Just a few Minutes with Mary Beth, Oct 2018, Episode 6

Hello all!!!

I am back from my teaching gigs and settling back into my life. Life is good!

And I've got news......check it out!

We hope you loved this episode of Just a few minutes with Mary Beth!

Stay tuned!

Mary Beth Shaw will be back again next month with another new VLOG post!

Gratitude Cards by Sunila & Aditi

Hello everyone,

Sunila and Aditi of Dots 2 Lines hereon the blog today with a fun video tutorial for you all!

This month our theme is Gratitude!

An attitude of Gratitude is important for everything we encounter. It keeps us motivated and on the path. Most often, we look at all the things that aren't than those that are. We decided to create some mixed media Gratitude Cards. These can be used as a motivation/positive message booklet, desk calendar, pocket album, etc. These would surely remind us to be thankful for all that is and foster an attitude of gratitude. 

The techniques shared can be applied to any mixed media project. 

We have a video tutorial for this one:

We have used multiple stencils for layering and then used one for our focal elements as well. We have used The New Orleans stencil by Nathalie Kalbach (L475),  The Pixels stencil by Rae Missigman (S509), and The Collage Patterns and Textures Circles stencil by Gwen Lafleur (L631).

We hope you're inspired!

Sunila & Aditi

Stencil Reference Book: A Bookbinder's Stenciling Guide

Hello Beautiful Creative People, 

Kiala back again with an idea that I think will make you smile. 

Have you ever wished that you had a quick and handy reference book with all of the many StencilGirl® stencils you've happily accumulate? 

I have that thought every time I reach for my stack of stencils. In this tutorial I'll show you what I'm doing to create a quick reference of the more than 200 stencils I own. 

This little project started with my love for cards. I thought I would make one card for each stencil I own. After making 20 of them, I realized I was going to need a container for them. That's when my bookbinding radar lit up. 

I gathered my supplies and began: 

• Stencils -- All of them!!!!
• Acrylic Paints
• Chipboard
• Paper -- I used Mixed media paper cut to 3.5 x 4 2/8 cards. 
• Makeup sponge
• White washi tape
• Sakura Gelly Roll in Black
• A piece of old art from my stash
• Crop-a-dile hole puncher
• Single hole punch
• Utility knife (for cutting your boards)
• Ruler
• Pencil

Step One: Cut Your Card

I started with a 14 x 17 sheet of Canson Mix Media paper. I folded it in half and kept reducing it to half until I had a size I liked and that I thought would give me enough of the stencil image to be able to identify the stencil easily. 

Step Two: Mask A Strip at the Bottom of the Card(s)

I used a 3/8 inch wide piece of white washi tape that can be easily removed after I stencil the image. The tape helps keep a strip of the card white so I can write the details of the stencil on it after the paint dries. 

Step Three: Stencil the entire card (or a portion -- based on the stencil). 

I like the look of having the entire card covered with the stencil (except for the strip of course). I used my makeup sponge, but you could also use spray inks for this step if you prefer. I only stenciled one side of my cards, but you could totally do a different stencil on the back. The way this book works, it would be okay to have something on the front and the back of the card. I think I may have to do that so that my stack of cards doesn't get too thick. 

Step Four: Let the paint dry and remove the tape. 

Step Five: Add stencil info to the white strip. 

I used a black Sakura Gelli Roll Pen in 06 tip. 

Step Six: Punch Holes in the Cards

I used a single hole punch for the cards and a Crop-a-dile for the chipboard. 

Step Seven: Make a hard cover for your book

I used book board for my cover, but you can use chipboard or the hard backing from an empty paper pad. Basically anything that will behave like a hard cover for the book. 

I covered my boards with an old piece of art paper that was in my collage stash. I then added the StencilGirl® logo stencil to the front cover for an added element of pride!!

Step Eight: Assemble the book

This book structure is held together by a screw post that goes through the holes I made in the top left corner of my book. I like this mechanism because it allows the cards to swing in and out so I can see them easily AND it unscrews so that I can add more cards as I accumulate more stencils. Let's face it, I WILL accumulate more StencilGirl® stencils :-). 

The screw posts can also be extended by purchasing the extension pack, thus allowing for even more cards. 

Easy Peasy!!! You've got yourself a reference book for your stencils. You can add to it periodically. It took me less than 20 minutes to stencil 20 cards -- so that's about 1 minute per card -- and that includes the time for drying and adding the name to the cards. 

You might also consider how you want to organize them. There are lots of ways: 

• Alpha by name of the stencil.
• Alpha by name of the designer.
• Numerically by the number in the StencilGirl® shop.
• In order of most used to least used. 
• In order of size of the actual stencil. 
• You could group them by which ones are from StencilClub versus not StencilClub. 
• Your own random way of organizing your stuff.

Another thing I may do when I have them all done is add in section divider cards. White cards with headings on them, like -- name of designer, stencil club section, etc. 

