Blog Hop Starts HERE

How about some mid-summer fun with a Blog Hop?!

The girls have been busy creating and have some lovely eye candy for you !  Please leave them some love on their blogs.  At each stop on your way, there will be a special word... collect them up and there will be instructions at the end of your journey on how to enter.

The winning entry will receive $20 GC for the Fred She Said Store AND.... (AND!) ... a $20 USD Gift Certificate for CropStop so you can get that punch, or dies, inks, or embellishments you have been having you eye on :)  We will receive entries until Thursday August 5th Midnight EDT.

Here is the order of Blog Hop participants in case you lose your way.

Michelle
Lora
Carol H
Maria
Darsie
Sonya
Shelly
Tracey ( end of your journey and blog hop entry instructions)

Now please go to Michelle's Blog.  Have fun!

EDIT  OH Dear... there was a few hiccups at the end of the hop!  The LAST hop never posted so please if you need the last word and instructions please go here  CHALLENGE BLOG!

Corner Gebera Daisy Coloured Set

Corner Gerbera Daisy Coloured Set is finally up at the store.  10 nummy colours :)

Last week was not terribly productive for me. I was shuttling Nolan back and forth to an Art Class out of town.  Emma and I stayed around for the 3 hours his class took as the drive is 45 min.  Nolan had alot of fun and learned sooo much.  The teacher was Mark Thurman, a fabulous cartoonist and illustrator with 40 years experience.  He taught all the kids how the professionals did it, great inking and drawing techniques, using the tools of the trade.  Nolan is going to take part 2 of this class next year, colouring illustrations with coloured pencil.  His coloured work is amazing!

Oh before I forget.  There's a BLOG HOP this Friday, July 30!  Please come and hop with us!  Great prizes too!

I am going to try and get some more drawing in today and then housework.... blech!  Have a great day!

:)*  Fred

CupCake Inspirations Challenge

Hi all!

I am so happy to sponsor the CupCake Inspirations Challenge Blog this week.  I made them a lovely Daisy CupCake to play with ;) ...and ooooo from the sneaker peakers, the CupCake DT made some yummy cards!  I lurve cupcakes... nummers!  Go look and have a play, a $20 GC to the FSS Store is up for grabs! 

Want this badge?

Flowery Cupcakes!

Also added in the Store: Yum Yum!

"Daisy CupCake"

"Plain CupCake"

 * Great for adding your own embellishments like... Fred's Flowers! ;)

Burds

Just added to the Store:  "Burds" ;)

"Burd Love"

"Real Burd Love"

"Burd Love's Complicated"

Single Burds

*YES, I realise Burd is mispelled.  But a Burd is a Bird, ya know? ;)

**Burds are a concept by son, Nolan ( drawn on a grocery list notepad ).  He let me run amok with his Burd.  He is so nice. LOL I thought this Burd was sooo cute I couldn't pass up the idea.  Thank You Nolan.  Nolan will be well compensated for his creative input :)

New in Store: Peonies & Gerbera Daisies!

Hi peeps!  New Stuff ...yey!!!!   I hope you like.  I'll have more goodies next week.  The Corner Gerbera Daisy Digi you see will have a Pre-Coloured Set available early next week.  I ran out of time... ack! 

These are available in the Store NOW:

Gerbera Daisy in a Jar DIGI

Corner Gerbera Daisy DIGI

Peony in a Jar DIGI

Corner Peony DIGI

Have a great day!!!  :)*  Fred

Paper Rose Blossom Tutorial

 Here is the Paper Rose tutorial you have been waiting forever for!  Sorry, I'm so tardy. 

 "Let Us Begin"...

Materials:
-Printed sheet of Paper Roses & Leaves Template Set OR flowers and leaves cut from the SVG version on a digital cutting machine.  Printed on a thinner white Card Stock
-work surface for inking and spritzing ( non-stick craft sheet)
-scissors
-pinking decorative scissors ( optional)
-embossing/foam/mouse pad
-embossing stylus or something round and pointy LOL
-something to curl with eg a skinny end of a paint brush
-distress inks
-sponge applicators
-white or tacky glue - I used Aleenes Fast Grab Tacky Glue
-shimmer spray ( mine is a mini mister with interference gold pearlex mixed with water and a bit of gum arabic)
-a stamen punch and glitter glue to color it; or another punch or a brad/pearl/dewdrop, anything for a flower center.

For this one I hand cut 2 large and 1 medium flower and leaves with stem.

I used a proto-type... it now is a variegated leave BUT you can still use pinking scissors to get the variegated look... or not, it is easy to hand cut.

LEAVES:

Colour the unprinted side ( "right" side) by sponging Bundled Sage distess ink.  Emboss the center line and the veins using an embossing tool/mousepad on the wrong side of the paper. Flip the leaves over and skim your sponge ( with Forest Moss -darker green ink) over the vein lines.  The veins should darken.  Use stronger pressure and ink near the center line to give the leaves more dimension.  Bend/crease the leaves along center line using your fingers and then mould the  outer edges to give them gentle curve and dimension.  Sponge the stem with either a green or brown distress ink.

