Happy Belated New Year LOL!

Long time no write! LOL I hope you all had wonderful holidays and are sticking to your New Year's resolutions ;)

It's been crazy here. We nearly bought a house and we are working on some small renos. I have been designing a few new things, "trying" to get some old things finished ( uggh). During all this, the old puter got sick, so I was out of commision for a bit. :O

I spent last week attempting to make a video tutorial ( what a learning curve THAT is!). I had hoped to post a tutorial this week that uses a really nifty little art program called Artweaver to colour flowers. The reason I like it is its a small download, it's FREE, and it resembles Painter in so many ways and has some similar tools to Photoshop. So if I taught a technique using this program, the skills could be easily transferred over to Painter or Photoshop. As soon as I have it done I will post it. ;)


Here is a card I made using an outline flower sheet I am still working on ( coloured with pencils). The background is my own using some flowery doodles. I coloured the backing scalloped frame and the ribbon with a Mark It marker. The bottom is cuttlebug embossed and the blue stripe is doodlebug glitter on double-sided tape.

Have a great day and I'll try not to be a stranger ;)

:)*
Fred

RED Poinsettia PACK PRODUCT UPDATE

By request, I have added a extra flower sheet to the Red Christmas Poinsettia Pack #0014, and also in the Red and Blue Christmas Poinsettia BUNDLE #157373. The poinsettia is a plainer red instead of the variegated highlights. This sheet is now included in the product downloads. The zip you download should have "updated" on the end of the file name.

Customers who have already purchased the Red Pack or the Red/Blue Bundle can request the file by sending me an email using the email address you used to make your purchase ( this is the easiest way for me to find you in my files).

Sorry for the delay ( for those who have been asking) :)

Snowflake Medallion FREEBIE

I am working on a snowflake medallion design. Here is the prototype I first printed. To colour, I used the Gradient Flood-fill tutorial. I'm not sure if I like the black on this... future coloured versions will be a bit lighter and the outline will be a darker version of whatever colour I am using instead of the black. The background is a snowflake paper from the Blue Poinsettia Pack or the Poinsettia Red & Blue Bundle found HERE at the store.



This card, was made with an outline printout of the same medallion. I coloured the darker parts with a Tranquil Teal Bic Mark-It marker. The lighter layer was coloured with minty and cream coloured pencils - a bit of blending with OMS on the mint shading before I shaded with the cream. The dots on the medallion are meant for glitter "love" LOL. I added Patina Stickles to the perimeter and spots. I added an aurora borealis gem to the center. The ribbon is white iridescent organza coloured with the same teal marker. The background was done with chalk pastels with the techinque I posted HERE. * So basically, everything started out white and was coloured in LOL!


Close up to show the stickles... OK I think Patina Stickles is my fave colour!!! :) but you can't really see its true multi-faceted colour, trust me ... it is fab!

Now for the good part:
I am going to make this a tradition LOL! I had a snowflake medallion freebie last year, and I want to carry on the tradition :D

Here is the Digital Stamp version of this Snowflake Medallion and one sheet with minty and light blue coloured versions. DOWNLOAD FROM HERE
I will have another download with more coloured versions early next week ( as I have run out of time... busy busy LOL).

***The Terms of Use are different for this download. You can make coloured digital versions/sheets of this medallion and share with your friends/blog/groups. Just please make sure my name and blog address are somewhere on the sheet. Please don't sell the sheets. You CAN sell your crafted items and cards still. Please tell your friends and show me the link love :)) if you post your cards, etc. *** Thanks so much.

I'd love to see your creations... hint hint LOL

I'll be away this weekend, so if you don't hear or get replies from me until Monday don't panic LOL.

:)* Fred

Catchin' Flakes - in the store!

Catchin' Flakes is in the store now. There are 2 colour versions ( the above is the other version with the red hat) with varying backgrounds, digital stamp outlines, and a paper pack. Please check the bottom of the listing for special bundled price :)
Catchin' Flakes Product listing HERE

*Also, if you have any witty or cool ideas for verses, etc. for this image, please add a comment here, if I like any, I will create and post a sentiment freebie! Or the peeps can just use the submissions for ideas for their own cards :)

P.S. I kept it simple and didn't add PDF's just jpegs, if you are buying and are heartbroken that I didn't include the PDF files, please email me after your purchase and I will email you the PDF's as soon as I can. Thanks :)

Have a great day!

