Floral CAS Cards

Hello everyone, I hope that you are keeping well. I have some clean and simple cards to share with you today for my final post this month. I demonstrated these designs on Create and Craft last month, and I hope that you managed to catch the TV shows.

My first two cards are similar in design; I used a round gelli plate to create a background, inking up the plate with Distress Ink, and for the first design, I stamped the Open Weave stamp onto the gelli plate before I stamped the gelli plate straight onto my card blank. I then stamped one of the large flowers and a leaf three times from the Sunny Sunflowers stamp set onto the card using Veesafine ink. I used a fineliner pen to draw some little stems for the leaves. I could have used Masking Tissue to mask the flower, then stamp the leaves, but these cards are all about making life simple. I coloured the image with Polycolour pencils and added a sentiment from the Amazing Mackintosh Words stamp set.

For the second card, I again inked up the gelli plate with Distress Oxide Ink this time, and then stamped the Floral Weave stamp onto the gelli plate before stamping the gelli plate straight onto the card blank. I stamped a couple of sunflowers onto the background and coloured them with pencils. I added some black dots with a fineliner pen and some glitter glue in the centre of each flower for a bit of sparkle.

For my final card, I stamped Studded Lattice onto an 8" x 8" card blank using Distress Oxide ink. I added a couple of sunflowers and some leaves in opposite corners. Using a fineliner pen, I drew some lines and curls to link the flowers and leaves together. Do not be aftraid to draw things freehand yourself to add to the stamps. I could see elements within the stamps that I could use to embellish the images and extend the design, you can try this youself. Practise on a piece of paper until you feel confident, and then just go for it! Be brave and do not hesitate, that would be my best advice.

I hope that you will try some of my suggestions, thanks for stopping by, xx

Two Projects, Two Ways

Hello everyone, I hope that you are keeping well. I have some projects to share with you today featuring stamps that we brought to you on last month's TV shows on Create and Craft. Both sets of projects feature the ideas in two different ways, showing how you can vary the project depending on what sort of look you would like to create.

My first project is a little plaque using the Canary Bird Rose stamp and some of the Black and White papers available on the website. I chose to use a blank piece of the papers to create my own patterned piece of paper and stamped the main image using black Archival ink. I added a sentiment from the stamp set, plus elements from Gerbera and Friends using grey Archival ink. I coloured the flower with pencils before adhering the paper to a painted panel using matte medium. 

Once the glue was dry, I sanded the edges, and added a bit of ink with a blending brush around the edges.

 

An alternative version was created by stamping the same flower image onto a patterned piece of the papers, and simply colouring it with pencils. I added the sentiment with black ink this time. I attached the paper to a panel as before and once the glue was dry I sanded the edges. I dry brushed some paint around the edges and added some stencilling for added interest.

I wanted to create a couple of masculine cards using the Sunny Sunflowers stamp set, and picked a selection of the leaves. They are really lovely designs and make a beautiful card by themselves, without the addition of the flowers. For my first card, I picked a selection of green inks, some VersafineClair, some Archival, and some Distress Oxide, whatever colours seemed to go together well. I stamped the images in first, second and third generation, and finally added a sentiment from the Words to Dazzle and Sparkle stamp set, using black ink. I stamped everything straight onto the card blank for a really quick card, and you could easily make a whole batch of these in an afternoon.

My variation was stamped onto a piece of kraft paper using Autumnal coloured inks, and I chose to stamp and emboss the sentiment to make it stand out a bit more.

I hope that you have enjoyed my projects as much as I enjoyed creating them. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Christmas Old and New

Hello everyone, I am sharing some Christmas projects with you today that were featured on last month's TV shows on Hochanda.

For my first project,  I created a background, using soft blues and pinks to represent a Winter sky. I added some deeper blue hills using torn paper masks, and stamped the tree from the Frosty Trees stamp set and the sentiment from the Let's Get Festive stamp set, using Cobalt Archival Ink. Ensuring that the background was completely dry, I added some snowflakes using white embossing powder, and then used some flat-backed gems for added sparkle.

Using another tree from the same stamp set, I created an icy background using metallic paints, and on a smaller scrap of the same card, I stamped and embossed the tree panel using Versafine Onyx Black Ink and clear embossing powder, for a crisp image. I matted the layers onto black card, and added some small black gems. The sentiment comes from the Let's Get Festive stamp set once again.

