2021 Topic 15: Journaling Gratitude with EEA {by Helen Chilton}

2021 Topic 15: Journaling Gratitude

Infusions properties are the very epitome of surprise, and you can feel Helen's excitement as colours come to life in unexpected ways. She's managed colour so superbly and her page sings with life and vibrancy with the perfect thankful quote. ~ Keren

This is Helen's last post for PaperArtsy. She has been with us for many, many years as a long-serving blogger, amazing brand-supporter and teacher in stores with our products. We can't thank her enough for her wonderful loyalty and absolutely enthralling experimental posts, which I am sure you will all have enjoyed. Lynne Perrella stamps and a lot of our original Ink and the Dog have always been among her favourites, but we have always appreciated how versatile she is across all the PaperArtsy collections. She has been an absolute joy, a riot of colour and we thank her with all our hearts. xx ~ Leandra & Mark

Hi everyone, it's Helen with you today, and I'm here to share with you a project on the theme of journaling gratitude. 

I thought long and hard about this as I don't really 'journal' as such. In the end I decided on the products I wanted to use and thought I'd see where it took me!

My original thought was that I'd cut up the stencilled page into journaling cards but I liked it as a whole so much I couldn't bear to do that. Looking at the Everything Art stamps, I realized the pattern ones would fit really well onto the stencil design, so that was it, I was off!

Out came my Infusions - Are You Cerise, Green Man, Golden Sands and In the Navy -  and one of Tracy Scott's latest stencils.

You can see they're well used and last for ages.

Here are the Infusions:

You can see Tracy's stencil - PS279 - in action on this blog post. List of stockists also available here.

I've sprinkled the powders randomly.

Just go over the top of the stencil.

Then spritz!

How much water you add is up to you.

I blotted mine with kitchen paper as I wanted to keep the colours bright.

The colours are gorgeous.

It was at this point that I looked at my stamps, particularly this set. The shape of the designs fit really well onto the stencil pattern.

I wanted to stamp in Frescos so chose coordinating colours.

I started with colour on colour over the Infusions...

...and then added contrasting colour on top and also moved into the white spaces.

Then I looked at my other stamp sets.

I was thinking of stamping the main images in black, but decided to use the paints again, applying with a cheap, cut up sponge. By using a stamping platform, I could stamp a bit at a time and add details as I went along.

You can see I've added darker blue round the fingers to emphasize the shape.

All the images stamped really well, the paint picking up the smallest details.

You can mix colours as you go and also apply colour over colour.

When I started to layer it all up, I felt it needed the contrast of the black behind it to make it pop. Otherwise the images got a bit lost.

I followed the contours of the image rather than a straight edged black mat.

The text is from one of Lin Brown's stamp sets ELB22 - it just seemed to fit.

This is also stamped in paint.

I've added some of the tiny portraits to finish it off. 

I liked the look of everything overlapping slightly.

Infusions are always exciting to use as you never quite know what you're going to get. I made up several stencilled images, including one with Grunge Paste, as I wasn't sure which way to go. I could have taken the background one step further by spritzing again once I'd added the painted stamped images - I chickened out as I didn't want to ruin it, but might try it with one of the spare pieces.

I was pleased that this turned out to be bright and cheerful as you know how I like my bright colours! If you want a more vintage look, just let the Infusions 'cure' for longer.

This is going to be my last PaperArtsy Blog post as I think it's time to step aside and let those who are more media savvy than I am take over! I have loved working with Leandra, Mark and all the team and will be following closely to see what other fantastic products and designs they come up with. Many, many thanks to you all.

Helen

A Splash of Colour 

2019 #9 Arty Wood Blocks: On a Journey with EEA {by Carol Fox}

2019 Topic 9: Arty Wood Blocks

This mobile piece of art combines a gorgeous 'Refreshers' colour palette with some clever painty dyed fibres; transforming basic blocks to truly beautiful ones. Oh, and with wheels! 

Hi everyone, it's Carol Fox with you today, and I'd like to share with you a  house that I have made out of a selection of wooden building blocks.

I put wheels on it to give it a sense of travel, as the stamps I am using by Everything Art are about journey, adventure and exploration.
My house on wheels has my "navigator" on the front, a compass on the back to guide it on its way, a bright flurry of ribbons on the top to flutter in the breeze and a key to wind it up with for when it runs out of Oomph. 

I did have fun making this and I like to think it will cut a rainbow of colours in the sky as it chuggs off on its journey.

I put a slightly larger circle of wood at the back to tip it forward to try and give it the look of rolling along.

I painted all blocks with gesso as my bits of wood were very brightly coloured. I have glued the top bits on but left the wheels loose.

I used the paper my paint came wrapped in and coloured it with with my gelli plate using Fresco paints in shades of Banana, Caribbean Sea, Coral, Cerise and Bubblegum.

  

 

When I stamped my image for the front using the Everything Art stamp set EEA01, I bumped the words by layering them over the image with a darker shade. I also moved the bottom word to the left as the image was slightly too large for my block and I lost some of the word.

I used an image from Everything Art stamp set EEA02 for the back of my block.

I added stamping with an images from  EEA01 using Archival ink to my sides and roof, I then used Carribbean Sea to add blue pops to the whole assemblage. Once this was dry I mixed Fresco Bubble Gum paint with Grunge Paste and applied this through stencils PS034 and PS015.

I added stencilling to my wheels in the same way.

For my tassel I coloured my ribbons to match using the same paints, diluted with water and then mopped up it with the ribbon.

The Paints gave nice muted shades of the painted colours for my tassel.

I stamped the quote from EEA01 onto shrink plastic and used this to make a wire wrapped decoration to add to my tassel.

I used a craft knife to poke a hole in the side to insert the key and stuck on a letter "E" that I found in my stash as I felt the front needed a bit of balance.

To finish I gave it all a bit of a rub with some Treasure Gold and then a quick run around the edges with some Little Black Dress paint.

My favourite part of this is the tassel and wrapped bead. I have made a few of these in recent times to add to the edge of journal pages or to the spine of an altered book as I do like things that make a journal or book chunky. I love to see something poking out the edge of a journal, it just makes me want to pick it up and look at it.

I hope you enjoyed my post.

Carol xx

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