Floral Delights

Hi everyone.  Here are some cards which I made for Chocolate Baroque's TV shows last month.  These are new stamps again and the first is a Brusho Background and a pretty bouquet of flowers called Celebration Bouquet.

I started with Dark Brown Brusho which I sprinkled around the outside of the card and spritzed with gold mica infused water to give it some extra glimmer.  I then added a little orange and I mopped up a lot of water from the centre so it was a little lighter.  I then decided to go for more of a dramatic look and added more Distress Inks using a blending tool and darkened the edges with Walnut Stain, then a bit of Ripe Persimmon and finally the centre with some Scattered Straw.  I then stamped the flowers using Versafine and heat embossed using WOW Metallic Brass Embossing Powder.  I then bleached the colour from the flowers and leaves to give some contrast against the now very dark background.  I finished by adding a sentiment from the same set to a strip of white card stamping it with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and blending some of the Walnut Stain and Ripe Persimmon ink around the edges before adding it across the corner of the card.   This did end up being a bit darker than I had at first intended but I think it makes a good contrast with the metallic finish of the pretty bouquet.

My next card features the pretty Magnolia flower from Happy Flower's Day.  I stamped the image four times over a piece of white card using Versafine Olympia Green Ink and colour the flowers using Spun Sugar, Forest Moss, Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks.  I found a strip of light green vellum and using my Misti I placed the strip over the background floral images, anchoring it in various places with repositionable tape, and then tucked a piece of copy paper underneath so that when I stamped off the edges it would not get on to the stamped background.  I stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with WOW Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder.  I worked my way round the parchment strip embossing with the White EP.  Maybe there was a quicker and easier way to do it but it worked fairly well and only one of the four images was not quite stamped in the right place, but good enough not to do it for a second time and luckily that was hidden by the sentiment plate.    I creased the top of the parchment so that it could be stuck on the back before glueing the background layer in place on the white base card.

I die cut two layers for the sentiment which came with the same set of stamps and I cut the green layer with the smaller die to inset the white piece into it.   I then stamped it with the sentiment using the Olympia Green Ink and then heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss EP.

I then made the one more large flower and two smaller buds stamping them on to white card and coloured them using the same Versafine and Distress Inks.  I then put the card together and attached the largest behind the inset layer of the sentiment, and the other two behind the whole thing mainly because the large flower was inclined to hang off the edge of the card so I needed to bring it in a little.

I am adding this card to the Challenge over at Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No. 363 where we use up our snippets of card and paper etc.  I used quite a few with bits of white card for the flowers and sentiment, and the vellum, as well as a piece of dark green card for the sentiment.

My last card for now has the Snakes Head Fritillary flower featured on the same stamp set that I used for the last card.  I made the background using an old plastic card and with Cracked Pistachio, Shaded Lilac and Broken China Distress Inks.  I laid each ink down separately and spritzed with water before adding one colour at a time, drying in between, dragging the ink across the white card, and then using the Broken China I also added some lines using the edge of the card.  I then stamped the central flower, and used a mask before stamping each of the flowers to the left and right of it.  I used Versafine Crimson Red Ink on the flower and Momento Bamboo Leaves for the foliage adding the inks to the stamp.  I then coloured them in using the same green and added Fired Brick Distress Ink to each of the flowers.

I finished by die cutting this using my Crealies Pierced Rectangle dies and added a cobalt blue coloured mat to it.  I stamped the sentiment using Deep Lagoon Versafine Ink and adhered it to a white base card.

I 'm hoping this last card will fit the theme over at The Flower Challenge as they are asking for CAS cards, and they are celebrating their 3rd Birthday, so congratulations on three years of running this super challenge.

Thank you for dropping by today and I hope to see you again soon.

Evening on the Savannah

Hi everyone.  I made this birthday card featuring a Sheena Douglass set of stamps called African Landscape and then stamped the images on to a piece of background paper from a pad by Craft Consortium called Grunge - Light Tones, and the paper I chose is the 2nd from the left with orange and blue in one corner, as I thought this was a good starting point.  I laid down some of the Distress Inks first to give a basic background colour and then stamped the large acacia type tree first in Versafine Onxy Black and some Vintage Sepia on the top of the tree, following by more Vintage Sepia for the three giraffes, and then I added the smaller trees using the same black, one tree stamped three times overlapping with two stamped in second generation ink to add perspective.  

I then used more of the various Distress Inks, Chipped Sapphire, Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Vintage Photo and Black Soot, using a blending tool to apply it, to give a darker tone to everything   I also used the side of the pad dragged upwards to give the look of long grass using the Vintage Photo.  Applying more inks to the background did add a bit of ink to the images but I did where possible go round them and I think the overall effect adds some mistiness to the scene so I was happy.

I finished by stamping a sentiment using the Onyx Black and heat embossed using WOW Clear Gloss EP.

