Folk Art Garden

Hello everyone, I have two projects to share with you today, featuring The Folk Art Garden stamp set, which we shared on one of last month's TV shows on Hochanda. This beautiful stamp set features a wonderful intricate stamp, along with some delightful smaller images, all hand drawn by our designer Sue Page and some fabulous little sentiments which were added by Lesley.

I created my first project by stamping the main image onto some 160 gsm Luxury Smooth White Paper which is perfect for this kind of project. This paper is the same paper that the colouring pages, and the designer papers are printed on. You can colour with pencils, add inks, or watercolour on the paper, it is very versatile. I used Versafine Clair ink in a dark blue, rather than going for a stronger black colour. I partially masked the image using Masking tissue, and added some of the little worker stamps around the edges, to create the effect of a garden running along the bottom of the page.

I added some Distress Ink along the top of the card, masking off a circle for a sun, and using torn paper to create hills. I used a mixture of blue and pink to create the sky. I added yellow for the sun, and stamped a sentiment. I added two little birds from the Landscape Edges stamp set. I used Polychromos pencils to colour the flowers and butterflies. It may seem like it would take ages, but I sit in front of the TV, and the time passes without me noticing!

For the purposes of a TV demo, I needed to create a quicker version of this card, plus Masking Tissue never reacts well under the studio lights! I used the big acrylic block that we sold with the stamp, and covered it with two different colours of Distress Oxide Ink, one blue, and one green, and spritzed them with water. I smooshed the block across a piece of drawing cartridge, (that had a circle mask already added), covering the background in one go. Once the background was dry, I stamped the large image in a dark colour at the bottom of the page, as before, but towards the middle this time. I used the large image to stamp around the edges, filling in the gaps, so that the image was not floating by itself.

I coloured the image with Koh-I-Noor paints, as these cover the Distress Oxide Ink really well. I stamped a sentiment from the same stamp set to complete the card.

By varying the amount of Distress Ink that you add to the block, you can alter how vibrant your background will be. If you do not want such a strong background, add less ink to the acrylic block.

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

Eastern Skies

Hello everyone, I am sharing more cards using stamps featured on last month's TV shows on Hochanda.

My first two cards came about when I made the backgrounds, which were a mixture of Red, Yellow and Orange Brushos sprinkled onto drawing cartridge and spritzed with water. I also added some Gold shimmer for some added bling. I like to create one piece, and use a second piece of the drawing cartridge to blot the excess liquid off the first, creating a second background for later. Both pieces end up a bit less vibrant, but I do not mind this effect, especially as I am creating the second background for free as such.

When I looked at the backgrounds, they looked as if they had a sandy foreground, and a sunset sky, which made me think about creating some sort of scene with the backgrounds. Every background turns out differently when you are using Brushos, and it was just luck that these two made me think of making this sort of card.

I cut a square of copy paper, and placed it in the middle of the background, then stamped the paisley image from the Paisley Elephant stamp set all around the edge, using purple Versafine Clair ink, to create a border. I used the same colour ink to add the sentiment from the same stamp set. On my first card, I used the Chocolate Baroque Mask- Silhouette Palace 1, with Seedless Preserves Distress Ink.

On the second version, the card that I demoed for the TV shows, I simply stamped an image from the Indian Textiles stamp set, using a deep plum ink.

These one layered cards will be cheap to send through the post, even though they are a bit larger in size. If you vary the colours, they would be great masculine cards. I have kept them fairly monochrome, if you made them in blues or greens, or brown tones for example, they would look equally effective.

I am sharing a much older card with you as well, which uses this same image. Long time followers will have seen this card, but I thought that newer viewers would like to see the card as well. I stamped and embossed the building using white embossing powder, and then created the background with inks. I used masks for one side of the background and then the other. I stamped a tree image from the Landscape Edges stamp set along the horizon, and a flower stamp from the Floral Edges stamp in the foreground.

