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Friday 18 October 2019

Happy in sunshine and in rain!

Hello all.  I'm on another round of quick sample-sharing from the recent launch of my latest PaperArtsy quote stamps (you can see all the samples in one shot at the end of the post).  I opened my Stowaway Heart to you earlier in the week, using EAB12 Travel & Journeys, and today's post is doubling up with quotes from both EAB13 Sunshine & Rain and EAB14 The Happiness Edition.  Why do the double?  Well, because it's Zinski time...


Somehow, at some point in the sample making, I always find I want to put some words in the mouths of one or two of these quirky characters.  As I had always hoped when I originally had the idea of word stamps, they can be adapted to all sorts of styles and genres.  So although the Zinskis are out of my usual crafting style, it's fun to see what they have to say for themselves!









The Sunshine & Rain tags are, of course, in the blue/yellow/purple colour palette assigned to that stamp plate.


















And the bashful little guy in this tag has the happy blue/green/turquoise/yellows of the Happiness Edition samples.
















The backgrounds are done with some more watery brayering.  For the Sunshine & Rain tags, there's Summer Sky, Periwinkle, Forget-me-not, Cheesecake and Haystack, and I left quite a bit of white space for a brighter effect.















The Happiness tag was done with a bigger spritz of water onto the paints on the craft mat (Summer Sky, Aquamarine, Cheesecake, Haystack, Lawn) before brayering.
















That high water content got me this fabulous effect, almost like an Impressionist painting.

I'll confess to being more than a little bit in love with this background!















I used the stamping platform for these tags.  It means you can stamp the figure, paint with opaque as well as translucent Frescos, and then re-stamp to recapture all the extra little details... the stripes on the jumper, the buttons on the jacket.















The quotes are stamped in Jet Black Archival on the Sunshine & Rain pair.  When I'm playing with the Zinskis, I generally leave off the actual author of the quote... after all, it's meant to be the character talking.












I usually do this by inking up the words and then putting a small scrap of tape over the author's name.  In this case, it's the poet Walt Whitman - sorry, Walt!













The quote paired with my favourite little Zinski girl is by writer Katherine Mansfield.  I doodled frames around the words in both black and white ink.













The black word stamping looks very bold and full-on to me, given I hardly ever stamp in black.  It's balanced by some dark tissue tape shadows underfoot.

The figures themselves are stamped in Watering Can Archival, just that little bit softer than black.














The words I've put in the mouth of the other little chap actually belong to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  If you've not read his book The Little Prince - which these words are from - I highly recommend it.

I just think his expression is perfect for the words!













This time I've stamped in Olive Archival (much more my comfort zone!) for a lovely tone-on-tone look.














The grassy hillocks under his feet are also stamped in green. 

















And the stamping platform was in action again to get the nice clear stripes on the sun, both on his tag...

















... and on the sunny one of the two Sunshine & Rain tags.

















Some framing with a couple of the border stamps (all the stamps used here are from ZA02 and ZA03), stamped in the complementary paint colours, and plenty of splatter, and we're pretty much done.
















All three tags are mounted onto white card...

















... and have some white twine to top them off, so that they all co-ordinate nicely.










Speaking of co-ordinating... here's just a quick insight into my thinking on these colour palettes.  I wanted to give each stamp set its own look, but the samples all needed to work together on the PaperArtsy display boards for the trade shows.


Having the same colours but in different combinations from collection to collection means you can quickly tell which stamp set the words come from, but there is a cohesive and hopefully attractive look to them when they're all mixed up together too.

We're back to some more autumnal crafting next.  If I get time to write the post, I hope to be with you at some point over the weekend, but in the meantime thank you so much for stopping by and happy crafting all!

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.
Anthony J. d'Angelo

26 comments:

Helen said...

Just brilliant Alison! Just love the colours, too.

Valerie-Jael said...

Your quirky and fun tags are fabulous and happy. Hugs, Valerie

My name is Erika. said...

Those zinski stamps are fun and quite happy. They work great with your quotes. That bigger tag where the 2 are looking at each other is so sweet. Hope you have a wonderful weekend Alison. Hugs-Erika

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I've seen those characters before, but never knew they were called Zinskis. I agree that they seem to need words coming from their mouths. I like how you grounded each of them, too. Very lovely colors and backgrounds in these three tags.

