Merry Christmas from StencilGirl!

from all of us at StencilGirl...

Wishing
you a
VERY
Merry Christmas!

Rainbow backgrounds using stencils

Hi Everyone,

It's summer here down under, and that means bright colours!!! Well, it means that year round for me, but I digress!

This simple journal page was created using only stencils and acrylic paint, and it was so fun to make. I love how the background is such a strong focus, yet stands up to the bold image in the foreground.

To create this page I used the Circle Tile Stencil (L015) and sponged rainbow colours through the parts of the stencil all over my page. I started with the lighter colours and built up to darker, so if there was some overlap it would be covered.

Once dry, I then stencilled the pretty as a Peacock face ( S288) in black gesso and part of the You Got Time (M398) stencil to create a body. I used white paint pen to add highlights to the black gesso. I then stencilled a quote from the Rainbow Quote stencil (L956) and added white highlights as well. 

I love how happy this piece makes me, so I experimented with doing a similar piece using bright watercolours. This turned out okay - but there was some bleed through under the stencil, which you could avoid if you used a stencil spray to hold it close to the page. I freehanded a silhouette of a vase of flowers, but you could easily create your own stencilled version. 

Here is a list of the stencilled used in this journal page:

Circle Tile Stencil (L015)

pretty as a Peacock face ( S288) 

You Got Time (M398)

Rainbow Quote stencil (L956)

Here is a link to a video creating this page: 

Happy creating

Niamh

Gel Printed Holiday Tree Cards

Hello! Nicole here back for my last blog post of 2023! What? This year has flown by, hasn’t it? If you’re anything like me, it’s the middle of December and you either ran out of time or completely forgot about sending some holiday cards. I always like to have a few on hand for neighbor gifts and friend get-togethers plus some for mailing.

Ever since I began making my own cards, I just can’t purchase them. I think that also adds a bit of pressure to create a work of art on a card. 

Recently, when I was playing with some StencilGirl® stencils, I applied paint through the Butterfly Rouen Tile stencil and thought it looked like snow and/or the pattern on one of those ugly Christmas sweaters. I immediately wanted to spray paint white through it and brainstormed how I could make that work for a card design. Then, it hit me. Trees! 

I could add some trees and make a snowy winter sky background. So, for this year’s card I had the idea to gel print some papers and turn them into trees with the spray-painted background of course!

 

My first step was to gel print a variety of papers in all shades of green. I wanted to layer different patterns, colors and sizes of trees in the foreground.

 

I printed on white and kraft colored card stock to add to the variety and for a tiny bit of pop and thickness to the trees.

 

The gel print process was simple. First layer down some green(s) on the plate and brayer them to a thin coat. 

Place a stencil down and pull a first print on top the stencil. 

This print isn’t always a great one, depending on the stencil style, but it makes a great first layer!

Then, remove the stencil and pull a second print. 

I repeated this process several times with different shades of greens and stencils.  Once in a while I pulled a third print to layer on one that just didn’t look right or flipped the stencil over to use the paint again on that side. I let the paint, stencil, and results determine my next steps each time. There are no rules, and you can watch my simple process in the video tutorial.

 

Sometimes when I was unsure of how the pattern would look for a tree, I isolated it with a piece of paper that I had cut a triangle out of. It’s amazing how different just a slice of the print looks and makes the perfect little tree.

While I waited for the prints to dry, I cut my base cards and spray painted through the Butterfly Rouen Tile stencil.

And, while those dried, I added some white splatters to the envelopes. I just simply sprayed some of the paint in a small cup and added some water to it. I repeated this process on both sides of the envelopes and also the back of the cards.

Finally, it was time to cut out the trees! I cut out some small tree patterns to make this process easier. Using the patterns, I was able to ensure that the trees would layer ok on the card fronts.

Once I had millions (ok, maybe just a hundred) trees cut out, I placed a large one on each card and then picked out all the little ones to go with it. I originally planned to put three trees on a card, but I couldn’t resist changing that to five trees. 

