Fabulous Flappers

Hi Folks, There are new stamps that have been recently released at Chocolate Baroque  I have really enjoyed working with these lovely stamps, as I am a real fan of the Art Deco/Art Noveau era. There are three plates, a large A4 plate called Fabulous Flappers  full of flappers and decorative elements, and two smaller A5 plates with some lovely Lalique style birds, and lovely curvy Art Deco flowers.

For my first card, I have created a marble background, using shaving foam and Golden acrylic paints. I have stamped the main image onto a piece of white card, and cut out an oval shape, just avoiding the bottom area where her dress overlaps the edge. I hand cut a black mat layer. I stamped some of the flower images onto some spare white card, and coloured all of the images with Distress Markers.

My second lady is resting on a stepper card. I have embossed some linen card, and highlighted the raised areas to show the texture. I have used one of the smaller stamps on the Nouveau Lovebirds stamp plate to create a border along the bottom of the card, and added some black gems for decoration. I have added a sentiment from the Mackintosh Sentiments clear stamp set.

My last sample uses the same lady again, but this time I have used a peacock theme for my card. I created a Distress Ink background, and used a peacock feather mask over the background. I stamped the peacock cluster stamp around the edges, using the corresponding colour inks that I used to create the background.

I stamped the central image, and then used some bleach to take away the colour within the image, before colouring it with pencils. I added some ribbon, and Memory Box die cuts to finish. I wanted to thread the ribbon behind the main image, so I cut two slits along the outline of her dress, and simply threaded it underneath.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Edging into Spring

Hi Folks, we are having some lovely Spring weather at the moment, and the latest stamps from Chocolate Baroque just fit the weather and what is going on in the garden perfectly.
I have a couple of cards to show you today. My first card uses the lovely gingko leaves from the Elegant Edges stamp set. I stamped the single leaf over the background using Versamark and clear embossing powder, which I heat set. I painted the background with a Ecoline ink, and then ironed the background placing it under some greaseproof paper to remove the embossing powder. This technique leaves a lovely smooth background.

I stamped the gingko border, and partially die cut an oval beside the border, which I coloured with Distress Ink. I coloured the leaves with Distress Markers. I added a sentiment from the Loving Sentiments stamp set. I stamped three butterflies from the Spring Fairy collection onto vellum, using white embossing powder, and coloured the reverse with Copics. Finally, I coloured some seam binding with green Ecoline ink, and crumpled it as I dried it, for a distressed effect.

 My next sample uses a mixture of stamps from the Patchwork Landscape stamp set and the Elegant Edges stamp set.

I have made a step card as my base and created layers of planting in front of the house, representing a cottage garden. I cut two strips of card, one 5" x 9", scoring at 1.5", 3", and 6", then another piece of card which measured 5" x 10.5", which I scored at 5" and 10". I stuck the little half inch tab to the back of the three inch fold created on the other piece of card, and then I had my completed step card base.

I stamped all of the images onto cream paper, using gold embossing powder, and coloured them with Distress Markers. I added them to the various layers of the step card. 

EDIT: I have been asked by a commenter to explain the construction of my card base. I am happy to do so, as my card is a DT sample and therefore inspiration for other to make something similar if they wish. I scored the shorter piece of card at 1.5", 3", and 6", which then gave me two mountain folds of 1.5 inches, and 3 inches. The larger piece of card was scored at 5" and 10", which gave me a mountain fold of 5 inches, with a half inch tab left over. I attached the tab just behind the three inch mountain fold, but could have tucked it under if I had wanted to. (The three inch mountain fold is the one with the hollyhocks on in the photograph). I am including a photograph so that you can see where I have attached the tab.

 Thanks for stopping by, xx

Crafting with Dragonflies: Mother's Day/Special Lady Card

Here in the UK, Mother's Day has been and gone, but Internationally it has yet to be celebrated. The challenge over at Crafting with Dragonflies is to create a card for Mother's Day or a Special Lady.

I have chosen to use an image from one of our new sponsors this year, Heather Ellis. I thought that this image was so appropriate, as I get to have a day off on Mother's Day, a chance to relax. I have paper pieced the sofa and footstool, tying it in with the paper in the back circle. The paper has cute little hearts on it, which match the little hair accessory in the female character's hair. I have used some oddments from my stash to complete the card, some stickers, and some lovely fabric flowers. The sentiment is from Chocolate Baroque

Our generous sponsors this week are Heather Ellis, who is offering a prize of three digis from her website or Etsy shop:

and Meljens, who are offering a prize of four digis to the Winner:

Please hop over to the challenge blog to see what my team mates have made for your inspiration, and have a go at entering the challenge. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Baby Blog Hop Winner

Hi Folks, a quick post just to let you know that the Winner of my little part of the Crafting with Dragonflies Baby Blog Hop is......Linda Simpson! Congratulations Linda, please contact me with your email address and I will get your prize, from Sami Stamps sorted out for you.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to visit the blog hop and support the event.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Patchwork Sunrise

Hi Folks, I had a lot of fun creating this 'patchwork' sample with the new Patchwork Landscape stamp set from Chocolate Baroque The stamps are such great designs, and just encourage lots of colour.

I stamped the main image, and then masked this off, by stamping the image again onto masking paper, and covering the main areas. I then covered sections of the background with sheets of paper, just leaving a segment uncovered, which I coloured with Pan Pastels. I stamped across the section with a stamp from various texture stamp plates, Abstract Fragments Nature Fragments and Texture Fragments using Versamark, and then I covered the Versamark with Pan Pastel again. I moved around the page, completing a segment at a time, covering over any finished area to keep it protected. Once I was finished, I added hand drawn pen lines to resemble stitching. I coloured the central image with Inktense pencils, blending the colours with a waterbrush. I added a sentiment from the stamp sheet. Finally, I made some small flowers from handmade paper to resemble the Hollyhocks on the stamp plate, and added some black buttons to the centre. A die cut flourish completes the card.

 

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Easter challenge

Hi folks it's time for another challenge over at the Crafting with Dragonflies challenge blog. This week, we are going for an Easter challenge. I have used a cute digi from one of our sponsors Squigglefly to make my card.

Hop over to the blog to see what my DT team mates have made for your inspiration. While you are there, why not enter the challenge?

Thanks for stopping by, xx