Megan Whisner Quinlan: July 2021 StencilClub Stencils

Once I saw this month's StencilClub stencil set, I knew I wanted to create something that harkened to a vintage travel diary and sari fabric. The 4x4 elephant stencil had my mind racing with all the potential ways to use it. Follow along as I show you how to create this quick easy spread.

I decided to use my Dylusions Creative Journal and ink sprays since they are designed to work well together. I picked two side by side pages and chose one to spray with water and ink sprays. Once covered, I closed the pages together to transfer the color to the corresponding page. I used paper towels to mop up the excess. I allowed the pages to dry completely before next step. 

I then sprayed my stencil with water and placed it face down on the page. After peeling it back up again, I waited a few seconds-when the water is allowed to sit, it is removing some of the ink to create your pattern.  Next, I mopped up the excess water from the page. This will allow your ghosted image to appear. 

I then took the medium stencil and sprayed through the stencil in a liner way across my pages. Here I chose Pomegranate ink, but really, any contrasting warm color will do. 

I then traced the elephant stencil onto some Tim Holtz vintage papers and cut out 4 elephants in opposite directions. 

Lastly, I tore some old book pages and glued some strips along my design. As a finial step, I added some doodles to my page to flesh out the design and put my "stamp" on it. 

Join StencilClub by July 15 to receive these three exclusive stencils and accompanying video tutorial with PDF, and 20% OFF STENCILS EVERY DAY!!

Hello! My name is Megan Whisner Quinlan. I have been art journaling and book binding for about 20 years. However, I took a 10 year break from paper arts when I had my first 2 children. About 5 years ago, I came back into journaling after some big life changes, including 2 more children. Journaling had always been a part of my life, especially to work things out in life on paper. When I first started out, I really only focused on making books by hand and some basic collage and stamping. I was intimidated by the amazing art journaling artists out there who could create elaborate, mixed media spreads.  When I came back to journaling after such a long break, I decided that I was going to really push myself to learn all the techniques I had been too afraid to try.  Painting and drawing have really allowed me to find so much joy in my creative process, and I now almost exclusively create mixed media every day. I feel excited to have joined the art journaling community and you can find me on Instagram @Megan_Whisner_Quinlan or on Youtube: Megan Whisner Quinlan.

Megan Whisner Quinlan: May 2021 StencilClub Stencils

Although I have been doing mixed media for a very long time, I've never really made my own collage papers. There have always been enticing patterned papers all around and it never really occurred to me to spend some time making some of my own. It was only recently that I have been focusing on making things ahead of time and breaking up my working process, that I have discovered the joys of making my own papers. This is a great project for when you might be in a rut, but still feel the urge to be creative. It requires little thinking, and is an almost meditative method to build your art menagerie. Follow along to see how fun and easy it is to create these bright pages. 

To get started, I scrounged around my studio for papers that I didn't really love or were experiments of one technique or another. 

I chose a neon pink to use as the base color to stencil with this month's StencilClub stencil set by Mary Beth Shaw and Debi Adams onto all the pages. 

Once I got the first layer on, I trimmed everything down to about a 4"x6" size sheet to make it easy to store for future use. 

I then took another stencil from this month's StencilClub stencil set and added more layers with neon orange paint to add more texture. 

I then took some black gesso and made large painterly circles, although any pattern will do. I made sure to leave lots of brush marks and keep the design open so as to expose good portions of the printed layers beneath. 

Next I added the smallest stencil on to portions of the bold black swaths of paint with a bright white. I kept it random so as to leave some room for more texture. 

Lastly, and my most favorite part, I added doodles and marks to the pages with paint pens in coordinating colors. This is my favorite part because each rectangle can look so different from the next. When you are done you will have pages ready to be used as pages, cut into shapes, or torn up and used in your mixed media project.

Join StencilClub by May 15 to receive these three exclusive stencils and accompanying video tutorial with PDF, and 20% OFF STENCILS EVERY DAY!!

Hello! My name is Megan Whisner Quinlan. I have been art journaling and book binding for about 20 years. However, I took a 10 year break from paper arts when I had my first 2 children. About 5 years ago, I came back into journaling after some big life changes, including 2 more children. Journaling had always been a part of my life, especially to work things out in life on paper. When I first started out, I really only focused on making books by hand and some basic collage and stamping. I was intimidated by the amazing art journaling artists out there who could create elaborate, mixed media spreads.  When I came back to journaling after such a long break, I decided that I was going to really push myself to learn all the techniques I had been too afraid to try.  Painting and drawing have really allowed me to find so much joy in my creative process, and I now almost exclusively create mixed media every day. I feel excited to have joined the art journaling community and you can find me on Instagram @Megan_Whisner_Quinlan or on Youtube: Megan Whisner Quinlan.

