Spring Perfume ( by Magda)

 Good Morning,

Are you already feeling the nice warm spring air ?                                                                                       Here below I share with you my Step by Step of  "Katya is smelling the Perfume of the Spring Air" 

1.  Blend on the Journaling Page a red colour of  Distress Ink Pad                                                                                2.  Cover all with white gesso and let dry                                                                                                        3.  Blend several blue colors of  Distress Ink Pad  on the gesso                                                                       4.  Rub a baby wipe on Katya stamp to have the perfect humidity before stamping                                       

5.  Stamp Floral Perfumery with Versafine on a white cardstock,  colour the stamp with

     watercolors and cut the contour                                                                                                                                                  6.  Stamp  with Archival  the words  Perfume from  Floral Perfumery and Spring                                             

     from March Fairy on a piece of scrap cardstock colored with the same color                                                        

     of the flower of point 5                                                                                                                               7.  Glue the decoupage cuts on the journaling page and stamp little butterflies in black                                      

     around Katya,  as shown and don't forget to use a nice ribbon as label holder.

     

I hope you had a spring inspiration from my page and  thanks for passing by, hugs

Magda

Hold on to your Dreams and Rainbow Soul by Penny.

Good morning peeps, I hope you are all safe and well.  I'm here with my last blog post, not only of the month but also with the Design Team.  I have left the DT after over four wonderful years with Lesley and David of Chocolate Baroque, and working with the best Design Team.  I shall still pop in on the CB facebook page from time to time though!  I would just like to say a big 'Thank You' to all of you who have liked my artwork and/or left a comment, your support has meant a lot.

Hold on to Your Dreams.

I have used stamps from the Catching Dreams, Hold On and Katya sets; acrylic paints, Kraft card, alcohol pens, Distress Inks, sepia Versafine ink, gold gilding wax, a wooden circular plaque, a piece of mountboard from my stash, a leather cord and some beads from my stash.          

On a piece of white card I stamped the Katya, feathers and Cacti images in sepia ink.  I then coloured some of the images with pens and some with DIs.  I had stamped several feather images and when they were all coloured I cut out all the images.  I did not need the Russian headress for Katya in this project so I cut it off and replaced it with the feathers.  I painted the wooden plaque and added gilding wax to the edge.  I then attached the Katya and Cacti images to it in 3D. On a piece of Kraft card I stamped the poem by Chief Dan George in sepia ink, cut around it then attached it to the plaque.  I threaded a leather cord through the plaque to hang it by added a couple of wooden beads. 

    

On another piece of Kraft card I stamped the Dreamcatcher image in sepia ink.  I painted the image with DIs and cut it out.  I die cut a circle of greyboard, the same size as the stamped image, then attached the board to the image.  I threaded another piece of leather cord through the dreamcatcher and through the bottom of the wooden plaque, joining the two together,

    

Rainbow Soul.

For this card I have used stamps from the Do Right Always and Hold On sets; pearlescent sprays, black Versafine ink, white gesso, Distress Inks and CB Strip Stencils.

I began this project by creating the background.  I took a piece of white card and sprayed it with three colours of pearlescent sprays. When it was dry I stencilled some circles down one side using white gesso.  I then stamped a sentiment in black into one of the circles.  I matted the background onto black card.          

 

On another piece of white card I stamped and embossed the Totem Pole and Tomahawk images.  I used DIs to colour the images before cutting them out.  On a white base card I stamped feather and plant images using DIs around the edges of the card, creating a border.  I attached the background panel to the card and then attached the embellishments in 3D.   

We would also like to wish Penny well, and to say that we will miss her on the Design Team. Her bright bubbly personality, and vibrant designs have brightened up our day on many occasions. All the very best Penny, 

Stay Strong by Brenda

Good morning, Brenda here with our first post of August, this month the Design Team will be sharing their artwork featuring the wonderful Native American stamp sets Lesley launched on Hochanda last month. They are something really different and a joy to work with and so useful for masculine cards in particular, something I like many struggle with.

