TANGLED PODS

For this project, I started with my 9"X 12" stencil Tangled Pods --

-- along with matte gel medium, a spreading tool, masking tape, a soft terrycloth rag and a sturdy substrate -- in this case, I chose a large sheet of glossy cardstock that had already been monoprinted with blue and green acrylic paints, then had been used as a "catch-all paper" when I'd painted another paper orange.

After taping the substrate to my work surface, I covered it with my Tangled Pods stencil and taped that down, too. 

For my next step, I spread a generous layer of matte gel medium across the top of the stencil, as shown in the two photos below.  (I could have used gloss gel medium; in this process, either will work.)

After spreading the gel medium, I lifted off the stencil.  See below--

At this point, I set aside the artwork to dry.  Since I'd used matte medium, I knew that when the gel became nearly transparent, it would be dry.

Once the surface had dried, I began to coat it with acrylic paints, first brushing them on, then using the soft rag to wipe away paint from selected areas.

The photos above show the starting stages.  I went on to add layer after layer of paint, repeating the process, over and over.

The final results are shown below.  One of its layers was a metallic paint, which I used over about 2/3 of the surface:

This stencil, Tangled Pods, is among my others at StencilGirlProducts.  You can scroll thru those pages starting here. 

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A Very Personal Gift

Nothing says love like a painting you've created yourself and give as a gift!

Above is a painting on stretched canvas that I developed using two of my 9" x 12" stencils, Loopy Ladders and Clustered Leaves...

Loopy Ladders 9" x 12" stencil

Clustered Leaves 9" x 12" stencil

Below are some close-ups from the painting at the top of this post: 

Above:  the 3 white leaves have been added as collage elements after I've cut them from the stencil Clustered Leaves.  In the upper right, you can see another collage element -- part of a pre-painted cut-out from the stencil Loopy Ladders.

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To scroll thru the pages of all my StencilGirl stencils, please start here.

Shiva Oil Sticks + Stencils = Christmas Cards

Here's an idea that I've used in the past to make Christmas cards.

For this project, I recommend wearing disposable gloves and gathering just a few supplies:  iridescent Shiva Paintstik oil crayons; a stencil; thin, dark papers; and an  X-acto knife.  I used black and other dark mulberry papers because of their thinness.  The best iridescent Paintstik colors to use on dark papers are silver, white, and light gold.  For this projects, I chose gold and silver.

Just before use, a Shiva Paintstik needs to be "primed" because, when not in use, it naturally forms an outer "skin" which must be removed. This is easily done with an X-acto knife -- but it should be done by an adult, never a child; these knives are sharp.

The stencil I'm using here, in Project One, is my 4"X 4" stencil Fern Fronds Silhouette.

The stencil is held secure with one hand, while the other rubs across the top of the stencil with the Paintstik -- held flat on one side, as shown below --

The above photo shows that all spaces in the stencil design have been completely filled with a layer of metallic Paintstik crayon.  In the photo below, the stencil has been lifted off the paper and placed above the imprint.
  

Above:  The oil crayon-coated stencil is at the top; under it is the imprint.
Below is a close-up of an imprint made this way.

At this point, the stencil is heavily coated with leftover oil crayon.  To create another imprint of a different kind, without using more crayon, the stencil is placed on fresh paper and held in place with one hand, while the other uses a soft rag or a paper towel to rub across the stencil and the open areas of the stencil --

An imprint made this second way is shown close-up below.

More than one "ghost print" can be made in the way I just described, until most of the crayon has been removed from the stencil.  Then the stencil can be completely cleaned with an alcohol wipe.

Now comes Project Two, using the same materials. 

The first step is to slide the stencil under a fresh sheet of dark, really thin paper.

Above:  the stencil is being pushed under the paper.

The second and last step is to rub the sideways oil crayon across the paper, pressing into the outlines of the hidden stencil below.  Below is one rubbing created in this way:

One place to purchase these oil crayons is --

http://www.dickblick.com/products/shiva-iridescent-artists-paintstik-oil-colors/.

Another vendor is --
http://www.dharmatrading.com/markers/shiva-paintstiks.html

The second link, for Dharma Trading, takes you to a webpage where you can watch a video of these oil sticks being used to make rubbings on fabric.  I'm not into fabric arts, but I suspect that when these oil crayons are used on fabric, there are follow-up steps for setting the color permanently.  Dharma would have information on this. 

The stencil used in this post, Fern Fronds Silhouette, is available at www.StencilGirlProducts.com. 

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To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils, please start here.

Unique Christmas Cards -- Made with StencilGirl Stencils

Christmas preparations are, to me, every bit as fun as unwrapping gifts on Christmas Day.

Look at this fabulous double-image Christmas card by Martha Lucia Gomez!  She's one of the artists I greatly admire.  

