All things bright and beautiful (by rachel)

 Hello there! Rachel here today with some more makes from Lesley's March shows. 

In this first sample I really wanted to use colour - the background of the tag was paint brayered onto to a gessoed greyboard piece - the topper was simply stamped Garden Lace scene onto smooth card) in black and coloured in using watercolour brush pens.

For this simple card I stamped the arched landscape image in black ink then set with colourless embossing powder before again colouring using watercolour brush pens. 

For this third make I used the landscape collage image and stamped it on smooth card and set with clear embossing powder. Next I coloured it in more subtley using translucent paints. I then fussy cut the image. I used the same translucent paints to create the colour in the background, drying between colours to prevent muddying. I also added background stamping in orange ink.

I hope I have given you a few more ideas of ways to use your stamps.

Big hugs

Rachel x

Live, Laugh, Dream by Brenda

Brenda here again for more shares of work from last months Hochanda shows. 

I went for a bit of bold contrast with the above creation using Flora Musica stamped onto an oval and coloured in with Koh-i-Noor paints and placed over the edge of a card. The border to the left is from Harlequin Rose, a strip of red ribbon to carry the colour of the blooms and a sentiment from my Life is so much Better inspirational quote set which featured in the show.

I have used one of Lesley's new Say it Vertically sentiment sets down the side of this one and Landscape Collage stamped in black and colour added just to the sun with matting and layering to carry that colour.

May thanks for your kind visits and words of encouragement.

A Day Out

Hello everyone, I'm sharing some of the cards I made for the March show on Hochanda.

These are some beautiful stamps, all with a landscape theme. I want to show how versatile the stamps are by sharing two examples of each stamp set. 

My first cards use the Landscape Collage stamp set. 

For this card I used pink Distress Inks for the background.  I then spritzed with some water and blotted with paper towel to give some interest. I stamped the image in black onto the background. I stamped again in black onto some white card, coloured the flowers, the background and the moon. I cut away the frame and the cut the remaining image into "tiles" which I placed onto the pink card at different heights with foam pads. I added a sentiment from Life is so Much Better. 

This is the same stamp, but coloured with shades of blues and purple Distress Markers.

The background is Distress inks. This time I lifted the ink by spraying a stamp from Abstract Fragments with water, stamped and then blotted the card dry. This leaves a lovely reverse image. I also added stamping in the corners from Butterfly Daisy Collage.

My next cards use the Arched Landscape stamp set.

I started with a 8x8 card base, I added slightly smaller mats in black, purple and white.  On the white mat I die cut the corner and added some stamping from Make Your Mark.

I then used a 6x4 piece of photo paper. Unfortunately, this technique does not work on all photo papers so it is trial and error! On my craft sheet I pressed my lightest Distress Oxide pad down a couple of times and then spayed with water. I then dipped the photo paper into the ink and gently dried it. (I say gently as the paper is thin and could easily scorch.)  I repeated this with a few colours starting with the lightest to darkest, using less ink each time. When the final layer was dry I used some damp paper towel and wiped off the chalky "oxide" leaving the vibrant colours behind. I then stamped with VersaMark and embossed in white. I added a black mat to complete my card.

This card uses the same stamp, but a totally different look by using alcohol markers. I used Memento Ink to stamp the image. I finished by making a white frame and layers.

My last two today use the Garden Lace Scene stamps

First I made a tag, stamping in Archival ink and coloured with watercolour pens. I then gave it a coating of shimmer spray and some pretty ribbons.

For my last card I stamped the image 4 times onto white card in Memento ink. I have  cut  away parts of the image to decoupage the layers. I coloured in each of the areas that would be showing with alcohol markers. I then layered the pieces with foam pads.

 I love how I can use any colouring medium with these stamps and get great results.

Thanks for looking

Sandra x

Bright Landscapes (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all keeping well. I have a couple of vibrant projects to share with you today, showcasing stamps that Lesley brought to you on last month's TV shows on Hochanda. 

 My first project is an accordian book, and I have used lots of stamps from the shows. These little books are a great way of experimenting with stamps and colour, you can let your imagination go wild. I started by colouring a piece of drawing cartridge with some ink, and let this dry completely. I then stamped and embossed the Klimt Panel twice with gold embossing powder, and cut the panel out. I mounted the panel onto black card. 

 

I cut some strips of drawing cartridge just a little bit smaller than the pieces of black card, and coloured these with Distress Ink, before scoring them into sections. I stamped the Arched Landscape and Landscape Collage twice onto the panels on one side, and coloured these with pencils. I stamped the Klimt Panel using second generation stamping in between the panels as an infill with pink and blue Distress Ink.

On the reverse, I used the Klimt Panel once again, using the same colours of ink to build up the background. I also stamped fragments of the Floribunda Net stamp on each page and coloured this with pencils. I constructed the book, adding ribbon to enable me to close the book.

My second project is equally colourful! I chose to stamp the Garden Lace Scene onto kraft card using white embossing powder, and used inks to colour the scene. I matted the image onto a piece of Lesley's A5 Double Sided Designer Papers Roll Up. I also stamped and embossed onto this background using white embossing powder, and chose to use an image from the Lace Fragments stamp set. There is a strip of lace on this set that matches the border on the main image exactly, and I stamped this onto kraft card to use as a strip behind the main image instead of a piece of ribbon. I stamped and embossed one of the new Say It Vertically sentiments onto kraft card to finish my project.

These images are such fun to work with, and I have lots more to show you this month. Keep checking back to see what my Team mates have to share with you as well. Thanks for stopping by, stay safe,

Judith xx

Introducing our new Cling Mounted stamps (by Glenda)

Hello everyone, it's been ages since I was last here!

As you may well know, I've been extremely busy lately putting all my energy into building a new website for Chocolate Baroque.  We finally finished and launched it just this week and as well as a fresh new layout and better navigation, we launched a brand new collection of individual cling mounted stamps.  Our wonderful designer, Sue, has done it again - aren't these gorgeous!

I managed to squeeze in a little stamping time recently, but with most of my creative energy going into decisions about fonts sizes and heading colours, my crafting had to be super simple.  To me, that's the beauty of this collection of stamps - you don't really need to do much with them to get a good looking card.

The green panel on this card is a piece of watercolour paper, coloured with Distress Stains over which I have embossed the image in black.  I cut carefully around the swirls and layered it onto white then black and onto a 7 inch square card, with the corner flourishes from the gorgeous Butterfly Dreams stamp set.

I also had a little play with Stampbord.  These pieces are all coloured with dye inks or distress stains or a mixture of both.  I stamped with black Archival ink on all of them.

It's been a long time since we did a giveaway on the blog, so I'm going to ask you to pop over to the new website and check it out - read the new website guide if you have time (there's a link on the home page) and let me know what you think.

I will pick three lucky winners on Monday (22nd Dec) to receive a mystery Chocolate Baroque stamp bundle.  Who knows, it could be your lucky day!

Have a great weekend everyone,