2017 Topic 9: Aqua Ecstasea Well hello everyone, Darcy here with a brand new topic. Though we took a break from our usual format over the past few weeks, it has not been quiet here in blogland. I hope you have been as excited as us by all the new releases, the inspiration has been bountiful, delivered beautifully by our designers and their wingmen. Now it is time for you to play with all those new goodies and join in with our latest topic. So we will kick off with a colour theme, this time is it Aqua. This is a green-blue colour, (though closer to green) and as you might imagine it means 'water' . It is a fresh clean colour, evocative of clear,bright days by the sea. Often teamed with white to create seafoam, when we see aqua we think of far flung holiday destinations. Lu West Aqua is one of the variations of cyan, these range from the deepest of green-blues through to barely there tints. You will recognise names from that range such as turquoise and teal. Aqua falls in the middle of the range being one of the brightest. This colour is not the same as aquamarine, which is named after the gemstone of the same name. Aqua is a creative colour, fun and light hearted , but has strength and individuality. Aqua is often used in glasswork, presumably as it is evocative of sea glass. Daum and Majorelle This piece by Lalique is beautiful, note that while it is all one colour the embossed ares appear much lighter, the recesses darker and shaded. You could create this effect with embossing folders. Rene Lalique This colour works well on images of nature too, this bird and foliage combine so many shades that all compliment each other. the brighter ones really pop out as accents. Ann's Doodles This lino print works perfectly in just one colour of paint, using the colour of the paper as the highlights. A lovely traditional technique that still looks fresh and modern. Jane Kendall Aqua is a great colour to build up a background, using the various tints and shades to create depth before adding text or images on top. Rosie Radcliffe Here is another background, transformed by the stunning layout on top. Tatiana Yemelyanenko Aqua works well alongside many other colours, some more dramatic than others. A classic partnership is white, this creates a clean crisp contrast. the white detailing on this compact really stands out. You could create a similar effect with just a white pen. Another complimentary colour is orange and its variations, this painting is full of interest and bold contrasts. Gina Marie Dunn Strong warm browns work wonderfully with cool aqua, it is a strong contrast that really pops, how could you recreate this look? maybe a fabric cuff with die cut embellishments? Sandi Try some other combinations, what can you come up with that works. Try hot pinks for heat and black for drama. Taupes and greys are also great buddies for aqua, just look at this little doggie, whilst he is mainly shades of aqua the lines of grey really stand out and provide the needed contrast. Crafts Beautiful When just using one colour it is always fun to add texture, this adds interest and lifts the eyes. This is a great combination of vintage photo and fun jigsaw pieces. Sara Huete For more texture go all out with fabric and thread. I had to include this piece, I think it is wonderful and must be so tactile. Ana Teresa Barboza How about these miniature underwater aqua worlds, encapsulated in resin in the top of a ring. CrazyCoolResin Here is another interesting piece, full of texture and shapes and wonderful dangly bits. I can see this look being achieved with stamps pressed into paper clay. Divine Henna I think this may be my favourite piece for this topic, how adorable is this little birdie with his plump aqua body. Abigail Brown Aqua art does not need to be over complicated, this is a strong colour and can work easily on minimalist projects. Take this card, clean, fresh and simple. Kate M To finish I have this gorgeous miniature dress, what little girl would not love to dress up in this. Some serious glitter here. Cheryl Elisabeth Sansom Phew! some stunning samples there, have they inspired you? Remember they are only to inspire, you do not have to attempt to recreate them, look at the combinations of colours, the shapes, structures and techniques. Pick out something that speaks to you and let your imagination run wild. Coming up over the next two weeks we have gorgeous aqua samples from our guests to inspire you further, please do leave them some comments and mention them if they inspire you. Don't forget to follow Darcy and Leandra's Pinterest boards if this topic pushes your buttons, you will see plenty more examples to whet your appetite there! I am really looking forward to seeing what you create over the next 2 weeks! ~ Darcy We hope that you learn something interesting from our blog. Our bloggers deeply appreciate your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! Why not join our challenge by blogging your interpretation of the current topic and link it here? The current topic link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, July 23rd 2017, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00. All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. Challenge Guidelines The challenge is a for you to show how you are inspired by the current blog topic. We encourage you to play with us and explore your personal creative style. Please mention which PA blog post inspired you and and why (link directly to that post). Please don't link to the home page of your blog because then no-one can track back to easily find the original post. We prefer your challenge blog post is created exclusive to our challenge, but if our topic fits perfectly with another challenge, then you may link to both if appropriate. You are most welcome to use stamps/ products/ substrates you have to hand from a variety of companies, we do not expect you to exclusively use PA products - it's lovely when you do though! You can enter as many times as you like. We don't want to restrict your creativity! NB. Link closes at 17:00 Sunday 23rd July, 2017 (London Time) Prize: The winner will receive a £50 credit voucher to be redeemed on the PaperArtsy Website. The credit voucher includes VAT and postage. We request that one of your purchases is an A5 rubber stamp. You can add any other items to your basket, but the final total should not exceed £50. It's your responsibility to claim your prize coupon from Darcy. email: [email protected] NEW Challenge/ winner: Each fortnight on Sunday, the winner will be announced at 19:00 (London time). In the same post, the link for the next fortnight will be posted. Good Luck! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!