2018 #2 Seth's NEW Fresco paints: Petal Power with EEV {by Alison Hall}

2018 Topic 2: Seth's NEW Fresco Paints

Ohhhhh la laaaa...lookie here lookie here! We do love a layered canvas from Alison, and she is making those new Seth Colour POP!! Look at that Blue Lagoon!! Swoon!!! And I love the use of Ellen's petals....just how does she do all this creative magic with teabags?? 

Read on! ~Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Alison the Craftytrog with you today, and I'd like to share with you a mixed media panel I made using Seth's New Fresco Finish Acrylic Paint Set No.3 and PaperArtsy Eclectica Ellen Vargo stamps. I've used collaged hand-decorated papers on my panel, which is a favourite technique of mine, as I love the textures and abstract nature of it.

I like to use different types of paper on projects, usually some book text paper. And, I always have a sheet of plain copier paper beneath as I'm working, to catch the excess paint, and clean my brayer on, which creates more collage material. I used PaperArtsy Stamp Set EEV06 on the pages below.

Here's the torn up under paper ready to be glued onto my 6x6 inch panel with Matte Medium Gel. I used an MDF panel, but PaperArtsy Heavy Grey/White Board would work well as a substitute.

I started to create the main flower feature of my panel, stamping and embossing petals from PaperArtsy Stamp Set EEV09. 

I love to include teabags in my art in some form, so I bunched up a few empty circular bags (you could also cut circles from square bags), secured them with a decorative brad, then trimmed and scrunched until my flower centre took shape. 

I love the contrast of the brown teabags with the blue and green paint colours!

The panel background needed some decoration, so I used Seth's Blue Lagoon and Magic Moss Fresco Finish Paint with background stamps from PaperArtsy Stamp Set EEV05. 

I also wanted some circle elements to tie in with the flower centre, so I stamped and cut a few circles from PaperArtsy Stamp Set EEV09 with Double Denim Fresco Finish Paint. 

Once my flower feature was adhered, I got messy adding splatters of Black Bombay India Ink, and watered down Golden Iridescent Bronze paint to mirror the metallic of the brad.

A few coloured gems and some totally unrelated book text words later, and I was satisfied.

I forgot that when you apply matte medium over embossing, it dulls the glossy effect, so I had to use a black pen to go over the lines of the stamped petals. It would have been best to put the glue just on the back of them of course!

I was thrilled to be able to try out Seth's new paints. More blues...what more can I say?! And Butter and Magic Moss are such a pretty soft yellow and green. I hope I've inspired you to get painty and join in with the current PaperArtsy Challenge.

Alison x

Blog: Craftytrog's Arty Adventures
Facebook: Alison Hall
Instagram: @craftytrog
Pinterest: Craftytrog

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. 

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. 

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 2: Seth's Frescos will close 17:00 (London Time) Tuesday Feb 20th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

2018 #2 Seth's NEW Fresco paints: It's my Life with HP {by Nikki Acton}

2018 Topic 2: Seth's NEW Fresco Paints

This new set of paints from Seth is ticking all the boxes! Greens and Blues always make me happy, and Nikki seems to have taken to them like a duck to water too! Beautiful ideas that she will take you through step by step. These are only available from our stockists, you can find a list here.

Hi everyone, Nikki here from Addicted to Art. Tonight I would like to share a slightly quirky journal page using a classic Hot Picks stamp set - HP1504 and Seth Apter's new paints - FFSA03.

I am a paint lover - so when the opportunity came to use a new set of colours I was very happy to oblige! For this project I chose to use a journal-ling style with the colours - building up layers and stencilling.

The colours in this paint set; Blue Lagoon, Double Denim, Magic Moss and Butter are very easy to work with - the blue / green / yellow range a perfect combination.

I started with 2 sheets of Regular Smoothy card and began by scraping the paint colours (except Blue Lagoon) with an old credit card. I then dry brushed with Butter to knock back the colour a little bit and also to bring it all together.

Now for stencilling and stamping - I used Butter through PS036 (Kim Dellow)

...Blue Lagoon through PS016 (Emma Godfrey) for the brick like border

... and through PS034 (Kim Dellow), 

I added the wonderful script stamp from another Hot Picks stamp set - HP1501.

To stamp my focal images I prepared some book text with watery washes of the same paints and added a little stencilling.

