Canary Bird Rose (by Carole)

Hello fellow crafters.

My final contribution for this month, for the Chocolate Baroque GDT slot, uses the very pretty Canary Bird Rose stamp.

It is stamped and then I cut an oval around it. Half of this was cut away.

The flower was coloured with water colour pencils and Distress Inks.

The background uses an embossing folder covered with Versamark and then put through the embossing machine with a piece of card. Pearlescent powders were then brushed over the design. This is a lovely method which I haven't used for ages.

The background was then sprayed with cheap hairspray to seal it.

The message is from The Folk Art Garden set.

Hope you have enjoyed the samples I have shown you.

Please visit my Pinterest board to see other Chocolate Baroque samples that I have made: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/carolecann/_saved/

Many thanks for visiting.

Happy crafting until next time.

Carole 😍

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

Gardens & Meadows (By Tracy Thompson)

 

Hello and Happy New Year, this is my first post for this year, and I'm bringing you some creations I did for the December's shows.  We had some fabulous stamps to work with as you can see.  My first is using the stamp The Folk Art Garden, it is a very big and detailed stamp and fantastic to colour.  After I had stamped the image I coloured with Distress Inks, keeping the tones in Vintage shades.  I then stamped the image again, only colouring the butterflies and flowers.  I fussy cut them and decoupaged on to my image, I inked around the edge with Distress ink and then layered onto contrasting card.

For my second creation I used the Teeny Weeny Meadow stamps,  so I started this one by putting some colour down on to my card with Distress inks in blues, greens and browns.  I stamped my trees in Versafine Clair and as I did the main image I did the reflective image using a Gel Plate.  I mixed and blended my colours for the trees to give some dimension.  It just needed to be matted on some dark green card and it was done.

I will be back around the middle of the month to share some more of my creations from the shows.

Thank you for looking

Happy crafting

Tracy x

In the Garden by Sandra

 Hello everyone, I hope you had a lovely and peaceful Christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year.

I am showing some of my samples from the Craft Store show that was on in December.

These cards feature the Garden range of stamps. 

I have used 8x8 card bases for mine.

My first card is The Christmas Garden, because it's never too early to start your cards for next Christmas!

I stamped in Memento Ink and coloured in alcohol markers. I added a sentiment from the set and layered onto some dark green card and then onto my card base.

My next card is The Toadstool Garden. 

There is so much detail in these stamps and are a delight to colour. I have used Memento ink and alcohol markers again as I love the vibrant colours. I added some white gel pen on the toadstool. I have mat and layered in red and black and then onto my card base.

The last one from me today is The Folk Art Garden set.  I stamped onto Kraft card with Archival ink using my stamping platform. I picked out some parts of the design and coloured with a white pencil. I then re-stamped in the Archival to neaten it up

 

These are lovely large stamps that can be used whole or in parts.

Thank you for looking

Sandra x

Colourful Garden (by Julia)

Hello everyone,

For this project I have used stamps from The Folk Art Garden stamp set.

Stamp flower heads and sprigs using black Versafine Clair ink onto white card, then cut out.

Paint flowers with yellow and orange water colour, paint sprigs with green.

Stamp large stamp from The Toadstool Garden stamp set, then cut out Toadstools and one paisley shape.

Paint with water colours.

Using a seven-inch square base card, cut a black mat slightly smaller than base, then cut a white mat slightly smaller again.

Paint edges using yellow watercolour.

Cut another white mat slightly smaller again, edge with black.

Glue all mats to base card.

Glue toadstools to top left hand corner, glue flowers and sprigs around the edges of the card.

Stamp the sentiment from The Toadstool Garden onto white card, cut out and edge with black, then mat onto yellow card, and also edge yellow card with black. 

Glue sentiment to centre of card, add paisley shape and another sprig.

Happy crafting.

Julia x

Mini Envelope and Card (by Julia)

For today's post I have made a 'mini' envelope and card.