 I wanted to create a piece of home decor especially for Christmas using my favourite sentiment from the new stamp set. I painted a chipboard heart in soft blue chalk paint, adding some crackle medium here and there, and then added a vintage white paint over the top. I then stamped the sentiment in Red Geranium Archival Ink before adding the fabulous pine cones from the New England Winter stamp set around the edges. I used Distress Markers to colour the stamps, allowing me to add colour exactly where I wanted. A red ribbon completes the project.

This next card is an adaptation of an old card that I first made several years ago, using the Winter Birds stamp set, but I have made it in a different size. These days, I like to make 8" x 8" cards, and so the card does look slightly different from the original. I have added one of the new sentiments this time around as well.

Finally two golden oldies for you, which I hope you will forgive seeing again. I remade the first one, which was originally given as a Birthday card to someone. It just goes to show that these beautiful stamps can be used at other times of the year, not just at Christmas, with a change of colour. I have used the large image from the Reindeer Landscape stamp set, embossed with copper embossing powder, and coloured with Distress Inks and a water brush. The background was also created with Wild Honey and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks, and I have then stamped leaves from the Sunny Sunflowers stamp set, and coloured them with Polychromos pencils. The sentiment, which is my all time favourite Chocolate Baroque sentiment,  comes from the Nature's Peace stamp set.

Finally a luminary, also using the large image from the Reindeer Landscape stamp set. I die cut an aperture from four large printed tags. The images were stamped and embossed onto parchment using white embossing powder, and coloured from behind. I used metal tape to join the tags, which I embossed, and aged with a little bit of black paint.

I hope that my projects have given you some ideas using these fabulous stamps. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Bouquet of Sunflowers

Hello everyone,September is a very busy month for me, with lots of family Birthdays. My Mother-in-Law has her Birthday in September, and so when I needed to make another DT project this design seemed perfect to double up as her Birthday card. She loves sunflowers, they are her favourite flower, and so I wanted to make them the focal point of the card.

I have created the card, using stamps from the Sunny Sunflowers stamp set, stamping the flowers and leaves, masking them as I went along, to create a cluster of flowers in the corner of the card. Once I had masked all of the images, I created a Brusho background, using red, yellow and brown pigments.
I embossed an image from the Texture Fragments stamp set around the edge of the background, using gold embossing powder. I then coloured the images in using Distress Markers, and added some shading with Faber Castell watercolour pencils.
Finally, I added a sentiment from the Mackintosh Sentiments stamp set, and matted the background onto a black card blank.

Once I had created my card, I had quite a bit of left over colour on my craft mat. I used a large water colour tag to mop up some of the colour, and dried it completely. I repeated the process a couple of times, until I was happy with the overall colour on the tag. I stuck the tag to a thick piece of burgundy card, and added some shading, using Seedless Preserves Distress Ink around the edge of the tag.

I stamped some more sunflowers and leaves onto some spare watercolour paper, and coloured them in using Zig Clean Colour markers. I arranged the flowers and leaves onto the tag, adhering them with a dries clear glue. I added some micro beads to the centre of the main flower for some added texture. Some toning ribbon completes the tag.

 Thanks for stopping by, xx

Cheery Sunflowers

Hello everyone, I have another floral project to share with you today, using one of the Flowerhead Collection cling mounted stamps. I have chosen to use the Daisy Ring Centre image to create my card, as I liked the versatility of this design, with the open centre. I wanted to create a cluster of sunflowers, and the open centre of the design works perfectly for adding beads, which I love to do in lots of my flower projects.

I started my card by stamping the first image onto my smooth watercolour background, and masking the image, before adding some leaves from the Sunny Sunflowers stamp set. I masked the leaves, and stamped two more of the large flower images, plus a spare image onto an extra piece of watercolour paper, so that I could decoupage the central image.

I coloured the images with Distress Markers and a water brush, and then added shading with pencils. On this occasion, I used Faber Castell Aquarelle pencils, but I did not wet them once I had coloured the images. I coloured the background by tapping some Salty Ocean Distress Ink onto a craft mat, and picking it up with a crumpled baby wipe. I then patted the ink onto the background, turning the baby wipe this way and that way, to get a varied pattern.

