DANCE OF THE COURTING CRANES 6" x 6" Stencil and Mask Set

For me, the gracefully exquisite shapes of all birds is epitomized in cranes in all their variety.  Since I can't claim to tell one kind of crane from another, I've created one StencilGirl stencil-and-mask set to honor all cranes; its title:  Dance of the Courting Cranes (6" x  6".)

Dance of the Courting Cranes (6" x  6")

In a recent post I showed one way that I use a silhouette stencil like the one above:  I secure it to paper with masking tape, then use watercolor pencil to trace around the outer edges of the stencil's open areas.  

However,  Dance of the Courting Cranes  provides the extra option of using the bonus mask that comes with the stencil.  

My next photo shows that I've placed this mask atop a sheet of paper that's plain red on the back (as shown below.) 

Above:  Here I'm using a Sharpie marker to trace the outlines around the cranes.  When I trace a silhouette stencil on the "right" side of the paper, I use watercolor pencil since that can be easily removed after the silhouette has been cut out.  (My watercolor-pencil "eraser" is a cotton swab dipped into water,then squeezed of excess water.)  Since this project is being done on the "wrong" side of the paper, I feel safe in using a Sharpie permanent marker.  Its outlines won't show in the finished project.

Below:  I use fine-detail scissors to cut out the outlined silhouette.

Above:  The paper has been flipped over to show its "right" side.

Below, the cut-out is auditioned on the front of a greeting card blank.  (I buy these 6" x 6" fold-over cards from JAMPaper.com.)  In the lower right is a heart-shaped paper-craft punch.)

The finished card, a Valentine, is below:

Nancy Sanderson Curry has done me one better -- actually two or three or four times better! -- in having used  Dance of the Courting Cranes    in creating the gorgeous image below --

Click on the above image to better see all of its breathtaking details.

Having shown this stunning artwork of Nancy's, I nearly hesitate to continue with more art samples of my own.....

Above:  A print on black glossy cardstock, using a sponge dauber loaded with heavy-body acrylic paint  applied around the mask of Dance of the Courting Cranes (6" x  6").

Above:  A print on bronze metallic cardstock, created with white, water-thinned acrylic paint sprayed around the mask of Dance of the Courting Cranes (6" x  6").

Below:  a print created with the 8-inch round Gelli Plate and the mask from Dance of the Courting Cranes.

Thank you for coming to see my blog today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl masks and stencils, please start here.