Summer 2016 #3UP {Hot Picks}

Hello Everyone, Leandra here

So here we are on the final night of #3UP. 
The end always comes around so quickly, which is tinged with sadness. Every time we do a #3UP, the content seems to offer so many ideas with new stamps, colour combinations, techniques and the like. It leaves me itching to try something different, and I hope you too!

Tonight Donna, Chirs and Nikki have pulled out all the stops and given us an awesome array of ideas with Hot Picks Stamps and the popular product of 2016 Distress Crayons. Of course, similar results can be achieved with crayola Slick Stix or Portfolio Oil Pastels (also water soluble) and Gelatos etc.

I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy their ideas!

~Leandra

First up this evening we have a project from Donna Gray.

I'm Donna Gray and I'm thrilled to be here! I adore all things mixed media especially drawing and carving my own stamps, hope you like what I've made.

It was so much fun working with 3 sets of stamps that were pre-chosen for me and getting to mix and match them up....way out of my comfort zone there I think! I coloured all the stamped images with my beloved Neocolors II.

I love this method of smearing crayons on top of Gesso then taking a stencil and a moist baby wipe and removing some of the water soluble crayon through the stencil... makes for a really interesting background don't you think?

A close up of one of my favourite little techniques, covering with glossy accents then allowing to dry, place in freezer for a few minutes, remove and then crack, gives a really good 'broken glass' effect.

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places to find Donna.

Blog: Inky and Quirky

Next this evening we have Chris Cresswell

Hi everyone. Chris Cresswell here, aka artmadnana. My love of art journaling, mixed media and bright colours is well suited to tonight's project challenge. I have really enjoyed exploring these different art crayons together with the the fabulous Hot Picks I was given! 

As soon as I saw my Hot Picks selection: I fell in love. I immediately made a decision about my colour theme. Seeing those gorgeous butterflies made me reach for blues and purples; not my usual choices. I also decided that I was going to only use parts of stamps in all three sets. But how to combine them? I love the poppy but it had to fit in with this very definite colour theme! I limited my crayons to: portfolios, Gelatos and Crayola Slick stix, choosing similar colours from each range.

Here, I borrowed an idea from Donna Downey to emboss the poppy head several times across the canvas before 'spraying' several of the Gelatos over the entire surface. Once the Gelatos are dry you simply wipe over the embossed image to make the white flower pop against those sprayed colours. Delicious.

Here is a close up of the poppy on the frame. I mixed different portfolio crayons with water and sprayed onto heavy PA smoothy card to create these. I cut out four and overlapped them to form a larger flower head. I then put Ranger crackle glaze on top and finally sealed them with a sparkly varnish. A few beads were added to complete the effect. I love finding different ways to use these crayons.

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places to find Chris

Blog: Loops and Lines

To finish the week we have one final project from Nikki Killinger

Hi, I'm Nikki K, been crafting since around the age of 14, mixed media is my passion, love to create bright bold or grungy, no style is my style!

I thoroughly enjoyed creating this bright vibrant cover for my own Art Journal, it makes me smile each time I open it. The stamps were a pleasure to work with and gave crisp clear images easily.

The stamps and Portfolio crayons worked beautifully together, and toned with the inks I used for creating the background stamping. The colours just pop! The crayons were creamy and easily blendable. 

Each of the stamp sets interact perfectly with each other, I love the steampunk moths and butterflies, and all the fab texture and background stamps. The sentiments are just perfect. A complete favourite in my book.. literally! xx

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places to find Nikki

Blog: Crafty Ramblings

Whew! what a week! Our guests have surpassed themselves and everyone has produced stunning work, incredibly inspirational for us all!

Darcy and Leandra would like to say a huge thank you to everyone that took part. It is amazing, actually such a thrill to see so many different styles and approaches. We hope that you have all enjoyed the week as much as we have.

So that brings #3up week to a close.