When the trees were perfectly placed, I quick snapped a photo just in case. Then I carefully piled the cards up and began the process to stick them down.

Looking back, I wish I had printed a few more trees that were a little more solid in color with small pattern. I like how they anchored some of the card fronts. 

 

To finish the cards, I knew I wanted to add a “Merry Christmas” sentiment with my typewriter, but I also decided to add some red berry garland to one tree on each card. If you don’t have a typewriter, you can print words from your computer or find some stickers. 

I added the simple berry dots with the end of a paintbrush.

I really enjoyed how these came together, even if my husband calls them mountains instead of trees. Maybe that’s one reason I decided to add the berry garland! 

The best part? Besides the fact that I have a bunch of cards to send, I have a lot of leftovers. So, I think I’m going to also make some small tags for packages as well.

Check out the entire process in the video below!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and maybe I just helped remove a little of the holiday stress by not only giving you a card idea, but some moments to just sit down and create.

-Nicole

Connect with me on

• Instagram
• YouTube
• My website

Stencils

• Quatrefoil
• City Map Mask
• Scribbley
• Tripwire
• Curvy Lattice
• Maltese Mix
• Art Deco Fairview
• Winter Berries Mask
• Scribble Scratch Handwriting
• Chain Mail Large
• Words to Live By
• Butterfly Rouen Tile 

Supplies

• Card stock (white, dark blue, kraft)
• Green acrylic paint of all shades
• Red acrylic paint
• Typed sentiments 
• White spray paint (I prefer the Liquitex brand)
• Gel plate
• Adhesive tape
• Scissors
• Brayer
• Envelopes

Adorn Your Art with this New Design by Jennifer Evans

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Enjoy this blissful moment- by Jane Bellante

Hello everyone!  Jane Bellante here - back with one of my favorite ways to use my stencils and masks.

I love using sprays of all kids, and the Oxide Sprays from Ranger are no exception.  For this short but sweet tutorial, I grabbed my Longwood Florals Mask (which has become one of my very favorite masks lately!!), and the Kitsch Flamingo, Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo Oxide Sprays.  

I'm using some handmade paper that has bits of flowers in it.  It's rather thick, so I wanted to explore how the sprays would react on this particular paper.  

I sprayed through the mask, and then I flipped it over to get the negative on the right.  I just love the contrast here!

The Oxide Sprays sunk into the paper, but the paper is thick enough that it did not totally saturate the back of the paper - which I loved because my final plan was to bind this into a little book.

Next, I grabbed some rub on transfers and some words and created a little fairy land on top.  I adore how it turned out!

You can watch the full (and quick!) tutorial right here, and you can also see the gorgeous eco paper from Jeanie Barnes that I used for my book cover.  It is soooo pretty!!!

Supplies Used:

Longwood Florals Mask

Kitsch Flamingo, Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo Oxide Sprays

Rub on transfers

Random words

Eco Paper from Jeanie Barnes

Waxed Thread

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that you will experiment with sprays and StencilGirl Stencils.  It's a never ending exploration that I just love!

You can find me at janebellanteart.com and @janebellanteart on all social media platforms.  

Thank you for being here!!

xo, 

Jane

Kirsten Varga - December StencilClub - Single-Flag Book

Welcome Back Creatives! Kirsten Varga here with a bookmaking project using the beautiful December StencilClub designs by Rae Missigman. The stencils this month include a bold, simple leaf design along with a more detailed floral design. I really enjoyed layering the two and was excited by the dynamic textures they created. 

The book structure this month is the Single-Flag Book. This is a perfect structure for binding single pages into a book with an accordion spine. 

The single pages are created from watercolor paper and have simple house collages inspired by the project I did for the Dear Heart Project lead by Tania Ahmed back in 2020. Each collage has an inspiring word. 

It was therapeutic to ponder on each word as I assembled my book. I look forward to seeing which words stand out to me each time I flip through this book.

Check out my video below for all the details.

 

Happy Creating!