Megan Whisner Quinlan: March 2021 StencilClub Stencils

When I was a teenager, I was of that John Huges-Bratt Pack generation. I loved Molly Ringwald, and every single movie she made. My favorite by far was Pretty in Pink. I went through a phase where I watched that movie every day. One scene in particular, when Molly Ringwald visits her friend in Chinatown, made such an impression on me. The vibrant colors on their clothes, the paint on the buildings contrasted with black and white...it all spoke to me. I genuinely think that scene has a place on my art timeline. So much of it informs what I am drawn to now.

When I saw this month's StencilClub stencil set (designed by Mary Beth Shaw & Mary C. Nasser), I was reminded of beautiful Chinese characters and I went in a graffiti direction for this page. Eventually I realized where my theme was going, it would all be perfect for the scene from the movie. 

Follow along for details on how to create a fun journal spread using the new StencilClub stencil set!

I first stamped the face from the Dina Wakley (I Want) stamp set onto some white cardstock. I loosely drew a bob style hair cut around the face emulating Molly Ringwald's hair style in the movie. 

I stamped some newsprint pages with a old Hero Arts stamp (Chinese Wordpaper Newsprint) to make my own newspaper pages. I tore them and glued them around a gessoed page to begin a foundation for the page. 

I stenciled all around my pages in black acrylic paint and allowed it to dry. Then I lightly painted over them with White and Cheddar Dina Wakley acrylic paints to tone down the boldness. I work this way over and over, dark then light, to build up my layers. 

I love to use Dina Wakley acrylic sprays on these spreads (Turquoise and White) to really add extra drips and texture. 

Join StencilClub by March 15 to receive these three exclusive stencils and accompanying video tutorial with PDF, and 20% OFF STENCILS EVERY DAY!!

Hello! My name is Megan Whisner Quinlan. I have been art journaling and book binding for about 20 years. However, I took a 10 year break from paper arts when I had my first 2 children. About 5 years ago, I came back into journaling after some big life changes, including 2 more children. Journaling had always been a part of my life, especially to work things out in life on paper. When I first started out, I really only focused on making books by hand and some basic collage and stamping. I was intimidated by the amazing art journaling artists out there who could create elaborate, mixed media spreads.  When I came back to journaling after such a long break, I decided that I was going to really push myself to learn all the techniques I had been too afraid to try.  Painting and drawing have really allowed me to find so much joy in my creative process, and I now almost exclusively create mixed media every day. I feel excited to have joined the art journaling community and you can find me on Instagram @Megan_Whisner_Quinlan or on Youtube: Megan Whisner Quinlan.

Playful Postcards with StencilGirl® Stencils

After the serious pages in August I felt the need for some frivolity and I grabbed some of the postcard blanks left over from a previous project and just played! Here is what I did:

1.      My first step was to add gold acrylic paint to the postcards using a gelli plate. Just brayer on the paint and take prints.

2.      Using the small stencil from June 2020 StencilClub, a variety of acrylic paint colours and cosmetic wedges, stencil all over the cards.

3.      Using the medium stencil from June 2020 StencilClub and permanent spray paints, add pattern to the cards. I discovered too late that one of the spray paints I grabbed was not a permanent one which had some consequences for the later steps but I liked the effect. Take care though as those effects can be unpredictable. If in doubt make sure yours are permanent.

4.      Using the large stencil from June 2020 StencilClub, with titanium white paint and a cosmetic wedge, stencil all over the cards using the bottom half of the stencil. This is where you can see the non-permanent spray paint I used turned the white into pale blue.

5.      Outline the shapes with a permanent black marker.

6.      Take a selection of vintage papers, making sure they’re pretty sturdy as they will get quite wet. Spray them randomly with acrylic spray paint.

7.      Spray onto the pages through Trillium Pattern with spray paints, including some mica ones.

8.      Using the same stencil as in step 7 stencil with titanium white paint.

9.      Using the same stencil as in step 4 with fluorescent paints, stencil randomly over the pages using a cosmetic wedge.

