Friends Furever

Hi fellow crafters and visitors

So... it's been a while.  Story of my life really.  It's been crazy mad for me while we've all been on lockdown.  I've been sick, then I wasn't, then I was sick again and now I'm slowly getting back to normal (whatever that might be).  Anyway, I hope you're all keeping well and, wherever you are, you're staying safe.

In the meantime, let's get back to some normality...

I wanted to share a few cards with you, that I have made during the lockdown. Some of which you may have already seen on my Facebook page, others you won't have.

I went to The Range just before the lockdown happened and bought some really lovely, gold foiled 12 x 12" background papers.  You can't really see it in all it's beautiful glory here,  but I have taken another photo (from a different angle) so that you can see how the papers catch the light. It's really pretty.

The image is from www.etsy.com on the Lili of the Valley site.  Fab digi stamps, and an all time favourite of mine, I just love their artists way of drawing and, their images are super cute.  Plus, if you subscribe to their newsletter, they'll let you know when their sales are on, which is even better as, they're reasonably priced anyway, but you get more for your money during the sale season.

I coloured the image with my Copic Ciao markers and mounted onto two similar coloured cardstock and then mounted onto the background paper.  

This is an 8 x 8" card so the image is quite large. But I prefer to make 8 x 8" cards, so this is my preferred size. After colouring, I added some clear glaze to the balloon for some added dimension and to make the image pop a little bit.  As you can see, there are no other embellishments on this card, so I just wanted to give it a little extra 'wow' something.

Made this card for a friend's birthday, back in May. She loved it.  A truly 'pink' girly girl.  She has actually framed it, and put it into her daughter's bedroom, which makes me feel very proud, as she is adorable.

Hope you like the card.  Stay safe and hope to see you all again soon.

Love always, 

Fae

Hawaii Heaven

Dear followers

As promised, heres a few cards I have made whilst I have been isolating...

The first card, is a favourite of mine from www.mosdigitalpencil.com and she's called Pineapple Girl.

I thought I would create something that had a 'holiday' style theme so I would have something to look forward to when this virus leaves us all for good (fingers crossed).

I coloured the image with copic ciao markers and then added a black spotted background to a red base card. I added a plain white ribbon and a spotted red ribbon and mounted the image onto the same red cardstock as the base.  I then added some single white flowers to finish it off.

The second card I made has a similar theme.

This card was made using another image from www.mosdigitalpencil.com and she is called Kalei and she can be found here.

For this card, I used an orange colour scheme.  This is slightly out of my comfort zone as I very rarely use the colour orange, preferring red, black, blue and pink.

Anyway, I coloured Kalei in the same was as Pineapple Girl, using my copic ciao markers and mounted the image onto red and orange card stock.  I used the same orange on the base card and added some leftover white with orange dots. I added an orange with white dots ribbon, and above that some pink washi tape with the message 'you make me smile'. I then added the mounted image and some of the same white flowers to the card to finish it off.

Inside both cards, it simply says 'wish you were here... but glad you're not', as I have given these to family members who I haven't seen since the UK lockdown began.

Hope you like them and wish you all well.

Love always, Fae xx

Coronavirus Lockdown

Hi everyone, Fae here

We have just hit week four of our UK lockdown, Boris Johnson is recuperating at Chequers and I thought it was about time that I shared some of the projects I have been working on recently (thank heavens for my little craft shed). Firstly, I'd like to share a card I have made for this month's Challenge over at The Cutie Pie Challenge Blog (Bunnies', Bears and other B's), you can find the link here if you would also like to take part.

So, obviously, its a Boy...

Coloured with Copic Ciao Markers. Image is from www.mosdigitalpencil.com and the images used are called Morgan Doll and Morgan Soccer. 

Morgan doll might seem a little pricey to begin with but you get so, so much with it (not just one digi stamp but several) and, Morgan Soccer is free, just an extra add on to make additional items to use with the doll. It does help to have an idea of how to use .png stamps etc to rearrange them onto the doll but, it's not actually necessary as there are many tutorials available to show you how to do this.

The boy in question is celebrating his 21st birthday and is a huge Charlton Athletic fan, so I googled the colours and got cracking. I downloaded a blank football (yes... football, not soccer ball) and coloured it. I then added some star embellishments that came with the 21 (available at Hobbycraft in a variety of colours and all milestone ages). Added all these to a simple plain red background on white 8x8"cardstock and this is the finished product.

I do hope you like the card and hope that you are all staying safe and beating the Coronavirus boredom.

Stay well everyone,
Love Fae xx

And another thing...

It's me again...

I just wanted to share one small, quick thing with you... something that is extremely close to my heart. My babies... who I just admire on every level possible on a daily basis. They are my pride and joy and everything in between.

Anyway, my daughter graduated with a first class honours degree, in Psychology, on November 19, 2019.

I couldn't be and any prouder of her than I already am, my heart was just bursting! I totally cried... I know, embarrassing mum. But, you know what? I wasn't the only one... lol xxx

This is a picture, taken on the day, of Lianne and her brother, Lewis, who also makes me proud.  He's not as academic as his sister, but he's doing his second year of a construction course at college and working part-time in a care home. Gotta love these two... [she says with a beaming smile].

