A Tree for Christmas (by Linda)

Hello, how are we all? Finding a bit of "me" time for crafting I hope.

For this card I used the bare tree from The Tree of Knowledge stamp set showcased in the August shows on Create and Craft. I confess, I did not at first realise these trees are sprouting from books, what a beautiful design!

I stamped the tree onto kraft card as I like the contrast in the finished piece with the black and white tree, coloured baubles and beige colour of the card. You, of course can experiment with any colour tree, it would be great to see some of your ideas on the Chocolate Baroque Facebook Page! 

I decided where I wanted the tree to be dusted with snow and to help me keep the "snow" on the correct sides of the branches, I stand something like a pencil sharpener on the side the snow is falling to remind me. This also works for me when adding shadows.

I used a white gel pen to draw along the branches. This is easier if you emboss the tree with black embossing powder so the pen follows the raised edge.

I then added "baubles". These I created by drawing round the lid of my water spray which happened to be the right size. They are coloured in with metallic pens, a line is then drawn up to the branch above, and a simple bow drawn, like rabbit ears.

I extended the base of the tree stamp with a black pen to ground it.

The "Christmas" is from the Slim Word Strip 2 stamp set. That section being stamped on a separate piece of card, rubbing the ink off the words that I did not want. I cut the card into a rectangle and rounded the corners with a punch. I attached it to the card with foam tape. This is actually an easy, quick card to make that looks far more complicated than it is. Perfect.

I think this technique may well have been used by a Chocolate Baroqu'er some time ago. If this is you, please claim the well deserved praise!

I hope you have enjoyed my first three blog posts ever, and look forward to your feedback.

Linda x

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Tomte Christmas (by Veronica)

For my last post I am sharing two quick cards using stamps from the August shows on Create and Craft.

Both cards use the slim word strip 2 and the Tomte gnomes and the same method

I cut a square of white card to fit a 6" square card blank and fastened it down on my stamping platform - mine will take an A4 sheet, so i could get the christmas word where I wanted it.

I coloured the word using a distress marker pen, stamped it and repeated to get a stronger colour.

The card square was edged with the same marker pen and added to the card blank.

The gnomes were stamped onto spare card, coloured with distress marker pens, cut out and glued in place. 

As you will have seen in Judith's post earlier, 
 the DT blog will sadly be ending at the end of the month. I will still be adding projects to my own blog and to facebook - one of these days I will get how to use  instagram properly, just don't hold your breath!

Thank you for following us, and I hope you will still be able to keep up with Chocolate Baroque

Some Wall Art by Sandra

 

Hello, I am sharing some more of my samples from the August shows on Create and Craft.

My first piece is a wall hanging made with The Tree ofKnowledge, From Nature 2 and  Slim WordStrip 1 and Slim Word Strip 2 stamp sets.

First, I used an A5 sheet of grey board which I used gesso and acrylic paints on. I used ink to distress the edges and stamped some leaves using From Nature 2.

I then tore out some pages from an old dictionary and used gesso and distress inks to age them. I stamped on the pages using parts of the stamp from Slim Words Strip 1 and 2. On the front page I stamped The Tree of Knowledge in Archival Ink and coloured with distress ink.

I then sewed the pages together and glued onto the grey board along with the sentiment.

                                                        

Here is a closer view of the pages. 

                              

For my second piece I used a grey board heart which I coloured with acrylic paints.

I stamped the Positivity words from Slim Word Strip 2 and tore along the edges and inked them.

For the background I used Distress inks and more stamping.  I assembled all the pieces adding some die cuts for texture. I finished with an MDF butterfly and some cord.

A close up of some of the detail. 

                                                    

 

 Thanks for looking

Sandra x

 

A Bit Of Christmas And A Tree

I have popped by to share a couple of creations from August's show, for the first one I used the Word Strip 2 stamp set.  I started by doing an inky background in Distress Oxides, then stamped the background strip first in light blue, it has circles in it which I hoped looked like falling snow.  Then in a darker blue I stamped the words which are lots of Christmas words.  I then added some glitter to the word Christmas to finish it off.