The above card was a bit of a labour of love as I wanted to create something that showcased most of the new stamp sheets and evoked memories of the very old and tatty book Hiawatha which captivated me as a child. Contrary to what many believe she was in fact female but you have to go back almost 100 years before Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem about Chief Hiawatha and his fictional wife Minihaha.

So after creating a tri-fold base using dies, mats inked with Oxides and some stencil work I stamped various elements from Catching Dreams, Do Right Always and Hold On as well as the Beautiful Russian Princess Katya stamped without her headdress and an Indian bandana added so she has becomes Haiwatha from my storybook.

As always my thanks for your visit today and if you would like the opportunity to win a Chocolate Baroque stamp please do pop over to today's Allsorts challenge blog.

Colored Squares (by Magda)

Hi,
last month we had circles and today let us play with squares.

I used for the background of my Journaling Page cold and warm colors of  Distress Paint, applying them pure or mixing them. When the paint was dry, I stamped with Archival Jet Black "Katya" and covered her nose and mouth with a little mask,  using glue.

Special Wishes card :

I swiped a mat of white cardstock with a lemon wash, blended on it some stencils with blue and green Distress Ink Pad colors . I  stamped with Archival Black a flower of "Silhouette Grasses" rubber plate and the sentiment of "Words to Dazzle and Sparkle"   Mat and Sentiment are glued with Glue n' seal

Thanks for reading my post,  hugs

Magda

Katya (by Veronica)

The Katya stamp is a lovely big stamp and so easy to colour in - here I used some ancient mica paints to try to give her a rich eastern look.

Before painting Katya, I masked her off and stamped the eastern looking castle from the magical landscapes set of stamps twice in the background using a light grey ink pad and added cololur using a sponge and distress inks - pretty randomly, I just wanted a hint of misty colour.

Incredible Time and Inspiring Katya by Penny

Good morning peeps, I hope you are all happy and well.  For my last DT post of the month I have a couple of cards to share with you.  

Incredible Time.

For this card I have used stamps from the Timeless set, Versamark ink, gold EP, Distress inks and some Glossy Accents.  

On a piece of smooth white card I blended three colours of Distress inks and dried the card.  I then stamped the large collage image using Versamark ink then embossed it in gold.  I used a gold pen to edge the panel then added some Glossy Accents to a few of the clock faces and set the panel aside to dry naturally.  

I took a piece of blue paper and stamped the collage image in a pale DI randomly.  I then stamped some of the lovely worker stamps randomly around the edges of a white base card, using the same colours as I used for the background panel.  I attached the stamped blue paper to the card then added the focal panel when it was dry. 

I had already stamped and embossed the single clockface image onto white card, cut it out and added Glossy Accents as before.  As a final touch I attached the clockface in 3D onto the card.

Inspiring Katya.

This card is really quick and easy, the sentiment can be changed to suit any occasion.  I have used stamps from the Katya and Words of Inspiration sets; grey Versafine ink, Distress Inks, CB Strip Stencils - circles, alcohol pens, a gold pen and some gems from my stash.  

On a piece of smooth white paper ( actually the back of an old calendar) I stamped Katya in grey Versafine.  I coloured her in with alcohol markers and added gold pen to enrich the look of her headdress.  I masked off the image and used DI through a stencil for the background, then removed the mask. 

I had left the perforated edge of the calendar on the artwork for a bit of interest and texture.  I stamped a couple of words onto spare pieces of smooth white paper and used DI and the circle stencil as a background for the sentiment panels.  I then matted all the panels onto a contrasting colour of card and attached them to a white basecard.  To complete the design I added a few gems to the headdress.  

I shall be back next month with some more samples to share with you, so until then please stay safe, keep well and respect each other,

                            x x  Penny  x x   

Words, Trees and Katya (by Zoe)

Good morning Lovelies and welcome to my second post this month.
Here are the rest of my samples from last month.

