Hi everyone, thank you for popping over to look at my latest PaperArtsy blog topic I've created...it's Floss with you today and I'm here to share my very pink three layered tags with you...Pink? YES PINK! I know...I continue to surprise myself too!
As ever, being intuitive takes over anything planned and there's always a dilemma or a twist along the way...This time it was a tracing paper layer that got me playing for a little bit longer with the design...
To start with, I knew that I wanted to incorporate recycling into at least one layer of the tags and so I grabbed a cardboard envelope. The fabulous Sara Naumann stamps and stencils not only gave me a great choice for focal points for my tags but they also allowed me to follow with this quarters PaperArtsy theme of typography.
I actually fell a little in love with the orchid chalk paint FF13, especially when I clashed it on the top layer with red lipstick chalk paint FF160...
Starting is always one of the most difficult things to do...where to begin, what layer do you do first and what colour goes on what layer...I decided to start at the bottom or back layer. My thoughts were to soften the flat cardboard using Cloud 9 and Vintage Lace Fresco chalk paints using a very dry brush so that it would give me a broken appearance and leave areas unpainted. I also painted some of the corrugated card I that I had taken apart to expose the ridges as an option of using at some point.
I painted both sides of the cardboard using the same colours and techniques.
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I really liked the sentiments on Sara's stamps and knew they would be fun to use over the painted cardboard.
I used Ranger archival black ink to stamp two different sized sentiments over the paint, some vertically and some horizontally, not being too fussy about placement as I knew I'd be cutting the cardboard to divide it into tag sized pieces.
By stamping across the lined up tags it enables you to break the alignment a little. I feel this allows the eye to peruse over the tag more because the eye is drawn from the expected and enjoying the space and contrast.
By switching the tags around between stamping, I could really play with the layout of the type.
Looking at it now, I could have turned a couple to place an end onto a side too...I quite liked the scored lines that were left on the cardboard from the initial packaging envelope.
No project would be complete without adding a little gesso, well...for me anyway...I love the way it can allow you to not only add texture but play with the range of colour because of it. Here, I used an old garden centre loyalty card which I had snipped triangles out of to drag through my gesso. I also used what collected on the ends of the triangles as little dots to press onto my paper. I used 250gsm watercolour paper for this layer.
Again, I kept the page whole for the moment. It allowed the mark making to be more random and less controlled. I dry sponged a thin layer of PaperArtsy Orchid Fresco finish paint over the gesso once it had dried. I went over where the gesso was more thoroughly with another dry sponge to expose the gesso and lift some of the paint.
I wanted to add more typographic detail onto the labels and so I used Sara Naumann's PS323 stencil with cloud 9 and Red Lipstick Fresco finish. I loved the way that the Red Lipstick was a translucent paint, it was less harsh and became part of the layer.
I cut this pink painted top layer slightly smaller than the cardboard layer so that it was obvious that the tag was multi layered when I assembled it.
I think the random non uniform textures worked well in a matching non matching kind of way...
I punched the top of the painted tag layers to give me the tag shape and a hole to thread a string or ribbon through. I then held the cardboard layer behind the punched painted layer to snip the corners leaving a little of the cardboard exposed. It was slightly bigger in length and width and so made sense to follow suit with it's shoulders.
I then used the PS323 stencil for the lettering. I liked the fact that I was forced to use different sized type as those were the letters available on the stencil. The mismatched sizing worked well with the other layers that were also a little 'unprecise' in their placement.
I punched eyelets from the left over pink corners and painted papers and glued them onto the cardboard layers.
I was going to add a eyelet through the whole three layers but I decided that it would work much better if I only popped the eyelet through the top layer. It would make it far easier to write on the tracing paper layer before adding it to a gift. It would also allow me to fan the tag to show it was multi layered to display.
I printed the focal points for the tags onto tissue papers and recycled cartridge papers and painted them using the same lipstick red, cloud 9 or vintage lace. I did try embossing parts but today that did not work for this...I only mentioned that because my embossing pad somehow made a guest appearance on my workbench...
After gluing the focal points on, I added some free motion stitched detail on a couple of the tags...
Then added the final little bit...the strings to hold them all together. I chose natural twine and some very pink wrapped cotton thread.
I hope you like them as much as I enjoyed making them...
Not forgetting a peek of the finished tracing paper layer sandwiched in the middle...
The tags really made me think of others as I was making them and who I would give them to on a gift. I think that was why I was guided by the beautiful orchid pink as I was definitely not making them for myself...but I confess I do rather like them...I also was not intentionally making them in pairs but i could pair them easily when they were finished...would you agree?
Pair One...
Pair two...
And pair three...
I think this was a fun project and hope you will play along with making this...please tag (no pun intended) me or send me your images if you do; I'd love to see your outcomes. These stamps definitely allow for many combinations and layouts for this.
Until next time, enjoy your creative time,
Much love
Floss x
Website: https://www.flossworkshopart.com/
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