Have you seen the new stamp sets from Chiswick? Well if not you are in for a real treat as they as simply wonderful. My favorite I think for now is the heart set. It has a whole bunch of hearts on it – perfect for anything from the grungy teenager to the romantic soul.
For this resist card I used the scribble heart – and simply love the outcome.

step 1 – Stamp the heart image onto white cardstock using Versamark ink pad.

step 2 – Sprinkle the stamped image liberally with white pearl embossing powder.
Shake off the excess embossing powder and return it to the container.

step 3 – Use your Chiswick heat gun and heat the image until the embossing powder is fully melted.
The powder is melted when the image turns shiny all over.
TIP: Make sure the entire image is heated and the powder melted – let it cool down before inking the image.

step 4 – Add some dye ink onto your craft sheet. Mist the ink with water and then dip the embossed image into the ink. The ink will take to the cardstock and the embossed image will resist the ink.
Use a soft cloth to wipe any ink that may sit on top of the embossed surface.

 The white images against the inked background is such a beautiful effect.

 Products used:
Dye Ink Pad- Red rs3291
Clear Stamp – Assorted Hearts (ER-C19) rs3176
3 in 1 Block Set with Interchangable Handle rs3070
Keep an eye out for more of the wonderful stamp sets in the coming blog posts.
Happy stamping!

It really took me ten minutes to make this card,and I simply love the effect achieved. Here’s how i created the background effect
step 1
Select 3-5 colours of ink pads from the Chiswick range – I used a selection of Pearlescent and Dye ink pads. Place the ink pads on your white cardstock and apply pressure to get a coloured square. Ten move onto the next colour of ink pad overlapping colours as you go along.
 step 2
Immediately after “stamping” the ink onto your cardstock, apply a layer of clear embossing powder over the ink squares.
step 3
Heat set the clear embossing powder using your Chiswick heat gun. Remember that once the powder turns shiny it is done.
 The embossing creates a shiny dimensional look making the colours more vibrant.
 For my focal point I stamped a Christmas bauble in a multicolored ink pad and raised it using foam squares for dimension. A baker’s twine bow finishes off  the top of the bauble nicely against a diamante strip.
 Some sewing around the edges of my card adds a nice finishing touch as well as texture. See the texture of the embossing and the interesting effect created by overlapping the ink pad colours? Love it!
 A quick ten minute Christmas card in a few easy steps.
And a list of the products i used from Chiswick
Assorted foam squares sb4430
Pearlescent Ink Pad – Brown rs3350
Pearlescent Ink Pad – Black rs3365
Pearlescent Ink Pad – Green rs3325
Dye Ink Pad- Red rs3291
Heat gun cr1350
Plastic Bone folder cr1200
Remember to contact Denise should you have any problems getting hold of any of our products on 27(0)31 569 5673
Visit our website www.chiswick.co.za to view to entire range of products – or visit your nearest craft store today

I am a winter person – I love the chill and the cooler weather and I love snow although not much of that here in South Africa. However I am also quite realistic about what the cooler weather brings. It brings a greyness over creativity, a time where things just don’t happen as quickly and passionately – it’s almost like we go into a dormant state and we need to find and discover and grow our creativity again. So how do we do that without spending too much money on things we don’t really need – but we think we do. Buying new stash doesn’t necessarily mean you will be creative – a common misconception.

One way I try and get myself to beat the winter creative blues is to shop my own stash. I stand back and just breathe for a while, to get perspective of everything around me. So this past week I took some time to dig through a pile of off-cut papers and used scraps that have been stuffed into a box under my desk, very convenient – out of sight out of mind. It’s a pile I kept after purging and giving away the rest of my scraps. And what I discovered is the most beautiful papers and scraps – the kind of scraps that really speaks to me, and they really aren’t scraps at all but rather large pieces of gorgeous papers I have used before. So I went through the pile and took out some papers and immediately I could envision a layout.

The one thing that I noticed is that it ended up being the same colour palette I have been gravitating towards for the last couple of layouts and cards – funny that. The only thing I could think of is that I am at peace, I am calm and content and in a perfect state for my own creativity. It’s a kind of peace that I always long for. The colour palette is also one that reminds me of snow and spring and beautiful moments – at the end of the day it speaks of a happy mind and soul.

for my title i used some chipboard letters embossed with AC embossing powders

The beautiful metal embellishments from Prima are unique and fun to use

I bet you know a way of beating the winter blues in your own special way 

and we would love to hear from you!

All the products used on this layout is by Prima and is from The Wholesaler - proud distributor of Prima Products in South Africa!

i layered the punched borders at the bottom edge of my card. For the top of my card i used my favorite butterfly stamp together with a quick resist technique. I love the effect! I first completed my technique part and then punched a section of of my card, and then raised it using foam tape to add dimension – this technique is called spotlighting – you are placing the “spotlight” onto a selected area of your card or stamp design.

I embossed the butterfly in clear embossing powder on an inked background – the clear embossing captures the colours underneath in a separate layer!

I then inked over the entire card with a dark brown which resisted the embossed butterfly. I misted, splattered and spritsed different types of ink and water onto the inked background giving it a wonderfully interesting effect in different colours.

I also stamped random images on the background in black and grey – imperfect and random! and here’s how i did it step x step using the Chiswick products: step 1 – Create a background by inking a piece of smooth white cardstock with 2 colours of ink. Leave it to dry.

step 2 – Ink the butterfly stamp with an embossing ink and add clear embossing powder. Heat set the image using your Chiswick heat gun until fully melted.

step 3 - Use a third darker colour of ink and ink over the entire surface. The ink will highlight the embossed butterfly and make it stand out.

step 4 – punch 5 borders from the same patterned paper or cardstock and adhere them overlapping each other. Start from the bottom upwards on your card so that the last border can be decorated and finished off in a creative way!

