Understand Blue

Paper Disco!

2012-05-30T10:30:00.000-05:00

I think people who don't like disco are deranged.

It's like saying you don't like kittens or bacon. It's just weird and sad.

Every time I pull out my glimmer paper I am just consumed by the urge to listen to disco. It's totally paper disco.

Stamps: Summer Solstice

Paper: Glimmer Paper, Newsprint, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake

Ink: Basic Black

Accessories: Bird Punch, Full Heart Punch

I made this little disco ditty for today's tutorial on Splitcoast! Squee! It's the honeycomb shape tutorial and my other version of the apple card is in the tutorial, so go check it out.

Also, while filming the tutorial, I busted myself for committing a crime! You'll have to watch to see what I mean. If you don't see a video below, just click here to watch it.

Admit it.

You're humming Dancing Queen right now.

Loveyameanitdiscorulesbye.

Keep Calm and... MWAH!

2012-05-29T18:17:00.001-05:00

Today - a goodbye kiss!!

*Sniff*

I hate goodbyes, especially when I'm saying goodbye to a stamp. Well, except I never really say goodbye to them because I keep them all forever. But I do have to OFFICIALLY say goodbye to a LOT here in the next few days, and one in particular makes me want to cry and scream and throw a fit...

You have two days left to buy one of the most adorable stamps ever made - S.W.A.K. And it's only $5.95!!

SOB!!!!

I suppose I'll have to buck up, keep calm and carry on, but I don't WANT to.

Stamps: S.W.A.K. - better buy it now - it's gone in two days!, Keep Calm (Available June 1)

Ink: Basic Black, Poppy Parade

Cardstock: Whisper White

I'll just put one foot in front of the other and try to survive. Somehow.

OH - speaking of one foot in front of the other - I have a new OBSESSION!!!

This is the fitbit and I'm in LOVE!! It tracks all my activity, food, water, etc throughout the day and makes getting off your butt SUPER fun. Today I picked it up and it called me a "stepgeek" :D. It even monitors how well you sleep, and, in my case, how many times your cat starts screeching in the middle of the night.

It's WAY more accurate than the apps I used to use on my phone to track distances and calorie burn, because this actually calibrates to your own stride and movement instead of using distance to estimate your activity level.

It constantly syncs with the website and gives fun graphs and goals every day.

It really is fun to see your patterns this way, and it's so simple.

It's one of my fave gadgets I've ever bought. To the Blue List it goes!

Click here to see the other color and more chitter chatter about it. If you already have one, add me as a friend!

Now, speaking of friends - are you coming to convention? If so, I'd love to include you in my annual Understand Blue Happy Hour! Sign up here.

LoveyameanitMWAH.

Nothing Is Worth More Than This Day...

2012-05-28T12:19:00.000-05:00

Nothing is worth more than this day.

It was paid for with the blood of patriots and the grief of mothers, fathers, husbands, wives and children.

To this we owe not only our freedom, but the promise never to rest in our pursuit of the same. Memorial Day is not only a sober look back, but a determined look forward. This is the promise we must keep to our country and her fallen.

As Lincoln said: "from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause."

Stamps: Summer Afternoon (upcoming hostess set starting June 1)

Ink: Pool Party, More Mustard, Basic Grey, Basic Black, Lucky Limeade, Soft Suede, Poppy Parade

Paper: Watercolor Paper, Whisper White

Accessories: Aleene's Crystal Clear Tacky Spray, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Aquapainter

I hope your day is filled with rest and peace. Thanks for stopping by.

God bless America.

Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road...

2012-05-21T21:00:00.000-05:00

In just NINE days, some of my favorite stamp sets are going to be POOFED into retirement!

POOFED, I tell you!

As part of the long goodbye, a few of us decided to showcase our *sniff* favorite retiring sets in a little blog hop.

I chose not just my fave retiring set, but one of my all time favorite stamp sets in the world - Inspired by Nature.

*pauses to lie on the floor and sob dramatically*

I used this set to create my blended pencil tutorial with these cards and this card and also my crayon rubbing tutorial and this sample using that technique. It was perfect for the dramatic highlighting technique and the even more dramatic bleaching technique.

I even used it for my entry in the Austin Art Boards contest.

I have undying love for these images.

Stamps: Inspired by Nature

Ink: Midnight Muse, Summer Starfruit, Summer Sun, Calypso Coral

Paper: Whisper White, Vellum Cardstock

Accessories: Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Bitty Banners Framelits (Available June 1) Clear embossing powder

To make the background, I just used the Direct to Paper Technique - making vertical swipes with Summer Starfruit (available June 1), and Summer Sun and then horizontal swipes with Calypso Coral (retiring - get this before it leaves forever!).

I stamped the images with the new Midnight Muse ink - it's a gorgeous deep navy blue, and the new firm foam ink pads make for completely covered solid images - they are MAGICAL!

I stamped the greeting on vellum with Midnight Muse and then embossed it and cut it with my Bitty Banners framelit (from the new catalog - squee!) and finished it with Daffodil Delight seam binding.

Goodbye, sweet stamp set. I loved you well!!

Now go see what my friends are crying over. :) Hop along!

Patty Bennett

Wendy Cranford

Laura Vogt

Gloria

you are here >>>> Lydia Fiedler <<<< you are here

Katina Martinez

Loveyameanitbye.

The Perils of Eating and Driving...

2012-05-16T08:44:00.000-05:00

It's been birthday palooza lately! My sister and dad just had big milestone birthdays in the last few weeks.

It's really odd how they are aging faster than me. They should try to get to the bottom of that!

Then this Friday is Lori Lou Whoo's birthday.

So the challenge today at the Touch Twin challenge blog was perfect to get me stamping for all these occasions.

Dina got me hooked on this ribbon dyeing technique at CHA. It's so quick and easy. Just use the chisel end of your Touch Marker to make a few swipes of color on your ribbon - it's really pretty with multiple colors on white or ivory ribbon - and then mist it with rubbing alcohol and scrunch it up in your hand for a quick tie dye!

Today was the first time I tried dyeing colored ribbon and I love it! I used Daffodil Delight seam binding and added YR23 for a deep orange to match my butterfly. It makes SUCH a pretty combo! Because of the alcohol it dries almost instantly.

