Seeds of Friendship

Hello, Joanne here - I'm delighted to be doing a guest post here on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team blog. I've been playing with the lovely florals from The Rose Tree - perfect for spring!

I made this little gift presentation package. It's perfectly sized to give an actual packet of flower seeds as a token gift but you could also use it to present something like a necklace or earrings - perhaps made with seed beads or seed pearls to continue the theme!


I created a document to make a seed packet "framework" for the image. It's easy to do with a word processing program but if you'd like a quick and easy starting point, Glenda has made mine available as a pdf that you can find on the downloads page. There are some instructions included on there, too.

The image is coloured with a combination of Copic markers for a base layer and Prismacolor pencils to add some detail and depth. I even gave the large flower centers some texture by tapping a brown pencil straight down onto the cardstock with a piece of fun foam underneath.

Thanks for joining me today!
Joanne

Joanne's artwork is featured regularly in Craft Stamper magazine and you can see more of her beautiful work at her blog, Ambrosia & Iron.

Primula in Sepia by Debbie

For my card today I used the Primula stamp from Elegant Spring Flowers.


Onto white card I stamped the flower with Brushed Corduroy twice. I used a water brush to colour the flowers with the same ink. The centre flower was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with various Alcohol Ink pens then cut out. I softened the edges with Brushed Corduroy and mounted onto brown. The backing paper for the card is a download from Chocolate Baroque, Love Letters. This paper comes in various colours and I love it.





Thanks for stopping by

Debbie

Mica Mosaic (by Claire)

Hi there, my card this morning features Corinthian Butterfly by Crafty Individuals and i've also used  one of the Crafters Workshop Templates to create the background

The image is simply coloured with Derwent Watercolour pencils. I've decoupaged the butterflies for a little dimension. The backing paper is from Echoes of Italy.

To create the mica background, I used some black cardstock and used masking tape to position the template. I decided to experiment with  and found a pot of magi-tac glue which I'd had for years and spread it over the surface. I then created some texture by using a hard rubber brayer. I left it to dry and then gently brushed over various colour mica powders to created the tiled effect. You can use all sorts of things to add texture, for example bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, an embossing folder etc. It its something you want to use again just make sure you wash it straightaway. I've also tried using thick pva glue and microbeads which gives a lovely effect too.

I didn't want to use too many embellishments so I just added a couple of ribbon flowers, a flower created with old book pages and Crealies 10 and some black die cut foliage (Crealies 11)

I really enjoyed making this card, I hope it gives you some inspiration

Claire xx

Blue Tag (by Debbie)

Hi there,
The Ladies over on the Chocolate Baroque Forum are involved in a tag swap and they are wonderful. I love making tags as you can let your creativity run wild.
I used the Crafty Individuals Britannia stamps. The edges are distressed with Stormy sky and stamped over with the same colour. I cut a piece of acetate the same size as the tag and stamped Britannia with black Stazon. I stamped it again on to white card, coloured and cut it out then placed on the top of the acetate. The flowers are attatched with a brad that I bought from Graphicus a few years ago.




Thanks for stopping by

Debbie

Up, Up, and Away (posted by Judith)

Hi folks, well this is the last of my samples for this batch of cards. I have had so much fun creating my projects with these great stamps, and still have so many ideas that I want to make. I have combined Crafty Individuals stamps and the new Artistic Expressions stamps in this project.

I started by creating a background with Distress inkpads, and using a Crafter's Workshop template, sponging some colour through, and then stamping the large swirl over the top. I stamped the large 'inspire' in the bottom right hand corner. I stamped the ballon stamp onto another piece of card, and coloured that with Distress inkpads too. I stamped several Crafty Individuals clocks, and cut them out, arranging them around the balloon image, as if it were travelling through time. I added some Glossy Accents to the clocks. I decoupaged the balloon image, curving the balloon before I attached it to the card. Finally, I added some texture paste through the Mini Punchinella template from Crafter's Workshop, which I coloured with gold paint when the stars were dry.

Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

In England's green and pleasant land

Hi there, here's my second sample combining the gorgeous new Artistic Expressions and Crafty Individuals stamps with some of my old favourites from Home Sweet Home.

As soon as I saw the sentiment 'In England's green and pleasant land' I knew I wanted to combine them with a country scene so of course Home Sweet Home were the perfect stamps for them. The gorgeous bold swirl stamps are from Artistic Expressions and the Britannia image at the top of the frame is from Crafty Individuals 'Britannia . I've made the flowers and leaves using Crealies dies.

For more details, pop over to my blog

Thanks for visiting today. 

