Matchbook Ephemera Folio with ESA {by Tracy Hickman}

I needed somewhere to keep die cuts and ephemera for an upcoming Seth Apter Art Workshop so I created an accordion folio with craft and glassine envelopes  for storage.  using every stamp in Seth's new 3 set release for PaperArtsy, (ESA49), (ESA50) and (ESA5)1.  Below is a close up of the decorated matchboxes that house ephemera on the folio's cover.  Coming up: how to bleach fabric using stamps!

I knew I wanted to dye fabric with PaperArtsy Infusions for a rusted look.  One of the stamps in PaperArtsy Eclectica - (ESA51) by Seth Apter was calling out to be used with bleach on this rusted fabric scrap.  The compliment to rust is blue and this trio of Paper Artsy Fresco Chalk Acrylics in Niagara Falls, Jade and South Pacific created a gorgeous ombre blend as a backdrop for a new favorite PapterArtsy stamp in Eclectica - (ESA51) by Seth Apter that created an abstract snowy scene.  Infusions in Green Man and A Bit Jaded were added for depth and pooling around the embossed marks.

The leaf stamp in Eclectica -ESA 49 inspired the cover and color palette to compliment the teals and rusts.  I used PaperArtsy Infusions in: Green Man,  Olive Tree  and Slimed to stamp 3D "trees".  Using the smooshing technique with Infusions and water on a craft mat on some creamy watercolor paper I embellished with embossing powder using that fabulous script stamp in PaperArtsy Eclectica ( ESA49) by Seth for texture.

A close up of Infusion stamped trees sewn together (love how the infusions created these perfectly imperfect impressions, a stamping technique I'm looking forward to using more!)

When you need immediate gratification and don't want to wait for real rusted results, PaperArtsy Infusions in Rusty Car can come to the rescue.  I dyed this natural cotton canvas fabric in a water Infusion bath, dried thoroughly and attempted my first bleach stamping experiment.  Placing just enough liquid bleach to cover the bottom of a small dish, I stamped into the bleach, shook the stamp once to shake off any excess liquid and placed on the rusted fabric like a normal stamped impression.  The results were SO worth my apprehension  and can't wait to try this again!

Some additional stamping using PaperArtsy Eclectica sets (ESA49), (ESA50), (ESA51)  by Seth Apter that were used to decorate the inside craft envelopes and draw your eye to the abstract small paintings that are the focal point covers to the glassine envelopes you'll see next.

I developed the layers of these mini abstracts on craft paper in 3 steps..... Layer One is a combination of 4 PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics in this order:  Fuzzy Cactus, Heavy Cream, Teresa Green and Terracotta brayered up and down, left and right, one color at a time.

Midground Stamping for the Second Layer came next using many of the stamps from all three stamp sets using only black permanent ink and Distress Oxide Ink by Ranger Industries in Peacock Feathers.

Finally, Step Three concentrated on focal stamping using both black and white embossing powders to highlight this layer and add texture.  Using a limited and similar palette unified the pieces and helped tell an abstract story centered on mark making.

The final pieces below mounted on both sides of the glassine envelopes.

The finished Folio cover with a nod to landscapes which I love.  The moon stamp in PaperArtsy Eclectic ESA50 by Seth Apter was stamped on vellum and embossed, placed behind a metal eye piece to cap off the trees on top of the matchbook ephemera drawers..  The word ART was created from several of the word stamps and placed on tiny vials to hold rusting or embossing powders.

A peek inside the front cover, craft envelopes to hold die cuts and papers,  I intentionally kept these fairly simple to not fight with the square abstracts on the glassine envelopes.

4 flip envelopes to hold more ephemera and be a gallery of inspiration to show how to use stamps in different ways, focal points, edging and layers…

Brayered Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics add great texture behind background stamping in ink and embossing powders on the upper stamped layers for depth.

Love this focal stamp from PaperArtsy Eclectica - (ESA51) by Seth Apter, it would look great colored in with Mattints which I may come back and do.

