PA Blog 2018 Year in Review: Topics 1-4 with Miriam Grazier

 PaperArtsy Blog year in Review (Topics 1-4)

Hello from PaperArtsy HQ,

I know you are all bonkers-busy, but set some time to relax with a cuppa and enjoy the series of posts we are going to share with you over the next week. It is a time to reminisce as we look back on the topics this blog has explored during 2016, and appreciate the gorgeous creative inspiration we bring to you from this blog. 

Did you learn something new this year? Did you achieve a personal goal, or tick something off the bucket list? Were you challenged in ways you least expected? I guess all these things build character, and hopefully enable us to move towards a more fulfilled and content future!

Tonight's curator is Miriam Grazier She has selected some posts to highlight from each of the fist 4 2018 topics. 

Tonight she is sharing her picks from Topics 1-4: ATCs, Seth Apter Fresco Paints, Watercolours and Whimsy. Take it away Miriam!

Topic 1: ATC's

The first topic for 2018 was ATC's.  This caused double excitement for me.  Not only did the year start with a versatile and exciting way to create Art, but Leandra started to tantalise our taste buds by allowing sneak peak of the new products that were being released over the following couple of months.

My first pick is this amazing beauty by Jennie Atkinson.  This was the first post to kick off the new topic and the new year. A very soft and vintage ATC using the new Alison Bomber stamps.  This small piece of art is 'typical' of Jennie's beautiful, shabby chic style.  You can see the original post here.  

And I hope you didn't miss Anneke De Clerck's bright and colourful offering using the newly released Tracy Scott stamps.

I adored how much depth were created through the layers. And the colours were beautifully bright and made me think about the forthcoming Spring, much needed after a cold Winter.  You can see the original blog post here.

I just had to share the ATCs created by Autumn Clark for the challenge.  These showed sneak peaks from Scrap Cosy.  Autumn created so much texture on her ATCs.  Just fabulous.  You can see the full post here.

Additionally we saw all sort of beautiful miniature pieces of art of all forms - bright and vintage colours.  The topic really got the creative juices flowing for the new year - the projects shared by the bloggers was inspirational, as well as giving us a hint of the exciting release to come.

Topic 2: New Seth Apter Fresco Paints

Those of you that know me will know just how much I love my Fresco paints. This release brought the Fresco paint collection to 120 - and we know that it has grown since topic 2.  Every time a new colour is released I get VERY excited!

My first pick is this amazing beauty by Ruth Mescall. A very clever idea with the bobbin book.  It showed the paints and stamps perfectly and is a great idea for a memory 'book' or journal.  Here is the original post. 

I adored how Seth's paints were used for bold and delicate projects.  In my contribution to this topic I showed how I was able to use Seth's new colours with the delicate and detailed Lynne Perella collection.

Additionally we saw all sort of ways that the paints were used on different mediums, including the wonderful coasters created by Helen Chilton, which can be seen here.

As you can tell, it was pretty hard to choose between all of the projects created for this topic.  It really showcased Seth's Fresco paints perfectly.

Topic 3 : Watercolours

Topic 3 highlighted Watercolours.  There are so many types of Watercolours around this year.  No longer are they purely for delicate art paintings and this topic brought out the best!

When I first thought about using watercolour I thought that they were for delicate use - something I seem unable to master.  But actually playing with them and finding 'my style' was really fun and I find them so versatile.  This topic gave me so many ideas to try.  It was so hard to choose some of my favourites from this topic!

And I hope you didn't miss Lynne Moncrieff's wonderful watercolour journal. This project blew me away.  Lynne's beautiful style mixed with watercolour was simply divine.  I almost wanted to reach into the blog post to touch the journal.

My second choice to share for this topic is Autumn Clark's bright and cheerful journal.  I simply love the texture and brightness of this project.  Autumn blended the colours beautifully.

Additionally we saw all sort of cards, tags and books created, showing how wonderfully versatile Watercolours are.

Topic 4 : Whimsy

I knew this topic was going to be a pleaser!  At first it pushed me completely out of my comfort zone.  It's one style then I never thought I could crack.  But this topic really pulled it out of the bag.  The inspiration was amazing.

My first pick is Chris Cresswell's cubes.  Chris teamed Fresco paints, stamps and stencils to create a wonderful 3D project.

And I hope you didn't miss Helen Chilton's spoon people.  I can always rely on Helen to show projects that I wouldn't think of in a million years.  The way that she used Kim's stamps was brilliant.  I just loved these altered spoons.  So much so I am surprised my wooden spoons didn't disappear from the kitchen.

I adored how Kate Yetter interpreted the topic into a fabric based project with her Tweet Lil' Purse.  This project showed the whimsical and fun nature of Elena Zinski stamps and teamed it with a useable end project - just wonderful!

Additionally we saw all sort of fun and whimsical projects, with flowers, shadow boxes and lots of whimsical faces!  The intro to the topic included great You Tube videos to show how to draw in a 'whimsy' fashion. 

