Journal Covers with StencilGirl® Products

CREATIVE VISION

“A dream is your creative vision for your life. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.”

I love the quote above, it really resonates with me when it comes to having a vision for something.  I wouldn’t say that I am completely comfortable working with stencils but I am becoming pretty comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown. I didn’t use stencils for a long time because the word “perfection” kept coming to mind and that word is not even in my wheelhouse. 

I have come to love stencils for the tools they are, doorways to new exciting adventures, paths to the unknown and discoveries for the unfamiliar.  I can’t imagine not using them now and the thing I love most about them is not knowing exactly how my vision will turn out and what journey the stencils will take me on.

I created two journals using stencils for both the front and back covers on each of them. On both journals my vision took different turns and I love where the stencils took me on both of the covers.

For the first Journal, “Sweet Bird Sing with Me” I just started with some background color, using acrylic paint. Then I dabbed on some white paint with my brush and some red acrylic paint. I took another brush and made random marks in acrylic teal. Next, I took my pencil and made random marks. Putting something down on paper is a good starting point even if I don’t end up using it. For this journal cover, I used a stencil designed by Artist Judy Wise, called Sister Stencil L051.  This stencil is a 9” x 12” size. I placed the stencil in the center and starting at the top, I mixed some white and black paint to place a little gray where her eyes are on the stencil... Next I used black acrylic paint and dabbed it on with a brush in her facial area, eyes (over the gray) and hair. Leaving the stencil in place, I took a little darker blue acrylic paint and dabbed on the rest of the stencil, except her legs where I used a black Posca Pen. 

Once the stencil was lifted, you could see the first layers of color which gave her a dress and because I am messy, a few of the splotches on her chest began to take shape and one of them looked like a bird to  me, so that’s what I made it. 

This is where you can change the look to your own vision. I saw a bird, but you might see hands holding flowers or something else. I added wording to the blue area that outlines her arms because writing gave it more depth and interest for me. On either side of her, I made random brush marks and later used my pencil and pen to outline a few flowers. 

This is one of my favorite parts, wiping off my stencil, intentional but with no expectations. I used  a piece of regular copy, placed my stencil down with paint still damp on it and took a baby wipe and just wiped off my stencil from side to side, not even carefully removing the paint and this was the result on my paper. Right away I knew this was going to be the back cover.

I set it aside to dry and cut off the sides to fit my back cover.  Next I added a torn piece of collage paper for some color and to get me started. Then I added some teal blue acrylic paint. After adding my colors, I used a stencil designed by Mary Beth Shaw - S575 called “Layers of Scallop”. Before placing it over my colors at the bottom, I gave the bottom of my paper a coat of black paint (over the layers of colors) then I placed the stencil down over it. Using a baby wipe, I wiped off all the black in the exposed area with the stencil still in place and this allowed the bottom layer of colors to show through. Once I lifted the stencil the only black showing was the stencil design. 

I love how it turned out, messy, imperfect, a vision of another time. On the sides, I wrote the words: “Sing your Song today. . . before the sweetness fades away”.  This is a good example of breaking out of your comfort zone and becoming comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown. 

For my second journal cover, I chose the 6” X 6” Hearts and Flower Stencil by designer Margaret Applin - S069.

I started by placing random pieces of paper on my cover that I may or may not end up keeping. Next I chose the colors I wanted to use for the background using acrylic paints. Before the paint was dry, I took the end of my brush and made marks through the paint. I ended up covering up most of the paper I glued down except the face which I thought would look fun peeking through the heart.  Next, I placed the heart stencil over my background.

Using a brush I applied a couple layers of paint over the different areas on the stencil, starting with the red acrylic paint first. I did not put it on heavy because I still wanted the markings to show through the paint and the face to peek through. For the face, I used a baby wipe to gently remove some of the paint. After lifting off the stencil, I used a brush and added little details to the flowers. Once this was all dry, I used some alpha stamps and stamped the word “Love” on the blue flower petals.  On the bottom, I added some contrasting colors and then used a black Posca Pen for some random scribbling.

On the back side of this journal, I wanted my colors to be bold so I painted teal on the cover and then added a torn image from my stash. Once it was dry, I used purple acrylic paint and some magenta acrylic over it and then used the end of my brush to leave some scribble markings. 

Next, I added a stencil by Cecilia Swatton called Mikki’s Flowers - Mask S605 to the side of the cover and painted over it with purple and magenta acrylic paint. The mask allowed the teal flowers to remain on the cover. 

Next I painted some Magenta acrylic paint over red acrylic paint and added a flower to the top of her head using white paint and a white Posca Pen to make lines on the flower and writing scribbles at the bottom. The writing says: “She always showed up”.

I hope my post has inspired you to check out all the amazing stencils and tutorials over at StencilGirl®. You can view my post HERE and while you are there grab some stencils, break out of your comfort zone and see where it takes you!

You can see more of my art on my Blog @ www.KimCollister.com and connect with me on FB and Instagram.

Happy Creating!

Kim

Watercolors & StencilGirl® Products

Hi my dear crafty friends!

