show catch-up (by veronica)

 

My third post this month for Chocolate Baroque is a bit of a mixture, catching up on other stamps featured in the April show on Create and Craft.

The  canary bird rose stamp is lovely to colour in, but I just used bleach to take the colour out. The background was from a batch made using the inky plate and distress inks with some added stencilling- the leaves and stem were coloured with pencils 

Another inky plate background for the tree from be at peace, with a reflection below it created using acetate, coloured with pencils again. the sentiment was stamped on an offcut of the background piece, cut out and edged with black ink

Another inky plate background, with the open weave  background stamped in grey first, then the floral weave stamp coloured with felt tip marker pens stamped twice to build up the colour - I used a stamping platform for this.

Sentiment on a scrap of the background and a black mat.

 The final card used the flower from life is wonderful stamped in black ink onto a sponged background. The flower was coloured with pencils and the butterfly with shimmer paints. The flower head was stamped onto spare card, painted with watercolours ,fussy cut out and glued over the original image.  Random parts of the open weave stamp were stamped on the background using a green distress ink and then I doodled round the edges with a fineliner pen. The sentiment was stamped onto spare card, cut out , more doodled edges.

 

Floral CAS Cards (by Judith)

Hello everyone, I hope that you are keeping well. I have some clean and simple cards to share with you today for my final post this month. I demonstrated these designs on Create and Craft last month, and I hope that you managed to catch the TV shows.

My first two cards are similar in design; I used a round gelli plate to create a background, inking up the plate, and for the first design, I stamped the Open Weave stamp onto the gelli plate before I stamped the gelli plate straight onto my card blank. I then stamped one of the large flowers and a leaf three times from the Sunny Sunflowers stamp set onto the card using Veesafine ink. I used a fineliner pen to draw some little stems for the leaves. I could have used Masking Tissue to mask the flower, then stamp the leaves, but these cards are all about making life simple. I coloured the image with pencils and added a sentiment from the Amazing Mackintosh Words stamp set.

For the second card, I again inked up the gelli plate and then stamped the Floral Weave stamp onto the gelli plate before stamping the gelli plate straight onto the card blank. I stamped a couple of sunflowers onto the background and coloured them with pencils. I added some black dots with a fineliner pen and some glitter glue in the centre of each flower for a bit of sparkle.

For my final card, I stamped Studded Lattice onto an 8" x 8" card blank using Distress Oxide ink. I added a couple of sunflowers and some leaves in opposite corners. Using a fineliner pen, I drew some lines and curls to link the flowers and leaves together. Do not be aftraid to draw things freehand yourself to add to the stamps. I could see elements within the stamps that I could use to embellish the images and extend the design, you can try this youself. Practise on a piece of paper until you feel confident, and then just go for it! Be brave and do not hesitate, that would be my best advice.

I hope that you will try some of my suggestions, thanks for stopping by,

Judith xx

Mystical Weave (By Tracy Thompson)

 

This is my second post for this month, with samples from April's shows.  My first creation is using the Be At Peace stamp, I love this tree as to me it's quite mystical so I went for a purple inky background.  After stamping my tree and colouring it I created some hills in the background and a sun, using posca pens did some blossoms on the ground.  I splashed some water on my ink for interest, which then made it look more like a night sky and the water splashes then looked a bit like stars.

This piece is created using two different stamps - Open Weave and Floral Weave,   So for the base of the card I took the Open Weave stamp and stamped several times to cover the background.  Then using a green and a yellow ink I did splashes all over it for some colour which co-ordinates with the topper I made.  For my topper I did some smooching with green and yellow Oxides then stamped my Floral weave stamp over the top.  This is a simple card but sometimes they make good cards for people who don't like fussy things.

I will be back near the end of the month with another couple of creations, thank you for popping by.

Happy crafting

Tracy x

Bright and Cheerful Flower (by Christine)

Hello everyone, today sees the first of three posts this month by our Guest Design Team member Christine Patch. She has created a colourful card to inspire you.

Christine writes:

May I start off by wishing you a very Happy New Year - let's keep our fingers crossed that it will be a considerable improvement on the year just finished, even if it might take a bit of time!

I decided to kick off my turn on the Blog with a very bright and cheerful design to be added to my journal.

I chose one of the designer papers and added some additional stamping to give it more detail. I used a Versafine Clair in a toning purple to add some butterflies and hatching.

