Stenciling & Doodling for Relaxation & Meditation

StencilGirl Stencils are designed by many of my favorite mixed media artists!

Their stencils are versatile and beautiful!

Lately I have been using StencilGirl stencils to doodle with,

looking for patterns and making marks in random and spontaneous ways.

For me, this practice is a form of relaxation and meditation.

The materials are simple:

• Paper or a Journal
• StencilGirl stencils
• Acrylic paint
• Sponges/Paint Brushes/Stencil Brushes
• Micron pen, Sharpie pen or any mark making tool you enjoy using

Directions:

• Put paint through the stencil onto paper/journal etc. using your preferred application method.
• Wait for paint to dry completely.
• Use Micron Pens, Sharpies etc. to doodle onto and around the stenciled shapes.
  Don't limit yourself to Sharpies/Microns. Use Paint pens, glitter pens, Gelly Roll pens etc.

Note:  Based on my own experiences with Micron pens...
I have ruined a few Micron Pens by not waiting for the paint to dry or writing over mediums that clog the nib.

These pens are expensive!
I have learned to use Matte Craft Paint or Gesso or Gesso Tinted Paints for writing on paint.

Glossy paint will not provide a surface for smooth application or drawing.

It is best to avoid writing over the painted area as much as possible.

Using Micron Pens: Hold Upright, Use a very light touch, avoid writing over paint, move slowly.

Below are a few photos from my journals...I hope they inspire you to stencil and doodle, too!

Happy Stenciling and Doodling!

Elise Buskey

Guest Designer Tammy Tutterow: Fabric Page Tutorial

I love creating with fabric.  I learned to sew when I was a young teenager and consider it one of my first crafty loves.  I also love working with inks and paints.  When I can combine my two crafty loves, I consider it bliss!  I love trying out products and techniques that I might normally consider for paper.  I decided I wanted to create an art journal with fabric pages that I can try out different ideas on that I would normally do on paper.  

I originally planned to create a cover with a binder mechanism… but then I remembered a vintage clipboard I had in my stash.  The clipboard turns my fabric pages into a display piece instead of being hidden away in a book!

step 1:

Adhere a piece of  Ranger Sticky Back Canvas (8.5” x 11”) to a piece of cotton batting cut roughly to size.  In place of Sticky Back Canvas, you could adhere a piece of plain canvas or cotton to the batting using a glue stick or spray adhesive.

step 2:

Turn the combined piece over and adhere a second piece of Sticky Back Canvas to the back of the piece.

step 3:

Place the Love Collage Stencil over the canvas. Apply a variety of Distress Ink colors using an ink blending tool.  Use a pouncing motion to apply the ink with the tool.

step 4:

Continue applying color until the fabric page is covered.

step 5: Place the stencil over the page again, lining up the design.  Apply a brown Distress Ink to the fabric using an ink blending tool.  Apply the brown ink randomly as an accent to deepen the colors.

step 6:

Cut a piece of white cotton so that it is slightly larger than the heart on the stencil.  Cut a piece of cotton batting to the same size.  Use a glue stick to adhere the two layers together.  Use an ink blending tool to apply a light layer of Distress Ink the fabric.  Place the stencil over the fabric.  Use an ink blending tool to apply ink (same color) to the fabric again through the stencil.

step 7:

Place the Vintage Script Stencil over the heart.  Use an ink blending tool to apply a brown Distress Ink to the fabric through the stencil.  Continue placing the stencil and applying ink randomly over the heart.  Cut out the heart leaving a border about 1/8” to 1/4” outside the solid portion of the heart.  Use a glue stick to adhere the heart to the page matching up the pattern to the heart on the page.

step 8: Use a grey marker (I used a Pitt Artist Pen B in Warm Grey) to lightly sketch around the circles and LOVE.  Don’t worry about being really precise, the grey ink will look like sketchy pencil lines.  Add accent lines with the marker along straight lines and random small circles.

step 9: Use the marker to add extra shading along the edge of the heart and inside the small circles.

step 10:

Add random machine stitching along different elements of the stencil design.  Again, go freestyle and don’t worry about being really exact with the stitching.  Machine stitch through the heart to “quilt” it to the page.  Stitch around the outside edge of the page too.

step 11:

Add grommets as desired to the page so that it can be added to a book or strung together with other pages.

step 12: Dig into your stash of embellishments to add dimensional elements to the page.  

