Sunday 4 January 2015

2015 Topic1: Fragile Papers {Challenge}

2015 ... It's ALL NEW !

Hi everyone, Leandra here

For several months, behind the scenes we have been working on a totally new format for the blog. After 3 years of its current format, we feel very ready for a significant change. 

We feel:
- there needs to be less content, a post every night is a bit too overwhelming
- the 'challenge' should be fortnightly
- the opportunity should be to fully explore techniques, products, ideas... as you wish 
- the ideas presented can be adapted to whatever YOU prefer to do; tags, cards, journalling, scrap-booking, mixed media, textiles, clay and more.

Our blog contributors are all wonderful volunteers who have opted-in to the various themed ideas we have coming up. We love these contributors because they offer you a wide variety of strengths, styles and skills. Many of them are people we have met through this blog, through twitter or from seeing them participate in our challenges regularly. I'm sure may of them will be familiar to you.

So read on to see how it all will work for 2015....
  • Every second Sunday (ie. fortnightly), a new topic, theme or concept will be introduced by Leandra at 19:00 (London Time). The the challenge link will also be found in that same Sunday intro post.
  • The theme or topic will be explored by 3 blog contributors on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the fortnight. In the weekends you can look forward to posts from our Signature Stamp Designers. We hope that this format, and less content will give you more 'space' to explore the ideas presented. Your challenge link can explore any of our contributors ideas, or you can present your own as you wish.
  • The challenge follows much the same format, except we will now have a £50 prize every fortnight. The challenge is open to all players worldwide. You can use the voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. (Think of it as £40 prize with £10 to cover the VAT and postage costs, worldwide). You need to add your link by 17:00 (London time) on the Sunday evening, and the prize will be announced in the 19:00 blog post later that night. Challenge guidelines are below.
  • Throughout January you may see random sneaky snippets of some of our brand new 2015 products. Keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks, our blog contributors are itching to show you what they have been up to with the new stamps they have literally only just received in recent weeks. New products will be filtering their way through to the shops we supply from February.

2015 Topic 1: Fragile Papers


Take a minute to think about what fragile papers mean to you. Do you already use them when crafting?

Perhaps you made some decorations for Christmas?

Starting with a base of book pages is an invitation for colour to be added...

...or maybe you might be more deliberately constructive in your endeavours?

how about stained tissue, adding some wax and resin?

Vellum used to be a huge crafting product and it's doing the rounds again...have you still got some stashed?

 ...how about making your own handmade papers ? Gorgeous for books!

...what could you do with old crumbling papers? Trap it in resin maybe?

...telephone books... all wrapped up?

...or all stacked up?

...foreign dictionaries always seem more exotic...

think of all the amazing things you might try with fragile papers...

Using fragile papers like these often is step one for mixed-media go-to techniques. You can add texture, depth, text-contrasts or several translucent layers with ease.  Layers of fragile, soft, inked or painted papers fixed to calico, softly painted or dye sprayed, can create fantastic book covers. Darcy does a similar thing when she makes her amazing fabrics to convert them into handbags or pencils cases, or even water pots!

When you reinforce a fragile paper, suddenly its not so fragile anymore, yet its delicate properties can be utilised in unique ways. Here is a quick introduction video to get your thinking. We hope that you will find a chance to use the challenge this fortnight to share what you prefer to do with fragile papers. You don't have to be led by our designers, you can do your own thing entirely!



This idea of utilising Fragile Papers is the theme we are exploring over the next fortnight. 

We look forward to seeing what our blog contributors come up with, and your responses too! Link up your photos, blog post or other links below using the linky tool.

Have a great fortnight...
Leandra




Challenge Guidelines:


1. The challenge is a chance for you to show how you have been inspired by a particular technique of the fortnight. Your entry should contain:
- a mention of which post inspired you and why, and 
- a link in your blog post to that original post on the PA blog
.
The whole concept of this challenge is 'play along with us'. You are encouraged to put your own twist on ideas you see on our blog, don't feel obliged to copy an idea exactly, but if you prefer to replicate, of course that is fine too. We love to see how you are inspired!



