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  :)

Floral Bookmark

Hi and welcome to my blog  :)  I have a sweet little Vintage Bookmark to share with you today, I created it for the CBDT blog '15 Minute Cards' post today.  I have used just one stamp from the Serenity set; colouring pencils, grey Versafine ink, some lace, fibres and a button from my stash.

I often have strips of card left over from cutting a panel or whatever, and I NEVER throw anything away - which is probably why I can't get into my craft room half the time lol!  I took one such strip of Neena Dessert Storm colouring Kraft card and stamped a beautiful Water Lilly image with grey ink.  I then coloured the image with pencils, shading and blending where necessary.

Next I added a piece of lace from my stash.  I used red double sided tape to attach it to the back of the focal panel, as I find that this tape is the quickest and best way to attach things like ribbons, lace etc.  I then took a little button in a contrasting colour, threaded a piece of fibre through it and  tied a knot.  I then attached the button to the lace, and matted the panel onto another piece of spare card which was slightly bigger than the panel and longer.

I cut the corners off the longer end, punched a hole and threaded some more fibres through it.
  

I'm really pleased with the result of this little project.  It's quick and simple to create; it's a great way to use up all those spare strips of card, and they make lovely presents or keepsakes.  Of course you can use any stamped image you like, any colours and whatever media you like - pens, pencils, paints etc.  You can also personalize them on the back with the recipients name.  
Thank you for dropping in today, I hope you've enjoyed this post and that you'll visit again soon  :) 

Tag from the Orient

Hi and welcome to my blog  :)    I have another sample from the Chocolate Baroque 'Eastern' shows last month to share with you today.  For this project I have used stamps from the Eastern Grasses and Artistic Affirmations sets; Distress Oxide inks, black Versafine ink, gold pen, gold Liquid Pearls, gold and black Stickles, dies and embellishments from my stash.
   

 I took a piece of white card and blended the inks onto it, then used a large tag die to cut it.  I stamped some grasses along the bottom of the tag and on both sides of the top in black ink.  I stamped a word at the top of the tag and a bird next to it.  I added gold Liquid Pearls around the images and added gold pen around the edges of the tag.  I then took a piece of acetate and stamped the image of the grasses in a frame in black ink, and embossed it with clear powder.  I cut the acetate into a strip a little bigger than the stamped image and wider than the tag by about half an inch each side.  I scored the acetate, a little bit in from the edges, and attached it to the tag with red double sided tape.  The acetate forms a dome over the stamped grasses on the tag.  I added black Stickles to the flowers for extra sparkle and texture.  I then matted the tag onto black card and cut around it leaving a border.

I then punched a hole in the top of the tag and added a chinese coin and some coloured fibres to finish the tag.  This pretty tag would make a lovely present, a piece of home decor or a door hanger.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today, I hope you've enjoyed this post and that you'll come back soon  :) 

Oriental Garden

Hello and welcome to my blog  :)  I have a lovely card to share with you today, one of my samples for the Chocolate Baroque 'Eastern' shows last month.  I have used stamps from the Eastern Grasses, Serenity and Artistic Affirmations sets; Distress Oxide Inks, Versamark ink, black Versafine ink, gold embossing powder, gold pen, gold Liquid Pearls and a stencil from my stash.

Next I stamped the focal images that I wanted to use onto white card  and embossed them in gold.  I then coloured the images using the same inks as I used for the background, except the lady's skin which I coloured with alcohol pens.  
   

I took a white base card and stamped foliage and small swirls along both sides of the card using one of the inks, then blended the same ink around all the edges.

I matted the background panel onto black card and then attached it to the base card.  

I then attached the focal images to the card with 3D glue.  

I stamped a word in a top corner of the background panel with black ink and added gold Liquid Pearls around it.

I wanted to create a sense of calm for this card, with the Serene lady meditating in a cool, calming garden.  I have LOVED creating with these beautiful stamps, they are so versatile that I think they would suit any occasion and recipient.
Thank you for dropping in today, I hope you've enjoyed this post and that you'll visit again soon  :)