Buds and Bugs (by Asha)

Good morning, fellow Chocoholics! It's my turn to play with the new Sketchy Doodle Flowers stamps. I've got two card projects to share with you today: Buds & Bugs.

Let's start with the Buds. This card features the big bold sketchy blooms coloured with alcohol markers before fussy cutting them. To create background texture without bulk I used thick water colour paper, Distress Inks and lots of water. When dry, I stamped the bubbly image from Texture Fragments with Distress Ink. The stems for the flowers are from the Wild Meadow sheet, stamped with Distress Ink.  To finish the card: a greeting from Birthday Words and a few tiny gems.

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And now we move on to the Bugs. For this project, I'm showcasing the butterflies from Sketchy Doodle Flowers A4 stamp sheet. 

To create the background I did some emboss resist using the floral fragment from the Texture Fragments A4 stamp sheet and white embossing powder, followed by some good old fashioned blending with Distress Inks. For texture and shine I added Distress Glitter and went 3D with paper flowers from my stash. The scene is now set for the bugs. I coloured these sketchy butterflies with alcohol markers, fussy cut and adhered them to the background. To finish: a greeting from Butterfly Dreams. And voila!

I wanted to show you how versatile these stamps are by mixing and matching them with other stamps and materials from my stash. You don't need to go mad on technique to make these stamps shine. Keep it simple,  play with colours, break a few rules and have fun! You'll be surprised what you can do with these sketchy doodle stamps. As always, I have details of products and tools on my blog. Don't forget to swing by often for more crafty inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.   

Beijinhos,
Asha

A Reflection and Magic Mushrooms (by Asha)

Good morning, fellow Chocoholics. Are you enjoying your new stamps? I bet you are. Let me show you a couple more design ideas. Nothing fancy... which is how I like them!


For my first card I used the reflection technique on the three trees from the Autumn Edges A5 sheet. I stamped the reflection with the aid of the stamp positioner's acrylic imaging sheet. For the background I used various Distress Inks: light purples for the sky, greens for the grassy bank and pale blue and aqua for the water. I added blue and white Liquid Pearls for the stars and ripples in the water. The greeting is from Butterfly Dreams.

My second card is an explosion of colour - pink mushrooms against rich autumn evening sky. I masked off the moon, blended several Distress Inks and stamped the tall grass from the Wild Meadow A4 sheet. I coloured the mushrooms from the Autumn Edges A5 sheet with alcohol markers, fussy cut and adhered them to the inked background. To finish the card, I stamped a flying bat from the Witching Time A5 sheet. Makes sense? Of course not! Those are magic mushrooms!

I'll post details of the products used on my blog. Don't forget to drop by the Design Team blog regularly because my team mates have lined up some pretty fabulous projects for you. Watch this space, folks!

Beijinhos,
Asha

A Bit of Diversity (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, my post today shows just how versatile the Harlequin Fragments/Tangled Fragments multibuy set can be. I have created some very different looking cards using these great new stamps.

My first card was created using the watery background stamp, which I stamped onto a strip of white card, using black ink several times. I then created three pieces of decorated stampbord, using three layers of embossing powder and stamping into them while the last layer was still molten. I brushed a little bit of gold pearl powder into the crevices to pick up the detail of the stamp.

I matted the background onto a piece of toning card, and stuck this onto a larger piece of black card. I added a sentiment taken from the Artistic Affirmations stamp set.

 

My second card was created using a piece of smooth watercolour paper, which I sprayed with diluted Distress Ink. I then stamped the dotty stamp and the stone effect stamp, using the same colour Distress Ink over the background. I embossed the single stone spine in the centre using a silver embossing powder. I added some ferns around the edges, taken from the Wild Meadow stamp set using green and purple inks.

I stamped and embossed a flower from the Tangled Garden stamp set, plus the leaf fragment using silver embossing powder, which I then painted with water based acrylic inks. I decoupaged the flower, added the larger leaves to the stem, and used the smaller leaves for a grass effect. Finally, I added a sentiment from the Amazing Birthday clear stamp set to the background.

 

My final card was again created using a piece of smooth watercolour paper for the background. This time, I sprayed it with Dylusions spray to create a base for the rest of the background, rolling off some of the intense colour with a paper towel.  I stamped the large bubble background, and the dotty harlequin stamp using a turquoise archival ink.

I embossed the butterfly from the Steampunk Buterfly stamp set and some flowers from the Punky Flowers stamp set, using copper embossing powder. I coloured them with water based acrylic inks. I added a stamped swirl from the Artistic Expressions stamp plate to resemble leafy tendrils behind the flowers. The sentiment was taken from the Amazing Birthday clear stamp set.

I hope that I have given you a couple more ideas for these stamps, and that you will try them out for yourselves. Keep checking back for more inspiration from my team mates every day this month. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Summer Fairies (by Asha)

Good morning, everyone. Let's kick start the lovely warm months ahead with a couple of magical makes using the Summer Fairies Collection - the last in Chocolate Baroque's trio of enchanting seasonal stamps.  

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The main image for this project is from the August Fairy DL stamp sheet, coloured with alcohol markers. I popped a sunflower on some foam tape to tuck in the card edge. The fairy's wings are heat embossed in silver onto vellum and adhered to her shoulder.

This is a trifold card. The sunflowers are from the June Fairy and July Fairy sheets. The fern fronds are from the August Fairy sheet, as is the silhouette which is heat embossed in black.

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For my second card, I started by blending distress inks to create a background reminiscent of breaking dawn. All stamps for this card are from the June Fairy sheet, except for the grassy bits which is from the Wild Meadow A4 sheet.

I added some sparkle to the fairy's wings and fussy cut the butterfly before adhering it to the card.

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Don't forget to swing by again for more fabulous makes by the rest of the Design Team. Here's to a magical summer, folks!

Beijinhos!

Nouveau Birds (by Asha)

Hello everyone! Have you see the stunning stamps from the fabulous new release? Don't let the art nouveau look intimidate you. You don't need to understand the design of the period to work these images. I speak from personal experience! Today I have 2 samples to show you, both made using the new A5 sets called Fleurs Nouveau.

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My first card is simple with neutral base colours to showcase the lovely birds from the Fleurs Nouveau set. I started by stamping a background design using one of the accent stamps from this set. The sentiment is from Loving Sentiments and I finished the card with a few simple embellishments: tiny pearls and sheer ribbon. The clean straight lines and symmetry of the layout give the illusion of Art Deco ... or not!

Here's a closer look at those magnificent birds, coloured with alcohol markers. I also added some glitter on the birds for a touch of glamour.

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My second card features one of the solid stamps from Fleurs Nouveau. This design too cannot be dated to any era. I started off by blending a few Distress inks, getting lighter toward the middle of the card. To frame the focal image, I stamped little grasses from the Wild Meadow set. A greeting from Birthday Words, few random placed tiny bling and the card is done. So simple and easily adaptable to any occasion.

For textural interest, I heat embossed the focal image in black. The little butterfly is from the Wild Meadow set and I added some white dots with a gel pen.

You don't have to be arty to play with these new period themed stamps. They are so versatile that you can dress them up (or down) to suit any occasion in any era. Come back soon because the rest of the DT have some more super stunning ideas to show you.

Beijinhos,
Asha