:)* Fred

Catchin' Snowflakes

Oh my, I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted! Let's chalk it up to work, stress, bugs, and out to lunchness! LOL! anyhoo....

I have been working on this design. I am not allowed to say who this cutie-patootie is modeled after, although I can say, I have a person in the house who is not too happy with his Mama! LOL "That does NOT look like me, I don't wear my hair that way!, I would NEVER wear that!" Too funny! Yes, my sweet - Mumzy used to cut your hair like that! ...and yes you were that cute and yes, you are still cute! ...In a dude cute kinda way! The unnamed lad in this scene has a little competition in the snowflake catching business, although I think the pup has a more efficient method of catching them ;)

I hope to have this available Monday or Tuesday. I also have him with a red hat, etc. to coordinate with more christmas-y colours.

The paper on card is my design and cuttlebug embossed, the center of the snowflakes have been dotted with a glitter pen. The edge of the scalloped border is outlined with a blue Sakura stardust pen. There are glittery bits all over the image but you can't see them in the photo.

***The ribbon.... oooooh it is actually white iridescent striped organdy ribbon, coloured with a Bic Mark It marker! I am loving these markers! Any smelly ( smelly=permanent or alcohol based ) marker will colour ribbon, Sharpies, Copics, or even alcohol inks brushed on!*** Coolest trick ever! LOL - I now have many colours of organza, satin ribbon and ric rac LOL.

I hope to post again tomorrow! ;)

:)* Fred

Emma the Hugger - snowman edition PNG file

Carol from Custom Creations by Carolivy kindly made a PNG file that has a soft fuzzy blue background that graduates to transparent. It would be lovely for adding on top of your background papers.

If you purchased Emma The Hugger Decoupage & Print Pack ( the one that is already coloured) send a request to my email using the email you used to purchase or your transaction ID number and I will gladly email you the file :)

Have a great day!

Fred :)*

CARD - Playing with Chalk Pastels pt 1

I don't know about you, but I get the most excited, while card making, when I have a blank slate... a lovely, clean, white smooth piece of paper to work from. A white piece of paper or cardstock can turn into just about anything... you can print on it, stamp on it, slather it up with all kinds of artsy, gloopy, or glittery stuff. This time around I have been playing with a 48 pc set of chalk pastels I have had in one of my crafting drawers since forever. I bought them once when I had an opportunity to visit a Michaels store. They were in the art supply section, the cheapy stuff. I think they were under $5!! :D Leow-Cornell brand. They are definitely not artist grade but very chalky and very blendable. I also have a small set of artist soft pastels and they work great for what I was doing too; any chalky pastel stick will do. Note * I am not reinventing the wheel here, just a fun and simple technique and I dare you to only make one paper! LOL

Ingredients:
cheap white paper
chalk pastels
cottonballs or facial tissue
pearlescent or shimmery paint ( acrylic or watercolour )
liner brush
fixative spray
things to emboss your paper like cuttlebug and embossing folders ( optional)


What I did:
-I cut copy/multipurpose paper into quarters, the size I want for my cardfronts.
-I Selected 3 or four coordinating pastel sticks - card above used a yellow, peach, light pink & dark pink.
-Draw random curly cues & swirls all over the paper, use all the colours.


-Then take a cotton ball or a balled up facial tissue and lightly blend the paper, try to follow the movement of your curly cues. The result will have a soft & light pastel feel, go back over with more curly cues of pastel and blend again if you want a more vibrant look.

The result above is actually more colourful in RL. Here is another try:

-this one I didn't overblend so the lines are more prominent.

*(Alternative, use one chalk pastel at a time and blend between colour applications.)
-I then sprayed my paper with a fixative spray so the chalk stayed put.
-After I was "done" with the chalks, I pulled out my Niji Pearlescent watercolour set and wet the gold, primed up a liner brush and just started making swirlies until I filled up the paper with curly cues.



