Passage of Life-Mixed Media Layout by Sunila & Aditi

Hello,

Today we're here to share our creation of the month. The theme 'Passage' can be interpreted in so many ways. To us, it spoke about this passage from my side to another- life to death. This journey is what he chose to depict in our layout today. We decided to give a tribute to a famous Indian actor that recently passed away. 

We have a video tutorial for this layout:

With this layout, we intended to use stencils and ink layers to create a background, highlight our photo with minimal embellishment. The multiple layers and colors, add the depth and dimension we wanted for the background with using any other textures.  We began with the Celtic Spirals Mask by Valerie Sjodin(L764) to add spirals and circles depicting life all over. We used a part of the Prairie Style Window (L709) to divide our layout into two segments. 

We were inspired to use the stencil Train Station by Tina Walker (S682) behind our focal photo to create the illusion of the physical world and traveling inward. We also used City Map  by Mary Nasser(S693) to add more dimensions depicting pathways. 

We used the ladder ATC stencil from the set ATC Mixup Wiebe (L710) depicting travel to the other side, on the right side of our layout. The small 4" stencil from the stencil club set March Mashness 2020 was used to add abstract interest to our background. 

We've played with color layers, and then added some chipboards and die cuts to embellish it all. Do check out the tutorial to see how we did that.

We hope we've inspired you today!

Hugs,

Sunila and Aditi

Soul Mending Mixed Media Poetry by Sunila & Aditi

Hello,

Today we're sharing our project inspired by the Stencil Poetry theme. Poetry and art for us always go hand in hand. Many times, we either create an art project and then write about it or vice versa.

We've created a mixed media layout and we were inspired by Aditi's poem 'Soul-Mending' from her recent book 'On The Other Side'. For the project, a newer version of the poem was written and then we created this layout. We'll share the two poems below as well!

Here's a look at the layout:

Here's the brief process of creating this layout:

Step 1: Choose a few stencils for the layers. Sprays colors through them on a piece of white cardstock. This becomes the pattern paper for the base. We've used- L 708 (Mod City Country Abstract by Cynthia Silveri), L 726 (It's Time to Play by Carolyn Dube), L 712 (Lattice Medallion by Kristie Taylor).

Step 2: We used the stencil L 698 (Hexagons Mini Printmaking by Ann Butler) with a black Uni-ball pen to draw some abstract hexagons on the printed paper. We also drew a few puzzle pieces and cut them out.  You could use dies and cut shapes for the base.

Step 3: We then arranged and stitched our hexagons onto a base white cardstock. The loose threads add to the effect we were looking for.

Step 4: Arrange the puzzle pieces. Use foam tape for varying depth and adding dimension.

Step 5: Time to add embellishments. At this stage, we picked out some chipboard pieces, colored them with metallic acrylic paints and waxes. We also layered some flowers, die cuts and feathers. These elements went well with the poem and we talk about this add the end of the post:)! Our poem is the focal point, so we typed it out on a piece of pattern paper. 

Step 6: Complete it with sequins.

And that's it! We really enjoy making layouts in this way. 

Here's the poem and how we were inspired by it.

Soul- Mending Version 1.0

Fixing broken pieces of your soul,

is not like joining pieces of a puzzle.

Sometimes you need to hurt,

to take it all in. 

Once you’re done hurting,

pick them up piece by piece

and mend your soul.

It won’t be the same,

The scars will be there,

But you’ll been one again.

Soul-Mending Project Version 1.1

Fixing broken pieces of your soul,

is not like joining pieces of a puzzle. 

The same pieces that once fit together,

may no longer do so.

Sometimes you need to hurt,

to take it all in. 

And, some pieces need to be discarded,

when sifting through them.

Once you’re done hurting,

pick them up piece by piece

and mend your soul.

Sew them and stitch them back again.

The threads you use will remind you,

of how you patched it all together.

It won’t be the same,

The scars will be there,

But you’ll been one again. 

We were inspired by the idea of the soul being fragments (our different patterned hexagons) and puzzle pieces. When you mend them, they do leave gaps, and necessarily don't fit back together. We used thread to stitch them together, with varying patterns as it's never the same. The Deer spirit reminds us to be gentle and kind with ourselves through this process. The flowers remind us about the idea of blooming and then drying, falling, yet the seeds blossom into a flower again. The color palette we used: Teal, Greens, Mustard(Gold) all speaks to us of soul renewal, of spring, of fixing. 