Having picked one of the lovely postcards for a mat, the lovely large flower stamp allowed me to choose strong bright colours as decoration. I decided on Memento Tuxedo Black ink as I wanted to use Alcohol Pens for the colouring. I stamped two of the butterflies on white card and one on the same postcard for a point of difference. Glossy Accents added dimension to the bodies.

I found a wooden button in my stash that was the perfect colour and added that as an embellishment to the flower centre. I used the same flower stamp to edge the postcard and then the designer paper to bring it all together. Finally, I added a sentiment that I think is so pertinent to us all: Live life to your own design. 

Chocolate Baroque products used:

Designer Papers 8" x 8" - Chic Script                

Seriously Gorgeous A6 Postcards

Flower stamp taken from Tangled Garden stamp set

Open Weave cling mounted stamp

Just Butterflies stamp set

Sentiment taken from Freesia Blueprint stamp set 

Happy Crafting!

Christine

xx

Quick Cards (by Christine)

Hello everyone, today sees the final blog post this month from our Guest Design Team member, Christine. She has made some speedy cards for your inspiration.

Christine writes:

Hello everyone.

My final blog post for March!

The first project comprises four examples of quick cards to have available in your stash! I used four mini gelli plates of different shapes, Distress Inks and stamps from Rustic Fragments set to give detail. I then chose some beautiful floral stamps, colouring in two of them with sparkle pens, but leaving two of them simply stamped, (I thought the colour from the gelli plates was enough). Floral stamps used are:

Rose Set
Rose and Thistle set
Medici Flower
Rose Stem Script

The second card was also quite a fast one to achieve. I had a circles stencil on my desk so chose blue, pink and yellow Distress Oxides and mixed them across the stencil. I cut the resulting image into different widths of strips and glued them across a piece of white card on the diagonal. Once complete, I cut out a 5" square then stamped one of the Geometric Trading Hearts with Versafine Clair Onyx Black in the centre. On a remaining piece of the striped background card, I stamped one of the sentiments from the same set.
Mounting on black card was the final step before adding to the card blank.

My final card showcases the stunning stamp sheet called The Folk Art Garden.
The first step was to create the background using the Open Weave stamp and Distress Ink. I then stamped the image with Versafine Clair Onyx Black ink and coloured it with pencils. When I was finished I added Glossy Accents to the butterfly and then glitter around some of the elements. The sentiments are from The Folk Art Garden stamp set.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog posts and look forward to catching up with you later.
Happy crafting!

Christine
xx

Happy Flower Day Part 2 by Debbie

Hello everyone it's my turn on the blog again and here are the rest of my samples from the September Hochanda shows. I'll start with one of my favourites and a favourite technique too- Intaglio enamelling. 

For this design I've used  Artist Trading Heart & Happy Flower Day. I stamped the heart onto thick card and cut out. I then covered the entire surface with Versamark and then applied chunky bronze embossing powder before heating to melt. I repeated this process twice more and while the enamelling was still molten after the third application I stamped the butterfly from Happy Flower Day into it having inked the stamp first with a black inkpad. You will need to allow the enamelling to cool before removing the stamp.

I mounted the heart onto a piece of Kraft card  which had been passed through an embossing folder and given a light coating of gilding wax. To finish I added some narrow organza ribbon and attached to a 6 x 6 white card blank.  

Next we have the pretty butterfly from Happy Flower Day which I've embossed onto navy card using pink, green, lilac and blue embossing powders. I sprinkled a little embossing powder randomly and heated from below. I also stamped the butterfly onto the 7 x 7 white card blank using a grey inkpad. 

Above and below we have 2 different looks to the gorgeous Celebration Bouquet. Above I've used Brushos to make a vibrant background and then stamped over the top using a black inkpad. I then coloured using water based pens. I stamped the A5 card blank using Open Weave and a brown inkpad. To finish I mounted onto some Kraft card and added some string for a natural look.

It's amazing how many different looks you can achieve using the same stamp. For the above design I stamped onto self adhesive stationery labels using a black inkpad. I coloured softly with pencils and then peeled the labels off the backing sheet and repositioned them onto pink card layered onto white card and finally grey. I then attached to a white A5 card blank.

Here are the rest of my samples and some which didn't appear on the show. 

An MDF tag using Geometric Heart 

An MDF door hanger using Happy Flower Day

Embossed in gold using Geometric Hearts.