Find me on Instagram: @kirstenvarga

Join StencilClub by December 15 to receive these exclusive stencils and accompanying video tutorial with PDF (both downloadable!), and 25% OFF STENCILS EVERY DAY!!

Stencils used:

Other Supplies:

140# Cold press Watercolor Paper (12"x18")

Handmade paper (two pieces 2"x29")

Acrylic Paint

Makeup Sponges

Glue Stick

Bone Folder

Ruler

Scissors

Scor-it Board

7/8" square punch

Various found, painted and handmade papers

Carol Ponsford - December 2023 StencilClub - PaperArtsy Infusions with stencils

Hello stencil lovers! Carol Ponsford here today to share one way to use 

PaperArtsy Infusions with your stencils. I will be using my gel plate along with the 

December 2023 StencilClub set "Faraway Gardens" designed by the talented 

Rae Missigman. Rae's stencils lend themselves so well with this technique to achieve some 

beautiful papers you can use in your journals, as collage papers, or the perfect

backdrop to add a sentiment to for a greeting card anyone would cherish.

I have created a video that you can watch and follow along to create some of these

beautiful papers for your own use. Just click the link below to go to the video.

https://youtu.be/6L5_Pe0W50M

The supplies I am using are my 8" x 10" gel plate, a brayer, several colors of 

PaperArtsy Infusions, 4 sheets of watercolor paper, spray bottle filled w/water, a couple 

sheets of deli paper or thin copy paper to pick up excess color on plate, and a roll of paper towels.

To begin, I laid the stencil onto my gel plate and pressed it down to create good contact 

with the plate to prevent the color from seeping under the stencil too much.

I then began sprinkling the Infusion colors on top. Start with a small amount 

because these powders are very highly pigmented and it is easy 

to put too much pigment, you can always add more if you choose.

Once you are happy with the amount of pigment on the plate, spritz the whole thing 

with water until it is lightly moistened (hint: spray the water from a 

distance so that the water is evenly applied). You want enough water to activate 

the pigments but not so much to cause it to run heavily when you lift it off of the plate.

You can spray again after the stencil is removed. Before removing the stencil, set a blank sheet of

watercolor paper to the side of the plate and spritz an even coat of water on the paper.

Gently lift the stencil off of the plate and lay upside down on the moistened

 paper. This will allow the reverse image to be printed on this sheet. 

Leave the stencil on the paper while you pull the print off of the plate.

Lay a second sheet of watercolor paper on the gel plate to pick up the remaining pigment.

While this doesn't show the pattern of the stencil, it turns out to be a beautiful 

vivid paper to add other elements onto. You could even roll acrylic paint on 

the gel plate, lay the stencil back down on top of the acrylic and pull a print leaving 

the background in the spaces where the stencil is a solid image.

Using a thin piece of paper, I laid it on the plate and soaked up the remaining color.

I will use this as collage paper of add other images on top of this.

Before removing the stencil from the other paper, I use a paper towel 

roll and rolled it over the stencil to pick up and water remaining. This will help keep the 

image crisp and keep the pigment from bleeding into the white area.

If you want the pigment to spread a little more after you pick up the stencil you can 

lightly mist it again with water remembering that the color may spread into the white areas 

so be sure to use a light mist, let it do it's work, and then add more in small increments.

The two images above were done with the same technique using the second stencil 

from the set. This had a floral pattern so as I sprinkled the pigment on, 

I tried to place colors in a more specific areas to get the flowers pink and leaves green, etc.

Thank you for joining me today and I hope you enjoy trying this technique.

I look forward to sharing projects with you in the future on the StencilGirl® blog.

Thank you StencilGirl® Products for providing me with this free StencilClub set so 

that I could play in advance and share what I create each month with you.

Join StencilClub by December 15th to receive these exclusive stencils, an accompanying 

video tutorial with PDF (both downloadable!), and 25% OFF STENCILS EVERY DAY!!

Happy Creating!

To see more of my work please visit my Instagram page.