My first card is Yupo paper which I used Alcohol inks and blending solution, then used Archival ink pads to stamp Tangled Birch on.

I used Distress Oxides ink pads to create the background and Inktense pencils to colour in the beautiful Katya.

I used a whiteboard tag from the website, I coloured and stamped the background with Distress Oxides, a little splatter with a marker pen to finish it off. I used:

Words of Inspiration, Shaded Baubles, I Shall Be Your Wings.

Thank you so much for spending your time visiting.
Have a wonderful day, stay safe and keep well.
Big hugs
Zoe xx

Inspire Me by Brenda

Hello all, I have a couple more cards to share, the one at the top features the lovely Katya who some of you may have seen on Lesley's recent Hochanda shows is becoming a bit of a lady of disguise doubling up without her headdress as Red Indian.

I stamped Katya in Versafine black ink then masked her to created the rainbow background using Pan Pastels and then used Silhouette Masks 1 and 2 to create some background interest before colouring Katya with Distress Markers. Finally a sentiment from Words of Inspiration.

Another sentiment from Words of Inspiration stamped and placed into an oval die cut aperture, some stencilling on the front panel using Strip Stencils, Butterflies stamped coloured and cut out and some ribbon.

Many thanks as always for popping in today.

A whole lotta Katya by Rachel

Hello there, Rachel here with some more Katys based inspiration from the June shows. I have two pieces I want to share with you this time - including a 'how to' for the second piece.

My first piece is a card featuring the Katya stamp set but also stamps from the Babushka set and the russian egg set.

To create the card I used a piece of A3 card cut in half lengthwise. Then I folded it so there was a larger flap and smaller flap on the front and scored the edges. Next I cut extra pieces of card to fit the two outer surfaces and the inner surface. I then coloured these with distress oxides and added background stamping of the egg. I then stamped up and painted the main images and added the sentiment too.

Next for my round canvas - I was so pleased with this piece...

To create this I did the following: firstly I stamped Katya onto tissue and coloured her in ... I used mica powders but you could use anything really. Paint may have been a better bet.

Next I stamped and coloured the building from the Babushka set onto the canvas then added texture paste I had coloured with mica powders onto the canvas using the dotty stencil. I also added a lot of flicks of paint.

I then added Katya - I had to add more spots as the mica powders from the rice paper flowed around with the decoupage glue.... but I think I got away with it!

Finally I added the words and the border!

I hope you have found that useful and interesting!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Baroque Katya and Sunshine Meadow

Good morning everyone, I'm here with my first post of this month featuring the fabulous Chocolate Baroque stamps from last month's tv shows.  

Baroque Katya.

For my first project I have used stamps from the Katya, Baroque Meadow and Words of Inspiration sets; spray inks, black Versafine ink, clear EP, Versamark ink, white EP, white texture paste, CB Stencil - Russian Spires.

On a piece of Drawing Cartridge I stamped and embossed Katya then masked her .  I used a couple of spray inks to create a colourful background then added interest by using white texture paste through a stencil on one side of Katya and stamped and embossed the meadow flowers in white.   

I removed the mask and painted Katya.  I added some gems to her headdress and edged the panel with gold pen.   I then matted the panel onto a piece of embossed and gilded card and attached them both to a white base card, and added a sentiment tag.

Sunshine Meadow.

For the second project I used stamps from the Baroque Meadow and Words of Inspiration sets; 

Kraft Card, Distress Inks, Versamark ink, white EP and a stencil from my stash.

On a piece of Kraft Card I stamped and embossed the meadow flowers in white.  I then applied yellow Distress Ink through a stencil of sunrays and blended green ink  along the bottom of the panel to ground the flowers.  I blended ink around the edges of the panel then matted it onto green card and attached it to a base card.  I created a sentiment panel and added that to the front of the card.

