Otterly Adorable

linda4 Comments

Joey, the world’s most famous otter, provided entertainment through a live stream of his growth at the Ocean Wise Marine Mammal Rescue Centre in Vancouver last summer; he has his own youtube channel and now a special edition face mask featuring his image.

A friend gave me mini wobbles for Christmas so Joey came to mind – he sure can wriggle!

three cards featuring lawn fawn otter copyright Linda snailzpace.com

I started with painting the die cut Lawn Fawn stitched simple wavy borders, taped to a circle, and added a mat that was attached to some stonework paper. I painted the Lawn Fawn Winter Otter with twinkling H2Os, stamped the heart from the same stamp set, fussy cut and mounted them on mini wobbles. the sentiment is from the same small set and I added die cut Lawn Fawn mini snowflakes.

I’m submitting these cards to the LAWN FAWNATICS CHALLENGE 94 – WHAT’S THE WEATHER? It’s sunny, which will hopefully melt all the snow. If you need something to warm your heart, check out Joey.

thanks for popping by.

Happy Rudolph Days January 2021

linda9 Comments

it’s a new year and we’re here at the Rudolph Days Challenge, hosted by Maureen, to inspire you to create holiday cards every month to avoid the stress of not being ready for mailing deadlines.

this month I’m featuring a beautiful Tattered Lace bow die set, a DT gift from Maureen, that I had a lot of fun with.

first up is a tag: I cut purple mirri paper with the middle size bow and attached it with just a dot of glue to a square cut from festive doodlebug winter wonderland paper I finished it off with a lawn fawn sentiment and twine.

I cut gold mirri paper with all three dies and attached them to some red plaid paper, leftover from the gnome cards; it’s from a bo bunny paper pad, Christmas Treasures, that measures 6 inches wide and 8 inches long – perfect for those longer style cards. the merry is lawn fawn.

what to do with leftover bits? confetti! I used a toothpick to dot liquid glue in spots and attached the purple mirri bits with a Marvy jewel picker. if you’re looking for a therapeutic activity, this is it; I got a bit absorbed with deciding where the bits would go. I used the same lawn fawn die set for the happy, also cut from purple mirri for this 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch card.

the rules are simple: just submit one Christmas creation for a chance to win a generous prize from Maureen and leave a comment on her blog.

thanks for popping by.

Thanks Doc

linda2 Comments

I wanted to thank one of my medical specialists for doing telephone interviews every 6 months instead of just cancelling my appointments as one did.

thank you doctor card copyright Linda S snailzpace.com

I used the waffle flower frontline heroes 1 stamp set directly on Kraft and used colour pencils; the hamster was stamped on Arches hot press watercolour paper, painted with twinkling H2Os, fussy cut and popped on foam tape. I finished it off with a blue border on a white card base.

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Welcome 2021!

linda2 Comments

this taylored expressions’ big grumpy sentiment sums up how I feel about this year.

happy 2021 bear card copyright linda snailzpace.com

the sentiment is one of several freebies to download; this is my favourite. I fussy cut the printed sentiment to add to the stamped grumpy that was painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. I die cut a card base with a fold on the top between the ears so it can stand up. I added the confetti with fine tip markers – very therapeutic.

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Snow Bun Fun

linda3 Comments

this is the card that I made a set of eight for my daughter to send to her fellow animal lovers for the holidays.

santa and snow bunnies card 👮‍♀️ right Linda snailzpace.comy

I have to thank Keeway for this design; I loved her card but i made mine a bit smaller so i could just focus on bunnies. the sky was sponged and the bunnies were painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut and popped on foam tape.

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12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 11

linda2 Comments

I did it! this is my last tag, day 11, for Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 11 – Deck the Halls with Kelly Griglione. Kelly wanted to see one of two choices and I chose: 1) be inspired by the title of the song and “deck” out your tags with pine branches, holly, berries, etc.

I cut the Sizzix/Tim Holtz Mixed Media Christmas holly die from Kraft card stock that was stamped with the Penny Black Christmas words background. I layered the negative cut piece over another piece of kraft, sponged the hollyhocks with distress inks, shaped the leaves, and inlaid the images. I added stickles to just the tops of the berries, sponged the edges and sprayed all over with Imagine gold sheer shimmer spray. it’s finished off with a gold ribbon through the hanger, again from the Ellen Hutson shaker globe die set.

holly tag on Kraft copyright linda snailzpace.com

so much inspiration, as always, but I ran out of time to make any more for the fun challenge.

thanks for popping by.