The elephants were stamped onto a spare piece of card, coloured with Distress markers, and then decoupaged onto the background.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

A Burst of Colour

Hello everyone, I am back to share more of my prickly projects with you today, featuring the stamps from last month's TV shows on Hochanda.

To create my first card, I trimmed two pieces of drawing cartridge slightly smaller than A5 in size. I sprinkled Purple, Lime Green and Turquoise Brushos over one piece of card and spritzed the card with water. I then placed the second piece of card over the first, to create two coloured backgrounds. I left both backgrounds to dry. The second background will be useful for a project at a later date.

I stamped three of the images from the Scrumptious Succulents stamp set onto the background, then covered the images with masks that I had already stamped and cut out. I stamped two more images in between the masked images and then drew a line between all of the images to create a landscape, using a fineliner pen. Using the Square Bubbles stamp, I stamped below the landscape line using second generation stamping. The stamp creates a stone effect, which is perfect for the cacti to stand upon.

I used the same colours of Brusho powders to colour the cacti images, adding a couple of additional colours, (red, orange and yellow). I sprinkled a little bit of each colour onto a large acrylic block, but you could use your craft mat, and added a bit of water to them, so that I could use them like watercolours. More water creates a paler colour, but you can then go over the images with a bit of stronger colour to add shading. You can be as creative as you like with the colours, I had a lot of fun creating a vibrant fantasy collection of cacti. I then painted the little stones in the same colours, being completely random. I added a sentiment from the Blossom and Grow stamp set.

My second project is full of colour too. I wanted to create a lovely sunset, and stamped the tall leafy image from the Blossom and Grow stamp set a couple of times first of all. I masked the images and masked an area for the sun, then coloured the background with Distress Inks. I chose Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon and Fossilized Amber, blending them, and adding a spritz of water.

I stamped some foliage from the Wild Meadow and Silhouette Grasses stamp sets, using Versafine Clair inks. I added the little birds from Landscape Edges and a sentiment from Scrumptious Succulents. I removed the masks and coloured the foliage with Faber Castell watercolour pencils.

I hope that you will be inspired by my projects to try out some of these ideas. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Moonlit Sky

Hello everyone,

I have a simple project to share with you today, using the Landscape Edges stamp set. I wanted to create a quick moonlit scene, and this treeline image was perfect for the effect that I wanted to achieve.

I started by placing a circle mask onto a piece of smooth cartridge card, and adding some dots of masking fluid across the area of sky. I placed a piece of torn paper along the lower part of the background to cover the portion of the card that was going to be the hills, and then started to add some colour for the sky. I chose a series of Distress Ink colours, graduating out from the moon, getting darker as I moved further out.

I added some green Distress Ink underneath the sky for the hills, and stamped the tree image over the top, using Versafine Clair Ink. I added some detail to the trees with a white pen to give the impression of moonlight falling on the trees. I rubbed the masking fluid away from the sky area, revealing the 'stars', and added a sentiment from the Amazing Mackintosh Words stamp set

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Masking Up a Scene

Hello everyone, I have a project to share with you that was created for the February TV shows on Hochanda. I wanted to show how to create a scene using polyester sheets as a quick and simple mask or stencil.

I chose two stamps from the Sunburst Scenes stamp set, and placed one of them onto a piece of copy paper where I thought a hill might be in my design. I drew the hill with a pencil, and then using a piece of polyester over the top, drew the line again with a permanent pen. I cut through the polyester along the line and was left with the positive and negative part of the mask. I also planned a set of masks for smaller cards by drawing the shape of a smaller card on a piece of copy paper, and creating a hill in the same way.

Once I had the masks, I stamped the windmill and house onto a piece of smooth cartridge paper that had been trimmed to size, and covered them with an image stamped onto masking tissue. I used my 'hill' mask to draw the hill underneath the windmill, joining up with the line attached to the stamp design. I reversed the mask to add another hill behind the first hill, and then drew the final smaller hill in the foreground by hand. I used both masks to cover over the areas as I needed to, so that I could add colour for the sky and hills. To create a bit of depth in the hills, I added some deeper green once the initial colour had been placed all over the area.