Here are a few close-ups:

Supply List-

• Lindy’s sprays - Bayou Boogie Gold, Grab a Guy Gold, Golden Sleigh Bells, Time Travel Teal, Lucky Shamrock Green, Cathedral Pines Green
• Art Alchemy Metallique- Gold Amber, Ginger Magic Sparks, Dark Forest
• Art Alchemy Metallique Waxes- Mint Sparkle, Peacock, Firebird 
• Dusty Attic and Kora Chipboards
• Fantasy die - FD 779
• Stencil Girl Stencils- Mod City Abstract L 708, It's Time to Play L 726, Printmaking Stencils L 698, Lattice Medallion L 712
• Sequins
• Thread 
• Flowers, Feathers 
• Distress Ink- Fossilised Amber 

We hope you've enjoyed our post today! Happy crafting!

Sunila and Aditi

Stored in My Studio & Stencil Storage Idea by Cheetarah

Hi everyone, it's Cheetarah here and this month the StencilGirl® Creative Team shows how we store things in our studio. I'm fortunate enough to have an apartment where we both have our separate offices / creative space and I just love spending time in my little home studio.

This is my art desk where all the art stuff happens :) I have a LOT of stuff stored here that I need in reach, like brushes, markers, glue, my art journals, ink, watercolors etc. but I am good at keeping my work surface clean after a project, thankfully. That is the traveler's notebook I currently am working in. Let me give you a little tour of the room. 

This is what it looks like when you come in, on the left side my art desk with boxes of papers and trays of markers & cups of brushes and yes I store stuff on my windowsill as well, things I want near but have no room for on my desk. 

On the other side is my writing desk. You can see the stack of planners I use for my writings and my Lamy fountain pen collection display box on the window sill. Here I do stuff that is writing related but as you can see, there is a lack of computer here which I like because I don't want to get distracted by the internet in this room! I also try to leave my phone out but it's difficult as it's also my camera, haha!

When you turn to face the wall on the right side you'll see my rubber stamp storage - wood mounted stamps that is. The cling & clear stamps are in ring binders. Sprays are stored in open boxes next to the "spray work surface" on the smaller cabinets that created an impromptu work surface. 

In the cabinet drawers (which were donated to me by very good friends who moved away) I have paints, mediums, masking tapes, pigment powders, pastels, etc... all drawers are labeled and the cabinet closest to my desk has all the ink pads and markers (yes more...) and watercolor paints.

And one last thing I wanted to show you in my studio is the shelf where I store my little collection of figurines/vinyl toys of Cheetara's of the Thundercats :) The one from the far right is an original one from the 1980's. I also collect prints of her and have quite a few.

And this concludes the tour of my home art studio :)

"Stored in my studio" is of course also about how you store your stencils. So this got me thinking on how to effectively store my stencils because I want a fast visual reference. The storage solution I had was not sufficient for this and I kept forgetting which stencils I have. I stored them in see-through file folder & have an excel file with the stencils I own.

This is fine in itself but the visual reference, locally in my studio, was lacking. As I told you earlier, I rather do not want to look up stuff on the internet while I am working. So I set out to make a visual storage with the help of a vintage postcard storage idea.

I have bought these vintage postcard binders at a thrift store on vacation in Sweden and just LOVE how these albums look. 

They have paper sheets inside them and I figured I could store the stencils in them instead of the postcards that were currently still there. 

I stenciled on the paper sheets (and also made reverse prints of them in some cases) with black acrylic paint to create my visual reference album and stored the coordinating stencil on the sheet.

Of some, I kept the packaging of so it would not tangle with the stencil on the opposite page. All the small and mini stencils I currently own are now stored in the binder. The large stencils I did stencil out & printed in the visual reference book, but kept them in the large file folder still. 

I've filmed the process of how I made this stencil storage and there is a flip through of all the stencils I currently own. So if you're curious about that, definitely have a look :) A full list of them is under the video:

List of stencils used in the video: 

Stencil Club Sets:
Mary Beth Shaw's Private Collection, October 2016
Borderlines by Seth Apter, December 2017

9"x12" Large Stencils:

L578: Spirit Wind Mask by Valerie Sjodin

L606: Soulful Scribbles by Traci Bautista 

L543: ATC Mix Up 1 by Mary Beth Shaw

L258: Uplifting Words by Carolyn Dube

L200: Map by Mary Nasser

L215: Celestial Cove by Kae Pea

L598: Sacred Feminine by Carol Wiebe

L346: Pen and Ink by Lesley Riley

6"x6" Small Stencils:

