Stenciled Poetry - Journal Cover - by Claudia Neubacher

Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by today!

Claudia here to share with you a journal I've created for our actual "Stenciled Poetry" theme over here on the StencilGirl® Talk blog. 

The cover design was inspired by my favorite Beatles song "Eleanor Rigby", which has been one of my all-time favorite Beatles songs since I was eleven or twelve years old (which was when I got the "Revolver" album as a reward for good marks at school). Already back then I loved the poetry and images in the lyrics created by Paul McCartney and at that time (and for many years more) I often felt that English was a much better and more beautiful language to write poetry and song lyrics in than my own (which is German). 

In this blog post, I am also sharing a stepped-out video tutorial that shows how I've done the cover. Right after the cover part, there will be some step-out images that show how I've finished the journal up by adding fabric and doing a quick and easy binding. 

I used one of Eileen Hull's dies to cut the covers from heavy greyboard, but I could as well have hand-cut my own covers in any size needed (I sometimes do that when I already have some cheaply bought notebooks to go inside the journals so I do not have to cut the signatures myself). In this case, I trimmed off the third section from the three-parts spines. 

I also used two pieces of cut to size rough fabric from an old kitchen towel (to the left). The red fabric strip is the hanging loop from that towel and I kept it for later use as I liked the bright red and the design. 

This image shows the colors of DecoArt Americana acrylic paints I've used alongside some of my favorite StencilGirl® stencils (you can click on the picture to get a larger view if you would like to read the names of the color tones). As you can also see I have already prepped the covers with a layer of white Gesso that I spread with a plastic card and dried using my heat tool. 

Most important though - the list of 

stencils used in this project:

- Cityscape stencil by Andrew Borloz

- "Love Face" stencil by Pam Carriker

- "Stone Tilings" stencil by Valeri Sjodin

- "Thicket Background" stencil by Trish McKinney

- "ATC Mixup 1" stencil by MaryBeth Shaw

- "Wolf" stencil by Roxanne Coble aka "By Bun Essentials"

- "Ginkgo 6" stencil by Cecilia Swatton

- "Numbers" stencil by Seth Apter

My idea was to capture the scene where Eleanor "waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door". And I assume she does not know herself who she is wearing it for. Herself? The world outside to hide behind it, because this isn't her "real" face that she does not dare show?

The wind is blowing Ginkgo leaves past her window and the spectator does not really know if he is seeing the reflection of these and the cityscape in the window looking inside to see Eleanor's face behind the glass or if it is the other way round with Eleanor seeing her own reflection in the window while she is looking outside...seeing "the sun going down and the eyes in [her] head see the world spinning round" (which is another quote from one of my favorite Beatles songs ;). 

I have also added a handle to carry the journal with - which was a spontaneous idea as this was the fabric loop from the used old kitchen towel I have used to add fabric to the covers' insides. 

But for now, I recommend you get yourself a cuppa and enjoy the 18-minute video tutorial that shows how I've done my layers and effects using the stencils and paints mentioned earlier. There's a list of stuff used at the start of the video as well by the way. 

Once my cover was done I glued the cut to size fabric to the covers' insides (using matte DecoArt Decou-Page) and frayed the edges for a worn and grungy look. 

The fabric still looked way too clean though for what I had in mind...

...so I toned that down using a layer of diluted DecoArt Americana "Walnut" Gel Stain and a brush...

....that was followed by a loosely added layer of "Yellow Light" Americana paint that I stippled on with a bristle brush.

I thought the red fabric handle would look great on my grunge style journal, so I glued that in place

using a good load of matte Decou-Page and heavy-duty clasps to keep everything down and in place

during drying time. I toned the dark red in a bit though by adding a thin layer of the Yellow Light on top. 

I also included some rather "secret" messages (or some of Eleanor's hidden thoughts?) by using Seth Apter's "Numbers" stencil and adding some stenciled on words here and there that aren't visible at first sight...

Some close-ups...

...and the inside of the journal. 

I have used bought notebooks of almost matching size and simply cut them a bit narrower

using my guillotine scissors. For the binding, I used an elastic black ribbon. 

Once more the finished journal:

I hope you like my "Stencilled Poetry Journal" and the video!

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx

Grab your friends for a Spring Break Stencil Party - Art Journal & Tunic Tutorials with Shel & Peg!

Hi and welcome. 

March is all about Spring Break or Stenciled Poetry so Shel and Peg have teamed up to create some fun projects. 

This month they have used Floral Mandala Lace L646, Finding Your Tribe L414 and the Love Collage Stencil L312 along with a club stencil from Nancy Curry's October 2018 set: Stay in Your Magic.


Club stencils are exclusive to club members and are not found listed in with other stencils on the StencilGirl Products web site. You may be interested in checking out the club. You can order prior monthly offerings once you have joined the club. There are no specific membership requirements because we know you will love the stencils. In fact, you are even rewarded for ongoing membership! 

So, let's take a look at the projects.

This month Peg did what many of us would do on spring break. She worked in her journal. Here are a few pictures of her pages.

Peg started off with Distress Oxide sprays through a stencil or two. Then she layered on some paint.

You can see the lovely water droplet texture that can be created with this medium below.

The mask from the Finding Your Tribe stencil was used to stamp the image on the page.

And yes, there is a video showing the step by step process. 

Wouldn't it be fun to take your journal with you and your tribe of friends on a spring break?

Shel was inspired to make a stenciled t-shirt when she found some white tunic style shirts on clearance for one dollar at a local store. She thought it would be fun to make some bright designs on the shirts combined with words as gifts for some friends she thinks of as ‘Sisters in Art’.