I also created a stencil from polyester using circle dies so that I could add suns or moons in various sizes, and I used one of these to add a sun in the sky. I kept the blue inking quite blotchy, to give an impression of a cloudy sky.

The house and windmill were coloured with pencils once I had removed the masks. I added some birds from the Landscape Edges stamp set, and a sentiment from the Amazing Mackintosh Words stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Steampunk Cycling

Hello everyone, I have a couple of cycling themed cards to share with you today, using a range of Steampunk stamps featured during last month's shows on Hochanda.

To create my first card, I stamped the penny farthing image from the Steampunkery stamp set, and then masked the image using masking tissue. I created a series of hills using Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron and Shaded Lilac Distress Ink, and added some trees from the Tall Trees stamp set, using dark green Versafine Clair Ink. I added a bit of pencil shading to 'ground' the smaller trees. I used Salty Ocean Distress Ink to create the sky, masking off a circle for the sun. I stamped the sentiment from the Punky Expressions stamp set, and added some birds from the Landscape Edges stamp set.

I removed the mask and coloured the penny farthing with Inktense pencils. Finally, I matted the background onto a large black card blank.

For my second card, I wanted to create a collaged feel, using lots of stamping to build up backgrounds. I started by using a patterned Crafty Individuals tag, and added some images from the Eccentric Edwardian stamp set in vintage sepia tones. I also added the gentleman on the bike as the focal image, using darker brown ink.

I made a larger background in toning colours on a piece of kraft card, picking the same images that I had used on the tag to create the background. I picked a grey card to mat the background, as it was a colour that was already on the tag background. I added a cheery tan ribbon to the tag, and stamped a sentiment from the Punky Expressions stamp set onto a small piece of scrap card.

I hope that you have enjoyed my Steampunk inspiration this month, and that you will try some of the ideas for yourselves. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Russian Inspired Wedding Card

Hello everyone, I have another Russian inspired project to share with you today. I have created a card for today's post using the Russian Spires stencil, and have chosen a wedding theme for my project. I have used bold colours, but you could easily opt for pastel colours and create something to match the colours of a specific wedding, by changing the colours of the rooftops, for example..

I cut a piece of watercolour card, and drew through the stencil with a pencil to start with, to get the shape of the buildings. I removed the stencil, and using a fine tipped permanent pen, I drew the outline again, joining up all of the broken lines. I added in a few extra details, like the edges of the rooftops, and the landscape.

I coloured the image and landscape with Zig Clean Colour markers. I masked the building, and also added a mask for a sun.  I used some Salty Ocean Distress Ink on a craft mat, and spritzed it with water, then picked it up with a waste piece of bubble wrap to create the sky. I just dabbed the scrunched up bubble wrap randomly over the background. I removed the masks, and added some Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink for the sun.

I added a sentijment from the Words to Dazzle and Sparkle stamp set, and a small image of two silhouette birds from the Landscape Edges stamp set.

I hope that my card has given you a bit of inspiration, thanks for stopping by, xx

Speedy Distress Ink Cards

Hello everyone, I have a couple of quick cards to share with you today. These form part of a much bigger blog post over on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog, that is a regular monthly feature, entitled Fifteen Minute Cards. The aim is to create cards in fifteen minutes or less, and we aim to share our tips and techniques for both beginner and more advanced stampers, to create both stylish and speedy cards.

For my first card, I created a wrinkle free distress background, using Fossilized Amber Distress Ink on my craft mat, spritzing it with water, and then patting a piece of smooth watercolour card onto the ink to pick up the colour. I dried the card, and then gently picked some of the droplets of ink left on the craft mat, to create a second layer of colour over the first, before dying the card again.

I used a stencil on two corners of the card, inking through the stencil with both Fossilized Amber and Tea Dye Distress Ink, to add a deeper colour. I stamped three bees from the Honey Bee stamp set, and coloured these with pencils. Finally, I added a sentiment from the Words of Wisdom stamp set.