Stamps: Papaya Collage (available June 1), Happiest Birthday Wishes, Musical Score (Retired), Elementary Elegance

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Early Espresso, Basic Black, Crumb Cake

Paper: Very Vanilla, Silver Glimmer, First Edition

Accessories: Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Touch Twin Markers: Y37, YR23, Rhinestone, Curly Label Punch

I used my craft knife to cut around the design from Elementary Elegance to run the ribbon through.

So happy birthday to all you spring birthday peeps!

Now onto the subject at hand. Eating and driving. I'm amazed at how many people eat in their cars in this town.

I'm even MORE amazed at the type of food they choose. I can see a french fry or even a chicken nugget if you're just in a ginormous rush.

But check out this lady nomming on a sandwich with both hands at a very busy highway intersection not too far from where I live.

I got away from her as fast as I could. I didn't want to think about what was going to happen when the light turned green.

One time when I was driving down one of our larger freeways at 70 MPH I looked over and saw a guy eating something out of a bowl with a spoon.

Yeah.

Are we really that rushed? And is it fun to eat soup in the car?

So next time you see some mysterious stains all over a coworker's clothing, or lettuce on the floor of someone's car, you'll know why.

Stay safe out there!

Loveyameanitbye.

Say You Won't, Say You Don't Want To, But Don't Say You Can't

2012-05-09T14:31:00.002-05:00

I saw two amazing things this week - the Kentucky Derby and a video.

As is my custom, I rolled them around in my brain on my walk and ended up with a card as a result - the card is really almost incidental when this happens, but I love being able to make something from the things that inspire me. It's my way of paying back the universe for the inspiration.

Stamps: Papaya Collage (Preview set from the upcoming catalog. Email me to get yours June 1)

Faith in Nature (Retiring - you'd better buy it now)

Ink: Basic Black

Paper: Summer Starfruit (New color - are you excited?) Poppy Parade (retiring - you'd better buy it now)

Accessories: Rhinestones, 3" Circle Die, Polka Dot Scalloped Ribbon

Both the race and the video struck the same chord with me.

The Derby was more exciting than most, as at the end, the winner broke free and overtook a horse with a considerable lead. Picture perfect, it was. And the jockey just dissolved into tears that lasted about an hour. A humble man from Mexico, he just kept repeating that he knew this horse's heart and he believed in the animal when other people didn't.

Then I saw a heartstopping video. I am not sure that I have EVER had the chills for as long as I did when I was watching this video. It's incredible.

What amazed me about this is not the miraculous physical journey this man makes, but it's his triumph over the word "no" that got me. I think that was harder than the rest of what he did, honestly.

No is such a hopeless word. And yes is so life changing. Just watch for yourself.

So be careful with no. You never know what a yes will do. And ALWAYS, always, run for the roses :).

Loveyameanitbye.

Service is a Science

2012-05-08T14:37:00.002-05:00

I love studying the ways people do business. It borders on an obsession, truly. I'm a bit of a sensitive consumer, if sensitive is defined by wanting to be treated like a human who gives out money.

Hopefully, the Lord has blessed you with Chick-fil-A in your area, but if not, just try to picture an operation where cheerful, efficient, human touch service accompanies food that tastes as though angels made it.

These people get it.

As I told you before, one of our CFA's pioneered a new amazing order process to speed up drive through times.

Well last week, my Starbucks, which is also the highest volume Starbucks in town, tried this out for their drive through. I went and chatted up the employee who was taking orders since I was on my walk and she said that they, too had seen better order times.

Now they are already the highest volume store in town, so they could just sit around and be happy with that. But they don't. They try to make it even better. And they are still the friendliest, nicest people - no human touch gets lost there.

Yesterday, there was a little furry trauma at Casa Blue, which led to my thoughts about service. Maddie Bat has a little virus that's pretty common in cats, which causes her to have eye problems about once a month and I needed some more eye drops. I placed my order with 1-800 Pet Meds, and they didn't fill it because my vet wanted me to call him. He asked that I bring her in so he could see her and talk to me. This of course, caused me great anxiety.

She wasn't jazzed about it either.

But I have to say, she loves Dr. Rafferty, and I've never had a veterinarian who was gentler and kinder to my animals. He's so sweet and always pats her and takes his time with her so she isn't too anxious. No vet has ever been so gentle and loving to my animals and I've had a lot of animals and a lot of vets.

Anyway, he told me that the medication I had been giving her had actually been found to cause an anaphylactic reaction in some cats that killed them in two minutes after they were given the eyedrop. YIKES. So he wanted to change her meds, obviously. He gave me a new medicine, and we were off to restore her spirits after a trip out of her safe zone.

At about 9:30 last night, I remembered to email 1-800 Pet Meds and cancel my order with them. Honestly, I expected it to be days before getting a response or a refund.

Much to my surprise, within ten minutes, I had not only a personal response, but a refund, and a credit towards a future order.

Here's what the email said.

Thank you for your email, Lydia. We hope this email finds you and Maddie doing well today. We have processed your request to cancel your order.

We are sorry that we were unable to complete your order and hope that you will keep us in mind for any future needs.

We look forward to helping you and Maddie again. Please give her a big hug for us.

Please give her a big hug for us??

That is MADE of awesome. As is answering my email at 9:30 at night. I will be a super loyal customer.

It's amazing to me how some companies study and work on the customer experience and some - well, some, er... don't.

I'll stick with the ones that do. :) Thank you Starbucks and Chick Fil-A and Dr. Rafferty and 1-800 Pet Meds for recognizing that I'm a human being. Or, in the case of the latter two, a human being and a beloved furry.

On the stampy front, today I'm honoring a carryover set because I HAVE MY NEW CATALOG! EEP. But wait, first the carryover set - Mouthwatering. I've collected all the citrus themed sets over the years because I'm obsessed with lemon/orange/lime images on cards. Citrus is inherently happy, I think. :)

Stamps: Mouthwatering, Delightful Dozen Paper: Whisper White

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Basic Black

Accessories: Rhinestones, Dazzling Details, 2.5" Circle Punch, 1.25" Square punch

I'm sorry to see some of our sets go. If you want them, you need to shop now. The catalog ends on May 31st and the new OMG AMAZING one begins on June 1. :) If you want a giant discount on all the new stuff, they are also rolling out a $99 totally customizable starter kit you can get your paws on right now.

