2020 #8 Popping Pink: A Box full of Quotes with EAB and ESA {by Amanda Pink}

2020 Topic 8: Popping Pink

We're so glad that Amanda Pink stepped up for this theme, and her clever cerise quote box is a plethora of pink stamping with some subtle details.Having a partly finished project that you can keep adding to is such a great idea for many of us right now who might not feel like creating a whole project in one go. ~Keren

Hi everyone, it's Amanda from ink-a-pink here with you today, and I'd like to share the project I have created for the current challenge: 'Popping Pink'.

I think this topic has my name written all over it, don't you? lol!    

It was only a few years ago now that through my creativity I actually started to appreciate the colour 'Pink'. I love the more vibrant, funky shades that really 'pop' when you team them up with black and white. I also love quote/sayings and have over the years recorded many I have heard or read in notebooks. So when I knew I would be creating with Alison Bomber's stamps for this topic I thought I would combine both of these 'loves' and create a 'box (rather than notebooks) filled with a collection of quote tiles in pink, black and white. 
Although this project may at first appear to be finished and indeed it could well be, I intend to keep adding to it. It will be my ongoing 'focus' project during my 'stay home' time- something I feel I need to keep  both the fingers and mind busy during these concerning times.

I used a That's Crafty Mdf ATB for the box which I painted with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paint: Little Black Dress.

The main creativity began with masterboard backgrounds. Whenever I need several similar looking backgrounds for one project I like to create masterboards that I later cut to size. 

PaperArtsy's Magenta Infusions create the most fabulous 'popping pink' colours depending on how much water you spritz them with so they served as my ink to monoprint and stamp some masterboard backgrounds. For the monoprinting I used some textured wallpaper (far left) and for the stamping I used a couple of the stamps (centre and far right) from one of PaperArtsy recently released stampsets: Eclectica (Seth Apter) collection (ESA15).

It 's the first time I've used Infusions in this way and was really pleased with the results.

The monoprinted background.

The circle stamped background. 

The 'grid circle' stamp background.

I assigned the monoprint background to the box and after cutting it into panels to fit each of the 5 faces I added some black detail stamping.

There's some 'crosses' ...

....and some 'target circles' using stamps from PaperArtsy Eclectica (Seth Apter) collection (ESA15).

There's also some broken text using a couple of quote stamps from PaperArtsy Eclectica (Alison Bomber) Collection (EAB02 and EAB08). Alison's quotes are great to add some text to your backgrounds whether you stamp them in full or you stamp them more brokenly as I have done.

Fast forward past all the matt n layering and adhering and the box was ready to be filled.

It was 'more of the same' creativity for the quote tiles: cutting to size the Infusion stamped masterboards, matt n layering and adding some black detail stamping.

I stamped the tile backgrounds with the same stamp from ESA15 as I had on the box backgrounds so there was some continuity of design between the two. I also stamped a few small open circles using PaperArtsy (Tracy Scott) Minis (EM60). Tracy's stamp design has open space between the circles which allows you to stamp a single circle with out having to mask off the others. I think the single circles compliment the 'target circles' and fill in the gaps ( so to speak) nicely.

Each tile has its own 'quote' taken from 5 of PaperArtsy's Eclectica (Alison Bomber) Collection (EAB02, 03, 07, 08, 17). I selected the quotes that worked best with the size of the tiles. It pained me to leave the others out as I wanted to use them all!

On the reverse of the tiles there's a blank panel on which a few words could be written if I give/send them to anyone; I am sure I will.

I also made some tiles into cards and rather than have the quotes centralised I split them up and arranged them 'creatively' on the backgrounds.

The tiles and the cards along with a few envelopes fit in the box perfectly with plenty of room for the tiles I have yet to create. Should keep me busy for the foreseeable future !!

Admittedly this is a big project but it could very easily be broken down into a number of creative sessions, for example the box one day, the matt n layers another, the backgrounds another.  

The creativity could also be divided up amongst the people you are 'staying home' with.

