Feeling mellow yellow...or red? ( by Miranda)

Hi there,

Today I want to show you two samples made with the lovely Mellow fruitfulness sheet, isn't it great? This time I've used the apples, the little cherries and the fruity border. These backgrounds were already waiting in my stash to be treated with some lovely stamps.  On the first one I did also use the background fragment(one of my favorites) from the Dusky Damask sheet. The leafy border on the right is also a stamp from that sheet. The background was created using the acrylic bloc technique.(you can find this here)

 I stamped the damask fragment onto damp paper so you can see only some vague patterns. I've embossed the word( Artistic expressions) with Wow Magical mauve embossing powder. I've stamped the apples with Memento red and some Memento Elderberry on the leaves. The leafy branch is stamped with Memento black. Than coloured them with colourpencils. And some accents with a white Sharpie marker. O, yes there are also some cherries at the top! Well I think I have never used such a vibrant red card, it is really popping!

Now onto the 2n one..........this is one of the backgrounds I've been playing with during the holidays.......lots of inks flowing, water misting and coloured fingers.......but we had fun doing that. I've used Shadow paint inks, they are similar to ecoline. Than I've stamped one of the fragments of the Harlequin fragments several times onto very wet paper, some less wet and some dry. Using different inks, like gold, white, orange and purple.

The fruity border from the Mellow fruitfulness sheet is stamped with Memento inks; Pear tart, Grape jelly and Morocco. It's easy to use the small Memento dewdrops for this.

I gave some structure to the top using an embossing folder and rubbing several Inca Gold waxcolours (Viva decor) over it. It creates a beautiful shine........

This way you can easily create a ten minutes card, look in your stash for a background paper( self made or scrap paper) and match your image inking up the same colors.

Here you can see the sparkle of the Wink of Stella marker on the border. 

I also want to say thank you for your visit and your inspiring comments, always a joy to read! If you have any questions, please ask .........

creative greet and seize the day!

Quick and easy recipe book (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with a quick and easy notebook made using the beautiful new stamps 'Mellow Fruitfulness' . I often jot recipes down on scraps of paper and then lose them so I decided to make a book for them using a cheap and cheerful book from the pound shop, they are great fun to alter and make a lovely little gift

I began by cutting some smooth white card to the size of the book, adding extra length to go over the top and overlap at the back of the book. Next I stamped the images, coloured them with Graph'It Markers and lightly inked around the edges with Tumbled Glass distress ink. I layered this up on some red card and glued it onto the cover of the book.

Happy Crafting

Claire xx

Guest Post - It's all about the stamps by Lou Withers

This week we have a brand new guest blogger, Lou Withers, who is sharing some of her gorgeous artwork with us using the Mellow Fruitfulness and Autumn Edges stamps sets. Over to you Lou

I've always loved Chocolate Baroque. I remember the first time I ever went away on my own was to a retreat organized by Glenda and I was totally hooked. I had seen Glenda on tv and the stamps and techniques just stood out alone. So with this first set of work I just wanted to keep it simple to show off the stamps. I used watercolours and distress inks. To make sure the details stood out I drew over the images again. Hope you like them, simple, clean and just showcasing the stamps. 

Love
Lou

Love your approach to these stamps Lou, and the colouring of the images is beautiful. I'm sure you'll agree that this is a stunning way of featuring some of the images from these stamp sets and we would love to read your comments. And don't forget there is more inspirational artwork coming up, so please keep dropping in to see what's happening.

 

Got Ten Minutes? (posted by Judith)

Hello everyone, I have a couple of quick cards for you today, using the Mellow Fruitfulness stamp set. For my first card, I punched out four squares of smooth watercolour paper from my stash of scrap card, but any smooth card will do. I coloured three of the stamps using water based markers, and then stamped them onto the squares. I embossed them with clear embossing powder. I used one of the sentiments for the fourth square. I used Distress Ink to add a bit of colour to all of the edges of the squares. To finish the card, I simply chose some deep red card, and a piece of gingham ribbon.

I quite liked one of the images on my first card, and so I decided to use it again on my second card.I stamped it again onto a die cut oval, embossing it as before with clear embossing powder, and adding a touch of red Distress Ink around the edges. I chose another sentiment which I turned into a little tag with the addition of a hole and some string.

I found some gingham paper in my stash and used some more of the red card, with a touch of green ribbon this time, to tie all of the elements together.

 

Two very quick cards, using these lovely stamps, showing that you do not have to spend ages to create a fun project. I hope that I have given you some inspiration, thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

More Autumn creations by Miranda

Hi there,

Finally I did get my very neglected Copic markers out and had a play with the Autumn Poppy sheet and the Autumn edges. The border is stamped onto canvas paper which was inked up with Distress stains and plain black stamping. Only gave some white pencil accents. I like these orange lampions.......and the rosebuds......

The 2nd card is showing the beautiful artichokes which you can find on the Mellow Fruitfulness sheet which is recently launched. A sheet which you can use on several occasions.

