Wednesday, 1 May 2013

A touch of Baroque



Good morning everybody.

Yesterday we heard the Cuckoo all the first time this year, he's a few days late but who can blame him when it's still rather cold, but his arrival usually heralds that spring has arrived so I'm really hoping that the misty start this morning means a nice day will follow.

I've been rather lucky to have a play with some Chocolate Baroque stamps (links to them all on the thumbnails below) and thought I would share a couple of the finished samples with you. The one above had a background of Dylusions lemon zest, cut grass,and fresh lime. I randomly stamped the background then added some pearl acrylic paint through sequin waste to add a bit more interest. The butterfly is from the Penny Black social butterfly set and the inspirational quote is Artistic Outpost.


For this card I stamped the focal image also from Chocolate Baroque, coloured with Pan Pastels which I also used for the background and stamped some bulrushes which are Lavinia and Art Impressions leaves around the top.

I would like to enter the top card into:

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Passport to Fun - I'm in India !
Simon Says challenge - Happy Mail - I figure it's a happy sentiment

Hope you all have a good Wednesday.

62 comments:

Stamps and Paper said...

Lovely card Brenda love the vibrant colours on your fist card and love the serenity of your second card

Anne

Jacqui's little piece of England said...

Two beautiful cards Brenda I especially like the second one what a lovely scene
jacqui x

AnyOldCraft said...

Stunning cards as always Brenda.
I just love your backgrounds.
There is always something to look at.
Good idea on stamping/painting through a stencil.
Yep Spring may actually be here although I think up in Scotland they still have the threat of snow.
Have a great day hun :)

Julie

Helen said...

Stunning cards, Brenda. Hope you are well, I am fed up with cold, so it's nice to see some sun even if only every other day!!

Marianne said...

Lovely cards: love especially the bright greens in the first one and the lovely butterfly.
xxx Marianne

Beryl said...

Beautiful cards Brenda. Love it when you get out your inks.
Beryl xx

ellyscard creatief said...

Beautiful cards Brenda.
Gr Elly

Words and Pictures said...

One of my favourite sentiments, and I love the exotic setting of the first card. The beautiful colour blending of the sky behind the heron (stork?!) is so lovely!
Alison x

Jackie said...

Two wonderful cards Brenda, I love them both and wouldn't like to choose between them but green is my favourite colour... :o)
Jackie xx

Wendy L said...

These look so pretty Brenda. xxxxx

Sonia said...

Hello my dear friend, I want to apologize if I can not comment on all your beautiful work, but I finally found a full-time job ^_^
Will I be able to visit you on weekends only .. in Italy today is Labor Day and we are all at home^_^
You have done a marvelous creations as always
Have a wonderful day^_^
Big hug,
Sonia

Merry said...

So beautiful Brenda, beautiful colours on that first card and wonderful scene on the second card.

Fliss said...

These are just gorgeous Brenda. Amazing inky effects.
Hugs, Fliss xx

Sasha said...

Two more beautifully created cards, Brenda x

Tanya said...

Gorgeous cards Brenda, I love the colours on the first one! and the sentiment is great too :) I love the cityscape too - beautiful :) The second card is beautiful as well, that bird is so graceful looking!

Tags xx

rachel said...

both cards are so stunning Brenda - really wonderful backgrounds and that bird is just stunning xx

slimwitch said...

I love the designs on the cards specially the quote "Do more of what makes you happy" Another wonderful creation worth sharing

McCrafty's Cards said...

Both cards are beautiful Brenda, I love the colours on the first and the butterfly, I love the scene on the second.
Kevin xx

Sue said...

Sorry to repeat what everyone had said but these really are stunning Brenda. I love the designs and the colours are wonderful
Sue xx

Von said...

Two lovely cards Brenda :)
Von ♥

Paula (PEP) said...

I couldn't get over how you used the white spots in the first one - from the white pearls to the white spots in the background & then the white edging on the leaves & the brilliant light shining from the towers. Love the sentiment too. The second is beautifully restful & I just love your colouring of the crane with the spectacular matting of colours.
Paula (PEP)

Juls said...

Stunning cards!! Hugs Juls xxx

Rosalee said...

Beautiful cards Brenda. I love the beautiful green colors and the pearls on the butterfly add a beautiful textured look. I also love the twine along the side of your second card. I have some twine but I fail to use it on my cards. Thanks for the inspiration.
Hugs, Rosalee

walchowDesign said...

Love the first lime card, Brenda! All the multi-layer of colours are so beautifully blend and the touch of white circles makes the card very interesing!

Crafting Queen said...

Two wonderful cards, love the green one.

Bev Henwood said...

Both these cards are beautiful ~ I love Lavinia stamps but don't use them often enough ~ fabulous colours and designs. Bev xx

Desire Fourie said...

Its always a delight popping in here. Your creations really lifts the spirit and how true is it, we should be more kind to ourselves.
Hugs
Desíre
{Doing Life – my personal blog}

mags said...

Two beautiful cards Brenda. Particularly like the first one.
Mags
x

scrappymo! said...

Two wonderful cards Brenda. The first is all inky and fun with agreat butterfly! I bought some of the TH stains and dye and want to try these techniques...hopefully I will get the courage and inspiration to try this look out as yours is so inky and pretty.
The second one is such a great scene...you should put in in one of those scene challenges...that bird image is painted beautifully and the addition of the folliages looks great.
I've been a bit too busy in the garden lately so my card creativity is a bit stifled! Hopefully we will soon be finished...as much as we can till it gets too hot and then we will have to work out there again in the fall...it is soon going to be too ot to transplant...suposed to go to 29 here on Sunday!

Unknown said...

