Introduction
We had just one release in 2025 from Sara while she has been juggling intensive language learning in Germany, where she lives, and full time editorial work. Good things come in small parcels, and these 8 minis are perfect: a mix of bold grungy words, finer typewritten quotes and collage style designs made up of multiple elements.
Jenny Marples is here with us to share a fabulous end of year project on Sara's behalf
September Release
EM129 to 136
Sara mixed media style is very minimalist. Her choice of colours have zing and contrast, just a few rolls with a brayer, some Grunge Paste stencilling, and tadaa!
She enjoys a bit of pink and orange contrast and of course reverse stencilling often finds its way into her layers, providing a nice underlayer resist to whatever colour next ends up on top.
End of Year Project: Shuffle The Deck by Jenny Marples
Hi there, it's Jenny Marples here. Making full use of Sara Naumann's release of Minis from September I've altered some playing cards for adding to journals, art books and even to decorate the front of greeting cards if I'm short on time!
There's such a great range of images and words on this set which make them fun to play with even when time is short. I will show the PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints and Mattints used as we look at each card, but to be honest you can use any you like as there's no need for them to coordinate. Use whatever ephemera and scraps you have in your stash to add to the playing cards and importantly, have fun!
Start by applying a thin layer of paint over your playing cards - I've used 'Snowflake' Paint but you could also use other pale shades like 'Chalk', 'Cloud 9' or even gesso. I also chose to add extra paint to the 'suit' images in the centre to cover them up.
To give your cards a more vintage appearance use PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Matte Glaze to stick used teabag paper over the top. The staining will be irregular and colours vary depending on the bags you use so it's worth testing on a spare one first.
And that's it - cards prepped and ready to decorate! I will show you the simple processes involved and the finished results as we go, showing how you can evolve and enhance techniques to create different looks.
For the first one try some simple stamping with EM131. You can extend the lines with a fine black pen and I chose to add some die cut stamp shapes to the edges of the card.
Adding colour over the top of the stamped image is easy with Mattints - in this case 'Shark', 'Dragonfly' and 'Greenstone'. Build up the layers and overlap the colours to create different shades.
And hey presto your first is finished! Let's extend this idea further.
This one uses EM133. By masking off the top section of the stamp before adding ink and re-stamping the list text you can extend the design on the bottom half of the card. A few dots of ink from a pen give that hand-drawn look and I added colour with 'Bellflower' and 'Foxglove' Mattints.
That's another finished but is there a way to cover up the 'blank space' at the bottom of the card without repeat stamping?
Try using a thin coat of 'Little Black Dress' Paint across the bottom - an uneven application is good here.
See how that paint works to extend the design of stamp EM134, and some dots of white ink break up the expanse of black that would otherwise dominate the card.
You can use your Mattints to colour the image or do as I did and use a stamping platform to repeat stamp the image over 'Sorbet', 'Sour Grapes' and 'Zucchini' Paints. After that a little of the 'Shark' Mattint helps to soften the look. Think this is one of my favourites.
Now let's add colour without painting. I 'pull' all those leftover bits of paint from my gel plate onto 'Blank' PaperArtsy Printed Tissue and save them for just this type of project. Use the Matte Glaze to stick some to the card and stamp the words from EM136 over the top.
You don't need a lot of colour to make those words sing.
Combine more gel plate tissue on the card with a swipe of 'Little Black Dress' Paint and you are ready to stamp the words from EM135.
Adding that blanket stitching around the edge of the card makes it so tactile.
Time to move on to another idea, and this one works better on blank cards. Tear a piece of script from an unwanted book, magazine or junk mail and stick it to the card with Matte Glaze. When dry cover with your wash of thin 'Snowflake' Paint (or whichever colour/medium you've chosen to use).
Now add your teabag paper over the top as before.
Add a little colour by splattering some paint over the card - less is more in this case! I used the 'Sorbet', 'Sour Grapes' and 'Zucchini' Paints from earlier and added 'Smurf' Paint into the mix but you can use any colours you want.
Stamp and emboss the words from EM129 over the top and this card is finished.
Time to get really adventurous by creating a window card. Start by stamping the image from EM132 onto some strong translucent film or tissue paper. You could also use clear acetate from waste packaging for this. Notice I've masked off the word at the bottom of the stamp when applying the ink to remove it from the film. Paint the reverse with the 'Zucchini' Paint.
Cut the centre out of one of the cards. It's helpful if it's an 'honour' card with a border around the image to follow with your blade. Stick the stamped image to the reverse of the card and stamp the word at the bottom onto some tape ready to reapply at the bottom.
That word 'daydreamer' was too long to fit inside the window but this way it can be seen in full.
Time to revisit the idea of adding text to your card but this time with a piece of 'Scripts' PaperArtsy Printed Tissue using the Matte Glaze as your adhesive. Remember to add teabag paper over the top when this first layer is dry.
Using a spare card cut it in two diagonally to form a pocket shape before covering it with more of the 'Little Black Dress' Paint.
This last stamp from the Sara Naumann September 2025 release, EM130, is a list of words so I decided to use the masking technique to add each of these words to their own cards. In this case it's the word Found - seemed appropriate for a pocket that could hold a found object.
Glue the pocket onto the base card and stitch in place with co-ordinating thread.
I added those dots of white ink again to break up the impact of the black pocket.
For this one re-visit the technique of adding your gel plate scraps tissue onto the card before masking and stamping the word Ephemera.
That addition of lace on top gives you another textural element to your deck of cards.
For this one add more tissue - in this case a piece from an old sewing pattern - before masking off and stamping the word Treasures.
You can then add some of your own treasures to this card to make it extra special.
This next one is all about the stamping. Start by masking off and stamping the words Post Cards with black ink. Clean off the stamp thoroughly before re-masking off the words and repeat stamping the same words in green ink to form a decorative strip.
I added a die cut stamp shape to finish this one.
And now the final card! This one uses a few of the techniques we've explored, starting with cutting out six small rectangles to form a panelled window. I chose to add stitching before gluing a strip of lace on the reverse side. Now mask off in turn each of the letters from the word Poetry at the bottom of the stamp. Stamp each letter onto the leftover scraps of card and mount them onto your finished card.
And that's it! A dozen cards decorated, a few techniques learned/re-visited and a lot of fun had in the process. Now let's see them altogether...
The beauty of using playing cards as a base in this way is that you can prepare a number in advance and then have tiny canvases on which to experiment when time is short. I'm definitely going to use some of Sara Naumann's other stamps and stencils to make more of these.
Thank you for joining me today.
Jenny