However I hear that behind the scenes, Leandra has a few surprises planned for next week. We are taking a break for a week from the traditional blog format, but Leandra will be dropping some sneak peeks on the blog, and {TIP} you might like to check that your Periscope app is updated! We might even give facebook live a whirl too.

So keep your eyes peeled for announcements on all social media as well as the blog as we are planning to mix things up a bit. There will be some special 'reveals' when you least expect it.

The next challenge will be Topic #14 and that will begin on Sunday 24th July at 19:00.

~Darcy

Summer 2016 #3UP {EKC,EEV and EEB}

Hello Leandra here

As our lovely #3UP week nears a close, we are reeling from yet another tragic international incident.

In the glorious seaside location of Nice, towards the end of the day celebrating France's own Independence: Bastille Day, one person chose to take the lives of many. We mourn deeply with France, and send all our love and condolences to those families affected.

Bastille Day, July 14th is a day when France celebrates the heartfelt meaning of values such as Freedom, Equality and Unity, and I believe it it is indeed those values that I take for granted every day. For many of us, our forefathers fought so we can live freely today. We can choose our partners for life, our occupation, our place of habitation, our governmental systems and we can respect the same and yet different choices of our friends, families and neighbours, even when they might differ from our own. I do not think it serves any purpose to lay blame or to live our life in fear of the unknown. Rather, we should continue to look ahead to create a positive future, and through the years, treat each other as we would wish to be treated. If we each lead by example, and enjoy our freedom, equality of sex, gender or race and if we strive for unity, then surely the world will be a better place. I think it is so important for us to hold dear these values, and share them for the benefit of generations to come.

I am thankful that again, tonight, we celebrate our own sense of fabulous community here on the PaperArtsy blog. It is such a joy to see those who normally follow the blog revealing to our wider community their amazing crafty ideas. So a big thanks to Caz, Mary and Samantha for spoiling us tonight! They have created such delightful ideas in a delicate pastel colour palette with Eclectica³ Kay Carley, Ellen Vargo, and Elizabeth Borer stamps.

Please take a moment to drop by their blogs and leave them some love. It is very much appreciated!

Enjoy your evening

~Leandra

First up this evening we have Caz Newton.

Hi, I’m Caz Newton. I’m a huge PaperArtsy fan and am never happier than when I surrounded by fresco paints, stencils, stamps and inks. The pastel theme of the challenge was slightly out of my comfort zone as I usually work in brights but I thoroughly enjoyed using the different colours for this post.

I love working in 3D and as soon as I received the stamp sets I knew I had to use a large pocket watch from Art Parts and the focal image from the Elizabeth Borer set! I was pleased how the pastel colours blended well for the background and the only problem I had was not adding too many extra flowers and leaves!

I tried a couple of different ways to do the leaves as I was concerned about getting them neatly cut out and bend to shape. Firstly I stamped onto thicker card but I didn't like how rigid it was; then I tried stamped onto thin card and stuck onto Clearly for Art but that was too thick to cut neatly but in the end stamping and painting straight onto white Clearly for Art worked really well and allowed me to shape the trails of leaves exactly how I wanted.

I decided to build up the fairy with layers and also make her wings out of Clearly for Art painted with pearl glaze. I loved the 3D effect this gave her and heating her wings allowed me to bend them and give them more shape.

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places you find Caz. 

Blog: Candelle Creations

Next this evening we have Mary C Nasser

Mary's paintings and interview appeared in Featuring magazine, and she’s a contributing artist in the books Stencil Girl by Mary Beth Shaw and Making Art From Maps by Jill Berry.

I really like the creative possibilities of Ellen Vargo's stamps! And all the doodles and designs within the shapes are fabulous!

Blue is my favorite color, so I was delighted with the range of blue Fresco Acrylic Paints I received – especially Turquoise and Mermaid! It was fun painting my own papers, and the chalk finish of the paints made them perfect to stamp on.

I enjoyed the process of arranging the stamped pieces into a unique composition onto this 12” x 16” stretched canvas. My favorite part of this piece is the area where I stamped Kay Carley's word "dreams" into one of the blank petals.

