Layer Upon Layer with Ink and the Dog minis {by Mags Woodcock}

Hello everyone, Mags here with you today sharing a vintage project using the recently released PaperArtsy Minis. I combined multi layered backgrounds with vintage photos and the gorgeous new stamps 

The starting point for this project was a set of found vintage holiday snaps. I imagined the family traveling from the UK to France and sending postcards during their trip .I decided on a red white and blue colour theme, to echo the colours in the UK and French flags. 

Before starting on the main story telling elements of my project, I wanted to create a box in which they could be stored. I found some small paper mache suitcases in my stash, the ideal solution. I had decided on a light, bright colour scheme, with a touch of subtle grunge, for the whole project.

I painted the suitcases with Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic, Sea glass (FF139) and added an aged look with Ranger Archival Ink, Vintage Photo.

I wanted to line the suitcases and add character at the same time, so using map pages seemed the obvious answer. It was easy to age the modern map pages with a few spritzes of diluted Just Walnut Infusions (CS25). Once these were dry I used Matte Medium to glue the paper into the cases.

I was happy with the suitcases and the lining, but they needed a little something extra. Stamping the grid and words from the minis, MN133 and MN135 in Vintage Photo did the trick.

With the suitcases finished, it was time to move on to the contents.

I had some vintage letters which had belonged to the family in the photos, this would help tell my story. I covered some panels of heavy weight Smoothy Card (SCA4H) with the letter pages, followed by some panels of Hot Picks Printed Tissue, Postcards (PT13)

It was at this point I realised some of the letters had been written using a fountain pen, so the ink smudged. A lesson learned, test the writing first to make sure the ink is permanent !

As I mentioned earlier, I wanted the look of the project to be quite light, so adding a light wash of watered down Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic, Snowflake (FF15) achieved this. Once dry I sprayed the panels with diluted Infusions, A Bit Jaded (CS02) to tie in with the suitcase colour.

 

Now that I had the under layers of my panels completed, it was time to add some details and interest to the next layers.

I chose the circle and rectangle stamps (MN138 and MN139) and the line and chevron stamps (MN133 and MN140) Stamping in black ink added contrast to the paler background. I concentrated on the edges and corners of the panels.

I wanted the stamping to have a little more depth and interest, adding Dragonfly Mattint (MT07) and gradually fading out the colour was the obvious choice. Kate Crane has a fabulous tutorial for using The Mattints to add colour  Here

The last detail was stamping the numbers from MN133 in Vintage Photo Archival ink, this added a nice contrast in colour.

With my backgrounds complete it was time to move on to the main focal images and stamping.

To continue with the light vintage vibe of the project, I sprayed some Smoothy Card (SCA4) with diluted Infusions, Just Walnut, dabbing with a paper towel to create a pale colour.

I used a Ranger Archival Jet Black ink pad to stamp the images from the minis onto the sprayed card.

Adding colour to the images using Mattints Dragonfly and Ladybug (MT12) continued the pastel look of the project.

I had a lovely time stamping and colouring the images from all the minis, cutting them out, and then layering them up with scraps of map paper and letter pages on the backgrounds.

As I had some small pieces of Smoothy card, printed tissue and letter pages leftover, it seemed a shame to waste them. I used those to create small strips of background, using the same techniques as before.

I had a great time using up all the leftover stamped and coloured images on my extra bits of background. I also added in some heat embossed words from my first release of Eclectica minis (EMW149) I think they work well together.

Here you can see how the colours of the project marry up nicely, but have a slight grungy twist.

Layering the stamped images over and under the photos creates a more cohesive look.

Cutting some stamped images and adding on the edges of the panels adds extra interest.

The repeated circular images contrast nicely with the rectangular shapes in the background.

Here we have the bonus clusters which used up the leftovers from the main project. Waste not, want not !

 

A closer look at a couple of the clusters.

The letter pages may not be immediately obvious, but they can be spotted in the background, and build up the story and layers

Layering up the stamped images, both behind and on top of the photos builds depth and interest to the focal area.

The background stamping peeks out from behind the layers, adding depth to the design.

Here you can see the lovely texture from the Infusions sprays, along with the layers beneath.

I loved creating this project, playing with lots of layers in the background and building up the main focal areas. The mini suitcases are so cute and will look lovely displayed in my art space. Keep an eye out for those bonus clusters too, I'll share the projects I create with them in the future, probably on journal pages or tags.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing how I used the gorgeous new minis, and are inspired to try some of the techniques I used, maybe in a journal page or tag. The possibilities are endless.

Happy crafting

Mags x

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Brighten your Life with LPC {by Etsuko Noguchi}

It's Etsuko here with you today, and for those of us who love vivid colour combinations, the addition of Frida Kahlo to Lynne Perrella's collection is a delight to play with. Let me show you some ideas I have had with infusions boosting the depth of Mattints, along with tissue paper and stamps to make an arch Shaped booklet. 

The stamp set I've chosen this time is the Frida Kahlo collection -- Lynne Perrella stamp set 76, 77 and 78 (LPC076, LPC077 and LPC078)

Colours selected:

Mattints: Mojito, Greenstone, Dragonfly, Bellflower, The Pink, High Viz and Glow.

