Art by StencilGirl StencilClub Members

Above, Shelly Hilligoss Sturges shows us a creative, striking way to use my 9" x 12" stencil Vintage Script -- by using it backward, she made it exciting in a way I'd never imagined!  I love it when I run across an artist like Shelly, who thinks outside the box!

The artwork below shows more innovation paired with strong visual language, this time by Jill McDowell, who is a StencilGirl Creative Team Member.

Jill used several StencilGirl stencils in developing the art above, and among them, my 6" x 6" Heron stencil.

Below is art by Mary C. Nasser, who used one of my two hot air balloon stencils.   (Each of these two stencils come with same-size masks.)  The background was made with a stencil by Valerie Sjodin -- an artist whose work I'd admired for years, having had the good fortune to discover her long before her welcome addition to the team of designers at StencilGirl.

Above:  A charming detail from a larger, equally charming painting by photographer/artist Kim Ross, who used my 6" x 6" Cats stencil.  Kim used part of the stencil in the artwork above.  Below is another artwork of Kim's; this time, she used the entire stencil--






By clicking on the image below, you can enlarge it to better see detail.  Among other StencilGirl stencils, artist Lisa Dobry used my 9" x 12" stencil Prayer Flags to add texture to the background of this two-page spread in her art journal.

Above:  Again, by clicking on the shot above, you can better see its details.  This art was created by StencilGirl 2019 Columnist Jennifer Armstrong.  Jennifer used my 6" x 6" stencil Pressed Leaves to make this gentle, happy image. 

I'm so very grateful that these artists have allowed me to use their photos in this blog!

And my thanks to you, too, for stopping by here today!

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

Who Will Win? -- A Giveaway to Celebrate My New Total of 85 StencilGirl Stencils!

To celebrate that I've now designed 85 StencilGirl stencils and masks, I will be sending one of each of my two 4" x 4" June 27 releases to the first person who correctly names the StencilGirl stencils and masks that I've used in making the artwork below.  

That's not all!  The winner will also receive one Longwood Florals Mask and one Longwood Florals Stencil.  Each of these is 9" x 12".

You can click on the above image to enlarge it, and better see details. (It's a collage-in-progress, so you will notice that many of the papers are not yet glued down.)  Alternately, you can go to StencilClub's Facebook Page.  There, I'll be able to post a larger version.

These papers, as well as the painted background, were printed using StencilGirl stencils and masks designed by other StencilGirl designers, as well as ones I myself have designed.  

The winner will be someone who lists the names of each stencil and mask that was used in developing the artwork as a whole -- both its background and its collage papers. 

Some stencils or masks were used more than once, but there's no need to count the number of uses.  All that's needed is a list of the stencils' and masks' titles.

Two hints:

(1)  My new set of 4" x 4" minis -- the ones I'm giving away to the winner -- were not used.  Neither were Longwood Florals Mask nor Longwood Florals Stencil.

(2)  A total of 6 stencils/masks were used.  The winner will name them -- or, the winner will be the one who comes closest to the correct list of 6 by the deadline.

Deadline to enter is 12:00 am July 12, U.S. Eastern Standard Time.  The winner will be announced July 13.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment with your name and your list of stencil or mask names.  

Then watch this blog -- you can subscribe by email using the option in the upper right -- to see my announcement with the name of the winner.  

When the winner sees her or his name, I ask her or him to leave another comment, which I won't publish.  In this second comment, I want the winner to provide her or his full name and mailing address -- so I can send a set of my brand-new 4"x 4" minis -- the stencils/masks that I've been featuring on this blog June 27-July 5.  And along with them will come one Longwood Florals Mask and one Longwood Florals Stencil.  All four are pictured below.

Left:  M and Y.  Right:  E and R.

Longwood Florals mask (9" x 12")

Longwood Florals stencil (9" x 12")

I'm looking forward to announcing a winner on July 13!

Anybody Want to Win ...?

Anyone want to win a free set of my two newly-released mini stencils/masks?  That's this pair --

R and E m268 and M and Y m267, each 4" x 4" (shown at the bottom of this post)

Details will be posted here on July 8!

Meanwhile, let me show you the prints below:

9" x 12" stencil Prayer Flags was used to make the bottom layer (purple and white.)  The top, green layer was printed with M and Y m267.

Overlapping prints with R and E m268 and M and Y m267 created the top layer above.  The bottom layer, peeking thru in a few areas, was created with acrylic paints and my 9" x 12" stencil Clustered Leaves.

The near-twin prints above were made using  R and E m268 and M and Y m267.  Underneath them lies a print made with the May 2019 StencilGirl StencilClub Stencil of the Month.

In the 2-part photo above, the bottom print came from making a top-layer print with R and E m268 over a bottom layer printed with  the May 2019 StencilGirl StencilClub Stencil of the Month.  The top print (dark green and lavender) was created with M and Y m267 .

M and Y, measuring 4" x 4"

R and E, measuring 4" x 4"

Thanks for stepping into my blog today!  To scroll thru all my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

To subscribe to this blog by email, please use that option in the upper right sidebar.

To get details about a chance to win today's featured brand-new stencils/masks -- as well as another stencil-and-mask set -- please come back on July 8!

Quick Prints with Just-Released 4" x 4" Stencils/Masks

While making plans to celebrate Independence Day -- or if you're in the Detroit-Windsor area, the Freedom Festival -- maybe you can take a little time to make a few simple prints with my brand-new mini stencils/masks,  R and E m268 and M and Y m267, each 4" x 4".

The prints below took just minutes to create:

M and Y m267

M and Y m267

This was actually plain paper that I had placed under M and Y m267 to clean it! 