Thanks for joining me on this look back to the start of 2018
Miriam 

It is fun to look back on what our genius bloggers have shared with us over the course of a year. This year seems to have zapped by in a blink, but at least the blog remains as the perfect reference tool Don't forget to save the posts that float your boat on pinterest. No excuse now, you'll hit the New Year with a dozen ideas to crack on with!

Leandra

2018 #2 Seth's NEW Fresco paints: 'EXPERIMENT' with ESA {by Corrie Herriman}

2018 Topic 2: Seth's NEW Fresco Paints

There's nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation, and if you are new to paints, from the get-go Corrie shares 4 simple starting points with paints - what a cool idea! Then she pulls all those together to make some great compositions with Seth's new stamps! So after 2 weeks of Seth's paints, what camp are you in: Summer yellow-greens and blues or the wintery grey-blue-pink combo??? Can you choose?? It's like picking a favourite child... 

~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Corrie from MadeByChook here with you today, and I'd like to share with you an experiment where I have used Seth's fabulous new Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics in different ways ! I had so much fun trying these different techniques because the results are so different. So read on and see what I have made...

All these yummy new paint colours and the stamps I used will be available from your local stockist. There is a list of stockists in Seth's original blogpost that was published in January during the Creativation Trade Show in Arizona. Click HERE if you want to go and have a look. 

In this first sample I used all four colours of Seth's new Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic paints ie. {Glacier Ice}, {Steel Grey}, {Venice Blue} and {Spanish Mulberry} with a brayer. Starting with the lightest colour and building up the layers. I have been using this technique since I saw Leandra do this on YouTube because I love the result ! 

This second sample was made also with all four colours and a Gel Press plate. I really enjoy using the Gel Press Plate and have been known to spend days just making prints. The texture you see in this print was made with Seth's new Eclectica stamps {ESA07} and {ESA08}.

The third sample, again using all four colours, was finger painted. There really are no better tools than your fingers and it is really satisfying ! 

Of course I had to try Seth's method of making a background. I painted the paper first with {Steel Grey} and then used another piece of paper on which I painted the other colours one by one and then used it to monoprint on this piece. I think this gives a great effect and I probably will use this technique a lot more in the future.

Additionally I printed two more sheets of paper with the paints on the Gel Press Plate to use later for making the stamped embellishments to go on my backgrounds. 

I used Seth's new stamp sets Eclectica {ESA07} and {ESA08} to add some more interest to my four background papers. I tried to match the paint colours and used Distress Oxide Inks {Faded Jeans}, {Iced Spruce} and {Seedless Preserves} to achieve this. I also used a Ranger Archival {Jet Black} stamp pad to add some black. 

I did think that after all that the two darkest pages were getting too dark, so by adding a little heat embossing with some of the stamps and white embossing powder I added in some white areas which worked better. 

I love adding stitching to my work so that is what I did to the two lightest papers. It is hard to see here but I stitched around the edges of the left piece and across on the piece on the right. 

The two extra sheets of Gel printed papers were used to stamp the images of both of Seth's new stamp sets {ESA07} and {ESA08} on; I used Ranger Archival Ink in {Jet Black} for this because it is a fabulous ink to stamp over paints. After I stamped everything I then cut the images out and arranged them on my papers, creating 4 art journal pages.

 

The brayered page. Here you can see the stitching around the page. I think it adds a nice detail. I also matted most of the stamped images on black card stock to make them stand out more. 

The Gel printed page. This one was stitched across; you can just see it on the left along the checkered texture. I used a white pen to both splatter on the page and to highlight some areas. I also layered small images from the stamp sets over the big images just to create a different focal point. This works really well with these big stamped images. 

The finger painted page. I used some sewing thread on this page, again to give it some more interest and detail. I love using different elements on my art journal pages. 

And finally the page that was made with the 'Seth' method. Again I have layered stamped images over the focal point to create an interesting cluster. 

I thoroughly enjoyed making these four pages that are the same but different.  Seth's new paint colours are fantastic and work so well together. As always I enjoyed making the backgrounds the most; Seth's method and the Gel Plate method being my favourites. Assembling the pages takes the most time because I keep moving stuff around until I am totally happy with it, which could take....well hours ! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my (very long) post and have a go at making different but the same backgrounds yourself. You can use them for cards, ATC's and lots of other stuff too. 

Thank you so much for stopping by today ! You can also find me and my work here:

blog: www.MadeByCHook.blogspot.nl

FB: https://www.facebook.com/corrie.herriman

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/corrie.herriman/

Pinterest : https://nl.pinterest.com/corrieherriman/

YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXiCjfVOYI9ZmOtfRTazOcA

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. 

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. 

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 2: Seth's Frescos will close 17:00 (London Time) Tuesday Feb 20th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

2018 #2 Seth's NEW Fresco paints: What is it? with JoFY {by Keren Baker}

2018 Topic 2: Seth's NEW Fresco Paints

Is it a bird?......is it a plane? ......is it a bird feeder?......is it a key rack?..... submit answers on the back of a postcard please? or in the comments below as a 2018 option!  Keren doesn't know either...so whatever it is she did some stuff to it and it looks fab! ~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Keren Baker with you today and I'd like to share with you a project (that I have no idea what it actually is!!) using a wonderful blend of Seth Apter's new paints-Set 4.and some of the brand new JoFY stamps and stencils.

