2021 Topic 14: Mash Up LPC EGL EEV EAB {by Amanda Pink}

 2021 Topic 14: Mash Up LPC EGL EEV EAB

And just like that we are at the end of the stamp mash-up topic. Amanda has a stunner for you today, lots of gorgeous layers, and tips with crackle effect backgrounds and grunge paste stamped brick walls! What more could you ask for!
~Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Amanda Pink (ink-a-pink) with you today, and I'm here to share with you an 'art panel' I have created for the current 'mash up' topic where we get to create project/s using stamps from different designer collections. This time the designer collections are Lynne Perrella, Ellen Vargo, Gwen Lafleur and Alison Bomber. 

 

I do love a good mash up but it's the first time I've joined in one of PaperArtsy's here on the blog so I was keen to give it a go and see where my 'mash up' creativity would take me especially as I had no set idea what I was going to make when I began. 

I remember at some point thinking maybe a journal page which my finished make could very well be but settled on making it into an art panel so I can have it out on display rather than tucked away in a journal. 

I had heaps of creative fun making all the layers and elements of the art panel. Fun that included painting, a little paint mixing, some crackle glazing and stamping with inks and grunge paste. Inevitably  that makes for a long post that shares the creativity story and includes a few hints and tips along the way too

 

Usually when I set out making something I begin with the background and then work from there but this time I started with the focal image. With no clear creative direction at this stage I hoped that once I saw the image stamped and painted it may spark ideas for the rest of the project and it did!  

I chose one of the images from Lynne Perrella Collection 40 (LPC40) and picked out a few Fresco Chalk Acrylics (Deep Sea, Autumn Fire, Gold Rush) as the main colours for the image.

In addition, I selected 3 Fresco Chalk Acrylics (Pixie Dust, Nougat, Chalk) that I blended together to use for the face testing it out on a scrap of card. I mixed the paints on my glass mat but it's worth mixing them on a palette because if there's any left over mix when you're done painting it can be covered with a piece of cling film to use later. The cling film helps to slow the process of the paints drying out.  I did test this out and the blended mix was still good to use 24/ 36 hrs later. Same for Fresco's straight from the bottle too.

The images were stamped twice in Ranger Archival ink (Jet Black) using a stamping platform.  A great tool to use when painting a detailed image. If you lose some of the stamped detail while painting the platform allows you to put it back in by over-stamping the image with precision once its painted.  

Note: for precise over-stamping the stamp must remain where it was on the platform when it was first stamped and if the stamped card is removed from the platform to paint it must be placed back in exactly the same place it was when first stamped. 

 

Just look at all that detail! WoW!

I painted the images 'off' the platform as I like to be able to turn the stamped image around when painting smaller detailed images. It allows me to always be painting in the direction that feels most comfortable for me which tends to be brushing from left to right. (excuse my painty fingers)

 

 

Detail painting for me is so calming. Once I get going I totally 'zone out' and this particular image of Lynne's was a joy to paint. It's design lent itself well to the tri-colour palette. Although some elements of the design were more intricate than others to paint it wasn't anything a fine paint brush couldn't handle.

 The straight outer lines of the stamp design made them super easy to cut out too.

With Lynne Perella stamp images painted and really liking how they looked, how the colours worked together I drew from those colours to create the 3 layers of my art panel. 
The first layer I created was the largest and this is where I introduced a stamp from one of Ellen Vargo's designer collection stamp sets.

 

 

In contrast to the fine detail painting of the images this background was all about loose,free painting with 2 of the 3 main colours I'd used for Lynne's images: Fresco Chalk Acrylic (Autumn Fire, Deep Sea).

 

Fresco Chalk Acrylics are great for stamping so I used Fresco Chalk Acrylic (Gold Rush) with the long slim stamp from Ellen Vargo's Set 5(EEV05)  to stamp all over the painted background. 

  

Note: Be sure to clean stamps straight away if you are stamping with paint.

 

Some black drop shadows using a black pen really helped to lift the gold stamped design.

 

 

Continuing with Ellen Vargo's stamps I used a second stamp from set 5 on my next background. Rather than use the stamp with inks, or paints this time I used it with PaperArtsy Grunge Paste which I thought would add some texture to the finished project.

 

I was thinking along the lines of creating a brick wall effect in adjacent corners of  this layer  and thought the stamp from Ellen Vargo's Set 5 (EEV05) with the 4 uneven rectangles had potential. I roughly applied some PaperArtsy Grunge Paste to a piece of heavy kraft card primarly concentrating it in the upper left , bottom right areas of the card. 

 

 

Now I don't claim to be a Grunge Paste stamping expert, I'm still very much an enthusiastic novice but I can share a few helpful tips that I've picked up along the way.  To get the best result spritz the stamp lightly with water before pressing it into the Grunge Paste and use the stamp on an acrylic block as this generally gives a better impression.

