2015 #20 Wall Art {by Lesley Ebdon}

 2015 Topic 20: Triptychs

Hi everyone, Lesley here from Crafty Love n Hugs and tonight I'm sharing a wall art Triptych.  I love texture and layering but I also love 'clean and simple' elegance so I combined both to create my wall art using the latest release of fabulous Limited Edition Fresco Finish Paints and Lin Brown's wonderful new stamps that I had the privilege of playing with for their launch.

Step One: I started by applying torn strips of white paper and card to two small canvases then applied a coat of Gesso over the top.  I also gave the larger canvas a coat of Golden Gesso.  (Snowflake Fresco Finish would cover beautifully too but I'm a bit precious with mine).

Step Two: Next I applied Deco Art White Crackle Paste to corners of all the canvases and took it over the edges slightly.  I used a crocodile effect stencil in some areas and just applied with my finger over the edges.  After allowing this to dry, I painted all three canvases with a layer of Teresa Green Fresco Finish from the new set followed by a second layer slightly toned down with Honey Dew.  I gave them a third layer adding more Honey Dew and blending with a wet wipe.  (apologies for colour quality on some of the step photos as I was working at night)

Step Three: I made a very watered down mix of each of the new Limited Edition Frescos...

...in spray bottles and then used a pipette to dribble a little of each colour over the crackled areas allowing it to run.  Love the way it moves into the cracks and these new paints created such pretty shades!  I then added a very light spritz of the Captain Peacock and Granny Smith mixes.

Step Four: I finished the small canvases by stamping the birdcage from ELB21...

...twice onto acetate with Black Stazon Ink, cut them out and then coated them with the new PaperArtsy Frosting Glaze on both sides to dull the shine before sticking them to the small canvases.  I stamped two little flowers from ELB22 onto card, coloured and cut them out to embellish the top of the cages.

Step Five: Next I turned my attention to the main image ...... the beautifully elegant Bluebell from ELB22 !

Firstly, I stamped the flower several times onto copy paper manipulating the stem each time so that one flowing stem with several flowers could be created.  I cut them out very roughly and played around with arranging them on the large canvas until I was happy and then restamped each one onto tissue and painted them with the watered down Frescos.  I then fussy cut each flower and stuck it to the canvas with Golden Soft Gel (Matte).

Step Six: Next I used the Golden Gel again to adhere some linen fabric from my stash onto white molding plastic and when it was dry I stamped 5 flower heads, again painted them with my paint mixes and when they were completely dry I cut them out and shaped them with my fingers after heating with a heat tool.

Step Seven: I then used the same Gel to layer them over the images on the canvas, offsetting them slightly to create more depth and dimension.  I also added a little soft smudged pencil shading along the bottom edge of the stems.

I'm pleased with how my triptych turned out and I am really happy with the effect of using different sized canvases.  There are one or two different combinations that can be used when arranging them on a wall which is why I didn't want to join them together.  Lin's latest stamp releases include several fairly large elegant flower images just perfect for clean and simple and their bold lines make them ideal for stamping onto fabric.

If you're not a fan of clean and simple you could always add background stamping or stencilling and add something to the canvas edges.  I'd love to see your take on wall art triptychs.

Lesley

http://craftymammalovenhugs.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook : Lesley Ebdon

Twitter : @Craftymamma2

Wow Lesley, the effect of the paint in the cracks is so easy but oh so effective with the gorgeous drips and dribbles. Such a gorgeous understated way to start a canvas. Love the bluebells, one of my fave Lin brown stamps too, and I might have done a little 'ohhhhhh' at the genius idea of using frosting glaze to soften the shiny acetate! Thankyou ! ~Leandra

We would love you to join in with Challenge #20: Triptychs. If you are inspired by any of our guests who blog with us over the fortnight, then please join in and link up your creativity HERE. 

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Triptychs link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Nov 8th winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

2015 #5 Rusty Shrine {by Julie Ann Lee}

Hello Everyone, Julie Ann here, delighted to be joining PaperArtsy tonight with a post on rusting. 

I confess I have a passion for what some might term 'junk'. My favourite childhood haunt was my Grandma's attic, where I found treasures such as one-eyed teddy bears, rusty tins full of buttons and a battered old family Bible. My imagination loves to ponder the stories old and unloved objects might tell. And I'm not above giving something relatively new a fantasy history by distressing it. Tonight I'd like to share with you how I aged a little Nicho or Mexican shrine.

Step 1: Fabric Prep

I began by painting a piece of white curtain-lining material with Fresco Finish  Chalk Acrylics in Beach Hut, Snowflake, Wisteria and Lin Brown's Limited Collection Tangerine Twist, Bougainvillea and Banana shades. I then stamped and heat-set the beautiful Elizabethan image from LPC031...

 ... onto the fabric. I cut my fabric into different sections, which I would fix to the Nicho. I applied extra layers of colour to the face and ruff, which I blended using Fabric Medium.

