The Love Bug

I grew up in the 70s and 80s - spent my formative years in both those decades. This explains my general awesomeness - any child who lived through both disco and Journey can't help but have a great outlook on life.

I remember the following about these decades.

We had the best music. Don't even pretend we didn't. Seriously - I'll shun you. And maybe call the men in white coats. I'll even reach back into the 60s - that's allowable - since my siblings were older I benefited from their tunes as well. My brother and sister used to use me as a party trick because I knew all the words to all Beatles songs and could sing them endlessly on command. (I use the word "sing" loosely - not really one of my gifts.)

Our TV shows and movies were clean and sweet, and many of them were outrageously sweet and optimistic or had pure, classy justice at their core, with no depravity (not that I minded a little depravity in Breaking Bad, mind you), nice clothing and PG language:

• The Love Bug
• Xanadu
• The Love Boat
• Fantasy Island
• The Brady Bunch
• The Partridge Family
• Perry Mason
• Laverne & Shirley
• Magnum PI
• Cheers
• Happy Days
• Charlie's Angels

Even the names are happy. Love, Fantasy, Happy, Cheers, Angels.

Just for fun, I have a list of popular shows now-ish.

• Blacklist
• Scandal
• Breaking Bad
• Walking Dead 
• Six Feet Under
• Mr. Robot
• Sons of Anarchy
• Dexter
• LOST
• Bones
• Criminal Minds

Now this is an unscientific comparison of course, but I can feel the change, not just read it, as a person who has lived in both times and I think the names are the best way to illustrate the cultural difference.

Interesting, isn't it?

I haven't really moved on from Xanadu and the Love Bug, personally. Even Disney is a bit dark for me. (Why you gotta kill all the animals, Disney?)

So when we received our bags at OnStage, with the Beautiful Ride stamp set in it (sneak peek of the upcoming Occasions catalog - email me if you want a copy when it comes out), I was instantly transported back to my childhood and the days of Super Elastic Bubble Plastic. I knew exactly what I was going to do with this stamp set when I got home.

And as pooped as I was after coming back from Dallas - I did it :).

It turned out just how I wanted it to. :) I masked off the Bug with Winsor Newton Masking fluid, sprayed it with water from my mister, and then just touched a paintbrush with reinkers (Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Tempting Turquoise) on it to the water and let it do what it wanted. I painted the wheels and the dog from the set with my Koi watercolors, and made the chrome with FineTec metallic silver watercolor - in real life they really shine and look like chrome.


I made a quick video for you on how I did the tie dye - please enjoy!





Hope your preparations for Thanksgiving are going well. Be sure and watch our favorite Thanksgiving movie - Planes, Trains and Automobiles. That's the warm up movie for our serious holiday movie blitz - Home Alone, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, The Grinch, Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas Story, Elf and Christmas Vacation.

This is how we survive the dark months of the time change, people!

Who else is tired of it getting dark at 4 PM? Turning the lights on and crafting is the only remedy.

Do it.

Loveyameanitbye.

Brighten Someone's Day!

Today I'm headed home from the Dallas OnStage event, but I have a SUPER fun project for you.

It's the last day of our Holiday Tutorial Blitz at Splitcoast - we've had a new holiday tutorial every day since the 8th - so be sure and check them all out - they are fantastic, as usual.

Today's tutorial is by Alex Bleicher, but she wasn't able to make the video for us, so I got to!

I was thrilled because this project is soooo cute.

These are filled with mini Twix - one of God's perfect foods :)

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

I will absolutely set my hair on fire if the Curvy Keepsake Box is ever retired - it is the most versatile die I've ever used.

You will be amazed at how easy these are to make! So here's a VERY quick video with the step-by-step and a few modifications.



Starting tomorrow, I'll be able to show you peeks of the Occasions Mini and SAB goodies we got at OnStage - until then, mum's the word!

Loveyameanitbye.

The Great Controversies of Our Time

Every now and then I cannot resist bringing up controversial topics on Facebook.

