Quick Gelli Print Cards

Hello everyone, I have a couple of cards to share using the stamps featured on last month's TV shows on Hochanda. Both cards follow the same basic recipe, but with a few tweaks here and there, I have created two very different cards, one for a male and one for a female recipient.

If you have a spare afternoon, create a few gelli print backgrounds, or rummage through some of the backgrounds that you have already made to see if you have something suitable for this project. I simply used a brayer to apply two colours of Distress Ink to the gelli plate, then stamped a dotty tool over the top to get the background effect before pulling the prints. You could press bubble wrap onto the gelli plate for a similar effect.

For my first card, I stamped and embossed a couple of cog images from the Punky Flowers stamp plate along the bottom of the background, using gold embossing powder. I stamped an image from Steampunk Funky Fish and added a sentiment from Punky Expressions, using Archival Ink. I coloured the images using Koh-I-Noor watercolour pencils. Finally, I edged the background with blue Distress Ink.

For my second card, I created the background in exactly the same way, and then stamped an image from Punky Flowers using Archival Ink. I masked the flowers and stamped the image again a few times using Versafine Clair in a toning orange colour. I added a sentiment from Punky Expressions, and coloured the images with pencils as before. Before I attached my background to the card, I edged it with pink Distress Ink.

Punky Expressions is a very versatile stamp set, with words for lots of different occasions. These cards will be great for lots of different purposes, and can be sent to cheer someone up, just because, or for a particular reason. I hope that you will be inspired by my projects and try the ideas out for yourselves.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

A Steampunk Garden

Hello everyone, I have a project to share with you today, featuring stamps from last month's TV shows on Hochanda.

I love a bit of steampunk every now and then, and these sets are amongst my favourites. I have created a garden scene using flowers from the Punky Flowers stamp set, stamped onto tissue paper, coloured with Polychromos pencils, and adhered to a painted canvas with matte medium. I then stamped the owl from Steampunk Birds onto a piece of drawing cartridge, coloured it with pencils as before, and attached the image with wet glue.

The sentiment is from Punky Expressions.

Thanks for stopping by, xx

More TV Show samples

Hello everyone, I hope that you have been tuning in to Lesley's and Dawn Bibby's recent TV shows on the Craft Channel. They have been showcasing the Chocolate Baroque stamps superbly, and the demos have been absolutely fantastic. It has been great to see some of our older stamps getting an update using newer products, and I have thoroughly enjoyed using them again.

Lots of my DT projects have been having another airing, which has been great. I made several of them ages ago, and it is lovely to see them still giving inspiration to people. You can check out my Pinterest board here: https://uk.pinterest.com/judithsmith45/my-own-cards-and-projects/ if you care to scroll through, you will see lots of the cards featured on the various shows, but I thought that I would share a few with you.

Dawn saw this card on a recent show featuring the texture stamps, and instantly fell in love with the peacock stamps:

My other texture samples at the time were these: A tag using the Fancy Flowers stamp set

 A canvas created using acetate for the central window motif and dimensional flower embellishments.

 A mixed media piece using scrap cardboard as the base, fabric for the stamping, and acetate for the bird cages.

The peacock related show showcased a lot of my samples, and I remebered having a lot of fun creating these:

I used sari waste as part of the tail on this peacock, showing how you can use elements from the stamp plate to design your own bird.

I always love to mix and match the stamps that I have, and using the bodices from one of the haberdashery stamp sets, gave me a chance to be a dress designer for a day!

I have had a lot of fun using my gelli plate to create new samples for some of the shows, and the following cards show a cleaner style than some of my older cards, offering inspiration to make cards in a shorter amount of time. We don't always have hours to create something special, but want something that is nonetheless a little bit different:

Finally, a round up of a few more examples that were created for the shows, both old and new that you may have caught along the way:

This card was created using a sentiment and flourish from the Artistic Expressions stamp plate:

I hope that you have enjoyed my gathering of projects, and do please keep looking out for more shows coming up on the craft channel with Lesley and Dawn, showcasing the stamps from Chocolate Baroque. You never know, you might see something else that I have created ;) Thanks for stopping by, xx

Set Sail

Hello everyone, this is my final marine themed post for the Design Team this month. I have really enjoyed working with these stamps, and have lots more ideas for them. Hopefully once I get Christmas over, I will have a bit more time to play with them.

