2016 #20 Gothic Twinchies {by Tracy Scott}

2016 Topic 20 Square and Grids

Hi there everyone. Tracy here today with a post for this months theme of 'squares' and 'grids' on the PaperArtsy Blog.

Instantly my mind went to those fabulous miniature works of art that are 'twinchies' and 'Inchies'. I loves me a miniature work of art and the twinchies (2x2" square) are definitely a favourite of mine. 

Step 1: Choose a selection of paint colours. I chose Mermaid, Caribbean Sea, BoraBora and South Pacific, using a small brayer I mixed the colours all together on a sheet of glossy card.

Step 2: Whilst the paint is still wet and using the end of a paintbrush I scratched some swirl designs into the paint.

Step 3: I used an embossing ink pad and stamped various images from my Gothic Blooms ETS03 stamp set...

Eclectica³ Tracy Scott 03: ETS03

...and added gold embossing powder before heat setting into place.

Step 4: next I added stamping from ETS03 in Jet Black archival ink and added paint splatters using Little Black Dress, Snowflake, London Bus and Gold paints.

Step 5: Cut your master board into 2x2 inch squares ready for decorating

Step 6: Using a piece of Smoothy cardstock, I brayered the whole page in gold and then stamped images from ETS03 stamp set.

Step 7: Using the various images I stamps in gold and found book text I then decorated each of my 2x2" squares adding black and white pen work to finish off.

I decided for this project to use my new stamp set ETS03 to highlight some of the things you can do with it, these little magical works of art are just amazing for trying out new techniques or stamps that you might otherwise be intimidated to give a go.

I had an absolute blast creating these little gems and would just love to see what you can do too !!!!

You can check out more of my work at....

Www.facebook.com/myjournallingjourney

Www.instagram.com/tr4cy1973

Www.heartistry@studio7.co.uk

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to see you all again soon

Bright and painty hugs

Tracy

X

Wow, the colour scheme and imagery from your stamps really does feel very Regal with a Gothic vibe. So many elements on such a small surface, and they look gorgeous! I can imagine them arranged into a teeny tiny book too. Thanks Tracy, this is a lovely way to use your stamps! ~Leandra

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post, so if you can spare a moment to comment or make your own creative item, they love to see your feedback and what do do more than you realise!

We would love to see how you interpret this Squares and Grids topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #20: Squares and Grids, on this page HERE. The 'Squares and Grids' link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Oct 30th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. 

2016 #20 Funky Squares {by Hazel Agnew}

 2016 Topic 120: Squares and Grids

Hi everyone Hazel, from Mellifluous Meanderings here.

Tonight I'd like to share with you this evening a post about creating shapes within squares that work in relationship to one another.

This is a way of playing with stamps where you look at them in a totally different light. Instead of using the whole stamp, it is interesting to explore smaller parts of them.

Step One: First of all I cut up lots of squares of coloured paper and stamped with clear embossing pad and sprinkled with Black Wow powder that had a hint of sparkle. I stamped far too many of them as I wanted to fiddle and play to get my best combination of patterns and colours. 

The stamp is from Eclectica³ Ellen Vargo 03 EEV03

Step Two: I decided to use a sparkly background, influenced by a piece of art by Damien Hirst where he placed coloured circles onto a black glittery background. I placed the shapes onto various background colours before I decided that chocolate brown worked the best.

Step Three: I mounted each little square onto black card to give it extra definition and then used foam pads to add extra dimensional interest to the piece.

Here is another version of this exercise, this time, instead of using one stamp in many ways, this one uses all the stamps from the set. As you can see, I have mounted these onto black glittery card.

Finally, here is my first piece, photographed, mounted onto a linen box frame, showing the 3D effect.

I can imagine that this technique would work well with Christmas stamps and then used to make Christmas cards. You can easily adapt the sizes of the squares or maybe use other shapes in relation to one another.

I hope that you have enjoyed this contribution, I have enjoyed creating it. 

I am Hazel, otherwise known as @craftroomgran on twitter and you can find my blog which is Mellifluous Meanderings.

I think we often forget how effective it can be to use small sections of stamps to create a completely different effect than using it as a whole! I am sure our stamp designers really love seeing such creative take on how stamps could be used. The embossing powder adds another texture to the process, and I love the pops of colour from the card. Nice one Hazel! ~Leandra

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post, so if you can spare a moment to comment or make your own creative item, they love to see your feedback and what do do more than you realise!

We would love to see how you interpret this Squares and Grids topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #20: Squares and Grids, on this page HERE. The 'Squares and Grids' link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Oct 30th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. 

2016 #20 Patchwork Backgrounds {by Anneke de Clerck}

2016 Topic 20: Squares and Grids

Hi everyone Anneke here.

I'm happy to be back here tonight with a post about "Squares and Grids". For this topic I've created patchwork backgrounds made from inchies. If you follow my blog you'll know I did inchie backgrounds before. It's a really fun and easy way to add interest to a project. In the past I've punched inchies out of coffee filters, tissue paper, painted paper scraps...This time I've chosen to work with patterned paper. I've created a set of tags using JOFY stamps and the paper piecing technique.
Let's get started.