No, not politics.

Not religion.

I don't touch those with a ten foot pole.

But there are a few things that can always get people to fight with each other, and I just sit back with my popcorn and watch the comments roll.

The first is a sacred cow to some - and to others, the devil.

And that item is... DUH DUH DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

A Keurig.

In October of 2012, I posted a comment that I'd read an article about how you're actually paying about $30 a pound for coffee if you use K Cups.

That started a war that lasted SEVEN DAYS! All my friends who were part of #keuriggate2012 still remember the endless notifications from that week-long thread, and the passion of the Keurig cult members and the anti-Keurigites, the reusable K-cup people vs. the throw-aways vs. the people who pick and roast their own beans in Columbia every morning and fly home to make their coffee with water from the dew on their plants in the yard.

It. Was. Glorious.

I remember it with such fondness.

Recently, I got a similar reaction with a post of some absolutely hideous fleece lined Crocs (God help us) that I truly was unaware of the existence of. The Crocophiles lined up against the anti-Crocites with ferocity. It should be noted, however, that each Crocophile who posted their undying love for these things did so 100% of the time with an excuse. Some of my favorites were things like "I only wear them at home - my family has to love me not matter what" and "I'm Canadian." You know you have made a poor choice in footwear when you have to use your nationality as an excuse for the things. Another said " I want to go on the record as stating that they were not purchased by me."

Regardless of what side of these contentious issues you are on, the discussions are completely hilarious, and never overly-serious.

Our culture suffers from an ACUTE case of over-seriousness. Everyone should relax and stamp more.

My friend Leslie over at The Crooked Stamper (Bobra's mom) told me she saw Christmas trees in Ikea and gasped. I believe the Christmas gear should come out the Friday after Thanksgiving, but I'm a bit of a purist that way. Stamps are different, of course - because people need a month or two to make their Christmas cards, so they have to buy their stamps in the fall.    

But I don't want to see Santa lurking in the aisles until I've had a little turkey if that's okay with everyone.

So I decided to comfort her with a fall project I actually made when we were together in October. My friend +Kathy Racoosin  brought us some of those gorgeous fall Starbucks cups to color and I had so much fun just talking and coloring this - even if it did take me all day :).

I watercolored it with my Koi pan watercolor and sponged the edges with Distress Ink. I borrowed this sweet fox set from Lawn Fawn and colored him with Koi as well. You had to die cut the logo out of the middle after you deconstructed the cup, so he's on a separate piece of cardstock behind the opening.

I do love fall.

Let's give it room to breathe. Back off on the trees, IKEA - we'll be there in a few weeks!

I'm off to work on another divisive topic like cranberry sauce in a can. Heh.

Loveyameanitbye.

Passive Aggressive Ninja Cat

Since I re-did my studio, I have a very teeny computer desk.

It's just big enough for my monitor and keyboard, with a little space to write notes - but that's about it. It's just for working, and so I deliberately kept it small and physically separated it from my stamping surface so that my computer doesn't distract me when I am creating.

However, there is no space small enough to keep out a cat.

There is one cat in particular that has perfected a passive aggressive ninja technique in this tiny space.

The right side of my desk is against the wall. So there's only about 8 inches between my keyboard and the wall - and that's where my mouse and my modem are. There's no room for a cat.

But there's frequently a cat there. Specifically, Maddie - my little 6 pound elephant.

Here's what she does.

She jumps up onto the right side of my desk where there's no room for her and just sits there staring at me. If I look at her, she does a slow, hypnotizing blink. This blink is what Jackson Galaxy explains in his book as the cat "I love you". (A realization which launched his career, BTW.)

If I look away from her, or move my hand, she moves closer to me, 1/8" at a time. Eventually I can no longer reach my mouse, but she pretends she hasn't moved, and just slow blinks at me.

She keeps at it until I give up and pick her up and put her around my neck for her daily hug.

