A New Year's Eve Wish

Hello everyone, I hope that you have had a good Christmas, and enjoyed some time celebrating the festive season, even if it has been very different to your usual celebrations. Many of you will not have been able to have spent the time together with your loved ones, or to have seen as many of your family as you would have done under normal circumstances. 

This year has been such a strange and turbulent year for many reasons, we have been thrown into a life that is so different from what we are used to, and many people have lost their jobs, their businesses, faced floods, illness, or the loss of loved ones. Lockdown has been very hard for everyone, the isolation and separation from friends and family has been really difficult. Social media, and contact through technology has really been a big help. Zoom, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, video calling, have all come into their own as a means to interact with other people to be able to 'see' each other and chat face to face. 

Chocolate Baroque has tried to do its part with the Butterfly Tree get togethers, allowing members of the Choolate Baroque Facebook Group to join in with the meetings and feel part of the community. The sense of belonging that is part of Chocolate Baroque, the community of crafters, learning together, and having fun getting messy and inky, has always helped to make us feel less isolated. Many friendships have been forged through the Chocolate Baroque community, I have several amazing friends that I have made personally, so I can vouch for magic of this wonderful group.

As we turn to thoughts of the approaching New Year, one thing that has continually come to my mind is that we can be grateful for what we have. We have lost so much this year, but we still have friendship, we still have family, we still have a shared love of crafting. My New Year's Eve wish for you all is that 2021 will be a better year. It may not turn out exactly as we would all like, but may you all find peaceful, contented, healthy times ahead. I hope that you will enjoy what we at Chocolate Baroque continue to share with you over the coming year, and that you will keep crafting along with us. Most of all, look after yourselves and be happy. 

I am sharing some projects with you today, part of a play session that I had using a few favourite stamps. The first and last card are made using stamps that are not currently available on the website. Hopefully they will be back on sale again soon, as they are really beautiful stamps.

 

 

Stay safe, and thanks for stopping by, xx

A Compilation of Favourites

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all keeping well. I am going to share a few golden oldie projects with you today that feature stamps from last month's TV shows on Hochanda. These projects are favourites of mine using these stamps, and I thought that you would not mind seeing them again.

The first three projects feature stamps from the perfumery range of stamps:

Butterfly Perfumery

 

This card was created using a Brusho background, and I used a scrap piece of the same background for the perfume bottle.

Floral Perfumery

I created a Distress Ink background, and painted the image with toning colours.

Rose Perfumery

Another Brusho background for this wreath card. I added a bit of sparkle to the roses, although it is hard to see on this photo.

The final projects are from A Tomte Christmas stamp set:

I used a stamp from Trees a Crowd to create the scene, using first and second generation stamping. Some grey ink was added to ground the trees.

Music paper makes a great background for the card and acrylic tag.

These little gnomes are so versatile for cards and tags, and I know that you have been busy making cards and tags yourselves this year with them.

I will be back later in the month with some new projects to share with you, thanks so much for stopping by. Take care, and stay safe, xx

Butterfly Bauble

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all keeping well. Today I am celebrating a lockdown Birthday, and like many of you this year, it will be a subdued affair. However, I am thankful for my family around me, and will celebrate properly once we can get out and about again.

I have created a card using stamps from last month's TV shows on Hochanda. There was a fabulous selection, and I was really spolit for choice when I came to creating something for my blog post. I decided to use the plain circle from Shaded Baubles, and added a butterfly from Butterfly Perfumery as a focal point.

I found a spritzed background in my stash, which I cut down to fit a 6" x 6" card, and drew a wiggly frame using a fineliner pen. I added a sentiment, from Butterfly Perfumery once again. The splatters are from the Timeless stamp set, such a useful little stamp. 

I stamped the bauble image onto a paler version of the spritzed background so that it toned in with the main background, and then stamped the butterfly on top. I stamped the butterfly again on a piece of spare card, and coloured it with Inktense pencils, blending them with a water brush. I added shading around the edge with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. I fussy cut the image, and decoupaged it onto the circle. 

