NEW {Sept 2015} Products: Hot Picks, Fresco Chalk Acrylic Paints

Hi Everyone, Leandra here with the first night of several New Product releases! Woohoo!!

Tonight I'm showcasing 3 new Hot Picks, and a stunningly, gorgeously, lovely new Limited Edition Paint set too!

Here's a video introduction and lots of awesome samples using these new stamps and paints for you to check out!

I'm sure you are itching to see the new paints. Well here they are to rock a very modern Xmas vibe, but also quite useful and different to existing shades. We have personified the names this time (always fun creating paint names), so you may like to add these guys to your paint family too, I'm sure they will be a pleasure to have around!

• Teresa Green is lighter than Guacamole, so another handy 'light' green that I find is a useful starting point to build from with your paint layers. Good for 'knocking back' too. 
• Granny Smith is a proper apple green, this was missing from our line up of greens.
• Captain Peacock is very like an opaque Beach Hut (VERY handy) - it is a gorgeous turquoise-jade blue. Stunning!
• Professor Plum is in-between Lin's Bougainvillea and Spanish Mulberry, not as bright or as translucent as Lin's because it's opaque, but the Prof is brighter than the  existing Spanish Mulberry. 

All these colours are very handy additions I hope you agree. Don;t miss out, they will be gone by early 2016 as this is a Limited Edition Set. Usually available for around 6 months.

In addition we have a Fresco paint drying retarder which is a much needed additive. It is highly effective, so no more than 5% retarder to paint is needed. ie just a drop or 2 in a puddle should be sufficient. Use too much and your paint won't dry!

Use this to extend the drying time in hot climates, or if you are taking gelli prints, this is going to give you a much longer open time window when working with our paints.

We also have a new glaze called Frosting Glaze. Love, love, love this product! Onto a clean, dry shiny surface this product is incredible to create a frosted glass effect. So try it on Acetate, Glass, Acrylic and maybe even metal! 

You can apply it with cut and dry foam through stencils, or apply it directly to a fine detail stamp with cut and dry foam to get an even application, then stamp with it. See the video for details. It is fast drying, suitable for indoor/ outdoor use...Emma and I nearly stencilled all the windows at PA HQ with this stuff!!! Awesome for cobwebs or snowflakes onto your windows for Halloween/ Xmas decor. As it is water based, it is not hard to remove with warm soapy water to return your windows back to normal!

Let's take a closer look at the new Hot Pick stamps. First up Halloween... well perhaps not just Halloween, but these images could be just a little bit spooky, and useful for other steampunkery or slightly evil crafting projects that you work on! I love that checkerboard stamp! 

And of course there are some Christmas additions too...

As ever, we always have some super talented crafters who volunteer to help us work with our newest stamps. It never ceases to amaze me how they pick out the tiniest stamp, and use that as a detail, I think they spend a lot of time cutting up their stamps into smaller components - as you will have seen in the video. Below are close ups of their amazing handiwork!

Tonight we start with Alison Bomber. Alison is a Hot Pick fanatic and always generates lovely layers to inspect...

Poison Bottles {using HPHW05 by Alison Bomber}

My very first thought when I saw the stamp set was "Ooh, labels for bottles!" - and so that was my first game.  I loved trying out the labels on different surfaces, and the new greens, Teresa Green and Granny Smith, make for another great bottle colour.  It won't be a surprise that I have plans for making labels for some actual bottles with these stamps!

Layering Labels {using HPHW05 by Alison Bomber}

I continued with the labels theme for this 5" x 7" plaque, and this time I tried the stamps on Crunchy Waxed Kraft Paper - love how the deadly skull melts into the wax when you heat it, giving a really spooky look.  I also loved the texture created by embossing the stamped image, and the fantastic layering effects you can get with the images in this set.

Beware of the Bones {using HPHW05 by Alison Bomber}

I love how all the stamps in this set are coordinated and balanced.  I found myself working in tag pairs because they seemed to want to be near each other.  I also "needed" to see some of the skulls in bone white - embossed again for that fabulous knobbly texture - and I love the look of this.

Crackled Cobwebs {using HPHW05 by Alison Bomber}

With this pair of tags I stamped the images directly over crackled paint - one of my all time favourite things to do, and perfect for the vintage spooky look with these stamps I think. And again, the queasy-greens work so well as accents, especially with the fabulous checkerboard texture stamp.  I had a ball with these stamps!

A Christmas Feeling {using HPXM08 by Alison Bomber}

I just loved playing with the combination of these stamps and the fresh bright colour palette Leandra suggested - it's a whole new Christmas look!  The two new colours Professor Plum and Captain Peacock are so zingy, and they work really well with the sharp retro feel of some of these new stamps.  This 5x7 plaque draws the eye in towards this fabulous little tree - probably my favourite image.

