2020 #10 Tribal Chiefs with EGL {by Amanda Pink}

2020 Topic 10: Recycled Packaging

Intro.   
Life is like a box of chocolates, and Amanda has managed to repurpose that white bumpy layer that comes just inside the lid! Any excuse to buy choccies so we can make cool BG's right?? Absolutely love these tribal face stamps from Gwen's new release, so much personality with a splash of quirky creative fun too!
~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Amanda (ink-a-pink) with you today, and I'd like to share with you the project I have created for the current topic: 'Recycled Packaging' .

I have a few pieces of what I would call 'Tribal Art' around my home so thought I would add a few new additions by creating a trio of framed panels featuring some of the 'Tribal Chiefs'  that are on one of Gwen Lafleur's newly released stamp sets. The panels are made up of recycled packaging, texture, tribal colours and patterns, not forgetting of course the ever so fabulous 'Tribal Chief's' themselves.

Having no end of cardboard packaging cluttering up my garage I thought I'd use some of it for my project. I picked out some hardback envelopes and a cardboard folder/ wallet. I also added some chocolate box lining into the mix too! 

As I mentioned in the intro the stamp set I worked with was PaperArtsy Eclectica (Gwen Lafleur) collection (EGL09)

Normally when I create I start with the backgrounds and work from there but this time I worked in reverse beginning with stamping and painting the 'Tribal Chiefs'. Why? I was a little undecided on the colour palette of the backgrounds so thought if I painted the 'Chiefs' first that would help me decide.

I used PaperArtsy Fresco Finish acrylics to colour the 'Chiefs' (Willow, Waterfall, Captain Peacock, South Pacific, Cherry Blossom, Claret, Butternut, Tangerine Twist, Haystack, Mustard Pickle, and Midnight) 

I knew that I could potentially loose some of the fine detail stamping if I was painting the images so I used a stamping platform to stamp them and kept everything in situ while I painted. By doing this once the paint was dry I was able to overstamp the images with ease and precision to replace any lost detail. 

Seeing them coloured definitely helped direct my choice of colour palettte.

However, I did decide to use just 3 of the 'Chiefs' for no other reason than '3's a magic number' in art, right? 

The backdrop panels for the 'Chiefs' were cut out of the cardboard folder. They were covered with chocolate box lining and coloured using some of the PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints I'd used to paint the 'Chiefs': (Claret, Tangerine Twist, Captain Peacock and Waterfall)

I like how the chocolate box lining added some delicate 'bubble like' texture which was enhanced by the Fresco colours.

I added a touch of detail stamping using the small text stamp on PaperArtsy Hot Picks (HP1903EZ) collection. Due to the texture it did lose some of it's definition.

 

The frames were also cut out of the cardboard folder. I was definitely getting some mileage from that one folder!!

Wanting these to be lightly textured I reached for PaperArtsy's Grunge Paste. I applied the paste, dried and then painted with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic paints (Midnight, Little Black Dress).  However, you could mix the paste and paint together and then apply. The result will be the same and you will save yourself some time!

The first of the two background panels were cut out of the hard back of an envelope and painted with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylics (Snowflake)  

I wanted to introduce some kind of tribal pattern to the project so I grabbed some off cuts of card and painted them with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylics (Claret, Captain Peacock, Tangerine Twist) . I then stamped lots of diamonds using the diamond stamp from PaperArtsy Eclectica (Gwen Lafleur) collection (EGL09). This is a great way to make use of  offcuts which if you're anything like me you'll have loads of . 

After cutting out the diamonds (no hard job as its straight lines all the way) they were paper pieced to create a repeating pattern on the painted panel. I decided not to use the claret diamonds as I felt they were a little too dark and the colour would therefore be better suited to use on the final background panels. In this case I guess 3 wasn't necessarily the magic number !! 

I enjoyed creating the tribal pattern and was pleased with the result. Although it may seem fiddly and alot of 'faff' it was really straight forward. I actually found the process quite relaxing and somewhat therapeutic. The main 'niggle' for me was that for some reason the cardboard panel kept sliding around on the glass mat! That was easily fixed by slipping a piece of 'non slip' matt underneath. 

The final background panels were again cut out of the hard back of an envelope. 
I worked on card that I adhered to the panels, painting the card with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic (Claret). This is one of the translucent colours so it needed a few coats to get a good depth of colour. 

I felt the panels needed a border around the edges so some 'off the page' embossed stamping helped with that. The small 'symbol' stamp from PaperArtsy Eclectica (Gwen Lafleur) collecton (EGL09) was ideal for this. 

After assembing all the 'parts' of all 3 panels I embellished the corners of the  frames with brass brads. 

I also highlighted a feature of each of the 'Chiefs'.

The flower around the eye of the first 'Chief'.

The leaves on the neck band ....

...and the headdress of the second Chief.

The butterfly decorating the neck of the third 'Chief.'

Its been a while since I used some kind of recycled packaging in my creativity so it made for a refreshing change. It's been a welcome reminder to source my cardboard packaging stash more often rather than reach into the drawer full of greyboard/ mountboard. Much better for the environment and easier on the pocket too! 

Although my framed panels have a tribal theme they could  be created using other themes. The colours, the texture, the patterns and the framed stamped images could very easily be altered. 

Photos could be framed instead of stamped images and the backgrounds could be personalised to the photo.  They could be  special birthdays/ occasions frames that feature (for example) numbers in the frames and backgrounds relative to the occasion. 

Just a few alternative ideas but the options are endless. 

Maybe you might like to create your own themed framed panels from recycled packaging?  You could display them around your home as I will be doing with 'my tribe' or you could gift them to family and friends.  You could even add your own special message or favourite quote on the back of them! 

Thanks for  joining me today/ tonight
 Keep on creating!  
Amanda  
x


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