PaperArtsy

Monday, 12 October 2026

SPICE JUG SLEEVE with EMW {by Floss Nicholls}

Hello everyone

Floss from flossWORKSHOPart here with you today and I'll be sharing with you how to create cone shaped jugs using Mags Woodcock's rubber stamp set EMW004 combined with her stencils PS516 and PS517 that were launched earlier this year.

These cute little jug 'sleeves' fit perfectly over spice jars so you can pop brushes or other tall items in them as well as being able to use the jar to hold water and use for a table vase with fresh flowers...I think they look great with some of my brushes in...they will definitely look the part in my workshop.

I decided to use infusions with the stencils and stamped blank tissue paper to start layering images easily onto the card...

I love the negative effect with outlined shape detail that the technique of using dye stain infusions with stencils provide when using a wet background...I thought I would integrate stencils as a part background and then add stamped details for focal points...here are the colours I chose to go with Mags Woodcock's designs.

I started by playing around with the products I had chosen to get a feel of how they might work together, and then on a 3d shape...I made a quick prototype to check my measurements worked ok then made a sturdy card template to mark out the shapes onto 300gsm card to create a couple of cones... The compass was set to 80mm and 180mm using the same pivot point to give me a jug sleeve of 100mm in height. I used a 90* angle to get my cone angle...and added a 12mm glue strip to the end, and a thin rectangle of 150mm x 14mm for the handle.

I used PaperArtsy Mattint ASH to coat the whole cone and rectangle area using a wide flat brush...I love the finish and the transparency of the Mattints.

I used a dry sponge and PaperArtsy Stone Fresco Finish chalk acrylic through PS516 to create the heart details...I masked off the middle section on the stencil to avoid putting any unwanted shapes on my cone.

Then used the group of 000's from stamp set EMW004 to begin adding texture to some of the edges of the cone using Ranger waterproof Archival black ink...I thought that this would be ideal to use around the infusions as it would not react with the water...little did I know how it would react to something later on in the project that threw me sideways...more of that later!

I wet the card and sprinkled a little of a bit jaded Infusions Dye Stain and worked it in using a wet brush...

I held the stencil into the wet area and allowed the stain to pool into the edges of the stencil shapes. I was working on two cones at the same time and so here I am adding a few detailed areas onto the second cone layout which was also coated in ASH Mattint...

I also created a strip of card using the same a bit jaded Dye stain Infusions and stencil PS517 which would later be used as a decorative strip and a handle.

I then started using the wet stencil and Infusions in between the stencilled and stamped areas...

I painted some of the little 000's with PaperArtsy Pine Grove Fresco Finish chalk acrylic and stamped LOVE once the infusions had dried using a very fine brush..

After stamping some of the other designs onto blank tissue PT10 and painting on their reverse using PaperArtsy Olive, Pine Grove and Blood Orange Fresco Finish Acrylic, I used a wet brush to separate the stamped and painted images by gently tearing the wet lines to give me feathered edges ready for smooth glueing.

Before I used Liquitex gel mat medium to stick the dried tissue images down, I used a quick spray of fixative over the infusions so that they did not react with the wet glue.

This is where I foolishly did things in the wrong order on one of the jug sleeves!!! Note to self...do NOT use fixative over stamped images...use it over the infusions only. The waterproof ink reacts to the chemical in fixative and will promptly bleed and smudge...

It was an "eeeek! oh no no no no!!" moment closely followed by an "okay...you've got this...all is not lost and you do not need to panic...you can remedy this"...

I rescued the said piece by dabbing it and drying it off with my heat gun and using gesso to cover the smudged stamped areas...I love using gesso and so I felt quite comfortable with this schoolgirl error. Once the gesso was dry, I pooled some more of the A Bit Jaded dye stain Infusions on and using the same technique as earlier and stencil PS516 some new texture was created.

Using some of the painted stamped tissue and further stamping, then creating the rectangle piece 150mm x 14mm the jug was now ready to be cut out and assembled along with the other one.

By gently working your card into a more rounded shape it makes gluing it into a cone easier.

Once the cone was glued, glue the handle onto the seam. Gently pinch the opposite side to create the jug spout.

Glue the handle towards the base of the jug...you can make the handle to your preferred length, including gluing it to the underside should you wish to...then slip the jug sleeve over the spice jar.

These cute little jug sleeves fit perfectly over spice jars so you can use dry things in them as well as being able to use them to hold water and use them for a table vase with fresh flowers...I think they look great with some of my brushes in...perfect on your art desk, or a great gift too!

The little silver brad to the handle of this one...

I do hope this may have inspired you to have a go...I shall pop a downloadable template on my website for those who find using a compass tricky...or want to speed the template bit up ;) Do let me know what you may use your jug sleeve for if you create one...

until next time...much love Floss x x x

Website: flossWORKSHOPart

Instagram: floss_workshop.art

Facebook: floss_workshop.art

Spaces are currently available for the following in person classes in Hellingly, East Sussex, UK

28 October 2026: 9.15am - Gel Plate Collagraph - 3.5hrs

30 October 2026: 10.15am - Mixed Media birds - 5.5 hrs

27 November 2026: 10.15am - Creative wellness - 5.5hrs

I shall be squeezing a jug sleeve class in at the start of November...

