From Gold To Bold (By Tracy Thompson)

 

I'm back with some more of my creations that I made for the shows on The Craft Store in December, we had so many stamps to work with and they were all very inspirational.  My first card I created using Ophelia, I did the background first with rich bold colours in Distress Oxides, which I carried over into the collar and the flowers in Ophelia's hair, the flowers were decoupaged and a pearl added to the centre of each one.  The sentiment I got from the stamp set also on the shows The Folk Art Garden..

Now to create this next one I kept it simple to get an elegant effect.  I stamped my image Song thrush and coloured it with just a gold gel pen, which just left the matting and layering to do in gold and black card.  That's it, it really was an easy creation but I love the finished look.

Thank you for popping by

Happy crafting

Tracy x

Song Thrush (by Andy)

 

Hi All

Thank you for stopping by.

Another card for you this week featuring the Song Thrush and Damask Panel, which I think go quite nicely together. A card which can be used for a multiple of occasions. Enjoy.

You will need:

6" x 6" (15 x 15 cm) white card blank

White stamping card

Versafine Majestic Blue ink pad

Archival Watering Can ink pad

Water based markers

Gems

Pearlescent paint

 

Begin by taking the Damask Panel and inking up the Majestic Blue ink pad and stamp the image to the left of the card blank.

Stamp the Song Thrush with the Archival Watering Can on to the white stamping card.

Colour the image with your water based markers.

Paint some of the flowers with the pearlescent paint, but don't overdo it.

Once you are happy, cut out (be careful with the parts that go outside the shape).

Mount over the Damask Panel using foam pads if you so desire.

Add blue gems to top and bottom right corners of the card.

Job Done

 

Andy xx 

Give Me Five! (by Sandra)

Hello everyone, I am sharing the last of my cards made for the December show on The Craft Show.

This was a set of 5 stamps on an A4 sheet, but they are available individually on the Chocolate Baroque website as well.

This card uses the Damask Panel.

I stamped the panel onto red card and green card in VersaMark and gold embossing powder. I then cut each piece to make them square. I cut a square of gold card and glued on the green squares, before the glue dried I tucked in the red pieces in a pinwheel style. I added a gem to the centre and a couple of gold leaves.

My next card uses the Fountain Scene set. 

I stamped onto grey card with Archival ink and coloured in the scene with pencils. I cut two strips in design paper and mat and layered all pieces in black and adhered to a 7x5 card base.

My next card uses the Lady in Hat stamp.

I stamped the image in Memento ink and coloured with alcohol markers. I die cut the image with a circle die and then layered it onto a toning decorative doily die. I finished by adding some corner pieces.

My next card uses the beautiful Ophelia stamp.

I stamped Ophelia in Memento and coloured with alcohol markers. I found a 6x6 backing paper to which I added one of the tags from a previous show. I also added some stamping from Mini Scripts to the tag.

My last card today is Song Thrush.

I stamped in Memento and coloured with alcohol markers. I added some gloss to the berries.

I picked out the pinks and greens for my layers and adhered to a 7x5 card base.

 Thanks for looking

Sandra x

Natural Shades (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are keeping well. I have a couple of projects to share with you today featuring stamps that were showcased on last month's TV shows on The Craft Store.

 

My first card features stamps from the Mini Scripts stamp set. I created a grid using very fine masking tape, and coloured each segment using Distress Ink. I stamped some of the script stamps randomly in the segments using black ink.I chose to leave a few segments plain, as I felt it would be too dark if I stamped in every segment. I carefully peeled the tape away to reveal the tiled effect. I added a large sentiment from Birthday Words stamped onto a die cut which I had also coloured with Distress Ink.

TIP: The masking tape was a little bit too tacky, and I would ensure that I had placed it on something first before using it, so that it had lost a little bit of its stickiness. You can see where a couple of pieces of the design have been pulled if you look carefully. However, I want you to learn from my experiences, which is why I am pointing this out 😉

My second project is a remake of another project, using the Song Thrush stamp and a lovely leaf from Brocade Backgrounds. I coloured some Drawing Cartridge with some tea, and left it to dry. I stamped the main image, and then used a larger piece to stamp the leafy image randomly to create a background. I coloured all of the image with pencils, and blended them with a waterbrush.

I matted both pieces with dark brown card before adhering them to the base card. I hope that you have enjoyed seeing my projects this month. I will be back next month with more projects to share with you. Thanks for stopping by,

Judith xx
 

Florals in Reds and Golds (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I have a few more projects to share with you, featuring stamps from last month's TV shows. 

My first card was created using a Brusho background, I have lots of these in my stash, waiting to be used when I need them. I make a batch in lots of different colours, which I can pull out when I need them in a hurry. Very handy when I am making DT samples!

I stamped a leafy sprig from the Autumn Poppy stamp set randomly over the background. It is not an exact match to the main image, but is close enough. I coloured the image with pencils, choosing a lovely olive green and soft red.

I die cut an oval and stamped the Flora Musica image, adding a bit of Distress Ink around the edges to soften the whiteness of the card. I coloured the image with pencils once more, coordinating with the colours of the background. I chose some toning ribbons to pull the project together. 

To create my second project I made a wrinkle free distress background, using Distress Inks on a craft mat, which I mopped up with a piece of drawing cartridge. I stamped around the edges with the Large Crackle Background, and added the splatter stamp from the Timeless stamp set. 

I die cut a rectangle and stamped the Crackling Rose which I coloured with pencils. The sentiment comes from the Life is so much Better stamp set.

The stamp from my final card was not actually featured on the show Song Thrush, its silhouette companion made an appearance. I made this card and so will share it as you could create something very similar. I used a tea stained background, and stamped a leafy image from Brocade Backgrounds over the top.