Thanks for stopping by, take care, and stay safe, xx

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all keeping well. Today is my Wedding Anniversary, and I should have been in sunny Mexico, but as with so many things this year, it was not meant to be. Like so many of us, I know that family, friends and the simple things in life are far more important than holidays and lots of possessions. Enjoyment of Nature, the changing seasons, and the promise of Spring and lighter nights always seems to spur us on.

I have made some projects using the beautiful stamps showcased on last month's TV shows on Hochanda which I am sharing with you today. The first card uses the lovely Be at Peace stamp drawn by Dawn. I have given the card an Autumnal feel by colouring the leaves in different colours, so quick and simple to do. I added the sentiment in a circle around the tree, and distressed the edge of the background before matting onto kraft card.

 

My next two projects were created using the Life is Wonderful stamp set. I created a gelli plate background using green ink and a texture tool, and then stamped the little dragonfly over the top. I coloured the image with pencils.

My final card was created by stamping and embossing onto black card with white embossing powder. I painted the image with Koh-I-Noor paints, and added some splatters with white paint. I used one of Lesley's zingy Designer Papers A5- Background Splash to matt the design onto. Definitely much bolder than my previous design!

Thanks so much for stopping by, as always, stay safe, and take care. xx

Splats and Flowers

Hello everyone, I am back to share a few more projects with you using some of the fabulous stamps that were showcased on last month's TV shows on Hochanda.

For my first two cards, I have used the large gerbera stamp from Gerbera and Friends, drawn by the very talented Annabel.

To create my first project, I used a small round gelli plate and added colour using yellow Versafine Clair ink. I added texture with some bubble wrap, before stamping the gelli plate onto the background. I repeated this process until I had filled the background. I stamped over the top of each circle using the gerbera stamp and dark brown Archival Ink. I used the same ink to stamp onto white shrink plastic, and coloured the image with pencils, before I puched a hole at the top of the image and cut it out. I shrunk the image using a heat gun, and flattened it while it was still hot, using an acrylic block.

I stamped the sentiment onto some yellow ribbon, again using the Archival Ink, and once it was completely dry, attached the ribbon to the background. I attached the shrink plastic image to the ribbon using a couple of jump rings.

To create my second card, I added colour to the background using a roller, and then stamped the splatter stamp over the top. I stamped the gerbera images onto scrap card alrrady coloured with blue and purple Distress Ink, and cut them out. I have decoupaged the images, so that the inner sections have been stamped and cut out again for extra depth. I added shading with pencils to create more shadow on both flowers just beyond this central area too. Before I attached the flowers to the background, I selected a  design from the Silhouette Grasses stamp set, and stamped that behind where the flowers were going to be placed. I used the flowers as a guide to help decide where to stamp, and used a lovely plum shade of Versafine Clair ink in first and second generation stamping.

I used a spare piece of the purple card left over from the flowers to stamp the sentiment, and roughly tore the edges, to allow the white edges to show.

My next two projects were created using the Canary Bird Rose stamp. I have really enjoyed creating backgrounds using these two stamps particularly, from the Gerbera and Friends stamp set during this period. As in the previous card, I used a roller to lay colour onto the background, and then I used the splatter stamp and the lines stamp, to create a collage effect. These really are such useful stamps.

I stamped the Canary Bird Rose onto a whiteboard heart using brown ink, and then edged the heart using a green Distress Ink. I coloured the image with pencils.

 My final project was created using kraft card. I stamped the image and sentiment using brown ink, and coloured the entire image using a white pencil. I then coloured over the white pencil with the colours that I wanted to add, creating a very soft look. Finally, I added some white splatters using some white paint.

I hope that you will try out some of my ideas. Thanks so much for stopping by. Stay safe and take care, xx

New Talent at Chocolate Baroque

Hello everyone, I am sharing a few projects today featuring stamps that were showcased on last month's TV shows on Hochanda. The stamps were designed by Lesley's very talented Granddaughter Annabel, and another new designer to Chocolate Baroque, Dawn. These beautiful floral stamps are absolutely stunning, and we hope that you will enjoy our projects this month, and be inspired by what we have created with the stamps.

