Brand New PaperArtsy Stamps and Stencils

I'm ba-aaack! Two posts in one day... it's just like the good old days!  I'm thrilled to be here for the second time today, because the reason for it is so exciting... I have some new PaperArtsy stamps and stencils to share with you.

These are all about the changing seasons - designs which can work at any time of year.  As always, I've just got a couple of sneak peeks here to whet your appetite.  You can hear all about the ideas behind these new designs, and see lots of sample inspiration over on the PaperArtsy blog. 

As well as checking out the blogpost, I hope you'll join me for the live launch for an in-person introduction to the new products - three stamp sets and three stencils.

I can't wait to show you these new designs and give you a closer look at what I've been getting up to with them so far.  I hope you'll have as much fun with them as I am!

Thanks so much for stopping by today (maybe twice!), and happy crafting, all.

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.
George Santayana

When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised change, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness? Whatever it is, it's welcome.
Kristin Armstrong

Think Pink - Simon Says Stamp Guest Designer

Hello all - I'm thrilled to be back in the Designer Spotlight over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for October, and we're starting the month with Think Pink.

It's always a huge honour to be invited to be part of the fun over on Simon Says Stamp (though I probably need to look at my calendar more carefully next time before saying yes... it's a busy month ahead!).

As always, you'll find oodles of inspiration from the amazing Design Team over on the Monday Challenge blog, and there's the usual generous prize on offer from Simon Says Stamp. 

This week's theme of Think Pink is in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Pink used to be a rare colour here at Words and Pictures, but lately it's been getting more common.  It started with a lot of wintry sunrises and sunsets in my work last winter, but lately it's definitely happening because of some of the floral stamps I've created for PaperArtsy in recent months.  So when I was asked to "Think Pink", my thoughts went immediately to my PaperArtsy EAB49 Coneflowers.  

I thought they'd look great with Tim Holtz's lovely daisy from the French Garden set, so I stamped lots of blooms in Olive Archival Ink onto some watercolour paper.

I used a combination of PaperArtsy Mattints and Dylusions sprays to tint my flowers.  Dylusions are the featured product this week.  I don't have many of the sprays - as you'll know, I have tended to prefer my colour palettes muted rather than in the vivid, vibrant Dylusions tones - but I have a few browns and greens and blues in most mediums (to try out), and Dylusions are no exception.

I put dots of Mattint and tiny spritzes of the sprays onto my craft mat to use as a palette, and layered them together to create fabulous variations and depth of colour.  As you can see from the photos, I used Mattints in Glow, Ladybug Squeezed and The Pink, and Dylusions Chopped Pesto, Dirty Martini and Melted Chocolate.  A touch of PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic in Snowflake allowed me to create more opaque layers and pastels.  Any white acrylic will do for that.  I'm very happy with how they turned out... the Dylusions might be coming out more often from now on!  

I altered a cheap and simple wooden frame with a coat of white chalk paint and some Distress Opaque Crackle Paste.

And for my background, I used one of the wood effect Tim Holtz 3D Texture Fades.  I think this particular one has been discontinued now, but there are plenty of others to choose from, including the amazing new large size versions.

Once the crackle had done its thing, I grunged it up with some Pumice Stone Distress Crayon and Pumice Stone Distress Spray Stain, brushed on to highlight those fabulous cracks and crevices.

I chose one of the fabulous Idea-ology Photobooth snapshots to go at the heart of my garden of dancing flowers.  I love the energy and joy emanating from this woman.

And then it was simply a question of arranging the flowers around the edge of the frame and gluing them into position.

A few of my much-loved Curator Snippets labels add extra detailing, and it wouldn't be a Words and Pictures project without some words.

These are from the Coneflowers plate - the large word is one of three, especially selected by me to suit the mood of the stamp set, and the phrase is a poetry fragment from a poem by Lope de Vega.

If that isn't enough to inspire you to Think Pink this week, then do head over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for lots more glorious pink creativity from the Design Team there.

The team will be selecting projects to spotlight at the end of the week, and one lucky randomly-drawn winner will be going on a shopping spree at Simon Says Stamp.  

So dig out all your pink materials and have a play.  If I can go pink, you definitely can!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy crafting all!

Pink is the colour of strength, a colour of conviction, a colour of decision making.
Angad Bedi

In a world that often lacks compassion, pink stands as a reminder to be kind.
Matthew Green

New Eclectica Alison Bomber Stamps and Stencils at PaperArtsy

I'm thrilled to be sharing three brand new stamp sets and three new stencil designs over on the PaperArtsy blog today.  And you can also watch the Live Launch in the PaperArtsy People FB Group, where I'll be talking about some of the inspiration behind these new designs, as well as showing lots of lovely samples I've been creating.

