A Wish For New Year

Hello everyone, as we come to the end of 2019, I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year and all the very best for the coming year ahead. The past year has been a very busy year for all of us at Chocolate Baroque, and we cannot believe how quickly the time has flown by. As Lesley mentioned in her Christmas Day message, we sadly lost Sue, our designer this year, we will miss her amazing creativity, but as you continue to use her designs in your artwork, her memory lives on.

One of the highlights of our year was a trip to Doncaster to Stamp Magic, where we had a stand, and I helped out with a Make and Take area. We were incredibly busy all day, and I thought that I would share a few of the samples from the classes. The format was the same throughout, but the colours and stamps varied. We used Distress Oxide Inks to create a background on Drawing Cartridge, and then stamped over the top using Versafine Clair Inks. We coloured a whiteboard heart with the left over Distress Ink, and stamped an image over the top, adding some extra colour with a water brush. White highlights could be added for an extra pop.

The hearts make great gifts in themselves, as Artist Trading Hearts, so I also designed one card with a strap across, so that the heart was detachable:

I also used stamps from Crafty Individuals on the day, as we shred a stand with Jean and Malcolm. Some of my samples became a mixture from both companies, which, when you are crafting at home, is probably what you would naturally do anyway. I have not finished colouring some of these, because they were made on the day as quick examples. However, I now have a nice collection of cards almost ready to give when required, and only need to add a touch of colour to the hearts and a sentiment or two.

Enjoy a very happy, creative 2020.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Coaster Journal

Hello everyone, I have a project to share today showcasing lots of the stamps featutred on last month's TV shows on Hochanda. If you did not catch the shows, then you will be in for a treat this month as the DT share their beautiful projects with you on the blog.

I have made a little handmade journal using a couple of coasters which were no longer wanted, and some Drawing Cartrige for the inside pages. I painted the coasters with some clear gesso, to give them a base to work on, and once this was dry, I added some acrylic paint. I stamped the Remembrance Tree on one coaster and the Harmony Tree on the other coaster, using Archival ink.

I cut strips of Drawing Cartridge just slightly smaller that the coasters, and scored them to make pages. Each strip made three pages, and I stuck them together with other strips to make one longer strip so that I had lots of pages to decorate. I added gelli print backgrounds, printed papers, or simply used Distress Inks to colour the pages.

I used the pages to try out ideas that could then go on to make bigger cards if I liked the ideas. These little journal are a great place to experiment and play. A small space gives you freedom to try something and move on. Sometimes a big space can feel a bit daunting.

Once I had decorated the pages, I added some ribbon inside the front cover, and attached the covers to the front and back blank pages. You could construct the book and decorate it afterwards if you want to. It depends how messy you are!

Here are a couple of the card ideas that came from the little book itself. A set of little note cards, useful for any occasion:

A film strip idea, expanding on the version in my little journal:

I hope that I have given you lots of ideas, and that you will try them out. Thanks for stopping by, xx