Time for Fall designs

Hi again,
yup, it's time for the first part of the first fall themed kit . Ye4s, the first ...I have more,lol.
It's my last day off work and I wanted to get this post done before I have to go back into the old routine.

While browsing I have come across a lovely little project the Graphics Fairy has on her blog.
Watercolor Labels. I always have plenty of glass jars which I could pretty up this way.
This is definitely a something I plan to do soon.
http://thegraphicsfairy.com/make-french-watercolor-labels/

 As for lettering practice, drawing and painting...I have been busy a usual.
A watercolor apple...

falling leaves ....

lettering...

And the whole place smelling of herbs after cutting and making bundles to dry. And I have a nice amount of home grown red potatoes I dug out in my little garden area.

I bought myself some wool , lovely variegated yarn in autumn colors for another project and am in the process of getting some of my fall decorations out , plus have some other little projects in mind to make some new ones or pretty the old up a little bit ;)
Yeah...I'm very rarely bored,lol.
And with fall and winter coming I will spend more time being creative when the weather prevents me from being outside.

Now to the mini kit ...only 2 parts for this one.
I will give you the backgrounds today and the elements in the next post.
Here some previews

And here the link for the papers
http://www.mediafire.com/download/45ynyu7mnkwxbxh/sr_autumnsymphony1.zip

As always ....stay creative , and I'll be back towards end of the week .
Hugs Snowy ;)

Last part of Happy Summer

Hello :)
Back again with the last part of the kit. I'm off work for this week and it's lovely not having to set the alarm clock and to be able just doing what I like :)
So far I have finished one Christmas present , 2 watercolor paintings and a lot of lettering practice.

If you are interested in learning to letter Dawn Nicole has not only a lot of practice and coloring sheets to print on her site,http://cf.bydawnnicole.com/ and a FREE art and Lettering class on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/dawnnicoledesigns/permalink/939183546172838/?comment_id=939758339448692&notif_t=group_comment_reply
 but Tombow also have a 17 page lettering practice book to download and print .
http://blog.tombowusa.com/free-printables/ and http://tombowusa.com/lettering-practice-sheets.html

To get the calligraphy effect you have to get used to do light upwards strokes and press a little more to get the fat down strokes.
Plus the drawing , doodling and watercolor practice is so much fun !
Here are some of the September challenges I completed.

Fall leaves and acorns (here's a close up)

Another challenge was the keyword "Harvest Moon"

And then pattern and lettering practice : learning to draw argyle and plaid patterns as backgrounds

 It's a lot easier and quicker in Photoshop , but it takes patience and some skill to do it by hand .

As with everything ....practice makes perfect !

And if you do traditional scrapbooking or want to create your own greeting cards , this kind of hand lettering will look great on your pages.



But now the last part for Happy Summer
http://www.mediafire.com/download/wt55364n9e3od1f/sr_happysummer4.zip

And for the next freebie I will be giving you my Autumn Symphony , a little Fall themed kit .
First part next post ...so you have something to look forward to ;)
Until then , stay creative !
Hugs Snowy

...and here is part 3

Hi all.....quick post before I have to head to work again .
It's gradually getting cooler in the evenings and early mornings, and also a little darker when I head out for my early shifts now. The days are definitely starting to get shorter.
I'm quite happy about it because my bedroom under the roof doesn't feel so much like a sauna anymore.

Fall is also the theme for the September DND challenges this month. I finally found time this morning to letter and doodle the first two days.

 Loving the fall colors I can work with now.

The Tombows really are fantastic !
The colors literally pop out at you :)

 My smilie turned out a bit wonky because one of my cats decided to jump up and nudge me,lol

Not much more to tell right now because I have been literally going to work , coming home and doing the housework that needed doing and off to bed , apart from a little drawing.
I have 2 more shifts to work before I can enjoy some days off again.

So for now I will just give you the 3rd part of the kit and then get ready .
Here is the link
http://www.mediafire.com/download/2n689annkvhc5al/sr_happysummer3.zip

Next week will be the last part and then I will start getting something autumn themed ready for you.

Enjoy and till next post :)
Hugs Snowy

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

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