A Happy Accident -- the First of Many Sun-Prints

By clicking on the above to enlarge it, you can see the faint double image especially noticeable in the upper third of this piece.  This happened by happy accident when I was making my sun-prints.  Next time I make these prints, I will be creating these double-exposures on purpose.

I will post more of these prints, along with step-by-step photos, later.  The stencil I used here was my 9"X12" Boxed Vines.

It took some shopping around to find sun-print paper of a size ready to accommodate 9"X12" stencils.  In later posts I will include info on this.

Think in Layers

Using Photoshop has taught me to think in layers.  Now I'm applying the same approach to making greeting cards.

For this project I've used my 9"x12" STENCILGIRL(TM) stencil BoxedVines ... and a couple of the images will be repeats of images shown in earlier posts. 

The first step I suggest taking is to use this stencil as a guide in cutting out individual vines.

I took the option of cutting out my vines freehand, so they aren't identical with the stencil's vines. 

But for anyone who doesn't have a Matisse-ish bone in her body, I recommend using masking tape to secure the stencil onto colored paper; then, to trace lines along the edges of the vines you like.  You can use colored pencils that match the colors of these papers.

(Here is a link with a helpful example of using a stencil to trace its shapes:  http://www.stencilgirltalk.com/2014/03/stencilgirl-guest-designer-gina-rossi.html.)

Your Boxed Vines tracings will show the "bridges" used in stencil-design (needed to hold the stencils together) but these small gaps will disappear as you cut out the vines.  I recommend using cuticle or similar fine-detail scissors.

On the 2 greeting card covers below, the vine cut-outs are the textured purple vine in the top card, and in the lower card, the orange and navy vines.

The backgrounds on these two greeting cards were created as Gelli Plate prints using the Boxed Vines stencil.

Yet another kind of collage for a greeting card cover:

 In the above image, 3 irregular-shaped background-papers have been stacked; over them, I've added a collection of vines in assorted colors. 

Again, I've cut these vines freehand -- but for those who prefer, the technique works equally well if vines are traced onto colored papers using my Boxed Vines stencil as a guide. 

When using my stencil as a guide, you can achieve more variety for your hand-cut individual vines if you flip the stencil over:  Your next tracings will be horizontally flipped versions of your first set of tracings. 

Remember to use cuticle or other fine-detail scissors to cut out the vines.  If you accidentally lop off a leaf, re-attach it as you're gluing down the final collage; nobody will know.  Promise!

2 tips: 

Cardstock is the best paper I've found for cutting out these individual vines.  I've tried "softer" texture-embossed papers but they don't work as well.

TowBow glue sticks work especially well in creating these collages.  I will soon be auditioning a Zig glue pen for the individually cut-out vines.  It may work even better.

My 9"X12" stencil Boxed Vines is available here: 
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/Boxed-Vines-Stencil-Cecilia-Swatton-p/l247.htm

Just One This Time...

 

This is a recent Gelli Plate print, made with two of my 9"X12" stencils, Two Vases and Boxed Vines.

 

I'd love to have time for making lots more Gelli Plate prints ... and I'm sure that day will come ...

 

At the moment I'm working on a large collage with other previously prepared papers, including one paper made with the stencil-"scraping" technique I've described in earlier posts.  The above print will someday be torn or cut into pieces to be used in the same way.

This and that...

The above greeting card was made with a STENCILGIRL(TM)Products stencil --
Curvie Lattice by Mary Beth Shaw.   I masked off the central area before using a dauber to add assorted acrylic paints.

Above is a Gelli Plate print  created with my 9"X12" stencil Boxed Vines

 Below is another Gelli Plate print created with the same stencil:

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Mary C. Nasser's Beautiful Clock ... and some "Boxed Vines"

http://www.marycnasser.com/2/post/2014/02/stencilgirl-walnut-hollow-blog-hop.html is the webpage where you can read the full story and see the step-by-step how-to photos of this project dreamed up and executed by Mary C. Nasser.  I love her color combinations and I love the way she decided to create a gentle sense of motion, using the feather designs, on the left half of this artwork.   I was so impressed upon first seeing this piece that, until Mary's commentary drew my attention to it, I didn't even notice that the feathers had been created with my 6"X6" Feathers stencil.

The above stencil measures 6"X6" and is available here ... http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s178.htm

 And now to veer in another direction--

Above:  another stencil of mine -- the 9"X12" Boxed Vines.

Above:  a Gelli Plate print created using this stencil.

 Above:  I created this greeting card cover in my PC, but I show it here to give ideas as to potential ways of using parts of the Boxed Vines stencil in hands-on art-making:  To do so, I would use masking tape to cover the parts of the stencil I want to keep from printing.  Then after doing numerous overlapping prints (with acrylic paint on a dauber), I would come back in with a small brush and use the same acrylic paints to fill in the "bridge" lines of the stencil.  Boxed Vines is available at
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/Boxed-Vines-Stencil-Cecilia-Swatton-p/l247.htm

Above:  another greeting card cover,
 showing another possible way to use
this stencil in hands-in art-making, altho
this particular example was created on my PC.
Again, some of the stencil would be
covered with masking tape to keep it
from being printed.  This example shows the
Boxed Vines design as the top layer in a multi-
layer print.  If I were doing this by hand,
I would use the Gelli Plate to create the
background blocks of color.

