Seize the Birthday (Blog Challenge)

Hello again, my lovely crafty followers

Purely by accident, I happened to come across a new Challenge blog today and, I am so glad I did. They only do birthday cards... YIPPPPPPPPEEEE, which is fab because that is probably what most of us make on a regular basis anyway. They're happy for you to simply make an 'Anything Goes' birthday card for each monthly challenge OR, you can make one using their recommended 'toppings', which is basically an additional theme for you to add to your birthday card.  

This month, for example, the 'topping' is 'Hobbies and Pastimes', which could also be really cute.

That being said, I decided to make this card for this month's challenge, which, by the way, is also the last challenge of 2021. Boo hoo! I've only just found them, and now I have to wait two months before I can play again hahaha, shame but I guess everyone needs some time to themselves over December, as even Design Teams, have to have time to prepare for the upcoming festivities. Lol

So... without further delay, here is my rainbow bright 'Unicorn Birthday Card'. At the time of typing this, I'm afraid I don't remember who made the unicorn digi stamp. I will try to find out and will edit the post when I do, for your information.

I printed off some spotted coloured background paper and mounted this to plain white cardstock. Next I layered some bubblegum pink cardstock, which I first ran through my BigShot Plus in an unbranded spotted embossing folder, to which I wrapped some pink spotted grosgrain ribbon.

I then printed off the image, which I coloured with my Copic Markers using similar colours used in the background paper and finally, added one of my LOTV digital sentiments.

To add the highlights (candlelight reflections) I used one of my Prismacolour pencils to gently shade an area around the 'flame' of the candle, the unicorns face and horn and a small part of the icing, which was then blended with Sansodor and a blending stick.

I think my card is worthy of the Seize the Day Blog Challenge as both an 'Anything Goes' card and with this months 'topping' of 'Hobbies and Pastimes', as I love collecting anything to do with Whimsy i.e. mainly Unicorns and Faeries. Do you think collections count as Hobbies and Pastimes, I think it does, so I'm sticking to my interpretation hahaha.

I hope they like it and, if you would also like to take part in this challenge, click the link here and don't forget to upload your card.

Have fun, take care and be safe

Hugs, Fae

Another Bloomin' Lockdown...?

Hello, My Crafty Followers

I've been a little bit lapse in blogging recently haven't I? So much has happened, that I feel I haven't had a moment to catch my breath!

First of all, my laptop broke and it's not that easy posting to my blog with my iPhone, so I've basically been waiting for a decent Black Friday deal to come along, so that I could purchase the latest tech at a fraction of the price. Crafty eh? So, I'm now back online and raring to share with you all my cards and news from the past few months.

Lianne and her boyfriend Matt got engaged in October, so I've been very busy planning a party with her for the New Year plus, I've been creating her engagement invitations and looking at venues for the wedding! It's all very exciting, although I doubt very much that the wedding will actually be taking place in the very near future. I think they're hoping to have a long engagement, to really get saving for the wedding that they actually both want and to take a little bit of pressure off of me and her dad. Bless! 

Anyway, as well as that I have been very ill (on and off) for a few months but, I'm feeling much better now and feeling more like my old self. So, that being said... here's a few cards I have recently made.

I haven't made a monochrome card for a while. I actually forgot how much I enjoyed making these. I made the card to go with the sentiment...

'Every day may not be good...

but there is something good in every day.'

I thought that making the card in monochrome it would somehow reflect what was being said. Does that make sense? I hope so,  because I knew what I meant in my head... hahahaha

It's a swing card where the centre piece remains attached to the crease of the base card but the two sides and the bottom are cut away from part of the front, so it literally swings! Cool huh?

I obviously only 'coloured' the LOTV image using grey and black Copic markers and added some black flowers, ribbon and mounting card, plus a few black adhesive flat backed pearls. I really loved how it turned out in the end and was pleased to be able to send it to my 'Goth' Niece for her birthday, which was really well received. Bless her.

My next card is this rather cute digital image from LOTV, on Etsy. One of my favourites, as this image can literally be used for just about any card, with a few exceptions.

This card was made for my wedding anniversary. We've been married 29 years this year and, I wanted to make something cute for my husband, as he has been so supportive through various times this year, despite being rushed off his feet at work. I wanted a black and pink theme as I think the black really sets off this bubblegum pink cardstock beautifully.