Snowy Tree {using HPXM08 by Alison Bomber}

This little tree has an even funkier graphic look, but with great distressing built in.  I think it looks really cool layered up in different colours on the oval plaques to create depth... and the "Cinerama" panoramic shape of the Merry Christmas is so much fun. 

Christmas Sunrise {using HPXM09 by Alison Bomber}

The tiny tree group from HPXM09 layer up beautifully to create a wintry woodland - by using different colours I got lots of depth to the forest.  And with a touch of icy shimmer from some clear embossing gives another retro style greeting an extra snazzy look! 

Ombre Cards {using HPXM09 by Alison Bomber}

There is such a variety of greetings in this stamp set, each one slightly different and so decorative that they make a great focal point for a card all by themselves.  I love the sleigh soaring over the top of this one, so again it seemed right to have the tiny woodland trees far below. 

Tiny Gift Tags {using HPXM08 and 09 by Alison Bomber}

Some of the images are deliciously small and delicate, making them perfect for small gift tags.  These little kraft tags were just right, and they'll make a great accent on plain white or plain brown gift-wrapping with coordinating ribbons.  I think they'll be really useful, so I made another variation too.

Sunrise Sunset Tags {using HPXM08 by Alison Bomber}

As well as offering a really vivid hue, you can also use the new paint colours to get some really subtle shades if you work with watery washes over white.  That's what I did here to get the sky-blue-pink shades of sunrise and sunset over the fabulous twirly trees.  It's really worth clicking for a close-up of this image as it's so fantastically intricate.

3D Greetings {using HPXM09 by Alison Bomber}

I had a lovely time with this one... It's another of those greetings stamps which can be a focal point all by themselves.  Having done the stencil bumping with the snowflake background I wanted to give a similar look to the embossed greeting, so I used a delicate wash of Captain Peacock to shade the edges and I'm delighted with how it made the image pop.

Christmas Baubles {using HPXM08 by Alison Bomber}

I'm finishing with maybe my favourite of the Christmas tags - these ombre baubles using two of the fabulously ornate tree images from HPXM08.  White-embossed, they really sing against the colourful backgrounds, and although there's nowhere you can quite get the whole of the greeting in the the multiple stamping of the text, I think you get the message!

Next up we have Helen Chilton. Helen is one of the most versatile crafters I know. She can rock all kinds of styles and genres, and never ceases to surprise with what she produces. She is just so clever and original, and we are so lucky to have worked closely with her for numerous years. 

Deadly Danger Canvas {using HPHW05 by Helen Chilton}

I love collage stamps, especially ones as detailed as these. This is niche using the reverse side of a small canvas, you can see the detail really well in the video Leandra filmed.

Use the image as a whole and then pull out details to use as extras. It doesn't take much soft colour to make a difference.

Poison Frame {using HPHW05 by Helen Chilton}

I had great fun making tiny images on shrink plastic to add as embellishments to this piece, but all the stamps look far more interesting when you add some colour to select details to bring forward or push back.

Oh Christmas Tree {using HPXM08 and HPXM09 by Helen Chilton}

I love all the text in these stamp sets, this sample is made from 2 stamps layered together as Leandra shows in the video. The fact it's all in different fonts and that you can build them up to create Christmas shapes, in this case a tree and in the next, baubles is very handy, and quite satisfying. 

Christmas Baubles {using HPXM09 by Helen Chilton}

This time instead of stamping in black, I've embossed in white on the darker background and used a black pen to bring out the details.

Christmas ATCs {using HPXM08 and HPXM09 by Helen Chilton}

The curlicue Christmas Tree in HPXM08 is fantastic for repeat stamping to make backgrounds (see the pink area). I like the fact that it's so  easy to ink up just one word from a stamp as i did for the 'Christmas' border. White pen accents knocks back the black, and adds some delicacy to a bold stamp.

Our third contributor tonight is Alison Hall. Alison is into her painty backgrounds, and she has had a ball with the new paint colours as you will see from her samples!

Merry Christmas {using HPXM08 by Alison Hall}

Some fabulous swirly Christmas trees on this plate, and I love how this one looked stamped over the more solid tree. Great Christmas messages too, which are always very useful.

Feeling Christmassy {using HPXM08 by Alison Hall}

This textured Christmas tree is great for making Christmassy masterboards, which you can then cut up to make series of Christmas cards from. I'd like to try this with other colour combinations too, traditional reds and greens would be ideal. All you need is one of those fab quotes, and you're done!

Starry Christmas {using HPXM09 by Alison Hall}

Some very useful Christmas message collages, perfect on any type of background. Great for those who like a clean and simple look, and also messy types like me, who like to make their own backgrounds! PaperArtsy Stencil 021 is very useful for adding some Christmassy '25's' if you pick the right bit!

