Reuse, Recycle

Hello everyone, I hope that you are keeping well. I have a few projects to share with you today featuring stamps from this month's TV shows on Create and Craft.

My first project features a bit of recycling, and when I showed it Lesley, we both laughed, as we had both thought up very similar projects! I started by creating a vibrant background using red, orange and yellow Brushos on a piece of Drawing Cartridge. These backgrounds are a great starting point for a project and you could have a crafty afternoon making lots of them and save them for later.

I then cut up a brown paper shopping bag, the sort that you get your groceries in from a supermarket, and ironed a smalled piece nice and flat. I stamped the Poppy Ledger image using Versafine Clair Nocturne ink. I put a small amount of yellow, orange, red and olive green Brusho onto an acrylic block and gently spritzed each colour with water. I used a brush and some extra water to paint the image with these colours. I then used a couple of the colours to splat the image with my brush afterwards, to make it look a bit older. 

I added a piece of scrap card behind the image to make it a bit stiffer, then attached it to a piece of corrugated card that I had trimmed to become a mount. I think that this card would look great with some little tickets and some twine added to finish it off, don't you?

I have a couple of older projects to share with you. On my next project, I decided to stamp the lovely focal image from Fragile Wings onto dark blue card for a change. I used white pencil for highlights and than added some blue and green pencil for a pop of colour. The blue/green background uses a couple of useful background stamps that tie in well with the main image.

 

Next, this card featuring Floral Study is another older card, but I like the greens contrasted with the pinks and oranges, it feels quite warm. I have added stamping from the Glorious stamp set in the background, and used watercolour pencils to colour the main image.

I am also sharing some projects using some stamps from the tree house stamps that we brought to the shows. My next project uses the fabulous Tree House stamp set, and I chose to stamp the image onto a piece of patterned paper created by Lesley a while ago. The paper had lovely pink and green elements, and this became the basis for my colour scheme. I created a background for the card using Picked Raspberry and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks, then added a tree image and sentiment from the Trees a Crowd stamp set using a dark green ink. I stamped both repeatedly over the background.

I coloured the focal image with pencils, and then added extra shading around the main image and background using the Picked Raspberry Distress Ink.

You could create a similar look if you did not have the patterned paper, using a piece of black and white script paper or a piece of plain smooth white stamping card. You could add script and a subtle floral image to the plain background, or some coloured stamping to the script background, plus a bit of shading. You can very easily achieve a patterned background that looks every bit as nice as the one that I started out with.

I have some older 'house' projects to share with you today, to round off this month's selection. I hope that you enjoy them. 

This one is created using the Mushroom House, and the moon reflecting on the house at night.

This one is the Heath Robinson House. I stamped the main image on a tag, coloured it with pencils, and used one of the sentiments to create a background over a gelli print.

 This one is Italian House, with a couple of Trees from Orchard Design a Tree, words from Words of Wisdom, and circles from Make Your Mark. I have added texture paste through a stencil and coloured the images with pencils.

This card was created using the Dutch House, and a tree from Trees a Crowd. I wanted the colourful houses to look like a street in Amsterdam in the Spring. 

Finally, a project from the Garden House. I stamped the image onto book paper, using the Tagtastic stamp as a frame. I added a couple of bees from the Honey Bee set and a sentiment onto the watercoloured background.

Thanks so much for stopping by and take care xx

Bottle and Jug and a Cup of Tea!

Hello everyone, I hope that you are keeping well. I have a project to share with you from last month's TV shows on The Craft Store. 

I found a background in my stash that I thought would be perfect to use with Kim Moody's Bottle and Jug stamp, and so my card was dictated by these colours. I had coloured the original background with tea and added an image from Baroque Ephemera 1. I then dry brushed the background with pale blue acrylic paint.

I stamped the main image onto a smaller piece of tea dyed drawing cartridge to match the main background. I masked the image and stamped a tree from Trees a Crowd, and added blossoms from Orchard Design a Tree stamp set. I added a few splats using a stamp from the Timeless stamp set. I removed the mask and coloured the image with pencils.

These images have been an absolute delight to work with and are so versatile.

Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and take care.

Judith xx

Sending Hugs

Hello everyone, I am sharing my last post for this month, and once again, hoping that you are all safe and well. 

 

My first card was created using a stamp from last month's TV shows on Hochanda, Floral Grunge, and I have mixed it with a few other images to create a card that could be used for lots of different occasions. The sentiment I felt was particularly apt for now when lots of people could do with a hug, but we cannot give them one.