I die cut an envelope using double sided card.

You could also use a template or ready made small envelope.

I then measured and cut a piece of white card to fit inside the envelope.

I stamped the large stamp from The Folk Art Garden set using Black Versafine Clair ink pad.

I then cut the card around the butterfly to fit on the front of the envelope.

I used a corner rounder on both pieces of card.

Using Antique Linen Distress Oxide and a spritz of water on a mat I mopped up with both cards.

I coloured the stamped image keeping to sepia tones and then edged with a walnut stain, then glued it to the front of the envelope.

On the plain card insert I used a vintage photo ink and inked different areas of the stamp to give a collage effect.

Edge the card with walnut stain ink.

I then stamped the sentiment onto an oval of card, edge again with the walnut stain and glue onto the oval card, add gold gems and a couple of small flowers to finish.

I hope you enjoy using a large stamp in a different way.

Happy crafting.

Julia x

 

 

 

 

 

The Kiss (by Christine)

 

Hello everyone!

I'm back with my second blog post for October. The stamp set of choice is the stunning The Folk Art Garden set.

I used the largest stamp from the set in the centre of a 5" square card and then added some of the smaller stamps around the edge for extra detail.

I used a variety of transluscent and metallic paints to colour the images, taking care not to move around the images so that the paint could dry properly in each area.

 

I could have stopped there but I had in mind a fantastic painting - The Kiss- by Gustav Klimt, which is one of my all time favourite works of art. I am lucky enough to have seen the original; it's incredibly vibrant and rich, using oils and gold leaf. In my more modest piece, I simply covered the white space with gold metallic paint.

Like my last post, this card takes some time to create, but if you need a special one, this could be the approach. It would look equally good framed as wall art.

 

Happy crafting!

 

Christine

xx

Quick Cards (by Christine)

Hello everyone, today sees the final blog post this month from our Guest Design Team member, Christine. She has made some speedy cards for your inspiration.

Christine writes:

Hello everyone.

My final blog post for March!

The first project comprises four examples of quick cards to have available in your stash! I used four mini gelli plates of different shapes, Distress Inks and stamps from Rustic Fragments set to give detail. I then chose some beautiful floral stamps, colouring in two of them with sparkle pens, but leaving two of them simply stamped, (I thought the colour from the gelli plates was enough). Floral stamps used are:

Rose Set
Rose and Thistle set
Medici Flower
Rose Stem Script

The second card was also quite a fast one to achieve. I had a circles stencil on my desk so chose blue, pink and yellow Distress Oxides and mixed them across the stencil. I cut the resulting image into different widths of strips and glued them across a piece of white card on the diagonal. Once complete, I cut out a 5" square then stamped one of the Geometric Trading Hearts with Versafine Clair Onyx Black in the centre. On a remaining piece of the striped background card, I stamped one of the sentiments from the same set.
Mounting on black card was the final step before adding to the card blank.

My final card showcases the stunning stamp sheet called The Folk Art Garden.
The first step was to create the background using the Open Weave stamp and Distress Ink. I then stamped the image with Versafine Clair Onyx Black ink and coloured it with pencils. When I was finished I added Glossy Accents to the butterfly and then glitter around some of the elements. The sentiments are from The Folk Art Garden stamp set.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog posts and look forward to catching up with you later.
Happy crafting!

Christine
xx

Pattern Building (by Christine)

Hello everyone, today sees the first of three posts written this month by our Guest Design Team member Christine. You will have seen some of her samples on the TV shows for the past few months, and she is now joining the Guest Design Team to write for the Design Team blog as well. Christine has created a fabulous selection of projects for your inspiration today.

Christine writes:

I am delighted to write my very first blog post for the wonderful Chocolate Baroque range of stamps and crafting goodness. I have long been a fan: creating samples for the Hochanda shows and now writing posts to share other ideas - well icing on the cake as the saying goes!

