Craft Fairy Designs

Pull Treat for a Small Flattish Gift

2012-01-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and, while we want that special gift from the one that we love, we also want it to be beautifully packaged. So here is an idea for making the packaging look superb and the treat inside it will seem so much better too!

This pretty pink package is made with:

a heart die cut

pink calligraphy pens

9mm pink saddle stitch ribbon

3mm saddle stitch ribbon

a sheet of heavy paper

1 sheet of medium weight card

1 flat gift a bar of chocolate is perfect.

The tutorial for making this gift wrap is to be found on splitcoast stampers resource page.

The flower making and pen blending technique can be seen here.

Once you have mastered the technique you can make the package bigger or smaller to suit the gift.

I would love to receive this. Now, how can I persuade my husband to make it? I'll let you know if I am successful

Craft Fairy Newsletter

2012-01-16T01:51:00.000-08:00

Have you signed up for the newsletter? It is sent out weekly (or as often as I can remember) and includes discounts and projects. Just go to www.craftfairy.co.uk to sign up for the newsletter.

Stained Glass Stamp for a Winter Card

2012-01-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

I've had this stamp for quite a while now and it is a truly lovely stamp.

It is the Stained glass Stamp from the 'I Brake for Stamps' clollection on Craft Fairy and a must have for all stampers. I've chosen it for the weekly special offer and along with the pens used for making it.

The special offer includes a 20% discount. It really is too good to miss.

So, you will need:

Stained glass rubber stamp

Stazon, I used Stone Grey

Card

buttons

Foam pads

Art graphic pens in colours: 56, 2, 38

Offer available here

Stamp the image with stazon and using the blue pen and water colour in the glass pieces of the image. Leave to dry.

Now use the olive green and colour with a light touch the petals. For the stems use a more concentrated colour.

Colour the centres of the flowers in yellow.

Layer up the card with paper and buttones for a beautiful finish.

The winner is....

2012-01-13T02:56:00.000-08:00

The winner is....

I am pleased to announce that ther winner of the blog candy give away is

Jennie, The Crafty Wife.

If Jennie can get in touch I will post her goodies out to her.

Thank you to all those who took part and please come back soon as there will be regular give aways on this blog for the Next Year.

New Button Tree - Shades of Autumn

2012-01-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

I've made another button tree. I made this one as I gave a talk to a local WI and I wanted to show them fairly economical ways that you could craft. This picture is made from just half a pack of our Autumn Shades buttons and a couple of twigs from the garden.

As with the other button tree, it is sewn together and that way it will not fall apart.
The hardest part of this is finding suitable twigs.
Happy Crafting.

Button Tree, my version

2012-01-07T02:50:00.000-08:00

So fellow bloggers, if you have been reading the earlier post you will know that I've turned my attention to buttons and that I have been doing my research. I found that there are a lot of button trees out there but not wanting to copy what I've already seen, I looked at the buttons in the Craft Fairy button section and I was inspired by the flower buttons that have just come back into stock.

I decided that as we are heading for Spring and that we want to leave the awful Winter weather behind us I would use them to make a button Blossom Tree. I also added a few sparkly glass beads to make it look like catkins. They didn't photograph well but they do make it look good.

I painted the canvas with a matt paint that I had bought in one of those little tester pots. Cheap.
The twig was sprayed with silver and then after it had dried I sewed it to the canvas with a toning thread. I sewed rather than stuck as I don't want it to come off.
The the flower buttons are sewn on starting with the biggest at the base and working out to the smaller buttons on the outer edges of the twig.
I had some clear crystals in my jewellery stash so I added some of those, sewn again to make them look like catkins.

Buttons can be found here:

http://www.craftfairy.co.uk/flower-selection-mixed-shape-buttons-50g-5038-p.asp

Now go and make your own.

I'm turning my attention to buttons

2012-01-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

You may all have noticed that I have done a lot of sewing lately but now the time has come to turn my attention to buttons. So I have been looking around the internet for inspiration and I have found lots. I saw these on a site called Craft-Craft. Now the idea here is not to copy but to be inspired and these are some of the things that I have found inspiring.

Now all I need to hope for is that I come up with something new and unique that you will all like too.

2012-01-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

Have you visited Pinterest lately?

Do you know what it is?

I must admit, that until quite recently I'd never heard of it. Now, though, I use it all of the time.

Basically it's an online pin board that allows you to pin ideas if things that you see and admire. I use mine for inspining craft ideas. I pin my things, but gasp...I pin those of other people too. Lots of things.

You can pin things that you see on Pinterest and things that you see odd the site. Whatever takes your fancy really.

Best of all are the bords that other people have as they are truly amazing. Food, decorating style, craft, Christmas ...... I could go on and on.

So, why not click on to my Pinterst bar at the side of this blog and go explore.

Craft Fairy Blog Candy

2012-01-01T14:16:00.000-08:00

Please post a link to this giveaway on your blog or Twitter.

To celebrate the New Year Craft Fairy are holding a give away.

Rubber Stamp Clearance Day on Craft Fairy

2011-12-28T06:41:00.000-08:00

Today I am reducing many of our rubber stamps on Craft Fairy.

These are fabulous stamps, but I have more than I need and the end of the year is coming and we need to clear for the new stock so you will all benefit from the clear out.

Look at some of what's on offer:

and

These won't last long so be quick.

Organza Ribbon flower

2011-12-10T08:05:00.001-08:00

Well I must say that I do seem to be on a roll as far as these ribbon flowers are concerned and this is the latest. Ribbon and button offer.

What you will have in this tutorial is the basis bow that will allow you to build up lots more bows. I've kept this simple for you so I hope that you're ready to play along.

You won't need much to make this, just:

1.5 metres of 23mm ribbon. ( The wider the ribbon, the fuller the flower. If you use thinner ribbon you will need to wrap it more to get the fullness. All will become clear).
1 large button
a scrap of contrasting ribbon
thread
needle
1 piece of still cardboard 5cm x 15cm. ( Cut it off an old cardboard box).

To make the flower:

Start with cut piece of ribbon at the top of the card as seen.

Wrap the ribbon around the cardboard overlapping the pieces as you go. Tie a good knot in your thread ( don't worry as it's not going to be seen) and sew a running stitch along the bottom edge of the ribbon.

Slide the ribbon off the cardboard.

Pull the thread abd it will ruffle up the ribbon.

When you've pulled tight you can sew the two edges together at the back of the flower and open out the loops. Now you can leave it like this if you like.

Or you can.....Cut the tops off the loops at a diagonal as shown.

Thread the scrap ribbon through the button and tie tightly. Sew in place in the center of your flower.

Do you like it?

Now I've put an offer on the Craft Fairy home site as usual so that you can get this ribbon at a lower price.
Click here for the offer.

Anniversary blast from the past

2011-12-09T01:12:00.001-08:00

I made this card some time ago and it was posted on my old blog. I have been looking through it recently and I couldn't let this one moulder away unseen so I've brought it out and dusted it off for all to see.

For this card you will need:

1. 1 DL card in pale blue.
2. The loving couple stamp from our new Flaunt It sheet of unmounted rubber stamps.
3. 1 sheet of white card for stamping the image and the background paper.
4. Youth is a State of Mind Stamp from the Funny Ladies sheet of stamps.
5. Art and graphic pens from Kuretake in Pink, Skin Tone, Grey and Blue
6. Stazon in Stone Grey

What to do:
1. Use Stazon in Stone Grey to stamp the image on to a piece of white card and trim to size. Colour the image with the pink and blue pens and use a little water to thin the paint to give a paler colour where needed. Edge the card in blue.
2. Decorate a piece of card with the pink calligraphy from the Heart set that you have edged with the blue pen from the Art and graphic pens from Kuretake. Trim to leave a fairly wide border as seen in the example. Edge the card in blue as you did with the earlier card.
3. Stick to the base card and use 3d foam pads to stick the loving couple sheet to the card.
4. Now, use Stone Grey Stazon to stamp the Youth message and again edge in blue. Yes, lots of blue edging here I know but it helps to harmonise the Images.
5. Use 3d foam pads to stick to the card. Your card is finished.

