A Magical Day

Today is the first day of the new Occasions Catalog, AND the beginning of Sale-a-Bration, so it's a big day!

This year, for Sale-a-Bration, they've changed it up and increased the freebie potential a LOT. As always, you can earn a free stamp set for every $50 order, but this year, there are additional items, like this awesome set of dies - that you can earn for every $100 order. I have also opened this month's host code - 9YXHJ4VR, and every person who places an order using this host code in January will receive a host goodie from me!

The starter bundle offer for SAB is great too - you can add two stamp sets (worth up to $101!) to the bundle, in addition to the free $25 & free shipping, and you can customize the entire thing. The starter bundle is no strings attached - you do not have to hold events, sell anything - nothing. Your $99 just buys you a discount for six months if you purchase it in January. All you are obligated to do is open that box of the $225 worth of spring awesomeness and play with it. :). If you like that deal, get your bundle here. For however long you are active, you'll have access to my private Facebook group with challenges, Facebook live projects every Sunday and the opportunity to attend my team retreats.

That space between an old year and a new one is a magical space, so I thought I'd make a magical card today!

I think everyone's favorite new bundle is the Magical Day bundle. Who doesn't love a dragon and little wizards? Crazy people, that's who.

One of the most fabulous things in the new Occasions catalog is BRUSHO. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know I love this product. Of all the powdered watercolor, it is the most economical per ounce, and doesn't poof into the air - it has a heavier crystalline texture than some. I am not into breathing in my art supplies. :) When I first bought Brusho - I split it with a friend and made it even more economical. The thing about Brusho is that a tiny amount goes a really long way - so even if you split the bottles with a friend, you can use it for years. It is an artist-grade watercolor, so it is not the cheapest watercolor powder, but it's the best. Here is my playlist with powdered watercolor techniques. You can also click the Brusho keyword on the right side of my blog to see other cards with Brusho that do not have videos. I also have a video of today's card below.

Magical Day Clear-Mount Stamp Set by... [ SUP ] Myths & Magic Specialty Designer... [ SUP ] Magical Mates Framelits Dies by... [ SUP ] Brusho Crystal Colour by Stampin' Up! [ SUP ] Brother Scan n Cut Cutting Machine CM... [ AMZUS ] Amazon.com: Brother ScanNCut Online... [ AMZUS ] 7-Well Flower Palette - BLICK art... [ BLIC ] Silver Brush - Black Velvet, Round #2 [ BLIC ] Silver Brush Black Velvet Series... [ AMZUS ] Brutus Monroe ALABASTER Ultra Fine... [ SSS ] Versamark Pad (102283) [ SUP ] Fabriano Artistico 140 lb. Cold Press... [ AMZUS ] Basic Black 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock by... [ SUP ] Whisper White Cardstock - Thick [ SUP ] Absorber - Synthetic Cleaning Cloth [ AMZUS ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSW | SSS | SBC ] Stewart Superior Memories India Ink... [ AMZUS ] Embossing Buddy by Stampin' Up! [ SUP ] Heat Tool (Us And Canada) by Stampin'... [ SUP ]

Isn't he adorable?? He looks extremely friendly too, as dragons go. But wait until you see the matching paper for this suite - Myths & Magic. I put one of the sheets into my ScanNCut and cut out a whole pile of little dragons and knights and castles that I can use for quick birthday cards. This paper is fun because it's got sections on each character that are glittery.

Just FYI, if you're thinking about the ScanNCut - the way I cut those out was to scan the sheet in, and then log into the Canvas software (your SNC does not have to be connected to your computer, which is the best reason to own one), removed the little background elements from the cut file so that it would JUST cut those shapes and then sent that file back to the SNC wirelessly. To do this, when you buy your ScanNCut, you need to purchase an activation card for the Brother Online service. Then you just connect to your wifi and you can access all those files from the cloud on your machine. To me, this is essential for cutting images out of Designer Series Paper, because the partial shapes and tiny background elements have to be removed. For just stamping and cutting, you don't need the wireless option, but I highly recommend it for all other cutting. I wasn't aware that the card didn't come with the machine, so I thought I'd pass that along.

So without further ado, here's the video for this little guy, with some tips on color mixing.

I hope YOU have a magical day!

Loveyameanitbye.

Meh

I have spent a few days learning things from some really amazing people in the crafting industry. We've had a ton of fun, learned a lot, laughed a ton, and ate way too much cheese. (That's actually a trap - there's no such thing as too much cheese, and if you were nodding your head while reading that, you've now been outed as an anti-cheesite and I'm onto you.)

In between cheese eating sessions, some great discussions happened, and one of them was about Eeyore.

