Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Further Watercolor Adventures with Stencils - LauraMixedMedia



Hey there, Laura Dame here. 

One of the most relaxing things ever is to play with watercolors, and one of my favorite ways to do that is using them with stencils. The results are so unpredictable, which is one of the best parts. 


People often think that you can only use watercolors on special watercolor paper. While that may have the best, most "professional" results, my favorite substrate to use is ledger paper. 

There's something about ledger paper that doesn't cause the fibers to just absorb the water/paint like some other types of papers, allowing the paint to move and flow. 




Stenciled watercolor ledger papers are amazing for collage, and some can even be their own little works of art. 

I hope you enjoy the video and feel inspired to play yourself! 



Stencils:

Supplies: 

Ledger Papers

Various watercolors - I use handmade watercolors from Art to Basic and Ocean Paper, as well as watercolors from Daniel Smith & Van Gough.

Brush

Water

UHU Glue Stick

Art Journal




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Monday, March 11, 2024

Japanese Stab-bound book with Kirsten Varga


Hello Creatives! Kirsten Varga here with a brand new column all about BOOKMAKING! I am thrilled to have this opportunity to share bookmaking magic with you throughout the year. 


First up is Japanese Stab Binding. A quick internet search will provide mountains of information with a bit of history and lots of tutorials. This is not surprising to me as this book format is beginner friendly and an excellent way to bind single sheets. It's main characteristics are simplicity, elegance and versatility. Take note that this type of book will not lay flat when open. 


Japanese stab binding is a traditional bookbinding technique that originated in Japan and dates back to the 6th century. This method came not just from Japan but also China, Korea, and Vietnam. It was primarily used for binding various documents, manuscripts, and records. It evolved into an art form with the addition of decorative elements and intricate stitching patterns.


The traditional materials needed are quite simple, paper and thread, but the sky is the limit with what you can use. Think on the use and visual preference you want for your book and go from there. Covers can be made from cloth, leather or covered book board. Inside pages can be folded at the fore-edge or be single, unfolded sheets. The thread can be replaced with ribbon and the like.


The binding process involves punching evenly spaced holes along the spine edge of the pages or folded sheets. These holes are then sewn through using a single length of thread, creating a series of stitches that secure the pages together. Some popular stitch patterns are Hemp leaf binding, Tortoise shell binding, and Noble binding.


What can you use this type of bound book for? Journals, sketchbooks, guest books and photo albums to name a few. This simple binding is quite durable so it can have both practical and artistic purposes.


The book I created for this post has a hardcover, is filled 80lb. drawing paper and is the basic Japanese version of stab binding, called Yotsume Toji, which roughly translates to “four holes”. I used handmade paper for the covers. Stenciling on the handmade paper was a delight!

I created a tutorial video to show you all the details! Find it on the StencilGirl® YouTube channel HERE.

Happy Creating!


Find me on Instagram: @kirstenvarga

Supplies used:


Handmade papers (I used three colors: natural, green and dark brown)
98 lb. drawing paper (17"x14" pad cut down to size)
Bookboard (for covers)
Cosmetic Sponges (to apply paint when stenciling)
Acrylic Paint (I used Titan Buff, Sap Green and Quinacridone Nikel Azo Gold)
Scissors, Craft knife and cutting mat
Ruler and Pencil
Bone Folder
PVA glue
Waxed Linen thread, needle
Japanese Screw Punch with 1/8" bit
Binder clips
Wax paper
Heavy book


Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Guest Designer Frieda Oxenham

I was rather taken with the gelli plate printed deli and copy paper I made for my January 2024 Project. They were made using stencil L988 Earth and there were a lot of prints left over so I decided to make a few more papers like them using different stencils.

Here is the tutorial:

1.     Using a 8 x 11” gelli plate with Payne’s Grey as well as Dark Blue acrylic paint, cover the gelli plate with one of the paints, put a stencil on top and take prints on both deli and copy paper. Remove the stencil and take more prints. I used the following stencils: L141 Puzzle, L992 Circle Around, LL1005 Shape Collection and L931 Winter Wood.

2.     I couldn’t resist some overprinting on some of the sheets.


3.     I added some vintage and wrapping paper to the mix of collage materials. 

4.     Glue (I used an UHU glue stick but matte medium also works fine) collage pieces onto the background. In my case the background consisted of 4 x 6” Strathmore watercolor postcards. I was only going to work on a few but somehow used up the entire pack of 15 postcards.