Card {using HPXM09 by Alison Hall}

I love this message with the tree and reindeer. I couldn't resist adding some Christmassy bling to the star and my painty background. Those gorgeous turquoise and plum colours are from the new Limited Edition Fresco Paint set. I've teamed the new stamps with some older Ink and the Dog  and Squiggly Ink stamps, they all work together perfectly.

Next up tonight it's Penny Nuttall. Penny is another 'out of the box' crafter who conjures up the weird and wonderful..Halloween suits her well!

Skulls in Stitches {using HPHW05 by Penny Nuttall}

When I saw these images of skulls and acids and poison bottles it took me right back to my science laboratory roots! They don't just shout Halloween, but also mad scientists and steampunk. The stamps are deep and sharp enough to make a good print on fabric too, so a bit of stitchery happened....

Christmas! It's September! {using HPXM09 by Penny Nuttall}

I normally don't even think about Christmas until about two weeks before the day, so I was a bit worried if I could get in the creative mood so early, but once I started playing with the two new Hot Picks stamp sets I had no trouble at all! 

Leandra's colour choices are so unusual, but I REALLY like them. I really struggle with flat......so the sample above has an acetate dome shaped greeting slotted in to the card. So how could I get it to PA Headquarters unsquashed?

Box it! But I couldn't stop there, just one more.....

  Something different for Christmas {using HPXM08EZ by Penny Nuttall}

Both these Christmas sets have a vintage feel, so for the next cards I went a bit "shabby chic", I quite like a bit of wire and lace. There's a bit of sparkle on there too but it doesn't show too well in the photographs.

Finally tonight it's Lauren Hatwell. Lauren's brain seems to come up with the wild and wonderful quite naturally! She is another keen and clever creator with the spooky Halloween theme. 

Beware! {using HPHW05 by Lauren Hatwell}

I always enjoy the great little details in the Hot Picks stamps, so I decided to cut them out and use them individually, leaving them in black and white to make them stand out against the background.

Deadly Danger! {using HPHW05 by Lauren Hatwell}

I really liked the colour scheme for this release. The gorgeous new Fresco Paint greens add a sort of poisonous glow; perfect for those spine-chilling images.

Wow, what a fabulous start to our week of new products! I know Christmas still seems a long way off, but the sooner we get started, the more we can kick back and enjoy it once the hustle and bustle of December is upon us. Maybe this year you might get into the Halloween swing of things too. It is certainly a growing 'thing' in the UK, perhaps some trick or treat bags might be whipped up now ready for next month?

All these stamps are available now from your favourite PaperArtsy stockist. As you know,  we urge you to support your local independent retailer by spending your money with them. If you want retail choice in the craft sector for the future, then always buy your stamps and stuff from an independent retailer!

These retailers were fast out of the blocks last week, and in preparation for tonight, they have already got the products featured in this post in stock and ready for you to buy now!

Australia:
Crafter's Cupboard Pty Ltd, Berwick, Melbourne, Australia

Canada/USA:
Frantic Stamper Inc, Eagle Point, Oregon, Canada
Simon Says Stamp, Columbus, Ohio, USA

France:
Kerudoc Creation, Kerudoc, France
Scrapatouille, Brignoles, France

Germany:
Stempelmuehle, Gardelegen, Germany
Stempelfee, Hilden, Germany

Netherlands 
Bianca's Toko, Nieuw Weerdinge, Netherlands
Creafine, Pependrecht, Netherlands
Leuke Stempels, Nijverdal, Netherlands
Papillon Hobby, Hendrik Ido Ambacht, Netherlands

South Africa:
Stencil Art, Johannesburg, South Africa

United Kingdom:
Aldridge Crafts, Attleborough, Norfolk, England
Artist Trading Post, Wirksworth, Derbyshire, England
Blade Rubber Stamps, Bloomsbury, London, England.
Birds in the Barn, Marks Tey, Essex, England
Country View Crafts, Nr Sandy, Bedfordshire, England
Craftylicious, Mildenhall, Suffolk, England
Daisy's Jewels and Crafts, Coventry, West midlands, England
Imagine That, Upminster, Essex, England
It's Crafting Time, Harston, Cambridgeshire, England
Pink Tulip Creations, Studley, Warwickshire, England
Stampers Grove, Edinburgh, Scotland
Swanstitch, Deal, Kent, England
That Craft Place Ltd, Westham, East Sussex, England
That's Crafty, Harold Wood, Essex, England
The Artistic Stamper, Faversham, Kent, England
The Craft Barn, South Nutfield, Surrey, England
The Forget me not Kraft Kabin, Rochford, Essex, England