Onto a background made from inks and rock salt the pretty

 butterfly from Happy Flower Day

Geometric Hearts again simply chopped up and reformed onto a randomly stamped background embossed in gold.

This background was made with Distress inks onto a Gel plate. 

Celebration Bouquet has been stamped with a black inkpad and coloured with pencils.

Here I've inked inside a masked oval and stamped the lovely magnolia

 from Happy Flower Day. I coloured with pencils for this one before layering onto 

white card. 

Finally we have a simple bookmark from Happy Flower Day.

Thanks for visiting the blog today. Don't forget to watch out for 

the Chocolate Baroque show on Hochanda in November.

Bye for now. Debbie  

Introducing Debbie Frost a New Design team Member

Hello everyone, we are pleased to introduce the first of two new Design Team members to our Design Team today, Debbie Frost. We asked Debbie to tell us a little bit about herself, and this is what she had to say:

Hi I'm Debbie Frost and I live in sunny Exmouth, Devon. I've been a card maker and paper crafter for many years. I regularly run my own workshops in Exmouth which are very popular. I would describe myself as a paper crafter as I love all aspects of card making especially. My favourite thing is stamping but love mixed media too, canvases especially. My first Chocolate Baroque stamp was Mosaic Flower.... followed by many, many more. I just love the detail and vintage look of Chocolate Baroque designs and am thrilled and honoured to have been asked to join their Design Team.

Debbie has created some beutiful projects for her first blog post with us, and here is what she wrote:

Hi everyone, I'm Debbie and this is my first blog post as a Chocolate Baroque team member, so I'm just a bit excited!
I was recently asked what was the first Chocolate Baroque stamp that I bought? What better way to introduce myself to you all!

So let's start off with Medici Flower stamped onto a Brusho background with a black inkpad and simply coloured with water based pens. The image was then mounted onto black card and I've added thin strips of black card to the background to add interest. The background has been created with Studded Lattice which I have embossed with white powder and sponged with Distress Inks Worn Lipstick and Spun Sugar. The sentiment comes from Amazing Mackintosh Words. I've mounted the design onto an A5 white card blank.

 
For my second design I've used French Heart which has also been stamped onto a Brusho background and water coloured using Brusho powders. I have used Chocolate Baroque White Silk Board which is a great quality card especially for this technique.
I have used a 7" x 7" ivory card blank and this has been stamped with Open Weave using a brown inkpad and I've also sponged lightly around the edges of the card blank.
The sentiment also comes from Amazing Mackintosh Words and both stamped pieces have been mounted onto orange and then brown card before attaching to the card blank.

For my third and last design I've used one of my favourites Lords and Ladies. I've embossed in white onto a circle of Kraft card a coloured with watercolour pencils which have not been activated with water. I find that you get a stronger colour when using kraft card than with ordinary pencils.
I've used a 7" x 7" white card blank which I've stamped with Square Bubbles using Distress Ink Seedless Preserves. I've also softly sponged around the edges using the same inkpad. As before the sentiments which I've randomly stamped around the edges of the card blank come from the very versatile Amazing Mackintosh Words. To finish I've addeed some faux stitching around the edge of the circle using a white gel pen before attaching to the card blank.

I hope you've enjoyed my designs. See you again next time, Debbie.

Rolled PaperTrees (by Debbie)

I'm finishing my 2015 of blogging with a couple of gifts I made. I have taken inspiration from a few different pinners on Pinterest. The style has popped up in the form of tags, cards and canvas's and I'm not sure where it started but I thoroughly enjoyed making them.

 

 

They are 20cm by 30cm and for the first I used my precious papers from Graphicus, I still have a few in my stash and stroke them from time to time.

The backgrounds for each of them is old book pages and mixtures of paints applied with baby wipes rather than the uniformity of a paint brush. When the paint had dried I stamped with the circles from Decorative Edges and blue ink.

 

 

The second is made in the same way using different colours and paint. The stamp I used is the

 Open Weave with brown ink. The paint background was a little bright so I also used sequin waste with more ink.

 

 

I changed the shape of the tree and added words to it, I have called them Wishing Trees. The rolls of paper were cut to different lengths and as on each tree, added the white pen faux stitching. The stamped background uses the Floral Weave stamp. This photo shows the computer generated words I have used.

