New {July 2015} PaperArtsy Products: Hot Picks

Hi everyone, Leandra here with the first blog post of the week showcasing several new stamps releases for mid 2015. Not only are we middle of the year, but we are middle of the decade! Wow! In the week ahead we have new stamps from PaperArtsy in the form of Hot Picks, Minis,  Eclectica³ {Lin Brown},  Eclectica³ {Emma Godfrey} and JoFY. Lots to look forward to on the bog this week!

Here's a video intro of the 8 new  Hot Picks stamp sets with awesome samples to get the week started!

We started the Hot Picks series back in 2010, and they were initially designed to be more mainstream-Vintage than our original Ink and the Dog Collection. 

During 2010/2011 we did quite a number of stamp and die sets (we were the only company doing that back then), and the themes Lin and I developed for our ArtsyCrafts events  also generated content for Hot Picks stamps sets!

We haven't added to them significantly in the last 2 years. This was in part because our die manufacturer was having various problems with supply issues, so we deliberately moved onto other stamp styles for the last 2 years and actively developed new genres by commissioning a variety of designers from the wider PaperArtsy family, which has been lots of fun, and opened up the PaperArtsy brand to a far wider audience!

However, I must admit, I think I am now suffering Hot Pick withdrawal symptoms, and I'm sure those of you who were drawn to us for our Vintage style of the last 12 years will be pleased to see some new vintage-style material in our catalogue too! 

These 4 above of them have lots of elements that will work really beautifully for journalling, scrapbooking or cards with their layering corner elements. And the little dot background on HP1503 will be great through stencils to add detail to things like flower petals!

The butterfly stamp set (below) has a collage to the left where you could ink all or just one of the butterflies depending on the space you have available. On the right is a fabulous large script background that is quite interesting as it is made up of several different images blended together beautifully, it even has some number on it too! Plus there are a lot of tiny smaller elements around the edges of the main stamp.

Wings are really great as a dimensional embellishment on their own, or used in a journal collage. Perhaps you could stamp/draw a face/ body, and the wings will become an element in that composition. As themes 'butterflies' and 'dragonflies' never seem to date. In fact, our original collection from Ink and the Dog release in 2004 has 6 'wings' stamp sets, these Hot Picks are just a LOT larger, which of course makes them fabulous for your journal pages... back then we were doing tiny ATC's which necessitated the smaller format.

We have a couple of new Hot Picks with floral elements that are going to be great to use for cards too. I imagine these with shabby distressed layers in soft vintage inked tones. These two, HP1505 and HP1507 are gorgeous, and so easy to work with.

Tonight I have some uber-talented assistants tonight who have made some items to show you with these wonderful Hot Picks!

So introducing tonight...in alphabetical order... oh a big round of applause please for the following support staff!

Keren Baker is my clean and simple expert. Keren's style is minimalist, and this Vintage malarkey with no white might take her a bit out of her comfort zone, but she is always the first to put up her hand when I ask for help with samples. Not afraid of a challenge, Keren always comes up trumps. You can follow her blog here. She is a superwoman mother of 5 with a challenging rescue puppy as a recent family addition, and I just don't know how she keeps up!

Key to the Door by Keren Baker using HP1502 

Leandra knows I'm up for a challenge- but this one was pretty full on. No white, no brights..I was tempted to give up! However, she didn't say I couldn't use 'white space' ;-) and so I got to work with these beautiful stamps. I'm not known for subtlety, but these stamps seemed to work so beautifully with the soft veil that vellum gives. The first project was a multi-layered one...not at all CAS!

Timepieces by Keren Baker using HP1502

For the next one, I wanted to make a feature of the dials- by linking up the timepieces.. somehow making time wait as it's all chained together!

Tick Tock by Keren Baker using HP1502

I reverted to Clean And Simple for this last card from the HP1502 set..and as I was getting engrossed in creating, I failed to notice that I'd dipped my paintbrush in my coffee cup rather than the water. I thought 'why not' , so simply flicked the coffee on the brush to give a very subtle splatter!

Click by Keren Baker using HP1503

This card involved some careful stamping with a positioner. The 2 'X's in the set are actually easy to overlook but by stamping in formation, you get a fun background. I've calmed it down with a vellum overlay and then painted Nougat on the reverse to get the image to stand out against the busy background.

'X' marks the spot by Keren Baker using HP1503

This last card makes a feature of a smaller stamp  by using repetition again. I turned the stamp 90 degrees each time.. or guessed it was about that! I should have used a positioner really, but I liked the slightly 'skew-whiff' arrangement. I have loved these two sets and will be popping a few more of the Hot Picks in my basket!

