PaperArtsy: 2021 Topic 4 Free to Fly with TS {by Ellie Knol}

2021 Topic 4: Free to Fly

I do love some corrugated card as a starting surface for any project, and in this piece, Ellie shares how to use that substrate as the perfect backdrop for some lovely Tracy Scott stamps.
~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Ellie Knol with you today, and I'd like to share with you the fun I had with making this mixed media wall hanging which consists of three reclaimed corrugated cardboard panels, laced together with steel wire and jute thread and accented with white, eg. clay embellishments. The panels feature the beautiful little creatures from Tracy's TS027 stamp set on colorful backgrounds.

I've stamped and colored these little bugs a while ago, on one sheet of paper and they were waiting in my stash for this theme, I am sure. At that time I had no goal for it, now I did.

Free To Fly ... Perfectly, Wonderfully, Chaotic. The entire project; it measures approximately 17 x 38 centimeters. The colorful background papers were leftovers from brayering off paint when gel-printing. I chose to tear the bottom and top edge with touches of blue finish it off.

In contrast with the colors, I chose for a lot of white in the background. There's Grunge Paste with stencil PS136 down the bottom, there's also (clay) buttons sewn on and fabric elements.

As you can see I did some cross stitching too. Whitewashed wire and jute thread connect the panels.

The top panel features the bee stamp : stamped in black and heat embossed in clear. I added color to it with water color pencils to give it more depth.

The middle panel features the ladybug - also stamped in black and heat embossed in clear. I added color to it with water color pencils to give it more depth. More interest has been given to all of the panels by stamping a script onto the white of the panel.

The script is from the I&D Ancestors plate 2 stamp set.

All of the white on the panels, including the grunge paste and embellishments make the colored areas pop.

Words from stamp sets TS027 and TS029 were used to create the sentence: 'Free To Fly ... Perfectly, Wonderfully, Chaotic. ' It was stamped and heat embossed onto tissue paper, torn and decoupaged onto the panels as shown.

For the contrast of the panels I also took a photograph of the project on a black backdrop...

... and finally a picture of where it is hanging at the moment: on a brick wall...

That top button has a story to tell.. I made a mold of an antique button a while ago, and created a button with it with clay. It was not perfect but I like the vintage imperfect feel to it.

I thought of distressing the edges by removing some of the top layer of the corrugated cardboard, but decided not to as it would distract from the focal points. Now I wonder what it would look like had I done it.

The techniques used on the panels could easily be used on cards or any other project, of course. Imagine this in your art journal...

Have a bit of fun and do some crafting...

Ellie Knol