Paperartsy Blog project - Topic 11 - Enshrined

Hi everyone, hope your weekend has been a good one. I have a post on the Paperartsy blog tonight for their enshrined topic and using Kay Charley's gorgeous new stamps and stencil. When I saw the topic I immediately thought of a built up die cut aperture with the little dragonfly from the stamp set hidden inside.

Eclectica³ Kay Carley 018 (PS018)

PaperArtsy Stencil {EKC} 096 (PS096)

My starting point was master board using a pretty colour combination of Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics in Prawn, Butternut Squash, Sherbet, Caribbean Sea, Snowflake, Granny Smith and Infusions in Are you Cerise, Blackcurrant, Golden Sands, A bit Jaded,with Kay's beautiful new stamp set EKC18 and her new stencil PS096.(both new products available from stockists now - list here

I enjoy seeing what I get when playing with these products together in multiple layers, it's very satisfying.

The infusions are the base layer.

Stencilling over the infusions.

A it more infusions to incorporate the stencilling.

I stamped with dye inks over the masterboard.

There is brayered white paint before the focal stamping which helped to bring everything together and make the white stamping stand out. I often do this if I feel things are becoming lost in the background colour but I go very lightly and not everywhere so that I don't obliterate everything.

The focal images are stamped in white adding details to some of the stamping with dots of paint and fill in colour in some of the flower heads. I was pleased that I managed to line up the stamping over and under the doorway I created to hide the treasure within.

The die cut heart is cut from a piece of the masterboard plus two layers of thick corrugated card, the cut out from the masterboard decorates the inside of the door.

A lovely design detail of this stamp set is the sentiment which is widely spaced so that you can easily cut it apart, thanks for that Kay, it's a great idea!

In finishing off the I roughed the edges with a craft knife and added gilding wax but in hindsight I think a plain base layer might have been a nice addition but overall I love how the grasses and other focal stamping are lined up above and below, inside and outside the doorway making the doorway merge in.

If you haven't joined in with the enshrined challenge I hope you'll give it a go, there are so many ways it can be interpreted and so many styles of PaperArtsy stamps that will suit it.

Chris x