 

My first project was created with the lovely Dream Petals stamp. I coloured some Drawing Cartridge with Distress Inks, and stamped the image twice. I cut it out, and scunched it up, to give it a crinkled texture. I attached the image onto a Brusho background from my stash. I stamped the sentiment onto a scrap piece of card, masking the part of the sentiment that I did not want to use each time before I inked up the stamp. This enabled me to split the sentiment. I edged the sentiment strips with red Distress Ink to take away the whiteness of the card, and to tie them in with the main flower.

I added a hand drawn stem using a fine liner pen. I stamped the small dragonfly onto scrap card, coloured it with pencils, then decoupaged it onto the background.

I used the same flower stamp for my next card, stamping three times onto book paper, and colouring the images with orange and red Distress Ink. I created a background using Distress Ink, and added the splat from Gerbera and Friends in toning colours. I stamped the dandelion clock, using it as stalks for the Dream Petals flowers, which I laid over the top.

My final card for today uses the same dandelion clock stamp over another Brusho background. I embossed the flower three times using white embossing powder, and then added more of the flowers using Versafine Claie Ink in a teal and purple colour, to give the effect of a field of dandelions. I used first and second generation stamping. This card would be useful for so many occasions, including a sympathy card.

I will be back later in the month with more projects to share with you. Thanks for stopping by. Take care, and stay safe. xx 

Having a Lightbulb Moment

Hello everyone, for my final post this month, I am sharing two projects using the beautiful Lupin Blueprint stamp set. This fabulous stamp set is full of beautiful images, and some lovely sentiments. I really enjoyed working with this stamp set and will definitely be using it a lot!

For my first card, I created a background using a technique that Lesley shared with us on a Butterfly Tree get together. I painted a piece of scrapbook paper with white paint, then rolled Distress Ink over the top. I added stamping and stencilling with the same colours to create a collage effect. The whole effect looks very vintage, and makes a great background for the main image. I coloured the image with pencils, coordinating with the background colours. I also added some shading around the edge with Distress Ink.

To create my second card, I used a piece of scrap background from my stash box. This brightly coloured piece of card was crying out for some of the lightbulbs, and I stamped them across the yellow area in the middle of the page. I drew some lines at the top to hang the bulbs from, so that they were not floating in mid air. I created a matching background using the same colours of Distress Ink, and stamped the large lightbulb randomly over the top, using turquoise Archival Ink.

I hope that you have enjoyed the blueprint series of stamps this month, thanks so much for stopping by. Take care, and stay safe. xx

Blueprint Flowers

Hello everyone, I have more projects to share with you today using the beautiful blueprint floral stamps from last month's one day special on Hochanda.  My first two projects were both made using the Chrysanthemum Blueprint stamp set, and although I have used lots of the same stamps, I have used very different surfaces to stamp on.  

To create my first card, I coloured a piece of Drawing Cartridge with Distress Ink, and then stamped the images using Orange Blossom Archival Ink. I took a whiteboard heart, and added some Distress Ink around the edges, before stamping the main image onto the heart. I coloured the image with Koh-I-Noor Polycolour pencils. I added some green ribbon to finish.

To create my second project, I used a piece of Drawing Cartridge stained with tea for a vintage look. I stamped the images with Archival Potting Shed Ink, choosing lots of the smaller images from the stamp plate to create a collage feel. I then stamped the main image onto a piece of cotton fabric, and coloured it with Inktense pencils. I ran over the image with a waterbrush afterwards, to make the colour permanent.

My next two projects were both created with the Allium Blueprint stamp set. I wanted to create a lovely vibrant background for the first card, and chose Distress Oxide Inks, which I applied to Drawing Cartridge. I stamped the image and coloured it with pencils. I chose to split the sentiment, and did this by covering the unwanted half with masking tape before inking the stamp each time. I used a spare piece of the background Drawing Cartridge, picking up some of the Distress Oxide Inks from my craft mat, but made it slightly paler for this purpose. I matted all of my card pieces with black card so that they stood out from one another.

My final card uses a softer colour palette of pale green and purple. I used second generation stamping on the background to allow the foreground image to be the focal point. I used purple Archival Ink to stamp the images and sentiments, which made an unusual change. I edged all of the layers with the same purple ink.

Thanks for stopping by, I will be back later in the month with a couple more projects to share with you. 