I have a bit of a theme for this post; pattern building. All three are 8" x 8" cards.

For my first example, I used one of the stamps from the Rose and Thistle sheet. I made three masks and then stamped on pink card, using the masks to create a full backgrpound as I moved around the card. I chose Versafine Clair Onyx Black ink since I thought that would stand out well against the pink.

I stamped again on white card, cut the image out using an oval die and then chose a larger patterned oval die from my stash as a black layer. I decided against adding a sentiment so that I could add one when the appropriate occasion arose.

Example two uses the large stamp from the Baroque Corners stamp set. I used a stamp platform to ensure that I placed the stamp accurately in the four corners. Once placed on the platform, I simply had to turn the card 90 degrees four times, and voila. That left four areas for another stamp and this time I chose one of the smaller stamps from The Folk Art Garden set.

For the central area, I turned to the Mackintosh Windows set. I used alcohol markers to ensure strong colours then added black glitter to the flower veins, leaves and stalks for added emphasis.

Card three also uses the same stamp set and a sheet from the Chic Script Designer Papers. I stamped the square window four times using Versafine Clair Smokey Grey ink. I used the same ink to stamp the little flower around the edges. I used Distress Oxides to colour the flowers.

I used the same Oxide colours blended on a whiteboard trading heart and then stamped one of the small flowers. I used a glue pen around the flower and then gold glitter for a bit of sparkle.

I stamped the 'face' image in black and then used clear embossing powder. I painted the image using the same Distress Oxide colours.

Finally I added two glass cabochons from my stash that had toning colours.

Happy crafting!

Christine.

xx

Positive Thoughts (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I am sharing my final makes with you for this month. I hope that you have enjoyed what we have created using the sewing themed stamps and the fabulous new Folk Art Garden set of stamps.

I have two projects for you today, the first was created using a limited edition kit that we brought to Hochanda last month featuring a wide paintbrush, which I decorated. I painted the brush using a pale blue paint and dry brushed it with a magenta paint for an accent colour. I stamped some linen fabric which had also been painted with the blue paint, using Plum Archival Ink. I chose one of the ribbon trim images from the Floral Mannequins stamp set. I cut the image out and gathered it up around the top of the bristles with cotton, and stuck it down using double sided tape. I added some Little Birdie Flowers that had been dry brushed with the magenta paint. To complete the project, I stamped part of the large image from The Folk Art Garden onto card, coloured it with water based pens and cut it out, before adhering it to the paintbrush.

To create my second project, I cut a piece of smooth 160 gsm ivory paper to the required size, and made a gelli print. I used two colours of Distress Ink, and added a textured pattern to the plate before I pulled a print. I added the stamped image from The Folk Art Garden all over the background using Sepia Archival Ink. I stamped the sentiment onto a spare piece of paper created in the same way.

To complete the card, I added a strip of hessian, and some toning ribbon before adhering the background to a card blank. The sentiments on this stamp set are so useful to add to a card for someone who needs a bit of encouragement or positivity.

I will be back next month with more projects to share with you. Don't forget to look out for Lesley and I on Hochanda on Tuesday at 10.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. with some brand new stamps. Lesley will also be featuring on the screen on Sunday and Monday, so you will have lots of opportunities to see her in action!

Thanks for stopping by,

Judith xx

Sewing Room in a page ( by Magda)

My page of today is dedicated to all who love to sew.