It's also a versatile project that could be 'changed up' so easily. You could use different colours, mediums, stamps. The tiles could be used in the ways I have shown or they could be used to make tryptechs, gift tags or framed either individually or in sets to display around the home.

Just a few ideas but there are so many creative options!

Why not have a go at creating something similar yourself and have fun 'making it your own'. 

Thanks for stopping by today/ tonight.
Stay safe and well and keep on creating.
Take care,
Amanda 
x

Blog: ink-a-pink
Facebook: Amanda Pink
Instagram: Kynapi10
Pinterest: PinkArt

2020 #8 Popping Pink: Candy Stripe Notebook with EKC {by Jenny Marples}

2020 Topic 8: Popping Pink

Intro
Its fabulous to mix the vintage elements of Sara's stamps with the hand drawn flowers from Kay. This bright and cheerful piece is full of tips, particularly loved how the dragonfly embellishment was created!
~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Jenny (Pushing The Right Buttons) with you today, and I'd like to share with you a few fun techniques using Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints. My finished project is a notebook and it may look complicated at first glance, especially if you're just starting out with using paint, but each of the techniques I'm sharing are easy to replicate and can be used for making your cards, tags, journal pages and more.

Before getting going I will just say that for many of you with lots of crafting expertise under your belts much of what is shared in this post may seem obvious, but for lots of people out there in these strange and challenging times this could be a whole new hobby where every process is new and unfamiliar. Hopefully there's plenty in all of this to keep you all entertained and informed.

One of the things I'm asked most often is "how do you choose your colours?" Good question! My suggestion is that once you know what you're making (and maybe what the theme is) you look at patterned papers, magazines, fabrics and even (if you have a spare few hours) Pinterest to find something you really like that will fit the bill. Pick out the main colours and match them as closely as you can to the paints you have - PaperArtsy make this a lot easier since they have those handy paint swatches on the front of the bottles. For my book the theme set was Popping Pink so I looked at a paper collection that had bright pinks included in it and worked from there. You'll see throughout that I added in a few other shades in keeping with the original selection.

So now you've got your colours sorted let's get started with the first technique, often seen being done with inks but equally applicable with paints. Take a mid-toned colour (in this case Haystack) dilute with half paint/half water, dip your piece of paper or card into it and dry. Do this several times to help mop up all the paint, drying each layer as you go so you get an uneven coverage. Next repeat this process with much less of a whiter colour (I chose Cloud 9) again dipping, drying and repeating until you get a chalky look but can still see the colour underneath. Finally repeat the dip and dry process with the tiniest amount of a darker tone of the base colour (mine choice was Pumpkin Soup). I like to use a brush to move the paint around and create droplets that I can dip the card into. Keep going until you get a lovely mottled look.

That dip and dry technique is great for creating coloured card/paper that you can put your die cuts on, chop up and die cut, or stamp onto as I did. Below you can see I took the smaller of the tall flower stems from Kay Carley's stamp set EKC06 and stamped it onto the painted card using permanent black ink. I also stamped it onto a couple of pieces of watercolour card - the first stamping didn't go as well as I wanted so I used it to practice painting on - it happens! 

Layering stamping and stencilling under your 'focal' main image is a good way to add more detail without detracting attention from it; in this case I stamped the ledger image from Sara Nauman's stamp set ESN36 over the top of the flower stem.

To colour the flower I used paint mixed with lots of water - remember they are stamped on watercolour card which is important as this allows the paint to flow and blend. Start by painting the flowers with the main colour (I used Orchid) and while still wet add tiny drops of your second colour to the centres, allowing the colours to blend as they air dry (my choice was Autumn Fire). It's well worth practising this on a spare piece of card to see how the colours react together as you may want to change your choices for more impact or a more subtle look. Mop up any left over watery paint using the dip, dry process; I added the Orchid paint to a piece of card and applied the Autumn Fire paint to some plain cotton fabric - think about using paint to colour things like fabric because they add texture and interest to your projects.

