Expressions of Gratitude with France Papillon stamps {by Ann Barnes}

Hello everyone

Ann here with you today and I'll be sharing a few different ways that I like to express gratitude.

Autumn is in full swing where I live, and I am always so inspired by the beautiful colors this season brings. Pairing these colors with the gorgeous leaves from PaperArtsy France Papillon Stamp Set 029 (FP029) was perfection. I achieved my color by using PaperArtsy Infusions Dye Stains in Slime (CS13), Lemoncello (CS04), Just Walnut (CS25), and Terracotta (CS21). Then I used the Stamp Set 028 (FP028) to add sentiments to my pieces.

Every autumn, the beauty of nature that surrounds me instils a sense of gratitude for how fortunate I am to be alive and surrounded by those who love and support me. These feelings usually result in me setting aside time to make a few "expressions of gratitude" cards to send out.

While I was creating my cards, I thought it would be wonderful to also create a journal where I could take a moment each day to reflect on something I am grateful for. I will be sharing the process for creating this Daily Gratitude Journal as well.

To create a blend of gorgeous fall colors, I spritz a piece of PaperArtsy Smoothy (SCA4) with water and sprinkle Infusions onto the page randomly, letting the different dye colors spread into each other.

If there are areas that are too bold, add more water, and conversely, in the areas that need more color you can sprinkle more of the infusions. You can also use a brush to move the color.

Once the papers are dry you get a glimpse of the beautiful, bold colors.  

I had so much fun working with the Infusions, and ended up with a lot of papers! I even grabbed a few additional Infusions, Rusty Car (CS17), Golden Sands (CS05) and Orange County (CS06) for more interest.  The best part of creating with the Infusions is that every result is unique.

This beautiful Infusions dyed paper was the perfect background for an overall patterned paper. Using embossing ink, I stamped the various leaf designs from PaperArtsy France Papillon Stamp Set 029 (FP029) and sprinkled with fine detail gold embossing powder then heat set.

 

I also wanted a patterned paper where the leaf designs themselves were colorful. Using the various leaf designs and Distress Inks by Ranger, I inked up each stamp with multiple colors then stamped onto paper. I love how the same random stamping with different mediums can create totally different looks!

I cut up one of the sheets of embossed leaves into individual pieces.

With all the different pieces ready to assemble my cards, it's time to make the pages for my gratitude journal. I begin by stamping the branch design along the edge of piece of drawing paper. The paper is long enough to fold and only as tall as the stamp design. I use a stamping platform to ensure the correct placement, since there will be 30 pages in my journal.

Each edge is cut to mimic the outside edge of the design and then the pages are stacked together.

The journal uses an Australian reverse piano hinge binding. It sounds intimidating but is not difficult, and it does not require any stitching. The best part is that it allows pages to be removed and replaced easily. My binding is essentially a strip of PaperArtsy Crunchy waxed paper (WXPA5) accordion folded.

 

Each of the folded pages has a slit in the fold that the accordion slips into, then a strip of paper secures the page into place. There are many tutorials online for specific directions on how to create this binding.

My pages were folded to allow the branch design to extend beyond the front flap. I cut the book covers to those same dimensions (shorter front cover and shaped edge for the back cover) and then covered them with pieces of the Infusions dyed paper. Using PaperArtsy France Papillon Stamp Set 028 (FP028) I stamped and embossed the words "daily gratitude" onto the front cover. I also added a couple individual leaves.

The inside cover papers are old French papers with the leaves stamped on top of the original script in archival ink. 

I stamped the first journal page with the title "daily gratitude journal". 

I created three "thankful cards" to send out as well as a daily gratitude journal.

 

I love the way each of the three cards is unique yet shares similar elements.

I am looking forward to using this gratitude journal each day in November.

Lifting the cover to reveal the beautiful inside.

Coloring the branches and adding touches of gold.

Multi-colored inking of the various leaf stamps.

The contrast between the gold and the rich background color.

 

Any day a good day to express gratitude, I hope to make even more of an effort to acknowledge this gratitude and I think the daily gratitude journal will be a wonderful start! I hope that I have inspired you to create something. 

Thanks for stopping by, Ann   xx

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3 Things - Bird Pocket Book {by Elodie Magnier}

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 ...

Lorsque j'ai reçu mes 3 produits, j'ai eu de suite l'idée de reprendre une structure sympa que j'ai travaillée à mes débuts dans le scrap. C'est un pliage qui permet de faire 3 pochettes dans lesquelles on glisse des grandes étiquettes. Je trouvais l'idée adaptée pour mettre en avant les oiseaux du papier de soie. Comme une présentation...

When I received my three products, I immediately thought of using a lovely design I’d worked on when I first started scrapbooking. It’s a folding technique that creates three pockets into which you can slip large labels. I thought it would be a great way to showcase the birds on the tissue paper. It’s like a display...

