2018 #15: Artist Trading Coins with EKC {by Chris Cresswell}

2018 Topic 15: Artist Trading Coins

Hi everyone, it's Chris Cresswell from loopsandlines.blogspot.co.uk with you today, and I'd like to share with you my Artist Trading Coins and Holders, using some of Kay Carley's recent stamp sets and stencils. 

I was really excited earlier this year to catch onto this new version of Artist Trading Cards when I saw a FaceBook post which featured some examples of Artist Trading Coins. I was intrigued. I then went onto Pinterest to see if I could find more, only to find very few had been uploaded. Only six in fact and a short Process video created by Joanne Hodges (aka Craftyhodges) who got this idea while taking a shower! Of course, there are hundreds now but I clearly entered this mini world at its very early stages. I'm very grateful as I adore making them. I have particularly enjoyed creating these for PaperArtsy, using Kay's lovely stamps and stencils because the flowers fit the 2.5" size so well and because they achieve the same purpose as the original Artist Trading Cards, which is to provide samples of an artist's work: in this case a sample of a PA designer's work! I have also created a 'Holder' for storing the ATCoins. The small size Pringles tin is a perfect fit for these Coins. 

This quickly became a Mixed Media project. I knew that I wanted to make several ATCoins but I wanted to keep them fairly simple to really show off the beautiful flowers, butterflies and dragonflies that Kay loves to design. I always start with a Masterboard and die-cut the Coins once the background is complete. 

I first put down a layer of Distress Oxides followed by various PaperArtsy Infusions, sprayed with water to create a lovely watercolour effect. Infusions work so well on top of the Oxides. There are more process steps of this stage on my blog tonight if you haven't yet tried this technique, here 

I used 340gms PaperArtsy Smoothy Card for these backgrounds. This is the 12" x 12" size, so I was able to die-cut a lot of Coins from these three colour combinations. 
Having made the backgrounds for the Coins, I then started on the backgrounds for the ATCoin Holders, again using the same size PaperArtsy Smoothy Card, but adding some texture using PaperArtsy Grunge Paste and two stencils: PSO34 and Kay's new stencil PSO97.

First I used PSO34 to scrape grunge paste through the stencil, all over two sheets of the card, in its natural form.

Once dry, I brayered several Fresco Chalk paints across each surface. On one sheet, I used predominantly pinks and oranges, on the other sheet I used a mix of blues, purples and greens. Again, I have listed the colours used on my blog. The raised stenciled circles resisted a lot of the colour so quite a bit of white space was created. 

Once I was happy with the colour blends, on each stenciled sheet, I used Kay's new stencil (PSO97) to add further grunge paste on top of the coloured background. This is such a pretty stencil and wonderfully firm to take heavy media. This time I wanted to add colour to the grunge paste before applying. This was when the surprise happened. In the photo you can see I used Magenta Infusions on top of the pink/orange background. I had hoped by using the Infusions I would create a vibrant raised set of stenciled images. However, to my surprise, I found that when this dried the colour had paled down considerably. At first I was disappointed but gradually found that I loved the new colour that the mixing with the grunge paste had created. The same happened when I mixed Violetta Infusions with the grunge paste for the blue/green background.

The little daisy is from a much earlier stamp set: EKC03.

As you can see I added further doodling to the raised stenciling and used a Sharpie white paint pen to colour in the daisies.These were now ready to cut to size and wrap around the Pringles Crisps tins to transform them into Mini ATCoin Holders. 

The tiny butterfly and dragonfly are from sets: EKC03 and EKC06.

The next step was to stamp out some of the gorgeous flowers from Kay's new stamp set: EKC19 and my all time favourite stamp set: EKC15.

I used Black Archival ink for one set and Memento for the other set, again stamped on PaperArtsy 340gms Smoothy card. One set would be coloured with Copic markers, thus the need for a Memento ink pad, and the others would be coloured with Derwent Inktense Blocks which I grated into little pots and added water to. These three Coins (which are my favourite) were coloured with the Inktense Blocks, cut out and adhered to the Coins:

Each Coin is embellished with stamping, doodling and mark making before the final image is adhered on top. The final flourish in the three above was to add some text and a little DecoArt Media Liquid Glass in the centre of each flower. Once completed I generally adhere them either to black or coloured card or some of the  many MDF Coins I have in my stash!

The fun part is always the final stage, deciding on the focal image and final embellishments. You will already have seen many different ideas for completed ATCoins this week and there are many more on Pinterest. For some of these, and as a tribute to Kay's preferred style, I've added some glitter to some of my Coins. Often I will add Collage Pauge to ensure all layers are firmly attached, especially if I've added beads and tiny fragments. At other times, I will add DecoArt Crackle Glaze or  Distress Collage mediums. The choice is yours. In the photo below, you can see a close-up of some of the Coins with added glitter and three Coins made from one of the left-over sheets that I created for the Holders:

These little mini art works are quick and easy to make and there are a number of Swaps organised by various groups, including my own facebook group: Mini Marvels. I hope the ATCoins you have seen tonight and throughout the week inspires you to have a go yourselves. Kay Carley's stamp sets are a great way to get started. Any of the Coins shown here are available for swapping if you're interested!

Blog: www.loopsandlines.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: Chris Cresswell
Twitter: @artmadnana
Instagram: artmadnana
Pinterest: Chris Cresswell

To join our challenge and win a PaperArtsy £50 gift voucher:

Simply 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 15: Artist Trading Coins will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 16th September 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy £50 voucher. 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!