Thanks Leandra for forcing me out of my comfort zone!

Alison Bomber is a Hot Pick guru. Very competent at Vintage layers, she weaves her magic again here. You can see more from Alison on her blog 'Words and Pictures'. If you love texture and reading the story behind her creativity, then her blog really is a joy to experience. You will also fine her on Pinterest where funnily enough she seems to have a load of butterfly pages!

I was delighted to be one of Leandra's "wingmen" for these amazing new stamps.  They really will be fabulous for journalling, but I couldn't send off my journals as samples (!) so I've created some tags and "pages" in a layered journalling style.

Chevron Tags by Alison Bomber using HP1501 and HP1503

This first pair is inspired by the chevron motif in many of the images.  The Dreams tag uses HP1501 and the Adventure tag uses HP1503, but they're definitely a pair.  There's a crackle background, some book page chevrons to continue the theme, and lots of shading with Fresco paints and pastel pencils.  I stamped the corner details in Squid Ink Fresco on the Dreams tag, and I love this photo strip image from HP1503.

Discover - Explore "Pages" by Alison Bomber using HP1503

For these "pages" I used 5x7 sheets of kraft card and layered on book pages, some of which had been dyed with tea and coffee, and then added lots of layered stamping using the fabulous background detail stamps from HP1503.  The sepia is softened by hints of pink in the butterfly and the two faces - the filmstrip guy and this fabulous little girl.

House-Word Tag by Alison Bomber using HP1501

HP1501 has what may be the most beautiful script stamp ever, and with this tag I really wanted to put that large stamp centre stage. Each of the little houses has been stamped using it - you can see it has different sizes, fonts and directions of words all built in - and then embossed, either clear embossing powder over Sepia stamping or white embossing over Versamark.  And the whole thing is over one of my favourite crackle backgrounds!

Travel Memories tags by Alison Bomber using HP1501 and HP1503

Here's another pair of tags - maybe my favourites - Travel Together using HP1503 and Making Memories using HP1501, and really you can read those phrases together.  Again, I worked with a crackle background.  The camera recording our journey is stamped and clear-embossed as are the other images on the first tag.  I hope you'll forgive me if I share one close-up from each tag.  I love this image, perfect for adding interest to the side of a page...

And on the second tag, amidst the clouds of Fresco shading, some of the compasses and industrial corner images are stamped in French Roast Fresco paint - I love the detailed image you get.  I've already got more of these amazing new Hot Picks on my shopping list!

Brenda Brown quickly came to mind as someone who would probably like the style of these new Hot Picks. Her samples are very textural...it's times like this when you need touch-a-blog-technology! Her use of the stamps creates subtle layers that require stroking! Brenda is an active blogger who works with a variety of companies, all whose style is on the whole rather Vintage. Her personal blog is 'Bumblebees and Butterflies' and from there you can find links to her other projects she is involved with regularly.

Historic pictures by Brenda Brown using HP1501 HP1503

There is some gesso under the paint, which was clear embossed with the large script stamp. This added a fabulous texture and provided crevices for the watery layers of paint on top to gather in. Layers of stamping with distress and archival inks were applied, wiped back and finished with washi and a collaged composition.

Soulful Expressions by Brenda Brown using HP1501 HP1503

On top of a base layer of gesso, Squid Ink and London Night paints were applied with a baby wipe. Then some layers of brayered paint (Blush, Chalk) and watery washes of French Roast, Chalk, Nougat, Rose. Stamped layers OF HP1501 before more Chalk paint and then the collage composition was applied using HP1503. Finally some Treasure Gold around the frame and pen nib.

Begin and Adventure by Brenda Brown using HP1501 HP1503

Mixed media fun on this sample. Very touchy-feely! Some random stamping and die cut layers were smeared with Blush and Nougat paints with a babywipe. Into some Grunge Paste, Taupe, Stone and French Roast were mixed and applied through the large Chevrons of Emma Godfrey's Stencil PS016. This was followed with watery drips of French Roast, and walnut ink (made from crystals). Nougat again scraped on top, then the script HP1501 again stamped in black archival to catch these upper textures. Finally a collage was applied and embellished.

My next assistant tonight is our wonderfully loyal and very talented Alison Hall. I feel like I have known Alison for years, well I guess it has been many years, and she is still as busy as ever learning new things! This year I am thrilled that she has started teaching at one of our stockists not too far from here, That's Crafty. You can find Alison's blog at 'CraftyTrog's Inky Adventures' and she covers jewellery through to all kinds of mixed media creativity.

