The Triple Play foam stamp set was designed by myself, Marsha Valk and Birgit Koopsen – three artists coming together to make a 7 piece stamp set. Yup – 7 different stamps make up this nifty set. Originally we designed it to go with our Beyond the Paper online workshop (all about working on mixed media surfaces other than paper) but it turns out this set looks pretty fab on paper too.
We each designed two of the six different triangle stamps and then included the hex stamp too. I bet you can pick out my two designs but I’ll let you guess on the others ;)
As someone who loves playing with patterns, I reach for this set all the time. The triangles work together in so many ways and whether you stick with just one design or begin combining several, it’s a great way to build a background.
They almost make a kaleidoscope like effect and when you start stamping and rotating and stamping some more, cool things begin to happen with those shapes.
The triangle shape can disappear and the pattern becomes whole in the background, something new.
The geometry of Triple Play creates the versatility. And we kinda knew that going into the creation of it.
We also knew that we wanted a very adaptable and useful set. Each of us was to use it in our lessons in the Beyond the Paper workshop, so it had to be interesting enough to show it in action in a lot of different ways.
Once we started playing, it totally exceeded our expectation though – when you start playing with those patterns it is almost addicting LOL
We realized that the Triple Play set could be very bold or also used in very sensitive and beautiful ways.
It all depends on what mood you are going for in your piece. But in the end, you will have a lot of fun creating with them no matter what you do. Here is a link to learn more. Enjoy!
Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a post and video from Riikka Kovasin who is sharing an art journal page with a clever way of toning things down while still letting them peek through. She is using my Triple Play foam stamps and our theme: On Repeat – Let’s play with patterns! Repeat a design motif or shape to create a pattern-inspired project of your choosing.
Fiery Love Triangle
Hi there! It’s Riikka here today sharing my take on the “On Repeat” theme. I chose a triangle as my shape and repeated it in my background as well as topic and focal points.
I was leaning towards circle, but I have used the “Grove Street” set so much that I wanted to do something else instead. So, I took a look at my foam stamps and the other shape that was present was the triangle in the form of the “Triple Play” stamp set. It was a perfect choice as that gave me a bunch of different patterns to play with, too!
I admire the gorgeous geometrical patterns that Nathalie does to her journals. So, my original idea was to mimic one by using different colors and patterns and layer the stamps. I started a pattern, but it didn’t look pleasing to my eye. And it also didn’t look “me”. So, I started over. Instead of building the background by stamping on a piece of white cardstock, I started instead with some collaging. Even though the book pages I added to the sheet first can’t really be seen in the finished piece, I felt it was “my” way to go. Those old book page hues also played a role on the color palette of the page!
If you want to see how the page came into being, please see the video below. I have to apologize, though, because the video is a bit fuzzy in the beginning. It does get sharper, promise!
As you could see from the video, the bold pattern in the background freaked me out! I guess it’s partly the red color as well, as I seldom use that. But luckily there was a way to make it more subtle. It’s now like fire burning inside, hidden from the prying eyes – the strong reds and pinks underneath a beige surface.
While I could have chosen pyramids or juice boxes or even pizza slices as my topic with the triangle, the first thing that popped into my head was a love triangle. I blame Poirot for that! Or rather, Pamela Lyall as we had just watched (for the thousand time) “Triangle at Rhodes”. It’s an adaptation of the story by the same name, starring David Suchet, and is a part of the “Poirot” series. My husband and I grew up watching Poirot from TV, and nowadays we have the series in DVDs so we are watching them with our kids. In the episode in question Pamela Lyall states that human beings tend to reproduce certain stereotype patterns and draws a triangle in the sand. By the way, if you haven’t seen or read the story, I recommend it. It has a surprising twist, even when triangles are concerned.
Thank you for stopping by today! Wishing you a lovely day! Xoxo Riikka
Thank you Riikka! What a cool solution to work with a bright background – repeating the triangle with little cutout ledges to perch your figures on!
Give it a try: you can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and in addition to old book pages, here are some of the supplies Riikka used:
Looking for more projects? Follow the Creative Squad on Instagram here.
Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a post from Judi Kauffman who is sharing a fun flip card using my Triple Play foam stamp set and our theme: A Tale of Two Colors – Think about two different colors, one you love using and one you find more of a challenge to work with. Use them together in a project and see what happens.
When I heard this month’s theme I knew right away that I’d be using brown as the more challenging color and teal as the favorite. Even though I love chocolate (brown) and trees (brown trunks) and my brown suede boots (UGGS) it’s just not a color I turn to in the studio. If it weren’t for the fact that brown is usually included in assortments I probably wouldn’t have more than one or two sheets.
The project: A flip card that began as brown on one side and teal on the other. As it happens, those two colors are fabulous together – something that is revealed right away with a flip card. And I soon decided that I’d use some of each on BOTH sides! To finish things off I added some collage, found poetry made with words and phrases cut from a damaged book.
Instructions:
Using double-sided adhesive sheet or a glue stick, adhere 2 sheets of cardstock back to back. Hand- or die-cut a flip card base.
