2015 Topic 6: Grunge Paste {Challenge}

Topic 6: Grunge Paste

Hi everyone, Leandra here

Before we launch into this week's topic, you may have noticed that Darcy has added 2 new tabs at the top of the blog home page. 

There is a Tips and Techniques page which will be regularly added to. We also thought a 2015 New Product Releases page  is a quick reference to all the newest products, videos and samples. This page also links to all the blogs of our samples makers where they explained what they made as soon as they got their paws onto new stuff!

But first, here is Darcy to announce the challenge winner for Topic 5: Deconstruction.

Hi everyone, Darcy here. Great destruction, deconstruction and recycling last week.

The winning name for Topic 5: Deconstruction is.. Joanne Allison from Ambrosia and Iron

 To claim your £50 voucher, please email me, Darcy with your details to darcydotneedles@hotmail.com and I'll explain how you claim your prize. 

Thanks Darcy for drawing the prize winner, and well done to our latest winner Joanne. All the creativity that you guys upload to the blog is so inspirational to see, thank-you for sharing your ideas and creative talent with us! As you probably guessed, it's Leandra back for the rest of this post to chat some more about possible 'grunge paste' ideas with you. 

I don't think that people fully realise how versatile Grunge Paste is as a product. For me it is the most usable texture paste I have ever worked with.

1. It's not sloppy or wet so it doesn't seep under stencils or slump.2. It's dry clay-like properties means it dries super fast, and any stencilling is super sharp and crisp.3. You can easily sand it. This opens up all kinds of opportunities.  eg blue-tinted GP under another colour of paint, say brown. Then, when you sand back, the colour of the GP texture will remain the blue you tinted it, no matter how much you sand it!....that is VERY cool!4. Embed items into it. eg rusting powder, embossing powder, dimensional objects, charms, glass beads etc.5. Stipple it with your finger or a brush or perhaps press linen fabric into it to get a cool texture.6. Draw/ drag tool through it. Eg use the handle-end of a paintbrush to write in it, or use a comb to create lines/ stripes7. Tint it with ANY colour medium, raw pigment powders, re-inkers, dyes, paints etc.8. Use it through a stencil.9. Stamp into it.10. Paint over it.

...the list goes on and on...but it offers so many things you could do. The dry texture really opens up all kinds of options. Explore! Here's a video to kick things off...

fingers crossed it's ready, YouTube is taking an age to process it today

...if it's not, check back tomorrow!

In the video this week I do a quick demo showing you a few ideas, but there are other more detailed videos on our PaperArtsy You Tube channel, and you can see ideas on my Pinterest page here for this Topic. I will keep pinning over the next 2 weeks of this topic too.

If you want to join in the challenge for Topic6: Altered Grunge Paste, please do! You are most welcome to work with any brand of texture products, including gels and crackle pastes. They are all often used in a similar way, but we ae hoping you will stretch yourself beyond using stencils into other more unusual options. how about working on fabric, tissue paper, wood or even glass or metal? Is it possible? Find out!

Here's some inspiration for you...

First up Astrid made a fabulous tag last year using GP mixed with walnut and black soot distress stains to tint it. The link on her name takes you to the post. I thought she had added puff paint to it, as she has that nice rounded texture that you get from puff paint, but in her instructions she says it bubbled with the heat gun...I wonder if she has a Milwaukee style heat tool. Those emit heat from a concentrated nozzle and the GP is more likely to puff if the heat source is very close and concentrated. A happy accident !

This image caught my eye on pinterest. The colour of course is very striking, but its all about the texture and the partial face that does it for me!

Here is an image below from Diana Taylor's Blog (Velvet Moth Studio). Now I think I'm right when I say this is an image of her stencil with textured paint peeking through. In the post linked above, she was making gorgeous gelli prints. I am NOT a gelli print guru, in fact, after half a day playing I really wasn't loving anything I did (its looked like pre-school printing), so I gave up. LOL, but I am totally fascinated by this image. I want the entire stencil area to be Grunge Paste. How is it possible to do that? Can anyone figure it out? Yes, her colour palette is always so stunning, and that is a big part of the appeal...but geez I would love to figure out how to duplicate this look with a slick layer of GP and that cool blue tecture underneath!

Another wonderful abstract piece. Love how sparkly items are embedded and the texture swoops around.

In this lovely sample, Georgina Ford has used GP so delicately under here other layers of JOFY stamping. If you apply it through a stencil, then apint over the top, and sand back, the creamy-white of the GP pops through and highlights the BG to add interest but not take over.

I cannot find who created this, but it is either Finn, or inspired by Finn. I love the texture underneath the white peripheral areas. The outer sections of the composition hold huge interest with the use of stencilling, script, fabric texture and trims. But painting it all white over a few colours of gold, blue and yellow echoes the warmth in the centre of the composition perfectly. I think this is really beautiful.

Here is a reminder of a canvas Sue Carrington made. First I love how the texture that she applied before lifting the stencil adds texture in such a simple way to the brickwork. Go and look at the post to see how she built up the layers of paint to....

...make this lovely sample.

I showed you this picture of crumpled tissue a few weeks ago, BUT, what if it were GP that was the texture and you coloured on top. What if you put a thin layer of GP, and press linen, or crimpled paper into it to transfer a texture???

OK, so here is the wall tile guy (Chris Gryder) that has an amazing array of art he makes in this style. I am wondering if there is a way to re-create some of these effects with GP. Remember you can carve and shape GP, so perhaps that is possible to spark of this inspiration into carved GP art??

We would love you to join in with challenge #6: Grunge Paste. Feel free to join in and share your destructive-creative ideas over the next 3 weeks and link up your creativity to this page.

NB.  you will get 3 weeks to participate in this challenge, as we will interrupt the usual schedule for our 3UP week which starts April 5th.

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Grunge Paste link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, April 12th, winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

Challenge Guidelines:

1. The challenge is a chance for you to respond to a particular technique or product we are exploring over 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.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 can sometimes create 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 April 12th.

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!