Envelope Pocket Tags with Sara Naumann products {by Victoria Wilding}

 

Hi everyone, nice to be back with you again.

Victoria here with you today.

This year on the blog, we have free rein to do a deep dive into a PaperArtsy product range of our choosing. For this post I have been exploring Sara Naumann products, many of which provide a mix of text, vintage ephemera and nature themed images. Sara’s designs call to my creative being and my love of paper projects.

Today I'm looking forward to sharing with you a project, turning envelopes into pocket tags, which hold a range of ephemera. Playing with lots of different elements in a project is a lot of fun and makes use of so many of the stamps in a set.

There’s an endless range of options with this project, from how you decorate the envelope pockets, to what ephemera you include. I kept things fun and playful, with the gel plate and simple stamping.

I decided to use two of Sara’s stamp sets, ESN21 and ESN34. The insects and birds work nicely together and the mix of stamps and text gave me lots of options for creating the ephemera.

I love a soft and dreamy colour palette, so I selected four PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylics in Chalk (FF83), Haze (FF217), Powder Pink (FF220), Stardust (FF222). And I picked out stencil PS449 for some subtle background detailing, as it has some big open space in the design.

To start, I decided to add some background colour and texture to the envelopes using the gel plate. I added a layer of Stardust Fresco Finish Acrylic to the gel plate and put the stencil on top. I then pulled a print on a piece of Smoothy White Card (SCA4).

Next I added a layer of Chalk Fresco Finish Acrylic and pulled the print on an envelope.

I repeated this with another two envelopes, using a different combination of coloured Fresco Finish Acrylic (Haze then Powder Pink) and Chalk Fresco Finish Acrylic.

To finish the enveloped and create the tag appearance, I opened out the top of each one and punched a small hole, before adding a reinforcer for extra strength.

The next step was creating the ephemera to go into the envelope pocket tags. Using the card prints from the gel plate, I die cut several tags and labels in different shapes and sizes. I chose sizes which would extend out of the pocket and add extra visual interest in the finished piece.

I then used the ephemera stamps for the sets to create some labels, simply stamping the images in Archival Ink.

Next I added some of the text stamps to the tags. The quotes added larger visual details, but I also wanted some smaller background text, so I picked out stamp Mini 61 (MN61) from my stash.

I then added the bird images from ESN34 to the rounded tags and the leaves from the same set to the rectangular tags.

This is the ephemera stash complete.

Now I wanted to add some final decorative details to the envelope pocket tags. I decided to add a main focal point to the bottom of each one, stamping the images first in Archival Ink. I then used Distress Watercolor Pencils to colour the images on the stamps and print again on white card. This technique creates stamping with a watercolour effect. Once dry I fussy cut these and glued them over the top of that part of the stamped image.

I then selected some blue and green fibres and threaded these into the holes at the top of each envelope tag, and added a selection of the ephemera to the pocket.

For one final little detail I added some silver foiling to the outside edges of the envelopes.

I love how all these tiny little details transform a simple envelope into something different.

The finished envelope pocket tags are a great showcase for Sara’s designs. They invite you to look more carefully to discover new details and whilst each one is similar, they are all unique. Here are some close ups of each envelope pocket tag.

I hope you are inspired to have a go at creating your own envelope pocket tags. I’d love to see what you make, so find and tag me on socials (links below).

Until next time, wishing you a happy, creative week.

Victoria

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@victoriawildingcreates

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A Journal page with Lynne Perrella and Hot Picks stamps {by Mags Woodcock}

Hi everyone, nice to be back with you again. Mags here with you today.

This year on the blog, we have free reign to do a deep dive into a PaperArtsy product ranges of our choosing. For this post I have used a mash up of Hot Picks stamps and Lynne Perrella  products. I'm looking forward to sharing how I created this journal page with lots of details and texture.

I love to create with a vintage colour palette, and this page was no exception, but I wanted a colourful but subtle element too. You'll see how I used the Mattints to achieve this easily.

You can get a taste of the colours I plan to use here, mixed with my favourite grungy, vintage style.

I began by removing the page from my ring bound journal, this is very easy to do, Just snip the paper at the top between the metal rings, and the page can be removed easily. To create interest in the background of the page, I adhered some of the Printed Tissue (PT07) with Matte Glaze (FF52)

Adding a watered down layer of Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic, Chalk (FF83) knocked back the text a little. As it turned out later I should have made the layer thinner for the text to still show through.