12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 12 Part Two

linda2 Comments

day 12 of of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 12 – 12 Days of Christmas with Julie Ebersole. Julie’s tags inspired me with her foiling technique; yay, I can foil! I watched the video and learned what I’ve been doing wrong. I painted this tiny bird for a partridge in a pear tree from the mama elephant holidays bitties set with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, die cut matte gold foil card stock with a lawn fawn winter tiny tags ornament die and foiled the berries with red foil.

a partridge in a pear tree tag copyright linda snailzpace.com

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12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 12

linda3 Comments

this is my tag for day 12 of of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 12 – 12 Days of Christmas with Julie Ebersole. Julie’s tags inspired me with her clean and simple design, along with the lyrics three French hens. I I started bypass paining the background with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, then the birds and then the bias binding with the same paints. i used stickles on the pom poms and added a mama elephant sentiment from the mini merry messages stamp set.

three French hens tag copyright linda snailzpace.com

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12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 10

linda3 Comments

day 10 of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 10 – Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer with Adelina Starace. I was inspired by the lyrics, ‘But as for me and grandpa we believe.’ I painted this mama elephant reindeer with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut and attached it to a brown plaid piece of paper that was die cut with a mama elephant scallop trio tag. I added stickles to the hat and glossy accents to the nose and jingle bell.

mama elephant reindeer tag copying right linda snailzpace.com

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12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 9 Part 2

linda2 Comments

my second tag for Day 9 of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 9 – Holly Jolly Christmas with Carly Tee Minner. Carly’s bold ‘holly jolly’ tag inspired me, along with the lyrics, to create this second tag featuring a Burl Ives snowman with Rudolph; one of my favourite Christmas shows. The images are Inkadinkado, painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. I used a mama elephant sentiment on a tag and finished with a green ribbon.

burl ives snowman and Rudolph tag copyright linda snailzpace.com

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12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 9

linda2 Comments

my tag for Day 9 of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 9 – Holly Jolly Christmas with Carly Tee Minner. Carly’s bold ‘holly jolly’ tag reinforced the lyrics already staying in my head: ‘say hello to friends you know and everyone one you meet.’

snowman tag in green and violet copyright linda snailzpace.com

so I used the mama elephant hello die, layered to make it look like snow on the top edge, added a Penny Black sticker (retired) and I used the same green card stock to cut the hanger, once again from the Ellen Hutson snow globe die. I finished it off with some Lawn Fawn hemp.

thanks for popping by.

12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 8

linda2 Comments

well it’s a good thing the deadline for the tags is December 16. I’m up to Day 8 of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 8 – We Wish You a Merry Christmas with Emily Mydlowski. I was inspired by the figgy pudding lyrics, and Ardyth’s tag colours and how the snowmen popped against the background. I painted the Clearly Besotted penguin with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut, and attached it to the front of the mama elephant framed tags union square die. I stamped the inside with a Darcie’s sentiment.

holiday tag featuring clearly besotted penguin with figgy pudding copyright Linda snailzpace.com

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12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 7

linda3 Comments

I’m up to Day 7 of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge

December 7 – A Marshmallow World with Heather Meeson. I love the red and white striped snowman hat and scarf on Heather’s tag and that’s what inspired me. I used the Inky Antics marshmallow friends image, painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and added glossy accents to the straw and red stripes – not exactly arthritis friendly so it’s a bit wobbly. to finish it off, I fussy cut, and attached it to some doodlebug paper on foam tape and added a green bow. the sentiment is from the same set.

marshmallow mug Christmas tag copyright Linda snailzpace.com

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12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 4

linda3 Comments

this is my tag for Day 4 of the Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 4 – Sleigh Ride with Lisa Spangler. I love Lisa’s sleigh with an adorable bunny and how mr. bunny helped during her painting session so I was inspired to add some bunnies to my tag.

I masked off the upper portion of the tag to sponge the background with distress inks; the bottom snow bank was die cut. snowflakes were stamped with hero arts white ink and I added stickles to the edges of the snow banks. I painted the images with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, die cut with coordinating dies and popped them all on foam tape. I added glossy accents to the sleigh trim and stickles to teddy’s hat and finished it off with a sentiment.

two bunnies watching teddy sleigh ride tag copyright linda snailzpace.com

I’m also playing along with the LAWN FAWNATICS CHALLENGE 90 – COLOR INSPIRATION: i used the colours on the images.