I'm curious to hear if you decide to make your own set of stenciled reference cards. Share your images with us on social media. 

Until our next bookbinding adventure...keep stenciling!!!

xo

Kiala

STENCILS PICTURED:

Faces in the Crowd by Jennifer Evans

Soulful Scribbles by Traci Bautista

Spring Garlic by Daniella Woolf

Flicks by Lizzy Mayne

Pixels by Rae Missigan

Primitive Wedges by Terri Stegmiller

Corrugated Lines by Lizzy Mayne

Puddles by Rae Missigan

Basket by Daniella Woolf

Basket Weave Brick by Lizzy Mayne

November GIVEAWAY!

Want to win a Gift Certificate to StencilGirl® Products?

Here's how! Our theme for November is Gratitude!

Make something with any StencilGirl® stencil.

Share a pic of how you stencil gratitude or a stenciled gift you've created on Instagram

and use the hashtag #StencilGirlGratitude to enter to win!

We'll choose one winner at random at the end of the month, when the next theme is revealed!

And see gratitude inspired stenciling from StencilGirl® Creative Team Members

here on our blog all month!

Art Journal: Rooted Strong by Cheetarah

Hi, it's Cheetarah here, and this month at StencilGirl® Talk we share what we feel grateful for. I've made an art journal spread about my hometown, Amsterdam. I'm feeling grateful for the roots I have there, the city I've spent the better part of my life in and in connection to my remaining family whom still live there. It's quite a personal spread, but it has so much meaning that I decided I wanted to share this with you here as it helped me worked through processing loss.

Earlier this year in April my father passed away and needless to say, it really uprooted a lot in my life. He was my last living parent and with his passing & not having my parental house to go to anymore and living in another city really made think about my connection to my family and my roots. How our parents aren't there to go to anymore and how we as siblings can stay rooted in connection towards each other, going forward. Journaling has been such a big part of my life to process all these feelings and art journaling also helps to get that visual representation out.

This art journal page just naturally came into being when I got my most recent StencilGirl® order with the inclusion of the Encaustics set of Stencils Club May 2013. The tree rings in the large stencil reminded me a lot of the canal rings in Amsterdam. As I placed it over a transit map, over the heart of the city it just clicked into place.

 

From the same set I used the roots & the female figure on top of it is the ATC size figure from Pam Carriker's ATC Mix Up large stencil. She stands so perfectly STRONG on the tree trunk, her roots digging in deep into the soil of her past, which grounds her in the present and supports her in her future. The word strong is from Carolyn Dube's Uplifting Words large stencil.

The Stencil Past Present  Future by Seth Apter was just a perfect addition to the whole sentiment of this art journal page and I used the smaller elements on the stencil for mark making throughout the whole page. Nathalie Kalbach's Amsterdam was an absolute must to this page to add a bit of flair and whimsy.

I have filmed the process of this art journal page which you can view here:

Off camera, I also added some more doodles with the sakura while gel pen and some stamping with VivaLasVegaStamps! texture stamps for a little bit more texture in the background.

To finish it off I added a quote "Roots are not in a landscape or a country or a people, they are inside you" from author Isabel Allende. I'm grateful to have grown up in such a dynamic city with my parents and to have build such strong roots that connects me to them in my past, present and future, as they live within me, always.

A few close up pictures:

You can see all the layers peeking through in the center and the female figure. 

I am absolutely grateful to have these strong roots supporting me in my life moving forward. 

Stencils I used are:

Encaustics set of Stencils Club May 2013

Carriker's ATC Mix Up large stencil

Carolyn Dube's Uplifting Words large stencil

Past Present  Future by Seth Apter

Nathalie Kalbach's Amsterdam

I hope you enjoyed watching the process of this art journal page. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have an awesome day & see you next time :) 

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What's Old is New Again - Mixed Media Ukulele

Check out Katie Lamb's process video showing you how to up-cycle an old, battered Ukulele using StencilGirl Stencils.

Starlight 6 x 6 Stencil  by Lesley Riley

Crackle 9x12 Stencil by Nathalie Kalbach

Katie also used Brusho Powders Violet, Purple, and Prussian Blue.

Beach Grass and Bare Wisteria Stencil Masks by Trish McKinney

"Veiled" Artwork by Trish McKinney

Wild Sea Oats, a seagrass that grows along the North and South Carolina coastline, inspired Trish McKinney to design these stencil masks.

These are stencil masks. Here is an example of where the paint goes:

Here is a quick video tutorial for using the Beach Grass stencils to paint a canvas:

Bare wisteria vines, in all their chaotic elegance, were the inspiration for Trish's new stencil masks. Don't you just love the possibilities that graceful loop gives your artwork? We do!

Above are stencil masks. Here is an example of where the paint goes:

Watch Trish enliven this portrait with one of her Bare Wisteria stencil masks:

All of Trish McKinney's stencils are available HERE.