Serenity Canvas - (by Magda)

You already had the opportunity to see my canvas during the TV shows on Hochanda last month, therefore I now will give you some instructions for the project.

Step by Step :

1. Colour a canvas with acrylic Distress Paint Salty Ocean
2. Cover all the canvas with Tim Holtz Melange Wrap Tissue
3. Apply Acrylic white Gesso on the darkest sections of the Wrap Tissue
4. Salty Ocean, Pistacchio, Picked Raspberry Distress Ink Pad on the surface
5. Apply directly through a stencil using a Versamark  pad
6. Emboss Gold Embossing Powder with a heat gun
7. Stamp on a white A4 cardstock   Serenity and the border of Indian Textiles rubber stamp
8. Colour the stamps with watercolors Aquarelle pencils and cut around the edges
9. Glue all the pieces on the canvas

I hope you liked my first project for April.

Magda

tranquility by Veronica

 Good morning everyone, hopefully the weather is better today where you are after the rainy Easter we have had.
Maybe I ought to apologise for showing such a watery scene..........................
I love the tranquility set of stamps, but here I used the waterlilies from serenity as well.
I stamped the lilies three times across the base of the card, then masked  them using Pebeo drawing gum before stamping a fourth lily at one side and then the statue from tranquility
After rubbing off the drawing gum I coloured everything with distress inks, using a waterbrush.
The statue was in grey tones to repreent stone, it did end up a bit darker then i really wanted though! For the sky and water I used ink onto a blending mat, added loads of water then used a large paintbrush to roughly colour in the sky and water

Affirmation Journal (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are all enjoying your Easter break. If you are in the UK, then like me, you are probably wishing that you were somewhere a little bit warmer! However, there is always something to be positive about, and that is what I hope my project will help you to discover.

I have made a little journal full of individual cards with positive and motivational phrases. You could make this project for yourself, or to give to a friend, who is struggling with their creativity at the moment. I have covered some pieces of white card with an injection of bright colour, and left the backs either blank, or covered them with plain paper to write your own thoughts. You could add extra stamping if you wish.

I started my project by blending two colours of Distress Ink over the pieces of white card, and spritzing them with water.

 I added a border or background to the cards by selecting some of the stamps from either the Artistic Affirmations, Wisteria Lane, Serenity, or Tranquility stamp sets. I chose a phrase from the Artistic Affirmations stamp set, and added this to each card using black ink, then I added some white highlights to the words to make them pop.

I created some pages to contain the cards by cutting some A4 sheets of black card in half. I then scored these sheets at the 10cms point, and then took half a centimetre away, leaving a 9.5cms flap. I trimmed this flap down to 7cms high and stuck down the side and bottom edges with very thin double sided tape, to create a pocket. I stuck two pages back to back, and then punched two holes a third of the way along from the top and the bottom.

The outside covers were made just a fraction bigger than the actual pages, with black card, and then I coloured the slightly smaller pieces of white card in exactly the same way as I made the little journal cards. I used two book rings to attach everything together, which allows me to add more pages whenever I want to make some more.

I really enjoyed making this project, and hope that you caught my demo on last month's TV show when I made a couple of the cards.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Brusho Bird (posted by Judith)

Hello everyone, I have an Oriental themed card to show you today using my favourite colours and some wisteria stamps taken from the Serenity and Wisteria Lane stamp sets.

I created my card by stamping and embossing the bird and bird cage from the A Little Bird Told Me stamp set using white embossing powder. I dropped Brusho crystals over the background, choosing green and turquoise for the bird, and violet and lime green for the background. I spritzed my card with water, and blotted it with kitchen towel, to lighten the colours, and mop up the excess water.

I stamped the wisteria images using water based markers around the edges of the card. I added some detail to the bird and birdcage using markers. Finally, I matted the background onto a white card base.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Guest Post: Serenity Prayer Card Shaz Brooks

Our guest designer this week is Shaz Brooks who has designed this beautiful card using a variety of our stamps. This is a long and detailed post, but well worth the read. So pull up a chair and take time to enjoy.

(Measurements are in inches, as firstly, I still think that way, and second, my Tim Holtz ruler is in inches!)

One of the wonderful things about Glenda's stamps is how beautifully they mix and match, you are never limited to working just with the stamps in a particular set. For this project, I’ve used stamps from four different Chocolate Baroque sets: Serenity, GothicFragments, Floral Edges and Words of Wisdom. 

I began by taking a piece of white card roughly 6” x 6”.  I sprayed it with a mix of blue and purple; I mixed Distress Re-inkers (Salty Ocean and Seedless Preserves) with water in mini misters, but any spray inks will do the job. After spraying, I blotted the paper with kitchen towel, which left a lovely muted background.

