Spinning Tag with Lynne Perrella stamps {by Tracy Hickman}

Hi everyone! Tracy Hickman, @anonymous.palette on Instagram here with you today.

This year on the blog, we are being given free rein to do a deep dive into one of the PaperArtsy product ranges, and for this post I have been exploring Lynne Perella’s fabulous stamps.  I decided to create an oversized interactive tag with 6 spinning faces celebrating the many faces of Lynne... I'm looking forward to sharing how I dyed cheesecloth with Infusions (and my fingers in the process ;) and how combining multiple stamps within individual elements create depth and interest.

I created a simple protective sleeve with the amazing cityscape stamp and loved the idea of using this sun stamp as closures for the cover, making the reveal of the tag below a bit more special.

A PaperArtsy Stencil inspired the spinning aspect of this tag and love the cutout of the main focal stamp to reveal 6 artsy faces that rotate within a hidden spinning circle, steps shown below!

Three fabulous PaperArtsy Stamp Collections by Lynne Perrella were combined in the making of this project: LPC005, LPC011, and LPC012.  A PaperArtsy Stencil - PS456 came along for the ride and PaperArtsy - PS376 Large Stencil by Scrapcozy inspired the spinner idea.

Lynne’s stamps are so lovely and detailed. I really just wanted them stamped with black ink for maximum contrast and to show off the great detailing so a more muted and dreamy background was selected to let the decorative elements really stand out and the painted faces shine.

A trio of Distress Oxide Inks from Ranger in Milled Lavender, Speckled Egg, and Stormy Sky was smooshed on a craft mat,  spritzed with water and the watercolor paper tag then dragged through in several passes.  One of the stamps from set LPC011 was used with brown archival ink for added interest.

I used a lavender ink with a somewhat dirty sponge applicator through the PaperArtsy - PSA456 Stencil above for an additional layer but decided to stop there to keep the background somewhat simple and let those detailed stamped images shine.

PaperArtsy Smoothly Card Stock has been a game changer for my stamping! This paper creates such wonderfully detailed images and a new GO TO for sure.  The stamps above were stamped with black permanent ink.

Embossing some of the details with a favorite glittery bronze Embossing Powder from Lindysgang named Toadstool Taupe on a separate stamped image, I then fussy cut and adhered.

WOW Embossing Powder in Amethyst Ice by Seth Apter adorns this graphic heart.

Dyeing cheesecloth with PaperArtsy Infusions was easy and immediately gratifying.  I applied about a half inch of water in the bottom of a cup and sprinkled about three batches of infusions, mixed up and swished in the cheesecloth.  I ultimately ended up using Violet Storms that created the loveliest, pale purple gray shade.  This was used under the main focal point behind my spinner to draw some attention and texture to that area.  This technique would work great with any fabric or lace.

The stencil that inspired the spinner and triangle cut from the focal stamps in set LPC005

I used the PaperArtsy - PS376 Large Stencil by Scrapcozy to cut out six triangles for my faces and glued onto the round circle that was about a half inch bigger from the triangles in the stencil..  (I should have made the triangles slightly larger than the corresponding hole in the tag for some extra insurance with improper aligning ;)

Several PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylics and Mattints were used to color the faces in an artistic and modern way.

The spinner was attached with a brad behind the tag and a matching size piece of watercolor paper tag sandwiched that in.  I used that same triangle stencil to cut the side tab in order to reveal the edge of the spinner on the right side of the tag shown in the final piece.

A quick detail of the architectural long stamp from set LPC012 and the adorable sun stamp from set LPC005 that made perfect closures for the cover mounted on larger embossed circles.

A stamped banner on vellum creates a change of texture and adds sheen for variation.

Focal stamps with embossed details, raised with foam strips for added depth flanking the central focal spinner…

You can see my pencil lines that haven’t been erased yet, and I should’ve made the face triangles slightly larger than that triangle opening for a fudge factor…

The finished tag with spinner dial accessible on the right. This rests on the inside of the cover highlighting that long architectural stamp again and bringing the outside in ;)

I loved highlighting these beautiful stamp sets from Lynn Perella.  While I kept this in muted down “royal colors” (as I always think of Lynne’s collections as being so regal ), my original thought was to turn this into a Valentine card in brighter tones: reds, pinks and magenta.  I also think it would be a really cute idea to add a shaker element to the coin purse and do a pull down tab underneath the heart that would reveal a secret message.

I hope this gave you some inspiration or a take away of some sort.  Stay creative and craft on!

Tracy

@anonymous.palette

Washi Cards with NEW Kate Crane Products {by Katy Norgate}

 Hello everyone, Katy Norgate here with you today. 

It is great to be back with you again, especially to explore and share how I have used Kate Crane's wonderful new stamps and stencils, to make some cards. 

Kate's new designs bring together an eclectic mix of nature and magic. We have so much beauty in the natural world, but by bringing a suggestion of the enchanted, Kate is tempting us to use our imagination with these charming designs.

Here is a peek at the cards I made.

Card making has always been my go to, for the many years I have been crafting. Once upon a time, I would use bought papers for backgrounds and create very 'clean' cards. Those days seem to have left me, much to the disgust of the very large pile of paper blocks I still have in my stash!