Take care and stay safe, xx

In the Frame

Hello everyone, I have a couple of projects to share with you today showcasing some of the the amazing stamps that Lesley brought to Hochanda during the one day special last month.

My first card looks very simple, but took a little planning. I used a scrap piece of paper first to make sure that it worked, and that would always be my advice to you if you want to try an idea. I cut a piece of paper to the size of my finished card and stamped out the four corners to work out where they needed to go. To create the actual card, I stamped on to Drawing Cartridge, and then masked the four corners using Masking Tissue, before stamping the flowers within the square. I just made sure that I did not ink the ends of the stems, so that I did not have any pieces of stem sticking below the frame. I added some shading with Distress Ink, blue at the top and green at the bottom. I peeled away the Masking Tissue and coloured all of the images with Polycolour pencils. Adding the shading first means that I can colour over any ink that may have gone over the edges of the flowers, saving me the job of masking those as well.

For my second project, I chose to use the same stamp set, Echinacea Blueprint, and stamped onto kraft card, using white embossing powder. I coloured the main image using my Koh-I-Noor watercolour palette. I added a touch of Distress Ink around the edge of both the focal image and the background before matting both pieces onto grey card.

I will be back later in the month with more projects to share, thanks for stopping by,

Judith xx

Choose Your Own Colours

Hello everyone, I have a couple of projects to share with you today showcasing the beautiful stamps that were on last month's TV shows on Hochanda. Both projects feature the lovely Parsley Clock stamp set.

 My first project is a very clean and simple card, and I started out by die cutting a large circle from a piece of drawing cartridge. I stamped the images from the stamp set across the bottom of the circle, and coloured them with pencils. I added some shading to the background loosely with Distress Inks, not worry about getting to close to the images, as this gave a feeling of a cloudy sky, leaving patches of white.

I went around the edge of the circle with a pair of scissors to give a distressed finish before attaching it a piece of Textured Art Card and then to a white card blank.

To create my second project, I painted a small canvas with acrylic paint in various pastel shades. I stamped the large Parsley Clock onto tissue paper, and coloured the image with pencils. I went around the image with a wet brush, and gently pulled away any excess tissue paper, leaving a ragged edge. I added matte medium to the reverse of the image, and adhered it to the canvas.I added more matte medium to the image to blend it into the canvas.

I added some background stamping using grey Archival ink, a sentiment from the same stamp set, and the very useful splatter from the Floral Clock stamp set.You could recreate something very similar to this in card form, but I really like making these canvases, they do not take very long at all. I have not coloured my parsley regulation white in either case, but I wanted to show that you can choose to colour your flowers however you like, there are no rules. Just go with the flow and enjoy yourself.

I hope that you have enjoyed what I have shared with you this month, and will try out some of my projects for yourself. Thanks for stopping by, take care and stay safe. xx

Magic Mushrooms

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all keeping well.  I have a couple of vibrant projects to share with you today using stamps from The Shroom Clock stamp set featured on last month's TV shows from Hochanda.

My first project was created by using a background from my stash created with turquoise and green Brushos. I stamped the mushrooms onto some of the Seriously Gorgeous A6 Postcards using Archival Ink, and cut them out. I adhered them to the background, and using a fineliner pen, I created a landscape for them to perch on. I added stamping using the small texture stamp from the plate which matches the mushrooms across the bottom of the background, and coloured the ground with Koh-I-Noor Polycolour pencils. I added white highlights on the mushrooms with a gel pen.

To finish my card, I stencilled in the sky area using the Chocolate Baroque Mask - Kaleidoscope of Butterflies and some turquoise Distress Ink. Finally, I added a sentiment.

To create my second project, I used another Brusho background, similar in colour to the first, to which I had added some stencilling with white Brilliance ink to create a bokeh effect. I stamped the large Shroom Clock onto the background, and stamped this again onto a spare piece of card. I coloured the image using Koh-I-Noor watercolours, and cut the image out. I added some splatters of blue ink at the bottom of the background to create a feeling of grass, and added shading at the base of the mushrooms. I decoupaged the image onto the background, and added white highlights with a gel pen once more.

