Thursday, April 30, 2015

Goodbye to a great Team

Hello everyone,  I hope you are doing well. 

I have some news to share today.  I've made the difficult decision to leave Chocolate Baroque's Design Team.  I love their gorgeous stamps but I need to free up time for other activities along with exploring art and creativity.  

I would like to thank Glenda and Lesley for the wonderful opportunity and experience which has been great fun.  I would also like to thank our team leader, Judith for all her support and the rest of the talented DT ladies for their guidance and inspiration.   I've learned a lot and will treasure the friendships.  

I've assembled a small collage of some favorite designs from the past 2+ years 'working' on the team.  There are so many more, too many to share in one post.


And finally I would like to thank all of you for your visits, comments and support here at my blog.

I'll still be 'blogging' but most likely less than I have been.  If you don't 'see' me here or at your blog  it just means I'm spending time away from the computer.

Take good care
Shirleyx

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Chocolate Baroque, Colour Challenge #10

Hello everyone, 

I have a design to show today for Chocolate Baroque's Colour Challenge #10. 


This months' colours are fabulous, lots of fun to 'play' with.   I used Rusty Hinge with a little Picked Raspberry Distress Inks in the background.  I over stamped using fragments from Texture Fragments (which seems to be one of my favorite CB sets).   The whimsical image from Fantastic Florals was coloured with Rusty Hinge, Picked Raspberry and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks (on my craft mat using a brush and water).   I highlighted a little with a white Gelly Roll pen.   I didn't take the time to decoupage the butterfly, it would have popped up if I had, next time I will :).

And here is the gorgeous colour inspiration, designed by Miranda, for this month's challenge:

Designed by Miranda, Chocolate Baroque Design Team
You can find all the details about Chocolate Baroque's Colour Challenges at the blog here. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirleyx

Saturday, April 25, 2015

A Creative Holiday

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.  Warning this is a much longer than normal post !

I haven't been visiting at your blogs much lately as I've been away in the Netherlands and also busy with family and other activities. 

During my vacation I was able to get together again with creative family members and friends.  We had a great day talking, eating and working with stamps and mixed media.

We started the day with stamping and painting on small wood tags, and below is the one I created.   I used stamps designed by Marja for Kico Stamps along with Gesso, Acrylic paints, stencils and a white pen and glitter.  I managed to purchase a set of her whimsical faces before they sold out at the Kico booth during the Event. 

You can see all six tags in the collage below.




We also created a tag using face images and below is mine.    I think the pretty face image is by Sweet Pea stamps.  I used a couple of stencils and also doodled some of the flowers to match the ones around her hair.



We also created a lot of backgrounds with mixed media, Miranda gave us a demo on using Ecoline inks, it was very much fun.   You'll see the backgrounds pop up later in designs.

And below is a collage from the creative day with talented friends and family.    Marja creates beautiful pendants and necklaces using her stamps and below you can see that she 'gifted' me with one.





I timed my vacation to attend the large Art Specially Event (art stamps and media).   I had a great time there with family and also seeing blog friends again and meeting some of my Design Teamies for the first time.  I also managed to buy more beautiful stamps and stencils to add to my growing collection :)  The selection was amazing.

I didn't make an announcement that I would be at the Event, so I missed seeing some of my Blog friends.   I actually thought it would be easy to bump into people there it was not, it's a huge show (paradise really) but very crowded at times.  

Below is a photo collage from the weekend.  My sister & I were lucky to take a workshop with Maria using shaving foam and ink re fillers. I was happy to meet up DT Teamies, Maria, Alie, Karin and  Miranda and also Marja at the Event.

Going clockwise, starting from the top left ... Maria & I, Alie & I , Karin & I , My Tante, cousins & I (along with a friend) my cousins & I, dutch windmill, Marja & I, and Miranda & I.



That's all for today, thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Shirleyx

Friday, April 24, 2015

Beautiful Birdcage Collage

Hello creative people, I hope you are doing well.

I have a design to show using a gorgeous new cling single stamp Birdcage Collage from Chocolate Baroque.


The background was created with Dylusions inks and Distress Paint (yellow).   I over stamped with a stamp from the beautiful Dusky Damask set.   The main image stamped with Cobalt Archival ink was painted with Tom Bow markers.


Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day,
Shirleyx

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Hibiscus with Waterdroplets

Hello everyone, I hope all is well.

I have a design today using Design by Ryn's new Hibiscus stamp set along with the small waterdroplets from her Textures unmounted sheet.   I'm going to echo what a teammate said recently at her blog, Ryn's water stamps are the best out there, the detail is amazing. 


The background colour could be mistaken for the new Coral Distress Ink, but it's not as it's a bit softer.  I used Picked Raspberry and a little Persimmon with lots of water on an acrylic plate.   I stamped with two different flowers along with masking and coloured with Prisma pencils.   'Life is Beautiful' is a great little stamp that was exclusive for attendees at the Art Specially Event in the Netherlands a few years ago. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirleyx

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Ladys Slipper Orchid with Lace

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I have a design today with another gorgeous new cling single stamp by Chocolate Baroque - Ladys Slipper Orchid.


The larger background was created with Evergreen and Pistachio Distress Stain Sprays.   I over stamped using a fragment from Lace Fragments with Evergreen Distress Ink.  When dry I embossed a lace stamp with white across the top and bottom, also from Lace Fragments.    I coloured the Orchid with Prisma pencils.   The ribbon is purple which looks very dark in the photo.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirleyx

Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #9 Free Download

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I have a design today for Chocolate Baroque's Colour Challenge using this month's gorgeous & free download paper (that you can find at the challenge blog).


The main image is one of Chocolate Baroque's cling single stamps - Song Thrush which I coloured with Intense pencils.     The die cut flowers (Vintage Floret) and flourish (Bella Rose) are by Heartfelt Creations.   The background is the free download paper.

 
The challenge details and free background download paper (the background) can be found at Chocolate Baroque's Colour Challenge Blog.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirleyx 

Monday, April 06, 2015

Awesome Orchids

Hello everyone, I hope you had a great Easter.

I have a few designs to show today using Chocolate Baroque's new beautiful Awesome Orchids clear stamp set.


I used the new Abandoned Coral along with Picked Raspberry Distress Inks in the background (using an Acrylic Block & water).   Next I added texture with white Acrylic paint and a small stencil by Memory Box and a bottle cap.  The little dots are a 'snow' stamp from the Frosty Trees set.   I painted the pretty little Orchid with Inktense pencils.

I used the same colour theme below:


I used the same background technique as the first card.  I stamped the Orchid stem & leaf image three times onto the background, and one of the flower heads on separate card stock.   I coloured the leaves and flowers with the same Distress Inks along with Seedless Preserves, cut them out and attached.

And the last design is a quick CAS card:


Using a circle cut from cardstock as a mask, I blended the new Cracked Pistachio and Mustard Seed Distress Inks over top and used a stencil for the texture.  I coloured the image with pencils.

Here is a look at the complete stamp set which is pretty cool as you can pick which flower head you want to add to the stem.



Thanks for stopping by and have a great day,
Shirleyx

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Hibiscus Designs

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well.

I have a couple of designs today that feature Design by Ryn's new gorgeous Hibiscus Flower set (also available with the unmounted Hibiscus set) along with her fabulous Ginkgo and Hibiscus stencils.   They all work well together. 


I used Distress Inks and Brushos in the background.  I used Distress Ink over Ginkgo stencil and then white acrylic paint and the Hibiscus stencil.  I stamp the Hibiscus several times on separate card stock with Cobalt Archival ink, cut them out, molded on the back (with stylus and foam mat), coloured with Distress Inks and attached.

I also have another card I used the Hibiscus in the background as well:


The background is a light covering of Pistachio Distress Ink using an acrylic block.  Using Ryn's Hibiscus stencil I blended the Pistachio and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks.  The little flowers are by Crealie - CLCF22 which I molded and coloured with Distress inks.   The little sprigs are from Memory box, Winterberry.

One of my followers mentioned recently that it was unusual to see embellishments on one of my designs.  It's true that I don't use them all the time (maybe my style doesn't always suit them), but I do enjoy 'playing' with them.   Somehow I've still managed to have a large die collection that needs to be used more -  I especially love flowers, leaves and flourishes.   Too much stash and not enough time !



Thanks for stopping by, it's a little early but I hope you have a great Easter!
Shirleyx