Once you've coloured your card and fabric you can stamp onto them with your paints. I used the larger flower stem from Kay Carley's EKC06 stamp set and and the equally bright Bubble Gum paint so that it would not stand out too much. For greater contrast choose deeper or much paler shades. I like to put paint onto some foam with a spatula and use the foam in the same way you would and ink pad, dabbing the colour onto the stamp before pressing down onto the surface. Make your card go further by chopping off the corner and layering the larger piece under the main image. I then machine stitched around the yellow card and put the smaller piece aside to use later. With the flowers dry add a little bit of diluted green paint to the stems (in this case Green Patina) then cut around the flower stems. You'll see I gave my flower stem more dimension by cutting around some of the individual flowers on one of them, shaping them and gluing them onto the other.

Did you know you can add your paint to pastes and gels to colour them? I mixed Aquamarine with transparent gloss gel and spread it through the smallest dragonfly on Kay Carley's PS127 stencil. 

 

The first layer was still bumpy because I was applying the paste over stitching and the two pieces of card - adding a second layer when the first had dried made the finish much smoother. To give the dragonfly a lovely shimmer try painting Pearl Glaze onto it. Different textures on any project, from a card to a journal page, make them more tactile. With this in mind I moved on to adding a little more, starting by painting another piece of card with some Blah Mange paint.

After stamping more Bubble Gum flowers onto the dried card I die cut it with a lacy die and then brushed Metallic Glaze over it. You'll find that when dry the Metallic Glaze makes the colour seem a bit paler as it reflects so you can afford to use strong shades underneath when using it. The fun bit is then piecing all your elements together in a 'pile', adding dimensional foam (or silicone/hot glue) beneath the main flower to give it some height. With the die cut lace added on top of the fabric and that offcut of stamped card layered beneath it you have a bundle that can now be put onto a card, a journal page, a tag or in my case a book. The good thing about making these bundles is that you can test them out on different backgrounds to see what you think fits best for your purpose. I took inspiration for mine from that original piece of paper which helped me choose the paint colours.

Having settled on the candy stripe look background I had to attempt to replicate it and it ended up being easier than expected - in fact the less accurate you are when doing this the better it looks! Start with a blank base painted with Cloud 9 paint. Use a flat ended brush to apply stripes at random intervals and widths, some more patchy than others. Carry on doing this with your other colours, overlapping some of them as you go. I used Pumpkin Soup, Orchid, Blah Mange and Autumn Fire along mine changing to a thinner, smaller brush to add narrower lines. The last ones added using Green Patina were a real contrast to the warmer tones and are all ones used on the 'dragonfly pile' to coordinate well. If your lines are too perfect you can always go back over with a thin brush and dry brush a bit of the same paints on either side of each line - dry brushing involves, as it sounds, a tiny amount of paint that is almost dry on the end of your brush gently stroked over the surface. To give that worn appearance and make the stripes even more patchy finish by rubbing sanding paper or a sanding block along the lines in the same direction to remove some of the colour and reveal the base layer of Cloud 9. I gave every piece created for this project the finishing touch of blending some brown dye ink along the edges to give it a more vintage look. Since dye ink is translucent it means the base colours can still be seen.

When the cover was dry I bound a text block inside and glued the dragonfly 'pile' in place on the front. You'll see I also did a little hand stitching along the dragonfly's body and tail - simple stitching can again add extra detail and texture to a project. Here are some close ups of the finished book so you can see more of the shimmer and shine from the glazes and dimension from the cut out flowers;

And here's the finished book in its entirety again - hopefully you can see how it could work as a card, tag or journal page if you'd prefer.

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and if you've not tried the techniques involved feel confident enough to give them a go. You'll find you can get lots of lovely effects and textures by using your paints both on their own and with the addition of other media on many different surfaces. And don't worry about aiming for perfection - the imperfect really does have its own charm and character.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Jenny

Blog: https://pushingtherightbuttons.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/jenny.marples.73
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jennymarples73/

2020 #8 Topic introduction: Popping Pink (Colour Palettes)

 2020 Topic 8: Popping Pink

Hi everyone, Keren here introducing the colour PINK! This is not a colour that I wear nor choose to craft with, but whether neon, bold or beautifully pastel, it's certainly a colour that makes a statement. As to whether it can be described as 'popping', I've chosen lots of different shades and added in examples where the contrast can make it pop as well as the colour itself.