I've made a background using shadow paint inks, they are similar as Ecoline. They have vibrant colors and I had fun playing with them. Just wet a water based paper with a water mister and apply randomly 2 or 3 colors of the ink with a large brush. Than hold your paper vertically and mist again and just let the inks run where you want them to go........it's an addictive technique and also very simple. My son Daniel(9 year) was also playing along......so during the holidays we created lot and lots of backgrounds.

Now onto another gorgeous sheet ' Mellow Fruitfulness', like that name!

I've stamped and masked the artichokes and coloured them with pencils. I've used lots of layers for the background with the text fragment of the Eccentric Edwardian sheet, the large corner swirl from the Butterfly dreams and a Crafters stencil called Blazonry.

I've coloured the artichokes with pencils and gave some white gel pen accents. I've sponged the stencil with Distress ink and applied some pearl powder accents over it. I've embossed the swirls with embossing powder. 

Do you like trying this technique? Just take out your fluid inks and let them flow! Any questions....please don't hesitate to ask them, I will be happy to answer.

Inky greet,

Yummy Home cooking (by Maria)

Hey stamping lovers!

Today I have some samples that I made with the Mellow Fruitfulness stamp set and I hope you like them!

Here I made my background with dylusion ink and a stencil.  I took a wet baby wipe and some bleach,  which I applied to my stamp and stamped it two times on my background, this gives the beautiful white print on my background. Please don't forget to clean your stamp immediately, because bleach is not so healthy for the rubber! Then I stamped my images with black archival ink in the middle of my card, and with some alcohol markers I painted the artichoke in natural colours.

 

On my second card, the background is made with one of the stamps of the Decorative edges Unmounted Rubber stamp sheet.

I have made these two cards with some dies, and Distress Ink.  I have just used Autumn coloured  Distress Ink. I stamped my fruit stamp with black archival ink onto smooth  paper, coloured  the image with Distress Ink and then cut it out. If you leave the die in place and colour the whole background in the colours of your choice, once you have finished you will have a tiny white border all around your coloured image. On the third card I've used those different sizes of dies, in the middle you can see some transparent paper. I hope I have inspired you a little bit! Have a lot of fun with these gorgeous stamps and enjoy.

Greetings
Maria

Colourful Fruit and a Quick Make (by Shirley)

Hello everyone,  I hope you are doing well.   It's wonderful to be back here with the Design Team after taking a couple of months away during our move.    

The new Mellow Fruitfulness is a wonderful set with elegant fruity images that will work well for gift tags on homemade jams, cook book covers and more.   My first design below was quick to make with the exception of the colouring.

The background is Peacock Feathers Distress Ink (using an acrylic block to apply) along with blending the same ink with a honeycomb style stencil.   I stamped the fragment from Texture Fragments with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink.   The images from Mellow Fruitfulness and sentiment from Words of Gratitude were stamped with Black Archival Ink which I coloured with pencils.

This second design is a quick make, only ten minutes if you don't count my thinking about what I was going to do.

I used designer papers from my stash, a couple of die cuts, ribbon and the wonderful apple image and sentiment were stamped with Olive Archival ink to compliment the papers.   It's such a great image, it works well on it's own but a little water colouring would not take long. 

Thanks for your visit and I hope you are able to keep checking back to see what my talented teammates have created this month.

Have a great day,
Shirleyx

Mellow Fruitfulness and Autumn - Wooden Box By Florence

Hi everyone

I was so excited when I saw the new Stamps for November especially as, like many of you, I am in the middle of making gifts and stocking fillers for Christmas....I am not quite in panic mode yet though!

If you are making gifts for friends, family or to sell at School and Church Bazaars do check out not only the new stamps but the other stamps in the CB range. The image design and the quality of the stamps with the deep etching allows you to stamp onto not just card but they stamp fabulously on wood and fabric. 

Today I would like to share with you a wooden box I painted and stamped onto which is one of the Christmas gifts I have made for this year.

This really is not as complicated as it may look.  Do give it a go you will have so much fun.

I prepared the box for painting just by removing all hinges and clasps, cleaning it and sanding it down.

I then Painted the base and lid of the box, inside out, with 2 coats of Gesso.

I then painted the base and lid of the box, inside and out, with 3 coats of white craft paint sanding lightly between coats. I like to use 3 coats in case I need to remove any paint as mentioned in later stages below.

I diluted some blue craft paint with some water (to a milk consistency) and applied it to all of the outside edges of the box base and lid using my fingers.

Tip:  If you do put too much paint on or you do not like the look you have created quickly take the paint off with a wet wipe but do leave to dry before adding any more paint.

So when you have base coated the box in white and added the distressed blue edges you are ready to stamp.

Mix a small amount of blue paint (say, a tea spoon full) with equal parts of Stamping Medium (details can be seen on my craft blog HERE). You can mix more paint as and when required.  

 The stamping medium is optional.  I like to use the mix because I find it gives me a better stamped paint image.

Using a bathroom sponge, apply the paint mix to your rubber stamp and then start stamping.  

Tip:  I would recommend that you start stamping at the front of the box, both on the lid and the base.  That way you can alter any stamping at the back.