Step 1: I dug up my leftover scrapbook paper and punched out a bunch of inchies to start with.

Step 2: I worked on 3 Manilla Tags (size 9). I picked 6 or 7 colors for each tag and tried different color combinations until I was pleased with the result. I made a mix of patterned paper and plain paper. 

Step 3: To attach the inchies I've chosen double sided tape. A quick and easy method if there are lots of inchies to glue down.

Step 4: I worked from the bottom to the top and removed the 'backing' on the go. 

Step 5: To tone down the background before stamping I glued tissue paper to each tag using Golden Polymer Medium. On the left you see a background without tissue paper, on the right one with tissue paper on top.

Step 6: I stamped greenery on the tags using various stamps from stamp sets....

JOFY 09

and JOFY 42 

Step 7: I wanted to repeat the patterns from the background on the focal piece. So I've chosen the paper piecing technique to decorate the girl. I stamped the girl on pink paper using Archival Ink Jet Black, cut out and used this as a base to glue the dress, boots and hair on. Hair, dress and boots were cut out of paper that matched with each background.

Step 8: I colored the flowers, leaves and grass with Faber Castell PITT artist pens and acrylic markers.

Step 9: I drew on the tag with a white pen.

Step 10: I added shading to the girl using a black pencil.

Step 11: Each tag was decorated with a few matching pompoms. On the dresses I added enamel dots using Tim Holtz Enamel Accents.

I usually work with paints or inks to create backgrounds but from time to time I like to work with patterned paper as well. Making this set of tags was kind of time consuming but I'm pleased with the result so it was worth the effort.

I love the effect of the tissue paper on the patchwork backgrounds. I could have used a layer of gesso instead but this would have hidden the patchwork backgrounds too much in my opinion. If you fancy using this technique make sure to let the tissue paper air dry entirely before stamping and coloring on it. 

This technique is a perfect way to use up scraps by the way! I'm sure we all have lots of patterned paper scraps we never use anymore. But his technique would work well with scraps of painted paper or scraps of gelli plate prints as well. I hope I inspired you to grab your inchie punch :) 

I would love to see what you create, so join the challenge. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Anneke

My blog

http://somefiddlingonthekitchentable.blogspot.be

Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/anneke1/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/somefiddlingonthekitchentable/

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/anneke.declerck

I really love the idea of the tissue paper to soften the grid background! I imagine it must also give you a fairly smooth and even stamping surface too for the next layers! Your little dots of enamel accents, and the shading brings it all to life so beautifully, what a lovely way to spend an afternoon with some JoFy stamps! Thankyou! ~Leandra

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post, so if you can spare a moment to comment or make your own creative item, they love to see your feedback and what do do more than you realise!

We would love to see how you interpret this Squares and Grids topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #20: Squares and Grids, on this page HERE. The 'Squares and Grids' link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Oct 30th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. 

2016 #20 Textured Canvas {by Ingrid Vichova}

2016 Topic 20: Squares and Grids

Hi there! Ingrid here sharing my take on Squares and Grids. I have been itching to try out Seth Apter’s new stamps and this was my opportunity to play with the new stamp set ESA01. It has a great selection of background stamps which I will be using a lot more in the future. I was drawn to the industrial look of most of them. I immediately thought they would be perfect for this month’s theme. I decided to create a small canvas art… 

I had a great fun playing with the PaperArtsy Grunge paste and other pastes. I used quite a few. Let me take you through the process… 

STEP 1: I have had the grunge paste for quite some time and I think it is thicker than when I bought it. After spreading the paste onto my canvas using a palette knife I made little grids using my palette knife. I also stamped into the paste using Seth’s stamps. Once I was happy with the design, I helped the drying along using a heat gun. I noticed some crackling here and there… yay! More texture the better as far as I am concerned! 

ESA01.

STEP 2: It was time to add some colour. I have so many PaperArtsy paints and they are all so gorgeous I had a really hard time to decide on a colour scheme. If in doubt, add black… so I covered the entire canvas in Little Black Dress Chalk Finish Fresco Paint and heat dried. 

STEP 3: I played further with adding Blueberry, Squid Ink, Baltic Blue over the black and wiped some of it off. I love adding paints with brayer. Because my canvas is textured the brayer was hitting the raised areas only leaving the ‘valleys’ black for contrast. I layered Captain Peacock, Baltic Blue, White Fire, Limelight, Snowflake. 

STEP 4: I always have a deli paper next on a desk when working with a brayer to take the excess paint off. The paint was nearly dried when I decided to tap a piece of a white card on top of it. It is naturally crinkled so the white card had an imprint of these crinkles on. All I wanted was to add a dash of texture and colour and use this for my sentiment. I stamped this with Memento Luxe, Tuxedo Black, and then went over it using my Faber-Castell Pitt pen in black. Then I tore around the sentiment. 

