Stamp of the Week: The Rose Tree (plus winners announced for February giveaway)

What do all these lovely cards have in common?

 

They all feature stamps from this week's Stamp of the Week - the lovely Rose Tree.

It is on offer for just one week, so take advantage while you can!

Now, in other news, I have winners to announce ...

First up, winner of the Woodland Fantasy stamp set is Andrew - congratulations Andrew!

Andrews Stamping Pad 1 February 2013 07:41

Love the way you have used the stamps with the pan pastels.Fantastic samples .

Then we have the Spring is in the Air winner -  well done to Gerrina!

Gerrina 7 February 2013 10:15

Again some great stamps! The ATC's are beautiful! But then; I love snowdrops... that meens some saving is in order to buy them! Greetings, Gerrina

And finally, it's Elaine's lucky day with a win of Spring Foliage.

Elaine 12 February 2013 15:03

Love the spring with the new greens and bright flowers - just what we need to brighten these dull days. Great artwork and I love that catkin- very efective!!

Well done everyone - can  you please get in touch with me (sales@chocolatebaroque.com)  as soon as you can and let me have your postal address so I know where to send your prize. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

A fairy amongst the flowers (by Debbie)

Think I'll start by saying 'thanks for visiting' as I always leave it to the end. My card today uses another of my favourite Chocolate Baroque stamps the Fairy from Gossamer Wings. She sits beautifully between the crocus from Spring is in the Air.

I started by stamping the fairy with memento black ink so I was able to colour the wings with alcohol pens. I stamped onto a post it to make a mask of the fairy and the stamped the crocus's again with memento for colouring. For the wings I stamped onto acetate with stazon and added waterfall stickles.

The colour of the pens is just visible through the acetate. They are attatched with a little silicone glue. Rather than using distress ink to colour the ground I used the broad end of the alcohol pen. Debbie

Yellow Snowdrops? (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, 

I have two cards today featuring two more images from the new Spring is in the Air set.   I love the delicate flowers of these Snowdrops which are normally white.  

I used my Prisma Pencils to colour the two different snow drop images that I stamped on Kraft Paper.     The background is designer paper with very little design which I over stamped with a fragment from the Textured Fragment set using Shabby Shutters Distress Ink.  I blended a little of the same ink around the outside edges.   The die cut is from Spellbinder S5-090.

The is next card below features one of Snow Drop image from the Spring is in the Air set.

I used similar background paper and over stamped it using another fragment from the Textured Fragment set with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink.   The die cut is from Nellie's Multiframe MFD006.  The sentiment is from Bold Blooms.

Thanks for stopping by & have a great day,
Shirley

Spring Notecards (by Debbie)

I love the size of these stamps for A6 cards. I have a friend who recently commented on how expensive it is to send cards and would like some smaller cards so this will be a gift for her as she sends alot of Easter cards.

The outside is made from an A4 piece of white card and scored twice along the centre fold line. Score across the bottom to create a pocket and fix with a couple of pieces of red tape. I hope the picture explains. I added paper printed from the Decadent Brocade cd.

A labels die with sentiment and ribbon was added to the front.

Here are a couple more photos of the cards.

Thank you for visiting, Debbie

New Clear Stamps

I normally reserve Fridays on the Design Team blog to announce new stamps and our Stamp of the Week, but this week it just didn't happen... it's a long story which you can read over on my own blog, glendawaterworth.com.

Meanwhile, click on the image above to get the details of the gorgeous new clear Edges stamps we've just launched.  Here's a little taste of what you can do with them.

I am also late picking a winner for the new spring stamps, so I am going to do that this coming Friday.  And if you were wondering, our Stamp of the Week this week is With Sympathy - more versatile than it sounds, it can also be used for Easter, christenings and confirmations.  I also think the crosses are just elegant design elements in their own right.

I've interrupted the blogging to bring you this post so please scroll down to check out today's other post from Claire featuring the new Landscape Edges.

Cloudy Skies (posted by Claire)

Good morning ladies, Claire here with a card made using some of the fab new clear stamps. 

