PaperArtsy Blog Summary of Topics 16-19 {Curated by Alison Bomber)

2016 Blog Summary: Jewellery, Making Marks, Leaves & Die Cuts

Today's curator is Alison Bomber and she is looking back on Topics 16-19: Jewellery, Making Marks, Leaves, Die Cuts. I love how Alison weaves a post together, so make sure to read between the pictures! You are in for a treat!

Leandra

Hello everybody.  Alison here from Words and Pictures to share some projects which really caught my eye from a selection of the inspirational topics offered up here on the PaperArtsy blog throughout 2016.  I had a year of work which took most of my attention, so I missed a great deal of what went on in Craftyblogland.  This summary post was a great opportunity to catch up with some of the amazing pieces from the PaperArtsy designers, as well as the creations offered up by the challenge participants inspired by those themes.

It's been a strange year for me creatively, as I've had to spend so much time away from my craft desk, often travelling with quite a limited craft stash.  It's not true to say there's been no creativity.  I'm fortunate enough that my "day-job" is also creative, but it's in the sphere of words and performance rather than physical/visual creativity, and it does take up most of my energy, physical and mental, so I've definitely been missing the crafting side of things.

Still, it was interesting to see what supplies made the cut for the travel stash (bearing in mind luggage limitations on aeroplanes).  Amongst other things, I travelled with a couple of small journals, so art-journalling featured quite often, and Come What May was one of the page spreads which got me into the zone, even though I was stuck in a fairly soulless hotel room.

Being away from home for long periods, crafting became a solace and a retreat.  It was very clear that, when I did get a chance to play, my crafty mojo kept leading me to my happy places... blue/brown or blues/greens, crackle and texture, the play of light, and elements of nature. So that was a different sort of learning, telling me something about where this crafty journey wants to take me.

Given all the travelling, it's appropriate that my Wanderlust Travel Journal from back in January was one of my favourite creations this year - making my own marks, travelling in new ways with some of my much-loved elements - but I never really got a chance to follow it up at the time.  I'm hoping that this coming year I'll get a chance to develop that understanding in new ways.  

After the tumultuous political events of 2016 and with the uncertainty of what's to come in 2017, I think my engagement will have to be with the natural world not the political world if I'm to keep my sanity.  I'm more than ever inclined to retreat to my craft room and stay there so, with luck, there'll be more crafting creative time for me this year... we'll see!

Topic 16: Beads, Jewellery, Dangles, Charms

After a fabulous inspiration post from Darcy, this was one of the themes I really wished I'd been around for, if only to try something really different.  I always love working in 3D, as well as creating things which have some sort of movement to them, and this topic really brought those elements to the fore.  There were great projects all around from the PaperArtsy designers and the players.

I really love these Textured Lockets by Dounia Large.  The tiny book text in the background really appeals to me, and it was fascinating to see the results of Dounia's trial experiments with layered glazes over the Grunge Paste flourish. The final finish looks just like an ivory relief.  I also love the illuminated manuscript colours of the triangular niche in the second locket.  Together they look like old medieval jewellery - a brilliant "time-travel" project.

As I said, I really enjoy pieces which have light and movement built in, and these Dellow Dangles by Lauren Hatwell certainly hit the mark on that front.  The painted acetate means there's a glowing translucence which must be lovely as the dangles move.  I love the teal/green colours, and those tiny sparkly glitter accents are a perfect touch to just provide a bit of colour contrast and an extra zing.  So from the medieval to some very up-to-date quirky jewellery!

As well as the inspiration from the PaperArtsy designers, there were so many delightful and inventive creations from the challenge participants.  Do check out this fabulously sculptural mobile from Tapeva, and Deb Wainwright's shimmering paperclay heart, but the project I've chosen to highlight here is Etsuko's gorgeous divided hanging.  I simply love how she's used her paperclay beads to create a space within the layered collage - brilliant!

Topic 17 : Making Marks

Making my own marks is something I have done more of in 2016, starting out with inspiration from the Everything Art Wanderlust course (though the handmade book I shared above was almost the only thing I managed before work/travel went bonkers), and something I'm determined to continue developing in 2017, so this was a fascinating topic for me.  It's a real leap of faith, I find, to dare to put your own mark into the artwork.  Kudos to all those brave enough to share their mark-making for this theme!

There was a stunning masterclass in mark-making with "tools" from nature from Ruth Mescall as she created her Inky Cards.  Just take a look at the array of grasses, feathers and twigs she used to create her backgrounds.  There's such energy and spontaneity in the inky markings, and the combination of that with Sara Naumann's stamps works just perfectly.