Now I overstamped this piece with a couple of stamps from the Gothic Fragments, one of the Floral Edges and the Wisteria branch from Serenity. So the overstamping stayed soft to match the background, they were all stamped in Salty Ocean, and each time I stamped the image onto scrap before stamping on my background, giving me a paler second generation image.  I sprayed a second piece, roughly 3” x 6”, in the same way, then overstamped with another of the Gothic Fragments, finally inking up the Old English Prayer from the Words of Wisdom set in Versafine Majestic Blue and stamping that over the top.

Next I took another piece of white card, and stamped the Buddha image from Serenity in Memento Tuxedo Black, as I was going to colour it with Promarkers.  Using the ink left on the stamp, I also stamped a post-it note mask for the image. I trimmed the mask on the lines, so I would not get a ‘halo’ effect around my image. The post it mask was placed over the top, so that I could add colour to the ‘sky’ around the image, using Adirondack inks in Aqua, Stonewashed, Sailboat Blue, and just a touch of Denim at the edges, with a Colorbox Stylus tool. You can do this with sponges, an ink applicator or brushes, whatever your preferred method is. The sky took up roughly 2/3 of the image, so the bottom third was coloured for grass, again with Adirondacks in Willow, Citrus and a little Lettuce.

After this was totally dry, I added colour to the image using markers. The final touch was to add gilding flakes to the shrine the Buddha is sitting inside, and to the adornment on the Buddha's head. The background sheet, Buddha and the Prayer were each matted onto dark blue card.

For my base card, I cut two sheets of dark Grey Metallic card to 9”x 7 1/2”. Measuring in 1 1/2” from one short edge on each sheet, I scored a line down the card. At this point I also cut two sheets of white copy paper to make an insert for the greeting later, always wise when using a dark card base. Sandwiching the two white sheets between the two pieces of card, I punched two holes in the narrow section that had been scored. Now I threaded fibres through these holes, and tied together.  You could use twine/ribbon/string,  whatever you like. My ‘fibres’ are actually ‘eyelash wool’. I added a pale purple and pale blue brad top and bottom of the spine to secure it firmly.

Now the background sheet was stuck to the card front using double sided tape, and the Buddha image mounted on top of that, again with tape.  I added little foam pads to the back of the Prayer, to give a little dimension, and mounted it at an angle partly over the Buddha image.The final little embellishment I spotted lying on my desk- a little punched dragonfly. I had some scraps from a project a few weeks ago, using gilding flakes on black card, and had punched a few dragonflies and butterflies from the last bits. I added him with a little blob of silicone glue.

I hope you enjoy this project, and it encourages you to mix up your CB stamps a little. All the inks and tools I have used can be swapped for what you have with no ill effects, you can use Distress Inks instead of Adirondacks, for instance. You can even mix Distress Inks and Adirondacks if you wish.

I’ve really enjoyed doing this, although I have to admit my nerves were a bit frayed at the edges whilst I was doing it, I was sure something was going to go horribly wrong, especially as I got closer to being finished; I had visions of a dropped inkpad ruining everything!

Thank you so much for this Shaz, we have enjoyed having you as a guest designer. And if this post has inspired you why not leave a comment. To see more of Shaz's designs check her blog out here

Because I Care (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I have card today that was 'quick to make' using the gorgeous new sets Tranquility and Serenity.  I thought this would work for an occasion when you want to cheer someone up or even as a sympathy card.

The background behind the tree and bird was created with alcohol inks on glossy paper.    I stamped the tree and bird from Serenity and sentiment from Pretty Poppies with black Archival Ink.   The second background was created with Seedless Preserves Distress Ink using the Acrylic block technique.  I over stamped with the vine from Tranquility using Seedless Preserves DI.   

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirley

Serenity (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with a card made using one of the beautiful new stamps 'Serenity'

I've coloured the image with Graph'It markers and layered it up over a gold embossed image. The backing paper is from the Prima Firefly pad, stamped with one of the Gothic Fragments and embossed with gold. I've edged the paper with a gold krylon pen

thank you for visiting today

Claire xx

Oriental Screen (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, here is a sample showcasing some more of this month's oriental stamps, and mixing in a couple of older stamps as well. I have detailed the construction of the project on My Blog so take a look if you are interested.

I stamped the background stamps taken from the Tranquilty and the Moonlit Waterfall stamp sets onto some backing paper, and coloured them with Inktense pencils. I then used Images from Oriental Crane and Serenity/Tranquility Multibuy to stamp my main images, which I also coloured with pencils.

