Steampunk beetle box!

There are two new sets of stamps just released at Chocolate Baroque - Steampunkery and Steampunk Travel see them here and grab them on special offer until the end of the month.

For this project I used a round wooden box which was actually from my favourite chocolates from Booja Booja. Sadly these days the chocs only come in boring cardboard boxes!

I painted the box in a selection of acrylic paints including olive green and added a gold and lilac mica spray to add some patination. I cut the Tim Holtz die and covered it with rusty embossing powder. It was almost the perfect size for the box. I embossed the beetle on black and gold papers and built up layers. For the beetle's body, I stamped onto copper metal, added texture with a wheel tool and puffed it out with a paper stump. I added more mica spray to tone down the colour a little. I embossed the clock in copper EP on cream card and stuck it into a bottle top.

I really enjoyed making this project, even though I have to confess steampunk takes me out of my comfort zone! Pop over to the Design Team blog using the link in my side bar to see some of the amazing projects my DT team mates have been dreaming up! Leave a comment there and you will be in with a chance of winning both sets of stamps.

Hope you are having a good week!

Elaine x

J and K tags!

It's that time again when those of us taking part in the Alpha tag swap over at Chocolate Baroque find our who our tags have gone to and whose creations we have received. Many of us found these letters quite a challenge this month. I chose J for Joy.

For this tag I chose a couple of stamps with the word joy from different Chocolate Baroque sets and then other stamps with happy thoughts and connotations! I used a mask for the background and then shaded with  pool and stream Adirondack dye inks. I added a little charm with a word which says laugh and some little sequin flowers with gem centres.

My K card was Klimt themed.

For this I used a swirly Cuttlebug embossing folder which I coloured with Micamagic bright gold reinker. I used a Chocolate baroque Klimt bauble stamp with I coloured with copper MicaMagic reinker used as a paint and different colours of Inktense pencils. I triple embossed the whole thing. I finished off with some die cut letters from the Tim Holtz Alphabetical die.

These aren't my favourite tags from those I have done, they had to be done in a bit of a hurry and I feel it shows. At least I am managing to keep up so far though. We have three to make next month so that will be a challenge!

Hope you are having a good weekend, enjoying the long weekend bank holiday in the way you enjoy best. Tomorrow we have a picnic planned with friends, although it looks like we may be rained off and have to retire to an indoor venue instead!

Elaine x

Sunny sunflowers - a necklace!

A new set of stamps has been launched this week by Chocolate Baroque, a lovely seasonal set of Sunny Sunflowers which promises plenty of scope for bright seasonal projects.

Here is a project from me, using some of the leaves from the set.  

For this project I stamped the leaves onto mount board as a guide to cut them out with my powerful Tim Holtz scissors, leaving a small border around the edge. I then embossed the edge with an embossing pen and turquoise metallic EP, before re-stamping with the leaf and embossing that too. I coloured the leaves with H2O paints in shades of turquoise and green. I fixed some jewellery fittings onto the larger leaves with pliers and then stuck them together to form a panel which was the right shape for the wire choker necklace.

The stamps are on special offer until the end of June, so pop over to the link above to bag a bargain. You can also be in with a chance of winning the stamps if you pop over the to DT blog here  where you will also find a link to the CB Facebook page where there is another chance to win a set.

Hope you have enjoyed a lovely sunny weekend.

Elaine x

A card with some backbone!

Recently my dear friend Debbie asked me to make a suitable card for her osteopath. She wanted a spinal theme in there somewhere and I must confess I was somewhat flummoxed. However, my OH rose to the challenge and suggested using the curve of the spine for a landscape - here is the result!

I started with a computer generated picture of a spine, which I carefully cut out. I inked the sky using the old favourite scalloped nestie masking technique and a masked sun. I added Crafty Individuals trees in suitable places and a swallow from an Artemio set. I used various green inks to colour the foreground and added grasses, ferns and flower heads with a selection of Crafty Individuals and Inkylicious stamps. I matted and layered a couple of times and finished off with a couple of little ready made butterfly embellishments.

Apparently the recipient loved the card, so job well done!

Elaine

Lacy fragments & haberdashery

This is a card I made as part of the Chocolate Baroque Design Team for the launch of two gorgeous new Stamp sets which can be found here in a great multibuy offer.

Once again I have to apologise for this picture. This one was a real so and so to get a picture that picked up both the detail and the glitter, so I took it outside which means the pink is a little pale compared to real life!

I started by stamping the large lace fragment flower in black on shocking pink. I embossed the word Beauty from the Artistic Expressions plate which has loads of useful words and the dress form from the Haberdashery set using Stuart Gill Marcasite powder which is black with a rough glitter finish. I cut different elements from black glitter card using a Spellbinder Edgeability die and threaded matching narrow pink velvet ribbon. I finished the card by adding black gems (from Poundland), two flowers from Primark earrings and leaves cut from black velvet paper using a Crealie die - shape 11 - available from Chocolate Baroque which must be one of my most frequently used dies, although I usually use the other leaf on this plate.

Hope you all have a great week.

Elaine x

A birthday card

This last week has seen the birthday of my lovely crafty friend Lesley. This is the card I made for her.

I know Lesley likes green so that started my thinking. I used the lovely Webster's Pages paper as a background, added a strip of 7 Gypsies conservatory paper and then added some stamping. I used the Inkylicious stamp Juliana face,inked with sepia Versafine, adding a little coloured pencil highlighting and matted onto more 7 Gypsies paper. The sentiment is the lovely Stampotique Secret Garden Stamp from Jo Capper Sandon as available from Happy Daze. The finishing touch was a Vintaj butterfly as I know Lesley loves them.

Looking forward to some time in my secret garden this weekend, the weather forecast is looking quite promising and goodness knows we all need some sunshine right now.

Elaine x

Snuggly Pixies

This is a card I made recently for a friend to show I was thinking of her. It uses a lovely new stamp called Star Gazing from Lavinia, plus an old favourite sentiment from a Kaisercraft clear set.

I bought the stamp at Ally Pally and kept it on my craft desk until I actually used it for once! I love those little hats, they are like something from the 1950s best dressed toddler wear catalogue! If they weren't silhouettes I reckon these little ones would be clothed in hand knitted garments! I expect my Mum still has a suitable pattern in her Woman's Weekly archives!! So cute and nostalgic.  

The image and sentiment are stamped in black Versamark. The stamps around the edge are a mixture of Lavinia and Inkylicious grasses. The butterflies are Lavinia again. The background is inked with some Tumbled Glass DI, definitely some Denim Adirondack dye ink, plus something I can't remember! The wings have a little stickles on them.

I am currently being serenaded by a late black bird as the day draws to a close, it is competing with Katie Melua . It is a rather lovely combination!


Hope you are all planning something nice this weekend. Let's hope for a little sunshine. My heart needs a little lift I think, although our apple blossom is just starting to burst through which always makes me feel brighter, it is so beautiful.
 
Elaine x