I was blown away by the Abstract Flower Garden created by Anneke de Clerck, from that initial application of Grunge Paste to the whole page - so smooth and perfect, and then brilliantly textural once she started making marks (yes, those background flowers are carved into the Grunge Paste) - to the zing of the foreground flowers contrasted against the subtle tones of the textured background.  A really amazing page spread.

Again, there were many, many great contributions from the challenge participants.  Don't miss Sue the Iron's uplifting happy page or Sarah Anderson's wonderful layered florals, but if I have to pick only one project to highlight it would have to be this fabulous pair of ATCs from Saraccino.  They have texture and depth, and I love that she's included her own handwriting, for that really personal mark-making touch.

Topic 18 : Leaves/ Autumn

Another glorious inspiration post from Darcy and another topic I wish I could have been around for.  The colours, shapes and textures of autumn leaves are art in themselves... taking that inspiration from nature resulted in lots of fabulous projects.

This Birdhouse by Bracken Sparkes is charming.  I love how she's created the whirl of leaves spiralling around the house - so clever - and the layered wood slices make the perfect base for the birdhouse.  And in this photo you can just see the addition of the cute hedgehog snuffling around the bottom of the steps - such fun!

Sue Carrington created the perfect autumnal vintage frame with her Sculpted Leaves.  The tissue paper stamping provides such great detail on the frame itself, and then the layers of colour built up over it and those incredibly beautiful textured leaves give this piece a really haunting atmosphere of autumnal melancholy and nostalgia - simply brilliant!

There's another array of fabulous leafy work to choose from amongst the challenge participants for this topic.  I enjoyed the real leaves decorated by rsgmutticreates, and I loved Craftyfield's gorgeous real-leaf-stamping, but whittling down to one, it has to be the glorious colours and movement of Pavla's wonderful journalling page.  The Infusions give the perfect illusion of autumn mists and forest foliage.

Topic 19: Dies Cuts/ Masks

 

I definitely go through phases with die-cutting.  I'll go for months without thinking of using them and then I'll have a sudden flurry where I simply can't do anything without them!  There was lots of inspiration during this fortnight for making use of your die-cutting machine all the time.

And if it's inspiration you're after, how about this jaw-dropping dimensional Time Machine from Darcy?  Seriously, my jaw dropped!  I love the painty layers and mark-making on the layered die-cuts, and the bird-stamped acetate creating a window pane in one of the frames, and the construction reminds me of one of those extraordinary Heath Robinson contraptions.  Simply outstanding!

There was also a glorious piece from another of PaperArtsy's stamp designers.  Jo Firth-Young knocked it out of the park with the layered leaves and florals of this joyous Seedhead Triptych in uplifting shades of pink and orange.  As well as making great use of the die-cuts, her post was also full of tips about colour-combining and gelli-printing ideas.  Inspiration galore!

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were lots of challenge entries for this topic, and again it was almost impossible to single out favourites from the wealth of skill, imagination and beauty on offer.  I recommend a trip to see Irena's charming patterned acorns, and Sam21ski's perfectly composed page, but the project I fell head over heels in love with was this trio of beeswax panels from Hazel Agnew - the texture and subtle beauty of these entirely won my heart.

It's been a real pleasure to catch up with just some of the extraordinary artwork filling these blog pages in 2016.   And thanks to all this inspiration, I do have a project bubbling which combines all four of these topics - but I confess that time has got the better of me again.  You'll just have to keep your eyes peeled over at Words and Pictures for that creation to make its appearance!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you've enjoyed this retrospective of personal favourites.  Honestly, I could have showcased hundreds more!  Huge thanks to Leandra and Darcy and everybody who contributes so much to offering up this incredible resource of ideas, tutorials, tips and techniques.  Long may it continue, and happy 2017 everybody!

Alison xx

Blog: Words and Pictures

Pinterest: butterfly crafter

2016 #16 Buckle To Beauty {by Helen Chilton}

2016 Topic 16: Beads,Charms and Dangles

Hi everyone Helen here. Tonight I'd like to share with you this evening with a post about making jewellry.
I was digging through my stash and found an old belt buckle that I picked up somewhere just waiting to be altered. It's quite ornate so makes a lovely frame for a pendant - a bit of Snowflake paint and Treasure Gold shabbies it up beautifully.

I always like making miniature art and working out how to fit things together so this was an ideal project for me. I'm using Vintage Ink and the Dog stamps which also coordinate well.

