7gypsies Architextures Parchment Rub Ons - Vintage Art Reviews

Condom stamps by Condom Stampede (Thank you), Hero Arts (flowers) and unknown (passport stamp collage).

My Dad and I are making Thank You cards following the funerals of my uncle Dave and brother Larry. Tom helped a lot besides with the gluing. I'm feeling the effects that a lot of people feel afterward serious grief and trauma: disrupted sleep, fatigue, brain fog, articulation pain, muscle hurting, etc. These symptoms are normal for some people after trauma and severe stress, apparently, simply of course make everyday functioning relatively difficult for a time. A bike ride on Sunday with friends helped a lot. I asked Tom to be my jitney and help encourage me to do the ride. He pumped upwardly the cycle tires and pumped me up emotionally and took a hot epsom salt bathroom with me before nosotros got dressed for the ride to assist loosen up my stiff and sore body. With that I didn't need whatever pain meds like ibuprofen which I had taken from fourth dimension to time the previous week. He helped me break through a large barrier and office better. I was actually discouraged and scared past how sore I was and how bad I felt. I'm very grateful to accept a loving husband to help me become over some rough spots and build on little victories to gradually amend over time. This is extremely hard even with assistance. I hope and pray that people out there who need back up can go it from somewhere. As I find grieving and mental health resources online I'll keep adding them to my self intendance Pinterest lath.

In the meantime, Dad and I are extending the effort to make cards considering we have abundant supplies on manus we enjoy using and we find the activity healing and therapeutic. But with not feeling terribly well I had to come up with a card pattern that was relatively simple then that we would non tax ourselves beyond our electric current abilities to make them. They are just challenging enough to force the states to concentrate a bit but not so hard nosotros want to surrender in frustration. I take to take a lot of breaks, but I'yard not giving up! Of course if yous desire to brand your own like cards you could utilize any suitable sentiment in place of "Thanks" to fit any message you want to send.

Supplies You'll Need

Bare cards with envelopes – Dad had a whole agglomeration of envelopes in different sizes already on hand, so nosotros cut plain white newspaper to the envelope width and folded the pieces in half to fit. If you prefer, yous can purchase blank cards with matching envelopes at craft stores.

Contrasted papers in light, neutral colors for the two largest areas on the menu, with subtle patterns on them. The blueprint on the paper should exist light enough to stamp on in medium to dark colors.

Assorted papers in more contrasting neutral colors and patterns for the narrow stripe on the front of each card.

Condom stamping ink in a "harvest gold" colour, a taupe colour, and blackness.

Make clean scrap paper to help with gluing

Optional – interesting die cuts, design record (also known a paper tape or washi tape) and stickers for extra interest

Tools You'll Need

Paper trimmer

Metallic ruler for fierce paper

Scissors

Glue sticks

Squeegee, os folder or burnishing tool

Rubber stamps. My friend Kate recently gave me a large collection of pre-owned stamps. I volition gradually be offering some for auction in my online shop as I have time to become them listed. I did set aside some of my favorites to proceed for my own drove (of course). To start out my Dad and I selected for these cards 2 Thank You stamps, two postage related designs, and three wildflower silhouette stamps. Unfortunately I'one thousand non selling the verbal stamps I used in this card considering I really love them and at that place were no duplicates in the pre-owned collection Kate gave me, simply you can employ similar stamps in their place.

Instructions

Glue a narrow strip of paper that is from the higher-contrast selections nearly one/3 from either the left or right from the side of the bill of fare.

2. Cutting and tear out pieces of paper in light neutral colors with subtle background patterns and mucilage them to the fronts of the cards on either side of the strip you lot glued down previously. I tore the edges that overlap the central stripes for visual interest. On some of the cards I added some stickers and design record for a little extra interest if I idea it was needed. As y'all'll see in the terminal graphic featuring variations on the original pattern, I added some hexagon die cuts I had made some time ago. When I was designing the prototype card, I asked Dad to pick out stamps he liked from my collection, and he besides took out these hexagons, so I looked for ways to use a few and I liked them on some of the cards. Trim the paper to the edges of the card forepart when done gluing.

