PaperArtsy: 2018 #1 ATC's with ESN Sneak Peek {by Miriam Grazier}

2018 Topic 1: ATC's

Miriam is a log time fan of Sara Naumann, so she was super thrilled to share a sneaky peek with Sara's newest stamps! Sara has created more fabulous collage stamps, with quotes, and Miriam has managed to sneak some of Sara's older stamps into the mix too!

Hi everyone, it's Miriam with you today, and I'd like to share with you ATC's that I have created. I challenged myself to use the same colour palette for all of them.

After Christmas I wanted to bring myself out of the seasonal crafting rut that I felt I was in. I found myself staring at my craft mat with no crafting mojo! ATC's are the perfect way to create small works of art and I found it gently brought my mojo back. Once I got into the swing of creating these small works of art I couldn't stop, so much so, I created a box to store them in using the same colour scheme.

ATC's were originally intended to swap (or trade) with others. I find that ATC's are also good to keep as a reference tool for designs and techniques. I started all of the ATC's in the same way, by brayering Fresco Finish Paints onto them.

I was also given the opportunity to 'play' with some new products that will be launched soon - so I had a great time exploring these new products. (Above and below you can see new images hidden within...)

For this ATC I experimented with using Grunge Paste as a clay. I am sure a lot of readers will be thinking that this technique is old hat, but I had never tried this. I left the Grunge Paste to dry completely overnight in the feather mould that I used. I was delighted to find that this worked. The Grunge Paste showed all of the texture, though I found that it was a little more brittle than a normal air dry clay. It did, however, take the Baltic Blue Fresco Finish Paint perfectly. I sponged this onto the clay and then once dry, highlighted areas using Classic Treasure Gold. {Tip from Leandra: mix some powdered resin-clay, Artemio have numerous plaster type products, into the GP for added strength}

I thought the feathers co-ordinated really well with the Slate and Mermaid Fresco Finish Paints that I had brayered in the background.

For this ATC I used Mermaid Fresco Finish Paint as the dominant colour, along with Stone, to create background colour. I chose to leave 'blank' areas in this ATC as I thought it added to the beautiful bird from ESN18.

Eclectica³ Sara Naumann Set 18 (ESN18)

The quote is from EAB02, I thought it suited this image really well.

Eclectica³ Alison Bomber Set 02 (EAB02)

It also shows how wonderfully a lot of the collections can be used together.

For my third ATC I introduced London Bus Fresco Finish Chalk Paint, along with Mermaid and Baltic Blue. The flowers were stencilled using Grunge Paste and then London Bus was sponged over once dry. In hindsight I should have added the paint to the Grunge Paste before stencilling it onto the ATC. I was still pleased with how it came out though.

The fabulous dragonfly from ESN21

Eclectica³ Sara Naumann Set 21 (ESN21)

... was stamped in Baltic Blue Fresco Finish Paint. To add shimmer, I added Metallic Glaze to the wings.

From here I felt that I was able to push myself outside my comfort zone and add more London Bus Fresco Finish Paint.

Here, I used London Bus and Slate as my dominant background colours, with Baltic Blue Fresco Finish Paint making the leaves from ESN20 'pop' on the ATC.

I added a twine bow to finish the ATC. I thought that the colour palette I was using would work very well for Valentine Themed ATC's too.

London Bus with a hint of Mermaid and Stone Fresco Finish Paints coloured the background for this ATC, allowing part of the heart image from ESN11

Eclectica³ Sara Naumann Set 11 (ESN11)

to take centre stage, with a lot of background stamping in Archival Ink. I love how the gold sequins adds a bit of glamour to this ATC as well as tying it in with the others that I have created.

I used a similar theme for the final ATC, this time using Slate instead of Mermaid Fresco Finish Paint. I thought that the burlap ribbon tied this in lovely with the twine bow in my previous ATC.

To finish, I decided to decorate a paper mache box that I had in order to create storage for my ATC's.

I loved how using the same colour palette could create so may variations. I really had to tear myself away. Creating ATC's is a really fun way to practise techniques and to play with colours that you would not normally use. I also found that it got me out of that 'post-Christmas crafting rut' where I had spent months creating seasonal projects and then suddenly found that I almost didn't know what to do. This was helped, however, by some amazing products that are being released very soon!

I really hope that I have inspired you to create some ATC's, whether you intend to trade them with fellow crafters or keep them as inspiration for when you find yourself in a rut. And now that I have created a storage box for my ATC's it means that I have an arty way to store them.

Thanks for joining me this evening, I hope that you join in with the first challenge of 2018.

Blog: https://miriamgrazier.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook: Miriam Grazier

Note: New PaperArtsy stamp releases officially start here on the PA blog, Jan 18th

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You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw.

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The current topic link Topic 1: ATC's will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 4th February 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00. (Please note the challenge is 1 month long due to significant new Product news during January)

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