Claire xx

'Love' Artistic Expressions (by Miranda)

Hi there,

Today a card made with a background which I already had for quit a while. I've used the doodle butterfly stamps and coloured them with pencils on kraft paper. I've cut a nestie label and used the word 'LOVE' from the Artistic Expressions sheet. Again I have die cut a butterfly out of metal foil and have been busy for quit a while taking out all of the metallic pieces.
Also use a Go Kreate die for this card model.

See you next time and have fun crafting........

Breath of Spring (posted by Judith)

Hi folks, I'm back with another sample to showcase the great new stamp set Artistic Expressions available at Chocolate Baroque

The full details of how I made this piece can be viewed on my blog so you can hop over there if you are interested.

I thoroughly enjoyed making this piece, but with stamps like these, it's hardly surprising! I've used 'Artistic Expressions', 'Rose Tree', and 'Breath of Spring', all available on the website.

Keep checking back for more samples from the other Design Team members, and I'll be back in a few days. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Vintage, Inky heart with wings (by Debbie)

Hi there. I wanted to create a vintage grungy style card using the heart with wings and a crown from the new Artistic Expression stamp set. I chose the colours for the backgrounds first, coloured and then stamped with the Small Script from Mini Scripts with the same inks. To add more of an aged feel I used an Ink Splat stencil and distressed into the splats with the Spiced Marmalade.
The heart and crown have been stamped seperately onto white card, cut out, coloured with Alcohol pens and glued on. I stamped the words from Crafty Individuals - UM Britannia below in black so that it became a focal point.



Ingredients
Distress Ink - Antique Linen, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo
Versafine - Onyx Black
If you would like to see the stamps I have used click on the underlined words and it will take you to the Chocolate Baroque website where they are.

Thanks for stopping by

Debbie

brown and blue butterflies.... (by Miranda)

Hello there,

Today another one with the Crafty Individuals...( CI1333)and some swirls of the Artistic Expressions. This time with brown and blue shades. I find that always a beautiful combination.
Again I've used the acrylic bloc technique. The image is stamped on kraft paper and shaded with brown and white pencils. The butterflies are decoupaged and also coloured with pencils. The big butterfly is a die from Cheery Lynn and cut from metal foil. Than treated with some dabber's to make it look less shiny. Just added some pearls and voila!

Creative greetz,

Keep Calm and Carry On Pastel Easel Card (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, I'm back again with a sample using the great Crafty Individuals stamps available at Chocolate Baroque. The whole Britannia theme is so popular at the moment, isn't it?

I wanted to create a card using colours that weren't traditional for this theme, and set about using aqua as my basic colour. I have used a lovely Crafty Individuals swirl to decorate the background of the card, and stamped the sentiment onto seam binding ribbon. I added a large acrylic circle over the Britannia image, to represent a coin, and it makes a great stopper for the top half of the card. I had a great threepenny charm in my stash, and it was ideal for this card.

I pieced the flag together by stamping it three times in various colours onto a spare piece of background paper, then cutting out the pieces I needed. A piece of lace completes the vintage feel that I wanted for my card.

Keep checking back for more samples from the other Design Team members over the coming days. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Keep calm and carry on (by Claire)

Hi here's my first sample with the new Artistic Expressions stamps which i've combined with some of the new Crafty Individuals stamps. 

The backing paper is from the neutrals collection from Decadent Brocade cd, overstamped with the swirl from Artistic Expressions and embossed with beige embossing powder. The Crafty individuals Union Jack and the sentiment are stamped on printable canvas coloured with antique linen distress stain. I've used the wings and crown from the heart stamp on Artistic expressions,stamping the wings on vellum and the crown on beige and black card for a bit of contrast. 

I've matted the sentiment on Shapeabilities Fancy Tags 2 and attached it with some seam binding ribbon. I've added lots of faux pearls and a few gems to finish off.

I'm hope you're enjoying all my teamies beautiful projects. These new stamps are irresistible aren't they?

Claire xx

purple and greens (by Miranda)

Hello there,

Today I will show you a card with the same CI stamp as I shown before but with a different technique, colours and lay-out.
I've used the acrylic bloc method using distress inks, mist spray and perfect pearls. For the two tiny balloons I've used the Creative Petals no.1 from Crealies. On the balloons I used the mini stamps mail art en scripts.
I've stamped the main image from Crafty Individual with Archival black. The text is from the Word of Inspiration sheet. Attached some thin silver threads around this card and layered on purple cardstock.

So, this was another variation with the same stamp, have a nice day,

Artistic Expressions Winner

Thanks so much to everyone for all your comments - it's time to pick a winner.  The random number generator has been called into play and the lucky winner is ...

* * * Sharon * * *

Congratulations Sharon - I will leave a comment on your blog, but could you get in touch with your postal address and we will get your stamps sent out to you.

