Fan of peacocks

I love the extravagance an opulence of peacocks so I have tried to capture it in this card, which is a submission for the Chocolate Baroque Challenge 11.

Materials:

Card:

White Card stock A3
Watercolour paper
Scrap card
Vellum

Stamps:

Chocolate Baroque - Tangled Peacock
Chocolate Baroque - Peacock Parade
Chocolate Baroque - Peacock Fan 

Ink:

Versamark
Distress - Mowed Lawn
Memento - Grape Jelly
Memento - Angel Pink
Distress - Picked Raspberry

Embossing Powders:

Green Glitz 
Blue Glitz
Purple Glitz

Quilling
JJ Quilling Pink 3mm

Extras:
Quilling tool
Quilling board
Stencil brush
water pens
PVA Glue

Method:

1) Start by printing the Peacock parade peacock onto some scrap card to make a template for the centre piece. I made mine "egg" shaped

2) Turn the template over and draw round it in pencil cutting it out of watercolour paper. I flipped it over so that the pecil marks would be on the back

3) Stamp the peacock on your watercolour egg shaped paper using versamark and then sprinkle with the blue glitz embossing powder. Shake off excess blowing where necessary and then cure with a heat tool. When set place in a heavy book to flatten it.

4) Cut 65 strips of 3 inch quilling paper and quill into 8mm coiled circles, use a quilling board to help with the sizing and glue - leave these to dry.

5) Take the fan piece from peacock fans and load up with versamark stamp this onto the vellum and cover in blue glitz, using the heat tool to cure. Remember not to scorch the vellum, repeat until you have 5 blue pieces.

6) Load up the "feather" from tangled peacock and stamp this onto vellum using versamark. Sprinkle with purple glitz and cure with heat tool. Do this until you have 10 pieces of the purple feathers

7) Take the small leaf shaped feather from the peacock parade set and stamp this in vrsamark 6 times onto vellum, sprinkling green glitz embossing powder. Cure the powder with the heat tool.

8) Fussy cut out all the blue, purple and green pieces from the vellum paper and slightly curl the purple ones so that they have some dimension. I gentle squeezed them in half.

9) Retrieve the egg shaped watercolour stamped paper from the heavy book and then blot some of the mowed lawn ink onto the back of an acrylic block, pick up the ink from the acrylic block onto the nib of the water pen and colour and shade the peacock as per the image.

10) Add the grape jelly purple colour in the same way as the mowed lawn colouring the segments as in the image

11) Clean the acrylic block and blot some angel pink onto it, load your stencil brush with the pink, practice swirling on some scrap paper and then move the swirling so that there is a border of light pink around the peacock which is heavier towards to the edge.

12) Run the edge of the egg shape over the distress ink picked raspberry (think of the edge of the card as a knife so it is at right angles to the ink pads) and lightly coat the very edge

13) Let the peacock dry and then flatten again using heavy books

14) Take the quiled circles and using your fingers shape them into tear drops. If you use the "join" where you stuck the paper as the point of the teardrop then it gives the best results.

15) stick the blue fan pieces behind the egg shaped template as per image, next glue the image onto some A3 card, and then add the purple and green feather of the peacock tail.

16)Put the quilled teardrops as a border around the egg shape leaving space at the bottom

17) Cut the outline around the peacock tale leaving a flap at the top (this is to fold over to add the back of that card as it is a custom shape

18) Make the back of the card, using the front as a template - you can skip the blue pieces if you like - it is an "igloo" shape. Stick the back onto the folded flap you created in step 17.

Checkmate

A good friend did well in a chess competition so I made this card to congratulate them, it is also an entry for the Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge 10 and the WOW Embossing Powder Challenge for May.

Materials:

Card:

Pink Card

Orange Card

Mulberry/Raspberry Card

Purple Card

Stamps:

Chocolate Baroque - The Art of Chess 

Ink:

Versamark

Embossing Powders:

WOW Rich Metallic Gold superfine

Pens:

Spectrum Noir Alcohol Pens
LV3
BP2
OR2
PL3

Method:

1) Cut 3 triangles in, one each in orange, raspberry and purple.

