Giveaway to Celebrate New Stencils and Masks -- HOT AIR BALLOONS!

 

To celebrate today's release, I will be sending one sheet of 4" x 4" and one sheet of 6" x 6" Hot Air Balloons Stencils and Masks to the first person to correctly name the StencilGirl stencils I've used in making the artwork below --

The only hint I'll give is to say the obvious -- my new set of Hot Air Balloon Stencils and Masks were not used.  

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment with your name.  

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 brand-new Hot Air Balloon Stencils and Masks!

HOT AIR BALLOON STENCILS & MASKS Released Today at StencilGirl!

 
Today I'm announcing my new four-part release, Hot Air Balloons and Masks, which comes in two sheets, one 6" x 6" sheet and one mini-sheet measuring 4" x 4".

Although these sheets come in two sizes, the stencils and masks are identical in design -- see below --

Above:  the stencil is on the left.  The mask is on the right.

Note:  A mask "masks" -- that is, hides -- everything that you place under it.  The function of a stencil, on the other hand, is to give you an imprint of an image that can contain more details than a mask can.  In this case, the image is a hot air balloon with three vertical stripes.

Today I'll show one way I've used these stencils and masks together.  A sponge brayer was my tool of choice, but the traditional sponge-pouncing method would work just as well.

First, I'll post the final photo -- it shows what the results were, after I followed a step-by-step method that I learned from Mary Beth Shaw:

Now for the steps that got me there, starting with the photo below...

The above photo shows a black substrate.  On it I've placed both the masks.  Next, I loaded a sponge brayer with heavy-body white paint.  With the brayer I added a layer of this paint over the masks.  While rolling the brayer over each mask, I held each in place with one finger.  You can even see my forefinger mark in the middle of the larger mask above!

Below you can see the results after the two masks have been lifted --

After the white paint had dried, I started my next step on the left side of the print, covering the left masked-imprint with the stencil of corresponding size (6" x 6".)  As you can see below, it was at this point that I started to use masking tape -- to make sure that the stencil had been placed exactly where I wanted it, lining it up with the masked-imprint below.

At this point, it was time to carefully mask off the mask half of this new stencil set.  This was to prevent the hole of the punched-out mask from showing up in my final image.  To mask off the mask-hole, I used a different kind of masking tape.  This yellow tape has a low-tack sticking surface -- making it easier to remove and far less likely to damage the print underneath.

You can click on the above photo to enlarge it and better see the way I shaped pieces of the yellow masking tape to cover the mask-hole on the far right.  On the left, you can see my sponge brayer loaded with a bright pink heavy-body acrylic paint.

The photo below is a close-up of the stencil now that the pink heavy-body paint has been brayered over it.  Notice how the yellow masking tape on the right has prevented the paint from imprinting the right area of the substrate.

Not shown is a view of the pink hot air balloon that appeared when I lifted the stencil.

Next -- while keeping the Hot Air Balloon stencil taped in place -- I waited for the pink paint to dry.  

In the photo below, you can see what I did after testing the pink paint to make sure it had dried.

-- I placed my 6" x 6" Sprigs stencil over the stencil and (under this stencil) its pink imprint.  

Holding Sprigs with one hand, I used a fresh brayer to add a white layer of heavy-body acrylic paint.  See below:

  

The photo above shows the results after I had lifted off the masking taped "sandwich" of the Sprigs stencil and the Hot Air Balloon stencil.

And the photo below shows, again, the results after I had repeated this step-by-step process with the 4" x 4" size--

Thanks for visiting this blog today!

PUDDLES Stencil by Rae Missigman and my Stencil FANTASIA

The 6" x 6" stencil Puddles, by Rae Missigman, has rocketed into the list of my top ten favorites!

In the artwork below, I've used Rae's stencil along with part of my 9" x 12" stencil Fantasia --

Repeated use of Rae's stencil makes up the bulk of the design, while the vertical lower right area is formed by part of Fantasia.  The largest circles are freehand drawn.

The technique I used to make this art on stretched canvas comes from two sources:  The Absentee Artist chapter of the book Creative Paper Art, by Nancy Welch, and Pat Dews' DVD Designing Great Starts with Texture and Form (available at Cheap Joe's Art Supplies online.)

Fantasia in its entirety (before I customize it with scissors) looks like this:

I've also used Rae Missigman's Puddles stencil to make this subtle embellishment for a greeting card --

Subtle but beautiful, because of the stencil design.  Love it!

If you'd like to see all my stencils, please visit here.

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Gwen Lafleur and NOSEGAY Stencil

Artist Gwen Lafleur, living up to the beauty of her last name and in fact surpassing it, has chosen my 9" x 12" stencil Nosegay -- among many other StencilGirl stencils -- in making today's featured artwork.

Above is the complete finished piece; the photo below backtracks to show the step Gwen took when using Nosegay.