Brave Wings by Alison Hall with HP1506

These stamps are fabulous with the wonderful collaged images, they scream PaperArtsy style to me! On this panel above, I painted corrugated card with Nougat Fresco, then simply stamped the butterflies and phrase onto music paper, cut them out, and laid them over a piece of lace. I added rusted safety pins and beads to finish.

Butterfly Tag by Alison Hall using HP1506

The base layer of this tag is patterned tissue, stamped with the butterflies in Rose and French Roast Frescos. I  then added a crackled panel (French Roast underneath Nougat), stamped with the butterflies collage. The butterflies were stamped again onto card painted with Antarctic, cut out, glued to the panel, and beads added.

Item Three: It's My Life by Alison Hall using HP1504 HP1506

The base of this card is a few scraps of paper & netting, glued on, then Rose and Nougat Fresco paint scraped over with a palette knife, and background images stamped. The face is stamped on card painted with Blush Fresco, wings are on Rose & Antarctic. I added glossy accents to the glasses and wings, and tucked stamped music paper behind.

Item Four: It's My Life 2 by Alison Hall using HP1504

This card also has a collaged base, over which I scraped Nougat, Blush, Squid Ink and French Roast Frescos. I stamped the circles, then added a torn, stamped tag, layered over the stamped book plate. Ribbon and brads were added.

Lauren Hatwell came to my rescue at the 11th hour when I found out Mark had designed another Hot Pick without telling me! Of course he has nothing to do with co-ordinating people to make samples, so little did he know that 2-3 weeks earlier everyone had received their stamps and paints to make these Hot Pick Samples for tonight. Lauren (and Penny) both volunteered to make me samples. (WHEW!) I was interested to see what Lauren would make, as I have only seen her do beautiful clean and simple, meticulously executed cards, and these samples were NOT what I expected at all. Isn't she lucky to be so talented and versatile!

Astonishing Beauty by Lauren Hatwell using HP1507 and HP10508

I had SUCH a great time with these. They're so versatile. I think it's great that you can use them in their entirety or pick out little details. I know I'm going to be using them time and time again. They're ACE!

I particularly liked the fishing stamp from the plate and it was my starting point for this card. There's a lot of detail but the red rubber gives you a lovely clean impression every time.

Julie-Ann Lee is well known to you all on this blog. Her extraordinary ability to think outside the box is truly inspirational. A relatively new crafter, she really seems to come up with unique ideas week after week, I encourage you to follow her blog, 'MagpieHeaven'. She weaves beautiful stories around her crafty projects too, her literary talents are as enjoyable to read as the pictures are to absorb.

In Flanders Fields by Julie-Ann Lee using HP1505 

When I first saw these beautiful stamps, I was reminded of the moving stories and poetry of The Great War. I wanted to create cards with a vintage look and a subtle suggestion of remembrance. I used Kraft card, brayering, sprinklings of Frantage and stamping with Fresco Finish Paints in Nougat, Taupe and a hint of Rose to create this effect.

Flanders Fields 2 by Julie-Ann Lee using HP1505 HP1506

Distressed ribbon, tiny twigs and a crackle frame combine with the natural beauty of the poppy heads on Kraft card to create the impression of treasured mementoes. I stamped the background poppy head in Squid Ink and clear embossed it.

She Flies by Julie-Ann Lee using HP1506

I was so excited by these wonderfully adaptable stamps, as butterflies suggest enchantment and escape to me. I really had fun creating a pair of cards, using sewing, stamping with Frescos on fabric; stencils and brayering to suggest flights of fancy.

 Float Like a Butterfly using HP1506

Each of the butterflies on this plate is exquisite and I wanted to showcase one alone in all its delicate beauty. For the background, I stamped the script from this plate onto tea-bag paper in Coffee Archival, using Classic Treasure Gold to accent the lace and the curled edges of the sentiment. The translucence of the wing is created with Southern Skies Fresco.

Astrid Maclean is a newbie to the PaperArtsy blog, but our paths cross from time to time, and I do like how Astrid is a master of all things Vintage. She was the first name who came to mind when I was thinking about who would really enjoy this new stamp release, and she enthusiastically agreed to be one of my wingmen! 'Astrid's Artistic Efforts' is the name of her blog, go and check her out, she creates a wide variety of projects, and you will learn a lot from her about products and composition.

Journey by Astrid Maclean using HP1501

A piece of grey board is the substrate of this piece. A wide piece of lace was adhered to the left side with matte gel medium and it was then covered with Snowflake,Nougat, Blush, Taupe and a bit of French Roast around the edges. Background stamping was added with Taupe paint and Coffee Archival.

