Hi everyone @jennymarples here with you today with a 3 Things post.
For this challenge, PaperArtsy sends the same three items to 3 people from our blogging team. We have no clue what PaperArtsy HQ is going to send, the whole idea is to do something crafty in our personal style with these 3 things!
So let's take a look at what I received from PA HQ...
Included in the package from PaperArtsy this time were Printed Tissue 'Birds' PT11, an Eclectica Kay Carley stamp set EKC45 and a bottle of 'Olive Tree' Infusions.
Feeling inspired by the nature theme I set about playing with different ways to use Infusions to add colour, combining it with the stamps and Printed Tissue to make three panels that could be used on cards, as journal pages or even on the front of a diary/notebook.
Bear with me, the colour is on it's way but first I needed a base on which to add it. So for this try applying pieces of the Printed Tissue onto tea stained paper with PaperArtsy Matte Glaze. I suggest chopping the paper into more manageable sized pieces for the next step.
Sprinkle some of the 'Olive Tree' Infusions onto a craft mat, spray with a mist of water (less is more) and dip your paper into the droplets. The magic of Infusions unfolds as you pick up these spots of colour, revealing the mix of olive greens, blues and walnut brown colours.
Dry and dip again, repeating as many times as you like until your background gets that beautiful aged look.
And here's another way to unlock the magic of that Infusions colour - add a little to some hot water, soak cotton or linen lace/fabric in this 'bath' for a few hours and rinse away any excess. Once dry you will be left with trimmings that coordinate perfectly with your project.
I have always adored the delicacy of Kay Carley's nature stamps and wanted to make full use of the large floral stems to enhance each panel. Start by stamping the images onto watercolour paper with permanent ink. Then begin loosely painting the stems and leaves with some of the 'Olive Tree' Infusions diluted with water.
We are given permission to add other PaperArtsy products into the mix if needed and I really wanted to include an extra few pops of colour. Sticking with Infusions try using dilute 'Royal Blood' to paint some blue flowers. As with regular water colouring, allow your first application to dry before creating depth in some areas with a second coat.
Dilute 'Raspberry' Infusions is a strong colour so take it steady when adding it to your flowers. If you are unsure try patch testing on a spare piece of the paper, watering down the mix if needed.
With three distinct stems included in this stamp set I really wanted another colour but felt reluctant to reach for yet another bottle. Instead I painted over the Raspberry flowers in the centre with some of the Royal Blood colour to create a purple version.
Happy that this experiment had worked, and to make painting the remaining flowers easier, I mixed what remained of the dilute Royal Blood and Raspberry Infusions into a single pan, adding this colour as described previously.
So now we have our background and colourful flower stems it's time to decide how to include the Printed Tissue 'Birds' so that they become the focal point of each panel.
Again I reached for the 'Olive Tree' Infusions, this time mixing it with 'Snowflake' Fresco Finish Paint. Make sure to mix it well because it takes a few moments for the die and walnut crystals to release their colourful magic into the paint.
Finally you are left with all of your elements ready to be layered together, starting with the lace, then adding the floral stems and lastly your painted birds. Try using a white gel pen to emphasise some of the details in their plumage. I also found adding foam tape raised the birds enough to keep them flat, following the base layer to work out where to position them.
Let's take a look at the three finished panels;
I'm really happy with the way these turned out. It was particularly satisfying to have been able to use the Infusions in a number of different ways to add the colour to them.
I love how the different colours revealed in the 'Olive Tree' drips over the background harmonise with the colours of the painted stems.
Emphasising some of those details in the bird's feathers make it stand out even more - if the white is too harsh you can 'knock it back' with delicate dabs of brown ink.
A little machine stitching around the edge of each panel helps to create a border for the design. Mount your finished panels onto kraft card for a more professional finish.
There are lots of different sizes of birds included on the Printed Tissue so these panels can be made to fit on the front of a book or inside your journals.
Thank you for joining me today.
Jenny