Our Brand New Cross Stitch Kits

2011-12-08T11:19:00.001-08:00

I really, really hope that you love these cross stitch kits as they are the first that we have brought out and are excluse to Craft Fairy. You can buy them at the Craft Fairy site

Christmas Ribbon Rosette

2011-11-27T05:41:00.001-08:00

Have you noticed how rosettes of all shapes and sizes are becoming high fashion itmas and are being worn by so many people, crafty and otherwise? This is why I've chosen to do my latest project of a ribbon rosette and I've made it in Christmas colours so that it is in time for the coming holidays.

What's even better, is that I've put together an offer for you over on the mothership ( AKA http://www.craftfairy.co.uk/ ) so that you don't have to search around for each product and you will also get a discount by buying the lot! Even better. Click here for the offer.

So let's get on with it. You will need:

16mm red with green dots grosgrain ribbon. This should be cut into 4 x 15cm lengths.

16mm willow green grosgrain ribbon cut into 6 x 10cm lengths

1 piece of satin edged chiffon in a 30 cm length. No need to cut this in to short pieces.

1 red button

1 length of strong green thread.

1 strong needle. I know that I've said this before, but when you have to sew through several layers of grosgrain you will not be able to manage with a thin needle. A thimble is also a good extra to have.

Thread your needle and lay out the cut lengths of willow grosgrain as shown.

Secure the legths of ribbon in the centre with a couple of stitches to stop them moving when you sew the next layers. Your needle should now be on the right side of the work.

Take one of the 15cm strips, form a loop and center the bottom of the loop on the underneath as shown in the image. The edges should overlap about 1cm. Push the needle up through the bottom of the loop, trying to get as closely centered both lengthwise and width wise as you can.

Pull first loop down the thread to sit on top of the bottom ribbons, then repeat process for remaining 3 loops. When all are threaded, arrange them so they are evenly spaced in a nice circular arrangement. As you will see below.

Nearly there.

Now concertina fold the satin edged chiffon so that the folds are slightly narrower than the ones below and thread the needle up through the centre. Fan the folds out and stitch into place. It is at this point that you will be glad that you have a strong needle. Sew the button into the centre of the rosette.

Last of all you will need to trim the bottom layer of ribbon

on a slant. Then seal the edges with the flame of a tea light, This is by far the safest way to do it. The open flame of the gas hob is a bit too erractic. Finished.

Poinsettia Wreath for Christmas

2011-10-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember the poinsettia flower that I did as a tutorial a few weeks ago. I pondered and pondered about what I could do with it and finally this wreath is what I came up with.

If you want to make one then you will need some red felt to make the wreath and some kapok to stuff it. I cut out a circle of felt. I used a large ribbon reel but feel free to improvise and use whatever you have in the house. The centre was marked with a reel of beading wire that I happened to have handy.

The wreath is sewn together using good old blanket stitch and stuffed with kapok just before it is completely sewn together. Sew the poinsettias to the wreath.

I uesd a 38mm satin ribbon in teal to make the bow and the hanging ribbon. You can buy it from Craft Fairy here.

Everlasting Corsage of Roses for a Winter Celebration

2011-10-16T02:25:00.000-07:00

How many of you have paid for a beautiful fresh corsage only to have it collapse during the day? This post, I hope will help you to avoid this and show you how to make your own corsage.

Here is the finished article and I guarantee that it will look this good next week and next month.
So, to get yourself started you will need:

1 really large rose
2 curly roses
barrel roses
small rose buds
medium rose buds
Ribbon

If you look above you will see what I used. Now, apart from the larger roses, you can vary the others a little. However, you will need lots of sizes. You will not get the same effect if you use all of the same size flowers so be warned.

I layered the smaller roses as shown below.

Start with the barrel at the top and gradually work down.Twist the stems together as you go.

Put the large rose in the centre and then twist the wires together at the back of the corsage so that they lie flat. At this point, this is what you'll end up with.

Add any of the barrel roses that you will use and twist in to place. You will see that there are barrel roses on one side and small buds on the other. You need that to balance out the design.

Do not be tempted to add the really large rose too soon. Get everything into place first and then twist in the large rose.

Now add the last of the small roses and twist. Add the last of the large curly roses. twist into place.

To make the bow, fold the ribbon in a figure of eight shape and then go over the figure for a second time. Wrap the wire of one of the pearls around the centre of the ribbon and use the remaining part to wrap around the corsage and secure it in place.

Now you have youe corsage that you can wear, but have you thought about making several corsages and using them as table decorations? They make your table look superb.

Ribbon Poinsettia Tutorial

2011-10-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

Do you like it? I really hope that you do as I am getting a tutorial ready for you.

The ribbons are available on Craft Fairy and the beads are from my stash.

If you want to make one then all that you have to do is get the follwing ready to play with.

a needle

thread

16mm single faced scarlet ribbon

16mm single faced teal ribbon

scissors

measuring tape.

Start by cutting 5, 7cm pieces of scarlet ribbon and 5, 5cm pieces.

Fold a 7cm piece in half and pinch. Where the pinches are sew together as shown.

Below you will see the two stages together so I hope that this helps.

Now fold the petal on the right side and you will have a pointed petal. If you want really sharp points then you can iron it flat. Repeat with all five petals and lay out side by side on your work space.

Sew along the edge of all of the petals as seen.

Pull the thread tight and the petals will form a circle.

Now repeat the above with 5cm pieces of ribbon and you will get a smaller flower.

Place one flower on top of the other and sew together.

Sew some gold beads to the centre and sew two pieces of teal ribbon to the back for the completed flower.

How to make a punched flower

2011-10-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

I hope that you liked the card shown in the last post and I can't believe that it has been so long since I published that.

So, if you want to make one you will need punches from Kuretake. You will see them in the photo below.
I also used two pigment pads for colouring and some adhesive.

Start by punching out lots of petals and two circles.

Below you can see how I coloured the petals.

Then I punched out a circle.

Next I stuck the petals to the circle, overlapping as I went. Continue until the whole of the cirle is full and then add another layer offsetting thm over the first ones.

Cover the top of the center circle with another circle and this will cover the mess that you may have made. Basically your flower is now made.

To make it look better you can add a ribbon leaf as I did below. Now attach to the card.

Punched petal flower card.

2011-05-27T06:41:00.000-07:00

Hands up how many of you have bought things and then put them aside and done nothing with them. I confess to being no slouch in this area either. This is why I've had a punch from Kuretake for a while and not really done anything with it. Until today that is. My computer was not working this morning so I really had to create. The card below and the flower on is is what I came up with. The other thing that I've not done for ages is enter challenges so this is to be entered in:
Saturday challenge 36 - Clean and simple

Phindy's Place challenge for Summer living as I think that this card look really summery.

Vintage twisted ribbon roses

2011-05-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that these twisted roses are appearing on many cards and sewing projects lately so I thought that I would bring you all a project and a video on how to do them. I've used fairly bright, well, very bright ribbon to make them as they can be shabby chic, but they can also be vivid and fashionable.

What You’ll Need:

Ribbon – at least 16mm wide

The one that I used here is the 23mm wide swiss dot grosgrain.

16mm satin ribbon in willow

a needle and thread
Cut a length of ribbon, about 30 to 45cm long. The longer (and wider) your ribbon, the larger your rose will be.
Tie a knot at one end of the ribbon, this will be the center of the rose.

Knot the end of the thread and secure it to the base of the knot.

Start twisting your ribbon and stitch it into place around the knot.

Carry on twisting the ribbon and sew it onto the rose that is developing.
Below is what it should look like from the front at this stage.
Keep on twisting and sewing until you have the size of rose that you want.

Once all the ribbon is wound up and secured, tuck the ends underneath and sew them into place with a few small stitchesKnot your thread, trim it, and you’re done
Now for the leaves. They are really simple too.

Take a length of the green satin ribbon and sew along one edge as shown. The longer the length the bigger the leaf. As a rule of thumb, your ribbon should be about two and a half times the width of the finished rose.
Pull the thread gently until you have gathered the ribbon as shown below.Stitch the ribbon together along the middle and then stitch it to the back of your rose and there you have it. Now you can make a card or far better brighten up a jumper or a hat.

Ribbon Flower Number 2

2011-05-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

Well, the last post on ribbon flowers seems to have gone down really well, so, I've decided to post another type of ribbon flower for you all. Just in case you all think that I can't use anything other than pink, I've made this one in blue.