So what's your favorite company? The one that treats you like a human? I'd love to know which one it is and why.

Loveyameanitbye.

It's Probably Time I Tell This Story...

2012-05-06T16:31:00.000-05:00

We all have our Lucille Ball moments that we're not proud of. Later, of course, they are hilarious. But in the moment - not so much.

I was talking to someone a week or two ago and told them that soon I would tell the tale of one of my best Lucy days.

Before I was blessed by the universe with a job that let me office at home, I used to slog to the salt mine every day. I had the same routine. Starbucks at 5:30 AM and on to the dark, empty office at 5:35 to try to get an hour or two of uninterrupted toil in before the phones started ringing.

Sometimes, I was carrying things and I had to organize myself, my stuff, my coffee, and my building access card before I shut my car door.

One morning, I got out of my car - a Yukon - and had to do this, which necessitated putting my coffee somewhere. Why my drink holder was not my first choice, I'll never know, but if I hadn't mentioned it before it was 5:35 AM.

So I chose the roof just above my driver's door. Mind you, I'm not very tall. An ankle biter, in fact, as my dad used to say.

And I started gathering my things. However, I was listening to the radio while I did this so my car was still running. That slight vibration of a V8 engine was just enough to ever-so-slightly jiggle my quad short espresso with steamed breve across the roof of the car and, just as I had all my things in my arms and was reaching up for the cup, straight down on top of my head.

Yep. A boiling hot latte lands on my head and soaks my hair and clothes and purse and papers in coffee and half and half.

Here's where I cuss. A lot. And not genteel, ladylike cussing, like "oh fudge" or "darn it all". There were some new conjunctions of cuss words created. Artfully, I might add.

And, it's also where I realize there are a lot of advantages to getting to work before everyone else. My shame (and my cussing) was my own, and I had more than two hours to go home and right myself before appearing again.

If only there had been a video of this incident, I might have been typing this blog post from an exotic island beach, my concentration broken only by the polite delivery of a mai tai by a handsome cabana boy.

What? What just happened?

Oh yeah - I spilled coffee on my head. Because that's real life people! :)

In my real life this weekend I've been organizing myself. I've archived more than 12,000 emails, (yes, you read that right) written out some cards to mail (pauses while you faint), boxed up some goodie boxes to mail to friends - long overdue - had my stamp class, pulled out my retiring stamps, worked on a project for my Dad, *sort of* cleaned my office, ordered a new water filter, threw away a bunch of post it notes that were stuck on my office cabinets and generally crossed things off lists. I might actually start Monday even, if not ahead.

Class was fun - I kept the projects simple since I am in that transition period to the new catalog, and the projects were all very bright and light and summery and easy.

The first one was a fun card with the Mixed Bunch stamp set and the matching Blossom punch. I saw the tutorial for this on Julie Davison's awesome blog.

Here's what it looks like closed.

And here's how it looks open! Fun and happy, eh?

Fortunately, real life does contain some things that work out better than my Lucy moment did, like fun cardmaking classes with fun girls, some of whom, like my downline Melody, bring me sweet gifts like real fresh chicken eggs from her farm, presented in a way only a stamper would...

Now if I can just make sure not to spill them on my head....

Loveyameanitbye.

You are the BOMB!

2012-05-04T02:01:00.000-05:00

The ice cream truck has come back to our neighborhood.

Actually it's been back for nearly three months. Since that's when our summer starts - February. But this week I've heard it nearly every day and I just love it. Every time I hear it, (ours plays Music Box Dancer) I am transported back to the days where we used to hear it and immediately run for our houses to shake change out of the couch or a piggy bank so that we could get a Dreamsicle (my fave), a Fudgesicle or the big daddy of them all - a Bomb Pop.

As I recall, the Bomb Pops were significantly more expensive than our staple treats, so I rarely, if ever, got one.

But oh my word were they special.

It doesn't really get better than red white and blue after all...

Stamps: Pops2Eat, Patterns4Pops

Accessories: Clearsnap Fairy Dust Glitter - Sugar Shimmer, Airmail Twine, Dimensionals

How could I resist stamping one when I heard that?

I am also playing along today with a Clearsnap blog hop, so you might have come here from Steph's blog. If so, your next stop is my sweet friend Mary Dawn!

If you're just plain lost, the full hop list is below - I hope it helps you have a sweet day!

Clearsnap

The Stamps of Life

Jeanne Streiff

Sabrina Alery

Deb Felts

Steph Ackerman -

>>> Lydia Fiedler <<< You are here :)

Mary Dawn Quirindongo

Kim Howard

Vicki Garrett

Loveyameanitbye.

Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake

2012-05-02T13:44:00.001-05:00

My question to you is, how could eating a cupcake NOT calm you?

They should give them to people to see if it can cure the fear of public speaking or arachnophobia.

On second thought - I'm not sure even a cupcake can cure arachnophobia. Or fear of monkeys, which I have. Yes, Sue, I can hear you laughing at me from Canada.

Monkeys are gross.

I hope there's not such a thing as a monkey spider. Shudder.

WAIT - back to cupcakes.

Okay so last night on our way back into town, I saw the UPS plane at the gate at ABIA. I squeeeeed like a crazy person because it was 6 PM. A UPS plane at the gate at 6 PM could ONLY be carrying my expedited preorder from the new catalog, because that would be JUST the right time frame for them to load up the trucks overnight and be at my door bright and early with my happy red label box.

Just as I was growling in a comment on Facebook that my friend Mindy had already gotten hers - I mean, as I was typing, my driver knocked on my door - at the same moment!! Now THAT, my friends, is LOGISTICS.

So I ripped open the box and made this for you!!! YES OMG WE NOW HAVE A STAMP TO MATCH MY SHIRT!!! You should order one for convention while you're thinking about it ---->>>> HERE.

Anyhoo. LOOKIE.