I stamped the main image twice, and coloured the images with pencils. I decoupaged some of the flowers before matting the layers onto brown card. The sentiment once more is taken from Life is so much Better. 

I had so much fun this month working with a lot of these older stamps. For some of you they will be brand new. It was great to revisit the images and get to use them again, mixing them with newer stamps that were not around when the stamps first came out. I hope that you have seen lots of inspiration from the rest of the Design Team as well. 

Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and take care,

Judith xx

Pretty Song Thrush

Hello I'm sharing more of my samples from the March show on Hochanda (now known as The Craft Store).

My first cards are made using the  Song Thrush set.  

This card uses soft blues and yellows. I used Archival ink and watercolour pencils and left a lot of the area white. I have mat and layered onto toning card.

The second card, in contrast, uses vibrant orange, yellow and black. 

I used a technique called Joseph's Coat. 

*I used a blending tool to add areas of colour all over my base card - I used Distress Inks. 

*When it was dry, I stamped  the Song Thrush with VersaMark and heat embossed with clear powder.  

*I then covered with black ink and buffed it off with paper towel to reveal the colours below the embossing. 

* I mat and layered some Chocolate Baroque papers onto a Gatefold card base and added the Song Thrush to the front. 

(Remember to only put glue on the one side or you won't be able to open your card!)

Thanks for looking

Sandra x

Poppy Congratulations (by Carole)

Today sees the first post this month from our regular Guest team Design member Carole Cann. Carole has created a lovely card to inspire you incorporating soft colours, and a wooden heart. 

Carole writes:

Good morning everyone.
I am delighted to be back again as a Guest Design Team member, during February.
I have used the beautiful poppy stamp from Poppy Meadow and the centre of Song Thrush. It is relatively quick to make too.
The poppy has been stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink and clear embossed, to fit onto a DL card base.
I have used a 7cm heart shape as the central element.
As my shape was wood and I wanted the blue to be crisp and clear, I painted it with slightly watered down, white acrylic paint.
When dry, the centre of the Song Thrush stamp was inked with Blue Versafine ink, and the heart was placed over the section I wanted to stamp.
All the colouring has been done with watercolour pencils.
For the top and bottom edges, I drew a line using the same blue as the rest of the card. I then pulled a damp baby wipe along the edge to smudge and soften it slightly.
The joy of poppy stamps is that you can colour them almost any colour that you like. This shape reminded me of blue Icelandic poppies.

I hope that you have enjoyed my post and I will see you next week with my second project.
Thanks, and happy crafting,

Carole.

Summer Song Thrush (by Carole)

Hello everyone, today we have another fabulous project from our Guest Design Team member Carole Cann. 

Carole writes:

Hello again, here is my card for this week as a Guest Designer.

I have used stamps from the Harlequin Rose and Pretty Poppies stamp sets, plus the Garden Lace Scene and Song Thrush individual stamps.
I stamped and silver embossed the panel onto black card and coloured it with mica powders. The whole scene was then glazed, this is a technique I really like on black, as it gives a very dramatic effect.
The border was stamped and silver embossed onto white card and then coloured with Distress Ink. I then discovered, by accident, that the panel sat nicely into the border of the Garden Lace Scene, so I decided to use that as part of the background too. The words are from the Summer Poppies stamp set.

A full description of the project can be found on my blog.

Thank you for looking,

Carole 😃

Carole will be back with her final post for this month next week,

Song Thrush (posted by Claire)

Good morning, how's your week going? It's been quite nippy here but it's nice to get up in the morning and see some sunshine and hear the birds singing. I've used one of my favourite birdy stamps Song Thrush  to make this card, it's one of the Cling Singles Range and its such a lovely image.

I coloured the image with Graph'It markers and layered it up on white card, distressing all the edges with a craft knife and running a black inkpad around the edges for a little definition.

To make the background I used shades of pink, blue and lilac distress ink misted with water and then splashed darker shades of ink over with a paint brush. Next  I added some texture with a stencil and glossy gel medium. I sprinkled glamour dust over the gel for  some sparkle.

To finish off I've added lace, ribbon, pearls and a little resin flower.

Thanks so much for visiting today

Claire xx

A Bird for all Seasons and Ophelia the Mermaid? (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are enjoying the range of projects from the Design Team this month. I have chosen to use some of the new individual cling mounted stamps Song Thrush and Ophelia for my projects for you today.

For my first project, I wanted to show the diversity of this lovely stamp, and how it could be used to create cards all year round, so I have made a Christmas card. I started by embossing the image three times, using white embossing powder on some green scrapbook paper, and colouring the image with pencils. I decoupaged the flowers and bird. I layered the image onto kraft card, using some dark red card as a mat for contrast. I also added some holly die cuts, and some more stamping, using a berry stamp from the Woodland Dreams stamp set which I also coloured with pencils. I tucked some flowers from a spare image under the main frame, along with the holly die cuts. I added some shading around the edge of the kraft background, using Festive Berries Distress Ink. Finally, I added a sentiment taken from the Warm Christmas Greetings clear stamp set.

For my second sample, I stamped Ophelia onto a piece of heavy weight cartridge paper, and then masked the image. I coloured the background by blending three different colours of Distress Inks randomly all over the page. I stamped an image from the Texture Fragments stamp set onto opposite corners, using one of the same colours of Distress Ink. I then flicked water onto the other areas of the page and dried it with a heat gun, to emphasise the watermarks.

I stamped and embossed a seaweed image along the bottom of the page, from the Underwater stamp set,  using a blue/green metallic powder. I then added some flowers which I had cut out and coloured with pencils from the Song Thrush Silhouette image. It just goes to show that you can add flowers to just about anything! Finally, I coloured Ophelia using pencils, and matted the project using toning coloured card.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx