Flying High

Hello and a warm welcome to my blog  :)  I'm sharing another 'blast from the past' with you today.  This is one of my samples from the Chocolate Baroque tv shows back in May last year featuring some of their beautiful butterfly stamps, stencils and masks.  I have used stamps from the Patchwork Butterfly and Words to Dazzle and Sparkle sets; Brusho, Aquatints, grey Versafine ink, Versamark ink, copper embosing powder, copper pen; Kaleidoscope of Butterflies mask/stencil.

   

I took a piece of white card and stamped the large butterfly image in grey ink and masked it.  I then colour washed the card with blue Aquatint, and sprinkled blue Brusho randomly over the wet paint.  

When everything was dry I removed the masking fluid and used Aquatints to paint the image.  I used the stencil to add some sillhouette butterflies to the background and added some dots with the copper pen.  I then used the pen around the edges of the panel.  

I took a piece of heat resistant acetate and stamped the butterfly using Versamark ink, then embossed it with copper powder before cutting it out.  I then attached it to the painted image by putting glue on the body only,  this leaves the wings free and adds movement.  I matted the panel onto black card.  

I stamped a sentiment in black Versafine ink then attached the focal panel to a blue base card.

I love this butterfly with all it's lovely detail, and this simple design really shows it off.  This is a very useful card suitable for lots of occasions and recipients.
Thank you for dropping by today, I hope you've enjoyed this post.  I'd love it if you left me a comment, and I hope you'll visit again soon  :)  

Tip - Toe ....

Hi and welcome to my blog  :)  I have a 'golden oldie' card to share with you today, a sample from last year's Spring tv shows.    I have used stamps from the Spring Bird Tulip and Spring Foliage sets: Brushos, black Versfine ink, Versamark ink,gold embossing powder, a gold pen.

I took a piece of white card and stamped both groups of Tulips from the set, masking and overstamping to create one large group.  When all the Tulips were masked I brushed water onto the card and sprinkled Brushos randomly across the panel.  I love the way the colours burst and spread all over the card creating a beautiful background.  

Using the Brushos as paints this time I painted the flower heads after removing the masking fluid.  

I did the same with the foliage.

I stamped foliage images around the edges of the panel in Versamark ink and embossed them with gold EP, to frame the Tulips.  I stamped and embossed a sentiment in the same way, then added gold pen around the outer edges before matting it onto red card.  I attached the panel to a white base card and blended DI around the edges.   

I love this design, I think it's really bright and cheerful and very Spring-like.  I think it would make a lovely card for a Spring birthday, anniversary, get well or any other occasion.  I also think it is suitable for both male and female cards.  

Thank you  very much for popping in today, I hope you've enjoyed this post and will come back again soon  :)    

Living the Dream

Hello and welcome to my blog  :)   I have another of my 'Eastern' samples to share with you all today.  For this card I have used stamps from the Serenity and Artistic Affirmations sets; gold Soft Form Relief Paste, watercolour pens, Distress Inks, printed handmade paper, gems and a die from my stash. 

The first thing I did was to spread the gold Soft Form paste over the archway part of the stamp only and set it aside to dry.  It's best to leave the paste overnight as it needs to be completely dry before you peel it off the stamp.  I love using this paste in the way because it picks up all the beautiful fine details from the stamps.  I also used the paste on one of the sentiment stamps and let it dry.  When they were both dry I peeled them off the stamps and trimmed them with scissors.     

I stamped the same image onto white colouring card with grey ink.  I then coloured the image with watercolour pens and die cut it into a tag.  I added gold pen to the edges of the tag. 

I took a spare piece of card and die cut it into a label.  I added ink through the die and gold pen around the outer edges. Then I cut a piece of handmade paper to size.  

I matted the paper onto gold mirror card then attached it to a white basecard.  I added some tiny gems around the top of the tag then attached the golden arch to it.  

I added some larger gems to the lilly and a couple more tiny ones to the bottom af the tag.

I then took the gold sentiment and attached it to the die cut label.  I put a shadow around the words with a grey pen and added some more gems.  I then attached the label to the card.

I absolutely loved creating this card, I think this is one of my favourite stamps from these sets.  This was only my second time of using the Soft Form paste and I really love that too!  
Thank you for visiting my blog today, I hope that you've enjoyed this post - pop in anytime for a browse  :)

Roses are Red

Hello there and a warm welcome to my blog  :)  I have another of my samples to share with you today, from the Chocolate Baroque tv shows in April.  I have used stamps from the Rose Tree and Amazing Mackintosh Words sets; Pearlescent paints, gold embossing powder, Versamark ink, gold pen.

