Quick Cards Winter Edges

Hi there.  Here are my quick cards which are featured as part of the once a month 15 minute card feature over at Chocolate Baroque.

I used a piece of white Bristol Smooth card and stamped two of the images from the Winter Edges set on to it using Versamark Ink and WOW Opaque White Embossing Powder.

I then blended Distress Inks into the background using a blending tool.  I used Mustard Seed above the silhouette and then using Stormy Sky started to build up the colour.  I  then added a bit more yellow around the edges and some Seedless Preserves and Faded Jeans to darken it, and finally Black Soot just around the edges.  I decided to lay the ink on my glass mat and pick it up from there so that I would not put too much colour on at a time.  I think it would have been better if it had more blue tones, but nevertheless I was pleased with the finished result.

I finished by adding the sentiment from the Let's Get Festive set to the white base card using Versamark and heat embossed with WOW Silver Metallic EP before adhering the scene to the card.  Finally I decided to add some stars to the sky using a white gel pen.

For this card I also used two of the images from the Winter Edges set, stamped with Versamark and then heat embossed using WOW Red Glitter Embossing Powder on to a previously die cut piece of red card, cut using a stitched square die.  The two stamps didn't totally fit on the square, but I think it still works.  I then found a piece of kraft card on which I randomly stamped one of the foliage stamps from one of the new sets called Robin the Spruce again using Versamark Ink and then heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss EP.

I finished by cutting the kraft card about 1/2" smaller than the white base card and after adhering the red topper added a banner sentiment using kraft card and the Let's Get Festive set, stamped with Festive Berries Distress Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss EP.

Thank you for visiting today and if you would like to see more wonderful inspiration for quick cards please go and visit the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog.

CAS Watercolour Sunflower

Hi there everybody.  I am a bit busier these days and I tend to run out of time to enter those challenges which I really hate to miss and this is one of them.  CAS Watercolour Challenge has the theme of Sunflower this time and I couldn't find one in my stash, so I searched on line and found this digital image which was quite pretty with its mass of rather crumpled petals, a bit more random than some..lol.

I started by cutting a mask for it and then after putting it in place I used my Brushos to create a background, and I did the stencil monoprinting technique using one of the That Special Touch of Masks called Orbit.  I sprinkled  three colours over it and spritzed using Ultramarine, Leaf Green and Turquoise, and I think the Leaf Green which has quite a lot of yellow in it mixed with blues has given a predominantly green look with very little blue, but that's the nature of Brushos which give a different finish every time.  I did add quite a lot of water to keep it fairly light as I didn't want it to dominate.  I removed the mask and then coloured using some of the Brusho powder on my glass mat and applied with a waterbrush using Yellow, Lemon, Brilliant Red and Dark Brown for the flowers, and some more of the Brown and red for the centre with a little Black.

I finished with a die cut sentiment from The Works which has two layers but leaving it white means it doesn't stand out too much.

Thank you for taking a look today.

I am also entering the following challenges:

Penny Black and More August Challenge - I Spy Something Beginning with 'B' -  Blue, Brushos and Bloom.
Artistic Stamper August Challenge - Anything Goes.
Happy Little Stampers August Watercolour Challenge - Anything Goes - Optional Twist Flowers.

CAS Mix Up August Challenge

Hi there everyone.  I thought I would get my entry in early this month for the CAS Mix Up August Challenge, and I needed an anniversary card so made the card with the challenge in mind.  This month we have to include Stencil Monoprinting + Stamping + Our Choice, so here it is.  I used a Chocolate Baroque set called Fluttering Hearts, and the third heart flower is separate from the other two when cut out.

I chose a stencil by Sweet Dixie called Fern Flourish and inked up the stencil itself with three Distress Inks in Twisted Citron, Carved Pumpkin and Mermaid Lagoon, rubbing the inks randomly over it from the pads.  I then spritzed it (make sure you spritz until it beads...ask me how I know..lol) and then placed it face down on a snippet of Chocolate Baroque Drawing Cartridge paper allowing ten to twenty seconds before lifting it off, and at this point  I usually get a piece of kitchen towel and rub that over which gets rid of any excess liquid before lifting it.

I continued by stamping the Chocolate Baroque image on to another snippet of white card using Versafine Smokey Gray Ink and then coloured it with my Wink of Stella Pen by laying down the same three Distress Inks on to my glass mat as I used for the background, and used my WOS Pen to paint the image, which gives it a wonderful sparkle, and then fussy cut it out.  It is one image but when stamped and cut out one of the heart flowers is separate.

I finished by die cutting a white square stitched mat with another snippet of white card, using a set from The Works and layered my stencil monoprint on to it and adhered this to a white 6" square base card.  I added the cut out images and gave them some dimension with Pinflair Glue Gel.  I then stamped a sentiment on to a snippet of black card using Versamark Ink, and heat embossed with WOW Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder, and cut it into a banner shape and glued it with some of the Pinflair Glue Gel.