 

 

I was really pleased with how the stamp design and the Grunge Paste worked together to create the textured 'brick wall' effect I was after. Loved how the Grunge Paste even picked up the fine line detail on the stamp design!!

 

Once dry I drybrushed 'the wall' with PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylic (Nougat) and enhanced the 'bricks' with touches of PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylics (Gold Rush, Little Black Dress)

 

 

At either side of the 'brick wall' I added some text  using one of  the quote stamps from Alison Bombers Set 8 (EAB08). 

 

 

 

I chose a stamp that I thought suited Lynne's images - its one that really speaks to me. 

 

I wasn't after a clean and crisp stamping of the full quote I wanted it to be more broken to suggest it may have worn away in places.

 

 

The third and final background layer was all about the crackle.

I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze, but for anyone who isn't it's a glaze that you apply between 2 layers of paint, usually different colours to create a crackle effect.  The crackle effect you get with the glaze will vary depending on what you use to apply it. In this instance I applied the crackle glaze with a sponge on a base layer of PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylic (Little Black Dress). 

Note each layer, be it paint or crackle glaze has to be completely dry before applying the next.

 

 

While the Crackle Glaze was drying on the black it reminded me of wet tar!  

 

 

For the top layer of paint I used PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylic (Gold Rush) again applied with a brush. As soon as the top layer of paint is applied the cracks start to form.

 

Depending how thick the Crackle Glaze is applied determines the size of the cracks once they are fully dry. Thicker = bigger, thinner = smaller!IF you apply the glaze with a sponge, as I did you will get round cracks, and if you apply the glaze with a brush, you will get cracks that follow the direction of your brush strokes.

It's important to keep in mind that when applying the top layer of paint  not to work over the same area twice as doing so will lessen the chances of the cracks forming.  Also apply in one direction with a generous layer of paint. Simply load up the sponge/ brush, apply and repeat. 

  

Remember I mentioned that what you use to apply the Crackle Glaze affects the crackle results?  I thought I'd create a second panel where I applied the Crackle Glaze with a brush so you can see/ compare the difference. Sponge on the left, brush on the right.

Applied with a sponge gives more of a 'crocodile skin' effect , applied with a brush more of a 'weathered wood effect', don't you think? It's great to be able to determine the outcome just by varying how you apply the glaze to your base layer. Another tip is that both the base layer and the top layer give a more striking effect if they contrast with each other, and it is also a good idea to use an opaque paint on the top layer.

 

 

With all my background layers and focal images made I just had a few extra 'bits' to make.

One of the stamps on Gwen Lefleur Set 9 ( EGL09) caught my eye. I thought it would be good to use as an embellishment on the finished art panel.

 

 

 

 I had a feeling it may be longer than I needed so simply cut it down to size.

 

I was still short of a title for my art panel so reached for Alison Bombers stamps again, this time Set 7 (EAB07)

Just like the quote I'd use on the brick work background I thought this one suited the image too.

If you've stayed with me through all the creative fun, thank you. Just a few close ups of the  finished art panel now so you can see how all the creativity came together in the end.  

Starting with the painted images that took centre stage one sat behind and one on top of a Tim Holtz window frame embellished with metal gears.

 

All the background layers and the order in which they were placed.

Where I positioned Gwen's embellishment.

Not forgetting the title.

I love that Alison 's quote stamps can easily be cut so you can use just part of the quote as I have done here.

'She lives in a world of private dreams'

I really enjoyed creating my art panel for this 'mash up' topic. Mashing up the products and the techniques as well as the designers stamps meant things never got 'boring'. There was always something sparking the creativity.  

Personally I find mashing up designers stamps makes me look at my stamps/ stamp sets closer, familiarise myself with them, play around and experiment with them and ultimately use them more often and I'm all up for that. 

If a 'mash up' is something you've never done before or don't do often, I'd really encourage you to give it a go/do more often. I'm sure you'll have fun.

The topic draws to a close tonight but be sure to check out the 'mash up' projects the other designers have created over the last couple of weeks. They are all amazingly inspiring.   

Thanks for spending time with me today/ tonight.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

Creative wishes

Amanda 

Blog: ink-a-pink
Facebook: Amanda Pink
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2021 Topic 14: Mash Up LPC EGL EEV EAB {by Dounia Large}

 2021 Topic 14: Mash Up LPC EGL EEV EAB

With some fab ideas when using tissue paper and a creative combo of characters, Dounia has a band of 'fierce' on her desk; totally useful and thoroughly striking! If you follow her tips about blending the background with the focal images, you're sure to end up with a wonderfully cohesive mashup - just like her.
~ Keren

Hi everyone, it's Dounia with you today, and I'm here to share with you a desk organizer I customized with a whole PaperArtsy Tribe!