That's it for now.
Thanks for visiting.

TTFN, Fae xx

Happy New Year 2020

Hey bloggers

Happy New Year to you all.

I know it has been a while since I last posted, but, to be honest, my previous laptop was more trouble than it was worth to log in. Half of the keys didn't work, so putting in passwords etc was a nightmare. Anyway, I was extremely fortunate to get a new, fully functioning laptop from the Christmas Faerie and so I am a very happy bunny again. 

I am starting the new year with a promise (NOT a New Year's Resolution (as I always break those) to post every new card I make, this year, here, for you all to see (or not, depending on how many followers I still have) Lol.

I sadly, must confess, that my mojo has been somewhat lacking, as I realised the other day, that the last card I actually made was in January 2019 (a whole year ago)!!!

So, without further delay, here is my first card of 2020 and, hopefully, the first of many more to come.

All of the cards, made so far this year, have been commissions for my best friend, Maggie. She is the one solely responsible for getting my mojo back. So, thanks for that Maggie... hope you like them?

This card was made for Maggie's sister-in-law who celebrated her 60th birthday this week.  

I'm sorry but I cannot remember who the artist of the digi stamp is. I coloured her with my copic markers and mounted her onto matching colour cardstock.  I then cut out a circle of both white and then the same red again, just to give the background some interest. I then added some glitter letters and numbers from Hobbycraft and finally, I added a few red adhesive pearls. The inside was left black as Maggie wanted me to handwrite a personal message from her and her family on her behalf (as she likes my handwriting... awwww).

The second card I've made, so far, this year, was a thank you card for Maggie's counselling friend, Chris Barton. 

He is very good at getting someone to practice mindfulness and wellbeing and has his own clinic. Maggie also suffers with Multiple Sclerosis and so, Chris has literally been a godsend for her.

The digital stamp is by Mo's Digital Pencil, called 'King for the Day' and can be found here.  

I coloured him with my copic markers and added some texture to the chair by stippling, shading and highlighting. 

All of these techniques I have learned from Alyce Keegan of Kit and Clowder. She is a fantastic teacher and has an overwhelming number of members. Check her out, if learning better colouring techniques is high on your list of priorities this year. She really is amazing and is happy to discuss anything with you on a one-to-one basis if you are finding something difficult or need extra help. So don't be put off by her numbers of followers, as that alone should tell you just how great she is.

The final card of three, is another birthday card for Maggie's aunt, who will be celebrating her birthday on the 20th of this month. 

The image again, is from Mo's Digital Pencil, called 'Bronte Birthday, and can be found here.

Again, I coloured him with copic markers, and Prismacolour pencils. I used white card to mounted him, which I coloured the edges of using the same copic marker used on the tutu.

I then added some highlights using a Jellyroll White Pen and added some pink adhesive gems.  I used some pink sparkly background paper (from my scrap stash) and the card was finished.  

Again, Maggie wanted the inside left blank so that I could handwrite a personal message on behalf of her and her family.

So... that's it so far.  Looking forward to sharing many more with you in the very near future.

I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and will have a very happy and healthy New Year.

TTFN, Fae xx

Techniques with Kit & Clowder

Just a quick note

I realise Father's Day was last month in the UK, but I've just noticed that I didn't share my Father's Day card with you. I don't know why I didn't post it because I was really pleased with the outcome.

I don't know if you are aware, but I am a member of Kit and Clowder? Alyce Keegan does the most amazing tutorials each month for a nominal fee and teaches us so many new techniques. Each class has a pdf downloadable and printable booklet, many 'how-to' step-by-step videos to assist you through each step and sometimes free digital stamps or money off coupons/vouchers to purchase the stamp being used in the class, if you wish (although this is helpful, it is NOT compulsory and the class techniques can be applied to any stamp you have in your library / collection). My most favourite one to date is texturing.  I thought I would make a Father's Day card using some of the new techniques I have learned in the last few months.

I used a digital image from Mo's Digital Pencil - Mr Fixit and coloured the image in with my Copic markers.  I freehand drew on what I thought would pass for a 'six-pack' and chest muscle and then proceeded to add texture and shading to the t-shirt using my markers and the techniques learnt. Added a denim texture to the jeans and coloured in the rest of the image as I would normally.  To add the shaded area behind him, I used a dark grey Prismacolor pencil and some Sansodor which I blended with a blending stump. To add a little more depth, I then went over a small area closer to the image with a black Prismacolor pencil and again, blended with Sansodor.

I then cut it out with a circle cutter and again, slightly larger, with a background colour.  I then printed the sentiment and mounted onto matching background paper.  I then mounted two silver, glitter stars to finish it off.

Hope you like it?

Flowers All Over

Hello lovely followers, hope the sun is shining where you are (but it isn't too hot - I am melting in my wooden cabin she-shed - and I have TWO fans blowing on me).

