Stenciled Kitchen Towels

Stenciled Kitchen Towels
By Judi Kauffman for StencilGirl Products

I bought some wonderful retro-looking 16” wide kitchen toweling at an old-school five and dime in Vermont, intending to cut it into pieces and hem the ends. But then it hit me: Add a bit of gel plate printing and some stenciling.

Kitchen toweling and stencils are a great match! The stripes and window pane checks provide a starting point for positioning the patterns, anchor the design, and help determine the paint colors.

Other options:

Instead of using the stenciled toweling as kitchen towels, use it for curtains, valances, children’s clothing, baby bibs, pot holders, aprons, tote bags, napkins, place mats, table runners, throw pillows…By starting with toweling sold by the yard, not pre-hemmed towels, there are SO many possibilities! (Towels shown are 16” x 22”.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Wash toweling to remove sizing; iron and hem. (Option: Wash and iron pre-hemmed towels.)

2. Using red acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium or red fabric paint, create a background grid with the 3” Gelli Arts gel printing plate. Heat set per paint manufacturer’s instructions. Choose colors that coordinate with your toweling and suit your taste. I went for a 1940s feel and palette.

3. Using green acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium or green fabric paint, add stenciled leaves (striped towel) or stenciled leaves plus random crackle pattern (window pane towel). Heat set. 

4. If desired, add ball fringe, rickrack or other trim. For even more texture and detail, do a bit of hand embroidery!

SUPPLIES:

StencilGirl Products –

Crackle

Woodland Leaves

Other –

Gelli Arts 3” square gel printing plate

Toweling fabric (OR purchased pre-hemmed towels)

Acrylic paint in colors of choice and fabric medium (OR paints formulated for fabric)

Sponge wedges to apply paint

Stenciled Holiday Ornaments

Stenciled Shimmer Sheetz Holiday Ornaments

by Judi Kauffman for StencilGirl Products

It’s so much fun mixing my favorite StencilGirl Products stencils with Shimmer Sheetz, a durable, sparkly surface! This time, I’ve used the combo for Christmas and Chanukah ornaments. As always, my color combination is offbeat, but yours can be traditional.

I love making flat holiday ornaments because they can be mailed in an envelope for standard postage. They can be tucked into a card or sent instead of one. Smaller ornaments make great gift tags, too. I used ornament-shaped dies from several companies to do the cutting but you could hand-cut yours if you prefer. A quick Internet search will yield many free patterns and a simple circle or star will work just fine.

The key to all of the stenciling I did on the ornaments is to pretend that your eye is a camera with a zoom lens. Zero in on portions of the patterns. By using this ‘trick’ you can make holiday ornaments with stencils that aren’t holiday designs.

I used five different stencils, two of them with elegant and easy to recognize patterns – Lacy Lotus and Paisley Floral. But you might have a harder time guessing what I used for the others! For example, the Star of David ornaments include sections from the 9 x 12 Clustered Leaves stencil and when you look closely at the other ornaments portions of Journaling Left Hand and Rolls will magically appear.

INSTRUCTIONS

All ornaments are a double layer of Shimmer Sheetz for extra stability. One-layer ornaments are another option.

1. Choose your favorite Shimmer Sheetz color for the front of the ornaments and back a 5” x 12” piece of that color with double-sided adhesive sheet. Add a second piece in the same color or in a contrasting color for the back side of the ornaments. Shown – Turquoise Gemstone on the front, not shown – Black Iridescent for the back.) Front and back can match; you can stencil both sides so there isn’t a difference between front and back. NOTE: For smaller ornaments you can use smaller pieces of Shimmer Sheetz like the 4” x 5” size sheets that come in the ‘sampler’ packs.

2. Die cut the ornament shapes, making sure that the cutting blade of the die is facing the color you’ve selected for the front of the ornaments. NOTE: Standard cutting dies (AccuCut, Ellison) or Sizzix Bigz cut Shimmer Sheetz like butter, but if you are using thin dies you MUST use a metal adaptor plate or the Sizzix Big Shot with Precision Base Plate when cutting. Please review the Elizabeth Craft Designs YouTube video tutorial if you are new to this technique.