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places to find Mary.

Blog: Mary C Nasser

Facebook: MaryNasserArt

Instagram: Mary C Nasser

Website: Mary C Nasser

Twitter: Mary C Nasser

Finally this evening we have a project from Samantha Wade.

Hello I am Samantha Wade, I really enjoy paper crafting and mixed media. Shabby chic, girly and sparkly things are what i’m drawn too. I always have a project on the go and love to share on my blog.

I really enjoyed using these Kay Carley stamps EKC01, the flowers are perfect to colour and cut out for dimension. The sprig is ideal to fill in-between the flowers.

The flowers are so cheerful and really wanted to make them bright and pretty. The watercolour background makes me feel they are enjoying a beautiful summers day.

I love to make a background from a piece of white card. Then to add dimension with the 3D flowers, words and sparkle. The image from the stamps is so clear and perfect every time.

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places to see Samantha.

Blog:Craftroomdelights

Oh such delicate and beautiful projects.

I hope these have inspired you to seek out these stamp collections. whether your images are bold or pretty they can all be transformed by colour choices, the possibilities are endless.

We are almost at the end of our 3up week, only one more night. come back tomorrow to meet our final 3 guests.

~Darcy

Summer 2016 #3UP {Lynne Perrella}

Hello, Leandra here

And we're back in the room for a second brilliant post today!

It's time to get up close and personal with the dignified and unsurpassed Lynne Perrella Collection. If you love collage stamps, look no further, and yes, we couldn't resist some infusion magic with these!

So kick back, and hop around another 3 blogs to leave your comments for these lovely bloggers who have created truly beautiful projects.

Enjoy, Leandra

First up this evening we have Lynn Price.

Hi, Lynn Price here! I have been dabbling in mixed media for almost two years. I absolutely love experimenting, and I had a blast playing with the new PaperArtsy Infusions!

My experiments brought me many interesting results; for this 3UP, I showcased a variety of substrates using the Infusion powders.

This depicts the first phase of several applications of the Infusions to matte photo paper. The way the color and walnut crystals work together fascinates me!

I stamped this wonderful image from LPC026 onto Yupo paper. I love how it emulates white marble!

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places to find Lynn.

Blog: Experiments In Paper

Next up this evening we have Autumn Clark. 

Hello! I’m Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint. I define my style as grunge meets elegance. I love to distress everything and balance my work with a touch of pretty and neat.

I used LPC 028, this gorgeous set inspired me to create an intricate paper doll, complete with vintage lace train. She is floating in a moody sky of Infusions over her city.

To create my background I alternated mixing Infusions on either side of a canvas, allowing the drips to form and meet.

My favorite part of my experimentation with Infusions was discovering this beautiful water splatter technique. Because Infusions are so highly soluble, and as a dye, non-permanent, the blotted splashes lifts the color right off the canvas.

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places to find Autumn.

Blog: Sew Paper Paint

Pinterest: Autumn Clark

Instagram: Sew Paper Paint

Finally this evening we have a project from Ellie Knol.

Hello, I am Ellie Knol!

I like challenges. It makes me have to think outside the box. These Lynne Perrella stamps, now how on earth was I going to use these!? They are so different to any style of stamps I have ever used!

I chose to alter a CD-tin and CD, and to use (black ánd white) heat embossing to show the beauty of the Royal Blood shade of Infusions. This lady looks to be a royal, and it would lend itself to be on a real CD and tin all by itself.

Here you can see the difference between using a brush to mix the colors (top of the background), or leave the misted water to do its work (downward). LOVE all the different colors in the Royal Blood Infusions; from purple to deep blue, and even some greenish teal tints.

I finished the background with more stamping: with a script stamp (postage) and a bubble stamp. I added some color to the bubbles and the woman with a watercolor pencil. I amazed myself in finishing this project so fast, and it was such fun, that I am now really feeling different about this type of stamp. I couldn't have imagined that!!