I did stoop to pink for the thread that I used to gather the ribbon. I did this for a purpose though as it is easier to see in the photographs.

Decide on the number of petals that you want. I used 5. The more petals, the bigger the hole that will be left in the middle to cover up with a button or a stamen of some sort. You'll see what I mean as we progress.If you decide on 5 petals than the length of ribbon used to make each petal should be 2 1/2 times the width of the ribbon. Yes maths!
Made simple
Ribbon = 16mm
Length required for each petal = 40mm
5 petals = 200mm or 20 cm.
Leave an extra cm or 2 for the folding over of the edges. You can always cut off any excess but you can't get it if it isn't there.
So you will need a piece of 16mm ribbon that is about 22 cm long.

Place the ribbon on the table in front of you. The side furthest from you is the inner edge and the one closes to you is the outer edge of the flower.
Mark the ribbon into sections on the inner edge. On a 16mm ribbon these ehould be every 40mm.
Using a running stitch sew along the ribbon as shown in the photograph. Remember to loop the thread over the outer edge of the ribbon when you get to the top of each section. Sew your 5 sections. End with the thread at the outer edge of the ribbon.

Start to pull the thread. You will see the ribbon curl up in front of you. Don't panic. Keep on pulling gently until the petals emerge. The reason for looping the thread over the ribbon is that it pulls the petal into the centre nicelyYou will end up with this curly mess that you see below. Tease it out and you will see the petals. Make sure that the thread is pulled as tightly as possibe without breaking the thread so that the gap in the center is as small as possible. The two inner edges of the flower should be brought together and stitched to hold them in place.

Turn the raw wdges to the back of the flower and stitch in place. Sew a button into the center to cover the unsightly bit.

How Annoying

2011-05-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how annoying Blogger can sometimes be. I tried and tried to post a picture of the card that I make on the video but it simply wouldn't let me so here it is on a separate post.

For details on how to draw the daisies and make the card please watch the video.

How to Draw daisies with calligraphy pens

2011-05-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

I've made another video at last and I hope that it is as well received as the last one.

Folded ribbon rose tutorial

2011-05-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I asked if your 'could guess what it is yet?' I thought that I could get on and make a tutorial straight away but I have been so busy that it has taken me until now to do a very straight forward tutorial. So I've decided that I will put you out of your misery straight away, by showing you that the tutorial will be for a folded ribbon rose. The title of the post rather gave it away though. As I told you before you will need the shocking pink 23mm wide grosgrain for this and I used the swiss dot one as I wanted to have the contrast between the plain side and the dotty side. You can make a plain one if you want to but this looks kind of cute.

You will need to start by rolling a short section of the ribbon and securing it with a couple of stitches. Stitching is better than gluing as it will held in place and then, if you want to put it on a garment you can wash it without being afraid that it will fall apart. This roll will be your bud.

Next fold the ribbon at a 90 degree angle to the roll as shown below.Roll the ribbon around the central bud until you get to the end of the folded part. It will be obvious when you do it. Secure the bottom with a couple of stitches. ,Fold and roll again and again. See below. Make sure to put in a couple of stitches as you go.Below is what your rose should look like after you have folded a few times.Now look at the back and you will see how this is coming along, and where to put the stitching. Basically you keep on going until you have as many petals as you want. The cut you r ribbon and tuck the raw wdge under and tack into place. Turn over and your ribbon is done.

Pincushion for a competition

2011-05-03T01:19:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm posting a set of instructions to make a pincushion. I am making this as I am going to enter it for a WI competition in the summer. So. as I was going to do it for this, I thought that I might as well do the instructions and blog it as well. Being in posession of a huge choice of ribbons I really had no choice but to use them. All the ribbons that you see here are available from craftfairy.co.uk

Here is the finished cushion. I know that it is really girly and over the top kitch but who cares. I thought that if I was going to go for a domestic goddess kind of thing I might as well go over the top. 1950's at least. I even feel a frilly apron coming on. Perhaps not today though.

So. if you want to make something like this you will need to do some ribbon weaving first. This really is a good way to use up your scraps too as it only requires short lengths. the sort that are usually too short to be used for anything else.

Cut yourself a piece of fuisable interfacing about 2cm larger than the finished size of the pinchshion. E.g. if your pinchshion is to be 50cm x 50cm then cut your square 51cm x 51cm. I used a lightweight interfacing as I wanted the finished cushion to be soft not stiff.

Put the interfacing on the ironing board, fuisable side up. If your don't do it this way your will fuse it to the board. Lay your ribbons out in a pattern and pin to the ironing board over the interfacing.

Cut your lengths of ribbon so that they extend beyond the size of the backing fabric. You will trim them later so don't worry about being too precise. I used a mixture of widths and patterns but to keep the design looking good I used only three harmonizing colours. Pink, blue and a touch of white in the pattern. Lay them vertically over the interfacing.

Now weave the same pattern of ribbon in the horizontal direction as shown.

You should end up with what you see below. Push the ribbons together so that there are no gaps showing and pin in place. You will need to do this or the ribbon will move when you iron it.

Cover the ribbon weaving with a cloth and press with the iron. Do not use steam. This will create enough adhesion to allow you to flip the ribbon weave over and then press again to cause a better adhesion and create your fabric. See below. Now, flip the fabric over, and iron from the back. This will ensure that the ribbons stick to the interfacing really well.

Now, take a length of sewing thread with a knot in one side and sew a running stitch along one edge of the ribbon very close to the edge. When you have reached the end pull the thread to gather it to approximately the length of your 4 sides combined. 40 cm in my case. Secure the end of the thread.

Pin to the right side of the edge of the ribbon fabric. Tack the ribbon in place very near the edge. You will not reallt have a seam allowance on the ribbon. No need to have one really as the ribbon has a sewn edge should not frey. There will be a seam allowance on the ribbon fabric though.

Cut a piece of backing fabric that is the same size as the interfacing. I used a little broiderie anglais that I had in my scraps basket. With right sides together and the ribbon in the middle like a sandwich sew around three sided of the pincushion. I did this by hand as it really is too fiddly to even contemplate sewing on the machine.

When you have done this turn the pincushion around to the right side and fill with kapok or any other stuffing that you have. I had some left over from goodness knows when. Sew the last side into place from the back of the cushion and you have done.

Craft Fairy at Ally Pally

2011-04-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when Craft Fairy will be at Ally Pally. I have to say that it's out favourite venue. It is all dedicated to paper craft.... no garlic graters anywhere! I exhibit and demo, but I also have a mooch around for things to buy for myself too. Ally Pally is one of those shows that always has something to temp you. Last year I bought some Marianne dies for threding ribbon on to. Well, I would! This year, who knows. One word though, if you're coming and want to buy something from me then please let me know before I leave tomorrow. So many peole come to me and say, 'you have those ....' and unfortunately I've not brought them with me. So mail me please.

How to draw a flower with calligraphy pens

2011-04-02T08:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I've finally done it. While at the NEC last week, I told lots of people that I would make a video of flower drawing and this is the result. It's my first effort so be kind. I will make more. By then I will probably have figured out better lighting too!

Can you guess what it is yet?

2011-03-17T21:54:00.000-07:00

I thought that for, this post, I would keep you guessing.

If you want to play along with me though you will need a length of swiss dot grosgrain ribbon in 23mm width. I used shocking pink so click here to get it.

Our Stand at Stitches

2011-02-26T13:07:00.000-08:00

Putting together a stand for a show is hard enough work at the best of times, but the stand at Stitches was even more difficult as we were aiming for pretty. We wanted to get rid of the awful grey background so we coverd it with fabric bought from Bridgend Fabrics and we chose a spotty one to reflect the packaging that is used for Craft Fairy products.

Off to the Spring Fair

2011-02-03T09:02:00.001-08:00

If you're wondering where I am at the moment, I'll enlighten you all. I am still here, but busy with preparations for the Spring Fair (NEC) so i've not had any time at all to blog. I'll get back to it as soon as I can.

Cute little accordion album

2011-01-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

This is a first for me again. My first mini book album. As usual I love it. I am easily pleased I know but whan I saw this cute little thing I just had to make one. These mini albums are also a perfecr way to use up scraps and bits and pieces. too. If you don't have any scraps though you can get the ribbons here, I used 3mm lime juice abd dusty rose. Your flowers here.