Wow Brenda these are two stunning cards! I love the scenes with the silhouette images.. last time I took out some stamps that I could use as silhouettes to make a card but didn't manage to make anything :( ..

catherine said...

These are both just beautiful Brenda. Love the dylusion colours. Great stamps to play with too
x catherine

Rhonda Miller said...

Wow, these are beautiful. I love that bird. TFS.

pinky said...

Both very gorgeous cards Brenda but the first one is so amazing!!

Lisa Jane said...

oh wow that first card is gorgeous .. i just love the zesty lime .. perked me up no end .. the second card ... its a Bird! You know me and birds!
Lisa x

May said...

Gorgeous cards Brenda...Love the background of the first... Hugs May x x x

Rossella said...

Hi Brenda, Two lovely creations, as always. The background in the first one is beautiful and so is the scene on the second.
Rosie x

Lorraine said...

Two gorgeous cards Brenda. I love the colours and sentiment on the first and the fabulous scene on the second.
Lorraine x

Hanneke said...

Both cards are great Brenda! I love the colors and sentiment on the first card, and the scene you created and the twine on the second card! Hugs, Hanneke

Tedz said...

These are lovely as well Brenda. I love the colours you used in your first card and your second card is completely different - so much more tranquil to rest one's eyes. I haven't heard a Cuckoo at all this year well not yet anyway and I haven't seen the Swift's yet either. Pauline xx

Kat said...

Stunning cards Brenda. In the first one the contrast between the vibrant colours of the background and the black silhouettes of the leaves and buildings looks amazing. Love that sentiment. And the lovely scene in the second one is just gorgeous. Love the colours.

It's been mostly lovely and sunny here today but the wind is quite wild and very cold. Nice if you could find a little sheltered space!

Take care,

Kat xx

susiestacey said...

Hi Brenda, apologies first for being such a bad blogger l did not realise l was so far behind commenting until l came to your blog and WOW so many beautiful pieces of art, love the peruvian lily card. And just look at all those doggies... are they all yours??? Holly looks like she is really at home in your craft room, Toby's favourite spot at the mo is on the settee in the conservatory (mine too)Take care and hope you are feeling a bit better x Susan x

Debbie said...

Hi dearie, two beautiful cards.Love the zesty colours and stamping in the first one and the calm subtleness to the second card.Gorgeous. Thank you for your lovely comments lately, really appreciate them.Hope today was as nice as it was in lovely yorkshire.Take care.Hugs Debbie x

Kathleen said...

Two very different but both equally fabulous cards. Great backgrounds and beautiful colours on both cards.
Well finally a blue tit is building a nest in out box, just about given up for this year but the last couple of days it has been very busy and still sleeping in at night too.

Kath x

Cathy said...

Hi Brenda these cards are gorgeous, the colours are stunning :) Cathy

Sally H said...

Two beautiful cards, Brenda! I love them both. Hoping to find some time to play this weekend - thank goodness for bank holidays!

Donna Ellis said...

Two lovely cards, Miss Brenda! Wonderful textures and colors. Both cards have a lot of dimension to them with your choice of images and colors. Very pretty! hugs, de

Anonymous said...

Stunners again Brenda, so loving those Dylusions, they are so bright and intense... yep they are on my wishlist lol!!!

Love the gorgeous silhouettes stamps and the quote too!

Love that gorgeous crane and all the lovely inking!

Bridie said...

Stunning card, I love the soft color palette and the twine is a great touch

Thanks for stopping by my blog

Have a fabulous day

Hugs

Bridie xxxx

debby4000 said...

Two amazing cards Brenda.
luv
Debby

Whisper said...

WOW they are both simply stunning, Luv Sam x

Gerrina said...

Sorry for my late apperience here...it is may-vacation and the days here are totally unstructured....
Love both cards; both great design, but the second is my favorite... thik that´s because we saw one nearby yesterday...
So great how you combine all this different stamps to fine artwork! Hugs, gerrina

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Two fantastic card. I especially love the first one, the fresh greens are wonderful.

nnalorac said...

Two gorgeous cards Brenda, first one my favourite, love the butterfly and the sentiment! I do! lol. No cuckoo calling here yet, another miserable day here. Have a lovely weekend. Carolxx

joolaa said...

interesting cards!

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Vibrant color and love the city scape! The butterfly is perfect! Thank you for traveling with us this week here at Simon Says Stamp & Show!

Julie said...

A couple of beauties here B, as you know I'm a great admirer of your masked moons,love the colours here,haven't tried PanPastels,maybe something for the future. Have a lovely weekend my friend. X

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Hi Brenda, both designs are beautiful, but I am partial to the design with CB images. I love your combination of images & stenciling and the vibrant greens. The windows you added in the buildings is a great touch. Take care, Shirleyx

Lindsay Craftymonster81 said...

These are both so gorgeous Brenda, I love the scene with the heron, beautiful colours and I love the string but the green one has to be my favorite, I am absolutely loving these green cards you have been making (green is my favorite colour) and the background stamping looks amazing, absolutely stunning work
Lindsay xx

loulou said...

I love that gorgeous blended background on the crane. I'll have to make some space in my craft room for some pan pastels now, lol.

Unknown said...

Two more gorgeous cards. What a coincidence, I was watching Barbara Gray this morning and she was using a flamingo stamp. Love your scene. Maddy x

cheiron said...

AMAZING inking. Love the color combos on both of your creations. Thank you for playing along in the Happy Mail Challenge with us over at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog this week!

Suzanne C said...

Beautiful cards! Love the mix of inks and images on the first card. The second card is so serene and elegant. Glad you joined us at Simon Says Stamp and Show.