Thank you for visiting today and hope your week is going well.  I for one am pleased that temperatures have dropped back to a more comfortable level, but let's hope that the fine weather has not left us entirely.

I am entering the following challenges:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No. 332 where we use up our snippets of card and paper etc.



Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Distress It.

A Christmas Snippets Creation

Hi there.  I thought instead of being the last with an entry I would try for a change to be somewhere near the top of the list for Rudolph Days Challenge this time.  It only started today and will be open until the 7th I think due to Mo, over at Scraps of Life by Scrappymo, being away.  Anyway here is my card.

I have made this entirely from snippets from my box which I haven't looked in for quite a while.  I found a die cut snippet of Silver Mirri which was made using a Crealies Pierced Rectangle and then one of the many snippets of white card, and then on top a snippet of turquoise blue parchment which I had silver heat embossed with WOW Silver Metallic EP using a snowflake stamp, but I'm not sure which one.  I am not sure why I hadn't used this but it was a bit of an offcut and not very big.  I found a Silver Mirri die cut sentiment which I think might have been part of a Sue Wilson die, I think the Framed Noel which has several sentiments within it, but this unfortunately is quite old and doesn't seem to be available any longer.  This one was a vertical one so I cut the letters apart so I could put it along the bottom.   I have to say that they don't look totally uniform but OK I think.

Thank you for stopping by today, and your comments are always much appreciated.

I am entering the following challenges:

Rudolph Days July Challenge - Anything Goes.
Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No. 331 where we use our snippets of paper and card etc.
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - No. 397 Anything Goes.

More Cacti, Succulents and Flowers

Hi there.  These are three cards which were my contribution to the TV launch of these new Chocolate Baroque stamps which were shown on Hochanda at the beginning of June and are the last of the cards I have at the present time featuring these three new sets.  The first card features Scrumptious Succulents.

I used four of the different cacti and made a nice arrangement by masking, and then coloured using quite a few colours of Distress Ink applied with a waterbrush, mixing colours to vary the greens, and as you can see the two succulents at the front have quite a blue tinge.  In my ignorance I wrongly thought that cacti came just different tones of green, but after looking on line the colours vary enormously.

I finished by adding some white gel pen on some of the cacti and flower centres, and then added one of the sentiments, and matted on to kraft card before adhering to the white card.

This next card was made using Captivating Cacti

I started by making a sky background using a piece of white velvet card smooshed with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink using it spritzed with water on my glass mat and the card pressed into it several times to cover the card.  This particular blue is quite a strong one so I did use quite a bit of water as I didn't want it to be too dark.  I then used a Crealies Pierced Rectangle die to cut it.

I used another piece of the velvet card and stamped the image using Versamark Ink and heat set it using WOW Opaque White Embossing Powder.  I coloured it with the DI and a waterbrush  using Carved Pumpkin and Mowed Lawn, together with small amounts of Cracked Pistacio, Twisted Citron, Lucky Clover and Ground Espresso to help give light and shade.  I then fussy cut the image.

As an afterthought I decided to give the sky a couple of grey clouds and also grounded the cactus with some underneath the base using Hickory Smoke DI.  I then gave the image some shape before adhering it with Pinflair Glue Gel, and also added the sentiment using another piece of velvet card which I stamped with Smokey Gray Versafine Ink on a fishtail banner secured beneath the cactus.

This last one uses the Blossom and Grow set.

I decided to have a go at an alcohol ink background using Flamingo and Limeade and some of the alcohol blending solution on to some glossy paper I already had.  It worked quite well but I had to be quick mixing it with the blending solution as it was inclined to sink in to the paper and where there are two or three purple blobs is where it sunk in and wouldn't move.  I'm not sure why it went purple but as it happens it complements the red and green so looks OK.  I saw Heather Telford using some gold leaf with an alcohol piece she had done, as the alcohol does leave a bit of residual stickiness which the gold leaf will stick too, so I gave it a try and although you can't see it in the photo small amounts stuck to the surface.  I finished by giving the whole piece a buff up with a soft tissue which made it shine beautifully. 

I stamped the flower and two of the leafy stems and coloured them with a waterbrush using Distress Inks including Picked Raspberry for the flowers and Twisted Citron, Lucky Clover and Cracked Pistacio for the foliage.  I then fussy cut them and added them to the background using Pinflair Glue Gel to give them some dimension.  The foliage wasn't so bad but the flowers were extremely fiddly with lots of little nooks and crannies.  If I had used a lighter weight card it would have made life a lot easier...lol, but I did like the look of the finished result.

I finished by adding the sentiment stamped using Versafine Smokey Gray Ink just cut in to a simple rectangular shape and cut this to fit my rectangular card using a Crealies Pierced rectangle die.

