Author: linda

Blue Knot Bag

linda5 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians and it’s World Arthritis Day which I’m celebrating by sewing a Japanese Knot Bag for my daughter.

blue fabric knot bag

this easy to follow tutorial was perfect for some of my leftover face mask fabrics and I’m very pleased with the end result. now I think I need one for myself; I just started physio for my jaw so I’ll use it to throw into my walker basket just to carry my phone and a few items.

I’m playing along with the As You Like It Challenge Favourite Non-Card Project (& Why). I recently rediscovered my love of sewing after a very long time away from it due to my RA and surgeries; I’m especially enjoying projects I’ve never tried before just because I love a good challenge.

thanks for popping by.

Cute Scarecrow

linda4 Comments

this is about the only time of year that I’m inspired to use a warmer palette for my cards; it’s another one for the Impression Obsession Challenge theme – Autumn Colours, although I did add some cooler colours.

fall colours card featuring cute scarecrow image

I painted this sweet Impression Obsession scarecrow cling stamp (E11122) and sky with twinkling H2Os and sennelier watercolour paints on Arches hot press watercolour paper. I popped the image on foam tape, attached it to designer paper and finished it off with the Impression Obsession hello from the DIE688-B hello summer die.

thanks for popping by.

Another Monster Smiles

linda3 Comments

I had so much fun creating my monster smiles card that I made another one for the current Impression Obsession Challenge theme – Autumn Colours.

impression obsession monster stamp on card fall colours

I painted an images from the Impression Obsession Monster Mash (CL886) clear stamp set with watercolour paints on Arches hot press watercolour paper and fussy cut it to pop on foam tape. i used the ‘sending’ from the IO Wishes stamp set (MC657) and used the IO DIE158-H ALPHABET to create the smiles. I decorated my handmade envelope by stamping the spider web (IO CL336 When Life) seven times along the bottom edge; two spiders from the same set fit nicely in the space.

thanks for popping by.

Monster Smiles

linda2 Comments

I created another card for the current Impression Obsession Challenge theme – Autumn Colours.

monster fall card

I painted one of the images from the Impression Obsession Monster Mash (CL886) clear stamp set with watercolour paints on Arches hot press watercolour paper and fussy cut it to pop on foam tape. i used the ‘sending’ from the IO Wishes stamp set (MC657) and used the IO DIE158-H ALPHABET to create the smiles. I think this is the first time I’ve ever decorated an envelope made with my WRMK envelope punch board: the spider web (IO CL336 When Life) was stamped seven times along the bottom edge and two spiders from the same set fit nicely in the space.

thanks for popping by.

FALL COLOURS

linda5 Comments

I was inspired to create this card for the current Impression Obsession Challenge theme – Autumn Colours.

I used the first IO stamp I bought, Winter Trees (CL98), to create this card. The stamp was sponged with distress inks: mustard seed, spiced marmalade and barn door and stamped on Bristol smooth paper. I used the same inks to create a mat and finished the card with a sentiment from the IO More Basic Greetings set (CL549).

I’m also sharing this card at CAS on Friday AUTUMN.

thanks for popping by.

One Stencil, Two Cards For Rudolph Days

linda12 Comments

it’s time for me to share my design team creation for this month’s Rudolph Days Challenge, hosted By Maureen, where you have until the end of the month to play along for a chance for a lovely prize; the detailed list of all the rules are posted on maureen’s blog.

I used an everyday penny black stencil, petite blossom, that I thought would pass for holiday greenery; I stencilled hickory smoke distress ink onto white card stock and used a strip of red glitter paper to accent the die cut sentiment. for the second card I spritzed the stencil and pressed watercolour paper onto it to get the opposite look.

Update: Creative Expressions sentiment die and Wendy Vecchi – Make Art – Stay-tion – 7 Inch for stencil use.

thanks for popping by.

A Change of Plan

linda4 Comments

The transition from the Penny Black And More Challenge to the We Love Chocolate Baroque Challenge was more complex than I anticipated so I decided to step away. I create for me, for fun. But when I do create for others I appreciate it when my contributions are welcomed and I feel valued as an artist.

thanks for popping by.

A Bear-y Sweet Card

linda15 Comments

For the past 8 years I’ve enjoyed designing for the Penny Black And More Challenge but the challenge has ended and is moving in a new direction with a new sponsor.

I have a sweet card featuring some adorable WPlus9 bees and bears.

bears, honey and bees card

I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, sponged the sky and grass with distress inks and added stickles to the wings. I fussy cut the bear on the ground and popped it on foam tape.

thanks for popping by.

A Little Something Sew Different

linda3 Comments

I’ve been extremely busy lately so it felt great to create something, especially with fabric for a change. long before I started card making I sewed but after my severe RA diagnosis and surgeries I gave it up. but I missed it. so, I traded my decades old manual sewing machine for a computerized one – what a difference; I can sew again.