Thank you all for dropping by today, I hope you've enjoyed my post and perhaps I've helped to spark your Mojo!  I shall be back later in the month with more crafty fun so until then stay safe and stay well,

                                x x Penny x x

Looking at Backgrounds (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all keeping well. Even in times like these, I hope that you have been able to find some enjoyment in your crafting, in whatever form that has taken. A lot of you have been saying that your mojo has taken a walk, but hopefully the inspiration here on the blog, on the Facebook Group, and Lesley's daily Facebook live posts are continuing to provide you with lots of ideas.

I have created a card for you using the lovely Katya, and stamps from the Timeless stamp set. I used a piece of card from my stash that had been washed with a tea bag dipped in warm water. This gives the card a lovely aged feel, perfect for the look I wanted. It's a very quick way of colouring a background.

I stamped Katya using dark brown Archival ink, and covered the image with masking tissue, before adding the large image from the Timeless stamp set a couple of times. I then added lots of the smaller images using second generation stamping to fill the rest of the space, and overstamping the other image as well. I used sepia tones, keeping in with the general colour palette.

I removed the mask, and coloured Katya with Koh-I-Noor Polycolour pencils, these blend really well, and add a pop of colour to the main image. I felt that the main decorative piece on Katya's headdress reminded me of a cog, and so she fitted so well with the 'Timeless' theme, a lady from a bygone era.

To create my second card, I added Distress Inks to a piece of Drawing Cartridge with some water, and then stamped the little butterflies from Baroque Meadow across the background using toning colours of Versafine Clair inks. I used a whiteboard postcard, and stamped a sentiment from Words of Gratitude across the background using grey Archival Ink. I added some shading around the edge of the postcard using Distress Ink and stamped the Tangled Birch over the top, which I coloured with pencils as before.

My final card, which I shared at the time of the TV shows was a really quick card, a simple Brusho background with the same wording added. I then stamped the images from Baroque Meadow in black ink, and added a piece of black ribbon, before mounting the project onto black card.

These lovely stamps are so versatile, always a pleasure to create with. I will be back later in the month with more ideas to share with you. Take care for now, and stay safe,

Judith xx

Rather a lot of purple by Brenda

Good morning everyone, today I have some cards to share using the stamps from the June shows on Hochanda where the lovely Katya featured. She really is a lovely image and a delight to work with and it seems that without realising it I was having a bit of a purple day when I created these two.

The above card has an Oxide ink background onto an arch shaped base card created with dies. Katya was then stamped with Versafine black as were the Butterflies from Just Butterflies and sentiment from Words of Love and a few pearls added to embellish.

For the background to this one I used a piece of acetate which I dabbed with Oxide ink and a spritz of water and dabbed onto the card as I only wanted hints pf colour rather than covering the whole piece. I then randomly stamped with images from Rustic Fragments, Baroque Ephemera and Edgy Edges and a sentiment from what remains my favourite Chocolate Baroque sentiment set Words of Inspiration. Finally I stamped and cut out two clock faces from Timeless along with two wire circles (sourced from one of hubby's greenhouses!)

Have a lovely day.

Katya, goddess of the sea(by Miranda)

Hello there,

Today is my 3rd and last guest post  for this batch. I did enjoy working with these lovely stamps.

A while ago when I just got the Katya stamp I was thinking to make her more versatile......leaving out her headdress, then she could be every lady you would like her to be.

And then I saw recently Judiths' lovely take on that too.......Oooh, I was thinking I can't do the same......In the days/years I was a member of the DT team it happened often that we had the same thoughts about a stamp then we used to say to each other ' great minds think alike' so with that in mind I started changing her.......trying to do something else......

I used the stamping tool for this, it will be easy using that. I only removed a part of her headdress. So it could also be a crown or decoration .....I wanted to do something with a sea theme so I changed her into a goddess of the sea.......IMAGINE........

I had an inky background in my stash and it was perfect for the colors I wanted to use...