To see this project in full please visit my blog posts HERE.

Places to find Ellie.

Blog: Paper-Stamps-Color

Facebook: Ellie Knol

Pinterest: Ellie Knol

Wow, what a fantastic evening, two posts for the price of one!

Lynne Perrella stamps have such an elegant quality and these projects have all shown the stunning stamp details . Fantastic experiments and techniques being showcased with the infusions too. Hopefully these projects have given you some great inspiration. 

See you tomorrow for another 3 guests and 3 more projects.

~Darcy

Summer 2016 #3UP {US and ESN}

Hi, it's Leandra here again, and already the 4th night of #3UP is upon us, 

I hope you are able to make time to visit the blog of our contributors, I have been learning so much from thier experiments, particularly with Infusions.

Again tonight our team is using Infusions again, and I am sure there will be a new batch of tricks to explore. They are using Eclectica³ {Sara Naumann} and Urban Snapshots stamps, perfect for cards and journalling, with that lovely vintage feel!

Lets take a look, and I'll leave you with Darcy for the rest of the post

~Leandra

First up this evening we have Miriam Grazier. 

Hi. I’m Miriam. By day I am a HR professional. By night I like to relax and create! You can find me at Miriam's Creative Dreams

When I saw the stamps I squealed!! They were perfect for me! And I have been hooked on Infusions since the day I bought them! If you haven’t tried them yet you really need to – I hope my project inspires you! Stamp: USNT3EZ

Here you can see that I coloured my decorative ribbons using 3 colours of Infusions. I used 5 techniques in total throughout the project. 

I love this close up of the scrunched flower, it makes a great focal point on the cover. 

If you pop over to my blog you can see all of the individual pages and all of the techniques that I used. HERE.

Places to find Miriam

Blog: Miriam's Creative Dreams

Twitter: Miriam Grazier 

Facebook: Miriam Grazier 

Next up we have Kristiina Majuri. 

Hello! I am Kristiina Majuri, a high school math teacher from Finland. I've been playing with papercrafts for a couple of years, and especially enjoy mixed media and stamps.

There were so many lovely stamps in my Urban Snapshots bundle, that I ended up making three cards. They make quite a nice triptych with the motto "do not fear mistakes".
(Left: USSL1EZ, Centre: USNT3EZ, Right: USAA2EZ)

I played with Infusions on ink jet photo paper, gessoed cardboard and grunge paste. I was really positively surprised by how versatile the combination of colour and walnut ink is!

I fell in love with the "do not fear mistakes" sentiment from USSL1EZ and the endless combinations that I could make with text fragments from my Sara Naumann word stamps.

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places to find Kristiina

Blog: Paperimajuri

Finally this evening we have a project from Tricia Duffus.

I have two loves in life...diving and crafting. I've been crafting for about four years. Love mixed media and altered art and am usually covered in paint....heaven!!

I love, love the versatility of the Infusions. I have used them in four differing ways on this plaque and am looking forward to discovering more..lots of playtime fun to be had with these little bottles of magic!

 

Two of my favourite things...grunge paste and stencils. I often cut up my stencils as I find them easier to position on a project this way. I mixed the jade infusion with the grunge paste...you can get different effects depending how well you mix the two together. 

I used infusions on the flower with the PaperArtsy Fresco Satin glaze. I love the colour striations this produces. I also sprinkled infusions on the plaque, which gives a lovely mottled effect. 

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE. 

Places to find Tricia 

Blog: Crafting From the Naughty Corner

Facebook: Tricia Duffus

Three more fabulous projects from our guests this evening. How fabulous do the Infusions look! So many fantastic experiments from tinting grunge paste to colouring ribbons. 

Do check out the individual blogs of our guests as they will all have more information on their techniques to share with you. 

More guests and projects tomorrow, see you at 7pm. 

~Darcy

Summer 2016 #3UP {EKD, EEG and ECL}

Good evening everyone, Leandra and Darcy here again.

