Introducing Claire

I am delighted to introduce a new face to the Design Team, Claire Chapman who has been a fan of our stamps for quite a while.  Claire has been good enough to answer a few questions that I put to her on what it is that inspires her and why she loves our stamps so much.

Click on any of the images below for a larger view.

How did you first hear about Chocolate Baroque?

I'd been a huge fan of Elusive Images and Graphicus for a long time since seeing Glenda demonstrate on Create and Craft. I was immediately hooked on the style and elegance of the designs and began my collection of stamps. Soon afterwards I joined the Graphicus Guild and learnt so many techniques from the monthly newsletter. I was lucky enough to find out about Chocolate Baroque as soon as it was launched through the newletter emails and placed my first order that very day.

What is it you like about our stamps?
Chocolate Baroque stamps have their own style and elegance and of course the quality is always superb. The stamps are really well thought out, they work together so well and I love the fact that I can often mix and match stamps from new themeplates with some of the stamps I have had for years. Chocolate Baroque stamps seem to bring out the best in my crafting,

What was the first set you bought?
The first set of stamps I bought was a set of 3 DL sheets, Unicorns, Gossamer Wings and Dragonfly Faeries. I fell in love with the delicate images and I still use them all the time. They are perfect for brayered scenes which I love to make but they combine beautifully with lots of other stamps. I've made so many projects with these stamps and they have all been different, everything from cards to canvases and even jewellery.

Do you have a favourite stamp set?
Its really difficult to choose a favourite stamp set, rather like asking a mother to choose a favourite child lol. Usually its the set I'm currently working and at the minute I'm really enjoying Steampunk Christmas but if I was on a desert island and could only have one set it would have to be Peacock Ladies. This is another set I've used again and again and the stamps lend themselves to so many different techniques they would keep me amused for a long time. I think the set I use the most though is Autumn Hedgerow, this set is always on my workdesk as I use it all the time. The stamps are perfect for creating backgrounds and adding depth to any scene.

Where do you get your inspiration?
I get inspiration from so many places sometimes from crafting magazines or blog hopping. I often find ideas pop up when I'm out and about and see a colour palette in a shop, a beautiful sunset or leaves blowing from the trees. I've had a huge amount of inspiration from the Chocolate Baroque Guild and also browsing all the beautiful artwork on the Chocolate Baroque Group too. Most of my ideas come from the stamps themselves though, as soon as I get new stamps I think about how I'm going to use them, what techniques and materials I want to use and make some notes so I don't forget

Do you have a favourite technique?
My favourite technique is probably trying new techniques. I love making my own background and just messing around with paint and ink. I think my absolute favourite technique is masking as its so useful and can be used in projects. It always seemed very complicated but once I'd got the hang of it I find it gives my stamps a whole new lease of life as I can combine several stamps in one project and get a seamless result . I didn't have a lot of luck with post it notes but now I use Eclipse masking tape and get a much better result. My other current favourite is colouring with pencils and promarkers, I recently took one of Glenda's online courses through My Creative Classroom and I've learnt so much. I find it so relaxing to sit and colour after a long day at work
 

Do you have any tips for beginners?
Tips for beginners..... I think my top tip would be to have a go if you see a technique or project that you really like. A new technique often takes a bit of practice so don't worry about making a mess of things. If it goes wrong you're only throwing some paper or card and often you'll be surprised at what you can do.

My other tips are to use tack'n'peel on your acrylic blocks instead of EZmount if you need to save some pennies and to dust your fingers with an antistatic bag before you handle glossy card for brayering so you don't get fingermarks on the card.

What’s on your Chocolate Baroque wishlist right now?

As a Chocolate Baroque addict, my wish list is always very long but at the top right now is the gorgeous Nature Swirls A4 themeplate which I haven't got around to getting yet. I love the combination of elegant swirls and the whimsical owls and birds in the tree. I've also got my eye on Family Christmas too, I don't know how I resisted that one last year but it will be perfect for traditional Christmas cards especially with the new Spirit of Christmas downloads.

You can see more of Claire's artwork on her blog, Claire's Crafty Creations or on our community site and Claire will be sharing some of her first DT projects both here and on her own blog very soon.