2024 Topic 6 : Scrapcosy {by Ann Barnes}

Hi everyone, it's Ann Barnes (@aksbarchitect) here with you today, and I am very excited to share this seashell book that I created for our current PaperArtsy topic: Scrapcosy. 

The end of summer break is quickly approaching which means soon, we will be dropping our daughter off at college. While it's been busy helping her prepare, I have enjoyed being able to spend some time getting creative.

When I began to think about making something special to celebrate all things Scrapcosy, I wanted to create something unique. I love making handmade books, and thought it would be fun to create a book in a seashell. Like often happens when I create, the final piece turned out a bit different than my original vision. Sometimes this can be frustrating, but I am learning that usually, adapting through the changes can be enlightening.

Perhaps this seashell journal will be a treasured keepsake, containing special memories from a trip to the seashore; or perhaps it will be used to store thoughts and hopes for the future; maybe it will simply be used as an art journal for someone who adores the ocean... No matter how it is used, I hope that each time it is opened, the beautiful images hidden inside will transport to a magical place.

One of my favorite aspects of this piece is that, upon opening the shell, you are greeted with the beautiful colored graphic, reminiscent of a treasure map. I also love that some of the pages have spots where you can leave hidden messages, following this quarters' theme "Hidden". Adding tabs to colored stamped images, was a simple way to create a special feature, one I will be sharing with you in this post.

I knew I would be using the PaperArtsy Scrapcosy stamp sets 10 (ESC10) and 12 (ESC12) to create underwater scenes within the pages of the book, so I tried to use colors that would be true to what one would see in an underwater excursion. 

When searching for the shells I would be using for my covers, I made sure to find two that were similar in size and large enough to easily accommodate the stamp designs. If you can't find large shells, you can always stamp partial images on your pages and make it work.

Some may say that getting started is the hardest part, and for this project, I might just agree. Before I could create any base layers, I needed to create the pages for inside my shell covers. Following directions I found in one of my art books (Bound - Erica Ekrem) on bookmaking, I began the bookmaking process. I folded Bristol paper (my preferred art substrate) to make signatures. I then traced the shell's edge to make a template for cutting the unique design. I also drilled holes into the shells to secure the covers when the book is sewn together.

Although the pages were not nearly as large as I had envisioned, and trimming them to the shell's edge design created an odd shaped page, I could see my idea coming to life.

Once all of the initial preparation was complete, it was time to make some art!

  

Using PaperArtsy Fresco Tints Mattints Shark (MT04) Dragonfly (MT07) and Fern (MT03) as well as watered down PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic - Winter Green (FF118) I colored the reverse side of the map section of PaperArtsy Scrapcosy printed tissue (PT05). Mattints are relatively fast drying, so adding layers to build up the colors in different areas is easy. I wanted the land portions to have an even more dimensional look, so I also added spots of watered down (semi-opaque) Winter Green as well.

I collaged the colored tissue onto the inside of each seashell with Ranger Industries - Distress Collage Medium (matte) and set it aside to dry. After it was completely dry, it was easy to take off any overhanging edges with a sanding block. I added a gold edge to the finished shell with a metallic paint pen.

Next, I began to tackle the pages. I have seen Leandra use paints to stamp many times and really loved her results, so I decided it was time to try this technique for myself. I grabbed two different green colored PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic paints - Zucchini (FF119) and Hyde Park (FF50) and used a brayer to apply the paint to my stamp, then randomly stamped along the edges of each page. I think it's easiest to work with one color at a time and do multiple pages then set aside and add to another page. I did notice that the more times I loaded the brayer, the more the paint seemed to build up on the stamp and the details were not as clear. When this happened, I simply washed off the stamp and dried it, then began the braying and stamping process once again. I love the imperfect appearance the painted stamping created!

Now that each page was grounded with the flowing seaweed images, it was time to add a bit of background color for an ocean reference. I love the way that Ranger Industries - Distress Inks react when they are spritzed with water, and thought this would create a wonderful watery effect for the pages. I inked each page with the distress ink and then flicked water droplets with a paintbrush.

I stamped a page of different fish images from the stamp sets with Ranger Industries - Distress Archival ink (Black Soot) and watercolored them with Distress Inks in various colors. Before cutting the images out, I drew small tabs out from the images at a location that I considered would be easy to fold. When cutting out each sea creature, I made sure to cut along the tab lines I had drawn.

While I had all of the stamps handy, I also did some stamping among the pages. By this time in the progression of the project, I had already decided that it would become a journal of sorts. I wanted to leave some pages with open space for sketching or writing. While I left a number of pages with only the seaweed along the edges, others had the addition of creatures and shells. These images were colored using distress inks.

When all of the pages were complete, I flipped through to find spots to add the tabbed pieces. Once a location was chosen, I would mark the tabs with a pencil then cut small slices in the pages for the tabs to slip into. The tabs were glued on the back side of the page. Each of these pieces can be folded open and closed, allowing for hidden notes or places to tuck special mementos.

I wanted the first page of the book to act as a title page. To do this, I stamped and heat embossed one of my favorite stamp designs from the Scrapcosy stamp set 12 (ESC12). Then I used the Distress inks to color in the filigree patterns.

Each signature is edged with metallic gold paint similar to the seashells so that when the book is closed it will look unified. The last step to complete was binding all of the signatures together with the front and back seashell covers. I used a coptic stitch method of exposed binding, choosing a natural colored waxed linen thread I thought would go well with the nautical aspect.

I knew all along that I wanted this project to cover all of the topics from this quarter: Books and Journals, Ink Pads, and of course the designer focus on Scrapcosy. I am really pleased with how this seashell book turned out, and hope to find the perfect use for it, including all those "hidden" (the quarterly theme) spots within.

While the seashells are definitely a specific style, I think that this could be adapted to fit many different themes. The line of PaperArtsy Eclectica stamps designed by Scrapcosy contains many different themes, another one I feel could work very well with this type of project would be the flowers or vegetables, utilizing seed packets for covers, or even the tea designs to create a booklet for tea cookie recipes. There are so many directions you could take this! Hope this gives you a few ideas. ~ Ann

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