Rustic Mushroom Coaster Set

Greetings everyone!! Jane Bellante here back for another fun tutorial using StencilGirl stencils!

If you know me, you know I am totally obsessed with stencils- and I love mixed media in every way- from art journaling, to canvas, to up-cycling to home decor and everything else I didn't name.

I have had these little wood slices for some time, and I got the idea to make a little coaster set out of them.  You can find these on Amazon, at Michaels/Hobby Lobby, or even sometimes at your local dollar store.

Since I am using resin as my last step, I wanted to make sure I sealed these with a clear, water based sealer ahead of time.  If you don't do this crucial first step, your resin will sink right into the wood.  It's fixable - you just need to add another layer or two of resin- but you'll save time and resin if you do seal them first.  As an alternative, you can paint these wood slices first as well.  StencilGirl has soooo many amazing stencils, you really can create any theme you could ever think of with these!

I absolutely love the Tall Skinny Mushroom stencil by Debi Adams, so this was my first choice for a rustic, woodland theme with these wood slices.  After the clear water based sealer (any kind- your choice) dried, I grabbed the stencil to decide how I would use it on each wood slice so in the end I would have a varied set of four different mushroom designs. 

Then, I grabbed my Big Embossing Pad (you can use any embossing ink you have), and used a 1/2" stencil brush to apply it through the stencil on each wood slice.  Make sure you apply the embossing ink in a nice thick, but even coat so the embossing powder will really grip to it.  The pre-step sealer should ensure that the embossing ink doesn't sink right into the wood slice as well. 

Then, I grabbed two colors of Distress Embossing Powders (they have renamed them to glazes if you don't have the older jars like me), and I applied them one at a time to each wood slice.  It's important to apply one at a time so that you can recover the unused embossing powder back to the jar.  If you pour both colors at the same time, you end up mixing the excess and it becomes unusable. 

Then, emboss with a high heat heat tool.  Tip- Your hairdryer will likely not get hot enough to emboss these distress powders, I have found using the highest setting on my heat tool works the best.

I wanted to add a little empowering word to each slice, (mushrooms do symbolize abundance!), so I cut and glued each word on with Aileens Tacky Glue and let the glue dry completely.

They are starting to look really great- but- if you were to put anything wet on these (they are coasters after all), they get ruined pretty quick.  So grab your favorite resin (I used Art Resin) and prepare it according to the instructions on the bottles.  I used one ounce of the resin and one ounce of the hardener and stirred it for three minutes.  

I made sure to scrape the sides of my cup and the bottom of the cup multiple times as I was stirring so the resin would set correctly.  Then I poured a small amount onto each wood slice, and used a craft stick to spread it around.  I did not coat the sides of the wood slice at all, just the top, and I made sure to extend the resin all the way to to exact edge of each slice. 

Then you'll need to let your resin cure for the recommended amount of time.  But- you'll need to watch for air bubbles rising in as it sets.  After about 30 minutes, I started to see some bubbles.  You can use the same high heat gun (on the lowest speed) or a torch to pop these bubbles.  I checked and popped bubbles for the first few hours, and after that- I didn't see any more bubbles coming up.  Then I let them cure for 72 hours (out of the reach of my giant cat of course!).  You'll also want to make sure the area where they are curing is relatively dust and breeze free.

I just think they turned out so cute!! You can spot wash them with a wet towel or wet wipe if they get spilled on, or just dry dust them as they sit in your decor.  

Supplies used:

Tall Skinny Mushroom stencil by Debi Adams for StencilGirl Stencils

Wood Slices

Water Based Clear Sealer

Art Resin

Embossing Ink

Ranger Distress Embossing Powder (glaze) in Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo

High Heat Gun

Cut out words

Aileens Tacky Glue 

I sure hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you make some, please shout out and let me know!! 

You can find me at janebellanteart.com and @janebellanteart on all social media platforms.

