Dahlia's and Viney Flourish 1

There are 2 new products at the STORE.

Fred's Flowers v4 - Dahlias - Outline Sheets
&
Viney Flourish 1



This first card uses a mirrored flourish in green. The Dahlia and leaves were coloured in Artweaver using the gradient-fill. The background cuttlebugged paper is so neat... I chalked multiple layers of pinks/yellows then painted random little flowers and leaves with shimmery paint ( sakura pearlescent watercolour pallete) before I embossed with the bug. I pearlized a white brad for the center of the flower. Also used: Martha Stewart punch, and gold peeloffs and plenty of silicone glue LOL.


This card uses a single version of the Viney Flourish and Pointy Petalled Dahlia's outline sheet. I coloured the flower with pencils and OMS. The background paper is various smudged layers of chalk pastels ( purple, pink, green and I think yellow) then I stamped my swirly doodle stamp in a purple ink. I guilded the frame with gold pearlescent watercolour applied carefully with a liner brush. I added some green stickles to the buds on the flourish. Also used: Spellbinders Curved Rectangles, a gold Robin's Nest dew drop :).

Have a gread day!

:)*
Fred

OPERATION: Spread the FRED

Hi peeps! Sorry for the delay in posting, I got sidelined by a stomach flu Friday and I have also had to get a start on my taxes. I hope to get some delayed projects up soon. I did manage to figure out how to make an animated GIF over the weekend -- It is my first ( yes, I am a bit chuffed LOL ) :D

Want this badge?

If you would like to help "Spread the Fred" please take this badge and put it somewhere on your site. Simply, click on the "Want this Badge?" link under the badge and follow the instructions at the Word of Blog site.

Mwah!
:)*
Fred

Card & a Digi-Freebie - Simple Striped Papers

I made some nice simple striped papers, 21 of them, to go with the Polka Dotty Flowers pack. Actually they should go with all the flower collections. ... Actually, stripes go with everything and, depending on their angle, they can be slimming LOL! But anything with dots, definitely could use some stripes. ;)

DOWNLOAD HERE ( note, it's 4 shared.com so you will have to wait for the timer thingy).

(Get this, I zipped a 6 mb folder of papers and the file is only 165 kb! Wow, the magic of compression LOL! - stripes ARE slimming! )

The card was made using some of the striped papers and some BIG Dahlias. The swirly doo-hicky is a work-in-progress, but I am really digging it! Have a great day!

:)*
Fred

LINKAGE: Mermaids & Fishies & Crabs, Oh My!

Please check out what my new friend Poppet has done with the Emma the Mermaid & Friends set!

Poppet's Emma the Mermaid card !

Poppet's card with Fishy with Balloons and a Little Crabby!

Thanks so much for sharing Pops! They are awesome!


I hope everyone had a blessed and enjoyable Easter holiday. I hosted a family dinner on Sunday and there was much turkey and stuffing and pies to be consumed! I still felt the after-effects of overeating the next day LOL! I did manage to drag myself off the couch to take Emma to see the new Hannah Montana movie. I am pretty sure Emma has changed her mind about being a mermaid... I bet if I asked her now it would be a rock star LOL!

Have a great day!

:)*
Fred

Emma The Mermaid Card - By Mada V.

My lovely cyber friend, Mada made this awesome Emma the Mermaid card. She used acetate for the water and put some elements in front and behind the acetate for a gorgeous 3D effect. You can visit Mada's wonderful blog HERE. Thanks so much for sharing, Mada :D

:)*
Fred

Digi-Freebie - Floral Doodle Digital Stamp

I needed a "break" from designing and decided to test out the new Painter 11 demo. LOL.... you have to know me ;)

I ended up with this crazy floral doodly concoction :) I digitally watercoloured it but you will have to wait and see it, I am going to make a card out of it first. :P

I thought I will add it here as a digital stamp for you to print out and colour. ( if it tickles your fancy ) If you use it and "show it", pretty please tell them where to find me!


Please click to enlarge, then save image to your hard drive.

Mwah!
Fred

Questions....

I have been asked if there will be some background papers to go with the polka dotty flowers.
Answer: Hopefully! I plan to make some simple lovely little doodly papers that should go with ALL the flower available for you soon.

