2021 Topic 5 Find Your Vibe with ESN stamps and resin {by Sara Naumann}

 2021 Topic 5: Find Your Vibe

It's always fascinating to see how the stamp designers use their own images. Sara Naumann's step by step resin tutorial takes the lowly serviette and catapults it to something extraordinary using her new stamps and stencils. It's amazing to see the effect of resin onto different types of papers and I think she'll convert many of us to trying out resin for the first time.
~ Keren

 

Hi everyone, it's Sara Naumann with you today, with a junk-style resin journal!

The invitation to "find your vibe" presents such a good opportunity to think about what creative processes, styles and techniques make us happy. For me, finding my vibe is the same as getting into a "zone"—you know, that sort of meditative space you enter when you're really, really into what you're doing? This is when you look up from your work and realise time has flown by. You feel restored, relaxed... it's often just as much about the creative process as it is the end result.

Working with resin puts me in this zone really easily. I think part of it is the focus needed to measure and mix the resin correctly. And because you have a limit on your working time (30-45 minutes with most resin) you really can't dawdle or second-guess yourself too much. Sometimes working quickly produces some really remarkable results!

For this session, I made a resin journal cover from a store-bought paper serviette, brayer-painted, Grunge-Paste stencilled, and stamped. Coating the serviette with resin makes the paper sturdy and ideal for book covers. It's still flexible—you can cut it with scissors and hole-punch it (that's how I bound my book with rings) but it's waterproof and durable, perfect for stashing little papers, notes or other journal-worthy things. My junk journal is refillable, and I've put square envelopes, painted paper fragments and other ephemera inside.

Resin is a fabulous medium for mixed-media people, as it changes the translucency of your paper and makes fragile papers stronger. And it's easy to use...I'll show you how in the steps below. You'll need to have your paper ready to go before you jump into the resin part, so grab your paints, stamps, stencils and Grunge Paste first.

I brayer-painted the serviette with Blue Moon, then Verdigris paints—working gently, as the paper is fragile. I like to leave some white showing.

 

Some Grunge-Paste stenciling with PS248, the chevrons. I use my finger to apply the Grunge Paste... again, working gently.

I stamped the bird from ESN52 with black StazOn. Dye inks might bleed when you add the resin, so a solvent-based ink like StazOn is recommended.

I love to use a good old-fashioned stippling brush for stenciling, and this time I used Weathered Copper and Aquamarine in a mash-up of colour through the PS246 Dots stencil-even over the Grunge Paste chevrons.

A little splattering with a darker colour—this time, Blue Lagoon—adds contrast. You'll notice I have stenciling on the other half of the serviette too. That will be the back cover of my journal.

Now you're ready to add this translucent, shiny effect with resin! Here's the step-by-step:

What you'll need: A 2-part resin epoxy (Alumilite is good, so is ICE Resin), a plastic measuring cup, stir stick, and a small piece of kitchen sponge. You'll need a craft mat to protect your work surface and for your resin piece to dry. Please protect your hands by wearing gloves. It's a good idea to open a window or turn on a fan, too.

You'll mix equal amounts of Part A (resin) and Part B (hardener). Start with Part A.

Add Part B into the same cup. It helps to make sure you have good strong lighting!

Then, use a gentle folding method to stir the two parts thoroughly—give yourself about 3-4 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the cup and the stir stick. Once all the striations are gone and the resin is clear, you're ready to go! (Don't worry about the air bubbles.)

 

Dip the spongy side of your sponge into the resin, then use it to apply the resin to the serviette. Resist the urge to pour the resin onto the paper—you don't need that much, and it will waste the resin. (Better to have an extra batch of resin-able papers on hand.)

You'll notice the white colour change and begin to turn translucent while the paint and Grunge Paste will pop.

The resin will dry in 6-12 hours; when it's dry to the touch, you can start working with it! I folded my serviette in half so the bird is on the front cover and the brayer-painted and stencilled area you see above is the back cover.

I used a regular hole punch through the cover, then inserted pages and bound the journal with metal rings. I added ribbons on my metal binding rings, and a resin-paper-covered domino.

This detail is on the top right corner of the journal—here, I added resin to kraft packing paper, which produces this gorgeous dark colour.

