Monday 30 April 2018

2018 #8 Book Box Revisited with EDY {by Sue Carrington}

2018 Topic 8: Boxes


We're kicking off the new topic of Boxes with our newest stamps from Darcy which are still filtering their way through to our stockists. Sue has used them perfectly within the niche on the front of this recycled book-box. Take a look! ~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Sue here (StampingSueStyle) with you today, and I'd like to share with you a book box that has been given a new lease of life.

Sometimes projects just don't turn out how I thought they would and when I finished this book box the first time round it fell into this category and got put away in disgust. So when thinking about boxes and what the options were, I had a rummage through my craft room and spotted this box and decided to give it a revamp.


First thing was to take everything off the box and get back, as far as I could, to the original state. This proved slightly tricky as whatever the glue was that I used the first time round it was extremely tough ! 


The original design included a plastic mesh that was glued to the front and back, I couldn't remove it all and the pieces you can see on the book spine are the remnants.



What the mesh did do, however, was to leave a wonderfully textured finish. The colour inspiration came from seeing Double Denim, Terracotta and Mahogany Fresco Chalk Paints together, such rich colours and I really liked how they sat together.


I gathered together shades of Fresco Finish Acrylic chalk paints in soft blues; Ice Blue, Venice Blue, Double Denim and Midnight and blended the colours, layering each one in turn, working from light to dark. For the warm colours I used; Pumpkin Soup, Terracotta, Autumn Fire, Mahogany and finally French Roast.Some of these paints are from a mix of new and older Seth Apter boxed paint sets.


The stamps that I've used are from Darcy's latest set EDY21. When I saw these images I immediately thought of the "Adams Family" and the photo of the family standing together, so I wanted to created something along a similar vein, with the images standing together in front of their house. These images were relatively easy to cut out and once painted and positioned they were glued down. I used Faber Castell Pitt Pens to add extra shading and some Acrylic ink and Bombay ink to add some splatters , as it was looking too neat ! 



Sometimes it's good to revisit past projects, I for one have a lot that are just stacked in boxes as I'm too sentimental to throw them away but I don't have the space to display them, and there are still plenty that need to be revamped. I need to decide what to do with the inside of this box but at least now it has made it into the light again. 

Sue

Blog: www.stampingsuestyle.com
Twitter: Ink_and_me
Instagram: carringtons22


We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

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

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 8: Boxes will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, May 13th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

Sunday 29 April 2018

2018 Topic 8: Boxes {Intro and Challenge Links}

 2018 Topic 8: Boxes


Well hello everyone, Darcy here bringing you our new blog topic. This time we are looking at making and decorating boxes. whether you use them as ornaments, storage or for giving gifts, we can all agree that we couldn't manage without boxes. There are so many on our homes, so why not make them beautiful to look at. 

Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 7: Kraft card...

The winner is: Monika from Mistletoe Home Designs


Email Darcy to claim your prize. Darcydotneedles@gmail.com


Boxes, chests, caskets, trunks; they have been around for centuries. Used for storage and made from wood or metal, they have been large and heavy, some plain and some statement pieces. Modern boxes are generally made from cardboard, and we don't display them in our homes. Think about when people had 'hope chests'  and 'trunks' for travelling. They were dedicated boxes, and a lot of thought when into their construction, but also into how they looked. Jewellery boxes were another stunning piece of art in their own right. It is time to get back to making storage pretty, perhaps not as large as a hope chest though!

Here is a modern take on a jewellery box. 


Stewart Jones
Cardboard of course is a go-to substrate, whether that is thin card, mount board or heavy duty card with a corrugated centre, there are lots of opportunities to recycle with this topic. Look in your recycling box; amazon boxes, cereal boxes, backboards from sketchbooks, shoe boxes, etc, they can all be reused. Of course there are also some plain wooden boxes available in hobby shops, ready for you to decorate, these can be painted, stamped, decoupaged or like the example above they can have designs burnt into them using a pyrography tool. 

You could of course not decorate at all, just go big! really big! This giant box installation is by Zimoun, in Bucharest. It is made from 2000 pieces of cardboard. 