I have also been asked if I could make some butterflies, etc to go with the flowers.
Answer: Yes! I am dying to get this one started! I love butterflies and birdies and .... :)

Have a great day!

:)* Fred

Big Dahlias.... oh my!

Also up at the store:



BIG DAHLIAS in 18 yummy colours! or some other type of flower that suits your fancy ;)

There are also outline flowers in various assortments nearing completion. They will be available soon. ( sigh, I sound like a broken record... "soon" LOL!)

:)* Fred

Emma the Mermaid & Friends Digital Stamps

Please click image to enlarge preview.

Emma the Mermaid & Friends in now "live"! :D ... at the STORE.

A coloured set will be available soon. Sorry for the delay.

:)* Fred

100,000 Hits: Candy Winner!

Ok I am going to do this as I am writing this post. oooh how exciting! LOL.

Drawing method. There were 52 comments made. I wrote the comment number and the name on strips of paper, folded them up and, carefully put them in a bowl, and mixed them up REALLY GOOD :) Those random integer thingies... I don't like them!

OK .... and the Winner is..... Comment #6 Ivolina!

Ivolina , please email me and I will give you the details of your winnings!

Thank you all for playing! Emma the Mermaid & Friends digital stamps and some flowers should be up for sale by the end of today. I will announce it as soon as it happens ;)

:)* Fred ( who is off to find some lunch in the fridge )

Printers: Your opinions please

A reader has asked what type of printer I would recommend. I have a printer that is fairly old, an Epson Photo 820 ( 810 in Europe) and have been using compatible inks for a few years in it ( as they are around $5 CAD a cartridge). This is not a recommended practice, I know, but when a printer is out of warranty and the price is right... :) I feel I am not really in a position to offer advice as I am wondering the same thing myself. I am not sure how many more legs my printer has left, I am nearly out of ink and reconsidering buying more ink but I don't know if the printer will last long enough to use up the cartridges. My printer is dye-based and is quite dependent on what type of paper I print on to get good results ( eg. brightness of colour and bold/crispness of blacks).

There are many great printers out there. I'd love to know what you think is a great printer.

Here are some important issues I'd like to discuss:

1. Is your printer a dye based or pigment based printer? ( pigment based use "water-resistant", "fade resistant"," smear-proof" inks).

2. DYE-BASED printers: Dye based printers are great for the following colouring techniques - Coloured Pencils and OMS & Copics/Alcohol based markers - Not so much with watercolour techniques unless you fix the inks somehow like with a sealing spray. I also heard that you can heat set the print ... I also heard mixed results. Maybe it depends on your paper? Watercolour paper causes less bleeding?

3. PIGMENT-BASED printers: I know Espon makes these. I know the cartridges are a bit more expensive, you will have a harder time finding pigment based compatible cartridges. However, they apparently give good print results on most papers as the ink lays on top of the paper as opposed to dye ink that is absorbed into the paper. MY QUESTION is how are Pigment based printers with various colouring techniques? Can you watercolour on them or do they smear/bleed? How about Pencils/OMS or Copics? Another question, how do you find the prints on cheaper uncoated papers? Is the colour good?

Please use the comments section of this post to give us your opinion. This is your "forum" LOL

Thanks so much for any advice given.

:)* Fred

Blog Candy Time! 100,000 on my counter

Hello friends! I am looking at my hit counter and very soon the odometer will turn 100,000 yippee! I doesn't seem that long ago I had a 5,000 hits challenge and I thought THAT was a long shot LOL! Thank you so much for your friendship and support and riding with me through my spits and spurts :) You are all a blessing to me and my family.

Please leave a comment on this post ( one only). You have until Wednesday 12:00 PM EDT . I will announce the winner that afternoon.

The Candy is a $20 CAD Gift Certificate to my store. Thank you and good luck!

:)* Fred

P.S. while I have your attention, Emma the Mermaid is almost ready to come out and play! Here is one of her friends and he's ready to partehhhh!


this Blog Candy contest is now CLOSED. Thanks for playing!