Tip: When stamping on fabric, either use a brand new ink pad or re-ink your pad to ensure your image will be clear and crisp on the fabric. When it is dry, coat it with several layers of Satin Glaze, making sure each layer is fully dry before applying the next. Jet Black archival Ink is great onto fabric, and it is permanent once heat set.

Step 2: The rusting process! 

I painted my metal shrine with PaperArtsy Fresco in Vanilla. When this was dry I slapped on Gel Medium, not worrying too much about how evenly I applied it. I embedded various charms and embellishments in the Gel Medium and applied some Crackle Paste to the heart at the top. I punched a hole at the bottom of the shrine through which I looped a 'dog chain' and a decorative key. 

I then sprinkled Rusting Powder over my shrine. Rusting powder needs to be glued to the surface you work on, so in this case the crackle past also acted as the glue.

Tip: Crackle Paste can take a long time to dry. I waited a couple of days before adding some Treasure Gold and a touch of Tangerine Twist to the heart.

Step 3: Rusting Powder magic

I mixed some water and a few drops of vinegar in a mister spray and spritzed my shrine, re-spraying from time to time. To rust, the powder needs to be kept damp, and vinegar or lemon juice speeds up the process as they are acidic liquids.

Here you can see that I embedded a resin rose in the Gel at the top and fixed some cut-out pieces of the painted and stamped material into it too. These would eventually blend in with the rusting.

Step 4: Rust everything!

While I was in a rusting mood, I took some masking tape and attached lace to it with Gel Medium before sprinkling it with the Rusting Powder and then spritzing with my water and vinegar mix. I planned to fix this to the back and sides of my shrine.

I was able to stick this lace to the back and edges of the shrine and to begin to 'touch up' any gaps with Florentine Treasure Gold, which has a lovely orange-rusty glint. For contrast I also rubbed in some Sapphire Treasure Gold in places.

Tip: After you have painted your tape with one coat of Fresco, make sure that you lift it from the mat and then stick it down again to avoid it curling and twisting when you want to stick it to your substrate.

Step 6: Bellies

Finally I added more embellishments: a little resin bird, which I painted and rusted; a resin flower with a copper wire stem and a Prima wood, rusted butterfly resting on a skeleton leaf, which I rubbed with a little Florentine Treasure Gold. 

I added Pearl pen blobs too around the little door and the edge of the shrine. The picture inside is also from LPC031 so that when we open the door we seem to be stepping into a little world inside the shrine.

Here is a detail of the front of my shrine, which looks to me as if it has many stories to tell. I was really pleased with the effect of the rusting on the little bird, which I stuck on with Heavy Gel Medium. I liked blending the darker rusting with the bright Treasure Gold Gleam.

Thank you for looking at my rusty shrine. Who knows - maybe it houses a miniature of Sir Walter Raleigh's muse, and this little shrine might be a keepsake from Good Queen Bess herself! 

Do join in with PaperArtsy and link up something you have rusted. See what you can come up with to house your favourite PaperArtsy images stamped on fabric, tissue or board. I can't wait to see all your rusty creations. If you would like to see more images of this little shrine, please hop over to my blog http://magpieheaven.blogspot.co.uk/

~ Julie Ann

Wow Julie Ann, this is so gorgeous, I love how it turned out...required some patience but the rust and cracks are exciting to work with as they evolve!! ~Leandra

Have you got a niche or some items with a niche that you could alter with paints, crackle texture and rusting powder?? Maybe this has sparked your imagination in a totally different direction? 

Whatever you decide, if the Deconstruction Topic sparks you to be deliberately destructive, then share what you make in our challenge by linking your creativity here. We would love to see what you make!

Xmas 2014 #3UP {Cracks}

Hi everyone Leandra here, curating day 2 of a fabulous week of #3UP posts. 

3UP is a feature we run at the conclusion of each semester. We highlight the creativity of our followers.They volunteer blind, are given a brief, and this time they were asked to show us their favourite techniques. 

Tonight is all about cracks.  This is apt, texture and cracks in particular have been a big part of mixed media art in 2014. There are so many ways to create crafty cracks. You can buy pastes that slowly crack overnight or even over days, there are 2 part paints that react to each other, there are one-step paints that slowly shrink and crack, glazes that shine and even crackle stamps. Let's see what the 3 people up tonight suggest you could do. Enjoy!

First up it's Sarah Baldwin. (@SarahBald2014) You can easily see from Sarah's blog she is addicted to the PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze, and that is what she's going to show you tonight. The top tip from me is it is all about the top coat, a generous layer is required, and the magic happens in minutes!

Step One:

As soon as I read Leandra’s post I immediately knew I wanted to use Crackle Glaze. Why?
Well, it never fails to work and the effect can be subtle or not depending on your colour choices – consider pale top coat over dark base colour or vice versa…. black over gold…. colour over natural wood ….