3. Protect your work surface and put on latex gloves if you just had a manicure – alcohol inks are permanent and can stain furniture and your hands. Use alcohol inks and an ink applicator tool to alter the surface of the Shimmer Sheetz. It doesn’t matter if some of the ink gets onto the cap portion of the ornament. Shown – Denim, Plum, Gold Metallic. NOTE: I used non-traditional colors, but Shimmer Sheetz comes in Red Iridescent, Emerald, Ruby and Imperial Garnet Gemstone as well as Red, Green, Gold and Green Metallic so you can create ornaments that are much less offbeat!

4. Use acrylic paint and a stencil brush to add pattern to the ornaments. NOTE: Move the stencil over the ornament until you see the portion of the pattern that looks just right! If you don’t want to commit to a design until you’re certain, cut extra ornaments out of cardstock and practice on those.

5. Paint the ornament cap with a gold or silver paint pen.

6. Optional: Embellish the ornament cap with gold border peel-offs. Highlight the ornaments with Glitter Dots peel-offs as shown on the two below

7. If a hole is needed, use an awl to pierce one. Add ribbon or cord for a hanging loop.

Here are more photos to help kick start your projects:

SUPPLIES

StencilGirl Products Stencils –

Clustered Leaves by Cecilia Swatton

Paisley Floral Repeat by Jessica Sporn

Lacy Lotus by Jessica Sporn

Rolls by Daniella Woolf

Journaling Left Hand by Pam Carriker

Elizabeth Craft Designs –

Shimmer Sheetz in Turquoise Gemstone, Black Iridescent (or color/s of choice)

Peel-off stickers 1276 in Gold, 7018 in Violet

Ornament dies –

AccuCut

Elizabeth Craft Designs*

Stampin’ Up!*

Spellbinders*

*See note in step 2

Other –

Alcohol inks in two or more colors plus gold metallic

Ink applicator tool

Sakura PenTouch paint pen in Gold

Stencil brush

DecoArt Americana Acrylics in Champagne Gold and Sea Breeze

Narrow ribbon, metallic cord

Art Journal & Cards with StencilGirl Products

Stenciled Shimmer Sheetz Art Journal & Cards

by Judi Kauffman for StencilGirl Products

Hi, everyone! Judi Kauffman here! Excited to be back as a Guest Designer sharing new projects! I’ve turned to Shimmer Sheetz yet again because it’s so much fun to stencil and I love the sparkle.

With just two stencils and one mask, plus two 5” x 12” pieces of Shimmer Sheetz, a blank journal, some paint and cardstock, I was able to complete the front cover of an art journal and six note cards – nary a scrap wasted.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Paint the front cover of an art journal using teal metallic paint or any other color(s) you prefer. (The covers of my book were originally black and after adding torn paper scraps for added texture I base-coated both front and back with black paint prior to the teal metallic.) Don’t worry if some of the paint gets onto the coil binding rings. Optional – repeat for the back cover.

2. Use black paint and the stencil shown at the right in the photo below (or a stencil you prefer) to add pattern to the front cover of the journal. Optional – repeat for the back cover.

3. Use bronze paint and the mask shown at the left in the photo above to create another layer of texture along the left side of the cover. After the bronze paint is dry, repeat with black to create a third layer and more distinct pattern. Optional – repeat for the back cover.

4. Alter one 5” x 12” piece of Australian Opal Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz with alcohol inks in Stream and Metallic Gold, using more Stream than Gold. Alter one 5” x 12” piece of Black Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz with the same two inks, but using more Gold than Stream. Tip: Use an Ink Applicator Tool to randomly dab on the inks. Drying time: only a couple of minutes.

5. Using the two stencils shown in the photo above, stencil over the alcohol ink-altered Shimmer Sheetz using bronze and black acrylic paints (the same colors used for the journal cover). Drying time: Depends on the weather (longer if it’s humid) and how thickly paint is applied.

6. While you’re at it, stencil three or four 4” x 6” pieces of burgundy laid-finish cardstock with the same three stencils that were used for the cover and the Shimmer Sheetz pieces. Save these pieces until step 10.