I punched a leaf image from the top of each screen panel, and added some tiny gems for decoration.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

a bit a la Monet.......by Miranda

 Hi there,

Today two cards made with the new Buddha sheets from Chocolate Baroque. You already know they are up to my street, they are so lovely to play with........ When I've used a Crafters stencil on the background..... stamped and coloured the images....I thought it looked a bit like the paintings of Monet......just a little bit.....I've used a great product, Crystal gel hologram from Viva Decor. It's a transparant gel with glitter and pieces of mica and it has a lovely sparkly shine. I've used one of my favorite Crafters stencils 'Cell theory'

And the 2nd card, also made on a background with the acrylic bloc technique using the same stencil and a product called Viva Decor Kristall hologram gel. I've used also some of the lovely Memorybox dies. 

For a better view at the structure ......doesn't it have a great sparkly effect?

May your day sparkle too! Thanks for visiting......

Japanese Water Garden (posted by Judith)

I have created a scene for you using the Serenity Tranquility Multibuy stamp offer. I have stamped the main images, and then masked over them before stamping the flowers to fill in the background. The path at the bottom was created using the Landscape Edges stamp set.

I have coloured the project with pencils.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Joy is Not in Things (by Shirley)

Hello everyone !  I hope you are having a great January. 

I have another Buddha Lady from the gorgeous new Serenity A5 set.  

The background is Turquoise Dylusions Ink over stamped with various images from Tranqulity, Serenity, Wisteria Lane, and the bubble edge from Decorative Edges with Peacock Feathers and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks and highlighted with Prisma Pencils.   The background landscape behind the Buddha is sponged Distress Inks using ripped paper and a circle cut-out.   The fantastic sentiment is from Words of Inspiration.

I cut the Buddha out (removed the structure she was in), coloured with Prisma Pencils and popped up her up.   I added some glitter to her lotus seat.

Thanks for visiting and have a great day,
Shirley

Tranquil Tree (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, I wanted to create a masculine card with an oriental feel using the stamps of the month. I created a background by embossing some kraft card with a stencil through my die cutting machine and then adding a soft touch of colour for definition. I added a wash of colour to a piece of handmade paper and stamped the tree and bird from the Serenity stamp set using brown archival ink.

I made a 'stone' by cutting a piece of card into an oval shape and punching a hole in one end before applying some texture paste. I stamped the word Tranquility taken from the Tranquility stamp set. I added some acrylic paint over the top in various shades of brown, and blue, drying the paint after each application. Finally, I added some dark brown, which I wiped away before it was dry. The paint settled into the letters.

I tied the 'stone' to the card using some string in a criss cross design.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

A Tranquil moment captured in a frame (by Debbie)

Good Morning. Rather than making a card with these beautiful stamps, I chose to make a piece of art to frame and display in my craft room. At the moment the walls are all white after being newly decorated and I've decided they will stay that colour as it feels a lot bigger to work in.

The lady is from Serenity and the branches and irises are from Tranquility set of stamps. I stamped the lady with Versafine Onyx Black and embossed her with clear powder then coloured with Alcohol Pens. I cut out the lady so I could add her to the scene. For the background scene I used Distress inks with highlights of white pen. The frame came with a mount and I stamped it with a paisley style stamp from Dusky Damask and embossed with gold powder and then rubbed with red guilding wax and buffed to gain a sheen. I have taken photographs as I worked to make the background and will add these to my blog today, Craft Flossie . Thank you for visiting today. Debbie xx

Serene Bamboo (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, here's a sample from me using the lovely Serenity stamp set. I created a background using Distress Inks, and added a segment of bamboo stalks by spreading some texture paste through a stencil. I used another stencil to create the feeling of stonework on the background, repeating my original colours. I stamped the bamboo stalks from the Moonlit Waterfall stamp set.

I coloured the buddha image with Distress Markers and then stuck the image in front of the bamboo stalks. I added a sentiment before matting the project onto green card.

There have been some great samples this month from my Team mates, keep checking back for more inspiration in the coming days. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Texture and a Lotus Flower (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope 2014 is starting out wonderful for you.

I have another design today using images from the beautiful Serenity and Tranquility A5 sets.

I started by creating texture using a stencil with light molding paste.  Chocolate Baroque has a  great stencil selection here.    After letting it dry I sprayed with Dylusions inks (Cut Grass, London Blue & Turquoise) and rubbed Inka Gold over parts of the raised areas.    I stamped the water Irises from Tranquility on the bottom RH side with Peacock Feathers DI and the vine also from Tranquility at the top LH side with Mowed Lawn DI.  I highlighted the background images with Prisma pencils (a technique inspired by Miranda).

I stamped the  Lotus flower from Serenity with Cobalt Archival ink, sprayed again with Dylusions and then coloured with Prisma pencils.  I added a little glitter to the water and centers of the flowers.