3. Stamp three blossom stamps on the wider background side of the card in harvest gilt or similar ink colour. My Dad switched to a reddish-brownish ink later in the process which too looked very good.

4. Postage stamp a Thank You stamp in black, and if you lot think the carte du jour needs a little more interest, stamp postage related designs or another accent stamps of your pick in a taupe ink color as in my example at the top of this article. You might decide your carte du jour needs more or less done to it depending on what background papers you choose. See the graphic below for a bunch of variations that we made.

Here is a collage of some of the cards we fabricated showing how many different means you can apply the same stamps. The additional lower example thank yous stamp you see here is past Tim Holtz. Dad did most of the stamping and decided some of the cards didn't demand and then much on them which is a fine design choice you tin can make when the papers are interesting. If you lot would like to download a high-res version of the in a higher place graphic (with more designs on it) to employ in projects like stickers or faux postage sheets here is a link:
Printable Thank You Graphics

Additional Resource:

My Pinterest lath for Greeting Card Thought and Sketches

My Facebook album for complimentary coloring and paper crafting downloads

With more time and energy, I probably would have created a carte that uses stamps that I really sell, some of which I designed. For now the of import thing was to brand something nice that is as well fast and like shooting fish in a barrel. But if y'all want to browse my collection of stamps in my Etsy shop here it is: Stamping

Many years ago, as i of my Postal service Art projects, I used to fold two-inch wide pieces of paper into little accordion books and decorate them with rubber stamps and pieces of paper that I cut out from incoming Mail service Art and busy envelopes. I carved a rubber postage stamp with a little graphic of a Mail Box and the words "Bits of Postal service" to postage on the piddling book covers. Before sending them out, I dated and numbered them on the back. I saved one instance for my archives and made a few color copies to employ later every bit collage inspirations. While I was getting the color copies made, it came up in chat with the copy center worker that one of the black and white machines had crimson toner in information technology. I fabricated a lot of copies with the cerise toner considering I knew I'd find uses for the copies later on!

One of my original mini accordion books from 1998 with some color and red ink copies I made at the time for future collage work. — I of my original mini accordion books from 1998 with some color and red ink copies I made at the fourth dimension for futurity collage piece of work.

Some of my old collage papers along with my Mail service Archives had been in storage unseen for 20 years or more. I've been getting some of them out lately as I movement stuff. With fresh eyes, I'm getting some new ideas and inspiration for improving old ideas. I decided to have these one-time copies and make new versions of the mini accordion books.

First I cut upwards the copies that weren't already in strips into two inch wide pieces, the aforementioned size every bit the originals. And then I folded them and glued 1 ruby-red ink copy to one color re-create dorsum to back to make longer books.

Old copies with color ink and red ink cut into two-inch strips, folded and glued to make mini accordion books. — Old copies with color ink and scarlet ink cut into two-inch strips, folded and glued to make mini piano accordion books.

I had a large paper crafting stash by 1998 already because I started making collages in 1985 in my first college design class and I've been collecting interesting papers for collages e'er since. In the intervening years, there are a lot more paper crafting supplies available and some of them are a lot more to my sense of taste than what was bachelor in the late 1990s. Dorsum in the day I would have said I was a "weird" stamper not a "cute" stamper. I as well bask sophisticated antique imagery and have a lot of papers from two of my favorite brands, Tim Holtz and 7 Gypsies, in my stash. I decided that the Tim Holtz thought-ology Correspondence newspaper pad was a good fit for this project and I glued some of the postal themed textures onto a selection of the blank pages of my books. The dominant colors in this series are ruby white and bluish which looks skillful with the red toner ink on some of my papers and the postal motifs fit the "Bits of Postal service" theme.

Adjacent I went through I box of newspaper scraps that I keep for pedagogy a card grade that I run from time to time on how to brand greeting cards from little scraps, rubber stamps and stencils. I took out a option of papers that I thought would make skillful backgrounds and glued them in a random fashion to every other page, leaving some blank.

