The art of being grateful - a mixed media canvas by Sandee Setliff

The art of being grateful is an easily practiced skill and, I believe, can have nothing but positive effects. Practicing gratefulness can help put you in a positive mindset, a mindset that will give you a stronger foundation to face daily challenges and be more present with the things and people you love. So keeping that in mind, I made a small canvas to hang up to remind me daily to cultivate the art of being grateful every day.

I knew what I had in mind for my canvas to become so I began by cutting a piece of deli paper to the size of my canvas to create a mask by using a craft knife to cut circles for where I wanted flowers. I am doing this because the stencil I am going to use to create the flowers has nothing to do with ... well, flowers!

And as usual, for me....one idea is always ahead of another idea so I have to backtrack and prep my canvas. I began to build layers by adding some background paint and using a dry brush to blend the colors together and then let that dry before adding my next layer which was the bottom half of the Celestial Grove stencil. I used a sponge to apply the Moonlight Duo Tint & Hue ink pad in Asteroid Umber ink through the stencil giving it a light but distinctive marking.

I don't know about you but I love to try and look at stencils differently like this Stylized Fireworks stencil by  June Pfaff Daley. Once you look past the firework motif you will see all sorts of wonderful designs that can be used to enhance your projects.

Now comes the part that I really enjoy which is making doodles on top of the 

stenciled patterns with my pens and adding in some rubber stamping like I did with the stems for the flowers with the Stampstacts 2 stamps by Kae Pea.

I wanted one more layer so I used Andrew Borloz's Wheel Spokes Set #2 stencil to create a bokea effect. (  Bokeh has been defined as "the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light". ) And I used white and blue ink to create this soft effect.

My last step is adding a sentiment or quote to my piece. This is an important step for me as words always seem to tie a piece together. I know there are a lot of people out there who dislike using their handwriting and if you are one of them ( I know I am ) then embrace any flaws and make it whimsical!

Gratitude strengthens relationships, improves health, reduces stress, and, in general, makes us happier. So it doesn't hurt to make a project that you can hang up somewhere to help you to remember...

there is always something to be grateful for.

Sandee

#thestencilfiedjournal Project

Hello and Happy Monday and welcome to a new, creative week!  Tina Walker here today with a new StencilGirl® Columnist post.

Today, we are all about collaborations and my latest one is a fave!  #thestencilfiedjournal Project kicked off on June 4th and is still going strong.  The idea behind the collaboration is simple.  Each week, I share a Stencilfied prompt, that uses StencilGirl® stencils in fun, innovative, and sometimes destructive ways. I gathered a group of stencil-lovin' souls and began!

I know I've said this before, but I am always amazed at the broad range of diversity and creativity when given either the same set of products or ideas.  I just love how the mind thinks and interprets these things differently and how they make their way on paper.  #thestencilfiedjournal participants used a variety of journals - field journals, normal journals, and tags.  I was blown away by the enthusiasm and joy each Monday when a new prompt was revealed and I found myself extremely excited as well.

If you are on Instagram and would like to see some of the wonderful ways the participants used the prompts, search for #thestencilfiedjournal in the 'tags' area.  You will find a large assortment of finished pages and spreads.

I also thought it would be fun to share a favorite from each prompt, as well as the StencilGirl® stencils used.  Without further adieu....

PROMPT #1
Kristin Peterson
Stencils: Circles Circles

PROMPT #2
Martha Richardson
Stencils:  Urban Insiders Circle

PROMPT #3
Ann Barnes
Stencils:  Art Deco Flower Medallion

PROMPT #4
Frieda Oxenham
Stencils: Batik and Circles Layer Me

PROMPT #5
Linda Wyatt
Stencils: Shadow Face and Pilgrimage and Art Deco Borders

PROMPT #6
Jill McDowell
Stencils: ATC MixUp 2 and Map Symbols and StencilClub June 2017

PROMPT #7
Aditi Mahajan
Stencils: Art Deco Peacock Feathers and Woodcut Blossoms

PROMPT #8
Josefine Fouarge

Stencils: Scribble X and Hexagon Set 1

PROMPT #9
Susan Brown
Stencils: Tribal Leaves

PROMPT #10
Sunila Mahajan
Stencils: Collage Textures

PROMPT #11
Christy Stickler
Stencils:  Art Deco Medallion and Rose Window

PROMPT #12
Tracy Krueger
Stencils: StencilClub June 2018 and Journal Texture #6

PROMPT #13
Marsha Valk
Stencils: Exchange Place

PROMPT #14
Debbie Rojas
Stencils: Makes Marks Pipette

PROMPT #15
Mary Nasser
Stencils: Latitude and Longitude

PROMPT #16
Michele Kosciolek
Stencils: Faces in the Crowd and Warped Holes 6

PROMPT #17
Katrina Rollings
Stencils:Travel Note

PROMPT #18
Linda Lifshultz
Stencils: Soulful Scribbles

PROMPT #19
Linda Wyatt
Stencils: Art Deco Flower, Decorative Medallion,  Damask Medium, StencilClub July 2018,  StencilClub Sept 2018

PROMPT #20
Tracy Krueger
Stencils: StencilClub June 2017 and StencilClub June 2018

PROMPT #21
Anne Marie Fowler
Stencils:Doodle It, Cascading Feathers, Dancing Lights,  Turkish Wedge,  Faux Australian Window,  Fly Away Home, Pilgrimage,  Wolf, StencilClub December 2015

And guess what?  There are still more prompts yet to be revealed!  You can still play along - besides the prompts listed above, you can also check out my Facebook page or Instagram Feed for all of the future prompts.  But no need to stop playing along with the prompts end, start all over with a new journal and use the prompts in different ways.  Endless days of creativity!