Thanks for visiting and have a great day,
Shirley

Gelli Landscape (posted by Claire)

Good morning, Claire here with another sample made with this months gorgeous new releases.  I was inspired to have a play with my Gelli plate after seeing Glenda's fabulous landscape project a couple of weeks ago (you can see it here)

I actually made a whole batch of backgrounds using this techniques and this was one that I wasn't really keen on until I added some distress ink. I began by using a sponge to apply some pearlesent white acrylic paint on to my gelli plate with a sponge, I then applied bronze acrylic paint with a palette knife to create the landscape. I pulled of several prints and once they were dry I added some distress inks. This one used Weathered Wood over the sky and vintage photo over the sand.

Next I stamped the lanterns (from Tranquility and Serenity) with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and added colour with Graph'It Markers. I stamped the tree in with black archival ink and then added the sentiment (from Artistic Affirmations) and matted the scene on white and then grey cardstock

Thanks for visiting today

Claire xx

Tranquil Tags (by Debbie)

Happy New Year and all the best for the coming year. I have made a couple of tag cards from the firstly Tranquility Stamps and any one with an eagle eye will spot I mixed the wording up on them, so sorry if I've confused. The two sets work so beautifully together it's hard not to use a combination of both.

I started with stamping the Buddha Lady sitting on the stones with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured her with Alcohol Pens. I then cut a paper circle to mask a moon and laid over the image. Tumbled Glass Distress Ink was used for the sky and I was careful to not put to much ink over the area already coloured. The branches from the tree on the Serenity set is ideal for framing the scene.

The second tag is made from stamps from the Serenity set. Again, I started by stamping the main images of the water flowers and the lantern and coloured with pens. For the water and hills I used torn paper as masks with sponges and various colours of distress inks. I love the moon rising against a pink/blue sky of a sunset. Many thanks for visiting. Debbie

Serenity for 2014 (by Shirley)

Happy New Year!   I hope 2014 brings you happiness, health, serenity and lots of creative activities.

I have a design today using the new gorgeous Serenity A5 set.

The background is Teal & Turquoise Dylusions ink.  I stencilled a little over top with TCW Pointy Circles and stamped in the background with a beautiful feather image from Peacock Parade.   I embossed with gold UTEE around the edge of the background.

I embossed the Buddha from Serenity with gold directly over the background.   I stamped a second Buddha image with Cobalt Archival ink and embossed a third image with gold powder on separate cardstock.   Next I decoupaged the cobalt Buddha and the gold Lotus chair and layered over the main image.   I embossed the smaller feather images also from Peacock Parade with gold and decoupaged as shown.  All the images were coloured with Prisma and Inktense pencils. 

Thank you for your visits and comments, we appreciate them all and hope you can come back often.
Have a great day
Shirley

Buddha creations by Miranda

Hi there,

I hope everyone has had a joyful Christmas and I wish you all a lovely and healthy 2014! I hope we can share a lot of new inspirations and make the world a bit more beautiful with the lovely designs of Chocolate Baroque.

I have worked with the new beautiful stamp designs of the Buddha's! The sheets are called 'Serenity' and 'Tranquility'. They are just up to my street as I love Buddha's. I was inspired by stone and wood images of Buddha's so here is my interpretation.......... I've used the 'Serenity'sheet here.
The first one is the 'stone' version made on grey Canson paper and cool shades of Pan Pastel and pencils. On the background I've used the Abstract elements, the craqueled stamp of the Echoes of Italy and one of the ornaments of the Indian stamps because they are such a good match with these Buddha's.

The quote is from the Words of Inspiration........

Here you can see the lovely shine of the metallic Pan Pastel added over an Indian ornament.

The 2nd one is the 'wood' version made with warm shades and gold accents. I've used also the Abstract Fragments , the Textured fragments and the Indian stamps in the background. Also made the base with Pan Pastels on brown Canson paper and added  accents with pencils afterwards.

the rich shine of the metallic bronze Pan Pastel......

I hope I gave you some ' serenity and tranquility' after these festive days and also some inspiration with these gorgeous stamps! Just one more day to go in 2013 and than up to the next year, 2014!

See you next year,

Serenity Tag Card (by Debbie)

Good morning. I hope everything is good and crafty today. I've certainly been enjoying the festive season with family and friends. I have also managed to enjoy a few hours play time with ink and stamps. These new stamps definitely help to bring a little serenity while working with them, the images are so beautiful.

I started with a large tag shape and stamped the serene lady with Memento Onyx Black which allowed me to colour with alcohol pens. I restricted myself to flesh colours as I wanted to add lots of colour to the background. Before colouring the background I cut a mask of the stamp and laid over the image. For the background I used Mown Lawn, Tumbled Glass and Ripe Persimmon distress ink then spritzed with a little water. I dried with a heat tool and stamped the flowers and blossom with French Ultramarine archival ink. I mounted onto black and found a piece of orange card and trimmed them to the shape of the tag. Many thanks for visiting and I wish you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. Debbie