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.