 

For my second card I used the stamp The Tree Of The Knowledge, starting with the background using Distress Oxides and a mask I created some hills,  I used a mask to create a sun in yellow and orange Distress Oxides.  I then moved onto the sky using a cloud mask, before stamping my main image.  I stamped the tree in Versafine Clair, and with a white gel pen coloured in the fruit/blossoms.  I added the sentiment to the bottom.

Thank you for looking

Happy crafting

Tracy x

Dotty Strip (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are keeping well. I have a couple of projects to share with you today showcasing stamps featured on last month's shows from Create and Craft.

I started my project with a large card blank, and drew along the opening edge using one of the Chocolate Baroque Draw and Tear Rulers Set 1 using a pencil. I cut the excess card away. On the inside of the card, I stamped the long dotty strip from Slim Word Strip 2 with a yellow dye based ink. I stamped a word strip from Slim Word Strip 1 over the top. I used one of the leaves from the From Nature 2 stamp set to stamp randomly over the front of the card using second generation stamping. I wanted a paler background because I did not want to detract from the other parts of the card.I added a splatter stamp from Timeless, using green and yellow ink. 

I took a whiteboard heart and coloured it with the same yellow and green inks, and then stamped the same word strip as I had used along the card edge. I filled the heart, moving the strip across each time I stamped, to get a random compilation of the words. It looks great on one of these hearts. 

This card was fairly quick to complete, and I can see lots of possibilities for adapting the design to suit lots of occasions. Using the big word strips, especially now we have two sets for you to choose from gives lots of choices, and I hope that you will try out this idea, or a variation of the theme.

I decided to make another card featuring the dotty strip from the Slim Word Strip 2 stamp set. I stamped the strip onto a piece of Drawing Cartridge several times using shades of green and orange Distress Ink to create an ombre effect. I stamped the fruit tree from The Tree of Knowledge stamp set onto a piece of book paper, and coloured it with markers. I added some shading around the edges using green distress Ink. This card would be suitable for lots of occasions- a graduation, a book lover's birthday, or even just to show someone you are thinking about them.

 Thanks for stopping by, take care,

 

Judith xx

Paper journalling with Chocolate Baroque by Natalie

Thank you for joining me today. Today's project is a bit different to my usual style and approach, but I wanted to show you some ways to use the Slim Word Strip stamps. 

You are going to need:

• 1 or 2 stencils suitable for a subtle background pattern
• Slim Word Strips Sets 1 and 2
• From Nature 2
• Orchard Design a Tree
• Dot grid paper
• Cream, chocolate and plum card
• Vellum
• Intricate dies for  doily style embellishments
• Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Peeled Paint, Bundled Sage and Dusty Concord

I originally developed the right hand side before adding the left, and then worked up both sides simultaneously; this time, however, I will break it down for you.

Left hand side page

Work directly onto a sheet of dot grid paper. Start by applying a very light stencil background using Antique Linen Distress Ink. Ink up the Word Strip Background from Set 2 in Frayed Burlap and stamp down the right hand edge over the holes of your page. Re-ink with Antique Linen Distress Oxide (or use the background from Set 1 like I did) and stamp adjacent to this; without reinking stamp across your page at roughly ⅔ down.

Ink up the Positivity Strip from Set 2 in Antique Linen Oxide and stamp over the paler horizontal strip. Don't worry about masking the strip before stamping. Ink the Positivity word using a smaller ink pad  in a grey archival ink and stamp.

Die cut one of the doily dies from chocolate card and adhere to the top left of the page. 

