More Happy Summer ....

...although I am really looking forward to Happy Fall and cooler weather now,lol.
Hi again
My bedroom feels like a sauna and it's hot despite sleeping with a fan on . British houses don't come with AC , and this summer it would be oh so helpful ! I think this must the hottest summer we have had for a good 5-6 years. Or is it just the menopause making me hot,lol?

It's even making my brush pens dry out it seems ....or have I just been coloring that much ?
So it was time to invest in some new ones. This time I bypassed cheap and went for quality. It was time to try out what all theses designers and artists were talking about ....time for some Tombows !

Yup, I'm convinced ...they are worth the price ! The colors are rich, easily blendable  and overall fantastic. Take some getting used to though as the tips are a lot softer than my old ones.

Practice makes perfect !

In this case it was practice with a brush and watercolor. Harder than it looks ! But some of the challenges turned out fantastic this week.

For my little Garden I am prepping for fall and spring. I bought a bunch of bulbs to go in the earth . There's snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils and irises for early color. Not to forget the seeds for winter vegetables. I think I will give the cabbage family and leeks a try .
Tomato season is slowly coming to an end , but cucumbers and peppers are thriving and my little pumpkin patch is growing as well . Will have to take a shot next time .

Here's a shot I took this morning on my way home from work after nightshift. I just love morning glories :)
It's the simple things :) 

 Anyway , freebie time ! Here's the next part of Happy Summer .
http://www.mediafire.com/download/purb2qmm0pnxuev/sr_happysummer2.zip

 2 more to come .... so until next post . Enjoy :)
Hugs Snowy

New Freebie kit "Happy Summer"

Hi there again :)
I have been digging in my ex store kits and got another freebie kit for you.
I've been really busy with art, lettering and on the laptop. I will have to do a full back up as well later . Better safe than sorry and with Mercury retrograde end of the month it's important to do that.

I've been experimenting with chalks as an alternative method to color . It works especially well on pictures you want to give an old grungy or antique look. One of the challenges was to draw a map and the Words " Explore the World". It was a toss up between watercolor or color pencils, but then I remembered the chalks I had in my craft box for ages and decided to just give them a try. I had used them for card making with stamps years ago and thought they should work for what I had in mind as well. And it turned out great !

Another art challenge was Palm trees.
I had a nice sunset as background in mind for this. So I used watercolors to be able to blend the colors of the sky.
Another one that turned out fantastic :)

The beauty of the Challenges on Dawn Nicole's Art and hand-lettering class is that it's not limited to just one medium. We use everything from felt tips , coloring pencils, watercolor pencils and common watercolor, ink,brush pens , calligraphy pens etc....whatever we like ...
And practice makes perfect :)
I have always liked quotes and to be able to letter them in calligraphy or typography style is fun :)
Not mention being able to play with and experiment with all the different fonts.

  Anyway.... let's get to the kit now. Here's a qp and layout showing a bit of what's in there.

It's a colorful floral kit in 4 parts.
I give you the backgrounds today.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/r8imjw5cq7nba83/sr_happysummer1.zip

And now I'm off.... so much to do , so little time ,lol
I have some jam to make after Blackberry picking , I want to go and pick some Elderberries and of cause the housework doesn't do itself either. So until next post again ...
Hugs Snowy

Last part of "Softly"

...well, my time off work is over again for now , but hey...I still have 26 vacation days left to take until March next year ;)
Why so many? I started with a lot less , after 5 years we got a few extra days , after 10 years some more ....now I'm working there 15 years and I have the maximum days we can get. 15 years .... where did the time go?

2 months ago I ordered a pair of jeans one number smaller with the goal to fit into them - I'm proud to say I made that goal and even have to wear a belt ,lol. So that was my positive achievement this morning.
Coincidentally the Art/lettering challenge for today fitted this perfectly !

 I have been doing a lot of lettering practice using different fonts and mixing them.

You appreciate how easy and quick digital quotes/word art can be made on the computer when you do this ,lol. Sweat and curse words go into the hand drawn and lettered paper kind quite often ;)

A little watercolor as well ...


Tonight is the first pre-season football game ...Pats will be playing against the Saints. I'm looking forward to this game. Luckily I'm on late shift , so I can stay up to watch.

Anyway....let's post the link for the last part of Softly .
Here it is
http://www.mediafire.com/download/t1xjy9f10ch039t/sr_softly5.zip
And let's see what freebie I can dig up to post next ...more will be revealed in the next post ,lol
Till then :)

The next 2 Freebie Parts

Hi again :)

I have a few days off and making the most of it ! 

I think I have established kind of a routine for these days off. First it's into the kitchen and make coffee of course , but then a quick look on Facebook to see what friends are up to and then it's art time while the coffee kicks in. 

The past days I have finished a few drawings and paintings that way.

 When working with watercolors I start on the cleaning and tidy up while the different layers dry ;)

New paintbrushes make me happy ....it's the simple things ;) 

Although sometimes it's hazardous , for example when you grab the paintbrush water instead of the coffee mug and end up with a mouth full of colored water ! Yup, I did that,lol....glad it wasn't oil pints and white spirit ;) 

Note to self : Do not place coffee next to water for rinsing the brushes ! 

This one is my favorite in the moment. Love how it turned out ;)

Challenge was : Eiffel tower 

I started with a pencil sketch ,went over the lines and added detail with a sharpie fine marker, applied a watercolor wash for the background with clouds and hearts, then did the lettering. 

... in response to Edna's comment, I'm as happy as I can be. I have a good job, a roof over my head , can afford to treat myself sometimes and live my life being grateful for these things. I still miss Reggie though and currently have no wish to date or be in another relationship. I see and get to know guys and my thoughts are " He doesn't compare to Reggie" 

Nobody is good enough ....and unless I find someone who is, I rather stay single. And single definitely has its perks. I see other woman and their other halves and hear comments like "Can I get this? " 

"Stop spending so much money on clothes.shoes, handbags, craft stuff etc" Ughh...I would hate that,lol. My money ,my responsibilities, I buy what I like , I manage myself and don't need to answer to anyone ! 

I remember being married. I remember " Don't you think it's time you get off the computer/off the desk?" 

Fuck off,lol.... I do my art when I have the inspiration and ideas , and you can't put creativity on a time scale. Single:nobody breathing over your shoulder , freedom to do what you want , when you want ! That's why Reggie and me got on so well. Both of us had creative hobbies and we respected that each of us needed quiet and alone time to work on these things. His hobbies were probably more expensive than mine ,lol...On the other hand, somebody to go to concerts with, go hiking , cinema trips, cuddle up to simply watch a movie on TV, mind blowing sex etc would be nice ...So end of story : If I find another guy like that ...yeah, maybe.... otherwise men can kiss my butt. I'm not giving up my freedom and independence unless he's worth it and let's me be who I am. "Foot down, Snowy has spoken" lol

All righty then .... let's get to the freebie , here are the next 2 parts. One more to come in the next post :) Enjoy ! And until then 

Hugs Snowy

http://www.mediafire.com/download/tjo3g6ddmhl1kog/sr_softly2.zip

http://www.mediafire.com/download/ghfro3mk1qe5l9a/srsoftly4.zip