 

 

 

Wishing you all 'Best Wishes' for 2016

Debbie

Art Bag using the new background stamps (by Anne)

I created this sample for the recent TV shows from Chocolate Baroque on The Craft Channel. Lesley Wharton was fantastic and gave some wonderful demos using the new background stamps – Floral Weave, Open Weave, Studded Lattice and Baroque Orchids. They are so versatile for so many projects and styles.  

 I have used recycled curtains to create myself a large Art Carry bag. I used all four of the lovely new background stamps to decorate my fabrics. Now I have a lovely new bag to carry my unframed paintings to exhibition. You could easily adapt the design idea to make a shopping or handbag, or to decorate a ready-made bag.  Materials:

• Floral Weave, Open Weave, Studded Lattice and Baroque Orchids stamps
• Recycled blue cotton curtains with cream cotton lining
• Iron on paper backed fabric adhesive (Bondaweb)
• Sewing and machine embroidery threads
• Black iron fix textile paint
• Cut-N-Dry foam and palette knife
• Dies to cut flowers and leaves

How it was made:

1. I first made a simple strong bag to fit my board mounted artwork pieces. Simply 2 rectangles sewn together with handles to fit over my shoulder. This is a very large bag so it is easy to decorate and sew on the applique pieces while made up. For smaller bags and shoppers it would be easier to decorate the panels before completing the construction.
2. Ironed Bondaweb onto the back of the cream lining. Leaving the paper backing in place cut out flowers and leaves with the dies. Printed the text to create a template for cutting the lettering.
3. Stamped all the cut shapes with textile paint using a random mix of all four stamps (see tip). Left overnight to dry and cure.
4. Stamped the front of the bag with the Floral Weave stamp. Left overnight to dry then fixed the paints with an iron (this makes the paint permanent and washable).
5. Peeled the backing paper off all the cut out shapes and ironed onto the bag. This secures the shapes and heat fixes paints.
6. Finally I stitched around all the shapes using a straight stitch and free machine embroidery. This is where you drop the fabric feed dogs and freely move the fabric beneath the needle (like drawing with a sewing machine and thread).

Tip for stamping with paints: I used to use a standard sponge for applying acrylics or textile paint to my stamp. I would apply paint to a palette then pick up with a sponge, dabbing to remove excess paint before applying to my stamp. After a short while the paint would start to dry on the palette. The detail of the stamping was also gradually lost as clumps of paint built up in the stamp crevices after repeat application of paint. When this occurs you need to stop and clean up the stamp before continuing. I now use Cut-N-Dry foam and the results are so much better. I apply plenty of paint directly to the pad and work it well into the foam with a palette knife. The foam can now be used to apply paint to the stamp repeatedly without reloading. Placing the foam paint side down on a craft mat while not using also keeps the paint moist for ages. I find this method gives much sharper printing, uses a lot less paint and is easier to clean up when finished.  Clean up well and do not leave paint to dry onto your stamp. I use a little soapy water and a soft tooth brush if needed.

His and Hers Steampunk (by Asha)

Happy Boxing Day, fellow chocoholics! Hope everybody had a lovely Christmas.  I've got a couple of card projects to show you.

The first card features the Open Weave cling stamp. I heat embossed it in white on a piece of vellum.  To create the underwater scene I stamped, coloured, fussy cut and adhered elements form the Funky Fish A5 sheet.

The second card is a girly glitzy number featuring the Baroque Orchid cling stamp.  This time I've heat embossed it with Verdegris embossing powder and inked the bckground with Seedless Preserves, Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks. The rose is from Steampunk Butterfly, coloured with alcohol markers. And to glam up the card I mounted the design panel on purple glitter foam.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to come back for more creative inspiration form the rest of the design team. Happy Holidays!

Beijinhos,
Asha

Colourful Flowers (by Debbie)

 

Welcome to all.

My cards today are made with lots of colour, inspired by the colourful Christmas trees I have spied in peoples homes recently.

 

 The first card is made using the Open Weave and Swirl Centre stamps. The background is made from a couple of the new distress ink colours rubbed onto the card and then water flicked on helping to blend them. The open weave stamp was added around the edges, I used Wild Plum Adirondack ink for a more subtle effect. Only two flowers were used for the card, one in the centre and the second was cut for the corners. These flowers are really detailed and I'm really impressed at how the detail is picked out when embossed with powder. I coloured the flowers with colours from the pallet used on the background, pink, oranges and yellow. 