I stamped the butterflies from  the Thistle Butterfly and Briar Rose Butterfly stamp sets, onto the background, and again onto spare watercolour card so that I could decoupage them. I simply coloured them with the Aquarell pencils, and blended the colours with a water brush. The sentiment is from the Mackintosh Sentiments clear stamp set. I matted the background onto a black card blank, and then added Glossy Accents to the centre of the main flower before adding dark brown seed beads.

Sunflowers are my Mother in Law's favourite flower. They are so cheery, and would brighten up anyone's day. This card would make a lovely Get Well card, or a Thinking of You card, as well as a pretty Birthday card. I hope it has given you some inspiration anyway. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Falling Leaves

Hello everyone, it's a new week over on the Chocolate Baroque Challenge Blog, and my turn to make a card for inspiration as part of the Design Team. The colours on the colour swatch seemed very Autumnal to me, and so I decided to create a leafy card for my project.

I started to make my card, by stamping the line of trees using Potting Soil Archival Ink, and embossing it with clear embossing powder. I wanted a crisp clear image that would stand out amongst the multitude of leaves that I was going to add afterwards. Adding the embossing powder just sharpens the image.
I added some Aqua Adirondack Ink above the trees, and some Dried Marigold underneath, and then completed the background with Memento Pear Tart Ink. I stamped the leafy fragment using Olive and Orange Blossom Archival Ink, using first and second generation ink. Any gaps that were left, I filled in with stamping using Pear Tart for a fainter impression. I inked around the edges using Memento Potter's Clay Ink. I then stamped some leaves onto scrap paper from my scrap box, sticking to colours within the challenge colours, and once I had cut them out, arranged them randomly across the page before gluing them down.

I added a bit of shading under the trees using a couple of pencils. Finally, I matted the background onto some terracotta card.

I have purposefully left this card blank as a handy storecupboard card. It will be useful as a masculine card, or even a sympathy card if necessary.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Steampunk Script Flowers

Hi Folks, I have another sample to show you today using the Punky Flowers stamp set from Chocolate Baroque. This time, I have used a round canvas as the basis for my project. I have had this canvas lurking in my stash for a long time waiting for a suitable project, and I felt that these fabulous flowers were begging for such a background.

I started by adding some texture to the canvas through a mask, and then painting the background with a selection of acrylic paints. I stamped a portion of a script stamp from the Eccentric Edwardian stamp plate over the flat areas of the canvas using archival ink. I added metallic wax to the raised areas of texture on the canvas.

I covered some grungepaper with pages from a cheap thesaurus, and then coloured the paper with Pan Pastels. I stamped a selection of the punky flowers and some leaves from the Sunny Sunflower stamp set onto the paper. I added extra colour for definition, and cut these out. I dipped the flowers into my Melt Pot to give them a clear coating. I stamped some of the coggy trees onto green pearlescent card and cut them out, and also die cut some cogs from silver pearlescent card. To complete the canvas, I added some coils made from silver coloured wire.

I hope that I have given you some ideas this month incorporating these stamps, and I have really appreciated your comments. They mean a lot to me. Thanks for stopping by, xx

It just goes to show....

Hi folks, I've got a couple of samples to show you using the new Gothic Fragments stamp set recently released by Chocolate Baroque This is a great set of stamps with fragments of church windows, spires, and elements of stonework taken from Gothic buildings. They are so versatile, and can be used for lots of occasions.

When I received the stamps, I could see the potential for Halloween, Weddings, and Christmas straight away. Yesterday, one of my Designs was posted on the Design Team Blog which is based on a Christmas theme. I have a couple more samples to show you today.

The first one is perfect for Halloween, as I have created a stormy night scene around a couple of the spire top stamps.  I stamped one of them, then masked it before stamping the other one twice. I created a deliberately troubled sky, by not blending my ink colours as smoothly as I would do normally, then coloured the spires in with pencils. I added a little owl to one of the spires, and the word 'Spooky' taken from one of the new Halloween clear stamp sets. Some cobwebs in the bottom corners add to the creepy effect. The building that I have created reminds me a little bit of Notre Dame, and I have given the central spire a touch of a verdigris feel for contrast.

