It's Time to Start Stocking-Stuffer Gifts!

Plain coasters are a great substrate for creating stenciled Christmas stocking-stuffer gifts!  They are available in a variety of places; one of them is Michaels.

My first step with my coasters was to put them into a cardboard box so that I could spray them with red acrylic paint.  (The reason for the box was to contain spray that would otherwise be on one of my walls!)

After my two coasters had dried from their second spray of red acrylic paint, I placed them on newspaper and set one of my stencils over them.  The beauty of STENCILGIRL(TM) stencils is that their translucency allows exact placement of the stencil, which becomes really important when working on an object that is coaster-size.  Having achieved the right placement, I used masking tape to secure the stencil to the coaster, and to the newspaper underneath.

Click on the above image to see a close-up.

My next step was to use a sponge-tip applicator to add green paint across the face of the coaster.

 

What I've learned:  For best results, use a heavy-bodied paint and start with less paint on the applicator than you think you may need.  You can always add more paint if need be.  But if you start with too much paint -- as I tend to do -- you risk it leaking under the edges of the stencil's openings, creating areas of blurred paint.  Less is more.  Do as I say, not at I do!  :-)

Above:  After removing the piece of tape opposite the stencil, I then had a hinged stencil that I could simply fold back, away from the still-wet coaster.

Below is another example of creating a hinge, using a different area of the stencil and using the other coaster:

While the stencil was still wet with green paint, I did what Mary Beth Shaw calls reverse-stenciling.  I tend to call it stamping with a stencil -- but I like her term better. 

I lifted the still-wet stencil carefully away from the still-wet coaster, placed the stencil face down on the newspaper, and went over it with a hard rubber brayer.  This transferred the reverse pattern onto the newsprint. 

Later, I cut out part of that print and used it on the cover of a handmade Christmas card:

Click the above image to enlarge it.

During one of my on-site demos a few years ago, I was asked why I use foreign newspapers -- Chinese, Korean, French and Spanish -- for projects like this.  My questioner hazarded the guess that perhaps the newspaper quality is higher when it comes from elsewhere.  Um, no.  Generally it's lower.  But the thing is, I like the look of foreign text when it appears, obscured but still visible, as a background in my finished project.

Meanwhile -- with gold metallic paint and the same type of sponge-tip applicator -- I gave the two coasters one last touch: 



The 9"x 12" stencil used today is Swatton Borders #1 and in its entirety it looks like this --

As its title implies, it's one of three border stencils I've designed.  Each measures 9" x 12" and contains 3 borders per stencil.
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MIKKI'S FLOWERS Stencil and Mask in the Gifted Hands of Mary Beth Shaw

Mary Beth Shaw created this video back on July 8.

Toward the end of this instructional video, I was happy to hear her kind words about Mikki's Flowers Stencil and Mikki's Flowers Mask as she used one and showed the other in this demo. 

Mikki's Flowers Stencil (6"x 6")

Mikki's Flowers Mask (The flowers match the stencil's flowers in size.)

Enjoy the video!

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Striking Gold

 For today's post I've started with 140-lb. hot press (smooth surface) watercolor paper and covered it with gold metallic paint, loving this rich shade that Golden makes--

After the paint dried, I added stencils, holding each in place with masking tape --

The stencils shown above are:

on the far right, my 9"X 12" Borders #2 stencil -- 

at bottom left, a portion of my 9"X 12" Boxed Vines stencil;

my 6"X6" Mimosa stencil (upper left);

my 6"X6" Kaleid stencil (middle top.)

Next, I very lightly pounced thru the stencil openings with a Ranger alcohol ink applicator and just a few drops of Ranger alcohol inks, pictured below.  

Below is the sheet of gilded paper after the stencils were lifted off.

I then cut out each of the stenciled areas; most of them are pictured below:

Above:  For this print, I used a portion of my 9"X 12" stencil Boxed Vines.

Above:  For this print, I used one of the three borders in my 9"X12" stencil Borders # 2.

Above:  This print was made with my 6"X 6" Kaleid stencil.

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BLOOMING WHERE PLANTED Stencil (9" x 12")

Today's post zeroes in on the largest of the three stencils contained in the 9" x 12" stencil Blooming Where Planted. 

Above:  the large stencil on the far left is the one I chose for making today's art samples.  (On the StencilGirl website, this image is rotated 90 degrees clockwise.  So there, today's chosen section  is at the top of the stencil.)

The above was created with the traditional daubing method, pushing heavy-body paint thru the stencil with a Sofft Sponge.