She's really perfected her mind control techniques since the remodel.

You have to admire her pluck.

Cats I think all have an inflated sense of self. They lack no confidence. There are no insecure cats walking around, worrying what other cats think of them.

That's what inspired this card. I actually designed this card in my head at Convention last summer, when Pam Morgan was explaining the antler trend.

It only took me 4 months to get around to putting antlers on a cat. 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Cracks me up.

Headed to Dallas for OnStage Live and my mini retreat next week - will I see you there?

I have two seats left at the retreat if you'd like to come make projects on Friday from me, Bev and Ronda Wade! Register here by Tuesday.

Loveyameanitbye.

The Case of The Neglected Embossing Folder

A friend of mine showed me a card in the holiday catalog the other day (page 21 if you're interested) and I realized that I had never taken that Boughs & Berries embossing folder out of the package.

So my mission yesterday was to get that sucker out and use it - it's really pretty. Not sure what I was thinking.

I've used nearly everything else in that catalog and this poor little folder was neglected.

Looking up at me like the little sheep below - saying "why are you holding HIM?"

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Isn't that pretty? Think of all the things I could have made with it so far!

I made this card on Periscope yesterday - starting by rubbing Blue Ice Inka Gold over the raised areas made with the Boughs & Berried embossing folder, and then watercoloring the little tag I made with the Curvy Corner Trio Punch and Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight and Night of Navy reinkers.

The Periscope cuts off because my phone rang, but you can see the bulk of it here.



This card is for two challenges - the Tag, You're It! Hope You Can Cling To challenge, and I'm also hosting the Mix-Ability Challenge today.

I got the idea for today's challenge from a member at Splitcoast - Linda - who has this great chart she uses if her mojo stalls.

I modified hers slightly to make it mixed media, but it's a really cool idea. Here's the matrix for today's challenge.

So I picked Watercolor, acrylic, blue, yellow, animals and dry embossing!

Fun, eh?

I love out of the box ideas like that for starting a card design.

If you want to read something fun, check out this thread - which is about advice you'd give yourself if you were just starting to papercraft. There's a LOT of wisdom in here.

Happy Friday peeps!

Loveyameanitbye.

Feline Chaos At The Door To Narnia

I'm sure life with dogs is interesting and whatnot, but I'm fairly certain that it is not as exciting and terrifying as life with cats can be.

Yesterday - I was sitting in my office, working, and my husband was getting ready to get some gloves out of our linen closet so that he could go paint a shelving system he's building for our laundry room.

(By the way, this type of shelf is fascinating - if you like this sort of thing - go look up French cleats sometime.)

Right outside my door is a cat lounging station - a four slot black Expedit on legs that I bought from my friend Lani. On top, there's a little black cat mattress that my sister made. Not a mattress for a black cat, even though it IS for a black cat, but a little black mattress for a cat. You know what I mean.

Since this unit is almost four feet tall, Maddie loves ruling the world from up there and can be found on it frequently.

However, because of the proximity to the linen closet, it is also the center of one of her many terrorist operations. Every time you open that door she shoots onto your back at about 60 miles per hour, with a claw assist. When Maddie hits you, even though she only weighs 6 pounds, it's with the force of a cannonball, and you frequently have no warning, so you have to have your wits about you. It's as if she knows that her petite weight must be made up for in velocity - sort of like a ballistics expert. Hmm - that's another indication of why we should fear them. Splotchy makes a little trilling warning sound right before he jumps onto your shoulder - like the sound the raptors make in Jurassic Park - and he also doesn't hit you with the same velocity - so it's much less alarming and painful. Please refer to my article on feline echolocation for more information on Splotchy's technique.

Well before getting the gloves, he apparently also set a cup of water on the cat lounging station, which was the trigger for an event which would plunge our house into complete chaos for two hours.

I drew it out on a Post-It note for you.

So all I hear is the door opening, and then a HUGE crash, some cuss words, another crash, hissing and the sound of cat claws slipping and sliding on the tile as they try to get away.