Travel Journal Card (posted by Judith)

Hi folks, I'm back again, with another sample using the great new Artistic Expressions stamp plate recently released over at Chocolate Baroque and some new Crafty Individuals stamps.

This time I was aiming for a much more masculine feel to my project. Glenda has some great Crafter's Workshop stencils over on thewebsite, and I decided to use one of these to help create my background. I sponged Versamark through the stencil, and then used clear embossing powder, to create the design. I have added the large cogs and clock stamp from 'Punky Romance', masking off the flowers before I inked up the stamp.

I created a little book by stamping and embossing the crackle stamp from 'Echoes of Italy' in gold onto black card. I added a book plate with a computer generated title, and the great Crafty Individuals balloon image on the top. I stamped some Crafty Individuals tickets onto Kraft card, which I crumpled slightly, then stuck down the edge of the book, as if they were spilling out.

The sentiment that I used is a great one for scrapbooking, and I felt that it went really well with this project.

The other Design Team members have been really busy too, creating some great projects, keep popping back to see what they have been up to. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Masculine card with the new stamps..... (by Miranda)

Hello there,


My creation today is a masculine one......don't make them so often but the new Crafty Individuals stamp(CI 1336) was perfect for this. I stamped the image with Archival brown on kraft paper and coloured with Derwent pencils. The car is a Marianne design die and was cut from metal foil and treated with a black dabber.The text 'Imagine' and 'Dream' is from the new 'Artistic Expressions' sheet. Also used an embossing folder from which I cut out the clock and sanded the paper. As additional stuff I've used a TH embellishment and some rope ribbon on the background.

Hope to have inspired you with these stamps!

till next time,

Dream (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, as you know Glenda has recently released a fabulous new stamp plate called Artistic Expressions over at Chocolate Baroque I absolutely love this stamp plate, as it has everything that I could possibly ask for to finish off a card or mixed media project. I love the big words, the swirls and the heart with wings. This plate is so inspiring, that I can't stop thinking of ideas!

Anyway, here is one of the ideas that I came up with, and I will be back over the next few days with some of the others, hopefully to show you how versatile these stamps really are.

I wanted to create a dreamy feel to my card, and so I used several colours of Distress inkpads to colour a piece of white card, and then spritzed the whole thing with a pearl shimmer spray. I stamped a tree from the 'Woodland Dreams' stamp plate, and a fairy from 'Dragonfly Faeries' before colouring them in with pencils. I embossed the big swirl around the edges of the card with a white pearl embossing powder for an ethereal feel.

I created a plaque using an offcut of mountboard, colouring it with Distress ink, and stamping it with the large crackle stamp from 'Echoes of Italy'. I then stamped the word 'Dream' before triple embossing it to give it a cracked tile effect.

Don't forget to keep popping back to see what the other Design Team members have created with these amazing stamps, and I'll be back in a few days. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Artistic Expressions - a blog giveaway

We have launched a new set of stamps today called Artistic Expressions.  This makes a great partner to Artistic Affirmations and contains some really big words which work really well as the focal point for a card as well as being great for scrapbooking and mixed media pieces.  There are some lovely heartfelt sentiments too.

It's a full size A4 sheet and if you would like to win this set of stamps, please leave a comment and I'll pick a winner next Tuesday.

Check back for DT artwork coming along soon.

A Posy of Daisies (by Debbie)

My card is from the Rose Tree stamps and I love the arrangement of the flowers in the posy. It is a stamp that can be used for so many occasions. A simple thinking of you to a wedding card, coloured with the brides bouquet colours.



I used dies to cut the easel card with white card and my favourite moss green as layers. The posie is stamped with Memento black the the flowers are coloured with alcohol pens, pastel pinks, lemons and greens. I used one of my nestabilie shapes chopped it up and created a border. I stamped the posie a second time and coloured and cut out the flowers to place around the bottom of the base.

Stay warm
Debbie

Orange Honeysuckle (by Debbie)

My card today is from the Fragment Honeysuckle stamps and I wanted to keep use oranges as it's a colour I don't use often when card making. I stamped the flower with Memento black and coloured with Alcohol Ink pens. The delicious backing paper is from the Essence of Nature cd, a definate favourite of mine

.

I have a few more cards that I will post over the weekend.

Stay warm
Debbie

Dandelion frame (by Claire)

Hi there, here's another sample using some of the gorgeous new stamps from Chocolate Baroque. These beautiful delicate dandelions are from Rose Tree and the sentiment is from Words of Gratitude

Its one of my all time favourite sentiment stamps, I've used it so many times and never get fed up of it.

This was a really quick and simple card to make using distress inks and memento inks

For more details pop over to my blog.