Rub the buckle with Snowflake paint (I don't know where the middle prong went!):

Roughly colour a piece of silver metal with your chosen colour of alcohol ink:

Sand it back lightly:

Stamp the images from ID02 in black StazOn:

ID02

Frame with the buckle and start rubbing in some Treasure Gold (I used White Fire and Pewter):

Draw round the buckle with an embossing pen and cut out:

Glue buckle to metal, flip over and emboss the back with a paper stump:

Then you can start adding twiddly bits:

I inserted a wire headpin top and bottom to make loops for the chain and charm:

This is very easy to make - it would also work well with the owl head on the same stamp plate. When making something small like this you need to have an image that is clear - I chose the face because it's quite open and the background can shine through. You only need tiny amounts of metal/embellishments - it's a good way to use up scraps.
After making this I was on a roll and made a brooch with the same stamp set:

Hop on over to my blog to see how I made it!
Helen
Oh Helen I just love this, the buckle was lovely to start with but you made it extra special, it turned out amazing. All the twiddly bits look like they were just meant to be there. A great image to choose too, the vintage stamps really compliment the jewellery pieces perfectly. ~Darcy

We would love to see how you interpret this Beads,Charms and Dangles topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #16: Beads,Charms and Dangles, on this page HERE.
All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas, particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Beads,Charms and Dangles link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Sept 4th 2016. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

2016 #16 Hello Beads {by Anneke de Clerck}

 2016 Topic 16: Beads,Charms and Dangles

Hi everyone Anneke here.

Tonight I'd like to share with you a post about beads, charms and dangles. I have tons of beads in my stash and I love making cards. No wonder I use beads on my cards from time to time :)

I've made a set of cards and worked with a simple technique for the background. I layered colors of paint on top of each other using my gel printing plate. For this project I've chosen an older Squiggly Ink stamp set, one from the Flora and Fauna series. Love the shape of the stamps, it's a very versatile set. At the end I'll demonstrate a few possibilities to add beads on cards.

Let's get started.

Step One: Gelli Printing

I worked with my 15 x 15 cm gel printing plate and Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics Zesty Zing, Limelight, Caribbean Sea, Mermaid, Lake Wanaka, Ice Blue, Pixie Dust, Candy Floss, London Bus, Prawn and Bougainvillea. I've cut 4 cards from a sheet of PaperArtsy Smoothy 340grs cardstock.

I started by spreading a small amount of Candy Floss randomly  to the gel printing plate with my fingers. I made a monoprint on each card. Next I repeated this step with Prawn. I changed back and fort with the order of the cards while printing so each card received the same amount of paint during the printing process.

I continued printing, one color at a time. By using this technique the colors are sitting on top of each other, they do not blend together. So there is no chance to end up with muddy colors. It's a simple technique I learned from Kate Crane. Not a lot of thinking involved, just playing!

Step Two: Stencilling

After the monoprinting was finished I added dots by applying Mermaid and Zesty Zing through a stencil (Donna Downey Signature stencil 'Halftone Dots'). 

I created white dots using Snowflake and a the Donna Downey Signature Stencil 'Grunge Halftone Dots'.

I added black accents using Archival Ink Jet Black and a stencil (Donna Downey Signature Stencil 'Mini Alpha Rerun').

Step Three: Stamping

I stamped flowers, flower centres and leaves from the Squiggly Ink Flora and Fauna 5 set on scraps of painted paper with Archival Ink Jet Black and cut out.

Step Four: Assembly and Embellishing

On each card I put together a flower, used a strip of painted paper as a stem. I stamped the same flower on gesso-ed vintage booktext as well, used these prints to further decorate the cards. I used the small stamps from the set to do some background stamping. 

Time to add some beads now :)

I decorated two of the cards with a row of dangling beads on a cord.

With my We R Memory Keepers Crop A Dile I set an eyelet on which I knotted the cord.

On this card I attached a strip of painted tissue paper to the bottom of the card using mini staples. I decorated the card with beads, charms and cord as shown. I make sure to only use small beads on my cards.

Here I glued small beads in matching colors to the bottom of the card. I added an orange one to the flower centre as well. I generaly attach beads with micro glue dots or with a very small amount of Tacky Glue. 

The complete set.

I'm sure you have lots of beads and charms in your stash as well. Go get them, give it a try and join the challenge. It would be lovely to see what you come up with!

Happy creating!

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 just adore the way you put colours together and the amazing results you create so easily! It really is a joy to follow your process, and so fantastic to end up with these perfect cards! Thank you! ~Leandra

We would love to see how you interpret this Beads,Charms and Dangles topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #16  HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Beads,Charms and Dangles link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Sept 4th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.

2016 #16 Charming Shrink Plastic and Clay {by Lucy Edmondson}

 2016 Topic 16: Beads,Charms and Dangles

Hi everyone, Lucy from Lucy's True Colours here.

