Tuesday, 23 August 2022

2022 Topic 12 : Minimalism {by Victoria Wilding} with Squiggly Ink stamps


Hi everyone, it's Victoria with you today, and I'm here to share with you some ATCs made in a minimalist style.


I naturally lean towards minimalism in my makes so this topic was the perfect choice for me. Common characteristics of minimalism include repetition of line and a limited colour palette, something that features quite often in my work. For this particular project, I decided to make a series of ATCs, using stamped papers to create a simple central focal point on each card, leaving plenty of white space at the outer edges and creating repetition across the whole project. I also decided to use just one stamp set and stencil and looked for options with good linear elements for me to create some interest in the final piece. I selected PaperArtsy Squiggly Ink stamp set Crowns and Castles (SICC6) and one of the new PaperArtsy Hot Picks stencils (PS311). I also chose a soft colour palette of PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics in - Haze (FF217), Powder Pink (FF220) and Stardust (FF222).


I started off by cutting four ATCs (3.5x2.5") from a piece of PaperArtsy Smoothy Regular Stamping Card (SCA4) and applying PaperArtsy Grunge Paste (GP190) through the stencil and set them aside to dry.


Next I selected three small pieces of paper to create a background paper in each of the PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics. Using a brayer I applied an uneven coat of paint to each sheet, not worrying about patches of white space showing through.
 
 
Once dry I selected each of the pattern stamps from PaperArtsy stamp set Crowns and Castles (SICC6) and stamped a background pattern in ink on top of the paints. Again, as you can see from the pictures below, I didn't worry about perfect stamping as I knew I would be tearing the paper into strips, so any imperfections would add to the final effect.
 


 

The final element to make for the project were the crowns for the focal point on each card. I stamped each crown on a piece of scrap paper in VersaMark Watermark ink, covered it in gold embossing powder and heat set. I then fussy cut each crown out and set aside.


At this point I decided to add one final, extra detail to the base layer on the cards, using PaperArtsy Minis Stamp (MN61) to add a touch of text stamping.
 
 
Finally I tore the background papers I'd created into strips and pieces and was then ready to start assembling the cards.
 

Assembling the ATCs was a quick and easy process. Arranging and gluing the paper pieces onto the four cards was probably the most time consuming part, playing with different size and shape combinations until I was happy with the look of each card, revealing some of the background detail of the grunge paste and text, whilst leaving enough white space at the edges.


I then added some stitching for one last textural detail to the background.
 
 
The final step of the project was adding the crown focal points using foam pads for a final bit of dimension.
 


I really love how the ATCs turned out and they were so satisfying to put together. Lots of simple little steps to putting projects together is definitely my jam!





You could most definitely repeat all the steps of this project using different stamps, stencils and colours and achieve a completely different look. I hope it's provided a bit of creative inspiration to brighten your day and if you feel encouraged to get your supplies out, I'd love to see what you make, so please tag me on socials.


Have a happy, creative week

Victoria

 

4 comments:

PaperArtsy said...

So simple, but so effective! Loved the torn backgrounds and the Grunge Paste peeking through!

Helen said...

Love. love these atcs! all the details and the soft colours. Just beautiful.

G Peplow said...

Beautiful atc’s

Karen said...

Gorgeous! So much texture and interest on your wonderfully restrained composition.