On a piece of black card I stamped and embossed the tree image in gold, then coloured it with pearlescent paints.  I love these paints - they give my work a beautiful sheen.

 Next I took some spare black card and stamped and embossed a couple of butterflies and the ladybird in gold, then cut them out.  I painted them as before.

I matted the focal panel onto gold mirror card and attached it to a white base card, then I added the butterflies and ladybird with 3D gel glue.  
  

On some more spare black card I stamped a sentiment from the Amazing Mackintosh Words set and embossed it in gold.  I cut the sentiment into two small panels and added gold pen around the edges.
  

I'm really pleased with this card, it's a simple but elegant design that could be used for a variety of occasions.
Thank you for dropping by today, I hope you've enjoyed your visit and will pop in again soon  :)  

Buzz-y- Bees

Hi there and welcome to my blog  :)  Today I am sharing the first of my samples for the Chocolate Baroque 'Bees and Nature' shows in April.  I have used stamps from the Honey Bee and Rose Tree sets; Distress Oxides, Distress Inks, sepia Versafine ink, clear embossing powder; a die and an embossing folder from my stash.

Taking a piece of white card I stamped the bee hive image and a couple of bees, embossed and masked them, then created a colour wash with DOs for the background. 

I stamped the silhouette Foxglove image using first and second generation ink randomly across the background panel, to give the impression of a field of flowers.  I then removed the masks and coloured the images with pens. 

On another piece of card I stamped and embossed the large Foxglove, bees and Sunflower images in sepia, coloured them with pens then cut them out.  I blended DI around the edges of the background panel and matted it onto dark brown card which co-ordinated with the sepia tone of the ink.  I took a cream base card and embossed the front in a folder from my stash that compliments the bee theme.  I then blended DI around the edges to accentuate the pattern and texture from the folder.        

I attached the background panel to the base card and  added the flower and bees in 3D.  I stamped and embossed a sentiment then die cut it.  I used the word 'Bee' from the Honey Bee set and the word 'Happy' from the Mackintosh Words set.  I added DI while the panel was still in the die using it as a stencil, removed the panel and added gold pen to the outer edges.  

These beautiful stamps really inspired me to create this cheerful card, I like bees - we have lots of them in the garden in Spring and Summer - so these stamps and the theme were a dream for me!  I love them!  And these stamps are great for both male and female cards, and for lots of occasions.
Thank you very much for visiting my blog today, I hope you've enjoyed this post and I hope to see you back here again soon  :)  

Eastern Sunrise

Hello there and welcome to my blog  :)  I have one of my 'Eastern' samples from the Chocolate Baroque shows last month to share with you today.   I absolutely love these stamps, they are all so beautiful you can't help but create lovely things!  I have used stamps from the Serenity, Eastern Grasses, Landscape Edges and Artistic Affirmations sets; Distress Oxide inks, black Versafine ink, clear texture paste, Diamond Stickles, clear embossing powder, a couple of stencils from my stash.

I began with a piece of white card and stamped the lady and the two large lamp images in black ink then embossed them with clear powder.  I masked them off with masking tissue,  then used DOs to create a landscape background.  Using a sun ray stencil I added pink, yellow and orange DOs to the sky to create a sun rise behind the lady who's meditating.  I stamped the tree landscape edge image with DO ink.

I decided that the lady would be meditating by a river or a pond, so I painted the bottom of the background blue.  I wanted to give the effect of ripples or waves so I used clear paste through a stencil to add texture.  

When the paste was dry I added clear stickles to create a shimmer on the water.  Next I removed the masks and coloured the images with pens, then I added Glossy Accents to the lamps to represent glass.
  

I took a cream base card and stamped some foliage from the Wisteria Lane set along the top edge.  I used a couple of other foliage images to create a border along the other edges of the card.

I stamped the same trailing foliage along the top of the background panel in Versamark ink and embossed them in black powder.  I then stamped a butterfly and some floral images onto white card and embossed them  in black.  I coloured the images with pens and cut them out.  

I added gold pen to the edges of the background panel, then matted it onto black card and attached it to the base card.   I added the floral images to the card in 3D.

On a spare piece of white card I stamped and embossed a sentiment, then die cut it and added ink through a stencil to create another sunrise.  I added gold pen to the edges of the   panel and attached it to the card in 3D.  

I really love this card - it was a wrench to send it off as a sample!  It was a dream to create, every stage went exactly as planned and the stamps are so gorgeous it's a joy to use them!  I think this design would make a special card for a lot of occasions and for both male and female recipients.
Thank you very much for popping in today, I hope you've enjoyed this post - feel free to browse some more and I hope you'll drop by again soon  :)