Faith Art Handmade Greeting Cards for Creative Worship Stamps

 

Hi everyone and thanks for visiting!  I'm so happy to be a guest designer with Creative Worship Stamps, formerly Sweet 'N Sassy Stamps, this October.  I've enjoyed the quiet time in my art room stamping and coloring and have a few cards to share today as a result.  First, I wanted to create a "fallish" card design using a not so fall stamp set, the Encouraging Peonies stamp set.  I used the leaves from the set to stamp a pattern on my Bristol panel using Shady Lane VersaFine Clair ink.  

Next, I had a fun time splashing around pools of color over both the leaves and background.  The panel was really pretty at this point, but I wanted to go a step further, and pulled out a brush marker and colored around the leaves to make them pop.  

I added some splashes of metallic gold watercolor by FineTec on the background.  Next, I gold embossed a sentiment from the Hymn Word Art stamp set and rounded the corners with a punch.  I like how the background is a striking color, but also picks up the underlayer of watercolor.  It was a fun experiment!

Next I was really excited to stamp out the images from the Botanical Collages stamp set.  I was having fun with my watercolor palette and decided to try a similar technique with the bees collage.  I colored in the main imagery, then used black watercolor to fill in the surrounding space.  I used postal edge scissors on the mat.

I finished by layering over a white panel stamped with the Diagonal Plaid 6x6" background stamp.  Oh my goodness, I love this XL plaid stamp!  Thankfully I had some vintage seam binding in the right shade of gold to coordinate and complete the card.

For my last card today, I added another sentiment from the Hope Word Art stamp set and paired it with mushrooms from the Colors of Fall stamp set.  For the sentiment panel, I dipped a scrap into Distress Inks in Fired Brick and Crackling Campfire then stamped in VersaFine black.

I fussy cut the mushrooms after coloring with Distress Inks in Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen, with a touch of Crackling Campfire for the top.  I then layered over a page from a very old devotional, which I splattered with more CC inks.  I adhered the sentiment, then stamped the Sew Many Stitches stamps around the perimeter.  There's just something about this color combo that I come back to every fall for my paper crafts.  I hope you're inspired today and will check out these and other beautiful new stamp sets from Creative Worship Stamps.  Hugs, Autumn

See my previous posts using these stamps

HERE.

How to Make Handmade Bookmarks with Watercolor and Gel Prints

 

Hey everyone!  I'm back today to share a couple batches of my handmade bookmarks.  I'm being painfully honest with you by saying I was never much of a reader.  I just never took time to read books and even with art articles I was interested in, I would generally skim them over.  What a pity, I know!  Well, several years back I decided to truly become a REAL READER.  After a while, I decided to start documenting my reads in an Excel spreadsheet.  Long story short, we went to Mall of Georgia to the massive Barnes and Noble for my son's birthday this past weekend and I was perusing the isles, I kept noting, "hey I've read that!"  I was really surprised and happy!  It got me to wondering just how many books I've read these past few years so I did a quick tally and the grand total is 99 books!  <insert happy dance>

It's no surprise that I've also found a small addiction to making handmade bookmarks because I am prone to read about 3 to 5 novels simultaneously and have several art books in process as well, so I need a good many bookmarks, plus I love to give them as gifts.  Yes, that is definitely me showing why I was never a good reader, because I am totally ADD.  But actually reading has helped me a lot with focus and minor memory issues.  

I recently posted on IG my latest watercolor bookmark collection.  I like to take a 9x12 sheet of Canson watercolor paper and use it for practice, you know to get my hand warmed up to fluid motion and control.  

I simply paint one type of flower all over the page, then repeat with another and another, some leaves, berries, etc. until I have a nice full composition.  I then cut the sheet into 2.25x7" strips.  I use a corner rounder for the edges and add tassels.  I love the serendipity of seeing what sections appear in the cut apart pieces and the general looseness of these play pages.  I recommend THESE tassels from Amazon.  They are much nicer than others I've ordered and quite reasonable.  