2) Matt the orange triangle on to the top half of the card

3) Using a protractor measure out 9 degree (45 degrees divided by the 5 segments) and then use a ruler to mark the line on both the raspberry and the purple cards.

4) Cut each of the triangles into the 5 segments and retain them all

5) Taking the first purple segment, matt this onto the card up against the orange triangle, then take the 2nd segment from the raspberry triangle. Repeat this process alternating the colours until you have a striped triangle underneath the orange one.

6) Assemble the remaining segments starting with raspberry on a cutting matt and then using low tack tape adhere them at the top to stop them moving. Cut across the triangle every 2 cms on the cutting matt 

7) use the pieces you have just cut in step 6 to layer over the lower triangle on the card, you will use alternate rows (2,4,6 or 1,3,5)

8) Using versamark stamp 4 chess pieces on to white card stock and emboss using the gold powder,  and colour them in making each piece a different colour using the spectrum noir pens. Use a corner rounder to finish it off.

9) Using the queen stamp, load it with versamark and stamp onto vellum. Be carfeul when using the heat tool so as not to burn them vellum, colour the queen in using the BP2 ans then cut out using your craft scissors.

10) cut 2 strips of purple card and one strip of raspberry, then cut 2 raspeberry square and 1 purple square. Matt the squares into the middle of the strips

11) Assemble the card as above.

Mother of Dragons

This card was inspired by the Chocolate Baroque Colour Scheme Challenge Number 10, Game of thrones and The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug.

Materials:

Card:

Papermania Premium Smooth Solid Cardstock (Purple, Mulberry, Pink and Burnt Orange - colours are unnamed these are descriptions)

Black Card stock

Plain Vellum Paper

Stamps:

Chocolate Baroque - Here Be Dragons 

Ink:

Versamark

Embossing Powders:

WOW Rich Metallic Gold superfine

Pens:

Spectrum Noir Alcohol Pens
LV3
BP2
OR2
PL3

Instructions

1) Taking the first of the four colours of card, load up the dragon stamp with versamark and stamp onto the card, apply the wow gold embossing powder removing the excess and then heat to set the powder.

2) Repeat step 1 with the three remaining coloured pieces of card.

3) Get a sheet of plain vellum, reload the stamp with versamark and stamp the dragon onto the vellum, repeat this a further three time until you have 4 stamps, again apply the WOW gold embossing powder remove the excess and use the heat tool to set the powder. Be careful not to burn the vellum.

4) Get the pieces of coloured card with the gold dragons and using a sharp craft knife cut each one out.

5) Using the corresponding Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers (LV3, BP2, OR2, PL3) Colour in the wings of the embossed dragon so you have a set of coloured wings for each dragon. Allow the pen to dry and then using craft scissors cut out the wings.

6) Attach the wings to the dragons using adhesive of choice.

7) Cut four 3 inch x 3 inch black squares and attach a dragon to each one. then from the remaining coloured card stock cut a background that is the same colour as the dragon leaving a border.

8) Use the right angle from making the border to create a 0.5cm by 0.5cm corner piece.

9) Assemble the card, starting with the corners first and then moving to the individuals mounted dragons.

Madam Pompadour and Paris

Inspired by a stay in Paris in a hotel that was the former residence of Madam Pompadour, this is a notelet card for a friend

Materials:

Card:
Do-Crafts Sweet Paris 6x6 Paper
Hobbycraft pastel Card pack (cream/Ivory)
Plain Vellum

Stamps:
Do-Crafts - Sweet Paris
Chocolate Baroque - Paris in Spring Set

Embossing powders:
WOW Ebony Superfine

Inks:
Memento Tuxedo Black
Versamark

Instructions:

1) Get the Sweet Paris 6x6 paper and cut a strip that is 5cm x 13cm from the rose and Eiffel tower paper, then cut a strip that is 9cm by 13cm from the green fleur de lys paper. Finally from the rose and swirl striped paper cut one strip that has two swirls either side of the roses. Place the green paper so that it overlaps 1cm of the paper with the Eiffel tower and roses (the width should be 13cm - 4cms of roses and 9cms of green fleur de lys) put the strip over the join.