I hope you're managing to keep warm in this wintery weather, at least its perfect for crafting and all the new stamps are a wonderful reminder of better weather to come

Claire xx

'Fragile glittering' (by Miranda)

Hello there,


Today a card I've made using the new CB stamp sheet 'the Rosetree'. The stamp I've used is a beautiful fragrant flower and I like it very much to work with. I've  made a background using oil pastel crayons and a blending solution. Also used a lot of glittering which I like always! I am really like a magpie........Also used my indispensable white gel pen this time for the centre of the flowers. I've also used the same background behind the image and embossed that with a crafts too folder. A lovely lime coloured ribbon for the finishing touch. And I've also added a sentiment from the sheet 'Artistic affirmations' 
On the picture below you can see the shimmer better, always difficult to catch on the camera.

Till next time,

 

Stylish Flower and one Inkpad (by Debbie)

My card today has been made using the flower from Wisteria Lane stamps. The flower has been popular with my Design Team buddies.



I searched around for my Big and Juicy Waterfall inkpad to use with the stamp. I inked the flowers from different areas of the pad to achieve the difference of colour and used clear embossing powder. The background was made by masking off pieces of the white card, brayering then moving the tape and repeating. I stamped the tiny single flower head that also looks like an ink splodge. I mounted onto navy blue cards and placed onto a fresh green card base.

Stay warm and have a crafty weekend

Debbie

Dandelion sympathy card (posted by Elaine)

As soon as I saw this dandelion stamp from the Fragrant Honeysuckle set, I thought it would make a very suitable stamp for a sympathy card. I stamped the images and sentiment in Versamark on a white card panel slightly smaller than DL size and embossed in the silver detail powder I seem to use so much!  The words are from the CB With Sympathy set which is very useful for these sad occasions. I edged with more silver embossing using a Versamark pen. I then matted onto medium grey. I wanted to keep the design deliberately simple.

Hope you enjoy  looking at all the ideas from the DT for these lovely new stamps

'art deco' flower (by Miranda)

This time I want to show you this creation, a very stylish one with a beautiful flower from the 'Wisteria Lane' sheet. If you like these 'art deco' stylized images then this is your sheet! Personally I like this style very much.
I 've used masking tape and sponged with only 2 colors Versa magic ink, Aegan blue and Sage, both beautiful powder colours. After sponging and a little bit of drying I rubbed some perfect pearls onto the card. You can see the shine in the close-up.....

Well that is my contribution for today........have a great day

One layer card by ikki

Wow, what a supa dupa display of artwork by my design team mates!      Here one from me using a simple masking technique.......

If you would like to know how I acheived this look, please pop over to the Cupboard where you will find details.

Take care and keep warm.

ikki

Purple Honeysuckle (by Debbie)

This is my first sample from the Fragment Honeysuckle stamps set. I instantly fell in love with this image as it reminded me of my parents garden. Honeysuckle covered the fence at the bottom of the garden.
I hadn't used my watercolour pencils for quite a long time and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed using them.



I know that purple isn't the usual colour of Honeysuckle but I think it works well.

There are more beautiful cards to come from the Design Team so stop by again.

Debbie

Ladybird Frame (by Claire)

Hi there, today's card features some of the stunning new stamps from the Fragrant Honeysuckle stamp sheet. I love this stamp, its such a stylish floral design. The ladybirds are also from this stamp sheet.

The quote is from one of my old favourite stamp sheets, Curly Birds.

More details of how I made this card can be found on my blog

Thanks for visiting today, pop back soon for more inspiration from my talented teamies

Claire xx

creation in Blue

Hello there,

Today I want to show you a creation made with the stylish flower from the new sheet ' Fragrant Honeysuckle'.
Again made with acrylic bloc technique and distress inks. I kept the colours in blue shades.
I stamped several layers with the same flower, using perfect pearls, distress inks ,blue and silver embossing powder. When the card was finished I found it suitable for a sympathy card. The sentiment is from the sheet 'With Sympathy'.

Till next time, creative greet        

Wisteria butterfly (posted by Elaine)

I have really enjoyed working with these gorgous new stamps. Here is a card I made with the Wisteria stamps.

I repeat stamped the wisteria image along the edge of a white card panel. I used two colours of Versamagic chalk ink, using dew drop pads so I could ink different parts of the stamp at the same time. I stamped the butterfly and sentiment in purple versafine ink and coloured the butterfly in with Coloursoft pencils. Finally I shaded the panel with Dsuty Concord Distress Ink to give a cloudy effect. I matted onto purple and mauve card, adding ribbon, gems and a die cut contrasting edge to finish.

Do keep popping by to see what we have all been up to.

Elaine x