Art...

Monday, June 1, 2015

June 2015 StencilGirl StencilClub! New Stencils for Members Only!

CROP CIRCLES!

Today, June 1, I'm excited to tell you about a project I have been working on. I have designed the exclusive June stencils for the StencilGirl StencilClub!

Below is some art that I made with these exclusive stencils and a special Stencil-and-Stain technique that I will be sharing with StencilClub Members this month.

Here on my blog today, I’m showing art made with that same set of June StencilGirl StencilClub stencils. But here, I'm focusing on greeting cards and using different techniques.

I started with the 4”X4” stencil, using a Sofft Sponge –

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-sponge-p/sofft1.htm

--to apply 2 shades of orange thru the stencil, on the covers of two 6”X6” blank greeting cards.

ABOVE: THE STENCIL HAS BEEN PLACED ON THE FRONT OF A BLANK GREETING CARD.

ABOVE: CLICK ON THIS IMAGE TO BETTER SEE THE DETAILS. BOTH THE STENCIL AND ITS BACKGROUND HAVE BEEN COVERED WITH ORANGE ACRYLIC PAINT.

Below: After this first application of paint, the stencil has been lifted off the blank greeting card ...

When the first application of paint had dried, I lifted the stencil and rotated it 90 degrees. After the 90-degree turn, it was easy to line the stencil up with the first print, because of the circle in the center of the design. See below:

CLICK ON THE ABOVE PHOTO; THE ENLARGEMENT BETTER SHOWS THE STENCIL NOW TURNED 90 DEGREES FROM ITS FIRST POSITION.

Now, I added a second, lighter shade of orange paint that was also metallic:

When I lifted off the stencil, I had this double-print; and called it finished:

I followed these steps on two greeting cards. On the second card, I added another step -- topping off with a spray of green paint. This card appears below:

For another group of greeting cards, I used the two larger stencils from this June StencilClub set. My blank greeting cards were cut from dark bronze cardstock.

With masking tape, I secured the blank 5”X7” greeting cards to my work-surface; I also used the tape for securing scrap paper over the back half of each card, to keep it clean. This green tape shows up in the first photo below, at the top of the image.

I placed the stencils on the card-fronts and sprayed with metallic spray paint; the paint I used was Color Mists. (One online source of Color Mists is here: http://www.outsidethemargins.com/detail.php?product=79 ). In this case, I’ve used 22 Karat Gold, one of the 6 Molten Metals set of spray paints. When the Color Mists had dried, I lifted off the stencils.

Three greeting card covers made this way appear below ...

It’s hard to for a photo to fully capture the golden sheen on these cards. But trust me – they gleam!

The greeting card blanks I’ve used are available here: http://www.jampaper.com/

Matching envelopes are also available there.

The June StencilClub stencils are available to Club Members only. Not a Member yet? To become a Member, go here –- www.stencilgirltalk.com

One last note: The 9”X12” stencil and the 6”X6” stencil in this June StencilClub set are perfect companions for the Doodle It Geometric Landscape stencil by Maria McGuire! Check it out here:

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-doodle-landscape-maria-mcguire-p/l337.htm

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Confession...

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Flower Pot Decoration with Stencils

I decided to work my way up to the flower pot ...

First I did a test on foil paper. Foil papers are great for use with stencils, even the slightly embossed foil papers that I found in my stash.

On a purple sheet of foil, I used metallic white paint with a Sofft Sponge to apply paint thru my 9"X12" stencil Boxed Vines.


Above: BOXED VINES stencil is taped into place over the foil.

Above: Metallic white paint has been applied.

I wasn't thrilled with the results ... too messy-looking.

So, turning to the flower pot itself, I switched to a different medium -- spray. Lots of spray paints would work for this, including the kinds that come in ready-to-use cans.

But for this project, I chose to use acrylic inks and my Pat Dews mouth atomizer. (Clicking on this link, you can watch a demo showing how to use this atomizer, which is sold online at Cheap Joe's Art Supplies.)

My flower pot is 5" in diameter -- I don't recommend trying to use this stencil on anything smaller. The horizontal top section --

-- of Boxed Vines is exactly the right size to use twice on a 5-in. diameter flower pot.

With masking tape, I secured the stencil to the flower pot.

Above: back view of upside-down flower pot, stencil attached.

Above: front view of right-side up flower pot, stencil attached.

