Chocolate Baroque September Challenge 'Winter Flora'

Chocolate Baroque Challenge

September 2016

‘Winter Flora’

Hello and welcome!

Here is my Chocolate Baroque September Challenge entry - a bit late or 'tail-end Charlie' as my mum would say but I've been trying to get ahead of myself with all my Christmas makes - cards for Mum-in-law, Sister, Mum, Mum's carers' gifts and all in that order. I made the card below yesterday afternoon and I must say I'm quite pleased with it. The beautiful holly frond/flourish was so beautiful to work with and deserved pride of place and yes! I've managed to include my trademark 3D element! I also liked the water-colour effect on the poinsettia as it offers a contrast to the crisp holly images and ties the scrunched inky background in. Have a sneaky suspicion that this card will be replicated as our cards for this year as I quite fancy trying it out in white/grey/silver - what do you think?

Materials:-

·         Stamps:- Chocolate Baroque – Large holly flourish from ‘Christmas Flourish’ set, Large and small poinsettia from Steampunk Christmas

·         Inkpads:- Ranger Distress - Evergreen Bough, Peacock Feathers; Memento – Bahama Blue; Stampin’ Up – Pacific Point

·         Cardstock :– White card blank – 8ins x 8ins; white squares – 1x 7insx7ins, 1x5.5insx5.5ins; white offcuts; ice-blue mirror card

·         Gelli plate – 6insx6ins

·         Miscellaneous – Glue pen; Nuvo glitter - white, peacock, turquoise, dark turquoise alcohol marker

Instructions:-

1.       Using sticky notes, cut a few circle masks of 2ins diameter and place in centre of 7x7 square. Ink large flourish with Bahama Blue and stamp at each corner. Edge each side with alcohol marker.

2.       Mount onto ice-blue mirror card, attach to 8x8 card blank and set aside.

3.       Onto the gelli plate, dab Evergreen Bough and Peacock Feathers all over. Scrunch a piece of copy paper and blot all over inked Gelli plate. Place 5.5x5.5 card over and ‘pull’ a print. Place another circle mask in centre of print and stamp large holly flourish – again using Bahama Blue.

4.       Outline ‘swirly’ lines with glue pen, then sprinkle over turquoise glitter. Edge each side with alcohol marker. Attach to base card (1) at an angle and set aside.

5.       On white off cuts, stamp large poinsettia three times and small one twice. Leave one large poinsettia aside and with a damp paintbrush, ‘pull’ colour from stamped images towards centre of all four flowers. (2 large and 2 small.) Cut out.

6.       Outline swirls – when dry - with glue pen and add white glitter. Form into a poinsettia flower and attach to centre of base card. Cut three petals from remaining poinsettia and add to flower as leaves.

Et voila – ‘Winter Flora’ - my contribution to this month’s Chocolate Baroque challenge!

Please have a look below at my batch cards – also achieved using two Chocolate Baroque stamps and the same background formula!

Chocolate Baroque September 2016 Challenge

'A Cube for All Seasons'

Clarity Challenge 44

October 2016

'Circles and Squares'
Mid-month

My second 'make' for this month's Clarity Challenge!

Materials:-

• Cardstock:- White 
• Stamps:- Clarity - Butterfly Tree
• Inkpads;- Ranger Distress - Weathered Wood, Peeled Paint, Broken China, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo, Stormy Sky; Archival Black; Encore Silver. 
• Miscellaneous:- Photocube, Moon mask, glue pen; glitter - clear, lilac, purple, yellow/gold mix, orange/gold, chocolate; Micron pen, Sharpie - black, chalk pen;

Instructions:-

1. Cut five squares of white card to fit each visible side of glass cube.
   
2. Place moon mask in position. Stamp Butterfly Tree on four squares using Archival Black.
3. Blend over seasonal coloured inks.
4. Add coloured glitter to each season.
5. Stamp and mask medium butterfly four times on last square, using suitable seasonal colours. Using sticky notes with ripped edges, mask a triangle and blend over colours to match the season. Repeat on remaining three sides. Remove moon mask. 
6. Ink small butterfly area of Butterfly Tree and WITHOUT using a stamp block or mount, press onto gaps as seen in photograph. Draw an irregular Micron line to demarcate each triangle. 
7. Add 'snow' with a chalk pen to Winter.

. . . . . And here we have 'A Cube for all Seasons!'

