Chocolate Baroque Challenge May 2017

Chocolate Baroque Challenge

May 2017

Serenity

Hello - here is my CB Challenge swansong and I am sad that this is indeed the end of an era. The month of May has been very traumatic for me and my family and I'm currently finding difficulty in putting ink and colour onto paper. However, as a long term contributor to the challenge, I could not let this event go unmarked. 

Hope you like my effort!

Materials:-

·         Stamps:- Chocolate Baroque – Serena, Birdcage Collage, Flora Musica.

·         Inkpads:- Ranger Archival

·         Cardstock:- white

·         Canvas:- Pebeo 20cm x 20cm

·         Colour:- Pebeo paint – green pearlescent; Paper Artsy Fresco Acrylic Paint – Jade, Bora Bora, Beach Hut, Limelight; Derwent Inktense Pencils; Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens – Clear, Purple

·         Miscellaneous:- White Texture Paste; Cosmic Shimmer Sparkle Texture Paste and Metallic Gilding Paste - Lime Burst; Sequins – Purple; Self-adhesive gems

Instructions:-

1.       Spoon white texture paste onto canvas and spread over in different directions with a brayer. Allow to dry.

2.       Paint areas in the named Fresco Finish paints, stippling into uneven areas. Allow to dry.

3.       Sponge small areas with Lime Burst Sparkle Texture Paste.

4.       Add some Lime Burst Gilding Paste to chosen areas.

5.       Stamp Serena three times onto white card using Archival Black. Colour all three with Inktense Pigment pencils and decoupage. Glue onto coloured base canvas.

6.       Stamp Birdcage Collage nine times onto white card. Colour feathers, leaves and flowers to suit and cut out.

7.       Glue separate leaves into place. Add tail feathers as a headdress and embellish with gems.

8.       Construct flowers from the birdcage images and add leaves. Glue onto the canvas to suit. Add beads to the centres.

9.       Decorate corner with feather images. Add flower constructed from a flower from Flora Musica image. Add gem to centre.

10.   Scatter sequins and glue. 

Et voila. . . . . Serenity!

Clarity Challenge

June 2017

Party Time

‘It’s My Party!’

Materials:-

·         Groovi:- Border Plates - Banner, Birthday and Darling, Border 2, Cake Decorations, Christmas Squares Pudding, Lily, Ribbon and Hearts,  A5 Square – Thank You (ribbons,) Swing on a Star (stars,)Large - Word Chain Alphabet, Calligraphy Alphabet, Oooh La La Knickers (smallest bow,) Large Nested Squares

·         Parchment:- white

·         Miscellaneous:- Faber Castel Polychromos, Glue pen, fine glitter, 4 toning brads, blue mirri, white card

Instructions:-

1.       Place parchment landscape and emboss Lily centrally about 2cm up from foot of sheet.

2.       Emboss a number of baubles i.e. balloons from the ‘Christmas Squares Border’ on one side and a single on the other so they are positioned ‘off the page.’

3.       Emboss an outer and inner frame using Large Nested Squares. Emboss ribbon border between these squares.

4.       Emboss borders of stitching using the Ribbon and Hearts border.

5.       Add Banner, wide enough to encapsulate chosen sentiment and extending it to fill the width.

6.       Add swags from Cake Decorations above banner and frills from the same plate to create a ‘closed curtain’ effect to the foot.

7.       Add ribbon swirls and confetti from Thank You plate.

8.       Emboss balloons and Lily’s dress.

9.       Add stars from Swing on a Star and sentiment from a mixture of Birthday and Word Chain Alphabet.

10.   Add some white work and colour to suit.

11.   Pierce and cut edge of outer square and attach onto another sheet of white parchment with brads. Mount onto blue mirri then onto white card.

12.   On scrap parchment, emboss small bow five times from Oooh La La Knickers set and add trailing ribbons using the Calligraphy Alphabet plate. Pierce and cut. Apply glue from glue pen to bows and ribbons and sprinkle over glitter.

13.   Attach to balloons. (I used mini glue dots.)

14.   Add sparkle to project using a glue pen and fine glitter to suit. Dot sentiment with glue and add glitter.

Extra sparkle was added with a Spectrum Noir clear Sparkle

Clarity Challenge June 2017

Clarity Challenge

June 2017

‘Jitterbug Boogie’

Materials:-

·         Stencils:- Elegant Ladies 4, Jive Dancers

·         Cardstock:- Clarity Stencil card - 2 x 7ins x 7ins;  I x silver mirri; 1 x black

·         Canvas:- 1 x 8ins x 8ins

·         Colour:- watercolour pigment; Fresco Paint – Little Black Dress

·         Texture Paste:- Transparent

·         Miscellaneous:- Silver glitter

Instructions:-

1.       Cut one sheet of stencil card to measure 6ins x 6ins.

2.       Puff a selection of bright pigment colour powder over the card. Spritz with a fine water spray, dry with a heat gun then spray with a more heavy duty spray. (My second spray bottle was a recycled (but cleaned) eco-friendly shower spray and much more powerful.) Dry.