I am entering the following challenges:

Stamping Sensations - Trees and/or Leaves and/or Autumn.
Addicted to Stamps and More - Make Your Mark.
Seize the Birthday - No. 176 Anything Goes (No Optional Twist).

The Key to your Heart

Hi there.  Hubby and I are away in Yorkshire for a few days, but I have my laptop and we do have reasonable reception here so I decided to put post something from my drafts to give you all something new to look at.  Several weeks ago I made this quick card to get into the post asap using this harlequin patterned heart with a key from a set by Chocolate Baroque called Punky Hearts.  It is a bit quirky with the metal tie and staples holding it together, but this couple have been married for 20 years or more and are very happy so no broken hearts there, but I thought it was fun and a bit different to the normal style of heart image and this is what I did.

I stamped the heart on to a piece of white card using Momento Teal Zeal ink and heat embossed it using a Papermania Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then cut it out and started on the background.   I used another piece of white card and stamped this group of hearts from the same set using Momento Grape Jelly ink first, second and third generation of the ink.  I also stamped again using Brilliance Starlite Silver ink centre top and bottom.

I finished by blending some more of the Grape Jelly round the edges and then blended some of the Teal Zeal in the centre before adding this to the base card.  I then adhered the heart to the card using some Pinflair Glue Gel to give it a little bit of dimension, and then stamped the sentiment using Versafine Imperial Purple ink.  This is rather risky and I held my breath and hoped it would work and did it by hand instead of getting the Misti out.  How lazy am I, it wouldn't have taken that much longer really..lol, but luckily it was OK...phew!

Thank you for joining me today and I hope to see you again soon.

The Last Flowers of Summer

Hi there everyone.  Well I suppose we have to accept that Summer is now gone though no frost yet to kill the blooms entirely, and one of the last flowers to go is the sunflower and you often see them standing tall in a garden with flowers and leaves gone brown and the seeds ripening in the centre of what is left of the flower.  I have a mixture of nuts in a jar on the table and I always include sunflower and pumpkin seeds too.  Anyway I digress.  Here is the card I made for our next door neighbour for her recent birthday using a pretty sunflower wreath called Flowers All Around which I won as a prize on the Penny Black and More Challenge quite a while ago, and recently realised that it was a NBUS one, i.e. never before used schtuff, so I have now remedied that, but unfortunately I don't think it is available anywhere at the moment.  I also used paper from a pad by Craft Consortium which I bought on my way home from holiday in Cornwall at a stall in the pannier market in Tavistock, together with a few stamps which will get used soon I'm sure. 

I started by selecting a paper which I thought would go nicely with the colours that I was going to use with the wreath stamp and stamped it on to the paper using Versamark ink and WOW Metallic Gold Embossing Powder.  I then coloured the stamp using my water brush and several colours of Distress Ink, namely Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Candied Apple, Forest Moss, Peeled Paint and Cracked Pistachio.  I think this is the first time I have used a piece of paper on a card for absolutely ages, but these papers have the look of washy ink which appealed to me and nice and thick at 180 gsm so took the water beautifully.  I also used a bit of the Cracked Pistachio over the background under and around the wreath and added a sentiment using Olympia Green Versafine ink which actually looks like black in the photo, and then heat embossed with some WOW Clear Gloss EP.

Thank you for your visit which I always appreciate and I hope you'll come back soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge September - Anything Goes (Optional 'Use Something Old  or Neglected').  This stamp has certainly been neglected and is one of the older stamp images.
Uniko Challenge - No. 55 Anything Goes (optional twist Autumn).
Addicted to Stamps - No. 177 For a Lady/Girl.
Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes with Flowers.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

More Beautiful Buildings

Hi there.  Here are some more cards I made for the Chocolate Baroque August TV shows.  The first is a moonlit scene featuring the Turret House and made using my gelli plate to make the background using Mermaid Lagoon and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks masking the moon before adding the inks and spritzing and removing the mask before taking the print.  I then stamped it using Versafine Imperial Purple Ink.

I water bleached out some of the ink on the building and then added back in the Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink to shade and I highlighted with a White Posca Pen.  The Chipped Sapphire is a very dark colour and obviously a lot of the ink would not bleach out but I like the overall effect of the moonlight.  I layered it on to black card before adding it to the white base card.

I decided to make a bookmark for this second one using the Bridge House and coloured a sheet of paper big enough to cover the back and front of the bookmark using Ultramarine Brusho Powder.    When this was dry I used the Tagtastic stamp for the shape and cut out the two pieces and stuck them together.  I then stamped the building using Versafine Imperial Purple ink and heat embossed using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I finished by punching a hole through the top and added two different pieces of ribbon to add interest.