Tonight I'd like to share with you a post about making clay and shrink plastic charms to decorate a box, together with a background technique using Crayola Slick Stix.

I love using stamps to make my own charms, and both shrink plastic and clay have always appealed to me: shrink plastic because of the way it miniaturizes everything whilst retaining the detail, and clay because I love the solidity of the finished piece. I have kept them black and white on this occasion, along with the box itself, and offset them against brightly coloured fun crayon backgrounds.

Step 1: Charms

To make the crown charms I used the two crowns from Lynne Perrella LPC 003

and LPC 007 

I rolled the oven bake Sculpey out to a quarter inch thickness and then inked the stamps with Versafine in Onyx Black, pressing in well. I then cut then out with a craft knife. The oven baking will heat set the ink. You can use a sanding block around the edges after.

Step 2: Shrink Plastic
Next I used the same crowns and the pen from Lynne Perrella LPC 030 to make the shrink plastic charms, this time using Jet Black StazOn and white shrink plastic. 

Here's a tip, don't do as I did here. I tend to be a bit stingy with my supplies and as the stamps are so small I thought I would use up my scraps. It's not a good idea to do this, particularly if you want several identical items, as you can get some distortion. If I understand it correctly, shrink plastic is manufactured by heating and stretching pieces of plastic in one direction, so if you use your scraps you are likely to change the orientation of the piece so it will shrink in a different direction and might be slightly wider or longer than the item next to it. So it is advisable to use a whole sheet of shrink plastic and work across and down it in rows. 

Anyhow, cut the pieces out with a slight border around them, and shrink with your heat tool and flatten with a mounting block. 

Step 3: Slick Stix
Next I had a bit of fun with Crayola Slick Stix, which are new to me. They are twistable water soluble crayons, very similar to gelatos and distress crayons, but cheaper. They don't come in as many colours but they blend well to create additional colours. I painted my pieces of card with gesso and for my project I wanted two separate colour ways. For my first, I used yellow, orange, blue, and green. I applied them one colour at a time as shown, blending them with my finger as far as they would go before adding the next colour beside it, blending that into it and away from it as far as it would go.

Step 4: Water
To blend and dilute further, I spritzed the card quite generously with water and waited a few moments for some bleached spots to appear for extra interest. I then used a flat paintbrush to go evenly back and forth from left to right with absorbent paper underneath to pick up any colour coming away. As you can see, the top half is much more blended than the bottom. The blue crayon has created an additional shade of green. Spritz again if you want more water spots or more dilution but heat set before stamping. 

Step 5: And repeat
Repeat the process with the two shades of Blue, Purple, and Red crayons.  Stamp a selection of Lynne Perrella images onto a mixture of the two colours of cardstock, clear embossing with Versafine in Onyx black.

Step 6: Box Backgrounds
As you can see here, I used stamps from Lynne Perrella Eclectica LPC003 LPC014  LPC030 LPC034. I added some white highlights with gesso and some extra colour with Fibralo pens on the final pieces. I cut the pieces to fit the box compartments and it took me a loooooong time deciding on placement! In addition to the stamped pieces shown, as you can see in the final pictures I decided to use the text stamp from LPC 014  as the best way to show off the charms. 

Step 7: Box Front
Now for the box itself. I sanded and gessoed it, and then painted it with Fresco Snowflake. Then, holding my breath, I carefully clear embossed the pen from Lynne Perrella  onto all four sides of the front of the box with Versafine Onyx Black. You need to be tentative with the heat gun because of the clear film in the frame. I neatened around the edges of the front of the aperture by gluing a line of tiny black accent beads. I lined the inside compartments with spare pieces of the prepared cardstock in the relevant colours and adhered the stamped pieces in place. Finally, I glued the shrink plastic and clay charms into position.

In this final close up photo, you can see where I have used a little gesso on the faces etc, and some Fibralo pens.

I had such fun playing around with the crayon backgrounds for this project and I love how the black and white has worked against the bright colours! The charms were easy, but it was such a fiddly project to decide which stamped images looked best where. It looks so simple now it is finished! I hope you will have a go making your own stamped charms in shrink plastic and clay, perhaps experimenting with some different colours.

Lucy Blog: Lucy's True Colours Twitter @CraftyLuce

Lucy I love your gorgeous frame with the clever, very beautiful niches decorated so perfectly! All the little charms sit so well in thier individual frames! This project is adorable! ~Leandra

We would love to see how you interpret this Beads,Charms and Dangles topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #16 HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Beads,Charms and Dangles link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Sept 4th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.