CAS for Halloween (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, I have a sample for you today using the Bewitched Moonlight stamp sheet. My sample was created by masking off the top and bottom of the card with a Post it note, using a ruler, to get a nice straight edge.

To begin, I stamped a small castle from the Howling Moon stamp sheet onto the background, and used a small piece of Post it note to mask off the moon. I then coloured the background with Distress Inks by blending them in a sideways motion, to create a streaky sky. I ensured that I used some yellow around the moon. I added some pieces of branch along the bottom, the witch and a sentiment. I then peeled away the Post it notes, and added a lace stamp from the Lace Fragments stamp sheet at the top and bottom of the background.

To finish, I added white highlights to represent the moonlight. This technique is called the bandana technique, and on a more complicated pattern, would look like a bandana scarf.

Please keep checking back for lots of inspiration from my Team mates over the coming days. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Bewitching new stamps - with a tempting giveaway!

We have just brought out some new stamps including some larger Christmas sentiments and some Halloween stamps.  I'm also doing a giveaway this month - details below.

The Bold Christmas Words are proving to be SO useful - they're big enough to be the focal point for a card which is great if you need to produce a batch of cards in a hurry (which I inevitably will, despite the best of intentions to have a stack of cards made in plenty of time!).

 

 

 

 

 

All of the words are available as individual stamps, or you can save money and buy them as a full set.

Here's a super quick card featuring the Big Bold Holly background and one of the new greetings.

This is a super simple card - the holly background is stamped in Versafine Olympia Green and layered onto red card.  The sentiment was stamped onto a die cut with a mix of Versafine Crimson Red and Satin Red.  I swirled the same reds around the edges too with a stencil brush.  A little ribbon and three crystals finish it off - super quick, job done.

For all you Halloween fans, we have two new rubber sets too.

These are both A5 sets and are both our featured Stamps of the Month, on special offer until the end of September.  Again, you can save money when you buy them both together as a multi-buy.

This Halloween card features a background I made with an acrylic block and Splash inks - a technique I covered in Monday Mojo issue 17.  I stamped the tree and bats and embossed with black embossing powder, then drew a horizon line and painted beneath it with black Golden Fluid Acrylic.  I stamped the toadstools and raven along the bottom with orange ink, then sanded the black paint lightly to make it more matte. 

I stamped the sentiment with Brilliance Moonlight white and embossed with white powder.  The witch is an old Martha Stewart punch which actually has a cauldron on, but I cut it into a broomstick shape instead.  There's also a punched railing along the bottom, but the camera struggled to pick up the black on black there so you'll have to take my word for it.

I've got a few of the words and a set each of the Halloween stamps to give away this month, so please leave me a comment here or on Facebook if you'd like to be entered into the draw.  Let me know if you are a fan of Halloween or not, as I'd hate to send out an unwelcome prize to anyone.

I think the girls have been particularly inventive with these Halloween stamps, showing that they can be used for other occasions too.  The Christmas stamps have been rushed out (as so many of you have told us you need them NOW) so most of the DT girls haven't had a chance to work with them yet.  But stay tuned for some glorious artwork heading your way soon.

Christmas Angel (posted by Clare)

Hello, again!  So glad you could come back and see us!  The projects that have been posted this month have been the best ever!  And there's more to come!

My angel is from the new set, Gothic Angels, and the background is the new Big Bold Background Dotty Snowflakes stamps.  I shaded everything with shimmery stamp paint.

Thanks for visiting, and we'll see you soon! 

Colourful Snowflakes (by Shirley)

Hello everyone !

I've had a great time working with the new Christmas stamps and happy that I've made a solid start on Christmas cards for this year.   It's never to early to start !

I used one of the new Big Bold Background stamps - Solid Snowflake to create these cards. 

I used Fruitcake Kaleidacolour Dye Ink on the background for the above card.    I used a brayer to apply the rainbow ink to get even coverage.   Next I added Versamark Ink directly from the pad over the entire background and embossed with a clear holograph Embossing Powder.   You can see the sparkle on the close-up at the top of this post.    'Noel' is available as a single clear stamp - CBCL0020 Noel.     I added rhinestones to the centres of the snowflakes.