I hope you'll enjoy the floral botanicals and vintage advertising - I've been having a great time playing with these stamps and stencils, and I know there's so much more still to explore.  I can't wait to see what all of you will get up to with them!

Do hop over to the PaperArtsy blog to check out these new summertime releases and/or watch the live launch here.

Thanks so much, as always, for your company on this creative journey, and happy crafting, all!

Here's flowers for you;

Hot lavender, mints, savoury, marjoram;

The marigold, that goes to bed wi' the sun

And with him rises weeping: these are flowers

Of middle summer...
From The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare

In summer, the song sings itself.

William Carlos Williams

Storytelling in Pictures and Words over at PaperArtsy

Hello all, long time no blogpost - apologies!  But I'm back with a splash today... I'm delighted to be over at the PaperArtsy blog with a hand-stitched book full of storytelling using words and pictures, with a joyful spring colour palette.  And you can also turn the pages and listen to the stories embedded in them over on YouTube. 

The current theme on the blog is mixing and matching two different PaperArtsy stamp designers.  My project uses my own designs combined with some of France Papillon's eclectic range of stamp sets, and the whole thing is inspired by vintage book pages and illustrations.

I hope you'll hop over to PaperArtsy to find out how I brought together lots of different elements by using recurring colours and motifs.

And there's also a flip-through on my YouTube channel where you can hear me telling all the stories which emerged from the pages as I was creating them.  So catch the "how-to" over at PaperArtsy and the "listen-to" over on YouTube... I hope you'll enjoy all of it!

Happy springtime to you!

If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.
Oscar Wilde

Books are the mirrors of the soul.
From The Waves by Virginia Woolf

Brand New Stamps at PaperArtsy - and Stencils too!!

Hello all - I'm delighted to be sharing three brand new PaperArtsy stamp sets with you... and not only that, for the first time I have stencil designs to share too!

Watch the live launch here to hear about the springtime inspiration behind these new sets, as well as to see what I've been creating with them so far.

And of course you can take your time exploring the new designs as well as the samples over on the PaperArtsy blog - with lots of close-ups and angles full of creative inspiration for your springtime art and craft making.

I hope you'll love these new stamps and stencils as much as I do.  I can't wait to hear what you think of them, and I'm even more excited to see what you will be inspired to create with them.  Happy Springtime, all!

A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period...
Emily Dickinson

There is no time like Spring,
When life's alive in everything...
Christina Rossetti

Tags from Christmas Past - Parts 2 and 3

Hello all, and a very merry Christmas all round.  I'm dropping in to share some festive inspiration and delight that's available on my YouTube channel.  Yes, there are more Christmas tags, but also some non-tag projects, not to mention a gentle festive reading with musical accompaniment.  

First of all, there's the second part of the crate unboxing... digging deep into my crafting history for some tags and other creations, some of which I'd almost completely forgotten about!  And some are much more recent - those recycled tape rolls you can see in the photo below, for instance. 

You'll find that here: Tag Time - Christmas Projects Unboxing Part 2

And then, as I said, there's some words and pictures and music to enjoy in the Christmas Eve episode - a gentle reading of the words on each of the 25 countdown tags I made a couple of years ago, along with some favourite festive creations from other Christmases past. 

Find that episode here: Tag Time - Christmas Words and Pictures and Music

I know I've only been an occasional presence here in Craftyblogland this year, but I do love to drop in every now and then to catch up with you.  Love and light and peace to all for 2025, and happy crafting, all!

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

Norman Vincent Peale

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.

Calvin Coolidge

I don't think Christmas is necessarily about things. It's about being good to one another.

Carrie Fisher

Getting in the festive mood...

Hello all... well, I did quite well there on posting for a few weeks, and then it all slipped out of focus again!  I'm just hopping on quickly to keep you posted about what's going on over on my YouTube channel - which is also called Words and Pictures, of course.

I always find it hard to get into the festive swing before December arrives - I prefer to keep Christmas confined to as close to the twelve days as possible.  (24th December - 6th January are when I feel properly Christmassy!)  But things are starting to look a little more festive as I try to get myself in the mood.  Tougher than usual this year, what with everything that's going on in the world.

But you can join me for some starry, snowy backgrounds with lots of stencil techniques here... A Few Minutes of Fun with Mixed Media Winter Backgrounds

Enjoy some watercolour stamping with Distress Inks and Tim Holtz stamps here...  A Few Minutes of Fun with Winter Greenery

And/or see a couple of those backgrounds take the next steps, with my PaperArtsy EAB29 Mistletoe Edition stamps and lots of Tim Holtz die-cuts here... A Few Minutes of Fun with Mixed Media Mistletoe Tags

There's a final (for now, at least) episode of Books Books Books, looking at a couple of festive book-based creations - a couple of altered covers and some art journalling here...  Festive Art Journalling and Altered Book Covers. (Over the next couple of Wednesdays, I'm planning to take a look back over past years of Christmas tags... it's a big crate!)