J'ai préparé ma structure découpée et avec les plis marqués, ainsi que mes grandes étiquettes. Ensuite, j'ai choisi les oiseaux que je souhaitais mettre en valeur, et je garde tous les morceaux de papier de soie avec les motifs texte, chiffres etc... pour mettre à l'intérieur de ma structure pour commencer mes fonds.

I prepared my cut-out structure with the folds marked, as well as my large labels. Next, I chose the birds I wanted to highlight, and I kept all the pieces of tissue paper with the text, numbers and so on to put inside my structure to start on my backgrounds.

Une fois mon choix fait, j'ai collé le papier de soie. Pour ma part, j'utilise le bindex mat, une couche en dessous, une couche au dessus. J'en mets juste ce qu'il faut pour qu'il y en ait partout sur le papier en fine couche, mais surtout pas trop pour faire des paquets. Après, vous pouvez le coller avec différents médiums, et selon chacun le résultat peut varier avec les infusions, alors à vos tests !!

Once I’d made my choice, I stuck on the tissue paper. Personally, I use matt Bindex – one coat underneath, one coat on top. I apply just enough so that there’s a thin layer covering the whole of the paper, but definitely not too much so that it forms lumps. You can stick it down using different mediums, and the result can vary depending on the product you use, so give it a go and see for yourselves!!

Ensuite, j'ai bien laissé sécher.

Next we need to make sure it is thoroughly dry.

Super, on passe à l'infusion Olive Tree !

L'idée est de mettre de la poudre en très légère quantité autour des oiseaux, pour essayer de les laisser en blanc, et par contre, pour les fonds, on peut en mettre où on veut. 

Perso, moi, j'aime beaucoup les infusions avec un peu d'eau vaporisée, par petites touches car cela fait plein de jolis motifs, et on voit des nuances et couleurs apparaître. Mon astuce, c'est qu'avec un petit pinceau aquarelle, je vais venir moi-même déplacer les pigments, atténuer une couleur qui me plait moins etc... c'est un jeu avec l'eau et les couleurs.

Great, let’s move on to the Olive Tree infusion!

The idea is to apply a very light dusting of powder around the birds, to try and leave them white, whilst for the backgrounds, you can apply it wherever you like.

Personally, I really like using the infusions with a little sprayed water, applied in small touches, as it creates lots of lovely patterns and you can see shades and colours emerge. My tip is to use a small watercolour brush to move the pigments around, and tone down areas of colour I’m not so keen on, and so on… it’s all about playing with water and colours.

Une fois que tout est ok, je laisse sécher une face, et ensuite, je fais la deuxième et je laisse l'ensemble sécher bien à cœur pour que les tampons soient bien nets.

Once everything’s sorted, I leave one side to dry, then I do the other side and leave the whole thing to dry thoroughly so that the images are crisp and clear.

Habituellement, j'utilise surtout les tampons comme centre de ma création, où je vais ensuite le mettre en couleur avec l'aquarelle. Et ma deuxième utilisation, c'est le tampon en fond pour créer l'ambiance. Pour cette réalisation, les oiseaux sont tellement jolis et prennent pas mal de place, j'ai préféré utiliser les tampons pour le fond et l'ambiance pour ne pas surcharger la création.

I usually use the stamps mainly as the focal point of my design, which I then colour in with watercolours. The second way I use them is as a background to set the mood. For this piece, the birds are so pretty and take up quite a lot of space, so I chose to use these Kay Carley flower stamps for the background and to set the mood, to avoid overloading the design.

J'ai aussi utilisé quelques mini tampons pour agrémenter... j'adore ces petits motifs qu'on peut mettre partout ! J'en ai profité pour faire 2 étiquettes à coller sur la couverture à la fin.

I also used a few mini stamps to add some decoration… I love these little designs that you can put anywhere! I took the opportunity to make two labels to stick on the cover at the end.

Ensuite, j'ai collé les contours des rabats de pochettes avec du double face pour pouvoir y glisser les étiquettes. Deux petites étiquettes sur la couverture et un ruban et nous y voilà !!

Next, I stuck double-sided tape along the edges of the pocket flaps so I could slip the labels inside. Two little labels on the cover, a ribbon, and we're done!!

Et voilà ma création terminée

Here you go, I have finished the project

Allez, on regarde... voici l'extérieur :

Let's take a look at the outside:

Et l'intérieur :

And the inside:

Et sans les étiquettes :

And without the tags:

J'ai été ravie de cette expérience et j'ai hâte d'avoir vos retours et de voir ce qu'on fait les autres créatrices !

I absolutely loved this experience and I can’t wait to hear your feedback and see what the other designers have come up with!

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