Two for one (by Lesley)

I love turning office stationery products into craft items and today I am using good old fashioned blotting paper to create this card. Bit of a long post but I hope you enjoy the technique.

Take a piece of blotting paper approximately 30 x 9cm, mist thoroughly with plain water and then spritz with spray inks of your choice. I used Dylusions Ink Sprays in Squeezed Orange, Lemon Zest, Bubblegum Pink and Cherry Pie. Pick up the paper and allow that colours to run into each other. Soak up the excess moisture with kitchen roll and then dry gently with a heat gun. Keep turn the blotting paper over as it will curl as it dries.

Once dry you will have the bright side on which the inks were sprayed and the reverse will be a paler version. Fold a piece of white card measuring 14.5 x 21 cm in half to make a tall thin card. Draw a curve across the top of the card and then cut out. (You can use a cup, mug or other circular object you have as a template). Using wet adhesive attach the blotting paper, pale side uppermost, to the card. Allow to dry.

Ink up the bird image from A Little Bird Told Me using Versafine Onyx Black and stamp on to the front of the card. Ink up the leaves only on the large bird image from As Free as a Bird (use a baby wipe to remove any ink that may have strayed on to other parts of the image) and stamp across the top of the card. Set aside to dry.

Take the remaining piece of blotting paper and ink the bird again, but this time just the body and stamp on to the bright side. Cut out and set aside. Ink up the leaves again and stamp onto the bright side of the blotting paper, repeat. Cut out the leaves plus the berries and leaf.  Attach the body of the bird over the stamped image on the card. Add the leaves and berries to the branch as shown and finish with a sentiment from the Amazing Birthday clear set.

By using the front and reverse of the same piece of blotting paper you can be sure that all the colours tone in together. And there is nothing to say you couldn't use the bright version for the background and stamp the bird and leaves onto the paler side.

Hope this inspires you to try using blotting paper as part of your crafty creations. Experiment with it and see what else you can do; it makes great paper flowers by the way!

Thank you for for stopping by and please call in again to see more ideas from the Design team.

Let's create a rainbow (by Lesley)

Today I want to show you how easy it is to create a rainbow landscape using Dylusions Ink Sprays and the Sketchy Doodle Landscape stamp set.

 

• To create the background spritz a selection of Dylusions Sprays randomly across a sheet of A4 160gsm white paper/card. (I used Bubblegum Pink, Calypso Teal, Lemon Zest and Cut Grass). Dry each colour with a heat gun before spraying the next. This gives a layered effect and provides you with more control over the blending of the colours. Once finished allow to dry completely.
• Using a Versafine Onyx Black inkpad stamp the landscape scene on the background paper. Then ink the individual flowers and stamp on different coloured areas of the background paper. You will need five flowers. Finally, ink up one of the trees and once again stamp onto the paper.
• Cut out the flowers and tree. Crimp the edges of the flowers with your fingers to give a crinkled appearance. Curve the tree slightly to add dimension.

• Cut out the landscape and attach to a piece of dictionary paper using 3d foam pads. Add the flowers and tree using silicone glue or glue gel. Trim the dictionary paper to suit your frame, which can either be left its natural colour or stained with Brushos or spray inks. 
• Finally, fix the landscape into the frame.

Colouring an A4 piece of paper is a quick way to create a background which can have a variety of uses, including die cutting and stamping. Why not try stamping over it with a selection of the Sketchy Doodles Flowers which you can then cut out and use for embellishments. Or die cut a selection of shapes which you can use for sentiments. And always make a batch of backgrounds in one go, that way you will have a good selection to choose from. After all, if you're going to get inky you might as well make it worth while!

Thanks for looking and don't forget that there is a new project every day created by one of the talented Design Team girls.

Sketchy Doodle Flowers - Owl - By Florence

Morning everyone

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend.

Today I would like to share a project I made using the new Sketchy Doodle Flower Rubber Stamps.

This project has a hint of recycling to it so you can imagine how much fun I had making it.

It'll owl be right on the night!

The Base

For the base of this project I used an old LP which I sanded down one side with sand paper and gave the vinyl two coats of Gesso.
*I then applied some paint all over the surface of the LP using the black side of a piece of Cut'n'Dry.
When the paint was dry a gave it a couple of quick spritzes of Spray Ink and let the excess ink run down the surface a little.
To make the circle patterns, I used plastic container tops, dipped into paint and stamped them onto the base as seen.
I gave the surface a quick spray of a fixative to fix the inks.
*An alternative base idea would be to paint and decorate a piece of card and then attach it to the LP using glue.

 The Owl

I colored some white card (cut to approximate sizes to match images) with Distress Ink and stamped all of my images using Black Archival Ink.
I then cut all of the pieces out, added a little bit of Distress Ink to the edges of each piece and gave them a coat of Mod Podge.
I used Silicon to attach my pieces, firstly to the LP and then to build up the layers as seen.