Friday, 9 October 2026

Pocket Art Book with EEG {by Martha Ponsanesi}

Hello everyone, Martha (@CrfatingMartha ) here with you today sharing a little project, a One Sheet Mini Book, using some Stamps and Stencils by Emma Godfrey.

For my project I choose two Stamp Sets by Emma Godfrey Set 15 (EEG15) and Set 23 (EEG23), and some Mini Stencils (PM004, PM005, PM006, PM007, PM009, PM010).

Along Emma Godfrey's Stamps and Stencils I used one sheet of PaperArtsy Smoothy (Regular) A4 White Stamping Card (SCA4) for the structure of my Pocket Mini Book, and PaperArtsy Printed Tissue Blank (PT10) for what will be a super fun part of the embellishments. As for the colours, well, by now you know that I have an issue with colors, it's hard for me to pick just a few, and the wide range that PaperArtsy offers tempts me even more! However, I tried to hold back and chose PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylic Snowflake (FF15), Zesty Zing (FF47), Caribbean Sea (FF94), Bubble Gum (FF116), Slimed (FF137) and Persimmon (FF209).

I find that PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylics and Gel Plate are a match made in heaven and so, to create everything I needed for my Mini Book, I grabbed my Gel Plate and Brayer and started having fun with colours.
I spread the PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylic Zesty Zing (FF47), cleaning the excess colour off the brayer onto some pages of an old diary, and placed a couple of stencils (PM010) and (PM006) on top of the Gel Plate.

I placed the PaperArtsy Printed Tissue Blank (PT10) on top and pressed it down well to absorb all the colour.

The print on the Tissue Paper is very satisfying; what's more, a lovely colour texture was left on the Gel Plate, which I am naturally going to pull...

...at first trying to stamp directly onto the sheet, but if you live in a place like beautiful, warm Italy (even in October!), it can happen that if you haven't spread enough colour on the Gelli plate, the 'stamped print' might turn out a bit disappointing like this one.

In that case, there's no need to despair: just spread a contrasting colour, or some white, so that all the remaining paint on the Gelli plate is transferred to the sheet, in this case, I used Fresco Chalk Acrylic Bubble Gum (FF116).

I got an unusual result, normally you would use a lighter colour, but on the whole, even this print has a charm of its own!

By repeating this process, alternating colours and stencils, I fully decorated the sheet of paper and the tissue paper, as well as several pages used for cleaning the brayer.

Now that I have my coloured Printed Tissue Paper, I want to add an extra decorative touch by randomly stamping with Distress Oxides in shades similar to the PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylics I used.

Emma Godfrey Set 15 (EEG15) and Set 23 (EEG23) have decorative elements that are just perfect for my purpose.

Using Distress Oxide Black Soot, I stamped all the phrases from these same sets in various orientations.

Once the decorating phase was finished, it was time to transform my Printed Tissue Paper into DIY Washi Tape. I applied strips of double-sided tape to the back, making sure to choose one with transparent adhesive.

Then, using a craft knife, I cut strips of various sizes.

My DIY Washi Tapes are almost ready, but I realised I wanted to add one last finishing touch: using a small cap and a silicone brush, I stamped little circles and lines with PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylics Gold (FF20). It might have been better to do this before cutting the various strips; to make things easier, I stuck the strips onto the Gel Plate so they would stay put.

And now for the final touch: a few splatters, again using gold.

Now it's time to take my Smoothy sheet (SCA4), decorated with the prints made with the Gel Plate, and create the structure for my Mini. In the photo you can see how simple it is: just fold it into 4 on one side and into 3 on the other, make the classic cuts for the 'snake' folding structure, and then fold it up and glue the right pages together.

Here it is in its final size, I love how the decorative details stand out once the dimensions get smaller.

The fun now continues with the embellishments! On the two small pages that were left white, I applied my DIY Washi Tape, on one page placing strips of various sizes, and on the other creating a frame.

For the focal images on the various pages, using the sentiments from Emma Godfrey Set 15 (EEG15) and Set 23 (EEG23), I stamped with black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. Using embossing powder is a win-win: not only does it make the sentiments stand out even more as a focal point, but it also saves you waiting for the ink to dry, which tends to take longer on top of acrylic paints, avoiding any accidental smudges on your pages.

I grabbed the Emma Godfrey Stencils again for extra touches on the pages, applying PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylics with a Cut-N-Dry Foam.

Again with stamps and Distress Oxides, I continued adding details to the pages.

From the initial session with the Gel Plate, I also had some diary pages coloured from cleaning the excess paint off the brayer; to make even more embellishments, I decided to punch circles in two different sizes...

...and stamp additional decorative elements onto them in black ink.

Ta-da! Here is my completed Mini Book!

For the closure, I opted for a simple folder clip.

Here is a showcase of the various pages.

As you can see, I used the punched circles and pieces of DIY washi tape to decorate it.

On the diagonal page, I added another circular punch-out, decorated on both sides, but it’s actually a pocket, so if you like, you can insert a pull-out tag if you'd like to write a message!

Also the folder clips are decorated with my Washi Tape.

Using Washi Tape for decoration is a fun way to add accents, but building a frame with it is also really effective.

A feature of 'real' Washi Tape is that it's repositionable, while double-sided tape isn't, if you ever need that feature (for positioning the frame, it's so much better if it is) you can use a little bit of baby powder.