This is entered for the Do You Stack Up challenge -Pink

Time to Craft Challenge - Spots and Dots

Craft your passion - Two patterned papers.

Valentine will be with us so soon

2011-01-17T01:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a little something to get you going for the Valentine season. Fill it with choccies for an irrisistable pressie.You will need

1 A4 sheet of heavy paper

1 piece of white card to stamp the Babe with a Heart

Art and Graphic pens

Stix2 3d foam pads

Double sided sticky tape

Paper raffia

Message stamp of your choice, we have lots at reduced prices but their going fast.

Tag

Glue

Stazon inkpad in Stone Grey

1. Ink up the stamp with the Stazon and stamp it on to a piece of card. Colour the edges with the colour of your choice pen as seen above. Stick to the bag with Stix 2 foam pads.

2. Ink the message stamp and stamp on to a piece of white card.

3. Cut out and stick to the base bag with 3d foam pads as seen.

4. Cut a length of raffia ribbon and stick to the bag with double sided sticky tape. Tie a bow and stick to the ribbon.

5. Now make the matching card. No need to change the layout.

This is entered in the Shabby tea rooms challenge - White plus bright

A different colour for a change

2011-01-17T01:25:00.000-08:00

I've managed to stay away from pink again today as I had this beautiful designer paper that I think looks rather like a chackered tablecloth. I picked up the colours of the cloth to colour in the fairy which is from the Baking Fairy set of stamps by Craft Fairy.

I've entered this card in the Craft Your Passion challenge for buttons.

Distressing

2011-01-15T08:19:00.000-08:00

Distressing is not something that I do very often. Possibly because I spend most of my life distresses or is that stressed in some way or another, but never one to flinch from a challenge as you may well know by now, I have made a distressed card for the Do you stack up challenge 2 Distress It. I loved it! You never know if you might like a thing until after you've tried it.

For the uninitiated the daisy that I used is just one small stamp which you can get here for just £2.50. A bargain.
To achieve this effect you will need to colour up and stamp the card several times using two shades of blue from the Kuretake range of pens which can be found here. Don't forget that is you vary the colours you will get a different effect.
The flowers that I used at the top of the page are from the range of £1.50 blooms and they were a little to large so I cut them down. Perfect. They can be bought here.
The sentiment is from I Brake for Stamps and can be bought here.
Be warned as I've only got one sheet of these wonderful sentiment left so get in quick if you want one.

Not everyone wants sweet

2011-01-15T02:22:00.000-08:00

There has been a rash of beautiful, sweet cards lately and I've not been left out myself, but, not everyone wants sweet. This card, I think is the anthisis of sweet, but it is a card for a man and you can't send sweet to a man.
Apologies for the slightly skewed photograph, I don't know what I'm doing lately. It's all straight on the card, I promise.

He is Hypertension Harold and he comes from the wonderful stamp company, I Brake for Stamps.

If you want him ---- come and get him here.

I've entered this card in the Sketch Saturday challenge 138

Fashion Ladies Rock

2011-01-13T07:45:00.000-08:00

Just look at this image on the card below. I bet that she was the 30's version of some of those women in Sex in the City. She jus looks demure. She is lovely though and she will make a fab birthday card for both young and old alike.

I used warm colours this time as I have been making a concerted move away from pink. I know, I know ... not too successful, but this time I've succeeded.
If you love this image and want to get her than you can find her here.

I have entered this card in the Sketch Saturday Week 137 Challenge
Fab n' Funky challenge 55 Let's get warm and toasty
Cute Card Thursday Monochrome

Trying out a new technique

2011-01-12T05:12:00.000-08:00

I'm in the middle of making cards from the Flower Power stamps from I Brake for Stamps which is a super versatile set of images. I've made quite a few lately and this one is the latest.

The new technique is to use just a part of the stamp for a different effect. I also rotated the stamp so that it faced in different directions to make the tulips look as if they were growing in differing ways. The stamps were coloured with Art and Graphic pens from Kuretake which are available here.
The sheet of stamps is available here.
The ribbon here.
Happy crafting,
Yvonne

I must be getting better at this lark

2011-01-11T04:11:00.000-08:00

I must be getting better at this challeges lark as I have managed to make two cards today. This one is with another glamor girl stamp and she is a fabulous vintage beauty.

I've also manages to combine her with my other love, flowers to create a lovely old fashioned feel card that is bang up to date.
If you want to make this card then the image is available here.
the flowers here
the ribbon here
The card is entered in the Everybody Art Challenge , Sketch 124

Fab and Funky challenge - Anything goes

Tiny Weenie Cupcake Stand

2011-01-11T01:57:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed how some of the most expensive cards in shops carry the highest prices? I always think that it's the design that you pay for rather than the quantity of paper and embellishments that are put on the card. So, to help you make an expensive looking card with a teenie weenie price tag I've made this cupcake stand card.

The image is from the Party Fairy set of rubber stamps which can be bought here.
The fabulous ribbon is from our new bubble dot range which is only £1.20 for 3 meteres and can be bought here.
The image is mounted on a ready cut frame which can be bought here.

Daisies always bring a little sunshine

2011-01-10T11:42:00.000-08:00

Many of you that heve visited my blog of late have probably noticed a flurry of creative activity. You all, no doubt, know that I'm off to Westpoint in Exeter in a couple of weeks and that I've been making as many samples as possible with stamps and lots and lots of flowers.

Today. I've made a card with flowers, but I've stamped them rather than using the mulberry paper ones. I'm using the daisy stamps from the I Brake for Stamps Flower Power sheet today. I felt the need to move on from the Glamour Girls for a lillte while just in case you thought that I was becoming obsessed.
One of the wonderful things about this card is that it's made with very little stash:
2 small stamps available here
1 small saying
a scrap of ribbon available here
some punched circles
The leaves are the holly leaves cut down so if you have any left over fron Christmas then get snipping to make them into something else. Just hoe that your friends are not botanically minded.
As the ribbon is tied on, I'm entering this card in the Craft Your Passion challenge for something tied on.
Tip Top Tuesday Anything Goes

Fancy Folds

2011-01-08T02:43:00.000-08:00

I'll start off by admiting that this fancy fold card is not the easiest card on the plant to make. but it is one of the most satisfying. I'm on a mission, as many of you may well know, to make as many new samples as possible for the Craft 4 Crafters show in Exeter at the end of the month and the flowers are on the list so that is why I've chosen is beautiful iris stamp to showcase on this card.

The card is entered in the Allsorts Challenge Fancy Folds which is primarily why I made this card.

The flowers can be bought here.

The stamp which is from, Stampinback, here.
The butterfly here.

Glamour Girl 4?

2011-01-07T03:37:00.000-08:00

At least I think that it's 4 in the series that I'm doing at the moment. Luckily a challenge has been thrown down at Phindy's Place for distressing so I've decided to go with that as it stops me from using pink.
I've also entered it in the Create for Fun challenge week 02.
Do You Stack Up? Cute as a button.

Delightful Challenge Buttons

I've used distressed papers and a pointillism image which gives a really good vintage/faded image. The browns and greys add to the distressed feel too.

The stamp is from the Glamour Girls sheet from Time to Stamp and can be bought here.
The ribbon here.

The flowers here.

One of the Best Stamps Ever!

2011-01-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

This stamp is one of the best ever. I don't say that lightly as I have lots of good stamps but this one is the one that attracts the best audience when I take it to the shows so here she is in all her glory and I love her to bits. This time I decided to soften the image a little by using pinks and flowers but the sentiment really sums her up. I haven't made a card with her in a long while, but I have now!

I made an easel card for her as I think that she should be seen at all times.
I'm entering her in the Cute Card Thursday's challenge 146 - Out With the Old

Wow.

2011-01-06T01:19:00.000-08:00

I can only say this as I've made the top three on Moving Along with the Times Challenge 79 for my Birthdays and Circles card. OOh, I'm so chuffed.

Thank you so much for choosing me.

Pink Party Fairy

2011-01-05T01:37:00.000-08:00

I woke up early this morning and so I decided to see what challenges lay in store for me. When I first saw this challenge recipe on Creative Inspirations challenge - 93, I must admit that I thought that it was beyond me and what I had in my stash, but.....I have done it!

