Patchwork Butterflies

Hello everyone, I have some projects to share with you today that featured on the One Day Special shows on Hochanda last month. I always love working with butterflies, they are amongst my favourite images. The large Patchwork Butterfly is such a beautiful image. You may have heard Lesley say on the show that I had suggested that we have a stencil to match the stamps, and it has been great fun using the stencil with the stamps, creating some of these projects, and the ones that I will share with you later in the month.

For my first project, I stamped the large butterfly from the Patchwork Butterfly stamp set onto a piece of smooth watercolour paper, and masked the image with Masking Tissue, before moving onto creating the background. I drew one of the butterflies onto the Masking Tissue, using the stencil, six or seven times, and cut these out. I then inked through the stencil, using a Dried Marigold Distress Ink randomly over the background, keeping to the same butterfly shape each time. Ensuring that the ink was dry, I then used the sentiment from the stamp plate, and stamped through the same shape over the previously inked areas. Once the ink was dry, I covered each image with a mask.

I added background colour, choosing warm reds and yellows, blending the colours where they met, and spritzing the background with water once I had finished. I blotted the background with some kitchen tissue to take away some of the ink. I added some swirls using brown ink. Finally, I removed the masks and coloured the large butterfly with Distress Inks, (keeping to the same tones as the background), and a water brush.

For my second project, I created a wrinkle free distress background using Distress Oxide Inks. I stamped a swirl around the edge of the background to create a frame, and added the sentiment. I stamped the butterfly antennae onto the card directly, and stamped the entire image again onto a separate piece of card. I coloured the image with Zig Clean Colour markers, before adhering it to the background.

Finally, a remake of an old card that I made several years ago. It has had a bit of an update, so I hope you will forgive me for showing it in my post.

I created a background using paper masks and inked the sky and hills. I added a sentiment from the Words to Dazzle and Sparkle stamp set. The foliage is from the Spring Foliage and Spring is in the Air stamp sets, and I used a mixture of greens and purples to tone in with the colours that I had used for the background. I added a bit of colour to the flowers with pencil. I stamped the antennae from the large butterfly directly onto the card, and then stamped the butterfly and a fairy from the Spring Fairy Collection onto a spare piece of card. I coloured them using Distress markers.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Woodland Fairy

Hello everyone, I have a Fairy project to share with you today, and have combined lots of different stamp sets to create a little scene using pencils and Pan Pastels.

I have created my project using Pan Pastels for the background, adding stamps from the Fantasy Castle stamp set initially in the back of the picture, and then I added images from the Design a Tree collection to create a forest effect. I used coloured ink to add the little flowers to the trees, and a deeper shade of Pan Pastel, with a touch of grey pencil to ground the trees, so that they did not float in mid air. I stamped the clouds with grey ink for a softer finish, and added pale pink Pan Pastel and white charcoal to create fluffy appearance.

I stamped the fairy from the Spring Fairy collection onto a separate piece of card, and coloured the image with Polychromos pencils, before cutting it out and adhering it to the background. The castle in the background was also coloured with pencils.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Purple and Green

I have a card to share as part of the Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge Blog inspiration today. It's the final month that we are running a challenge, and we hope that you can find time to come and visit before we finish for good.

I have made a card using an image from the Mellow Fruitfulness stamp set, embossed with gold embossing powder. I also added two butterflies from the Spring Fairy collection. I masked the images, and added a background coloured with Distress Inks. Once the background was dry, I added the Large Crackle Background around the edge, and some extra shading, with more Distress Inks.

I coloured the images with water based markers, and added a sentiment from the Words to Dazzle and Sparkle stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Little Flowers

Hello everyone,  I have created a couple of floral projects for your inspiration, using stamps from the Spring Fairy Collection stamp set. I like to use the often overlooked smaller stamps from a stamp plate to create all occasion cards, and these cards are no exception.

For my first card, I used the same stamp to create both the background, and main image for the card. I stamped the image using Versamark and white embossing powder randomly over a kraft background, and then heat set the images with a heat gun. I coloured the images with Zig Clean Colour markers and a water brush.

I stamped the main image onto a piece of die cut smooth watercolour paper, inking the egdes of the background with Distress Ink whilst the die was still in place, so that there would be a white border around the oval. I coloured the image with Zig Clean Colour markers. I punched two holes through the oval, and threaded the ribbn through the holes from the back, so that I could tie a bow at the front. I left two longer pieces behind the card, which I adhered to the kraft background, as I stuck the main image down. I coloured the ribbon with Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink and water, so that I had a good match to the colours that I had used in my project.