Thank you for looking
Happy Stamping
Florence x

Book Of Spells and Halloween Edges - By Florence

Hi everyone

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend.

Today I would like to share two cards made using the new fabulous Book of Spells and the Halloween Edges sets of stamps.  These are just two of the newly released sets by Chocolate Baroque.  To see all of the new sets please click HERE.   

 

I was really excited when I first saw these sets.  Although they are for Halloween, Fall, or Autumn, there are many stamps in the sets that can be used all year round.  They are really versatile and also mix and match with the other stamps in Chocolate Baroque's huge range of rubber art stamps HERE.

For my first card I used the Book of Spells set.

I took a piece of dull pink card and sprayed it with a pink Dylusions Spray Ink to add more life to it.  When it was dry I trimmed it to size and stamped the Cob Webs.

 

For the main focal piece I used a pre-made background card which I made using water color paints on an acrylic block.  I then just stamped the Spooky House onto this and added a couple of flying bats from Spookylicious and Witching Time. 

 

I made up the card as seen picking out the blue on my inky background card and using this color as one of the mats.

 

What did strike me immediately with this Spooky House stamp is the amount of detail on the image.  The ghosts in the windows, the owl in the tree, the weather vane, the bird on the roof and the little pumpkin hanging from the house.  A really brilliant design yet again by Sue.

For my second card I have used the Halloween Edges and a piece of the same background card as above.  I made this into a card but the beauty of the Edge Stamps is that they are great for tags as well because of the size and length of the image.

 

 

 I stamped my Happy Halloween sentiment onto my base card and added a couple of splash patterns using a tiny stamp from Wisteria Lane Set.  

I trimmed my pre-made inky card (as mentioned above) to size and stamped the Pumpkin and Cob Web images.  I added just a little more orange color to the Pumpkins to make them stand out.

I made up the card as seen with the addition of one of my own background (Straw Bales) papers.

Do check out all of the wonderful projects made by the DT.  

There is a new project, offering lots of inspiration and ideas, posted every day here on the blog.

Don't forget that if you leave a comment your name will go into the monthly comments draw.  One winner is randomly picked each month.

Thank you for looking.

 

Happy Stamping.

Florence x

Just paint a flower!!! (by Maria)

Hi , dear stamping mates,

Today I want to show you two stamped and painted cards. On the first card you can see, the rose of the new Briar Rose Butterfly and the yellow Iris from the Harebell Butterfly stamp sets. On the second card you can see, the Rose and the two small roses  from the Pretty Birdcage

I took two white papers 15cm x 15cm (5.51 x 5.51 inches) on the first one I stamped the big flower with black archival ink, I also stamped it on mask paper, cut it out and masked the big flower on the white paper with it. I stamped the yellow iris 4 times around the flower, then  the real work began, I took some watercolour paints and did the wet on wet technique. These flower stamps were just ideal for this technique. It was really the first time I did  this technique, and I hope the result is okay? The second card I did the same way. I used yellow, orange and greens, my favorite colours. As a finishing touch I gave some white accents with my white gelly pen. I hope you like my cards and hope that I inspired you to make a really painted work of ART. It's such fun!

As you see I couldn't stop, the small cards in the middle are made with the same technique. The  background I 've made with the sponge technique and distress ink, and I used the stamps from the same stampset. Have a lot of fun, as I did!


Greetings and till soon
Maria

Flowers and butterflies!! (by Maria)

Hi, everyone,

I love flowers and butterflies, so I was very glad with the choice of stamps we could use for our samples. The new sets of stamps "Briar Rose Butterfly" and "Harebell Butterfly" are really gorgeous! Fantastic!

I made two very different cards with these stamps, the first one I made again with my favorite technique, yes I love Dylusions ink for the salt technique. So I spread yellow (Lemon Zest), orange (Pure Sunshine), pink (Bubblegum Pink), green (Dirty Martini) and (Cut Grass) on one page. In the corners I've put some salt, then I spread Dylusions ink on a second paper, (all the bright colours but no greens). Then when all the papers were dry, I used the big flower stamp (Briar Rose Butterfly) and stamped ( I used some black archival ink) it on the first paper, again I stamped it on the second paper, and cut out the flowers. The above flower I stamped another 4 times on the orange-yellow paper, cut out of the paper and placed it on the flowers of the first card to create some depth, and so I did with the butterflies too. Then I've placed it on white, yellow, white again and finally black cardstock, I hope you like it and try it!

The second one,  I took two cards, a big one for the background and a smaller one for the front, I never measure my cards I just see how they fit together and that they fit in an envelope of course! I made this one with distress ink and the stamps from the Harebell Butterfly set.  I think the card shows how I have made it, please try it once too, it's such a fun and  the stamps are so beautiful to use for a lot of occasions, don't you think so?