Using the ink that is in the same color family as the cardstock, stamp both sides of the card base with triangle shapes from Nathalie’s Triple Play ArtFoamies set. Using a craft sponge, smudge on a bit of ink on each side.
Stamp leftover strips of cardstock, mixing the colors and smudging with additional ink in both colors. Tip: Don’t wash the sponge for this step. Let the colors blend!
Cut the stamped leftover strips into pieces (rectangles and triangles) and adhere to both sides of the card base.
Complete the project by adding found poetry as shown, other kinds of collage elements, more stamping, or whatever you want!
Thank you Judi! We agree – the teal and brown work beautifully together, especially with the coordinating ink colors!
Give it a try: you can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and in addition to pages from an old book, here are some of the supplies Judi used:
I found this old photo of my view out of my old studio in Hamburg Germany and I was reminiscing about the different views I’ve had from my studio windows… often on the top floor, just like now again, but always different. All this while I was listening to a spotify play list …the modern version of a mix tape that a friend of mine just made for me with music he discovered during the pandemic and thought I would like. J. has always been my music guy since we both share a lot of the same taste, so I am excited! It also made me very happy and grateful for the wonderful friendship where someone takes the time needed and puts a tape together for you. Remember those olden times?
Anyway… LOL The background was stamped with Versafine ink with the wonderful Triple Play foam stamps Birgit Koopsen, Marsha Valk and I created for our workshop Beyond the Paper – check it out. I added some sun printed fabric which I show how to create in the workshop using the same stamp.
The Fairview stamped paper is from a technique and online class that I produced with Birgit Koopsen and Marsha Valk called Time Traveler. We each chose a stylistic era to draw artistic inspiration from in the course. In addition to showing a bunch of gelli printing and other mixed media techniques, we also each bound all our pages together in the end using a different bookmaking method. You can check it out here, sign up, and enjoy the class at your own pace :)
I forgot where I got the sheer adhesive backed strip from that I used to attach everything – they are strips that I think someone gave to me a while ago… They are great for journaling and stamping on (I stamped one of my Fan-fare stamps on this page) to make your own washi tape. Maybe someone knows what they are and can tell us in the comments below!
I was using my Triple Play foam stamps with stazon ink on Grafix Duralar for this element. It was part of a technique that I showed in another class with Birgit and Marsha called Beyond the Paper. As you can probably guess, the class looks at a bunch of different substrate alternatives to paper and still gets me thinking. You can check it out here and again, it’s available anytime ;)
In my move I found a lot of odds and ends and am excited about finally using them – stamp and stencil samples, tests, misc products, and collage papers from my online classes.
Here are some of the supplies I used in this page:
Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a clever post from Judi Kauffman using my Triple Play foam stamps, Broadway stencil, and a mini water tower model (including its envelope AND scrap pieces) and our theme: PrimaryColors: Red, Blue, and Yellow it’s your time to shine. Let’s get back to the basics of color and light and play with primarycolors. It’s elementary my friend!
When I heard that this month’s theme is all about primary colors I knew I was going to want to head in a different direction. Instead of using all three, I’d focus on just one – RED, my favorite color, plus basic black and pure white.
Or perhaps it was because I was thinking of the old children’s riddle: What is black and white and red all over? A newspaper! (Red…Read…) Sorry! I couldn’t help myself.
I thought it would be fun to use not only the pieces from the Water Tower Model kit I received but the negative shapes AND the sturdy envelope in which they were packed. Double the fun.
***TIP: If you are going to decorate the envelope be sure to take a photo of the assembly instructions BEFORE starting to paint and stencil!
Randomly paint the model pieces, envelope, and negative shapes with white paint. It’s okay that some of the original board remains visible.
Randomly add red paint to the model pieces, envelope, and negative shapes.
Center the Broadway stencil on the roof piece and use black paint to stencil the pattern. Use black paint and your choice of triangle stamps from ArtFoamies Triple Play to randomly stamp all remaining pieces of the tower, the negative shapes, plus the envelope.
Assemble the tower per instructions. Add the negative shapes to the roof of the tower.
Option: Instead of securing the roof, don’t use the criss-cross piece of board that acts as a structure to hold it in place; just perch it on top so you can hide candies or jewelry inside the tower!
Thank you Judi – love the idea of using the packaging and leftovers too!!! And look at that great use of pattern and layering!
For more from the Creative Squad check out Nat’s Creative Squad on Instagram too: Each week we post projects, ideas, and inspiration for mixed media art.
Judi:
Hard to believe you only used one of the primary colors! It’s really cool and a great way to give a gift to that someone special. Thanks for sharing your creativity and how to use every piece provided.
Marilyn
Give this world Good Energy! It can always use more :)
The pattern is some papers that I made from stamping off my Triple Play foam stamps with different acrylic paints on a StampBuddy. Watch a little StampBuddy video here on how that works. I used those as collage elements for the background. Then I added a catalog imagine, painted over with Liquitex Markers for a focal point.
Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have an art journal page with a bonus mini page from Jordan Hill. She is using my Triple Play stamps and our theme: Another Door Opens – There is this saying, “when one door closes, another door opens” that basically is an optimistic way of looking at change in your life. Create an art journal page with this in mind, however you’d like to express it, however the idea inspires you to create!
Hello everyone! I’m super excited to be back with my project for April 2021; I had a lot of fun with this month’s products and theme, so I hope you all enjoy following the process as much as I enjoyed creating this page!
I decided to begin this month’s page with a piece of collage. When I create journal pages, I tend to end up with a lot of excess paint, either on my palette or my paintbrushes. In order to make sure none of this excess paint goes to waste, I use scraps of paper to clean it up.
In addition, I had been playing around with one of the stamps from the Triple Play Foam Stamp Set on another page in my journal. The excess from that page had ended up on this scrap of paper, so it seemed like the perfect start point! I tore off a chunk and glued it down. I also glued a coin envelope to the upper right hand corner of the page, as I felt that the idea of a pocket was in line with this month’s theme of “Another Door Opens”.
Next up, I used a second stamp from the Triple Play Foam Stamp Set along with some slightly watered down black acrylic paint to almost completely cover the lower right hand corner of my page. I made sure to overlap my background stamping with the collage piece in order to incorporate it into the page. I also used this same stamp in the upper left corner.
Since there was already some pink on my collage piece, I decided to push that a bit further and used a pink oil pastel to do a bit of mark-making in a few different places on my page.
I then incorporated a few more pieces of collage. A while back, I drew a bunch of windows with the intention of using them as collage material for my journals. I felt as though this tied into the April theme, so I glued one in. I also glued down a tiny found word clipping in the lower left hand corner of the page.
It was then time to start working on the focal point! As usual, I knew I wanted to incorporate a face, so I started things out by using some acrylic paint to block in the basic shapes. Then, using an indigo colored pencil, I started to sketch in the facial features.
When it comes to shading faces in my journals, I don’t always add shadows. Often it depends on the size of the face that I’m drawing. Because this particular face was on the larger side (and seemed a bit flat), I decided I did want to add shadows. I used a slightly darker color of paint than the base skin tone and started blocking in my shadows.
I don’t usually overthink it when it comes to adding shadows to my faces, but a good tip for knowing where to put them is to have an imaginary light source. For this particular face, my ‘light source’ was in the upper left, so I added shading to the right side of the face.
Next it was time to add the hair. Since the majority of the color that already existed in this page was pink, I decided to go with that as the hair color! I sketched out the basic shape of the hair with my colored pencil, before using acrylic paint to add the color.
I also used this same pink in the lips, cheeks and shoulders to warm up the skin tone and tie the face together with the hair.
It was then time for the finishing touches! I added a shirt, used some watered down black acrylic paint to flick some splatters across the page, and found a fortune from a fortune cookie laying on my desk that was perfectly in line with the theme!
As one last little bonus element for this page, I also slipped a card inside of the coin envelope I glued down in step one, and created a little mini page on top of it. To me, the idea of this hidden page is yet another nod to the theme of “Another Door Opens”.
I hope you enjoyed following this process and possibly try some of the ideas for yourself!
Thank you Jordan, I just love the intriguing backgound you created with the stamps and collage!
Give it a try: you can find all my Foam Stamps in my Online Shop and in addition to collage papers, here are some of the supplies Jordan used:
For more projects and ideas, check out Nat’s Creative Squad on Instagram too: Each week we post projects, ideas, and inspiration for mixed media art.
Are you playing along with Nat and Sarah’s April ArtFoamies Challenge ? You can follow along on my Instagram feed daily with videos and photos, and I post updates here on the blog too from time to time throughout the month. Today I’m recapping 19, 20, and 21. Enjoy!
Day 19 – Circle – These Mini Motifs foam stamps are inspired by carvings in our fireplaces. Every one of the four mantles has different carvings. That Dude went all out with the chiseling. He must have known that 140 years later a weird lady from Germany would become obsessed with the patterns on the fireplaces …and there we come full circle.
Here is a look at April 19:
April 20 – Stellar – Started out with the Beacon Stamp from the Mini Tile Set as it makes excellent start patterns but then I thought it really needed more and added the Santiago stamp as an accent on top. Stellar decision if I dare to say so …patting myself on the back – LOL
Here is another look:
April 21 – Hip Hop – Mixing the very graphic Space Oddity hexagon stamp up with one of the triangle stamps from our Triple Play stamp set created by Marsha Valk, Birgit Koopsen and me. The design for this Triple Play triangle is actually by Marsha and I love how those two go together. Nice fusion.
And another look at April 21 Hip Hop-
Follow along with the challenge on instagram and post your artwork too with the hashtag #artcollabChallengeAccepted
Oh…swoon! I love the mini motifs on that gorgeous old ledger! I have my great-grandfather’s old ledger and have been wondering what to do with it. Now I know! Thanks for sharing!
I love that sentiment…a friend really likes you when they make a mix tape/CD for you!
Fun LO Nat.
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