December Diary with NEW PaperArtsy products {by Jenny Marples}

Hi everyone, nice to be back with you again. Jenny Marples here with you.

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 the new Hot Picks Xmas releases.

If you watched Leandra's recent video launch you'll have seen there are three new sets of stamps and some new Paper Tissue, great for making your seasonal cards. I decided to use them to create a way of recording the memories, activities and important details from each day leading up to the festivities on Christmas Day.

Rather than go down the usual route of creating a journal for this purpose I opted to make a set of index cards and challenged myself to use every stamp available. To find out if this was achieved and see how I created these cards keep reading.

The PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Paints chosen for this project leaned into a 'Scandi style' colour palette.

Let's get straight into building the background for the cards beginning with base layer, a random patchwork of Tinned Peas, Hey Pesto and Zucchini Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints. It's worth having three brushes on the go at the same time for this part.

I like to add extra layers in decreasing amounts and find scraping the Blue Moon and Marbles Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint from a gel plate with a spatula onto the background works well. It also means you can pull a print with any remaining paint from the gel plate 'palette', so no waste!

To finish the layering take turns with 'highlight' colours, Sand, Peachy Keen and Cloud 9 Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints rolling a small amount of each in turn across the gel plate with a brayer before running it lightly over the background.

Chop up your background into the size of cards needed, retaining some to decorate your box. Now it's time to start decorating the individual diary cards.

It can feel pretty daunting to be faced with 25 'blank' cards so break it down by using some of the new Printed Tissue PT12 'Script', tearing off pieces and adding them using Mattints which coordinate with the paint colours. Here you can see Fern Mattint produces a subtle look which is to be expected on a mainly green background.

Then try Shark Mattint to echo the blues already used. You'll notice I blended the tinted tissue into the background by scraping a little more Sand, Peachy Keen and Cloud 9 Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint over the top.

Ladybug Mattint again echoes the salmon pinks in the background but definitely provides more contrast.

Finally try using Nutty Mattint, again to provide more contrast. In hindsight I would have been less heavy-handed with this one but still like how it picks up some of the browns in the colour palette. Now it's time to get stamping with that challenge to use every image provided.

 

It was a joy reaching randomly for each stamp in turn from the new PaperArtsy Hot Picks sets HPXM10, HPXM11 and HPXM12. I recommend using a stamping platform for this part as it allows you to re-stamp with extra ink if needed (we are stamping onto an uneven surface after all). It also means you can paint in the details and re-stamp over the top with ease. Along with the colours already used I added Chocolate Pudding and Scottish Salmon Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints into the mix.

You'll notice a simple 'faux stitched' border has been applied around the cards; it's my favourite 'no sew' option which involved running a pattern tracing wheel along the edges before following the lines with a permanent black pen.

Try stamping directly over the Printed Tissue sections to enhance each image. It means you can get away with using even the smallest images individually to help decorate each page. You might spot I even used the PaperArtsy car image which is included on the sheet of script.

To add visual impact with the tiniest images try repeat stamping them. I also used part of the sentiment from one set inside the decorative cartouche from another.

Since the idea of this project is to create a record of each day in December adding the dates is always helpful; I used the PaperArtsy Stencil PS021 for this, adding that slightly uneven look in the corner of every card.

To finish the set mount your decorated cards onto slightly larger plain ones, enabling you to add lists, reminders, photos, receipts and memories on the back. You can also make a few blank cards with pockets on the front to store these. For my diary box I used a CooKatzCraft kit which has a co-ordinating die set to cut the holes in the bottom of the cards.

Now your diary cards can be loaded into their box in readiness for December.

Here are some more of the completed cards;

I loved creating this set of diary cards and did indeed use all 26 of the stamps contained within the three new sets. As well as making your own record in a box (or book) you could also use this method to create cards, tags and gift bags.

Thank you for joining me today.

Jenny

Blog: https://pushingtherightbuttons.blogspot.com/

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2021 Topic 13: Tiny (News) Print with ESA {by Jenny Marples}

    2021 Topic 13: Tiny (News) Print

Making a scene from non-scene type images is a clever stretch of any stamps. Jenny has been experimenting with some of Seth Apter's new stamps and made a fabulous wall of words. She's got some great tips for making your stamping look metallic and creating more natural looking foliage and flowers.
~ Keren

Hi everyone, it's Jenny (Pushing The Right Buttons) with you today, and I'm here to share with you a new journal page that features images from one of Seth Apter's new releases. 