Mini accordion books ready for adding content. — Mini accordion books prepare for adding content.

There is an old play tricks that I learned in drawing course long ago to help get unstuck if you are facing a blank piece of paper with no ideas – draw a quick frame around your drawing expanse before you lot start. This helps because information technology'south less daunting to start drawing on a paper that you've fabricated some marks on than a bare surface. I become the same creative boost from using flake papers for maybe a similar reason – in that location is already some content there, even so sparse and random, and that is often all I need to become me going in a creative direction.

The little accordion books I've fabricated are pictured in a higher place fix to add content. What kind of content would that exist? There are lots of things I could practice with these little books. I could write, draw, postage stamp or paste in words and/or images to make a finished artistic statement. I could use them as a storage and brandish page for tiny works of art such as postage stamps, false postage stamp stamps or tiny photos and images. I could send them off into the Mail Art network every bit an "add together and pass on" project. What would you make?

tiny books made by various artists For additional inspiration, here are some samples of tiny books made by other people that I've received through the mail over the years. People of any age and ability level tin make tiny books. Why non try 1?

My newspaper crafting and mixed media supply stash is substantial. Recently when I wanted to make some vintage inspired handmade journals as gifts I was faced with a pretty overwhelming number of options. Sometimes if you have also many supplies you can experience overwhelmed and a picayune inhibited. To get my creativity revved up I decided to run across what I could come with if I express myself to iii brands only – Canvass Corp Brands, Tim Holtz and DCWV. Those three brands still give y'all a huge number of options don't they – not much of a limitation! I narrowed the possibilities a footling further by setting out items from this list in my studio:

7gypsies Gypsy Paper Pack Drove – American Vintage

Architextures™ 12×12 Papers – Drove I

Canvas Corp Black & Kraft Postcard Paper

7gypsies Gypsy Moments Cards: Are We There Yet?

7gypsies Gypsy Newspaper Pack Collection – Gypsy Seamstress

Architextures™ 12×12 Papers – Collection 2

Canvass Corp Nautical: Blackness and Ivory Compass Newspaper

Architextures™ Parchment Rub-On – Build

Canvas Corp The Watering Can: Seed Packets on Ivory Paper

7gypsies binding rings

7gypsies ephemera (discontinued)

7gypsies papers (discontinued)

7gypsies newspaper tape (discontinued)

DCWV Everyday Essentials Stack

DCWV Heirloom Stack

Tim Holtz design tape

Tim Holtz papers

Tim Holz ephemera

Tim Holtz mini brads

Ok I cheated a niggling bit – in the second journal I needed some patterned translucent paper and then I slipped in some Vellum Swirls paper past Paper Pizazz.

Yeah, that is still a lot of product to cull from, but information technology'south at least a somewhat more manageable subset of my stash! These slide shows characteristic 8.5 x 5.five inch pages in pairs, starting with the front and back covers.

Vintage Wait Journal #1

Vintage Look Journal #two

For many years I've responded to Christmas Cards by sending out New Year cards – I explained why I do that in this previous web log post: Why I Send New Yr Cards Instead of Christmas Cards.

I started this year's design by collaging small pieces of newspaper onto scrap newspaper strips that were about 3/4 to one i/4 inches broad. I began with the numbers "2018" which I cut from the 7gypsies papers Paddington Blackfriars and American Vintage: 12×12 State Plates Newspaper. I filled in the paper strips with assorted bit papers from my modest flake box.

Next I rubbed on some images from the gear up Architextures™ Parchment Rub-On – Build which were a skilful fit for my chosen theme "Let's build a neat 2018!". I added a flake of Tim Holtz newspaper tape.

I trimmed my strips with scissors to make the edges equally even a possible then I scanned them and used Adobe Photoshop software to refine my trimming job and arranged some of the strips into a rectangular digital collage for the front of the card. I made a selection outline of all the areas with the year numbers and turned upward the contrast so that they would stand out more. I added some grid designs and hardware looking graphics using Adobe Illustrator and so I saved a PDF file of my cards to take to the printer.