SQUEEEEE!!! Did I say that already?? Yes, that is two new sets of Framelits, a Keep Calm set, and OMG the new firm foam ink pads are the BOMB! The coverage is SO much better than with our current ink pads - you will just be floored. They are somewhere between a craft pad and our current pad in ink consistency and the ink pad itself is very smooth and soft. If you were a masher or a pounder before - you'd best quit those habits before you get these dreamy ink pads. They make using solid images completely blissful!! I'm in love. LOVE, I tell you.

And if you're interested, there is a new, completely customizable starter kit for only $99 - KAPOW! As a bonus, all my newbies get a Keep Calm and Stamp On T-shirt as a welcome gift from me :) Join the fun here.

And for my beloved driver and friends at UPS - thank you!!!

A Giraffe Love Story

2012-05-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well it is spring, you know.

Giraffes are probably giggling and flirting with each other RIGHT now! How cute would it be to see a twitterpated giraffe?

Well if that appeals to you, you're in luck because I'm providing you with JUST such a scene today, to celebrate the entrance of Your Next Stamp into the Splitcoast Member Company program! We are very happy to have our friends call Splitcoast their stampy home now and so we're celebrating with a little hopping around.

Which, by the way, giraffes ALSO do when they're in love. And when they're not gracing the front of my cards.

Stamps: Your Next Stamp Love is in the Air, Paper: Summer Smooches DSP, Whisper White

Accessories: ShinHan Touch Twin markers: RP137, RP86, B182, B66,

Oval Punch, Scallop die, Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Rhinestones

You probably just came here from Peggy's blog. To go to the next stop on the hop, visit Jenny. To start at the beginning of the hop, just visit Splitcoast here.

Messy workspace? The Secret to Life, the Universe and Everything...

2012-04-30T19:57:00.000-05:00

So here's how I realized this.

And I'm not just rationalizing. Seriously.

I woke up at about 4:45 to a pack of coyotes yipping down the street. It's such a cute sound.

What follows is not.

One millisecond later, Splotchy, who thinks he's a coyote, and who was sound asleep, shoots off me and heads for the window to yip back. He sounds JUST like them. It's so ridiculous that it's funny and I laugh despite not being quite awake. It wasn't much weirder than sleep anyway - I had had a dream that Arnold Schwarzenegger and I were working on a project where people would rent beds in malls and sleep out in the open areas, and it started raining inside while we were planning which threw a wrench in all of it.

But after Splotchy started yipping, ALL the dogs in the neighborhood started howling together. Dogs and coyotes do not like each other. Yip, yip, howl. Yip, yip, howl. Time to get up.

I started working and after about five hours, having forgotten coffee altogether (mistake) I took an art break. My desk is a disaster. I just don't have time to be organized right now. So I did what I always do. I pushed everything away to clear a spot JUST big enough for a tiny piece of watercolor paper and I started to paint. I'm slow, so halfway through, when I was just starting to relax and have fun I realized that my mess was exactly the reason stampers and artists are my favorite people.

We can make a tiny bright spot in ANYTHING.

That's what you do when you push back all the clutter to make a tiny space to make something prety in. You just make your own little bright spot.

Optimism in its purest form.

Strangely enough, a very good metaphorical match for the image I was coloring. I love it when the universe lines up.

Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy Treasured Ink: Basic Black, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun

Paper: Watercolor paper, First Edition DSP, Going Grey

Accessories: Want2Scrap bling, Viarco Water Soluble Graphite, Aquapainter, White Gel Pen, Black Marker

The monarchs are recovering here from last year's drought and it's good to see them again. They are our state insect, and I love them.

They make a little bright spot.

Don't fret the mess. Do something with the space you cleared. :)

Loveyameanitbye.

New Study Finds Bumper Stickers Linked to Driving Skills!

2012-04-26T15:16:00.000-05:00

I conducted the study, of course.

It's rock solid.

What I found is what you'd expect.

The people with the equivalent of an extensive Twitter feed plastered all over the back of their cars are horrid, distracted and inconsiderate drivers.

I followed a driver who I thought, based on her random braking, weaving and gunning the accelerator, was surely actually a chimpanzee or a small child, to a stoplight where I was surprised to see an adult human.

Prior to pulling up beside her and risking my own life, I had been subjected to her sticker graffiti, through which I could barely see what color her car was. I imagine her gas mileage was greatly reduced by her multitudinous mini lectures, political endorsements and incredible pithy, Nobel prize worthy wisdom communicated in sticker form.

Austinites seem to be particularly afflicted with stickeritis, and they are also the worst drivers in the world.

Game, set, match.

I should have gotten a grant for this study. It's way more brilliant than the ones that people do get paid for that reveal brilliance like "drunk people fall down more" or "people with pretty hair get more dates."

Whatever, science. I beat you.

Now I made an absolute disaster of a card and I had to share the story. I wanted to use Silhouette Sentiments because I had a brilliant idea. Nope, that was a lie. It was actually on top of the stack of stamp sets on my floor. How glamorous is that? Design secrets of the stars! I knew I wanted to do emboss resist with watercolor, but when I was done coloring with reinkers it was so blah. So I took my Aquapainter and used Basic Grey reinker to outline the flowers. Now we're getting somewhere. Then I cut it out with my labels framelit and that is when it all started to go to hell in a handbasket.

I tried it on white. Boring. Matted it on black. Okay, better. Then I used a piece of embossed Crumb Cake and put that all on a Crumb Cake base. I even took a PICTURE of it and Photoshopped it. Then, I admitted it was hideous. I won't even show it to you because you'd be scarred.

I ripped off the focal point and started over, and I'm glad I did, even though unsticking a dimensional is not for the faint of heart.

Stamps: Netting, Silhouette Sentiments (Hostess)

Ink: Basic Black and reinkers: Poppy Parade, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise,

Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade, Basic Grey

Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black

Accessories: Labels Framelits

It's WAY better on black and white.

That background stamp is Netting. I love it.

Now just in case your favorite stamps and accessories are retiring, you better click here to order them - many items are already sold out!

Now I'm off to get my grant money. Here's a free, cute LOLcat video for you while you wait. Click here if you don't see a video player.

Loveyameanitbye.

I Just Ate a Forty Year Old Sandwich...

2012-04-22T13:29:00.000-05:00

Really.

It was in honor of my sister's birthday - she gets a bit more vintage today, along with my friend Bunny.