I am a huge fan of Seth's designs particularly because they are so often based on the architectural and structural features he sees around him every day in NYC. Looking at them from a different perspective they could also represent things seen in and on buildings in other parts of the World, like a cottage in rural France for example...

This piece begins with the edge of a torn piece of manuscript and some PaperArtsy Grunge Paste, all designed to give the feel of the side of a rustic building.

Apply Sand, Stone, Heavy Cream and Chalk Fresco Finish paints in layers (working from dark to light) with a spatula to blend the manuscript and Grunge Paste together.

 

Seth's 'The Alphabet' text stamp from his new ESA25 stamp set was the original inspiration for this whole piece - to me the way the letters and surrounding tiny text have been grouped look like uneven brickwork.

  

Repeat stamp 'The Alphabet' (minus its title section and final line) using a pale grey permanent ink, knowing the uneven layer of Grunge Paste beneath will give the stamping a worn feel by missing parts.

 

Use the grouping of the letters as a guide and draw around them with a permanent marker (black or dark grey are perfect for this). I would suggest practicing on a piece of scrap of paper so you can work out what you want your 'bricks' to look like.

 

 

Add some shading to make the bricks look more realistic - I used a watercolour pencil along the bottom and left-hand side of each brick, blending out the shading with a water brush. At this point you can reapply patches of Grunge Paste to break up the pattern a little and tone down the lines around the bricks if they are too prominent with some more paint.

 

This second stamp from Seth's set immediately reminded me of window shutters. To recreate them start by applying a thick layer of Grunge Paste to a piece of card. Allow it to start to dry a little then push the stamp into the paste to create an impression. Two hints; first, if it doesn't create the right impression use a wet spatula to smooth out the paste and try again. Second, make sure to spritz your stamp with water before plunging it into the paste and wash it as soon as you've finished to remove excess paste.

 

 

When the embossed paste has dried paint it and then re-stamp with a contrasting permanent ink (I used a white StazOn Pigment pad for this). You can make a 'mount' for your completed shutters by drawing brick shapes on a slightly larger piece of card, painting them with the same paints as the main wall. It's worth painting the centre of the mount too since some of it may show when your shutters are glued on top.

 

Older walls often have metal ties inserted into them to prevent them from pulling apart and ultimately falling down! Another of the stamps from Seth's set is perfect for recreating those. Try clear embossing over your stamped 'ties' to give them a metallic look.

 

 

With the building 'constructed' it's time to add some prettiness and colour. One place to start is with Kay Carley's stencil PS080 which helpfully includes little butterflies and dragonflies as well as the grasses and flowers found in a rural border. Use a mix of green shades for a more realistic feel.

After starting with the stencilled greenery you can make it even more 'wild' and unstructured by dipping a wooden skewer into the various green paints and adding pointed lines over the top. I also added extra detail to the flowers following the positioning from the stencil.

It's often only when you get to see the 'almost complete' stage of a project that you can take a step back and consider if it needs any adjustments. In this case with the walls looking too grey I went back over the edges with a little more Grunge Paste and followed up by adding patches of the Sand coloured paint.

The window panel was glued into its final position, a little over from where it was originally planned.

 

To help draw the eye around the finished page a little better, a couple of the tiny butterflies were stencilled in place using a mix of the Claret and Grape paints. You can draw in the tiny details like the antennae with a fineliner pen.

I found when it came to stamping the phrase 'found and gathered' from Seth's stamp set it didn't quite fit around the flowers. To make it work I stamped the first two words independently of the third, moving that one a little further over to the right.

Here's a reminder of what the finished piece looks like;

 

Take a look at the images in your stamp sets with fresh eyes to see what they bring to mind. It may be something you've encountered on adventures abroad or even something much closer to home. You don't need to draw an entire building or landscape to capture the feel of those surroundings.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Jenny

Blog: https://pushingtherightbuttons.blogspot.com/
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