I started out with making face masks and have moved on to small projects just as a refresher and to learn to use my new machine. these ‘itty bitty boxy bags’ were fun to make and I’ll definitely be making more; I followed this video tutorial.

itty bitty fabric pouch

of course I had to make a sunscreen lip balm holder and I challenged myself to sew with cork; I followed these instructions.

lip balm holder

thanks for popping by.

 

Say It With Flowers

linda9 Comments

this is my mid month design team card for the ‘say it with flowers’ theme at the Penny Black And More Challenge that runs until September 2 so there’s still plenty of time to play along.

I painted this penny black floral image, unfolding, with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and spritzed all over with a gold shimmer spray before matting it with a thin frame and then onto matte gold card stock.

Remember, we are a stamping challenge so the focal point has to use a hand stamped image, any company’s, to be eligible for a prize from our sponsors Penny Black and Stamp Addicts. Also, the Design Team will be voting for their favourite entries using a Penny Black image. The winner will be announced in this months winners post and be invited to feature in our October challenge telling us a bit about themselves, why they love Penny Black stamps and showcasing a creation using one.

I’m submitting this to The Flower Challenge #47 Add Sparkle (shimmer spray).

thanks for popping by.

Say It With Flowers At Penny Black And More

linda9 Comments

It’s the first Sunday of a new month so there’s a new theme at the monthly Penny Black And More Challenge and for August it’s ‘say it with flowers.’

I used this cute Penny Black Hedgie wooden stamp image, A Tender Hug, and painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper to create this set of cards.

This month we are doing things slightly differently, the Design Team will be voting for their favourite entries using a Penny Black image. The winner will be announced in this months winners post and be invited to feature in our October challenge telling us a bit about themselves, why they love Penny Black stamps and showcasing a creation using one.

Remember, we are a stamping challenge so the focal point has to use a hand stamped image, any company’s, to be eligible for a prize from our sponsors Penny Black and Stamp Addicts.

thanks for popping by.

Snow Hill Slider For Rudolph Days

linda14 Comments

this is my design team card for the July Rudolph Days Challenge, hosted By Maureen, where you have until the end of the month to play along for a chance for a lovely prize. all the rules are posted on maureen’s blog.

i’ve not had much success with slider cards, until now; i used Taylored Expressions’ discs and i’m very happy with them. i painted this sweet Avery Elle polar playtime image with Twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and fussy cut it to place over the Lawn Fawn slide on over die cut hill. i used derwent inktense pencils on the house windows, a mama elephant die. the snow flurries were created by spraying a fine mist of water over a sponged distress ink watercolour paper background.

See it in action:

thanks for popping by.

In The Garden at Penny Black And More

linda8 Comments

just a reminder that there is still plenty of time to play along with the July ‘in the garden’ theme at the Penny Black And More Challenge.

This sweet image is from the same Penny Black stamp set that I used at the start of this month’s challenge, critter fun. as usual, I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and used an essentials by ellen die cut frame.

you can use stamps from any company, no digis, but your focal point needs to be hand stamped and reflect the current theme to be eligible for a prize from our generous sponsors – Penny Black and Blade Rubber.

thanks for popping by.

Summer Flowers

linda3 Comments

i almost forgot to upload my cards for the summer flowers theme at the Impression Obsession Challenge; since I’m on the road I used my phone for the first time.

I’m sending more cards to friends during this pandemic although the stay-at-home time feels the same as before to me. I used colour pencils for this Impression Obsession free covid themed digital image, ‘Dear Blank’ – so relaxing.

thanks for popping by.

Tasty Turnips

linda9 Comments

it’s time for a new theme at the monthly Penny Black And More Challenge and for July it’s ‘in the garden.’

these cute gardening critters are from the Penny Black ‘critter fun’ clear stamp set that I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. playing along is easy; you can use stamps from any company, no digis, but your focal point needs to be hand stamped and reflect the current theme to be eligible for a prize from our generous sponsors – Penny Black and Blade Rubber.

thanks for popping by.

In Loving Memory

linda10 Comments

it’s hard to believe but it’s now 11 years ago today that my son passed away from brain cancer and every year I’ve made a card in his memory.

my son was an avid reader from a very young age; he would often enjoy his books outside in warm weather. when he was inside, his vivid imagination enabled him to draw and colour characters of his own while he listened to music; he was a fan of Sarah McLachlan. I got to know a lot of his favourite artists when we shared the family room while he was drawing and I was learning computer skills – of course I had to keep interrupting him to help me. I’m glad I listened to him and later switched to a Mac.