7. Back the Shimmer Sheetz pieces with double-sided adhesive sheet. Die cut at least two 2.75” diameter circles from the Shimmer Sheetz, taking care to center the stenciled circle pattern within the die when cutting. (See *Reminder just above the supply list for tips on die cutting Shimmer Sheetz.)

8. Cut at least two rectangles for the front over. Shown: Top rectangle = 2.5” wide x 3.5” high; bottom rectangle = 2.5” wide x 2.25” high. Cut at least two of the circles die cut in step 7 into two pieces. Use the lines within the stenciled design as a guide – the circles are not cut precisely in half. 

9. Add the two rectangles and 4 sections of the circles to the cover as shown in the photos above (or create a collage that better suits your eye!).

10. Use the remaining pieces of Shimmer Sheetz, along with the stenciled burgundy cardstock, to create collage-style note cards.

MORE OPTIONS FOR JOURNAL FRONT AND NOTE CARDS

Using black cardstock for the card base adds an elegant touch, but it doesn’t have to be black and it doesn’t have to be a solid color. Make a batch that is all one style or mix things up!

Do more stenciling or painting; add torn cardstock or paper layers as well as die- or hand-cut shapes. (Cut Shimmer Sheetz with scissors, paper trimmer, craft knife, or dies – it’s Mylar and can’t be torn.)

Add low-relief dimensional embellishments, found objects, and/or paper ephemera (canceled stamps and such).

Do some hand- or machine-stitching on the cards. (Do not machine-stitch through adhesive-backed Shimmer Sheetz. It will gum up the needle and cause problems.) To hand-stitch on the journal cover, use an awl to pierce a few widely-spaced holes.

*Reminder: To die cut Shimmer Sheetz – if you are cutting with a thin metal die like the ‘Stitched Circle’ I chose, you MUST use a metal adaptor plate inside your machine’s standard cutting plate ‘sandwich’ or the Sizzix Big Shot with the Precision Base Plate. However, if you are using a Sizzix Bigz die OR have access to a full size AccuCut GrandeMARK machine and standard dies you do not need the metal plate.

SUPPLIES

StencilGirl Products –

• Sunburst by Daniella Woolf
• Nested Squares by Carol Wiebe
• Tall Reeds by Rae Missigman

Other –

• 5” x 7” coil-bound journal with black covers
• Shimmer Sheetz in Australian Opal Gemstone and Black Iridescent – 5” x 12” sheet in each color (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
• Stitched Circles die set; two 5” x 12” Clear Double Sided Adhesive Sheets; Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape in width of choice (Elizabeth Craft Designs)
• Sizzix Big Shot with Precision Base Plate
• DecoArt paints – Dazzling Metallics in Peacock Pearl and Bronze; Americana Acrylic in Ebony Black
• Stencil brush
• Alcohol inks in Stream and Gold Metallic; Ink applicator tool (Ranger)
• Cardstock in Burgundy with laid-finish (subtle stripe texture); Black with vellum-finish (smooth)

Creating a Dozen Projects with Just Two Stencils!

1 + 2 = 12

By Judi Kauffman

I’m thrilled to be back as today’s guest artist. As always, I thought I’d juxtapose stencils that don’t look, at first glance, like they were designed to go together. In this case, it’s the Paisley Floral Repeat by Jessica Sporn and Mary Beth Shaw’s Web stencil. And, as usual, I wanted to pull some Shimmer Sheetz into the mix. I’m all about sparkle!

The project title hints at what I think math should be: Answers that aren’t obvious. In this case the equation refers to the number of packages of Shimmer Sheetz (one), the number of stencils (two) and the number of projects I made out of these components (twelve!).

They include:
A paisley mini crate

A web-stenciled crate

A sari-inspired bookmark quartet

A pair of gem-encrusted bookmarks

A pair of web-stenciled bookmarks

An angel art doll to guard your studio

Six one-of-a-kind A2-size side-fold cards

Customize the projects to suit your taste. Switch to a different color palette, use whatever embellishments you have on hand, and most of all have fun…

Instructions:

1. Alter three 5” x 12” pieces of Turquoise Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz with denim blue alcohol ink. Use an ink applicator tool to create a mottled effect as shown on the test scrap at the upper left in the above photo.

