September 2025 - With 3 Things - Woven book {by Dounia Large}

Hi friends, 

It's Dounia from PaperArtsy HQ with you for another 'With 3 Things' challenge post. 

For this feature on the PaperArtsy Blog 3 identical items are sent to 3 members of the PaperArtsy Blogging team. Typically we will receive a stamp, a stencil and a couple of Fresco Paints.

We have no clue what PaperArtsy HQ is going to send, the whole idea of this challenge is to do something crafty in our personal style with these 3 items. We can incorporate other PA products into the mix if we feel it is necessary.

So let's take a look at what I 'received' from PA HQ ...

We had a very autumnal kit this time: a lovely stamp set full of textures from Lin Brown (ELB34), a choice of leaves in a fun stencil from the archives, PaperArtsy Stencil PS002  (also from Lin Brown) and two gorgeous warm Fresco Finish acrylic paints from the Seth Apter range: Kiwi Gold and Rusty. I also added a couple Fresco Finish colours from my stash for contrast and variation: Mahogany and Toffee.

With all of that I made a little sketch book with a fun woven cover.

The base for the cover of my book was a series of Regular Smoothy card bands, as well as a full A4 sheet for the inside cover. I worked simultaneously on all of them, without thinking too much, treating each like a mini master board.

I started with the texture stamps from ELB34. I used them quite randomly all over the bands, stamping in coordinated, water resistant inks.

Once dry, I added a layer of paint all over using Kiwi Gold, Rusty, Mahogany and a range of mixes. As all those paints are translucent, you can partially see the layers beneath, creating lovely and subtle textures. For an ever lighter coverage, I diluted some of the mixed with a bit of water.

I cut the finished bands into strips of varying width and it was time for weaving! 

I kept the more textured backgrounds quite large to show them off and the cut the brighter and darker ones one much thinner. I took inspiration from plaid for the weaving sequence but I think a random one would be gorgeous too! I tried to keep everything square with the help of a grid but the end piece is not exactly rectangular...

Now for the stencil, PS002 by Lin Brown. I really love the group of little leaves on it and wanted them to run along the whole cover. I secured the ends of my woven panel with masking tape and turned it over. I positioned the stencil under it and marked the groves with a stylus to create embossing. It is a technique I love but here it was not the easiest to achieve a clear image because of the thickness of the woven substrate and the breaks between the strips.

I then gave the whole cover a wash of Toffee Fresco Finish paint, making sure to push it in all the crevices and them wiping the excess on the raised parts. This disguised the white cut edges of the strips and helped all the colours work together .

I re-did the same technique with pure Toffee paint on the leaves to accentuate the relief. I also lightly sanded the raised parts  to make them stand out even more.

I love the overall effect! Then I 'only' had to glue on the inside cover and sew on the signatures. However, once I had the book completely constructed, I was not convinced the leaves were visible enough, so I dry brushed a little bit of Gold on the raised pattern. It was the final touch I was missing! I reminds me of a sunny autumn day!

The inside cover was done just like the bands with Kiwi Gold and Rusty, just on a bigger size.

I had a lot of fun with this project and love the result. It was a pretty safe bet as the colours are among my favorites! 

I hope this helps you travel toward autumn and maybe inspire you to try your hand at paper weaving.

Stay creative!  

Dounia x