2. The link you put on our linky page must lead directly to the specific post on your blog where you have explored the technique/ idea mentioned in point 1 above. Don't link to the home page of your blog, or we will be unable to find the post to leave you comments.


3. Spam links will be deleted.


4. We prefer your challenge post is created exclusive to our challenge. Multiple challenge links in one blog post often creates a conflict of interest between the different challenge hosts.

5. You are most welcome to use stamps/ products/ substrates you have to hand from a variety of companies, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - but of course it's lovely when you do!


6. You can enter as many times as you like in the fortnight. We don't want to restrict your creativity or participation! Link closes at 17:00 Sunday


7. The winner of the random draw will receive a £50 credit to be redeemed on the PaperArtsy Website, the credit includes VAT and postage. We request that one of your purchases is an A5 rubber stamp. You can add any other items to your basket, but the final total should not exceed £50

8. Each Sunday fortnight the winner will be announced at 19:00, also, in the same post, the link for the next fortnight will be posted. It's your responsibility to claim your prize coupon from Darcy: email her darcydotneedles@hotmail.com


Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

38 comments:

PaperArtsy said...

We really hope you all enjoy then new format! I LOVE this topic, so I'm in boots and all!
Leandra

massofhair said...

REALLY liking the new format, gives us time to breathe and be more creative. I also like a few of the other rules too. Will try to join in more, i think this is a very friendly and inclusive Challenge :-)

Helen said...

How exciting! Love papers - have loads of mulberry, vellum, books you name it - think this will be a great way ahead this year.

jojo79 said...

The new format is great, hopefully will give me time to take part. I have loads of papers, so look forward to the inspiration.
x

Hazel Agnew said...

Will be lovely to congregate on a Sunday again Leandra. New format sounds exciting and less frantic. Look forward to exploring themes over a longer period! Fragile papers sounds good to me. Love your little peek at your altered book etc. will be on board and playing with themes....Thanks and hope that it goes well! Xx

Miriam said...

Love the format.... and love fragile paper - always makes me giddy with excitement! LOL!!

Artmadnana said...

Ooh I love using vintage papers in my art journaling so this is a great theme for me to start getting involved in the challenges. New to blogging so might need some help with linking up though! Video was very inspiring!

kjjc said...

Gotta admit that I liked having you blog every night but totally looking forward to the new look.

Deborah Wainwright said...

Loving the format and I'm sure it will be an exciting year xx

Scrumplescrunch said...

This sounds exciting and I am liking the new format.
I am going to make an effort this year to participate with you all.
Using Papers is a good Challenge to start the year with as at the moment there is a great amount lying around this house!
Smiles:)
Sue

Unknown said...

Really love the new format and exactly as Hazel said still exciting but not so frantic. I'm another who still has quite a stash of handmade, mullberry, vellum, etc., not to mention old books waiting for some tlc. Hope I get chance to join in.

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Craftyfield said...

The fortnightly challenge is a good rhythm. This fortnight theme is excellent for me to make inroads in those old papers. Mulberry, stitched, inclusions, tissue, vellum I have them all and more and don't use them much!

Lucy Edmondson said...

What a brilliant introductory post! My creative juices about fragile papers are flowing now!

The new format is perfect for me. I need time to reflect otherwise I go into inspiration overload and my old brain can't take it all in. Am looking forward to Sunday evenings being special paper artsy ones!

Lucy x

Trish said...

I love the new format, and love the new theme. yes, I'll be joining in. Happy New Year!

Ruth said...

Having struggled to join in recently, this format sounds wonderful, really looking forward to working along the fragile paper theme. Ruth x

Anonymous said...

It all sounds so exciting and this post is full of inspiration.
Fragile book text is one of my all time favourite items to use, mostly to stamp onto. So looking forward to what Fragile Papers has in store over the coming weeks.
Wishes
Lynne

JoFY said...

