Majestic crane (by Veronica)

For my first post this month I am sharing two samples using the gorgeous big crane stamp from last month's show.

The first is a card, rather darker in the scan than it really was. It was a bit of an experiment, I stamped the image in versamark ink onto black card and clear embossed it, then coloured it with pencils. In hindsight it would have been better on grey card........

The base card was 8" square, and the rushes were second generation stamped in grey across base, and the sentiment added. 

I found a  6" square box frame on a charity stall last month, and it was just the right size for the crane. I used the bridge image from kingfisher song stamped onto white card  and coloured with watercolour pencils for the background. The crane was stamped onto spare card, coloured with pencils and fussycut out.  The frame was quite deep, and the one image wasn't standing out enough - so another four stamped  cranes. I only cut out the actual body of the bird from these  and added behind the main image with foam pads. I left the rushes loose when adding the bird to the background in the hope it would add a it of movement to the scene - and also I didn't want to fussycut them out another four times!
 

life is incredible (by Veronica)

Good morning everyone, today I have yet another concertina book to share - sorry, but i got hooked on making these, and the advantage is that I can use lots of stamps in the the same project.. Life at the moment is definitely different, but nature stays much the same thankfully and I enjoyed making this tree-themed mini book.

I made the base first, using distress oxide inks onto a craft mat with loads of water - one side came out paler , but that didn't matter 

. I added stamps from make your mark randomly using the same distress inks to stamp with to add a bit more interest to the background.

All the main images were stamped using black versafine clair ink, and I added colour to some  using brusho powders and watercolours.

The sentiment on one of the covers comes from the tall trees set, which I thought went well with the other stamps

Birthday Mail and Peaceful Dreams

Hello everyone, I hope you are all safe and well.  For my last post of this month I have a couple of quick cards featuring the lovely stamps from last month's shows on tv.

Birthday Mail.

I have used stamps from the Kingfisher Song, Sticks and Stones and Birthday Words sets, Versamark ink, gold EP, pearlescent paints, gold glitter paste, CB Strip Stencil, blue Versaclaire ink and clear EP.  

I used a Gelli plate plate background that I had in my stash of backgrounds and added some gold glitter paste through a stencil.  When it was dry I trimmed the background card , added a border with a gold pen and blended some gold gilding wax along the edges of the card.  

I stamped and embossed the large Kingfisher image on a piece of black card, using Versamark ink and gold EP.  I then painted the image and cut it out. 
 

I took a white base card and stamped a sentiment and a small image in blue Versaclaire ink.  I used a blue Distress ink to colour the small image.  

I attached the focal panel to the base card to complete the project.  This is a nice quick card that would be suitable for both male and female recipients.

Peaceful Dreams.

I have used stamps from the Kingfisher Song and Trees a Crowd sets, black Versaclaire ink, alcohol pens and a few die cuts from my stash.

I wanted to create my own twist on a black and white card with a splash of added colour, so I opted for a selection of grey tones with bright spots of green.  I took a piece of white card and stamped the stone bridge image in black ink, then added the tall tree scene to one side.  I positioned the images to create scene and perspective and I used a black fineliner pen to add and extend the lines of the scenery.  I then coloured the whole focal panel with my pens.  

When that was done I stamped a sentiment in black then I matted the panel onto black card.  I took a white base card and stamped one of the tree images repeatedly along the top and bottom edges of the card front.  I attached the focal panel and added a few die cuts. 

Thank you for dropping in today, I hope that you have enjoyed this post.  I shall be back next month with some more crafty fun to share with you. 

Until then stay safe and well,

                                     x x Penny x x

Vintage Iris

Hello
I am sharing a couple more cards from the May Hochanda show.

The first one uses the pretty Iris stamp which is found on the Kingfisher Song stamp set.  I stamped the image and coloured with alcohol markers. I then aged it with a crackle stamp and Distress inks. I die cut a frame and used a variety of acrylic paints in blue, grey and gold to give a tarnished look. I layered it onto some pretty paper and some card which I also tarnished the edges. I added some of the ephemera from Baroque Ephemera 1 and Baroque Ephemera 2.

 

My next card uses the large tree stamp from Trees a Crowd set . I took a piece of card and sponged inks through the Squarely Stencil.  I used different inks and kept turning the stencil until I was happy with the background. I inked over the whole card with Distress Ink Antique Linen.  I then stamped and embossed the tree and sentiment.

