New Home (by Doreen)

Hello everyone, Doreen is back with her second post this month, a delightful New Home card created for a family member. Doreen has written a detailed set of instructions for her card so that you can have a go at recreating the project for yourselves.

Doreen writes:

The reason for this New Home card is a personal one, my Daughter and her family have been living at home with my Husband and myself and though somewhat cramped, we have got through relatively well. They move into a new home in the coming week or two, hence the card....

Products used are:

Chocolate Baroque Home Sweet Home stamp set
Chocolate Baroque Masking Tissue
Vaersafine ink pad
Distress Inks: Squeezed Lemonade, Tumbled Glass, and Bundled Sage, Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey, Crushed Olive, Forest Moss, Pumice Stone

Permanent ink pen
Black card for mat and card blank

To make this card:

1. Stamp the image onto card and another of the image onto masking tissue, cut out the mask on the inside of the outside edge line. There is no need to cut out the tree just the house is fine.
2. Place mask over image.
3. Punch or die cut a mask from the centre of a piece of copy paper, put the circle punched out to one side and keep, then place the outer around the house, this can either be held in place or taped if desired. Using stencil brushes add Squeezed Lemonade to the centre taking colour from side to side over the house mask and this will give you your 'sun'. Remove copy paper and using small piece of low tack tape, put your centre circle over the sun to protect from colour contamination. Add Tumbled Glass to the area above the sun allowing it to fade towards the top of the card. Do the same with Bumdled Sage below the house.
4. Remove masks.
5. Colour the roof using Rusty Hinge and Wild Honey (I used a tile to put some colour onto and picked this up with a damp paintbrush, adding water to dilute the colour as needed). Crushed Olive and Forest Moss were used for the grassy area, bushes and I added some budsto the bare tree. Finally I added the Pumice Stone for shadows under facias, window sills and a watered down wash over the white areas of the house.
6. With the permanent ink pen I formed a border to the card using dots and dashes.
5. Finally stamp and add the sentiment and raise from the image using double sided foam tape.

Mat and layer using foam pads between the black card and the topper.

Thank you for looking and leaving your comments.

Love Doreen

Window on the world (posted by Claire)

Good morning folks, Claire here with my first sample made with this months new releases. As always there are some stunning new stamps, two A5 stamp sheets with a sewing theme and some gorgeous clear stamps too. I've used this lovely (and very useful) Dressmakers window stamp for this card (you can find it here)

I began by creating a background using a Crafters Workshop Brick Stencil and texture paste. Once that was dry I applied colour with PanPastels (Neutral grey tint, Burnt Sienna and a little Raw Umber). To create the window I  stamped the image onto black card with versamark and embossed with white embossing powder before cutting out the window panels. I then stamped and embossed the image onto acetate with versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. I created the little scene using my PanPastels and some old favourite stamps from Home Sweet Home and added a little colour to the cottages with coloured pencils. I layered the window up over the scene using 3d foam tape and then added ribbon, lace, paper flowers and a wooden button topped with a twine bow.

Thanks for visiting today

Claire xx

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

Home (posted by Elaine)

As soon as I saw the lovely landscape edges stamps, I knew I wanted to try another masked sunburst landscape. I combined the sky, birds and wall clear stamps with a house and sentiment from the Home Sweet Home set.

I coloured the sky with Adirondack Sunshine Yellow dye ink and Spiced Marmalade Distress ink, using the sunrays of the stamped image to guide my masking of each section with post it notes. I coloured the other images with Prismacolour pencils. I die cut the border in black backed with orange to give a good contrast to the main image.

I can see great potential with these landscape stamps for myfavourite style of  ink shaded cards.

Elaine x

Yummy New "Chocolatey" Stamp Sets! (by Clare)

Hello!  As you probably already know, Fantasy Woodland is the new stamp set of the month!  What an amazing set of stamps - so many different types of trees!  Beautiful images to work with!  Click on the name of the set above, and you will be taken directly to the stamp set on the website, where you can see all of the stamps in this set.  

