basic grey + hero arts blog hop!

I've got some fun stuff to share with you all today!

Basic Grey + Hero Arts are hosting a HUGE giveaway along with a ton of inspiration. I had the pleasure of working with the Spice Market collection. It is SO PRETTY in person and the stamps are amazing.

I created this layout using the Best Time Ever stamp set. I chose to use the floral design using an easy watercolor technique. I inked up the stamped using several different Hero Arts mid-tone ink pads starting from lightest color to darkest, then misted water directly over the stamp.

This simple card was created the same way using the large Petal Spice Market background stamp.

Here's what I have to give away to TWO lucky readers.....

Just comment to this post by March 2 and be sure to hop along to all the blogs listed on the Basic Grey blog today.

Next stop! Miss Jennifer McGuire, stamper extodanaire.

-Tina

bg!

say hello to the new BG team! so happy to be apart of this wonderful family.

I've got a new layout up on the BG blog today. Take a gander when you get a chance...lot's great inspo!

Jamaica sent me a link to this web article by Danielle LaPorte. She knows all about my weaknesses and pitfalls when it comes to my own success. She is my personal creative coach and pushes me like no one else does. So when I clicked on the link and read the article, 3 words popped out at me. DEVOTE TO DONE. I immediatly wrote it down (and instagrammed it) because that should be my #1 personal goal. Read the article if you get a chance. It's a good one.

xot

btw. Happy belated Birthday to my lady friend, Jamaica. Thanks for always pushing me and making me laugh.

(insert sickly emoji)

My kid and his colds. They last maybe a day or 2 for him. Me? I get the full on body chills accompanied by all things that pair with a bad cold. Or flu. Who knows...I should Google it.Anyway. I'm sitting here waiting for the Nyquil to kick in and realized it's been awhile since my last post. Life has been up and down but it's mostly been a good 2014 so far. The newness of the year is starting to wear off and it's not a good feeling. I have to remind myself that my goals will not happen overnight. This is where I think successful people differ from people like...umm....me. They rise to challenges. They adapt to change. They keep going. These things are tough for people who get easily distracted and overwhelmed. So I'm adding another goal to the list. Learn to ask for help. I simply cannot do all the things I'm trying to do alone and that includes raising our son. It takes a village, right? Ha. I know this must all sound kind of odd. Like where the hell is she going with this? No where really. I'm just doing what I use to do when I started blogging. Random sh*t. You know.

xot

Life Scripted

Good morning! (afternoon for some) Just a reminder that there is only 3 days left to sign up for February's class, Life Scripted with Kal Barteski. Brush script is something I've wanted to learn for quite awhile now. I missed the chance to take Kal's first class through her own website and was SO BUMMED I waited. Now it's available on the Studio Calico website and will run through the month of February. Lot's of inspiration and lessons from Kal along with a few different versions and tips from my fellow CT ladies.

What I've learned so far from just practicing? To really slow down and just enjoy the process. It's SO RELAXING and has become quite the stress reducer for me. One thing you have to put aside is perfection and if you hate your handwriting (like I do) then you might be pleasantly surprised at how brush script transforms it.

Hope you'll decide to join us in February! xot

 

Enabler alert!

I received this beautiful tape to photograph for the Studio Calico shop over the weekend. It is really really cool. It's a wood veneer tape that has an adhesive backing, ready to adorn your layouts, PL's and cards. You may want to add it to your shopping carts with your other Sugar Rush goods.

I can't wait to add this tape to my January Handbook. It's available here. Get it while it's hot! Happy Reveal Day! xot

tgif

 

Something I keep telling myself this year. It's soooo hard but it has to be done. Let it go, move on. It's Friday and I'm shaking all those negative vibes off. Who wants that kind of sh*t for the weekend?

time: 7:55 am weather: windywarm (kind of nice to walk out in a hoodie). drinking: my first cup of joe. eating: nothing at the moment but I may whip up some heuvos rancheros after this post. thinking: of all the ideas I want to put into action for the LLP shop. It's slow going but I think it'll be worth it in the end. needing: a haircut. badly. loving: brush scripting. have you signed up for Kal's class yet? kind of obsessed at the moment. loathing: that this coffee is not helping.

happy weekend! xot

an honest rambling

Doing my own PL with a kit has been a positive addition to my workflow. Let me backtrack a little. I fretted about confining my PL to a kit which is weird considering I do this all the time with my full page layouts. Project Life or pocket documenting...whatever you want to call it....it's personal, right? It's pockets hold pieces of our hearts, things that are most meaningful to us. I think we put way more into our pockets than we do with our traditional layouts. This goes for me at least and I've noticed the same with other documenters. So when I joined the PL team at SC, I felt a hint of regret. I'm speaking honestly here because I think there's this misconception that creative team members have their heads so far up companies asses that we forget why we're really doing this. For some, it's the glory. For others it's a job. But for all, it's for heart. Scrapbooking, documenting, taking a crazy amount of random ass photos of what we ingested that day ...it takes a good amount of passion and heart. It's not easy. We all live very busy lives. But this is our art, our craft. It's what we choose to do when we have an hour to spare.

