Faerie Cards and Techniques Video by Dave Brethauer

Hello and Welcome!

Today I am sharing a video that turned out to be much more of a project than I had originally planned for! So my apologies in advance - my short craft video took on a life of its own and before I knew it I had more cards, techniques and video than I knew what to do with!

But I think you will see that once you get started, it is easy to get carried away with using the faeries in all sorts of ways! All of the faerie dies are from our Poppystamps collection - Poppystamps is a division of Memory Box that we started about 10 years ago. The Poppystamps faeries were perfect for staging little scenes on the card - like having them carry a Dandelion Stem! I had designed the Posing Faerie so that she could carry things - and this worked perfectly for this card.

(Watch this in HD on Youtube by clicking here)

I designed 5 different faerie projects (plus some bonus cards) in the video and I feature two different techniques. These techniques are especially suited to faeries - full of color and layered with splatters and details. I wanted to create the look of fireflies dancing around the faeries - and I also wanted some watercolor backgrounds that would capture the look of light reflecting in a pool. I think you will love using these techniques!

I switched things up with the second card, using the same faerie dies but now with a different scale image. The Posing Faerie and the Dancing Faerie work just as well with the Dandelion Stem as they do with the popular Birch Collage die. 

And the delightful backgrounds you get with these simple techniques have endless possibilities. I played around with different colors, and did my sponging while things were still wet, and sometimes when things had dried. It was a new and amazing result every time!

It was easy to incorporate these backgrounds into the projects - the layers of different colors provided a lot of dimension and helped make the faeries look magical.

The watercolor technique was effortless - I used Peerless watercolors because I love their intense color and they were just perfect to create glowing areas of color. You will need some 140 lb cold press watercolor paper for this method (hot press watercolor paper will work too, but will have a slightly different look).

I think I really felt things come together when I created the butterfly faerie card - I used the Hampstead Butterfly Stem along with the Dancing Faerie to create an eyecatching scene. I tried putting as many different distress inks onto the card as I could - carefully overlapping colors and outlining the entire card with one of my favorite distress inks - Ground Espresso - until the background appeared really brilliant and then I added my "Faerie Drops". 

You can compare the two images above to see the variation you can get with this technique - bright white pops of color or subdued drops in the background. The sentiment is from the CL405 Hope and Thanks Clear Stamp Set - it is a great basic to have in your craft room since it's full of all sorts of sentiments that can be used for a variety of cards.

I took it up a notch with the next card - using no less than 7 designs to create this magical scene! The Thoughtful Faerie rests in the tunnel created by using the Timberland Collage, Grove Collage, Thicket Collage and Wildwood Collage - I designed these four dies to work together to create a dimensional scene on any papercraft project.

Here's what they look like when assembled in solid color cardstock - each trunk and tree scene getting smaller than the last. I imagined monkeys, squirrels, flowers and other woodland creatures resting inside. But the faeries are perfect here!

The Tiny Frogs and the Mushrooms and Toadstools were great accents for the card - I cut and colored them in using Copic markers and sponged ink, then placed them in the corners of the card. There are a lot of possibilities here - the frog could be on the mushroom, or the mushrooms could be set further into the tunnel. Once you try this project, you'll come up with a delightful scene of your own in no time.

Here's a slight variation using a different background at the horizon - and what a difference the color scheme makes. The darker tones give it an entirely different feel. I changed the faerie to a navy cardstock - and I love how it looked with the deeper blue sky.

In the end I think I preferred the background to be a bit lighter - it had the look of dawn on the horizon. I just used a bit of the background I made using the watercolor technique in the video - the only hard part about this technique was waiting for it to dry!

For the final project, I created a shaker card using the Dainty Faerie and paired her with the Garden Lantern. My intent was to use the faerie as the "glow" in the lantern - so I kept her light and bright and then created the background on the card such that it was lighter near the lantern and darker further away.

The Garden Lantern was created with a faux metal finish using a really easy alcohol ink technique - it achieves a weathered patina look that adds a lot of visual interest to a card.

The Little Dragonflies are the finishing touch - I have them flying around the lantern and since they are cut out of glitter cardstock they catch the light and really improve the look of the lantern glow.

I even came up with a few bonus card ideas along the way!

As I put together cards and cut out shapes for the projects, I discovered uses for some of the extra pieces that came out of the process! So I included these ideas in the video too - the extra Dandelion Stem that was cut out of the watercolor background was used in the cards above. I created nesting frames using the Square Basics and Circle Basics dies and set the Dandelion Stem in the center - the result is a modern looking set of stationery!

Please enjoy the video - it's a long one, so grab a cup of coffee or some iced tea and sit back and relax. I hope you'll get as inspired as I did when I was creating these!

Comments

[Evita]

lovely card and colours!!!

[Maureen Reiss]

Wow!!! These are Gorgeous!!! Love the inking over the still wet droplets!

[Bonnie Epps]

As a watercolorist I was taught something new with the mixture of water and bleach.
Thank you so.

[Susan]

I LOVE, LOVE that you show techniques that don't require the purchase of additional supplies. I never feel like you are "selling" me which makes me want to buy even more, (smile). Thanks for some beautiful cards.

[Wahnita Hammond]

WOW!!! Did you ever out do yourself! These have to be the most amazing cards I've seen!!!! How else can I say that you nailed it from the backgrounds right through the layering and smallest details. FABULOUS!!!!!!!!! :)

[JackieA]

Wow...instructions clear and cards are beautiful!!! Please continue making videos.

[Donna Phelan]

I may need a refill lol Beautiful cards, sweet fairies! LOVE the colors and your backgrounds. Those toadstools are the sweetest too!

[Chrissie]

Fa-bu-lous cards! The watercolour backgrounds are beautiful and the cards' design clever. I am looking forward to watching the video and no apologies necessary for the length!

[Susie Draper]

Absolutely gorgeous cards! You are so talented Dave! Every card is stunning.

[Dana Tatar]

I'm in love with these magical cards. Thanks so much for the informative video. I learned so much and my wish list has grown!

[Teresa Doyle]

ave this was a fantastic video, jam packed with tips, tricks, techniques , beautiful cards and amazing dies. I learned so much. TFS!

[Barbara-Jean]

Looking forward to viewing the video when I have more time. Just looking at all these cards was a real treat.

[Ausra Bicknell]

absolutely beautiful, love the fairies and the mushrooms

[Jan]

What a fun video. Love all techniques shared . Dies fun. Hope you make more videos. This was easy to follow
And understand. Getting my shopping list ready.

[Mary Schmidt]

Awesome! Love it all! Thanks for. Great video

[SweetMa]

I mixed my 2 cups of water and 1 tsp. of bleach....sprayed on my distress inked smooth white cardstock and only got the usual water marked paper.....no bright white spots. What did I do wrong??? I love your cards and the technique....

[Chreryl L Keys]

I love your Fairey video , my friend sent me your link . I just purchased a fairey die. Thanky you so much its lovely !

[Maureen Chandler]

Beautiful inks, dies, stamps, cards ... and fantastic video! Thanks so much for taking the time to make this video!! My wish list is getting longer and longer!!!

[Catherine Gray]

These are absolutely awesome. Beautiful, beautiful. I can't wait to copy them on my own.

[Cathy Clark]

I have entered the faerie realm. I love these cards. Your instructions are precise and clear. I love learning new techniques. The colors are perfect for these projects. Dave, you are amazing; thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try them all. I will just have to wait until my order arrives~DARN!