Memory Box with Tracy Scott Products {by Floss Nicholls}

 

Hi everyone, nice to be back with you again...It's Floss 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 been exploring Tracy Scott's products...it was not easy choosing which products to work with as she has so many beautiful designs!

Today I'm looking forward to sharing with you how I ended up using just two stencils, three paints, some tissue paper, glue and some thread to create a beautiful memory box.

I started off thinking that from enjoying making a recycled gift bag with a previous PaperArtsy project that I did not that long ago, how a packaging box revamp would be a fun thing to do too...I chose PaperArtsy Fresco finish chalk paints; Vintage Lace, Purple Wine, Prawn and Jade which are all Tracy Scott colours. A set of stamps, which I actually didn't end up using this time, and two stencils PS463 and PS234.

My first thing I like to do once I have chosen my colours is to create a colour wheel so I can see how well they work together and what other colours can be made by mixing them...

I started by using Jade, Prawn and Purple Wine...they created some great muted colours which I tend to prefer to the brighter colours...however, Vintage Lace has got to be one of my absolute favourite colours that PaperArtsy produces and so I created a second set of mixing replacing the Prawn with the Vintage Lace...I painted these around the edges of the wheel as a comparison. I was happier with this selection. I also like to mix an equal amount of all three shades together for an overall outcome which you can see at the base of the page.

I opened the box out flat and started by 'rough painting' the surface using Vintage Lace. I did it this way as I wanted the box to have an uneven painted finish rather than it being all flat and even.  I like texture and surface discrepancies.  I laid the stencils and colours out in front of me as I was starting so that I could get a feel for what might happen next.  I like to work intuitively and let things evolve, I do think that having the supplies out around you lets things happen more naturally.

 

I also love text. I decided that the text would be good to have randomly positioned on the box and so I painted Vintage Lace over the text areas on Tracy Scott tissue paper.

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I then painted some of the detail in the flowers and butterfly...using the mixed colour palette.

I liked leaving some 'white space in the little hexagons...I'm sure this little section was to come in handy somewhere on the box...

I started using the stencils PS234 and PS463 to add some pattern to the box...I enjoy layering the stencil designs over one another to create more interest.

I own about 9 white pens...they do drive me a little bit nuts when they don't flow nicely...it really is crazy how one can be working one day and not the next! I have had this conversation with so many creatives...anyway, I found one that worked and outlined the little cloud shapes from the PS234 stencil to make the shape pop a little...I smeared some gesso onto the blank spaces as I wanted to distress areas of the box too.

To make it distressed, I painted the Purple Wine fresco finish paint onto the box and whilst it was still wet, applied the stencil over the paint and wiped it back using a wet wipe...this incidentally leaves a fantastic residue on the stencil that when you flip the stencil over and wipe it again will give you a fun ghost like texture...which you should spot on another area of the box...

I decided that parts of the Tracy Scott tissue would look rather beautiful on the box, especially as I was able to paint the reverse and thought those designs would work well with the size of the box too...I let the design fall over the fold score line of the box to allow the base of the box to have pattern and texture on it too.

I continued adding tissue over the distressed and stencilled areas of the box...I softened the edges of where the tissue meets the box using a sponge dipped in the paint so that parts of the tissue became diffused.  I started looking at the stencil shapes and thought that PS463 leant itself to adding stitching!

I colour matched my thread to the Purple Wine but instead of matching a thread to Vintage Lace I found a thread that was similar to Tracy Scott Sunshine, which I thought could be considered a complementary colour as it may sit opposite on the colour wheel...I thought it looked good anyway!

I used my awl to make small holes top and bottom of some of the stencil shaped areas and set about adding thread...

It wasn't until I uploaded the photos that I realise I have missed a little stitch! I must go back and add that in...

I glued the little tab joining the sides together and folded the base shut bringing the 'overspill' designs together on the base which I really liked...

Take a look at each side...and the top and lid interior...have you got a favourite side? I have...I wonder if it's the same as my favourite?

The front...

The back...

and the sides...

and of course the lid...

The inside of the lid was fun too...

I lined the box plain but I do think that it would be more fun to line it with another pattern but something quite simple...if I do I will post it on my social media pages...

I hope you enjoyed reading the blog as much as I did making my memory box...please tag me if you try anything similar.

Much love Floss x x x

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Newsletter coming out soon with new class list in East Sussex UK for August dates...

2023 Topic 10: Tags {by Floss Nicholls} with Sara Naumann stamps

Hi everyone, thank you for popping over to look at my latest PaperArtsy blog topic I've created...it's Floss with you today and I'm here to share my very pink three layered tags with you...Pink? YES PINK! I know...I continue to surprise myself too!

As ever, being intuitive takes over anything planned and there's always a dilemma or a twist along the way...This time it was a tracing paper layer that got me playing for a little bit longer with the design...

To start with, I knew that I wanted to incorporate recycling into at least one layer of the tags and so I grabbed a cardboard envelope.  The fabulous Sara Naumann stamps and stencils not only gave me a great choice for focal points for my tags but they also allowed me to follow with this quarters PaperArtsy theme of typography.

I actually fell a little in love with the orchid chalk paint FF13, especially when I clashed it on the top layer with red lipstick chalk paint FF160...