STEP 5: I can never leave things alone and needed to add some stamping using the squares with the Limelight paint. 

I used the Vintage Photo embossing powder to add a contrast colour to my project. I rubbed it into the crevices and heat embossed. I sponged the edges of the canvas using Memento Luxe, Tuxedo Black, until satisfied with the look.

 

STEP 6: To finish it off, I wrapped a rusty nail in a rusty wire and added by wrapping around the entire canvas and over the sentiment three times. 

Here are a few close ups of the canvas… 

I hope you can find inspiration in my artwork and give this a go yourself. I certainly had heaps of fun and would like to thank you in advance for your comments. Your feedback is important to me and I’m sure Leandra will be pleased to hear from you all too! Congratulations to Seth Apter on the release of these wonderful stamps. I hope you get to try them for yourself. 

All the best and stay creative! 

Ingrid xxx

Thanks Ingrid for sharing your process with us, this layered look suits Seth's stamps perfectly. The under layer of scoring the paste into lines and grids is a wonderful base and echoes the square stamping on the top. The rusty wire is a great addition, this echoes the lines and grids too

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post, so if you can spare a moment to comment or make your own creative item, they love to see your feedback and what do do more than you realise!

We would love to see how you interpret this Squares and Grids topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #20: Squares and Grids, on this page HERE. The 'Squares and Grids' link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Oct 30th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. 

2016 #20 Geometric Abstract Panel {by Alison Hall}

 2016 Topic 120: Squares and Grids

Hi everyone, Alison (Craftytrog) here.

Tonight I'd like to share with you an abstract panel, featuring a crackled, stencilled background with squares and grids. I've added some circles, ie. the bottle cap, and stamped and flicked splatters, to soften the geometric design. I've always been drawn to abstract style art, and the way items are placed on a canvas to create what I hope here is a balanced effect.

Step One: On an 8x8" MDF wood panel, I painted a base coat of Smurf Fresco Finish acrylic. As Smurf is an opaque, there is no need to gesso first.

Step Two: Next, using a brayer, I applied an even coat of PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze, then dried it with a heat gun, taking care not to let it blister.

Step Three: I then sponged a layer of Honey Dew Fresco Finish paint over the Crackle Glaze. Using a sponge created some lovely, delicate crackles. You can see that they're already appearing in the top right corner where I started.

Step Four: I repeated the last three steps onto some 1" square MDF pieces, but used Granny Smith Fresco Finish paint instead on the top layer.

Step Five: Using Blue Oyster Fresco Finish Paint, I stencilled the small squares border and the grid from...

 PaperArtsy {Emma Godfrey} Stencil PS016

Step Six: I used Potting Soil Archival Ink to stamp the splatters image from Sara's stamp set 09 onto the panel and MDF pieces.

Eclectica³:Sara Naumann Set 09 ESN09 

Then I added some splatters to the base panel with watered down Granny Smith Fresco Paint. I also sponged the ink around the edges all of the pieces.

Step Seven:  Next, I painted the inside of a bottle cap embellishment, first with Honey Dew, then with some White Fire.

Step Eight: To create the final elements for my panel, I cut a 2 inch square of corrugated card, sponged the peaks with Honey Dew Fresco Finish Paint, then inked the edges with Potting Soil Archival ink. Next, on a blank piece of book page, I lightly stamped a background of the splatters from ESN09 with Forget-Me-Not Archival Ink, then stamped the phrase from ESN04 with Potting Soil. On another piece of blank book page, I lightly stamped the circle image from...

Eclectica³:Sara Naumann 04 ESN04

...with Forget-Me-Not ink, then stamped the word 'dream' over the top with Potting Soil. I cut out the words and 'dream' image, inked the edges with Potting Soil, then glued the 'dream' to the inside of the bottle cap. 

Step Nine: Using matte medium, I glued the bottle cap onto one of the 1" MDF squares, then glued this to the corrugated piece. I then glued all the elements in place on the main panel, as shown in the top photo. To finish, I used a Faber Castell Sepia Pitt pen to add some shadows around the words, smudging it with my finger.

My favourite elements are the corrugated card and the bottle cap. I love the extra dimension that they add to my panel. I think I probably went a bit overboard with my Granny Smith painty splatters, I never know when to stop as it's so much fun flicking paint! Lol!

I hope I've inspired you to create your own abstract panel with geometric elements.
Have a creative week,

Alison

Twitter: @craftytrog
Facebook: Alison Hall 
Blog: Craftytrog's Inky Adventures

Well I am really loving your Granny Smith painty flicks Alison! They look lovely and flicky splats always seems to tie layers into each other so well. There is so much detail in this panel, and yet it's looking so structured at the same time. Great composition and fabulous effects! Thankyou! ~Leandra

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post, so if you can spare a moment to comment or make your own creative item, they love to see your feedback and what do do more than you realise!

We would love to see how you interpret this Squares and Grids topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #20: Squares and Grids, on this page HERE. The 'Squares and Grids' link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Oct 30th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store.