My project this time around uses the large ship image, which I wanted to portray sailing through a forest at the bottom of the ocean. I stamped the images and then embossed some cogs from the Punky Flowers stamp sheet. I coloured the background using Distress Inks, mixing lots of blues and greens, and then stamped a cog fragment from the Steampunk Butterfly stamp set over the top.

I coloured the images with Inktense pencils and added some fronds at the bottom of the page using the legs from the octopus taken from the stamp of the month set. Finally, I added a sentiment taken from the Steampunkery stamp set.

 Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Diverse Textures from Chocolate Baroque

Hi Folks, I have some cards to show you today using the Harlequin Fragments/Tangled Fragments multibuy from Chocolate Baroque . I wanted to show how versatile these stamps can be and have created three very different looking cards, using these great new stamps.

My first card was created using the watery background stamp, which I stamped onto a strip of white card, using black ink several times. I then created three pieces of decorated stampbord, using three layers of embossing powder and stamping into them while the last layer was still molten. I brushed a little bit of gold Perfect Pearl powder into the crevices to pick up the detail of the stamp. By stamping my background first, I could work out roughly where on the rubber stamp I needed to press to create the UTEE pieces to achieve a pattern running down the card.

I matted the background onto a piece of toning card, and stuck this onto a larger piece of black card. I added a sentiment taken from the Artistic Affirmations stamp set.

 

My second card was created using a piece of smooth watercolour paper, which I sprayed with diluted Weathered Wood Distress Ink. I then stamped the dotty stamp, and the stone effect stamp using the same colour over the background. I embossed the single stone spine in the centre using platinum embossing powder. I added some ferns around the edges, taken from the Wild Meadow stamp set using Pear Tart and Sweet Plum Memento Inks.

I stamped and embossed a flower from the Tangled Garden stamp set, plus the leaf fragment using platinum embossing powder, which I then painted with Splash inks. I decoupaged the flower, added the larger leaves to the stem, and used the smaller leaves for a grass effect. Finally, I added a sentiment from the Amazing Birthday clear stamp set to the background.

 

My third card was created again using watercolour paper for my background. I sprayed the paper with turquoise Dylusions spray, rolling off some of the intense colour for a paler effect. I added a touch of Perfect Pearls turquoise spray at this point. I stamped the large bubbles stamp, and the dotty harlequin stamp with forget-me-not archival ink over the background, and then added some Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges to age the colour slightly.

I embossed the butterfly from the Steampunk Buterfly stamp set and some flowers from the Punky Flowers stamp set, using copper embossing powder. I coloured them with splash inks. I added a stamped swirl from the Artistic Expressions stamp plate to resemble leafy tendrils behind the flowers. The sentiment was taken from the Amazing Birthday clear stamp set.

If you love our DT blog then keep your eyes open for something new and colourful coming next week. All will be revealed soon, keep visiting the DT blog to make sure you don’t miss it. Getting excited yet?

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

It's a Hoot

Hi Folks, I have a sample to show you today featuring the new Steampunk Birds unmounted stamp set from Chocolate Baroque. I have used a small chipboard frame which I have painted with blue and brown paint, and then covered it with Tim Holtz tissue wrap. I added a coat of matte medium to protect the tissue wrap and left this to dry. I added more paint over the areas that I wanted to highlight, like the buildings and the butterflies.

I stamped and embossed the owl using copper embossing powder, and also stamped some flowers from the Punky Flowers stamp set. I coloured these using Distress Markers. I die cut a branch from brown card, and assembled my project, adding some brass cogs, and a spinner. Finally, I added a sentiment from the new stamp set.

