2016 #1 Pins and Needles Box {by Catherine Johnson}

2016 Topic 1: Transparent Art

Hi everyone Catherine Johnson here to talk you through this little box I made for the transparency topic. As soon as I heard transparency my thoughts ran to vintage stamps and stamping on acetate. This isn’t a medium I use often, and vintage isn’t usually the style of crafting I gravitate towards, but I loved the Buttons Ink and the Dog stamps and the photo stamp called out to be stamped on acetate. As the theme of the stamps were haberdashery, I kept to that theme and altered a box into a cut little pins and needles box.

Step One: I grabbed my paint colours and started layering down the Haystack and Guacamole fresco finish paints. I then grabbed some dark green ink and stamped the emotion definition panel from Ink and Dog Buttons 4 and the Pins and Needles words. On top of this I then stamped using the Guacamole paint the button square. This provided a lovely layer onto of the inked stamping.

Step Two: Next I wanted to add a border of grunge paste as I wanted the top to be very textural so I mixed the grunge paste with Guacamole paint to colour it and then roughly applied it. I also added some different kinds of trim to the box sides to add different kinds of texture.

Step Three: After the grunge paste was dry and the trim glued down securely I added more paint and ink to make them blend in with the colours of the box. I then started adding some Baltic Blue to the mix as a contrast colour.

I then started on the topper for the box. I knew I wanted some fabric and sewing to go with the theme. I chose some canvas and some denim coloured fabric and applied stamps and paint to both and then did some sewing with the sewing machine using different stitches. I stamped the main photo imagefrom Ink and dog Buttons 4 in Stazon on to the acetate and then added that to the layers of fabric by sewing it into place. I then added trim to match the sides of the box. Stamping in Stayzon onto the acetate works really well. I love the fact you can see through the images to the layers below.

Ink and Dog Buttons 4

Step Four: Inside the box I applied the same colours, but also some book paper to tone down the background. I added the same image as on the top of the box, but this time using paint to stamp which doesn’t provide the same clarity as the ink, but looks good against the book print. I added the denim fabric to the base of the box and then made a small pincushion which fits into a corner to that it can both hold the pins and act as a tool when sewing too.

Step Five: My finishing touch was to add the buttons to the top of the box with a bit of bakers twine. The whole box is so textural now and I am so happy with having created something so different from my usual style – and it’s useful too!

I love the way the stamped acetate works and this may well be the first of many future projects featuring acetate. Using Stazon meant the image remained crisp and didn’t smudge and I think the vintage stamps look just like old slides as a result. The clear image and the layers underneath work well together and sewing the acetate to adhere it into place means no messy glue visible.

Catherine

Blog

Thanks Catherine, this has such a lovely vintage feel to it, truly the kind of thing you would find in your Grandmothers sewing box. You are right the acetate makes that vintage photo look even more so, resembling the mirror-like qualities of early 19th century photography.

We would love to see how you interpret this Transparent Art topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #1: Transparent Art, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas, particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. 

Links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Transparent Art link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, January 17th. The winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

2015 #17 Brusho Cards {by Catherine Johnson}

2015 Topic 17: Pigment Powders

Hi everyone Catherine Johnson from Inky Fingered Cat  to talk you through this set of cute cards I made using the Brusho crystals. My crafting style varies from day to day, but using Brushos pulled me straight back into clean and simple as using the vibrant colours I felt needed very little else. So I dug straight in and made some cards which allowed the JOFY stamps to shine!

Step One: I decided that the fun flowers in JOFY14 worked well for this style. I stamped them in Black Versafine and then clear heat embossed them. As long as you are quick the powder sticks to the ink. This gives more control than using a black embossing powder with Versamark although the end result is very similar.

JOFY14 

Step Two: Next I used a paintbrush to add water to the areas I wanted to have colour concentrated in. This is where the embossing helps to keep the areas separate. Onto this I sprinkled Gamboge Brusho crystals. The I tapped some of the Brilliant Red onto the craft mat and used the wet paintbrush to add that onto the petals and blend it into the Gamboge.

Step Three: Once the first layer of colour was dry, I sprinkled a little of the Yellow Brusho over the flower head and did a light spray of water to activate the colour and give the image a looser finish. I also used a tiny amount of Leaf Green and the paintbrush to add some colour to the stems. I finished off the panels with a black pen outline to create a faux layer, then mounted it onto the cardblank.

Step Four: The next card I gave more of a blast of water with the Turquoise, Yellow and Leaf Green Brushos sprinkled where I wanted the colour to land. This is definitely a hit and miss type of technique as there is little control over the final effect. But I love these loose watery blooms.

Step Five: For all the cards I made, I added the same image onto the envelope. I used Distress Inks to stamp the image in coordinating colours and then used some very water Brusho to colour the images with a paintbrush.

I am pleased with how these worked, but I have to say that a lot of the creating with Brushos crystals is by chance when looking for the splash of colour finish.  I have tried lots of ways of working with the Brushos, and the unpredictability is the joy of working with them.  Playing and experimenting is the joy!

Catherine

www.catiecuddles.wordpress.com

The embossed stamping adds lovely texture to the water coloured pigments Catherine, great clean and simple layout. Thanks for sharing your creativity with us ~ Gillian

We would love you to join in with challenge #17: Pigment Powders If you are inspired by any of our guests who blog with us over the fortnight, then please join in and link up your creativity HERE. 

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Circles link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Sept 27th winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.