Christmas Old and New

Hello everyone, I am sharing some Christmas projects with you today that were featured on last month's TV shows on Hochanda.

For my first project,  I created a background, using soft blues and pinks to represent a Winter sky. I added some deeper blue hills using torn paper masks, and stamped the tree from the Frosty Trees stamp set and the sentiment from the Let's Get Festive stamp set, using Cobalt Archival Ink. Ensuring that the background was completely dry, I added some snowflakes using white embossing powder, and then used some flat-backed gems for added sparkle.

Using another tree from the same stamp set, I created an icy background using metallic paints, and on a smaller scrap of the same card, I stamped and embossed the tree panel using Versafine Onyx Black Ink and clear embossing powder, for a crisp image. I matted the layers onto black card, and added some small black gems. The sentiment comes from the Let's Get Festive stamp set once again.

 I wanted to create a piece of home decor especially for Christmas using my favourite sentiment from the new stamp set. I painted a chipboard heart in soft blue chalk paint, adding some crackle medium here and there, and then added a vintage white paint over the top. I then stamped the sentiment in Red Geranium Archival Ink before adding the fabulous pine cones from the New England Winter stamp set around the edges. I used Distress Markers to colour the stamps, allowing me to add colour exactly where I wanted. A red ribbon completes the project.

This next card is an adaptation of an old card that I first made several years ago, using the Winter Birds stamp set, but I have made it in a different size. These days, I like to make 8" x 8" cards, and so the card does look slightly different from the original. I have added one of the new sentiments this time around as well.

Finally two golden oldies for you, which I hope you will forgive seeing again. I remade the first one, which was originally given as a Birthday card to someone. It just goes to show that these beautiful stamps can be used at other times of the year, not just at Christmas, with a change of colour. I have used the large image from the Reindeer Landscape stamp set, embossed with copper embossing powder, and coloured with Distress Inks and a water brush. The background was also created with Wild Honey and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks, and I have then stamped leaves from the Sunny Sunflowers stamp set, and coloured them with Polychromos pencils. The sentiment, which is my all time favourite Chocolate Baroque sentiment,  comes from the Nature's Peace stamp set.

Finally a luminary, also using the large image from the Reindeer Landscape stamp set. I die cut an aperture from four large printed tags. The images were stamped and embossed onto parchment using white embossing powder, and coloured from behind. I used metal tape to join the tags, which I embossed, and aged with a little bit of black paint.

I hope that my projects have given you some ideas using these fabulous stamps. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Floral Collection

 Hello everyone, I have some floral projects to share with you today, that were featured on last month's TV shows on Hochanda. These cards were made using the individual floral stamps from the shows, and I used a range of techniques to create the cards.

For my first card, I coloured the background with Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink, using the wrinkle free distress technique. I then stamped over the top using a stamp from the Harlequin Fragments stamp set, using Distress Oxide Inks. I stamped the Harlequin Bouquet individual stamp onto a die cut oval, using Archival Deep Purple Ink, and coloured the image using Distress Inks and a water brush. I added a sentiment to the background from the Loving Sentiments stamp set. I edged the background with the Archival Ink to create a border, before adhering it to a large white card blank.

For my second card, I created a background using red, orange and lime green Brushos and kraft card. I stamped the Floribunda Net individual image onto another piece of kraft card, and embossed it using white embossing powder. I coloured the image using Brushos and a water brush. I stamped the sentiment from the Loving Sentiments stamp set onto a smaller piece of kraft card, again using white embossing powder. I have inked the edges of each piece of card using red ink.

For my third card, I coloured the background again using Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink, and used the Large Crackle Background for added texture, stamping with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink. I cut a postcard sized piece of card, and stamped the Crackling Rose individual stamp, adding images from the Mail Art stamp set, to create a postcard effect. I created a small sentiment strip using words from the Loving Sentiments stamp set once again. I edged each piece of card with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink.

Long term viewers of the blog will have seen a rendition of this final project, which I remade for the TV show. I hope that you will not mind seeing it again, using the Flora Musica stamp set. I used a piece of old music paper, colouring the edges with Distress Ink and then adding a border by stamping an image from the Decadent Brocade stamp set, but any scroll type stamp would do, there are lots to choose from in the Chocolate Baroque range.

I will be back later in the month to share some projects from the Christmas show that took place during the second part of August. Thanks for stopping by, xx