Step by step

1. Stamp randomly with Archival the stamp you like from The Sewing Room plate
2. Blend Distress Ink Pad colours on the page
3. Cover all with a thin coat of white gesso and let dry
4. Stamp the mannequin of The Sewing Room on a white cardstock and cut the contour
5. Stamp on fabric in red and yellow Distress Ink Pad  a ribbon and a spool of the same plate
6. Decide the look of your Layout arranging all the pieces on the page.
7. Stamp now the background with other stamps of the plate The Sewing Room
8. Glue all the pieces with Glue n' seal

Wonderful Life card

1. Blend on the white cardstock yellow, green and grey Distress Ink Pad colours
2. Stencil with Victorian Velvet Distress Ink Pad  Chocolate Baroque Mask Silhouette Palace 1
3. Put Crackled Paste on the top of the card up as a cloud and down for the ground, let dry and
    colour it
4. Stamp the flower of the new stamp  The Folk Art Garden with Archival Jet Black and colour it
    with Faber Castell Art Grip Aquarelle Pencils
5. Stamp the sentiment of  The Folk Art Garden with Archival Jet Black on a left over piece of point 1
    and fix it on the card.

I hope you liked my posts,  hugs

Magda

Folk Art Inspired Garden (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I have two projects to share with you today, featuring The Folk Art Garden stamp set, which we shared on one of last month's TV shows on Hochanda. This beautiful stamp set features a wonderful intricate stamp, along with some delightful smaller images all hand drawn by our designer Sue Page, and some fabulous little sentiments added by Lesley.

I created my first project by stamping the main image onto some 160 gsm Luxury Smooth White Paper which is perfect for this kind of project. This paper is the same paper that the colouring pages, and the designer papers are printed on. You can colour with pencils, add inks, or watercolour on the paper, it is very versatile. I used Versafine Clair ink in a dark blue, rather than going for a stronger black colour. I partially masked the image using Masking tissue, and added some of the little worker stamps around the edges, to create the effect of a garden running along the bottom of the page.

I added some Distress Ink along the top of the card, masking off a circle for a sun, and using torn paper to create hills. I used a mixture of blue and pink to create the sky. I added yellow for the sun, and stamped a sentiment. I added two little birds from the Landscape Edges stamp set. I used pencils to colour the flowers and butterflies. It may seem like it would take ages, but I sit in front of the TV, and the time passes without me noticing!

For the purposes of a TV demo, I needed to create a quicker version of this card. I used the big acrylic block that we sold with the stamp, and covered it with two different colours of Distress Oxide Ink, one blue, and one green, and spritzed them with water. I smooshed the block across a piece of drawing cartridge, (that had a circle mask already added), covering the background in one go. Once the background was dry, I stamped the large image in a dark colour at the bottom of the page, as before, but towards the middle this time. I used the large image to stamp around the edges, filling in the gaps, so that the image was not floating by itself.

I coloured the image with Koh-I-Noor paints, as these cover the Distress Oxide Ink really well. I stamped a sentiment from the same stamp set to complete the card.

By varying the amount of Distress Ink that you add to the block, you can alter how vibrant your background will be. If you do not want such a strong background, add less ink to the acrylic block.

I will be back later in the month with more projects to share with you. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Spring Day (by Magda)

Hello,
I love the new stamp "The Folk Art Garden" and I used that stamp for my step by step projects of today.

Difficult roads card
1. Colour a white cardstock with Brusho watercolour wash
2. Stencil the drops of Chocolate Baroque Stencil Seasonal Elements using Distress Ink Pad
    Victorian Velvet
3. Stamp the flower of The Folk Art Garden with Archival Jet Black
4. Colour only the flower stem with green Faber-Castell Art Grip Aquarelle Pencils
5. Stamp the sentiment from the same plate The Folk Art Garden and fix it with adhesive dots on
    the card

Spring Day
1. Colour a book front page with a light Yellow colour and stamp randomly with Mowed Lawn 
    Distress Ink Pad in second generation part of the stamp The Folk Art Garden
2. Stencil with Mowed Lawn  Spring Day of  Chocolate Baroque Stencil Seasonal Journey
3. Prepare the label with the sentiment, stamping it in green on a yellow colored cardstock 
4. Cover all the stamp The Folk Art Garden at first with green patina mica and then with a bronze soft
    paste and let dry for some days.
5. Peel the dried film from the stamp, cut the excess all around and glue it on the cover of the book

Thank you for passing by

Magda