I love how the three 'faces' look together - with their minimal colour over the blues, greens and yellows of the background. Blue Lagoon is a stunning colour and Butter is a wonderful soft yellow - which will coordinate with many other colours. It was the base of my background, the colour I used to knock back the bolder colours and then used to add lighter stencilled shapes over the green and blues. 

Nikki

Blog: Addicted to Art
Instagram: @A2Acardscraft
Pinterest: nikacton

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. 

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. 

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 2: Seth's Frescos will close 17:00 (London Time) Tuesday Feb 20th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

2018 #2 Seth's NEW Fresco paints: Bobbin Book with EAB {by Ruth Mescall}

2018 Topic 2: Seth's NEW Fresco Paints

 

Ohhhh I soooo love this!!! I'm sure you will too, Ruth always has such gorgeous ideas! Enjoy! ~ Leandra

Hi everyone, Ruth here today, and I'd like to share with you a little labour of love that I've been wanting to make for ages. I've had a wooden cotton reel in my stash that I thought would be perfect for a 'spool album'. I first stumbled across this idea a few years ago in the form of the beautiful artwork of yoko kimura and taking inspiration from there I thought  the honour of using Seth's new paint set 3 (FFSA03) in beautiful blues and green and Alison Bomber's wonderful word stamps would be the perfect combination. These are the stamp sets I've used EAB01, EAB02 and EAB03

It may be small, a less than 3 cm width strip to work with but you can still pack a lot of detail in......bit tricky to photograph too!

First challenge was how long do I make it and what substrate, I chose to use Khadi paper or a cotton rag paper as I needed something that would last and not fray away, and curl but not crease. An A4 piece produced 7 strips and I used them all! 

The front and back are different, the buttery yellow with white and blue splats allowing for future journalling provides a  perfect contrast to those gorgeous blues and greens. I loved how they blended together. The blue tones  could be the sea or a night sky against the hills and the yellow is pure sunshine.

Start at the end....once the strips were painted and stitched together I used some double sided tape to adhere it to the bobbin. I chose the final quote first as I though after reading the mini vignettes it would be a time for quiet contemplation. 

As I mentioned earlier a bit tricky to photograph a 200cm x 3cm strip however the the unwinding bobbin shows off the quotes and colours well. I chose background stamps to work with the quotes such as a music stave, flowers or leaves and used these additional stamp sets. ESN13, ELB27, ELB29, ELB30 and EEV 06.

My secret weapon was a stamp positioner as I couldn't afford to make mistakes. The zigzag stitching joined the paper but I also used straight stitching to separate the chapters.

 Archival stamping and a few gold splats just enhance the spaces between....and aren't those paint colours beautiful? 

 ..and finish at the start, a great quote to begin the story and all tied together with some turquoise cord.

Having made one I want to make another with Alison's other themed stamp plates and may try using an old fashioned clothes peg (?dolly peg) as a base and use collaged stamped fabric instead to give a wider base to work on. And of course I've loved working with Seth's new paints and can see that sea green, night sky effect appearing again...frequently! 

Hope you enjoyed the story and are tempted to create one yourself. Ruth x

Blog: a love to create
Facebook:
Twitter: argeum1 
Instagram: argeum1
Pinterest: Ruth Mescall

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. 

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. 

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 2: Seth's Frescos will close 17:00 (London Time) Tuesday Feb 20th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

2018 Topic 2: New Seth Apter Fresco Paints {Challenge and Winner}

 2018 Topic 2: New Seth Apter Fresco Paints

Well hello everyone, Darcy here with a new topic to get your teeth into, by far the most colourful topic!

Before we start, let's see who won the Topic 1: ATC's Challenge...

The winner is: Julia from Azenor Artwork

Email Darcy to claim your prize. Darcydotneedles@gmail.com

This is kind of an unusual Topic Challenge, as we are very focussed on Seth's New paints (we know how much you love a new paint colour). Obviously they are so very, very new, these babies are still filtering through to the PaperArtsy Stockists as we speak! However, you may have in your stash some of these, as the picture below shows you all of Seth's 16 paints together...either way, whether you have old or new, these 16 paints are fun to play with!

So, if you have not laid your crafty paws onto Seth's newest offering, then the topic challenge will still allow you to share your painterly adventures with all our Fresco Chalk Acrylic Paints. We do have rather a lot of colours on offer in addition to the limited editions (which now number 24 paints) there are another 96 on the racks! That's 120 in total!

