Pretty In Pink (by Asha)

Hello again! Here's another card from me featuring one of the gorgeous new singles released in August: Hanging Flowers Single A6 stamp. What can I say? I just love ... absolutely adore this stamp. It stamps beautifully with clean crisp detailed image and a true joy to colour. It's the kind of image that will work well for all occasions.

I decided to keep it simple by stamping the image with VersaFine Vintage Sepia for a softer more natural look. Then I coloured it with Polychromos and did a little off the edge framing. The background was too white, so I knocked it back with shades of grey and matted with the teeniest show of lavender card.

The background is fake bokeh and I used the  Seasonal Elements Stencil and Distress Inks, applied directly onto a deep pink card base. And lastly, I added some twine to wrap up this project.

I've mentioned this before, but these new floral singles truly are versatile. They work so well for all sorts of projects from a simple card above to a more elaborate Art Journal project I posted a few days ago.

As always, I have details of the tools and products used on my blog. Thank you for stopping by and drop in soon for more designs by the team.

Beijinhos,
Asha

floral harmony (by Veronica)

Weren't last months ' Chocolate Baroque shows on Hochanda  wonderful , hope you are enjoying the chance to catch up on everyone's lovely samples for the shows.

Here is my last floral sample,  this is quite a large stamp - think A6 to have an idea of the size, this card is 8" square.

The image was stamped in black versafine, clear embossed and covered with masking fluid. I used grey brusho powder to create the background, and then coloured the image with watercolour pencils.










The next two pictures are of two of the colouring sheets - these are A4 size and very detailed - they will take you some time to colour in!
I used alcohol markers to colour them in  - they were hardly used, and I didn't want to run out of a colour partway through if I used water-based markers.










My last card used the medallions from the baroque corners plate stamped onto dark brown card using versamark and a pale blue embossing powder.
The front of the white 8" square base card blank was scored halfway and folded back. The inner brown panel was 7" square, and the smaller medallion was stamped in each corner. The front panel was 3.5" x7", with the medallion stamped on both top and bottom left corners.
The centre panel was cut to fit the large medallion image after stamping, so I would guess it ended up about 5" square, and it was mounted onto a matching blue card mat and then onto the folded back front panel making sure I only glued the half that was on the front panel.so that the card could be opened.....I did (briefly) think about adding a sentiment to the inner panel, decided against on the basis that I wouldn't get it straight!

Chequered Flower and Baroque Corners (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with some cards made for Lesley's shows on Hochanda. I've used Baroque Corners for my first sample

I love corner stamps as they are such versatile stamps, obviously great for decorating corners but also great for pattern building. I also love white embossing on kraft card so I combined the two to make this card.

It can be a little tricky to stamp exactly where you want and I don't have one of these fancy stamping platforms so  I used a pencil to lightly mark the centre of the card (horizontally and vertically) as this makes it loads easier to position the stamp. It also helps to trim your stamp very close to the image for this technique.

 I stamped the large corner 4 times with versamark, carefully lining up the centre of the stamp with my pencil mark and rotating the image to create a pretty doily effect. I heat embossed each corner before moving on to the next as this also makes it easier to see where you are stamping. I used the smaller corner stamp in the corners and then used it to create a border in between the corners, again embossing with white embossing powder. I didn't want to cover the pretty effect but I did want to add a sentiment so I tore a strip of vellum and stamped and embossed the sentiment (from Mackintosh Words.). I attached the vellum with a couple of pearl brads.

My second card features Chequered Flowers, such a beautifully detailed stamp. I've stamped and embossed it with silver embossing powder on a very sparkly Caught in Crystal background and it was very hard to photograph so apologies for the poor photo. 

I'd made the background a while ago, using shimmery inks, lots of glitter and some floor polish (the clear stuff for a shiny finish, I can't remember the make but it was from the pound shop) on tissue paper and then applying a layer of acetate I just stamped the image with versamark, embossed with silver EP and layered a die cut frame over the top. I find it's really handy to batch make backgrounds like this so they are ready to go when you want a quick card.

Last but not least I've made a tag using the same stamp. I created an inky background using Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry and Peacock Feathers distress ink. I stamped the flowers along the bottom of the tag with versamark and embossed with gold EP. I also stamped the large Baroque corner along the top of the tag and again embossed with Gold EP.