The photo below shows a close-up that focuses on the 3-dimensional detail Gwen achieved using this stencil.

For Gwen's full-length write-up, complete with all her photos, just click here.

Check out Gwen's Gems here.

Nosegay stencil looks like this:

To see this and my other stencils, please visit here.

Many thanks (1) to Gwen, for allowing me to share her gorgeous art here today, and (2) to YOU, for visiting my blog today!  

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Using a Sponge Brayer with Stencils

This print was made with Pair o' Parrots stencil (6" x 6").

Today's second print, below, started with my 9" x 12" Mimosa Stencil ... the original print was with a dark acrylic paint, probably green.  Over that I added a topcoat of red acrylic paint.

Then I painted a 6" x 6" square roughly in the center.

Atop that, I laid another stencil, Fern Fronds Silhouette Mini, which measures 4" x 4".  With this stencil, I used a sponge brayer loaded with two shades of green acrylic paint.

Below:  When using a sponge brayer with a stencil, I always use heavy body paint -- or, as in the example shown here, I use liquid/soft body acrylic paint that has been left out for awhile.  This increases its viscosity.  Highly viscous (heavy body) acrylic paints are less likely to cause stencil run-under.  But the amount of pressure applied with the applicator -- be it a brayer or any other kind of paint applicator -- is of even more importance than the viscosity of the paint.  It has taken me a lot of practice to learn the right amount of pressure for avoiding run-under!

I also used a sponge brayer loaded with heavy body paints to make today's top print as well as the print below ...

Above:  6" x 6" Heron stencil

I'm happy to say that I've designed 70 stencils for StencilGirl.  The multiple pages of my stencils start here.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Mary Beth Shaw with OSPREY WINGS and HERON Stencils

The July/August 2017 Somerset Studio magazine carried Mary Beth Shaw's write-up about using silhouette stencils with patterned stencils.  (Click on the magazine title above to order this back issue.)

To my delight, for this article, among other StencilGirl stencils, Mary Beth had chosen two of my 6" x 6" silhouette stencils for her demonstrations. 

Mary Beth's stunning artwork above was created with the help of Osprey Wings ...

6" x 6" stencil Osprey Wings

... and my 6" x 6" stencil Heron ...

... was used with other StencilGirl stencils in Mary Beth's art below...

The process:

Make an imprint with the silhouette stencil and allow that paint to dry.  

Place the stencil back over the print.  (Secure with masking tape if desired.)

Layer a patterned stencil over the first stencil and make an imprint with it.  Usually you would want to use a contrasting color; in the example directly above, Mary Beth used the complimentary color orange when making the patterned imprint, having used blue for her initial imprint.

When the second imprint is being made, the first stencil becomes a mask to keep the second (patterned) stencil inside the lines of the silhouette.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

To see my full line of stencils, please check here.

6" x 6" Stencil ORNAMENTAL IRON CURLS

Ornamental Iron Curls is a 6" x 6" stencil that looks like this, before it's become paint-stained and cut into pieces! --

I've used many Ornamental Iron Curls  stencils as collage elements in multi-layered mixed-media collages, always after they've been stained from previous use and cut into a variety of shapes:

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I'm happy to say that I've designed 70 stencils for StencilGirl.  The multiple pages of my stencils start here.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Nancy Sanderson Curry and CLUSTERED LEAVES!

Artist Nancy Sanderson Curry teaches exciting workshops, and one of her happy workshop participants -- Carol Felzien -- has used my 9" x 12" stencil Clustered Leaves to create the artwork starring in today's post.  Nancy supplied the stamp that Carol used on the right,  It was never random -- which I love as much as the art itself!

Clustered Leaves itself looks like this:

To keep current with Nancy Sanderson Curry and her art, visit here.

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I'm happy to say that I've designed 70 stencils for StencilGirl.  The multiple pages of my stencils start here.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

Coincidence of the Keys!

This month's StencilClub members have been delighted to receive a set of three stencils, all featuring beautifully crafted designs of keys and locks.

I was stunned by the coincidence that my first post for the New Year happened to be a sort of tip-toe trip around the same kind of theme! 

I've designed three borders stencils, each of them containing three borders and each measuring 9" x 12".  The middle stencil in this series, Swatton Borders # 2, has one border that I had designed for edges of art journal pages ...

And today's post shows two ways I've used this stencil's center border, keys.

Note:  When using my borders stencils, I find it's easier for me if I first cut each of the three stencils into three vertical borders, making sure that I leave ample margins around each strip of designs.

The first art sample below shows the border used in the way I'd originally envisioned -- as an accent edge for an art journal page.

The next image shows this stencil used three times on one page, creating what will become a background pattern ...

Although the keys are showing up brightly on the art journal page above, they will eventually be covered with more layers of paint and more stencil-prints.  But the original print will continue to show itself in areas across the page.

Thanks a lot for visiting here today!

To check out the multiple pages of my stencils, please go here.