 

I started my card by stamping the main image onto Drawing Cartridge using Versafine Clair ink. I masked the flower head and then stamped and embossed the film strip from Butterfly Mind. I used the same colour ink, but added clear embossing powder over the top. I added a few extra splodges with a stamp from the same stamp set around the flower head and then removed the mask. I coloured the image using Polycolour pencils, before replacing the mask, and adding more splodges of colour with Distress Oxides to tone in with the colours that I chose to colour the flower head. The sentiment is from Amazing Mackintosh Words.

I am also sharing some older cards that I made using some of Kim Moody's stamps, that were also featured on last month's shows. Sadly I did not have a chance to make any fresh samples with these fabulous stamps, but I thought you might like to see some of these again...

A street made from all of the houses, using a bit of masking, and I added some treees from Trees a Crowd in the background. This was such fun to make!

A moving day, who would not like to get away from it all and live in such a picturesque spot? We live near the forest and love taking long walks in the woods.

White embossing on kraft always looks so effective, especially painted with Koh-I-Noor paints.

This almost spooky version of the Posh House was another favourite sample that I enjoyed putting together with the trees.

I will be back next month with some projects from our One Day Special shows. Thanks so much for stopping by. Take care and stay safe, xx

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

Tree of Hope

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all keeping well during these uprecedented times. Life is still very uncertain for lots of us, and for this blog post, I wanted to create a card with a message of optimism.

I started my project with a piece of kraft card, and stamped a large image from Trees a Crowd, using brown Archival ink. I added a little image from Sticks and Stones as foliage, using first and second generation stamping. I coloured the image using Koh-I-Noor watercolour pencils, and ran a waterbrush only over the first generation stamped images, as I wanted the colours in the other images to remain very soft. Adding water tends to brighten the colour somewhat. I added some colour under the tree to ground the image. A sentiment from Patchwork Landscape was perfect for this card.

To create a border, I ran the edge of an old credit card through the inkpad, and drew it along the card at various angles around the edge of the background. I added some shading with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink.

Thanks for stopping by, and take care, xx

Tall Houses

Hello everyone, I am sharing a few projects today showcasing the beautiful stamps that we shared on last month's TV shows on Hochanda. These lovely house stamps designed by Sue Page were such a delight to work with, and demonstrate, as always, Sue's eye for detail and her talent as a designer. We celebrated Sue's wonderful work during these shows, and she will be sadly missed. Her artwork will continue to be appreciated through your projects and creativity.

My first project is a colourful street created using the Dutch House stamp set. I stamped the image several times, masking the image to enable me to add the subsequent images slightly behind the first central image. I also added some background foliage by stamping a tree from Trees A Crowd. I coloured the background using Distress Ink, then set to colouring the houses with Polychromos pencils.

For my second project, I stamped the Bridge House onto a piece of scrapbook paper using Archival Ink, and coloured it with pencils once again. I stamped foliage from Silhouette Grasses onto an Acrylic Tag using Plum and Olive Archival Ink and allowed this to dry completely. I covered the paper with Matte Medium and stuck it to the tag.

My final project was a TV demo, showing how to create a project with just three colours. I used some Koh-I-Noor acrylic paints to splatter across a piece of kraft card to create a very quick background. I then stamped the Turret House onto a piece of watercolour paper and coloured the image using the same three colours of paint; red, blue and yellow, mixing them to create orange, purple, brown and grey, by simply adding a little bit of one of the colours each time.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Too Hot for Christmas?

Hello everyone, I have a few projects to show you today, and thought that I would start with some of the cards that I made featuring the delightful A Tomte Christmas stamp set. I stamped the large gnome and masked him before adding a background using a torn paper mask and Distress Ink in blue and grey tones. I added first and second generation stamped trees from the Trees a Crowd stamp set.

I removed the mask and coloured the image with Koh-I-Noor pencils and added some soft pencil shading around the base of the trees to ground them.

For my second card, I used the trio of gnomes, and started by colouring a die cut oval using Distress Ink. I stamped the image onto a spare piece of card using brown ink and I coloured the image with Distress Ink and a water brush, adding pencil shading over the top. I fussy cut the image and attached it to the oval.

I created a little tag and stamped the sentiment, adding some baker's twine. To assemble the card, I used a piece of music paper as a background, added brown card as a matting layer and some pretty red ribbon to finish.

I liked the vintage colours on this card, and made a matching tag using one of the circular acrylic baubles that we had on the show. I used Archival Ink to stamp the image, acrylic paint to colour the image, and again used music paper for the background.

My final project for today also features the acrylic tags. I coloured them with alcohol inks, and stamped on top of them using white acrylic paint. I used images from the Shaded Baubles stamp set and The Christmas Garden. As long as you clean your stamps straight away, you can use paint to stamp with, no problem.