I added some colour with watercolour paints and splashed some paint here and there too. Once it was dry I stamped the sentiment (from Artistic Affirmations) and again embossed with Gold EP. I edged the tag with gold gilding wax and used a scrap of eyelash fibre to decorate the tag.

Thanks so much for visiting today, 

Claire xx

A Mixed Bunch (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I have more projects to share with you using the fabulous new stamps featured on last month's shows on Hochanda.

I was very taken with the Floral Harmony stamp, and love the flower head image part of the design in particular. I decided to use this as the focal point for a couple of my projects.

I applied texture paste through the Useful Leaves Stencil onto a large Tando Tag, and allowed this to dry completely. I covered the tag with gesso, and once this was dry, applied a combination of pale pink and turquoise paint to the background.

I stamped the leafy spray stamps from the Take It or Leaf It stamp set, using teal coloured ink onto the background. I stamped several of the floral images onto to some spare white card, and coloured them using water based markers. I added a bit of Stickles to the centres for added bling. I coloured a piece of white card with water based marker that I had scribbled onto an acrylic block and spritzed with water. I then die cut a small rectangle and stamped a sentiment from the Amazing Mackintosh Words stamp set. I edged the rectangle using Distress Ink.

I added the flowers and sentiment to the tag, and finally coloured some ribbon using the same paints as I had used for the background, to give a coordinated feel to the project.

For my next project, I rummaged through my stash, and found some brightly coloured backgrounds, and cut out some squares of orange card, I then inked up the flower head part of the stamp, and pressed the squares of card onto the stamp to obtain the image. I also stampd several of the large leaves from the Take it or Leaf It stamp set, and then cut all of the images out. I arranged them onto a large black card blank, to create a wreath shape. I added some Stickles to the centre of the flowers once again, for a bit of sparkle.

I die cut a circle from another piece of the orange card, and stamped a sentiment from the Amazing Mackintosh Words stamp set.

For my final project, I decided to work within my favourite colour palette, and created a soft background of turquoise and purple, using Distress Ink. I stamped the Baroque Corners using Archival Ink, and added a sentiment from the Amazing Words stamp set. I edged the background with a toning Distress Ink.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working with these lovely stamps, and hope that you have been inspired to try out some of the ideas that you have seen shared by myself and the rest of the Design Team. Thanks for stopping by, xx

Flowers, flowers everywhere by Zoe

Good morning Lovelies. I'm back with my second post of the month featuring the wonderful Floral stamps that were on Honchanda last month, such wonderful designs, I'm so lucky to be in a position to showcase them.

My first creation is a small canvas that I'd stuck a journal page which had been heat embossed and coloured using Water Soluble Crayons.

My second creation is heat embossed in white onto Water Colour card, I wet the image carefully and just allowed the ink from some Water Colour Markers to merge.

Using the Small Corner and Archival Inkpad to create this pretty pattern.

Thank you so much for visiting, have a wonderful day xx Zoe xx 

Make a Wish (by Brenda)

Morning Peeps, I am back again with a few more shares using the lovely new stamps Lesley launched on Hochanda a few weeks ago.

The background of the above card is actually the leftover from another one which I mopped up from my craft mat and rather likes the the muted colours. Using the small leaf from the Take It Or Leaf It set I randomly stamped the background with second generation stamping and a red Distress Ink, I then used the first generation ink to stamp the Chequered Flowers which I have to say I just love, they remind me of Thistles but with so much more interest going on. Finally I added a sentiment from Words to Dazzle and Sparkle.

A canvas now which I primed with Gesso, then acrylic paint and crackle glaze before adding leaves and 'spots' using Useful Leaves and Seasonal Elements stencils and texture paste. When dry I placed the stencils back in place and coloured with acrylic pain, then using the same paint coloured some elements from one of the colouring pages from the Colouring Collection which I then cut out and added to the canvas. I added three chipboard Butterflies painted with the same colour and stenciled some leaves onto the largest. Finally some gold Gilding Wax here are there and a sentiment from Amazing Mackintosh Words.

My thanks for popping in today and I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Floral Harmony (By Marga)

Hello all, do you love the TV shows also as much as I do? Here is a card with one of the latest new stamps Floral Harmony.

