Comment from Leandra
I'm sure you have all heard me say most every Lynne Perrella release, how much I have long enjoyed her design style. From my very early days of crafting in the late 1990's to the early 2000's when we moved from New Zealand to the UK, I remember going to craft shows and seeking out her wood mounted stamps made on her own Acey Deucy label.
I was initially drawn to the Japanese characters created in her iconic collage style, and from there I became somewhat obsessed. I soon discovered True Colours Magazine, a colour-based journal swap that Lynne initiated, and Stampington Magazines published. I poured over the pages to seek our details and tips about layering paints, embellishments, and where on earth to source supplies. Pretty soon I started following other contributors to that collab, and would order products direct from the USA - I was so new to the UK and really didn't know where to source at all. Plus internet shopping was only in the early stages, so 'googling' wasn't widely available or practised back then! We relied on shows, shops and magazines, oh and yahoo communities!!
So, here we are, over 25 years later, and we have a magnificent collection of designs by Lynne and she even started stencils for us late 2025 too. We are almost at her 80th stamp set designed exclusively for PaperArtsy, I still find this a pinch-me moment!
Lynne is a huge lover and user of colour and for sure there is nothing more satisfying than a LPC stamp loaded with colour, all the tiny details come to life. However, not every crafter likes lots of colour, so it can be super-interesting to see the same stamps used with muted colours, or a limited colour palette too.
February Release: Regal Symmetry
LPC073, LPC074 & LPC075
For this release, Lynne imagined mysterious libraries full of leather-bound journals hiding drawings and secrets on thick yellow pages, then filled them with regal characters, inspired practitioners of alchemy and fortune telling or scientific minds involved in architecture and botany.
by Leandra Franich
With stamps as intricate as Lynne Perrella's, you don't need much to create interest! Some inspired gel prints are enough to give life to the designs. I love how the bright colours contrast but still complement the stamp themes.
By Dounia Large
The smaller designs on the sets are great to build compositions but also to create smaller project. Those stamps are still full of incredible details, and this a great example of highlighting them with colour and dimension.
by Dounia Large
This release is full of portraits and I love how they can developed into full characters. Here the elements of the head are also cleverly used to build a coordinated background.
By Leandra Franich
I love the out of the box thinking here, using the hands to create a fashionable dress. Now that's a statement piece of wearable art!
by Liesbeth Fidder-de Vos
Here is a gorgeous look at the whole collection. I love the use of deep colours! And the characters seems to be looking at each other so intently. This could be a three volume historical saga full of love stories and intrigue!
August Release: Fragments of Frida
LPC076, 076 & 077
PS480, 481 & 482 (Regular)
Lynne Perrella second offering was all about Frida Khalo and Mexican iconography. Intricate pattern, quirky animals and fierce faces. And Lynne's first stencil release with PaperArtsy!
by Etsuko Noguchi
by Leandra Franich
by Liesbeth Fidder-de Vos
This release lends itself particularly well to bright colours! I love the use of the pattern stamp as a frame.
by Leandra Franich
These two ladies are either in a (Mexican) stand-off or are judging us together. Either way, do not be fooled by the delicate lace and pretty flowers, they mean business!
by Leandra Franich
I love how this sample manages to be colourful and moody at the same time. Just right for Frida Khalo!
by Liesbeth Fidder-de Vos
The contrast of the bright and deep colours with the black and white is so impactful in this sample! I love how Liesbeth mixed the stamps and samples, showing their filiation so well.
by Leandra Franich
This stencil is a favorite and the 'bumping' technique used here makes it even more striking! The watery blends are of course infusions powders.
By Leandra Franich
Same stencil, completely different vibe. The face here is just a suggestion but still staring right at you!
By Mi Mii
I love how the stencils can also be used as a guide to construct more realistic faces. This is such a great example!
End of Year Project: Interrupted Siesta
This end of year project is inspired by Lynne Perrella's first stencil release with PaperArtsy. They really make me think of street art and I wanted to recreate that vibe, mixing it with peppy colour to go with their Mexican inspiration. I couldn't resist also adding some colourful characters living in this decorated building!
