Sea Dragon Canvas TV show sample created for Chocolate Baroque

Sea Dragon Canvas – TV show sample created for Chocolate Baroque on The Craft Channel this week.

Materials:

• Seadragon, Mermaid Queen, Underwater Kingdom, Underwater and Seashell Collage stamp sets
• White stamping card, teal green glitter card
• 20cm square canvas board
• White Gesso
• Acrylic paints (blues, greens and teal metallic)
• Viva Décor Croco Crackling Colour (green shimmer -501)
• Viva Décor Precious Metal Colour (pink)
• Alcohol pens – for colouring die cuts (greens)
• Watercolour pencils (pinks, purples, blues, greens, yellow, orange)
• Versamark Inkpads (Vintage Sepia and Onyx Black)
• Archival inkpad (dark blue)
• Watercolour or acrylic transparent shimmer paints (blue, green – for dragon)
• Recycled jewellery pieces (chains, pearls etc.)
• PVA pearls
• Iridescent glitter glue (pink)
• 3D glue gel
• Dies to cut seaweed – mixed branches (Heartfelt Creations) and leaves (Couture)
• Stencils with swirls or water patterns (optional)

How to make it:

1. Add a coat of white gesso to the canvas. Note: The canvas was already primed but I find that the gesso adds a bit more of a key for adhering acrylic gels etc.
2. Paint the background with streaks of blue and green acrylics. Add some texture with stencils (if you like).
3. Stamp some of the weeds etc. with dark blue ink. Stamp the mermaid silhouettes in black ink. I used a heat gun to aid drying.
4. Apply the crackle paste all around the edges using a palette knife and leave to dry overnight. Rub over the crackle texture with some pink metallic paint. Add some sparkly streaks into the water. Rub a little teal metallic in some areas.
5. Die cut a range of seaweed shapes using dies from plain card (colour with pens) and teal glitter card.
6. Stamp the dragon, seaweed, shells and starfish onto white stamping card using black ink, and brown ink for some of the shells. Colour with watercolour pencils and a damp brush. Add some shimmer paint to the dragon. Cut out and shape slightly to give them dimension.
7. Glue on the die cuts and stamped images using 3D glue gel. Add some ‘treasure’ – chain, pearls etc. Add PVA pearls to some of the shells, and extra sparkle with glitter glue.

Finishing your artwork:

Optional: Spray the canvas with acrylic varnish. This will protect the canvas, particularly the watercoloured images.

I used a Tim Holtz BigZ Easel die to cut a stand from mount board (attached to the back). Alternatively punch some holes and hang with cords.

Sea Dragon card TV show sample created for Chocolate Baroque

Sea Dragon card – TV show sample created for Chocolate Baroque on The Craft Channel this week.

Materials:

• Seadragon (sea dragon, mermaid, sentiment), Underwater Kingdom (mermaid), Underwater (starfish), Seashell Collage (Wheel and Anchor) stamp sets
• 6 X 6 inch scalloped card blank, white stamping card
• Versafine Inkpad (Onyx Black), archival dye ink (blue)
• Brusho’s (Turquoise, Ultramarine)
• Metallic paint (silver gold) *
• Pebeo Drawing Gum
• Watercolour pencils (yellow, golds, oranges) and brush
• Alcohol ink marker (black)
• Decorative Lattice Swirl Die (Heartfelt Creations). If you don’t have these dies, swirly or seaweed like foliage dies would produce a similar result.

* I used Starlight paint (Imagination Crafts) but the Aztec Paints featured in the shows this weekend would be perfect.

How to make it:

1. Stamp the Sea Dragon with Versafine and mask with the Drawing Gum. Trim to approx. 10 X 14cm and edge with black pen.
2. Drop Brusho crystals onto the card and spritz with water.
3. Colour extra card with Brusho’s for die cuts. Cut out the swirly trellis with dies.
4. Stamp the anchor, starfish and wheel with Versafine onto spare card and cut out. Stamp the sentiment with blue ink, cut out and edge with black marker.
5. Stamp the silhouette mermaids with blue ink. Remove the masking from the dragon, colour the dragon and starfish with watercolour pencils. Add some shimmer paint to the dragon.
6. Layer elements and glue to card front.