I am very happy to be a guest designer on the StencilGirl® Products blog today! I enjoy so much playing with all the beautiful StencilGirl® Products designs. For today's project I decided to do something different than I usually do. Most of the time I am using stencils together with any kind of paste or acrylic paints. I also love to use them together with my gel plate. This time I thought: What about watercolors. A long time ago I used a stencil and put it onto wet watercolor and let it dry. This created a nice and interesting texture. I decided to go with lots of different colors this time. With this technique you can create various textured watercolor backgrounds to use on different projects. You can use them for greeting cards, which is what I did. But you can also do this in your art journal!

I have recorded the process and hope you will enjoy the video: 

StencilGirl® Products used:

• Map Stencil
• Pods Stencil
• Circle Play Stencil
• Art Deco Medallion Stencil

Here are photos of the cards I made with two of my backgrounds:

In addition to them I used the Crazy Flower stamps from my rubber stamps store.

For almost one year now I am enjoying being the owner of Rubber Dance.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!
xx Susanne


You can find me here:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SusanneRoseArt/
Blog: http://clayscrapkreativ.blogspot.de/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susanne_rose_art/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/SusanneRose
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.de/SusanneRoseArt/

The Sketchbook Project with StencilGirl® Stencils by Frieda Oxenham

The latest edition of The SketchbookProject came up and I began to consider if I wanted to do another sketchbook having done 9 previous ones, but while contemplating that, my right hand had already clicked that button, added digitizing to the sketchbook and bought my 10^th one! I must be keen. When the sketchbook (sized 5” x 7”) arrived, it came with a page of themes you could choose from. Again I used my intuition only and grabbed the first one that got my attention: MELANCHOLY.

Like the sketchbooks I did in the last two years this one too has become a project in my capacity as monthly Guest Designer for StencilGirl® Talk and this is the step-by-step process:

1.      Undo the staples on the sketchbook, set aside the cover for the moment and you will be left with 8 spreads. You will only work on one side of each spread and the first step is to gesso them all.

2.      Using a brayer and a variety of paints brayer over the pages, mixing up the colors. Be gentle with picking up the paint with the brayer so as not to get too thick a paint layer on your pages.

3.      Using a variety of Distress Markers, add colours to areas of the pages and with a baby wipe remove some of it through stencil Ancient Marks.

4.      Using acrylic ink in a variety of colors, brush it onto the pages (or use your fingers as I usually do) and again remove with baby wipes this time using Letter Mania.

5.      Let some inks drip down the pages.

6.      Repeat step 3, but this time only using Distress Markers in Red, Black and White.

7.      Take some deli papers and spray paint (I used Liquitex) in blue, red and black and spray the deli papers using stencils Church Windows, 1700s Building, Mix and Match Scalloped Edges, Arched Aqueduct, and Circles Circles. Use black for this last stencil.

8.      Cut out elements of the deli papers you made in step 7 and adhere to the pages using matte medium. Add a black circle to every spread but make sure you have 4 spreads with the black circle to the right of the spread, and 4 with the circle to the left.

9.      Sew two sets of pages together, one with the black sun on the right and one with the sun on the left, with their white sides together. Make sure you have your pages both facing the right way up. I like to sew, but you could also use double sided tape or matte medium to adhere the pages together.

10.  Grab your cover and paint it with black gesso.

11.  With red metallic paint and using stencil Church Windows stencil the front cover and then cut out letters spelling the word MELANCHOLY. Glue these onto the side of the front cover. Reinforce the spine of the sketchbook with black tape.

12.  Take all sets of pages and arrange them in an order pleasing to you, while making sure the sun is on the right on one spread, and then on the left on the next one. The first page has no sun, but I have added a sun to the inside front cover on the left. The last page has a sun and I then added a building on the right, on the inside back cover.

13.  Print out quotations about MELANCHOLY and glue them onto the pages.

14.  Once you’re happy, make a template using plain white paper and the height of the sketchbook. Make 3 holes, one an inch from the top, one an inch from the bottom and one in the middle. Use this template to make holes (using an awl, or big needle) in the spreads as well as in the cover. Use a book binding thread (or cotton floss) threaded through a thick needle, go through all the pages and cover from the inside center hole, come out, go into the top hole, and go back inside the book all the way to the bottom hole, go out and back in through the center hole. Knot off the threads.

15.  Do some outlining around the quotations and the buildings using black and white permanent markers. 

© Frieda Oxenham 2018. To see more of Frieda's work, please visit her BLOG.

Lynne Moncrieff: Seek Stillness

Hello! This is Lynne Moncrieff, and I’m thrilled and honored to be a Guest Designer for StencilGirl®! This invitation was such a beautiful artful surprise.

Although I did not know what form my project would take, I instinctively knew it would be with a nature theme. StencilGirl® has a vast range within the theme of nature; I was spoilt for choice!

On receiving the stencils, as I studied the designs, I had thoughts of creating a handmade journal. However, I take a very fluid approach to creating and the initial thought of a journal transpired into more. As I allowed the project to find its own path, the outcome was a handmade folder containing three scrappy journals and I couldn’t help myself, I also made a pouch.

