September 2025 - With 3 Things - Autumn Book & Box {by Helen Ranger}

Hello, Helen Ranger (butterflywings_beautifulthings) here with you today on the PaperArtsy blog. I was surprised and excited when PaperArtsy asked me to be a guest blogger for the September 'with 3 things' challenge. Some of you may have seen some of my creations on the PaperArtsy People Group on Facebook. I haven't been creating for very long compared to some and still consider myself to be a beginner with a lot to learn. 

For this feature on the PaperArtsy Blog 3 identical items are sent to 3 crafters. 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.

When my parcel arrived, I carefully opened the beautiful bird paper wrapping to find a autumn inspired selection of Fresco Finish acrylic paints with Rusty and Kiwi Gold, a lovely Lin Brown stamp set ELB34 and PaperArtsy stencil PS002, also by Lin Brown. Ideas began to race through my mind.

Today I have made a mini book and its box, inspired by nature in the fall.

I have to admit nerves set in a little at this point along with a little self doubt for good measure. My usual style is to have delicate stencil backgrounds with very defined focals but this selection was possibly the opposite of that? 

I was feeling a little overwhelmed so I started with some exploration before taking any decision. I began to test the beautiful colors of paint with ink colours and paints that I thought might work well. All those rusty leaves gave me the idea to create a box with an autumn walk themed mini booklet inside.

I began my project by enjoy myself using my gel plate to make some backgrounds. I added small blobs of the two paint colours and used my brayer to blend them, then removing paint onto a spare sheet of copier paper through the stencil. This created a beautiful distressed textures.

I pulled the prints using the Heavy Cream Fresco Finish which toned down the colours a little. Perfect for a background!

Next I trimmed two of the backgrounds to the height of the reclaimed box I had chosen and glued the strips together to create a snippet roll. I used most of the stamps in the stamp set in various colors of ink all the way along the snippet roll. I did a lot of overlapping and some partial stamping. I finished it off with stitching along both edges.

I also needed to decorate the base of the box. Using embossing ink, I stamped onto one of the gel printed backgrounds using the distressed floral stamp. I coated this for two colours of embossing glaze then I added additional stamping and stitching. This way the base coordinates perfectly with the sides but has more texture!

I cut the snippet roll to size and painted the edges of the box in French Roast Fresco Finish I then glued the snippet roll inside and out fitting the base into the bottom of the box.

With the bow all pretty, it was time to begin creating my booklet. I sprayed some Distress stain and oxide through PaperArtsy stencil PS002 onto some card, adding water splats and drying. I brayered on a little of the Kiwi Gold Fresco, mainly around the edges. I glued another piece of the gel printed paper to the back. This will be the cover for my booklet

I wanted the booklet to fit snuggly in the box so I used the measurements of the box reduced by half a centimeter to determine to size of my covers. I cut a strip of the right height in the stencilled card and marked the covers width on each end. I glued on a second piece of card to the back of the booklet along the three edges, as shown above, to create a little pocket then inked up all the edges.

Then I began concertina folding the remaining strip between the covers. I wanted five pages so I created 5 peak folds, but you could have as many as you like. I finally glued together the valley folds on the outside of the booklet, stopping the concertina from opening. This created raised flaps inside the booklet to adhere my pages to.

I think I should have made the folds larger as folding the doubled card was hard on my hands and gluing the small folds was a bit tricky.

For my pages, I cut five pieces of the gel printed paper to the height of my cover minus half a centimeter and double the width. Each was to be folded in half and glued together sandwiching a flap of the cover, thus creating 5 pages.

Those pages now needed to be decorated! I brayered on matching ink to the one on the cover. I added scraps of the lovely tissue paper used to wrap my parcel (PT11 - Birds) and textures stamps to decorate the background.

I stamped many of the main leaves in the ELB34 set on card using different colour inks then painted them layering the two colours Rusty and Kiwi Gold. I also added a little bit of Claret Fresco Finish paint just around the edges as they felt a little "flat". I fussy cut these out and inked around the edges and the back as I knew that I wanted to bend some and I didn't want any white showing.

The next bit is intuitive to me as I love using fragments of fabric, string, book page and card/paper scraps to my nature work. Very often it can be the smallest of pieces. This process began when I created a junk journal for a year it was a period of healing for me.

I added these to the pages arranging the leaves, stamped words, scraps of snippet roll and text from a digital download.

I then added simple doodles, lines, dots and circles to each page.

Nearly there... I added leaves to the box and set about creating the finishing touches. I added some rusty paint to a metal token with a sentiment fitting the project. I let it partially dry and dapped it with kitchen towel. I glued the string inside the back cover so that the metal token dangled on the outside.

I fussy cut a moth and coated it with frosted crystal for my cover. A process I really enjoy!

I put cut off pieces of the base into the back pocket to use as a mini tag. (You didn't think I could create all this without a tag did you?).

All done! Here is a look at the different pages:

I loved all the processes to create this mini booklet and box which I can now fill with projects inspired by the upcoming season. I look forward to filling it and sharing my makes with you on PaperArtsy People!

Helen xx

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