10.  Using Figments of Imagination position the stencil on your vintage papers, outline the animal like shapes you want to use with a permanent black marker. Cut them out and add them to your cards using a glue stick. Use mirror images as well by turning the stencil over.

11.  Outline the shapes with a permanent white marker and add eyes.

12.  Also glue on postage stamps as shown.

13.  Cut out words from magazines and glue them to the cards too.

14.  Outline words and postage stamps with a black Stabilo All pencil.

15.  Using a red water soluble gel stick (mine came from Faber Castell) rub on colour to the cards and remove it again through one of the patterns of the large April 2016 StencilClub stencil, using a baby wipe.

16.  Edge the cards with a permanent blue ink pad.

© Frieda Oxenham 2020. To see more of Frieda's work, please visit her BLOG.

The Real Deal - a mixed media artwork by Sue Plumb

Hello stencil lover!

It's Sue Plumb here today to share my latest project created for the StencilGirl® Creative Team. This time around the team was challenged to "Frame It or Fill It With Circles". I decided to go with "frame it" and create a lovely mixed media piece with the intention of framing it to display in my home. 

The artwork I created was a good example of how plans can change once you start working on a piece. Initially, my intention was to create something that was A4 sized; but through the evolution of my process, I ended up with a finished piece that was 12x12" instead. That's what happens when you follow the creative flow!

I began my project with one particular stencil in mind - Strength Face by Pam Carriker. I knew I wanted to create something that featured a face as the focal point, and after looking through all my stencils, this was the one I kept coming back to. Every time I looked at it I immediately thought of John Lennon (I think it is the circle around the eye that makes me think of the glasses he used to wear); so I knew that I wanted to capture that by incorporating something musical into my piece as well. 

I started with my background, using Distress Oxides to create a watercolor effect. I simply swiped the ink pads onto my non-stick mat, spritzed with a little water, and then placed the cardstock over the top to absorb the ink. I started with 'Faded Jeans' then repeated the process with 'Iced Spruce' over the top. I love the moody, mottled effect I got on the page.

Next, I turned my attention to the "frame it" theme, choosing to frame my page with a matching border, also in "Iced Spruce" Distress Oxide. I chose the 9x12" stencil from the January 2019 StencilClub set designed by Mary Beth Shaw and Seth Apter. I used the section of the stencil that features a long row of soft-edged squares and stenciled the pattern around each edge using a sponge dauber.

Next, I reached for a music paper stamp and used black ink to lightly stamp the motif randomly around my page; taking care not to press too heavily (I didn't want a "perfect" image).

I then turned my attention to creating the focal point of my page using that amazing face stencil designed by Pam Carriker, aptly called Strength Face. I continued with the black ink and stenciled the face in the lower right corner of my page, again using a sponge dauber. 

I then added the third Distress Oxide color I had chosen - "Seedless Preserves", by mixing a little with some water and then using a small brush to paint some contrasting color across and around the face. 

Once I had the focal image in place I knew my page needed some texture. I wanted to keep the texture subtle however so I chose the Starlight 6x6" stencil designed by Lesley Riley and used it to apply some gold texture paste using a palette knife. The combination of this stencil and the paste created stunning, fine golden details; which I cascaded down and across from the top left corner of the page. I also moved the stencil around to add some extra randomly placed detail.

I was extremely happy with how the layers were looking together at this point, but it was right about now that my plan for this piece took a bit of a turn. To further reinforce the "Frame It" theme, I decided to mount my existing A4 sized piece onto a sheet of 12x12" colored cardstock. I wanted to keep the frame size consistent around though, which meant that I had space alongside left to fill. I found a sheet of music paper from my stash and tucked it underneath the edge to balance the page. 

To finish off, I found a pack of die cuts that featured lots of floral pieces in colors that matched, as I wanted to use the flowers to bring some softness to the piece. 

The die cuts in the pack also featured some gold foil pieces, which tied nicely in with the stenciled gold details I had added earlier.

I couldn't resist popping a few butterflies on there - three of them (of course, I must have balance!) Finally, to finish off, and smooth the transition between my original A4 piece and the additional sheet of music paper, I added a clear floral sticker and I was done.

I popped the completed piece into a white 12x12" shadow box frame and now it proudly adorns a space in my home.

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you today. Until next time, happy creating!

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