-For the card above, I cuttlebug embossed the paper. The "lacey" front was made with a combination of embossing folders from the "Frills" and "With Love" sets.

If you don't think you have the knack for painting your own curly cues, try stamping with gold ink and or embossing. Another thing you could do is cuttlebug emboss your paper, lightly brayer some versamark and then emboss with gold embossing powder OR just brayer some gold or shimmery ink/paint over the raised areas.

LATER, I got a little more adventurous and the fun ensued. But THAT is another story.... ( pt 2)

Have a great day!
Fred :)*

CARD - Emma the Hugger in Blue

Here is another Emma the Hugger card; this time I used some blue mistletoe paper. The embossing was coloured over with a sakura stardust glitter pen. See my bow? Still a bit wonky but better than some previous efforts. Thank you YouTube for letting me search for bow tying videos, and thank you to the generous folks who made the tutorials. {grin}

Have a great day!
Fred :)*

CARD Dover Clipart and Coloured Pencils & OMS

I did this card a while back and I enjoyed colouring it. The bouquet is Dover clipart from the Floral Illustrations collection. I used Koh-i-noor woodless pencils to colour in and blended with OMS. The black looking card is actually navy and the edge around the flower front is outlined with gold pearlescent watercolour paint for that gilded look :) The cuttlebug embossed background was attacked with shimmery chalks after I made the mistake of using my embossing pad rather than versamark... no the blue tint does NOT disappear like it does with blue tinted glue LOL ;)

I have had those heart shaped brads kicking around forever and, boy, do they work great for fastening organza ribbon together, when you are bow-tying challenged like MOI! However, I have been practicing; this ol' lefty is getting the hang of it but they are still a bit wonky, my bows LOL! Will show one of my better efforts ( bow) tomorrow ;)

Have a great day!
Fred :)*

Happy BOO Day!

The artiste, Nolan has made a Halloween poster starring his favourite video game character, Kirby ! LOL. He has been working at this for weeks, all coloured with pencil crayons. I think he started it while in school. Apparently there are 2 hidden "Kirbys"; can you spot them?

I hopefully will have a few cards to post and I'll try to get some goodies up by next week.

Have a grrrrr-eat Day! Boo!

Emma The Hugger

" Try not to hug a snowman too tight... He might melt! "

(Very big grin!) Tuesday night, this idea struck me and I had to run with it! :)

Emma the Hugger can be found in the store :
Emma The Hugger - Snowman Edition



***( 3 products - Digital Stamp, Decoupage, and a Paper Pack)

Have a great day!

Shabby Chic Wedding Card - with flower

Here is another one of the cards I have made over the past month. This card was for my niece and new nephew-in-law. The leaf on this one was an outline that didn't make it to product, but it is growing on me :)

Details:
-Flower is coloured with pencils and OMS.
-Nestabilities scalloped oval die, Fiskars flower border punch
-green FSS-paper yet to be added to product line-up
-Embossed wedding rings I found at a surplus store for a buck - I have 46 left!
-Lime green Stickles glue in center of flower
-I outlined the oval with gold Niji Watercolour Pearlescent Paint - love these paints... just add a touch of water and they are ready instantly.
-**I experimented on the pink backer... I had made a irridescent red wax rub-on paste with pearl ex and Judikins microglaze and rubbed it over card stock, embossed with cuttlebug, then swirled various pinks from the Pepples Pearlescent Chalks... it stuck to the wax finish.

Have a great day!

Emma The Cat - now for sale

Emma the Cat is now for sale at the store.

Emma The Cat - Digital Stamps Set - outlines to print and colour.

Emma The Cat - Decoupage Sheet + extras - coloured decoupage sheet for 3d decoupage/tole.

P.S.*I know Halloween isn't celebrated in many countries but please spread the word to your crafting friends in North America. I'd also be interested to know if Halloween can be found in any other countries besides USA and Canada?*

Have a great day all!