 

 

This card came from playing with inks and water. I coloured the white card with Tumbled Glass, Broken China and Stormy Sky Distress Inks, shading them down to create an ombre effect. I lightly misted the Studded Lattice stamp with water and stamped onto the card. The water on the stamp left the pattern from the stamp on the ink background. With the Magnolia single clear stamp I first stamped it with black ink onto the card and then onto book page paper and coloured with pencils. I fussy cut out the flowers and glued onto the card. The sentiment was added and to finish I matted onto black and then added to the A5 base card.

 

Many thanks for visiting

Debbie

Weave Collection (by Julie)

Hello, thanks for dropping in. I hope you managed to catch one of Lesley's shows on The Craft Channel at the beginning of December. Not to worry if you didn't as I have two projects that use two of the fantastic new background stamps from the shows.

My first card is stamped with the Open Weave cling mounted stamp. I stamped the base card using the Weave stamp on a slight angle and continued until the card was completely covered. The main image was simply stamped with Onyx Black Versafine, doodled with a fine tipped micron pen and then coloured with Polychromos pencils. I then edged with Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink before mounting onto black card. I created the flowers by die cutting 3 black flowers and 3 white. I stamped the Open Weave over the white stamps and doodled and coloured as before. The sentiment is from Mackintosh Sentiments clear stamp set.

My second project is a decorative picture frame and could be made for a last minute Christmas present. The background has been stamped with a pink dye based ink using the new Floral Weave and edged with Peacock Feathers Distress ink. I have added flat back gems and dots of Crystal Stickles for added interest. The butterflies are from the Honeysuckle Butterfly set which I have coloured with Peacock Feathers and Pickled Raspberry Distress ink. The background has been stamped four times so you may have a couple of places where you haven't been able to make a neat join to the next image.....this is the perfect place to add your stamped butterflies....!

The white frame immediately around the stamped image has been covered with Viva Crystal Gel  and the picture frame was painted with white Gesso and dry brushed with a deep pink acrylic paint.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you all have a lovely Christmas. 

Julie x

Floral Birthday Wishes (by Asha)

Good morning! It's my turn to share with you a couple of card projects featuring the new Cling Mounted Individual Background stamps.

First up is this really simple birthday card. I heat embossed the Floral Weave stamp with WOW Ruby Romance embossing powder and then blended Tim Holtz Distress Inks to create the background. The greeting is from the Birthday Words stamp sheet, heat embossed with WOW Ebony embossing powder onto a piece of vellum and attached to the card with a couple of ruby red eyelets. To finish, I adhered a few flat-back pearls.

For my second birthday project, I'm using the Studded Lattice stamp, stamped with VersaFine Crimson Red ink and heat set with WOW Clear Gloss embossing powder. Next, I blended Tim Holtz Distress Inks to create the background and adhered it to my card base at an angle. I stamped the Dotty Centre Flowerhead on a piece of water colour paper, coloured it with Tim Holtz Distress Inks and fussy cut it before adhering it to the card with some foam tape. The greeting is from the Birthday Words stamp sheet, stamped with VersaFine Crimson Red.

So there you have it - a couple of easy birthday cards. You could easily make a few of these in various colour combos to add to your birthday stash. Details of tools and products used above are available on my blog. Don't forget to stop by for more fabulous makes by my team mates.

Thank you for stopping by today and enjoy the rest crafty weekend!

Beijinhos,
Asha

New stamp releases and another TV show (by Lesley)

Hi there, I don't know if you managed to see the two Chocolate Baroque TV shows last weekend,  We launched some stunning new background stamps which were an exclusive to the Craft Channel but today we now have these on general release for you. 

The four stamps are:

Floral Weave, Open Weave, Studded Lattice and Baroque Orchids, all designed by Sue, of course, and all of them are large stamps that will suit every level of stamper.

Each stamp is indvidually mounted on cling and cut out ready to play with and represent fabulous value for money. That said, we do have our usual multi-buy option available and I know that with the versatility of these excellent designs, they will soon become firm favourites with you all.

Here are one or two or the samples from my TV demonstrations.

And if you would like to see more Chocolate Baroque on the TV then please tune in to the Craft Channel tomorrow (11th December) at 10am to watch 'More Stamps by Chocolate Baroque', which includes the launch of yet more new stamps. The show will also be repeated tomorrow evening at 9pm.

Please keep popping in to see all the beautiful projects that the Design Team girls made for the shows.