Well, I also love love love do dabble in gel printing, especially with botanical elements, but also with stencils and my beloved PaperArtsy Fresco chalk acrylic paints.  

I have piles and piles of prints and thought it time to try out Susan McCreevy's technique for transforming them into beautiful artsy bookmarks.  I did not use matboard, as Susan did in her video HERE, but used an Avery permanent glue stick and adhered my pieces to black cardstock instead.  

Actually, these were some of my least favorite prints and maybe just one part of the page was worth using.  This made the process even more rewarding.  I love a good trash to treasure project indeed!  

I hope you like my bookmarks and my little story of overcoming an obstacle in my life, resulting in a truly beneficial pleasure.  Please let me know in the comments what some of your favorite reads are.  xx, Autumn

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Christmas in July Cards

 

Hi friends!  I found this post I prepared last year and forgot to publish!  Ha ha, I'm barely getting it published this year while it's still July, but loved these cards and wanted to still share.  I have a couple of Christmas cards for with Tim Holtz stamps.  Have you started your Christmas in July projects?  THIS year I have not, but last year I must have been more froggy!   Anyway, for this first set of cards I used the gorgeous Department Store stamp set to create some vintage style cards.  

Stampers Anonymous -Tim Holtz - Christmas - Cling Mounted Rubber Stamps - Department Store
Scrapbook.com

I dipped the panels in Distress Ink in Frayed Burlap and Gathered Twigs, then stamped the misted music in Vintage Photo.  I watercolored and fussy cut the images with more DI.

I finished with a sentiment stamped from PaperArtsy stamp set ESN29 by Sara Naumann.  It's such a wonderful sentiment that works perfectly with these bells.  

Next I created some very simple stamped cards, first using the Stripes and Holiday set to stamp the stripes on a background panel using Fired Brick Distress Ink.  Next, I stamped the Doodled Greetings 1 set in black and watercolored over it in the shape of a tree using Distress Inks in Peeled Paint and Rustic Wilderness.

Stampers Anonymous - Tim Holtz - Christmas - Cling Mounted Rubber Stamp Set - Doodle Greetings 1
Scrapbook.com

I haven't really used these doodle stamps much and really think they make beautiful CAS style cards.  I hope you're inspired to get crafty.  xx, Autumn

Ten Years and PaperArtsy Bird Stamps Accordion Book Tutorial

 

Hi friends!  I know it's been far too long.  I have taken a sabbatical for the past year to both care for my mom and recharge my creative batteries.  

My calendar popped up a reminder for June 3 that it was my blogaversary and I looked and saw that it had been ten years since I started SewPaperPaint!  WOW!  

I wanted to share a fun tutorial with you based on inspiration by Karen Stamper and Traci Bautista from this year's Sketchbook Revival Binge Fest.  What fun!  

My friend had spent the weekend with me for some creative fun and we decided to work in our accordion books following Karen Stamper's process of adhering various paper elements and masking/washi tapes to a long accordion paper, then adding inks or watercolor, spraying and letting the drips run free.  Oh my this was fun!  We both made two panels and I could have made ten.  Ha ha!

I really wanted to turn mine into a completed work.  Karen uses her pieces as a base for future architectural drawings, but that wasn't traveling - I've become such a homebody!  

Meanwhile, I was so inspired by Traci's use of a dagger brush and the way she held it upwards to produce beautiful, fluent leaves.  We had used a bottle of liquid watercolor in black by Blick and had a lot left in our little jars days later.  I thought it would be beautiful to add some of the leaves and happily reactivated the dried color with my wet brush.  It worked beautifully, though the black does turn quite blue when very wet.  

I fussy cut my practice pieces I had done on book pages and adhered them for a variety.  