I coloured this card with Distress Ink and I used some gelli pen here and there. Also the shadow around the image is Distress Ink. 

I used the stamps : Floral Harmony and Words to Dazzle and Sparkle.

Hugs 

Marga

Summer Fayre (by Carole)

Hello everyone, today sees the final post from our latest Guest Design Team member, Carole Cann. She has created a beautiful Summery card for your inspiration. 

Carole writes:

Hello again, my card today uses the lovely Summer Fayre stamp. I know that this stamp has been well highlighted recently because of Lesley's Hochanda shows, but I couldn't resist using it, as it is such a beautiful image.

The background is from my stash and is made with Distress Inks. This has been over stamped with the Floral Weave stamp. Summer Fayre has been stamped onto parchmennt paper and clear embossed. Working from the back of the parchment, I highlighted the centre of the poppies and some strands of hair. These look white on the right side of the image. It was then coloured with watercolour pencils, also on the back, which gives a lovely soft look.
The sentiment is from the Harlequin Rose stamp set.
Thank you again, and happy crafting.

Carole 😃

Thank you so much Carole for another inspirational project. Carole will be back with us in a few months' time, but in the meantime, she will be helping out with lots of TV samples for the Hochanda shows, and contributing to the Fifteen Minute blog posts. You can see more of her work on her blog.

Summer Leaves (by Julie)

Hello Crafters, today I have another couple of cards to show you that I have made with Chocolate Baroque's newest stamps. I am really loving them as they are so versatile, I hope you agree. 

Floral Harmony  and Take it or Leaf it  were used for my first card. I simply coloured my blank DL card with Distress inks, dabbed on with a wet wipe. Then on a piece of spare stamping card I stamped out the decorative leaves from Take it or Leaf it and the flower from the centre of Floral Harmony, before colouring with pencils and then cutting out. Next I loosely arrange the stamped pieces on my card before deciding where to stamp the swirly leaves from Take it or Leaf it.

Once the leaves have been stamped adhere the loose leaves and flower in place with 3d glue gel and then finish off with a sentiment from Amazing Mackintosh Words.

For my second card I cut some Kraft card to fit the front of my card blank. Next I inked up Chequered Flowers with grey Versafine ink and and stamped in the centre of the card, before colouring with pencils. The swirly leaves from Take it or Leaf it were stamped around the edge with grey Versafine and white acrylic paint. I then dabbed Picket Fence Distress stain around the card and quickly smudged it with a wet wipe before it had chance to dry, to create the misty effect. The design was finished off with white paint pen highlights and dabs of Crystal Stickles.

Thanks for stopping by and please pop back soon for some more Design Team inspiration.

Julie xx

Just a little hello (by Dominike)

Hello
Summer is nearly over and I note I haven't send cards to few friends.
Luckily, I took Chocolate Baroque stamps with me. So here are two cards made with new lovely stamps.

Bonjour
L'été se termine et je m'aperçois que je n'ai pas envoyé les cartes promises à mes amis. Heureusement, j'ai emporté avec moi mes tampons CB favorits. Aussi, je peux vous présenter deux cartes faites avec ce tampon que j'aime particulièrement.

It is funny to use different colors. I like the effect. No difficulty.

C'est assez amusant d'utiliser plusieurs couleurs pour un bel effet. Aucune difficulté pour ces cartes.

I hope you like the result. Have a good time.
Kind regards.

J'espère que vous aimez le résultat. Bonnes vacances.
A bientôt.

Card For my Friend ( by Magda)

I hope my friend will be happy and surprised when she receives this card.
It is a quick card to colour and here below is the step by step:

You need Masking Tissue for points 1, 2 and 3 as you have always to mask the part
 of the stamp you don't want

1.  Stamp on white cardstock with Versafine Onyx Black half of the stamp Hanging Flowers
      on the fold of the card
2.   Apply Versafine Onyx Black on the unmasked part of stamp Chequered Flowers and press it
      where decided
3.   Stamp with Versafine Onyx Black only  the unmasked leaves of the stamp Hanging Flowers in
      order to balance the card
4.   Colour all with the Watercolour Brush - detailer Tip using Brusho as watercolours.
5.   Stamp on a white piece of cardstock the sentiment of the set Words to Dazzle and Sparkle,
      cut it as decoration and glue it.

