2024 Topic 4: Books & Journals {by Etsuko Noguchi} on the PaperArtsy Blog

Hi everyone, Etsuko My favorite things here with you today.

I've been great exciting to use Seth Apter tissue paper this Topic 4 my junk Journal.

Before I started using this Seth's tissue paper, I wondered how it would affect my work because the design was larger than other papers, but when I picked it up and used it, I found it very appealing and it made an impact on the subject matter, and  I became engrossed in working with it. Before I knew it, I was being drawn to the tissue paper and creating today's piece.

I'm not a big fan of diary or emotional expression journals but I love junk journals, so I decided to make one today, and I enjoy being able to incorporate Hidden, our quarter theme into it.

So yes, today's main guest is the Seth's tissue paper ( PT06 ). By the time I finished using this everywhere, I had used up almost one and a half sheets. I used coffee-dyed watercolour paper for the journal base papers, also used Seth Apter stamps are Seth Apter set 33 and 38 ( ESA33 and ESA38 ), PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic - Blue Oyster, Niagara Falls, Heavy Cream and Snowflake using brayer on the background, and coloured the points Mattint - Dragonfly, Glow, Squeezed and Seth's new colours Kiwi Gold, Tomato and Beach Hut.

PaperArtsy-Printed Tissue - Seth Apter ( PT06 )

When you first see Seth's tissue, you may think they have a different taste, but it doesn't take long to become addicted once you unfold them, tear off your favorite part and apply it to the background Um! you were already hooked! beg your pardon. Let's get on with it.

For the journal I used the collection of leftover watercolour paper of different sizes, so I couldn't make a book but rather a card format. The paper was dyed with coffee to give it a vintage look, and I prepared eight sheets each 4 inches square including the pockets. At this time I hadn't yet decided how to connect them. The first eight sheets were each coloured with Niagara Falls, Blue Oyster, Heavy Cream and Snowflake using PaperArtsy Brayer.

Before I painted the background colour, I was going to create a finish with a lot of romantic, pale and beautiful shades, but I wanted to concentrate on the props, I was going to put in the junk journal and have fun with them, so I chose tonal colours and the primary colour for the point.

The idea was to bring the ESA38 image dragonfly to page one of the quarterly theme Hidden. The transparent wings were coloured with Mattint Dragonfly, Glow and Squeezed then I finished with Ranger Glossy Accents on top.

I placed this dragonfly on page one and let it show through the acetate on the front cover. For the page background I sprayed PaperArtsy Infusion Just Walnut with water and used Seth mini stamp EM97 for the points and added Kiwi Gold, Tomato and Beach Hut for the colours.

I wanted to use a vellum or a acetate for the front cover window material and embossing powder for the print to hide the dragonfly visible underneath. Ranger Embossing powder White on vellum prints beautifully but lacks a bit of transparency. Acetate shrinks when heated, so I printed Snowflake on it, which isn't bad. But I tried embossing powder on acetate with a carful heat tool and it waved a little, but this was the one I went with.

This is the back of an Amazon envelope made of fine cardboard and I like it. The time I cut it into thin stripe sheets for the window frame of the front cover, layered several thin stripe sheets and coloured them.

Seth tissue paper ( PT06 ) was pasted onto the background of each page using Mod Podge as design point. After cutting it apart using PaperArtsy Sanding blocks as shown below, a stencil was used to create the background using Grunge Paste and same Archival ink pads through the stencil.

As shown in the photo, after applying tissue, I used the brayer to apply Heavy Cream to slightly hide the base. I used the same technique on the tags and painted Infusion Just Walnut using Brayer.

The paper was made using the same colours as the background. I then decided that the way to join the cards in the journal was to fold the paper like an accordion and stick the cards between the folds, and as the cards were still unstable on their own, I applied a simple coptic stitch bookbinding so that the red thread could be seen.

                                                                                                                          

I will now show you my Junk Journal details. Let's start the cover, can you see a few dragonfly hidden from window? Also the dangling embellishment on the spine are made using paper and tissue paper and all colouring is Mattints and red colour is Tomato.

The previously mentioned page 1 has the side pocket and the tag.

The front of the tag was stamped ESA38 and Seth mini EM102 with Ranger Archival ink Jet Black.

Using die cut tag and slide holder were made and placed in vellum pockets.

Crunchy paper and tissue are pasted onto the bi-fold index holder and the photo is distressed with Sanding blocks, and pasted that it is visible when opened.

For the background Grunge Paste was used with Sara Naumann stencil PS363 then over which the leftover printed fabric was collaged, and tissue P was used as the focal point.

This page was made in the same way and the stencil was Hot Picks PS421, and with the paper embellishment in the centre.

I composed most of this page using tissue.

Tag removed the tags and viewed, the pocket was I made in vellum and machine stitched in the same way around most of the background pages. I added some laces to each page as the connecting paper was looking a bit rough.

I cut the hole in the middle of the linen to let the word ART from ESA33 peek through and  made the side pocket to put the tag in.

Both sides of the tag and the paper embellishments were designed from the tissue, and ESA33 stamped the word PERFECTLY... was blurred away because the underlying paint was too thick.