Out of the corner of my eye, because my chair faces the door of my office, I see two huge fluffy tails shooting out of eyeshot.

I yell WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED?

He tells me he set the water down on the cat lounging station, and when he went to open the closet door (we are positive they think it's the door to Narnia), both cats snuck up on him - Splotchy to the left of the open door. Maddie makes her move - trying a compound jump - first to the cat lounging station and then onto his shoulder, but in mid-air, she sees the cup of water - too late. She slams into the water, scaring the living pee out of herself, and the cup flies through the air, raining down its contents on the completely innocent and now confused and terrified Splotchy - who hisses and tries to get away, completely soaking wet. Maddie, who is not very good at understanding the consequences of her actions, is also terrified and confused, and so she freaks out and runs away, with a serious case of the big tail.

Every time we try to approach either of them to calm them down, they completely lose their little furry minds and hide - EVEN THOUGH WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! THIS WAS A COMPLETE CAT-GENERATED SITUATION.

This lasts for two hours, with poor wet Splotchy shooting underneath furniture every time he hears a sound or sees anything move, and Maddie acting all indignant that the floor is wet.

Never a dull moment, I swear.

I made this card for Dina's Hope You Can Cling To challenge which is a GORGEOUS orange inspiration board from Pinterest.

The tree is from Among the Branches, and I inked it up and then wiped some of the ink off in places, to give the illusion of leaves in front of the branches. The rest is Brusho.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Yes, good things are going to happen.

But if you have cats, some really surprising and terrifying and hilarious things are going to happen.

When you least expect them.

Loveyameanitbye.

PS - did I mention Ronda Wade is a guest presenter at my retreat? Because she is. You'd better sign up now. :)

Why Trends Come Back - Mystery Solved

When I was headed into fifth grade, we went clothes shopping before school started.

This was really something we only did for school and it was a big splurge - very different from the way people shop now. I haven't changed much - I hate shopping - so I go maybe once a year and if I find anything I like I buy 8 of it just so I don't have to go back.

We planned how many of each type of thing we were going to get, and we didn't get much, and we didn't shop anywhere expensive.

I remember how the prospect of new clothes for school was exciting for about 5 minutes before the ennui of trying things on endlessly and hating them all set in. And when you're that age, you have all that anxiety about showing up in the wrong thing or being teased endlessly about wearing some less than ideal brand - in Bryan, TX in that decade, there were definitely brands that made you an outcast. For boys - it was wearing Toughskins jeans - the Sears version of the infinitely cooler Wranglers. Personally, I think kids clothing shouldn't even have branding visible on it - it's nothing but trouble. But I digress.

One item that we bought that year has burned the whole trip into my memory - I even remember precisely a shirt we bought from that trip - a bright plaid shirt with little gold threads in it. But forget the shirt.

The item I whined and cried about and had to have was a blue coat.

Mind you - a child in Bryan, TX doesn't have much use for a coat. However, stores in Texas have buyers in New York, and so each fall to this day, we see sweaters and coats and scarves and a million other impractical things we'll push past in the vain hope of finding something we won't die of a heatstroke in in December. Like shorts. And flip flops. And bug spray.

But this coat was spectacular.

It was a soft, almost periwinkle blue suede, with that fluffy lining that is now in Uggs. It had huge, fluffy lined pockets, and the cuffs were the fluffy lining too. It was basically like wearing a large, blue, stuffed animal.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. And my mom got it for me.

I loved that coat so much. I was so excited the first day I actually got to wear it at school and I was petrified I'd leave it somewhere.

I don't know why that blue coat crossed my mind today - maybe because I'm listening to the Longmire Mysteries on audiobook - (I highly recommend them if you like the series they are based on) - and Longmire was enjoying the last day without a coat before the snow started, and my mind turned to coats.

I realized when the coat crossed my mind why exactly it is that trends - even horrid trends like stirrup pants and mall bangs - come back around every so often.

