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A StencilGirl SALE!!!?????

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Eye Lattice Envelope & Thank You

Hi! Mary Nasser here! It’s nearly Thanksgiving, and I am grateful for so many things – especially family and friends. I’m here to share with you a simple, fun project to create an envelope and card for someone special for whom you’re grateful, too. Today I’m using Lizzie Mayne’s Eye Lattice Stencil.

I love the intricacy and decorative quality of this stencil.

For this project, I used Wendi Vecchi Embossing Paste, a palette knife, my envelope punch board, 18kt gold leafing pen, and super sticky double sided adhesive (but you could use a glue stick instead).

First I adhered a map of Missouri from a vintage atlas onto the super sticky adhesive, and then placed the stencil onto the map. Using a trowel palette knife (you could use an old credit card or hotel key card, too) I applied Wendy Vecchi Gold Embossing Paste directly onto the stencil. I applied the paste about the same thickness as the stencil. This is super easy to use! After applying the paste, I carefully removed the stencil from the map and cleaned both my stencil and palette knife with a baby wipe.

Look at how great this embossing paste holds its shape!

After the paste dried over night, I made an envelope from Canson Mi-Teintes paper using my envelope punch board. I cut a piece of my stenciled map to size, peeled off the backing and adhered this to the inside of the envelope to create a pretty liner.

Then I cut horizontal strips from the stenciled paper to decorate the front of the envelope – and a card I made from folding a piece of Canson Mi-Teintes in half. I also cut a heart shape around the town of Belle on the map – where I met my friend. I adhered this to the front of the envelope, too.

Lastly, I cut a horizontal strip of ocean from a map to give the card contrast.

Using my 18kt gold leafing pen, I circled the word Belle on the heart and wrote the words thank you! on the strip of blue I’d glued to the front of the card.

It’s in the mail to my friend at this moment!

I hope I’ve inspired you to experiment and play with your StencilGirl stencils!

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Mary C. Nasser

Mixed-Media Map Art

StencilGirl WINNER!

Hi Everyone...Maria just stopping by to announce the winner's of the prizes in the 

Blog Hop featuring Terri Stegmiller last week!

What a FANTASTIC hop it was!

And the winner's are......

Yolanda (picked from Kirsten Reed's blog)

and

PK Sews (picked from Linda Cain's blog)

Yolanda and PK Sews, I have emailed both of you!

CONGRATULATIONS and thanks to everyone who stopped by to HOP with us!!!

StencilGirl Blog Hop Featuring Terri Stegmiller

Welcome

to the 

StencilGirl Blog Hop

featuring......

Terri Stegmiller!

Terri's stencils are favorites at StencilGirl and we are here to showcase them today! 
Our team will be using a variety of stencil designs from Terri. 

In addition to that, we are thrilled to have Terri hopping with us today :)

You can see all of Terri's stencil designs for StencilGirl on our website and also get to know Terri better in her bio.

Our theme for November here at StencilGirl is grateful and we are certainly grateful to each and everyone of you that came to hop with us today!

We are all busy with the upcoming Holiday season so let's get right to it! 

Are you ready to HOP??

****GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED**** How about a GIVEAWAY!!!!
We are GRATEFUL that Terri hopped with us! 
What are we giving away?? 
We asked Terri what her favorite designs were that she has designed for StencilGirl and that is how we decided!

We are giving away FOUR of Terri's stencils. 
TWO stencils each to TWO lucky winners!

Make sure you leave a comment on each blog along the way because EVERY time you comment you give yourself one entry into the GIVEAWAY! Giveaway closes at 11:59PM Sunday, November 24th. 
One comment per blog please.

Do you follow us on Facebook, Bloglovin, Pinterst or Networked Blogs??
You can sign-up for all of these by clicking the word above or on the side bar to the right.
We would LOVE if you did!

Now go HOP!

Blog Hop Order

StencilGirl Talk

Terri Stegmiller

Linda Kittmer

Kirsten Reed

Marjie Kemper

Janet Joehlin

Judy Shea

Linda Cain

Corrine Gilman

Leslie Tucker Jenison

Mary C. Nasser

StencilGirl Guest Designer Candice Schwark

Hi - I'm Candice Schwark, owner of Studio-Mosaic and MyBlendAll™. My studio refuge is where I create art, conduct workshops, do some calligraphy, and make messes. I've been a fan of stencils for a long, long time and enjoy the stencils offered by StencilGirlProducts.  It's really exciting to see (and own) such a wide variety of stencils by lots of talented artists!

