Guest Designer Frieda Oxenham

Time to start thinking about gifts and as we all know hand-made ones are the best. So here is my suggestion:

1.     On an A3 sheet (11.7 x 16.5”) and using a permanent black permanent marker outline patterns onto the page with a selection of your favourite stencils. I used the large stencil of the April 2020 StencilClub, B stencil of the April 2023 Club, stencil 1 of the November 2022 Club, large stencil from the June 2023 Club, the large stencil from the March 2021 club, as well as stencils ATC Mix Up Kerr, Crazy Dazey, MB CM Patterns 2021, ATC Mix Up 1, Verdant Moon, Straight Stems, Curvy Stems, and Buildings. Finally I used Large Bubbles to fill in any empty spaces between patterns. 

2.     Colour in the patterns. I used permanent paint markers, mainly Posca ones.

3.     Now fold the page to make it into a booklet. It helps to use a bone folder to make the folds nice and sharp. First fold the page in half along its longest length.

Unfold and fold width wise. Keep the page folded and fold one edge to the last fold you made. Do the same for the other side. Unfold the previous two folds but keep the first width wise fold folded. Cut from that fold to the next fold. Open up the sheet that now has a slit in the middle and refold it to the first fold you made. Pull the sides away from each other and the booklet will emerge.

If this all sounds confusing check it out on YouTube where there are many videos showing the process.

4.     Colour in the background of the pages. If you want to have the same colour background for all the spreads in your booklet you can do this before the folding, but I alternated between silver and black as my background so did the colouring after the folding.

5.     I rather enjoyed the peaceful process of colouring and folding so made another booklet using a red background for all the spreads using the stencils as in step 1.

6.     I then repeated the process using a smaller A4 sheet (8.3 x 11.7”) and made a selection from my smaller 6 x 6” stencils to use with a blue background.

I enjoyed making these booklets very much and expect that I will make a lot more of them. Using different stencils and/or background colours makes them all look very different as would using different colouring media such as watercolour.

© Frieda Oxenham 2023

StencilGirl® Art Journaling by Frieda Oxenham

Over the past few years, we have all gained more appreciation for the place we call home, having been forced to spend so much more time there, so this spread is a homage to where we live, wherever that may be.

Here is the tutorial:

1.     In an 8 x 8” black paged sketchbook drip white acrylic paint onto the pages and more it around using a scraper and/or brush

2.     Using black acrylic paint and a cosmetic wedge, stencil through stencil Dream Imagine Inspire Create, or any other StencilGirl® text stencil of your choice.

3.     Using red acrylic paint and a cosmetic wedge, stencil onto the spread through String and fill in some of the circular areas with the same paint and a brush.

4.     Add more paint to some of the areas created in step 3. I used a mix of opaque and transparent paint in teal and yellow, finishing with white acrylic. Then remove the paint partially through the various patterns on the medium stencil of the January 2019 StencilClub.

5.     Add more teal paint to the pages.

6.     Drip green pearlescent ink to the pages and while still wet add some white gesso with brush or finger. Remove some of the paint again as in step 4.

7.     Using red acrylic paint and Circles Circles add circles to the spread.

8.     Using stencil 1 from the July 2022 StencilClub stencil the houses  both small and large onto a piece of deli paper using black acrylic paint and a cosmetic wedge.

9.     Tear out one of the large houses and glue it onto the right-hand page overlapping one of the red circles, using matte medium.

10.  Tear out the row of little houses and glue to the bottom of the left-hand page.

11.  Add more stencilling to the spread using red and teal paint and the medium stencil from the January 2019 StencilClub.

12.  Rub white gesso over selected areas of the spread to blend them together. I use my fingers, but a brush or cosmetic wedge will do the job too.

13.  Glue on your chosen text outline with a black marker, trace the red circles with a pencil and outline one of the little houses with a red Sharpie.

14.  Edge the pages with red paint.

© Frieda Oxenham 2023

StencilGirl® Art Journaling by Frieda Oxenham

This time of year always calls for a bit of sparkle and this project is full of it!

