3 Things - Blossom Interactive Journaling {by Jenny Marples}

Hi everyone, it's Jenny Marples with you today for a 'With 3 Things' challenge post. 

This feature on the PaperArtsy Blog is where 3 identical items are sent to 3 members of the PaperArtsy Blogging team. Typically we will receive a stamp, a stencil and a colour product.

We have no clue what PaperArtsy HQ is going to send, the whole idea of this challenge is to do something crafty in our personal style with these 3 items. We can incorporate other PA products into the mix if we feel it is necessary and for this project I did.

So let's take a look at what I received from PA HQ ...

The '3 Things' I got from PaperArtsy HQ included the Alison Bomber stamp set EAB46 (Apple Blossom Edition) the Sara Naumann stencil PS178 and a bottle of 'Rose' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint FF29. This collection immediately transported me to springtime in Paris so I chose to create an interactive page for my Paris art book, making use of a photo I took from the apartment we stayed in many years ago.

Let's take a closer look at what I made ...

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Wanting to achieve a 'loose' feel to the painting I stamped the flower/leaf images onto watercolour card multiple times.

You'll have seen before how I love to add Fresco Finish Drying Retarder and water to Fresco Finish paints to mimic the look and feel of watercolour. 'Hey Pesto' (FF49) and 'Chocolate Pudding' (FF42) Fresco Finish paints are already translucent/semi-opaque so it just takes a few drops of water to make these work in the same way.

Let's take a closer look at what I did ...

Add water to the part of the image you want to paint before dropping a little colour onto the same area. Allow it to flow and dry, repeating the process if you want to get a deeper look. To prevent colours blending when wet paint each section in turn, allowing them to dry before moving on. And finally, if like me you are heavy handed with paint application try holding your brush towards the end of the handle for a lighter touch.

I love cutting around images, breaking them into smaller sections so they can be pieced together in a different way from the original design.

Layer one of the budding branches and one of the leaf clumps onto voile/net/muslin, trim away and add scraps of lace/ribbon behind.

Attach these clusters securely to the back of your chosen photo/image.

Add more leaves/flowers to cover the reverse sides so they look as pretty on the back as they do on the front. In the close ups below you'll see how I combined pieces of the stamped images together.

You can also stamp on your chosen photo/image using some of the words in the stamp set.

To create a frame for you photo/image dab a piece of paper into semi-diluted 'Rose' Fresco Finish paint. Stamp the script image from the set into the centre and tear around it, leaving the border intact.

You can stitch around the edge of the Rose frame before adding it to your journal page. Then stick the photo on top.

Lets take a closer look at what I did ....

For a step by step on how to create a collage background like the one on this page see my last blog post HERE. I applied Grunge Paste through part of the stencil, sanding it back when dry to achieve a smoother surface. It's then a simple process of using the the stamped script, leftover leaves and some of the remaining words and images from the stamp set to finish the second journal page.

Here's what my art book spread looks like when completed. And the lovely part is I still get to see the whole of my photo when the floral clusters are lifted up.

And here are some close ups showing how it all came together.

I enjoyed finally being able to use this photo in my art book with the lovely images/words from the stamp set and stencil. Hopefully it has give you some of your own ideas for creating interactive journaling like this with your own photos/images.

Thank you for joining me today.

Jenny

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Layered Tissue Tags with EGL {by Keren Baker}

Hello everyone, Keren here with you today for a closer look at Gwen Lafleur’s exciting new release. We all know Gwen for her gorgeously detailed stamps that bring a little slice of another part of the world. I wanted to do some lovely layering with them. 

I also used some of the PaperArtsy Printed Tissue in Frames PT2 and the new Paris Map tissue paper. I used Green Patina, Firebird, Yellow Submarine, London Bus & Cerulean PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics.

I'm not really one for multi-layered projects, and yet Gwen's designs drew me down that path. Years ago my Dad asked if I could give him a box of some of my card designs so he could use of them if he needed one, and I thought I'd create a simple tag holder that would make an equally useful present for someone.

This is the simple design using an A4 sized piece of brown graph-design card. Just fold, glue and then add glue at either edge of the pocket.

I didn't want to cover all the background with stamping and tissue paper; just enough to give a little extra texture.

The next part was deciding how to use the stamps in a way that didn't overwhelm the design, so I wanted to stamp them and build up transparent layers. Acetate was the go-to for this.

To create the pocket tags, I added the tissue paper. A little tip, is to use PVA style glue and immediately spread it thinly over the surface with your finger. It helps avoid as many wrinkles. You can also layer up different pieces like the link on the bird's beak.

The next part of layering was to add Grunge Paste but in a pared back way. I used the Sara Naumann stencil PS219.

I've already talked about some of the simple techniques that I've used, but one that really gives dimension to images is paper piecing. You just need to stamp images multiple times in different colours, trim them out and add them to the base image.

Another really easy technique is to layer up multiple transparencies just like I did on the smaller tag. It doesn't clutter, it just adds a little extra.

Now I just needed to add layer upon layer and create a set of tags. Here's the finished line-up. I trimmed out the boy's hand so he was holding onto the flower like an umbrella.

Even the miniature stamps in set EGL49 are fabulous for adding details to the punched circles.

Add a little colour to the stencilled Grunge Paste and you can paint on the opposite side of the stamped acetate to give pops of colour.

The frame stamps work beautifully when you trim out the outer parts of the frames or even the centres.

You might be able to tell that one of my favourite stamps was the crosses image. Super useful for adding detail and texture. Using some of the smaller stamps to use to pull the inner tag is a fun detail.

On the reverse of this tag, I used tissue paper, stamped directly on it, used trimmed out acetate stamped frames and stamped over painted strips onto the tag.

I loved creating a design by playing around with smaller tag elements. This idea could be  extended by creating a multi-paged booklet with one or two tags per page. It would also be a nice record to see your artistry develop over time. Why not try layering tags in a journaling spread? See them as the main event rather than an decorative extra. 

Thanks for joining us on the PaperArtsy blog tonight. If you're relatively new here, this blog contains so much inspiration. If you've ever wanted to see how one of the blogging team or designers used a product, just type in the details in the search box on the right, and you'll have a plethora of inspiration right there!

See you again soon,

Keren x

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