When StencilGirlProducts’ Doors and Windows stencil by Jessica Sporn caught my eye, I thought about the different ways I could use them in my altered books. Yet, what usually happens with m, happened….I started experimenting with the stencil for use in altered books and came up with a totally different idea for the holidays.

For approximately 35 years my friends and family have received handmade cards, gifts or ornaments for Christmas. Would you believe I’ve created as many as 150 items each year? So, It dawned on me that two of the doors in this stencil would be beautiful in several different ways for the holidays. And I was off and running…..

I chose various materials so each is different as ornaments or gift tags. They can be decorated in lots of ways but I kept mine simple.

First, :::::::cringe::::::: I cut the stencil apart!! I know it's okay to do that but I always cringe, so, I now have a bunch of stencils from one 9x12.

Using two of the door stencils, all of the materials were embossed in my Big Shot Express by Sizzix. (Sorry it looks so dusty but it's VERY well used!) After embossing one door on brown card stock, I decided to put the stencil back on the card stock and add the fun peanut-buttery texture of Wood Icing to the stencil with an offset palette knife.

When adding Wood Icing or any dimensional paste to any kind of stencil, it's really helpful to add removable tape to the top edge. In addition to stabilizing everything when spreading the Wood Icing, you have created a hinge, which helps you remove the stencil more carefully. I usually put the hinge tape on first, add tape on each side of the stencil, then on the bottom. When I remove the tape, I reverse the procedure…..bottom edge, sides, top hinge. The Wood Icing is a terrific product and dries quickly. (see photo collage at the end of this article) It’s not necessary to emboss the card first, but it helped keep the Wood Icing where I wanted it.

When I use the StencilGirl stencils in my Sizzix Big Shot, this is how I layer.  I used the base plate, the acrylic plate, stencil, cardstock with front facing down, rubber mat and texture plate.

I experimented embossing with the stencils in the Big Shot with different materials - gold mirror cardstock, gold metallic vellum and a more muted gold card stock.  I stamped Merry Christmas on the back of some of them and Merry Christmas/To/From on others. Red or Green Stickles™ decorated the door knocker, mail slot or doorknob. After using a ribbon punch, I threaded red or green ribbons for hanging on a package or Christmas tree.

One tip:  Originally I was going to do a red cardstock door with the embossed parts sanded to show the white core of the paper. I wasn't able to hit just the raised areas of the door with the sandpaper, so I put the stencil back over the image and sanded. I damaged one of the stencils doing that, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you put removable adhesive on the back of the stencil first.

Another tip….I like to keep my stencils clean, not that I actually meet that goal! I use babywipes or warm water at first then the net-covered sponge (see it on the left in the photo collage here) to finish cleaning my stencils….it's works really well even on stencils with fine lines. I believe I purchased it at a dollar store. I don’t wash Wood Icing down the drain. I clean it in a recycled shallow plastic plate then when the water evaporates, I throw the plate away.

If you have any questions, please let me know! 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Candice

StencilGirl Guest Designer Judi Kauffman

Maria here....

Today we have Guest Designer Judi Kauffman here to visit with us at StencilGirl Talk. 

Judi is a nationally-known writer, designer, teacher and product developer. 

Take it away Judi!

Shimmer Sheetz Mini Crate

By Judi Kauffman for StencilGirl Products

Stenciled pieces of Shimmer Sheetz add the feel of polished metal to a handy wood mini crate. It's as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Paint the crate with flat acrylic paint.

2. Alter two 5" x 12" pieces of Shimmer Sheetz with alcohol inks for a mottled effect, allowing some of the original sparkly surface to remain visible. Stencil with black and gold inks. (Use an ink applicator with felt pad to apply all inks.) Stencil Used: Unfinished by Seth Apter

3. Back stenciled Shimmer Sheetz with double-sided adhesive sheet. Cut strips and end pieces; attach to the crate.

Some design strategies and things to notice -

*The strips for the front of the crate were not cut at random. Cut as follows:

--From one of the 5" x 12" pieces of stenciled Shimmer Sheetz, carefully cut 1" strips to keep the words UNFINISHED, CHANGE and INSIDE prominently featured.

--UNFINISHED will run the entire 6.5" across the bottom strip, cropped just a bit on all sides.

--CHANGE and INSIDE will appear at the top right of the first and second strips.

--Piece the strips as needed - the randomness of the stencil camouflages the places where two strips are joined side by side.

--Use the less interesting strips for the back slats.

*Cut two 4" x 5" rectangles from second 5" x 12" piece of stenciled Shimmer Sheetz for ends of crate. Make a paper pattern to use for cutting the handle openings.

*Choose paint, ink and Shimmer Sheetz colors to suit your taste and décor. See the supply list to duplicate the project using the colors as shown.