Zimoun + Hannes Zweifel at Mnac, Bucharest
Zimoun
Another installation here, this one could be done on a much smaller scale, and would be so much fun to do with children. I see summer holiday fun in these. I quite fancy making some myself and I don't even have the excuse of having children around!


Cartons, cardboard cutout installation Musee d’art Moderne de Ceret © Julien Gardair 2002
Julien Gardair
If faces aren't your thing, how about houses, again I think this would be a great project for children to let their imaginations run wild and get them off their electronic devices. 


branca rotelli: Favela chic
Annalise Rees
Switching to wood for a moment, these seem to be old packing crates or wine boxes, though this is quite large, it would make a stunning feature against one wall. As they are individual dioramas you could always just have one as a statement piece. 


Artist: Allison May Kiphuth                                                                                                                                                     More
Allison May Kiphuth
Back to cardboard, you can make a much smaller version of the above installation. You can buy configuration boxes, or better still make your own. Fill them with oddities, or pop them into a draw and use them as storage. Wouldn't this make a great drawer tidy, for stationery, or jewellery! Follow the link to see how this drawer divider set was made from cereal boxes. 


IHeart Organizing: DIY Cereal Box Drawer Dividers
Jennifer Jones
What can you display on a box? well it seems, anything and everything! A veritable feast of oddities can be crammed into tiny spaces. It probably doesn't come much smaller than matchbox art. 


By cocostyle blog
Cocostyle
Of course all kinds of strange little oddities can be displayed in boxes. 


Mano Kellner


These matchbox dolls are some of the cutest things I have ever seen, how much fun! Just look at their little stick legs!

Merve Gizem Sincik
Books and boxes are a great combination, how about a teeny, tiny accordion book in a box!


accordion box photo craft idea
Sugar Bee Crafts

What about these 'comfort' boxes, fill with happy images and an uplifting phrase or message and give them out to your friends. This would definitely make me smile. 


ok lovely concept_would be amazing as cig match box idea
Kim Welling

Another book in a box, Oh be still my beating heart, how gorgeous is this, what tiny secrets and things could you write about in here. 

Kate Bowles Books - matchbox size -- Oh my! I LOVE this
Kate Bowles

Boxes are fantastic for presenting gifts and bulky cards, I am sure most of us have made a card with just one too many flowers on it, only to find it would not fit in an envelope. But how about making the box a part of the card. Pop up box cards are such fun, you can cram in so many details. 

Tatty Twinkles Pop Up Box Card | docrafts.com
Claire Boelema
This leads us nicely into exploding boxes, at one time they were so popular and everyone was making them. They involve a lot of work but they are worth it. 


Elaine
Elaine

Let's look at gift boxes, these give you an opportunity to take your design outside of the card or gift, they can be simple of elaborate. They can also be made in almost any shape, these wonderful triangle boxes really caught my eye. 

50 triangle boxes are a whole lot of boxes.
Candy Wooding


Pillow boxes are another unusual shape, but so easy to make. Look at these Halloween pillow boxes, a great way to give out treats in October. 




Maybe fabric is your thing, I went through a period where I loved making fabric boxes as gifts. I have a lovely book called Embroidered Boxes by Janet Edmonds that is worth looking at. 

Here is an embroidered fabric box,made to look like a house, so much work but stunning. 

Janice MacDougall
How about this for a sensory overload, a see through, perhaps walk through? box with no sides! 
This is so pretty, could this be done on a small scale, maybe construction as a hanging mobile in a window? Don't forget just because the original is a huge installation does not mean that you can't take something from that, scale it down, make it work for you. 

Ebony Bizys

A quirky one to finish with, how about this for an aquarium! I think this is the weirdest use of a telephone box that I have ever seen, it was created by students in Japan. 

Kingyobu

Have fun over the next 2 weeks and show us what you can do with a box, let those creative juices go wild and then link up your fantastic creations. 

Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks!

~ Darcy



We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

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

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.







The current topic link Topic 8: Boxes will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 13th May 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.