What an impressive collection. Yes, I can tell which set belongs to each, but they are truly impressive as an overall collection, too. You are SO gifted.

Margaret Mifsud said...

These are totally brilliant Alison! I love the quirky characters and each colour palette is so gorgeous!! I really must try that watery brayer technique .. it looks amazing!! What a fabulous collection of samples you have created! Enjoy the weekend!! hugs xx

Craftyfield said...

You've done such a good job matching the quotes and the characters! A lovely set of tags, Alison.

froebelsternchen said...

I love your quirky tags and I adore this display of all the designs together Alison! AWESOME!
Susi xxx

ann barnes said...

These are so fun, I love seeing which quote you pair with each figure! Super tags

hazel said...

I love everything about your tags Alison, they fun and quirky, the colours are lovely and the quotes are great.
xxx Hazel.

Chrissy said...

Fabulous fun tags Alison..great colours and wonderful sentiment stamps..

Luv CHRISSYxx

Evelyn Walter said...

Wow, how busy you have been, dear Alison! Really gorgeous!
Well, I am not a lover of the Zinski stamps, but your tags are amazing!
Have a wonderful sunday!
Evelyn xxx

Ann Chuang Crafts said...

So cute tags, Alison! I love the colors you used.
Ann x

Meggymay said...

Fun, happy, make you smile tags, its a fabulous set.
Yvonne xx

Redanne said...

The Zinski characters just make me smile, they are so fun and quirky and you have brought them to life with your beautiful backgrounds and wonderful sentiments. I love them! Anne xx

craftytrog said...

I love these fun tags Alison. Your quotes made me smile too.
Alison x

Dorthe said...

Gorgeous backgrounds for these little fun figures, playing happily on your tags today.
They show happiness and joy, fun and laughter, and the beautiful affirmations adds to that feeling. What a bunch of tags you have created - you are amazing !!
Hugs, Dorthe xoxo

Sue said...

Oh what fabulous tags, so much fun, and these quotes work perfectly with the quirky images. Your pile of tags looks amazing as I'm sure they did at the trade shows xx

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

That's a brilliant collection of tags and I just love those images and the gorgeous colours are perfect. Sending hugs, Angela xXx

Patty O'Malley said...

Adorably fun tags that brighten up a rainy day here!

Mac Mable said...

What a fun post, so whimsical and brought a happy smile to my face. Great colour combinations and a fabulous coherence x.

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Your samples all lovely and so true to you in those cool colors! These delights are so fun with the whimsy peeps, and love the quotes, especially the happy by 3...so so sweet!

Neet said...

What fun the Zinski's are. They bring joy to the viewer and I am sure they brought joy to you whilst you worked on each of your tags.
I love the way you have used delicate colour in each of them and the added droplets to the background make for variety which is pleasing to the eye. As you say, the words appear to be just coming from the mouths of the little characters. I love the way you used your stamping platform to act as a basis for colouring your figures and then re-stamping to get all the extra details. Something I have never thought of but will in future.
Once more, beautiful work Alison - your talent knows no bounds.
Hugs, Neet xx

Let's Art Journal said...

Wow, you did get busy with all those stamps! The designs and colours look beautiful 😀. They will look wonderful on the display boards and are perfect to showcase all those stamps. Thanks for the inspiration and sending you happy and creative wishes! Hugs, Jo x

Mrs.B said...

Catching up (again) but better late than never - I love the quotes you paired with these little Zinsky folk, such fabulous tags.
Avril xx

Cocofolies said...

I adore this adorable trio of tags - in your favorite colors, definitely Alison tee-hee;-) - and also the pic on all your tags and ATCs using PA's stamps and your great word sets at the end, WOW!!!! What a fabulous collection!!!
I love the coherence in all your artworks. You remain faithful to your favorite color palettes and techniques sometimes, but the same time, you never cease to amaze us and suprise us each time. This is just the proof of your enormous and real talent.
Have a lovely day, hugs
Corinne xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

Now, I did see these fabulous tags but we were away at the time and unable to comment! These are fun but at the same time so delicate with their colour and the words you put in their mouths are perfect! Chrisx