Guest Designer: Cecilia Swatton

Hi, everyone! Cecilia Swatton here!

Happy to be back on StencilGirl Talk to share another fun way to use stencils!

Back on 6-11-14, on my own blog, I posted a technique that called for thick, sturdy cardstock, a stencil, masking tape, a spreading tool (old credit card or an artist’s spatula), spray paint and modeling paste.

For this post, I jazzed up that technique with what I call “pearlized” acrylic paint. This paint appears pearl-like, although its gleam actually comes from the mineral mica, ground to tiny bits and pre-blended into acrylic binder alongside white pigment. I used a craft paint (pictured) but Golden also makes this paint.

I brushed the white “metallic” paint across it, working in one direction. After it had dried, I added a second layer of the same paint, brushing in the opposite direction.

When that double layer had dried, I used masking tape to cover it with stencils –
Ivy Frame 9 and a border I’d cut from Swatton Borders #2.

To save some of the pearl-like quality of the background, I used Golden’s Glass Beads gel
for the ivy and Golden’s heavy gloss gel for the border.

Right after spreading these gels across the stencils with a spreading tool,
I sprayed the wet gels with watercolor.

Next, I carefully lifted off the stencils and cleaned them –
these gels are thick media which, once hardened, gunks up stencil openings.

The next three close-ups show the 3-D results. Notice how the bead gel gives the ivy a jewel-like look. 
The shapes made with the Border stencil have a different look since they were done with gloss gel medium.

Another medium fun to use with this technique is Liquitex Black Lava.
I’ve used it with stencils and loved the results.

After the gel dries, other paints or dry media can be added.
For instance, using Pan Pastels over the entire surface highlights the 3-dimensional image;
the pearly background still gleams, while gaining a tint of color.

I cut up my 3D prints with an Exacto knife, then used them on covers of twin mini art journals.