There were many prints left over from my November project and I decided to use them as the starting point for this month’s project.  Check out that project for the stencils I used at the time, but you can use any of your left-over prints. I’m sure that most of you have a pile as large as mine. 

Here is the tutorial:

1.     Grab some of those sheets, put one down on your work surface and put Large Bubbles on top. Using spray paint (I used Dylusions Shimmer Sprays), spray through the stencil. Leaving the stencil in place put another sheet from your collection on top of the stencil and take a print from the negative spaces. Then remove the stencil to admire the pattern on your original page. Repeat this a few times with your left-over sheets.

2.     Using more left-over sheets and a 9 x 12” gelli plate, brayer on a mix of colours of acrylic paint onto the gelli plate, put the same stencil as in step 1 on top of the plate and take prints.

3.     Repeat step 2 using white paint on your gelli plate.

4.     Repeat step 2 on some of the pages made in step 2 and 3 to add ever more layers to your sheets. I ended up with about 20 finished sheets by the end of these steps which gives you a wide choice of which ones to use for the next steps.

5.     Gather all your sheets together and make collages on two facing pages in your sketchbook. I’m working in a square 8 x 8” sketchbook with black pages (from Dylusions) and used matte medium to adhere the pages. Play around till you’re happy with the composition before you glue everything down.

6.     Using stencil Spiral and Golden iridescent bronze acrylic paint, stencil on the pages as shown using a cosmetic wedge.

7.     Using the same paint as in step 6 with Large Bubbles add more circles to the pages.

8.     Outline the circles from step 7 as well as other selected shapes on your collage with a white permanent paint marker.

9.     Glue on text and outline with gold and black markers

10.  Outline the pages with a gold inkpad.

© Frieda Oxenham 2022

Making a Journal with StencilGirl® Products

Hey everyone, I’m Mary Sanders Lazenby of Blue Goose Studios.

In this demonstration, I will be making a mixed media cover for a one of a kind journal.

This journal's cover is a combination of cloth, paper, acrylic paints, acrylic mediums used with StencilGirl® Stencils, and the final book is bound with book binding cord.

StencilGirl® Stencils used:

• X Rows
• Fade Horizontal
• Jumbo Vintage Typewriter Alphabet A – P
• Vintage Typewriter Alphabet
• Honey Comb
• Soulful Scribbles Let Go
• 4" x 4" November 2019 StencilClub stencil
• Organic Roots 1

Our work can be found at www.blue-goosestudios.com and https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueGooseStudios.

StencilGirl Artist Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch!

StencilGirl Products is DELIGHTED to have StencilGirl Artist

Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch on the blog today!!

Take it away, Patricia!

Way back in the beginning of time….

StencilGirl time that is!

I got the privilege of designing stencils for Mary Beth.

Having just reconnected at my first annual EncaustiCamp,

Mary Beth invited me to design some stencils that would reflect the art I am passionate about: encaustic!

(2010 encausticamp with MB and I front and center)

Thus, way back in 2010, I designed five stencils for her newly established StencilGirl line.

And look what’s happened since!

EncaustiCamp has seen its fifth anniversary and international venues added into the Seattle location,

and StencilGirl is nearing the 800-designs mark for their incredible line of artist-designed stencils.

Milestones. Beautiful milestones!

This past week I was in New Orleans for the first time,

graciously attending a week-long workshop with Golden Artist Colors.

My love for my stencils was relit as printmaking in the Golden way set my creativity alight~

Today I begin my first workshop in my new studio and home in Lexington, Kentucky; the encausticastle.

Participants are thrilling over these five designs put to mylar those five years ago, in new and beautiful ways.

It never ceases to amaze me the beauty possible in the willingness to explore and try new things.

(workshop attendee Patti creating on wax with stencil and PanPastel!)

Stencils were that for me nearly six years ago.

They showed me that again this week.

The beauty is possible and evolving and I look forward to the playtime and all that comes!

You can find all of Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch's StencilGirl stencils HERE, and for TODAY ONLY...
receive 10% off any purchase of Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch's StencilGirl stencils!!

Use coupon code SEGGEBRUCH10

Be sure to visit Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch's website at www.pbsartist.com
and join her on Instagram at instagram.com/pbsartist, too!