Kirsten Varga - July StencilClub

Welcome back to another bookmaking adventure with me, Kirsten! The July StencilClub designs by Ann Butler are super fun to layer and I was able to achieve some great visual textures with the various designs. (If you've followed along with me for awhile now you know that TEXTURE is one of my top 3 favorite elements of art!)

This month's project is Handmade Matchbooks. If you are like me, having a small notebook in my purse is a must! (If it doesn't get written down then the fantastic art idea has the danger of being lost and forgotten!) 

I used a gesso resist technique on watercolor paper to create my covers. Lay down a loose layer of gesso and let it dry. (This is the only layer of gesso you will need.) Then use a brayer to roll on a color. Before the paint drys put your stencil down and use a wet wipe to wipe up the paint through the stencil. Let dry and brayer on a complementary color, quickly lay down the stencil and wipe the paint off again! My results are shown below:

My books are sized 2.5"x5.25" and have about 15 sheets of nice drawing paper in them. You are welcome to make them any size you need with any type of paper you wish. 

Depending on the type of stapler you have you can add more pages to your book! The stapler I used has a 20 page limit and that refers to regular copy paper so I made sure I had what equated to the same thickness with my art papers. 2 layers of the watercolor paper with 15 sheets of drawing paper was the max I could securely staple.

Check out the video below to see how to create your own!

Happy Creating!

Find me on Instagram: @kirstenvarga

Join StencilClub by July 15 to receive these exclusive stencils and accompanying video tutorial with PDF (both downloadable!), and 20% OFF STENCILS EVERY DAY!!

Stencils used:

Other supplies:

140lb. watercolor paper

76lb. drawing paper

acrylic paint

gesso

scraper

wet wipes

makeup sponge

brayer

ruler/pencil

bone folder

scissors

heavy duty stapler

hammer

colored masking tape

scoring board (optional)