Hi everybody! I’m
Debi Adams and I love holidays. With
Valentine’s Day right around the corner (and that means chocolate and that
kinda makes it a holiday right?), I thought it would be fun to create some
Valentine’s cards using of course, stencils! I had some messy adventuring
getting to where I wanted to go (wherever that is) and here is what happened…
These are kind of a modern application to stenciling and
mixed media I suppose, but what I love about experimenting with stencils is
that it all works. It never has to be
done a certain way and everyone gets to add their own twist to their
project. I want to show you how easy
these were to make but remember, you can change it up and make it your way if
you want.
I generally like to choose three colors when creating cards though I
may incorporate several different shades of those colors to add depth. I picked red, pink and green and added black
and white to the mix (non-colors). Begin
by applying gesso to the substrate and when dry, pull those stencils out! (All stencils and supplies are listed at the
bottom of this post). For this project,
use the Straight Stems stencil with green acrylic paint and apply it randomly
in three different places.
Paint big blobs of black paint…
When those dry, come back in and form odd shaped circles
from light and dark pink acrylic colors.
After that, it’s all fill in work. Tulip-like flowers, polka
dots, random repetition markings, cross stitches and heart stencils are all perfect.
I also had to try Seth Apter’s new stamp design because I
love anything postage. It fit right into this piece.
Use distress ink and a blending tool to add a little bit of
color to the background.
Add sentiments over the top of everything to fill it all up.
Lastly, add markings with black and white pens. A gold pen here
and there looks amazing! To me, these
tiny details are the best part. It’s
like decorating the cake. Those details do make a difference.
I was left with a nice piece of patterned paper, so to
speak. Now it’s time to cut it all
apart. All my card bases are 4 ¼” x 5 ½”.
To build this card (this was personally my favorite one), hand-cut
two hearts from the patterned paper. One
is larger than the other so they can be layered together using foam dots.
Before placing them on the watercolor paper card base, do
some random water coloring and flick some of the paint onto the substrate. Once
the paint dries, the Urban Insiders Circles stencil gets applied using gold Finetec
watercolors and your finger or a brush.
(Btw, those paints are amazing!). Hard to see here but add arrows to the
base with a gold pen and then use a black pen to draw the “X’s” and “O’s” using the Cross Stitch stencil. Now add your hearts. Stamp a sentiment in black ink, adhere it to the card and you're finished!
This second card was by far the easiest because the work had
already been done. Cut the stenciled
paper down so it is slightly smaller than the card base, embellish the edge with a
gold marker and adhere it to a mat board cut the same size. Attach both to the card. *TIP: My rule of
thumb for card making is to have a background, a main focal point and a
sentiment. This piece had it all. There’s something to be said about threes in
art.
And how simple is this card? Let me tell you how easy! Adhere the patterned paper onto
the card base. Cut a white cardstock mat slightly smaller than the card base and cut out heart
shapes. You can use die cuts or you can
use an exact-o knife. Either one
works. Doodle around the hearts if you
like then use foam dots to attach the cut out piece to the base. Stamp a
sentiment using white ink onto black cardstock and adhere in place.
For the last card, cut a mat slightly smaller than the card
base from white cardstock. Use distress ink and a blending tool to add polka
dots to the mat. Create an “ombre” look by adding lots of ink to the bottom of
the dotted stencil and gradually go lighter when progressing to the top. Remove stencil and starting at the bottom
again, add color onto the whole mat substrate using a blending tool and ink, heavy on the bottom, getting
lighter in application when approaching the top of mat. Cut a gold piece of paper slightly larger than
the mat and adhere to card base. Adhere dotted cardstock to gold paper. Cut two
hearts from the patterned paper and embellish the edges with a gold pen. Adhere hearts to mat base with adhesive and
foam dots. Stamp sentiment with white
ink onto black strip of paper and adhere in place.
Another look...
Well there you have it.
Like I said, I think it’s a modern twist on stencils but oh so easy. I
would love to do this same idea but with grunge, rust and patina! Ahh! Art.
It’s always fun to play. Thanks for hanging with me today.
XO,
Debi
Supplies:
Stencils by StencilGirl
Other Supplies:
Post Office Rubber Cling Stamps by Seth Apter for Impression
Obsession
Watercolor Paper-Your Choice
Gesso-Liquitex
Pink, Red, Green Acrylic Paint of Your Choice-Naphthol Red Medium by Golden, Rose Pink
by FolkArt and Pink Seashell by Ceramcoat
Black Paint-Little Black Dress by PaperArtsy
Black Stamp Pad- I love Hero Arts Intense Black
White Ink Pad-Hero Arts-Unicorn
Black Permanent Pen-Thin
White Signo Unibal Pen
Gold Paint Pen-DecoColor Premium Prime-Premio
Festive Berries Distress Ink by Tim Holtz
Blending Tool by Tim Holtz
Foam Dots by Scrapbook Adhesives 3-L
Sentiment Stamps-I used Simple Sayings Stamps by Tim Holtz
for Stampers
Anonymous
Gold Finetec Watercolors
Watercolor Brush- I like using a water brush
Mat Board
Gold Paper
White Cardstock-Card Base-Neenah-80 lb. and 110 lb.-Solar
White