So I felt like I should travel backwards in time for lunch, and I was shocked to discover a forty year old sandwich in absolutely perfect condition.

The sandwich was from Schlotzsky's. Schlotzsky's opened their first store not too far from where I live now in 1971. But they didn't enter my life until 1977, when they opened their first store in Bryan College Station, where we were living then.

It was truly earthshaking and different food at the time, and quickly became a very crowded favorite in our little 40,000 person town.

If you're not lucky enough to live near one, you must know that their sourdough batter bread that they make the sandwich buns from can actually cause you to lose your mind temporarily. Then they build a hot sandwich with fresh veggies and a few kinds of meat, black olives, mustard and fairy dust that is smack-yo-momma-good. Add to that a prime location next to the putt putt golf course we used to go to and you really had a little slice of heaven.

After I moved to New York and then later Austin, I didn't have these for a long, long time. Today, it seemed like a good idea to pick up an old fave and I was completely dumbfounded when I tasted it.

It tasted EXACTLY the same as it did in the teeny little shop we ate them in in the 70s. It was like time travel, truly. Yummy, yummy time travel.

Most things I loved when I was growing up are nowhere NEAR as tasty today - Hershey bars, popsicles, Coke, Nacho Cheese Doritos, Taco Bell - all these things have suffered over the decades from various ingredient or process changes that have been made and I don't enjoy them anymore.

But Schlotzsky's - Schlotzsky's hasn't changed a bit. Completely amazing and delicious.

What a nice surprise.

Here's a little ditty I made for my vintage sis. :)

I took the positive part of the Summer Smooches stencil and laid it down on a piece of Sweet Shop DSP and then sprayed it with Electric Blue Smooch Spritz. I finished it with Happiest Birthday Wishes and Daffodil Delight seam binding.

So what would you have for lunch if you could go back in time and have your favorite childhood restaurant meal?

Lay it on me, stringbean! :)

Loveyameanitbye.

New Olympic Sports Added!

2012-04-20T19:15:00.000-05:00

While you all were doing your taxes, I invented some new events I think we should add to the upcoming Olympics.

These are all events I know I could take the gold in, so I'm not sure if anyone would want to compete against me, but it would make for great television. Here's what I have in mind.

Applying black liquid eyeliner with a cat on your back. I do this daily, so no one has a prayer unless the Russian judges sabotage me.
Playing Scramble With Friends while walking nine miles. Again, daily. Be afraid.
Carrying 100 full plastic grocery bags so that you only have to make one trip into the house. I cannot be beaten - I'm like a Grand Canyon burro.
Competitive giggling.
Complete disorganization of a perfectly clean art studio in under ten minutes.
Number of days you can survive on cheese and club soda.
Quickest time to fall asleep after opening a book.
Fastest milkshake drinking contests.

Doesn't that sound fun? That beats the tar out of ice writhing/falling/dancing, IMHO.

Until I bring home 8 gold medals, I'll have to settle for gold ribbon. Daffodil Delight, to be precise.

Oh, and speaking of Daffodil Delight - I now sing "ohhh ohhhhh Daaaafodil Delight" to the tune of "Afternoon Delight" thanks to Leslie - every time I see that color! *shakes fist*

Anyway, here's what I did with it for my class this month. I love these two colors together!

Stamps: Hello Doily, Hand Penned Holidays

Ink: Blushing Bride, Basic Black

Paper: Whisper White

Accessories: Daffodil Delight Seam Binding, Pink Rhinestone from Blossom Builders Kit,

Diagonal Score Plate, Simply Scored

To make the bottom section, I used the diagonal score plate for my Simply Scored to score a diagonal grid - with the lines spaced one inch apart - into a piece of Whisper White. Then I brayered Blushing Bride over it to show off the diamond pattern. We had fun making this one!

If any of you are interested in becoming my official sponsor for the Olympics, please let me know. Since it's my first Olympics, I'll really wear anybody's logo.

Loveyameanitbye.

Beware of F.A.D.S.

2012-04-15T16:20:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been reading a lot about some supposedly Facebook-induced psychosis.

What people have been rumbling about is that Facebook is depressing people. For example, here's a story about how Facebook will make you a mummified corpse that no one will find for months.

I know - dramatic, right?

Most of the stories are about how people get depressed about their own lives because they look at other people's lives on Facebook and think theirs are dreary by comparison. Then I guess they lie around until they turn into a mummy.

This makes no sense to me personally. Well except the mummy part - mummies are almost as cool as zombies. I also could use a few days of laying around, but I digress.

Facebook is a highlight reel - a great description I saw recently. People should keep their Charlie Brown feelings, medical conditions and bad hair days out of their highlight reels, because they don't belong there. They don't show a montage of drunk and belligerent celebrities at the Academy Awards - they show their finer moments. But that shouldn't make anyone think that there's a human on earth whose entire life is a highlight reel. That's complete crazy talk. I think if someone really believes that, their mummyhood might have been their destiny to begin with and not caused by Facebook.

Personally, I love the highlight reels. It gives me joy to see other people experiencing joy. I'm just glad they share it with me.

And I have no fear of becoming a mummified corpse, and I don't think we're more isolated than ever before. I actually think quite the opposite. I know, meet, and interact with more people because of social media than I ever have prior to it. Just yesterday, I met a new Twitter friend at Art City Austin, and a few weeks ago had a crafty meetup at Stamp Salado with another Twitter buddy. None of us turned into mummies. (Yet.)

My conclusion is that the media is making up F.A.D.S. - Facebook Anxiety/Depression Syndrome. And they should probably quit it. It's scaring the mummies.

So today, I bring you the complete opposite of a mummy - sunshine!

This month's Fan Club gallery theme is "Let the Sun Shine In". I haven't played along with these challenges in so long I had to rescue my mummified stamps and get crafty.

I used the new, sassy, limited edition Summer Smooches Stencil (only available till April 30th) and Pool Party ink to create my floral image. I sponged the ink on with a sponge dauber. With the stencil still in place (I just used low tack tape) I stamped the background image from Clearly For You in Poppy Parade onto the design.