Have fun and joy in stamping your ART!
Greetings
Maria

Guest Post - A Fishy Tale by Annie Watkinson

Today's guest post is from Annie Watkinson, who has created some very special projects. This is quite a long post,  so please sit back, relax and enjoy.

Products Used

Something Fishy UDLSP0330

Cosmic Shimmer - Aqua

Dylusions Spray Inks - Fresh Lime, Vibrant Turquoise, White Linen

Staz On - Teal Blue, Olive Green

Memento - Tuxedo Black

DistressInk - Walnut Stain

Promarkers - Orange, Bright Orange, Yellow

Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen - White 101

My grandchildren have a fish tank, and love to sit and gaze as they swim round and round. Fish are very relaxing! Chocolate Baroque’s lovely stamps, ‘Something Fishy’ inspired me to try and recreate the gentle movement of fish and water. What I enjoy doing when I need inspiration is to create a ‘masterboard’. Put simply, this is a sheet of A4 paper on which I produce a background pattern, and then have fun cutting it up, and seeing how many projects I can make out of it! It is surprising just how many cards you can make with a sheet of A4.

So I started off picking lovely watery shades of spray inks, and randomly sprayed onto my sheet of paper. Before the ink had fully dried, I lightly oversprayed with Dylusions White Linen, then quickly sprinkled a coarse crystal rock salt on top and left it to dry. After scraping off the dry salt, I was left with a lovely watery fish tank, but it was empty!  The weeds were stamped around the edges, alternating with Staz On Teal Blue and Olive Green.

So along came the fish. I stamped and embossed the fish with clear embossing ink, and silver and gold powders. My background was now complete. I had an image in my mind of bright orange goldfish against the lovely blue background. So I stamped the fish onto white card, and then coloured and cut them out and spread them around the board. It is good to get fish swimming off the edge of the card, giving you the sense of continuation.

Now I had my background, I started to cut the masterboard up to see how I could use the various parts on the front of cards. I managed to get four cards and one bookmark out of it. Now I knew the positions of all the pieces, I went over the fish with Glossy accents, which really brought them to life. 

I also stamped and embossed the weeds onto plain vellum with clear embossing ink and silver powder, then placed them around the cards for the fish to have something to hide behind! The angel fish were stamped onto sticky backed vellum, giving them a translucent feel. The shell was stamped onto some patterned paper in Walnut Distress Ink to which I added a stick on pearl and some accents to the fish eyes, bubbles and angel fish with a white pen.

 

For the main card, I gave the bottom of my ‘tank’ a layer of micro beads to give the illusion of gravel. After matting all the cards on different coloured cards, I laminated the bookmark, and added a tassel.

I think you would agree that using different coloured matting really changed the mood of the cards!

We definitely would Annie. Thank you for your wonderful designs and for sharing your 'masterboard' technique; I'm sure this is something our crafty readers will want to try. If you would like to see more of Annie's work then please take a look at her blog, Serendipity Craft Room, and why not show your appreciation with a little comment or two.

 

A real Fairy tale !!! (by Maria)

Bijschrift toevoegen

 

 

Aren't they wonderful? My husband's little twin nieces were really excited when they saw the beautiful stampset "Summer Fairy collection" and very soon, they will have their 6th Birthday!!! Therefore I was so glad that I could make them these fairy tale cards and a nice present for their bedroom as well, with the new stampset. The two cards, I have made with dylusions ink,

The card in the photo frame is made with distress inks and masks, the flowers on this card  are also stamped on a paper that was coloured with Dylusions,  cut out and to create some depth, I raised the flowers. I hope you like the images?
I had a lot of fun making these fairy tales and I think our nieces will love them. Isn't it a good idea for a little girl's present?

Greetings and have a lot of stamping fun!
Maria

Waterfall background (by Debbie)

Hello. Another Autumn Fairies card from me using a technique I hadn't used for a long time.

The background for my card is made using shaving foam and Dylusions spray inks. I had cut many pieces of card ready to dip into the foam. I used a large tray and sprayed my husbands shaving foam onto it. Next, I sprayed many small dots of Pure Sunshine and London Blue ink all over the foam then used a coffee stirrer to mix them together. I then laid the card onto the foam and gently pressed the back, gloves are a good idea as the ink stains your hands. Lift the card off and leave to dry. Many prints can be taken before the colours runs out or is to mixed. The foam will rinse away ready to have another play. This technique is great fun as you are never sure of the print that is made. Before stamping the Fairy from the October set I rubbed with kitchen paper to make sure there was no foam left on the card. I stamped the Fairy with Versamark ink and used Black Glint Wow embossing powder. Finally, I trimmed, mounted and added to the white base card. I hope this has inspired you to try a new technique. Thanks for stopping by, Debbie