I will be back later in the month with more projects to share, take care, and stay safe, xx

Vintage Clocks and Butterflies

Hello everyone, I have a couple of projects to share with you today. I have used stamps that were featured on last month's TV shows on Hochanda, a beautiful mix of clocks and florals.

 

My first project was created by using a piece of drawing cartridge coloured with tea. I love this method of colouring a background, as it gives an instant vintage feel to a project. I stamped the main image from the Parsley Clock stamp set using brown Archival ink, and added the splatter stamp randomly over the background as well. The splatter stamp is just brilliant for creating an aged look to the images. If you caught the shows, you will have heard Lesley say that all of the clock images are based on original metal clocks that she has bought, they are just fabulous.

I coloured the image with Koh-I-Noor Polycolour pencils, using the cream pencil to blend the other colours. By using a grey pencil for shading around the image, it helps to create a three dimensional effect, as if I had decoupaged the image. I added a sentiment, and matted the background onto brown card.

 

To create my second project, I made a masterboard, using a technique that Lesley showed us recently in one of the Facebook Butterfly Tree get togethers recently. I painted a piece of scrapbook paper with Tinting Medium, (you could use gesso or white paint), and added Distress Ink over the top with a roller. I added stamps and stencils to finish.

I coloured three butterflies from Parsley Clock and Floral Clock stamp sets to match the background, and added a sentiment.

I will be back soon with more projects to share with you, thanks for stopping by. Stay safe and take care, xx

Acrylic Tags and More

Hello everyone, I have a couple of projects to share with you showcasing the stamps featured on last month's TV shows on Hochanda.

My first project is a couple of acrylic tags. I stamped images from Hold On and Do Right Always using second generation stamping and a brown Archival ink, to create a subtle background, onto some plain pieces from the Designer Papers 8"x8" - Chic Script. Next, I stamped the totem pole and peace pipe onto the backgrounds using a black Archival ink, and added a sentiment. I coloured the images using Polycolour pencils from Koh-I-Noor. Watercolour pencils will NOT work for this project.

I covered the background with matte medium and adhered it to the acrylic tag. Once the glue was dry, I trimmed the piece, and added some yarn through the hole at the top.

My second project was a very quick and simple card. Rainbows have been very much on my mind lately, with everything that has been happening around us, and one of the sentiments on the Do Right Always stamp set was just perfect for this project. I took a sunburst stencil, any one would do, and chose seven different colours of Distress Ink. I applied them through the stencil to create a rainbow effect, and then simply stamped the sentiment using black ink.

It just goes to show how useful and versatile these stamp sets can be, the sentiments themselves lend themselves to so many occasions. The stamps can be used for journalling, for home decor, and are perfect for both masculine and feminine cards alike. I will be back soon with some more inspiration for you.

 

Thanks for stopping by, and stay safe,

 xx

Limited Colours Make a Bold Statement

Hello everyone, I have a couple of projects to share with you showcasing the fabulous stamps from last month's TV shows on Hochanda. These lovely stamps hand drawn by Kim Moody for Chocolate Baroque are so useful, and I wanted to show that they could be used for a range of different occasions.

 

My first card was created using a background that I found when rummaging through my stash. I had used Distress Inks in shades of blue and green, and thought that it looked very cheery. I made a smaller piece of background very quickly to match, and stamped the frame and skin from Hold On, adding a little motif that I decoupaged from the dreamcatcher from Catching Dreams. The cacti stamped on the main background can be found on Hold on and Do Right Always, they make a lovely overall background softly coloured with Koh-I-Noor pencils, as I have done on this card. I kept to a set colour palette throught the card, and the pop of red against the blue and green adds a lovely warmth to the design.

Although there is quite a lot of colouring on this card, it was relatively quick to complete, and I would certainly make this design again, varying the sentiment to suit the occasion.

My second card was created using an offcut of drawing cartridge. We often have these, and do not always know how to use them up. I again created a Distress Ink background, and stamped a row of cacti, adding a few lines with a fineliner pen to finish off the landscape. I coloured the cacti and the grass with pencils, added a quick bit of shading with a stencil for a sunset, and stamped the lovely sentiment from Hold On. I mounted the piece onto a kraft background for a quick and simple card.

I will be back later in the month with a few more projects to share with you. Thanks for stopping by, xx