The Finding your Tribe stencil designed by Carolyn Dube, combined with the 6X6 stencil ‘Stay in Your Magic’ stencil from StencilClub in October 2018 designed by Nancy Curry were perfect to convey how Shel feels about her art friends!

The flowers and doodle designs from Kristie Taylor's Floral Mandala Lace stencil and Traci Bautista’s Love Collage stencil made a perfect colorful Spring background to put all the words on top of. 

Before stenciling the shirt, Shel washed and dried the shirt with no fabric softeners. Then she ironed some freezer paper onto the inside of the shirt, shiny side down, to protect from any bleed through while stenciling.

The first step was to block off areas of color using painters tape and sponge in light colors of Decoart brand ‘So Soft’ fabric paint. Then Shel used some Pixie Spray on the backs of the stencils to help prevent any of the paint bleeding under the stencils during application. Masking tape was used to help mask off some of the parts of the stencils while adding the words to the design.



Shel thinks this shirt is a fun and happy design and plans to make more!

Buy some stencils to make your own spring break projects!

Dress It or Wear It Challenge with Shel and Peg

A big hello from Peg and Shel. Today we are excited to share how we each met the Dress It or Wear It Challenge from StencilGirl®️. There are so many ways this challenge could be interpreted and it is always fun to see what everyone does. 

Peg found a cute wire dress form at the secondhand shop. When she started thinking of ways to recycle it, she wanted it to serve a purpose in her studio. Now this wouldn’t have to be a dress form but the form did fit the challenge. Using some clothes pins from the dollar store, and some spray paints to transform them, the pins became the foundation for the skirt. 

Shel took a different approach to the collaborative challenge to ‘dress up’ decorative dress-forms.

She did not have a wire form like Peg’s so instead she made her own from materials you would

normally toss in the trash. A soap bottle, a paper tube and a tissue box.  She glued these together

and then added some paper clay to the front of the bottle to make it more lady like. Then covered the

whole construction in paper mache with tissue. The top layer of tissue is from a dress pattern which

seemed appropriate. 

Shel’s next step in making this dress form project fabulous was to create some custom fabrics with

stencils and fabric paints. Shel used the agreed upon stencils and some pre-washed cotton muslin

fabric. She plans to make this dress form decoration a fun seasonal project for each holiday, so she

chose colors of Decoart So Soft Fabric paints that reminded her of Halloween and then went crazy

with pattern and color!

This crazy fun stenciled fabric was then cut into pattern pieces and sewn together to ‘dress up’ the dress-form with a cute little witchy dress. Shel also created a pointy hat accessory with some
stenciled black cardstock paper to finish up the look. So cute!

To finish off the dress-form Peg used Liquitex spray paints applied to all the surfaces of the pins through stencils. This month, Shel and Peg had chosen to use Klimt Forest Stencil by Cathy Taylor (L358), ATC Mixup 1 Stencil by Mary Beth Shaw (L543), and Ancient Marks Stencil by Suzi Dennis (L435).

Earlier, Peg had prepared some fabric for this project while collaborating with Shel on a live printing session aired on their Art Joy of Sharing YouTube channel. Some of the fabric was torn and woven into the wire on the dress form. More stenciled fabric was glued to the bodice before applying sari ribbon and trim.

So now when Peg needs to clip up a wet piece of paper or fabric, she will know right where to find her pins.

Wouldn’t it be fun to make a batch of these decorative clothes pins for your friends? I think she may have plans to make some more. Thanks for stopping by and giving us love. Peg and Shel

Road Trippin' - Summer Art with Jennifer Gallagher

Hello, friend!

This is Jennifer Gallagher for StencilGirl Products® Creative Team sharing my take on some Summertime artwork. Nothing says Summer to me like a fun road trip. I really enjoy loading the family up in the mini-van and heading out either for a long vacation or even just a day trip geocaching. So, I’ve created this acrylic piece featuring a multi-layered background and highlighting a fantastic stencil, Coming and Going, by Carolyn Dube. This piece screams Summertime and family fun.

I’ve been doing this technique for many years and it couldn’t be easier. You could even bring your kids in on the project this time. I started with a 9x12 sheet of watercolor paper. With a large flat bristle brush, I haphazardly laid down a layer of yellow acrylic paint. Spritz with water to create movement if you wish.

Next, I moved to a slightly darker yellow and applied it with a cosmetic sponge through this mini 4-inch stencil from StencilClub October 2018. 

I continued to apply a new color each time through a different stencil, moving from yellow to orange to red, then green and blue and purple. I saturated my background with color and pattern. My motto is, “More is more!”  

Stay in Your Magic Mini Stencil

Additional small 6-inch stencils used:
Screw Heads Small Stencil,S428, SC-01-2019,
and the He Loves Me Stencil, S315.

Once these layers were dry, using a blending tool, I applied black acrylic paint around the edges and spritzed it with water to get the paint to run and drip. I let the paper sit for a few minutes and then softened the black with a dry paper towel. We want to add interest without overwhelming our piece with too much black paint.

Next, I applied black acrylic paint through my featured stencil, Coming and Going by Carolyn Dube, all across the paper. Designer Tip: You could stop here and have some fabulous backgrounds for Artist Trading Cards and Coins or for card-making.

Then, to knock back some of the print we created, I applied white acrylic paint with a small flat bristled brush around the outsides of the vehicles.

Lastly, I took a black posca pen and fixed any lines I missed or may have inadvertently covered with the white paint.

I cut my painting into smaller pieces and framed them in chunky black frames. They will make the perfect addition to a family room or child’s bedroom.

Thanks so much for joining me and I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. You can visit me online at www.papergeometry.wordpress.com.

check me out in Instagram @jennifergallagherart.

-Jennifer Gallagher

Instagram