Lawn Fawn supplies used:
Snow Cool snowflakes stamp
Oh What Fun sleigh
Smooth Sailing bunny and coordinating dies
Tiny Tag Sayings ‘merry wishes’
Stitched Simple Wavy Borders die
Silver Sparkle hemp cord

thanks for popping by.

12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 6

linda4 Comments

my tag for day 6 of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 6 – Home for the Holidays with Michele Ferguson. Michelle created a cozy cabin scene and I was ready to use a cabin but the current situation influenced my thoughts – people may not be home for the holidays and may have to spend it wherever they are. This little mouse is cozy in a walnut shell so that’s where my creativity took me.  I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and matted with Ellen Hutson essential circles and the hanger from the EH shaker globe die set.

round Christmas mouse tag copyright linda snailzpace.com

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12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 5

linda3 Comments

I’m up to day 5 of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 5 – White Christmas with Jessica Frost-Ballas. Lisa’s tag inspired me with her polar bear and northern lights. I have all the Daniel Smith paints Lisa used and I was looking forward to trying her technique to create a sky; I love painting skies. But, all my attempts with DS paints and Arches cold press watercolour paper were trashed. My conclusion is that I am too used to painting on Arches hot press watercolour paper and using Twinkling H2Os that have very different characteristics, not to mention my painting style is controlled. While it was fun trying Lisa’s technique, in the end I used my usual twinks and cold press w/c paper to get the result I was ok with.

polar bear tag copyright Linda snailzpace.com

I painted the memory box wood bear stamp with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut and popped it on foam tape; it was sprayed all over with imagine sheer shimmer spray clear that doesn’t show.

thanks for popping by.

12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 3

linda3 Comments

I’m up to day 3 of Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

December 3 – Here Comes Santa Claus with Therese Calvird. Therese inspired me to use black card stock for the houses instead of my usual white. I used a portion of the mama elephant hilly neighbourhood die and attached sponged yellow card stock behind. I sponged the shadows and sky and added a mama elephant Santa.

santa tag copyright linda snailzpace.com

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12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 2

linda3 Comments

I’m trying to catch up on Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge.

mama elephant Lamb on musical background paper tag copyright linda snailzpace.com

December 2 – The Little Drummer Boy with Ardyth Percy-Robb. Ardyth’s tag is whimsical with a gingerbread playing the drum. nothing similar in my stash although I did create a whimsical tag for the phrase, ‘the ox and lamb kept time.’ this mama elephant lamb looked like he would enjoy a beat; plus, I attached a mini wobble to see him in action. I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and cut with coordinating dies. I used a sunny studio tag die that includes a die to add a border and the reinforcement; I thought the red glitter was festive.

thanks for popping by.

12 Tags Of Christmas 2020 Day 1

linda3 Comments

I’m playing along with Ellen Hutson’s Twelve Tags of Christmas 2020 Challenge for the seventh year; this year’s tags are based on the designers’ favourite holiday songs.

snow globe tag copyright Linda snilazpace.com

December 1 – Silver Bells with Sandy Allnock. Sandy used the Ellen Hutson Shaker Globe and airbrushed a purple sky with buildings in the front of the scene. I used the same die but die cut silver card stock and sponged distress inks for the sky: chipped sapphire and dusty concord. I added snowflakes with a white pen. I used a portion of houses from Elizabeth craft designs die, sponged with chipped sapphire distress ink and added stickles to the rooftops. the windows were cut separately and then I painted shadows on them with twinkling H2Os and a size 0000 watercolour paint brush before adding shine with a clear glaze pen. I added stickles on the snow bank and added two layers of a silver peel off sticker sentiment. finally, I added a white sheer ribbon with a silver thread edge.

thanks for popping by.

Plum Pudding For Penguin

linda5 Comments

after creating multi-step cards, it was quite relaxing to just sit and colour this little cutie!

penguin with plum pudding on a Christmas card copyright linda snailzpace.com

this one layer card features one of the cute Clearly Besotted penguins from the Christmas Plushies clear stamp set; I coloured with prismacolour coloured pencils.

I was inspired by these challenges:

Less Is More must be CAS– #433 – Festive One Layer Card
ABC Christmas, – Your Favorite Things/Z for Sleeping – colouring and creating cards with cute critters

thanks for popping by.

A Pair Of Penguins

linda7 Comments

this is my design team card for the last Rudolph Days Challenge of 2020; hopefully you have a nice stash of cards ready to go if you’ve been playing along.

