaFine Clair Ink Pad, Nocturne -... | Gina K Designs WILD DANDELION PREMIUM... | Wilkerson Handmade by... | Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 | Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White | Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... | LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... | Fabriano Extra White Cold Press... | Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675 | Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC | Crafter's Companion GEMINI... | Cut Align | Essentials by Ellen Storage... | Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... | XL Stamp Storage Pockets | Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 | Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies | The Ultimate Mixing Palette: a World... | Nesting Porcelain Bowls - BLICK art... | My Favorite Watercolor Sketchbook | Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two... |
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