Painterly Art Tags with a side of Collage Paper

Hello Fellow Stencil Lovers!

I am so happy to be here with you today to share a favorite way to create painterly art tags to use in  all of your projects! The best part about this project is that you learn how to create some super quick and easy mixed media papers. I love to use these deliciously crinkly sheets as journal pages but they also make wonderful collage papers.

To begin you will need to gather some supplies. I am sharing what I used, but I always encourage you to reach for the supplies and colors YOU love.

Acrylic Paint

Paintbrushes

Art Sponge

Scissors

Pencil 

Ribbon Scraps

Recycled Safety Pin

Tracing paper

Shipping Tag

Watercolor Paint 

Water Mister

Hole Punch

Painterly Art Tag Supplies

To create your Painterly Art Tags, begin by painting the tag. I am using acrylic paint and my paint colors are in the same color family. I chose two pinks (Golden Titan Mars Pale and Liquitex Light Portrait Pink) and a white. I am painting with a one inch flat brush. Using a large brush helps to create lots of texture in the paint, making for a detailed interesting background. Let dry completely.

Once the tag is dry, position a portion of the Vintage Rose Floral Sampler Stencil (LL1027) over the tag. Using a sponge or flat brush, tap your lightest value of color (or white) through the stencil. Carefully lift the stencil  off the tag. Set the tag aside to dry and clean your stencil.

Spritz a piece of tracing paper with water. For a dreamy watery effect, like the one I made, more is better. For crisp images less is better. 

Place the Botanical Wildflowers Mask (L910) on the tracing paper and press down gently. The stencil will "adhere" slightly to the paper due to the water.

Using a flat brush, (I'm using a 1/2 inch flat angled brush) begin to add watercolor over and around the mask. You can blend colors together or keep the color blocked for a more interesting artsy effect. Be careful not to let your mask move as you paint. Do not remove the mask. Let dry completely. This might take a few moments because we want to ensure the paint that has moved under the mask with the help of the water is completely dry as well.

You can optionally use a stencil adhesive like Pixie Spray to secure your mask to the paper but you will not get the magical bleed of color. Also, you must adhere your mask to the paper before spritzing with water if this is the option you choose.

You can check your tracing paper by gently lifting one corner of the mask. Look for pooling paint. If you see any wet paint just lay the mask down in the same position and continue to let dry. (Guess what? You just made the mostly beautiful transparent collage paper!)

If everything looks dry you can lift the mask up and off the paper carefully. Lift one corner of the mask and peel up very slowly. Clean your mask and set the painted paper aside.

Going back to the original shipping tag and using your Vintage Rose Floral Sampler Stencil (LL1027) as a reference, use a colored pencil to sketch around the lightly stenciled image. Take liberties with your sketch and make it your own or trace the stencil design as is painted.

Lay your tag on the reverse side of the painted paper and trace around the edges with a pencil. Repeat for as many layers as you would like your tag to have. (I used two painted tracing paper layers for this tag)

Cut around the pencil lines to create tag shapes. Align these new painted paper tags with your original shipping tag and make a mark where the hole is and punch. Line up all of your tags and decide how you would like to arrange them. I like to use my shipping tag as a base and then layer my sheer painted paper tags on top.

Once you have the order decided, use a pin to secure the tags together. Add scraps of ribbon to the pin to create a pretty colorful tassel. I like to do this so that all the layers will swivel out from one another. You can alternatively thread the ribbons through the holes of the aligned tags.

Use these beauties for gift tags or to write pretty layered letters. They also make lovely fold out pages in your journal. Just use a piece of tape to secure one edge of the shipping tag to the edge of your journal page to create a hinge. 

And last, but certainly not least, these pretty painted sheets make wonderful collage paper. Just cut to size and adhere to your journal page using your favorite medium.

I hope you enjoyed creating this project with me today! By the way, my stencils are on sale for the next 2 weeks. Just use code  RM20  for 20% off. Coupon code good through May 27, 2205.

Happy Stenciling,

Rae