My second card has a completely different finish. I wanted to make a Wedding card, with a clean and simple feel, so I used some cream pearlescent card as a base, stamping a large flourish with white embossing powder. I made a chiffon flower, which I like to add to special occasion cards, and stamped some leaves onto vellum. These came from the Sunny Sunflower stamp set. I stamped the long window onto a piece of watercolour paper, and then coloured it with Distress Markers and a water brush.

So it just goes to show, how versatile a set of stamps can be!

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Shabby Sunflowers

Hi folks, happy Friday to you all. I would normally be posting a Forgotten Friday post today, but I am blitzing my house, ready for three VIP guests next week, and just haven't had time for a rummage this week. However, if you would like to link your 'Forgotten' makes to this post, I will pop along to your blogs to take a look.

My three friends Elaine, Jo and Lesley are coming to stay, we have a joint blog, Craft Stamping Quartet, which due to various commitments over the past months, we just haven't been able to maintain. We are having some time together, and may actually post some bits and pieces on our blog! Anyway, if you are anything like me, crafting comes first in your life and ahem, housework comes a poor second. However, having three women to stay in my house, has galvanised me into some kind of activity over the last few days, and I've shaken the cobwebs off the mop and duster, and done a bit of cleaning, my Mum would be proud, lol!

I'm very excited that they are coming, as we rarely all get together, sometimes three of us manage a meeting, but to have the four of us in a group at the same time is quite an occasion. We have some great bits and pieces planned, and we will show you some of them on the joint blog, and on our own blogs as well, I'm sure.

Anyway, today I have another card using the Sunny Sunflowers stamp plate from Chocolate Baroque I have used some papers from the A4 'En Francais' paper pad, creating a large pocket. I added a piece of wide brown ribbon and some of the flowers and leaves which I have coloured with Polychromos pencils. I added Glossy Accents in the centres of the flowers.

I used a large tag, and embossed a greeting from the 'Loving Sentiments' stamp plate with vanilla white embossing powder. I then went over the tag with Tea Dye Distress Ink, and edged the tag with Faded Jeans Distress Ink, to tone in with the main card. I added some small strips of torn paper at the bottom and a couple of decoupaged flowers and some leaves. The finishing touch was to add some blue and brown seam binding at the top of the tag.

I hope you will all enjoy your long weekend, and that you have lots of lovely activities planned. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Altered Spool

Hi folks, just to let you know that I have a project over on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog today. There is a new stamp sheet out called Sunny Sunflowers, full of bold blooms and great leaves to make some fabulous projects. The Design Team will be posting lots of samples over the next few days, so keep checking the blog to see what they have made.

For this project I have combined the stamps with one of Lesley Wharton's super Downloads; Patterned Spools set 5, which is a lovely gold and plum colour combination. I have used a wooden cotton reel that was about the perfect size for this project. I primed this with gesso, and painted it a soft lilac colour, using Eco Green acrylic paint. I nearly always mix my own colours by combining a cream acrylic paint with a darker colour until I get the colour I want. I make sure that I have enough paint to finish my project though, as you never get the colour the same second time around! I then printed two of the spool sets onto card, and stuck two of the correct size together so that they would fit around the cotton reel. I edged the card with a little bit of Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I then stuck the downloads to the cotton reel.

I stamped three smaller flowers, and several leaves, colouring these with Distress Markers, toning the colours in with the download colours. I also stamped a couple of tiny Butterflies from the 'Butterfly Bliss stamp plate, and coloured these in as well. I stuck the flowers around the cotton reel, adding the leaves, and one of the butterflies.


I placed a large shrink plastic flower with two leaves that I had coloured on card earlier and the last remaining small butterfly onto the top of the cotton reel over a circle download. I punched a hole into the middle of the download where the hole in the cotton reel was situated.

My Husband very kindly provided me with a metal rod with three wires which he had attached through holes along the top part of the rod. I bent these to look like branches, and stuck beads on the end, and inserted the rod into the hole in the cotton reel, turning it into an earring holder.

I added leftover beads and jewellery findings to some shrink plastic images that I had made and hung these on my little 'tree'.

Here's a close up picture of the earrings:

These will be great for the Summer and only cost and pound or two to make. They are in my favourite colours, so they will go with lots of things that I wear. There is lots of space on my little holder for plenty more pairs of earrings, so I am going to rummage through my stamps to see what else I can shrink to make into jewellery.

Thanks for stopping by, xx