Chocolate Baroque Challenge #4 in Nouveau Style

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well this week.

I have a design to show today using the Free Digital Background available from Chocolate Baroque's Colour Challenge Blog, which features the colours for the current challenge:

 
The background is the free download that you can find here.   I stamped the beautiful lovebirds from Nouveau Lovebirds with black ink, coloured with Inktense pencils and highlighted with a white Gelly roll pen and glitter.  The background behind the birds was created using Distress Ink & water on my craft mat.  I stamped the deco pieces from the set on the background paper (not straight at the top, it was hard for me to just leave it that way!).  Love is from Artistic Expressions. 

And below is the challenge inspiration photo.  We would love it if you could join us for a chance to win a £15 gift voucher at Chocolate Baroque.

Design by Lesley Wharton

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirleyx

Reindeer with Snowflakes & a Relaxed Cat :)

Hello everyone, I hope are having a great weekend.   It's just above freezing here and we have light snow!  I am so not ready for it, but it won't stay, it's melting as it hits the ground.    Hopefully we will enjoy some warmer days this month. 

I have two more Christmas card designs to  show today.    The beautiful stamps are from Chocolate Baroque.

The background above was created with Seedless Preserves Distress Ink and Faded Jeans Distress spray (yes I bought more!) using the Acrylic block technique.    I over stamped with a couple of snowflake negative designs from the A Child is Born set with Distress Ink and I also added some texture with white Acrylic paint and bubble wrap.   The main image is from the Reindeer Landscape set which I cropped a little and coloured with Inktense pencils.  The sentiment is from Christmas Magic.

I coloured the snowflake die cuts from Joy with Distress Inks and then sponged 3D stamp paint over top.  The 3D paint adds lots of sparkle and texture which is hard to see as it's difficult to get proper photos of sparkle and glitter.  I've just discovered this fabulous paint (thanks again to the helpful staff at our local scrapbook & art supply shop).    The little branches are from a McGill punch.

And below is a card without stamping.....

 

The background above started with an embossed sheet using a pretty snowflake folder (by Leane Creatief).  I sprayed Dylusions inks over top and also dabbed some white Acrylic paint with the Circle Explosion stencil by TCW.    The black die cuts are from Memory Box.

And here is our furry boy relaxing .... he is so sweet. 

I am not obese it's just this position I'm in that makes me look 'full figured'  However Mom says I could lose a pound or two:) I'm doing the best I can since I can no longer roam outside freely.   Mom says that I'm co-operative most of the time.  I go outside with a harness and leash, I hope there are no other cats that can see me.  (Cat's don't roam freely in our town, it's against the bi-law and it's not safe for cats - Shirley)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,

Shirleyx

Vintage Flowers

Hello everyone, I hope your week is going well.

I have a design to show today that was great fun creating.  I've been hoarding collecting flower dies for a while, but don't play with them often.  I get 'stuck' in my comfort zone but I drool over flowers on designs that I see at talented blogger's posts and Pinterest.

I didn't have room to keep my Cuttlebug out in my other craft room.   I've gained more space in my new "studio" and have a spot to keep a new Press Boss die cutting machine out which is making it easier to play with dies.   Yes we downsized our home but I've ended up with a larger craft room.  I'm a lucky lady.

The background started with Distress Stain Sprays - Antique Bronze, Tea Dye and Tattered Rose.  I blended a little Peacock Feathers Distress Ink over top here & there.   I blended Walnut Distress Ink over a couple of stencils and then stamped with a few designs from the Eccentric Edwardian set by Chocolate Baroque.

Flower Dies are by Heartfelt Creations, Tattered Blossoms - I stamped over the flowers with a fragment from Texture Fragments by Chocolate Baroque with brown dye ink and blended Tea Dye, Peacock and Walnut Distress inks and after the flowers were embossed (on the back) I painted over with clear Glimmer glaze.  Thanks to helpful employees at our local scrap store, I have new paints as well :)

Flourish die is by Die-namics also painted with clear Glimmer glaze.

Clock die is by Marianne Design, I coloured with blue ink and then added 'Cowboy' Glimmerglaze over the blue to give it a patina look.

Thanks for visiting my blog and have a great Halloween,
Shirleyx

Christmas Angel with Pinks and Green

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.   It's getting cooler here, but nice & sunny today while I'm writing this post.   

I've been back in the craft room and created a couple more Christmas cards. I have one to show you today using two of Tim Holtz's new Distress Stain sprays.  I only bought two bottles as I wasn't sure if they were any different than the Dylusions inks that I love so much.   I would be lost without Distress Inks, and don't have the Distress Stains, so these are right up my alley.   I guess the difference is in the colours.  I'll be back to our local Scrap Shop for more:) but I'll try not to duplicate colours that are close to the Dylusions spray ink line up.  Picked Raspberry Stain Spray is pretty close to the Cherry Dylusions spray.

