All about feathers (by Anne)

Good morning. Today I am sharing a few cards created with the ‘I Shall Be Your Wings’ stamp set .

My first is a colourful bunch of feathers in a shabby chic style.

I first stamped the feathers onto copy paper and cut them out to create masks. A few dots of Zig 2-way glue were applied to the back to hold the masks in place. This glue gives a temporary tac if left to fully dry before sticking down. Alternatively this could be done using the special Masking Tissue which comes with a tacky back. These masks can then be kept and re-used multiple times.

The feathers were stamped with multi-coloured dye based ink, layering images with masks and working from foreground to background. The sentiment was stamped with Versafine (Vintage Sepia). A drop shadow was added around the feathers using pale watercolour pen ink applied with a brush (to add more 3D depth).

Kraft card and the stamped panel were trimmed to fit an A5 card blank. The craft card was distressed using the edge of scissors, the stamped panel edged with alcohol marker to frame. A little Stickles (Crystal) was added for sparkle.

My second is a 6X6 inch card embellished with 3D shaped cut out feathers.

Faux stitching was added around the edge of the card, and small dots drawn, using a fine tipped opaque white pen.

The feathers were stamped onto a slightly paler version of Kraft card using Versamark and sparkly aqua embossing powder. These were then cut out and lightly shaped with a ball tool before gluing to the card front with 3D glue gel. Finished with a ribbon bow.

My third is another 6 X 6 inch card using a lovely background paper from Crafty Individuals (Shades of Summer). This particular pad is usually available on the Chocolate Baroque website (but depends on stock).

The paper was glued to a card blank and faux stitching added around the edge using a fine tipped pen. The sentiment was stamped with Versafine (Vintage Sepia). A little watercolour pen was painted over the image to help at more ‘weight’ to the base.

The feathers were stamped onto Kraft card using Versamark and sparkly aqua embossing powder, cut out and lightly shaped before sticking over a die cut birdy using 3D glue gel. Eye and leg details were added with fine tipped pen. A little clear sparkle pen was brushed over the bird for extra shimmer.

lords & ladies (by Veronica)

 Today I have two cards using the lords & ladies flower stamp, and, of course, brusho powders.
The first one was stamped in brown ink and masked using Pebeo drawing gum before sprinkling blue and yellow brusho and spritzing with water. I also used the same colours on another piece of card to create the background piece.
Once everything was dry. I rubbed off the masking fluid and trimmed both pieces down to fit a 5"x7" white card blank, edging both pieces with a black marker before gluing down


The second card had a distress ink background
after stamping and masking the flower, adding the inks to a blending mat, spritzing with water and mopping up with the card. I added the foliage stamp in grey once everything was dry and before rubbing off the masking fluid.
I added shading with grey ink and a waterbrush, then used yello and green brusho with a waterbrush to add more colour to the leaves and the stamen. Green marker round the edges, and a 6"square card blank to finish.

Natural Colours by Penny

Goodly Morning lovely peeps, and a very warm welcome to you all.  Today it is my pleasure to share a couple of projects with you featuring the beautiful stamps from last month's tv shows.  So grab a cuppa and spend a few minutes getting crafty with me.  

Nature's Colours.

For this card I have used stamps from the Lords and Ladies, Artistic Affirmations, Square Bubbles and The Rose Tree sets: Distress Inks, crayons, white embossing powder, Kraft card.

On a piece of Cartridge paper I scribbled three colours of crayons randomly all over it, then blended them with water using my finger.

When dry I stamped and embossed the  Square Bubbles in white all over the background panel.  I then used a white marker pen around the panel edges and matted it onto Kraft card.

On another piece of Kraft card I stamped and embossed the bunch of grasses image in white, then painted it with Distress Inks. I did the same with a sentiment and a bee then cut them out as panels and edged them with white pen as before.  I cut the bee out separately.

I took a cream base card and stamped the focal image along both sides before attaching the background panel.  I then attached the panels and the bee to complete this cheerful card.


Feather Bookmark.

This is a lovely quick and easy project.  I have used a stamp from the I Shall Be Your Wings set; colouring pencils, colouring Kraft card, coloured card, ribbons and pearls from my stash.  

I used an offcut of colouring Kraft card for this little project, and stamped one of  the feathers with Versamark ink and embossed it with white powder.  I then stamped and embossed the sentiment underneath it.  I coloured the images with pencils, adding a shadow line around them, then  I added white marker pen to the edges.

I took a piece of coloured card and cut it slightly wider and about 10cm longer.  I then cut a fringe  at one end.

I attached the focal panel to the coloured card base.  I then added some ribbon and ric - rac in         co-ordinating colours, and some tiny pearls.  Not only is this a quick and pretty project to create, you can use up some of your spare card off cuts too!


Thank you all for dropping in today, see you again soon,


                                                                               Penny xx

Faerie Garden (by Deborah)

Hello everyone, here is the second post this month from our new Guest Design Team member Deborah Wainwright. Deborah has created a fantasy journal piece using a mixture of stamp sets.