Best wishes in the 'Circles or Squares' challenge!

'A Scene for All Seasons!'

Clarity Challenge 44

October 2016

Circles or Squares
'A Scene for All Seasons.'

Hi there and welcome to October's blog. I cannot quite get to grips with the fact that we are now entering into the second month of Autumn - the trees and shrubs are still of green leaf, the grass is still growing and it is still mild enough for sandals! A bit of a difference from my visit to Aberdeen, in October, twenty three years ago, mainly to check out the house my husband had just bought (it was only built to the ground-floor windows!!!) as the city was at a standstill - so much so that we touched down with five minutes to spare having circled the airport for over an hour. (The airport closed at 22.30 in those days.) The reason - a snowstorm; oh and it was Friday 13th! I'd left Bath, after a day's teaching, 'coated and booted' for slighter colder weather and felt quite OTT when fellow passengers got on the plane in short-sleeved shirts and t-shirts. I had the last laugh!

Hope you like my seasonal take on this month's 'make.'

Best wishes,

Shelagh

'The Making Lady'

Materials:-

·         Cardstock:- white

·         Stamps:- Clarity – Wee Folk 1, Wee Folk 2, Wee Folk Elves (flower stalk only), Wee Country Animals, Seasons Words

·         Gelli plate/ Gel Press (6ins x 6ins) and Mega Mount

·         Inkpads:- Ranger Distress – Spring - Squeezed Lemonade, Peeled Paint, Weathered Wood; Summer – Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Broken China; Autumn – Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon; Winter – Squeezed Lemonade, Iced Spruce, Weathered Wood; Archival Jet Black.

·         Dies:- Plain circles of four sizes; scalloped circles of four sizes

·         Miscellaneous:-  Cropodile or similar; Brads – toning colours; glue pen; clear glitter; copy paper

Instructions:-

(These are my practice circles and not the actuals.)

1.      Die-cut four different sized circles and corresponding scalloped circles from white card.

Spring – smallest circle and scalloped circle

2.       Onto Gelli Plate/Gel Press, randomly dab the three listed spring colours ensuring the yellow is in an appropriate place for the sun. Scrunch up a piece of copy paper and dab over Gelli to remove areas of paint. Place smallest circle over and pull a print. Repeat with scalloped circle and onto this, stamp ‘Spring’ using Black Archival followed by couple. Stamp a bower of flowers  around, again with Black Archival. Set aside.

Summer

3.       Spritz Gelli with water and dry with paper towel. Place sun mask onto plate then randomly dab Summer colours over the plain and scalloped circles as detailed above but concentrating blue at top half and green at foot. Add sun. Repeat the scrunched paper technique. Stamp tree branches at each side then add Wee Folk figures. Stamp ‘Summer’ between.

Autumn

4.       Clean Gelli as in 3) and dab Autumn colours( but NOT Ripe Persimmon) as before onto plain and scalloped circles. Stamp Autumn then Wee Folk figures. Add grasses et cetera to suit. Ink a foam spot with Ripe Persimmon and add to scene as a harvest sun.

Winter

5.       Clean Gelli and dab with Winter colours. Tear a landscape from copy paper and apply half-way down Gelli. Ad sun mask. Place over largest scalloped circle and pull print. Remove copy paper and re-ink Gelli plate, remove ink with scrunched paper, place largest plain circle over and pull print. Add Squeezed Lemonade for sun. Stamp a winter scene with Wee Folk then add ‘Winter’ word. Create a winter landscape using glue and gliter.

Add glue and glitter around circumference of all scalloped edged circles.

To assemble

Place plain circles on top of each other, gauge where the holes are to be punched and mark lightly. Punch holes with smaller Cropodile punch and join all four circles together with brads. With wet glue – to allow for ‘wiggle room’ and only applying to centre, glue each ‘season’ onto appropriate circle.

Et voila – ‘A Scene for All Seasons!’

Looking forward to your 'Circles or Squares' makes and remember you could be the recipient of a £50 voucher to spend on the Clarity website - a randomly chosen project - or indeed find your project displayed as one of the Top Five as chosen by the Challenge Design Team. You may enter by a link from your own blog or from a photograph of your project emailed to claritystampchallenge@hotmail.com Please remember to check guidelines too; these may be found at claritystampchallenge.blogspot.co.uk

Best wishes!