Quick and Easy Floral card created for Chocolate Baroque

Good morning. Today I have a quick and easy card to share – made in under 15 minutes. I had to make a couple of samples in a last minute hurry for Lesley Wharton’s recent TV shows on the Craft Channel. I hope that you like it.

On the Chocolate Baroque DT Blog are more quick makes from my Teamies today.

Materials:

• Harlequin Bouquet stamp
• 14 X 17 cm white card blank, 11.5 X 14.5cm black card for mounting, 10 X 13cm white stamping card
• Versamark Inkpad
• WOW embossing powder (Black Glint)
• Black alcohol marker (Spectrum Noir)
• Spectrum Noir Aquatints (orange, yellow and purple)
• Glitter pens (red, green, yellow) and white gel pen
• Talc or antistatic pad

How to make it:

1. Colour the stamping card quickly with aquatints (or use Brusho’s, watercolours or spritzer inks) dropping colours on ‘wet in wet’. Blot off excess with kitchen towel and dry with a heat gun.
2. Dust the surface with talc, antistatic powder or corn flour. This stops the embossing powder sticking where you don’t want it. Stamp the image with Versamark. Heat emboss with the black sparkle powder.
3. Colour parts of the image quickly with the glitter pens and add highlights with the white pen (just ‘scribble’ quickly around the flower petal edges).
4. Outline the card with black marker, glue and mount to the card front.

Quick and Easy Scene Cards and Tag created for Chocolate Baroque

The gorgeous stamps from Chocolate Baroque are so versatile and can be used in so many different ways, from complex mixed media pieces to really quick and simple cards. This month we have been asked to create some quick projects which take under 15 minutes to make.

Here are some quick scene projects for you using the Tall Trees stamp set. This set is on a special offer at the moment.

Do have a look at the Chocolate Baroque Blog to see some more quick and easy projects from my lovely Teamies this week.

Materials:

• Tall Trees and Mackintosh Sentiments stamp sets
• A6 white card blank (suitable for stamping) and tag cut from watercolour card
• A6 purple card blank, white stamping card, pale turquoise card (for layering)
• Inkpads: Distress Inks (Seedless Preserves, Peacock Feathers) and dye ink (purple)
• Alcohol ink pen (dark purple)
• Glitter glues (turquoise and purple) and PVA pearls (turquoise)
• Watercolour brush and spritzer bottle

The cards and tag were stamped using Distress Inks. To create the quick scene on the white card I stamped the tree three times without re-inking the stamp. On the purple card and tag I lightly spritzed the paper with water and used a brush to drag out and spread the ink and gift a softer diffuse effect. I used the purple marker to outline the card, tag and topper – just to give it a frame. They were finished with the stamped sentiment, glitter glues and PVA pearls. Really quick and easy.

Card created for Chocolate Baroque using Babushka stamps

I have been playing with the new Babushka stamp set. This set is so much fun and really different. I also love the Russian buildings that are included too – great for scene building.

Materials:

• Babushka and Indian Textiles stamp sets
• C6 shaped card and white stamping card
• Inkpads: Distress Ink (Broken China) and Versafine (Onyx Black)
• Watercolour pens (Spectrum Aqua)
• Glitter marker (gold)
• Black marker and gold glitter glue
• 3D glue gel

How it was done:

1. I created masks for the buildings by stamping onto copy paper and cutting them out. The buildings were stamped with Versafine, covered with the masks and I then stamped with the background silhouette buildings with Distress Ink.
2. The images were coloured with watercolour pens. Some colour was applied directly, and some by picking up colour from a pallet using a damp brush. I then finished with touches of sparkle pen and glitter glue.

MDF Bookstand Decorated for Chocolate Baroque Challenge 20

I had so much fun using this month’s hot colours to decorate this book stand for my desk. The colours just said ‘Indian Theme’ to me. I used acrylic paints and mixed and matched stamps from several different stamp sets. The design could easily be adapted to create a wall hanging or small canvas.

 

Good luck everyone with the Challenge – some wonderful projects on there already this month.

Anne xxx.