On the inside of the journal I have tons of square envelopes, decorated with other scraps of paper and resinned snippets.

Who doesn't love a journal with pockets to tuck things into? And while I'll use this journal for myself, it would also make a great gift for someone special. Just think, you could put plain writing paper or watercolour paper inside, or decorate the pages and pockets with photos or recipes, notes and quotes. The sturdy resin cover ensures your journal will last.

Thanks so much for spending time with me in my zone! I really do hope you get a chance to celebrate getting into your vibe and enjoying not only the fabulous things you can make, but the creative process that goes into it.

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Stampers Grove Facebook Live: Sunday, May 16 at 3:00 UK time, I'll be demoing resin with paper, featuring Ranger's ICE Resin. It's live, it's free and it's recorded just in case you're not able to catch it live. Hope to see you there!

2021 Topic 5 Find Your Vibe with ESN {by Miriam Grazier}

 2021 Topic 5: Find Your Vibe

Creating can soothe the soul and provide some real relaxation too. Miriam attests to the positive power of making whilst completing this lovely project, using her own created elements to amplify the collaged style of Sara Naumann's new stamps.

~ Keren

Hi everyone, it's Miriam  with you today, and I'd like to share with you a project where I was truly able to relax and 'find my vibe'.  The results of which were a card and matching gift bag.

This topic came at just the right time as I have a lot going on at the moment and have had very little time to craft.  I had been longing for some time to relax and craft.  I needed to relax and so chose some of my favourite products.

There is nothing more satisfying that pulling together your favourite products and creating art without thinking. This was the perfect way to relax me.

 

I started by creating a background in my go-to way by brayering paint onto card, the next step is to add stamped images and texture. This was the colour pallet I chose, its nice to have a mix of dark and light as brayering will always create a range of colours in between too depending on how you layer and blend the paints.

 

You can see the texture that Sara's chevron stencil permits in the close up above, the structure of  this geometric shape is really useful. It only takes a few drops of paint to tint your Grunge Paste to a new colour.

 

I tinted the Grunge Paste with Koala Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint and used it with the chevron stencil.  It was only afterwards I realised I probably had the stencil upside down - but I was fine with that, does it even matter for a background??

 

I also added splodges of silver foil for a touch of bling. It's nice the way the light catches that metallic 'pop'.

 

These are the stamps I used by Sara Naumann. For my cards I used the bird from ESN51, and the lovely ruler element from ESN52 was a great structural element to use too.

 

They are pretty new (April) and you can buy them from stockists listed at the bottom of this recent new product announcement here.

 

Here's my first card, you can see the layers more clearly. I find outlining the elements like the bird allows them to stand out a bit, you can use a watercolour pencil or stabilo all, and add water to soften and blend it out a bit if you wish.

I've always loved Sara's releases as I adore the collaged elements she creates.  I was also inspired by some of Sara's latest techniques.  Whilst I didn't have any resin, after stamping, I then coated the birds in UTEE to give them a glossy sheen.

 

The second card is all on one layer using more of the background, but on this one the charm adds some interest and balance.

I've been inspired by Lucy Edmondson who often will use shrink plastic to create charms.  So I made a hanging charm with the birds and some Tim Holtz jewellery elements.  I loved how this turned out. It's always a surprise when you shrink things the size they end up compared to the stamp itself.

 

So the final stage is deciding how to layer and arrange all the items. A navy border suited this project well. You don't need to search for the perfect car, just paint some and it will coordinate perfectly!

Adding ink to shadow the edges of layers also is a good tip to allow each layer to pop. Did you know that regular distress ink will grab to the tooth of Fresco paints because they have that chalky matte feel - its really nice when you can easily use ink over your painted layers.

Sara's stamps always have some wonderful smaller images that can be used as 'fillers'.  I always love these as much as the main images.

I had so much fun creating these projects.  In fact, it completely relaxed me.  By creating the background this way, it means I also have plenty left overs for future projects.

I really encourage you to put aside some time to find your own vibe.  Use your favourite products and create without thinking.  I really can't tell you how relaxing this was for me.  

Thank you for joining me this evening.  You could also 'step up' this project by collaging and adding dimension to more of the stamped images.

Happy crafting!

Miriam

Blog: Miriam's Creative Dreams