Hi everyone, it's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today, and I'm here to share with you a couple of Christmas project ideas using a selection of stamps designed by Sara Naumann.
For the Paper, Seeds and Twigs topic, my first thought was to put to use some of our freshly cut limbs from our recent back yard pruning. That idea spurred me onto using botanical elements from my yard to do some gel printing. I hope you will find these ideas useful for your own Christmas projects.
My "faux woodburned" ornaments were quite simple to create, but will be so handy as small gifts for friends this Christmas. If you're looking to make a large batch of gifts, they will be a super time saver.
I stamped the gorgeous bird silhouette from PaperArtsy Eclectica³ Sara Naumann stamp set 34 (ESN34) onto plain tissue paper with Versafine ink and heat set. I then traced a circle with a water brush and tore the excess away. I used Mod Podge to adhere to my wood slices. I finished the ornaments with a sari ribbon bow and some tiny pine cones that are very special to me, from a Girl Scout trip with my oldest daughter when she was little. These are my very favorite seeds on earth. Once the Mod Podge had dried, I dipped the adhered tissue into watered Antique Linen Distress Ink to give it an earthier tint.
My second project idea is a little more involved, but came together quite simply. I started by selecting a range of PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics in Winter Green, Hint of Mint, Pine Grove and Midnight.
I then gathered my back yard elements, including some holly leaves, pine branches and Leyland cypress tree twigs. I used my 8x10 gel printing plate and had a nice session creating several prints. I've prepared a short video tutorial on the printing process, which you can find HERE.
Here are the resulting prints. I really enjoyed this process. I've been very inspired by the work of Susan McCreevy and THIS video on YouTube by Gabrielle. I especially love how personal this process becomes, based on one's regional plant species.
I picked my favorite portions of several of my prints and created a set of Christmas cards using PaperArtsy Eclectica Sara Naumann stamp set 38 (ESN38) and the abovementioned set 34 (ESN34). This first card uses the print made in my video tutorial with the holly leaves and pine.
I wanted a dramatic gold to contrast with the rich teals created by combining my chosen paints, so I embossed the images with Stampendous Chunky Gold Embossing Enamel. The result mimics soldering in my mind.
The next card features that gorgeous cypress, which was one of the main reasons I chose the home where we've lived for over 15 years. I added in some dots from Sara's stamp set 29 (ESN29).
The next card features my favorite print, which was the baby pine tree I uprooted. I like how it resembles a bird's nest and love Sara's bird silhouette stamp paired with it.
I used a postal edge die by Sizzix to cut these bird panels.
The last card features a combination of two prints, which together include all three of my botanical elements.
I really hope these projects have given you some ideas and you will take time to contemplate the ways you can incorporate Paper, Seeds and Twigs into your next project. Perhaps you could create actual wood burned ornaments by stamping these silhouettes and tracing over them with a wood burning tool. Or perhaps you have some beautiful botanicals that are special to your part of the world that you can use for your print making. I focused on "traditional" Christmastime plants, but you can definitely extend the process to other themes with varied colors and different earthy elements. Truly, the possibilities are endless! I chose to use my prints for cards because I absolutely love cardmaking, but there are many other ways you can use your gel prints.
It's been a pleasure to share with you and I hope you'll check out all of the other inspiring posts for this topic found HERE.
Happy crafting, Autumn
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