All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

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

Saturday 28 April 2018

2018 Topic #7 Kraft card: Collaged elements with VID {by Nikki Acton}

2018 Topic 7: Kraft Card

Kraft card and collage with PaperArtsy Vintage Ink and the Dog stamps - by Nikki Acton


Nikki has opted for a kraft-white-brown ink colour scheme here. This has allowed her to play with all the elements and textures until she was happy with the arrangement. Sometimes it is a really good idea to strip back the colour and force yourself to work with a more limited palette than you otherwise might. Can you meet the challenge and have a go? Go on! ~Leandra

Hi everyone, Nikki from Addicted to Art with you today, and I'd like to share my designs using Kraft card, white and collaged elements.

I love the impact of white on Kraft and so decided to keep my colours minimal just adding brown ink to the mix. Having selected my Vintage Ink and the Dog stamp set to work with I knew I was going to chop them all up and create some collaged pieces! When I get a new stamp set I often stamp each one several times on scrap paper and play around with them - whole or in part to find compositions that work. 

Kraft card and collage with PaperArtsy Vintage Ink and the Dog stamps - by Nikki Acton

I took the stamp set - ID08 and stamped each element in brown archival as well as another set with versamark and white embossing powder. I then began mixing and cutting and seeing what I could come up with! 

I love the eyes and the 'Take another Look' phrase but had to separate them all. Similarly with the numbers - I cut them all up to make smaller elements to add to the collage.



Kraft card and collage with PaperArtsy Vintage Ink and the Dog stamps - by Nikki Acton

On the base of the card and tag I added paint with Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic - in Chalk through a stencil  - PS036  and then randomly stamped the script stamp from the above set.

Kraft card and collage with PaperArtsy Vintage Ink and the Dog stamps - by Nikki Acton

When it comes to arranging elements I try to follow basic rules of composition - although there is a time to break them and sometimes it works! On the card above I tried to create a triangle of three dominant areas of different sizes - this helps to guide the eye naturally around the piece.

Kraft card and collage with PaperArtsy Vintage Ink and the Dog stamps - by Nikki Acton


Framing is also a great way make things stand out. When matt and layering cards I try to add matts of different framing distance from the next - but a great way to achieve this is to use ink or paint. You can see here how I have added a layer of Fresco paint to create a border for the Kraft card.

I had lots of fun playing with this stamp set! If it isn't something you already do I encourage you to play around with stamped images - cut them up, layer them, mix them. Even if it doesn't always work it might generate new ideas. 

Nikki

Blog: Addicted to Art
Instagram: @A2Acardscraft
Pinterest: nikacton



We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

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

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 7: Kraft Card will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, April 29th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.


All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

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

Friday 27 April 2018

2018 Topic #7 Kraft card: Crumpled Kraft Collage Cards with EEA {by Autumn Clark}

2018 Topic 7: Kraft Card


Oh me oh my, these cards are gorgeous. I love the Vintage touch and there are so many gorgeous details. They look simple, but ohhhh nooo, check out the embossing powders, the die cuts, the coordinated splatter, lots of fun all pulled together so beautifully!! Thanks Autumn! ~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Autumn Clark with you today to share a couple of grungy dimensional cards.  

I was thrilled to create for the Kraft Card Topic because kraft paper is one of my great loves.  From brown paper packages tied up with strings to corrugated cardboard, I simply adore the color and texture of kraft!


I have been itching to make some crumpled kraft paper backgrounds, complete with rips and stitches.  I knew the PaperArtsy Eclectica³ {Everything Art} Collection (EEA06) stamps would be perfect.



After stitching my crumpled kraft down, I started making some paper to help build my layers.  I dipped kraft card into Distress Oxides for my blue backgrounds.  I overstamped one of my all time favorite stamps from PaperArtsy Eclectics³ {Seth Apter} Collection (ESA08) in Distress Oxide over my puddled colors. 




I made some more "vintage book" paper with Distress Inks and stamped the photo strip in Tree Branch Archival for a vintage look.  I colored my die cuts with very watered down Royal Blood Infusions.


