2020 A Year in Review {Topics 6-10}

PaperArtsy Blog 2020 Year in Review - Part 2/4

Hello from PaperArtsy HQ,

Well, 2020 is the year that just keeps on giving us more curve balls than we ever thought possible! Here we are on the cusp of Christmas and it still feels like every day this week has had another humdinger of an incident to adjust to. Many nations in Europe have had Christmas cancelled as far as travel and seeing family go at the last minute. Tricky but I guess to be expected where the new British strain of Covid is adding pressure to an already difficult situation. 

Every year there are many people who spend Christmas alone. This year, there are many people who are having to do that, not by their choice, but due to governmental guidelines, restrictions and so on. We all expect to be able to make our own personal and family choices regarding how we meet up and when, and we are very used to getting together with those we love. If this is not possible for you this year, then we are thinking of you, and we hope that in the coming weeks or months, once things start to ease, that you will find a new window to see those people close to you. Lets get together online this season. We can do watch parties, zooms, Facetime, Skype and all those tools allow us to support each other where possible.

As a possible short distraction, tonight I'm sharing my picks from Topics 6-10: Jungle Vibes, Under the Sea, Popping Pink, Collage it and Recycled Packaging.

Please, do try to take tome out and relax over the Christmas break, don't drink too much, make some art, and continue to stay safe!

 

Topic 6: Jungle Vibes

The jungle topic was a huge hit, and as we had just released some new Hot Picks, we had quite a few new stamps to play with on this one!  Miriam Grazier's (link) giraffe seemed happy to munch on the foliage while escorting us around his jungle zone.

Leandra got involved too with this topic, and the Zinski Efilumps were happy to pose for this picture, in among the Kay Carley trees and those crazy Zinski flowers (link)

I adored how Autumn Clark (link) pulled out the Lynne Perrella stamps with a great colour combination. What a fabulous terrarium hat dahhhling!

 

 

We can always rely on Keren for a slightly unique interpretation of any topic, and within the striped rugby jumpers she saw Zebras! Keren Baker (link)

Topic 7: Under the Sea

Blub, Blub, Blub and we're down in the deep blue seas. My first pick is this amazing framed beauty by Helen. Her Darcy chappie is enjoying his day out fishing, and he's caught some fabulous Hot Pick stamps! We have Helen Chilton (link) to thank for this creation!

Lovely Lucy Edmondson (link) gave us a window into her reverse-canvas fish tank with all the texture and painterly layers - they do look very happy there !

And I hope you didn't miss Nikki Acton (link) who created a range of gel prints to tear up for her watery waves. Love the colours and textures she created within this.

I enjoyed how Jennie Atkinson (link) used this gorgeous stamp by France Papillon in her serene tag.

Topic 8 : Popping Pink

Time to kick up the colour vibes and some hot pinks and I loved these handy birthday cards by Claire Snowdon (link to original blog post).

 

And it was interesting to watch Lynn Good (link) pull this journal page together with Tracy Scott stamps. She was using the 'block' technique to isolate the images stamped onto a very stunning background. This is a super-fun technique to try if you haven't before.

Jenny Marples (link) managed to inject some bright vibes into kay's stamps with this stripey book cover.

 

And it was lovely to see the bright infusions on show with Sara's stamps by Miriam Grazier (link).

 

Topic 9 : Collage It

My first pick is Autumn Clark (link), who always seems to totally rock the collaged layer effect so perfectly! Not one, but two cards with Lynne Perrella stamps. I love them!

 

Jennie Atkinson (link) Like her lace, flowers and Vintage Stamps. If you are looking for a soft delicate way of pulling layers together, then Jennie is the guru!

 

Helen Chilton (link) surprised me with this interpretation. She is all about the full on colour, lots and lots of colour!! And lots of layers, and she went all minimal on us! Well, very minimal for her!

I adored how Dounia Large (link), managed to recycle some magazine papers to create clever and interesting layers in her cards with Kim Dellow's stamps for this post.

Topic 10 : Recycled Packaging

Etsuko Noguchi (link) is really good at making boxes, and in this post she used book-parcel carton packaging to make this fun box with Gwen's stamps.

 

Miriam Grazier (link) is a big fan of not only Sara Naumann stamps, but also Urban Snapshots. In this post she pulls out the 'Nature' themed stamps to create a serene journal spread.

I really enjoyed how Amanda Pink (link) used the inside of a box of chocolates for the texture on this piece with Gwen's new stamps! How fun is this!

Nikki Acton (link) made this fun concertina journal using gel prints and an array of Fresco paints with lots of fabulous carved stamp designs. You wouldn't realise recycled cardboard was the substrate!

Yes, it is really nice to sit back and appreciate the lovely creations of our bloggers! I'm sure they will continue to inspire you in 2021! They are a dream team to work with too! Thank you to them all for their fabulous inspiration throughout the year!

Leandra