Both the image and sentiment are Impression Obsession stamps and, as usual, I painted with twinkling H2Os and I’m playing along with this challenge:

As You Like It Challenge Favourite- Digi Or Rubber (& Why): it’s very rewarding to hand stamp images and bring them to life by water colouring them; it’s all part of the creative process, including the challenge to find dies to cut/frame them. I’ll rarely use digis – I haven’t yet found a printer that will handle 140 lb. watercolour paper so I usually just colour them on card stock with pencils, which is not as enjoyable as painting.

thanks for popping by.

Favourite Stamps at Penny Black and More

linda7 Comments

it’s time for a new theme at the monthly Penny Black And More Challenge and for June we’d like to see your favourite stamps.

it’s very difficult to choose my favourite since I’ve been collecting penny black stamps since 2008 but overall margaret sherry’s critters, especially the hedgies and mice, are the ones I love and use the most. this sweet image good news! always makes me smile. I painted everything with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, die cut the image panel and popped it on foam tape. I don’t have a honeycomb stencil so I inked the chicken wire stencil, spritzed it and pressed cold press watercolour paper onto it.

playing along is easy; you can use any company, no digis, but your focal point needs to be hand stamped and reflect the theme.

thanks for popping by.

Missing You

linda2 Comments

I’m playing along with two SugarPea Designs Challenges:

June Meant To Be Sent

June Mix It Up Challenge #68

I used both the inspiration colours and the sketch, flipped/reversed, to create this card to send to my daughter who lives a couple of hours away –  I really miss visiting her. we use FaceTime but it’s just not the same as an in person visit.

I stamped and fussy cut one of the cute monkeys in the SugarPea Designs Chunky Monkey stamp set and painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper; blue and yellow were mixed for the leaves. the sky was sponged with salty ocean distress ink and the monkey was popped on foam tape.

thanks for popping by.

Rudolph Days Challenge May 2020

linda11 Comments

it’s time for the May Rudolph Days Challenge, hosted by Maureen, where you are encouraged to create holiday cards/projects from the 25th to the last day of each month until November.

I used a new Penny Black image for my design team card, merry making, that i painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper;  i also painted the sky with my twinks. my purple background was created by sponging seedless preserves and chipped sapphire distress inks on Bristol smooth paper and then i sponged white gouache through a Taylored Expressions snowfall stencil.

be sure to pop by Maureen’s blog for the full set of rules to be eligible for a generous prize and have fun working ahead on your holiday cards!

thanks for popping by.

Freebie Fun With Taylored Expressions

linda6 Comments

Taylored Expressions is another company that is offering free digis and since i already had the big grumpy stamp/die combo, i downloaded some free Big Grumpy – COVID19 sentiments. Just login to your TE account, or create one if you haven’t already, then search download.

Taylor has a video to illustrate how to align the sentiment with acetate and stazon ink, which i don’t use, but i found vellum and versafine ink worked just as well. I also had to perform a bit of surgery to separate the sentiment so i could paint the images with twinkling H2Os on hot press watercolour paper. to finish the card, i stamped the neat and tangled dot background with broken china distress ink.

i’m playing along with these challenges:
Allsorts  #571/2 – Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp – Animal Fun

thanks for popping by.

For Boys and Men At Penny Black And More

linda12 Comments

it’s time for a new theme at the monthly Penny Black And More Challenge and this month we’d like to see masculine creations.

I painted this sweet image, a Penny Black wood stamp, gifts sedan, with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, added mats and attached the image panel to some designer paper. it’s easy to play along –  just be sure to hand stamp a focal image, any company, to be entered for a chance to win a prize from our generous sponsors Penny Black and Blade Rubber Crafts.

thanks for popping by.

Positive Pants

linda2 Comments

as i’m in a high risk group in three categories, i’ve been self isolating for weeks but really, it doesn’t feel much different than my pre-pandemic life.

but i know family and friends are getting tired of the restrictions so i’m playing along with the Impression Obsession Challenge to create funny cards that i hope will make them smile. once again i’ve used the free Impression Obsession digi (NOLA003-DG Positive Pants) and pencil crayons to create this masculine card.

thanks for popping by.

A Punny Bunny

linda6 Comments

i’m playing along with the Impression Obsession Challenge to create funny cards, an appropriate theme.

like so many people, i’ve been sewing masks for family members since we’re all supposed to be wearing them but i took a break to create this card with a free Impression Obsession digi (NOLA003-DG Positive Pants).

i used pencil crayons, matted the image on pink card stock and attached it to some memory box paper – nice and flat for mailing.

thanks for popping by.

Freebie Fun With Impression Obsession

linda2 Comments

Digi stamps are new at Impression Obsession and are available for download once you sign in to your account. I downloaded some free images illustrated by IO designers Lindsay Ostrom and Nola Chandler that are very timely and positive.

i’m not a big fan of digis only because i love to paint images and my watercolour paper is too thick to feed through my printer. but my second favourite medium to colour with is pencil crayons so that’s what i use with digis.

this is the first fun image to send to my hair stylist; it was fun to colour and i simply added a mat with the new ellen hutson essential rectangle dies. of course first i had to add a bit of extra glue to the upper left corner; i didn’t even notice it lifted until i edited my photo.

thanks for popping by.

