Butterfly Booklet with Sara Naumann Products {by Ann Barnes}

Hi everyone, nice to be back with you again. It is Ann (@aksbarchitect) here with you today.

This year on the blog, we have free reign to do a deep dive into a PaperArtsy product range of our choosing. For this post I have been exploring Sara Naumann's products. One of the things I love about the summer is watching the butterflies silently flutter through the air and alight upon the flowers. They always bring such a sense of peace. When I saw the Sara Naumann butterfly stencil and stamps, I wanted to create something that reflected this peacefulness that the butterflies bring.

Working with the beautiful PaperArtsy Infusions and various papers, I had an idea to use the stencil in a new (to me) way. I was hoping to achieve a dimensional page that would make you eager to look deeper. It took a few tries, but once I was able to make my vision become a reality, the remaining pages seemed to flow effortlessly.

I am looking forward to sharing my process for creating this with you.

For this booklet, I primarily used Sara Naumann Stamp Set 33 (ESN33) and PaperArtsy Sara Naumann Stencil 122 (PS122). I also used the gorgeous PaperArtsy Infusions Dye Stains Raspberry (CS24), Blackcurrant (CS09), and Violet  Storms (CS11).

Most often when I think of butterflies, my mind conjures visions of purples and pinks. The PaperArtsy Infusions created such gorgeous intense colored papers, I thought that using a yellowish base paper would complement it wonderfully. For this I chose PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic in Heavy Cream (FF203) and Ranger Industries Distress Ink in Antique Linen.

Knowing that I would be incorporating hand dyed papers made with PaperArtsy Infusions dye stains, I decided that creating those papers would be the perfect place to begin. Watching the colors spread onto the paper with the addition of water is so much fun! I like to use 100% cotton rag vellum because it accepts the colors easily, withstands a lot of water and also dries flat. Spritz the vellum paper with water, sprinkle the infusions randomly over the page and add more water. Then, layer another page directly on top and repeat the process. This allows you to add color to both sides of the paper efficiently. Once you have completed as many pages as you want, allow them to dry overnight. If there are any remaining crystals that have not dissolved, these are easily brushed off once the papers are completely dry. I also dyed some Bristol cardstock and tracing paper that I would put to use later, both in the booklet as well as in some of my collage art. Having a stash of these gorgeous and vibrant papers is always nice.

My original idea was based on creating a dimensional paper using the butterflies stencil (PS122). I was hoping to use a translucent vellum topper that would allow color to show through butterfly shaped openings. I tried multiple variations of layering and could not get this idea to work out. Frustrated, I then decided that perhaps the colors would only be seen within the booklet... It was when I allowed my creativity to guide me, that things began to head in a direction much more to my liking!

 

To create the cover, I laid the stencil onto my handmade paper and lightly traced the butterflies with a pencil. I moved the stencil around to create a pattern that swept across the page. It is not necessary to use all of the stencil cutout openings in your design, and you can easily make the design your own by changing the angles and positions of the different sized butterfly openings.

Using an Exacto knife, I cut around each of the butterfly wings that I had traced and intentionally left the central "body" section intact. This allows the wings to be folded upward while remaining attached.

Once all of the wing shapes are cut, gently erase the remaining pencil marks. You can then adorn the wings in any way you desire; I added some gilding.

Using the piece of Infusions dyed Bristol, I die cut two ornate butterflies. Then I traced the edge of the butterfly onto one half of a folded piece of cardstock and cut it out with scissors. This created a folding card where the top flap was in the shape of the butterfly and the base remained untouched. Using the butterfly quote stamp from Sara Neumann Stamp Set 33 (ESN33) I stamped repeatedly to create a background.

Using a blending brush and Distress Ink, I added color to the patterned butterfly shape.

This piece was then sandwiched between the two die cut pieces.

I inked a piece of vellum with Distress ink in Antique Linen, then created some tone on tone pattern using the butterfly image stamps from the set. Using the same Antique Linen Distress ink, I inked up my stamps and randomly stamped onto the colored vellum.

Since the images are stamped in the same color, they appear as a deeper shade of the background. I love the look of this, especially on the translucent vellum.

The sentiments that were intended to stand out, were stamped onto the vellum with Archival Ink.

When the butterfly flap sits atop the vellum pages, it creates an interesting and beautiful backdrop.