It's night 3 of #3UP.

Each night this week, 3 people are UP on the PaperArtsy blog to showcase their crafty skills. They were all randomly selected a few months back, were sent specific stamps and colour products to use however they choose.

All of tonight's bloggers have featured FULL STEP OUTS on their own blogs, so if you would like to find out more, please follow the links, and go and leave a comment here on the PA blog and on their own personal blogs for them; feedback is so important, these bloggers are itching to hear from you!

Tonight we have some of our newest designers who have that fresh modern style to their creations. They fall into our Eclectica³ Category: Emma Godfrey Kim Dellow and Clare Lloyd. It's only fitting then that they were given bright colours to work with!

Enjoy, you are in for another wonderful treat!!
~Leandra

First up this evening we have Carol Fox. 

Hello I am Carol Fox. I like to play with Ink, Paint and Stamps, I love to Journal and enjoy bringing the techniques I have learnt into my other projects.

I have made three 4 x 4 coasters. I quite often add a little stand to the back of these and send them instead of birthday cards.

I had never used Fresco Paints on My Gelli Plate Before. But I loved how bright the colours stayed and how well they blended on the Gelli.

This is the first time I had used my pencils directly over the top of Fresco Paint and with it being so toothy as a chalk paint, I was mega delighted with how the colour laid down and blended over the paint. I love how easy the images were to colour, nice basic shapes easy to add as much or as little detail as you want to them.

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE.

Places to find Carol. 

Blog: Welcome 2 My World

Facebook: Ginger's altered Bits

Youtube: Carol Fox

Next up this evening we have Corrie Herriman. 

Hello, I am Corrie Herriman, I live in the Netherlands and am 55 years young. I am really happy when I am covered in paint and ink. Mixed Media is my passion.

I have really enjoyed making this project as it took me out of my comfort zone and gave me lots of inspiration to make more of these in the future. I had never even attempted to make an art doll but decided to give it a go for this project.

I love using acrylic paints in every way you can think of and here I used them for the base colour of the dress and for the flowers. I also love collage, so I painted the paper, stamped the flowers, added some more colour to them with coloured pencils and collaged them onto the dress.

I love, love colouring with Copic Markers, they are my go to product for colouring images. They are quick and easy to use and give fabulously blended results every time. I think this face came out lovely ! 

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE. 

Places to find Corrie. 

Blog: Made by Chook

Facebook: Corrie Herriman

Instagram: Corrie Herriman

Finally we have a project from Rachel Fisher

Hello I am Rachel Fisher and I am a widowed mum of two girls. I love to craft - particularly mixed media and when not crafting I enjoy swimming and cycling and grow my own veggies!

This is my shadow box created using beautiful stamps from PaperArtsy and translucent fresco paints. The stamps worked beautifully every time producing crisp images even when stamping with paints.

Here is my preferred method for adding paint to flat surfaces - my trusty brayer! My favourite thing about the paints in this project was the way the red and yellow blended to produce orange - I was even able to produce a great ombre ... lovely!!

I like this corner of the project best - its got that fabulous crackle achieved using crackle glaze and also the mixed up colour from the blue paint applied over the yellow. That's the flowers that I then highlighted using white paint. 

To see the full project please visit my blog post HERE. 

Places to find Rachel 

Blog: fisherscardsandcrafts

Oh my goodness, more fabulous projects from tonight's guests, and I am amazed at how seamlessly you have mashed up 3 stamp collections! This is certainly turning out to be such a fab week. This evening everyone has chosen bright funky colours and all those flowers just pop right off the surfaces. 

We have more inspiration tomorrow, see you then! ~Darcy

Summer 2016 #3UP {Ink and the Dog}

Good evening everyone, Leandra here to welcome you night 2 of a week of #3UP.

Each night this week, 3 people are UP on the PaperArtsy blog to showcase their crafty skills. They were all randomly selected a few months back, were sent specific stamps and colour products to use however they choose.