Hello everyone, Debs here with my second Guest Design piece. This week I'm using my 8" x "8 journal. I blended the colours from the Little Birdie chalk paint set, Faded Denim, Muted Teal and Tattered Lace, to form the base of my background. Then with an Olive Archival ink I lightly stamped the leaves from Big Bold Leafy Background and heat dried it. Using Koh-I-Noor watercolour paints in light green I painted the leaves.


The next layer was a repeat of the last, using black Archival ink, again heat set and painted in shades of green. I then stamped the small fairies from May Fairy, as well as the butterflies. I placed them where they would be looking at my centre focal point, which was the fairy  from the March Fairy stamp set, stamped onto watercolour paper and fussy cut out. She was again painted with the watercolours, building the colours with layers to create shades and lights.

I also stamped some flowers from March Fairy and leaves to surround the focal point, and add some interest. I used a different hue of blue for the leaves so as not to blend with the background greens. To finish, I created a black border using the swirl stamp from March as a guide and then filled in from the stamp to the edge of the page. This created a series of ups and downs which looks random but in fact was quite deliberate.

I hope you enjoyed my second project and I look forward to seeing you all next week.

Hugs, Debs xx

Mostly Masking (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I have several projects to share with you today showcasing the lovely stamps featured on the May TV shows on Hochanda. We also took Masking Tissue onto the show, and a lot of my projects reflected the use of this product.

For my first card,  I created a Pan Pastel background, tearing strips of paper to create hills, and adding a green colour at the bottom half of the card, toning in some grey as I moved up the card, to represent hills in the distance. I created a sky using blue and pink pastel coloured tones.

I stamped the floral spray from the Lords and Ladies stamp set repeatedly across the lower half of the card, varying the height of the stamp. I added a stamp from the Silhouette Grasses stamp set using second and third generation stamping for this stamp, to create some depth, as if there were a meadow of flowers. Two little butterflies from the Baroque Meadow stamp plate, and a sentiment from the Words to Dazzle and Sparkle stamp set completed the card. All of the stamping was done with a green Versafine ink, and the images were coloured with watercolour pencils.

I wanted to create a one layer card that would be cheap to send in the post, but still have the look of a multi layered card. Using a piece of masking tissue, I coloured a piece of drawing cartridge with Distress Ink, first around the outside of a central panel, adding shading, and then stamped over the background using the Square Bubbles stamp. I then removed the mask, and added the corresponding reverse mask, leaving the central panel uncovered, and inked the edges of that area with the same background colour as before.

I stamped the foliage stamp from the Rose Duo stamp set using first and second generation stamping in blue and green dye based inks, then ensured that all of the ink was completely dry. I stamped and embossed the foliage image with Versamark Ink and copper embossing powder. An optional extra at this point was to edge the background with Versamark and tip copper embossing powder over the edges, before embossing the foliage.

My next two cards are based on a very similar colour scheme to each other, and use the lovely Cuckoo Pint image from the Lords and Ladies stamp set. For the first card, I created a background using the foliage stamp from the previous card, stamping onto kraft card with a plum coloured ink. I created the main image by stamping the Cuckoo Pint, masking the image, and again stamping the foliage, again using plum coloured ink for stamping. I coloured the flower with pencils. adding Distress Ink to the background for a soft finish.

The next card was created by adding Brushos to kraft card and spritzing them with water. I added some toning hessian, a button and ribbon to the background. To create the focal piece, I stamped the Cuckoo Pint, and masked the image before stamping the On The Tiles image. I coloured the image with Distress Inks and a water brush. The two images have been coloured in similar colours, but the different mediums give a very different effect.

I hope tht you are enjoying the DT's projects with these lovely stamps, do keep checking in for more inspiration. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Fifteen Minute Cards

Hello everyone, it's time for our monthly look at projects that can be completed in fifteen minutes or less, brought to you by the Design Team as a whole. We aim to inspire you with quick and easy projects, sharing our top tips and time saving ideas. If you are a beginner stamper, or someone simply looking to complete a card in a hurry, then these blog posts are for you. We can show you great ideas for batch cards, craft fairs or cards to stockpile for later, for those unforseen occasions. We hope that you will enjoy this month's selection. Grab a cuppa, and take a look.

We have two cards from Rachel to start this month's post. Her first card was created by stamping the silhouette image from the Rose Duo stamp set over a Distress Ink background using black ink. She stamped the On The Tiles image directly onto the card blank, and then placed the coloured background over the top.

To create her second card, she embossed the feathers using Versamark and white embossing powder, then added Brushos over the background, spritzing them with water.

Another fabulous Brusho background from Brenda here, she has used beautiful Autumnal colours, stamped her main image, and bleached the colours from the image.

