Layer Upon Layer with Ink and the Dog minis {by Mags Woodcock}

Hello everyone, Mags here with you today sharing a vintage project using the recently released PaperArtsy Minis. I combined multi layered backgrounds with vintage photos and the gorgeous new stamps 

The starting point for this project was a set of found vintage holiday snaps. I imagined the family traveling from the UK to France and sending postcards during their trip .I decided on a red white and blue colour theme, to echo the colours in the UK and French flags. 

Before starting on the main story telling elements of my project, I wanted to create a box in which they could be stored. I found some small paper mache suitcases in my stash, the ideal solution. I had decided on a light, bright colour scheme, with a touch of subtle grunge, for the whole project.

I painted the suitcases with Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic, Sea glass (FF139) and added an aged look with Ranger Archival Ink, Vintage Photo.

I wanted to line the suitcases and add character at the same time, so using map pages seemed the obvious answer. It was easy to age the modern map pages with a few spritzes of diluted Just Walnut Infusions (CS25). Once these were dry I used Matte Medium to glue the paper into the cases.

I was happy with the suitcases and the lining, but they needed a little something extra. Stamping the grid and words from the minis, MN133 and MN135 in Vintage Photo did the trick.

With the suitcases finished, it was time to move on to the contents.

I had some vintage letters which had belonged to the family in the photos, this would help tell my story. I covered some panels of heavy weight Smoothy Card (SCA4H) with the letter pages, followed by some panels of Hot Picks Printed Tissue, Postcards (PT13)

It was at this point I realised some of the letters had been written using a fountain pen, so the ink smudged. A lesson learned, test the writing first to make sure the ink is permanent !

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted the look of the project to be quite light, so adding a light wash of watered down Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic, Snowflake (FF15) achieved this. Once dry I sprayed the panels with diluted Infusions, A Bit Jaded (CS02) to tie in with the suitcase colour.

 

Now that I had the under layers of my panels completed, it was time to add some details and interest to the next layers.

I chose the circle and rectangle stamps (MN138 and MN139) and the line and chevron stamps (MN133 and MN140) Stamping in black ink added contrast to the paler background. I concentrated on the edges and corners of the panels.

I wanted the stamping to have a little more depth and interest, adding Dragonfly Mattint (MT07) and gradually fading out the colour was the obvious choice. Kate Crane has a fabulous tutorial for using The Mattints to add colour  Here

The last detail was stamping the numbers from MN133 in Vintage Photo Archival ink, this added a nice contrast in colour.

With my backgrounds complete it was time to move on to the main focal images and stamping.

To continue with the light vintage vibe of the project, I sprayed some Smoothy Card (SCA4) with diluted Infusions, Just Walnut, dabbing with a paper towel to create a pale colour.

I used a Ranger Archival Jet Black ink pad to stamp the images from the minis onto the sprayed card.

Adding colour to the images using Mattints Dragonfly and Ladybug (MT12) continued the pastel look of the project.

I had a lovely time stamping and colouring the images from all the minis, cutting them out, and then layering them up with scraps of map paper and letter pages on the backgrounds.

As I had some small pieces of Smoothy card, printed tissue and letter pages leftover, it seemed a shame to waste them. I used those to create small strips of background, using the same techniques as before.

I had a great time using up all the leftover stamped and coloured images on my extra bits of background. I also added in some heat embossed words from my first release of Eclectica minis (EMW149) I think they work well together.

Here you can see how the colours of the project marry up nicely, but have a slight grungy twist.

Layering the stamped images over and under the photos creates a more cohesive look.

Cutting some stamped images and adding on the edges of the panels adds extra interest.

The repeated circular images contrast nicely with the rectangular shapes in the background.

Here we have the bonus clusters which used up the leftovers from the main project. Waste not, want not !

 

A closer look at a couple of the clusters.

The letter pages may not be immediately obvious, but they can be spotted in the background, and build up the story and layers

Layering up the stamped images, both behind and on top of the photos builds depth and interest to the focal area.

The background stamping peeks out from behind the layers, adding depth to the design.

Here you can see the lovely texture from the Infusions sprays, along with the layers beneath.

I loved creating this project, playing with lots of layers in the background and building up the main focal areas. The mini suitcases are so cute and will look lovely displayed in my art space. Keep an eye out for those bonus clusters too, I'll share the projects I create with them in the future, probably on journal pages or tags.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing how I used the gorgeous new minis, and are inspired to try some of the techniques I used, maybe in a journal page or tag. The possibilities are endless.

Happy crafting

Mags x

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