I think you can decide every day if you are going to go through life as Eeyore or Tigger, and I've always loved those two archetypes of human personalities.  I had blogged it here, a few years ago, and so I loved hearing that message again, because I think it's important.

Attitude is everything.

That being said, some of the funniest stamp images and cards are comically grumpy ones. And I love them - because they are so much funnier and more endearing on cards than they are in real life.

So when I saw the January My Paper Pumpkin kit, I knew exactly where one of the greetings from the set was going, and it was going under this bird. Normally not a grumpy bird, he is transformed by the MEH into a gloriously cranky little beast.

HA! It cracks me up.

Just say meh to an Eeyore outlook. :)

A few reminders. All the "while supplies last" Sale-A-Bration items are going away on February 15th and getting replaced with new ones, so if you don't have The Sky Is The Limit stamp set:

The Perfectly Artistic Designer Series Paper (my personal favorite) - a gorgeous marbled paper that reminds me of the inside binding pages of the books I used to take care of at the Rare Books Department at Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester. Trivia break - I used to be a rare book preservation technician! I took care of one of the largest Victoriana collections in the worlds, John Updike's manuscripts, and my absolute favorites that I miss - John Gardner's manuscripts. If you have never read any of his books, please do so - and be warned, despite my Tigger outlook, I value some tragedy in my favorite books, as long as it's authentic. I love the bleakness of his and (his student's) Raymond Carter's writing, and as a person who loves sunlight, I completely resonated with bleak after four long winters in upstate New York - well, seven if you count the first three years of my life.

And yes, now I rip apart cheap reprints of Nancy Drew books and turn them into art journals. However, contrary to popular belief, that is NOT because I don't respect books, it's because I know what a really valuable book looks like, and not a cheap knockoff reprint.

But I digress. Don't miss the the Hello stamp set,

If you miss out on these, you are about to be super sad, like Eeyore.

Also, my retreat for April in Salt Lake is almost full - so strike while the iron is hot!

Hope you have a Tigger day tomorrow.

Loveyameanitbye.

Better Call Saul

So I've been watching Better Call Saul with delight.

I just love the characters - I'm not in Breaking Bad love yet or anything, but I am enjoying it a lot.

The Chuck McGill character is actually edging out Saul as my favorite character. I love his electromagnetic sensitivity and his foil blankie.

Well, I DID love his electromagnetic sensitivity - until yesterday.

I sat down to film this AWESOME video for you. I used the MISTI, I watercolored, I showed you how to FIX a mistake if you get watercolor somewhere you shouldn't - I used a Splitcoast tutorial, I showed how to use multiple inking to get a crisp image even on watercolor - it was glorious. It was like a unicorn and Stephen Spielberg collaborated on a documentary about glittery kittens.

However, here's the file. Please note how I turn into the liquid mercury bad cop from Terminator right at the beginning.



Cool right? Except that was like a 30 minute video. What the heck?

So last night, sad from my botched video experience, I watched Better Call Saul and went to bed. And when I woke up this morning I realized what had happened to my file.

I had put a new LED floodlight into my light right near my tripod.

I AM THE VICTIM OF ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSITIVITY JUST LIKE CHUCK MCGILL!

(or at least my camera is)

So this morning I shot some test video with the light off and it's fine.

I can only conclude that:

a) I need a tinfoil blanket and everyone needs to leave their cell phones and car remotes in a box outside my house and

b) LEDs are clearly Satan's work.

So my next video may be shot in the pitch dark. Or outside. God only knows. Wait - I can't go outside - that's where the mind waves will get me. Shoot.

But here's the card - without any of my accompanying wisdom, sadly.

Cool, right? It's one of the NEW Sale-A-Bration products that went live on March 1st. There are four fun things you can now get, including this - For Being You.

I watercolored the letters and then used Dina's fun tutorial on 3D words here to make the letters SUPER LETTERS! :)

I used the fine 01 Project Life pen and a ruler for the lines.

Now I'm just sitting in here wrapped in my metal blanket, thinking about life, the universe and everything.

I wanted to share an organizational tip before I disconnect the main power to our house and close all the shades.

I actually do like to SEND cards. But I had a hard time keeping up with what I'd sent and what I needed to send.

I do my to-do-list with a Frixion erasable pen which I love - I just erase tasks as they are done so my list shrinks (hopefully) as I make my way through the week.

HOWEVER, with cards - I found that if I wrote down to send someone a card for something, and then erased the task when I sent the card - the next week I couldn't remember who all I sent cards to. And, if I used a calendar, I'd have to flip back to previous months to see all of it - I've abandoned strict calendars for most of these things because they don't work with my schedule and the type of work I do. So I came up with a better way.