S576: Art Deco Peacock Feather by Gwen LaFleur

S498: Moon Phases by Cat Kerr

S323: Sunburst by Daniela Woolf

S288: Pretty as a Peacock (face) by Andrea Matus DeMeng

S242: Diamond Dance by Terri Stegmiller

S203: Thanks a Lotus by Andres Matus de Meng 

S264: Doodle it Tornado Flowers by Maria McGuire 

S224: Succulents by Daniel Woolf 

S027: Peacock Feather by Kae Pea

S080: Marbled 6 by Cecelia Swatton

S260: Encouraging Scribbles by Carolyn Dube

S233: Cornish Petals by Lizzie Mayne

S278: Starlight by Lesley Riley 

S295: Deconstructed Chrysanthemum by Traci Bautista

Hope you enjoyed having a stroll in my studio and that the video inspired you to create your own stencil reference & storage book.  Thanks so much for stopping by! Have an awesome day & see you next time :) 

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Honouring Antoni Gaudi and Nature by Sunila & Aditi Mahajan

"Nothing is Art if it does not come from nature."

~Antonio Gaudi

Hello everyone,

Sunila & Aditi (aka Dots to Lines) here, with our first post as Creative Team Members for StencilGirl® Talk! We are super thrilled and excited to be sharing our art with you all!

This month, we were inspired by the theme of "In Honor of" and we have created a mixed media style layout.

We are honouring the famous Architect Antoni Gaudi, along with Art and Mother Nature. Gaudi relied on nature and believed in the connection between art and nature, and his architecture and art depict this. We were inspired in particular by Casa Batllo, in Barcelona, Spain. In our layout, we have used two images of Casa Batllo- one at Dawn/Sunrise and one at Dusk/Sunset. We did this to showcase the cycle of nature, the cycle of life and draw a connection with the art.

We have used two StencilGirl® stencils, Trefoil Rieven Glyphs by Steven Skaggs (S491) and Pixels by Rae Missigman (S509)

on our layout with texture paste as well as inks.  These to us were representations of gothic style as well as added the element of abstractness that we were looking to create.

We have represented the abstract mosaic art on the building, using abstract shapes in our layout. When you look at the building from a distance, the art appears as creepers and flowers crawling on the walls. We have hence used ferns and flowers as well in our layering. We have played with Yellow, Orange, Red, and a deeper pink/purple tone, to represent the Sunrise and Sunset.

Gaudi said  "There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature. Therefore, buildings must have no straight lines or sharp corners." We've represented this by having distressed edges on our paper, by breaking the form and curling paper, not having defined corners, and our general form of the layout!

We really hope to have inspired you all and to have done justice in honoring an architect, art and nature!

Sunila & Aditi

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August StencilClub Preview

Hello Stencil Lovers!

Janet here, from Happy Reminders. 

I am apologizing in advance.

 I LOVE THESE STENCILCLUB STENCILS

designed by Mary Beth Shaw exclusively for

StencilClub Members in August!

I am showing you 3 ways I have used them...

that's why I am apologizing!

So Hang in there!

First off, this quickie background....

The middle sized stencil is this really cool swirly doodle...

I used it both positive and negative with sprays and markers...

It gives a really cool pattern with lots of movement! I love that!

The smallest stencil has this hashmarky netting look...

I had so much fun with the PanPastels last week that I did it again.

I used a VersaMark Stamp Pad and blended the

Pthalo Green Shade and Hansa Yellow.

Very Fun!  

Next is my Daily #15 cover.

I had used the Medium Damask stencil when I did the Craft Hoarders Challenge  last month.

I wasn't sure how much would end up showing when I was done but I plowed ahead anyways...

I love the swirly doodle...it reminds me of a galaxy...

So that is where I started...

I began layering the swirly in a random fashion

Everything changed when I used the Golden Brand Veridian Green Hue paint.

It became my Green Galaxy...

But I liked it...So there it stayed.

I added depth and contrast with metallic dots and splatters!

I Love It!

I also stamped some texture in there around the edges...

a big polka dot stamp and a graph paper stamp...

And Lastly...How would I use these stencils in my Daily????

Just like this.....

The biggest stencil in the collection is kind of gridded and map-like.

I rubbed brown StazOn Ink through it

 and doodled and colored different sections.

I like it!!!

Have fun with your StencilClub stencils!

 I can't wait to see what y'all come up with!

Happy Stencilling!