First, I sprayed with green acrylic ink.

When that layer had dried, I sprayed a top layer of metallic blue acrylic ink.

Once this second layer was dry, I peeled off the stencil and re-applied it to the other side of the pot; then I repeated the double layer of sprays.

While I had the spraying gear out, I used it on the foil sheet mentioned earlier, spraying lightly over the original stenciled pattern. The spray did the trick -- concealing the messy look that I hadn't liked ...

Click on the above image to enlarge it.

Cut apart, the two panels above will work well in an art journal, maybe even on the journal cover, as topmost embellishments -- because that foil background adds pizzazz.

Below is the finished flower pot.

ABOVE: THE FINISHED FLOWER POT.

ABOVE: EVEN THE STENCIL IS BEAUTIFUL!

And the catch-all paper from underneath the flower pot turned out to be pretty enough to keep --

-- as a future background for a print made with the Gelli Plate.

I'll sign off showing another foil sheet that I stenciled. This time the stencil was Mimosa.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Darlene Olivia McElroy is an artist whose name became important to me when I read a book she co-wrote, Surface Treatment Workshop. (It's a book I highly recommend -- available at SmileAmazon.)

Click on her name above to see her You Tube demo Demented Gold Leaf. This video shows two ways to use stencils.

First, she used stencils in a traditional way, with paint, to embellish the lower edge of the blue substrate she uses in this video.

That first step, already familiar to every stencil user, is not demonstrated in this video; instead, this demo focuses on her technique Demented Gold Leaf. It's a cute title for her method of creating distressed gold leaf as a final step on a surface that's been prepared in advance.

This is a short video well worth watching if you love to use stencils!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

To Cut or Not to Cut -- That is the Question!

Artist Lissa Goldsmith commented on an earlier post of mine, and, having read it, I decided to do a post about the subject of altering your stencils.

The first time I cut into a stencil, it felt almost like cutting my arm ... but, I got over it! Stencils are made to be used as tools. You can customize your tools -- personalize them and make them uniquely yours.

And, when I first went into heavy use of stencils -- this was, not by coincidence, when I joined the talented group of designers at StencilGirlProducts.com -- I tried to keep my stencils clean. I can remember posting, long ago, about different ways to clean them: alcohol on paper towels or Wet Wipes; Windex; sponge brayer in a shallow basin of soak-water.

I got over that, too!

My original Marbles 9 (9"X12") stencil looked like this:

Friday, March 27, 2015

Last day of StencilGirlProducts Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Visit www.StencilGirlTalk.com!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Second Day of Giveaway StencilGirl Blog Hop!

Monday, March 23, 2015

Don't Wait!

Sunday, March 22, 2015

HERON Earth Did I Forget Your Birthday?

Friday, March 20, 2015

THINK SPRING! THINK SPRING! THINK SPRING!

Since today we're having yet another snowfall (4-5 inches predicted), I am determined to THINK SPRING!

I started today's project with a dark background on a sheet of 140-lb. watercolor paper slightly larger than my 9"X12" stencil Facets. The background below is not identical to the one I used, but it's very similar.

Next, I altered the background paper with Titanium White acrylic paint. I applied the paint using a cosmetic sponge (lower left corner, below) thru the Facets stencil, which I'd secured with green masking tape.

Below is the background paper with the stencil lifted off.

Below is the same paper, after I added an overcoat of translucent pale green acrylic paint.

Below is a close-up of a section of this paper, where I've followed the original lines to mark off several rectangles and one circle.

My next step was to cut along those outlined shapes. Then I assembled them to form a flower.

I auditioned several new background papers to see which I liked best as the base of the flower collage.

My favorite is the middle one. Yours?

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

9"X12" TWINSHIP Stencil

This mixed-media collage on canvas isn't quite finished, but I want to show (circled in green) the area where I've used part of my 9"X12" stencil Twinship.

This is the stencil in its entirety --

Its unusual title comes from the fact that I developed this design from a photo I took several years ago in a historic little town near near Atlantic City, NJ. The original photo showed a round wire basket hanging on a white wooden fence. The sun shone brightly that day, casting a shadow from the basket that resembled an elongated "twin"-- and I doubled this image to create the stencil design.

I love this stencil because it reminds me of that warm day, spent with friends.

Twinship is available here:

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-twinship-cecilia-swatton-p/l268.htm

Thanks for stopping by!