 This set is called Landscape Edges and its going to be such a useful stamp, it won't be far from my craft desk that is for certain. I've combined the stone wall stamp and the cloudy sky stamp from the new set with some old favourites, the gorgeous thatched cottages from English Cottages

I've Stamped the stone wall and clouds with versmarks and simply swiped over the top with PanPastels (Ultramarine blue  and the tint for the sky and Neutral Grey for the wall, then I've added a little shading to the wall with derwent pastel pencils.

The cottages have been stamped with black archival ink and coloured with distress markers.

The bird stamp is also from Landscape Edges and the sentiment is from Home Sweet Home.

Thanks for taking time to visit today

Claire xx

The Miracle of Spring Flowers (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I have a couple of cards today and this first one features the pretty Winter Aconite (normally yellow), from the new Spring is in the Air set.  I've used a quote from the Loving Sentiments set -  it is a miracle to see flowers & plants come back to life each Spring.  

I started with water colour paper and Dylusions Inks (blue, turquoise, green & purple), sprayed with water, blotted with a paper towel roll and dried with my heat gun.  I blotted the ink away using water on the flowers & ground then coloured using Dylusions Inks with a small water barrel brush. 

I stamped the delicate Flourish Tree from the new Fantasy Woodland Set to add the flourish design around the border with Peacock Feathers DI.   Designs by my talented team mates inspired me to use the tree as a Flourish.  

I used Picked Raspberry & Salty Ocean Distress Inks around the sentiment.  The die is Spellbinder S4-143. 

 

And here a a few simple note cards that I created with the Tulip from the Spring is in the Air set.   Elaine suggested these could be tied up with a ribbon and presented as a little gift, maybe for a Hostess?  I coloured the Tulip with my Tombow markers and matted with a Spellbinder S5-090 die cut.

Thanks for your visit & have a great day!

Shirley

Spring Bunting (posted by Claire)

Good morning folks, Claire here with a project featuring the new Spring Foliage Stamps to create some bunting as a reminder that Spring isn't far away.

The bunting pennants were from Chocolate Baroque, coloured with PanPastels, i used various colours from the tints range and blended with a sofft sponge.  I dusted my trusty cricut off to cut the letters out  and then stamped everything up. The images are all from Spring foliage, stamped with memento ink and coloured with promarkers

I coloured seam binding ribbon with PanPastels to match the bunting ad added raffia, bows and then some little wooden buttons topped off with bakers twine bows. 

Here's a pic of the bunting in my dining room, I couldn't take a pic without my reflection in the glass lol.

Thanks for popping by

Claire xx

Colourful Tulips (by Debbie)

For my last post of the tulip stamp from the Spring is in the Air stamps, I kept it black and white. This side stepper card shows how beautiful the flower looks coloured with alcohol pens.

I started by stamping the background onto an A4 piece of white card with green ink. I scored and folded the card then added the topper and tag. For the topper I had used an old brass stencil that I was curious to see if it would emboss and was pleased with the result. The tulip is beautiful to colour and I think there are many combinations of colours to use. I made a tag and attatched to the back of the card. Thanks for visiting, Debbie

Spring Foliage (posted by Claire )

Good morning, Claire here with another project using the beautiful new Spring Foliage Stamps. 

I've used memento inks to brayer the background, on coated cardstock  Memento inks are my favourite for brayer work as they come is such beautiful clear colours. I didn't do any masking at all as I wanted the stamps to do all the work. I just brayered green shades at the bottom of the image (New Sprout and Bamboo leaves) and at the top I used Dandelion, Tangelo and Rosebud to create a pinky peachy sky. I used the same colours on the background but this time I used plain cardstock and a blending tool to give a slightly different effect.

Next I stamped the foliage stamps using Bamboo leaves, repeat stamping before reinking to give some depth to the foliage. The butterflies (from Rose Tree) were made by stamping on acetate and  embossing with Gold embossing powder, next I cut them out and applied stickles  (I used Tropical Tangerine, Paprika and Lime Green) to the reverse side, left them to dry and then folded the wings up a little. You can see the butterflies more clearly in this photo

The sentiment is stamped in brown Memento ink, its from Loving Sentiments and is one of my favourites, such lovely words and the font is gorgeous. I've used dark brown card for matting and layering. I didn't want to add a lot of embellishments so I added some green ribbon and a rose.

