#3UP April - May 2014

Here we go again..... a new #3Up challenge from PaperArtsy! 

I postulated for the evening showcasing  Ellen Vargo new set of Eclectica3 stamps.... 
You  can see the full collection at the end of the post but here are the 2 sets that I have and used for this challenge...
(I will be buying more...they're so much fun)

sets 1 & 2

I’ve had two of promotional puzzle cubes from work hanging about the house for ages and had been wanting to transform them long before the #3UP challenge.

A publicity item that we give away at shows, exhibitions and communication events

I first thought of simply priming the cube with Gesso them then stamping but the Gesso didn’t adhere too well so I scraped off the paper, cleaned the plastic cubes with alcohol and started from scratch, time consuming!

one of the eight cubes

eight plastic cubes to be gessoed after hours of cleaning with alcohol

All the black cubes were primed with white gesso, I really should have painted them with my background yellows since I had to go around all the edges after I'd stuck the paper on!!!

I painted and stamped my background on quality cartridge paper but then realized that it was going to be too thick for the folds so.... yet another change of plan, but not the goal.

I started again from scratch using a sheet of address labels. the kind you put in your printer. It worked - solid enough to take the wet paint and thin enough to fold.

The “scratchy circles” were stamped in "Library Green” and “Crimson” (discontinued) Archival”, I base-coated with splotches of Zesty Zing, Yellow Submarine and Limelight. then highlighted the inside of the “swirls using Yellow Submarine and Limelight.

"Scratchy Circle" Ellen Vargo

For the stencil I used a Tim Holtz Dot Fade layering stencil with Smoked Paprika mixed with Metallic Glaze, which didn’t give the full metal jacket effect that I had hoped for but turned out interesting all the same....Maybe because Smoked Paprika is a translucent?? Leandra....?. I used the JoFy mini 16 to stamp on more labels and coloured the images with Spanish Mulberry, Orchid, Blood Orange, London Bus, Limelight, Hyde Park, Zesty Zing, Pumpkin Soup and Smoked Paprika.

The words for the quote were printed on standard copy paper, coloured with Promarkers from the limited edition set for 2013. All flowers and words were fussy cut, edged with waterproof black and then collaged using Glue and Seal.

Quote part 1

Quote part 2

Quote part 3

Finally I made a little tray from cardboard, using cardboard and kraft gummed paper (rolls I use for cartonnage). I then covered the outside and inside with strips ....

love my sticky kraft paper rolls

I then painted a strip of micro pore with my background colours and stamped it with the same "scratchy circle" stamp and Archival colours as the cube puzzle. 

Micro pore again! easy washi tape

The "swirl circle" is a piece of Grungeboard painted with Limelight, and stamped with Crimson Archival  on both sides. I painted a piece of Grungepaper with my background colours and using Library Green Archival stamped with Ink & The Dog Mini 09.

Library green Archival stamped over grungepaper painted with Zesty Zing and Yellow Submarine

I then hot-glued some acid coloured buttons threaded with thin strips of contrasting ribbon. 

assembled tray

view face on with puzzle

from above with puzzle

3/4 view

"Voilà, Voilu, ...." 

...as they say here in France..... all finished. 

Now that I'm inspired what can I get up to next??

Oh nearly forgot!! ....  There's no secret safe with Leandra...... the figure skating was supposed to be  my "...something we perhaps don't know about you" bit!!

Here are the first four sets in the Eclectica 3 Ellen Vargo collection

01- have this set

02 - have this set

03 Need, need, need!!!!

04

 The latest two to appear (want/need/longing for them both!!)

05

06