3.        Tape the Elegant Ladies stencil over and sponge through Little Black Dress paint. Clean stencil. Repeat a few times to suit. Dry.

4.       Tape the Jive Dancers stencil over and apply translucent paste.

5.       Remove stencil and rinse the remaining paste away.

6.       Immediately cover paste with a deep coating of dark silver glitter. Allow to firm for only a minutes then pat down gently with fingertips to ensure all areas are covered. Pour off excess.

7.       Leave to dry then mount onto  silver, black, white card then finally onto a canvas which has been edged with silver gilding paste. 

Chocolate Baroque April 2017 'Fishin' Around!'

Chocolate Baroque
Challenge Blog

April 2017

'Fishin' Around!'

Hello and welcome to my CB blog for April/May. Not much detail this month due to a couple of sad and close family events. 

This project was inspired by a 'find' in a cupboard during a bit of an avalanche at which time a box tumbled out. This was the solar globe, purchased a couple of years ago in a sale for £2.50! Time to decorate!!!

Materials:-

• Stamps:- A Year of Stamping:- July - Standard, Super; August - Standard, Super
• Inkpads:- Ranger Archival Black Ranger Distress:- Cracked Pistachio, Fired Brick, Barn Door, Vintage Photo; Adirondack Butterscotch
• Misc:- Tissue Paper; Double Sided Sticky Sheets; Solar Lantern; Coloured Pencils - Inktense, Polychromos, Derwent  Metallic; Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens; Ranger Glossy Accents

Instructions:-

1. Using each itemised stamp and Archival Black, stamp each four times. 
2. Apply double sided sticky sheet, cut to size, to fit each image on the stamped side. 
3. Turn over and colour elements with itemised ink-pads, pencils and Sparkle pens. 
4. Cut out elements then add dimension through Glossy Accents.
5. Peel off the protective backing and apply to suit onto the solar globe.
   

Et voila! The Global Reef is complete. 

Clarity Challenge May 2017

Clarity Challenge

May 2017

Up in the Air

‘The Moon’s my Balloon’

Well, here we are again - well into Spring and Summer rapidly approaching. When I found out the nature of month’s theme, the trees in my garden – being so far north – were still devoid of both blossom and leaf and from there came the idea for my card.  Add into that the clear skies and the clear sighting of the moon - hey presto! A Card!!!

Materials:-

·         Stamps:- Wee Folk Set 2

·         Stencils:- Winter Tree, Small Framer Stencil

·         Ink Pads:- Distress Weathered Wood, Iced Spruce, Squeezed Lemonade

·         Cardstock:- 1 x 8ins x 8ins card, 1 x A4 white card trimmed to 7ins x 7ins

·         Miscellaneous:- 01, 03 Micron pens, charcoal pencil, sticky note pad

Instructions:-

1.       Place circle from Framer stencil onto 7 x 7 card and tape down. Place Winter Tree stencil over. Tear a landscape from copy paper and blend over Weathered Wood and Iced Spruce. Move the landscape paper from time to time to create hills etc.

2.       Lift the tree stencil carefully and remove the circle blank. Place the Framer ‘outie’ over the white circular area and also the Tree stencil and carefully blend over Squeezed Lemonade.

3.       Remove the Framer, replace the Tree and draw around outline with fine Micron pen.

4.       Remove stencil completely.

5.       Doodle and colour inside the tree outline with black Micron pen. Add the balloon neck and string with same fine pen.

6.       Stamp the little boy from the Wee Folk 2 set.

7.       Doodle a frame around image.

8.       Outline card with a black Sharpie and mount onto 8 x 8 card.

This is my first attempt

Et voila – The Moon’s My Balloon!

Time now for your project.

Bye for now and happy crafting!

Shelagh ‘The Making Lady’

http//:shelaghscraftyconcepts.blogspot.com

Clarity Challenge May 2017

Clarity Challenge

May 2017

Up in the Air

‘Winging It!’

Materials:-

·         Groovi:- Tina’s Flower plate; Feathered Friends

·         Stamps:- Clarity Miniature – Stag Outline moon, tree-scape and eagle; Bird Outline – birds; Word Chain Alphabet

·         Stencils:- Net Pattern, Jo’s Bubbles

·         Ink Pads:- Archival Black; Distress Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron; Distress Oxides Fossilised Amber, Cracked Pistachio, Vintage Photo; Encore Silver

·         Cardstock:- 1 x A4 white – halved centrally down portrait format; white parchment scraps,

·         Miscellaneous:- Glue pen, glitter, holographic mirri card, black card, white card.