Naturally, we are happy to see you using other brands too if you wish. It's all about having some fun and getting your paint apron on!

In the meantime, let's take a look at some past and present Fresco magic. 

The beauty of Fresco paint is just how versatile it is in terms of how well it works on all kinds of substrates, from paper to card, to glass, metal, wood and fabric. 

Anneke de Clerk shows us a perfect example here as she paints on fabric to create this fabulous pocket journal.

Jo Firth Young has also played with fabric to create this gorgeous gelli printed bag. 

Another bag, this time from Darcy 

and here Lauren Hatwell takes painting and stencilling to another level with this gorgeous cushion.

Frescos also work on wood, here Jo Firth Young has a gorgeous wooden frame, decorating simply, but the combination of beautiful colours and matte finish means this turns out looking professional. 

Above, on the frame, do you see the hint of a shadow?, this was done with a coloured pencil, but there is an amazing technique for creating shadows that when you see it you will want to try immediately. 

It is called the stencil bump, and here is Leandra to show you how. 

Of course Fresco finish paint is just as at home on paper and cards, especially our Smoothy card, as the colours are fresh and beautifully matte they work brilliantly for the minimal, clean look that Keren Baker is known for. 

and it is perfect for  Zinski characters, here Christine Dark has created a gorgeous  brayered background, leaving lots of texture to give these characters extra personality. 

Another project by Anneke de Clerck showing how Frescos work fabulously on glass bottles, the coverage is perfect and the matte finish is so classy. 

Fresco finish paints are compatible with so many techniques but also with other products. Here Ellie Knol combines them with Infusions. 

Next up a video from Leandra, showing Fresco paints with crackle glaze, over grunge paste and topped off with a touch of Treasure Gold, a real mash of products that all work in harmony. 

Here Gabrielle Price shows us the perfect marriage of grunge paste with fresco, texture and colour.. ahh be still my beating heart!

We are often asked to show customers how to create a background, and by far one of the easiest ways is with a brayer. Watch this video from Leandra as she shows how to create a painted background, also sometimes called a master board. 

Following on here we have Emma Godfrey showing all the steps from creating her masterboard right through to how she then uses the background to create cards. 

If brayering isn't your thing then Leandra has another video, this time showing her corner,corner side technique to ensure even distribution of colour. 

Another great technique is the transference of paint, this can be done by painting onto card and transferring this to another piece of card., known as mono printing. Seth After uses this technique a lot, here he is demoing from last year. 

Many people wonder if PaperArtsy Fresco finish paints can be used on gelli plates, the answer is yes, of course, with gorgeous results. 
Here we have a wonderful creation of layers resulting in this fab elephant. Follow the link through to see all the printing steps. 

Holylise

A project now from Carolyn Dube, not only showing gelli printing but taking an underused substrate ...an envelope... and turning it into art! Follow through to see how her mail art turned out. 

Another gelli print here, used in the background with a hand painted face over the top. I gelli printed onto smoothy card, using torn paper to mask off areas that could be kept clean ready for the focal image. So easy to do and you end up with a ready made frame for your drawing or stamped image. 

Darcy

You might think that Frescos are just craft paints, they are so much more, they are highly pigmented and can be used in free hand paintings too. 
Here is a journal page, which started with stencilling in the background with very bold Frfesco colours, these , once knocked back made the perfect base for a graphite drawing. Fresco finish creates a beautiful matte base, very easy to add sketches over the top. 

Darcy

Pam Carriker is a great artist and teacher around the globe, she too has used PaperArtsy Frescos to do some freehand painting. 

Pam Carriker

A fun technique to finish with, using shaving foam! Follow through to see how Suzanne Czosek used this unlikely tool to create a delicately marbled background. 

So, if you are lucky enough to have purchased Seth's new colours, or if you have his old colours, or if you have any of the other Fresco colours, now it is over to you. Bring out those little bottles of goodness and get painty. 
Push yourself, try a new technique, maybe you have seen one you have been just waiting to try, now is your chance. We want to see your painty creations so don't forget to link up. 

Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards, or the PaperArtsy Fresco Pinterest Page if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks!

~ Darcy

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. 

Our creative team love to read your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired!  

You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. 

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page.

The current topic link Topic 2: Seth's Frescos will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, 18th February 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy creative apron. Please make sure we can contact you as a prize winner - it helps if you share your contact info from the platform you opt to use.

Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!