2021 Topic 6 Mandala Mix with TS {by Jennie Atkinson}

 2021 Topic 6: Mandala Mix

This blur-ple inspired mandala layered panel is rich with texture and shades of the same tones. Jennie explains so clearly how she pulls her layers together so that the elements don't get lost on each other. I find that really helpful to understand that process. I hope you do too.
~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Jennie (Live the Dream) with you today sharing a mixed media hanging.

I have been itching to use Tracy's gorgeous mandalas and flowers in a mixed media project and knew that they would layer beautifully. I seem to be eating a lot of blueberries at the moment (a new diet!) and so instinctively reached for the Blueberry Fresco and decided to give Violet Storm Infusions an outing ...... not one for the faint-hearted! I'll share how I tamed it down a bit later!

I have used three of Tracy's stamp sets along with a matching stencil:

 

TS051

TS047

TS057 (available from stockists list here)

PS210

  

These were my Fresco colours: Blueberry, Concrete, Cloud 9 and Grape. I used Grape for the outside border as it was a better match than the Blueberry. And of course the little pot of gorgeousness: Violet Storm Infusions.

 

To start I experimented a little with my Gelli Plate using Blueberry, Concrete and Cloud 9 to see if I could match papers to a tag I stamped with Archival Ink. 

I find this is a good starting point and even if I don't use what I have pulled from the plate (like the tissue) I have some nice pieces to get started.

I have use an A5 piece of greyboard for the background of the panel. I live to give it a coat of white gesso before layering some text paper which I thought would show through the gorgeous mandala stencil. In hindsight I wished I hadn't torn such straight lines! But overall it does tend to blend into the background once the layering is finished.

The next part of the process was to see if the Violet Storm Infusions would match.  For a while this was one of my favourite Infusions but it can be very dark. This is is how it started but I keep spritzing with water and mopping up and then leave it to dry which always seems to make it a little lighter. As long as you have added a good coat of gesso to your dry board you can spritz it really heavily with water without any damage.

I loved how the violet and pinkish hues came through once it had dried, but once the layering was added it did feel a little blue so I dry brushed some Cloud 9 Fresco here and there where the colour was the darkest. 

I also rubbed a little silver wax around the edges of the stencilling to highlight the texture.

And so to the layering - I always spend some time stamping different elements on the Gelli Plate papers. Looking for lighter areas but which all match as I used the same combination of Frescos. 

I like to ink a stamp and then keep stamping it without re-inking to get different tones. This is quite important when layering as if everything is the same tone the elements will get lost.

Which is what happened to the main flower. I had stamped it on the coloured papers but something was just not working despite the addition of some white lace and a white sentiment. However when I stamped it on cardstock painted with Cloud 9 Fresco it just jumped off the background!

When layering I start with one or two flat layers. These I adhere to the background on an edge which is going to be covered. That leaves the outside edge "floating" without giving the impression that it has been adhered. 

I used the clock stamp to create a smoother edged style to the rest of the elements and also it sat quite beautifully in the lace !

I use leftover pieces of greyboard to adhere subsequent layers. This is more robust than foam pads and still allows the outside edges to appear to be "floating".

I really love the way these colours came together despite my initial misgivings.  The gorgeous stamps gave depth that was possible with just four layers. What I would really like to try is a similar layering but just using the stamps and a masking technique in order to create a single layer of stamping but with a layered effect. I am sure it would work beautifully. 

Also don't be put off by large stamps. They are great for cutting into smaller tags and elements and if you have a die cut machine and a tag die you can work out the area of the pattern you want to use.

Such beautiful stamps and stencils by Tracy which I am sure will become favourites.

 As always thank you for joining me!

Jennie

Blog: Live The Dream
Instagram: @atkinsonjennie
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2021 Topic 6 Mandala Mix with TS {by Claire Snowdon}

 2021 Topic 6: Mandala Mix

Claire has used the uber versatile Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics to create a wonderful faux watercolour effect. You really would think they were watercolours and the striking black and white mandalas pack a real punch!
~ Keren

 

Hi everyone, it's Claire Snowdon with you today, and I'd like to share with you some watercolour effect cards I created.