5.     Using a 5 x 7” gelli plate and a variety of translucent acrylic paints (mine were by Golden), take partial prints on your postcards till you’re happy with how they look. One of the colours I used was a gold one to add a bit of sparkle. 

6.     Glue on some more imagery from the papers made in step 1 to some of the postcards where you feel it is needed.

7.     Outline the imagery from step 6 with oil pastels

8.     Glue on matching (in colour) postage stamps.

9.     Edge the cards with a gold paint marker (mine is by Posca).

10.  Finish off the cards with a layer of fluid matte medium




Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Striped Leaves Art Jounal



Hello Creative Friends, 

I for one love creating my own art journals and as a curious creative I am endlessly experimenting with unique and interesting shapes for my journals.

Todays little journal is created with two diffent stencils.  Striped Leaves stencil created by Terri Stegmiller and Sprigs stencil created by Cecilia Swatton.

I love the creative possibilities both these stencils offer.
The  Striped Leaves stencil hosts a variety of 6 leaves and an assortment of various size circles and the Sprigs stencil is full of lovely flourishes.
In addition to this project the stencils can be incorporated in your art a mulititude of ways which can be found under the description and details of each one.


Let's get started!

On a gel plate spread your choice of acrylic paint. This will be the base colour of the leaves.


  • place watercolour or mixed media paper down and pull the paint ( a sturdy paper is needed and will be used for the front and back covers)
              

Adding the layers ~ add a contrasting colour directly on top of the base (step 1) I am adding black~it adds wonderful contrast and depth 


While the paint is still wet, place the sprigs stencil on top and with a baby wipe remove excess paint to reveal the delicate outlines (see below).  


Allow to completely dry.




For the final layer, add white acrylic paint.  Select the leaf you will be using from  Stiped Leaves stencil, place that section on to your paper and once again remove excess paint with the baby wipe.  This will real the beautiful background we created above



NOTE: 
  • lift the stencil and flip it over so that now we have the mirror image of the leaf.  Remove excess paint as before.   These are the front and back covers of your journal
  • repeat the process with the various leaf sizes and these will be used as journal pages 
  • if you prefer both sides of the leaves to have pattern then repeat the above process on the other side of your watercolour or mixedmedia paper


Cut out the leaves and place to the side with the exception of the front cover leaf


Use the top cover leaf as a template ~ trace and cut as many pages as you like to fill your journal.
I used dyed found papers from old books, some painted papers and some stenciled papers



Stack your leaf pages together and puch a hole in one end 



Now for the my aha! moment.
I could not for the life of me find a ring clip that would work and I was concidering some thin rope but then I saw these! Yes they are shower curtain rings and let me tell you they work so much better than a regular ring. 


This made me so happy!!!!


For added flair, tie some vintage ribbons, lace and torn strips of fabric.



Thank you for stopping by. 
Enjoy creating your own Striped Leaf journal and adorning it with all the bits that represent you.



Supply List:





Tina 






Monday, February 26, 2024

A Map of Us



February is the month that we celebrate love. Everything in the store is hearts, red and pink. When my husband and I were married, we decided that we weren't going to get pulled into the commercialism of Valentine's Day. What kind of a relationship does one have if they only show each other love on February 14th, once a year? Not to mention the overpriced candy and flowers. But when it comes down to it, I am a female and I want to be romanced. I love it when my husband comes home with flowers or a special gift. I love it when he does the unexpected to surprise me. Over the last few years, we have done a little something for the other not because we mutually agreed to start celebrating Valentine's Day, but because we have found it to be just one more opportunity to tell the other what we love about them.

This year, I decided to map out "Our Story," We have gone through some hard things in the past year and it seemed like the perfect time to commemorate all the battles fought and won in our marriage.



To start this project, I created a sketch.



Using stencils and other reference material, I came up with a final sketch.


One of my favorite reference materials was How To Make Hand-Drawn Maps by Helen Cann.


My sketch was transferred to watercolor paper using a pencil and graphite transfer paper.


I found a color palette that went with my theme and mixed up the colors before beginning.



I applied my first layer of color. 


I kept building up layers and here is the result. As you can see there are some wrinkles in the paper, so I pressed it for several days under heavy books.


Once flat, I used fine liner pens to add the text.


The last detail was adding the title in the bottom corner. I used this stencil to help me create a box.














Thank you for joining me. I hope that you have found inspiration for creating a unique and personal way to show your love to someone.
Kate