 She has created two cards using the fabulous feather stamps next, showing how you can create very different looks by varying the colours of your inks. The first card uses coloured Distress Inks for the feathers, and then black ink for the sentiment:

The next card uses a monochrome colour scheme, and she has added a few sequins for embellishment:

 Her final card, again sticking to a simple colour scheme has been created very quickly, but looks very elegant with the addition of a beautiful bow, and toning blue card as a matting layer. She has added the very versatile Square Bubbles stamp to form a frame around the main image:

We have a real mixed bag of projects from Magda this month. This delightful first card has been created with some of our seaside stamps, and would be perfect for the men in your life, or someone who loves the sea. A gentle hint of watercolour is all that has been used to complete the card.

For her second card, she has created layers of stencilled Distress Ink:

To create this next card, she blended a background with Distress Ink, then dabbed a wet piece of kitchen towel through a stencil to remove some of the ink. The image and sentiment were stamped with more Distress Ink.

The flowers on this next cheery card were simply stamped with Distress Ink.

Her final two projects show how you can create very different looks using the same stamp. She has used watercolours to colour the stamp on white card first of all:

Secondly, she has used white and brown pencils on a kraft tag:

We have a burst of colour from Anne up next. She created the background by embossing the Square Bubbles stamp with Versamark and white embossing powder. The feather was stamped and embossed using an aqua coloured embossing powder, and the sentiment with white embossing powder. She then added water to the background and dropped colour from sparkle pens into the water. She blew the colour around using a straw. Her final touch was to add some sequins.

Anne's second card was created using shaped dies to cut the card blank and subsequent layers from black card and watercolour card. She stamped the background and sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black ink. She then stamped the foliage with a multi-coloured dye based inkpad, and spritzed it with water to soften and spread the images slightly. She edged the card with a black alcohol marker.
She placed a strip of copy paper over the sentiment to act as a mask, and stamped the foliage again, repeating without re-inking to create depth. Finally she added a tiny die cut bird.

For her final card, Anne stamped the rose image onto watercolour card with Versafine, and coloured the image with watercolour pens, colour was added directly into the darker areas and dragged out with a damp brush. She covered her image with a ready prepared mask and stamped the background with a pale coloured ink. Anne keeps a stash of masks for later use which she reuses over and over. As she says, you could just stamp around the edges, avoiding the image. She edged the card with a pen, and added faux stitching.

A very elegant card from Marga next, she has stamped a single feather, coloured it with Distress Ink, and cut it out. She has added it to the background with a matching bow.

Two cards from Carole, using kraft card are next. Carole has created a feminine card using the rose image, combined with elements from Loving Sentiments and Butterfly Poppy Collage. She embossed the images with gold embossing powder, the rose and message on white card, and the butterfly on parchment paper. She cut around the butterfly and tore around the rose. 

Her masculine card was created using stamps from Eccentric Edwardian, Steampunk Travel, Punky Expressions and Loving Sentiments. She used Sepia Versafine for the sentiment and background. The man, hat and message were stamped onto white card and cut out. The hat was coloured. The script and Best Wishes were stamped onto the card, and the card was edged with a border using a fine black pen.

Julie has created a very striking card this month, stamping the image from the Lords and Ladies stamp set using Versamark and silver embossing powder. She has added dots with a white paint pen around the image. She has then added a border using a ruler and a silver pen, before mounting the background onto a card blank.

Finally, I have created a background using a piece of drawing cartridge, adding lots of water, and brushing watercolour inks over the top. I sprinkled sea salt over the ink while it was wet and dried the background with a heat gun. (If I was not up against a fifteen minute deadline, I would have left the background to dry naturally). Once the background was dry, I brushed the salt away, and I stamped a leaf from the Tangled Garden stamp set, which I then masked, before stamping a large and a small feather twice. I drew some antennae using a fine liner pen, and added a touch of colour to the butterfly that I had created using Distress Ink. I blended the same colour of Distress Ink around the edge of the background. I added the main sentiment from the I Shall be Your Wings stamp set. A tiny bit of stickles glue was brushed over the wings to finish.

We hope that you have enjoyed this month's projects, and we will be back next month with more projects to share with you. Do keep visiting the blog for a daily dose of inspiration from the Design Team.

Thanks for stopping by,

Fountain Scene (by Rachel)

Hello everyone, Guest Design Team member Rachel is back today with her second blog post this month, sharing more inspiration with you.

Rachel writes:

Hello all! It's Rachel here again with another inspirational piece. I've chosen to make a card this time using the A6 stamp Fountain Scene. I've teamed it up with one from the Rustic Fragments set and also a sentiment from the See Beauty clear stamp set.

I started by stamping the fountain scene stamp using black ink, then roughly masked it before stamping over the edges with the burlap style stamp. Next I added some colour to the outside using some mica paint powders and spritzing them with water. Finally I coloured the image in using water based pens. The final step was to mount the picture and then add the stamped sentiment.

I hope I've given you a few ideas. Hugs, Rachel x

Rachel will be back next week with her final post of the month,