July 2025 - With 3 Things - Tactile Journal Page with Sara Naumann Products {by Katy Norgate}

Hello everyone, it's Katy Norgate with you for another 'With 3 Things' challenge post.

For this feature on the PaperArtsy Blog 3 identical items are sent to 3 members of the PaperArtsy Blogging team. Typically we will receive a stamp, a stencil and a couple of Fresco Paints.

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.

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

So lovely to see products from one of PaperArtsy's Eclectica Designers, Sara Naumann in the post! We have stamp set ESN52, stencil PS090, Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Nougat FF39, and Infusions Dye Stain Black Knight CS12.

Those of you that have seen my recent blog posts, and other social media posts, will know rainbow is my favourite colour, so this for me, was a challenge in more ways than one! I was determined to work as truly as possible to the items provided, rather than adding too many other supplies. You will see below, as I played and explored the possibilities of the items, I didn't have an end result in mind, I just really enjoyed playing. Once the various collage fodder was brought together, I decided to make a journal page ... let's take a closer look at the finished result. I'm loving all the yummy texture and grungy nature of the page.

So let's take a look at how I created the collage fodder ....

I began by laying the stencil onto PaperArtsy smoothie regular cardstock (SCA4), sprinkling black knight infusion crystals over the top, then spritzing with water.

How beautiful and magical is that? I love how the colours in the crystals reveal themselves.

 

Adding a bit more water ...

Yumminess right there!!

I then lifted the stencil, turned it over and laid it onto another piece of card stock, to get the reverse image and not waste the crystals on the stencil.

Here is the result. I left this to dry.

Next I used the Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Nougat (FF39) and mixed it with increasing amounts of the infusions, to make a colour palette. Lovely warm greys.

Then I tried out the infusions with a matt gel medium.

You will see from my written notes, the different ways I applied the infusion crystals to the gel medium.

It was at this point I was still thinking about what to do with these pieces. After having had a good play exploring these mediums, a journal page seemed a natural option. I love making journal pages when exploring new things, since you can safely play without fear of making mistakes or having to share your finished pieces with others .... oooh, minor detail, I'm creating a blog post!!

I don't profess to be any kind of expert, I have lots to learn. I'm sure that will be apparent here to many of you, but what I do enjoy is the process, often much more than the finished results. I value the time I can spend to just play with collage fodder, using up odds and ends that I'm loathe to throw away ... I'm sure we are all the same.

I was naturally drawn to the large bird on the stamp set, to be the main feature of the page but didn't fancy a black image, so I decided to hunt out some old embossing enamel I had stashed away, that features white, cream and gold powders. I therefore inked the stamp with clear embossing ink, stamping onto black card stock, and heat set the embossing enamel.

I started to gather more of my neutral vintage like fodder, old stamps, hessian, tea bags and buttons. Not totally satisfied that I had enough fodder, I made another grungy page using old book paper, smooshing it with the fresco acrylic nougat and adding infusions. Once dry I applied some PaperArtsy grunge paste (GP190), through the stencil.

Now to put it all together. I sometimes prefer to work outside the journal and add it once finished, so I am using a gel medium to apply pieces of the papers I've made.

I applied more nougat over the whole page in a lovely scruffy way, with a palette knife.

I like to make sprays with my infusions, so a few squirts came next to highlight the texture on the page. I don't feel I'm being very arty unless I make a mess!!

I just love the effects in close up.

Once dry I added some stamping to the page.

 ...and a touch of gold, with the Fresco Finish Metallic Acrylic (FF20).

Time to arrange the ephemera. I decided to cut out the bird from the black card, using the leftover pieces in the collage too. I rearranged things a few time, adding pieces and then taking them out. I was delighted to find these New Zealand stamps from my old philatelic days.

I decided to add buttons ..... 

And hey presto I am calling this page finished!

It is fair to say that I enjoyed the process of making the various collage pieces, by playing with the infusions and paint, and sifting through old fodder stashes, far more than I am content with the finished page. Art is like that sometimes. Some will see a hot jumble of stuff stuck together, and some will see beyond this and appreciate the process far more.

Thank you so much for visiting and sticking with me to the end!! Here a few more close ups.

Bye for now,

Katy Norgate

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