Infusions: Golden Sands, Are You Cerise, Orange County, Violet Storms, A Bit Jaded and Green Man.

PaperArtsy fresco Finish Paints: Cerulean, Electric Violet, London Bus, Smoked Paprika, Tangerine Twist, Green Patina.

The first thing that came to mind was Frida's vivid use of colour and her motifs inspired by nature. Thus I began to develop vivid rainbow-coloured combinations. Mattints as one layer are a pale colour, so I added Infusions in the same colour family to give it a little more depth. I painted on the SCA4H Smoothy cardstock.

Afterwards, I cut each colour into long narrow strips arranged them to form a rainbow pattern, affixed Frida's image, masked off the birds around it, stamped using Ranger Archival Watering Can, and layered them.

The other way I torn and collaged PaperArtsy Printed tissue (PT12) coated with Mattints.

The background created using Mattints and Infusions was cut into pieces of any size to form the pieces to be made. This is one of these pieces, the LPC078 image was embossed using VersaFine Clair - Nocturne ink and Ranger Embossing Powder - Black, then coloured over with oil-based coloured pencils. The white patterned sections on the sides were embossed with white powder using the PaperArtsy Stencil by Lynne Perrella (PS481).

This was also created using the same method as above, with image LPC076, and the red thorn tree on the side stenciled using PS480.

I cut out the doodled flowers and stuck them on.

Now, I shall stamp each image of Frida onto the PT10 blank tissue paper using VersaFine Clair - Nocturne, then emboss it with Ranger Embossing Powder - Black.

Once the embossing has cooled, you can colour the reverse side with oil-based coloured pencils. Then apply Snowflake to the entire reverse surface, except for the areas where you wish the background colour to show through. For areas requiring vivid colour, colour the front surface as well.

Afterwards, I used Mod Podge to affix the image to the background. PaperArtsy Fresco Finish - Satin Glaze is also good for this step. The stamped images then melt into the background.

I combined each image with its background, applied a little technique, and completed the layers.

This is now approaching the finishing stage. Yes, I wanted to incorporate Frida's image into the shrine, so I made it into a shrine-shaped booklet. Also I felt a slightly different pattern was needed for the right-hand page and the left, so I used a stamp image on the right and a stencil on the left. Starting from the right-hand page.

I created a shrine frame to divide the image into six colours on the SCA4H. Here, to achieve depth in the colours, I used PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic - London Bus, Firebird, Tangerine Twist, Green Patina, Cerulean and Electric Violet.

A single sheet of paper for the frame lacked sufficient thickness, so I added cardboard

underneath, however, the wavy pattern in the cross-section was slightly noticeable.

From here, I proceed to creating the left-hand page. I make the shrine frame with Green Man,

Greenstone and Mojito using PaperArsty Brayer, and cut for the shrine frame.

As the background I made previously was insufficient, I collaged the left-hand page background using a slightly paler colour, following the same method as before.

I used sanding blocks to remove the excess tissue paper.

For the images, I used Ranger Archival in Watering Can and Jet Black on the PS480, PS481 and PS482 stencils.

I stenciled PS480 onto tissue paper background, cut out the LPC076 bird, and affixed it to create the left-hand page.

This is the completed Shrine Booklet as seen from above.

Then allow me to begin by introducing the first page. My beloved LPC077 Frida's image  would make a splendid cover. Three doodle flowers I have been decorated.

As indicated earlier the left page has a muted colour scheme whilst the right page has been finished in vivid tones. On the right page, I have added the LPC077 bird to Frida.

Next is the red page; I added the LPC076 hand to PS481. On the right-hand page, I trimmed the floral section slightly to ensure it fits within the frame.

It fitted perfectly without much fuss, so lovely.

On the right-hand page side, I stenciled a diluted image of a London Bus against a PS480 thorn tree background, while on the left I affixed an LPC077 image.

The final page was decorated in rainbow colours.

Back cover LPC078 profile as a single point.

While working on the design, upon seeing the LPC078 border pattern, I thought it would be lovely to have Milagros at the shrine, so I crafted them from foil. I added a touch of colour to the print and attached them to the shrine frame. I applied a little white gesso onto foil, printed the LPC078 image using VersaFine Clair - Nocturne, and embossed it with Ranger embossing powder - Black.

Ranger Alcohol - Honey Comb, Sunshine Yellow, Haze Hut and Espresso were applied randomly using the Ranger Blending Tool.

Then I cut it using a round punches and decorated the shrine frames.

Lynne Perrella's stamps have been my treasures ever since I first met PaperArtsy. I feel truly honoured to be able to created the project using my beloved Lynne's Frida Kahlo series this time. The Frida Kahlo series is such a delight—cards, panels, journals, ATCs, and I think creating shrines from various materials is also a wonderful idea. Please create wonderful pieces using PaperArtsy products and share them via social media such as ’PaperArtsy People’. Look forward to seeing them. Thank you so much for visiting.

Etsuko xx

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