2021 Topic 5 Find Your Vibe with ESN {by Miriam Grazier}

 2021 Topic 5: Find Your Vibe

Creating can soothe the soul and provide some real relaxation too. Miriam attests to the positive power of making whilst completing this lovely project, using her own created elements to amplify the collaged style of Sara Naumann's new stamps.

~ Keren

Hi everyone, it's Miriam  with you today, and I'd like to share with you a project where I was truly able to relax and 'find my vibe'.  The results of which were a card and matching gift bag.

This topic came at just the right time as I have a lot going on at the moment and have had very little time to craft.  I had been longing for some time to relax and craft.  I needed to relax and so chose some of my favourite products.

There is nothing more satisfying that pulling together your favourite products and creating art without thinking. This was the perfect way to relax me.

 

I started by creating a background in my go-to way by brayering paint onto card, the next step is to add stamped images and texture. This was the colour pallet I chose, its nice to have a mix of dark and light as brayering will always create a range of colours in between too depending on how you layer and blend the paints.

 

You can see the texture that Sara's chevron stencil permits in the close up above, the structure of  this geometric shape is really useful. It only takes a few drops of paint to tint your Grunge Paste to a new colour.

 

I tinted the Grunge Paste with Koala Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint and used it with the chevron stencil.  It was only afterwards I realised I probably had the stencil upside down - but I was fine with that, does it even matter for a background??

 

I also added splodges of silver foil for a touch of bling. It's nice the way the light catches that metallic 'pop'.

 

These are the stamps I used by Sara Naumann. For my cards I used the bird from ESN51, and the lovely ruler element from ESN52 was a great structural element to use too.

 

They are pretty new (April) and you can buy them from stockists listed at the bottom of this recent new product announcement here.

 

Here's my first card, you can see the layers more clearly. I find outlining the elements like the bird allows them to stand out a bit, you can use a watercolour pencil or stabilo all, and add water to soften and blend it out a bit if you wish.

I've always loved Sara's releases as I adore the collaged elements she creates.  I was also inspired by some of Sara's latest techniques.  Whilst I didn't have any resin, after stamping, I then coated the birds in UTEE to give them a glossy sheen.

 

The second card is all on one layer using more of the background, but on this one the charm adds some interest and balance.

I've been inspired by Lucy Edmondson who often will use shrink plastic to create charms.  So I made a hanging charm with the birds and some Tim Holtz jewellery elements.  I loved how this turned out. It's always a surprise when you shrink things the size they end up compared to the stamp itself.

 

So the final stage is deciding how to layer and arrange all the items. A navy border suited this project well. You don't need to search for the perfect car, just paint some and it will coordinate perfectly!

Adding ink to shadow the edges of layers also is a good tip to allow each layer to pop. Did you know that regular distress ink will grab to the tooth of Fresco paints because they have that chalky matte feel - its really nice when you can easily use ink over your painted layers.

Sara's stamps always have some wonderful smaller images that can be used as 'fillers'.  I always love these as much as the main images.

I had so much fun creating these projects.  In fact, it completely relaxed me.  By creating the background this way, it means I also have plenty left overs for future projects.

I really encourage you to put aside some time to find your own vibe.  Use your favourite products and create without thinking.  I really can't tell you how relaxing this was for me.  

Thank you for joining me this evening.  You could also 'step up' this project by collaging and adding dimension to more of the stamped images.

Happy crafting!

Miriam

Blog: Miriam's Creative Dreams