Mix metal embellishments, soft elements like flowers, paper, and even vintage pieces like buttons and keys!

step 13: These flowers and leaves are die cut from crinoline using my new Pom Pom Posies die from Spellbinders.

Details I love- I love the depth that the grey marker added to the design.  It helped to define elements and also added depth which keeps the piece from looking flat.

I love when a project turns out better than you hoped for!  I didn’t originally plan to add the marker accent.  I am so glad I did!  It totally makes the project!

Supplies:

Stencils: Love Collage L312, Vintage Text Stencil L267

Surfaces: Ranger Ink Sticky Back Canvas, white cotton, cotton batting, crinoline (flowers)

dies: Spellbinders Pom Pom Posies by Tammy Tutterow

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink- Broken China, Peeled Paint, Scattered Straw, Shaded Lilac, Spun Sugar, Gathered Twigs

Stain: Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain: Broken China, Peeled Paint (flowers)

Marker: FaberCastel Pitt Artist Marker  Warm Grey B

Tools: Ranger Ink Blending Tool, Non-stick Craft Sheet; sewing machine

Adhesive: Beacon 3in1, Therm O Web Glue Stick

Links:

Website http://tammytutterow.com/ | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tammytutterowdesigns | Twitter https://twitter.com/tammytutterow | Pinterest http://pinterest.com/tammytutterow/ | Instagram http://instagram.com/tammytutterow

NEW StencilGirl Artist Steven Skaggs

We are thrilled to welcome renown calligrapher and graphic design professor STEVEN SKAGGS to the 

family of StencilGirl designers.

Have you ever wondered why fonts have glyphs?

"It is helpful for font designers to have decorative devices that match the style of the font alphabet," says Steven Skaggs, Professor of Graphic Design at the University of Louisville. 

He designs fonts, glyphs, logos, and is a calligrapher.

The four home decor stencils pictured above grew out of the Rieven™ Uncial Pro font Steven designed in 2011.

The original glyphs for Rieven™ "were done as a project to see if I could take a particularly formal vocabulary, a set of simple paddle shapes that are organic, and make them into ornaments to use in typography," he says.

"The idea was to play."

When Steven and Mary Beth began talking stencils it was time for him to play once more.

Patterns arranged slightly differently create a symmetry reminiscent of historic Arabic tiles and Moorish influenced Spanish architectural elements. 

Harmony, Trefoil, Toledo and Fleuron are the complementary stencils he created especially for StencilGirl's Home Decor Line.

Imagination and Innovation, then Art

"I love how the look of something can cause feelings," Steven says. 

Watching his students create and viewing art is the "miraculous, fascinating mystery" that allows him to stay in "astonishment space" and love his profession.

A tip for new art students:

"Sometimes knowing is the thing that kills it; sometimes naivete creates something no-one, including the student, expected."

Steven's work is in the permanent collections of the Akademie der Künste (Berlin), the Klingspor Museum, and the Sackner Archive of Visual and Concrete Poetry. 

He is author of FireSigns, available from MIT Press in 2017.

Discover more about Steven on his website or access his font, Rieven™ Uncial Pro, on Delve Fonts. You'll find his full bio and the stencils he created for StencilGirl here.

One Dozen Gorgeous NEW StencilGirl Home Décor Stencils + 3 Projects

G007 Leaf Diamond 12x24" Designed by Mary Beth Shaw

These stencils are giant!

12 inches by 24 inches

The patterns repeat!

Use them to stencil your walls, doors, floors

Borders, back splashes, accent walls 

fabric for pillows, floor cloths, quilts, curtains, and

home decor crafts.

Stencil Designer: Steven Skaggs

Go ahead! Take a look. Imagine the possibilities!

A stencil designer, an artist, and a newbie 

have each created a unique, special, inspirational project 
with complete instructions to go with these NEW Home Décor stencils.
#StencilGirl !

June's Stenciled Cork Board with Push Pins

June Pfaff Daley is a mixed media artist who creates with everything from wood to fabric. She enjoys transforming thrift store treasures and favors whimsical motifs. June resides in Cincinnati, Ohio with three fantastic kids, one supportive husband, a darling dog and a charming cat. Visit her website: http://www.junepfaffdaley.com.

