2021 Topic 1 Stamp Mashing - FP ECF I&D ESA: A very mad project {by Corrie Herriman}

 2021 Topic 1: Stamp Mashing with ...

France Papillon * Courtney Franich * Ink & the Dog * Seth Apter

Wow this is such an imaginative project from Corrie, and yes very much a hint of bonkers is in there! But i think the stripes add a circus vibe top the proceedings! She has 3 wonderfully balanced cubes decorated with the designer mash-up of stamps, and it is utterly whimsical and fun!
~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Corrie with you today, and I'd like to share with you probably the maddest project I have ever done! 

Over the last crazy year I really lost my mojo and wasn't able to create as usual. I am at home all day though and need something to do so I took it upon myself to keep crafting although most of the time I didn't really feel like it. 

 

Anyway, when I saw this topic I thought it was the perfect one to get back on track. I can honestly say I enjoyed most of it and I think it came out really fun albeit very mad! At times I thought it wouldn't work but I persevered and as they say... 'et voila' !  

After I finished I regretted putting the top block where it is as you can hardly see the dog. You can in real life but I must have taken this picture 10 times to get a better image. There will be more photos down the bottom of this post where it shows much better. 

Here's how it came together:

Using {Smoothy} Super Smooth 340 gsm card stock for the smallest and the largest block and the back of an old 12" x 12" paper-pad (I did this because it was the perfect size and I could cut it out of one piece of paper) for the middle one, I cut out the blocks using a template from the internet. There are hundreds if you want to give it a go. I then scored all the folding lines. 

I folded them together and secured them with a piece of washi tape to check they were alright before I started adding colour. 

 

I started with painting yellow stripes on all the boxes using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics {Cheesecake}. I also painted one of the tops/bottoms in the same colour. I didn't use any tape to mask the stripes and that worked OK. I didn't make a perfect job of it but managed to put that right later.

I decided I wanted blue, pink and green combined with the yellow. Again I painted the stripes without masking and it didn't look great so I used a white paint pen and a ruler and went over the edges of all the yellow stripes. Because the yellow is so light you hardly see the white stripes. Problem solved ! 

 

 

 

I used PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics : {Blue Bayou}, {Peachy Keen} and {Zucchini}. 

Next was stamping the background. I used Archival inks in the colours {Watering Can}, {Jet Black} and {Chrome Yellow}. Later I added more stamping with a darker yellow {Saffron}

The stamps I used for this came from the following sets:  {ESA08}. I&D Ephemera 3 {EA3} and I&D Backgrounds {Plate 3}. 

 

 

I didn't think I stamped enough so I added some more. This time I used {ESA08} and Archival inks {Leaf Green}, {Rose Madder} and {French Ultramarine}.

 

Before starting on the focals I decided to glue the cubes together. Before I did though,  I added some stamping directly onto the surface as this would be almost impossible when they were put together. I used Stamp sets: I&D {Ephemera 3 - EA3} and {ECF01}. 

These are the elements I was planning on using. At this stage I had a bit of an idea but it still developed while I was progressing with the project. 

 

I used a mixture of Copic Markers, watercolour markers and pencils. I stamped the lady, the dog and the umbrella twice, once on card stock and once on tissue that I glued to card stock stamped side down to get two mirror images. 

 

I used a whole lot of stamps for this:

{FP011), {EFC01}, {EFC04}, I&D {EA3} Ephemera, I&D {PT2} Pierrot 2, I&D {WGS2} Wings 2, {ESA01} and {ESA08}. In the end I used most of it but not quite all of it. 

This is how all four cubes looked once I was finished putting all the images on. Of course I still had to put it all together and add the lady, the dog and the umbrella. I used beads of an old necklace as feet for the blocks. 

So here is the finished article and it makes me chuckle because it is so very mad but I do love it. I glued the mirrored images of the lady, the dog and the umbrella together so I could use them freestanding. 

A close up of the doggie walking towards the lady. 

Here is the view of the back. I added more images and used the hats that come with the Pierrot set as bunting on all of the block. I did not colour them but stamped them on painted card (I used the same colours paint) and added shading. I also used some of the images as collage material.

Another side of the cubes. 

This is what it looks like from the top. 

The most difficult bit of this project was how to get the cubes stacked at odd angles and how to put the freestanding images on without them falling over. But I like a challenge and in the end I managed to do what I wanted. I just wish I had placed the dog and the top cube a bit better so  the dog stands out more. But, it is what it is. I did have a blast making it though and it got madder as I went along.  I think I learned that sometimes you just have to sit down and start and it will come together, even if you don't feel like it. Go on, try it ! 

I hope you enjoyed my blog post and come and visit me in my other locations too ! 

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