Up~cycled tin can containers

Hello creative friends, 

How my spirit is lifted when spring arrives.  

The sun is out, the birds are singing and it’s also the time of year we celebrate Earth Day.

In honour of Earth Day today we will be creating a little project that has so many wonderful possibilities ~ yes the tin can up~cycle! 

So gather your tin cans plus the supplies from the list below and let’s begin transforming. 

Today I am using Wheel in the Sky stencil designed by Kate Pea. 

Check out this blog post for more inspiration with this stencil https://www.stencilgirltalk.com/2023/07/heal-grow-art-journal-page.html

The Process:

Paint tins with gesso or acrylic paint of your choice and set aside until completely dry.

Transfer stencil pattern onto tissue paper

Measure the height and diameter of the can and cut the tissue paper

Apply some ModPodge or matte medium to the can or the tissue and adhere until the entire surface is covered.

TIP: Cut a piece of plastic wrap - (enough to cover the can)and wrap it around the can. This will ensure we don’t overwork the tissue and allows us to press it into the grooves.

Once you are satisfied place the can aside to completely dry.

Once the container is dry seal it with a coat of ModPodge and allow to completely dry.

The containers can be left as is or embellished further.

I used my crop-a-dile to punch holes and added a wire handle one one.  Some string, fabric and glued wood legs for height variety.

I will be creating a few more with live succulents for the front porch.   Just love how they turned out.

Enjoy and let’s connect!

TinaHoisARt

Supplies:

Stencil~ Wheels in the Sky

Tin cans

Tissue paper

Acrylic paint

Paint applicator 

Scissors

Modpodge

Plastic wrap

Paint brush 

Carol Ponsford: Let's have some fun in our journal!

Hello creatives, Carol Ponsford on the blog today to share a journal page I created using 

Pam Carriker's "Create Face" #S646 and an alphabet section of #L60 stencil.

 I used several other stencils for the background which I will have listed at the bottom of this post.

To start I spread a layer of Dina Wakley Media White Gesso on the journal page with 

an old gift card. After the gesso is completely dry, I used my fingers to loosely 

spread and blend a variety of PaperArtsy Fresco acrylic paint colors all over the page except 

where I planned to put my focal point on the page. (for this page it was in the bottom left)

s

Next (while the paint is still damp), I laid a stencil on top of the paint and using a baby wipe,

I rubbed through the stencil to remove the paint and leave the stencil pattern on the page.

I then started layering some paint on top of the page by dabbing paint through a 

different stencil. I repeat this process using several paint colors with an assortment 

of stencils. Once I had the look I wanted I set this aside to dry. 

Then I went back into areas with some white gesso and lightly covered some of the areas

 (as shown below), I added an additional layer of color in some areas. This process of 

layering creates a great deal of depth that I like because I feel it gives more interest to the page.

I also used the edge of the gift card to add some vertical lines by dipping the 

edge in some paint and lightly placing it on the page and swiping it downward. I let 

this dry before going back to do some stenciling as a top layer as shown below.

To add the face I first lightly outlined where I wanted her hair to go since I 

wanted it to go beyond the edge of the stencil. I laid the stencil 

down and sponged the reddish paint for the hair and lips of the girl.

I then took the black paint and sponged the eyes, nose, and neck areas. I wasn't sure if

I wanted to have the diamond on both eyes or just one so on a separate piece of scrap paper

I sponged on the eyes and took a black Posca marker and drew the diamonds 

around them as shown in the picture below. I auditioned one, then both on the face to see how 

I wanted to finish the face then proceeded to add the diamond on the left eye only.

I also added some additional width to the neckline because it looked a little wonky, 

so I just continued the black lines as far to the left as needed to be in proportion.

I used a Micron pen to trace the letters from the alphabet stencil to say 

"Send in the clowns" and then filled them in with a black Posca marker. I 

ended up using a fine white pen to add highlights to the lettering.

To finish off the page I took an empty tape roll and dipped it into black 

paint and added some rings around the page. I also took a black Posca marker to 

outline the hair and face and sketched some lines around the edge of the page.

Here is a list of all of the stencils and PaperArtsy colors I used on this page:

Stencils                                                                     PaperArtsy Paint

S646 - Create Face                                              Snowflake                         Blueberry

S003 - Repeating Fleur de Lys                            Little Black Dress             Blew

M160 - Organic Roots #1                                    Zesty Zing                        Wisteria

M031 - Journal Texture #6                                  Slimed                               Electric Violet

L651 - ATC Mixup                                              Green Patina                     Cerise

L601 - Alphabet                                                   Smurf                                Scottish Salmon 

Jan 2022 StencilClub Pattern Party                      Peach Nectar                     Cherry Red

Thank you so much for joining me today on the blog. I hope you 

will find some of the techniques I shared helpful to jump start work 

in your journal or artwork. Until next time, happy creating!

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

 

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

Nesting Doll Journal and Tags

Hello friends, 

Tina here, and I’m so thrilled to share this project with you. 

Today I will be creating and assembling a little journal and some tags using a main stencil that brings me back to childhood and the endless moments I spent playing with my first set of Matryoshka Dolls/Nesting Dolls.  To my delight both of my daughters relished in the same joy and I hope you do as well.

Before I start lets talk about the stencil: Nesting Dolls was designed by Valerie Sjodin and it comes with 6 nesting doll stencils and masks.  For more ideas on how to use and cut these little beauties refer to the item description in the StencilGirl shop.

