Inktober 2026 - Day 13

Inktober 2026 - Day 13 - my prompt is Leaves.

I drew a sprig of leaves making sure I had an odd number and some different sizes.

I outline them in black acrylic ink with a dip pen.  Then added spatter with the same ink.  It took a while to dry so I could color.

I watercolored the leaves and let those dry.  I added a darker green background.

 

Note Cards - Slow Stitching

A stitched heart accent in the middle of this white felt art layer.  A dark pink heart with running stitch, then a smaller in bright pink with coordinating thread and then a white heart with pink flowers on it.  A bit of a stitched line for the love being send to someone.

The stitched art layer was added to a bright pink A2 card layer with stitches.

A half sheet blank white insert  was added to hide the stitches on the inside of the card.

A white envelope completes the set.

A teapot composition starting with the white lace on the bottom of the navy felt foundation.

I cut the teapot from yellow felt and stitched it one with navy thread.

Blanket stitched all the way around to finish off the edge.

The stitched art layer was placed on the front of a More Mustard A2 card.

A half sheet white blank insert was placed inside to cover the stitches.

A white envelope to finish off the set.

I started with a piece of my collage fabric in turquoise colors.

I added trees in various greens with the feather stitch.  Some running stitches placed horizontally provides a bit of ground for the trees.

I added some pink French Knots in the foreground to suggest flowers.

The stitched art layer was added to the front of a Tempting Turquoise A2 card base with cross stitches in each corner.

I added a half sheet white blank insert which hides the stitches on the inside of the card.

A white envelope to round out the set.

An autumnal note card featuring a bird.

I created a bit of a fabric collage with some of the 2" cotton square I got from the ReUse Ctr the other day.  I hand stitched the pieces onto a foundation layer in various angles.  I trimmed the collage to the edge of the foundation layer.

I added teal stitching on the teal lines in the fabric.

I cut a bird from polka dot red fabric and a teal wing.  These were stitched to the fabric collage.  I did several stitching lines around the inside of the bird to highlight the shape.  The wing was added with teal thread. Then I added long stitches to the tail in white and teal.  A French Knot for the eye and a white circle around.  The beak got some stitches too. 

The stitched art was placed on an A2 warm red card base.  A half sheet white blank insert was added to hide the stitches on the inside.

These cards will make their way to the Gallery Gift shop in the coming weeks.

Card - Stitching on Alcohol Ink Bkgd

I decided to dig out the alcohol inks backgrounds I made this summer with my sister.

I have been looking at stitching on watercolor paper and I figured that it would be similar.

I trimmed it to 4x6 inches to clean up the edges. I also applied some watercolor on the green to create water.

I added the orange horizontal stitching first to define the edge between the land and water.

I then added some "trees" in black pearl cotton. 

Applied a generous amount of double sided tape to the back and stuck it to a 5x7 inch black card. 

Just a bit of a thank you to my aunt who looked after my place for a bit this summer.

Inktober 2026 - Day 12

Inktober 2026

My prompt for day 12 is Ammonite.

It took quite a bit of tweeking on my circles to get the spiral the way I wanted it. I lost some of the roundness in the process.

I used Daler-Rowney Sepia Acrylic ink with a dip pen to create the outline.  Wanted to create the look of sand under it.

Watercolored a basic wash then created a darker brown color to paint the crevices.

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper cut to 4x6 inches which will allow me to create 5x7 card after I am done all 31 images.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Look at those colors in this leaf just outside my window.

We hardly ever see reds and blues like that here in Alberta.

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving Day.

I had family over for lunch yesterday and I am headed to supper with more today.

I am so blessed!

Inktober 2026 - Day 11

Inktober 2026 - Day 11 

My prompt was Butterfly.

I was okay drawing the basic outline shape but the lines inside were intimidating so I just added a circle at the top end of the wing.  I will get braver.

I watercolored the wings with blue and green.  The dots in bright orange. Added some champagne metallic watercolor on the wings.

Body in black.

The background turned out some much better than I anticipated.

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper

Dip pen with permanent black acrylic ink so I could watercolor.

Inktober 2026 - Day 10

My prompt for day 10 is Key.

I drew it with my 2H Faber Castell pencil.

I added a brown layer of watercolor then applied a layer of copper watercolor.

The star got some gold watercolor.

I used purple for the background and added a spatter of black gouache.

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper with a dip pen, permanent acrylic so I could watercolor it.

 

Inktober 2026 - Day 09

Inktober 2026 - Day 09 - Happy Birds

I drew some whimsical birds with Papa, Mama and Baby.

Love their long legs.

Happy sun in the upper left hand corner.