Materials:

· Words of Inspiration, Indian Elephant, Exquisite Edges, Punky Flowers, and Gothic Fragments stamp sets

· MDF book stand (Creative Expressions Kit)

· White gesso and acrylic paints (pink, pearl pink, dark red, orange and yellow)

· StazOn Inkpad (Jet Black)

· Zig 2 Way Glue Pen

· Fine tipped alcohol markers (black, pink, dark red and orange)

· Polychromos pencils (pink, dark red, orange and yellow)

· Cut-N-Dry Foam

· Gold gilding wax (Pebeo Renaissance Gold)

· Iridescent spray varnish (Crafters Companion Pearl Diamond)

· Scrap paper for planning and masking plus dye based black inkpad

Step By Step:

I first sealed and primed the MDF stand with white gesso. Tip: When painting MDF items it is often best to paint them after constructing as the MDF can expand slightly making it difficult to fit the joints together afterwards.

The sides were painted with pink acrylic. The back and front panels were painted using orange and yellow acrylics. I painted from the outside edges working inward and blending the orange into the yellow in the centre.

The sides were randomly stamped with the paisley motif (Indian Elephant set) using StazOn. A bit of colouring was added using pencils.

I cut a piece of scrap paper the same size as the front panel in order to plan out the stamping. I have included a picture of my sketchbook page. I then worked out the order of stamping and which images needed masking. You will need to protect (mask) the foreground stamped images while building up the scene.

I stamped the lettering, elephants and border (Exquisite Edges set) with dye ink onto copy paper and cut around them to create masks. I added a few dots of Zig 2 Way Glue to the back and left to fully dry. This then acts as a temporary tacky adhesive to hold the masks in place while stamping.

It is tricky to stamp some areas on a ready-made item. The stamps need to be positioned on the stamping block to enable stamping into corners etc. It is also easy to slip when you are stamping at an angle on a 3D item. Tip: You could paint a piece of card to fit the area, stamp onto that instead, and then glue this onto your project afterwards.

I first stamped the sentiment, elephants and lower border with StazOn Ink. I then covered with the masks as shown in the picture.

Next I stamped the background arches (Gothic Fragments set) with a mix of pearl pink and red acrylic paints using Cut-N-Dry Foam to apply the paint to the stamps. Tip: Squeeze some acrylic paint directly onto the sponge and work it into the surface using a palette knife. This saves washing up of palettes and it wastes less paint. Place the coloured sponges face down on a craft mat and the paint stays workable without drying out for ages. Apply to your stamp with a dabbing motion. Clean your stamps quickly after use with warm water. A soft toothbrush can be useful to remove paint from the stamp crevices.

Next the tall stylised flower (Punky Flowers set) was stamped with dark red acrylic. The top of the stamp was then stamped with StazOn along the base. Masks were then removed.

A bit of colouring was added using marker pens and pencils. The pencils gave a nice textured effect to the elephants. I then outlined elements of the tall floral stamp using a fine tipped black marker. This brought the images further forward and created a nice frame up the sides of the scene.

I then sprayed with pearlescent varnish to protect and finished by adding gold gilding wax to the edges.

Floral Musica and Harlequin Bouquet Cards created for Chocolate Baroque

I have two cards to share with you today using the lovely new floral collage stamps – Floral Musica and Harlequin Bouquet.

I hope that you like the new stamps this month as much as we all have on the DT.

Happy crafting, Anne x.

 

Materials:

• Harlequin Bouquet, Floral Musica, Mackintosh Sentiments and Butterfly Poppy Collage stamp sets
• Turquoise A5 and 7 X 7 cream card blanks, watercolour card, and plain card in cream, purple, pale blue and gold
• Versafine Inkpad (Black Onyx), Distress Inkpads (Seedless Preserves and Tumbled Glass)
• Alcohol pen and fine tipped marker (black)
• Pebeo Drawing Gum
• Watercolour marker pens (pinks, blues, greens, purples and yellow)
• PVA pearls (aqua and gold), organza ribbon (aqua), glitter glue (aqua) and gilding wax (gold)
• Dies to cut toppers and foliage, and ready-made floral embellishments
• Script and harlequin embossing folders

How it was done:

The images were stamped onto watercolour card with Versamark (Black Onyx). They were then masked with Pebeo Drawing Gum. I love this masking fluid. It is so easy to apply, and remove. Also brushes are cleaned easily with water.

