Hi friends! I was worried that my bottle was too small in this painting and it made my cat look huge but then several viewers on YouTube said that the only weird thing was that there was a bottle there at all because any cat would have knocked it down (and the pumpkin too!)
So true! This painting was a lot of fun to do. If you would like a real time narrated video of this you can find it in Critique Club but if you are not interested in watching and listening to me paint for over 2 hours you can catch the time lapse below:
Hi friends! How are you this week? I am good, the weather has been beautiful and I got outside a lot!
As I mentioned I have been making a lot of pizza dough. I tried 00 flour for the first time and it was really fantastic! The dough was much more elastic and easier to work with. I had several people on YouTube ask me for my recipe (me, a recipe, who do they think they are dealing with LOL!) and since I actually measured things out so I could teach a friends how to make it I have a vague idea of how to reproduce my famous pizza dough instead of my usually “let the pizza muse guide me” method.
Lindsay’s “Famous” Pizza Dough Recipe:
In a bowl dissolve 1 tablespoon each of yeast and sugar in 1 3/4 cups warm water.
Add up to 4 cups of flour, one cup at a time, while mixing. After the 3rd cup you will need to knead it by hand or with a dough hook on a mixer. I coat my hands prior yo kneading so the dough doesn’t stick.
When you begin to knead add 1/2 teaspoon of salt (it controls yeast growth for a uniform texture) and any spices you like such as garlic powder, oregano and basil.
The dough should be a little sticky but it should stay in a sooth ball. If it’s so sticky that you can’t handle it add flower a table spoon at a time until it works itself out, if it’s too dry add warm water a table spoon at a time. Humidity can effect how much water you need so it will be a bit different each time.
The dough is properly kneaded when you push your finger in the dough ball and it springs back. Place it in an oiled bowl or bag to rest for at least an hour before using. You can refrigerate it if you have leftovers or want to use it tomorrow. This makes 4 14″ ish pizzas.
If cooking this in your home oven I recommend rolling it out thin (it will puff a bit) and placing it on a cookie sheet coated with olive oil, dried minced garlic and salt. This slightly fries the crust for an amazing flavor! You can use parchment paper if you are on a diet. top it and bake at 400 F for 10 minutes. If using a pizza oven outside be sure to use the 00 pizza flour as it is supposed to handle the high heat better. Any flour is fine for home ovens tho. I’m gonna try our grill and a pizza stone next! Below is a pizza from out friends outdoor pizza oven, it was amazing!
It was so good I forgot to take a pic before I ate a slice!
And here is the other stuff I mentioned:
The cat tutorial is now up in Critique Club. It’s a real-time, over 2-hour watercolor and pencil tutorial. The time-lapse is up now on YouTube.
I borrowed a friend’s Kitchen Aid (A “kitchen aid” is a stand mixer so you don’t have to hold it and it can knead your bread dough! Like I barely have to touch it! It’s wicked cute too, but pricy. This is what they look like ) I am going to be sad I know that this exists in the world the next time I make dough by hand LOL! I’m glad we have it to make 40 pizzas worth of dough tho!
I think I might do a round up of all of the prime day things I bought and let you guys choose what to review first. Or is that weird?
That’s it for today! It is going to be a hot and muggy next few couple of days. It makes me very thankful for my cool basement art studio! Happy crafting!
Hi friends, I was looking in one of my pen cups and found a couple of ink filled water-brushes and I thought they would be fun to play with. I decided that if I did a really pastel sunset they would be great for adding tree sihlouttes to frame the painting.
What do you think? Below is a real-time step by step tutorial you can follow along with and if you like this lesson you might also enjoy my Watercolor Landscape Workshop.
Hi friends! Today at 12 noon Eastern time on YouTube I will chat live in the comments with anyone who wants to join in while I premiere this fun, stash busing, free cardmaking workshop!
don’t worry, if you can’t make it when it premieres you can watch the replay in the player below after the event.
Supplies & links to technique tutorials (affiliate links used) Please note that I am using up a lot of old, random stuff. you probably have scraps in your stash that will work just fine. Many of the supplies I used are discontinued but I tried to find similar things if you need them. Have fun and create! Everyone’s will be a bit different that that’s where the magic is!