Mid April At Penny Black And More

linda8 Comments

I’m back with a reminder that we’re mid way through April so there’s still time to play along with this month’s anything goes theme at the Penny Black and More challenge.

blue bird card copyright linda snailzpace.com

i love this penny black image, the sweetest sound, but it’s one of those solid cling stamps that challenges me because it’s the opposite of outline stamps that i love to paint. still, i thought i’d give it a go and struggled with distress inks and markers so in the end, i painted it with gouache.

remember, to be eligible for a prize from a generous sponsor, your focal image needs to be hand stamped, although it can be any company’s stamp.

thanks for popping by.

Easter Bunnies

linda3 Comments

i’ve been practicing painting stripes so i made a quick and easy card to join the new Impression Obsession Challenge – Easter Fun!

i used my painted stripes for the Impression Obsession happy easter die (DIE367-J); the IO die cut bunnies (DIE168-C) were painted with twinkling H2Os on cold press watercolour paper and then i sponged the edges with walnut stain distress ink. i finished off the card with some scraps of paper in coordinating colours.

thanks for popping by.

Happy Easter

linda5 Comments

the Clearly Besotted Spring Plushies is a small stamp set but it’s perfect for spring and easter cards; it includes cute characters, spring florals, eggs and a sentiment. no surprise, it’s out of stock right now.

i sponged the sky with salty ocean distress ink and grass with mowed lawn distress ink. everything else was painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press w/c paper, fussy cut and popped on foam tape for dimension.

i’m playing along with the Allsorts #567challenge – Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue: my distress inks are 8 years old, my stamps are new, the sky is blue and i borrowed the sketch from Michelle, who designs for Clearly Besotted.

thanks for popping by and enjoy your day.

It’s Too Peopley Outside

linda4 Comments

This CNN article, Why some people just won’t stay home despite the advice, satisfied my curiosity about those who defy the guidelines.

i used the Taylored Expressions BIG GRUMPY STAMP & DIE COMBO and die cut the bear shape on a fold to create these little cards. as usual, i painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and added glossy accents to their noses. i’m playing along with the As You Like It Challenge Favourite – Animal Or People (& Why): i love adorable and humorous animal images that make me smile; they’re always fun to paint.

thanks for popping by.

Happy Easter Chick

linda8 Comments

it’s time for a new monthly theme at the Penny Black And More Challenge and it’s an easy one – Anything Goes!

happy easter 2020 penny black card copyright linda snailzpace.com

this is the easter card I made for my daughter, using penny black ‘chick to chick,’ painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. Ellie, my PB and More teamie made some cute cards with dotted backgrounds so I was inspired to use the Altenew dots stencil and wild honey distress ink here.

along with an easy theme this month, it’s so easy to play along! just be sure to hand stamp a focal image, any company, to be entered for a chance to win a prize from our generous sponsors Penny Black and Swedish House Crafts.

thanks for popping by.

A Cup Of Comfort

linda2 Comments

I’m cutting it close to today’s deadline for the new Impression Obsession Challenge – Pour One On!

purple and green card with impression obsession guinea pig in teacup copyright Linda snailzpace.com

I couldn’t resist making another card with this adorable Impression Obsession cutie, H13747, this time using more spring-like colours. As usual, I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, matted and popped the image on foam tape. To finish it off, I stamped the sentiment, B20782, with versa fine onyx black ink on patterned paper.

Thanks for popping by.

Floral Bookmarks

linda4 Comments

i’m back with another entry for the Altenew March 2020 Inspiration Challenge:

Altenew March 2020 Inspiration cool colour palette

the Altenew Book Club stamp set was one that i purchased with my Ellen Hutson 12 Tags 2019 winner’s gift card. i made three bookmarks, all painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and attached to shimmer card stock bases.

this one was created for one of my daughter’s retiring professors:

someone saw the first and asked me to make another:

i decided i wanted one for myself, a bit softer:

thanks for popping by.

Rudolph Days Challenge March 2020

linda8 Comments

i’m up on the Rudolph Days Challenge blog this month, hosted by Maureen, to encourage you to create your holiday cards from the 25th to the last day of every month; there’s also a prize waiting for one random winner.

vintage christmas card copyright linda snailzpace.com

this was a very easy card to make because i didn’t paint this time; i cut out one of the sweet images from a 12 x 12 sheet of Bo Bunny Christmas Treasures. the impression obsession swirl was stamped in plum ink and i used burgundy linen cardstock to die cut the hero arts snowflake swirl and border before i popped the image on foam tape. This is a great way to embellish upcycled images or card toppers.

thanks for popping by.