My last card is using the Italian House and I decided to heat emboss it using WOW Platinum Embossing Powder before putting inks on to the gelli plate and spritzing it before pulling the print.  I used Scattered Straw and Dried Marigold Distress Inks at the bottom and Broken China Distress Ink over the rest but keeping the central part mainly Dried Marigold.  I watercoloured the house with the Dried Marigold and Scattered Straw using a waterbrush and then added Tea Dye over the roofs,  Candied Apple on the door, and with a lot of water added, round the windows.  I added some bushes to each side of the house using Peeled Paint EP.  I finished it with a sentiment using Versafine Olympia Green and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss EP.

Thanks for visiting my blog today and I hope to see you again soon.                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Silhouette Rose

Hi there.  I have been having a bit of a break this last week or two.  Hubby and I had a week away in Cornwall which we thoroughly enjoyed and I did manage to do some commenting and anyone I missed I think I have visited since, but if I have missed you I do apologise.  Since we have been back for the last week I have done nothing so for now here is a card I made a little while ago which I haven't got around to showing here, using one of my favourite silhouette flower images by Chocolate Baroque from the Rose Set.  I needed a quick card and I made a background using my gelli plate and Broken China and Dusty Concord Distress Inks brayered on to the plate and spritzed with water to help mix them before printing.  I also spritzed with a bit more water to get the splattered effect, before stamping the silhouette rose over the top using my Misti and Dusty Concord Distress Ink, inking it and stamping several times to get good strong colour.  All it needed then was a sentiment which I stamped on to a banner shape using Versafine Imperial Purple ink.  I finished by adding this to a 6" square white card.

I adore my cardmaking, but have felt a little burned out recently, and there are challenges that I was thinking of entering this month, but time is getting short and maybe I will have to leave them this time.  Thank you for taking a look at my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Stamping Sensations September Challenge - Anything Goes with Flowers.
The Flower Challenge No. 36 - Anything Goes.
Seize the Birthday No. 174 Anything Goes Birthday.

Beautiful Buildings

Hi everybody.  Here are three of the cards I made for Chocolate Baroque's August TV shows.  The first features the rather exotic eastern looking minaret called Turret House  I started by stamping the image on to white card using Versamark Ink and heat embossed it with WOW Platinum Metallic Embossing Powder.  I then left a gap and placed the image to the right but placing it lower down, then to the left varying the height and then placing a mask on one I managed to fill the gap one side, and then the other.  Luckily I managed to get away with one mask as the buildings in the gaps only went across one of the buildings.

I then coloured the images with my Distress Inks and a waterbrush using Dried Marigold, Tea Dye, Rich Mahogany, Scattered Straw, Weathered Wood and Pumice Stone, and then I added the sky with some Dried Marigold at the bottom and then Tumbled Glass, and then to darken I added some more Tumbled Glass at the top using a blending tool.  I matted it on to kraft card and added a sentiment using Versafine Vintage Sepia heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss EP.

The second card uses the Dutch House  I stamped it twice using Versafine Onyx Black Ink and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then coloured both pieces using various Distress Inks, many of the colours used on the first card, and then fussy cut both out.  I then used my gelli plate to make a background, using more Distress Inks, and adhered them both on to the background.  I layered it on to a piece of kraft card and then stamped one of the sentiments on to the white base card using Versafine Latte Ink and again heat embossed using the WOW Clear Gloss EP.

This third card was made with three of the buildings using my gelli plate.  I started by brayering Scattered Straw and Carved Pumpkin and Abandoned Pumpkin on to the gelli plate and then using Versafine Inks in Imperial Purple, Crimson Red and Deep Lagoon using the Turret House, the Dutch House and the Italian House.  I inked the stamps up in the different colours and stamped straight on to the plate.  You have to use a very light touch and some stamped clearer than others but I think it adds to the charm.  I took the print and then I also stencilled some different shapes on top with a Dutch Doobadoo stencil using Carved Pumpkin and Abandoned Coral and also stamped one of the sentiments using second generation ink.  I finished the background by blending some Chipped Sapphire round the edges.

I decided to stamp the Italian House on to a piece of tag shaped shrink plastic using the Versafine Deep Lagoon, and added a punched hole before shrinking it.  I then added a further two layers, one coloured with Mermaid Lagoon and darkened with Chipped Sapphire, and then another white layer and stuck them together with a piece of Baker's Twine through the top of the shrink plastic tag.  I then added it at an angle to the front of the card.  I haven't used any shrink plastic for a long time and for some reason although I placed an acrylic block over the top before it cooled down it didn't quite flatten out, but I still like it and think it adds something to the finished card.

For more inspiration using these lovely stamps go and visit the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog where this month these building stamps are being highlighted as well as lots of other great ideas from the DT.  I would like to say how sad it was to hear that Sue Page had died.  She designed for CB over a number of years and will be greatly missed, but will be remembered for her wonderful artwork and the quite unique style of her images, a very talented lady.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you drop by again soon.