This is why I like working with kits. It's like going to Target except, Target is coming to me. All the things I went to Target for plus a few added surprises (hello....dollar spot!), that's what a kit is to me. It helps my workflow tremendously and inspires me like hell. I like the challenge for sure. There are items that I turn my nose to but it's about utilizing that item to suite your needs (most times) I still have a very hard time using bulky items in my PL.

Why am I spouting off about all of this? Because I want to make it very clear that I do this for love. Yes, I do get paid but there's no way I would do it without love & passion. I've managed to turn my craft into an income to help support my family. I am blessed to do be able to do this but it ain't easy and I'm surely not fanning out dollar bills in the air. I also don't think it commands the respect I would get if I worked a normal 9-5 job. Trying to explain to my family what it is I do exactly is pointless. They'll never get it.

Hopefully this post doesn't sound too much like a rant. It wasn't my intention. I'm just trying to give you an honest perspective of a person who chooses to be on design teams and craft for money.

On a lighter note (I love when newscasters do this) above is a little sneak of the Sugar Rush Project Life kit. Kind of loving sewing directly on photo. It adds that little bit of dimension and texture without the bulk (insert thumbs up emoji).

xot

Sugar Rush sneak

Did you catch the sneak last night? The colors are going to be fun to play with, especially in the dead of winter. I needed a punch of sweet, vibrant color. There are a lot of LLP designs for February. The little girl and boy combo in the Sugar Rush card kit is my total fave. What are you most excited for?

xot

 

Recipe | Smothered burritos

I intended to make enchiladas one night with some left over pot roast but was reminded of these delicious shredded beef burritos a coworker's mom use to make in huge batches. She would freeze some and give some away. I can honestly say they were the best burritos I have ever eaten. Ever. The beef was deliciously tender with little chunks of baked potato which is probably why I loved them so much. I still don't know to this day what spices she used but I came pretty close with this recipe.

Being a family of 3, we rarely finish a pot roast in one night. I love meals that I can transform for another nights dinner.

Smothered Beef Burritos

leftover pot roast (I use beef tip sirloin roast, season with s&p, brown in a fry pan, place into a crockpot with 1 med chopped onion, a few cloves of crushed garlic, 1 Knorr beef bouillon cube and a cup or so of water. cook on low for about 8 hours)

1-2 baked potatoes

flour tortiallas

green enchiladda sauce (large can, I use mild since Tyler's taste buds aren't ready for spicy foods)

shredded cheese (I used sharp becuase it's what I had on hand)

olives, green onions (optional)

pico de gallo

cilantro lime rice (cooked long grain rice, juice of 1 lime, chopped cilantro, salt. Search Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice on Pinterest. I didn't follow the exact recipe)

Place your left over pot roast (with juice, onions & garlic)  in a pot and heat over medium until the beef can easily be shredded with a fork. Make sure you keep the stock it was cooked in. That'll make your beef moist and tender. You don't want an excess amount of juices....skim some out if it appears too soupy. Add in about a half can of the green enchilada sauce. It all depends on how much beef you have left over. I had a fair amount so a half can was perfect. Mix and taste. If you need more, add more.

I threw a couple of small russet potatoes in the microwave until soft. Peel, then roughly chop into cubes. Toss into the beef mixture and stir.

Now it's time to assemble. I'm using medium sized tortilla skins. Add in about a half cup of the beef mixture. Fold into burritos and place into an oven safe dish.

Pour the remaining green enchilada sauce on top of the burritos. Add shredded cheese and some olives and chopped green onions. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

Serve with cilintro lime rice and some fresh pico de gallo. Enjoy!

Happy Friday!

I've been working on my beginning pages for PL14 this past week. It's been nice to leave my book open and add in things here and there as I walk by my table. That's something I think I'll do differently this year, not put it away where it's out of site out of mind. Keeping with the managble size of the 6x8 Handbook makes this doable in my household. Still working on our dining room table. Should just call it what it is at this point.

End of week Currents// time: 6:20am weather: 27 degrees. Hubby says it's almost like summer. ha.ha. drinking: coffee, black. not on purpose...ran out of creamer. not bad though. eating: nibbling on these muffins I made last night. thinking: of the tasks that need to be done today wondering: if I can sneak in some thrifting today. loving: waking up to my son snuggled against my body. He's been sneaking into our bed a few hours before we wake up. loathing: constantly forgetting things like said creamer. I was just at the store!! enjoying: FRIDAY possiblities. making: week 1 of my PL, some script work for Kal's upcoming class, next LLP print pack

Happy Friday! xot

*the calendar page is by Jasmine Dowling. It's a FREE download. You can find it here

 

 

 

HNY

A few days late to post this but still feeling that really good positive New Years vibe. Let's pick up on a little Currents, shall we?

