Greetings from PaperArtsy HQ,
We love this time of year as we take a look back at the wonderful contributions on the blog for the year that has just concluded.
Did you learn something new this year? Did you achieve a personal goal, or tick something off the bucket list? Were you challenged in ways you least expected? Every year seems to bring unexpected twists and turns, and we hope that you are finishing the year strong, happy and keen to learn more new crafty techniques and ideas from our capable bloggers.
Today we look back at Topic 1: Miniature, Topic 2: Mattints and the designer focus for Topic 3 was Vintage PaperArtsy stamp collections.
Did you learn something new this year? Did you achieve a personal goal, or tick something off the bucket list? Were you challenged in ways you least expected? Every year seems to bring unexpected twists and turns, and we hope that you are finishing the year strong, happy and keen to learn more new crafty techniques and ideas from our capable bloggers.
Today we look back at Topic 1: Miniature, Topic 2: Mattints and the designer focus for Topic 3 was Vintage PaperArtsy stamp collections.
The theme overarching these topics was Glazed. We used top layers, shiny or sparkly layers in so many ways. We do love a theme that is easy to apply to any topic, and throws another challenge in the direction of our bloggers.
Speaking of challenges, this year we also introduced the concept of 'With 3 Things' where bloggers were sent 3 things and challenged to do something. For example, a colour, a stamp or a stencil. It is interesting to see how each blogger interprets similar products in their own creative way, highlighting how versatile products can be.
We are fortunate to have such wonderful bloggers who share stunning ideas. Let's take a look back at some of the highlights from these 3 topics.
Topic 1: Miniature
We started the year small, with miniature art! This is always a favourite. Why is it that we find all things small cute, like mini books, fairy gardens or decorated inchies? From scaled down projects to tiny magical worlds, this topic intro post is big on inspiration and mini eye-candy!
As mentioned above, a new format on the blog this year was 'With 3 Things', where 3 bloggers craft with 3 (almost identical) products. 'Miniature' was perfect to launch this concept!
In this first challenge, we particularly loved this decorated paper clip by newbie to the team, Mi Mii, who also brings a touch of French creativity to the blog. Head to her original post HERE to appreciate all the details of this little mash-up!
Speaking of trinkets, did you spot Renata Peley's amazing spread of shrink plastic critters? Super fun and vibrant. Be sure to check her original post HERE as she really breaks down the process and explores different shrink plastics and colouring media. Perfect to get you started!
We loved this 'world in a tin' by Riikka Kovasin (Paperiliitin). She beautifully included the 'Glazed' theme to add dimension to her elements. Check out how real that key looks! Her original post HERE is also well worth the read as an interesting example of the twists and turns a project can take along the way, and how different the outcome can be to what was initially planned.
We simply can't leave out everyone's favourite type of miniature project: mini books! This fantastic specimen is by the talented Jenny Marples. It is barely 12cm, or one Fresco bottle, tall! There's so much to feast the eyes on as all the pages are delicately decorated. You can see all of them in her original post HERE.
Topic 2 : Mattints
Introduced at the end of 2023, Mattints are the newest PaperArtsy colour product. These tinted matte glazes (Mattint = Matte Tint) are also excellent glues and sealants and super versatile to pair with other products. Completely transparent, with a subtle buildable tint, they pair wonderfully with infusions, but naturally, we are still discovering a myriad of new ways to use them! Check a few of those ideas in the Topic intro post, as well as the release posts announcing the following 12 colours during the year:
- November 2023: Warm fall colours with Glow, Nutty, Fern and Shark
- February 2024: Bright summer colours with Squeezed, Jam, Dragonfly and The Pink
- September 2024: Subtle winter colours with Greenstone, Ash, Ladybug and River Deep
Our first pick is this very educational exploration of Mattints by Amanda Pink (p1nkart). She shows the colours on many different substrates and also tries several way of applying them, as well as some colour mixing. So head to her original post HERE to get started!
We absolutely love this fantastic experimental pieces by Floss Nicholls (flossWORKSHOPart). One Mattint, so many techniques! Check her original post HERE for a full mixed media journey and her video HERE for more detail on her process.
Staying with tags, Nikki Acton (a2a.craft) created these two beautiful pieces with vibrant colours. Check out the contrast between the grungy images and the popping colours! Her original post HERE is an interesting read, exploring how to build colour, both in depth and complexity.
Topic 3 : Focus on Vintage PaperArtsy stamp collections
PaperArtsy is now 20 years old! We thought this milestone was a great opportunity to celebrate our OG collections, the ones that started it all and coined the PaperArtsy style. From the initial A6 Ink & the Dog and Urban Snapshots stamp sets, to the continually expanding 'Minis' and 'Hot Picks' Collections, and let's not forget the 'bigger is better' Vintage Ink & the Dog series. You can check out the topic intro to learn more about PaperArtsy history and feast your eyes on some of the fabulous makes created along the way!
We hope you didn't miss this simple but very effective jewellery set by Ann Barnes (aksbarchitect CREATES). The stamp design certainly is the focus here - so striking! Her process is quite detailed so do not hesitate to head to her original blog post for more info.
We can't leave out this fantastic 3D perpetual calendar by Etsuko Noguchi. Notice how the celestial lady is peaking over the date! This is an involved project, with lots of (literally) moving parts, so check her original post for all the details and a reveal of the colourful interior.
All the projects were amazing and we could have picked so many to highlight, but in the end this series of mini houses full of quirky characters by Liesbeth Fidder-de Vos stole our hearts! Go to her original post HERE to see all the layers she used to create amazing depth. We really love the mica rooves!
This was a fantastic start to the year, full of ideas and colour!
We are sure you'll find something to inspire you and entice you to visit some of the bloggers posts.
Join us soon for part 2!
2 comments:
I always love these 'year in review' blog posts , being reminded of all the fabulous creativity and ideas all the creative team continually offer. Some amazing projects highlighted . Tfs
Thanks too for mentioning my 'Mattint' post - it was fun to play around n get to know the new colour product.
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