2. Use vivid violet acrylic paint and gold metallic alcohol ink to stencil Paisley Floral Repeat onto one 5” x 12” piece of Shimmer Sheetz; use gold metallic only to stencil Paisley Floral Repeat onto a second piece; Use vivid violet acrylic paint and gold metallic ink to stencil Web onto the third piece.

3. MINI CRATES: Paint the crate with a metallic acrylic paint (shown: Peacock). Allow to dry.

Cut three 1” x 6.5” strips of stenciled Shimmer Sheetz; attach strips to slats on one side of the crate using double sided adhesive tape. Add two Glitter Dots peel-offs to the ends of each strip to give the look of sparkly nail heads.

4. ANGEL ART DOLL: Wrap a clothespin with metallic braid to create the top of a dress and with mesh to create the skirt. (Secure at the back with snippets of Power Adhesive Tabs.) Cut two twigs for arms. Find a small flat oval embellishment to use for a halo. For the wings, cut a 2.5” x 5” piece of Paisley Floral-stenciled Shimmer Sheetz (sheet 1, metallic gold only). Cut two .5” x 2.5” pieces from Paisley Floral-stenciled Shimmer Sheetz (sheet 2, vivid violet and metallic gold). Add narrow bands to short ends of the wing piece. Cut long triangular notches, centered, on the 5” sides (Save these pieces aside for one of the cards!); cut small V-shaped notches at the short ends. Use snippets of Power Adhesive Tabs to secure all components. Tip: My style wings are very simple and graphic. If you prefer, hand cut a pair that are curvy and more realistically shaped.

5. BOOKMARKS: Cut assorted 1” x 6.5” and 2” x 5” stenciled Shimmer Sheetz strips. Add embellishments. The pair above features gem-encrusted appliqués from the fabric department. Those below include a pair with gold border peel-offs only and a sari-inspired quartet that combines gold border peel-offs and gem-like flat Glitter Dots peel-offs. Tip: My inspiration: Our neighbor Leela’s beautiful saris! (A quick image search for Indian saris will provide a wide variety of other options, most of them easy to duplicate with peel-offs where woven and embroidered patterns would appear on the fabrics.)

6. CARDS: Start with pre-made card bases in A2 size or make them from solid color cardstock that coordinates with the stenciled Shimmer Sheetz. Cut the remaining stenciled Shimmer Sheetz into pieces. As shown, four of them measure 2.5” x 3.5”, the rest vary in size. Arrange, layer, and rearrange the pieces. When pleased with the design, assemble and embellish as a series of one-of-a-kind cards using the photo gallery below for inspiration.

Add in metallic braid, charms, gem-encrusted appliqués, an Indian inspired button (with shank removed), metal pieces, Glitter Dots and gold border peel-offs, and the long triangles saved from the Angel Art Doll’s wings in step 4. Use foam tape for dimension here and there. Tip: Instead of card fronts, the 2.5” x 3.5” pieces can be used for Artist Trading Cards, mailed in a clear baseball card protector or displayed on a mini easel.

Supplies:

StencilGirl Products –

L350 Paisley Floral 9 x 12 Stencil by Jessica Sporn

L064 9 x 12 Web Stencil by Mary Beth Shaw

Other –

Shimmer Sheetz in Turquoise Gemstone (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Craft knife, straight edge, cutting mat

Foam tape

Clear double-sided adhesive tape (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

A2 side fold cards (or cardstock to make them)

Rustic Pallet mini crates (Walnut Hollow)

Dazzling Metaqlllics in Peacock to paint crates (DecoArt)

Americana Acrylic Gloss Enamels in Vivid Violet (DecoArt)

Metallic Mixatives in Gold (Ranger)

Alcohol ink in Denim (Ranger)

Ink applicator tool (Ranger)

Kreinik #16 Medium Metallic Braid (to wrap doll’s torso)

Power Adhesive Tabs (Tombow)

Nonstick scissors (to cut Power Tabs)

Glitter Dots peel-offs #7018 in Pink, Turquoise, Violet (Elizabeth Craft Designs)

Ribbon Fantasy border peel-offs #1276 in Gold (Elizabeth Craft Designs)