6 months later.

Well Hello there,

It's Florence and the Fairytales 6 month anniversary. How that time has flown, and what a journey.

Obviously I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your wonderful support and custom and the support of other business pages.
THANK YOU EVERYONE!! ❤❤❤❤

When you set up a business page you do just learn as you go along. I've met some wonderful inspirational people along the way. Over the next few days I'd like to tell you about them.

A lot of people ask me "What is the secret to a business page?"
I'm not sure I know that or that I am established enough to give advice but here are a few rules I run by and i think it is relevant, even if you have the most amazing talent or product.

1. Be Nice to people
2.Work Hard
3.BE ORIGINAL
4.Take good photos (Something I have to work on!)
5.Take breaks!!

Number 5 is important at the moment.
With it being summer Holidays business tends to slow down anyway, so it is a good time to step away from your business and This Virtual world, to get a little clarity on how you want to progress. It is so important for inspiration. You may think that a flick through Pinterest or other search engines will help ignite a lost mojo, but a walk will give you far more.

I feel like the universe is trying to tell me that I need to slow down. Various health problems with myself and my daughter and a lack if sleep (I'm writing this at 4am!) means that it's just been impossible to carry on with my previous workload.
I am very hard on myself and take things a little seriously. I philosophise and think too deeply. I think my journey is about learning to except what "is" and developing a life that is lived simply.

I need to remind myself this on a regular basis. Ultimately , will I look back in 50 years time and say.."I should of squeezed in another commission"

So as a little update on work;
I'm half way through some card designs and some prints that can be personalised.
(Some lovely ones for animal lovers)
I'm also planning some 3D artwork which is exciting. I love Art that comes Alive.

I'm also starting a Modern Calligraphy course and I would love to do more along this line.
I also need to seriously brush up on my photoshop/ illustrator software. I hate it. But, I'm going to be left at the sidelines if I don't get with the times.

As always I have been working on your commissions. Thank you so much again.

I promise I will do a Big giveaway but this may be in the Autumn when lots more of you are back from your holidays.

This Friday I will be giving a "liker of the week" a little print, in celebration of F&F's 6 month Birthday. (It's also my Birthday coming up too)

Well I shall love you and leave you as I head back to bed to try and get an hour before little Flo wakes.

Night Night xx

THANK YOU GIVEAWAY

Hellooo!!

(Blogger is being a real pain in the but-tox and so you will need to read through the T& C's go back to my Facebook page and comment on the status pinned to the top of my page) Thank you xx

I won "Best Newcomer" in the CRAFTA awards. Yayyyy!!

Thank you Thank you.

So i am doing a special little Giveaway.

This is the first time i have run a Giveaway on here so fingers crossed it works ok.

I am Giving away This Bottled Leaf Nymph. This is a heirloom curiosity piece of artwork. It is not a toy, and if it is for a child please make sure it is out of reach. Adult supervision is required at all times whilst looking after the nymph :-)) x

Starts NOW!!!....Ends at 8pm on Wed 3rd of July. Winner picked at random and announced at 9pm.

Nothing to do, except be a "Liker" of my facebook  page.
https://www.facebook.com/FlorenceTheFairytale?ref=tn_tnmn

(All shares and Likes are greatly received)

DO NOT COMMENT BELOW IT DOESNT SEEM TO WORK

Those that have commented below shall be added to the draw. Thank you

The winner will be expected to pay postage of £4

The Fairytale Bit:

He is one of the Fairy Folk identified by the heart shaped freckle and long limbs...oh and of course the wings (Or a tail in the case of the mermaid)

They are here to help us grant our wishes of good.

There is a secret legend with information to the keeper. This will come with him.

The gold tipped feather is also an important part of the magic and it comes attached to the lid of the school milk bottle. 

The fairytale folk are given a pendant of the keepers initial and this shall give them the power to make your good wishes come true.

The Technical Bit:

He has been hand drawn and coloured on both sides using polychromo pencils and watercolour an 215 textured cream card.

He comes in a glass old school milk bottle approx 5 inches tall.
He shall be sent recorded delivery in a secure box.

The Script at the bottom of the bottle reads, "I am your bottle leaf nymph i am here just for you, making all your wishes come true"

I shall write the Initial of the recipient on the necklace of the nymph

So thats about it. I will be doing a Market Night on Wednesday the 9th of July and These will be available there. Look out for my market night album soon.