I embossed the number stamps in black and added an embossed die cut, some basket filler and half of a handmade flower to each card.  I thought the found relatives worked well with the photo strip stamp.  


I'm thankful to be building my birthday card stash with these two!  Of course, I would have loved to have finished them off with a sentiment from the Alison Bomber collection, but I have a little more collecting to do stampwise.  ;0


So what stamps have your crafty heart a fluttering these days?  I hope these images have inspired you and you are encouraged to get to "krafting".  

Happy stamping, Autumn

Blog: SewPaperPaint
Facebook: Autumn Clark
Instagram: @sewpaperpaint
YouTube: SewPaperPaint
Pinterest: Autumn S Clark

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

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

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 7: Kraft Card will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, April 29th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.


All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

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

Wednesday 25 April 2018

2018 #7 Kraft Card: Colorful Trio with JoFY {by Anneke De Clerck}

2018 Topic 7: Kraft Card


So just how does Anneke make this tiled background in the centre card?? Well you will have to read on to find out! It wasn't what I imagined -she is too clever for words!  Enjoy! ~ Leandra


Hi everyone, it's Anneke here today, and I'd like to share with you a set of cards I made for the current 'Kraft Card' topic. I have a love-hate relationship with kraft card. I created cards on a kraft background before but I'm usually preferring a more grayish kraft. I love using bright colors on my projects and in the past I was convinced those colors don't work on a brown surface. For today's cards I used the new Dina Wakley Media kraft cardstock by Ranger and that paper is deep brown. Quite a challenge I thought... but during the  process  of making these cards I discovered it's perfectly possible to end up with colorful cards using that very brown kraft card. I'll show you how.


As usual I've chosen the colors before starting my project. This time I went for pink, orange and green.


In my opinion white works very well on kraft so I decided to put some white paint on the kraft card bases to start with. Later on this will help the colors pop more as well. I used 3 quick and easy techniques to add white accents to a kraft card before stamping on it. I scraped some paint to the card on the right using a plastic card. On the card in the middle I used the edges of the plastic card to create stripes. 


Here I worked with a homemade stamp. I've cut a 2,5 x 2,5 cm square out of a carving block and used this simple homemade stamp to create a pattern. 




For this challenge I worked with some of the latest but also a few of the older JOFY stamp sets. I love how the stamps from the different sets go together so easily! On the first card I combined stamps from JOFY 60, JOFY 09 and JOFY 45.


I stamped the flowers, greenery and text straight to the background. The white paint made the surface a bit bumpy, that's the reason I used my MISTI stamping tool. This allowed me to restamp if necessary. I left both card and stamp in place while coloring the greenery, then overstamped the print after drying. On the left you see an overstamped print. With the help of the MISTI (or similar stamping tool) you can easily paint with an opaque paint without loosing any detail of the stamp, a great advantage in my believe.


During the month of March I joined a gel printing challenge on Instagram. This left me with a bunch of colorful gel prints ready on my desk. I've chosen to stamp the flower heads on a pink/orange print. I did the letters of the word "big" the same way. A quick and easy way to add color to a project!


Here I used stamps from the JOFY 60, JOFY 63 and JOFY MINI 62 stamp sets.



I love the versatility of this small JOFY stamp! I'll use this one often on future projects.



On this card I first added some white stamping using a script stamp from the JOFY 63 set, love the outcome!


I attached a strip of Jane Davenport washi tape to a scrap of white paper and punched small squares out of that paper. I used those tiny squares to embellish the cards.


For the final card I used stamps from the JOFY 60 and JOFY 63 set. The small circles on the top left corner are from the JOFY 45 set.


I was surprised I was able to create cards that fit seamlessly with my style using the deep brown cardstock. But I have to admit the beautiful JOFY stamps did help a lot!!! 
I hope I could convince you it's perfectly possible to make other than vintage cards using kraft cardstock. Just start by adding some white paint and then pick a few bright colors. The beautiful JOFY or other PaperArtsy stamps will do the rest!


We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

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

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 7: Kraft Card will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, April 29th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.


All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

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