Below are a couple of projects I made using this set, and I hope they'll inspire you a little!  There are so many great projects that the design team has made, so please check the other posts on this blog for more ideas!  The little house is from the set, Home Sweet Home, as well as the wheat grass.  The bottom border is from a brand new clear set, called Floral Edges, released February 14!  There are two other clear edge sets that have also been released - Decorative Edges and Landscape Edges - please check them out!  They are awesome!

 

My next sample has the orange tree image from the Fantasy Woodland set, and several "Thank you's" from the Words of Gratitude set.  Those oranges look good enough to eat!

 



My next card is framed with one of the trees from the clear Fantasy Woodland set.  I used several dies to cut out the shapes, and hand made the roses.  

 

 

This card was made with last month's new set, called The Rose Tree.  I used the new clear Floral Edges on the background.



I've enjoyed your visit, and hope you did too!  Thanks for stopping in!

Through the window (posted by Claire)

Hi there, Claire here with an altered art project combining the beautiful new clear stamps 'Terrific Treescapes' with some of my favourite stamps from Christmas Creatures and Home Sweet Home.

I recently had a Graze Box delivered and as soon as I opened it I thought it would be perfect for making a window scene so these stamps were just perfect to put my idea in to practice.

I began by painting the box with white acrylic paint. I've used lots of masking and coloured the images with promarkers, adding the deep blue sky with chipped sapphire and broken china distress inks. I've added a die cut icicle border along the top of the window:

 .

Here's a photo of the front of the box, again combining Terrific Treescapes with Christmas Creatures.

I hope you like my little window scene

thanks for popping by today

Claire xx

Introducing a new designer - Clare Curcio

Since launching Chocolate Baroque nearly a year ago, we have had a lot of interest from outside the UK, particularly the USA, so I am delighted to introduce you to our first American Design Team member, Clare Curcio.

Clare doesn't have many of our stamps (yet), so you will have to wait a couple of days before seeing more of her artwork with our latest collection which goes live this week.  In the meantime, you can read more about Clare in the interview below.

* How did you first hear about Chocolate Baroque?

I first heard about Chocolate Baroque from another crafter, who had the link on her blogsite.  The name "Chocolate" enticed me to check it out, and the word "Baroque" lured me in because it's my favorite period.  I clicked on the link, and I've been a "baroquer" ever since!  I would have loved to wear the gowns of this time in history, and the paintings are absolutely gorgeous!  And then Chocolate Baroque's "Baroque" stamps are even gorgeouser!  (is that a word?)

* What is it you like about our stamps?

The rubber that the Chocolate Baroque stamps are made from is extremely nice, very soft, pliable, but holds up very well under stamping and inking pressures, and is easily cut apart to mount and use!  Very good quality and ease of use are the two things that I hold most importantly in a rubber stamp.

* What was the first set you bought?
 

The first set I purchased was the Home Sweet Home set.  Glenda had a tutorial on her website that instructed how to blend and color the suns rays and the little house in this set.  Once I saw the striking card, I knew I had to have the stamp set and try her technique!  I've made many cards with this set, using the same method - I like the results so well that I can't seem to do it any other way!

click for larger view

* Do you have a favourite stamp set?
 

There are many "favorites" that I have!  It's so hard to place that label on just one set, because they are ALL beautiful!  I think the Christmas stamps, and the fancier stamps with the intricate details are my favorites right now.

* Where do you get your inspiration?

I am a crafter at heart, and have been since I was a little girl.  I look at everything for inspiration - nature, babies, people, flowers, insects, landscapes, objects, etc.  The design team members of Chocolate Baroque have beautiful samples posted!  I love perusing through the postings at Splitcoast Stampers where I post some of my cards/projects, and there are tons of tutorials and places to see there that have instructions, tips and photos on how to do different techniques, or really anything you want!