I have been quiet poor at blogging. I am really struggling to find the time. But i shall hopefully be back to it soon. I have so much to chat to you about.

GOOD LUCK

& Thank you for your support

Lots Of Love

Heidi xx

"Blogging for Bloggings sake".......POP!

Hello,

I feel that I am neglecting my Blog.
The reason for this is I'm not sure I can always put into words what I put into pictures.

So here is just an update of what I am doing rather than my perspective of the world;

I am always very busy with your lovely commissions, but I have also been gathering stock for the market night. so far I have;
8 Bottled Fairy Folk- Need a few finishing touches
3 Wooden hearts
6 journals of varying designs
5 pieces of Original Art Work

I still have prints and cards for sale. I am also working on a New Series! Sometimes I have soo many ideas my head feels like it will pop!!!



There may be more, I need to see how time goes. I am just sorting out a very posh camera for photos and then I shall upload a "Market Night" album. How it works is on the chosen day and time I shall announce the market night open and reveal and password. You will then go to the album comment SOLD and the password.

Prices will Vary, this depends on the time it has taken to create the item as well as purchase material costs. Postage will also vary on price and weight.

Exciting Stuff!! I am really looking forward to it.

I hope that eventually I will be able to sell Fairies/ Hearts and Journals as well as prints in my Etsy shop. If you have an account don't forget to follow me!! FloandtheFairyART

And Twitter FlotheFairyART
......I find that it's a full time job just keeping up with social media!
I have seriously been thinking about getting an assistant. Hehehe ( Maybe I can give the leaf nymph a job)

I hope to also get more involved in the world of Etsy soon. It is nerve wracking having 100% of your business reliant on the ever changing Facebook.

The giveaway ends at 9pm tomorrow. I shall pick two winners at random. I hope you like it?
I have really enjoyed making it.

This is actually my day off so I should log off now...

Thank you as always for your support.
I am a great talker rather than I Typer so I also plan on uploading some videos soon.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.


Lots of Love
Heidi xx

"No Rain No Rainbows"

Hello,

This little blog is just about those days when you just stop, and think, and everything makes sense. Occasionally when we stop we notice things that have always been there but we just don't have the time to notice.

Today was one of those days.
This morning, Flo went to nursery and I did some work. I was flat out until I picked her up at lunch time and then when I got back I was busy making lunch, putting washing out and thinking about dinner whilst answering emails!! Usual life for most working mums.

I had to pop to town to pick up prints and go to the post office, when I got to town the heavens opened and I found myself rushing into the nearest cafe due to no umbrella and no pram cover.

This event was a real " No rain, no rainbows"

If it wasn't for the Rain this afternoon I wouldn't of actually stopped. We sat and ate cake, watched people, laughed and played and talked to strangers.

We talked to a lady who owned 12 cats and an 80 year old who used to walk 20 miles to work and back everyday.

On the walk home, a lady just started talking to me,....as if in mid conversation, as if I was an acquaintance. It's strange when that happens, we never know how to deal with it. But we chatted most of the way home, then she crossed the road. She never said goodbye.

We are fascinating and I love to have the time to talk to people. Especially older people, they have such amazing stories to tell and those of romance are my favourite.
Just talking to people, like today. Just makes me happy.
I guess it is also the fact I work alone and I can't hold a conversation with Florence yet. I am happy in my own company, but I think as Humans we need to be in contact with others.
I get energy and inspiration from it, but mostly Love.

That reminds me of a guy named Peter, 82 who has coffee at my mums cafe everyday. Very friendly and always interested in other people.One day i asked him what he used to do. He said "A sculptor"
The next day he brought in 3 albums. His work was astounding, there where pictures of him with royalty and celebrities of the 50's.
If I ever see him now I can't wait to hear his stories. He now lives penniless but happy, with no regrets.

I can only wish for his contentment with the life he has lived. Now he spends his time just sitting and watching, and talking to others whilst drinking coffee.

So, I guess the moto here is; " lets just give ourselves a bit of time to notice each other"

Me and my husband where lucky enough to have a break last weekend. When we were away, I realised that we had been living like robots for a long time. We all need a break.

And on that note I shall bid you a good weekend. Please have a break and try to relax.