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

Cards for two CAS Challenges

Hi there everybody.  I have two rather late entries for a couple of challenges which I like to enter every month if I can.  Due to my week away and the hot weather which has slowed me down somewhat, I am rather late with these so I have decided to show them both in one post.  The first is for the CAS Watercolour Challenge and the techique to use this time is Splash Watercolouring.  I have used a 3D embossing folder which I bought a while ago and am only just getting around to using, which is by Sheena Douglass called Trailing Time.

I embossed the folder using a piece of white card and then used this watercolouring technique, a video for which you will find over at the challenge.  The colours I used were Worn Lipstick, Squeezed Lemonade, Salty Ocean and Wild Honey Distress Oxide Inks.  I did want the blue over the clock face which I managed to do fairly well, and then I added some extra colour over certain areas to strengthen the look using the same inks, i.e pink on the flowers and some honey colour over the bits of clock face, and I mixed the yellow with the blue to make a green shade to add to the leaves.  The colours won't look true but I felt it bought out some of the lovely deep embossing.  I finished by framing the piece with white card and added the gold embossed sentiment using WOW Metallic Gold Embossing Powder.

The second card  is for the CAS Mix Up Challenge which asks us to colour our die cuts, use stamping and a techique of our choice.  The die is a little turtle which I got from The Range.

 I used the piece of card which was left over after die cutting the frame above and I coloured it with some Distress Inks in Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio and Fossilized Amber and also Salty Ocean Oxide ink using the same watercolouring technique as above.  I also decided to make some waves which I heat embossed using WOW Opaque Bright White EP using a Versamark pen.  I also did a bit of water bleaching, especially at the bottom which I hope looks a bit like the water's edge.  I then die cut the turtle from a piece of white card and backed it with another piece because I wanted the shell without the die cut holes, and actually it has given it a more ridged look.  I then coloured it using the Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio plus some Ground Espresso, using a waterbrush.   I finished by adding a dark green background layer and added the turtle using some Pinflair Glue Gel for dimension.  I then added the sentiment using Adirondack Bottle Ink.

I would like to have entered the CAS Christmas and Darnell's Twofer Challenge as well, but I know that with a busy time coming up I probably won't manage them as they end on Tuesday.  Do go take a look and maybe enter yourselves if you have some time over the weekend.  Whatever you are doing I hope you have an enjoyable one and I'll see you again soon.

Quick Cards Cacti, Succulents and Flowers

Hi there everybody.  Once a month over on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog they post some examples of quick cards, and if you would like to see more from some other members of the team please do go and take a look.  Here are my three cards using the Cacti and Succulent sets which were introduced recently.

This first card uses the Scrumptious Succulents and I made a smooshed background using Brushos in turquoise and yellow and then stamped three of the images from this set using Versamark and WOW Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder.  I then coloured using more Brusho powders by dropping a little on to my glass mat and mixing with water before colouring with a waterbrush.  This keeps the colours quite light.  I die cut the sentiment mat and added a sentiment from Blossom and Grow using Versafine Smokey Gray ink.

This second card uses the Captivating Cacti stamp.  I made a background using glossy card and three colours of alcohol inks, Indigo, Pool and Stonewashed by placing dots of it on to an alcohol ink blending tool, and then added some blending solution to them.  I swiped and dotted the tool over the card and finished up with this mix.  When dry which is almost immediate, I stamped the image in my Misti using Black Archival ink, second generation ink just to give a  light outline.  I allowed a little time to let it dry and then coloured very quickly with more of the alcohol inks with a small brush using Watermelon and Clover, and I think I also added some more Pool, but obviously because they are going over the blues the look of the colours were influenced by that.  I finished the middle of the flower with some Lemonade and I just dropped it straight into the centre to get maximum yellow coverage over the blue.  The Watermelon on the flower became purple because of the underlying blue too.   The original lines had got blurred by the added ink so I re-inked the stamp and placed the card back into the Misti and stamped it again which strengthened the outlines nicely.  When that was dry I added some white gel pen to the body of the cacti and the flower, and also a few of the foreground pebbles.  I finished with a sentiment from the Scrumptious Succulents set stamped with Versafine Majestic Blue ink on to a small spare piece of the background  backed with a piece of parchment die cut using two sizes of a set from The Works.  This was a fast card as you have to work extremely quickly as alcohol inks do not stay wet for long on ordinary glossy card which is different to Yupo paper.

The last card uses the Blossom and Grow set.  I had some alcohol ink left on my blending tool so I added some more blending solution and a little light green called Limeade, and then covered this piece of textured card.  I then dropped more blending solution on to the card which took away some of the colour.  When dry I stamped using Versafine Majestic Blue ink and coloured with my Lyra Aquamarkers.  I decided to leave it without a sentiment for now.

Thank you for taking a look at my blog today and I hope to see you again soon.