FSS- Bunneh's are up at the STORE

This cute little bunneh! is up at the STORE. There is a digital stamp version and coloured versions. If I get time tomorrow, I plan to have a few freebie coordinating Easter papers :)

I got more up my sleeve but that is all I could muster to get finished today LOL! I was away for the weekend; I hope to catch up and have more goodies by the end of the week :)

Have a great day!

:)* Fred

Card - sneak preview

Meet Sydney the Seahorse. He is a friend of Emma the Mermaid :)

Sydney and the foliage were coloured on the computer. The foliage is another project I am putzing with and eventually will have "worked out" LOL. I coloured the water with pencils and OMS. The background is a black and white doodle pattern I printed. I then coloured wavy lines in various oranges and yellows of soft pastels, then blended with a cotton ball. After, I sprayed with gold glitter spray ( aresol can ). The flower is from the Polka Dotty Flowers - Fred's Flowers v1 Edition B Pack

Oh I just want to squeeze Sydney and make him squeak LOL!

Fred hopes to have Emma the Mermaid and friends ready for the beginning of next week.

:)* Fred

Bunneh!

This is what happens when Fred has trouble finishing a project; she starts another one! LOL. I painted this yesterday.

Oh I love little bunneh's! The basket was originally purple but I decided to show a more subdued version ;)


:)* Fred

P.S. Eggs are really hard to draw with a graphics tablet LOL!

Card - purple with quilling

I've been sifting through my card pile for things to blog, while I scramble to finish some projects.



Here is a purple one ( flower coming soon) and I tried my hand at a bit of quilling. I bought some gilded quilling paper a while ago and finally used it LOL!

****

I hit Walmart and bought some Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue to stick my ribbon and gems down; it might be too thick for attaching quilled paper but I hope to try it soon. It does stick stuff fast! I bought a "Happy Birthday" embossing folder for "George" ( my cuttlebug, cuz I will love it, and squeeze it, and call it George - quote from Abominable Snowman vs Bugs Bunny ). .... and some Martha Stewart glue and glitter... cuz a girl just can't have enough glitter ;)

ahhh, shopping therapy... did not help this girl with her creative hurdles. ... Back to the grind....

:)* Fred

Playing with Chalk Pastels pt 2

I really wanted to get my part 2 up much sooner. Remember Part 1? Back in NOVEMBER??? LOL . I know this is probably not an original idea, but it is easy and fun.

It's kind of like the technique, Poppin' Pastels at Split Coast Stampers. But with embossed paper and soft pastels. The colour is a bit bolder/stronger.

You Need:
embossing/diecut machine
embossing folder
versamark pad
brayer ( optional)
sakura glitter pen ( or somthing similar)
artists chalk/soft pastels ( the ones in stick form)
cotton balls or a balled up tissue
spray sealer ( optional )

Technique:

Run some CS or paper through an embossing machine using an embossing folder.

Tap or brayer versamark ink onto the embossed areas of your CS.

Colour just the embossed areas of the paper with the flat edge of a pastel stick. Vary the colours if you want. For the birds example, I coloured the birds with the finer point on the pastel.

Rub the paper with a cotton ball or balled up tissue. Some of the pastel will softly colour the debossed areas and the stronger colour will be left where the versamark is on the embossed areas.

Lightly spray with sealer to fix the chalks. You may not have to do this, it depends on how well the chalk is sticking to your paper.

For EXTRA fun:
Try reapplying the technique with another coordinating colour. Reapply versamark to the already chalked paper. Be careful and use a cleaned brayer and versamark... so you don't mess up your versamark pad.

Add some glitter pen to the chalked areas ( example is the paisley paper )

Have a great day!

:)* Fred

A Momentary Diversion

I got sidetracked and made this in Painter LOL! Feel free to use in your crafty endeavours if you like.

Now off to draw some fishies, I am.

Have a great day,
;)* Fred

Painting: Max

I painted this for my sweet friend Barbara, who lost her beloved dog last year. He had such a sweet face and looks like a chap who knew what you were thinking without having to say it.


:)* Fred

Card - Dover Clipart

I coloured a lovely Dover Clipart bouquet with pencils and OMS, and stickles here and there. Notice you can do a nice scrumble effect with pencils shown here on my purple background colour. Just colour little scrumbly circles using very little pressure, then blend with OMS with a circular motion.

Have a great day!

:)* Fred