The bird stamps and dies come free with the print issue of Simply Cards and Papercraft #216 (that I was featured in!) It $10.39 on Craft Stash or $17 at Joann Fabrics, Barns & Noble and other bookstores.
Hi friends, Today I am sharing a tour of one of my completed sketchbooks. I work on several at a time so it usually takes years for one to get used up. I hope you enjoy it! Also this was live streamed so you might want to fast forward a minute or two:) The sketchbook I used here is the Fabriano Venice Book.
I have long, real-time tutorials on many of these artworks in Critique Club, and time-lapse versions on my YouTube channel if you want to see more! Happy crafting!
Hi friends, Before we get into the video I wanted to mention that today and tomorrow are Amazon Prime days and while most people look to score deals on electronics many art suppliers are also offering deals so if you have had your eye on something you might want to check it out. I have been updating my Amazon recommendation page with my current faves if you are interested and hopefully some of those products will be an even better deal. I do know that Paul Rubens will have some amazing sales on Watercolors and oil pastels as well as other things, you can have a look at their store here. Big thank you if you click on one of my amazon affiliate links before you do your prime day shopping as it really helps support my free tutorials without costing you anything extra. Thanks!
Now on to the Saturday Chat a couple days late!
Stuff I mentioned:
I have updated my recommendations on Amazon and I will be updating it with crafty goodness during prime days.
This is the brush set I mentioned and will have a review on Monday (decent brushes for the price but if you already have brushes you like these are not going to impress you, best for someone starting out or who wants an inexpensive travel set, they get the job done for watercolor, gouache and acrylics)
This the the magazine I got the stamp set from I will be using in a video workshop this week (they did an article on me too which was really cool!)
Hi friends, it seems like every art supply company is coming out with specialty granulating watercolor sets these days and while they are tempting they are quite pricy and chances are you have many of the colors already. Granulation happens when large pigment particles settle out in wet washes and dry on your paper in intersting textures. The wetter your paper is the better effect you will get. Earth tones containing iron are good granulators, as well as cobalt colors and ultramarine. Most mineral based colors granulate well too and if you mix a mineral based pigment with a dye you get some really pretty color separation and granulation (think of Daniel Smiths most famous mixes like Moonglow and Rose of Ultramarine.)
Today we will use ultramarine blue, burnt umber (or burnt sienna or Van Dyke Brown), yellow ochre and a transparent red-brown to create some muted granulating mixes for these birds on a wire. Let’s paint!
Supplies (affiliate links used)
Watercolors: Mission gold watercolors at Blick or Amazon
Strathmore 6″x18″ watercolor paper (Way cheaper at Blick but also on amazon
Hi friends! I was doing some sewing recently and noticed that my thread was dusty. I tried wiping the dust off but that didn’t work too well. In this video short you can see what worked like a charm and you probably have it around your home already!
Now, I know there is some controversy about storing threads out in the open like this so if you don’t like it then don’t do it. Simple as that. I have not had a problem with my thread getting brittle or fading but I have no windows in my sewing room and previously this rack was in my bedroom and it didn’t get direct light. I like the way it looks and it is very easy to find what I need so I am keeping it this way but I totally understand if you would rather have it in a closed box and not worry about dusting it. To each their own LOL! Happy crafting!
PS this video was filmed for a YouTube short, that is why it is vertical.
Hi friends, today we have another novelty watercolor palette to review. Like other fan style palettes, it has pretty decent paint and is as cute as a button…or a cell phone? You can find this palette here (affiliate link)
I find the paint to be the same as all of the “fan” style paints I have reviewed in the past which is pretty good actually. The price is low and this would make a nice gift for the artist who has everything or someone wanting a travel palette that is inexpensive but good quality. Keep in mind that the paint is similar to other fan palettes so if you already have one of those palettes then some of these colors are likely duplicates. You can go with the type of fan palette you prefer in my opinion without sacrificing quality. You can find this watercolor palette on Amazon. Happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 