Tip: If you do make a mistake stamping or you do not like the position of the image you have stamped, as mentioned above, take it off with a wet wipe.  Do leave it to completely dry before you stamp onto the area again.

To create the crackle effects, I painted on one coat of Weather Wood Medium and left it to dry.  

I then painted on one coat of One Step Crackle Medium and left to dry.

This was a happy accident and I was pleased with the results.  

You can just use one coat of One Step Crackle Medium and leave off the Weathered Wood Medium if you wish.

I then diluted some paint with water and rubbed this over the surfaces of my box, in small areas at a time, just with my fingers, taking off any excess with a piece of kitchen paper towel.

Tip: If you rub/paint on too much paint and if some paint drys you can remove it by very gently wiping it over with a wet wipe.  Please do leave the surface dry before reapplying any more paint.

To seal the decorated box I use two coats of Gel Medium.  

An alternative to this would be to use household wood varnish or Mod Podge.  As this surface has been stamped in water base craft paint you can use most mediums. 

Thank you for looking.

Happy Stamping

Florence x

Tasty Treats by Doreen

Hello to you all, I am  sharing sample made from the new stamps that have just been released for November 

I first made my background using PanPastels onto a textured cardstock, I then stamped my image which is from the Mellow Fruitfulness stamp sheet with black Archival ink and coloured with distress inks Evergreen Bough and Festive Berries. I then got one of the Autumn Edges stamps and stamped around the card using Evergreen Bough Distress ink.

Autumn Apples (by Asha)

Good morning, friends! Have you seen the new stamps? Oh my! They are absolutely delicious! You must be bubbling with ideas but let me show you this quick and easy make.

From the new Mellow Fruitfulness I picked these scrumptious apples, coloured them with alcohol markers and did a little fussy cutting. I inked the edges of a piece of cream cardstock with Distress Inks to give that warm autumnal glow.  Then I stamped a row of leaves from the Autumn Edges set.

The sentiment is from Pretty Poppies, which I stamped on a die-cut circle. I adhered it just off the edge. Next, I placed the fussy cut apples and added an extra leaf from the Autumn Edges hanging overtop. To finish - some red and white twine.

It's a simple card ... but then you really don't have to do very much when working gorgeous stamps.

I'll post details of the products used on my blog. In the meantime, make sure you drop by the Design Team blog regularly for more utterly scrumptious creations by my team-mates.

Beijinhos,

Asha

Changing Colours of Autumn (posted by Judith)

Hello everyone, I have a couple of projects to share using the new stamp sheets of the month for November.

My first card uses the lovely artichoke stamp from the Mellow Fruitfulness stamp set. I stamped the image onto smooth watercolour paper and then masked the image before adding a thistle image from the Wild Meadow stamp set. I added some texture in two corners of the background using a stencil and some texture paste. I coloured the background using dye based inks, and then stamped an image from the Harlequin Fragments stamp set over the top. I added some metallic wax to the stencilled area for a bit of interest. I coloured the stamped image using pencils. I stamped a sentiment from the Mackintosh Sentiments clear stamp set in one corner, and then added some plum shading around the edges of the background, before matting the whole thing onto purple card.

My second project was made using an oval cut from smooth watercolour paper, onto which I stamped and embossed the row of trees from the Autumn Edges stamp set. I used black ink and a clear embossing powder for a nice crisp image. I then used various tones of Distress Ink, and washed the colour loosely over the background with a large brush and some water. Once this was dry, I added deeper tones for shading, and blended it with a water brush. I added lots of little dots in Autumn tones to the grassy area to resemble leaves. I stuck the oval to a large kraft card blank.

I stamped the row of open leaves several times onto scraps of paper that I had left over from other projects. Some papers I had coloured myself, and some papers were ready made scrapbook papers, but I chose colours that were suitably Autumnal. I cut the leaves out and arranged them in a pleasing fashion around the edge of the image, before sticking them down. Finally, I added a sentiment from the Amazing Birthday clear stamp set. 

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Enjoy the season of Mellow Fruitfulness with our latest Autumnal stamps

With November just around the corner it is good to see that we are hanging on to the last vestiges of Autumn. Some trees are already completely bare, whilst others are still sporting leaves in a myriad shades of rusts, browns, yellows and oranges. Seeing such rich colours always inspires me to get out my pencils and paints to try and capture the true essence of nature. And this month we have two new A5 stamp sets that I hope will give your mojo a seasonal flavour.

The first set, which is also our Stamp of the Month, is Mellow Fruitfulness

and the second new set is Autumn Edges, a welcome addition to the Edges series

Both these sets of stamps will work for so many styles of projects and a variety of occasions and are at in introductory price until the end of November.

Here are a couple of ideas from the Design Team Girls to set your creativity in motion. If you are giving handmade presents for Christmas how about something like this beautifully decorated box by Florence

 or why not cheer up a friend with these colourful apples from Asha

This is just a small taster of the treats we have in store for you during the coming weeks. And if you purchase these, or any of our other stamps, why not let your glorious artwork inspire others by sharing it on our Chocolate Baroque Facebook group. We would love to see what you do.