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper with permanent black acrylic ink by Daler-Rowney. Applied with a dip pen.

Watercolored in traditional colors.

2026 Slow Stitching Project - Page 39 - S2 - T1 Texture, Thread, Taupe, Tulle, Trim

This is my piece for K3N Cloth Tales' 2026 Slow Stitching project - A to Z.

This week's prompt for T1 is texture.  When I first watched the video I was not sure I could pull off such an abstract piece.

I put a thin layer of navy cotton on my foundation layer. They were invisible basted together.

I started with grey and ivory Thread I pull from my trash bin in the sewing room.  Stitched those down loosely. I couched a piece of variegated yarn around the outside.  I then added some yellow Tulle in 3 places.

I dyed some star Trim with acrylic ink sitting with my drawing project. Yellow and sepia. Iron those dry and separated the stars.  I scattered those around the piece and held them in place with 5 stitches.  I couched another piece of cording in a rough circle shape.  

Then I settled into adding running stitch and seed stitch to add some substance to the art piece and just time relaxing with a needle and Thread.

Inktober 2026 - Day 08

Inktober 2026 Day 08 - City Map

This is a city I know well and travelled that ring road this week.

I dug out my Daler Rowney acrylic inks in several colors for this piece.

I drew the ring road then the arterial roads which connect to it.

I used cross hatch pattern in the space on the outskirts of the city. In the end the city does extend beyond the ring road in the south for sure but I just wanted the image the grey city streets inside and the country on the outside.

All the drawing was done with a dip pen and a straight steel nib. The Maclean's Best-Ever No. 2 Medium is a vintage steel pen nib which was manufactured in England.

These are the colors I used Indian Yellow, Marine Blue, Olive Green, and Sepia. The cross hatching was with the yellow and green and mixed on the pen at times. It's great when supplies I purchased years ago come in handy and I am glad I did not get rid of them when I moved.

The ring road was done in Sepia and highlighted with watercolor.

The river was done with the blue and highlighted with watercolor.

My initial drawing was done with Faber Castel 2H pencil. The Sharpie was used for signing.

Inktober 2026 - Day 07

Day 07 of Inktober 2026

My prompt was Lake Map.

This is a lake I have come to know since I moved.

The brown dot you see is the island in the middle of it which hosted a multitude of birds this summer.

You can see some parts are quite deep which make it a happy place for fisherman.  As a photographer this summer I had a hard time getting up before them.  Maybe better time next year.

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper is a treat.

I used my fountain pen which has Quint Blue ink which is not waterproof.  So I water colored before drawing the lines this time.

Inktober 2026 - Day 06

This is a quilt pattern that my Mom used often in her quilts.

She mostly used scraps of fabric. The patterned strips were left over fabric from sewing projects, out grown garments where the fabric was reused, and various other sources.

The colors and patterns of the fabrics were different but the layout was the same.  The bedspread on my bed right now which she made for me is this pattern.

Looks like it could be stained glass window.

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper, dip pen, Daler-Rowney permanent black ink and watercolor. 

Inktober 2026 - Day 05

I saw my first loon this summer which was super exciting.  There are such big birds.

As a photographer I did not get a great shot of it.  I did see them about 3 times.  Late August they were gone!

I took quite a few layers to get the black dark.  I used black gouache.

Painting around the dots on the back is a bit tricky and probably should have used white gouache.

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper is a great choice.

I messed up the first one I did in ink by not being patient enough to erase my pencil lines. So I traced this one with Sharpie marker.

Inktober 2026 - Day 04

I decided a wood door would be a great image.

Building a door on paper is hard enough with making sure my hinges are the same length, the boards are similar widths, the arch is symmetrical, and so on.

I mixed a lot of variations of colors for the wood and stone and that was fun.

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper is a treat. Love it.

Dip pen with Daler-Rowney FW Acrylic Ink Black which dries fast.

I need to catch up.

Flower in Vase - 07 - 08

I found this scrap of soft jewel toned fabric at the ReUse Center.

It reminded me of a special dress Mom had made for herself.

I thought that would make a special flower.

I made the classic 5 petal flower with 4.5" squares.  I cut a flower from mustard felt and added a yellow button for the center. 

I placed a wooden spacer in the center to accommodate the amount of fabric and provide support for the wire.

I stitched a royal blue felt circle on the back to hide the stitches, etc.

I placed it in a green vase which matches the green in the fabric. I chose a navy wire.  I placed some clear vase filler to hide the bottom of the wire.  I gave it a Thinking of You tag.

I made a 5 petal pink flower from thin cotton fabric in bright pink.  The five petals are a bit smaller about 3.75".  I cut a purple flower for the center and chose a facetted clear glass bead to coordinate with the vase.  I used a button to stabilize the wire then stitched on a purple circle backer to cover the ugly bits.

