StencilGirl Guest Designer Judi Kauffman

Easter Eggs

By Judi Kauffman

Thank you for inviting me back as a guest designer. When I first thought about what to make, Easter cards came to mind. I've loved the simple egg stencil since I first saw it and knew it could be a lot of fun to play with. And since I really like stenciling on sparkly, shiny Shimmer Sheetz, I decided to incorporate it as a stenciling surface as well.

Using StazOn ink in a color called Iris, I began by stenciling egg shapes on Blue, Light Pink, Pink, Purple, Yellow, and Green Iris Shimmer Sheetz ("Iris" in this case refers to the fact that the colors are iridescent). Just a tad of ink on a dauber did the trick. Then I cut out the eggs and began to stencil on top of them with a variety of other stencils including flowers and abstract patterns. Same ink, but this time with more of it on the dauber for strong, bold contrast.

My original plan was to make A2 size cards with a single egg centered on each one. But I had gotten carried away and there were over three dozen eggs on my work table! Plan B evolved: I would use a trio of eggs on each card and I upped the size to 6" x 6". I made ten cards. But that still left me with more eggs staring up at me, waiting to be called into action.

I suddenly remembered something I wrote a while back when I was the guest designer for Walnut Hollow. My project was a Rustic Pallet Tabletop Sign for a brunch buffet with stenciled Shimmer Sheetz eggs in natural colors. As an option at the end of my instructions I had suggested brightly colored eggs for an Easter brunch.

Bingo. Some of the leftover stenciled eggs would be just right for another Rustic Pallet Tabletop Sign. And instead of hard boiled eggs I would fill the egg cups with CANDY! (In case anyone is wondering, Coconut M&Ms are fabulous...)

SUPPLIES

StencilGirl ProductsStencils: S021 Eggs Speckled and S031 Rabbits by Tracie Lyn Huskamp; S151 Half MoonSlant by Lizzie Mayne; S075 Circle Play by Margaret Applin; L218 Sporn Flowers Negative by Jessica Sporn; S129 Net by Mary Beth Shaw; S107 Zen Landscape byJamie Fingal  

Walnut Hollow: Rustic Pallet Tabletop Sign Narrow #40189

Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pink, Light Pink, Purple, Blue, Green, and Yellow Iris Shimmer Sheetz (or assorted colors of choice); Transparent double-sided Adhesive Sheets

DecoArt: For the Tabletop Sign - Americana Acrylics in Traditional Burnt Umber, Snow (Titanium) White, Ebony (Lamp) Black; Matte Medium

Tsukineko: StazOn ink in Iris; StazOn All-Purpose Cleaner

Close To My Heart: My Reflections Skylark Collection papers

Karen Foster Design: Easter Blessings and Headline Alphabet White cardstock stickers

Other: Sponge dauber, paintbrush, scissors

INSTRUCTIONS

*For Cards: Follow steps 3, 4, 5 and 7.

*For Tabletop Sign: Follow steps 1 through 6.

1. Whitewash the Tabletop Sign with 50-50 mix of Snow (Titanium) White and Matte Medium. Allow to dry.

2. Using an almost dry brush and very little paint, distress the edges of the Tabletop Sign with Traditional Burnt Umber and Ebony (Lamp) Black.

3. Cover your work surface with several layers of newspaper or newsprint to protect it. (Be aware that StazOn inks are permanent and can stain your hands, so wear gloves if you just got a manicure!) Place Shimmer Sheetz on the paper and stencil the eggs, following steps #4 and 5. Allow ink to dry thoroughly after each of these steps (the time needed depends on climate and how much ink you daubed onto the Shimmer Sheetz).

4. Using a dauber to apply Iris ink, stencil the basic egg shape for as many eggs as you need for Cards as well as the Tabletop Sign. (The Eggs Speckled Stencil is 2-step - the basic egg shape, and the speckles - You will be using ONLY the egg shape for this project.) Use very little ink and a light touch with the dauber. To create the illusion of volume, use more ink at the edges and toward the bottom. Allow ink to dry.

5. Cut out the eggs. Using Iris ink, stencil pattern onto each egg. Allow ink to dry. (I used only one stencil, Sporn Flowers Negative, for the Tabletop Sign, but a mix of stencils for the trio of eggs on each Card)  

6. For Tabletop Sign: Arrange the eggs as shown, or as you prefer. Adhere with double-sided adhesive sheet.

7. For Cards:

    a. Using Iris ink and S075 Circle Play, stencil additional pieces of Iris Shimmer Sheetz. Allow ink to dry.

    b. Cut around scalloped outer border of the Circle Play pattern. Cut Shimmer Sheetz piece in half along the diagonal midline of the pattern, or into random pieces. (Refer to photos: 4 of the cards have half-circles, 2 incorporate the random pieces.)

    c. Cut a 12" x 6" piece of solid color cardstock for each card base. Score, then fold in half (6" x 6" finished size, fold at the left).

    d. Cut a 5.5" x 3" piece of patterned paper for each card, and a .75" x 6" strip of patterned paper to use across the bottom of some of the cards as well.

    e. Using the photos as a reference and double-sided adhesive to adhere the pieces, assemble the cards. Add dimension to the eggs with foam squares so they pop from the surface.

    f. Options

        *Spell "EASTER" or "easter" using alphabet stickers (all upper or all lower case).

        *Position a butterfly sticker so it flies at the top edge of a card.

        *Tuck fussy-cut rabbit stickers between eggs so they peek out as a little