LP007 stamp was stamped on tissue paper in Onyx Black Versafine. Face and arms whited out on the reverse with Snowflake.  Same stamp stamped again, just the little heart cut out and coloured with Plum Archival. Adhered to background with matte gel and then blended into the background with additional paints applied with fingers. 

Additional elements from 1501 stamped with Onyx Versafine. Finished with some flowers made with Tim Holtz dies, painted in the same colours. Journey (Cheery Lynne) die cut and rusted pen nib as further embellishments. Some raised bits highlighted with Treasure Gold White Fire.

Poppy Tag by Astrid Maclean using HP1501 & HP1505

On this tag (Size 10), texture was added with Grunge Paste through chickenwire stencil and coloured with Nougat, Taupe and Squid Ink. Background stamping used the gorgeous new large stamp from HP1501 with French Roast and text stamp used in part from HP1505 in Nougat. 

Focal image stamped in Onyx Versafine, then flower head again on a piece of card coloured with Squid Ink. Seedpods and leaves stamped on scrap card, fussy cut and coloured with a mix of Squid Ink and various colours of Distress Inks. Highlights added with White Stabilo All pencil. Further elements stamped from smaller stamps of HP1501. Chit Chat words and highlights with Pewter Treasure Gold to finish.

In the garden by Astrid Maclean using HP1505

Piece of card was coloured with Victorian Velvet, Weathered Wood and Iced Spruce Distress Inks. Stencil with Tim Holtz layering stencil. Background script from HP1501 stamped in Weathered Wood. Poppy from HP1505 stamped in Onyx Versafine. Just part of poppy stamped again and fussy cut. Coloured with Aged Mahogany Ink and various shades of green. Paper clay butterfly embellishment, mounted on Kraft card.

Astrid has also blogged these samples too, and there are more in-depth instructions and some step-outs on her blog here, go and take a look!

Penny Nuttall is renowned on the blog for her incredibly diverse approach to crafting, her go to comfort zone is fabric, so even though making cards is a pretty normal course of events for most of us, these samples below are not what we usually see Penny create at all! You can see more from Penny here on her blog Cutting my Coat.

Astonishing by Penny Nuttall using HP1508

For these samples, using the very generous selection of images in this Hot Picks set, I started by just experimenting with no particular project or composition in mind. I stamped, cut out and moved things round on different backgrounds until it just sparked an idea!

I am really happy with these, having tried many different backgrounds before finding the right one.....serendipity!

Whatever's Good For Your Soul by Penny Nuttall using Hot Picks HP1507

The opportunity to play with these new stamps came as a last minute bonus, but I was not too worried about finding inspiration as there is so much here to work with! After this first card I really felt that the images are so beautiful in detail that I would try to let them speak for themselves, and simplify things a bit....

Well, in hindsight when we were planning this launch we should have allocated Hot Picks two nights like every other new collection, but I did not anticipate that Mark would create so many stamps, and that so many people would be keen to be my Wing-men! A massive thanks to them all, it's such a pleasure to see what people create, and the different ideas the same stamp can spark.

But that's not all folks!! We also have 2 new minis!

All these stamps are available now exclusively from your favorite PaperArtsy Stockists. We only started shipping these new babies out last week, so those with Hot Pick stamps either in stock or about to arrive soon are as follows in the list below: (current to July 5th 2015)

Artist Trading Post, Derbyshire, UK.

Bianca's Toko, Nieuw Weerdinge, Netherlands.
Birds in the Barn, Marks Tey, Essex.
Countryview Crafts, Potton, Bedfordshire, UK.

Frantic Stamper Inc, Oregon, USA.
Imagine That Papercrafts, Essex, UK.
Let's Create, Lincoln, UK.
That's Crafty, Harold Wood, London, UK
The Craft Barn, South Nutfield, Surrey, UK
The Forget Me Not Kraft Kabin, Rochford, Essex, UK.

Tiny Dots, Chiba, Japan.
Scrap and Stamp GmbH, Rickenbach, Switzerland.
Scrapbook Centrale, Quebec, Canada.

Simon Says Stamp, Columbus, Ohio, USA
Stampers Grove, Edinburgh, UK.

Stempelfee-Shop, Hilden, Germany.
Stempeloase Munich, Munich, Germany.
Swanstitch, Deal, Kent, UK.

PS Don't forget that the blog challenge for Topic 12: Stencils is still open until Sunday July 12th. If you'd like to take part, and show us your stencilling skills, then go right ahead!