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

Freebie kit " Softly"

Hi all, 

back with the first 2 parts of "Softly" ...a previous Store kit. I picked this name because of the softer color palette used for this when I was still into the dark and Gothic.

I'm making this a short post today because I still have tons to do. As always not enough time to fit everything in I want to do :)

Right now I have 2 DVDs waiting for me to watch , after being out and about all morning , cycling , doing shopping, housework, watering and getting rid of weeds in my mini garden , picking cherry tomatoes and herbs to freeze/dry a stash for over the winter months .

Here is a layout I made with the kit.

So here are the first 2 links , 1 with papers and 1 elements . There will be 5 parts all together.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/rwzoruiw0fayyxz/sr_softly1.zip

http://www.mediafire.com/download/bddp278j6v2wgkq/sr_softly3.zip

More in my next post :)

Hugs Snowy

Last part of Freebie kit Natural Flair

Hi y'all  :)
Back as promised with the last part . Ahhh....it's nice to have time off work :) Right now I'm sitting here with sweet tea and having a break. Yes...sweet tea,lol. Some things don't change and Reggie definitely made some things stick. Like my love for sweet tea , Cajun food , Chillies, Jalapeños and Frank's Hot Sauce,lol.

And I've been experimenting with picture transfer on to plain fabric.
First I created the image in my design program and printed it on the transfer paper.

I was a bit skeptical whether it would transfer in this amazing image quality , but I'm a happy girl ! It came out amazing :)
I chose a plain Calico cotton shopping bag as trial project.

So with these transfer papers I can basically transfer any image I like onto plain fabric.

I'm also restoring an old blackboard and giving it a shabby look. This is the frame after 2 layers , but there's a lot more to do !

 I was recently asked "What's with all that pink? I thought you're an old goth?"
Well, yeah.... I still like my blacks and greys , but I suppose getting older has to do with it. I used to be a bit of a tomboy , but the older I got the more I was also appreciating the feminine side. I still wear a lot of black , but now I mix it with other brighter colors a lot. And from the dark Gothic look I had in my flat it has changed to lighter colors, because I cannot deny that dark colors make a small place look smaller and oppressive.
I love working with colors , and sticking to dark Gothic color schemes limits very much what you can do . And pure black can sometimes make you look older and let's face it  ...I'm not a spring chicken anymore and am fast approaching the big 50 ,lol

Anyway .... here is the last part of Natural Flair

http://www.mediafire.com/download/zb0ey2qe551ud5r/sr_naturalflair5.zip

Enjoy and till next post :)
Hugs Snowy

Last part of Freebie kit Natural Flair

Hi y'all  :)
Back as promised with the last part . Ahhh....it's nice to have time off work :) Right now I'm sitting here with sweet tea and having a break. Yes...sweet tea,lol. Some things don't change and Reggie definitely made some things stick. Like my love for sweet tea , Cajun food , Chillies, Jalapeños and Frank's Hot Sauce,lol.

And I've been experimenting with picture transfer on to plain fabric.
First I created the image in my design program and printed it on the transfer paper.

I was a bit skeptical whether it would transfer in this amazing image quality , but I'm a happy girl ! It came out amazing :)
I chose a plain Calico cotton shopping bag as trial project.

So with these transfer papers I can basically transfer any image I like onto plain fabric.

I'm also restoring an old blackboard and giving it a shabby look. This is the frame after 2 layers , but there's a lot more to do !

 I was recently asked "What's with all that pink? I thought you're an old goth?"
Well, yeah.... I still like my blacks and greys , but I suppose getting older has to do with it. I used to be a bit of a tomboy , but the older I got the more I was also appreciating the feminine side. I still wear a lot of black , but now I mix it with other brighter colors a lot. And from the dark Gothic look I had in my flat it has changed to lighter colors, because I cannot deny that dark colors make a small place look smaller and oppressive.
I love working with colors , and sticking to dark Gothic color schemes limits very much what you can do . And pure black can sometimes make you look older and let's face it  ...I'm not a spring chicken anymore and am fast approaching the big 50 ,lol

Anyway .... here is the last part of Natural Flair

http://www.mediafire.com/download/zb0ey2qe551ud5r/sr_naturalflair5.zip

Enjoy and till next post :)
Hugs Snowy

Freebie kit Natural Flair , next 2 parts

Hi again ,
Came off night shift this morning and made the mistake of not setting an alarm .So I slept longer than I wanted to ....just hope I'll be able to sleep tonight ;)
On the bright side : I'm off work for 2 weeks now ...hoooray !!!
On the downside : Where are the Cleaning fairies when you need them? Today is a case of catching up with those cleaning chores, and the laundry ain't gonna do itself either ...

I found time the past couple of days to finish off that last project and did the matching sign to the heart tray . Happy how it turned out again with those antiquing creams.

And during a trip into town I made the most out of a sale in my bookstore ...in the coloring department. I was chuffed to pick these up for 50% off ;)

Hours of more coloring fun :)

But let me give you the next two links of Natural Flair now , before I get back to dusting and laundry.

Another folder with backgrounds and another with elements.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/gvq9vvv942ud5xh/sr_naturalflair2.zip

http://www.mediafire.com/download/jw8r4htrvg2bvwz/sr_naturalflair4.zip

One more to come....I will post the last part on Sunday for you .