Thanks for looking
Sandra x

Kingfishers (by Veronica)

 Today I have a card to share using the kingfisher song and sticks and stones stamp sets -at least I hope so. Brenda passed on the information that there is a new version of blogger, that we will all have to use from the end of the month. Now i am not the best computer person at anything new , so thought I ought to try the new version while there was still the option to use the one that works! It took me 5 minutes to work out how to start a new post ( a big red + button at the bottom of the screen, so obvious after you've tried everything at the top) 

Back to the easy bit, stamping!

I used a piece of the drawing cartridge to stamp the reeds using grey versafine ink, then masked them off with masking fluid before stamping the smaller kingfisher. The large branch was stamped on the left using black versafine. Used watercolour paints to colour the image, with light washes for the sky , grass and water. The large kingfisher was stamped onto another piece of cartridge using black versafine again, painted, cut out and glued in place on his branch.

Added a mat of black. The white base card was stamped using the bridge image at the top left and the reeds at the bottom right, this time coloured with distress markers so I got  multicololur images

River King and Solitary Tree.

Good morning everyone, I hope you are all well today.  I have another couple of samples from last months shows to share with you featuring more beautiful stamps from Chocolate Baroque.

River King.

I have used stamps from the Kingfisher Song and Sticks and Stones sets; Distress Inks, sepia Versafine ink, clear EP, Koh-I-Nor watercolour paints.

On a piece of Drawing Cartridge I stamped and embossed the Kingfisher, branch and bridge scene images, then masked them off.  I used water colour paints to create a dawn (or dusk) sky and a calm river scene for the background.  I then removed the masks and painted the stamped images.  I took a spare piece of card and stamped and embossed the Flag Iris image twice.  I then painted them and cut them out.  I matted the focal panel onto dark card, then attached the Iris images in 3D.
 

On a white base card I stamped several worker images around the edges of the card using Distress Inks then attached the focal panel.

Solitary Tree.

For this quick card I have used stamps from the Trees A Crowd set; Distress Inks, acrylic paints, black Versafine ink, clear EP.

I began this project with a background that I had made previously with acrylic paints and a Gelli plate.  I stamped a large bare tree image in black ink and embossed it in clear EP.  I trimmed the panel and blended ink around the edges.  I then drew a border around the edges of the painted background with a fine liner pen.
 

I took a Kraft base card and stamped along two sides creating a border to go either side of the focal panel.  I then attached the FP to the card.

Thank you for dropping in today, I hope that you have enjoyed my post and been a little bit inspired.  I shall be back later this month with some more CB samples so until then take care and stay safe,

                                   x x Penny x x

Kingfisher Blue

Hello

I'm sharing some of my cards made for the May show on Hochanda.
The stamps I used are from the Kingfisher Song, Sticks and Stones and Trees a Crowd stamp sets.

I love Kingfishers. I live close to a canal and have been lucky enough to spot one, but not for a long time.

My first card uses the lovely medium sized Kingfisher from Kingfisher Song, I've stamped in Memento onto smooth cards and coloured with alcohol markers.I've die cut a simple frame and layered onto some design paper.

My next card I have used the same stamp along with some elements from Sticks and Stones and the main tree from Trees a Crowd. I stamped them all with VersaMark and embossed in silver. I made a moon by sponging VersaMark through Triple Circle stencil and embossing. I mat and layered onto some silver Mirror card and then put onto a black 8x8 card blank.

My last one is on a canvas board. I stamped the large Kingfisher using my stamping platform. I left the stamp in place on the platform whilst I coloured the image in with acrylic paints. I then re-stamped to get all the detail back. I masked the Kingfisher and repeated the technique with the other stamps.

Thanks for looking
Sandra x

Kingfisher Filmstrip and an accordion card by Rachel

Good morning to you! A new month and its time to take a look at some samples from the May shows. I adore the stamps we used this month and enjoyed making this first sample using one of the MDF film strip kits that were on April's shows.  To start with I used black gesso on the filmstrip part of the MDF then used paints to colour in the stamped images of the Kingfisher from the Kingfisher song stamp set.

My piece was reversible - I think they only showed the side above on the show but i really liked the other side (below) best of all!

Next I wanted to do a step by step of an accordion card I made for the show using the trees a crowd set. First I added oxides to my craft mat, spritzed with water and then mopped up on some card.

Once dry I cut the card into panels measuring 9cm by 13 cm each.

then I stamped on them using the trees a crowd set....

Next with each panel I added detail using moon masks, torn paper and more ink plus I did some grounding of the trees using charcoal pencil. I also added sentiments.

Finally I put the panels together on a piece of A3 card cut in half along the long edge and folded into quarters. I added the panels to the card with  4 panels on one side and the final panel on the front. This left 3 sides for writing an extended message to the recipient.