The Plight of a Six Year Old

Our Emma, she does not stand a chance... as she tends to be the focus of my non-flower doodles lately! ( See Emma the Mermaid post and will be available soon ).

Poor Emma... is losing her teeth faster than they are coming in LOL! She has had a dangling tooth at the top for over a month and after it goes, she will be pretty much toothless on top except for the molars LOL. Now the story goes, a few weeks before Emma had the very prestigious honour of being our niece's flower girl at her wedding, I was affectionately joking with Emma that when she smiled, she looked like a jack-o-lantern. How cruel of a mother am I ?! Well, our dear Emma ( who looked so beautiful on the wedding day I will add ) took well over 3 hours of photos with the wedding party smiling but never showing a tooth! Our poor Emma now has a complex. I have tried to tell her that Mommy thinks her nearly toothless grin is gorgeous. Here is the sweet thing in her finery... beautiful!





See? LOL Well last week I started doodling reminiscing about Emma who has enjoyed grabbing our same niece's kitty ears and kitty mits and crawling around the house meowing. LOL! And I just had to add the one wiggling tooth at the top! Also, Emma has a touch of a lisp which is NOT being helped by her tooth situation. And now may I present, Emma the Cat:



Please give Emma soft candy this Halloween... or the ones that will melt in the mouth LOL!

Here is Emma after colouring Emma.... and the tooth for posterity.


Emma is not happy about mommy's one toothed mouth doodle - 'I have more teeth than that, Mom!'. But that is too bad ;) Cuz I love it.

Fred's Flower Card

Hi y'all! Just sharing some cards I have been making over the past month or so. There are a few that need to wait until I get some products finished.

This one uses the v1 Fred's Flowers outline sheets. I thought I'd try out a 24 set of watercolor pencils I bought at Staples. They were under 10 dollars CAD. Staedler makes them I think they are intended for children... they still work great. I didn't use water but used OMS and blending stumps. I merely followed the outlines with the pencils to get a strong line of colour then blended. I used a pink for the large flower, a peachy-yellow for the little flower ( just near center of flower then blended out) followed by outlining a ring in the center with pink then blending outward. The leaves I added an olive color just to the center line and veins and a bit to the base then blended, then added a touch of a pine-green to center vein and blended. On the leaves and pink flower, I lightly shaded over the lighter parts with a regular cream coloured pencil ( prismacolor)- this really adds warmth and a vintage feel- no blending required either. I embellished the leaves and pink flower with this wonderful warm beige colour in the Niji Pearlescent watercolour set - I pinstriped the flower and outlined the leaf. The leaves and flowers were propped with generous helpings of silicon glue - I somehow got a messy bit under the leaf ( see sideview) - remind me to rub that off later ;)

The background was done using Whispers Inkpad - Cherry Red and a foam blending tool - I then ran it through the cuttlebug with Floral Fantasy embossing folder - I added a sheen by going over it with pink Pebbles pearlescent chalks. The dewdrops are Oregon rain drops from Pink Hedgehog Crafts - the pink drops were dyed with a touch of red alcohol ink and some blending solution to lighten the colour. The rain drops in the flower centers look really cool - I added yellow stickles to the bottom and do they glimmer!

I am thinking about recreating these flowers and leaves digitally for a future sheet ( in some other hues as well ). Here it is fall, and I have become obsessed with soft pastel hues LOL! Perhaps I am rebelling to the fact that a six month winter season will soon be upon us ROFL.

Have a great day!

Christmas Poinsettia Packs

Hello, long time no post! LOL! I have been scrambling to finish some projects and lo and behold I have TWO now up at the store :) Some other projects are almost near completion and you will be the first to know when they are done ;)

I have made 2 Christmas Poinsettia Packs - a RED and a BLUE version. They are filled with ready to print sheets ( the cards below are made with them - one sheet for each ), patterned papers, and poinsettia petals and sentiment PNG's with transparent backgrounds so you and go and create your own arrangements.

You can find and purchase the packs HERE. Have a wonderful day and I have missed you all!