And if you're not ready to go full-on Christmas yet, how about a flip through - including readings of the poetry fragments - of the accordion album I created for my recent PaperArtsy stamp launch.  I promise this one will bring you a few moments of calm in the hubbub of the run-up to the festive season.  Here you go... Winter Sunrise Accordion Album

There's lots more to explore on the channel since I last updated you, so join me at the craft table for the perfect escape from all your festive to-do lists.  I hope you're all doing well, and good luck with the preparations!

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.
Paul Theroux

Christmas is not an external event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart.
Freya Stark

Santa Claus has the right idea... visit people only once a year.
Victor Borge

It's all about Nature (and my stamps!) over at PaperArtsy...

Hello all!  The theme over at PaperArtsy this month is Nature, with a focus on my very own Eclectica Alison Bomber stamp designs.  There have been some truly beautiful contributions from the PaperArtsy bloggers, and now I'm there myself with a super-speedy make celebrating the turning of the seasons.

Head over to the PaperArtsy blog to see how easily these textural collages came together, and while you're there, do take a look at the other projects from this month's Nature theme, all using my stamps too.

And I do hope you caught the Q&A with me which started off this month's Designer Focus over on the PaperArtsy blog... it's quite the in-depth interview!!  Thanks so much for stopping by and for hopping onwards, and happy crafting, all.

Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.
John Ruskin

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.
Lao Tzu

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.
John Burroughs

(All these nature quotes, and more, are available on my PaperArtsy stamp set EAB21 Nature Edition.)

Designer Focus at PaperArtsy

Happy weekend, all!  It's an exciting focus for me at PaperArtsy this month, and well-timed with my Winter Botanical Textures stamp release.  As part of the Nature theme, the PaperArtsy bloggers are all going to be creating projects with my Eclectica³ Alison Bomber stamp sets.  Expect inspirational creations with lots of words and lots of botanicals!

To kick the whole thing off, there's an extensive Q&A with me over on the PaperArtsy blog, diving in to my creative story, and especially the journey with PaperArtsy towards designing stamps (with lots and lots of photos of projects past and present!)

I hope you'll find time to head over there... I hope it'll be a lovely weekend read for you, with hot drinks and good food to hand!

You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
Maya Angelou

Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence.
Osho

The creative adult is the child who survived.
Ursula Le Guin

New Stamps at PaperArtsy - Winter Botanical Textures

Hello all!  I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to introduce you to three new stamp sets I have designed for PaperArtsy.  Meet the Winter Botanical Textures, launched today.  

Do hop over to the PaperArtsy blog to discover a bit more about the inspiration behind these new designs, as well as to see some of these samples in more detail.  (They will also be appearing on Instagram and here on the blog over the next days and weeks, so keep an eye out.) 

And of course, I would love you to hear all about the stamps from me personally, by watching the launch video here.

I hope you will love them as much as I do...

There’s a certain Slant of light,
Winter Afternoons...
... When it comes, the Landscape listens –
Shadows – hold their breath –
Emily Dickinson

Pressed Botanicals - brand new Eclectica Alison Bomber stamps at PaperArtsy

Hello all!  I'm thrilled to be introducing three brand new stamp sets over on the PaperArtsy blog this evening as well as in the PaperArtsy People FB Group.  These are a continuation and also a development of the botanical textures released in February...  I hope you're going to love the Pressed Botanical Textures!!

I've been having a glorious time playing with the new stamps.  I've tried to make sure they work for all kinds of styles - I've been working with clean and simple stamping as well as exploring some really exciting mixed media effects and techniques.

There are lots of samples to enjoy over at PaperArtsy, and also lots of insight into the thinking behind these new designs.  And of course I'll be talking about all that in the Live launch video too, as well as showing the samples.

Hop over to PaperArtsy now to see the blogpost, and watch the Live Launch here to hear all about it in person, and see the samples shimmering in the lights!

I hope you'll love these stamps as much as I do... I can't wait to see what you'll create with them.

Those who have never been moved to rapture by the tender curve of a blade of grass, the wonderful sternness of the thistle, the rough youth of sprouting leaf-buds; and those who have never been touched to the depths of their soul by the massive appearance of a tree root, the imperturbable strength of riven bark, the slender pliancy of the birch, the enormous tranquility of a canopy leaves - know nothing of the beauty of form.

August Endell, 1909