* Do you have a favourite technique?
 

I love to color, but I don't like going out of the lines.  I think I use heat embossing more because of the ridge it creates on the image lines.  When I color the image, the ridges help me stay in the lines!  Is that cheating?  ;)

* Do you have any tips for beginners?
 

Have fun!  Experiment!  Don't be afraid to get inky!  When I get a new stamp, I like to stamp it a few times, then color it in with different colors, or use one color of heat embossing to see which looks better.  Some stamps look better done in monochromatic tones than in color.

* What’s on your Chocolate Baroque wishlist right now?
 

Oh, this is a very easy question to answer!  Glenda has some beautiful Christmas (any and all), Damask, and Kelmscott Bauble stamps on the retired list that I'd love to get before it's too late!  I love the birds, birdcages and butterfly stamps that she has on the regular list!  Anything floral, too!  I could go on and on and on...

click for larger view

I'm very blessed to have been allowed to be a design team member for Chocolate Baroque!  I feel so humbled by Glenda's generosity and friendship!

It's great to have Clare on board and I know you are going to enjoy seeing her approach to working with our stamps.   Please join me in giving her a warm welcome to Chocolate Baroque!

You can see more of Clare's work on her blog Clare's Paper Works or on the Chocolate Baroque community website. 

In England's green and pleasant land

Hi there, here's my second sample combining the gorgeous new Artistic Expressions and Crafty Individuals stamps with some of my old favourites from Home Sweet Home.

As soon as I saw the sentiment 'In England's green and pleasant land' I knew I wanted to combine them with a country scene so of course Home Sweet Home were the perfect stamps for them. The gorgeous bold swirl stamps are from Artistic Expressions and the Britannia image at the top of the frame is from Crafty Individuals 'Britannia . I've made the flowers and leaves using Crealies dies.

For more details, pop over to my blog

Thanks for visiting today. 

Claire xx

Home Sweet Home Winner

Well it took me quite a while to 'harvest' all the comments from all the blogs, but once I had done that, the random number pixie gave me the magic number and I'm delighted to tell you that the winner of the Home Sweet Home stamp set is

Julie W from Julie's Crafty Space.

Congratulations Julie, could you get in touch so we know where to send your prize - click here for our Contact Us page.

Seems like a lot of you really like the Home Sweet Home stamps, so it will be interesting to see if you like what's coming next .... Steampunk Christmas!

Watch out for that next week.

Sunset grasses

The grasses stamp from the Home Sweet Home stamp plate is such a versatile stamp. It was a real coincidence that my Design Team buddy Lesley and I had come up with a similar idea.

I cut four squares of white card and rounded one corner of each.

The grasses were stamped with Versamark ink and embossed with white powder. Cut a circle of paper to use as a mask and placed over the grasses. I used mustard seed, spiced marmalade, fired brick and vintage photo distress ink to colour each image. Each piece is mounted onto gold and the placed onto the cream base card. The base card is two pieces of cream A4 card cut to 21 x 21cm and joined with a length of ribbon. A little more distressing around the edge of the card to soften. Finally a sentiment and a few punched leaves dotted around.

Glenda will be picking a winner from one of the DT blogs very soon, so check back to see if you have won a set of these delightful stamps.

Debbie

one more 'krafty' Home Sweet Home creation.......

Hello dear crafters,

Just showing you one more 'krafty'( don't know if that's proper English) card made with the sweet HSH sheet from Chocolate Baroque. I had much fun with these stamps. This time I stamped with brown and coloured the image with my Derwent coloursoft's. On the background I used the swirl from Butterfly Flourishes.

Well hope you enjoy those stamps as much as I did! greetz,

Krafty cottage (posted by Elaine)

Here is another card from me using the gorgeous Home Sweet Home stamps.

