Lucie is Back with Some Great New Designs!

Autumn Leaves

Can you ever have too many leaves? This botanical stencil by Lucie Duclos features 12 whimsical leaves of different shapes and sizes. You can create an allover pattern with one or multiple leaves or pile up layers on a gelatin plate. Use them in your journal, as an accent in your mixed media artwork or to fussy cut loose leaves to add to your collages.

Sashiko Stitches

This stencil by Lucie Duclos is the perfect way to add a touch of stitching to your artwork without using a needle and thread. Featuring 6 different stitches, they are great at connecting different areas of your artwork the same way you would use stitches in patchwork. Traditionally, Sashiko was used to reinforce expensive clothes to make them last longer. With this stencil, you can add a touch of this wonderful tradition to enhance your artwork.

Shape Collection

This stencil by Lucie Duclos features a wonderful collection of shapes that you can combine in different configurations to create new shapes. Flip, overlap, or mirror, the possibilities are endless! The bold shapes have a mid-century modern block printing vibe and will add a whimsical touch to your artwork.

Lucie's stencils are available now at stencilgirlproducts.com

Reimagining an Old Journal Page

Hello StencilGirl® friends! Nicole here and I’m back with a simple journal page layering some, you guessed it, stencils to reimagine one of my older journal pages. 

 

I mentioned on two previous blog posts (here and here) that I am on a quest to fill up this old Dina Wakley journal, and I’m almost there. In fact, I had a hard time deciding which page to use for today’s creation. 

 

As I flipped through the journal, I saw a page that I created in class with Dina Wakley. Funny enough, it’s the same class that I received the journal in many (many!) years ago. I decided I was up for the challenge to create a coordinating page to the left. I thought it would be fun to create a “Nicole style” page adjacent to a page that was not only created years ago using class instruction, but so different from my current style.

 

It was my goal to translate each element from the right page onto the blank page in a new and different way.

 

To begin, I layered a piece of ledger paper on the gessoed page to mirror the handwriting on the other page. The ledger paper was left over from another project so it already had a thin layer of gesso on it. 

 

Next, I tackled the large white circles that have marks in them. I added elephant acrylic paint through the rows of triangles stencil all over the background. I used my paint brush to scruff some up and add grungy paint around the page. Then I grabbed some gesso and used my finger to apply it in different places around the page. I layered a few more of the triangles on the page as well.

Then, I spent some time figuring out how to translate the large ocean colored paint mark. Since it was in sort of a X or cross shape using the baby wipe through a stencil technique, I thought the New Orleans stencil might be a good option. 

I also like how using it to sort of toned down the bold ocean color. Instead of it being so strong, this stencil gave it a more delicate feel. There is also a lot of movement on that page, and I was hoping this stencil would translate that feeling of movement as well. And, I think it did! I added the stencil several places on the page concentrating mostly on the edges and purposefully making them not perfect but worn and old looking. I wanted it to look like older, worn out tile or painting on a wall.

Since the right side is so graphic in nature with lots of hard shapes, I wanted to soften this page. The New Orleans stencil started that process, but I also thought a floral as my main focal point would be the perfect contrast.  

I chose the eucalyptus stems mask small stencil with Payne’s gray since the right side has small dots stenciled in a similar color. I added this in the same way as the other stencils, but because it wasn’t long enough for my page, I layered part of it underneath to extend it. Then I decided it needed just a little friend to the right. Before each section of the floral dried, I removed paint from the flower buds to give them more dimension and interest.

 

Once I thought the stenciling was finished, I added a few more elements to mirror the other page:

• Walnut ink on the page and flower centers to match the Kraft paper

• Darkened the edge of the tag with the Payne’s gray on my applicator to make it stand out like the sketched circles around the white ones

• Ripped out a photo and then stitched on it to match the orange scribbly circle

• Decided I needed a bit more orange, so I stenciled on the tag and background with the New Orleans stencil (I like how this matched the shape of the orange circle, too!)

• Added more Payne’s gray to the edge of the page with the applicator to match the dark writing circle 
• Stamped handwriting on teal-blue paint chip as I needed a bold color for balance and to match the handwriting wash tape strips

• Flicked Payne’s gray on page which matched the paint flicks on the right and all the circles (plus the page really needed some color pops!)

When all those details were finished, I assembled the collage and added a phrase on top in white to match the white circles.

 

I hope you enjoyed following along on this tutorial! You can watch it all come together in the video below.

 

After using my old journal page for inspiration, I decided that I really enjoyed this process. It was a great way to reimagine older work in a new style and find some creative energy when I wasn’t sure about direction. I am definitely going to try this again! 

If you're in a creative rut or stuck on where to create, find an older piece of art you created and reimagine in! And, if you do, post the before and after on instagram and tag me, I'd love to see them.

-Nicole

Connect with me on

• Instagram
• YouTube
• My website

 

Stencils

• Rows of Triangles
• New Orleans
• Eucalyptus Stems Mask Small

 

Supplies

• Dina Wakley Media Journal
• Ledger Paper (alternatively, old book pages or a printed digital file)
• Matte Medium
• Gesso (white)
• Dina Wakley Acrylic (elephant, ocean, tangerine)
• Golden So Flat Payne’s Gray
• Walnut Ink
• Sponge Applicator
• Tag (from Tim Holtz)
• Photo Strip (from Tim Holtz)
• Embroidery Floss & Needle
• Ephemera (ledger page bits, ticket, paint sample card)
• Stamp with Handwriting
• Archival Ink (black)

StencilGirl™ Zine Challenge

Hello and welcome to October, one of my favorite months and time of the year. The fall season starts my hibernation period, where I settle in, surround myself with comfort and reflect on the year.