Do you like ABBA ?
Ville Valo from HIM did a solo project covering an ABBA song . I rather like it  :)



Till Sunday
Hugs Snowy

Freebie kit "Natural Flair"

Hi again,
as promised I'm back with an older ex Store kit as freebie.

I was asked why I don't post about my cats or my son. Well, my son values his privacy and doesn't like being photographed too much for a start. But I also don't want this blog to be about family , more about art and activities ...whether it's scrapping, painting/drawing, cooking ,sewing .....anything that catches my interest really.
Shaun is well, working hard and still enjoying his biggest love -motor biking.I probably get a chance for some pictures when we're on vacation soon ,lol.

The cats are now 17 (the 2 oldest) and 16 (the daughter of the two) years old and still going strong . Here they are all together snoozing on the sofa. How the hell did I ever survive with just one sofa all these years? Most of the time they take over both of them now,lol. They have mellowed down a lot, don't jump as much and high and sleep more , but still healthy

And I said I would take a few pic of my little gardening project.

That's actually potatoes in the large pot , and thyme,sage and rosemary in the small one.

I forgot what seeds I have planted here,lol.... just have to wait and see...

There is a small passion flower which I want to grow along the wall, Some lavender , chives and parsley ,plus another tomato plant I still have to get into a larger container. More pics coming,lol.


I've been antiquing a heart shaped tray and busy working on sign with quote as well. Not finished quite yet but here's a little look on what I did so far.

Painted and some decoupage, but more to do....
Anyway...here is the freebie I'm giving away . The first two parts today and then the rest coming in the next 2 posts.
It contains 18 backgrounds and 36 elements , so quite a large kit.

Here is a preview and layout I made with it, first two links under the layout.

Backgrounds http://www.mediafire.com/download/9ywr3973621b1l3/sr_naturalflair1.zip
and some elements http://www.mediafire.com/download/9o2q3yjv0bhv3i8/sr_naturalflair3.zip

I lost the folder with all the detailed previews in , so sorry for not showing all the papers and elements in separate previews. But I try to make a qp with each post to show a bit more. Enjoy :)

And now I have to start getting ready , cook dinner etc because I have to do this " work thing" later ,lol.
For my friends in USA -Have a nice Independence day weekend ! :)

Hugs Snowy

Freebies for you

Hi all,
I'm off work on my rota break again and thought I would pop in before the next round starts again.

As always being creative, specially with all the rain we're having here. Yes, we had a few days sun ...but always when I'm working. I'm off and boom...it's peeing down with rain again !
Typical my luck,lol.

Well, I bought myself a yogurt maker. Fantastic little thing ! From normal to Greek yogurt (it has a filter for that), yogurt dressing for salads to smoothies (using the left over whey which gets filtered when making Greek yogurt)...this thing is great ! Saving so much money , makes us eat more pro-biotic goodness and tastes so much better than the bought stuff. Not to mention I know what goes in it. That little book with recipes is fab as well ...yummie and healthy.

Still doing my fitbit steps , although the rain makes it hard to keep up to my goals sometimes.

On one of my trips to the Wilko store I saw a 3D butterfly picture on their shelf. It was £ 8.99 . I thought I can do this myself a lot cheaper ! I purchased a deep frame , printed the background and some butterflies, cut them out and fixed them with double sided tape onto the background. And there ya go.... £ 2.99 plus some paper, tape and printer ink. Very happy how it turned out ;)

Anyway.... 2 goodies for you today. A printable and a QP . I got this cute bundle pack with graphics and got creative.
Here is a preview of the QP

And the download link
https://www.mediafire.com/?ak09ruxu087olas

And here the matching printable
Download link
https://www.mediafire.com/?0ayjwxa033j8frd

I'll be printing and framing it myself  to hang on my wall ;)
As always everything is 300dpi , making it great print quality.

I hope to catch a sunny moment tomorrow to make a few pics of my little gardening area. It's growing , but would be a lot better with more sun instead of constant rain.
Oh yes, and I'm dusting off some old store kits and will start posting some as freebies soon .

Till next time
Hugs Snowy

Gardening Learning Curves and printable Summer pic

Hi,lol
It's nightshift recovery time for me...and that also means catching up with those chores like laundry, cleaning...and I finally found time to wash my curtains today and clean the windows. It's a job I hate but the sun made all too visible what really had to be done !

The gardening is definitely a learning curve. After several days of rain my poor plants were nearly drowning , so I had to drill several holes into the pots to let the water drain off. Next pot I plant will have enough holes before I plant anything in it,lol.
My plant babies are currently loving the sunny weather and growing nicely.

It might not seem much to people who have a garden , but for someone on the 3rd floor in a block of flats this little grow bag and patio pot garden is fantastic,lol......Snowy's mini farm ;) ...making the most out of the little space I have .

Also my chilli pepper plants by the window are doing well. This is what I had after picking this morning .

Last week I transformed an old small shelf which used to be in my kitchen. After I bought a new large spice rack I first wanted to throw this away,but now I'm glad I didn't.

After painting and applying the same antiquing paints as I did previously for the other items it turned out to be the perfect shelf for my pencils ;)

And it matches the rest of my self decorated stationary storage.

Anyway, here is a little freebie. A printable "Hello Summer"  because better weather finally seems to have arrived here in UK.

Download link https://www.mediafire.com/?di8838em5ze7pcu

I'm going to have overtime at work coming up, so I'm not sure how much time I will have to be creative , but I'll pop in and share whenever I have something new :)

Till then
Hugs Snowy