Onto cream card stamp the From Nature 2 rounded leaves and scallop leaves, as well as all of the word strip stamps. Dab the leaves with a little ink using a wet paint brush for a quick watercolour effect. Fussy cut the leaves and also cut apart the words from the strips (see my Top Tip later in the article). Adhere these onto the page starting with a leaf cluster first, before adding the appropriate words over the top. I love building sentiments using the words, and I can't wait for more of these stamps to be released. I also fussy cut around the larger "JOURNAL" word with a slight offset.

Finish the layout with one of the tiny floral stamps from Orchard Design-a-Tree in chocolate archival ink.

Right hand page

So, with this page, I stencilled to the lower right corner using Frayed Burlap and top right with Antique Linen Oxide. It is worth testing out the Ink and the Oxide versions of colours onto another piece of dot grid paper to chose your ink.

Making the "polaroid" style frame

Start by die cutting your doily die which you are going to embellish the frame with from chocolate card. Don't throw away your waste just yet though as we need it. Cut a piece of plum cardstock measuring your desired frame outer size (roughly 3x3½"). Trace the edge of your waste where you want the bottom of your aperture to be. Mark a frame around the sides and top as shown below.

Fussy cut out the aperture using tweezer scissors, a scalpel/craft knife or a ScanNCut. Erase any pencil lines and adhere your doily piece to complete the frame. Trim any die cut hanging off the edge and set to one side,

The leaves

Stamp the leaves onto cream card and vellum using the same watercolour technique on the card leaves only. Wetting vellum is a tricky business and is not required where you want leaves to lay flat in a journal. 

You can make leaf stems by stamping multiple leaves and then joining them with a matching fineliner. You want stems from both card and vellum, with single leaves from just card.

Set to one side to dry completely before fussy cutting.

Assembling the journalling page

Stamp the Nature strip to one side in Frayed Burlap or other brown ink. Softly stamp the leaves to the lower right quadrant of the page.

Die cut another doily from vellum and use all over adhesive to adhere (such as a Xyron machine or apply double-sided adhesive before cutting). Align this to the centre of the right hand edge.

Apply tape around the back of your frame around the outer edges only. Tuck in the leaf stems and adhere. You can also add a couple of the individual leaves, adhering the remaining leaves over the shadow stamped leaves below.

Add more journalling words over these bottom leaves.

Top Tip: Making the most of Word Strip stamps

So, with this project we are purposely stamping the strip stamps to cut apart. However, in other projects later in the month I will show you how to create backgrounds and feature strips with the stamps. However, with all of these techniques, we can minimise waste by cutting apart any offcuts of stamping. I gather my spare words into a plastic jar for use in later layouts, journalling and card designs. They really speed up the process of card making, and have inspired me to treat other sentiment stamps in the same way so we can create new sentiments that fit our projects. Keep an eye out on my live streams for this jar in use.

You could also use a cheap divided container so you can separate by colour or sentiments. I top up each time I use a word strip so there should always be some words in there.

Making Balloons From Trees

 

Here are a couple of samples from last month's shows.  Well I had fun making this card, I started with a strip of card and using four colours in Versafine Clair I stamped up the Word Strip 2 Birthday, to create the balloons I used the stamp set From Nature 2, I took the smallest leaf and stampede it in each of the colours above the stamp strip.  Using gel pens in the same colour I drew a triangle on the base of the leaf to turn it into a balloon.  I then did a squiggly line for string, to finish I did polka dots all over the card to look like confetti.

To create this card I started with a Gel Plate, using a brayer I put some ink down on the plate.  Then splashed with Brusho's and pressed it down on my base card.  I took the Tree Of Knowledge stamp and stamped it into the middle of the circle, I coloured it and then using a red glaze pen coloured some apples on to it.  

