Two for the price of one today - a background and a tip-in to sit in front of it! It will be taped into the journal spine so it sits in front of the green background but it not attached over it, more like an extra page.
A month ago now, I made this background in my Dina Wakley Media Journal using a couple of fluid acrylics and stamped all over it with one of Dyan Reavely's beautiful couture stamps, but I've not done anything with it since - as you can see in my photos, the very middle stamp on the page is much darker and I was going to colour that one in with India ink or something once the paint had cured but I never got round to doing it. This afternoon, I wanted to do a little, quick project, and I made a little tag and was going to stick it over that background, but I've opted to stick it into the spine of the journal instead, like an extra mini-page. I'm fairly sure a "tip-in" has to go on the outside edge of the page (help, anyone?!) so I don't know what to call it! I'll go through how I made the background first too, since both techniques are so simple and quick.
The tip-in dress stamp really reminded me so much of the Dior New Look and in particular the costumes that Claire wears in Season 2 of Outlander, which were also interpreted as 18th Century versions of the New Look too, in amazing colours. Season 3 has just started a few weeks ago and it's amazing - if you've not seen Outlander but love any of the following, I think you'll love it too - it is helping me to cope without Game of Thrones at the moment:
- Fantasy adventure but in the realms of the real world - so time travel in this case.
- Historical adventure and drama.
- Men wearing kilts.
- Men not wearing kilts.
- Men not wearing anything at all.
- Just Google "Sam Heughan Outlander"... go on...
- Realistic portrayal of battles, sex, life in general etc.
- Fantastic theme tune.
For UK users, if you want to watch Outlander, you'll need to be an Amazon Prime account holder and an Amazon TV user, which is easy as most recent TVs have an app, but if not, you can either buy a dongle, or, of course, you can watch it via the Amazon website. If you want to try an Amazon Prime account, you can get a FREE 30 day trial right now, which is enough to watch Seasons 1 and 2 at least! For the sake of completeness, you can also get the books too.
Because of the green-based background, the dress I made obviously had to be a shade of red or pink, so that it would really stand out - and one of Claire's most notorious Season 2 dresses whilst in 18th century France was a vibrant shade of red, but I chose to use an almost violent shade of pink with red accessories. In a way, of course, Claire is never one of the crowd, but you'll have to watch the show to find out why!
Lemon and Lime Dancing Time Background (acrylic on paper)
WHAT I USED:
Dina Wakley Media Journal [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
(I used one of the righthand "watercolour" paper pages)
Daler and Rowney Simply Acrylic Gesso (White) [BUY NOW: UK - I can't find this in the USA but you can use this awesome alternative instead]
DecoArt Fluid Acrylics in:
Yellow Green Light [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
(PG36 Phthalocyanine Green Yellow Shade, PY83 Diarlylide Yellow HR, PW6 Titanium White)
Hansa Yellow Light [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
(PY3 Hansa Yellow 10G)
Ranger Dylusions Couture Collection silicone stamp set [DISCONTINUED]
(this set and the rest of the couture collection were discontinued a few years back but keep an eye out for them - you could alternatively use the larger stamps this set was based on, if you can find them, which were Walk In The Park [BUY NOW: USA, UK] and Night At The Opera [BUY NOW: USA, UK]. For this background, I used the dress from the latter in its mini version from the Collection set, which I will call the "Opera Frock" for clarity)
Ranger Archival Ink in:
Leaf Green (Wendy Vecchi Collection) [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
Vivid Chartreuse [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
3/4" Golden Talkon paint brush with soft bristles, suitable for acrylic paint
(any really cheap golden taklon set of brushes will have one of these in it - they're very inexpensive!)
DoCrafts PaperMania 5" by 7" acrylic stamping block [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
WHAT I DID:
STEP 1: I covered the page entirely in white gesso and left it to dry fully, overnight. I applied it with a damp brush as 2 thin coats, the second applied after about 20 minutes when the first coat had just gone a bit tacky.
STEP 2: I used the same brush (washed of course and a little damp!) to apply the paints. I applied the yellow first and then added the green on top - I only used up-down brushstrokes to get a nice vibrant blend and was careful not to let the colours mix too much!
STEP 3: Once the paints had cured for 24h, I stamped the Opera Frock onto the page first in Leaf Green and then in Vivid Chartreuse, making a kind of grid pattern of alternating colours - down at the bottom and along one edge, you have incomplete stamps but that's normal.
Screw The Crowd Tag/Tip-In (ink on paper)
WHAT I USED:
Ranger Dylusions Size 10 Journalling Tag [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
Ranger Archival Ink in:
Shadow Grey [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Stamping Platform [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
(NB: I didn't use this - I used another common tool on the market, but I cannot recommend it as I've heard awful stories of both shop owners trying to get damaged stock sorted out and customers too, and of pretty nasty, bullying tactics from the owner thereof - as such, I won't recommend it, and will recommend the superior product above, that has a nicer price point!)
Ranger Dylusions Couture Collection silicone stamp set [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
(this set and the rest of the couture collection were discontinued a few years back but keep an eye out for them - you could alternatively use the larger stamps this set was based on, if you can find them, which were Walk In The Park [BUY NOW: USA, UK] and Night At The Opera [BUY NOW: USA, UK]. For this tag, I used the dress from the former and one of the hats too, in their mini versions from the Collection set, which I will call the "Park Frock" for clarity)
Kuretake ZIG Clean Colour Real Brush Markers in:
022 Carmine Red
025 Pink
071 Flesh Colour
(I got these from the ZIG Clean Colour Real Brush Markers 24 Pack BUY NOW: USA, UK])
Winsor and Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Size 0 Round Ranger [BUY NOW: USA, UK]
(this is the brush I used, but it ain't cheap - as you probably know, I'm really a fine-art watercolourist so I don't have many inexpensive brushes - but do try the Prolene Plus Size 0 Round as an excellent high-quality-low-price alternative - you can get with a set of other beautiful Prolene Plus brushes too for very economical price - BUY NOW USA, UK)
Ranger Dylusions Paint Pens in:
Postbox Red
Cut Grass
(these don't come in open stock, so you'll need to get the 6-pack of Dylusions Paint Pens [BUY NOW: USA, UK] to get them - they're SO cool!)
Container of water
WHAT I DID:
STEP 1: I stamped both the Park Frock and one of the hats onto a Dylusions tag using my stamping tool to get a good impression - Shadow Grey is lovely and light and works well for this kind of technique.
STEP 2: I decided to colour the frock Pink and so worked in small sections, applying the watercolour ink from the pen along whichever edges would be darkest and then used my wet brush to blend it out and soften it. I worked across the skirt first and made the 'under' sections darkest. I then did the bodice and made the sleeves quite pale.
STEP 3: Whilst the frock dried, I did the same on the hat, this time using Carmine Red. I did the shoes in Carmine Red also, and once the frock was dry too, the belt.
STEP 4: The legs of this image are just single lines, so I added a narrow cone in Flesh Colour that you can hardly see to be honest on the cream tag - doing this added a 'leg' and made the original grey line into the seams on her stockings.
STEP 5: Using the Dylusions Paint Pens I then wrote in a very free and non-conformist way, in Postbox Red (to match the Opera Frock) and Cut Grass (to represent the crowd of Park Frock ladies) my sentiment - why be one of the crowd?
. You can also get an 