The background washes were created by scribbling ink onto my glass mat and picking up with a wet brush and painting onto dampened card.

The masking fluid was then removed and the flowers coloured with watercolour markers, using a damp brush to blend.

The images were then cut out with dies. Seedless Preserves Distress Ink was blended in from around the edges to frame.

Harlequin Bouquet:

The topper was edged with black pen and a little glitter.

Pale blue card was embossed with harlequin texture on the top left and bottom right corners. The flat areas of the background were stamped using the floral stamp and Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. Faux stitching was added with black marker. Seedless Preserves Distress Ink was blended in from the edges. Organza ribbon was attached and the mat glued to the card front. The topper was attached with foam pads for added depth.

The butterflies were stamped onto pale blue card, coloured with watercolour pens, cut out and glued to the card front. The card was finished with a little more glitter glue and PVA pearls.

Floral Musica:

The topper was edged with black pen and a little gilding wax.

Cream and purple card were embossed with a script embossing folder. The dark card was sanded back to enhance the texture. Seedless Preserves Distress Ink and a little gilding wax were then used to further enhance the texture. The pieces were glued to the card front.

The sentiment was stamped onto a die cut tag using pink and purple watercolour pens to give varied shades when stamped.

Foliage was cut from gold card and glued to the card front along with ready made flowers and butterflies (these were in my CB Stash Box special offer that was recently available). The topper and tag were attached with 3D foam.

The card was finished with faux stitching and some gold PVA pearls.

Card Created using the Baroque Orchids Stamp from Chocolate Baroque

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. They are so versatile for so many projects and styles.

I just love this Baroque Orchids stamp – definitely turning into one of my favourites.

Happy Crafting, Anne xxx.

• I created this one using up scraps of pre-stamped card, black and white, printed with the Baroque Orchids stamp and turquoise acrylic paint.
• I used Distress inks, Broken China and Stormy Sky, to ink the card edges.
• The sentiment was stamped from the Card Sentiments clear set.
• The flower was created using dies and coloured with alcohol ink pens.

New Stamps from Chocolate Baroque

Lesley Wharton did a fantastic job of showcasing the new Chocolate Baroque stamps on The Craft Channel this weekend – brilliant demos.

Here are my samples created for the show. I will be blogging them over the next couple of weeks. Happy Monday All x.

Haunted House Using the New Halloween Stamp Sets from Chocolate Baroque

I couldn’t resist making a spooky decoration with the FAB new stamp sets this month – perfect for a Halloween party. I used both the ‘Put A  Spell On You’ and ‘Hocus Pocus’ stamp sets and the little Wood House Shaped Shelving which is on sale at the moment.

• The house was first painted with black and white gesso to seal and prime the bare wood.
• Recycled corrugated cardboard was used to cover the roof, make the chimney and extend the bottom sides. I used a punch to create the scalloped roof edging from black card. Highlights were added using gilding wax. The ceilings and some walls were painted with orange acrylic.
• The sparkly clouds and wispy spider webs were created using Angelina fibre. A fine mesh of fibre was laid out and ironed between two sheets of baking parchment. The fibre melts and bonds to itself creating a fine ‘fabric’.
• The 3D embellishments, including cogs, flowers, toadstools, lettering etc. were created with silicone moulds and air dry paper clay. I created the broomstick from a cocktail stick and fringed trim.
• The main images were stamped onto white card using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and coloured with alcohol ink pens. I used a mix of Mowed Lawn and Broken China Distress Inks to ink the edges.
• The witch coming out of the chimney, bats in the clouds and the spell book in the roof space were stamped onto acetate using Staz-On Ink.
• I used punches to create the butterflies and black flowers. The leaves were created using a stamp from the Autumn Hedgerow stamp set. I also used the Mini Scripts set to stamp text on the walls and tomb stones, the Butterfly Poppy Collage for creating one of the wallpapers, and the Abstract Fragments set to add texture to the floors.

I had so much fun creating this and I hope that you like it.