Final post for Chocolate Baroque

 Hello there! Rachel here for my final post as a regular DT member - its been a pleasure working on this team but I find myself moving in a different direction and heading off on a different road! I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint in any way I can - and that includes reducing my purchases of crafting items. I will continue to make purchases but hopefully they will decrease - and I will get time to use all the wonderful stamps I already have. 

These small stamps can be used in so many ways - as the other DT member have already shown this month - here's a couple of ideas from me..... simple stamping to create a wreath....

masking off the card to produce a stamped border ...

And using stamping and stencilling together to create a tag.

Have a great day!

Thanks for your time!

Rachel x

The real meaning of Christmas at Christmas Card Club.

 Hello there. How can it already be the second Christmas Card Club visit of 2022? Well it is and the theme this time is The Real Meaning of Christmas. I have again done two cards of my design and two recycled cards....

For this first two I used stamps from IndigoBlu plus distress oxides.

For my recycled cards I simply cut the cards using a hexagon die.

My mum has made three cards using Lavinia stamps and Apple Blossom - sorry I don't know more details.

Hope you have a great day! I will no doubt be walking somewhere again!

Hugs

Rachel xx

Phoenix from the flames

 Hello there - time for more inspiration for a year to sparkle and shine at Countryview Challenges. This time I decided to use a stamp from Crafty Individuals - a phoenix to help you rise from the ashes of the past couple of years - lets hope so!

I have used metallic embossing powder in the background and a combination of luscious powders and watercolour pens on the bird and flames. Again the sparkle and shine doesn't show so well but trust me - its there!

I hope you have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel xx

Penultimate Chocolate Baroque post

  Hello there,

Rachel here today with my makes from the morning show later in December. I love all the stamps featured here - they are so very beautiful! In this first one I did a little repeat stamping then enjoyed colouring the Ophelias using water colour pens.

I used water colour pens again to colour this image and added it to a black background. I also added some repeat stamping to the card blank.

More water colour pens - you can just tell I was enjoying colouring these images in can't you?

And yes - you've guessed it - more water colour pen colouring - this time with more pastel shades.

Finally I was a little more inventive and used this stamp to create a porcelain piece. I stamped in ink then overpainted in glaze before firing in the kiln at PottyRoos in Morecambe.

My penultimate post for Chocolate Baroque. I hope i have brought you a little inspiration!

Big hugs

Rachel x

A couple of walks and a card and a pot!

Hello there! How are you doing? I hope you have had a good weekend. I had a ramblers leaders course followed by a short walk - and then another short walk with my friend Anita.

This is the weir at Halton on the Lune - they have a hydroelectric station there and this is where the water gets channelled in.

This is the river Lune looking towards Ingleborough. I live in such a beautiful part of the world - I feel so lucky.

I also got change to make a card for my nephew too ... I used Crafty Individuals stamps ...

And finally last week I picked up this ceramic piece from PottyRoos...this is made using stamps from HobbyArt.

Time for another week at the grindstone now!

Hugs

Rachel xx

Garden samples from Chocolate Baroque

  Hello there! This is the first of my posts from the December Chocolate Baroque shows  - these samples are all from the show early in December - and involve garden themed stamps.

This first one just uses a section of the Toadstool garden and I have put it into a frame from a show many moons ago - the whole this is black and white apart from the main fungi which I coloured using mica powders.

This second sample was simply stamped and coloured using watercolour pencils. Its such a lovely image.

And finally the FolkArt garden - I again coloured this using water colour pencils but I also added some touches of mica powders here and there.

I hope these samples have given you some inspiration in different ways you can used your stamps.

There will be two more posts coming during the month from me - but then no more regular ones. I have hung up my Chocolate Baroque and IndigoBlu DT hats in an attempt to get more me time! 

Have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel xx

Black and Gold at Christmas Card Club

 Hello there! 

Well it may seem a little crazy - but here I am with the first post of the year for the Christmas Card Club. I have made 4 cards using a die set from Tim Holtz - and you will see my santa has a slightly different colour scheme - not exactly gold but the best I could do!

I have mounted my santa onto some snowy paper from Little Claire that I have had in my collection for a very long time and finally got around to using.

Here are some more that I made using recycled Christmas cards that people sent me this year - I am determined to make better use of things! 

And now for my mum's cards ....

For this first one she has used Sue Wilson Dies

And for her second she used tattered lace products and a recycled tree.

I hope you have a great day! Enjoy your Sunday! 

Hugs

Rachel xx

A year to sparkle and shine at Countryview Challenges

 Hello there! And a happy 2022! Its here - a bright shiny new year full of hope! And to celebrate we have a new challenge at Countryview Challenges that is all about a year to Sparkle and shine. We want you to include some bling, sparkle and shine.

My make for the first of the month is this one is made using a stamp set from Pink Ink and I coloured in using various luscious powders as watercolours. There is much more sparkle in real life ...it is hard to photograph sparkle!

You can see more inspiration over on the Countryview Challenges blog here

Have a great day - oh and Happy New Year!

Rachel x