Happy stenciling!!

xoxo,

 

Jane

Stencils, Easter Eggs and Rolling Out a Whole Lot of Fun

Hi friends!  Hard to believe springtime is just around the corner. In Southern California, it already feels that way because today was actually 87 degrees!  Nearly summer, but not, lol.  Anyway, with Easter approaching I thought it might be fun to turn Easter eggs into artwork. Not hard to decorate by any means, you can still do the traditional egg dyeing but then consider adding some stenciled embellishments or stencil decor directly onto the eggs or you can try a few creative things with the gelli plate, deli paper, or simply do some watercoloring.

For all my eggs, I created the background first.  I enjoyed using the gelli plate with stencils because I could continue to roll the egg until it was entirely covered in paint. (I also managed to clean my plate. :).)   Sometimes the stencil images remained clear and sometimes they got a bit layered but isn't that what mixed media is about?  Lots of textures come from layering.( I loved using the smaller gelli plate for my egg "dyeing", as shown below.)

Applying Seth Apter's stamps (Planner Basics) and watercolors for the egg's background on the banded egg shown below,  I embellished a strip of watercolor paper with Ann Butler's 1 x 4 Rails stencil set using both paint and watercolors and wrapped it around the egg, adhering it in place. This is a great set with petite images.  The tulip from the Scattered Bunnies, Blooms & Birds Background Stencil by Margaret Peot was watercolored too. This is a wonderful stencil for springtime and works well for the eggs again, because of its small designs.  

Deli paper is an ideal surface and substrate to make prints for eggs.  The paper allows for a perfect design and it's thin enough that the underlying color or design, as in the egg, can be seen. (See egg below.) I actually used ink to create my images onto the paper shown here then tore them down to manageable sizes and adhered them to my eggs with a glue stick.  Basic collage-making.  If your image is too large, you might get wrinkles in your paper so smaller images are ideal. However, you can make small snips into some images, which can help them lie flat.  Sometimes there is a little overlap but it still looks nice.  (Notice the large daisy flower at the top of the egg.) 

Some stencils are perfect for working directly onto the egg like this Hexagon Set by Ann Butler.

And of course, making fussy-cut images always adds dimension to any project.  Here I attached a black string to my gelli-rolled egg, watercolored a few flowers from watercolor paper, cut them out, and adhered them to the egg.  I love using these for table decor for Easter. 

And for those of you who don't celebrate Easter, consider all the ways you can embellish and decorate painted paper mache shapes. They would look beautiful on top of a gift!  

Well, that's it from me today! Time to do some major clean up, but I say, if you can't get a little messy when creating, you might be missing all the fun.  Leave the overthinking behind, get your hands a bit painty and start playing. What's on your art agenda?   

Thanks for reading my friends, 

Debi 

https://debi-adams.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debi_adams/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debi.adams.779

 

Frieda Oxenham: Art Journaling with StencilGirl® Stencils

We have reached the penultimate line of Ben Okri’s poem and it reads: “Wake up to what you can be”. In our September project we illustrated the line Wake up to who you are”. To me this new line means that there is always room for improvement and it is up to us to continue to work towards becoming who we want to be. It is never too late!

Here is the tutorial:

1.      Using watercolours and a water brush, randomly add colour to 2 facing 8 x 11.5” pages and use water spray to let them merge into each other.

2.      Continuing with the watercolours and water brush using contrasting colours to step 1, add pattern through the large stencil from the May 2021 StencilClub.

3.      Using an 8 x 10” gelli plate, brayer on white acrylic paint. Put stencil Circles Overlapping Filled on top and take a full page print on both pages.

4.      Repeat step 3 but now with red acrylic paint and taking only partial prints.

5.      Add focal face of your choice to the right hand side page with soft get medium.

6.      Using green paint and one of the patterns from stencil Art Deco Borders add a border to the top and bottom of both pages, missing out the figure.