This next card below was quicker to create as I didn't need a brayer to ink up the stamp.

I used both Evergreen Bough and Pine Needles Distress Inks on the background stamp, which gives the variation in colour.   I stamped the sentiment from Warm Christmas Greetings with Crimson Red Versafine Ink.   Again I added sparkly rhinestones to the centres of the snowflakes.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great day !
Shirley

A little Christmas wall hanging (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with another sample featuring one of the gorgeous angels from the new Gothic Angels themeplate. I've combined her with some of my favourite stamps, the little cottage is from Home Sweet Home, the trees are from Terrific Treescapes  and the sentiment is one of the clear stamps (you can find them here)

I began with a little wooden  plaque coated with white gesso, I inked in the sky with distress inks, masking the moon and then splashed some water and swooshed it around a little before blotting to create the clouds. I stamped in the cottage and added some shadows with weathered wood distress ink, added the trees and then drew in the hills with a fineliner pen. The sentiment is stamped with versamark and embossed with WOW gold embossing powder. I stamped the angel on some smooth white card, coloured her with Graph'It markers and added some glitter. I popped her up on some silicone glue to give the impression of the angel watching over the little cottage.

To finish off I've added some glitter for a frosy sparkle and applied some gilding wax around the edges.

Thanks so much for visiting today

Claire xx

Christmas in the Air Part Two (posted by Clare)

I have two more Christmas cards to share with you, made with some of the brand new Christmas stamps from Chocolate Baroque.  This first one was made using the huge 5" by 5" Big Bold Background Tangled Baubles stamp.  I re-stamped an ornament twice, cut it out, then scored the two down the middle and adhered just on the score lines to the front of the card.  On the main image, I heat embossed it in gold then shaded it with red and green glittered 3-D stamp paint.  With the addition of a gold sprig, and a few gold pearls, this card is complete.  This was a very easy card to make.

This next card is one of my favorites.  Whenever I think of Christmas, I remember that Christ the King was born, and he's royalty!  I love using purple and gold for these cards, for that reason. 

























This card was made using the Gothic Angels set, shown below.  Love it!  That lettering is fantastic!



Thanks again for stopping by!  There is much more yumminess to come from our talented design team!

Gold Snowflakes (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope you are enjoying the weekend !

I'm back with another Christmas design, this time using the beautiful new Big Bold Background - Snowflake Shadow.     This card can easily be duplicated to make a quick batch of cards.  I plan to make more in different colours :)

I stamped and embossed the background with Gold.   Next I blended a little Picked Raspberry and Peacock Feather Distress Inks over the background.   'Merry Christmas' is from Gothic Angels which I also embossed with gold and blended a little Seedless Preserves Distress Ink around it.  The die is Spellbinder S4-322.    I added a couple of snowflake charms hanging out in my embroidery stash and rhinestones in the centres of the flakes.   Easy !

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

Christmas Angel by Debbie

Good morning all. I'm still very much in Christmas mode at the moment, thinking about how I want to get ahead with my card making rather than rushing at the last minute to get them made. I've really enjoyed the big and bold stamps as they help make fabulous backgrounds for lots of stamped toppers.

For the background I stamped with the Big and Bold Snowflake Outline and a pale blue chalk ink trimmed it and mounted onto card. I folded a 6x6 easel card and stamped the sentiment for the stopper to hold the front up. The sentiment is a single clear stamp and is really useful. The Angel has been stamped with black memento and coloured with alcohol pens, she is so serene and a delight to colour. Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a good weekend. Debbie

Christmas in the Air, Yes, Already! (posted by Clare)

Hello, Friends!  I am so excited about the new Chocolate Baroque Christmas Stamps!  They are absolutely gorgeous!  I've combined some of the new stamps with older ones, to create a couple of cards. 