Today, I thought my blog needed a little spring clean (i.e. deleting blogs that no longer interest me, blogs I haven't visited in a while, challenges I no longer take part in) when I happened to notice a new challenge over at Allsorts Challenge Blog that looked promising - Flowers All Over, which can be directly linked to here. Anyway, I noticed that the very talented Loopy Lou had her card featured at the top of the challenge, so I thought, as I am in my shed anyway, why not make something 'flowery' and join in with the challenge and, this is what I came up with.

Now I know that it isn't exactly flowers ALL over but, hey, if I added anymore, it would be overkill so, I hope that this is sufficient.

I grabbed a plain white 8" x 8" card base and folded it to make an easel card (as I haven't made one of those for such a long time and thought it was about time I did).  I cut a piece of lilac card to fit. I mounted the lilac onto a cheap silver glitter card (from B&M Stores).  I then printed my Polkadoodles image called 'Ruby Celebrations' - she can be found here. 

I coloured her with my Copic markers and then I used a CD to draw a circle around the image and cut this out. Using a circle cutter, I then measured and cut a silver glitter card border to match the mounting on the base.

After everything had been adhered with sticky pads, I then added the mulberry and Hobbycraft Flowers around the border.

I then copied the border colours onto the inside, mounted a sentiment with some foam pads (so that the easel would stand and not slip) and some silver grey coloured pearls.

Hope you like it?

Thanks for stopping by, Fae xxx

Windows

At the Crazy for Challenges blog this week, their theme is 'Windows'.  These can be any form of window i.e. a hole cut in the front of the card, a shaker card, a window in an image (including vehicles), anything basically that has or is classed as a window.

I chose to make the following card for this week's challenge as I have a few male birthdays coming up this month and next, so I needed to make a few masculine cards.

For this card I used another Lili of the Valley digital image called 'Under the Bonnet' in the Men and Boys section, the image can be found here.

Firstly, I used a piece of green scrap backing paper from my scrap box and ran it through my Big Shot in an embossing folder. The embossing folder is an after market one purchased on eBay. Had to wait ages for it to arrive from China, but it was only 99p with free P&P and it embosses beautifully. I then mounted this to the front of my 8" x 8" card blank.

I coloured my image in a similar colour to the embossed card using my Copic pens and mounted it first to green card and then to a beautiful green glitter card (purchased in a pack of glittered card from B&M Stores).  To finish it off, I simply added three white Card Candi to the top left of the card, I didn't want to add a sentiment to this one, which I normally would do, because I may use it for my daughter's boyfriend, if he passes his driving test - IF...

That's it... hope you like it.

Don't forget to pop over and visit Crazy 4 Challenges Blogspot if you would like to take part too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Fae xxx

Let's See Some Gingham

Over at the Fab 'n' Funky Challenges blogspot, this weeks theme is "Let's See Some Gingham'.  So, as I have quite a bit of gingham paper in my leftover scrap paper box, I thought I would take part in this cute little challenge this week.

The digi image used is from Lili of the Valley, she is called 'Cake Glorious Cake' and can be found here and is found under the heading 'Fairies and Mermaids'.

I coloured her with Copic markers and did the shading with my prismacolour pencils, blended with Sansodor and a blending stump. I then mounted her onto silver glitter card and added the gingham paper directly to the front of the white card base (8" x 8"). I then added some matching coloured paper flowers (which I think I purchased in bulk from eBay - I know I ordered absolutely loads of them for just a few pounds and I still have loads left) and put adhesive gemstones into the centre of each flower.  I added a sentiment, also from Lili of the Valley, (the reason it is at that angle is because just underneath it is a big dollop of glue that tore the paper when I tried to remove it - but I still think it works, hahaha).  I then just added a small amount of glitter to the fairy wings and highlighted the 'bits' in the cake with a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen.

Hope you like her?
Thanks for stopping by, Fae xxx

Glitter, Pearls, Bow

Hello everyone, time to take part in another challenge.

This month I am joining in with the Cutie Pie Challenge Blog and their challenge is to select a line OR a full house with their challenge game of 'Bingo'. I chose to go with a line, Glitter, Pearls and Bow.

I chose to do a Christmas themed card as I have yet to start making mine and, well... as it is now July, I guess now is as good a time as any.

The image used is a download from the Thoroughly Modern Misses collection from Lili of the Valley and can be found here.  Yes, I know she is actually the image for January, but I like this one for December too.  The wording attached is from their 'Monthly Traits' collection of sentiments which can be found under the same heading of Thoroughly Modern Misses, but if you're in a hurry the link is here.  I chose to keep a lavender coloured theme and used up a few papers from my scrap box. I roughed up all the edges before mounting them onto a plain white card blank (8" x 8"). I then added the ribbon and circle cut my image (which was coloured with my Copics and shaded with Prismacolor pencils, then blended with Sansodor and a blending stump). I then mounted this onto the background papers, followed by added the sentiment with foam pads and a bow in the same ribbon as previously attached. I then added the pearls and the glittery snowflakes (which were just cheap ones bought from Hobbycraft).

I hope you like her? Don't forget to pop over to the Cutie Pie Challenge blog using the link above if you too would like to take part.

Thanks for stopping by.
Fae xx