I finished the last two pages with the collage.

And the back cover.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I used Seth tissue paper ( PT06 ) on most of the pages to finish this project, and I was very happy to be able to use the tissue to get a quick overview and to use Mattints on top of the images to clearly show the black areas. While it is still lingering, I think it would be interesting to use this tissue or another PaperArtsy tissues and Mattint for other works, for example clay, If you all feel the same way, please try making them.

Thank you so much for visiting here.

Etsuko xxx

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2024 Topic 4: Books & Journals {by Victoria Wilding} on the PaperArtsy Blog

Hi everyone

Victoria here with you today.

It feels like I’ve been dreaming of summer for months and in typical UK style, we’ve had more rain than is typical and not a lot of sunshine. So a JoFY floral project was just the ticket to mimic some summer vibes. 

The books and journals topic had me thinking about all the vintage papers lying on my shelves, underused, and repurposing some of the books to create a whimsical floral project to decorate the noticeboard in my craft cabin. Can you believe I’ve been in my new art space for almost six months? It’s definitely time to give it the personal touch, with some of my own makes decorating the space, so talk about the perfect opportunity! I decided to create a floral garland because flowers are my jam and I’m a sucker for all the pretty things. 

I wasn’t 100% sure where I was going to take this project to begin with, so I can’t wait to share with you some of my decisions and how I got to making my flower garland. It actually turned out to be quite a straight forward project to make, with some really easy techniques. 

Before we get stuck in, if you’re thinking of making along, it’s time to gather some supplies. You’ll need a couple of old books to start with, like these old music books that I used. The great thing is that it doesn’t really matter what type of book you use, so grab whatever you have to hand, even some old magazines would work!

I used two JoFY stamp sets, JOFY59 and JOFY62 for all the pretty flowers. These flowers are amazing, a great mix of sizes and the little details offer so many options for colouring… a stamper’s dream!

Finally, to weave in (literally!) this quarters ‘hidden’ theme, I decided to use some of the Tim Holtz Tiny Lights, to give my whimsy some twinkle! I mean, who wouldn’t want a twinkling flower garland in their craft space. 

Rather than just using the book paper, I decided to use the covers as my base paper. I applied a thick coat of gesso to both covers, making sure to create some texture with thick and thin parts to the application. Gesso creates a great working surface for stamping and colouring, whilst the white version I used also gave me a blank canvas for the stamps to be stars of the show. 

I also left hints of the text underneath peeping through to give the finished project a bit more character and play into that ‘hidden’ theme once again! Once the gesso was dry (you can speed this up using a heat tool if you wish) I stamped the florals.

I decided to emboss some of the flowers, to create an extra bit of texture. 

In hindsight though, this made later steps a bit tricky, so it’s fine to just stamp in permanent ink.

I ended up with a mix of both embossed and inked flowers, which created some more visual variety to the finished project.

 

Next up was colouring the flowers. I was undecided which medium to use at this point and was debating some markers, however as they were water based they’d just bead up on top of the gesso. So I decided to use some of my coloured pencils instead, which seemed appropriate as they live just underneath the board the garland is going to decorate. 

This was the part where I discovered that embossing power and coloured pencils weren’t the best pairing. The bumpy embossing powder made the colouring a bit tricky, you need quite a sharp point to get into the tiny details. 

I kept the colouring really simple, leaving big chunks of white space and just picking out the details. Once they were all coloured, I roughly cut round the flowers. 

Then I stuck them onto some printed card stock I had my stash. I still wasn’t sure how I was going to create the garland and attach them, so I wanted them to be a bit sturdier and have a nice backside, just in case.

Once dry I fussy cut them all out.

Don’t they look great! I love the slightly shabby feel to the finished flowers, from the book paper showing through.

With the flowers complete, it was time to make the garland. After much debating, I decided to use some yarns from my stash, to create a thick string to hang the flowers from. I started off by plaiting some of the yarns together in a long piece. 

Next I twisted the tiny lights around the yarn.

Before adding some more fibres over the top of the tiny lights, keeping them hidden until you switch them on!

And after fiddling with the batteries, voila, the base of the garland lights up like a dream!

Now for the finishing touch and adding my flowers. I decided that I wanted them to hang from the yarn base, so I used a pokey tool to punch a small hole in the top of each flower and put a bulb pin through each flower. If you don’t have bulb pins, you could use jumper rings if you have these to hand, or failing all else, the flowers don’t have to dangle and could just be glued to the yarn instead. 

I then pinned them all onto the yarn and that was my project complete. 

How pretty do they look hanging on my noticeboard! I love how it turned out. The subtle colouring on the flowers suits the natural colours of the yarn base perfectly. I can’t wait to sit in there at night, with the lights twinkling in the dark, highlighting the flowers gently dangling in mid air. 

There’s something different to see on every flower, so this will definitely be a piece that never gets visually old. 

I hope you’re Inspired to create your own garland. I’d love to see what you make, so don’t forget to tag me on socials if you share your own versions of this project.

Until next time, wishing you a happy, creative week!

Victoria x

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