I love that each doll has it's own unique little face and embelishment identity, but please feel free to stray and mix it up.  As you will see below I did just that.

Step 1

Grab the Nesting Dolls stencil and remove the masks.  Trace the outline with a gel marker or pencil and then cut.  For the journal cut a front and back cover as well as filler pages (all the same size) and as many as you like!

Step 2

Working on the front and back covers~

With a pencil or gel marker outline the dolls face and dress outline.

For the facial features I used black paint.

Reapeat so that there are now 2 Nesting dolls~ one front cover and one back cover.

Step 3

With the Lemon Button Fern stencil I used yellow oxide and some black to add some stems to her gown and with markers or paint fill in the heart and leaves.

Step 4

With a watercolor pencil ( I am using Stabilo aquarellable) outline the facial features and the body.

With a wet brush trace over the outline to give it a soft watercolor effect. 

Once dry I outline around the head, face and body with a gel marker creating loose lines. 

Step 5

I selected bits from the Nesting Doll stencil for extra embelishment and used the Broken line column stencil to create some contrasting marks.

Step 6

On the reverse side of each doll I am gluing some hand made papers and stenciling on the face and some flowers that can be found on the Nesting doll stencil. 

NOTE: I am not adding the body mask on the inside pages. The pages will hold art and images.

Repeat step six to all your inside pages or smaller tags

Step 7

Attach a piece of fabric or paper strip to any inside pages you would like to have dolls nesting.

I added fabric and ran it though the sewing machine (feel free to used gle or hand stitch).

Step 8

For the nesting doll tags I puched a hole on the tallest doll and added some fibres.

Step 9

The dolls are now ready for your art!!

Note: To create a Nesting doll journal follow all the above steps, add as many pages as you prefer.

Add a hole to each page and secure with a key ring.

Attaching a little video flip through of my little journal for inspiration. Nesting Doll Journal Inspo

Supplies

Stencils:

Lemon Button Fern designed by Rae Missigman

Broken Line Columns designed by  Cynthia Silveri

Nesting Dolls designed by  Valerie Sjodin

Acrylic paint

Scissors

Gel marker

Watercolor pencil

Small paint brush

Small sponge

Patterened papers

Fabric 

Glue

Needle and thread or sewing machine

      Let's Connect;

Instagram

Youtube

Carol Ponsford - January StencilClub - Journal spread

Happy New Year everyone! Carol Ponsford here showing you how I used the January StencilClub set 

to create a journal page. This wonderful set was a mash-up designed by Seth Apter and MaryBeth Shaw. 

I grew up in Southern Indiana overlooking the Ohio River Valley which included the metro 

area of Louisville, KY. I always loved the bird's-eye view of the twinkling city lights we 

had from our home which is what inspired this journal page.

I began by placing the building stencil on my gel plate and randomly sponging areas with acrylic paint. The colors I used on this first layer were Master's Touch - Violet, Paynes Grey, Rouge, and Cobalt Blue. 

       

   

Next, I grabbed the second stencil and sponged acrylic paint through some of the larger patterns overlapping the areas from the previous stencil using some of the same colors listed above 

with the addition of Master's Touch Yellow Deep and a mixture of the Yellow Deep with 

Amsterdam's Reflex Rose which makes a beautiful orange color.

After the layers were fully dry, I blended a thin layer of Master's Touch Ocean Green and Light Olive Green acrylic paint (I started with each color in opposite corners of the gel plate and worked the colors to the center with the brayer) and quickly put sheets of white card stock down pressing firmly and letting it set on the plate for several minutes to help get a even pull. 

After I removed the paper from the gel plate, I measured to see how many small squares I would need to fit my particular journal. (My journal needed 12 pieces each being a little smaller than 2 1/2" square) 

Once I laid out the squares I decided I wasn't really happy with my color choices so, when that happens I add a layer of Amsterdam Reflex Rose acrylic paint. I used a brayer to add a thin layer to cover the existing colors and it changed the colors more to my liking. Reflex Rose is such a great color to add if you are ever not happy with your color choices as it can make a huge change.

I painted my journal pages with black gesso before adhering the squares onto the page in a grid 

format. After adhering them in place I took my white Posca paint pen and doodled on the shapes 

adding marks that I use frequently. I apologize that I did not get a photo of this stage but if you look closely at the finished page, you can see how I added this to add interest to the background.

I took a sheet of black copy paper and traced the stencil building shapes with my white 

Posca paint pen and cut out the building shapes to get my skyline to add on top of the squares.

After laying them on the page to figure out placement I realized I wanted the window shapes to 

show more so I took each building and laid the stencil back on top, lined it up, and sponged 

white acrylic paint into the window openings. 

Once I had everything glued in place I used my black Posca paint pen 

to add the window frames of each window. 

I also cut out small squares to add the words I wanted and glued them in place 

and then used the white Posca pen to add the lettering on each square to finish the page. 

I had so much fun creating this page and hope that you enjoyed following my play. I encourage 

you to always look at your stencils with a sense of play and think outside of the box with what you 

can do with every part of them. Even though the focal point of this journal spread was the 

building stencil, I think the parts I used from the other stencil added interest to my background. 

I could have reversed their use and would have come out with an entirely different outcome. 

  

Until February, where I will show you what I do with the February StencilClub set. 

Have a wonderful January full of playtime with your stencils from StencilGirl@!

Join StencilClub by January 15 to receive these exclusive stencils and accompanying video 

tutorial with PDF (both downloadable!), and 20% OFF STENCILS EVERY DAY!!

Happy Creating!

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