I sometimes struggle crafting or making art just for the sake of it so I love making something both useful and beautiful. This project involves fierce warriors, also fierce ladies, a limited colour palette and me getting out of my comfort zone!

 

I have been wanting something to tidy up my work space for sometime now. Not really knowing what it was, I bought a pile of MDF pieces in a thrift store. Once home, I built it and it took me an hilariously long time to realize it was a desk organizer (I was holding it upside down!). I immediately knew I wanted to populate it with some of Lynne Perrella's characters. I particularly fell in love with her 'modern' stamp sets, LPC053 and LPC054.

I then remembered this Mash-Up topic, and I thought the ethnic Warriors from Gwen Lafleur's EGL09 would be a perfect complement to the lovely Lynne Perrella ladies. They are comparative sizes and can totally belong to the same 'Intricately Patterned' tribe!

When crafting, I generally tend to go with the flow and make things up on the spot but considering I was going to work on the disassembled pieces, this time I decided to make a placement plan. 

I love the patterns made by letters and I must admit I often struggle to connect with quotes not in my native language so I had originally planed to use the Alison Bomber's quotes in this Mash Up to build the background. I did not want to crowd the surfaces too much and with people alone, it looked a bit bare. The quotes then got a leading role! I chose EAB14: The Happiness Edition, because who doesn't want to be happy at work?

To help creating a cohesive look among all the collections, I decided on a very limited colour palette of Fresco Finish acrylic paints. I mainly used warm colours, my favorites, with light base of Vanilla to showcase the black stamping. Pumpkin Soup is darker but in the same family, so I was sure they would work well together. I added Cherry Red to pop against the creamy yellows and Caribbean Sea for a strong contrast.

After disassembling the organizer, I coated all the pieces in my chosen colours. I find that two thin coats works better for me than one thick one. As the base is not going to be seen a lot, I painted it blue for maximum contrast. Ellen Vargo's texture stamps are amazing to give interest to a background. One of my favorite is EEV06 with all its bubbles and circles.

I wanted the stamping to be visible but not too loud so I used the coordinating Pumpkin Soup for a tone on tone effect. I had initially planed a much more involved background but I realized I had vastly overestimated the size of the substrates compared to the characters! I ended doing only one round of stamping. 

It was then time to focus on my characters. I was not confident enough to stamp and colour directly on the wood pieces so I stamped everybody on tissue paper. I had to do quite a bit of masking, especially for the family on the back. Thankfully I had already fussy-cut all those pieces to to make my mock-up!

Nothing brings life to a character like colour so I painted on the backside of the tissue paper. I was at times a bit frustrated with my limited choice of colours but I persisted! It was interesting as it forced me to really think about colour placement and I ended leaving a lot more uncoloured spots than I otherwise would have. To be sure that the faces would be differentiated from the background, I decided to cover them with opaque Cloud 9. I was however worried they then would not integrate enough with the rest so I first added a few of the same Ellen Vargo's stamps.

Here are the back of my characters, very blank faced...

 

And here is the front, a lot less creepy but a lot more muted.

I then fussy-cut the images and glued them to the substrates with lots of Satin Glaze. Adding the wet medium on the top of the tissue paper thankfully bought some the colour back. As my tissue paper is on the thicker side, the result is not as bright as the original paint colours but I like the overall effect. I feel the characters melt into the background.

Now a few personal details about my tribe members. I was worried some of my warriors would look like floating heads, so I 'dressed' them with Alison's quotes. I like the concept but feel my execution is not always the best.

While I love the details of the design, I felt the sleigh on the top of the big lady from LPC054 did not really go with the theme. Instead I used the flower in Gwen's set to make her an ethnic crown. They really meld together very well and I really like the resulting composite image.

 

I then steadied my nerves with some chocolate and began rebuilding the organizer. It involved a lot of frustrated huffs, some heart stopping moves and a hammer but I got there... only to realize I had forgotten to deal with the sides of the pieces! That thing was not coming apart again so I painstakingly painted those with a tiny brush. I really really should have done that before but I love how the turquoise contrast with the yellows and brightens the whole project.

 

I slathered the whole thing in gloss varnish to protect and deepen the colours. I was lucky to get some winter sun the next day for pictures in natural light.

I like the placement  and the balance between text and faces on the front. That layer of Cloud 9 really makes all the difference for those face details to be seen!

Those guys have so much personality!

I am very happy with my organizer; it has already found its place on my desk! With a plan in place, things went relatively smoothly. I mainly had to remind myself 'Simple, Dounia, keep things simple!'. Tissue stamping is a oldie but a goodie, especially when you are not good at precision stamping and/or your substrate does not fit in your stamping platform (or both, like me!). I also really recommend the limited colour palette as it pushes you to think differently about your colouring. Of course, it can be on a less involved project, like a card or journal page!

Stay creative!

Dounia x