Instructions:-

Background:

1.       Dab Salty Ocean, Twisted Citron and Peacock Feathers onto craft sheet. Spritz with water. Drag long rectangle of card as described in ‘Materials’ through ink and repeat until card is covered. Dry with heat gun.

2.       Place Jo’s Bubbles over inked card and dab Oxide Fossilised Amber randomly over. Spritz card as before then dry. Repeat to suit. Remove stencil.

3.        Place over Net stencil and dab over Oxide Vintage Photo. Spritz then dry. Remove stencil.

4.       Dab Oxide Cracked Pistachio onto craft sheet. Spritz with water then drag inked card over in a random fashion. Dry.

5.       Divide and cut card into three. Stamp moon, trees and birds on each of the three inked rectangles.

6.        Stamp sentiment in black Archival then over-stamp with Encore silver. Sprinkle over glitter before the ink dries completely.

7.       Mount each onto holographic mirri then black. Attach side by side to white card background.

Groovi Creatures

1.       Emboss two sizes of dragonfly from Tina’s Flower plate three times each onto parchment. Colour, pierce and cut. Glue smaller onto large. Add small dots of glue from a glue pen and sprinkle over glitter. Attach on to one of the backgrounds.

2.       Emboss two sizes of butterfly from Tina’s Flower plate twice each, colour. Pierce each and attach smaller onto larger. Add glitter as in 1) and attach to second background.

3.       Emboss chosen image from[MM1]  Feathered Friends plate and further emboss isolated areas of same image to create decoupage components. [MM2] Pierce and cut. Layer to form 3D image.

4.       Attach to third background rectangle.

And there we have it – an inky, stencilled, stamped project with Groovi additions – my new favourite  multi-media technique!!!

Over to you to join in the Clarity Challenge!

Happy crafting!

Shelagh ‘The Making Lady’

Chocolate Baroque Challenge March 2017

Chocolate Baroque Challenge

March 2017

‘Flight of Fancy!’

This is Mike's favourite shot and as my resident photographer, it had to be first.

Having sorted through my CB stamps this morning - oh! what a beautiful selection - a little idea was beginning to form so when Mike came up to check on my progress this afternoon, I was suitably surrounded with re-inkers, ink pads, spritzer bottles of different strengths, card stock galore and quite a selection of stamps. The following project evolved as I experimented, discarded and changed my ideas around. Although not as envisaged, I must say I’m more than happy with the end result - project that will certainly find itself on the stairwell wall, my new display area!

I love the shadow on this shot as it shows the depth of the project.

Materials:-

·         Stamps:- Chocolate Baroque - Sketchy Doodle Landscape - Leaves, Sketchy Doodle Flowers - Scroll-type Leaf, Tangled Garden – Butterfly

·         Card:- Watercolour paper, Kraft card, Black

·         Inkpads:- Distress – Twisted Citron, Shabby Shutters, Aged Mahogany, Milled Lavender; Adirondack -  Butterscotch; Encore – Silver

·         Embossing Powder:- WOW - Dark Silver, Black

·         Misc:- Glossy Accents, Seed Beads, Sequins, Haberdashery silver beads on filament, Clear Sparkle pen

Another angle capturing a different light

(TOP TIP:- I have just, through this project, found out how wonderful and forgiving water-colour paper is thus negating any need for foam pads of 3D glue. Next step is to try it with the smooth variety!

Love the butterfly shading on this shot

Instructions:-

1.       Cut two A4 sheets of water-colour paper in half and sweep Aged Mahogany, Milled Lavender and Twisted Citron over to cover – straight from the pad – onto all four pieces. *NB I found I got a better mix of colour using half A4 (A5) rather than keep the sheet whole.

2.       Choose one as a background and sweep Adirondack Butterscotch around the edge. Spritz inked card with water, allow to soak in then dry with a heat gun. (The colour-mixing once spritzed diluted the Aged Mahogany and once the Butterscotch ink was added, the resulting colours achieved.)

Trim to create three strips 2.5ins wide. Carefully sweep each edge of the strips with Encore Silver inkpad, add Silver embossing powder then heat-set.

3.       Mount onto black card, Kraft card, black card, Kraft card, black card – in that order. Set aside.

4.        Spritz the other three with water and dry as before. Brush with talc/baby powder/ anti-static bag and stamp sets of leaves using Encore Silver. Add Silver embossing powder. Heat emboss. Cut leaves out.

5.       Stamp a silver butterfly on chosen area of remaining inked card, add black sparkling embossing powder and heat-set. Cut out.