I wanted to add some other imagery, so I picked out a set of Sara Naumann bird stamps by PaperArtsy, ESN66.  I stamped them in Versafine Clair Morning Mist (deep grey).  

This awesome quote is from a Dina Wakely Typed Ledger Sentiment Stack.  

Ranger Ink - Dina Wakley Media - Typed Ledgers - Set 01
Scrapbook.com

I decided to make covers for my accordion.  I cut chipboard to size and adhered more book pages & even a die cut castoff with Liquitex matte medium.  I braywered white gesso lightly onto each panel.  

Then I mixed a bit of white gesso with modeling paste and spread through two Scrapcosy stencils by PaperArtsy, PS108 and PS319 randomly for added texture.  

I used my very old Fiber Scraps e-z Walnut Ink Tintz (shown at the top of this post) and more of the liquid watercolor in black by Blick to add more drips.  

I cut out another leaf practice piece and stamped another bird to finish my cover.  

I painted the edges of the chipboard with my white gesso, then glued the accordion panel in place and left heavy books on it overnight.  I adhered the Sari ribbon I get from Felt Better on Etsy between the layers.  I am so pleased with the finished result.  I am very thankful to the entire team at Sketchbook Revival, especially Karen Abend for this wonderful journey.  I hope you enjoyed seeing this grungy little art book.  xx, Autumn

Kate Crane for PaperArtsy Colorful Bird Celebration Cards

 

Hi friends!  I'm delighted to be participating in the Topflight Stamps 8th Birthday Blog Hop today.  I’ve teamed up with some great designers to showcase celebratory projects using the unique products available at Topflight Stamps.  Please hop along with us and see all the beautiful talent from this group of amazing designers!  There is a master list of Hop stops on the Topflight Stamps Blog.  We are also Hopping on Instagram! You can start at the Topflight Stamps account @topflightstamps.

Did we mention there will be prizes?

I had a blast getting inky again and thought I'd share some simple steps for you to create your own colorful creation using the new Kate Crane stamps & stencils by PaperArtsy, available at TopflightStamps.com.  

I started by cutting a pair of 5.5" square panels from Bristol card.  Next, starting from lightest to darkest, I tapped my Distress Ink on my kraft mat, gave it a spritz of water and dipped lightly.  I used Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, then Peacock Feathers.  I dried the panels thoroughly between each color.  

Next I took the darling rainbow PaperArtsy Mini Stencil (PM035) and sponged it with Saltwater Taffy and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks using my Blender Brushes.  I tried to overlap the rainbow, sponging it twice with the two colors to create one harmonious rainbow design.  

Next I started stamping, first adding one of my focal images, Kate's Mini Floral Stamp 012 (KCM012), in Versafine Onyx Black.  I stamped an extra pair of flower heads to fussy cut & color.  Then I did some partial stamping onto the panels with Kate's Mini Dots Stamp 016 (KCM016) using Peacock Feathers.  

I stamped Kate's Leafy Mini Stamp 013 (KCM013) around the panels in black and used my brush markers to watercolor within the leaves and on the second flowerheads.  I stamped Kate's lovely Heart Bird Mini Stamp 009 (KCM009) in black as well and colored them, but cut the hearts away when fussy cutting.  I wanted to add a little dimension, so I punched a couple of 2" circles and dipped them in Squeezed Lemonade to create little sunshines.  

Finally, I added stamped sentiments using the Darkroom Door Enjoy Today Quote Stamp.  I hope you've enjoyed these whimsical creations and are inspired to get inky today!  

GIVEAWAY DETAILS
Of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday celebration without prizes! Topflight Stamps is giving four lucky winners $50 Gift Certificates to the store. Two winners will be chosen from commenters on the blog hop and two will be chosen from commenters on the IG hop. For a chance to win, make sure to visit the stops on the hop and leave a comment by April 1st. Winners will be announced on the Topflight Stamps blog on Thursday, April 3rd. U.S.A winners only due to shipping issues. Good luck everyone!