My choice went to PaperArtsy Stencil PS481 by Lynne Perrella as I particularly like the wide open areas in the hair. I completed with stamp set LPC077 as the ladies in it are angled and therefore could face each other. I wanted bright poppy colours so I chose a Magenta/Turquoise/Bright Orange combo in both Infusions, with Are you Cerise, A Bit Jaded and Orange County, and Mattints, with The Pink, Dragonfly and High Viz. The two work so well together!
I wanted to create an interesting texture to suggest a wall. I used an A4 piece PaperArtsy's Heavy Smoothy and after roughly deciding where my main elements would go, I dry brushed a series of neutral Fresco Finish Acrylic paints. I started with the darker Sand, using a very coarse brush and only adding a few patched here and there. I then went lighter and lighter with Buff and Stone, trying to occupy most of the space and keeping my strokes (mainly) horizontal and vertical. I finished with Nougat, layering it a bit everywhere to homogenise the background, but making sure some naked paper was still showing between the paint.
Once the paint was dry, I played with Infusions in Are You Cerise, A Bit Jaded and Orange Country. I sprinkled a tin bit of powder one colour at a time, sprayed it with water and let it react and absorb for a few second before bloating the excess liquid. The Heavy Smoothy is great there as it doesn't buckle.
The Infusions absorb well where the paper is naked and a lot less where it is covered in paint so the colour settles in the 'grooves' between the paint strokes, creating a delicate and interesting texture.
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Next I worked on a 'wood' panel to give shutters to my window. I adapted a technic by Scrapcosy, as shown in this video. She uses glaze in her sample but I went with the Sand Fresco Finish and the previous Infusions to tie it to the rest of the project. I masked stripes with tape, sprinkled the Infusions, and activated them with the paint using only vertical strokes.
I then masked the painted parts and did the same process on the empty parts. This creates colour variations that help imitate wood.
Using paint instead of glaze mutes the Infusions and created a more homogenous result. I wanted more definition between the 'slats' so I repeated the tape process, sponging some black ink this time. I really like the weathered effect.
Time for the main event! I taped my stencil, PS481 by Lynne Perrella, very well, and went through it lightly with black ink. Then I stamped in the biggest openings with the stamps from the LPC077 set. I used tan ink to add flowers and patterns to most of the stencil and black ink to add the focus, the face in the hair.
I like how the stencil and stamp match... She's thinking about herself!
I wanted to give her more body and contrast so I used Mattints in The Pink, Dragonfly and High Viz to add patches of colour. The Mattints' total transparency allowed me to add colour without masking the stencilling, or having to stay in the lines! I went darker on her and also added some lighter patches around her to gradually tie her to the background.
Finally it was time to take care of the other characters in this scene. I chose the other lady in the LPC077 stamp set, as well as the pretty bird and went to colour them with Mattints.
My go-to to create a skin tone is generally a mix of Are You Cerise and Rusty Infusions. If I am working with Mattints instead, I use The Pink and Squeezed with some Nutty to replace the walnut crystals in Infusions. Here I stayed with the colours used in rest of the project and played with the ratio of Orange County Infusion in The Pink Mattint to get the skin tone I wanted. You can see all my swatches as I fine tuned it. Be sure to create enough of your mix to cover all the skin! Obviously no 2 people have the same skin tone, so by adjusting ratios and colours chosen, you should be able to get wide ranging skin tones to suit all ethnicities following these principles.
To add shadows, I like to add a complementary colour to the mix, like green or blue, to create an interesting and harmonious tone. Here I used A bit Jaded. By itself, it looks way too grey and dark, by a light transparent layer over the main skin tone works perfectly!
I stencilled bits of trim in Nougat to anchor the different elements and voilà ! My story for this project is that this well dressed Mexican lady lives in this house with a big mural on the wall.
She was taking her nap in the heat of the afternoon but a colourful bird perched on the corniche and started singing! While she finds the bird beautiful, she is quite displeased with being woken and is sternly telling it off. The bird does not seem intimidated. This is a stalemate...
I hope you enjoyed this project and maybe found some inspiration in it.
This concludes the 2025 blog cycle (a bit late, I know!). We had so many beautiful projects and interesting explorations! I hope you enjoyed the ride and will keep being crafty & curious with us in 2026.... Coming your way next week!
Stay creative
Dounia x