time: 9:18 pm location: couch (aka my nightime office) eating: had delicious szechuan beef stir fry (inspired by a Pinterest recipe but naturally I had none of the ingredints so I put my own concoction together.) drinking: this (only had regular milk. good but I think the almond milk would make it 10x's better) watching: on season 2 of American Horror Story. Oh the horror. listening: still loving Lana Del Ray + Lorde loving: my new parka that I purchased on clearance at Target. (funny how they clearance winter items in the middle of winter) loathing: those who think they can still go past the speed limit when the roads are crazy icy. (and end up in the snow bank a few seconds later) enjoying: having my feet warmed by my big ol' pound puppy (we knew her thick coat would come in handy in the winter) making: juggling a few memory keeping projects at the moment.

xot

LAST RUN!

I've got a handful of these packs left! I do plan on printing a few extra pieces to go into the packs. They will differ slightly than the image shown but not too much. Please note that these packs will ship Friday, December 27th. As I clean up my screen print inventory to make room for 2014 projects, I will add in a few extra things to your pack.

All digital downloads are now 25% off with code HAPPYMERRY.

The LLP shop will be closing December 24th and will reopen December 30th.

Thanks! xot

 

 

Studio Calico Copper Mountain sneaks

Both sneaks are from the main Copper Mountain scrapbooking + Project Life kits. Loving the lodgy, comfortable feel. This will be my first month creating for the PL CT gallery. Pretty stoked (and somewhat nervous). One thing I aim to do is to be more consistent. I remained pretty nonchalant about 2013 but I really want to commit for 2014. I guess you could say that would be my main goal for 2014 in general.....to commit. To fully commit. Not be super stoked in the beginning and let the spark die off later. I'm pretty good at doing that which is just lame on my part. I'm ready to make that change.

Have you started thinking about your goals or resolutions?

Happy Friday! Hope you all have your shopping done! xot

bokeh!

The holidays and pretty bokeh go hand in hand, no? I think I take at least a dozen bokeh shots in a week but it's fun to mix it up and add some shapes to those lights. I've provided a few free cut files for you to try. If you don't have an electronic cutting machine like a Silhouette, you can print the PDF and use an Xacto knife. btw, Studio Calico is offering a Silhouette bundle....you might want to add that to your wish list. Total game changer for me.

The circle will fit perfectly into a 50mm or 85mm lens. It's a tad loose so they come out easily. Just add a few pieces of washi tape to hold it in place. Ideally you want to use black card stock but I didn't have any on hand so I used a dark gray. Worked just as well.

 

I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II and a 50 mm 1.4 lens. I also like to use an 85mm 1.4 lens for bokeh. If you don't know how to capture bokeh, set your lens to manual and twist the lens until you see your lights going out of focus. This is where you can experiment to see what settings will give you the best results as I'm sure is varies.

Have fun!

xot

 BOKEH SHAPE DOWNLOAD

let it snow

We're digging ourselves out of a weekend of non-stop snowfall. It was really quite pretty and I can't complain about it one bit. We are guaranteed a white Christmas, that's for sure.

Weekend highlights -the snow, naturally -spontaneous family portraits via iPhone propped up on chair, in the snow. Our dog is not photogenic like our past pups so it was insanely hard to get her in the shot. Mostly just her tail as she flew by us. Nice. -spontaneous sleepover with my niece. I had planned on getting some scrapping done but that all went south when she stepped in the door. Her parents were planning a surprise bedroom makeover for her and I was happy to oblige by keeping her for the weekend. Her and Tyler are two peas in a pod and I love seeing them play together. Even though she's 7 now, and I can see those "getting older" changes, she still knows how to get silly with a 3 year old. Love that.

Hope your weekend was filled with lovely, spontaneous things. Let's go Monday! (trying hard to be cheerful about that) xot

M E H

Finally getting back to things now that I've got my laptop almost cleaned up and my wifi back on! For those of you who have experienced the dreaded "scratch disk full" error, you know my pain. It's actually a good thing this has happened. I'm learning to clean up files as I go. One step closer to my getting organized! A skill I truly lack.

I am so behind on my DD13. Feeling a bit of the Christmas MEH lately because of that. This weekend will be dedicated to Christmas movies (Family Stone & Love Actually), hot cocoa with a splendid amount of marshmallows & documenting my December thus far.

happy weekend, xot

**MEH is a apart of the letterpress plate set I designed for Studio Calico. It's going to get some good use this weekend.

Paislee Press Press Plate #39

I'm a fan of these simple plates. Add a photo + a little clipping mask magic in PS and call it done. I've added several digital patterned papers from past Paislee Press kits. I plan to turn this more into a hybrid layout for my December Daily book. It'll be printed down to a 6x8 layout and I'll  add more dimensional items to some of the boxes.

You can see the rest of Liz's new items here. The TODAY cards will be sprinkled through my DD13. Love those.

xot