Approaching Valentine's Day ... and Exploring Sources of Stencil Designs

Over the years I've stuck to my "old-fashioned" making of Valentine greeting cards, because for me, it's fun.

Most of the time, I've made them from stencil-printed papers ...

Stencils used in making these prints include --




6"X 6" MIMOSA 6  This design comes straight from photos I'd taken of my now-deceased, but much loved, mimosa that once grew near our front door.  Mimosas are considered weeds in some areas, but if you try to grow one on your own -- because spring's pink blooms are drop-dead gorgeous -- you may learn, as we did, that a certain fungus attacks the young trees and kills them.  But as memorials, I have this 6" x 6" stencil and its big sister, 9" x 12" Mimosa Stencil.

9x12" BOXED VINES  This design comes from a hobby I once had, of cutting paper strips into curving lines, each line ending in a leaf.

6"x 6" SEAWEED  Note:  After I'd titled this stencil, I learned that kelp is the name of the plant that I based it on.  Kelp leaves have this pattern, even after washed ashore.  After taking photos, I altered Nature's original pattern by digitally creating cross-sections of it, then combining them. 

6"X 6" KALEID  This design started when I made a collographic printing plate with random cut-outs of thin black foam that I glued to a sheet of matboard (a very sturdy cardstock.)  After the plate was finished, I took its photo; then, I digitally altered the photo.

With the Valentines themselves, I need envelopes!

Do I've pulled out two scrap-leftovers cut from prints I'd made with 6"x 6" mask Ornamental Irons Curls (below left) and 6" x 6" stencil Kaleid (below right.)  You can click on the image below to enlarge it and better see details --

I've cut the above heart shapes from each of the prints, then, with a gluestick, added them to the envelope.  As a last step, I wrote "Love" with a calligraphic pen.

My 6" x 6" stencil Kaleid, in its entirety, is shown above today's sample envelope. 

And, in its entirety, the 6" x 6" mask  Ornamental Irons Curls looks like this--

This design was digitally derived from a combination of photos I'd taken of wrought iron fencing decorations.  I went thru a similar process when I created my 9" x 12" Wrought Iron Gate, shown directly below:

I drew all of today's hearts freehand, but if you'd rather use a stencil to trace a heart shape for cutting, a fine selection is here.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.