Monday 17 July 2017

Awash With Aqua - PaperArtsy Blog


Hello friends! Today I'm going to share a star book with you. It's a seven-point star and each 'point' is made up of three parts. There's a lot of paper used here, but don't let that worry you. Once the components are prepared, it's really easy to put together - I promise!


I started, as I often do, with a masterboard (or two) using all of the aqua range of PaperArtsy Fresco Acrylics...


...although, in the end, I mainly stuck to Mermaid, Caribbean Sea and Beach Hut. I had a 6"x6" book in my  mind and decided that Heavyweight Smoothy Card would be perfect. That all changed in the end. 

As I mentioned, each 'point' of the star book is made up of three main parts. In my book, each part consisted of papers measuring 15", 13" and 11". All of these (already coloured) pieces are folded in half and joined at each end with double sided tape.


Then each outer section is completely adhered to the next to form the star shape. I brayered Fresco paints onto the large pieces, used Distress Oxides (Salty Ocean, Cracked Pistachio) on the middle pieces and sprayed Lindy's Stamp Gang (Starburst - Shabby Turbine Teal, Flat Fabio - Caribbean Blue) onto the small pieces. The overall size of the book finished up as 7.5"x5.5", which was determined by the larger section of each point.


I didn't have any aqua coloured ribbon for the closure so I stained some neutral seam binding with a combination of Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio Distress Stains. Perfect!


I adhered the ribbon around the outside of the book with double-sided tape before I began the covers. I used Fresco brayered Smoothy Card, adding more interest and accents with masks and stencils from Emma Godfrey (PM006) and Kim Dellow (PS040), and smaller stamps from Elena (ZA15) with Ranger Archival Ink (Aquamarine). 


I adhered the painted papers around two pieces of mountboard to form the front and back covers.

And so, at last, the real fun begins. Using ElenaZinskiArt stamps from her new release (ZA13 & ZA15), I used Jane Davenport's bright watercolours in the same aqua shades. My reasoning was that I could use the same umbrella theme of aqua but they would look a bit different to the background if I used a different medium. Giving focal images the 'pop' they deserve is challenging when using a single colour scheme. Well, these  gorgeous new Zinski stamps deserve the biggest pop ever.


Finally, some doodling - my favourite thing to do. I used Prismacolor pencils to add definition to the focal images, Sakura Glaze pens on the flowers and dangles and highlights all over with a white Signo Uniball pen. All that was left to do was to adhere the covers securely with double sided tape and glue (those covers are staying put!)...


...and mat the pages and my very first star book was finished. 





I hope I've inspired you to try making a star book of your own. It really is much easier than it looks. Of course, the size, colour and embellishments are all down to you.

All this talk of Star Books is making me want a coffee...

Love and peace,

Wendy x


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2 comments:

  1. this is a stunning book, and it's great to see in more detail how to put it together.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Helen. I was really pleased with the result. I'll probably make more of them in future. Same, but different ;-)

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