For the background on this card, I used the new Big Bold Background Holly stamp, and when I say big, I mean BIG!  These new backgrounds are a huge 5" by 5", with lots of varying surface details!  I stamped the Holly background with an olive green ink onto white cardstock, then shaded the leaves and berries with green and red 3-D stamp paint.  It's a new product that I found at a craft convention, and it's just amazing what it does!  I used a sponge dauber to apply this creamy, sparkly paint, which dries almost instantly.  I used a new die to cut the red, green and white lattice layers, and the sentiment tag.  "Yuletide Greetings" is from the new Chocolate Baroque Christmas set, Gothic Angels.  I re-stamped a few of the holly leaves, cut them out, then layered them at the bottom of the tag, with three red berries (red pearls).

This next card looks so elegant but was a very easy one to do.  Again, I used shades of teal ink, and gold 3-D stamp paint applied with a sponge dauber to create an old-timey look.  It adds such a sheen!  I used stamps from the Gothic Angels set, some printed paper, and a tree stamp from the Christmas Flourish set, shown below.  I heat embossed the larger script stamp image, and the tree in gold.

I hope you will see all of the other "delicious" creations that my talented design team-mates have created!  Thanks for visiting!

Big Bold Poinsettias (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with a card featuring the Poinsettia Big Bold Background stamp, you can find it here with all the lovely newly released stamps. I wanted to make a simple card that wouldn't be too expensive to post and these beautifully detailed stamps are just the job.

I stamped the image in memento tuxedo black and coloured with Graph'It markers, adding some gold stickles in the centres. I've used a corner rounder punch and edged the image with a gold krylon pen. To finish off I've stamped the sentiment from Gothic Angels and embossed with gold embossing powder. I've matted the image on some kraft card.

Thanks for popping by, 

Christmas cards, batch style (posted by Judith)

Hi folks, I have a couple of quick cards to show you today. I am always in a hurry as Christmas is approaching to get all of my cards made, and these new Big Backgrounds are just perfect for batch making. My first card uses the Poinsettia background stamp. I have created a background using alcohol inks, and then stamped onto the card using a dark green archival inkpad. The background was so pretty that I didn't want to add anything to the flowers themselves, apart from a few beads in the centres. I stamped a sentiment from the Gothic Angels stamp sheet, and placed this onto a piece of red satin ribbon across the card. This card was made very quickly, and could easily be made in batches.

My second card uses the Snowflake Shadow Big Background stamp.I have embossed the background using clear embossing powder, and then blended three different colour blue Distress Inks over the background. I have added a sentiment from the Pears and Baubles stamp sheet. I die cut a Crealie open flower which looks just like a snowflake when you cut it with white card, and matches the stamp very well. Some organza ribbon and a large gem finish the card.

So, I am well on my way with my Christmas cards, several more to go, but these stamps have got me in the mood to make some batches of cards. I hope that I have inspired you to have a go as well. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Gothic Angels in Purple and Blues (by Shirley)

Hello everyone

I have a couple more cards today that feature the Angel in the stain glass window from the beautiful new Gothic Angels set.

I created the background with Victorian Velvet and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks using the Acrylic Block technique.   I stamped the Gothic letters from Gothic Angels and a Fragment from Gothic Fragments with Seedless Preserves, spritzed with a little water on the ink before stamping.

I added the brick using a stencil and molding paste.  When dry I coloured over the bricks again with the Distress Inks and added a little silver Inka Gold.

The Angel and window were coloured with Prisma Pencils.   I added glitter to her dress and wings.   I attached a gothic style key that was hanging out in my stash and sheer silver ribbon to finish off the card.

I used the Acrylic Block Technique as described by Glenda in a recent Monday Mojo tutorial for the background below:

 

 

The acrylic block that I used has wavy edges and left marks that you can see on the above background.   I used Peacock Feathers Distress Ink on the block.   When dry,  I blended a little Vintage Photo around the edges which I distressed.   I also added the same ink to the lace.    I stamped one of the fragment windows from Gothic Fragments a couple of times after spritzing water onto the inked stamp.   

I coloured the angel and window with Prisma Pencils.  Yuletide Greetings is also from Gothic Angels.    