Then I just pulled off the stencil and added the greeting from Pursuit of Happiness in Basic Black. I will NOT show you the lowlight reel version I threw in the trash. :)

Now, if there's anything that will make you sad enough to turn into a mummy, it might be the fact that some of the stamps you haven't bought yet are retiring - EEK!

Here is the full retiring list, released today, and sadly, Clearly For You is on it.

So if you want this beautiful stamp set, or any of the others, click here to shop before they are all turned to mummies for good! I have little surprises in store for anyone who places online orders for retired merchandise! Email me for details.

When I Grow Up, I'm Gonna....

2012-04-14T12:18:00.001-05:00

I remember very frequently when I was little having serious discussions with my friend and partner in crime - David - about things we were going to do when we grew up.

As we had easy access to a 7-Eleven and its Slurpee and Now and Later treasures, a frequent topic of these conversations was the amount of candy we would be eating for dinner when we were of legal eat-candy-for-dinner age. We were positive that we were going to be having Skittles and Starbursts every night as we watched the Hardy Boys or whatever other free adults did after candy dinner.

But the other day, as I was smugly enjoying the privileges of adulthood by eating Laughing Cow cheese and Triscuits for dinner, as is my grown up right, I realized that we overlooked something very important in our plotting.

We never actually saw any adults eating candy for dinner. Not a single one.

I don't know why this didn't occur to us. If it had, I'm sure it would have been horrifying to suspect that some monstrous change in our brains was going to make us look forward to boring steak and chicken at the end of a hard work day and not an endless buffet of candy. We might not have been able to go on with our spirits crushed by this realization. Perhaps it's for the best.

But I will say that choosing what I get to eat for dinner, especially on days when I just want Cheetos or cheese and crackers, is one of the truly wonderful freedoms I enjoy as an adult. Sometimes I'm very happy that I no longer serve time in food prison and can just do what I want. It's probably one of the most constraining parts of childhood, really.

I was inspired by my friend Jami to make a candy colored card today for my monthly stamp class. Her version used a sweet dandelion stamp and Shimmery White cardstock.

For mine, I embossed the doilies on the left with clear embossing powder and then sponged Daffodil Delight and Pink Pirouette over them, after masking the left side with a Post-It note. The doilies on the right (These are from Delicate Doilies) are stamped in Daffodil Delight. I added a strip of silver glimmer paper and a greeting from Afterthoughts (hostess set) in Basic Black.

Sweet color combo isn't it?

Very springy and happy and sweet.

Speaking of sweet - maybe tonight I will have sour apple Now and Laters for dinner. :)

Loveyameanitbye.

We are the Easter People...

2012-04-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

I read the most beautiful quote the other day and I don't think I'll ever get it out of my head.

Do not abandon yourselves to despair.
We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.
-Pope John Paul II

We are the Easter people.

Yes, we are.

Hallelujah!

I have a simple Easter card for you today with a little fine art product that I'm absolutely in love with!

I saw this at our last Creative Arts Society meeting and I literally screamed when the lady demonstrated it.

When I was in college art classes, we worked with graphite a lot, and I always loved the look, but I hated how messy it was, so I sort of abandoned it after graduation.

Until now.

This is the tiny, miracle art supply that has forever changed my life. Water soluble graphite from ArtGraf.

ArtGraf Graphite

It's absolutely amazing - you can get a squillion different tonal values with just a little tin of this gorgeous sparkly graphite and an Aquapainter! And all without the mess of graphite sticks and perfect control.

Stamps: Delightful Dozen, Inkadinkado bunny stamp Ink: Basic Black Paper: Watercolor Paper

Accessories: Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, ArtGraf Watercolour Graphite by Viarco, Artograph LightPad

LOOK HOW CUTE HE IS!!! What I did was I stamped the little bunny on copy paper and put it on my LightPad. Then I put the watercolor paper over it, and painted this in about five minutes with my AquaPainter and the graphite. Look at the difference between how black his little eye is and how light the grasses are - it's amazing! I have a serious art crush.

What you can't see is the SHIMMER. I tried nine ways to Easter Sunday to capture that with my camera, but no dice. But trust me, it's luminous and beautiful. I just have one word for this stuff.

Hallelujah.

Flowers in the Attic

2012-04-07T15:38:00.000-05:00

Remember those creepy Flowers in the Attic books from the seventies?

They TERRIFIED me. Actually, attics terrify me. They're so mysterious and creepy and hot. It's no wonder that's where both ghosts and rodents decide to make their home.Perhaps also the ghosts of rodents.

I would actually like a house without an attic - just a big lodge type ceiling with no space between there and the roof. That would definitely force the ghosts to go to my neighbors.

Sorry neighbors! I'll bring extra cookies at Christmas :)

Well speaking of attics, I've been neglecting my Attic Boutique products and my Rue des Fleurs set. It's not creepy at all so I'm not sure why I haven't played with it much. My friend Mel made the most beautiful card with it at Leadership and I swore I'd come home and do a million things with it, and I looked up and it was April.

I've been on a watercoloring binge lately so I thought I'd bust out my fave color combo - aqua and red - and color the pretty little corset thingy.

I just used my Aquapainter and Poppy Parade and Pool Party Reinkers on watercolor paper. I put a little grey around the image for a shadow.

Then I added some Smooch Glitz Frost to the vines, and some Clearsnap Ocean Spray glitter.

I die cut the watercolor paper with the Labels Framelits, and cut the next larger framelit from First Edition DSP.

I scored the Crumb Cake base with my Simply Scored Diagonal Score Plate at 1" intervals and added the teeniest pearls to the intersections.

I think those two colors are so pretty together!

I am not sure who would have a bustier like this all full of flowers and glittery, but I bet whoever it is, they'd keep it in the attic so their ghosts could get their fancy on.

I do love a fancy ghost.

Loveyameanitbye.

Surprise!! You and I are Going to Paris!

2012-04-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

How would you surprise a good friend for her birthday if you could do whatever you wanted? And I mean WHATEVER. No limits.

I would buy plane tickets on this sweet, springy day and I would whisk my surprised friend off to Paris.

Once there, we would storm the cafes and the Eiffel Tower in our exuberant style, talking louder than the Europeans, as is our American custom, and giggling hysterically.

We would stick our little fingers out while we drank our coffee and wear striped shirts and berets, and sleep late and stay up even later.