I am Tina Walker, the collaboration columnist for StencilGirl™ and this quarters challenge is celebrating THE ZINE.  What is a Zine you ask?  

A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images.

Our zines were created from ONE sheet of paper or what some artists refer to as a master board or sheet, designed, decorated, and created with all types of mediums and products, and of course, WITH STENCILGIRL™ STENCILS.

There are many ways to cut and fold a sheet of paper to make a Zine, but here is one method created by Taylor Rushing.

Here's a peek at my master board sheet. I used Distress Sprays with my stencils and because of the medium (and the heavy application) the it got a lil' messy - - but no worries, that is the beauty about working with stencils.  They assist you with your art making and help you create random, unexpected marks and shapes, even if a true, clear image of the stencil isn't visible.

 

To add even more randomness to my sheet, I covered portions with painters tape so that the beautiful background paper would show through.

Once the sprayed portions were dry, I added bold, high contrast marks both with the tape still in place and once I removed it with a black Posca marker.

Special note:  I did 'paint' both sides of my master board/sheet although only 1 would be visible in the cut/folded book.  It gave me the ability to play with my supplies 'twice' and pick the side that I loved the most.

Once my master board/sheet was in a place I was happy with, I cut and folded the sheet to make my zine.  One of my favorite things about using a master board is that when you cut or fold it down, the real magic appears.  The individual pages become something entirely new and fantastical!

Because the master board/sheet gave me a wonderful starting point and beautiful background, adding other elements to each page becomes easy.  I was inspired by the shapes, lines, and colors to create the pages of my zine.

The other wonderful thing about creating a zine from 1 sheet of paper, your book contains a limited number (and small number) of pages.  So you can finish your zine in a relatively short period of time!  Accomplishment - CHECK!

Stencils Used:

Tropical Floral

ATC Mixup Kalbach

Bullet Planner

Let's check out the other participants zine's.

ANN BARNES

Ann totally embraced the Halloween season to create a Halloween inspired Zine.

"I thought it would be fun to create Halloween themed zines to send out for the upcoming holiday, they were quick and easy using the StencilGirl™ woodcut garden stencil which gives all the spooky feels, especially when layered in black and rust."

Stencil Used:

Woodcut Garden 

LINDA WYATT

The amount of beautiful texture and depth that Linda created on her pages is simply divine.

"I created my Zine to showcase my interest in Reiki, a non-religious healing energy. To start, I used several of my own floral stencil designs with pastel acrylic paints, and layered them color by color on 14” x 20” lightweight paper to create an all-over floral background. Once it was folded, my 8-page Zine was 5” x 7”. I selected several favorite stencils by other designers that had a spiritual feeling, stenciled them onto white tissue paper using VersaMark ink, sprinkled fine gold embossing powder, and applied heat to melt the embossing powder and bring out the shine. Next, I carefully trimmed the gold images and applied them to the pastel stenciled background with Decou-Page matte glue. Once the gold artwork was in place, I cut and glued on words from the Reiki Daily Prayer, which I had printed on thin tracing paper from my laser printer. The final touches were inks to deepen and enhance some of the images, and a few touches of Nuvo Drops in white, pink, and green."

Stencils Used:

Tossed Poppies

ATC Mixup Wyatt 

Crown Chakra 

MARTHA CHRISTOPHER

Martha's zine is whimsical, fun, and happy!

"This is the first zine I’ve ever made. Originally I had decided on a Halloween theme but this is what I ended up with! My Halloween idea didn’t work out as expected (what else is new) but I’m quite pleased with this one. "

Stencils Used:

StencilClub August 2020

Rembrandt's Words

Garden Rows

NIAMH HENSHAW

Niamh's layers and use of pattern is so wonderful!  Adorbs!

"There is nothing more I love than creating collage matrixes with vintage papers and random stencilling to create awesome, quirky backgrounds. The best bit is every section is random, the colour combinates are yours to choose from, and it doesn’t matter if you stencil or paste stuff upside down or back to front!!!"

Stencils Used:

CM 2019 

When Words are not Enough

Pebble Path

SUSAN BROWN

I am digging how Susan incorporated tea bag quotes into her Zine.  Genius!

"For this challenge I used things that end up in my purse and pockets... the tags with quotes from my daily cup of tea. My ZINE is fashioned from a recycled ledger paper folded to ATC size (2 1/2" x 3 1/2"), which is the perfect size and scale to properly showcase these tags. My ZINE of "Wise Words from the Tea Leaves" is made using my stash of StencilGirl® ATC stencils."

Stencils Used:

ATC Mixup Nasser

ATC Mixup Dube

ATC Mixup 1

LAURA DAME

I am always a fan of how Laura mixes color and shape to create beautiful floral work.

"Botanicals have always inspired me, so I have been loving these Eucalyptus stencils from Rae Missigman. I love how they combine together, and adding stamped botanicals just adds to the fun! "

Stencils Used:

Clustered Triangles

Eucalyptus Stems Small

Breathe

DEEDEE CATRON

DeeDee's use of neutrals to convey a story is one of a kind!

"Here is A Journey Read - a little self reflection in some collage among the pages. Visit my website for more details."

Stencils Used:

StencilClub May 2023

Little Painted Rainbows

Poppy Seed Stems

TRACY KRUEGER

I was actually with Tracy when she created her Zine - and the weekend was filled with laughter and cheekyness!

"What I loved about this project is the sheer happiness it brought to me. Collaging "wonky" people had me laughing up a storm."

Stencils Used:

Go Your Own Way

Mod Ovals and Circles

StencilClub April 2022 

I would love to see you create a Zine and share it on social media.  Please tag both StencilGirl™ and myself so we can admire and be inspired by your creation!

Till next time!  Tata for now!