All of tonight's bloggers have featured FULL STEP OUTS on their own blogs, so if you would like to find out more, please follow the links, and go and leave a comment here on the PA blog and on their own personal blogs for them; feedback is so important, these bloggers are itching to hear from you!

It a bit of old and new tonight! Our group was sent stamps from our first ever stamp collection Ink and the Dog. Started in 2004, there are over 100 A6 (quarter) stamp plates in this collection, across 28 themes. As they are Vintage in style, they simply do not date. We also have Ink and the Dog Minis (over 100 of those little credit card size beauties), and the Vintage Ink and the Dog, is 10 plates (half plate, A5 size) of some of Leandra's most favourite images, slightly larger in format than the originals.

Tonight's #3Uppers are also using our newest product: infusions. Infusions are dye powder pigments mixed with walnut crystals to create a perfect vintage tone. Sprinkle and activate with water, or try one of the many methods explored by tonight's clever experimental crew!

Enjoy, you are in for a treat!!
~Leandra

First up this evening we have Bryan Evans.

Hello, I am Bryan and I am on a journey of discovery to try and find my own style and uniqueness with inks and paints mixed with stamps, found objects and different substrates.

I am really pleased with the end result, Lemoncello and Royal Blood work well together. I used them with water and gesso, just a small amount, the effects are different all of the time.

The infusions performed really well on tissue paper, I was really impressed how the walnut crystals are visible next to the colour. I will be try different colour combinations next.

I like the style of the stamps, highly detailed and remain crisp even on 2nd generation stamping. Ink and the Dog and Infusions, a great mix!! 

To see the full project please visit my blog posts HERE. 

Places to find Bryan. 

Blog: .Geezer Crafter

Next up this evening we have Siobhan Brignull

I have been stamping since about 2003, and at my first visit to Ally Pally for a stamping exhibition, I caught sight of the Paper Artsy stand, my first impression was who would want those weird looking stamps, fast forward a year and I couldn't buy enough of them and this has been true ever since, money being the only things that stops me buying more.

My feature stamp is from the Wings series of ink and the Dog. I really enjoyed discovering the sheer amount of different techniques and effects that you could use with Infusions, my piece includes using infusions with water, white paint and metallic glaze, I tried many things and my only failed experiment was with crackle glaze. (I guess crackle needs opaque layers to contrast properly, and Infusions, being a dye, are not opaque)

Initially the technique didn't seem that to have done what I wanted, as it bled under the stencil, but in the end it worked out just right for me. A happy accident. 

I love the variation in colour that infusions brings, also my happy accident of using texture gold and find it recoloured some of my embossing, love that effect ! 

To see the full explanation please visit my blog post HERE. 

Places to find Siobhan. 

Blog: Ink Blots

Facebook: Siobhan Brignull

Instagram: Shiv63

Finally this evening we have Rebecca Harris. 

Hi everyone, Rebecca here, I am a craft addict (time allowing LOL!) I have been crafting for ever, love to try everything with an open mind and get a lot of inspiration from colour!!

First of all my stamp came from the Eclectic family - there is so much on the one plate!

Well what can I say about these little jars of colour infusion; very versatile, everything on my wall hanging has been coloured by infusions, from water spritzing, to painting with and colouring fabric, LOVE UM!

This is a close up of the tissue paper and bias binding coloured with A Bit Jaded, love the variations in colours and bits of walnut that crop up

The versatility continues by mixing the infusions with fresco paint and stamping with it and when painted created a lovely background for stamping a focal image.

To see the full project please visit my blog posts HERE. 

Places to find Rebecca. 

Twitter:CraftinCoates

FB: Rebecca Harris

Blog: Craftin-Artasia

Instagram: craftin_coates

Wow doesn't it look like our guests had so much fun with the Infusions! Tissue paper seems to be a common thread here, but to use them on fabric and with stencils looks awesome! Make sure you take a look at Leandra's pinterest board for more ideas with Infusions.

~Darcy