Stencil: "Antique Tiles" 12x24 inch, Designed by: Mary Beth Shaw
Project by: June Pfaf Daley

June's instructions for her Stenciled Cork Board with Push Pins:

I picked up that plain ‘before’ cork board at a thrift store awhile back for the bargain price of 50 cents. (Side note: In my opinion this is the only way to shop for cork boards. I see them ALL the time at thrift stores looking all brand new and lonely.) I knew this board was in for a makeover the second I found a free moment. Well that free moment finally came when the mail lady delivered a tube containing (wait for it…) Stencil Girl’s new line of HOME DÉCOR STENCILS! As I opened the tube and unfurled the gigantic 12” x 24” gorgeously designed piece of stenciliousness my heart skipped a beat. Nothing in my home was safe from pattern now.

With this new product I knew my sad, boring cork board would be transformed in a matter of minutes. 

Supply list:

CorkBoard

plain jane cork board

12” x 24” Antique Tiles stencil

black acrylic paint

stencil brush or paint brush

Push Pins

9” x 12” coordinating (name of stencil) stencil

paper clay

acrylic paint

paint brush

pushpins

x-acto knife

E6000 adhesive

sand paper

1) As luck would have it my cork board was the same length as the stencil. I used a bit of masking tape to hold it in place and stenciled black acrylic paint with a larger paintbrush. Cork is a dream to stencil on as it absorbs any extra paint and produces nice crisp lines even if you oversaturate your brush which I admit I am often guilty of in my enthusiasm to stencil quickly.

The size of the project does no matter. These stencils are designed for a pattern repeat. Just line up where you left off and finish the area that needs covered. After my board was complete I started in on creating pushpins.

2) Roll a piece of paper clay out to ¼” thickness. Place the 9” x 12” stencil on top. Using an xacto knife cut around the edge of the pushpin flower design. Be very careful not to cut the stencil! I did try to outline in pencil first however I found I got a much crispier design when I just went in with the knife. Take your time and all will be well.

3) After I cut out four flowers, I cut an indentation in the back of each in which to put the pushpin snug-as-a-bug in the center of the paper clay flower. In the center I placed a dab of E6000 and inserted the pushpin. Now you could definitely use a pushpin without a decorative ball. However, I like to utilize what I already have on hand whenever possible. My craft room does not need more purchases of any kind!

4) Using a bit more paper clay cover the ball of the push pin. Let flowers dry. After the flowers are dry, sand the paper clay to make the push pins all perfecto.

5) Finally, paint the flowers as you please.

And with that the corkboard is ready for use! I am hanging mine in my studio. Now what next…

Terri's Pouf

Terri Stegmiller’s art quilting and painting career has been her passing for two decades. Surface pattern design is her most recent creative journey. She is happily married to a wonderfully supportive husband, and has a son and daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. Terri  is from Mandan, North Dakota and live on a 10-acre spot of land where she loves to garden, bird watch, and receives constant inspiration from the antics of her cats. Visit her website: http://terristegmiller.com/

Terri can hardly wait for her granddaughter to try out the new pouf she made!

Stencils:  "D" 12x24 inch, Designed by: Terri Stegmiller
"Full Lattice" 12x24 inch, Designed by: Mary Beth Shaw 
Project by: Terri Stegmiller

Terri's instructions for her Pouf:

Step 1: Gather supplies: I started with two colors of cotton duck fabric (you can find several color choices at your local fabric store). I chose Amy Butler's Gum Drop Pillow pattern and two stencil designs.

Step 2: Using textile paint, a foam roller, and a foam plate as my paint palette, I added the stencil designs to the cotton duck fabric. I like to tape around the edges of my stencils with duct tape to create a wide frame, this gives me added cushion so I don't roll over the edge of the stencil.

Step 3: Holding the stencil down firmly on one edge with my hand, I roll the foam roller away from my hand. I roll only in one direction. I find if I roll in more than one direction, the stencil is more likely to shift.