Today's final two prints, below, could have been created on a Gelli Plate.  But, this time around, I printed them with a sponge brayer, loaded with heavy-body acrylic paint.

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Judi Kauffman and CLUSTERED LEAVES Stencil (9" x 12")

I'm thinking about starting on Christmas decorations as I write this post.  What brought that on?  Beautiful dangling artworks by Judi Kauffman -- shown here with step-by-step instructions and photos.

Here are only two of the photos from Judi's project --

Above:  a dollar store coaster painted by Judi Kauffman, as she worked her way thru this project.

Above: the same coaster, now a dangling work of art, after Judi had completed her project.

Judi chose several StencilGirl stencils in creating this collection of dangling artworks; the one shown above was made with my 9" x 12" stencil Clustered Leaves, which, in its entirety, looks like this --

Many thanks, both to Judi for opting to use this stencil, and to you -- for stopping by here today!

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

Rainbows with Stencils or Masks

The "rainbow" technique can be done in at least two ways -- with a Gelli Plate, or with a sponge brayer loaded with heavy-body acrylic paint.  Today's post features the latter.  I think the colors may be more intense when using today's brayer method, since a sponge brayer will hold a heavier paint load than what's typically spread across a Gelli Plate.

Today's main tool is the mask/stencil Garden Montage (9" x 12".)

Above:  on the left, a brayer and two colors of acrylic heavy-body paint, laid out side-by-side.  On the right, the metallic-painted substrate and the stencil/mask.

The next two photos below show close-ups of the substrate, under the stencil/mask, as well as the brayer and the two colors of acrylic paint--

My next step was to load the brayer with with colors of paint --

-- and I followed this with running the brayer down the combination of the stencil/mask and the substrate.  I held the stencil/mask in place with one hand and used the brayer with the other.....

After starting the left edge with this two-color paint, I flipped the brayer over to start the next downward roll of paint; see below:

This flipping-over (shown above) enabled me to have the two areas of blue together, moving downward.  See below ....

Below is the finished product -- the stencil/mask has been lifted so that the gold metallic paper shows thru beneath the stripes of paint.

Below are more "rainbow" prints.

Above:  Created with 6" x 6" Trivet B stencil.

Created with 9" x 12" Garden Montage

Created with Garden Montage 

Created with Longwood Florals Stencil and the 9" x 12" stencil Garden Montage 

Created with Garden Montage 

Try using 3 colors of paint this way!

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Mary Ann Russo Brings Her Talent to Huber Woods Environmental Center!

Mary Ann Russo recently began working at Huber Woods Environmental Center in Middletown, NJ -- and brought along her creative ideas.

One result of Mary Ann's two recent outstanding works appears below; but the white circle is something I've added, just for today's post....

Photo by Mary Ann Russo

In times long gone, people were punished by having their heads placed in "the stocks"  --

Bing.com/images

Happily, stocks are no longer used as punishment!  But the basic idea has remained with us, morphed into something much more pleasant.  At carnivals and many other venues of entertainment, kids and adults can find today's benign version -- life-size paintings (usually of people) with holes cut out for faces.  

And this is the reason Mary Ann's scarecrow painting has no faces!  

They are about to become holes so that Huber Woods visitors can enjoy sticking their heads thru the holes and having their photos taken.

In Mary Ann's photo crowning this post, I've added a white circle to draw attention to this detail on the smaller scarecrow --

Mary Ann describes her process:  "First I painted the background patch pink, then attached the stencil with masking tape and dabbed in the green through the stencil and dried it with a hair dryer. Then I repositioned the stencil (offset it) and dabbed in the red using a sea sponge. On the scarecrow clothing it looks like a real fabric patch."
Mary Ann delighted me by using one of my "trivet" series of stencils to create this knee-patch -- 6" x 6" Trivet A.

Trivet A 6" x 6"

This trivet also comes in a 9" x 12" version --

Trivet A 9 Stencil (9" x 12")

Mary Ann created yet another board just as wonderful as the one shown at the top of this post!  Here is that second board --

Photo by Mary Ann Russo

You can click on the above image to better see details of the clever ways Mary Ann used stencils ... or just keep scrolling down ....

Above:  This scarecrow's patch was made with my 6" x 6" stencil Marbles. It appears below:

This scarecrow's patch was made with my 6" x 6" Swatton Grid Stencil.  It appears below:

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils -- including the trivet series -- please start here.

My hearty thanks to Mary Ann Russo for allowing me to post her artwork here!

And thanks to everyone stopping by this blog today!