It's because some woman who loved her crazy blue suede coat when she was 12, gets older, stops caring what people think about what she wears (one of the real benefits of getting older), and she says - I'm going to get a coat just like the one I had in fifth grade, dang it.

She finds one, or has it made, everyone her age wants one too, and BOOM - we are back in that decade.

(Thanks a lot to whoever missed their stirrup pants, you psycho!)

Glad to have that mystery solved! :)

Today's card is another Brusho leaf - I only did one 9 x 12 sheet of these practicing for my retreat, but I have gotten so many cards out of that sheet. Each one is so different and fun.

This card was actually for Teresa's Hope You Can Cling To Challenge earlier in the month to make a freestyle collage card.

Teresa has SUCH a beautiful, airy style on her cards, and collage is something she excels at.

It is hard for me because I'm kind of a minimalist, so I worked on this card for a long, long time before I liked it. All the supplies are listed below.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

I love the little (probably unintentional) pops of yellow in with the pink.

Don't forget that $5000+ of crafty prizes await you if you enter the challenges before November 7th!

And don't forget that my mini retreat before OnStage Live in Dallas is just a week away - we have a few seats left so don't delay - I will close registration soon!

Loveyameanitbye.

She Can't Be Beet!

Many of you probably know and love my friend Kathy Racoosin - the brainchild behind The Daily Marker and the 30 day coloring challenge.

She's beautiful, she's HILARIOUS and immensely talented.

She designed the stamp set I'm using today - it's part of the new My Monthly Hero Kit from Hero Arts - and it is GORGEOUS.

When I got mine (It's a HUGE stamp set with 30 images) I didn't know what to do first - I love all things botanical, and I knew a scene was in my future. But as my eye went wandering around, my twisted little brain saw something that I could do with the ornament/terrarium images and some of the plants.


And I did it. :)

I have the soul of a gardener, and if I can make a plant out of something I'm going to do it. And as you know - I think beets are not edible, but they are BEAUTIFUL just as plants. Their magenta and bluish tones just speak to me, so that's what I tried to capture. I stamped the images in Smoky Slate on Canson Mi Teintes Pastel Paper and just made up the rest with my Polychromos Pencils.

This is a pretty large image so I had a lot of room to add light and shadow in. It was really fun. I added a gold foil sentiment that I cut with the Greetings Thinlits. (PS - if you get those bumps from the release holes in the dies - just burnish the whole die cut with your bone folder.)

Then I moved on to a more traditional use of the set once I had that out of my system.

I LOVE masking and scene building and I loved the potential of this set for that - the rocks, the plants - I felt like I could build my own fairy tale. I really love the miniatures in the set - the tiny mushrooms, the gnome - it plays into all the children's books in my head - the Borrowers, the Silver Nutmeg...

First I masked numerous elements to build the scene, starting with the gnome, then the plants and then the rocks. I built the scene in Smoky Slate, and colored it with Derwent Inktense pencils. After it was colored, I put all my masks back into place, and sponged the water and the sky with Distress Inks. Seriously - how freaking cute is this?????

I deliberately didn't glue down the spiky parts of the plants and sort of curved them up off the card so that it has a 3D look. Squee!

My sister just added a little pond in her backyard. I might have to get her a tiny gnome. So fun. A very fun, zen day of painting and coloring with this one.

We have a little hop for you to show off the wonders of this kit too - be sure and visit all my friends - they are so talented and I'm excited to see their vision for these fun images - these are some of the most talented people I know. I saw a peek of Libby's and Sandy's - and wow.

Hero Arts
Kathy Racoosin
Sandy Allnock
Lydia Fiedler (you are here)
Libby Hickson
Amy Tsuruta
Jayne Nelson

PS - the kits are in limited supply - when they're gone, they're gone, so get in line early :).