Thanks for taking the time to visit today

Claire xx

Enchanted Forest (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, I have a project to show you today using the Fantasy Woodland stamp set combined with Woodland Dreams to make an enchanted forest scene. I have used Distress Inks to create the background and paper masks to create the hills that the trees are standing upon. The trees were then coloured with pencils, and I added further foliage around the edges with deeper colours to add depth.

No enchanted forest would be complete without a fairy, so I have added one of those as well, along with some little handmade flowers created from glassine paper.

The eagle eyed amongst you may see one or two stamps that you do not recognise. If you care to take a look in the What's New Department on Valentine's Day, February 14th, you will be in for a treat!

Keep popping back for more fabulous samples from my Design Team mates, thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

Fantasy Trees (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

I have a card today featuring one of the many tree designs from the beautiful new Fantasy Woodland set.    The number of stamps included in this set provides so many possibilities for designing, I've had a great time 'playing' with them.

I used Dylusions Inks to create the background & stamped the pretty flourish from New England Winter in two of the corners.  'Thanks' is from Pretty Poppies.

I used Pan Pastels (which are not as pale as the photo shows) to colour the flowering trees & the image background.   I added half pearls and rhinestones in the flower centers.   The die used around the image is Spellbinder S5-015.

Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for more designs from my talented teammates !
Have a great day,
Shirley

Rose Stem Script - Stamp of the Week

This week we are delving deep into the archives to bring you a stamp set that has been a firm favourite for several years - Rose Stem Script.

It's such a pretty stamp, it's been fun to dig it out and have a play with it again.  The card above is made with the rose stem, combined with one of our newest stamp sets - Rose and Thistle.  I used the little sprig to stamp around the edges of  a piece of A6 sized cardstock with Versamark then used PanPastels to colour over them.  The rose is also stamped with Versamark and again dusted with PanPastels.  The panel was layered onto olive green card and then onto Firefly Prima paper on an 8x8 inch card and finished with an olive ribbon.

I have to show you this card too - made by Lesley.

Now you might think that it's just a pretty card, but hop on over to Lesley's blog and you'll see that it marks a pretty major achievement for her.  She's right handed, but is currently recovering from a nasty break in her upper right arm. She created this card from scratch with just her left hand!  So if you're feeling a little creatively challenged or in a mojo slump, why not set yourself the challenge of seeing what you can create with the 'wrong' hand!  You might just surprise yourself!

Terrific Tulips

We are all waiting for the spring bulbs to break through the ground and bloom with full colour signalling warmer weather is on its way. For my card I kept it to white and black to show the beauty of the tulip stamp. The tulip is from Spring is in the Air and the sentiment is a favourite of mine from Loving Sentiments. I'd love this tulip stamp larger and making into a wallpaper. Some how I don't think I could afford it.

This is an 8x8 card and for the background I stamped the Tulip with Versafine black onyx onto an A4 piece of white card. I like the Versafine ink as it gives a lovely crisp image. The stamped card was cut to size and mounted onto black. With the left over card I trimmed to make a border strip. The Floral Oval Nestabilitie is one of my most used and the sentiment fits beautifully. I stamped it onto white, trimmed off the edging then cut it again out of black and glued them together. Thanks for stopping by Debbie

Verdigris Tree (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, I'd like to show you a sample that I have created using the Fantasy Woodland stamp set.

I stamped the orange tree image onto a piece of background paper, and coloured the image with pencils. I then embossed the edge of the paper with verdigris embossing powder. To create the background, I embossed some pearlescent card, and painted it with patina paints. Once these were dry, I rubbed some of the surface back, to reveal the dark card underneath. I added some burgundy satin ribbon, and a word which is a partial stamp from the Artistic Affirmations stamp set.

As you can see, the oranges on my tree are not orange, but it is a Fantasy Woodland tree after all!

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

A vase full of spring! (posted by Elaine)

I love signs of spring and one of my favourite things is to see the grey and yellow pussy willow coming into bloom, I love to bring some into the house with daffodils and catkins.