I will be back in a few days with another sample, showcasing these quirky steampunk birds. 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

Zentangle Fairy

Hi Folks, I have a project with a difference for you today, which I'm also posting on my other blog

I'm using the new stamp set from Chocolate Baroque called Punky Flowers, but this time, I wanted to incorporate them into a piece of Zentangle Inspired Art. I am a huge admirer of this kind of work, but rarely get the time to dabble in any tangling myself these days. I recently purchased a new Zentangle book called 'The Art of Zentangle', which is a collaberation by four women, one of whom, Norma J. Burnell, draws the most beautiful fairies. The book actually has a very easy step by step piece included, and I used this to help me plan my project. I had never drawn most of the tangles before, but slow work and planning as to where the stamps needed to go paid off. I will certainly draw more of these fairies, as I found the whole process very relaxing, and want to create some more now!

I have given her green eyes, as my Daughter has green eyes. Normally my fairies have brown hair, just like my Daughter as well, but I wanted to keep my tangles black and white, which seemed to add to the design, rather than take anything away.

I hope that this has given you another idea for these lovely stamps, don't forget to keep popping over to the Design Team Blog to see what my team mates have been up to. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Punky Butterflies

Hi Folks, here's another sample using those fabulous Punky Flowers from Chocolate Baroque. I've been using the Dylusions sprays to make my backgrounds again, this time I used some zingy pinks and yellows. I stamped some of the large flowers onto the large background with Distress Inks, and then swiped the edge with some pink to give it a darker border.

I stamped a focal flower onto the circle, and bleached the flowers so that I could colour them with my Polychromos pencils. I added some stamped coils along the bottom of the circle in gold and silver embossing powder. I made two butterflies using petals from the same focal flower, and added metal corners for their bodies, and coiled wire for their antennae. The sentiment comes from the Butterfly Dreams stamp set.

Watch out for my next sample, it's a bit different! Thanks for stopping by, xx

More Punky Flowers

Hi Folks, here's another sample using the new Punky Flowers stamp set from Chocolate Baroque. I've made a background using Distress Inks and a couple of Crafter's Workshop templates. For the first one, I stippled Black Soot Distress Ink through the template, and for the second one, I just used the same background colours to create a shadow effect.

I then cut a large circle and using the same colours of Distress Ink, I made another background, using the wrinkle free distress technique, adding some metallic Distress Stain to the background. I stamped and embossed some cogs and coils around the outside of the circle to create a border.

I stamped and coloured some bulb flowers on shrink plastic, before shrinking them. I cut out a bell jar, using a Tim Holtz die. The clear top was cut from Clearly for Art, so that I could mould the shape slightly. I stamped and coloured two bats from the Steampunk Butterfly stamp set, and added some heart buttons for their bodies.

This is such a versatile stamp set, and it really had the Design Team thinking overtime. Keep popping over to the Design Team blog to see what my team mates have been up to. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Under the Sea

Hi Folks, I have a project showcasing the new Punky Flowers stamp plate from Chocolate Baroque

The stamp plate is a mixture of lovely flowers with coils and cogs, big floral designs, and some Art Deco style flowers thrown in as well. It's a great stamp plate.

I created a background using Dylusions sprays and water, taking some of the colour away with kitchen paper, and layering the colour until I was happy with the effect. I added a texture stamp to add to the watery feel of the background. I stamped the flowers and a seaweed stamp along the bottom of the paper, and bleached the flowers so that I could colour them with pencils. I added a decoupaged mermaid, also coloured with pencils. I have used Inktense pencils for this projects, and they give a lovely vibrant feel to the piece. I added a word from the Artistic Expressions stamp set, it's a great set to use when you want to add a large focal word to a project, and I love the different fonts in the set. I added some silver embossing powder, and blue glitter glass to a couple of the corners, and my card was finished.

I'll be back in a few days with another project to show you, but keep popping over to the Design Team Blog where my Team mates will be posting lots of inspiration for you as well. Thanks for stopping by, xx