This sheet of cardstock is a background-to-be for a future project.  The stencil used in the upper right is M and Y m267.

M and Y m267 and R and E m268

R and E m268

R and E m268

Bottom layer printed with 6" x 6" stencil Trivet A.  Top layer overlapping prints: M and Y m267 and R and E m268.

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

Pairing Brand-New Mini Stencils with May 2019The StencilGirl Stencil Club Stencil of the Month

After designing the 3-stencil set that made up the May 2019 StencilGirl StencilClub Stencil of the Month, I wanted to use that 3-piece collection with lots of other stencils and masks!  I started with my just-released 4" x 4" minis, R and E m268 and M and Y m267. 

R and E m268 paired with the 4" x 4" stencil in the May 2019 Stencil of the Month

R and E m268 along with M and Y m267 , used over a print made with the_9" x 12" stencil in the
  May 2019 Stencil of the Month

M and Y m267 and the_6" x 6" stencil from the 3-piece set of
  May 2019 Stencil of the Month

R and E m268 along with M and Y m267 and the_6" x 6" stencil from the 3-part 
  May 2019 Stencil of the Month

R and E m268 paired with the 4" x 4" stencil in the May 2019 Stencil of the Month

Here, prints made with 2 stencils in the May 2019 set are hiding mostly in the background, but peeking thru the white paint. R and E m268 paired with M and Y m267 in developing the top layer.

My sincere gratitude to all who came here to visit today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

More Variety in Stencil Prints using 2 New 4" x 4" Releases

 The photo below is a close-up of black cardstock that became background for spreading heavy-body matte gel medium thru a stencil using an old credit card.  After the gel had dried, I dry-brushed* over the raised areas with silver metallic acrylic paint.  

The 3-dimensional imprint above was made with M and Y (m267), one of my two new 4" x 4" mini stencils/masks --

M and Y, measuring 4" x 4" (m267)

And the 3-dimensional piece below was made with R and E (m268)...

R and E, measuring 4" x 4" (m268)

The stencil I chose for making the first two prints below was M and Y (m267).

The background was highly textured with several heavy body acrylic paints, mashed with an old credit card to form peaks and valleys.  After that had dried, I used M and Y with a mix of zinc white  (translucent) acrylic paint and Titanium White (opaque) acrylic paint.

Light magenta acrylic paint mixed with white molding paste, applied to dark blue cardstock.  Metallic gold crayon was added to two corners after the paint had dried.

R and E (m268) was the stencil/mask that I used in creating the next two prints:

Borders:  metallic crayon; print:  light magenta acrylic paint mixed with white molding paste.

Bottom layer:  gold metallic acrylic paint.  Top layer:  Titanium White (opaque) acrylic paint.

Many thanks for stopping here at my blog today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

*In this blog post, I give step-by step photos and directions on the dry-brushing technique.

Newly Released Mini 4" x 4" Stencils

More ways to use my just-released two 4" x 4" stencils/masks fill today's post.

I've enjoyed creating some prints that I think of as "tile" prints.

Part of this "tile" look is developed by turning the stencils in opposite directions in making each print.  This yields an impression of unity (because some designs match) yet, at the same time, variety (which ramps up interest for the viewer.)  

For the first "tile" below, I used both m268 R and E and m267 M and Y. (Its background is a pre-painted now-invalid stock certificate, a flea market purchase.)   

For the second "tile," I used m267 M and Y. (Its background is a sheet of foreign newsprint.)

The "tile" below combines prints from both m268 R and E and m267 M and Y, as well as incorporating a background print made with my 9" x 12" stencil Clustered Leaves.  The prints were made with acrylic paints; the borders were added with crayon. 

Below is a piece that, to my eye, has a tile-like appearance, maybe because I've seen tiles used diagonally this way.  4" x 4" m268 R and E and m267 M and Y both were used.  Asemic writing (brought up in my June 28 post) was also used.

Above is today's final "tile," developed with acrylic paints on pre-painted foreign newsprint.  Again, 4" x 4" m268 R and E and m267 M and Y both were used.

Altho I've used paper substrates for today's projects, these stencils would bring the same results if used on blank ceramic tiles.  (Using this link will take you to a set of 4" x 4" tiles that come with complete directions.)

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

More art samples made with my two new stencils/masks will be posted here tomorrow.  To follow this blog by email, please use that option in the upper right sidebar.

Using Pre-Printed Backgrounds to Make New Stencil Prints

Today's post trots out still more art samples created using my two brand-new StencilGirl stencils.  These minis of 4" x 4" each can also be called masks; in my opinion, that's what they are, according to "old" rules.  

M and Y, measuring 4" x 4" (m267)

R and E, measuring 4" x 4" (m268)

Using pre-printed backgrounds can add a jog of excitement to prints made with stencils.  Pre-printed background papers can certainly include papers you've prepared yourself.  But in this post I'll focus on using old picture calendar pages, old magazine picture pages and the like.

For starters, I've chosen flyleaf pages from old encyclopedias and other old books.  The photo below shows one of those flyleaf papers (originally printed with a pattern of marbled paper) ... it forms the background for this print created using m268 R and E .
  

Another "borrowed" background gives pizzazz to today's second print 
made with m268 R and E --

Below, a different flyleaf paper, also pre-printed with a marbled design, has been used with m267 M and Y.

Above is one more "borrowed" background that jazzes up this print 
made with m267 M and Y .

Below are two examples of using this kind of stencil with representational pre-printed images, as a kind of frame:

m268 R and E

m268 R and E

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

More art samples made with my two new stencils/masks will be posted here tomorrow.  To follow this blog by email, please use that option in the upper right sidebar.