I wanted to create a similar sweep of the butterflies on the back page. To do this, first lightly sponge PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic paint in Heavy Cream onto the Bristol cardstock and allow to dry. Then using an ink blending brush, ink up a few of the butterfly shapes in the stencil creating the desired pattern.

Once the ink is dry, replace the stencil over the page and add metal leaf adhesive to random areas of the inked shapes. Gold leaf is then placed onto the adhesive and the excess is brushed off.

The final step is to assemble the pages and secure them together with a piece of sari silk to create a butterfly booklet.

I love the way this butterfly booklet turned out. As I turn the pages I am transported to the peaceful flight of the butterfly. Drifting amongst the flowers carefree.

Blog: aksbarchitectCREATES

Facebook: Ann Sullivan Barnes

Instagram: @aksbarchitect

2021 Topic 7: Stamp Mash UP JOFY, EEG, ESN, I&D minis {by Claire Snowdon}

 2021 Topic 7: Stamp Mash Up

Love how Claire has pulled this journal spread together, the kraft paper makes a rustic, distressed border at the edges, framing her gorgeous arty layers beautifully.
~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Claire Snowdon with you today, and I'm here to share a spread I created in my kraft paper art journal for the mash up topic.  I used JOFY, Emma Godfrey (EEG) and Sara Naumann (ESN) stamps together with a little JOFY mini stamp too.

I love creating art journal pages - but sometimes when I just don't know how to start I find a plain white page is a little daunting!  But over the years I have come to realise that I don't have the same issue when using kraft pages......I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one - kraft paper seems to allow more freedom and expression!

 

I started fast and furious with this one - PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylics (Bubblegum, Butternut and Zucchini) were scraped on with a palette knife.  I tried not to overthink it but I did want to keep the Zucchini towards the bottom to act as a semblance of grass.  I added Cloud 9 over the top - I used a variety of techniques; the palette knife, my fingers and also a baby wipe to soften it slightly. 

I added some detail to my background using the flower stamp from Emma Godfrey set 22 (EEG22) stamped with Fresco Chalk Acrylics in Bubblegum and Butternut.  I also added some stamping using the quote stamp from Sara Naumann set 33 (ESN33) - I used Versafine Smokey Grey and Ranger Archival Jet Black inks to create depth and shadows.

 

 

I started to build up my composition - using the flower stalk on the left hand page from Jo Firth-Young set 14 (JOFY14) and the stem from Jo Firth-Young set 54 (JOFY54) on the right - which is to become the main focal point of the page.  I stamped flowers all along the bottom of the page to create a 'meadow' feeling using the Jo Firth-Young mini 33 (JM33).  You can see I had trouble stamping near the ring binding of my journal - I was using an acrylic block, so in the future I need to try to remember to take the stamp of the block to make it a little easier.

I stamped the large flower head from Emma Godfrey set 22 (EEG22) again onto a piece of scrap card that was leftover from a previous project (if you look closely you can make out a little bit of Kim Dellow's stamps - just to make this an even bigger mash up!)  I added it to the JOFY stem using foam pads just to lift it off the page a bit.

I used watercolour markers to colour in the JOFY flowers and stems, with a tiny bit of white paint pen added as highlights. This fabulous quote is from Emma Godfrey set 22 (EEG22) stamped using Ranger Archival ink in Jet Black, cut out and edged with the same black ink.  I love the way it stands out from the page as it's so bold and pretty large for this size of art journal.

 

I added some white highlights to the Emma Godfrey flower head which I think really make it pop.  This photo really shows how the background layers work together - the overlapping of multiple paint colours, stamp sets and ink colours adds a real textural feel. 

 

I decided to glue the quote directly onto the page as it's so bold that it doesn't need anything extra.  I also didn't want to detract too much from the lovely Emma Godfrey/JOFY flower.

The last step was the add some splatter - I used two paint pens in pink and blue, just to give a little bit of contrast to the page.  A few white paint pen dots here and there and I decided it was finished!

  

 I made the choice not the edge the pages like I typically would - I am really enjoying seeing the kraft colour showing strongly at the edges.

 

 

One final comment is to point out that I added the final section of the quote over the top of my messy stamping near the ring binding - it doesn't quite cover it totally but it definitely draws the eye away from the stamping underneath it.

   

I hope you enjoyed my art journal pages today. Art journaling is a wonderful way to express your creativity and just have fun - it doesn't have to be perfect.  Just relax and have fun with it! 

Claire x

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