As I described above, I had SO much fun with this collaboration!  Not only organizing and hosting it, but playing along!  Although I created each prompt, there were several that really stretched my creative thinking, which I thoroughly enjoyed!    As a special treat, I thought it would be fun to see my entire journal, shared in a short video.  Nothing beats the video visual over a flat image!

(p.s. - you may also see the future prompts in my journal - hint hint)

Thank you so much for allowing me to share in my collaboration excitement!  Till next time!

xoxo Tina

Three Projects with StencilGirl® Stencils and Guest Designer Priya Satish

At the outset, I would like to thank StencilGirl® for giving me this great opportunity to work as Guest Designer... a dream came true. I have made 3 projects with 3 different stencils from StencilGirl®. 

Project 1: T-Shirt Painting

For my t-shirt painting I chose to use Andrea Matus deMeng’s Arani, Goddess of Fire Stencil Large.

 I sponge dabbed Fevicryl Fabric Paint Black over the stencil onto the T-shirt. I work a lot on fabrics. This paint is permanent on Fabrics and does not fade or peel even after multiple washes. It just needs 7 days of curing time after which can be washed and ironed on the reverse side to make it permanent.

Project 2: Canvas Mixed Media 

For my second project, I  used Mary Beth Shaw’s Gears Stencil. I'm  fascinated with Steampunk Style designs. I love this stencil so much that I created every element of this project with only this stencil.
I have created a video of the process too so you can view all the techniques that I have used.
I generally love earthy tones and so I have used the same in my art work.

Project 3 - Art Journal
Art Journaling is my personal favorite. It helps me relax and feel positive and stay focused.

It’s about playing with stencils, stamps, colors, patterns, thoughts, elements and bringing out one's personality.

In journaling you can be neat, be messy, be clear or be weird be whatever you want to but ultimately it’s about being you.

Here are the steps I took:

First I marked the background with stamps from my stash and archival inks. 

Next, I added more layers to the background with Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, and Candied Apple through Maria McGuire’s Doodle It Geometric Landscape Stencil.

Then I chose some chippies from Expressions Craft and dyed with Fevicryl Acrylic Crimson Red.

I adhered the chippies to the journal page and added some liquid pearls White Opal.

Finally I added my sentiment.

Hope you liked my projects. Have a great day!!!

Priya Satish

Make art for the holidays or everyday with Musical Backgrounds, Wildflowers, Bells and Ornaments Stencils

What music do flowers make waving in the wild breeze? You can use the new stencils by Jennifer Evans and Valerie Sjodin to stencil your very own answers.

Jennifer's Bells and Ornaments as well as her two floral stencils, and Valerie's musical background stencils are ready for you to make art for the holidays or everyday!

You can make bells ring and ornaments sparkle with the quarters of the Bells and Ornaments Greeting Card Set Stencil designed by Jennifer Evans. 

This 9"x12" stencil is the perfect tool for creating quick and yet complex holiday greeting cards. You can use the silhouette versions of the two designs (bells or ornaments,) to lay down the base color, then use a contrasting color or even a texture paste with the detailed versions of the designs for a lovely layered effect. This stencil is also great for creating borders on scrapbook pages or art journal spreads.

acrylics

watercolors

The Wildflowers 6"x6" and 9"x12" Wildflowers and Grasses stencils by Jennifer Evans is a beautiful row of whimsical wildflowers all lined up and ready to be added to your art journal, scrapbook layouts, or even for use with encaustic paints. You can repeat the design to create a border, mask off areas to use select parts in your work, or use bits and pieces for texture in your mixed media artwork.

watercolors

Musical Backgrounds

Put on your favorite music and express yourself with musical backgrounds that celebrate the meaning and mystery of music in our lives.

Valerie Sjodin designed this Music Score Mask so your notes will stand out in whatever color paper or paint is beneath them. Perfect to cover an entire page or canvas when you want to base your artistic creation on a song.

art journal with Gelatos

Boldly stencil the notes of Valerie's Musical Staff Stencil in traditional black or rejoice in the fact that you are free to make artistic decisions in any and all colors!

art journal with acrylics

Make a note of that with Valerie's Music Notations Stencil. You have so many options with this stencil. It makes a wonderful background stenciled as is or choose the parts that work the best for you. Go for cacophony or harmony and have fun humming along as you create your mixed media canvas, art journal or encaustic work.

art journal with acrylics

art journal with acrylics

Mix the musical backgrounds up and expand your creative options with other StencilGirl® Products music stencils including Musical Roundabout s608 by Sandee Setliff and Nancy Curry's Clef stencils.