Thanks for passing by,

Magda

Blue and White Baroque Tiles card (by Anne)

Good morning. This was one of my recent show samples using the Baroque Corners stamp set. I built up a pattern using the large and small corners in Blue & white, reminiscent of vintage tiles.

 
 
Materials:

• Baroque Corners and Mackintosh Sentiments stamps
• Versafine Inkpad (Majestic Blue)
• 20cm square card blank (white), stamping card (white), card for layering (dark blue)
• Fine tipped pen (blue) and alcohol marker (blue)
• Foam pads for added dimension

How to make it:

1. Stamp the large corner stamp onto each of the 4 corners of the card blank. It is easiest to turn your card 90 degrees between stamping. An acrylic block with grid markings also helps to align the stamp straight with the edge of the card. I used the Tim Holtz stamping platform which made the pattern stamping really easy. Simply stamped, turned the card on the platform (butting it up against the platform ridges) and stamped again. It is not essential to use a stamping platform or alignment tool but it does make it so easy and quick. No hovering and aiming.
2. Edge the card with blue marker to frame and draw faux stitching with the fine tipped pen.
3. Trim the next panel to 13cm square and stamp using the smaller corner stamp. Add the faux stitching and layer onto the dark blue card. Glue to the card front with foam pads for added dimension.
4. Trim the next panel to 11.5cm and stamp the small corner stamp into the centre. It may help to draw pencil cross hairs to help alignment. The little sticky out swirls also help you see where you are going and help align the stamps square.
5. Stamp the sentiment into the space in the middle. This is quite easy to align with the clear stamp. Trim off the corners (at 45 degrees) to create the octagonal shape. Note: not all the sides are equal, 4 sides are a little shorter than the other 4. Add the faux stitching and mount onto blue card. Attach to the card front with foam pads.

Glow! (by Asha)

Hello again, friends! Time my monthly Art Journal post featuring Chocolate Baroque stamps. Today I'm featuring 2 new products: the Chequered Flowers Single A6 stamp and the Useful Leaves Mask / Stencil.

I've gone with bold colours for the background: intense shades of red and gold, and to add contrast I chose deep blue.

The glittery swirling leaves are texture paste coloured with metallic gold acrylic paint, spread over the Useful Leaves Mask / Stencil and sprinkled with fine gold glitter dust. I also used the same paint to splatter the background. To add depth to the stencilled leaves I added shading with a gold glitter pen.

The main attraction is the Chequered Flowers Single A6 stamp. I kept it very simple by heat embossing it in white ... and left it at that.

These new floral singles are so versatile. They work so well for all sorts of projects.

As always, I have details of the tools and products used on my blog. Thank you for stopping by and drop in soon for more designs by the team.

Beijinhos,
Asha

Chequered flowers (by Veronica)

 I loved playing with this stamp, and - surprise- my favourite brusho powders.
All the images were stamped , embossed and masked using masking fluid before sprinkling with brusho powders.

The first one I used leaf green , purple and truquoise powders, not that you can see much of the turquoise.
Once dry, it was trimmed down and mounted onto a 5"x7" white card blank.
 The second one is much the same, except that I only used the purple this time, and the image was gold embossed.
The powder didn't spread as far this time, but it looked a bit like a torn edge, so i left it  as it was. Trimmed down rather more, and added to another 5"x7" white card blank with a gold mat and a gold embossed sentiment



The final one was my favourite, a more dramatic version just using the black brusho powder  - I love the mutli-colour effect you get with this.
This one wasn't trimmed as closely, and mounted onto a 7" square white card blank using white and black mats.

There were some fantastic samples from the team on the shows last month, so keep checking to see some of them over the next two weeks

Summer Song Thrush (by Carole)

Hello everyone, today we have another fabulous project from our Guest Design Team member Carole Cann. 

Carole writes:

Hello again, here is my card for this week as a Guest Designer.