While I was working on the collages for my New Yr card, I also completed a project for Canvas Corp Brands. I've been selected for the 2018 CCB Creative Crew , the design squad that makes samples and comes up with projects for Canvas Corp Brands products. Our first challenge was to decorate a 4 x iv inch canvas in a way that highlights our personal style.

To create the above decorated mixed media canvas I cut three of my collage strips to fit the 4 x 4 inch stretched canvas from Canvass Corp.

I squirted some StazOn Timber Brown permanent rubber stamping ink onto an old food lid to use as a palette. I used the side of an eraser to print a line of Timber Brown along the edges of each collage strip.

I painted my canvas with yellowish acrylic pigment and allowed information technology to dry out.

And so I applied Tattered Angels Color Launder paint in Rose Gilt with a brush along the sides and effectually the edges of the sheet.

To finish my canvas, I glued the collage strips to the front with Turbo Tacky Glue and nailed tiny tacks into the corners of each newspaper slice. All done!

I finally fabricated a card with the "Happy Thanksgiving" rubber postage from my Carolyn'south Stamp Store collection. I also experimented with making backgrounds with a pigment roller, wood dowels and cord. With flower and foliage rubber stamps, some paper record and scrapbooking newspaper I made a menu blueprint that can be adapted to different fall themes.

Read well-nigh how I did it on the Schnarr's Hardware blog:
Textured Backgrounds For Autumn Leaf Greeting Cards

storage box out of recycled mat board

When matting artwork, it's common to have a lot of mat lath scraps left over. I had a number of scraps that were large enough to brand minor open up top storage boxes. If you would like to make one similar, here is how I did information technology.

You volition demand:
5 square mat board pieces of equal size
An assortment of collage papers
An array of tools for decorating paper – I used stencils, rubber stamps, paint, printmaking ink, markers and colored pencils
Yes Paste
Make clean scrap paper
Os folder or Squeegee multipurpose tool
Old credit card or your favorite glue-spreading tool
Acrylic medium
Paint brush
Tim Holtz Thought-ology Metal Box Corners – they come in a package of 8 and you'll need 4 corners per box
Pencil
Awl
Clamper of sometime wood
Metal corner braces
Erstwhile belts or strips of leather or faux leather
Metal brads

Get-go take your five mat lath pieces and decorate both sides with collage papers combined with the paper embellishing techniques of your choice. Apply water resistant inks because you lot'll be applying acrylic medium over your collages later on. Aye Paste is my favorite glue for sticking downwards large pieces of paper that have to expect flat and complimentary of wrinkles. I utilize the gum with a credit card to get a overnice thin layer then afterward laying down the newspaper piece I'grand gluing I put a clean piece of scrap paper on top and burnish with a bone folder or Squeegee tool to become a tight, flat seal.

While working on this project at Perennial, another fellow member asked me where I become my paper ephemera. The short answer to that question is that I've been collecting papers since the year I kickoff got turned on to making collages – 1985! A more involved answer is to suggest some of the following sources of interesting papers:

Old magazines and catalogs.
Is someone you know doing some major cleaning? Offer to assist in exchange for keeping interesting papers. This is a skillful way to get erstwhile graphic pattern samples, newspapers, books, maps, photos, negatives, stamps, envelopes, tickets – all kinds of peachy stuff.
Buy some reproduction ephemera from a craft supplier.
Salvage your art and paper craft "failures" and experiments. Whenever you have actress paint or ink, add together a little more embellishment to your scraps until you get something you like. Toward the terminate of this article are examples of some corking results I got using this method – Fun With Stencils.
Check austerity stores, estate sales, garage sales, flea markets, etc.
Shop a teachers resources recycling eye like Leftovers, etc.
Make your ain with any newspaper technique that you lot like, or a combination of techniques, such as rubber stamping, stenciling, painting, printing, making paste paper, rubbings, handmade paper, figurer printouts, cyanotypes or drawing.
Use the decorative newspaper pads commonly sold for scrapbooking. In that location are designs for every gustatory modality and decorating style.