We'd get all teary and verklempt at Notre Dame and the Louvre and take crazy pictures of ourselves pinching landmarks between our thumb and forefinger and re-enacting cheesy mime scenes.

If I could do that, that's what I'd do for my sweet friend Korin, whose birthday is tomorrow.

But since, as of this writing, I have not won the $600 million lottery, I'm not able to do that for her. Maybe someday. :)

So instead, I'm taking part in a little surprise blog hop for her.

But I did want her to have at least PART of my imaginary Paris experience, so I used her pretty Paris stamp to make her birthday card.

The card base is Very Vanilla, and I stamped the image in Basic Black. Then I masked off the image with some super high tech (not) painter's tape and sponged Summer Sun and Soft Suede in the background. I stamped the image again on Poppy Parade, and cut out the roses. I used my Moonlight Smooch to highlight the image and added Crystal Effects to both the Eiffel Tower and the Par Avion tag, and you can see below.

The bling is from Want2Scrap and I used Airmail Divine Twine to complete the theme, with a Trinket Key.

In my mind it's the key to her glamorous hotel room right smack in the middle of Paris.

Maybe by the time you read this, Korin, I will have won the lottery and called you with your ticket info. :) Maybe we're already baguetting it up, girlie.

If not, I'll settle for a phone call and your hilarious posts on Facebook. I'm so happy you are my friend, and I hope you have a happy birthday!

If you want to see more amazing birthday tributes, please hop along this list and celebrate a great lady. You might find a surprise or two along the way :).

LoveyaKorinmeanitbye.

Hop along now...

>>>>> Lydia Fiedler <<<<<

I'll Take Things That Can Kill You for $1000, Alex

2012-04-03T15:48:00.000-05:00

I heard a story today on the radio about how people are more thin-skinned and fearful than they used to be. They didn't offer a reason why, so I'm going to go ahead and guess a combination of 24 hour news cycles and WebMD. I mean - how many of us haven't caught Ebola or the like from WebMD?

Believe me, our parents generation wasn't worried about Ebola or any of the following things, all of which can supposedly kill you:

I mean really? We didn't even have seatbelts and our parents told us to drink out of the hose in the summer. God knows what garden hoses were made of in the 70s or how "food grade" they were out in the hot Texas sun. I know that the boiling hot water tasted funny. But no one was researching the chemical composition of hoses after work or worrying about death if they sat too long in front of their TPS reports. While smoking at their desks, I might add.

Time sort of stretched out in front of us in a different, simpler way without constant news and the internet. I think we were scared of the Russians and that was pretty much it. Oh and sharks. Thanks a lot, Roy Scheider. Thanks a lot.

All that to say you probably should do things on the internet that are fun, because there are SO many fun things. Lots of things that won't kill you or make you worry about dying.

LOLcats for starters. And of course, art, arty people, Pinterest.

I should caution you though, having artistic friends all over the world can really be hard on a person's finances.

In my social media world, we have a lot of enabler alerts for each other, where, in the most loving way possible, we cost each other hundreds of dollars on fun arty, crafty things. I wonder sometimes if companies that get these little micro flurries of orders from our little group have picked up on our enabler alerts.

If not, they should. They should also give us our own coupon code.

I had not only a coupon code but a gift card that I spent on some fun art supplies in a complete splurge as a result of one of these micro flurries. I bought these Caran D'Ache Pablo pencils that I played with this weekend. They are oil based, so they are very different from watercolor pencils, pastel pencils, or wax-based pencils and I love how saturated and smooth they are.

stamps: Lean on Me ink: Basic Black Paper: Whisper White 3x3 Notes Accessories: Caran D'Ache Pablo Pencils

I know some people don't like to color, but I find it very soothing.

More soothing than a hot drink of water out of a plastic hose on a boiling hot east Texas day :).

Loveyameanitbye.

I Won the Mega Millions!

2012-04-01T13:37:00.001-05:00

Well, not really.

I did buy a ticket though.

Along with 640 million other people I guess.

I love it when there are mysterious winners who haven't come forward. I think if I did win, I'd definitely be one of the mysterious types, not one of the types who blogs about it.

Or AM I being mysterious and I really DID win and am I'm just April Fooling you in reverse??

How will you ever know?

Maybe I'll just send you a postcard from Moscow or somewhere fun just to keep you guessing.

From Russia, with love....

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Hand Penned Holidays

Paper: Soft Sky, Whisper White

Ink: Versamark, Basic Black

Accessories - Pentel White Pencil, White Gel Pen, Perfect Layers Tool

до свидания :)

The Hunger Games, Home Edition

2012-03-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

I saw The Hunger Games this week.

It was surprisingly good. Surprising in a few ways - first, because the narrator of the audio version of the book I listened to was so maddeningly annoying that it made me like the book less than I would have had I just read it. Secondly because the parts of the story they covered (they left a lot out, despite it being a very lengthy flick) were done very, very well. So well I don't think you'd have to have read the book to really enjoy the movie. Thirdly, I did not know that Donald Sutherland and Woody Harrelson were going to be in it, so that was a very pleasant surprise. Finally, I saw it at Alamo Drafthouse, which is always a fabulous experience. Nothing like having a gourmet mushroom pizza while you watch people fighting to the death for food, after all.

Speaking of food, I must add the new petite cherry pies at Starbucks to the blue list today - they are so yummy. Much better than the other petites in my opinion, because the others are all overly sweet. This is just like a yummy, small, tart cherry pie. And 170 calories.

Anyway, I have my own version of the Hunger Games right here at about 5 AM every day. It starts with a tiny little squeak. Just enough to wake me up. Then, it gets louder, and is accented with blinds batting and furniture scratching. Then, for the finale - a full on howl with accompanying crazy brain. Hunger makes one do crazy, desperate things, you know. Or at least it makes Splotchy do crazy, desperate things. It just makes me tired and mad.

In the extra waking hours gained by the Hunger Games Home Edition, I had a little fun with the Bright Blossoms set this week. I was making a sample for our Splitcoast review of the Perfect Layers tool - I still have mine from when Stampin' Up! sold this tool. Until our review, I hadn't taken it out of the package, but I watched the video and finally understood how easy it is to use so I experimented a bit. On this card, I used a little waterfall of blue cardstocks, with the 1/16", 1/8" and 1/4" measurements on the tool.

