New challenge with rewards

How would you like the chance to win a £10 voucher to spend on Chocolate Baroque rubber stamps? Or would you prefer a £20 voucher or how about £50?
Glenda will add £1.00 to the value of the gift voucher for each person who submits an entry to the challenge. So if they only get five entries, the prize will be £5.00, but if they get 35 entries, the prize will be £35.00. The maximum prize fund of £50.00.
The winner will be drawn at random, so you have nothing to lose by having a go and a lot to gain by encouraging all your challenge-holic buddies to join in.

The theme is WHITE CHRISTMAS and how you interpret the theme and what kind of artwork you produce is entirely up to you – cards are obviously welcome but feel free to do anything from ATCs to jewellery, canvas to crochet. As a bonus, any pieces which showcase Chocolate Baroque stamps particularly well will be featured in full on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team blog over Christmas with a link back to your blog.

Click on the White Christmas link to the site above.

The closing date is DECEMBER 15TH 2011 and the winner will be chosen at random from the list of entries.


The photo above shows some of the samples I made last year using various stamps from Chocolate Baroque. I'm starting on my cards for christmas this week and will definately be reproducing some of the cards, crackers and gift boxes in red for this year.

Italian Villa by Moon Light

This is my second card from the new Echoes of Italy stamps that have been released by Chocolate Baroque this week. The first card is over on the Design Team Blog. I love the blues as it reminds me of the beautiful sunsets we have had over the summer months.
I enjoyed playing with the stamps to create the backgrounds, I have a stash of them for the future. I have been drawing lines on the back of most of stamps recently to help line them up. The main image was quick to colour. I started with the trees in various green Copic pens and subtle shading of the buildings with creams and greys. The sky and the grass are Distress Inks and I applied them with a soft shaving brush. I find using a brush can give you a softer colouring.

The girls from the Design Team have some fabulous cards to show so take time to have a look around their blogs.

Have a good day
Debbie

All change

Today is one of those days I'll remember for many years as my little (6 foot tall) boy is starting at University. We seem to have been packing, buying and sorting for weeks and weeks. He tries very hard to be organised and I think we've covered everything. I made this card for him and will send it in the post next week. He loves to play his guitar when he has a little down time.



I made this card using stamps from the recently released Music Fanfare stamps from Chocolate Baroque. The card base was made from a template CB and I reversed the folds making the sides stand further forward. I heated Pearl UTEE
and poured it over the sheet music stamp. The flowers die is from Crealies and I glittered the edges of the petals.

I made this little elephant while we were away on hloiday and he now lives in Edinburgh with Jacks girlfriend. I didn't have enough grey wool so I knitted his body put pom poms on his feet to look a little like pj's.



Signing out to start a busy day.

Debbie

Music - back to the classroom

I made this card following the on line class I did with Glenda.
Rubber Stamping - Back to Basics. The class focused on stamping and inks. I learned such a lot and found it very inspirational. I must say the videos and print outs are are so informative and I can to recommend new and more experienced crafters.
The background on my card is made from Versamagic Chalk Inks. I stamped the clefs onto navy card and the chalk ink stands out beautifully. The blue and green is direct to paper and the ink blends so well. I stamped the ripped sheet music with Memento London Fog and tore the edge and coloured. The instument has beeen stamped over the music using Versamagic Night sky. I love these stamps as they can be used for male or female cards.
The Design Team are posting some beautiful cards using the newly released stamps from Chocolate Baroque.

Hop around the DT for lots of ideas

Debbie

6 weeks gone in a flash

In brief here's a whistle stop running of my hols.
Housework and decorating the needy areas of the house, late spring clean ie curtains down, sofa hoovered and rubbed, under the beds and much more.
I made 100 plus wedding invites for a friend at work. She didn't want anything with fuss. The brief was no ribbon, gems or bling. So here's what I came up with and she loves them.





I was so relieved when I delivered them and she was so pleased. I love this stamp from Chocolate Baroque, Butterfly Flourish Swirls, it's deeply etched so none of the excess black ink transfered.

Hubby and I had a couple of days away together in Scotland. For his birthday he wanted an SLR camera and it arrived in time to take it away with us. He went into David Bailey mode and thoroughly enjoyed himself taking some beautiful photos. Mine aren't of the same quality.




Amy waited patiently from her Uni to see how she'd done in her second year. She was very happy with her results and we are very pleased with what has been a very difficult year for her.



Jack had arranged his driving test for the hols and in true Jack style he passed with flying colours. He didn't have a single fault.
I went with him to collect his
A level results, I thought I was going to be ill while he opened them. Since Jack started school he always set himslf a target of being at the top. He opened the envelope and started to smile, I knew he needed an A and 2 B's to get in to Durham. The smile got bigger and I said 'Well then'. 3 A s. I found it so difficult not to embarrass him by jumping for joy.

We had a wonderful week away in Keswick and the weather was very kind to us. Hubby took alot of photos, over 1500. I sat for a couple of hours one night while her took photos of the sunset. I'll try and post a couple.


In my spare time I've been working on samples for the Design Team at Chocolate Baroque. I'll post a few of them over the weekend.

The newest stamps released by CB are Music Fanfare and The Art of Chess. They are on a multibuy offer at the moment. These are beautiful stamps and will be used in so many ways. Love them.
Pop over to the DT blog as the girls have started posting their samples. Definately worth a look at.

Take care
Debbie

Home Sweet Home from Chocolate Baroque and a Blog Candy Give Away

The first of my samples today has been stamped with Stormy Sky Distress Ink. I used the same ink to add shades to the image with a water brush. I do like this technique as it's simple and so effective. Diamond stickles was added to the mounds of the hills to make them look snowy. The stickles was also used to edge the white as a border.
I mounted the main onto Stormy sky coloured card, a border punched powder blue and white. The main card is white and has Echoes of Italy marbled paper on it. The sentiment is stamped onto white and then attatched to an acrylic tag with glossy accents.









I have always love the work of Clarice Cliff and when these stamps landed, I new I was going to fall in love with them. My Mum only had a few pieces of pottery and one of them was a present from my Dad. It was a large jug painted very simply in orange, red, yellow and brown. I still have it but it's in the loft as DH hates it.
The Home is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Copic pens. Cut out the image with a scalloped circle and mounted onto another sea green. The grasses from the stamp set has been stamped in the corner for a little extra detail.

There's an offer on these stamps at the moment Chocolate Baroque and take a look.

Glenda has also added two videos on her blog they are so informative.
The girls from the Design Team have made some fabulous samples. The cards will be posted over the next few days.

Leave comments on the DT members blogs and have a chance of winning these beautiful stamps.

Have a good weekend
Debbie

Flowers standing in a row

This card was made using stamps from Chocolate Baroque. There are six florals and two sentiments on the unmounted stamp plate. It's called Fantastic Florals . I used Marvy Brush Markers to colour the stamps. I enjoy using the Marvy pens as you can pick out specific areas to colour. I've made this card in a few different colours and they all look nice. I stamped the greeting and then made two score lines. I mounted onto colours from the stamping to co-ordinate.

I hope you like it
Debbie