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,

Shirley

Tangled Baubles (posted by Judith)

Hi folks, I have a couple of samples to show you today using the Tangled Baubles stamp sheet. For my first sample, I have created a background using alcohol inks, and then stamped the image using archival ink. I stamped part of the image again onto another spare piece of card, also coloured with the alcohol inks, so that I could decoupage one of the baubles. I added some co-ordinating card to mat and layer the image, and stamped a sentiment from the Gothic Angels stamp sheet.I simply added some ribbon to finish.

My second card uses the Tangled Bauble stamp sheet again as my focal point, and this time, I simply stamped the image with black archival ink. I then watercoloured the background using some red paint, adding shading for depth around the baubles. I stamped a sentiment from the Pears and Baubles stamp sheet onto a piece of card, slightly larger than the sentiment itself. I used a permanent pen to draw a design around the outside, and after making sure that it was completely dry, I used the same watercolour paint to colour the border. I used some co-ordinating card to add some matting and layering again.

This tangled bauble stamp would make perfect Christmas cards for your Zentangle loving friends, and you can personalise it in so many ways.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Yuletide Angel (posted by Judith)

Hi folks, here is a sample created using the new Gothic Angel stamp sheet.I have made a leafy background with various colours of ink. I stamped the angel on another piece of card, and then created a holly frame around her. I coloured the images with pencils, and then cut around the edge of the holly, leaving a small border for definition. I added some purple ribbon to tie in with the central image, and stamped the sentiment to finish.

These images make a great card for those people who like to celebrate a traditional Chritmas, but are also suitable for people who like a more modern or alternative Christmas as well. look out for more inspiration from my team mates coming soon. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Pink Angel (posted by Claire)

Good morning , Claire here with a card featuring one of the beautiful stamps from Gothic Angels, one of this months new stamp sets. This angel is so pretty and feminine so I decided to go for a pink and gold theme.

I made the background using distress stains in VIctorian Velvet, Tea Dye, Spun Sugar and Tarnished Brass and overstamped with one of the gorgeous background stamps from Gothic angels, firstly with Tattered Rose and then with versamark, embossed with WOW gold embossing powder. The main image has been coloured with Graph'it markers, die cut and matted on some craft card. I've added a little brass charm, come twine and a bow to finish off.

I hope all the gorgeous projects from my teamies is helping to inspire you to start your Christmas cards, the way this year is whizzing by it will be here before we know it.

Thanks for visiting today

Claire xx

Playing making backgrounds by Debbie

Recently, I was inspired to take a day playing making backgrounds. I set up in the conservatory which had a lovely cooling breeze running trough it. I got out all my Distress Inks, paints, a water spray and had the messiest, inkiest time.

I pre cut lots of 7x7 squares of watercolour card and followed the process Glenda showed on her Mojo Monday technique. I hope the link works because it is a great source of inspiration and techniques. I used dusty concord and tumbled glass and lightly spritzed them laid down the paper. When the ink dried I stamped the baubles with Versamark ink and heat embossed with white powder. The sentiment is from the Gothic Angels stamps and I cut it out with a nestabilitie. Thank you for visiting. Debbie

Gothic Angel (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I have another Christmas design today using the beautiful new Gothic Angels set.   I think this one could also be used for a non-Christmas card.   I added images from Gothic Fragments, they compliment the new set so well.   The corners are from New England Winter, they matched the foliage on her head piece.   I love how so many of Chocolate Baroque stamp sets compliment each other and give endless possibilities for designs.

I stamped the beautiful 'feisty' angel from the Gothic Angel set with black Stazon Ink.   Both Glenda and Judith have nicknamed her 'feisty angel' which I think is a good description.    She looks like a strong woman.  I coloured her with Prisma Pencils and used Spellbinder dies to accent her.
 
I created the background with Evergreen Bough Distress Ink on my craft mat spritzed with water and then sprayed a little Teal Dylusions Ink over top (of the cardstock).  I used two fragments from the Gothic Fragments set and the Gothic letters fragment from Gothic Angels with Evergreen Bough & Salty Ocean Distress Inks that were lightly spritzed with water.  The corner flourishes from New England Winter are stamped with black ink.      .

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you can come back often as my teammates have lots of beautiful designs to show you.

Have a great day,
Shirley