3 Things - Fussy Cut Fish {by Zoe Hillman}

Hi everyone, it's Zoe Hillman 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.

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

PaperArtsy HQ sent me some fantastically fun Kate Crane products which included 3 mini stamps, KCM006, KCM008 and KCM021. A stencil, which was a special limited release for Simon Says Stamps STAMPtember event PSSSS25 and a bottle of A Bit Jaded Infusions.

Kate Crane's designs always inspire me to "play" and I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to make when I started, but I knew I was going to have fun. I wanted to create lots of elements using the gorgeous products I had been sent and decide how to assemble later.

I used the A Bit Jaded Infusions to create backgrounds which I later cut down for finished pieces. I love infusions, you need such a tiny sprinkle and a spritz of water to create these incredible inky backgrounds and you never get 2 backgrounds the same, which I personally love.

I love using my gel plate to pull backgrounds, especially with paints. I used the stencil PaperArtsy sent me and some of their Fresco Finish Paints in Coastal and Pumice. I brayered the pumice Fresco Finish paint onto my gel plate, allowed that to dry and laid the stencil over the top and brayered the coastal Fresco Finish paint through the stencil. To lift the background I used another thin layer of the pumice Fresco Finish paint.

I cut down the gel plate background I lifted, stamped and fussy cut some stamped images from mini stamp KCM008 and coloured with a gold pen, before assembling.

As well as using the stencil to pull backgrounds off my gel plate, I blended Distress ink through the it and, holding the stencil in place, lightly spritzed with water to create a mottled effect.

Using a stamp from the new Hot Picks HP2601 stamp set from PaperArtsy, I stamped through the stencil with Archival ink. I don't use a stamping block for this as I find it's easier to push the stamp through the stencil with my fingers.

I used part of the background I created with the infusions, cut down and stamped with hearts from mini stamp KCM021. Mounted onto the stenciled background and finished off with a Stabilo Aquarellable pencil to add some shadow detail. Kate Crane introduced me to this pencil in her class that I took and it's something I use a lot now.

I stamped fish from mini stamp KCM008 and watercoloured, then fussy cut, carefully, very carefully! I know fussy cutting isn't everyone's jam, but I find it really relaxing and very much enjoyed the challenge of fussy cutting around the intricate hanging hearts.

I used the A Bit Jaded Infusions to add some colour to a background and stamped on top with mini stamp KCM006 ready to create some sentiments for my finished cards.

You can probably tell how much I was enjoying stamping and fussy cutting the hanging hearts from mini stamp KCM008. I stamped lots and fussy cut ready to add to a background I created with the A Bit Jaded Infusions and cut down.

Here are my assembled pieces using a variety of the backgrounds I created and the stamped images I fussy cut and watercoloured. These are ready to send to friends.

Here are some close ups of my fin-ished cards.

And of course, I had to make some mini moos as, to me, these are a Kate Crane signature piece and I was lucky enough to take a class with her a couple of years ago where she introduced me to this cool tiny creative format and I've become obsessed with them.

I have loved this challenge and as I suspected when I began, I had a lot of fun creating with these cool products from PaperArtsy and Kate Crane. I hope you've enjoyed my post and it inspires you to create something.

Thanks for stopping by.

Zoe 

Blog: igirlzoe

Instagram: igirlzoe