I chose a mixture of bright colours for the tags. These would look great on the tree at Christmas, or as beautiful sun catchers hung in a window.

I added matching twine and a bit of Stickles for a bit more bling.

It has been almost too hot to create Christmas cards at this time of year, but lots of you will be thinking about making your Christmas cards now to get ahead. These stamp designs are brilliant for lots of projects and I will be back later in the month with some quick batch card ideas for you.

Thanks for stopping by,
xx

Kim's Houses

I have a few cards to share today showcasing the newest collection of stamps by Kim Moody. Kim created these fabulous houses as a set that could be put together as a street, or equally work brilliantly as stand alone images. He has also drawn some smaller add on images which are so useful for creating scenes and completing your artwork.

 The Posh House is sure to make you smile, it really is very delapidated, with its crumbling plaster, exposed brickwork, and an air of genteel neglect. It is calling out to be fixed up, and its name suggests that it feels superior to its neighbours who are in far better shape!

I have used Distress Oxides for my backgrounds, and added a large tree image from the Trees a Crowd stamp set to finish the card. The sentiment is also one from Kim's stamp plates, something new this time.

Our House is a super tall skinny house, great for creating terraces, or again, as a stand alone house. The little cat looking up at the pie in the open window, the milk bottles, and the bird on the roof, are all great little details.

I used an acrylic tag, stamped with Archival Ink and painted the image with acrylic paints. I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of patterned paper and then attached it to back of the tag with matte medium.

I stamped and masked the house, created a wash of colour over the background with Distress Inks. I added a woodland using trees from Trees a Crowd, and then added the little removal van. I coloured the images with pencils.

Gran's House is full of character with the beams and the wonky handrail on the steps. The cracked plaster on the walls and the lovely old door simply add to the quirky nature of the house.

I chose kraft card and white embossing to create my card. I added trees from the Trees a Crowd stamp set, omitting the trunk from one of them to make it look like a bush instead. I used a Versamark pen to complete the landscape, and added the embossing powder over the top. I coloured the images with Koh-I-Noor paints.

I have used some of the little words to create a set of party invitations by stamping onto Gelli plate backgrounds. These were really quick and easy, and made in just a couple of minutes. I added a faux stitched border with a fine liner pen.

The Shop is asuch a detailed image, every time you look, there is something else to see. Check out the little mouse underneath the boxes, and Kim's signature bird on the roof. You can have so much fun planning which colours to use for all of the fruit and vegetables.

I used Masking Tissue to mask The Shop, and Posh House so that I could stamp the other two houses afterwards. I then masked all of the houses to add a Pan Pastel background and trees from Trees a Crowd in first and second generation stamping. I coloured the images with pencils.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

Stamping on Patterned Paper

Hello everyone, I have some more projects to share with you today showcasing the beautiful bookmark style houses that we brought to Hochanda last month. These three projects formed part of a TV demo that I did on one of the shows. I wanted to demonstrate how to stamp onto a patterned surface, and when an image is coloured, the image pops out, and the patterned surface recedes to the background.

I used a piece of Lesley's Chic Script Designer paper pack, and cut  a piece of the script paper to size. I stamped the Tree House onto the paper. I added a few lines at the bottom using a fineliner pen to finish the landscape, and coloured the image with pencils. I added shading with grey pencil for added depth.

I took a plain piece of green paper from the pach, and using one of the trees from Trees a Crowd and a sentiment, I created a piece of background paper using Pistachio Memento Ink. This was really quick to create, and you can have your own designer background in minutes! I inked the edges of both pieces of paper with the green ink for definition. As you can see, the script paper looks great as a background, and the house sits really well on the pattern.

For my second card, I used the large Tagtastic stamp and stamped onto a piece of book paper. I stamped the Garden House image inside the tag, and coloured the image with pencils once again. I added a bit of shading on the background using Distress Inks.

For the large background, I used a large acrylic block and added pink, blue and green Distress Oxide which I spritzed with water. I smooshed it across a piece of drawing cartridge in one go. I stamped two bees from the Honey Bee stamp set, and added a sentiment. I coloured the bees with pencils and added Stickles to the wings.

For my final card, I created a gelli print background, adding a bubble effect texture, and stamping a sentiment randomly over the background. I used a Crafty Individuals script effect tag and stamped the Heath Robinson House, which I then coloured with pencils. I added bright red highlights which I matched with a bright red ribbon. I added shading to the tag with Distress Inks, matching the colour of the gelli print background.

I hope that you have enjoyed my projects this month, I will be back next month with lots more to share with you, thanks for stopping by, xx