(Next week will bring, another journal and possibly some fairies!! But I am trying to collect stock for a market night in June)

Thank you soo much for your support this week and always.
Lots of love
Heidi xx

Journal Info

JOURNALS

This is the Info if you need it!!

Tan Cord bound Leather Journals

These handmade, fairtrade and eco friendly leather journals are made by a small family business inRajasthan, India.

The approximatedimensions of these leather journals are:

Medium 115 x 165 mm or Large approx. 135 x 185 mm

These journals haveapproximately 125 pages of unlined khadda paper; khadda is recycled cotton thathas been left over from the massive garment industry in India. It ishandmade and doesn’t contain any chemicals, only unbleached cotton and is veryeasy to write on.  The paper is made bycharity in rural Rajasthan that promotes women’s education and their socialstanding in the rural villages. 

The leather has beentanned by my suppliers using a natural dye and the put together using amixture of love, contemporary and traditional skills.

They are thenartistically distressed Acrylic ink stained and waxed by Myself.

These journals have beenexpertly crafted with the pages hand stitched in and are ideal for travellingand perfect for just doodling or diary writing.

Each item is individual,leather is a natural product and can have slight imperfections, i feel thisadds to the individuality and makes each product unique.

Due to the handmade nature ofthese products colour and designs may slightly vary but loveliness comes asstandard.

Please note I can only purchase alimited number of these from my supplier. If you place an order I shall firstcheck there availability.

IMPORTANT** These occasionallyhave scratches and marks on the leather this is just the natural nature of theleather form.

Prices Start From £17 + Postagefor the small Journal and £22 for the large Journal.

Prices vary with designs orcommissions. Please contact me for further individual quotes.

Thank you xx

My "Style"

Hello!!

How are you all?

It has been a busy week for me, especially with a bit of a sickness bug thrown in as well.

I am just going to start by apologising for my grammar!  I am sure you have picked me up on it before.
It is a little weak area of mine, but also i usually type furiously to get these posts done, or im typing at 12am exhausted!

Anyway,

In todays blog i shall talk about my work (I hate this term!) I know it is my "Work" but it is also my Love.
...That reminds me, i also think the word "Commission" Sounds really snobby!!

My Previous stuff:

So, you are all probably pretty fed up of the "My message to you" Series?? Well, for those of you that dont know it was my first public printed series.
It was inspired by my daughter and the messages i would like to give her as she grows up.

So these thoughts came into my head and i sketched them all down in my note book. then i just decided to draw them out. Just like that. Simple from the heart art.

Thats how i work. Now let me tell you that i do struggle to be positive all the time, this series is to remind myself that Florence will watch me and learn from what i do not what i teach her.
We all need a little reminding, that we are lucky, that life can be simple and that love is sometimes the only answer we need.

The series is painted using tea, acrylic ink (Pen & ink) and watercolour.

These are my favorite mediums, however i also like using acrylics and i paint and sketch on Wood, China and leather. I love to experiment. And this takes me to "My Style"


A lot of you have said you like me style. This is lovely and very flattering, however i really dont think i have one??
I am influenced by soo many things, family emotions, experiences everything that i come into contact with really. So, what i dont understand is why artists need to have a defined style. If there is one thing we are sure of it is Change. All things must change.
So i say to you, if you are an artist of any sort. LET GO OF YOUR STYLE!!

We are creating from the soul, have days where you try something completely new.
This applies to us all. Do something that excites you, it is the only way we can grow.

Current Work:

So for a few months now i have been booking in commissions. I am amazingly booked up until the New Year!! I have time in the evenings to work on them. You have asked me to create, invites, logos, new baby pictures, family character portraits, fairytale inspired paintings, tattoo designs  the list is endless...I LOVE the variety.
Thank you. It has been amazing. I may be trying to streamline these commissions to allow more time in
between to work on my own thing, but this will be in the New Year! (I cannot believe we are talking 2014 already)

Journals:

These are proving very popular and i have been inundated with requests. I cannot take anymore commissions for them however i hope to post a couple of one off designs each week for you to purchase. I am also going to follow this blog with a "About Journals" Blog as they have a little fairtrade story of their own.

I love to support fairtrade where possible. I am an urban Hippy.
Random Info on me: We (Me and my Husband) Long to walk barefoot on the shores of Ibiza and bang drums to the beat of our hearts!! ......Another story!