I hope you have enjoyed my 'how to' today and the Kingfisher sample too.

Have a great day.

Rachel x

Fabulous Trees

Hello
I am sharing some of the pieces I made for the Hochanda show in November.

My first cards are from the new collection of Chocolate Blocks. Each stamp set comes with a focal image and a couple of extras. My first card uses the F is for...stamp set, great for a small, simple card or as part of a larger one . This was coloured with watercolour pencils.

 My second card uses the O is for.... stamp set with the dictionary script. Again, I used my watercolour pencils.

For this card I used the small tree stamp that comes with O is for..... and stamped repeatedly using my stamp platform using a couple of shades of Distress Inks.

Next I used one of the White Board Trading Hearts and coloured with Distress Inks.  I then stamped the Remembrance Tree, along with one of the many words, and embossed with white Embossing powder.

Finally, I used the bridge scene from the Kingfisher Song set and masked off the lower left section before stamping with the  Harmony Tree set.

These are really beautiful stamps and I hope you are inspired,

Sandra xx

scenic butterfly (by Veronica)

 A lesson in how to drive yourself nuts here, made worse by my not having cleaned the lovely patchwork butterfly stamp properly!

Inspired by some outline stamps seen recently, I thought I would have a go at using the butterfly in a similar fashion. The stamp was too mucky for me to just ink up the edges and wipe any overspill off with a wipe , so I tried masking the centre of the wings before inking the edges of the stamp and the centre body - after many attempts I got a pair of masks that worked fairly well and gave me a reasonable outline once I removed the masks and stamped the butterfly.

A second mask for the negative image was much easier! Once this was in place, I inked a background into the butterfly frame using distress oxide inks, then stamped the silhouette grasses stamp using black versafine ink, and added some small butterflies from butterfly blush. A quick sponge round the outline and a black matt finished the first off.



The orher two cards used the same technique and stamps but with an extra mask so that I could stamp a background scene as well, using the bridge image from kingfisher song. The base card  for the second card was inked randomly with the butterfly stencil.





I really enjoyed doing these once I got the masks sorted out, but don't  think I will be repeating it any time soon....at least not unless I get a clean stamp.........

Gelli Plate Kingfisher (posted by Claire)

Good morning folks, Claire here with a fun card made using the very handsome Kingfisher from Kingfisher Song. I love these stamps and had lots of fun making scenic cards but I couldn't resist giving him a crown for this card lol.

I took a pile of gelli plate backgrounds and chose one for Mr Kingfisher, I also stamped him on another background and added some colour with sparkle pens. I stamped the branch on the gelli plate background and doodles a border with a black gel pen. I cut the kingfisher out and layered him up on 3d foam pads and then matted and layered with white and black card. I took an 8x8 card black and some sequin waste and added some stencilling to the base card using coordinating distress inks. 

I added the sentiment and a few black sequins and as a finishing touch I give him a chipboard crown that was embossed with black embossing powder.

Thanks for visiting today, hope to see you again soon

Claire xx

Watercolour Scene (by Marga)

Hello all, today I will show you this beautiful stamp from the Kingfisher Song stamp sheet. I stamped the image with Versafine Onyx Black and coloured it with Distress Ink. I punched a round hole in a piece of paper for the sun. I put the piece of paper down on the image where I would like to have the sun and then I coloured the sun with Distress Ink. Around the sun and the image I added some shadow. The sentiment I usd is from the Words to Dazzle and Sparkle stamp sheet, and I stamped this with Versafine Onyx Black ink.

I hope that you all liked my post.

Best Regards,
Marga.

Krafty Kingfisher (by Asha)

Hello, friends! I'm back with another project idea. This time I'm going for an intensely vintage look using an image from the Kingfisher Song A5 stamp sheet.

I stamped the kingfisher onto a piece of kraft cardstock using Ranger Archival Potting Soil ink and coloured the image with Faber Castell Polychromos. For that aged look, I applied Distress Inks in Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo all around the edge of the card. Finally, some Stardust Stickles and little white dots on the water to brighten things up.

This image is such a joy to colour and its so versatile too. I've got more details of tools and products over at my blog. My team-mates have created a few beauties  with this stamp to inspire you. And make sure you swing by the DT blog for more project ideas using Chocolate Baroque stamps featured on Hochanda.

Thank you so much for stopping by today.