The main thing to remember when using crackle glaze is to be prepared when you come to apply the top colour.  Have enough paint ready and apply in bold stokes across the surface of your project.  Do not go back over and over one area as Fresco paint dries so fast the cracks will start to appear almost immediately and you’ll be danger of filling them in with fresh paint. 

Step One:

For my project I’ve taken a small canvas and randomly painted it with Sky, Spanish Mulberry, Pansy and Tinned Peas. To add interest I glued down a piece of die cut trellis. 

Step Two:
I then applied crackle glaze to the canvas and left it to dry overnight. The next stage was to apply and top coat of Nougat and sit back and watch the magic happen.

Step Three:
I glued lace to a wooden heart and trimmed it. This was also painted in Nougat. To highlight the lace texture I’ve very lightly applied Sky Fresco with a sponge.

Step Four:
To add more texture I then added some tinted grunge paste through JOFY stencil PS007 This and the trellis were enhanced with a touch of embossing powder. The finishing touches are some Tilda die cuts I won recently, they matched my colour choices perfectly.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous 2015 full of craftiness.
Sarah

Next we have Margaret Iddon. (@MaggieVSOC) Margaret is going to show you the PVA crackle technique that many people have been using this year .... The only thing you need to be aware of with this technique is that PVA is not an archival quality product. No doubt you all are aware how PVA over time turns yellow and goes brittle. So if you use this technique for a piece of art to go on the wall, it could eventually be adversely affected by UV light. However, for general short-term crafting projects, it is fine. Always nice to have another trick up your sleeve!

Hi everyone, here's my take on PVA crackle...

I decided to do a ‘pretty’ grungy Heart Hanging with my version of a PVA Crackle effect. This effect varies depending upon the paint used and the thickness of the PVA. I don’t use ‘neat’ PVA as it is a bit too thick for this effect, I use a mixture of 1/3 water and 2/3 PVA mixed together and stored in a small bottle.

Step One: 

I painted my Heart Shape with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paint in Mulberry and let it dry. I then painted on the PVA and Water mixture, only on parts of the Heart Shape and let that dry too. DO NOT USE A HEAT GUN AT THIS STAGE, just let it dry normally.

Step Two:

Once the glue solution had dried I over-painted the whole heart shape with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paint in Chalk. I left it for a minute or two and then USED THE HEAT GUN over the areas where the PVA solution was painted. You should start to see the PVA bubble under the surface and the top layer of paint will crack. The darker paint will show through and the top layer looks like a layer of weathered painted wood.

Step Three:
I wanted a more sedate cracking on the main wood shape. I used the same colours on a piece of card and used a thicker layer of the PVA solution and you will see that this gives a more distinct crack. I then stamped my sentiment in Black Archival Ink, (from PaperArtsy stamp set EDY10) onto part of this card and cut it out using a die, then edged it with gold powder, heat embossed.

Finally...
The large heart was then toned down in some areas using Distress Inks to give it a less ‘bright’ finish and then I stamped some images, again from EDY10, in Versamark and embossed them using a gold embossing powder. I then coloured the flowers using the same Mulberry paint that I used for the base coat of the heart. The small verse image and the flying birds were stamped in a contrasting colour.

I added some stencilling to the background using Milled Lavender Distress Ink and some paper roses edged with the Milled Lavender.

I really enjoyed doing this project and I hope that you like it.

Margaret 

Our final contributor tonight is Deb Wainwright. (@lilacsparkles) 
Deb is an avid crafter, and uses lots of different textures and mediums in her work, from fabric to paint, pencils, sprays, pigments and beyond. A master of trying anything, her journalling backgrounds and pages that she shows us regularly on twitter have been a joy to see. Tonight she is showing us cracks.... her way....

Happy Christmas everyone, Debs here to share a very non Christmassy project using a technique I love, which is crackle paste through a stencil.


Step One: 
I chose an old wooden box that I picked up in a charity shop and gave it one coat of Chalk Fresco finish Acrylic. I chose a Lin Brown stencil ELB 005 and then added the paste.

Step Two:
Once completely dry I started to paint the flowers and leaves with watered down PaperArtsy Fresco paints in Eggplant, Rose and Hey Pesto. I built the colours up in layers as I had watered it down.

Finally... 
Once I had achieved the depth of colour I liked I let it dry thoroughly. I then used a watered down Lilac to add a distressed look to the edges. Next I added two coats of PaperArtsy satin glaze. This gave it a nice sheen.

And the finished project bye for now!

What a fantastic evening, we hope you get a chance to enjoy these ideas, and perhaps have a go yourself too, the best way to learn is to do, and for many of us, once the rush of Christmas is over, I hope you find time to play!

See you again tomorrow night.

Leandra

We would love you to go in our challenge draw for a prize from PaperArtsy, a voucher to spend in our online shop. Link up your creativity HERE. All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. This link will close 17:00 (London Time) December 31st 2014, the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00, Dec 31st, 2014.