Oh I do love fragile papers- looking forward to seeing what everybody creates with these special delicate pieces!

Julie Lee said...

I am really excited by the new format! Wonderful idea to get people thinking around an idea! I foresee great times ahead! xxx

Gillian .... said...

Great introduction Leandra, some really cool samples. Lovely to see so many positive comments re the new format, we are excited for the year ahead and look forward to see how you have been inspired with the new themes. Thanks again for all your continued support.

Gillian
x

Cocofolies said...

Wonderful first topic! And I love this new format Leandra, I agree with the points you have mentioned at start... Will join in your futur challenges as much as possible :) xx

Steven said...

Can't wait for it to get going!! will join in when I can. Thanks for the inspiration PA peeps!

Michelle said...

One of my creative goals for 2015 was to participate here. I love the friendly format and am a long time fan of the products. (aka LOVE them!)
I can't wait to join the fun!

Kirsten said...

Fab selection of papers in that video Leandra! Must admit, I've always loved vellum & I'm sure I have a bundle of mulberry papers somewhere.... I like the format, I think it will be easier to keep up with everything & hopefully, help me to take part in the challenges again. Thank you for all your hard work.

Scrapintheattic.com said...

Woohoo a chance to dig out and use staff that hasn't seen the light of day for years! Even more fragile now I expect. I love the new format and a fortnight for each challenge is much more realistic for me.
Great work Leandra x

SCarol said...

OOOOH, totally inspiring first topic and loving the new format already :)

Colleen said...

Love this new format, though I must confess being from the states I had to goggle fortnight LOL. Yes I'm a geek. Such a wonderful challenge to begin, being an old scrapbooker I'm sure I have many of these papers. I just watched your video on your crackle tissue wrap here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6VVcoy0EJg
Wonderful and so well done learned a lot.
Thanks for your hard work.

craftytrog said...

Great intro to the new format Leandra! Looking forward to those special PA Sundays again! Fragile papers is a great theme to begin with, can't wait to see this fortnight's inspiration.
Alison xxx

Esther said...

OOh exciting - I love the new format, I've visited lots in the past and did join in once, the contributors ideas and creations are always so amazing but I did feel a bit overwhelmed sometimes...can I just ask something tho - the new format post says that we can explore any of our contributors ideas, or you can present our own as you wish....but further down the rules still ask us to indicate which contributor inspired us so I'm a bit confused - do we still have to base our entry on a contributors idea or can it be completely our own as long as it follows the theme?

Unknown said...

Great new format, fab idea. I used a lot of old music sheets over Christmas they are great to work with and I never thought of making them stronger for different uses xx

Ana K. said...

New Year, new beginnings...great start and a wonderful first challenge!
Hugs

Sherry said...

Ooooh, inspiring and challenging, can't wait to join in :)

Claudia N. said...

The new format is brilliant and very wisely chosen! Love it! Thanks for the "Fragile Paper" challenge - I LOVE to work with old dictionary pages!

Greetings from Vienna and a Happy New Year!

Claudia x

~*~Patty S said...

Thank you for such a wonderful challenge. The video is excellent as are all of the inspiring examples.
Having challenges every two weeks makes it doable.
Looking forward to visiting everyone.

2amscrapper said...

The type of challenge I'm looking for. The video was a great intro.

Diana Taylor said...

Really looking forward to joining in this year - I love the choice of the first challenge and the video was great. Thank you!

Suman Pandit said...

I liked all the inspiration put up by the DTs and the new format is excellent !!

Kezzy said...

I love the new idea, I have recently struggled to enter, I have 12 unfinished projects, the designers were all so awesome but each time I kept going off on my own so half way through I gave up. This away I can get inspired by the designers but also go my own way when I like as well. It feels so good to be able to join in again. Happy Creating :-) Kezzy xxx

Karen said...

Oh well, I messed up on the timing but my intended play-along is here:
http://karenscreation.blogspot.fr/2015/01/family-page-mixed-media.html
Loving all the inspiration, I have every intention of playing along again.