I used a strip of left over card that had already been coloured in the same way as the first background, left over from another project, this time in shades of blue and green. I used the Silhoutte Palace 1 and Silhouette Palace 2 masks, joining them together, as I wanted a longer line to fill the card, and inked two shades of green through the masks. I also stamped the Large Crackle Background through the masks, using Versafine Onyx Black Ink. I used an image from the Floral Edges stamp set to stamp along the bottom of the background, without an acrylic block, so that I could use small portions of the image here and there, exactly where I wanted it. I used first and second generation stamping for more depth. I added some birds from the Landscape Edges stamp set, and a sentiment from the Words to Dazzle and Sparkle stamp set. I adhered the background to a large black card blank for added drama.

Head over to the Design Team Blog to see the rest of the cards designed by my Team mates. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Spring Greens

Hello everyone, we are taking a bit of a retrospective look at our favourite stamps over on the Design Team Blog at the moment.  I have been a fan of Sue Page's images for many years, pretty much since I started stamping in the 1990's. So, I have a lot of Chocolate Baroque favourite stamps in my stash, as you can well imagine!I am sharing a card using just a few of my favourites with you today. For my card, I have chosen a lovely tree stamp from the Fantasy Woodland stamp set. I love the versatilty of this stamp set, so many different stamps, offering many possibilities.

To create my card, I stuck an old book page onto some thin card, and then stamped the tree image onto the card. I coloured the image with Inktense pencils and a water brush. I also tore some jagged strips of book page, and coloured them with various colours of green Distress Ink, darker at the top of each strip, and paler at the bottom.

I added a circle mask to a white card blank, and coloured the top portion of the card pale blue, using Distress Ink. I then removed the circle mask, and added a bit of yellow ink to the circle. I stuck the book page strips to the lower end of the card, and trimmed off the rough edges.

I stamped the tree image directly onto the card, using Versafine Onyx Black Ink, and added a bit of shading under the image using a dark green pencil. I decoupaged the image that I had stamped onto book paper over the background image. I stamped three birds from the Landscape Edges clear stamp set over the sun, and added a sentiment from the Mackintosh Sentiments clear stamp set.

This was a simple, card to make, and could be used for lots of different occasions. I feel that it has a rather Spring-like feel and have named my blog post 'Spring Greens', a bit of a pun there, sorry!

There is a competition running at the moment at Chocolate Baroque, as the Company is celebrating its fifth Birthday this month. We would like you to create a project using the theme of 'Spring', and email a picture to sales@chocolatebaroque.com you can find all the details here. There are some great prizes, and a chance to grab a guest spot on the Design Team! So get your thinking caps on and have a go, as it would be lovely to see what you create.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Japanese Water Garden

I have created a scene using the stamps of the month from Chocolate Baroque. I have stamped the main images, and then masked over them before stamping the flowers to fill in the background. I have used a mixture of both stamp sets to create a feeling of a Japanese water garden, using architectural features as well as plants. I have also used a wall stamp from the Landscap Edges stamp set to create the path along the bottom of the design.

I have coloured the project with Polychromos pencils.

I'll be back in a few days with another project, thanks for stopping by, xx

An Indian Sunrise

Hi Folks, I have a card to show you today using the new Indian stamps from Chocolate Baroque

I stamped and embossed the building using white embossing powder, and then created the background using a mixture of Distress and Memento inks. I used Post it notes to create a mask first for one half of the background, and then the other. I used a tree stamp from the 'Landscape Edges' clear stamp set along the horizon, and then a flower stamp from the 'Floral Edges' clear stamp set in the foreground.

The elephants were coloured with water based markers and I then decoupaged them.

These new stamps are so much fun to work with, and are currently on special offer. I will be showing you several samples during the month, but you can also find some beautiful creations over at the Design Team Blog from my Team mates as well.

Thanks for stopping by, xx