Step 4: After my fabric was covered with the stenciled design, I let it dry completely, overnight is best. Heat set the fabric with an iron, following the directions on the textile paint packaging.
Step 5: Following the pattern directions, I cut out the fabric pieces and sewed them together. I stuffed the pillow with fiber fill.

Final Pillow: The pillow could actually use more stuffing. I bought a large bag of fiber fill and used the entire bag. The firmness of the pillow can be adjusted to your liking. The possibilities are endless with creating your own stenciled home decor fabrics. Armed with fabrics, stencils, and sewing patterns, you can customize your decor in so many ways.

Carol's (2nd ever stenciling project) Floor Cloth

Carol Jean Baxter is primarily a writer and is delighted to be a part of the StencilGirl Creative Team. 

Stencil:  "Antique Tiles" 12x24 inch  Designed by: Mary Beth Shaw Project by: Carol Jean Baxter

Carol's Art Adventure Floor Cloth instructions:

Never be afraid to try something new! Stenciling is easy and fun!

This is the only thing I have ever stenciled besides simple stationary (I count myself lucky to have seen June and Terri's projects first as well as been give advice by Mary Beth Shaw.)

A book on how to paint floor cloths has sat dusty upon my shelf for years. When Mary Beth announced she was launching a line of home décor stencils OPPORTUNITY frantically waved my bucket list in front of my face.

Materials and Tools:
Antique Tile Home Décor G001 StencilGirl Stencil 
Canvas Duck Cloth, 10 pound weight 
White Acrylic House Paint
2 Colors of Acrylic House Paint – I used maroon and blue
Metallic Artists Acrylic Paint – I used Indigo Blue brand
Water-based Varnish
Paint Wax
Silicone
Large sheet of paper, Pen, Ruler
Chalk for marking cut lines on canvas
Ruler
Utility Scissors
Painter’s Masking Tape
Paint Trays
High Density Foam Paint Rollers
Paint Brushes
Flat Even Work Surface 
Bucket ‘o water for washing your trays, rollers, and brushes.

Instructions:
1. Draw out your design and then make a pattern. Newbie perspective: I had a project in my head and when I mapped it out on paper, I realized it would need to be much larger, mean more masking, wait-for-it-to dry time and lining-up-of-edges, than I was ready to tackle as an impatient person and a relative newbie to using stencils.

2. Modify pattern if necessary. I wanted to preserve the floral tile pattern of G001 Antique Tiles in my floor cloth but be able to make straight cuts to the floor cloth when I finished.

3. Iron the canvas. Cut canvas a few inches bigger around than your pattern. Tape canvas tightly to your work surface. I went from edge to opposite edge.

4. Roll on a foundation layer of white paint and let dry. Newbie tip: I panicked a bit when I noticed the unpainted canvas edged rippling and popping up the masking tape. This is caused by the paint soaking into the canvas fibers. I added a couple more layers and this was no longer an issue.

5. Roll on a layer of red paint and let dry. You will notice the cloth absorbed less paint and is getting smoother but it is NOT totally smooth. 

6. Place your stencil and mask it down.

7. Roll on the blue layer. Let dry. 
Important: Your paint roller should be fairly “dry”, meaning you won’t want as much paint on the roller itself as you may have used in the previous steps. Also, you want to roll your brush in just one direction. Newbie tips: Deep breath. LOL 

8. Remove stencil. Celebrate success with happy dance!

9. Flip stencil, align to painted pattern and mask it down.

10. Roll on the rest of the pattern in blue. Let dry. Remove.

11. Highlight elements with metallic paint. These painted details will make it pop! Let dry. I admit, I danced another happy dance around my project t this point.

12. Paint on layer of varnish. Let dry.

13. Wax top. 

14. Optional: Give your beautiful floor cloth a non-slip back by doodling silicone flowers on the back. Be certain silicone is completely dry before placing cloth on floor. Or you can simply place a non-stick rug lattice underneath.

Note: Sew the edges of the canvas if you plan to make a large floor cloth. 

Was my cloth a tad imperfect? Sure, but I want to play with more fabric and these stencils. If you can't find me this summer I'll be in my garage using stencils on a floor cloth.

More? We hear you asking for more! 

Here are Leaf Diamond G007 and Triangles G005 designed by Mary Beth Shaw.

That makes 12 NEW Home Décor releases in February 2016!