  

The background is Picked Raspberry and Evergeen Distress Sprays with Distress Inks in the same colours blended over a couple of stencils.    I also added stars using the stencil and light molding paste with glitter over top.

Stamps by Chocolate Baroque:  Gothic Angel set, the corner is from New England Winter set and the sentiment is from the retired set Beardsley Baubles.

I embossed the angel with silver, coloured with Tom bow markers and added lots of stickles to her wings.

If you would like to see some gorgeous tags using Distress Stains by Astrid visit her blog here, you won't be disappointed.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirleyx

Christmas Poinsettia

Hello everyone, I hope your weekend is going well, this is my second post for today!   The previous was to participate in the Art Journal Journey challenge.

I have a design today that is a little different for me.   I love flower dies, I own lots of them, but I don't use them enough.    On the design below I used the Spellbinder Poinsettia with the JustRite matching stamp but you can see I didn't do the best job lining them up.

One of my kind & talented blog friends kindly advised me about the JustRite Christmas Linky Party  so I'm joining in, thanks Shona !

Embossing folder:  Sheena Douglas - Festive
Flourish Stamp & Die by Heartfelt Creations
Poinsettia & Label Die by Spellbinder
Poinsettia Stamp by JustRite
Winter Wishes is by Impression Obsession

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
Shirleyx

Secrets in the Forest

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I created this page in my journal for  the Art Journal Journey for October Challenge which is "Deep in the Forest".   I almost didn't show it as it's such a quick make, but I wanted to participate and time is running out.  If you have a chance to visit their blog, you will see lots of wonderful artwork by the talented participants in the challenge.

I recently received a gift from my dear Tante in the Netherlands - a new stamp set designed by Marja for Kico Stamps.   In the set is a mysterious tree and I thought it would work well in a forest 'scene' and could be a little 'spooky' for this time of year.    

I also used Design by Ryn's Flowing Branches stencil and her Leafy Branch stamp. The tree and mushrooms are from the Kico Stamp Set Plate #60 (designed by Marja).

I wonder what other secrets are in the forests?

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirleyx

Christmas Magic with a Stencil!

Hello dear blog friends, I hope you are doing well.

All is well here and I'm enjoying more time in my craft 'studio' this week.  It's still pink but my sweet husband has built me some great shelving to store my inks on my desks.     When the room is painted and reorganized again (not sure when that will happen) I will take photos.  I love to see photos of your craft spaces so I will share some here as well.   

One of the cards I made this week was this very 'quick make' for Christmas using Design by Ryn stencil and stamps.  At the bottom of this post is good news for Ryn :)

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I used a tip from Maria to create the background.  I took a circle die cut and blended Distress inks around it (move it around the page and change colours).     I then used a larger piece of cardstock with a circle cut out as a mask and stenciled inside the circle.   I traced the circle with a Gelly Roll Pen and drew the topper.   Next I stamped around with Patio Stone and Sea Bubbles.   Quick & easy!

Design by Ryn stencil:  Floral Spirals
Design by Ryn stamps:  Patio Stone and Sea Bubbles
Distress Inks:  Evergreen Bough, Mowed Lawn,Squeezed Lemonade, Salty Ocean
Sentiment is by Impression Obsession - B3585

Also good news for Design by Ryn - Her unmounted sheets of stamps and stencils are now sold in following retailers across the world.   You can still order single mounted stamps and stencils from her web store.

Austria: Elisabeth's Bastelhaus - http://www.bastelhaus.at/
Germany: Stampellaedle - http://ssl.stempellaedle.de/shop/
Germany: VR-Creativ - http://vr-creativ.com/
Japan: Zu's Studio - http://zusstudio.typepad.jp/blog/
Netherlands: De Stempelwinkel - http://www.de-stempelwinkel.nl/
Switzerland: Atelier Rägeboge - http://www.stempelseite.ch/
United Kingdom: "Oyster stamps" - http://www.oysterstamps.co.uk/
United States: Susana's Custom Art and Card Design - http://www.susanascustomartandcarddesign.com/
Australia:  Marker Maniacs: http://markermaniacs.com.au/

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by
Shirleyx

Spooky Halloween

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.   

Chocolate Baroque recently launched three fabulous Halloween sets and while I don't make many Halloween cards I couldn't resist ordering Book of Spells while I was on a break from the DT.  The spider web corner fragment is awesome and I think it would be fun in non Halloween designs as well.

The sentiment is from Bewitched Moonlight and the rest of the images are from Book of Spells.  The background is Distress Inks and I used a lovely stencil by Tim Holtz.   I used Inktense pencils to add a little colour to the haunted house and lots of glitter on the roof and ghosts.     

Thanks for your visit,
Shirleyx