FLOWERS:

Sponge all over with the lightest color of your rose ( I used Spun Sugar ).

Sponge from the center out, with a darker ink ( Aged Mahogany )- use lighter and less pressure the further to the outer edge.

Cut between the petals a quarter of the way in around all the flowers BUT, on a large and medium flower, cut all the way to the center on one of the cuts.

On the embossing pad, score lines ( maybe 4 - 6 ) down the length of each petal on the wrong side.  On you work surface, do like on the leaves and ink these these veins with your darker ink on the right side.  This step is optional but it gives a rich variegated appearance to your rose.. I just like it :)

-click to enlarge and you get a better view of the veins.

One the 2 flowers you have a cut-line to the center... on that line, glue one petal over the next petal with the tack glue.  Some people use a paper clip to clamp them together until the glue sets.  My glue was fast grab so didn't need to do this.

Curl the edges of the petals around a skewer or skinny paint brush.. whatever will work for you ;)

On your embossing pad, smush the center down a bit on the 6 petalled flower, with a big embossing stylus or eraser end of a pencil.  On your work surface, spritz it all with shimmery spray ( optional)  or paint some shimmery lines on the petals or kiss them with glitter glue or chunky glitter .

Glue ( with a generous amount of tacky glue on the bottom of flower on the pointed part) in this stack from bottom to top.. Large 6 petal flower -> Large 5 petal flower - Medium 5 petal flower ( you might want to hold the pieces together for a few minutes for it to set ).  ...then add a "stamen"... mine is a Big Sky Flake punch inked with yellow ink and stickles and a gem on top.  I glued my stamen in using silicon glue so it stuck up a bit from the center.

My card was totally coloured with distress inks.  The oval has chunky glass glitter on it (Twinklets Diamond Dust ).  The background paper was done by layering several inks on my craft sheet, spritzing with water, and sweeping the CS through it.. and drying with heat tool... then used cuttlebug and embossing folder, then brayered gold encore ink on the embossed parts.  The dark green background is various greens sponged together with a bit of aged mahogany.

Here is another leaves and stem variation from the same Roses & Leaves sheet:

NOTES:

There are so many different ways you can make flowers with this set.  There are tutorials all over the internet for paper roses.  Tim Holtz is the instigator with the  Grunge Rose.  oooh I loves that Timmy!  This will give you a realistic rose center - I have done several with this set but haven't shown yet ;)

Tim uses grunge paper that is more pliable than card stock.  But here is a tip for you to make your card stock flowers more pliable.  Run the cut flowers through a crimper several times while changing the angle you run them though with.  Then, flatten the texture using something round and smooth like the bottom of a spoon on an embossing pad.  The fibres in the paper are now more pliable. Now your flowers are less likely to tear when moulding them.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and it made sense LOL!

Have a great day!

:)* Fred

CARD: Happy Birthday Little Chicky!

Inside:

"Look Who's 1!"

"Happy Birthday, Little Chicky!"

My cousin's DD turned ONE this weekend, Olivia is sooo cute and just sweet and curious.  One of my favourite birthday years.... where you let the little one year old discover cake and icing with all ten fingers!!!! LOL  They let her at a whole cake ... it was awesome.  There was a separate cake for the grown ups.  ;)   While everyone was eating, Olivia wanted to put her pointy in everone's cake LOL. 

Card uses the freebie I offered to help kick off CDAC's first challenge.  What alot of fun. One of the winners picked my store for their prize.  Thanks so much and I feel honoured :)  They have several new challenges up with different themes and some awesome digi artists hosting... Please go check it out!

Anyhoo, the kick off challenge is over and I thought I would add the freebie here ( it is also still on the CDAC group).

Clicky on the Chicky, then right-click and SAVE

CARD deets:  Whazzup Chicky Freebie, FSS Paper from Blue Poinsettia Pack, and Fred's Flowers v1, colored pencils/OMS, nesties, gold leafing pen, pearlescent WC paints edged on flower, MS punch, distress inks.

I have imported pics from my camera and will get to work on my Paper Roses tutorial tomorrow.. so see y'all soon!  Have a great day!

:)*  Fred

Sponsoring Paper Sundaes today!

Hi all!

I just wanted to let you know I am sponsoring the Paper Sundaes Challenge blog this week :) (Sunday July 4)  What a awesome challenge blog and LOOVE their name!  Sundaes---Sundays  hahaha and Paper... what's not to love?

  There is a $20 gift certificate for the Fred She Said Store up for grabs.  I love the challenge theme they have for this one ( not telling ya!)  and can't wait to see what their DT have been up to ;) I let them play with whatever design they wished heehee!

Please go check it out :)

:)*  Fred