And, speaking of Hero Arts, and one of my favorite people on the planet - Jennifer McGuire - today begins her Share Handmade Kindness challenges. Hero Arts designed stamp sets, and are donating the proceeds from sales of these sets to the Kind Campaign. Throughout this month, she challenges ALL of us to share an act of handmade kindness with someone - you can make a card, cookies, you can knit something - anything that just will make someone's day and was born out of your creativity.

I love her focus on the power of handmade gifts to uplift people, and I love this challenge idea with my whole face - what a great way to head into the holiday season. When you participate, just watch Jennifer's blog, and remember to use the hashtag #sharehandmadekindness.

She is truly one of the kindest people I've ever met, and this challenge pretty much tells you everything you need to know about her and the fine people at Hero Arts. Seriously good eggs.

Here are two cards I made with the kindness sets.

The first one was done with the Wrinkle Free Distress technique for Angie's Hope You Can Cling To Challenge. I used Twisted Citron, Chipped Sapphire and Peacock Feathers Distress ink.

 The next one - oh my goodness this one is a long story.

Someday, I will tell it - but please know - it started in failure. There's hope for us all.

I made the background by dropping Ranger alcohol inks on Duralar. The side the ink is on is actually the side that's adhered to the card base.

This card may remind you of biology class, in which case, you're welcome. I loved biology. Except for that time I got an F for refusing to do something.

Either way - I think it's pretty, and I love this sentiment.

Let's make the world a kinder place, shall we? :)

Loveyameanitbye.

Bring me Your Souls!

If you don't live in Tejas, then our beloved Dia de los Muertos (today) might be a bit of a mystery to you.

From the outside looking in - all the skull and bones imagery associated with this holiday might seem a bit dark, but it's really quite the opposite.

It's a great day, where you honor the dead with little altars of their favorite things, and colorful clothing, sweets and little dolls. The dolls are my favorites - teeny calacas (skeletons) in colorful clothing - even animal calacas.

The premise behind it is that the dead would be offended by sadness or mourning - so the day focuses on bright, happy colors, imagery and celebrations of their lives, while acknowledging that they are no longer with us with some beyond the grave artwork.

I'm always confused when I leave the southwest at the perception that these images are sort of macabre - I can assure you that to us they are not. The entire holiday has a festive, fun air - the costumes and makeup are beautiful, and there is NOTHING that a Texan loves more than a beautiful, colorful sugar skull (calaveras to us). Actually - to a southwesterner, it's a much bright, happier holiday than Halloween, which can have sort of a spooky air. Dia de los Muertos is not spooky at all.

The idea is to encourage the souls of the departed to visit - to wake up for a day and celebrate with their loved ones and all of their favorite things.

It's sweet, and fun, and one of the traditions I enjoy most at this time of year.

I hope after I'm gone that my loved ones will make me a little altar with coffee, and art supplies and calacas and calaveras and that I can come haunt - I mean visit them on November 1st.

Thankfully we have the perfect skull in the holiday mini to calaverasize - it's from Howl-o-ween Treat. I used the Flower Patch stamp set, the Perpetual Birthday Calendar set, the Remember This set and some hand drawn elements to turn this into a happy sugar skull. This is my sample for my Hope You Can Cling To challenge from yesterday. Don't forget - you still have one week to make cards for this challenge and have a chance at winning $5,000 in crafty prizes! Check it out here.

And check out my colorful calaveras here!

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

I stamped the skull initially in Pumpkin Pie, so that the eyes could be orange. Then I white heat embossed the little flower over the eyes. Then I masked the outside of the skull to do the stamping inside. After I removed the stamp - I overstamped the outline with the MISTI again in black.

Super fun and perfect little skull shape for this. The line on the card is hand drawn - that's part of my challenge.

I also colored this GORGEOUS calaveras from Simon's sugar skull set - if you want one with all the designs on it already, you can't go wrong here.

Hope you're having a great weekend and remembering your departed loved ones with joy.

¡Feliz Día de los Muertos!

Loveyameanitbye.