And there you have another new technique and a different way of how you can creatively use your Chiswick stamp sets! Try this technique on cards and on your next layout, in different colours and using different stamp sets. All these products are available from Chiswick – for more info visit their website and visit your nearest craft store. www.chiswick.co.za

One of my favourite stamp sets from Chiswick is the Butterfly set – it’s one of those classic sets with beautiful images that can work for any craft and any theme. I have used it on scrapbooking layouts, on cards, in mini-albums and altered projects and still i don’t tire of it! For this card I chose embossing to create colour and texture on my focal image. The colours are soft and feminine and I love the look.

The stamp is so versatile and can be used in so many different ways. For this card i embossed the butterfly using 3 colours of embossing powders on the same image for a unique look.

For my background I used the same 3 colours of inks to create a multicolored effect. Once the ink was dry I used the Intricate background stamp and stamped the large background in black on my coloured cardstock. To lighten the colours I added a layer of vellum and sewed it with my sewing machine instead of using an adhesive to adhere it. I also love how the sewing adds some texture.

Above and below my middle section of the card where the focal point is I added two stamped swirls. I used the same stamp and just stamped the one upside down. This creates a pattern and lets your eyes focus on what is happening in the middle.

For this project I used these wonderful products from Chiswick

Visit the Chiswick website to view all the products, or contact Denise  031 – 569 6116 to find your nearest craft store -
Happy embossing until next time!

welcome to today's post. i love textures - not something in your face but something subtle and barely there, gorgeous and delicate. So this week i decided to do one of my favourite things using embossing folders on a simple card.I combine two embossing folders to create a background effect on my cards and layouts. It really is so simple and effective but so so very easy.  You first emboss one pattern and then use a second embossing folder and emboss right over the first embossed design.

I used the Large Velvet Tea Lights embossing folder on a piece of Heidi Swapp patterned paper. Then I used the Only One embossing folder right over it. The first texture remains and gets flattened to a certain extent but is still visible, while the second folder design becomes more prominent.

I created my focal point using the Roses nesting die to create a flower on the front of my card. I cut the flowers out of different papers and then stamped them using a script stamp.

You can see the first design clearly visible just below the embossed and inked top edge of the second embossed image.

and a quick step x step of how i did it all....
emboss your patterned paper using the first embossing folder - this technique works well with most folders, but sometimes two designs are just not compatible and you have to try again and find the ones that ciompliment each other really well.

die-cut the roses out of different patterned papers in different sizes

emboss the paper again with the second embossing folder, and then lightly ink the edges using a sponge dauber and ink pad

I combined the embossed background onto a layer of the beautiful paper from the Damask Delight Paper pad and then added my finishing touches. I love how this card turned out using only a few elements. I hope this inspired you to try and combine your embossing folders together to create unique backgrounds for your cards and layouts.
I used these wonderful products from Couture Creations

Embossing Folder Only One CO723680
 The Marriot Collection Embossing Folder Large Velvet tea lights CO723669

Paper Pads Damask Delight | CO723545  

Premium Nesting Dies  Roses  CO723218

Welcome to another week of Chiswick product inspiration!All the products used in this post can be viewed on-line at their website www.chiswick.co.za. i have to start off saying that i am not a purple person! i am a blue person, and as much as i love colour there are certain things that just do not gel with me! but having said that sometimes a girl is lead into something by photos and this is one of those sometimes! so here we go....
i used a whole bunch of Chiswick ink pads this week to create custom elements on my layout! I used their gorgeous Pearlescent and dye ink pads to colour embossed paper and punched them into smaller circles and used them on my layout.

First i used the dye ink in different ways...

i embossed my cardstock using some Couture Creations embossing folders and smooth cardstock.

i then inked the cardstock by lightly rubbing the dye ink pad across the raised areas just catching the design to add colour to it - depending on how heavy your hand is, you can only ink the raised areas, or by applying a bit more pressure you can ink the areas in between as well - the choice is yours and the options are limitless

then i used another piece of embossed cardstock and the same dye ink, but this time working on my craft sheet and adding some water to create a different look

turn your dye ink pad over and press it onto your craft sheet transferring the ink onto the craft sheet

mist the ink with water until your can see the ink colour forming little drops on your craft sheet

now press the embossed piece of cardstock into the wet ink but this time using the de-bossed back side of the cardstock piece. you will lift colour onto the cardstock in selected areas adding colour - leave it to dry well before punching it into circles to use

TIP if you punch wet cardstock the paper will get stuck inside your punch and cause a jam - rather let your paper dry really well or use your Chiswick heat gun to dry the paper before punching it

I then turned to the beautiful shimmering Pearlescent ink pads to create more embossed accent circles

I used the same smooth cardstock and embossed a different pattern onto it

with my Pearlescent ink pad i repeatedly pressed the ink pad onto the cardstock adding a deep rich colour to the cardstock - i used my heat gun to dry the ink before using it. TIP This type of ink will take much longer to dry on certain types of cardstock - be careful to not use it and transfer ink onto your hands and cause smudges on your layout or photos

and just for fun i finished off my very purple layout with some of the Chiswick paper flowers

i loved using all the different shades of purple inks to create unique accents for my layout. To see all the difefrent products and additional colour choices head on over to the Chiswick website or give Denise 031- 569 6116 a call to find your closest store of your favourite Chiswick goodies

Products i used this week are:
Paper Petals – Lilac 30 pieces pf1004
General Purpose Scissor 215mm cr0930
Dye Ink Pad- Pink rs3292
Pearlescent Ink Pad – Purple rs3355

Have a wonderful and colourful week!