 

Brand-New "Boxed Vines" Stencil -- More Playful Ideas



Above:  my brand-new 9"X12" stencil Boxed Vines, available here:

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/Boxed-Vines-Stencil-Cecilia-Swatton-p/l247.htm

 

More artwork created with this stencil:

 

Above:  a collaged greeting card cover, created with a Gelli Plate print from this new stencil.  Note:  The purple vine at center stage is freehand-cut.  It complements the stencil design but is not made from the stencil itself. 

 

Above:  the envelope made to match this greeting card.  I've collaged the scrap onto the far left side to leave room for both the return address and the outgoing address.

 

Above:  another greeting card cover made in the same way -- using a piece of Gelli Plate print and a (green) freehand-cut complementary embellishment.  Note:  The large white vine-shape (part of the Gelli Plate print) was also created with a freehand-cut vine.  The light aqua print -- showing vines and a partial border -- is the part that was made using this new stencil.

Above:  a collaged greeting card cover.  The dark orange background was created with a Gelli Plate and the brand-new stencil Boxed Vines.  The green vine in the foreground was freehand-cut, in the same style as the stencil, but was not made from the stencil itself.

Above:  the ivory vines-and-border pattern was created with this new stencil -- a Gelli Plate print.  The overlay of two white "ghost" vines was also printed on a Gelli Plate, using freehand-cut vines that resemble the stencil.
 

Above:  This is the Gelli Plate print that was later cut up for making greeting card collages, as shown earlier in this post.  The pale aqua part was created with the new stencil Boxed Vines.  The two white vines, an over-print created with the same Gelli Plate, were made from freehand-cut vines, not from the stencil itself.

This new stencil and many others are available here:

 http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/Boxed-Vines-Stencil-Cecilia-Swatton-p/l247.htm

 

All that gleams ...

... may not be gold, but it could be pearl ... or pearlescent paper.

 













You may not be able to appreciate the glowing beauty resulting from this simple technique, till you try it yourself -- no photo, scan or video can  capture it as well as seeing it in person.  The gleam of this painted paper shows thru the translucent alcohol inks, and the inks themselves form mottled patterns.  The combination of the two is a treat for the eyes!

Supplies:  watercolor paper or other sturdy, smooth paper; Ranger alcohol inks; Ranger alcohol ink applicator; brush or brayer; pearlescent paint; masking tape; stencils

First step:  Use a substrate of hot-press (smooth to touch) 140-lb. watercolor paper.  Lacking that, you could try using heavyweight cardstock.

Brush or brayer on a layer of white pearlescent acrylic paint. I used Golden's but other brands are available.  Make sure the whole surface is evenly coated; this may require 2 coats, with dry-time between.

Click on the above image to enlarge it.

The gleam is more visible in the photo below...

After this dries, hold, or secure with making tape, stencils onto the substrate.  Then add just a few drops of alcohol inks to the ink applicator and do several test-prints on scratch paper to take out any excess of alcohol ink.  It's far better to have too little alcohol ink on the applicator, than to have too much, since the runny nature of this ink makes it tricky to use with stencils.  Ink wants to run under the edges of the stencil-cuts to create blurry images.  Use a light touch when daubing the inks thru the stencil openings.


Above:  my 6"X6" stencil Heron.

Above:  my 6"X6" stencil Osprey Wings.

Above:  my brand new 9"X12" stencil Boxed Vines.

Below:  After the inks have been applied and the stencils have been lifted:

My first attempt at this resulted in "run-under" blurs like this:




 

 
But with a little practice, I learned the right amount of ink to use (very little)  -- and I learned two ways of dealing with run-unders.

(1.) They can be camouflaged:

Above:  I sprayed acrylic inks over the entire print to camouflage the run-under areas. 

Another example:

 

Above:  This print made from the stencil Osprey Wings had under-runs along the edges.

Above:  This is the same image after I sprayed it with acrylic inks.

Above:  the Pat Dews mouth atomizer and acrylic inks that I use with it to create sprays.  Another option would be to use Color Bloom Sprays or Ranger's Color Wash sprays.

 

(2.)  Run-unders can also be painted out:

Above:  my 6"X6" Gingko stencil was used to make this greeting card cover; I had two areas of run-under, which I later touched up with a small paintbrush dipped into the pearlescent paint.

 

More examples showing alcohol inks on pearlescent paper:

 

Above:  my 6"X6" stencil Ferns was used to create this greeting card cover.

Above:  my 6"X6" stencil Flowers Version 1 was used to create this greeting card cover.

 

 

Above:  My 9"X12" stencil Ivy Frame was used to create this greeting card cover.

All the above stencils, and many more, are available here at STENCILGIRL(TM)Products:

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/category-s/1832.htm