I wound the purple wire down a bit to fit the pressed glass ball vase.  I used a clear plastic straw to keep the stem in place.  I added some silver and pink crushed glass vase filler with a funnel.

The glass container used to be a bottle so it had screw threads at the top which I wanted to cover.

I cut a piece of the same fabric as the flower and placed it over the opening and tied it in place with purple thread. I pinked the edges to help with fraying. This will be helpful to keep the filler in as well. 

Inktober 2026 - Day 03

Just a simple abstract of geometric shapes.

I started with the circle then added the vertical and horizontal lines in relation to it.

I added color to the shapes - Yellow for the circle and green and blue for the lines.

A spatter of black ink is always a great way to break up large white spaces.

I ended up with some big spots as well but that is how it goes. 

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper with permanent black ink and watercolor.

Size: 4x6

Note Cards - Slow Stitching

Another birthday candle slow stitch note card in purples this time.

I chose a hand dyed piece of cotton I got from Pat, Man and Bobbin quilting.  

Candle strips of lavender colored fabric were added and stitched on with running stitch and coordinating thread.

I added yellow and orange flames and wicks in black.

The stitched art layer was added to a Lavender Lace A2 card base with a half sheet insert to hide the stitches inside.

A white envelope is included.

Beautiful autumnal colors in this note card.

An olive green felt background with a warm red flower layered with a yellow floral center and brown circle stitched with French Knots.

I added a leaf in the right hand bottom corner.  Blanket stitched all the way around.

This stitched art layer was added to the front of a More Mustard A2 card base with stitches.

A half sheet blank insert was included to cover the stitches on the inside.  An ivory card completes the set.

A bit of sparkle on this note card.

I some of my collage fabrics.  I stitched a tree trunk in brown and then stitched on sequins in white and a couple shades of green with French Knots.

I added green grass and running stitches to create a bit of ground for the tree.

The stitched art layer was added to a Bashful Blue A2 card base with stitches.  A half sheet blank insert was added to hide the stitches on the inside.

A white envelope finishes off the set.

A bit more of my collage fabrics. 

Here the green was a prominent color so I added a coordinating button is a bright green.

I then added running stitches in the same color placed in a half circle on the right hand side of the button.

Makes for an arty card good for any occasion.

I paired the stitched art layer with bright green A2 card base.  A half sheet white blank insert covers the stitches on the inside.

A white envelope to finish off the set.

These cards will be headed to the Gallery Gift Shop shortly.

Inktober 2026 - Day 02

Inktober 2026 - Day 02

Canson Fluid Mixed Media 154lb paper with Staedtler super fine black marker and watercolor.

Flowers is one of my categories so I drew an Echinacea flower aka cone flower.

Generally, pink in color with a large center and petals facing downward.

I am happy with my background wash. 

 

Inktober 2026 - Day 1

I am doing Inktober this year.  

I am working from my own prompts so that I have art I can turn into something else later.  The paper I am working on is Fluid Mixed Media Paper by Canson. I pulled out my tools from 2024 but my technical pen is missing. Working with markers and dip pens and adding watercolor.

Tools is one of my categories and I want to draw wood working hand tools.

I started with the Carpenter Square which is a metal tool with markings on the inside and outside edge.

I will concede that I am a little rusty with my drawing but it will get better as I go along.

Slow Stitching - Door Decor - Fall Pumpkin

I worked on my door decor for fall while at the Barrhead Art Gallery yesterday where my photography and fiber art work is on display as a feature artist.

I was under pressure last year when I did my Fall Leaves piece as I was still unpacking and sorting things out.  I chose a soft taupe striped cotton fabric for the background. I did have to use 2 strips to make it wide enough. I invisible basted this layer to a piece of cotton flannel and a foundation layer.

I gathered a few bits of autumn colored fabric and cut the middle solid piece and then 2 patterned side pieces and stitched those to a foundation layer with running stitch in various autumnal colors. I forgot to bring a piece of fabric in green for the stem so I stitched in green colors. I added some curly cues as well in green.

I placed some running stitch background shapes above the pumpkin just to provide a bit of interest to the background. Somewhat heart shaped.

I had a yellow felt leaf I wanted to use so I placed it falling from the top of the composition. 

I added 2 buttons on the left hand side to balance the compositon.

I trimmed the art piece to 6x8 inches.

I managed to find a warm rosy red for the backer layer which was cut to 8x10 inches and folded to the front double to make the frame. I then machine stitched that in place.

I added a clear ring to the back to hang it on the door.