Debuting this theme are a PaperArtsy duo. Corrie Herriman is pushing the pink envelope with pinky- purples and uses the impactful stamp designs from Kim Dellow.

PaperArtsy Blog

Serendipitously, Amanda Pink had also created something textural using colder pinks. Layer upon layer of paint plus some Seth Apter images produces this wonderful result. She simply had to be here because of her name ;-) .

PaperArtsy Blog

Many of us enjoy journalling to make sense of the tangles and thoughts in our brain. This is an amusing and perfectly literal page.

Design Love Fest

Think for a moment about famous pinks, and this next one has to be up there. Lots of little girls have grown up with these bold pinks.

For The Love Of Pink

Like every colour, the look can change depending on its neighbours. Add bright red and gold and it looks modern and contemporary. 

Print Pattern 

Now take softer hues, a pillarbox red and some vintage images, and you end up with a pink that would be perfectly at home in a Victorian drawing room.

Efemera Ink

Shift to the animal world and pink is inextricably linked with those 'show-off' fashionista birds!

Murals Wallpaper

For a romantic interjection into proceedings, how about a beautiful sunset? Pinks in many different hues can be found and partner so stunningly with blues, purples, yellows and oranges.

Mats Forsberg

Pink is not a colour I'd have automatically associated with Christmas greeting cards, but this lovely knitted textured layer seems a sympathetic choice with the foliage and pine cones.

 Kelly Lunceford

If you're not a lover of sugary pinks, maybe you'll appreciate the vibrancy of neons. This print is bold, and would brighten up any dull space.

Marta Sawadzka

Pink and orange are cheerful companions. This simple card could be sketched and watercoloured in a similar style.

Edge Design

Dina Wakeley is known for her love of colour and bold designs. This piece shows how well the colours turquoise and orange make the bright pink really 'pop'.

 Dina Wakeley

Resin art has a certain magic; the softly blended colours and brilliant shine. Pinks blend with oranges, purples and nestle cosily next to white.

Alyssa Thomas Art

Tree-like plants erupt out of this forest. The green is a great contrast and the pinks sliding into purple burst out of the centres.

 Debi Payne

Bold graphic prints don't get much better than this. Notice all the different shades of pink interspersed with black and neutrals plus other contrasting colours.

AMAO

Pink brings out its delicate side when paired with yellow. This bouquet would bring a smile on even the dreariest of days.

Knotsvilla

Teaming pink with navy and grey makes pink seem sophisticated and grown-up even. Love the triptych of prints, proving that more can be more! Not sure I could manage to keep a pink sofa pristine, but would like to try!

Urban Epiphany Prints

Pink wouldn't be my go-to colour for figures, but I love this artist's journal page. She explains the process with a video.

Mixed Media Jenn 

I admire anyone who can paint, and this piece has my full admiration. Not only is it a wonderful portrait but the way they've added the paint gives such an amazing textural quality.

Source

Staying with art, but in a more abstract form, this artist pairs pastel and bright pinks with the neutrals that help tie the two hues together. 

Frederiko Saens-Recio

It always impresses me how different colours appear dependent on the background colour. This almost kraft background gives this piece a warmth and notice the 'unfinished' element that allows your mind to colour in the rest.

Toni Burt

We close out this intro with the bold art marks of Rae Missigman. She's a 'new-to-me' artist but I'll be visiting her more often. Her playful pieces use lots of mark making and her colours are punchy and arresting. Not afraid of pinks, I should take a leaf out of her book.

Rae Missigman

We've seen sugary pinks through red based vintage shades, up to fuschia bold pinks and even neon! Pink is a wonderful colour that you're sure to have fun with. Do have a look through your paints and inks and see where 'pink' takes you.

If you want to create along with us, please share on our social feeds so we can see what you get up to. The best places are Instagram @paperartsy or post in PaperArtsy People Group on Facebook. Make sure you tag us in your contributions, we love to see what you get up to in your creative world!