I have used stamps from the Harlequin Rose and Pretty Poppies stamp sets, plus the Garden Lace Scene and Song Thrush individual stamps.
I stamped and silver embossed the panel onto black card and coloured it with mica powders. The whole scene was then glazed, this is a technique I really like on black, as it gives a very dramatic effect.
The border was stamped and silver embossed onto white card and then coloured with Distress Ink. I then discovered, by accident, that the panel sat nicely into the border of the Garden Lace Scene, so I decided to use that as part of the background too. The words are from the Summer Poppies stamp set.

A full description of the project can be found on my blog.

Thank you for looking,

Carole 😃

Carole will be back with her final post for this month next week,

Fifteen Minute Cards

Hello everyone, it is time to share our monthly collection of speedy projects created by the Design Team. The aim is to show you that the beautiful range of stamps from Chocolate Baroque can be used to make cards and other projects in fifteen minutes or less, and you can still end up with fabulous designs that have not taken hours to put together. If you are a beginner, or simply needing a card in a hurry, these blog posts are full of inspiration, providing lots of ideas and techniques to help you create some very quick designs.

You can visit each of the Design Team members' blogs by clicking on their names as you scroll through the post, and see how they created the designs in more detail. You will also be able to see more of their fabulous work.

So, grab a cuppa, and enjoy what we have to share with you this month.

We have a beautiful card from Julie to start, the main image has been stamped onto kraft card, and framed first with black card, and mounted into a circle frame within a card blank. The soft colours look very effective, and a simple sentiment complete the CAS look:

Rachel has also chosen to use this same stamp on kraft card, but by using white embossing, the look can be changed completely. Another beautiful card:

We have a wonerful eclectic collection of projects from Magda this month, and there will surely be something in here to inspire you. She has made a set of colourful coasters as her first project, choosing seasonal colours for the four individual coasters, then stamping the images to colour them with pencil. She edged the coasters with pencil.

Two tags are up next, using the new leafy stamp, but with very different effects. I love the stitching on the first tag to create the stem:

For her second tag, she has combined stencilling and stamping for a collaged effect, using a beautiful mix of colours:

For her next card, she coloured the large butterflies and masked them, then created a marbled background, taking a waterbrush through colour added using Distress Ink. She then stamped the little orange butterflies over the top:

This pretty card is such a clever idea, using some of the foliage stamps alongside some of our Floral Mannequin stamps.

Her final project is a pretty card using the Floral Harmony stamp, coloured with watercolour markers, and blended with a water brush:

Anne has created two cards for us this month, a soft floral card using the Floral Harmony stamp, was created by embossing the image with white embossing powder, and then the card was spritzed with burgundy and teal ink sprays. She dragged out the spray with a water brush over the image, and blotted some of the ink away to lighten some areas.

Her second card is a bold design, incorporating stamping using black and red, using the same image. Picking part of the larger design as a focal point, and adding red accents throughout, are great design ideas.

Claire has used the same image, but chosen to ink the image using a multicoloured inkpad for a variegated effect.

Brenda has created a delightful array of cards for us, starting with a beautiful design incorporating white embossing on kraft card. She has created a leafy panel to place behind the main Floral Harmony image, and the card looks fabulous without the need for any added colour.

Her next card uses the Baroque Corners to create a central design, and with a toning matting layer of card, she has created a very elegant card.

The same corners are used on the following card in a very different way, to create another stylish card, the two tone stamping adds another twist on the design. She has spritzed the images with water before stamping.

Finally, she has created an inky, watery, background for the Chequered Flowers, and simply stamped them with black ink.

Zoe has incorporated the matching stencil and stamp for her first card, and the lovely fresh colours behind the bold black stamping create a super card that would be great for a male or female recipient.

Her little notelet uses resist stamping to show off the Baroque Corner.

Finally a card that I have created using the leafy sprays from the Take It or Leaf It stamp set. I stamped the images around a pencil drawn circle, using first and second generation stamping, and olive green ink. I rubbed out the pencil line. I then die cut several butterflies from book paper which had been stuck onto card. I found a piece in my box of scraps. I inked around the edges of the butterflies with Distress Ink and stuck them around the circle. Finally I added a sentiment from the Birthday Words stamp set.

We hope that you have enjoyed our selection of projects this month, and will be back with more inspiration next month. Do keep visiting the Design Team blog for all of the regular posts from the Design Team girls.

Thanks for stopping by,