StencilGirl SURPRISE Giveaway!!

****Giveaway NOW CLOSED****

It's Maria! Mary Beth and I are SO excited!!!

We reached 2,500 "Likes" on Facebook yesterday!

We want to CELEBRATE!

Celebrating 2,500 is B-I-G, so let's do a BIG give away. 

Like all THREE of Seth Apter's NEW stencils from StencilGirl. 

We love the meaning of them - StencilGirl Products - Our STORY continues to grow, PROOF is in the numbers; we are UNFINISHED, just getting started really :)

What do you have to do to win??

Leave a comment below 

and tell us what kinds of projects you would like to see in future blog posts.

 Do you have a tutorial you would LOVE to see, is there something you would LOVE to learn how to do, a particular stencil you need ideas for??

Let us know :)

and

not required but we would love it if you:

"Liked" us on Facebook

Followed us on Pinterest

Followed us on Bloglovin

or shared about us with a friend who you think might be interested.

A GREAT BIG thank you!

You will have until Friday, August 2nd at 11:59PM to enter.
GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!!!!!

Winner will be announced on Saturday, August 3rd.

GOOD LUCK!

StencilGirl Blog Hop Winner

A great BIG thanks to everyone that participated in our very first 

StencilGirl Talk Blog Hop!

Starting in August we will have TWO, yes 2, Blog Hops every month!!!

Hope you will come back and enjoy the fun!

and

we have a

WINNER!!!

Congratulations to........

Michelle V. Alkerton 

who left this comment on our Creative Team Member Corrine Gilman's blog!

Michelle, I will be contacting you for your mailing information! 

You now own Andrew Borloz's 

Crossed Rounds & Squares Stencil!

Make sure you stop back Wednesday!

Corrine will be here with another great project!

The StencilGirl Marrakech Express

Hi. My name is Janet Joehlin

and I am so excited to be a member of the StencilGirl Team!

From my first introduction to StencilGirl Products,

I have been enamored with the Marrakech Mix Stencil L177

designed by Michelle Ward.

The shape is so classic and this stencil offers several sizes. 

I have been wanting to jump into a beading project

and this shape was perfect!

First I traced the shape with a permanent pen onto a base fabric.

In this case, a Pigma Micron pen onto plain muslin.

I dug out my beads, some heavy duty thread

and a fine needle and got busy. 

I found it easiest to outline first and fill in second.

Only take one or two beads at most on your thread

and make the stitches secure.

Once in awhile I would backstitch through a bead for extra security.

It was fun picking out color combinations.

I used a vintage button on one...

and a metal hand stamped BELIEVE on another. 

Different sized seed beads and bugle beads

give the design texture and depth.

When I was satisfied with my beaded design

I trimmed the fabric to about 3/8's of an inch

(enough to handle it and fold it over).

If it is too short it gets frustrating to work with,

and no one will see the back anyways.

Any sewer knows you need to clip the inside corners and curves.

Get in tight to the corners without snipping your bead thread.

Then pull out your tacky glue.

Yes. Tacky Glue!

I found the best sequence was to glue the pointy point first

and work your way in. 

Small inside curves next to that point.....

Then the little squared off corner.....

That was the hardest part to glue..... 

Then the biggest and easiest curve.....

But you are not done yet.... 

Spreading glue over the whole back of your piece is extra security.

And then.... 

This is a pretty important finishing step.

As you are sewing this little gem,

it wants to curl up into a shape of its own. 

Gluing the back and pressing it on your teflon craft sheet to dry

will make it lay flat and straight.

Be patient. It takes several hours to dry.

Now you are ready

to use your beautiful creation wherever you want.

My daughter picked her favorite

and hot glued an alligator clip onto the back.

She clipped it to a headband last weekend 

and wore it to her town's Jazz RibFest.

So Beautiful!

Here is an idea my talented friend Lisa and I collaborated on.....

I did the beadwork...

Lisa made the leather cuff...

She loves doing that kind of thing.... 

 

She attached velcro to both pieces and....

I camouflaged the white velcro edge with a brown copic marker...

We then have a versatile bracelet! 

I can't wait to add more artwork to this fabulous cuff!

 

Need more ideas of what to do with these? 

I glued one onto a purse pocket....

I may attach one to a Journal cover....

Or hot glue a pin back onto it and give it as a gift....

Or make it into a necklace pendant....

Or alligator clip it onto the strap of your dress....
Or sew one into a dramatic neckline on a one-of-a-kind dress!

WoW!

The possibilities are endless

when you have a classic stencil shape like Marrakech to work with!

Thanks for letting me share my project with you.

I am in love with using these stencils.

Come visit me over on my Blog

and see what else I do.

xo

Janet

Stencils What Do You See?

Thank you to all that visited our very first StencilGirl Talk Blog Hop yesterday! 

You still have until Sunday, July 28th at 11:59PM Central to enter the giveaway. 

We appreciate each and every one of your comments and encouragement!

I thought I'd share a little "play" project I did with you awhile back but never posted. When you look at a stencil, what do you see? 

See this stencil? 
It was an exclusive stencil in our monthly StencilClub.

Well when I look at this stencil...this is what I see :) 

I could have went ON and ON and ON. 

Who would have thought that one little 6" x 6" stencil could give you so many patterns?

Now next time I ask you to look at a stencil think what I showed you today!

Yes, it was an exclusive stencil....but I wonder if you saw, our Creative Team Member, Marjie Kemper is giving this 6" x 6" stencil away in our Blog Hop. 
Didn't enter yet, you still have time!

Want to know more about StencilClub??? Click HERE to find out more.

Have a great weekend!

Maria

Our First StencilGirl Blog Hop!!!!

****GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED****

Welcome to our FIRST StencilGirl Talk Blog Hop! 

Today our entire team is participating in the Hop.  Our Blog Hops are going to be "progressive" Hops, meaning that you will start here on StencilGirl Talk and then follow the list to the next blog on the list and then so on until you get to the end.

Today we are featuring StencilGirl Artist, Andrew Borloz. 

Want to know a little more about Andrew? 

Please visit his Bio Page on StencilGirl Products. 

From the minute you have one of Andrew's stencils in your hands you will know that there is some serious creativity that goes into his designs.

Today we are going to all be using Andrew's Crossed Rounds & Squares Stencil.

As I said earlier, Andrew's stencils are very creative. 

He has made up a few examples for you so that you can see just how different you can make this stencil look. 

Thanks Andrew!

****GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED****
Before we start the Hop how about a GIVEAWAY from StencilGirl? 

We are giving away Andrew's Crossed Rounds & Squares Stencil to ONE lucky winner! What do you have to do?  Let's make this fun--leave a comment here on this post. That will give you one chance...BUT as you hop through the blogs every time you leave a comment on one of our Team Member's Blogs you will be given another chance! 

So that is TWELVE chances to win Andrew's stencil! Please, only one comment per Blog.  You will have until Sunday, July 28th at 11:59 PM to leave your comment to be eligible. We will announce the winner on Tuesday, July 31st.

As a matter of fact, I have some inside information that there may be a few other giveaways along the way in the hop.

Ready to start the Hop and see what all our Creative Team Members did with Andrew's stencil?

Here we go......please hop on over to Marjie Kemper

If for any reason you get lost on the hop, just come back here to StencilGirl Talk and we will help you find your way! 

Have FUN!

StencilGirl Talk ..........You are here now
Marjie Kemper.........Next Stop
Kirsten Reed
Leslie Jenison
Samie Harding
Corrine Gilman
Janet Joehlin
Linda Kittmer
Carolyn Dube
Paula Phillips
Mary C. Nasser
Maria McGuire

StencilGirl Whimsey Script Stencil

Welcome Friends!

Hi, Paula Phillips here! I was beyond excited to work with this wonderful stencil design by Joanne Sharpe for StencilGirl called Whimsey Script:

 My favorite stencil designs consist of those that can be used on multiple projects, in multiple ways.  When I first saw this stencil I immediately thought of how perfect it would be for a final finishing layer on many of my unfinished art journal pages.

If you are like me, you may have multiple journal pages or projects that are in that "almost there" phase.  You know, the phase where you wonder to yourself: "What more does this it need?".  I call this the finishing layer.
This layer helps tie in all your wonderful background goodness!  In the examples below you will see before and after pictures of journal pages from my Magazine Art Journal.

        *Note* A magazine art journal is a magazine that I covered and turned into an art journal.  As with any book with thin pages, it's a good idea to glue stick two pages together prior to working on them.

For these pages I limited myself to just a few supplies:

- Whimsey Script StencilGirl Stencil
- Faber-Castel Big Brush Pen in black
- A few craft paints
- Makeup sponges
- A few spray inks
                 ** Don't forget to use complimentary colors, or my faves, black and white :)

 Before: 

After: 

For the above spread I chose to use a cream craft paint and a slightly wet makeup sponge.  I wanted the stencil image to be a bit messy.  The wet makeup sponge thins the paint out enough so that it bleeds under the stencil just a bit.  I love how this looks!  The initial paint was applied to the stencil that is under the work "your".  Since there was still a lot of paint left on the underside of the stencil I stamped it down on the the opposite page and applied a bit of pressure.  When you lift the stencil up you will see a similar image to the one under the word "calm".

I repeated this process 3 more times, each time the image becoming more and more faint.  

Before:

After:

I love this page!  The Whimsey Script stencil was a perfect compliment to the alphabet die cut on the right.  I used blue craft paint with a dry makeup sponge.  As there was already some purple spray ink on the stencil the blue paint mixed with it when applying.  I love the two-toned look!  I also played around with tilting the stencil to mimic the rest of the elements.

Before: 

After:

I chose to use a purple spray for the above page.  I sprayed ink through the stencil three times.  I was a little too close to the page when I sprayed the stencil (practice this too see what you like, but I try to hold the spray about 8" above the page) on the top left.  The excess ink started to drip so I took the floportunity to aid in the drippage by blowing the ink so it dripped downwards.  Remember, there are no mistakes!

Before:

After:

I also used a black spray ink for the above spread.  Remember to let the stencil hang off the page a little every so often, this helps the design look more cohesive.  I also like to embellish in odd numbers, I chose five sprayed images here.

Before:

After:

This page uses a cream craft paint dabbed on with a makeup sponge.  I overlapped the stencil onto the main stamped image of the letter mail slot.  Having your image touching elements you want to focus or highlight helps the stenciling to look planned, as well as helping to bring it all together.  There was a little black spray remaining on the stencil which blended with the cream paint as I dabbed.  

Before:

After:

I love creating backgrounds.  In the above spread I felt completely stuck.  I liked the background, yet did not know where to go next.  Adding the Whimsey Script stencil with a little sprayed ink did the trick!  This time I chose to spray through only some of the image.  I believe in making it messy on purpose.  If you chose this approach there are no mistakes or smudgy images... you intended it that way! :)

Check out my video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2vyRLODsW

Need backgrounds?  Tomorrow, July 26th, is StencilGirlTalk's first blog hop where I will be sharing an easy background technique!  All of the wonderful StencilGirl Creative Team will be participating in this hop, don't miss it!   Here is a sneak peek of my project for tomorrow..

Much Love,

Paula Phillips aka Journal Artista