 You might have seen this card on the April TV shows on Hochanda:

For my second card, I cut a strip of smooth watercolour card, and coloured it using Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks, blending them where they met. I stamped the flower image, using Versafine Onyx Black Ink, graduating the height of the flower across the background. I added a couple of butterflies from the same stamp set, and a sentiment from the Words to Dazzle and Sparkle stamp set. Finally, I mounted the background onto a black card blank.

This was a really quick card to make, but just great when you need a colourful card in a hurry.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Another Fifteen Minute Card

Hello everyone, it's time for another epic blog post over on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog, featuring cards made by the Design Team, that take fifteen minutes or less to create. This monthly feature shows how the lovely stamps from Chocolate Baroque can be used to create simple cards in a flash, as well as the more elaborate cards often produced for the Design Team Blog. We want to share quick ideas for beginners, or for those of you who need cards in a hurry. Maybe you want to make a batch card for Christmas, a wedding, or perhaps you need ideas for a craft stall even, that do not take hours to create.

I have made a simple little card as part of the blog post, using a gelli plate to create a background. I brayered two colours of Distress Ink onto a smaller gelli plate, (the 3" x 5" plate), and then pressed some bubble wrap onto the plate to create a pattern. I stamped the gelli plate onto a white card blank, like a stamp.

I stamped the bird from the Spring Fairy Collection stamp set onto the background, adding some coloured detail with Polychromos pencils. Finally, I added a sentiment from the Words of Wisdom stamp set.

Changing the words on this card could make it suitable for so many occasions, both masculine and feminine. It was a really quick card to make, and I hope that it has given you a few ideas to make some cards of your own. Do check out the rest of the blog post on the Design Team Blog, and see the fabulous projects from my Design Team mates.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Distress Ink Cards

Hello everyone, I have two cards to share with you today, showcasing the Spring Fairy Collection stamp plates, which were featured on the recent TV Shows on Hochanda. My cards both started off in the same way, with a Distress Oxide Ink background, and I then chose which stamps I wanted to use to complete the cards.

For the first card, I decided to create a very clean and simple style card, choosing fresh blues and greens for the background. I stamped the little bird image onto the card, using Potting Shed Archival Ink, and then I masked the bird itself, before adding extra stamping using the foliage part of the same stamp repeatedly across the bottom of the card.

I added some colour to the images with Zig Clean Colour markers. I added a sentiment from the Words to Dazzle and Sparkle stamp set, using the same ink as before, and edged the background with the ink as well, before adhering the background to a large card blank. I love this little bird stamp, it can be used for so many different occasions, and is great for masculine cards as well.

For my second card, I chose a selection of images from the Spring Foliage, and Silhouette Grasses stamp plates, and using a selection of ink colours, I built up a scene on my Distress Ink background. I stuck to a palette of greens and purples, creating a tone on tone effect. I added a silhouette fairy and butterfly from the Spring Fairy Collection, plus the large 'Spring' from the stamp plate. Finally, I added some sparkle to the wings using a clear Wink of Stella pen.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Dandelion Clocks

Hello everyone, I have a card to share with you today, using some of the new Seasonal Fragments stamps from Chocolate Baroque. I wanted to create a little scene using one of the older dandelion clock images from the Fragrant Honeysuckle stamp set and add the clock seeds as if a fairy was blowing them off the flower head. I used to do this as a child and make a wish, did you?

I stamped the main flower image onto a piece of card, and then added the flower fragment across the bottom of the card. I added some colour to the background using Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks. I stamped the seed fragment, and added a fairy from the Spring Fairy stamp set. I coloured the images with Inktense pencils, and added a little bit of Stickles glue on the flowers, seeds and fairy wings as an accent. I stamped a sentiment from the Card Sentiments clear stamp set to finish.

I created a larger mount for my image using Shabby Shutters Distress Ink once again to colour the background card, and stamped the seed stamp around the edges using the same colour for a tone on tone effect. I attached both pieces of card to a large white card blank.

 I'll be back with more cards using these great new stamps in a few days' time. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Batik Florals

Hello everyone, it's my turn to post a tutorial on the Chocolate Baroque Challenge Blog this week. I have made a card with a batik style background, and thought that I would share it here with you as well.