In making this card, Martha used my 6" x 6" stencil Pressed Leaves.

I too made a Christmas card with this stencil, but mine comes in a distant second to Martha's!

My Christmas card above was made with modeling paste and glitter, on dark bronze cardstock from JamPaper.com.

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Gelli Plate + Stencils = Christmas Cards

I've used my round Gelli Plate for the first time in a long time!

The first thing I noticed – to my delight – was that the round shape of the printing plate greatly changes the “look” usually achieved from using a stencil.  This happy fact stood out for me when I used my 9”X 12” stencil Facets because I’m so conditioned to seeing it in its original 9”X 12” shape.

Here are 5 prints that show the dramatic change into a circular format:

The first print shown above  --

-- was to become the first of two Christmas cards, because this image reminds me of a stained-glass church window.

In making this print, I started with black-and-white patterned scrapbook paper, then layered red, orange and green acrylic paints over it with a brayer. 

Once that dried, I used my round Gelli Plate, a gesso-teal mix of acrylic paint, and my 9” X 12” stencil Facets to pull the print.

To make the first card, I covered a blank 5”X 7” greeting card with a background -- green mulberry paper embedded with gold threads of tinsel.

My next step was to add the half-circle I’d cut from my Gelli Plate print.  It was really easy to cut out the printed area, because this stencil’s geometric design is divided equally by its axis. 

On a scrap of the same green mulberry paper, I used a gold-paint pen to write “Christmas Blessings” – I did it on a scrap, not the card itself, because I wanted to make sure it would turn out the way I wanted.  Then I cut out the lettering and glued it to the card cover.  That card is below:

I used part of the leftover print to decorate a matching envelope -- it became a trim that runs along the bottom edge, right under the area where the name and address will be:

Another print I pulled, using the same teal-gesso mix, was on dark blue cardstock that has embedded glitter-like sparkles.  Here, again, is that print:

To make another Christmas card, I chose a 6"X6" card blank made from "pearlized" cardstock.  Because of the change in card size, I cut out a bigger part of the print than I had for the earlier card.  I glued the cut-out to my card and trimmed the edges.

I used a rubber stamp and green inkpad to make the greeting on white cardstock.  After cutting it out with Fiskars Paper Edger scissors, I ran the gold pen along its four edges and added it to the Christmas card.  Here's the card, finished -- except for a red border that I plan to add later:

Here's the matching envelope, again with its decoration along the bottom that leaves room above for the name and address:

The church-window-like Christmas card below was also made with my Facets Stencil but this time I didn't use the Gelli Plate ...  

For me, it was a natural segue from Christmas cards and envelopes to Christmas giftwrap.  Some of the prints shown at the top of this post were done on foreign newsprint  -- this gives me an interesting background and results in a pliable paper perfect for giftwrap and matching gift-tags.

Here again are those papers:

And here they are, used together, as giftwrap --

And finally, with a gift-tag:

In its entirety, Facets stencil looks like this --

To scroll thru the pages of all my StencilGirl stencils, please start here.

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Christmas and other Metallic-themed Art

Above:  another example of embossed self-adhesive foil -- this time, the embossed outlines were filled in with translucent green acrylic paint.  Dots of art glitter completed the look.  Stencil used:  6" x 6" Ferns 6 Stencil.

Above:  another example of embossed foil.  Stencil used:  9" x 12" Boxed Vines Stencil.

Above:  background made with 9" x 12" Facets stencil, on textured foil gift-wrap.  Foreground embellishment made with 6" x 6" Hot Air Balloon and Mask set.

Above:  made with 9" x 12" Mimosa stencil on gold gift-wrap tissue.

Above:  made with part of Blooming Where Planted stencil (9" x 12") on textured foil gift-wrap.

Above:  created with heavy-body gold metallic paint daubed thru my 6" x 6" stencil Quilted Flower Garden (which was then cut to size to resemble a pillar candle.)

Above:  I placed my Pair o' Parrots stencil (6" x 6") on a sheet of textured foil; I traced around each of the shapes; I used fine-detail scissors to cut out each shape; then I added both to a greeting card cover using a glue-stick.  The mini-hearts were punched from red paper using a Marvy hole-punch.

Above: one final example of paint used thru a stencil -- my 6" x 6" Mikki's Flowers stencil -- onto a background of textured foil.

 6" x 6" Ferns 6 Stencil

9" x 12" Facets stencil

Blooming Where Planted stencil (9" x 12")

6" x 6" stencil Quilted Flower Garden

9" x 12" Boxed Vines Stencil

Sincere thanks for visiting here today!  This completes my series on using metallics with stencils.

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To scroll thru my StencilGirl stencils, please visit here.