This was a fun project .... although I did wonder quite what it what end up like! 
I love Crackle Glaze 

... and it was perfect to show the contrast of the colours in the set; Venice Blue and Glacier Ice. I did have a problem with some of whatever was originally on the surface of the wood coming through, so if you are doing something similar and you have a wood with treatment on it, it might be worth doing a proper sand and clean before using Fresco layers.

This was it before; I would love to know what it's supposed to be. Please let me know in the comments if you know!. I wondered at a key holder or jewellery holder but they'd obscure the mirror. I really am none the wiser!

I decided to add some stencilling over the crackle glaze effect using Grunge Paste. The stencil I chose to use has such a useful negative (PS086) which means it protects the area around the stencilled image too.

I did love the contrast in textures between the crackle glaze and the Grunge paste. I didn't paint over it, but added some dry brushing with the Spanish Mulberry.

I decided to use the new stamp set JOFY61 and just cut out the images onto Smoothy. I didn't want to stamp over the paste and crackle as I wouldn't have got a clear enough impression.

JoFY's signature handwriting and lovely quotes are in evidence throughout her sets, and despite the colour combo at first glance seemingly quite masculine, I ended up loving the subtlety. I did sneak in some Green Patina as I did want a little green and the bluish tones just coordinated wonderfully with the other 4 colours. The uncharacteristically messy edges on the grunge paste were an afterthought, as the stencilling seemed to stop too abruptly and needed a softer edge. 

It certainly was a challenge to avoid bright rainbow colours, but I loved being taken out of my comfort zone and indeed having to have so little 'white' although arguably there's still plenty of 'white space'! I can't wait to combine Seth Apter's other paint set, as they will work so perfectly together. All his new paints are available from PaperArtsy stockists: see here for a list)

I really would encourage you to challenge yourself to a restricted palette. It's not something I do very often, and certainly not for fun; but there's something so easy about not having to think about whether colours go together as the paint set is pre-designed. JoFY's new stamps are wonderful as they're so versatile; I love that these flowers in the Spanish Mulberry suddenly became berries! Do have a scout around your local antique and charity shops to see what items you can breathe new life into!

In the meanwhile, I have to work out what I am actually going to do with this!! See you soon,
Keren xx

Blog: Kerenbaker's Blog
Facebook: Keren Baker
Twitter:@craftstampink
Instagram:@craftstampink
Pinterest:craftstampink

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. 

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. 

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 2: Seth's Frescos will close 17:00 (London Time) Tuesday Feb 20th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

2018 #2 Seth's NEW Fresco paints: Coaster Stack with I&D {by Helen Chilton}

2018 Topic 2: Seth's NEW Fresco Paints

Ohhh these look just like those lovely tiles you buy in gift shops! Another fun idea from Helen Chilton with Seth's set 4 in gorgeous blues and a splash of pink paints! I love how the Ink and the Dog images look on them! I hope this inspires you to have a go !  ~Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Helen with you today, and I'd like to share with you some coasters that I made using Seth's new Fresco paints. (a list of PaperArtsy Stockists can be found here) I already had the tiles in my stash - they were a sort of matte creamy colour, but matte or glossy, it doesn't matter as the Frescos will create a great surface for stamping on. These new colours are lovely and soft, kind of vintage looking, which work well with the Ink and the Dog stamps I chose: Ancestors 1, Wings plate 2, Wings Plate 4,

I've gone for a sort of family theme, mother, father, sisters, brother. These stamps come into their own here: the focal images are just the right size and then there are lots of extras to make up the backgrounds.

It's easier to paint the whole tile first and then just block out in white where the main image is going to go. 

The background was pretty random and very easy. I matched my ink colours to the paints but you could just as easily stamp in the paint. Look at your main images and see if there's any edge bits you can use.

Stamping the main image doesn't always work first time round as the tiles aren't always completely flat, but it doesn't matter: rub off as much as you can and slap on the white paint again!

Here's a close up so you can see the detail. Note that I added a heart stamp on there - after all, it is Valentine's Day!

I do like stamping on different things - these are relatively quick to make and make a great 

gift. You could try larger tiles - you can buy the bisque 6" x 6" ones but, as I said before, if you pick up a glossy one at a DIY store, just gesso and Fresco it, and you're ready to go. Just imagine some of Tracy Scott's flowers on there in bold, beautiful colours, or a Scrapcosy 'under the sea' one. 

Whatever you make, I would recommend varnishing them when you've finished - I used a glossy spray varnish which is quick and easy to apply. I would also back them with felt or cork so that if you drop them they are less likely to break (I speak from experience!)

Helen

Blog: A Splash of Colour

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. 

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. 

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 2: Seth's Frescos will close 17:00 (London Time) Tuesday Feb 20th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!