After much searching, I found this little journal. It's by Poppin, so you can get it in any color - I chose lime green, but I think next time I'll get the metallic silver. But this is easy to find on my desk!.

But the outside doesn't matter. The reason this spoke to me was the page format - it's college ruled, and see that little vertical line at the edge of each page?

What I do when I need to send someone a card, is I write "Mary, get well" on the line. Then, when I actually SEND the card (insert miraculous orchestral music here), I just put the date in that little square created by that vertical line. Then I can easily see what's been sent and what still needs to be sent based on the presence or absence of a date there. I use the space at the top for the month. I think it will be fun to look back and see how many cards I've sent this year.

 There's an expanding pocket inside the back cover where I keep envelopes and stamps.

The joys of being senile and having Electromagnetic Sensitivity, right? Now if only Poppin would make one of those foil blankets I'd be all set!

Loveyameanitbye.

There's NOT an App For That...

On my walk on Saturday, I encountered several interesting things.

The Loudest Woman in the World (capitalized because it's quite obviously her official title) was in my Starbucks BELLOWING some very cheery conversations with the baristas. Our Starbucks is very loud. It's all tile, the busiest and largest store in town, and has a very tall ceiling and loud music. Despite what is at times deafening ambient coffeeshop sounds, this lady triumphed with her unusual vocal chords and grit. When I came in she was screaming at one of our boy baristas, asking him what store he was moving to. He was visibly uncomfortable, knowing that adjacent counties had now been alerted to his whereabouts. It seemed to go on forever, although she was very chipper. I think my mouth was actually open in amazement. Finally, it ended, with an earsplitting TOODLE-OO!! I think she was just as happy as she was loud.

I made my way to the counter to get my post walk Strawberry Smoothie, and immediately induced S.A.D.S. - or Starbucks App Derangement Syndrome - in my fellow customers by paying with my sassy Iphone App, which I love. Especially when I walk, it's nice not to have to carry anything extra. People in line always ooh and ahh and freak out and touch my phone when I use it. I feel like the modern equivalent of a Salem Witch - with irresistible and mysterious powers.

But oh did I discover the dark side of this technological wonder. I open the door to leave and what do I see? The world's most adorable teeny scout with cookies. She asked if I wanted to buy some, and it was gut wrenching to have to say "No, I don't have any money..." She looked crushed. :( I felt like calling Steve Jobs right then and there and demanding a Girl Scout Cookie App! I'm sure she was glaring at my smoothie and thinking "Well what did you buy THAT with?? Some glass beads??" Sigh.

Before we leave the Starbucks topic, I have to say - their new food is wonderful. Starbucks food has always been bad. Dry, frozen, tasteless pastries and stale bagels for years. But their new slogan - Great Coffee Deserves Great Food - on their packaging is not just marketing. The new stuff is really, really good. If you haven't tried the Bacon Artisan breakfast sandwich - do it. It's awesome. And their packages of glazed almonds are amazing! So nice transformation, Starbucks! You won over a hardened critic!

I laughed at some tweets this morning by single people about Valentine's Day - they've renamed it S.A.D. - Single Awareness Day. People are so creative. I say if you're single, enjoy it - you just saved yourself a few hundred bucks and some lip gloss! :)

Since I love all of you, this is my valentine for you! I made this at a fun Craft-Up with some Twitter peeps last week. I love crafty work nights with fun people. We all need to do that more. This one is really simple and quick so it was perfect for a work night. I stamped the girl on watercolor paper and then used an Aquapainter with Tempting Turquoise and Summer Sun refills to color her. The card base is Real Red, the DSP is Love Letter (an accident, I promise) and then I added a strip of Glimmer Paper and some glitter on her little heart. 5 minute card.

I'm feeling sort of organiz-y lately. I re-did my ink storage and reclaimed a TON of space on my desk and then I put up my Chalkboard Decor Elements on the side of my bookcase. I got this sucker free from Sale-A-Bration and it's the PERFECT size for the side of my Ikea bookcase. Now I just need some chalk. :)

Don't forget - tonight the Fan Club Gallery opens for February and we have two new Dirty Girls to wow you! That's what I'll be doing at midnight. You should hang out with me!

Hope you have a fabby night. I'll leave you with what my friend Lori Craig posted today. God Bless John Wayne!

All the gold in the United States Treasury and all harp music in heaven can't equal what happens between a man and a woman growin' together. I can't explain it any better than that. ~ John Wayne, McLintock!

Twitterpated!

Completely twitterpated.

The wabbit from Forest Friends. The matchbox Sizzix die.

*Thump*


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