Happy Stars Clipboard - Mark Making for Additional Depth by Claudia

Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by! This month's theme over here at the StencilGirl Talk blog is "Texture it or Make Marks on it" and I immediately had some of my favorite StencilGirl® stencils in mind that I wanted to use for indulging in some heavy mark-making  ;)

Mark making is something I especially love as it adds a lot of depth and interest to almost any project you can think of - and with the right stencils at hand, it always is a very enjoyable thing to do. It is so rewarding when you take off the stencil you have just used to find how a bit of mark making has turned a rather flat design into something lively and so much more interesting. 

I had this lovely (and true) quote stencil from the Stencil Club Playtime Collection 

designed by Carolyn Dube in my stash and I knew together with her gorgeous Stars Inspired by Matisse stencil I wanted to alter a cheap MDF clipboard kit from the dollar store and turn it into a fun and uplifting looking organizing tool for my studio desk. 

Alongside, some more of my favorite mark-making stencils designed by Mary Beth Shaw,

Seth Apter and one stencil from their genius Shaw - Apter Mash Up! Stencil Club collection released in January this year I created a fun layer of marks on top of my happy stars which made them look as if they were floating in a rainbow icecream colored sky. 

I have done a video this time that shows the whole process from (almost the) beginning to the very end - only the how-to of the very base layer is missing (due to me obviously hitting the record button twice instead of once and this way just filming one second of it...*rolling eyes). But that step is quite easy and quickly explained - and I found pictures from another project where I used this technique: 

First I apply dots of acrylic paints directly from the bottles or paint tubes onto my substrate...

...and then I use the edge of an old plastic card to drag the paint from the dots across the whole surface in horizontal moves only. The trick is to not repeat that dragging motion more often than two to three times in the same spot so the colors do not mix too much (which will create a muddy color tone)! 

If you find you do not like the result you can still add more dots of paint on top (once the first layer has dried) and repeat the process until you are content with the look. On my clipboard here I used a lot of Titanium White to get pastel color tones. 

On my clipboard, I have used DecoArt Americana acrylic paints: Titanium White, Lamp Black, Sea Breeze, Pumpkin, Primary Yellow, Black Plum, and Mint Julip Green and also DecoArt media fluid acrylics Hansa Yellow Medium and Cobalt Teal Hue.

I have also done some close-up shots of my clipboard so you can see some areas in more detail. 

Here are two detail shots of the design being continued across the board and its stand. The video shows how to do that. 

The clip to hold any note sheets with is fixed to the board with a glued-on magnet.

I just love how the smudged background, stenciled on painted stars, and the layer of black marks on top create amazing depth!

The stars look happy...and so am I looking at them and my finished clipboard on my studio desk.

Here's once more the list of stencils used on this project:

- Stars Inspired by Matisse - Carolyn Dube

- August 2018 Carolyn Dube "Playtime" StencilClub Collection 

- January 2019  Shaw - Apter Mash Up! StencilClub Collection

- October 2016 Mary Beth's Private StencilClub Collection

- Text and Texture Transform Stencil by Seth Apter

Thanks for your visit! See you soon!

Claudia 

xxx