You can see that same stamp here, this time used in the midground and stamped in Peacock Ink. This creates a subtle backdrop to “Make Memories”, the fabulous round word stamp, one of three that can be found in each of the three Eclectica Stamp sets.

I'm looking forward  to using this postmark and script stamp above to make vintage ephemera and seemed a perfect addition for this Ephemera Folio.  The above squares measure about 4.5" but these stamp sets have so much flexibility with a range in scale, they would be great used on  larger panels for framing and fabulous mixed media art.

Hoping you found a nugget of an idea in here somewhere.  Creative Wishes to all!

Tracy Hickman

@anonymouse.palette

Paper Doll Tags with LPC {by Jenny Marples}

Hi everyone, Jenny here,

Let's dive into the world of 'paper collage' to create paper dolls on tags. It's a super way to use up those scraps and leftovers from other projects!

You will see from here that I haven't included the dress colours - this is because you can choose any colours you want depending on the other supplies you have available.

I always start with choosing colours and was inspired by the Art Nouveau period for this one. Plans can change though as you'll see. Also bear in mind that whilst I swatched all the colours from three 'paint families' in practice you don't need them all to complete the tags.

To begin paint your tags with 'Blah Mange' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint. Then take your time to apply the new 'Postcards' Printed Tissue over the top with Fresco Finish Matte Glaze. I find it easier to work in small sections when doing this.

Remove any excess Printed Tissue by sanding the edges. This also gives a lovely 'worn' look to the tags. Finally splatter a little diluted 'Sorbet' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint across the backgrounds to create the illusion of age spots on the paper.

Now it's time to start on the paper dolls.

 

Start by stamping the three ladies from the new Lynne Perrella stamp set LPC080 onto your finished tags. Add colour to their faces and arms as you choose. I found mixing 'Toffee', 'Vintage Lace' and a hint of 'Chocolate Pudding' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints worked well for this purpose.

To add colour to their dresses stamp the images onto painted paper and 'fussy cut' the different dress sections. They are easier to cut around when the paper is thinner (think copy paper weight). For a more professional finish use a black pen around the edges of the cut-outs before gluing them onto the tags.

If you are planning to machine or hand sew around the edge of the tags now would be a good time to do it. Try two layers of stitching, deliberately wonky, to hide genuine imperfections.

And now it's time to embellish those beautiful dresses.

You saw earlier how I swatched all the colours from each 'paint family' - it creates a reference point to help me select appropriate scraps of paper and trims from my stash.

 

If you are missing some colours you can make your own papers. Try mixing a couple of drops of Fresco Finish Drying Retarder to a tiny amount of the opaque paints to create matte glazes which work perfectly over book paper. In this case you can see how 'Pine Grove' and 'Calypso' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints magically became translucent with this method.

Make your own patterned paper and ribbons by repeat stamping small sections of the dresses, the leaf branches and the ribbon hair image from the same stamp set. Scrunch up your papers when stamped to give them the look of fabric too.

Cut your papers, ribbons and laces into uneven lengths and begin to attach them to the bottom of the dress. Layer the different shades and textures to create the illusion of movement. Allow the glue to dry between layers to ensure the finished skirt remains in place.

To finish stamp the roses from each lady onto card painted with 'Toffee Apple' Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint. Fussy cut around these roses and add them to the tag. Make sure to cut out and layer on extra roses to cover the overlap between the dress and the trims at the bottom. You may also choose to add extra roses to the other tags (as I did to the top of the purple dress).

I found using thicker card for the roses worked well because they could be shaped more effectively to create a seamless blend between the 3D layers at the bottom and the 2D dress on the tag.

And so the paper dolls are complete, though you could add other embellishments if you want.

Here are some close ups to show you more of the stamped layers. As I mentioned at the beginning when sharing the supplies list, I deliberately omitted adding paint colours for the dresses as those can easily be changed by you. You could even try a multi-coloured option!

Thank you for joining me today.

Jenny

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