I stamped and embossed my background using a floral fragment stamp and Versamark ink with clear embossing powder. I then coloured the background using Distress Inks: Salty Ocean, Picked Raspberry and Cracked Pistachio, adding a bit of Memento Grape Jelly ink around the edges. Once I had added my colour, I ironed the baclground, covering it with scrap paper first! This left the background lovely and smooth, and showed off the lovely floral pattern.

I stamped the fantasy flower onto a smaller rectangle, and coloured it with watercolour pencils, before shading around the edges with Distress Inks. I added a couple of butterflies and a sentiment. A pretty organza bow was all that was needed to finish the card. These challenge colours are right up my street, so pretty.

I hope that you will pop over to the challenge blog to take a look at the other DT inspiration on offer. Don't forget, there is a monthly prize on offer if you enter the challenge using current CB stamps.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Summer Fairies

Hi Folks, there is now a fourth set of fairy stamps which has been recently released at Chocolate Baroque completing the seasonal collection. This one is the Summer Collection. This set is full of lovely fairy images, and some great floral images as well.
My first card uses one of the large silhouette fairies, which I have placed on an inked background, made using Distress Inks. I chose several colours which I blended across the page, and then placed a leafy stencil over the top, and used the same colours again to stipple colour through the stencil. I added some deeper colour around the edges of the background to create a frame, and then stamped the trailing ivy across the top of the page, using Paris Dusk Memento Ink. I added a border around the bottom half of the card, using a tree stamp taken from the Fantasy Woodland stamp set. The two trees are a stamp from the same stamp set. I added some shading underneath the trees using a paper mask, and Old Paper Distress Ink. I stamped the silhouette fairy, and the little butterfly, which comes from the Autumn Fairy stamp set, using Versafine Onyx Black Ink.

I added some glitter glue to the fairy and butterfly wings for a little bit of sparkle.

My second card uses a couple of the flower stamps from the collection to create a fairly clean and simple card. I cut a rectangle of smooth watercolour paper, and stamped the freesia stamp at the bottom of the card. I covered the image with a mask so that I could stamp the image again on either side of the original image.

I coloured the silhouette freesia stamp with Distress Markers, blending several colours, and stamped the background with the mask in place. I placed the mask on top of each freesia image in turn, so that I did not stamp over them. I then coloured the three freesia images with Distress Markers and a waterbrush.

I matted the picture onto a piece of dark green card, and then placed this onto a larger square of light green card, adding some orange and green ribbon to my main image. I added three Crealie butterflies to the large background. These Crealie butterflies are great, they co-ordinate to create dimensional butterflies. You can use them individually, or layer them together as I have done for my sample.

My last card was created using lots of masking again, and a hand cut stencil. It is very easy to cut your own stencils using blank stencil sheets.

I used one of the large fairies from the collection, which I stamped and masked off, before stamping poppies from the Poppy Meadow stamp set. I then masked these flowers and stamped the little silhouette flower from the same set. I love this little stamp and it is going to be a favourite from now on. That's the beauty of revisiting older stamp sets, you often discover stamps that you have never used before! I added the stencil and coloured the sun rays using Distress Inks, before inking the remaining sky with blue. I have added a shimmer spray over the top.

I have coloured the fairy and flowers with Distress Markers. The two tiny butterflies are half of a butterfly stamped twice, taken from the Spring Fairy stamp collection. I simply covered half of the stamp with masking tape before I inked it up, then removed the masking tape before I stamped it onto the page. I have decoupaged them, and added glitter glue to their wings. The sentiment is taken from the Fairyland Words clear stamp set.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love poppies, and I had great fun creating this card. I hope that it has given you a few ideas as well. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Edging into Spring

Hi Folks, we are having some lovely Spring weather at the moment, and the latest stamps from Chocolate Baroque just fit the weather and what is going on in the garden perfectly.
I have a couple of cards to show you today. My first card uses the lovely gingko leaves from the Elegant Edges stamp set. I stamped the single leaf over the background using Versamark and clear embossing powder, which I heat set. I painted the background with a Ecoline ink, and then ironed the background placing it under some greaseproof paper to remove the embossing powder. This technique leaves a lovely smooth background.

I stamped the gingko border, and partially die cut an oval beside the border, which I coloured with Distress Ink. I coloured the leaves with Distress Markers. I added a sentiment from the Loving Sentiments stamp set. I stamped three butterflies from the Spring Fairy collection onto vellum, using white embossing powder, and coloured the reverse with Copics. Finally, I coloured some seam binding with green Ecoline ink, and crumpled it as I dried it, for a distressed effect.