Thank you for looking

Happy crafting

Tracy x

happy birthday (by Veronica)

 Folr my first post this month I chose this card, which was quite quick to make, so long as you use a stamping platform

The  greeting was from the slim  word strip 2 plate, and I coloured the words i wanted to use with distress marker pens, gave a good huff on the stamp and then stamped onto a square of white card..I re-inked the larger letters again and stamped again - using a stamping platform means you have no problem lining the second stamping up, and also that you can put the sentiment just where you want it

The flower from not more flowers was also inked with distress markers and stamped above the greeting , and i used a water brush to pull some of the colour out into the petals.. For the mat I coloured round the edges of a piece of white card with a matching marker pen - easier (and cheaper) than searching for a matching bit of coloured card.

Beautiful Words (by Sandra)

Hello, I am sharing some of the cards I made for the August shows on Create and Craft.

The stamps I have used on these cards come from Slim Word Strip 2. A great set of stamps for focal points and backgrounds.

For my first card I used the Christmas words and the spotty strip.

I started with a 7.5" piece of card and stamped the words in Versafine Clare ink, I then stamped the spotty border below and repeated until I had covered my card. I moved the stamps to show  different parts each time. I wanted a Christmas focal point so decided on this little guy from A Tomte Christmas. I stamped him in Memento ink and coloured with alcohol markers. I then adhered these to a 8x8" card base.

For my second card I used the Birthday words, again with the spotty strip. I started with a 5.5" piece of card. I then stamped the spotty strips at the top and bottom of the card and filled each hole will glitter glue. On a separate piece of card I stamped the words using multi colours of Versafine Clare and cut out the section I needed and layered onto some gold card. I glued the spotty card onto a 6x6" card base and added the word panel using foam pads. A great fun birthday card!

The afternoon shows featured the Floral Paraphernalia stamps. You can see my previous post with these stamps here

  Thanks for looking

Sandra x

Ivy Christmas Tree (by Julie)

Hi Crafty friends, today I'm sharing a card I made with you. 

Step 1. Take an 8" x 8" white card blank

Step 2. Add a layer of deep red card 7 1/2" x 7 1/2"

Step 3. Take a 7 1/4" x 7 1/4" white card square, ink up the Christmas word strip from Slim Word Strip 2. Ink it up in shades of Red Distress inks: Barn Door, Crackling Campfire, Aged Mahogany

Step 4. Taking the slim dotty stamp from the same stamp set, ink it up in Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink, do this twice so that you have done two strips of blue. 

Step 5. Ink up the Positivity word strip in the same shades of red as the top stamping 

Step 6. Ink onto white paper all three sizes of Ivy leaf from the From Nature 2 stamp set in a mixture of colours. Gold Dewdrop Ink, Crushed Olive and Forest Moss Distress Ink, Green Oasis Versafine Clair Ink.

Step 7. Cut out the ivy leaves, curl tips upwards, them glue one by one using the largest at the base and working upwards to form a fir tree shape. Tuck a spare ivy leaf behind top word strip.

Step 8. Glue mini baubles from stash onto the tree.

Step 9. Take single Tomte Gnome from A Tomte Christmas stamp set using Twighlight Versafine Clair Ink. Cut out and colour with alcohol pens.Use White Puffy Stuff for hem, hat and beard.

 

May I thank you for dropping by,

Regards, Jules x

 

 

Beginner's Card (by Julie)

Hello fellow crafters. Here is a quick beginner's card I've made...

Step 1. Take a DL card blank, then using the long dotty background stamp from Slim Word Strip 2, ink up in Versafine Clair Meadow yellow. Stamp this three times slightly overlapping each time, until the card is covered.

Step 2. Ink up in Versafine Clair Nocturne Black ink, use the Birthday word strip from the same stamp set and stamp across the middle of the card.

Step 3. Take the small ivy leaf stamp from the From Nature 2 stamp set, ink up in Versafine Clair Green Oasis.

Step 4. Stamp a couple of sentiments from the From Nature 2 stamp set.

Step 5 Add a handrawn frame wiggly line style around the edge and add faux stitching with a micron fine black pen.

Thank you for taking the time to have a look and hope you find it useful,

Regards Jules x