EDIT: added close-up:


CARD NOTES: I used Epson Photo Quality InkJet Paper to print these - it is 27 lb matte and coated one side. It is the paper that almost never lets me down when printing some colours... like red! I used Fiskars border punches, Niji Pearlescent watercolours to edge the red poinsettia flower, and 3d pearl paint for the center of the blue poinsettia.

I survived my 40th birthday! LOL

We celebrated my 40th birthday yesterday. Emma and Nolan presented me with this awesome card, both drew the pictures and Nolan inked and coloured it. It was so fun watching them in cahoots, heads together, drawing and collaborating.... freaking out when I would accidentally enter the room LOL! I received some lovely flowers and other things, and I didn't have to cook ( chinese food takout) and a Dairy Queen icecream cake that my hubby went 25 min. out of his way to get.

We do it all again tomorrow, Nolan turns 11! Tacos and video games, here we come.

Still sick and and I have this slimy goober floating around in my left eye, so I am one-eyed blurfing today!!!

Nolan's Monster Card - Round-up

Thanks to all who have shared their monster cards. Nolan has loved everyone of them :) He has also got a kick out of where you are all from in blogland! I am going to keep this post near the top for a bit and will add new cards to the slideshow as we see them. I will keep a tally at the bottom of the post. If your card is not in this slideshow please leave a comment on this post and we will go nab it ;) A few have asked what is this little guys name. Well it is ... Gregrrry! Gre-grrr-y get it!? ha ha ha ha. Gregrry also has a little friend and will show him next week. Nolan is off to eco-adventure day camp with his sister this week but will be back to monster making after its over.

Email and reader subscribers may need to head to my blog to see this slideshow:

CARD TALLY: Drum roll.... 26 (as of OCT 13 - If I have missed yours please let me know)

Monster Verses: 9
'I'm only Goopy 'cos you drive me Loopy'
'I'm only Mushy 'cos you send me Gushy'
'Roses are Red, Violets are blue, I've turned to mush because I love you'

from Celia


"Gooo-d evening my Dear"
"Gooo-d to see you're feeling better"

From Tonniece

"Slime" head over heels for you!
"Slime" wishing you a happy birthday!
"Slime" so happy for you!

from Monica-moenica37


"You make me melty!"

from mel m. m. m.

TOTAL ( will be tallied until SEPT 1 k I lied): 35 last edit OCT 13

CARD - Pastel Blue Flowers

Thought I went missing again didn't ya?! I've been icky sicky...now I have pink eye so please don't get too close to your monitor ... hahaha.

Another week sidelined from getting much done. But here is a card I managed in between naps on the couch.

Backing paper, a design I have doodled and have been playing with... ( I have oodles of colours and combos to decide on) that has been embossed with a grid pattern using the Scor-Pal. The scalloped frame I made digitally then was hand cut and cuttlebug embossed. The flowers were edged with Stickles glue ( waterfall) and leaves as well with lime-green. I punched some ash leaves, painted with a metallic paint then moulded. The Hello is a cuttlebug die ( Everyday Greetings). I completed the flowers with sticky backed pearls. There is so much silicone glue and foam dots on this card that it will never go flat LOL!

another CARD -Fred's Flowers v3 and some stamping

The background was made with the same defective photo paper LOL! 3 shades of Whispers ink were sponged on the paper... the ink takes a while to dry on this paper ( drying is usually quite speedy making this ink hard to work with on most paper I have tried) so the colours blended together very softly. After it dried enough ( this noob must remember to heat set!) I stamped over with a stamp I designed for Stamp Attack Art Stamps ( Doodles - TM Design).

The scalloped rectangle is made using the Fiskars Threading Water border punch but I covered up the holes with the white embossed CS. The flowers were coloured with the Magic Colored Pencil technique and were edged with sunburst Stickles glue.

I plan on putting a sentiment in the middle by printing the text to resemble a thin white strip of "ribbon" on a diagonal between the flower groupings.

******************************

I spent the day playing with my blog and learned alot about creating & adding backgrounds and playing with the margins ( wrappers in html lingo). I nearly gave up and still not sure if I like it but, now I have a very good idea how to tackle another design overhaul. If the design hurts your eyes, please let me know ROFL!