Mini Tag Pocket Folder (ala Tim Holtz and posted by Lesley E)

Hello Everyone,

I have another project for you today using the Art of Chess stamps together with a few more from the Chocolate Baroque catalogue.  I made the little pocket folder using a method demonstrated by Tim Holtz on his DVD An Altered Journey.

I used watch stamps and a mesh background stamp to build up a background on the lightweight card I used for my little folder and I tore relevant definitions from an old dictionary to stick in strategic places once the folding was complete.

 I blended inks onto my tags and used some sequin waste as a mask.  I also did some background stamping.  I stamped and embossed the chess pieces onto white card, cut them out and shaped them slightly and adhered with silicone glue to the tags.

On the inside of the folder I stamped some of the smaller chess pieces into melted UTEE (clear UTEE with some ordinary Burgundy Embossing Powder added) using a Brilliance inkpad and again used silicone glue to attach them.

For these two tags I pressed my Distress Inkpads onto my craft mat and spritzed lightly with water.  I scrunched up my tags and opened them out again before pressing them into the ink and then ironed them dry between copy paper.  I followed this with background stamping on the tags and then this time I stamped the chess pieces onto Glassine using Versamark ink and Sticky Stuff before adding the metal leaf, cutting out and adhering to the tags.
I'm sure there's more to come from the rest of the team so keep watching.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

A bit of paper weaving (posted by Judith)

I was very pleased to be able to work with the new set of stamps 'The Art of Chess' when Glenda sent these to us, as I thought that they would be perfect for men's cards. (I also have a fabulous idea for a girly card too, using these stamps!) I decided to keep my colour scheme very simple, and just use black and white.
I marked 11/2 cms sections at one side of my card, and wove white card strips through my top black piece of card, to create the illusion of the chessboard fragment. For balance, I used a fabulous large swirl from the 'Butterfly Dreams' stamp set, which I embossed in white in the opposite corner. I stamped the sentiment, and mounted it onto a Nestability frame, fixing it to my card with two white brads. Finally, I stamped two large chess pieces onto glossy card, one black, and one white.

These are great stamps, look out for more Design Team samples coming your way this week. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Ebony and Ivory? (posted by Lesley E)

Hello Everyone,

When Glenda first sent us these lovely chess stamps I immediately thought of cards for men but once I got to work with them I thought they would also make lovely feminine cards too especially with the scenic image which is rather romantic.  I don't play chess myself but when I see chess sets I always think of Steve McQueen and Faye Dunnaway in The Thomas Crowne Affair, lol!

Anyway, here is my first project using this lovely set of stamps.

I started with an ivory 8" x 8" base card and punched a border across the top and bottom front edges.  I punched the same border along the edges of a piece of black perlescent card and trimmed them off the main piece adhering them behind the borders on the front of the card.  The piece of black card which was left I embossed down the right half using the Tim Holtz Texture Fades Checkerboard embossing folder  and then sanded off the black surface before adhering to my card front.

I stamped the main image onto ivory card using black Versafine ink, trimmed to the size I wanted and then added touches of colour with Coloursoft pencils.  I masked the image and dusted Stormy Sky Distress Ink round the top half of  the border and Bundled Sage round the bottom border and I then matted it first onto black perlescent card and then ivory card before mounting onto the card front.  Finally, I stamped the King onto white card with black ink and the Queen in white onto black card before cutting them out and positioning them together with the stamped sentiment onto the right side of the card.

I think the chess pieces on this stamp set are excellent for making tags or ATCs too and they also combine well with several other sets.  Keep an eye on my own blog for a card I made recently combining them with the lovely music set and I know there are more projects coming up from my Design Team buddies so lots of inspiration to come.

Hugs
Lesley  Xx

Music and Chess

We have a couple of new stamp sets just released this week - Music Fanfare and The Art of Chess.

People sometimes ask me about the sizes, so these are both A5 (half sheets) which makes them approximately 14cm x 20cm (8.5 inches x 6 inches). 

I created a center step card with the chess stamps and liked the format so much I created a template with instructions.  Click here for the template.  I know people learn in different ways and templates work for some people, but others prefer to measure everything, so I put all the measurements on my template, then filmed a short video showing how easy it is to make.  You can find the video on YouTube - click here to visit my YouTube channel.

The DT have once again created some beautiful artwork with these stamps and we have quite a line up of blog posts waiting to be published, so please check back often over the next few days as there will be lots to inspire you.

The two sets are available as a multi-buy deal too and you never know when I might just take it into my head to do a random giveaway!

Happy stamping!