CHALLENGE 93 - RECIPE!

This week we want to see you include ALL of the following on your work :

4 PAPERS

3 FLOWERS

2 RIBBONS

1 BUTTON

Just in case anyone is counting, there are 3 patterned papers and one plain one.
I used the sketch from Sunday Sketch and Stamp, Claire's Sketch 44, for the layout as this inspired me to set everything out well.
If you want to make sometning similar then you will be able to get the stamp here,
the flowers here, the ribbon here.

This card is also entered in the Stamping Royalty challenge 53.

Happy crafting

Gardening Fairy

2011-01-04T02:18:00.001-08:00

I've been playing around with lots of card designs lately and this is one that I've wanted to make for a while. It's a scene design and one in which I've combined the flower drawing with calligraphy pens to create a garden of flowers for the fairy to water. I really, really hope that you like it.

The fairy stamp and the sentiment can be bought here.
The pens for drawing the flowers here.
The ribbon here.
The butterfly here.
The pens for colouring the fairy here.

The card is entered in the

Double Dutch Challenge - Make a Scene.

My Time to Craft Challenge 122 - Up in the Air.

Papertake Weekly - Anything goes

Rainbow Lady Challenge - Your Choice from 2010. I chose Make a picture

I've really limited myself.

2011-01-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

For this card I've really limited myself to only two colours. The challenge on Cupcake Crafts is for White is White. However, they do say that a colour can be used as long as the card is predominantly white. So this is why you see the type of card that I very rarely produce.

The saying is from I Brake for Stamps and Is available here.

The flowers can be bought here.

Happy Crafting!

Fitness Fairy

2011-01-03T02:30:00.000-08:00

At this time of the year the shops are full of fitness equipment so I thought that this image for the fitness fairy image from Craft Fairy Stamps.

You can use the message or, in my case, choose to ignore it and carry on eating the chocolates left over from Christmas.

Waste not want not!

The stamp can be bought here.

The flowers are here in abundance.

This card is entered in the Stamp with Fun challenge 92

Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

Something New

2011-01-02T05:34:00.000-08:00

Something New is challenge 50 on Paper Sundaes. This is a wonderful as it makes you use the things that you bought but haven't yet used so my 'Something New' is going to be the Butterfly Fairy from Stampinback and available to buy here.
Tha wonderful flowers and leaves are here.

Mind you, while I'm at it I might as well admit that the paper and the layout.are also new as well.
This card is entered in the
Paper Sundaes challenge 50 - Something New

Glamour in Pink and Black

2011-01-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

I think that I'm on a roll with the Glamour Girls Stamps from Time to Stamp so I've made another one that is a bit on the dramatic side. I've noticed that pink and black is a very popular colour combo at the craft fairy so I've decided to go with this for the latest card. I just love the way that the stamp seems to have a sheen especially on the nylons. I bet that some of my younger readers don't even know what they are. Guesses in the comments would be fun.

You can get this wonderful stamp here.
The ribbon here

I've entered this in the Secret Crafter's Challenge 115, Buttons and Bows.
Happy crafting.

Forgotten Stamps 2

2011-01-01T04:03:00.000-08:00

The other day I used one of my forgotten, Glamour Girls, stamps when I did a pink, white red challenge. Today, now that I've remembered that they are there I've pulled out another of those wonderful stamps to make this card. My apolgies for the image as it seems to be a bit slanted. It is New Yeard Day after all.

The stamp is from the glamour girls sheet of stamps and can be bought here.
The flowers can be bought here.

I've entered this card in the Saturday Sketch Challenge.

Babies

2010-12-31T06:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, rather earlier than expected, a little boy was born. So to celebrate this fantastic event I've made him a card.

The stamp can be bought here.

The ribbon here.

I've entered the card in the Alphabet Challenge, I is for Infants, I found a challenge in the end and it's just perfefect.

Stop Craft challenge, and

Elephantastic Challenge, both of which are, New Beginnings

Sew Many Cards Challenge - New Things

No Challeges as yet

2010-12-31T01:54:00.000-08:00

How will I cope today? As yet I've not found a challenge that I can enter. There is one on Fussy friday but that will take time to do so you may not see it until tomorrow.

If, I've missed one, dear reader, then please, please, let me know.

Blue Fairy

2010-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Today is a productive day as I am already on my second card. I wanted to enter the Moving Along with the Times challenge for; 'Birthday with circles'. I have made a lovely card with ovals but I guess that it just won't do so here is one that is definately right for the theme.

The stamp is available here.

Forgotten Stamps

2010-12-30T01:06:00.001-08:00

Sometimes a much loved stamp gets forgotten in the jumble that is my stamp collection and it can emerge in a much needed tidy up. This beautiful glamour girl is one of those lost treasures. I've done somrthing different with her today as I've used lots of elements that I don't usually associate with a glamourous figure, gingham being one of those.

If you really love this stamp you can get the stamp here.
The gingham ribbon here.
As I chose the colours that are in the Colour Create challenge 61 - Pink, red and white it is entered in that today.

Poppy Card for the New Year

2010-12-29T02:12:00.000-08:00

Well, Christmas may be over but the year goes on and I thought that I would keep the Christmas colours going for a while with this green, red and cream card. The poppy is always a popular flower and it lends itself so well to this colour theme too.

The stamp is from Stampinback and available here.
The ribbon is available here.
The sentiment is from I Brake for Stamps and is available here.

I've entered this in the Craft Your Passion Challenge 38.

Crafty Ann's Challenge blog anything goes.

City Crafter challenge blog. Stamp it out.

Little Red wagon, Leftovers

Happy crafting

A Very Special Thank You

2010-12-28T06:08:00.000-08:00

Post Christmas is the time for thank you cards so here's one to kick off the season.

If you want to make something similar with this fabulous stamp from I Brake for Stamps then you can get the stamp sheet here. It is only £11 for a sheet of 9 stamps of varying sizes.

The willow stitched ribbon is here.

The thank you stamp is here.

The image is stamped in Stazon and coloured with Art and Graphic pens from Kuretake available here.
This card is entered in the

Papertake Weekly challenge Be Thankful

Phindy's Place Challenge, Give Thanks

My First Easel Card

2010-12-28T03:07:00.000-08:00

I know that this technique has been around for some time, but, this is the first one that I've ever made. So be gentle with me dear reader as it may not be up to the standard that many of you seem to achieve on the blogs that I've read.

What I like about the easle card is that it allows the recipient to see the front of the card. That, after all is what we've worked on. That's what we've spent hours trying to perfect. So let them see it!!!

If you like what you see and want to make it for yourself you can get the

rubber stamp here

the digital version here for only £1.50

the blooms here

leaves here

I've entered this in the

My Time to Craft Challenge 121, Brand Spanking New

Digital Tuesday Anything Goes

The Shabby Tea Room, Shabby Chic Baby. This requitres some fabric and I have used ribbon.

Today's Freebie Sentiment

2010-12-27T12:01:00.000-08:00

Every week, at the Craft Fairy site, we aim to offer a free sentiment to all of the lovely crafters who visit our site. I also do my best to create a card to go along with the sentiment. So here is the latest for you to see.

I also saw a fab challenge on Mojo Monday challenge blog that I used as my layout for the i card so without further ado her is the card. If you want the saying as a free download then click here.

Fairy or Angel?

2010-12-23T02:57:00.000-08:00

Fairy or Angel? I actually think that this fits both categories. I've been waiting to do something with this beautiful stamp for a while and today I came up with this.

Stamp can be bought here.
Ribbon here
I Brake for Stamps sentiment here

This is entered in the Crafty Creations 'Angel 'challenge.
the AiFactory challenge.

Vintage image birthday card.

2010-12-21T06:08:00.000-08:00

The challenge on Creative Craft Challenges and on Papertake Weekly is 'Anything goes'. Now that might seem like an easy challenge, but it means that you have to think for yourself. Not an easy thing in my case. So I've decided to go with this vintage stamp as a focus for my card. She is so sweet and I love the age old feel of this card.
There is also a sketch and an invitation to
'Frame it' on the Truly Scrumptious blog so I'll enter that as well. Just to make things even better I'll also enter it for the
Think Ink challege 34 on Artful Inkables. I think that I'm too late for the entry to count but it's the thought that counts.
Next there's the Crafts and Me challenge for anything goes.
Top Tip Tuesday is for embellishing and I think that this card fits that bill too.

Flowers from a selection that can be seen here.

16 mm satin ribbon from here. The colour is rosy mauve.

The stamp is from a set of children's ATC's avilable here

My what an elegant card

2010-12-20T07:28:00.000-08:00

The title of this is, 'My what an elegant card'. I gave it that title as that's what my husband said when he saw it. That is really a compliment as he never really says anything in particular. I feel very flattered and I have Mojo Monday, sketch 170 to thank for inspiring me to do this one. I just loved the take that Julee Tilman did so this is why you see this in front of you.

To make this card you will need:
Large ivory curly roses., which can be bought here.
Tan brown rose leaves from here.
Stampinback floral silhouette available here.

Hope that you like it as much as hubby!

Yvonne

Fit Fairy for a challenge

2010-12-20T04:57:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love this Fit Fairy? She is one of the series of fairy rubber and digital stamps from Craft Fairy and she fits in with this sketch perfectly. The challenge is Sketch and Stash challenge 51.
I used the sketch from Sketch and Stash catalogue as the layout. You can see it below. The challenge is to use any of the sketches from the last year and this is my choice.

To make this card, I used:

The Fit Fairy, either the actual stamp or the digital is fine.

Universal twill ribbon in willow green

Flowers from Craft Fairy

Happy crafting.

Fairy Happy Birthday

2010-12-20T02:59:00.000-08:00

How cold is it with you? I bet that it's freezing and that you wish that this awful snow would go away as soon as possible. There is a silver lining to all of this snow: you can stay inside and craft!
I've decided that the best thing to do is to enter as many challenges as I can. So I'm starting with the Stamp with Fun Challenge by Tina.
Cute Card Thursday for 'One for the Kids'
Stamp Fairy challenge. Rather appropriate for a Craft Fairy don't you think?
Digital Tuesday challenge, Let's Celebrate.

I've used the Party Fairy stamp from Craft Fairy natch, and you can get it here.

She is also available as a digital image here. At only £1.50 she is a snip and no postal costs, no waiting, and no worries that the delivery is not going to get to you as the snow has stopped play.

I used some of the craft Fairy flowers, which are here.

I coloured her in with Art and Graphic pens from Kuretake, available here
The ribbon that I used is the rosy mauve 16mm double faced satin availabe here
I hope that you like it as much as I do.
Stay warm.

Calling all gardeners.

2010-12-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

I bet that this awful weather has upset a lot of would be gardeners. The cold has frozen the earth and stopped them all from going outside to get on with the winter work. To compensate for that I’ve made this humorous card for the gardeners in your life. Go on, give them a laugh.

To make the card you will need:
Big Daddy stamp from I Brake for Stamps. This can be bought here at Craft Fairy.
Art and Graphic pens to colour up the stamp.
A selection of papers to layer up the card
Foam pads to stick on the layers
Glue
Grosgrain ribbon which is available form Craft Fairy
Eazi-score board for making the perfect crease on your card.

I'm entering this card in the Sketch Saturday challenge. So wish me luck.

Sentimental verse freebie

2010-12-17T05:22:00.000-08:00

Over on the Craft Fairy website we have started a freebie section. So far it has mainly been verses or funny quips. So today, I've added a verse, that I wrote, for a sentimental card. I hope that you like it. I've only printed half of the verse on the sample card but you can get the whole verse on the Freebies section of the Craft Fairy web site.
Happily this fits in perfectly with the theme on Allsorts challenge blog which this week is, Free and Easy. To see the challenge pop on over.

To make this card, use a 14cm x 14cm base card.

1 sheet of patterned paper 13cm x 13cm

1 piece of pink satin edged chiffon 9cm

A selection of flowers from Craft Fairy flowers section.

Tan brown leaves

Free sentiment from the freebies section on Craft Fairy

See the tutorial on corsages for a 'how to' on the rose corsage.

One important point.

The card was scored and creased using the Eazi-score board from Diamond craft.

if you want to see how to use it then click here to be taken to a set of video tutorials.

A Birthday Card for my Grandaughter

2010-12-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

It's almost birthday time for my youngest grand daughter and I decided to get in early with her birthday card. I chose the gardening fairy for her as my littlest granddaughter may be only three but she really loves gardening. She also loves the flowers that I drew with the Kuretake pens so I decided to make a card that combines the two things that she really loves the most. Except me that is!

What you will need:
1 base card, 140mm x 140mm
Gardening Fairy Unmounted rubber stamp
Zig Kuretake tut pens in colours: 207 (for skin) 50 for stems and a variety for the fairy,
a saying.
Baby pink and pure pink Kuretake calligraphy blending pens
6 mm green gingham ribbon

This card is easy peasy to make.
Draw the flowers (see the 'Quick and Easy guide to drawing flowers with pens)
Put a strip of double sided sticky tape across the base of the card and stick the ribbon on to the card. Add a bow to the ribbon.
Stamp and colour the fairy, cut it out and use some foam pads to stick it to the card.
Add your desired sentiment and doodle around the edge of the card.
Finished.

Knitting is the new aerobics.

2010-11-26T14:58:00.000-08:00

For all of you knitting mad people out there this card is just perfect.
She's made with Knitting Hats Hazel, a stamp from the wonderful I Brake for Stamps and she is available from Craft Fairy.
She is coloured in with Art and Graphic pens from Kuretake and
the ribbon is 16mm double faced satin from Craft Fairy
The saying is also from I brake for stamps.
If you make something with this stamp then please let me know.

Snowman and Holly for Christmas

2010-11-24T01:43:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of years it seems that Christmas has been geting colder and there have been far more snowmen around so the theme for this year's Christmas cards has to be: Snowman and Holly.
I decided to make it with some of the new ribbon that arrived with Craft Fairy last week.

To make this card you will need:

Snowman with checkered scarf rubber stamp from the Merry Stamper range on the Craft Fairy site.
Holly leaves
Candy Cane Christmas ribbon
Art and Graphic pens by Zig, Kuretake in colours 29 and 50
Some vintage Doodlebug paper : Jolly Holly stripe
Kuretake Calligraphy pen in silver for the border of the image and the card.
Stazon in Stone grey
14 cm x 14 cm base card in white plus extra for the stamped image
Foam pads
glue
Double sided tape

To make the card
Stamp (with Stazon), and colour your image on a spare piece of white card.
Edge the card with the silver calligraphy pen
Stick a piece of Christmas paper onto the bottom of your card.
Tie an esy bow in the ribbon and use the double sided tape to attach it to the card.
Attach the image and the holly leaves to the card with foam pads. Attahc a button to the holly leaves.
Draw a dot dash pattern on the edgeof the card as seen.
As an extra advantage I decide to enter it into the let it snow, Simon Says Challenge and the Paper Take Weekly challenge for Cut it Out.

Calligraphy Daisy Card

2010-11-18T02:45:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have already purchased my new Flower drawing book and seen that there is a daisy added to the flowers that you can draw with the wonderful Calligraphy pens from Kuretake.

What I have shown you here is how to use the drawings to create a card.

The daisies are drawn on a piece of card which was 7 cm x 9 cm approx.
I used Butter and Rose to draw the flowers and Olive Green 56 in Art and Graphic pens to draw the stems and the leaves.
The daisy in the middle was drawn first when the second colour was at its strongest and the two others were then drawn. The lighter colour on the two flowers either side give some appearance of recession.
The card was then edged in the gold metalic calligraphy pen to make it look as if it had a border.
Finally I added someof the new 16 mm satin ribbon in willow to give the card some texture and luxury and a saying to finish it off.

Read My Lips Lucille

2010-11-12T04:53:00.000-08:00

I just had to make a card out of this fabulous stamp, Read my Lips Lucille. I've had her for a while, but I really wanted a good saying to go with her. I found the one that I've added here and neadless to say, I'm over the moon. The stamp is on sale at my Craft Fairy site and it is made by the wonderful Della from I Brake for Stamps. Her Humerous Senior range is the original and the best too.

What you will need:
1 base card, 140mm x 140mm
Contrasting card for layering
Read my Lips Lucille stamp
Zig Kuretake tut pens in colours: 207 (for skin), 56, 23, 49
A button for the corner
A saying.
Feel free to copy the one that I've used. I printed it out on the computer, cut it out and layered it up.
16mm scarlet satin ribbon for the centre of the card.

I really didn't think that this lady needed my usual pinks so I went for no nonsense colours, but because it is nearly Christmas I added some reds too.

Super fun Christmas

2010-10-21T13:55:00.001-07:00

This is a card for the grumpy old ladies in us all.

Are you all getting ready for Christmas? If you are then here’s a rather different card for you to make this month. It’s a funny one for a change.

You will need: 1 base card 140mm x 140mm,
I used white linen card.
1 piece of white card 1 piece of red card
1 piece of doodlebugs jolly holly paper
1 length of 9mm red saddle stitch ribbon
1 sentiment and the package lady stamp from the 'Censorship' sheet of unmounted rubber stamps.
Stazon in Stone Gray
A selection of pens to colour the image.
H2O waterbrush from Kuretake.
paper glue 3d foam pads.

To make the card Stamp the image onto a piece of white linen card. Colour it in and trim the card to leave a fairly generous border around the image. Stick the image card to the red card and trim to leave a thin border. Stamp the sentiment onto another piece of white card and mount onto red card and trim to leave a similar size border. Cut a piece of jolly holly paper to cover about a 1/3rd of the card and stick to the base card. Tie a knot in the ribbon and use it to cover the join. Stick the images to the card with 3d foam pads.

Getting ready for the NEC in November

2010-10-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

Now, I know that it's a couple of weeks away, but you can never be too ready and the Hobbycrafts fair at the NEC is so big that it needs a lot of thought.

So.... if you can think of ways that I can make things better for the fair and your experience better too then leave a comment.

Port Sunlight and the Happy Stampers

2010-10-07T13:32:00.001-07:00

Craft Fairy is off to Liverpool to set up at the Happy Stampers show in Port Sunlight. This is one of the best shows of the year as it is attended by such dedicated stampers and organised so well by such lovely people. I really can't wait!

See you all there.

A break from the norm

2010-09-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Cards for men are always so difficult to find so this should really help you all out. It's not the usual pretty card that I bring to you today, but a real bruiser of a card with a clear man sized message.

Don't you think that this will make a perfect card for the man in your life?

If you want to make it then you will need a 140mm x 140mm base card
Some man coloured paper
The Hypertension Harold Unmounted rubber stamp
Stazon in Stone Grey
Kuretake Art and Graphic pens Nos 260, 71, 8, 82.
Water pen.

The rest is up to you.

Who's Going to Ally Pally

2010-09-21T01:26:00.000-07:00

Hands up if you're going to go to Ally Pally.

If you are, why not come along and visit us at the Craft Fairy stand.

We'll have lots of fantastic ribbons, buttons and bows as well as our huge range of paper flowers at knock down prices.

See you there.

Join me at the Art Stamps Fair at Newbury

2010-06-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Join me at the Art Stamps Fair at Newbury this wekend where I will be holding lots of Make and Take sessions on the Craft Fairy stand. What I will show everyone is how to make gift bags without needing to measure anything.

This is just an example of what you can make. I'll add more if I have the time today or tomorrow.

Lots of New Flowers Have Arrived

2010-04-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

After months of negotiating with a company in Thailand the first of our own, Craft Fairy, brand of paper flowers have arrived.

These three packets are just three of the nine new colours that we have in stock.

Now, I chose the colour combinations myself. Did I make good choices? You tell me in your comments.

Back at Last

2010-04-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

I must admit that I've not blogged for quite a while as the shows have taken me away from the computer. I do miss it though and so I am getting on with creating again. This is today's effort which uses the fantastic hydrangea stamp from Time To Stamp that is made by I Brake for Stamps.

To make it:

Colour the hydrangea stamp with the Art and Graphic Pens from Kuretake and stamp it twice, colouring up between stamping. Use the H2O water brush to move the paint a little and added some extra colour where the shadows should be.I cut the images out and then got on with the rest of the card.
Cut a base card 10.5cm x 28cm. Score this at the 14cm point to make a card 10.5cm x 14cm when folded.
Cut a piece of pink card and scored it and then cut it to fit over the join in the base card.
Stamp the message, which is from the Inspirational sayings plate, on a piece of card and cut it out to leavea a small border. Mounted this on to a piece of pink card. This was then stuck to the base card.
Stick the hydrangea images slightly overlapping on to the card with a mixture of adhesive and foam pade. The adhesive was for the bottom hydrangea and the foam pads for the upper image.
Decorated the lower part of the card with a broken line of green, use one of the greens that used on the stamp for colour continuity.

New Header

2010-03-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that we've got a new header? Don't you just love the fairy.? She's also the new logo on the Craft Fairy site so you'll see a lot more of her in the future.

I'd love to hear what you have to say about her so leave your comments for me to read.

A Corsage from Paper Flowers

2010-03-11T04:40:00.001-08:00

Recently I've taken delivery of a large number of fantastic paper flowers and they are too wonderful to leave untouched in boxes until they sell. So I've decided to put my floristry training into practice and show everyone how to use the flowers to make a corsge.

You will need to set out what you need to start with:

On my table I had small yellow (it said yellow on the packet but they really are cream!) rose buds.

Small open tea roses in cream.

Medium open tea roses in fuchsia.

Large curly roses in Cream.

A couple of green hydrangea petals and some tacky glue.

First of all I cut the green flower in four as seen below.

Then I layered the smaller roses as shown below. Start with the smallest flower at the top and gradually wor down to the largest of the three.

Now twist the stems together.

Add some glue to the base of the leaf .

Glue behind the flowers as seen below.

Repeat the same steps with flowers and leaves for the other side. Lay them on the table and cross over at the centre point.

Put the large rose in the centre and then twist the wires together at the back of the corsage so that they lie flat. At this point, this is what you'll end up with.

However, I decided that it looked a little empty in the middle so I glued some green petals behind the central flower and I was happy with the way that it looked.

Challenge 82 - Kids Kardz!

2010-03-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

I know that I don't very often make cards for boys but this time I'm making the exception because it lets me use this great stamp from the Kids Collection by The Merry Stamper.

This card was made for

Challenge 82 - Kids Kardz!

on My Time to Craft.
This fab boy stamp is from the set of Sketch kids stamps from The Merry Stamper.
I also used some of our highly desired dinosaur ribbon.
Some Kuretake Art and Graphic, double ended pens for the colouring and a waterbrush for the shading.

I do hope that you like this effort as I know what a pain it is to make cards for boys and I hope that any slug hunter that gets it will love it too.

2010-02-16T23:07:00.000-08:00

How chuffed am I, I've just had one of my tutorials added to the Inspirational Tipe, Techniques and Tutorials blog.

So please check it out for mine and other great tutorials.

Fennel Seed Head Card

2010-02-14T04:18:00.000-08:00

The challenge on Our Creative Corner this week is for something old that's new. Well, like almost everyone else I've got lots of things in my stash that are old and neglected. In my case it's a brayer. I bought one some time ago and I've not been able to master it at all. So this card is for you to see how you can use those bits of card that you practise on and think aren't good enough.

I am often asked for cards for men and it is always difficult to come up with anything for them. So much of the stuff in the shops is covered with beer mugs that I decided to go for something refreshing and natural. Flowers are out for most men but seeds and weeds seem to be fine. This is what you get in this card.

What you will need:

Fennel Seed Head from Stampinback
Pieces of waste card from when you've been learning to use a brayer
or some nice paper
Stazon in Stone Grey
Sentiment stamp from I Brake for Stamps
Light duck egg blue ribbon from Craft Fairy
Toning background paper for the base of the card

Happy crafting

Ribbon Flower Tutorial 2

2010-02-06T04:12:00.000-08:00

Well! The response to my last flower tutorial was huge so it's spurred me on to do another one and as we have just added fabulous satin dot ribbons to the Craft Fairy site this was an opportunity to use them too.

So above, is the finished flower and now I'm sure that you all want to see how I made it.

