Trendy Tuesday – Paint Effects

 Trendy Tuesday – Paint Effects: Color Wash, Splatters, Drips and More
by Katherine Elliot

No doubt, paper crafts are an artistic outlet.  Each project is a small canvas, presenting an opportunity to express a mood or feeling, and create an attractive design that is all your own.    Today”s paper craft artisans share their skills through the blogosphere so we may be inspired to create our own small works of modern art.  Creative techniques including color wash, ink splatters, and other abstract or modern art effects and very cool indeed, and are trending now.

Card by Tiffany Johnson, image source I Heart Art

Try to drip, splatter, or swipe your ink or color mist  to create some of the cool effects shown on these projects.   Other tools like a paint brush, drinking straw, mister bottle, or aqua painter may also help you achieve these results.  Tiffany Johnson created a great video to explain some of the techniques, so check it out then check out these fantastic creations…

 

Flair Watercolor Card by Charlene Austin, image source Technique Tuesday

Combine these techniques with familiar die cuts, stamps and other embellishments and see how easily some of the designs come together.   Card by Lisa Henke, image source My Little Creative Escape

Of course several companies make it even easier to achieve artistic results by providing tools to mimic the same patterns and effects.   Stamps can help you create this look, and possibly do so with a lot less mess.

Splatter It stamp from Unity Stamp Company

Card by Lisa Arana including Splatter It stamp from Unity Stamp Company, image source Unity Stamp Company blog

Stamps intended to help you create these patterns allow you to recreate them uniformly and control the effect.  Use stamps subtly in the background like in Lisa Arana”s card above, or more boldly as part of the design as seen in Erin Lincoln”s card below.  It is completely up to you.

Card by Erin Lincoln featuring Watercolor Wonder stamps from Papertrey Ink, image source Procrastination Station

 It certainly is easier to clean up after a “splatter” effect when all it requires is for you to clean off your stamps…

Tim Holtz Spills and Splatters stamp, image source Simon Says Stamp

Steampunk card by Mandy C, image source That”s Blogging Crafty

 Happy Birthday card by Dawn Olchefske, featuring French Foliage stamp set from Stampin” Up!, image source DO Stamping with Dawn

        The recent Mixability splatter challenge at Splitcoast Stampers made finding inspirational projects quite easy. The artists chose different techniques on their cards to make these extremely creative designs.

Splatter card by Far North, image source Splitcoast Stampers

 Splatter card by Korin Sutherland, image source Rejoicing Every Moment

You may want to check on-line for even more instructions on some techniques to get you started.   See super simple instructions for Easy Splatter Paint from Little Art Monkeys (don”t worry, instructions shown on their site are for ages 3 and up, so I know you can handle it!).   An easy watercolor effect can be created with watercolor pencils as well, as described in this post at Papercrafts Connection.  Tim Holtz also has some videos to assist you with different ink & paint techniques.

Card by Jeanne Streiff, image source Inky Paws

 The Jackson Pollock feel to this next card looks like it was a lot of fun to create!

Love You card by Tobi Crawford, image source Tobi”s Place

 Cards are not the only projects that are enhanced by these effects.  Paint effects added to a scrapbook project can transform any page into a modern masterpiece. A collage of embellishments, images and paint create truly unique designs.

Scrapbook page with instructions by Melanie Bauer, image source Basic Grey blog

 Scrapbook page by Kasia Kryzminska, image source Prima Marketing Inc.

The scrapbook pages above look much like paper versions of other mixed media projects that are growing in popularity.  It”s not unusual for a paper crafter to cross over to this other art form.  Many mixed media projects incorporate similar tools and images used in paper crafts.

Mixed Media Canvas by Tobi Crawford, image source Tobi”s Place

  Whether your medium is canvas or paper, you can find freedom using these techniques.  Escape from any inclination to perfectly align an image or straighten a layer… just let it go & have fun.

Mixed Media canvas by Sue Sykes, image source My Sweet Earth

  Happy Crafting, everyone!