I stamped the main cottage image on kraft card in black archival ink and coloured the image using Coloursoft pencils, blended with Sansador. I inked the edges with my favourite Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I cut the image into an oval with nesties and mounted on a brown complementing scalloped oval and mounted it onto a kraft card panel. I added die cut flowers from a book page (Tim Holtz Tattered Florals) inked with Fired Brick DI and brown Crealies leaves.  Finally I added the sentiment on a nestie ribbon tag and mounted it on cream and black ribbon, before matting and layering a couple of times. I made this as a New Home card, but it could be mounted in a frame as well.

I hope you are enjoying the different ideas from the team this week.

Elaine

Sunray by ikki

Hi, I have another card to show you featuring the lovely Home Sweet Home stamps

Materials used:

Black 6 x 6 Card

Cardstock: Bronze Mirri, Bronze Pearl

Acetate

Nestabilities: Grand Squares (sizes 1 and 3)

Stamps – Home Sweet Home

Inkpads: Black Stazon

Eazi-Scoreboard and Stylus

To make this card:

Cut 3 squares with the Nesties Grand Square #3  :  bronze mirri, bronze pearl, acetate -emboss the edge of the bronze mirri with a stylus pen or in your die cutting machine. 

Place the Grand Square #1 in the centre of the bronze mirri, tape in place and cut to make a frame.

On the pearl square, starting in the bottom left corner, make your first line to the opposite corner to start the sunray effect.   Using the double lines to keep the pattern equal - make further lines, always starting from the same bottom corner.

Stamp the acetate with the grass stamp - You need to take care where you stamp  so that the sun is in the centre of your ray. Cut a circle from the bronze mirri and place behind the sun.

Assemble all your layers and add to the base card. 

This set of stamps were a delight to work with and so useful for any occasion.

Until next time, enjoy your crafting and don't forget to leave a comment here and on my blog and on all the other DT's blogs for a chance to win these stamps.  Glenda will be doing a random draw so the more visits you make - the more chances you have of winning.  Some lucky crafter will be a very happy crafter!

ikki

Home Sweet Home.......

Hello there,

Today a card using the new sheet 'Home Sweet Home'. I have used the smallest image on the sheet and added some lines for this tiny landscape. I have used the sponging technique and put this circle on a Cheery Lynn doily. Also embossed the grasses and sentiment with white EP on the card.

Hope to have inspired you, greetz

Home Sweet Home - Winter on Acetate by Lesley (Craftymamma)

Hi Everyone,

This is one of the projects I made recently using the fab Home Sweet Home set of stamps.  It's such a versatile set and I love the grasses with the sun/moon.  For this particular card I decided to make it wintery little scene and added to the effect using a spikey branch punch to create a snowflake effect.

Don't forget to keep an eye out on my DT friends' blogs and leave a little comment.  You never know the winner of the stamp set could be Yoooohooooooo!

Have a lovely weekend all.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

New Home Sweet Home stamps

We have just launched a brand new set of stamps over on the Chocolate Baroque website called Home Sweet Home.

This is a lovely little set (it's A5 size) which would work beautifully with many other landscape themed stamps.  I can see it working well with other sets such as Eastern Grasses, Tall Trees and Wild Meadow to name just a few.

I made this card for my father-in-law who is in hospital at the moment.  He loves the fact that all the hospital staff have been admiring it and he proudly tells them that I made it especially for him.  Hand made cards really do spread a little happiness.  The card was stamped with Versafine and coloured with Coloursoft pencils.


I also made a couple of videos showing how to make the card below using masking and coloured pencils.  If the embedded videos below don't work for you, you can find the videos (Sunburst 1 and Sunburst 2) on my YouTube channel.

I have a set of these new stamps to give away to a lucky winner and I will be picking one of our DT blogs at random, then picking one lucky winner from their comments at random.  That includes my own blog and this blog, so get your commenting hat on and who knows, it could be you.

Watch out for more artwork from the rest of the Design Team coming soon.