*Keep the stenciled Shimmer Sheetz scraps to use for bookmarks, tags, or greeting cards.

*Pick a different stencil - you can't go wrong with hands, words, geometric designs, or  allover patterns!

Supplies:

StencilGirlProducts

9x 12 stencil - L185 UNFINISHED by Seth Apter

Elizabeth CraftDesigns

Turquoise Gemstones Shimmer Sheetz (2 pieces, 5" x 12")

Transparent double-sided adhesive sheet (2 pieces, 5" x 12")

WalnutHollow

Rustic Pallet Collection Mini Crate #23873 (6.5" x 5.30" x 4.25")

DecoArt

Americana Acrylics - Lamp (Ebony) Black

RangerIndustries

Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Inks - Lettuce, Ginger, Pitch Black

Tim Holtz Metallic Mixatives - Gold

Tim Holtz Ink Applicator

Other

Paintbrush, craft knife, grid ruler, cutting mat

If you have any questions for Judi, please leave them below in the comments.

Stencil Video and Tutorial by Jessica Sporn

Jessica Sporn here with an art journal page I made using four of the newest stencils from Stencil Girl.  They are Sporn Flowers Positive, Sporn Flowers Negative (gee – I wonder who designed those?), Judy’s Trees (gee, I wonder who inspired that stencil?) and Carolyn Dube’s “Use Your Words” stencil.

Here’s what they look like:

I started out by pouncing pink, yellow and orange fluorescent paint through the positive flowers stencil.  Unfortunately, I got completely caught up in the process, and forgot to take step out pics.  But I did create a video, which you can watch on You Tube, or here: 

I designed the two flowers stencils so that they can be used together.  But they can also be used separately.  I used the Negative flowers to create outlines of flowers, which I then painted with a mixture of acrylic paint and glazing medium.  I added the trees, and then doodled with a thin paintbrush and black and white paint.  I used some of Carolyn’s words on the top.  I love how the background layer of the positive flowers shows through the open spaces created by the letters.  This was inspired by one of Carolyn’s posts.

I added some more doodles with my Posca markers, and some journaling with my Scarlet Lime pen.

It’s so important to remember that stencils are just tools.  Make them your own.  Doodle over them or inside of them.  In the end, it will hardly look like you used a stencil!

Thanks for reading!  Hop on over to my blog to leave a comment.
One commenter will win all three of my new stencils: Judy’s Trees, Flowers Positive, and Flowers Negative!

WINNER--StencilGirl Blog Hop Featuring Foam Board Express

The WINNER in the Blog Hop Featuring Foam Board Express is......

CONGRATULATIONS........

Valerie, please send me a message in the Contact Form on the right side bar of the Blog with your mailing address.

Stenciled Face Studies with StencilGirl Stencils

Hello Stencil Friends!
Janet here....
Do you ever get a new stencil and say...Hmmmm?
Well, I got the Journal Prompt Face Stencil
designed by Pam Carriker
and seriously wondered if I could get
my face to look natural and lifelike.

I actually started out the page with ONE face

on the left hand side and Loved how it turned out.

Then I wondered how a blue-eyed head would look...



Wow! A whole different complexion!

Then I stenciled the third head and wondered about the shading...

And the blue face emerged!!!!

Well now I was hooked!

Do you ever feel like if you want to get good at something

you need to do it over and over and over again?



Practice does not make perfect...

but Practice is Fun!

I tried shading with more than one color too.

A touch of blue...A touch of purple...

A touch of green....

I have SO much more practicing to do!

I used Pam's Journal Prompt Hand Stencil in the center fold.

I thought I did not want to do a face with the crease in it.

I was just playing with shading anyways....

and I Do have a thing about hands!

Ahhhh......

Then I filled in the rest of the spread with 'heads'....

I like how they are the same but different!

They all started with the same shape and dimensions...

But they were all slightly modified.

Same but Different!

Just like Real Life!

Don't forget the highlights in the eyes and on the lips

to make them more life-like.

Yes, I did want to mention her pock marked face.

No she does not have acne.

At one point I still saw stencil lines through my work.

I wanted her to be more life-like so I gessoed those areas.

In my impatience to keep working I used a heat gun...

hence the bubbly texture that looks like acne scars!

The poor girl!

I guess everyone has a story! Even her!

I seem to always go back to my doodles for fill-ins.

It is fun to play with colors and shapes and lines.

Hello!

Thanks for visiting!

Come visit my blog...

Happy Reminders

and see what else I do!

Happy Arting!

Maria here....before you go!
The winner in the Blog Hop featuring Jane LaFazio is!