 My next sample uses a mixture of stamps from the Patchwork Landscape stamp set and the Elegant Edges stamp set.

I have made a step card as my base and created layers of planting in front of the house, representing a cottage garden. I cut two strips of card, one 5" x 9", scoring at 1.5", 3", and 6", then another piece of card which measured 5" x 10.5", which I scored at 5" and 10". I stuck the little half inch tab to the back of the three inch fold created on the other piece of card, and then I had my completed step card base.

I stamped all of the images onto cream paper, using gold embossing powder, and coloured them with Distress Markers. I added them to the various layers of the step card. 

EDIT: I have been asked by a commenter to explain the construction of my card base. I am happy to do so, as my card is a DT sample and therefore inspiration for other to make something similar if they wish. I scored the shorter piece of card at 1.5", 3", and 6", which then gave me two mountain folds of 1.5 inches, and 3 inches. The larger piece of card was scored at 5" and 10", which gave me a mountain fold of 5 inches, with a half inch tab left over. I attached the tab just behind the three inch mountain fold, but could have tucked it under if I had wanted to. (The three inch mountain fold is the one with the hollyhocks on in the photograph). I am including a photograph so that you can see where I have attached the tab.

 Thanks for stopping by, xx

Have a Fairy Happy Birthday!

Hi Folks, here's a project for you using stamps from the new Spring Fairy Collection stamp set combined with some older favourites. I wanted to create a gift set that comprised of a card, gift tag and matching wrapping paper, using soft pastel tones. I picked five shades of Memento Ink, and created a background on my tag, and a large piece of white card. I used brushes dabbing off the excess ink to avoid brush marks and blending the colours together where they met. I stamped the fairies and butterflies using Versafine Onyx Black Ink for a nice crisp impression. The extra fairies and buterflies are from the Winter Fairy and Autumn Fairy stamp sets.

To make the tag, I added a sprinkling of glitter on the butterfly wings and the trail of stars. The sentiment comes from the Fairyland Words clear stamp set. To make the card, I added some clouds from the Magical Landscapes/Fantasy Castles Multibuy stamp set and a flower from the Decadent Brocade stamp set, which has been decoupaged. I have added some die cut leaves, and a sentiment as before.

The wrapping paper was created using the same stamps as the tag, stamped with each of the ink colours, graduating across the paper.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Springtime Fairy

Hi Folks, I have another fairy sample to show you, using the Spring Fairy unmounted stamp collection from Chocolate Baroque 

I have made a background using Distress Inks and and brushes on a piece of white card, dabbing off the excess ink first, to avoid any brush marks. This gives a lovely air brushed look. I have then added a stencil, this one is from Crafter's Workshop and is called 'Mini Graceful Flower', before adding more of the same colours.

I have stamped three butterflies from the set onto vellum, using white embossing powder, and coloured the reverse using Copic Markers. The fairy was simply stamped onto a spare piece of card and coloured with Inktense pencils. I have added a couple of mini gems to her hair.

 

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Butterfly Fairy

Hi Folks, goodness this year is going fast! With the start of March, my mind turns to Spring,the garden seems to be showing signs of wanting to get going again with new plant shoots showing their heads, and the birds are preparing themselves in our loft to hatch their eggs again. The good weather seems to lift the spirits, and promises a farewell to the Winter months.

The new Spring Fairy stamps were just the ticket to create a Spring scene that seemed to echo those feelings. I promise that no butterflies or fairies were harmed in the making of this project! I created a background using paper masks and Memento inks in soft greens and lilacs. I added some foliage from the Spring is in the Air/Spring Foliage Multibuy stamp set, again using Memento inks. I painted the flower heads with bleach, before colouring them with pencils. I stamped along the bottom edge using the top of the bird and foliage stamp from the new stamp set, it makes a great edging stamp.

I stamped the fairy, and the large butterfly from Patchwork Butterfly and coloured them with pencils. I stamped the antennae of the butterfly onto the background. I cut off the fairy wings, and the butterfly body  before adding them to the background.

 

I have added my card to the following challenges: 

Spring is Coming 

Fantasy Stampers Challenge Blog Spring Colours

Hiding in my Craft Room Spring Colours

This month the DT have again excelled themselves with some great samples, so do be sure to pop over to the Design Team Blog Thanks for stopping by,  xx