The style of the stencils also determined the other supplies I worked with. When working with a nature theme, it is close to my heart to incorporate recycling and other “Green” options. For this project, I incorporated eco dyed elements, used teabags and recycled paper.  

This project “Seek Stillness” is a nod to the serenity found within nature and of course, within creating. 

StencilGirl® Supplies

Thicket Background

Celestial Grove

Leaf Poetry

Red Rosin Paper was measured to approx. 13” x 6”. On one side only, white Gesso was applied followed with watercolors, applied in a very loose manner. This panel was machine stitched to eco dyed unperforated teabag paper. By folding the bottom edge of the teabag paper, almost half-way up and machine stitching down the center fold, to form two interior pockets.

For the front cover, a trio of leaves from the Leaf Poetry stencil was stenciled onto a used teabag, with contents disposed off (!) with a combination of Stabilo black water-soluble pencil and Distress Crayons, working with the minimum amount of water to blend the media. Stamped PaperArtsy grasses and a partially stamped, That’s Crafty!  Lynne’s Affirmation stamp, were the only additions to the front cover, with the backside of the machine stitching providing extra detail and a textural quality.

Opening the folder, the contents of a pocket with a handful of eco dyed teabags and a trio of journals.

The gorgeously evocative Thicket Background was stenciled onto the lower half, again working with Distress Crayons, applied with my fingertips, barely wetting a paintbrush with water to blend the colors. This resulted in a slightly diffused appearance which I found appealing, beautifully organic.

At this stage, I turned my attention to creating journals. Inside the right side pocket nestles one of the journals. 

To create a journal, I layered various found papers, some tea/coffee stained and others eco dyed. This bundle was machine stitched down the left side. To this I layered a small bundle of eco dyed large, self-fill teabags. Each journal has stenciled leaves as a focal, again with the combination of water-soluble pencil and crayons.

When I have a tea/coffee staining session or creating bundles for Eco dying, I like to gather a variety of papers and textiles, which provide me with the freedom to dip into when a creative session is underway. 

To bring interest to the pages, I randomly stamped, textural style stamps, focusing on the page edges.

The feeling I wanted to create with the stenciled leaves was that of old, dried crumbling leaves, leaves towards the end of their lives. Fragments of handmade paper which had been Eco dyed, layered onto the stenciled leaf helps to tell this story which is strengthened by the stamped words (PaperArtsy).

Leaf Poetry is a beautifully designed stencil, easily allowing the artist to isolate individual leaf designs to stencil yet there is also the option to work with this generously sized stencil as a whole.

On completion of the inside of the folder, including the journals, I decided to return my attention to the outside of the folder, this time the rear.  Focusing on the circular element on the Celestial Grove stencil, I stenciled directly onto the rear cover. Onto another used teabag, the stenciling of another of the Leaf Poetry leaves with quick machine stitching prior to adhering to the stenciled circular element. Selected areas of the stylized trees from Celestial Grove were also stenciled. Finally, another partially stamped, that’s Crafty! Lynne’s Affirmation.

A torn length of eco dyed calico was machine stitched to front flap of folder, long enough to wrap around the closed folder, tucking the end in to bind it.

Recycled brown packing paper, easily transformed into a pouch. After applying white Gesso followed with watercolors, the bottom edge was folded upwards, machine stitching the sides with more machine stitching, this time to the upper flap, a length of re-cycled calico, painted with watercolors and stenciled with leaves from Leaf Poetry.

It has been a joy to create and share this project with you. I hope it will inspire you to create your own nature inspired journals and folder, rooting around your home for recycled elements to incorporate into your project.

Lynne Moncrieff lives in Scotland.

She embraces this creative life and any new art adventures that might come her way.

She welcomes visitors to the following sites:

Blog: Adorn @ https://lynnesbowsandbelles.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynne.moncrieff

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stampingandbeyond/

Pinterest @ https://www.pinterest.co.uk/lynnemoncrieff/?eq=lynne&etslf=4211

That’s Crafty Lynne’s Affirmations stamps available @ http://www.thatscrafty.co.uk/

Judy Shea: StencilGirl Stencils & Art Tissue Paper

Hi, everyone! Judy Shea here! I'm so thrilled to be back (been a long time) with StencilGirl as a guest artist to bring you a cool technique using art tissue paper and stencils. The hardest part was picking the stencils to work with. How can I choose from so many great designers? It's just not fair, you know.

I'm sure you'll recognize some of them.

Making their appearances, are stencils from:

Mary Beth Shaw, Michelle Ward, Seth Apter, Traci Bautista, Cecilia Swatton, Terry Stegmiller, Margaret Applin, Jessica Sporn, Maria McGuire, Carolyn Dube.

I'll let my video say the rest and show you how it all develops and how much fun it is.

You must give this a try, but be forewarned... it's addicting.

Thank you, StencilGirl, again for letting me share one of my passions of mixed media art

and my addiction to stencils.

Happy Stenciling!!!

Judy  ♥♥♥

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