Beijinhos,
Asha

monchrome bridge (by Veronica)

 I thought I wouold try something different using the lovely bridge stamp from kingfisher song, too nice an image to just use in the background.
i stamped the stones from sticks and stones in the foreground, and then the bridge, with the clouds from the seashore scenes stamp set.
The sky was sponged roughly with distress inks, with white pencil highlights to the moon and clouds.
I used grey brusho powder for the bridge and river, with black and grey watercolour pencils for the trees and stones, with more white pencil highlights.

The second version used a mask for the moon, and the iris leaf stamp repeated across the front to give depth. I added some turquoise brusho powder to the grey this time for the river, and stamped the leaves several times across the base card.
I had great frun doing these, and was pleased with how they turned out, so hope that you like them too.

Introducing Marga our New Design Team Member

Hello everyone, today we would like to introduce a brand new member to the Design Team; Marga Dounan. You may have seen some of Marga's work on the recent TV shows on Hochanda. Marga has been helping us out, and is now joining us as a permanent member of the Design Team. We asked Marga to tell us a little bit about herself so that you could get to know her a little bit better.

Hello, I'm Marga, I'm 54 years old, I'm living in the Netherlands in a small village. We have a daughter and son, and two grandsons. I started crafting when I got sick 30 years ago, it was not my thing to do nothing, so I went looking for a hobby. I did all sorts of things until I discovered stamping. Since then, I just stamp and play with stamps. I discovered Chocolate Baroque stamps 5 years ago and loved them instantly. My first stamps were Pretty Poppies and since then I bought a lot more, I dare not write how much I have already. Most of all I love to colour stamps, ut I do all sorts of techniques. Therefore I am so glad that I can be part of this great team and I hope you also love the things that I let you see. Hugs, Marga.

Marga's first project  incorporates some of the latest stamps that were featured on the TV shows on Hochanda:

Hello all, here is my first post as a new Design Team member. I'm so glad I may join this team. Today I want to show you this beautiful bird from the Kingfisher Song stamp sheet. I stamped the bird with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and coloured it with pencils. I also coloured the branch with pencils. The leaves from the Silhouette Grasses stamp sheet are stamped with Memento ink. For the leaves, I have also used a green fineliner for some details.

Also, I have used a pencil to shade around the images. The sentiment comes from the stamp sheet Words to Dazzle and Sparkle.
I hope you all like my first post for this blog,


Best regards,

Marga.

Our Fragile Earth Kingfisher Scene Card (by Anne)

Good morning. Today I am sharing another of my samples made for the recent TV shows on Hochanda using the lovely new Kingfisher and scene building sets. These are still exclusive to Hochanda for a few more days – then they will also be available from Chocolate Baroque.

This sample started out to be a bit of a disaster. I used Soft Form Relief Paste to make the textured embellishment but while preparing we had no electricity for 12 hours. It was only 5 degrees in the house and unfortunately it made my embellishment go hard and brittle (where it is normally flexible and soft) – so I accidently smashed and cracked it! Aaaargh! But then I thought about a theme …… ‘our fragile earth’ …… and this design resulted. Tee hee.
 
Materials:

• Baroque Meadow and Kingfisher Song stamp sets
• 15.5cm X 11cm card blank (black), panel from a tag shaped card blank (white), scrap of white stamping card
• Soft Form Relief Paste (Silver)
• Inkpads: Stazon (Black), Versafine (Onyx Black), Distress Ink (Pumice Stone) and dye based (yellow)
• Ink spritzer sprays (pale blue with mica)
• Sparkle pens (clear, green, blue, turquoise, yellow and bright pink)
• Fine tipped acrylic pen (opaque white)
• Glossy Accents
• Circle mask (die cut from scrap acetate sheet)
• Computer printed sentiment

How to make it:

1. Cover the Baroque Meadow stamp with a layer of Soft Form Relief Paste and leave to fully dry (1-2 days). Gently peel away from the stamp and trim away rough edges with scissors. Rub over the surface with Stazon ink. Mine snapped across due to the cold conditions. Usually this stays flexible so you will need to cut across with scissors.
2. Using a sponge and the circle mask apply yellow ink to create the earth shape. Remove the mask and lightly spritz with the blue ink. When dry apply a layer of clear sparkle over the earth.
3. Edge the card with Distress Ink and glue down the meadow embellishment and sentiment strips. Glue to the card front with 3D foam.
4. Stamp the Kingfisher scene with Versafine ink. You only need to partially ink the stamp – cut out the Kingfisher. Colour with sparkle pens. Dot a little highlight into the eye with the white pen and when dry add Glossy Accents. Shape lightly and apply to the card with 3D glue gel.