Gothic Christmas

Hello everyone, this week on the Chocolate Baroque Challenge Blog, there is a fabulous free digital download, designed by our lovely boss Lesley Wharton. I have created a Christmas card using the download as part of the Design Team inspiration.

I chose to use the Gothic Angels rubber stamp set to create my card, as I felt that this set went with the background so well, and chose to create a Christmas card in red and yellow tones. I coloured a large background stamp with Distress Markers, and stamped it onto card, before adding some clear embossing powder. I trimmed the card, and then edged the card with Fossilized Amber Distress Ink. I stamped the angel image and sentiment onto die cuts using Potting Soil Archival Ink, and again edged the shapes with Distress Ink as before. I coloured the angel image with Distress Markers and a water brush. Finally, I matted all of the layers onto burgundy card, before adding them to a large card blank.

Hop over to the challenge blog to see the inspiration provided by my team mates and to read about how you could win a £15 voucher to spend at Chocolate Baroque. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Challenge Five for Chocolate Baroque

Hello everyone, there is a new challenge starting over on the Chocolate Baroque Challenge blog today, using some delicious new colours and a piece of original artwork from my Design team mate Shirley. I have made a project as part of a collection of inspirational projects from the Design Team girls, and thought that I would post it here with an explanation of how I put it together.

I started with a smooth piece of watercolour paper, and stamped my focal image, the feisty angel from the Gothic Angels stamp set, and then created a mask to cover the image. I stamped and embossed a bauble image from the Ivy Trails clear stamp set using Versamark and clear embossing powder repeatedly along both sides of the background. I used a mixture of Memento Inks and Distress Inks, to get the colours that I wanted. I covered the background randomly, blending the colours into each other. I used Milled Lavender, Peacock Feathers, Grape Jelly and Lilac Posies for your information.

Once I had covered the background completely, I ironed off the embossing powder, by covering the card with paper, and ensured that all of the embossing had disappeared completely, by replacing the paper a few times. I then stamped the ivy branches over the top of the embossed areas. I stamped the ivy again onto teal coloured scrapbook paper and decoupaged the leaves.

I coloured the angel with watercolour pencils and added a touch of turquoise glitter to the large circle around her head. Finally, I chose a deep teal card as the base for my background.

 

Well, that is another Christmas card completed! I hope that it has given you a little bit of inspiration and that you will hop over to the challenge blog to see what my team mates have been up to. Remember, you stand a chance of winning a £15 voucher to spend at Chocolate Baroque if you enter the challenge, so why not have a go at making something and enter yourself? Thanks for stopping by,

Angel with a flourish

Hi Folks, there are new stamps over at Chocolate Baroque right now, and Glenda is having a giveaway over on the Design Team Blog as well. The new stamps are a set of flourishes, great for backgrounds, or making great cards in their own right, as you will see if you keep checking the DT blog over the next couple of weeks.

I have chosen to use the largest flourish stamp on my sample today, and created a background resembling a stylish wallpaper. This would look great in a smart salon or bedroom. I have opted for a palette of yellow and black, an unusual choice for me, but I really like how it turned out.

I used Mustard Seed Distress Ink to colour a piece of plain card, and then stamped the large flourish over the background. I used the feisty angel from the Gothic Angels stamp set as my focal image, but only wanted her head on my design. I masked off the rest of the stamp image, using masking tape, and then inked up the stamp. I peeled away the masking tape, and then stamped the image. I chose to colour her with pencils, keeping to a fairly monochrome palette, and added Glossy Accents to the ivy leaves.

The flower is made from handmade paper sprayed with yellow ink, and edged with Black Soot Distress Ink. I have stuck the layers together with a brad before sticking a cog in the middle, and dropping seed beads into Glossy Accents to create the centre. I have added some green ivy leaves to tie in with the angel's headdress and necklace.

 

I'll be back in a few days with another sample, but be sure to check out the DT blogfor more inspiration from my Team Mates. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Christmas Greetings!

Hi Folks, there are new stamps over at Chocolate Baroque today. There are two sets of Halloween stamps, and some fabulous new clear Christmas greetings to use on your Christmas cards.

I have a Christmas card to show you today, using one of the greetings and my favourite feisty angel fron the Gothic Angels stamp set. I have used Pan Pastels to create the background, including one of the the new metallic Pan Pastel in a scrumptious coppery colour.

The greetings are large enough to be used as features on a card in their own right, and come in a great selection of fonts. Look out for these creeping into our samples over the coming weeks, as they are really fabulous.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Yuletide Angel

Hi Folks, I have a project to show you today showcasing the new Gothic Angels stamp sheet from Chocolate Baroque. This stamp sheet is a fabulous mix of gothic images and background pieces, perfect for making your Christmas cards with a traditional feel.

I have chosen to create a card using a leafy background technique taught to me by my crafty friend Elaine a couple of years ago. I stamped the angel onto a piece of white card, and then stamped the holly stamp around her, creating a frame. I coloured the images with Polychromos pencils, and cut around the leaves, leaving a small border for definition. I added some purple ribbon to correspond with the colours in the image itself, and added a greeting from the stamp sheet.

This card would be ideal for someone who does not necessarily celebrate a traditional Christmas. I like to call this angel 'Feisty Angel' as she looks very strong and knows her own mind. However, in more delicate colours, she would look completely different.

I will be back in a couple of days, with some more samples to show you, thanks for stopping by, xx