First you will need to assemble your ingredients:

On my table I had:
4 strips of hot pink satin swiss dot ribbon each measuring 15 cm.
A few buttons. I hadn't yet decided which ones to use. You will need one bigger than the other though.
Cotton
A needle. Use a sharp one.
Start your flower by putting some glue on one end of the ribbon:

Fold it to the centre add glue to the other end and fold that to the centre too. Your ribbon should overlap and form a loop that the glue holds together in the centre.

Once you've done this you can layer up the pieces as seen in the picture below and now you're almost ready to sew them together.

I played around with the buttons that I had on the table and I finally chose a pink and a green button as I liked the way that they looked.
You need to be aware that you are sewing a lot of layers of ribbon together so that's why you will need a sharp needle. I started by sewing just two pieces together to get the position right.

Now layer up the pieces and sew together. Add your buttons and sew together and your flower is ready to go...

A necklace for a change

2010-02-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

This post is a bit of self indulgence as I made myself a necklace and I wanted to share it so I decided to add it to my blog.

I bought some beads for Sandra's Accessories and she had a similar necklace on show and I decided that it looked easy enough to make. It was and here is the evidence.

It's not the best photograph as it's a scan but the light wasn't good enough to tahe a photograph.

Watercolour flowers with Kuretake Calligraphy pens

2010-01-31T02:55:00.000-08:00

When I was at a recent show many people loved the calligraphy pens but they didn't think that they would be clever enough to use them for writing. So here's another use for calligraphy pens that needn't frighten you.
First of all you'll need at least two calligraphy pens in toning colours. I've used a light and a dark one from the Heart pouch set.
What I then did was touch the side of the lightest pen with the dark pen.

This will allow you to write in two colours.

I kept the darker edge of the pen still and moved the light side in a rough quarter turn and got a petal. I then moved the paper a bit and repeated the above. I did this until I got about 5 petals. Just remember to move the paper round every time you want a new petal.

Pull Treat for Valentine's Day

2010-01-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

This pretty pink package is made with:

a heart die cut

pink calligraphy pens
9mm pink saddle stitch ribbon
3mm saddle stitch ribbon
a sheet of heavy paper
1 sheet of medium weight card
1 flat gift

The tutorial for making this gift wrap is to be found on splitcoast stampers resource page. The flower making and pen blending technique can be seen here.

Once you have mastered the technique you can make the package bigger or smaller to suit the gift. I would love to receive this. Now, how can I persuade my husband to make it? I'll let you know if I'm successful

Ribbon Flower Tutorial

2010-01-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

As many of you may know, we sell lots of ribbon at Craft Fairy and I have now learnt not to be amazed when customers ask me... What can I do with ribbon? So to help out those who don't know, here is my latest tutorial.

Gingham Ribbon flower:

You will need a 10 inch length of ribbon. I used this black and white gingham. You will need at least 23 mm ribbon for this to work. Ribbon available from Craft Fairy.
Thread in your chosen colour. I used white but red would be quite nice if you have red on your card or page.
Two buttons, one slightly bigger than the other.

Now comes the fun part:

Thread your needle and with small stitches, stich along one edge of the ribbon.

When you get to the end of the ribbon, pull the thread to make the ribbon into the sort of cartwheel shape that you can see in the picckie.

Sew the ribbon together at the back... No one wants to see tacking stitches.

Now sew the bigger button on first and then when it's secure sew the smaller button on top.
There we are, ready to be used.

Fairy, but with a twist

2010-01-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

Yet more fairies. Well, yes, but with a twist as I made this using more blue and beige. I also wanted to enter the Sketch and Stash challenge with the fab layour that they have this week, and the Spoonful of Sugar challenge that is also running. That one is for lots of layers and I certainly used lots on this card. The card is again made with my soon to be released fairy images so keep on looking and as soon as they are ready you will be the first to know.

Stained Glass window card

2010-01-16T04:49:00.000-08:00

Stained Glass window card is my choice for the latest challenge on Our Creative Corner. They have a challenge for blue and green so I thought that this fitted the bill really well. I made it some time ago but I was keeping it for something special and this challenge really is something special.
I wanted to be the first to enter. I really get a kick out of that. So silly, I know but indulge me.

Now, don't be fooled into thinking that I've put on any stitching. It's dots made with the pen. Quick and simple. Makes up for the age that I took to colour in the stamped image.

I know that you are going to want to buy it immediately so go to Craft Fairy now to get it. It's the beautiful Stained Glass Flower stamp.

And now for a gift bag

2010-01-12T07:59:00.000-08:00

The current challenge on Our Creative Corner is for 3D projects so this is what I've decided to make. After a spat of cards, I decided to return to my earlier love and that is the gift bag. So here is the party fairy on a quick and easy gift bag.
The beautiful hot pink gingham ribbon is just in and just £1.50 for 3 metres.

Are you dying to get your hands on these Images?

Baking fairy cooks up a happy birthday.

2010-01-09T14:30:00.000-08:00

This card is the latest from the digital images studio and they will be available to buy soon, soon, soon, I promise.

Gardening Fairy

2010-01-08T11:33:00.001-08:00

I think that I'm going to get over excited now that I've sussed this digital imaging thing. This little gardening fairy is the latest to come out of the Craft Fairy studio and don't you just love her as much as the last one. I think that these fairies are a little like your own children. You love the first one to bits and then the second one comes along and you love them just as much.

The ribbon is from Craft Fairy naturally. It's a beautiful 9mm baby blue gingham.

The digital images are almost ready to go on the web site. Only a couple of glitches to iron out and they will be for sale.

A Spoonful of Sugar Challenge 85 Hearts

2010-01-05T14:09:00.000-08:00

The latest challenge on a Spoonful of Sugar is for Hearts so I just had to use this really cute stamp to make a card.

This card shows you that love is not for the exclusive use of the young and I think that it is so sweet.

I used the Flaunt It sheet from I Brake for Stamps that was feartued in 'Quick Cards Magazine' last year,

So, if you already have this then get on with the cards. Valentine's Day is on the horizon.

Favourite colour combo

2010-01-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

This challenge from Everybody Art challenge 72 is no hardship as I'm only too delighted to make a card in my favourite colours. Who isn't? So off we go with....

A pink card!!!

To make this card I used my stash papers but the cute little stamp is one of my favourites too. It's a silhouette stamp but as you can see, I've used colours on it to give it definition. Pinks natch.

This is the stamp in the raw and it can be bought by clicking on the image.

New Challenge Blog

2010-01-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

So excited as I've just found a new challenge blog, Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge, and appropriately the theme this week is 'new'. So is the theme of Papertake Weekly challenge so I've entered that too. Can't get any better really. So here we are with my new themed card. I've chosen to use the tree from 'I Brake for Stamps' as my new stamp. I've not used it before despite the stamp sheet being a really popular one with my customers. Silly me then, is all that I can say.

To get the two or even three tone effect on the tree you will need to use at least three pens. I used the Kuretake, Zig Art and Graphic pens in colours 57, 55 and 49. These are available from Craft Fairy.

The star of the show, the tree stamp is from the Trees Plate 3, sheet below and it is the one featured in Craft Stamper too.

Last but not least is the ribbon which is the 9cm saddle stitch which is a recent addition to the huge ribbon range at Craft Fairy,

What do you think?

2009-12-30T10:03:00.000-08:00

I just want your opinion of this little fairy. Any comments appreciated.

Blog Hopping

2009-12-30T08:41:00.000-08:00

I've been ahving a great time blog hopping lately and I've been amazed at the fantastic work on some of the blogs that are hardly ever visited. I've always left a message to show how much I love what's been done.

Come on sisters.... I advise a good hour of blog hopping and leave comments other wise they don't know that you've visited.

Colour Challenge

2009-12-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

Roses on Paper & Belles 'n Whistles combined Challenge Blog! have a colour challenge for Cranberry, Hunter Green and/or Gold! so I just had to make this little book and use those three colours. I've just spotted a challenge for embossing on Inky impressions so I just had to enter that too. What a surprise.

The stamp is from the new stamps from 'I Brake for Stamps' that can be found in out new in section on the Craft Fairy site.

The image was embossed in old gold embossing powder that I had in my stash and it was then coloured in using the, Zig, Kuretake Art and Graphic pens.

I love this stamp as I think that it looks really rich and baroque. Just perfect for Christmas. Next, I plan to make it look very late spring, early summer which is when the poppies bloom.