2) Cut a piece of ivory card that measures 2 inches x 4 inches and load up the Eiffel tower stamp from the do craft sweet Paris cling stamp set with Memento tuxedo black and stamp onto the card.

3) Get your plain vellum and using the Eiffel tower stamp load it up with versamark and stamp it on to the vellum, repeat this again so that you have two Eiffel towers.

4) Sprinkle Ebony wow embossing powder over the versamark ink and then remove the excess and put back in the jar. Using the heat tool emboss the powder, remember vellum can catch with the heat so hold the tool further away and move it faster over your work

5) Once the embossing powder has cured use a good pair of craft scissors to cut them out, fold them both in two with the embossing on the inside - take time as the fold needs to be accurate.

6) stick the two halves together using adhesive and then line them up on the ink stamped copy of the tower. Voila a 3D eiffel tower. Using the pink and ivory striped paper create a border around the tower on the ivory paper.

7) Cut a further piece of cream card that is 2 inches by 2.5 inches, using the chocolate baroque stamp with the sentiment "Paris in Spring" load it with versamark and stamp onto the card. 

8) Using the WOW Ebony embossing powder apply to the ink, shake off the excess and using the heat tool emboss it. Take the sentiment and mount it onto the pink paper that has a white pattern of flower swags.

9) Build up the card using a 14cm x14cm background from the sweet Paris paper pack, I choose the pale pink with the white swirly writing, then add the background you made in step 1, and then place to the two pieces of ivory card so that the sentiment slightly overlaps onto the card that has the Eiffel tower.

A Rainbow of Butterflies

This card was made for the WOW Rainbow Challenge.

Materials and Method:

Inks:
Memento Tuxedo Black
Versamark

Embossing Powders:
WOW Bright White ultra fine
WOW Ebony ultra fine

Stamp:
Chocolate Baroque AYOS April
Kaisercraft Script

Pens:
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers
DR1
OR2
CT4
LG5
BT5
IB3
PL4

Card:
White Card
Plain Vellum

Instructions:

1. Using the memento Tuxedo black ink, ink up the chocolate Baroque AYOS April stamp (large) and print onto white card.

2. Using Spectrum Noir Marker (BT5, IB3, PL4) colour in the blank butterflies on the paper you have just stamped and allow to dry

3. Using the  AYOS April Butterfly stamp (cleaned) load it with versamark ink and stamp onto another sheet of white card. Cover in Wow ebony embossing powder, shake off excess and then heat with a tool to a glossy finish.

4. Reload the AYOS April stamp with versamark ink and stamp onto the vellum, apply the WOW Ebony super fine embossing powder and heat carefully to set. (vellum can burn easily so hold the heating tool further away and move it quickly over the work)

5. Take the first stamped piece of paper with the Blue, Indigo and Violet butterflies, load up the Kaisercraft Script stamp with versamark and stamp over the coloured butterflies (if necessary use pieces of scrap paper as masks). Apply WOW bright white embossing powder, remove excess and apply heat to fix the powder.

6. Take the ebony embossed white card and cut out the spaces of the blank butterflies, this will allow the blue, indigo and violet butterflies to show through on the final card and creates dimension. Use a craft knife to do this.

7. Having cut out the plain butterflies colour in the background using LG5 and the patterened butterflies blending DR1, OR2 and CT4 (spectrum noir alcohol markers)

8. Repeat the blending of DR1, OR2 and CT4 on the WOW ebony embossed vellum and cut the butterflies out using scissors or craft knife.

9. Starting with the Blue indigo and violet butterflies as the lowest layer build the card up, with the vellum butterflies going on last. Bend the wings to create a 3D effect.

Optional:

10. As an option you can use the spectrum noir alcohol markers to custom colour clear rhinestones and add them to the butterfly body, the effect is shown in the photograph above. I used the DR1, OR2 and CT4 pens to colour the rhinestones. I used PVA glue to attach the rhinestones to the card.