PS. This one is on sale tonight!!

Future Work:

I have another series underway, it is hard to find the time but i need to get this off my chest. i really cant wait to finish it.
Im also getting through my 1900's leaf font alphabet. I love pen & ink work, its something a little more grown up.
I love diffrent ways to display art work, so watch this space for something unusual.
Erm...Oh, yes something for all of you who love your pets as we do..Here is our little Buddy!! x

I think thats it really, just a quick skip through. I am always happy to answer questions, so please get in contact.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Me and Mr FF are off to where we got Married for a night away!! Yipee! This is us on our special day..

Thank you for reading!! Lots of Love  Heidi xx

A bit about me....

Hello!

I thought i should let you into the world of me as you have been so incredibly kind, to buy my Art work. You at least deserve to know a bit about the person who painted it! And catch up to how i ended up here writing this, and then we can move forward together.

It is a bit of an essay!

I was born in Sussex on 31st August 1980.
I moved to Maidstone, Kent when i was 13.
I had a troubled school life and moved to a few secondary schools as i was bullied.
I exceeded in Art from Junior school, winning awards and having my Art Work Exhibited. It was an obvious route for me.
When i was 16, i was advised that i should pursue an Art Based career. I was desperate to leave school so i applied to the Prestigous Kent Institute of Art and Design Designers & Artists such as
Zandra Rhodes, Karen Millen &Tracey Emin have also been students. They had a low acceptance rate and i was below the average intake age.
I was 15. walking into a big scary college with my portfolio, i remember not being able to speak with nerves, But They accepted me!! and i was the youngest in the College, having only just turned 16.
I LOVED IT!! Creating everyday was heaven. This is it!! What i am meant to do for the rest of my life.
Sunny Days sat drawing people, buildings, trees.... Whatever. Then came the time to decide what we had to specialise in. It was the start of the digital era, A lot of us were ushered into Graphic Design.

Bad times. I never felt happy trying to be creative on a computer. And the thought of sitting in front of a computer made me feel sick. Things were said like "You cant just paint and make money from it!"

Well, maybe they were right! So i decided to try to forget Art as a career. To do this i needed to go completely "Cold Turkey" -Plus being young everything was soo dramatic.
I remember burning all my artwork! When you are young. You also lack confidence and belief in yourself.
.
I did try a Graphics based job in the city for Ted Baker. This was soo incredibly stressful and such long days with a long commute at the end. It just didnt work. One night i went to bed and didnt get up for 2 weeks.

Exhaustion!!


So this is when you make changes, I got an apprentice job and worked within healthcare. I also studied therapies and that is still a big part of who i am, and what gave me the strength to pursue what is truly in my heart. (A Story for another day!)

During this time i would make curtains, cakes and candles and cards...!! Anything that i felt i could make for someone for an occasion i would do it. if i had a pencil and paper in my hand i would doodle. But, i never picked up a paintbrush. I spent a wonderful year making things for our wedding.

13 years later my daughter Florence was born. She was born quiet poorly. We didnt know if she would survive.She was transferred to a specialist unit. It was the toughest time of our lives. But she made it!! and we are so grateful to the Staff of the Neonatal unit that helped her. I promised i would do something to help repay them. The unit is charity funded and is the biggest unit in the southeast.

I was wracking my brain, thinking of ways in which i could raise money (As i am not the most athletic).
And painting came up!! What is strange, is that i remember looking out the window whilst sitting next to Florence's incubator. There was such an amazing view. On the horizon was my old Art College.

So i started to sell painting and raise money for the Hospital Unit. I try to do it every year around Florence's birthday.

Well thats kind of it. Ive slipped back into it with soo much passion it is as if i never stopped.
I feel so lucky that we have Florence. It is totally amazing. Our little fairytale.

This year hasnt been easy for us. And i do use Art as Therapy. It is how i express myself. How did i ever live without it for so long!

Unfortunately i witnessed a fatal accident on New Years day.  This experience pushed me forward.
Live for today, grasp life. Dont be afraid to do what is in your heart. Dont waste time doing things you dont love. Life is to be lived.

So here i am. I set up my page. and here you are. all 2000 of you. Thank you soo much for your support.

I promise i wont do another long post about myself.

Next time i shall focus on my previous work moving forward to today.

I hope i havent bored you too much!

Lots of Love

Heidi xx