Welcome Back Darcy Wilkinson Project #1 Sample Tags ....

"Hello and welcome to my July projects. I was thrilled to see so many people be inspired by the June projects. I hope you have been using all the tissue tape that got made".

My first piece this month is not really a project at all, at least not a prettified 'finished' item.
However I would urge every one of you to make this one as it is an extremely useful tool to have in your craft space. I often hear crafters ,card-makers and especially journallers saying how they cannot figure out how to put colours together. They don't know what goes with what, or what might look good. Now you could buy a colour wheel and study colour theory, or you could make these sample tags and have a lot of fun in the process!

First off cut out some tags on a decent weight like the new card from PaperArtsy, the superb  Smoothy Heavy Weight White Stamping Card. It is 340gsm, so heavier that the other option, but just as smooth, and perfectly matte to use with distress inks, paint, markers etc. You can use any shape, but as they will be glued back to back it is important that they are a symmetrical shape. This is the shape that I chose, it is the large sizzix dog tag. You are going to need a lot....no really even more than that. I cut 100, and I know I will need more in the future.

Now take your Fresco Paints and PLAY... you have permission to do anything you like on these tags. As long as you are only using paint plus tools such as a scraper,brushes,stencils.

NONE of these tags will become a finished decorative tag, each one is only meant to be a paint sample. Or more specifically a paint 'combination' sample.

Try out different colours on each one, different combinations. Try brushing and scraping and stencilling and splatting, splodging and dragging....even if you only have a few Fresco colours the possible combinations will be many and varied.

 My favourite way of applying paint is to dab ...

and then scrape...

Try all kinds of applications, but bear in mind the main idea here is to give yourself a colour
reference of the Fresco Paints. Yes by all means add stencilling, but not on every one of the tags. Firstly it will become too much work, and secondly the stencilling or patterning will start to become a distraction, when all we really want to see is how the colours work together.
Use colour combinations that you already like... use ones you think you might hate...use random ones that you might never have dreamt of...have a look at projects here on the PaperArtsy blog, and try out colours used by other people...
 
Build up a stock of colour samples. As you finish and dry each one, add a small journalling spot to the front with the names of the paints on it.

I used between two and five colours on my tags. Keep some simple, just two colours, then on others add lots....just to see what happens.
 
Here are some that I love ...

... and here are some more that I think turned out well, definitely some surprising combinations. As you can see some are plain, and some are patterned...but look again, which ones are you drawn to? I would say the patterned ones catch your eye most. This makes for interesting ideas for patterning, but doesn't help you choose colours as you are distracted by the pattern. So bear that in mind.

Now the really important bit....KEEP THE ONES THAT YOU HATE ...

We only learn from our mistakes, some mistakes can be costly, especially if you get part way through a project and then decide you hate the colours. These tags will help prevent that. It is important to try out colours that you really don't like, you will be surprised by the results, and will end up with combinations so far out of your comfort zone, but which you decide that you actually like. However there will be ones that you really don't like, and just know that you will never use. Keep them, add them into the pile. They are just as good a reminder of combinations as the ones you do like. Here are ones that I am not really keen on...I can't see me using these colours together, but I will keep these tags to remind myself why I don't care for them.

You might be wondering where to even start, well choose 5 colours and see how many
combinations you can make just from those.

On these two tags I used almost the same colours,Smoked Paprika, Hey Pesto and Limelight...but on the first I added Zesty Zing and I really don’t like it. On the second one I added Rose, and I really like this tag.

So you can see just by substituting one colour you get a different feel.

Make lots...and then make more. Cut a huge pile of tags/shapes so whenever you buy more Fresco's you can paint up a few more tags.

The backs of the tags get all painty and messy, so I stuck two tags back to back. This hides the mess and makes them more durable.

So now where am I going to hang them? Well I want them to be handy, where I can see them and near my paint.

At this point I had all my Fresco Paint dumped in a huge mixing bowl...not attractive and not
helpful. Then I spotted these garden baskets in town. They have hooks at the back, and I found that two would hook onto each other.

I bought four, and hooked them up into two pairs.

Then I bought this really cheap kitchen roll holder and painted it black.

I slipped the pairs of baskets over the towel holder, and wired them together.

Then I filled the baskets with paint.

This has turned out to be a very effective storage solution and was super cheap. The tags hang off the baskets and before I start each new project I flick through them looking for a suitable colour combination. Don't feel you have to make 100 all at once. So far I have painted around 80, and that has taken me three months. This is an ongoing project, that you can add to forever.

Over to you, I hope this has inspired you to make a sample tag ring of your own. Don't worry about it being pretty, this is a purely functional tool for your workspace. I would love to see what really unusual colour combinations you can come up with and hear whether you have been surprised by the ones that you like. Inspired to play along, simply click HERE to upload/share your creativity with us.

Leandra Says: Such a great idea, and a really good excuse to have a go with different colour ideas. I have my 'go to' combinations, and this certainly opens up a lot of other combinations that i probably wouldn't have thought of! Love your baskets BTW!

Gillian Says:  This is a great way to reference all these yummy Fresco colours when choosing which colours to work with ... decisions decisions. Love the wire storage and how readily you can make your own with a few household bits n bobs, compared to having to fork out a small fortune for an already made one.