I used Soft Sky, Pool Party, Tempting Turquoise and Island Indigo cardstock for my layers, and punched matching circles for the top of the card to pop up off the Bright Blossoms stems.

I thought it would make a fun, non-traditional blue Easter card, so I stamped the greeting from Delightful Dozen and resisted the urge to bunny it up. :)

Now - do you want to see something that will just warm your heart on this Wednesday? Then you probably should click here. Prepare for chills.

Loveyameanitbye.

I'm Banning Unsweet Tea - You've Been Warned

2012-03-25T09:06:00.000-05:00

Here are the facts.

Tea, in its natural state, is unsweetened. My personal opinion is that this is the only way it should ever be consumed. However, unlike Mayor Bloomberg, I believe in freedom of choice and do not think that people should be telling other people what they can or can't eat or drink.

However, I'm more than happy to ban a word or two, especially a word that keeps me from the pursuit of happiness, and by happiness, I mean unsweet tea.

The problem with the word UNSWEET (aside from the fact that it's not a word) is that it contains the word SWEET and so it's misunderstood 100% of the time.

It goes like this.

Pull up to Taco Bueno.

"Welcome to Taco Bueno - can I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like a bean burrito and a large UNsweet tea."

"Okay that's one bean burrito and a large sweet tea."

"No, that's an unsweet tea."

"Okay I've got a bean burrito and a medium sweet tea."

"Um, no, that's a LARGE UNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNsweet tea." (Silently adding "you *#$*")

"Okay so your total is $3.14, please pull up to the window."

Where, of course, I'm presented with a SWEET tea. Disgusting.

So here's how it's going to go. Tea is tea. Tea comes unsweetened from God. If I say I want a tea, it will ALWAYS mean I want it unsweetened, like in the old days, before people from the deep south infiltrated the great Republic of Texas with their corn syrup. If you want to ALTER your tea, then please indicate the unnatural state that you'd like your tea in with a modifier such as "sweet" "peach" "raspberry" or any other descriptor indicating you'd like to pollute your tea with something.

I'm only asking for the same rights people who drink Coke have. You don't pull up to Sonic and say "Hi - I'd like a Route 44 UNcherry UNdiet UNcaffeine free Coke" - you say "I WANT A COKE."

I rest my case.

I feel better already.

Now at my monthly stamp class this month (where I drank buckets of unadulterated tea) we did the faux suede technique to make a little flower on a card inspired by this card. I loved how her bold design with the lattice die showed off her pretty pink flower. I couldn't figure out how to make my flower as fluffy as hers, so mine isn't quite as fancy, but you get the idea.

Stamps: Elementary Elegance

Paper: Whisper White, Melon Mambo Textured, Basic Black

Ink: Basic Black

Accessories: Lattice Die, Island Florals Die, Brad, Big Shot, Edgelits, Adorning Accents Embossing Folder

We also made a matching fancy envelope with the Edgelits and the matching Adorning Accents Embossing folder, which as a blast. I love how pretty those turned out. Remember when you are making these, to cut the envelope flap before you emboss - if you emboss first, you will flatten out the embossing when you run it back through your Big Shot to cut.

I'm filming some fun tutorials this weekend - using some pretty different techniques and toys, so I hope they turned out and you can see them soon. I think you'll be surprised.

No go forth into the world, free from that horrid ex-word "unsweet" and enjoy life!!

Loveyameanitbye.

Cursing Bill Gates at 1 AM

2012-03-20T13:03:00.002-05:00

That's what I was doing last night.

I took his name in vain nine ways to Sunday, believe me.

Here's what happened.

1 AM - the full force of a major tornado producing storm cell begins blasting Casa Blue, complete with extreme thunder and close lightning.

After removing my furry leg weights - Maddie & Splotchy - I bolt out to start unplugging electronics all over the house so they don't get fried. Down the street last year a lightning bolt blew a Bill Gates sized hole in a neighbors roof, so we can't really mess around when it comes to storms.

The problem with my big computer is that I constantly have about 80 tabs open in two browsers, Photoshop and Illustrator running and a gazillion other programs. It was a race against time just to close and save everything so I could power down and unplug.

I get to the point where I can hit the blessed "Shut Down" button, and what do I see?

Seriously??? At this point, it became as tense as that scene in War Games where Matthew Broderick is trying to delete all those files so we don't nuke Russia. I wouldn't have minded if my computer nuked the Windows mothership though, I'm not gonna lie.

I said some very unladylike things about Mr. Gates during the HALF hour of updates with lightning crackling all around me. I also played several games on my phone. I'm distractable like that.

I vowed to present the bespectacled he-devil with an obscenity laden bill should I have gotten zapped during this idiotic process.

Did I mention this started at 1 AM?

Hmph. Stupid Windows. It takes 1 second to shut down and power up a Mac. Have we learned nothing #$@(* Bill?

Guess not.

Well there's one person who will never get a birthday card from me!

Birthday cards are definitely reserved for people who don't keep me awake while they update my config.bat file in a storm.

I made this card for a VSN challenge on Splitcoast. I found a Crumb Cake card base with that swirly paper already stuck on it from some long abandoned project and though it would look nice with a little splash of blue. So I added some Everyday Enchantment DSP (Free w/a Sale-a-Bration order through the end of March) and stamped the birdies from the Up in the Air Hostess set in black. Ba-da-bing! The greeting is from Apothecary Art and the ribbon is Pool Party seam binding.

Perfect for a quick challenge card!

After all, spring has sprung. Officially. Today.

My newest book obsession is courtesy of Lori Craig, who got me hooked on this book about the crazy rich and just plain crazy Astor family in New York - it's called Mrs. Astor Regrets.

It's completely fascinating and very hard to put down. Seriously - rich people are crazy. Also, New York is like a little kingdom run by crazy rich people. Did I mention they were crazy? Bill Gates is probably a secret Astor.

I got the Kindle version for $8.99 here, but it's less than $6 on Amazon here.

I guess I'll yawn some more and poke pins in my Bill Gates voodoo doll.

Loveyameanitbye.