StencilGirl has some extremely talented artists designing more Home Décor stencils that we will continue to roll out. If you already receive The Scoop each month, we'll let you know when the next 12x24 inch stencils roll out. Need to get on the list for all our latest news? Sign up HERE.

How will you dress up your home?

Gwen's Gems: Use a Stencil to Make a Reliquary

Hi everyone, it's Gwen here with this month's installment of Gwen's Gems. When I was deciding what I wanted to do for this month, I started going through my inspiration file and one idea immediately jumped out at me. I had a picture of an old Roman reliquary - this one didn't have bones or anything in it, but instead it was covered with lots of little tiny round niches with windows, each with an image of some kind inside. I immediately decided to make my own version using stencils, collage, and clay. So I did!

Here's my little modern day reliquary:

Now for a little tutorial on how to make something similar on your own, as well as ideas on some substitute materials.

First up, I took a 6x6 cradled birch panel from Dick Blick and gesso'd and painted it with copper fluid acrylics. Then I took the Circle on Circle stencil by Mary Beth Shaw, positioned it on the panel the way I wanted it, and traced the openings with a pencil onto the panel.

Next, I pulled out different papers; some were already patterned, some I stenciled using my Ornamental Petals Mask, Ornamental Compass Mask, and my Ornamental Circle Cluster Screen. After picking the ones I wanted, I punched circles that were just slightly bigger than the large circles from the stencil design and positioned them on the panel. Then I started building up little mini collages on top of each one.

I added some rubons to some of them, then adhered them to the panel with matte medium. Next up, time for the clay! I used Aves Apoxy Clay for this, but you could use polymer clay, other air dry clays, Liquid Pearls or puffy paints, jewelry findings or bezels, or even the rims from metal rimmed tags. 

Once I had a clay ring around all the large circles, I used little tiny balls of clay to create decorative elements that matched up with all the smaller circles. I put four small balls of clay in a square with a fifth on top, then pushed a pointed molding tool into each one to make a little well. I stuck a little tiny rhinestone into the top of each ornament. Again - you could skip this, use jewelry findings, larger rhinestones... whatever you want in that spot.

Once the clay was down, I set it aside for a few hours to dry enough to paint. When it was ready, I painted the clay with the copper fluid acrylics. After that I left it over night so the clay could completely cure.

Next, I added final details before sealing each of the collages. Liquid Pearls to make some dots (of course,) and also a dirty glaze. This glaze I made with micaceous iron oxide and gold fluid acrylic paints mixed with polymer medium. I wiped it back a bit in a few places, but left most of it to dry so that the collages would have a slightly aged and cloudy look.

After that was dry, I sealed each of the circle areas and turned them into "glass" windows by filling each of the areas with Diamond Glaze. You could also use Glossy Accents, Crystal Lacquer, DecoArt Liquid Glass, Ice Resin, or other similar products. You could also just leave it plain. I picked the Diamond Glaze because I knew it would stay in place with the open edges along the borders of the panel. 

Again, I left this to dry overnight - I filled each circle all the way up to the top because the glaze will shrink down as it dries. The next day, it was crystal clear and glossy!

Now it was time to make the areas around my collages look old. For this, I got out some soft gel (glossy) and mica powders in gold, copper, cinnamon, and black. You could mask off your collaged windows and use sprays, VerDay paints, or another preferred method for aging (or just leave it as is!) I've been experimenting with mica powders lately, so I decided to go that route. I just dipped my brush in the gel medium and then into the powder - that worked better for me than mixing the powder with the gel like a paint. I slowly worked the mica in around the circles until the entire panel was nice and aged.

What a difference that mica makes!

To finish it off, I used the Pilgrimage to Mexico stencil by Laurie Mika and stenciled around the sides of my panel. When that was dry, I added some beaded trim all the way around to finish it off.

Voila! My own version of an antique reliquary! Here are a few of the other views so you can see the dimension and the shading from the mica. It's hard to capture the shine, but hopefully you can see it! I think it looks pretty cool :)

That's it! I hope you enjoyed today's project as much as I enjoyed making it. Have you ever used your StencilGirl stencils to make something with little windows or mini collages? We'd love to see!

Until next time, happy stenciling!

Gwen