7.      Stencil on the flower border from the large stencil from the July 2017 StencilClub with red acrylic paint. Also paint the clothing of the figure red.

8.      Colour in the centre of the flowers from step 7 with a yellow Sharpie Poster Paint marker

9.      With black gesso stencil on part of the page from stencil Delicate Face to the edge of the left hand page

10.  Stencil on words as shown, again using black gesso. I used stencils I get to choose, A conversation with Matisse and Emotions and Feelings 1.

11.  Outline the flowers and little circles in green borders with a permanent black marker and add the centres of the flowers while also colouring in the little circles with a white marker. Outline the figure with a black Stabilo All pencil smudging the edges. Colour the hairband of the figure with a red Stabilo Woody.

12.  Glue on the text by Ben Okri to the right hand page and outline with a black marker

13.  Spray on copper mica spray paint randomly through the medium stencil from the June 2021 StencilClub.

14.  Edge the pages with a gold ink pad.

© Frieda Oxenham 2021. To see more of Frieda's work, please visit her BLOG.

Creating a Handpainted Denim Jacket with StencilGirl® Stencils

Well hello my friends! I’m Debi Adams and it’s so good to be back here on the StencilGirl® blog.  Hope you all have been well and squeezing in a little bit (or a lot) of art now and then. I’ve done lots lately but honestly it’s like housekeeping. Everything changes so often that I can’t remember if and when I did my last piece of anything. By the look of my art room, I do know I did something, lol!  What about you?  

This year as a SG Columnist my focus has been on "Trendsetting". It sure is something I love to explore, trying to stay current and relevant on so many fronts. Can't imagine doing anything else. As I mentioned in my post a few months back, my daughter is getting married and I have been deep into the decorating stage so my project for today was an EASY choice! Super popular, these denim jackets are selling like hot cakes for brides. They also come in handy for business attire, baby gifts, etc. They can be made super simple with just a name and a date or very embellished, like I am showcasing today.  For my supplies, I used two kinds of paint, Neopaque by Jacquard (around $5.00 more or less) and Fabric Creations by Plaid (under $3.00 a bottle) for using on fabric.  I like the Neopaque a tad bit more because it is slightly thinner, making it easier to move around my material and it stays more supple than the latter.  That is just a personal choice.  I also grabbed some paint brushes I had laying around though I am certain that brushes for fabric would be the best.  When I finished and the paint was dry, I ran an iron onto a damp paper towel over the image to seal the paint in.  It's then wash as usual.   

Today’s jacket features Wendy Brightbill’s Wildflower Bouquet Stencil ...

and Rae Missigman’s Botanical Stencil.  They were the perfect stencils for what I wanted to create. 

The nicest part of painting one of these jackets is that there are really no rules.  You can trace around your favorite StencilGirl® stencil image and leave it as is or you can paint it all in in white, add a name, or not, paint them in color, or not. An abstract background would look amazing too!  You get to decided. I’m going to give you my tips, techniques and tools and let you do your magic. If you are hesitant to get started, grab a Goodwill jacket or pair of old jeans so that you can practice. 

First let me say that I love using stencils on jackets. If you struggle drawing or creating balance, the designers have taken out all the work for you and do what they do best.   Here I traced around my image with a Uni-ball white pen so that I could color in my image later.  I love that white pen for a temporary pattern, but know it is water soluble so it’s not permanent. Perfect if you think you might need to erase anything or for deciding where to set up your image up.

If you want the outline-look permanent, consider purchasing a fabric marker. It will definitely do the trick. 

You can also paint in your images solid with white fabric paint,  especially important if you paint on dark material.  Painting with white first allows your colors to show up much better than trying to add layers and layers of paint onto a dark surface.  I will say there has been an occasion where I didn’t use white and discovered that the areas on the jacket that aren’t painted end up shading my images nicely. Red roses are a perfect example of this.  Surprisingly, the denim ends up creating those deeper details.  This is something that doesn’t happen often with most designs however and it’s more of a trial, error and surprise.   