As you may, or may not know, I like to create sprays from The Infusions and use those in my work. It's a very simple process. In a glass jar mix some of the Infusions powder with enough water to fill a small spray bottle, keep stirring until all the powder is dissolved (the glass jar makes it easier to spot undissolved clumps) Decant the liquid into the spray bottle, and hey presto, you have an Infusions spray.

You can see here how I sprayed the Just Walnut Infusions (CS25) onto my page. Repeat applications built up a nice textured look.

I had an idea to use the grid from the recently released Hot Picks stamp set (HP2503) (available from a PaperArtsy stockist). Using Versafine Clair, Nocturne and a stamping platform made sure I got all the fine details from the stamp.

I was pleased with how the background was shaping up, but I was impatient to start adding texture and details.

 

It was now time to start using the Mini Mask (PM015) along with some Grunge Paste (GP190) which I had previously tinted with some Just Walnut Infusions. 

In fact I'll let you into a secret about how that happened. I had a pot of Grunge Paste that had been sitting out of site on my desk for quite a while. It had dried out a fair bit and I thought I would possibly have to throw it out. I hate waste, so decided to try to revive it. I gradually added small amounts of water, stirring well and working it into the paste. The paste was absorbing the water and coming back to life, wonderful! At this point my mini spray bottle of water ran out, so I swapped to using some diluted Just Walnut Infusions from my spray. The result was a nicely tinted paste with a vintage look. So a very happy accident. 

So back to our project. As you can see I positioned the Mini Mask above the stamped grid and masked off the bottom part with low tack tape. Using a palette knife I applied the Grunge Paste through the stencil onto the page, repeating a second time on the right.

I hope you can see where I'm going with this combination of stamped grid and Grunge Paste arches. I removed the centre of each square in the grid, thus creating windows.

The next step was to add some bricks to our scene. I stamped some squares from the Hot Picks stamp set, using Vintage Photo Archival Ink. Adding texture and dimension to some of the bricks was easy, a straight ended palette knife and grunge Paste did the trick.

I wanted the bricks and arches to have a grungy weathered look, so adding a small amount of black with a Stabilo All pencil and then activating with water, gave me the start of the look I wanted. The eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted that the arches had already had the grunge treatment. Sometimes I get carried away whilst creating and forget to take photos as I go along!

The next step to the grunge was to add some diluted Just Walnut Infusions, letting it settle into the texture. 

It was now time to move on to the image in the window.

I wanted a blend of subtle colours for the image and background, so I used a brayer to apply random areas of Mattints onto 240gsm Smoothy card (SCA4). I chose Squeezed (MT06), Dragonfly (MT07), The Pink (MT08) and Ladybug (MT12, available from a PaperArtsy stockist) for the Mattints.

Using a stamping platform and Versafine Ink made getting a crisp image of the Chatelaine from the Lynne Perrella stamp set (LPC063) easier, on the slightly textured background created by the Mattints.

After measuring the card to fit behind my newly created windows, I stamped more images onto the spare background card. These will be added to the scene within the window.

As you can see in this picture, I extended our figures shoulders to the bottom of the panel. It was at this point that I decided I wanted to tone down the background around the figure. I used a brush and a wash of Just walnut around her, but left her looking brighter.

As you see here, I stamped some stars from the Hot Picks stamp set and added those along with the additional details to our window scene. A little bit of additional shading around the masonry with a soft pencil and our page was complete.

I am very happy how my journal page turned out, I especially love the textured masonry and will be playing with that technique again I'm sure. I do wonder about the story behind our mystery Chatelaine in the window, is she happy, or sad, I'll let you decide.

Adding the stars across the page carried the colour through the composition.

Adding little details cut from the other stamps in the set.

The detail and texture on the Grunge Paste arches is lovely.

I can imagine a whole wall of these textured weathered bricks.

Adding a touch of Dragonfly Mattint to her cheeks made her face the focal point in the window.

I love how the Chatelaine seems to glow, as if in a brightly lit ballroom in the chateaux, looking out into a dreary world outside. There are many stamped images that would work well combined with the window. At one point I considered using several smaller images, each one in a square. In the end I am happy I chose just one, I feel it has more impact.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how I created my journal page and find inspiration from this blog post.

Happy crafting......... Mags x

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