Don't get me wrong, I still make plenty of cards, but I much prefer getting dirty with paint and inks to make my own backgrounds either using a gel plate; or brayering, spraying, splashing and finger painting onto card stock!

I have to admit to my guilty pleasure of spending far too much time watching videos and sifting through images on popular online platforms, looking for creative ideas. I have recently been motivated by videos made by Suzanne Rose Art making her own washi tapes. Also by our very own Mags Woodcock who recently published an article in the Spring edition of the Stampington Art Journaling magazine, where she very successfully creates art 'on a roll' to make mini journals. Mags also has a complementary how to video . They have very much inspired me to have a go at making my own washi tape. I believe Kate’s new designs prove to lend themselves well to this.

I decided to make ATC style cards, but slightly larger than the rule, so that they fitted nicely onto my 4x6 inch card blanks.

Here are the supplies I have used, both in making the layers on the washi tape, and also for adding texture to the cards. 

These include Kate's new release stamps KC12, KC13 and KC14; and stencils PS465, PS466, and PS467. (See PaperArtsy stockists)

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic paints I have used are London bus FF37, zesty zing FF47, limelight FF48, Hyde park FF50, southern skies FF95, jade FF97, cerise FF136, berry nice FF216, lily the pink FF218, bermuda FF224. I was keen to have a varied mix of colours to keep my washi tapes very brightly coloured as well as giving lots of variety and choice; a mix of opacity also helps achieve the layered look. The paint was applied to the gel plate with a brayer 

To bring added texture to the washi tape and finished cards I used stamps from Kate's previous releases: KC005, KCM002, KCM014, KCM015 and KCM016. (see PaperArtsy stockists)

I also used some grunge paste for even more dimension.

Time to get the gel plate and paints out. I am using a white gummed paper tape which measures 7.2cm wide. You can get a variety of widths. The gum on the tape is activated with water, when it comes to sticking the pieces later.

Here I begin by applying paint (london bus, cerise and zesty zing) to the gel plate with a brayer, then using stamps from KC13, and KC14 to lift and move paint around the plate. You can just about see on the image, some of the grungy marks left by the stamps. Be sure to clean your stamps straight away to prevent the paint drying in the finer details of the stamp surface.

Before the paint dries, I laid a piece to the tape to the gel plate to lift the paint. You can just see the grungy images the stamps create.

This technique left quite a bit of 'white space' which you may or may not like. I was hoping for less white, more colour! I was able to fix this with stencilling and stamping over the top as you will see later.

For my next prints I applied paint over the gel plate again, used some stamping, but also laid a stencil down, which when lifted off, pulled up some of the paint, as you can see if you look carefully at the image above. This time i let the paint dry, then brayered white acrylic paint (any cheap acrylic paint will do for this) over the whole plate. With this paint still wet, I took further prints with the tape. I was happier with less white space on these prints. I repeated this process many times, until I had a desk and floor full of multicoloured painterly tape!!

Up next was to add more interest and definition to the tapes using stencils and paint with sponges. The photos below speak for themselves I believe.

Here I also got out my little black dress FF19 

In order to fill some of the white spaces and blend the assorted paint colours still further, I used some of Kate's texture stamps along with complementary coloured archival inks

After a bit of mark making with a white gel pen and some acrylic markers, I finally decided the tapes were complete. 

I wrapped them around toilet tissue rolls, as the gummed tape has a tendency to curl up.

This is a messy process, given the various layers of printing, stencilling and stamping, plus you never really know what you are going to get as an end result from your efforts. Some colour combinations here work better than others, but at least I managed not to make mud!! I do get totally absorbed in the process. 

 

Now it is time to piece different elements together. I begin by stamping images onto the cardstock I have used to clean my brayer during the printing process, I stamped with versafine clair nocturn ink and then used black embossing powder. I have to say I love the effect both of the coloured images and the glossy definition of the embossing! I also stamped onto black card stock with versafine ink and white embossing powder for some contrast images. This was followed by lots of fussy cutting!

To follow is to put the washi tape to use and start collaging onto a fairly heavyweight kraft cardstock. These were cut to measure 5 x 3inch (approx 13 x 7.5cm); I used a paper punch to make rounded corners. 

I tore various size pieces of tape, keeping the edges rough and grungy, also overlapping them. I stuck the tape down by wetting the back of the gummed tape with water. It sticks very well, and doesn't like being lifted if you change your mind! I neatened the edges of the cards by cutting off the overhang.

Grunge paste was applied through a stencil on some of the cards for additional dimension, plus I had recently purchased this and wanted to give it a go!.

Then to decide how I wanted to lay out the stamped images to complement the backgrounds. You will see from the finished images, I changed my mind a few times!

Once I was fairly happy with the compositions, I added more inking, paint through stencils and splatters.

How colourful are these pieces?  I'm so happy with how they turned out, especially when you see those first few prints, I really doubted myself as to where this was going! 

But we're still not finished .... Time to position the stamps, embellish them with glitter and metallic watercolour paint on some of the black and white images. I double layered some of the butterflies for additional dimension. Once complete I adhered them to card blanks.

And hey presto, we are done ....just like that!! Certainly a multi faceted project, but very absorbing. I hope you enjoyed following along and will give all or aspects of the process a go. Here are some more images of the finished cards, along with some close ups.

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