I made a heart easel card featuring these adorable penguins from the Evelin T Designs ‘fun in the snow‘ clear stamp set. I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut and popped them on foam tape.I sponged the background, splattered with gesso and then added some white dots with a white marker.

I sponged this heart with distress inks too, then heat embossed the sentiment and stacked about eight hearts; to finish it off, I added stickles to the edge and the hat.

on to the gnomes.

while I was commenting for the September Rudolph Days Challenge, I found Carol’s sweet card featuring the Simon Says Stamp lil gnome die; it was the first time I saw him and had to have him.

gnome Christmas card in blue and white copyright snailzpace.com

I thought it would make a quick and easy card but I’ve only got one done so far – all the bits and pieces take a bit of time to assemble. I used the Ellen Hutson tree die over blue card stock that was splattered with white paint and popped the gnome on foam tape.

remember it’s anything goes at Maureen’s Rudolph Days Challenge for a chance to win a fabulous prize; you have until the end of the month to play along.

thanks for popping by.

Lantern With Jingle Bells

linda2 Comments

I made a second card for the Reverse Confetti NOVEMBER STOCK YOUR STASH holiday/winter theme.

just like the previous card, I painted the Reverse Confetti lantern stamp with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, cutting everything with the coordinating dies. I attached clear acetate behind the lantern and popped it all on foam tape. I stamped one of the sentiments in the set with versa clair rain forest ink and added a shimmer green card stock border.

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Lantern With Poinsettias

linda2 Comments

I’m playing along with the Reverse Confetti NOVEMBER STOCK YOUR STASH holiday/winter theme.

I am so glad I ordered the Reverse Confetti lantern stamp and die set released in September; they’re perfect for an A2 card. I painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, cut with the coordinating dies and fussy cut an extra two poinsettias for dimension. the centre dots are a gold metallic marker. I attached clear acetate behind the lantern and popped it all on foam tape. I stamped one of the sentiments in the set with versa clair rain forest ink and added a shimmer green card stock border.

thanks for popping by.

Eat, Snooze and Be Merry

linda7 Comments

I was asked to make a holiday card for someone who loves sloths; luckily, Clearly Besotted released this sweet clear stamp set full of holidays sloths, eat snooze and be merry.

I wanted to create a cozy indoor spot for this sweet sloth. I painted the images with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut and popped them on foam tape; the base is a separate stacked image in the same set that I cut apart.  I used the Penny Black wood floors die with white card stock and some Penny Black festive and frosty paper for the wall. to finish it off, I added stickles to the tree and speech bubble.

I’m playing along with these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp  – Christmas
Cardz 4 Galz #135 Cute Christmas
November’s NBUS #20  never before played along and never used this sweet sloth stamp set

thanks for popping by.

A Little Birdie

linda2 Comments

I created this card for the current Impression Obsession Challenge – You’re a hoot! (owls and birds)! 

birdhouse shaped card copyright Linda snilazpace.com

I cut the IO house (DIE009-Z on sale 50% off)) from Kraft paper and made the woodgrain by brushing on distress inks: brushed corduroy, walnut stain, dusty concord and black soot. I stamped the IO sentiment, ‘A Little Birdie‘ (CL194 on sale 50% off), on a die cut Kraft circle, added the cheering up sentiment from the same set and sponged the edges with the same distress ink colours; then it was attached with foam tape. I added a die cut IO bird (DIE003-A) that I painted with dusty concord and wild honey distress inks.

I placed the house die over the left edge for a side fold card and I stamped the IO sentiment ‘some birdy‘ (A5418 ) on the inside along with the IO hugs (DIE516-A), sponged with dusty concord and black soot distress inks.

I’m also playing along with these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp – Thinking of You Wednesday Challenge
Dream Valley Challenges #236 DIE AND/OR PUNCHES + DT Call

thanks for popping by.

Halloween Mouse

linda2 Comments

just one more late halloween card and then I need to start my Christmas cards.

halloween mouse on top of stack of jack o lanterns

this cute mouse is an image in the Penny Black ‘stack o’ lanterns’ stamp set, painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. I’m playing along with the Penny Black Saturday Challenge October challenge of Anything Goes + optional: Too Cute To Spook.

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Halloween Hedgie

linda2 Comments

My physio for my jaw seems to be reducing my creative time, but I’d like to share a late halloween card.

this adorable hedgie is an image in the Penny Black ‘bewitched’ stamp set, painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. I’m playing along with the Penny Black Saturday Challenge October challenge of Anything Goes + optional: Too Cute To Spook.

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Blue Knot Bag

linda6 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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