6.       Arrange leaves and butterfly onto pre-prepared background and attach using Glossy Accents.

7.       Paint butterfly with Sparkle pen then add sequins using Glossy Accents. Tip each filament with Glossy Accents then gently feed these filaments under the butterfly head for the antennae.

8.       Dot a flight path with Glossy Accents then add a silver seed bead to each.

9.       Manipulate the leaves and butterfly to suit.

Et voila – Le Papillon ou Mariposa ou Vlinder – depending on your chosen language but otherwise known as my ‘Flight of Fancy!’

Happy crafting!

Shelagh
'The Making Lady'
shelaghscraftyconcepts.blogspot.co.uk

Clarity Challenge

 April 2017

‘It’s Only Words’

‘Dream’

. . . . . . . And here we are in April . . . . . . . . or even ‘Oh, to be in England now that April’s there’ (‘Home Thoughts from Abroad’ - Robert Browning.) . . . . . . . . and . . . . . . the theme is ‘It’s Only Words.’ Where do I begin, I asked myself? Time was very much against me . . . . . . it had to be a couple of quick projects – well, if you believe that , you’ll believe anything! Up therefore, to ‘The Making Lady’s abode and a quick sort through stamps and stencils.

And this is what emerged!

Materials:-

·         Stencil:- Clarity NDSC 15 Dream Catcher

·         Groovi:- Plates - Small Alphabet Picture Frame, Nested Stars; Parchment tools

·         Paper/Cardstock:- 1 x A4 white parchment sheet; 1 x A5 white parchment sheet; 1 x Clarity Papers sheet; 1 x A4 sheet silver mirri; 1 x A4 sheet lilac mirri; 1 x A4 sheet white card; I x A4 black card

·         Misc:- glue pen, fine glitter, white pencil,

Instructions:-

1.       Trace the Dreamcatcher onto parchment and emboss. Add star and words.

2.       Pierce with double needle tool. Cut to form picot edging.

3.       Dot with glue pen and apply glitter.

4.       Mount onto trimmed Clarity paper of choice.

5.       Mat onto silver, black, lilac, white – in that order.

And to my second example:-

Same Stencil - Different Take!!!

The texture paste images on the canvas having been staring at me for a few days and I had one or two ideas as to where the next steps would lead. . . . . but how to get there? As the theme included ‘Words,’ I decided to stamp onto such and my library houses some old poetry books, bought from a country school sale many years ago when, as an eight year old, I loved the richness of leather bound books and one of them, a collection of Longfellow’s works, contained ‘The Song of Hiawatha.’ The rest, well, you can work it out.

Materials:-

·         Canvas:-

·         Stencil:- Clarity NSDC 15 Dreamcatcher

·         Stamps:- Clarity Rope Frame Scene – horse and rider, Scarecrow Field – crows, Native American Man, Alphabet

·         Ink pads:- Staz-On Black, Distress Oxide - Iced Spruce; Distress – Hickory Smoke, Black Soot Artistry – Aged Stucco

·         Paper/ Card:- Recycled Poetry Book, tissue paper

·         Misc:- Transparent texture paste; Tonic Nuvo glitter – Graphite, Silver, Black; pages from poetry book; charcoal pencil; Mod Podge – matte, gloss; Perfect Pearls Mists – Green Patina, Pearl, Mint; Cosmic Shimmer; gesso – white; Faber Castell Polychromos

Instructions:-

1.       Coat canvas with mate Mod podge and apply tissue paper sheet over. Trim at reverse.

2.       Paint ‘tissued canvas’ with white gesso. Allow to dry.

3.       Spray Perfect Pearls Mist to suit. Brush the canvas with a large paint brush to create an uneven finish.

4.       Attach ‘Dreamcatcher’ stencil onto canvas with low-tack masking tape and pull through a layer of texture paste; allow to dry. Leaving stencil in place, sprinkle over silver glitter and pat down gently. Allow to dry.

5.       Pull translucent paste through chosen feather at each corner and add black glitter. Allow to dry.

6.       Pull translucent paste through a different feather around perimeter spaces, add graphite glitter and pat down as before. Allow to dry.

7.       Using Staz-On (Second Generation) and onto poetry pages, stamp Native Indian man, horse and rider, crows, ‘I dreamed a dream in time gone by.’

8.       Colour Native American man using grey Polychromos.

9.       Rip around stamped words to leave a border then edge with Hickory Smoke and Black Soot. Further enhance edges with charcoal pencil and smudge.

10.   Attach all stamped images to suit on canvas using double-sided sticky tape then dab over Mod Podge gloss to cover.

. . . . . . and there we have it!
Stamps and stencil may be found on the Clarity website - claritystamp.com
Best wishes in the Challenge!

Shelagh
'The Making Lady'