 

I stamped the image from Spring Foliage in Cocoa Brown Memento ink on cream card and coloured with pencils. I stamped the vase which is actually a perfume bottle from the Dressing Room set embossing in copper EP, cut out with added ink shading. This was then decoupaged into place. The image was framed using a die cut. I matted the whole thing onto an Echoes of Italy marble effect paper from my stash, onto an 8 x 8 card and finished off with a little sentiment from the Pretty Poppies set, brown ribbon and brass butterfly charms and flower beads.

Elaine

Bluebells (posted by Claire)

Good morning folks, my sample this morning features the beautiful bluebell stamp from the new 'Spring Foliage' stamps. Although its still very cold here, the bulbs are starting to show some green shoots so spring can't be too far away now. 

It was a nice easy card to make, I stamped the image across the centre of some white card coloured with promarkers. I stamped the image on some more white card, and again coloured with promarkers. I die cut the image and used the markers to colour the card for matting and layering. I added some lace and gingham ribbon and stamped the sentiment (from Best Relative Ever) in the corner.

Thanks for visting today

Claire xx

Think Spring ! (by Shirley)

Hello everyone, I hope you are keeping warm and enjoying your weekend.

I'm looking forward to Spring, especially when I started 'working' with the gorgeous new stamps launched this month!   I love to garden & get very excited when the first flowers from the Spring bulbs pop up.

My card today features the two Crocus designs from the new Spring is in the Air set .  This A5 set includes a variety of beautiful & detailed designs that are wonderful for colouring.  

I started with designer paper that has very little design, stamped the Crocus over top & coloured using my Prisma Pencils.  I also blended a little Distress Ink around the outside of the sheet.   The narrow purple strip is a piece of Dylusions painted paper that was cut off another design (which you will see later).     The pretty Crocus with the writing behind was also coloured with my Prisma Pencils.   I added a little glitter, blended a little Distress ink around the edges & used a die cut from Spellbinder (S4-202) behind it.    "Beauty" is from the wonderful Artistic Expressions set.

Here is a look the beautiful  Spring is in the Air set.  

I hope you have enjoyed this little taste of Spring and stay tuned for beautiful designs by my Team mates !

Thanks for your visit,
Shirley

Woodland Flower (posted by Judith)

Hi Folks, I'd like to show you a sample today using stamps from the new Fantasy Woodland stamp sheet.

I made a large flower by repeatedly stamping the two small trees onto card that I had previously coloured with yellow ink. I cut these out, and worked out where I wanted to place them on my card, and then stamped the swirly tree twice to resemble leaves. I then assembled the flower. I added a button tied with paper string in the centre.

I added a sentiment from the Loving Sentiments stamp sheet, which is coincidentally, this week's Stamp of the Week offer.

Finally, I made a background for the card using Dylusions sprays in various shades of pinks and purples.

The rest of the Design Team have been making some fabulous samples with the new stamp releases. Keep checking back to see what they have made. Thanks for stopping by, Judith xx

February New Stamps

It's the first of the month and you know what that means - we have new stamps!

Our Stamp of the Month is this gorgeous A4 Woodland Fantasy.

 If you liked Woodland Dreams, this will go with it beautifully.

Then we have two smaller A5 rubber sets, the first is Spring is in the Air

and a great partner to it is Spring Foliage

I made this tree card with PanPastels and the Spring Foliage stamps which were stamped in Versamark and rubbed over with the paler pastel colours.  The flowery trees were stamped separately with Versafine, coloured with pencils and decoupaged onto the background.

I used the asymmetrical tree from Woodland Fantasy as a border around the edge - it works so well for that I can see I'll be using it for more than just a tree.

The sentiment is from Artistic Expressions. 


I also made a couple of ATCs 

 

I smudged this one a bit, but I like the layering of the foliage in the background - I used very pale coloured Archival inkpads for both the stamping and the background colours.

 

On this one, I wanted to create a scene of the first new flowers poking through the snow.  I used an Inkssentials white gel pen to whiten the snowdrop flowers and create some snow on the ground, but to make it stand out, I shaded some dark blue pencil around the ground and flowers.

All these stamps are at introductory prices until February 28th 2013 (that includes trade prices too). I'm also going to be doing a random giveaway so please leave us a comment below and who knows, you could be the lucky winner of a stamp set.

The girls have some great artwork to show you with these stamps - I've been oohing and aahing at the previews I've seen - you're going to love them!