A little background noise…

A little background noise…

Hi there,

Thanks for popping in. All set to go-a-painting with the girls! We’re on emulsion, Dave’s on glossy blue.

So many of you have invested in our Mixed Impression texture stamps which sold out double fast on telly before Christmas! I think we need a few demos to show you how to use them now!! Here’s a very simple technique, using the Fabric Texture stamps as a background for some very lovely old Claritystamps….

This is the one we are playing with today.

We shall use it on a sheet of acetate, so it bends. Ink up the A6 stamp in the set (the second largest) with an Orange Blossom Archival ink pad just at one end.

Press the stamp down onto the Clarity Stencil card. You can see clearly here, 1st generation ink and second generation ink, when you go back in and press the stamps somewhere else. What we are trying to achieve here is a loose, open edge, not a clear frame. So use the open, not squared off, edge of the stamp and the middle.

Use a second colour and again, press the stamp down onto the card. It’s all about the layers and shades of colour. The most difficult thing is knowing where to stop. So I shall park this one for now…

…and show you one with a sharper edge. Same stamp. Press it down completely on another sheet of Stencil card, to blot it and establish the edge.

Ink up the stamp with the Orange Blosson Archival again, and press down in the centre, letting the outer edges just rest on the card. You can see how this is creating an outer fringe, can’t you.

Add the second colour. No need to clean the stamp in between layers of colour. Just blot it once on scrap first; that will get rid of the first colour mostly, and give you a blend the next time.

Use the edge of the stamp lightly to create the frame. Use a third colour randomly if you like. I added a flash of blue teal. You have a lot more control than you think. I figured out that the most important thing is to take your time and work out which part of the stamp you’re going to use where – BEFORE you APPLY INK! In other words, look at the piece, decide where you want to add a flash of texture or colour, then ink up the stamp (I often check on scrap first), then plant. Thing is, it is the background, the backdrop. So it ain’t over till it’s over, and the central image takes centre stage, the limelight. Keep going.

Check out the two backgrounds below. One is loose edge, one is tighter. Entirely up to you. Same stamp, same colours, same card.

Let’s add a couple of faves. How about the Treescape. Blimming love this stamp! I mixed a brown and black ink pad.

And suddenly, the background fell into place….

Or what about the bird tree? Another wonderful image which Annie drew years ago. See how the base of the tree is floating? You can leave it like that,

or you can ground it with the edge of the texture stamp,

like this…

So we’ve just added a baseline with the edge of the same texture stamp. Pretty easy once the penny drops.

You just have to relax a bit, and trust. I use the open stamp with the closed background,

and the closed stamp with the open background. No rules in my book!

Beauty is a lovely word, isn’t it.

Decided to give this piece a bit of a vignette, using the blending tool and the Old Parchment Artistry ink. Amazing how green it gets when you add pressure to the ink!

Flash of teal too.

The background noise is perfect, I think. Not too much – and not too little.

Lots of depth – and all done with one stamp.

Right. That’s it. No time to hang about! Got to go a-painting!

Have you checked out the Half-Price Clarlity Fresh Cut Die Sale yet? Plus club member’s discount ?? It’s on till Monday midnight.

Love and Hugs,

Barb xxx

The ingredients I have used above are linked here:

Bird tree

Treescape stamp

Mixed Impression Woven Fabric Stampset

Clarity stencil card

Archival Ink pad selection

17 thoughts on “A little background noise…

  1. For a moment there I thought you had added an inky fingerprint and then I realised it was part of the texture stamp! Now I know what to use when I manage to make an accidental blob on a card!!! Happy painting party – a bit of Fleetwood Mac in the background and a good singalong will make the time fly x

  2. Hi Barb, love these arty pieces, have the stamps on my wish list, but indulged in the die sale a bit for this month. Hope the painting turns out well. Bx

  3. It looks as if you’ve got a couple of little houses in the background of the one with the bird tree stamp! I haven’t got these background stamps yet but I will ! have a good painting day. X

  4. Thank you for the step by step today, will be lovely to get more use from our older stamps. Good luck with the painting, I can remember when we were decorating we had on a Dire Straits CD and played it repeatedly as all the others had been put away. Whenever we hear a track from it now it takes us right back to our wallpapering. Seen the die sale, be on it on Monday.xxx

  5. Hi Barb,
    This is lovely, thank you for the step by step. Love the colours you have chosen too. I’m really pleased that I bought these stamps when they were on before Christmas, a bit of an expense, but well worth it. My Doodleology stamps came today and they too are a brilliant addition to my crafty stash. I’m looking forward to playing with them soon. It’s been so windy up here today from about 3am, so apart from the food shopping I haven’t ventured outside. I have bought a ukulele ( well Dave did!) and another of my goals for this year , apart from getting more into mixed media, is to teach myself how to play yet. Got it yesterday and after 10 minutes my fingers were sore! Have managed 2 half hour sessions today so that’s not too bad! Have fun painting! Love and hugs,Alison xx

  6. Great use of the older stamps with the new texture background stamps. Received my Doodleology stamps today but will have to wait for my wrist/thumb to recover before trying them out. Might be a long job, so frustrating as I have so many ideas flying around in my head.
    Hope the painting is going well.
    Hugs, 🍒🍒🍒

  7. Hi love these stamps haven’t played with mine yet. Liking the colour of the backgrounds too . Enjoy your painting x

  8. You really are amazing! A day of painting ahead of you, yet you still find the time to blog such a detailed project. Thank you!
    Have a fun day, listening to lots of great music and eating doughnuts, no doubt 😂 Hugs. Annette X

  9. Hope your painting went ok, I am sure the 3 of you had a great time. We have almost finished our lounge & its a great feeling when it all comes together & you can see the end result. Its just crafting in a different guise !!
    Loved the step by step, the stamps are on my wish list but can see they can be used in so many ways.

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