When yous are satisfied with your designs, brush both sides of your mat board pieces with acrylic medium for immovability and allow dry.

Adjacent start assembling your box from the bottom up, using the box corner hardware and the metal brads included in the package. Use a pencil to marker where the holes go and punch out the holes with an awl. An onetime chunk of forest is handy for protecting your work surface from the awl signal. Be carful with the awl and aim it away from yourself while pressing down and through. Push button brads through holes and spread the tines from the inside of the box to assemble the iv bottom corners.

At this betoken the top four corners are loose and flapping and so you'll need something to stabilize them and go on your box shaped like a cube. At Perennial I rummaged through the spare hardware bins and constitute a couple of metallic corner braces which worked wonderfully when attached with brass brads. There were only 2 available then I looked for something else for the other corners. You lot can purchase metal corner braces at a hardware shop and utilize them on all four tiptop corners if you like.

Storage box with pieces of old belts on the corners — Storage box with pieces of old belts attached to some of the corners with metal brads

At Perennial in that location is a box of erstwhile belts and belts have holes! Idea! I selected some to cut down and use on the other corners. Attached with brads, they piece of work well with the "grunge" await of my boxes. If you lack old belts, you can use a variety of materials that tin can be cutting into strips and have holes poked in it – plastic from old lids, scraps of faux leather, scraps of real leather, thin metal – what do you take lying around that you desire to try?

Paper crafting supplies include things you apply in scrapbooking, rubber stamping, journaling, card making, planners and more. Paper arts and crafts companies make coordinated lines of products that are designed to expect nifty together. Recently I made samples for a promotion at JoAnn Fabrics and Crafts in which I used just products sold in their shop. Inside that criteria I did a picayune mixing of brands. I'1000 continuing to piece of work on the journal prototype because I'm withal having major fun with it. I'm developing some templates to help combine the Heidi Swapp journaling products I was demonstrating with making a custom planner. I'k bringing in more production that I already ain from other brands. Information technology's challenging to get the different product lines to harmonize together simply information technology's satisfying and fun as well. I'yard getting some results that please me, anyway!

In the center are some Heidi Swapp journaling pages and stickers. I picked out product from my stash that I idea might blend well. The Heidi Bandy product line is pretty easy to blend considering it includes both geometric and floral motifs. My layouts can go in either a traditional or modern management – or I can attempt to blend the ii every bit the Heidi Swapp designers have washed. I looked for similarities in colors, shapes and patterns.

Samples of Journaling Page Layouts — Brands I mixed on these pages include Heidi Swapp, Tim Holtz, Project Life, Fiskars and DCWV. On the right side I made a pocket out of kraft carte du jour stock and a cut-down Project Life bill of fare, embellished with vellum paper, stickers and paper tape.

Journaling Page Layout Samples — Heidi Swapp journaling pages with Tim Holtz paper record and miscellaneous papers cut with a hexagon punch past Artistic Memories. Making some of the hexagons blank gives the design breathing room and too space for small-scale stamps, stickers or writing later. The black bounden rings are past 7gypsies.

In June of this year I took a trip with my Dad to Toronto and New York Urban center. I knew alee of fourth dimension that nosotros would exist traveling on Begetter'southward Day, and so I made a gift to present to him on the trip – a handmade journal for him to write in each twenty-four hour period, which he did. The journal was designed and then that afterward the trip we could add photos and ephemera and mayhap write more than virtually our memories. I'one thousand in the process of getting both of our photos printed so we can start working on it. I expect this will exist a long term project and nosotros will savour the time together that we spend on information technology and memories of the great trip nosotros had. Below are photos of some of my favorite parts of the journal, as they looked before whatever content was added. In the hereafter I'll exist sharing some our favorite layouts equally we get them done.