Starting is always one of the most difficult things to do...where to begin, what layer do you do first and what colour goes on what layer...I decided to start at the bottom or back layer. My thoughts were to soften the flat cardboard using Cloud 9 and Vintage Lace Fresco chalk paints using a very dry brush so that it would give me a broken appearance and leave areas unpainted. I also painted some of the corrugated card I that I had taken apart to expose the ridges as an option of using at some point. 

I painted both sides of the cardboard using the same colours and techniques.

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I really liked the sentiments on Sara's stamps and knew they would be fun to use over the painted cardboard.

I used Ranger archival black ink to stamp two different sized sentiments over the paint, some vertically and some horizontally, not being too fussy about placement as I knew I'd be cutting the cardboard to divide it into tag sized pieces.

By stamping across the lined up tags it enables you to break the alignment a little. I feel this allows the eye to peruse over the tag more because the eye is drawn from the expected and enjoying the space and contrast.

By switching the tags around between stamping, I could really play with the layout of the type.

Looking at it now, I could have turned a couple to place an end onto a side too...I quite liked the scored lines that were left on the cardboard from the initial packaging envelope.

 

No project would be complete without adding a little gesso, well...for me anyway...I love the way it can allow you to not only add texture but play with the range of colour because of it.  Here, I used an old garden centre loyalty card which I had snipped triangles out of to drag through my gesso.  I also used what collected on the ends of the triangles as little dots to press onto my paper. I used 250gsm watercolour paper for this layer.

Again, I kept the page whole for the moment. It allowed the mark making to be more random and less controlled.  I dry sponged a thin layer of PaperArtsy Orchid Fresco finish paint over the gesso once it had dried. I went over where the gesso was more thoroughly with another dry sponge to expose the gesso and lift some of the paint.

I wanted to add more typographic detail onto the labels and so I used Sara Naumann's PS323 stencil with cloud 9 and Red Lipstick Fresco finish. I loved the way that the Red Lipstick was a translucent paint, it was less harsh and became part of the layer.

I cut this pink painted top layer slightly smaller than the cardboard layer so that it was obvious that the tag was multi layered when I assembled it.

 

I think the random non uniform textures worked well in a matching non matching kind of way...

 

I punched the top of the painted tag layers to give me the tag shape and a hole to thread a string or ribbon through.  I  then held the cardboard layer behind the punched painted layer to snip the corners leaving a little of the cardboard exposed.  It was slightly bigger in length and width and so made sense to follow suit with it's shoulders.

I was originally going to add a to and from or with love from on either side of the cardboard layer but I thought it'd be fun to add a layer of transparency into the mix...I guess I just didn't want the transparent theme from last quarter to end...Again I wanted to soften the layer and so I used Ranger's Victorian Velvet Distress Oxide to add a little 'blush' to the edges in a kind of vignette manner. I always find using an old label backing that is shiny and slides easily best for this as the foam pad holding the oxide will glide over the edges nicely from the shiny sheet and creates less of a harsh line anywhere. 

I then used the PS323 stencil for the lettering. I liked the fact that I was forced to use different sized type as those were the letters available on the stencil.  The mismatched sizing worked well with the other layers that were also a little 'unprecise' in their placement.

I punched eyelets from the left over pink corners and painted papers and glued them onto the cardboard layers. 

I was going to add a eyelet through the whole three layers but I decided that it would work much better if I only popped the eyelet through the top layer.  It would make it far easier to write on the tracing paper layer before adding it to a gift.  It would also allow me to fan the tag to show it was multi layered to display. 

I printed the focal points for the tags onto tissue papers and recycled cartridge papers and painted them using the same lipstick red, cloud 9 or vintage lace. I did try embossing parts but today that did not work for this...I only mentioned that because my embossing pad somehow made a guest appearance on my workbench...

After gluing the focal points on, I added some free motion stitched detail on a couple of the tags...

Then added the final little bit...the strings to hold them all together.  I chose natural twine and some very pink wrapped cotton thread.

I hope you like them as much as I enjoyed making them...

Not forgetting a peek of the finished tracing paper layer sandwiched in the middle...

The tags really made me think of others as I was making them and who I would give them to on a gift.  I think that was why I was guided by the beautiful orchid pink as I was definitely not making them for myself...but I confess I do rather like them...I also was not intentionally making them in pairs but i could pair them easily when they were finished...would you agree?

Pair One...

Pair two...

And pair three...

I think this was a fun project and hope you will play along with making this...please tag (no pun intended) me or send me your images if you do; I'd love to see your outcomes.  These stamps definitely allow for many combinations and layouts for this.

Until next time, enjoy your creative time,

Much love

Floss x 

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In person workshops in Hellingly East Sussex UK:

I have many class listings (a few below) which are accessible from the website link above. If the website says no availability in the next 31 days click the book now button and it will show later dates. Nothing will be booked until you confirm a chosen date...classes are currently listed up until December 2023.  I look forward to seeing you in the workshop x 

Full Day Mixed Media 

Apertures in journal pages

Animal art collage 

Go Large Mixed Media Day

Gel plate printing

Asemic Mixed Media