First I did stamp Katya using Memento Londog Fog, it's a very neutral color and you can easily color over it with pencils. I left out the upper part of her headdress. I draw some wavy lines that could be her hair......Then I stamped and masked several of the large scalloped shell. And one tiny shell.......and at the right side the beautiful seahorse......

Then the fun coloring started using pencils.......I used Derwent color soft. And some highlights using a white acrylic marker.

I missed some structure so I added the square bubbles here and there using Memento summer sky. Than in the lower parts of the card I stamped the bubbles using Versamark and brushed some mica powders over it.....it creates a lovely shine(see photo's below)

I did use:

Katya single rubber stamp-A6

Seashell collage rubber stamp set-A5( only the tiny shell)

Underwater rubber stamp set-A5(seahorse and large scalloped shell)

Artistic Expressions rubber stamps set-A4(Imagine)

Square bubbles individual rubber stamp-A6(structure in background)

Well, these were my ' adventures' with Katya, hope you did like them.

Of course I will be here again somewhere in the future.....(if life is not playing ball)

Thanks for your comments,

Stay safe and be creative,

More 'Katya' inspirations(by Miranda)

Hello there,

Today I have more inspirations for you, made with the beautiful Katya stamp. This time some work with alcohol based markers and not to difficult as in coloring techniques.. I certainly am a colorist, but I can imagine that some people don't like too much coloring.......it's always labour intensive.

So I did create one card , stamping plain black and only adding some gold paint. And on another card I did only use 3 colors which you can see in the photo. 

So I will begin with the most simple one....

I did use:

Katya Single Rubber stamp - A6

Artistic Expressions(the word Beauty)

Bold Blooms/Fresh Blooms Rubber stamps Multi-buy - A5(flowers)

Tangled Garden Rubber stamp sheet - A4(some leaves)

I stamped the image using Memento black, the most suitable ink for working with alcohol based markers.

The gold coloring is done with an ultra fine brush and some Gansai Tambi gold paint. It is opaque and you can see the  lovely shine on the photo above and below.

First, I stamped Katya.......than I stamped the flowers and leaves on a separate piece of paper and decoupaged them. I also stamped some leaves directly on the card where they would fit in.

The 2nd one, using the next materials:

Not my usual color combination but I think it creates a lovely contrast. Also used some glitter pens for that sparkly effect.

Stamps:

Katya Single Rubber stamp - A6

Artistic Expressions(Dreams)

Tangled Garden Rubber stamp sheet - A4(flower)

Big Bold Background Leafy Brocade Single Rubber stamp(pattern on flower)

Paisley elephant rubber stamp sheet-A4(pattern on flower)

Take it or leaf it rubber stamp set-A5(leaves)

I stamped alle the parts in the same order as the previous card. 

I searched for an open flower in my CB collection and found the large flower from the Tangled Garden. 

I stamped it with Memento Black and over stamped the first layer of the flower using the big bold Leafy Brocade background. 

Then for the 2nd layer I used the panel background stamp from the Paisley elephant and also for the top layer, the center of the layer.

Ofcourse you can also use just one stamp for the entire flower. But that is the luxury of having a lot of stamps to choose from.....

I choose some matching alcohol markers to color with. And some accenting with the sparkle pens. Although it's hard to catch the shimmer ......it really sparkles...

Then I wanted to give the black/white gold card more colors so I took that one again and changed the whole card using the 'traditional Russian folk art ' colors.

And here she is.......

Here you can see the lovely shine of the gold paint.......

So, you can either color a lot if that is your thing, but you can also give just one color like the gold accents. Or keep a limited color palette with just 3 colors.

No need to use a lot of blending with different shades, just one plain color.

Hope I did give you more ideas with this lovely stamp, I really like her! Next week again.......a complete change of 'Katya' into..........stay tuned......

Thanks for your visit and always love to read your comments! 

Any questions? Feel free to ask,