Now you can stencil in your colors once your white paint has dried.

Or you can remove the stencil and use the white painted images as a guide.   

Don’t forget to add different shades of paint to add variation to your images. Notice my rose has pink and white in there and my lilacs have several shades of purple, lavender and white. Honestly, it's almost impossible to make a mistake.  You can wipe off the paint fairly easily before it dries OR you can let it dry and paint back over it.  Believe me, I have used both techniques. ;) 

I like to try and make the design image mine by adding my own parts and pieces.  Sometimes I even change the type of flower it is and that’s ok too!  The fact that the designer gave me a placement for everything is perfect! 

I loved adding Rae Missigman’s airy Botanical piece to Wendy’s stencil image.  It made my bouquet look a bit more wild and “bouquet-ish”rather than an arrangement. (See leaves on outer edges). 

Once my bouquet was the way I like it, I decided to add my floral business name to the jacket so I could wear it to the different venues I service.  I like to do calligraphy for my lettering but StencilGirl® has PLENTY of fabulous Alphabets and Sentiments that can work on your piece especially if lettering isn't your thing.  

Well that's it from me today.  Sure hope you will give this a try. I can't even imagine the possibilities that are out there! StencilGirl® has soooo many amazing designs to choose from that one is surely your style.  If you post your jacket or project, make sure to tag me and StencilGirl®.  We would love to see what you did!

XO,

You can follow or find me here:

Website: www.debi-adams.com

Facebook: Debi Adams or Debi Adams 04

Instagram: debi_adams

Pinterest: Debi Adams

Accidental Arrangement

Hi everyone! It's Kate here. Today I am sharing a project that came to mind by accident. It started in our kitchen, or should I say science lab? Like many of you, I have been schooling my children at home this year. For the first time in my life, I am having to play teacher as well as parent and let's be honest, it has its challenges. But overall it has been a year of getting to know my children better and I have loved almost every minutes of it. 

So, back to the science lab...my son had to present a science fair project and he chose a lava lamp. The experiment instructions said that it should glow, hence we took the whole project into our very small powder room to "experience" the glowing lava lamp in the dark. There was no glowing but there was glass breaking. My son backed into one of the floating wall shelves and knocked everything off, including a picture frame.

As I stood there, looking at the broken frame, I decided it was the perfect excuse to create a new piece of art. I was thinking floral arrangement inspired by Rae Missigman's watercolor flowers.

How can I used stencils to create a floral arrangement, you ask? It's really easy.

I started off by gathering all my stencils with flowers and foliage and traced them onto watercolor paper.

Using various watercolors, I painted all my tracings.

One thing that I love doing is using a Pigma Micron Pen to outline, draw details and doodle my image. It can really bring a flat painting to life. I am still learning how to use watercolor so using a pen is a great technique for beginners. Just look at the difference below between the flower with details and without.

When deciding how to arrange it all, I loved the flowers against a white background but the frame I was using had a white mat so I decided to paint a simple wash in the background. By spreading a bit of salt over the wet paint it created some texture. 

Once the background was dry, I started "arranging" the flowers.

I like dimension so I overlapped some of the stenciled images.

Here is the image without the glass. I was planning on leaving it like this so the layers could be seen from the side but as you can see, the mat didn't lay flat, so in the end I opted to use the glass.

Here is the completed piece on the shelf in the powder room. Let's hope this one doesn't get in an accident.

Thank you for stopping by.

Until Next Time,

Kate

Stencils Used:

Garden Spray and Bramble by Jeanne Oliver

Inspired By Frida by June Pfaff Daley

Wolf by Roxanne Coble

Chinese Garden Plum Blossoms by Gwen LaFleur

Mermaids Stencil and Mask by Jessica Sporn

ATC Mixup Adams: Toadstools by Debi Adams

Botanical Wildflowers by Rae Missigman