First of all, I ran the black base card through my BigShot Plus, sandwiched between an unbranded A4 'spotted' embossing folder. I then coloured and mounted the image onto the same black and pink cardstock, and cut out some stars to match. 

After mounting, I adhered some pink and black spotted ribbons.

These lovely little digital images from LOTV are so easy to resize on the computer and print.  I like to download them to my desktop and then open a windows or pages document. Mainly because by viewing the document as one page, I can get a rough idea of how large the image is going to appear once printed. I usually, as a rule, like to print off two per page, as my preference is to make 8 x 8 inch cards, but that's just me... you may prefer to print 4 per page or maybe even one, if you're making an A4 card.

Once I had the images positioned where I wanted them, I printed them off onto quality cardstock and proceeded to colour them with my Copic Markers. As you can see, I made the little boy bear have a matching bow tie to the little girl bears tutu, ribbon and shoes.

I then added some sparkle with a little bit of unbranded glitter glue that I purchased from a company called The Works. 

Side note... The Works has a very large bottle of clear glitter glue for £2. I think it's approximately 500ml, which I think is a fantastic price considering I use the stuff on almost every card I make. Hahaha

I coloured the young gentleman bear in a grey pinstripe suit and coloured both of the bears brown. I appreciate that some people like to do their bears in grey but, I personally like to make them always in brown, as I have a lovely little brown bear, that sits on my desk who, I think, rather looks like these LOTV bears.

Quite a long post this evening, I hope that some of you are still with me? I hope that you have liked these two cards and I look forward to posting a few more over the next couple of days.

Please remember that from today, here in the UK, it's compulsory again, to wear face masks in ALL shops and on all public transport, until further notice.

Take care and stay safe

Hugs, Fae xx

Well... it's about time

Hello crafty friends. It's been a while, I know... I know!

I hope you have all been keeping well and safe and that you are finally starting to come out of the lockdown with some sense of normality. Its been such a crazy 12-18 months for all of us hasn't it? Things are just starting to get back to normal in the Campbell household, although for some of us, it's always been this way.  

Steve, my hubby, as you may or may not know, is an ambulance driver, so today is just like any other day for him, as he has been working as normal since the very first lockdown started here in the UK. Lianne, my daughter, is also a key worker and Lewis, my son, bless him, unfortunately was let go from his job about six months ago due to struggles at the care home where he was working. So times have been tough for him.  As for me, unfortunately, I haven't had enough mojo to go into my craft room. You'd think with everything on lockdown and not having much to do to keep busy, I would've been in there lots, but unfortunately this has not been the case.  Mum and dad are both disabled so I have been literally giving all my time to caring for them on a daily basis. Because they are both classed as vulnerable, I have been round there daily, making sure that they have everything they need in terms of shopping, cutting my dad's hair and doing various jobs around the house just to make life a little easier for the two of them.

Anyway, enough of my rambling and back to last weekend.  Saturday was the first time (in what feels like such a long, loooooooong time), I went into the shed to make something.

My son's girlfriend was celebrating her 18th birthday, so, as it is a special day, I decided to hand make her card, as whenever they go in my shed, just to chill and hang out, she's always admiring the cards I have made up on my desk or is looking at various projects I have started but haven't yet finished.

This is the card I made for Erin's 18th birthday.  I know it's the same image as the card I last made in my last post of last year but, that's because I already had a few of these particular images printed. However, I decided to use the black, white and red scheme as these are Erin's favourite colours.

The image, as before, is found on Etsy in the LOTV digi shop. Papers are from a pad purchased from The Range of no particular brand. I actually think they are just The Range's own branding.  The image was coloured with my Copic Ciao markers and I added some 3D white felt roses also purchased from The Range. The crystal embellishments were just from a left over stash I had, so can't remember which brand they are,  but they're fairly popular and can be purchased from any craft shop. I have a feeling that these were purchased from Hobbycraft originally or may have even been purchased at the last craft fair I went to at Alexandra Palace.

Anyway, that's my most recent offering. First upload of 2021. I hope to be able to get into the shed a lot more this year, I'm just building up my confidence a little bit more as I feel I'm a bit (okay, a lot) out of practice and just need to start doing a lot more instead of talking about it. Wish me luck?

Hope to see you again in the near future.

Regards, Fae

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