I chose to make my cards in this way as I just love the way the black and white images pop off the more subtle background - really makes the mandalas the star of the show!

I started by creating my faux watercolour backgrounds.  I did this using some pieces of Paperartsy Smoothy card cut to fit the size of my card blanks.  I then spritzed both the card and some Fresco Finish paint with some water and added it to the card - letting it pool and mingle.  The colours I used here are Coral, Glass Blue and Dirty Lime - these are all translucent colours which also helps to create that watercolour look.

Once thoroughly dry I went in with some stenciling using Gold Fresco Finish.  I used two of Tracy's stencils - PS200 and PS225.

Next I stamped out the mandalas and quotes using Jet Black Archival Ink from sets TS051, TS029 and EAB19.  I cut everything out and the edged with Black Soot Distress Ink to frame each piece.

Then it was time to start assembling the cards, I used foam pads to attach the mandala images which gives the cards a nice sense of depth.

On both cards I attached the quotes directly to the card as I really wanted the mandalas to be the focal point.

I backed each piece onto matte black card before adding to the card blanks. Then I went to town with the gems! I love the little bit of sparkle they add to both cards!

These cards were such a fun little project; I'd really like to encourage you to have a go at creating your own faux watercolour backgrounds using Fresco paints. It can be quite unpredictable, plus you'll get a totally unique card every single time!

Thank you for joining me today,

Claire xx

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2021 Topic 4 Free to Fly with TS {by Helen Chilton}

  2021 Topic 4: Free to Fly

Stamping with spices is definitely a new technique, but I'd love to see (and smell) it in real life! Helen has created a piece with real movement drawing on a myriad of techniques (and happy accidents) that bring this beautiful bird to life.

~ Keren

Hi everyone, it's Helen with you today with a very large tag using some of Tracy's fabulous new stamps. That bird is so full of movement it looks like it's about to take off and fly away.

Unusually for me, I haven't used any inkpads for this project but have stamped everything in paint. I wasn't sure how the bird would come out as it's very detailed, but the density of the black paint gives an almost lino cut effect which I really liked. 

I looked at set TS051 and decided to make a nest out of the half mandala. To give it a bit of extra texture I stamped it in paint then sprinkled it with some ground nutmeg - smells nice too!

 

Then it's on to the background and I decided to build up layers of leaves using Sara's stencil PS218.

 Starting with the lightest  of the blue-green Fresco colours first.

and just keep going - it's to build up depth.

I hadn't planned on lots of cutting out, but this stencilled leaf is very quick to snip and I like having lots of interlocking layers.

As I was cutting out I noticed I'd been practicing stamping the bird (TS053) on the back - I really liked the effect of the black wing pattern - a happy accident....

 

...so I stamped some of the pattern onto my greeny-blue leaves as well - love them.

Then it's just a question of planning the layout. The nest is slightly off-centre and the leaves are growing up towards the top right corner. I've tucked in some of the white and black leaves as well.

For the bird I just daubed on little bits of paint leaving lots of white spaces - very unusual for me - I'm not great with white spaces! I always have to fill them in!

But when you've stamped the bird in black paint, it just works.

Hold it over the background and you'll see what I mean.

I've wound a tiny scrap of wool round the leaves top left and bottom right - the yellow ties in with the colour of the bird's body and draws the eye diagonally down the tag.

I layered the bird up on several foam pads and curled the wings to give even more dimension.

The nest sits among the leaves - I'm amazed at the detail that showed up.

The nest is also raised and many of the leaves are not stuck down - just a tiny bit of glue on the stem to anchor them - as I like the sense of movement this creates.

This project was surprisingly quick to make - it sort of just flowed along, probably because the bird image is perfect for the theme of flying - it looks like it's about to launch itself into the air.

I really enjoyed making up the background using different shades of greens and blues - the PaperArtsy Frescos are brilliant for this as they're all neatly divided into families so if you're not sure what to use, just go back to the colour charts, all the work's been done for you. 

Although this tag is very detailed, I surprised myself by deliberately leaving white spaces! Have a go and see what you can create - you never know what you'll end up with.

Helen

Blog: A Splash of Colour