Creating layers ~ a resist background

Hello creative friends,

Tina here, and today it’s all about getting arty on the quick.

Summer is a season I look forward to and a season that allows me to enjoy the outdoors and my garden.

With this additional hobby I find I spend less time at my desk and I feel torn ~ I need my art time and summer is so short 

This quick and easy technique provides a beautiful end result and the satisfaction of getting creatively messy.

For this page I enjoyed using the following stencils:

Crossed Washers created by Andrew Borloz ~ fun fact~ the inspiration came from the bobbin holder of a sewing machine!! 

Vintage Camillia by Rae Missigman and her love for botanicals.

 The Process:

Step 1:

To your desired base add a layer of old book pages - I used modpodge to adhere them and a layer of lightly spread gesso.

Step 2:

Apply a desired layer of paint or multiple colours and place stencil while the paint is still wet place the stencil on top of the area you want to erase and with a baby wipe.

Step 3:

Continue with this process placing the stencil over various part of the paint to create random markings.

Step 4:

Place the floral stencil in the desired area and use black to make it pop.

Step 5:

Tape off the part of the stencil you would like to use for creating further and apply to your page with a contrasting colour. 

Add a phrase that represents you the mood and voila!

Creative fulfillment.

Wishing you all a great summer.

Tina @tinahoisart 

Simple stencilled backgrounds

Hi all,

Niamh here from very wet and windy Tasmania! We are just coming out of winter in the Southern Hemisphere and I am desperately looking for some vibrant colours to brighten up my days. This super simple background made me so happy and very much looking towards Spring! 

I started in my large dylusions journal with laying down scribble sticks in patches all over the page. Any water soluble crayons would work for this (in fact - any bright mediums - I just used scribble sticks). I then water activated the crayons by spritzing over water and (because it's me) blending the colours with my fingers. What you end up with is an almost patchwork background. 

As I am not a fan of very blocky backgrounds, my secret trick is to use a large stencil (in this case: Magic Garden Mask) over the whole surface. This has two benefits, first you have a unifying image over the surface, and secondly, by using white, you can calm down some very crazy backgrounds very quickly. Another reason I used the water-soluble media is because by using white gesso over the top, you end up with patches of pure white, and patches of pastel colours where the pigment mixes with the gesso. This gives you a much softer and more interesting effect.

After I finished stencilling with paint, I added some mark making stamps over the top of the page - while the stencil was still in place. This gives you the effect of just stamping onto the stencilled parts of the image - and creates a bit of a visual brain teaser working out how it was done!

After creating my background - I decided to finish off my page with crazy collage and a quote. It just made me happy, which is one of the benefits of journalling to begin with!

Hope you have a go at doing something similar. It's a blast, plus you can use any stencil you like and you will change to overall effect. Win, win!!! Here is a video of me putting the whole piece together: 

Stencil Used: Magic Garden Mask

Happy Creating,

Niamh

@niamhbaly (IG/YouTube)

@niamhsartjournal (FB)

Anouk (Creanouk): Using Stencils in your Daily Practice

Hello you beautiful artist,

Maintaining a daily art journal practice can be quite a challenge. Sometimes life can get so busy that there isn't any room for hours of playing in your art journal. That's why I like to keep my daily art practice quick and easy.

For me, it’s my health that makes my daily art practice a struggle. On good days I like to take my time to create big layered pieces of art, to join a challenge, or follow a course. But unfortunately, there are periods that my health only allows me to create for 5 to 15 minutes a day. In the past, I would feel so frustrated about only having so little time to create. But in the last year, I have learned that those 5 to 15 minutes are just as important as those long creative sessions.

For me creating is something that nurtures my soul. It's like meditation. It makes me feel good, satisfied, happy, and energetic even when my health is at its worst. So allowing myself to create, even for a few minutes a day, is the greatest gift I have ever given myself.

My daily practice also has a huge effect on my art journaling skills. My art feels so much more free and intuitive!

I like to grab 5 to 15 minutes in the morning to do my daily practice. For this, I'm using an A6 journal. Small journals are great for when you don't have a lot of time. There's no room for overthinking, so it allows you to let go and to really enjoy the process.  My small A6 journal is a place for quick and fun journal spreads. It's a place to play in when I don't have the energy or time to create big spreads. 

For this blog, I like to give you some of my tips for creating in a limited amount of time by sharing the recipes of three pages that I made during my daily practice.

Page 1: Collage

Collage is one of my favorite techniques in the art journaling world. Tearing paper is just so relaxing! In my normal work, I use it a lot in the background to create texture and layers, but in my daily practice, I like to use it more as a focal point.

Having a stash of scraps or collage fodder is really helpful to use in your daily practice when you don't want to spend hours waiting for your modeling paste to dry. The book papers also give your page a nice texture, so it's a win-win!

In my first guest designer blog I shared how I used my extra modeling paste on vintage book papers so I could use it on another page. When you do this on a regular base your pile of collage material will be ready for you when you need it!

Another fun thing to use in your daily journal is your failed Gelli prints. You know, the print that didn't really worked out the way you want to and didn't find the way to the trash can because you couldn't say goodbye. Now is the time to tear it apart and glue it down!

Step 01

Start by gluing down a big piece of book paper with modeling paste.

Marocco rug by Kate Thompson

Step 02

Collage with pieces of your scrap pile.
I used a failed Gelli print with Floral Frolics by Wendy Brightbill,

 a teabag with a and another piece of the book paper with modeling paste.

Step 03

Add some texture.

Fabrics, drywall tape, teabags, washi tape, and cookie packaging are some of my favorite things to add texture.

Step 04

Finish off your page with some ink splatters to create an extra layer of spark and definition.

And add a quote, word, or some random thoughts.

Page 2: Use your stencil as a starting point

Using a rather big stencil for the size of your journal is a great starting point for when you only have a few minutes to spare. To make the process even quicker, clean your dirty stencil on a random page in your art journal. This way you’ll always have a few pages with a starting point in your journal that you can continue working on. Large stencils with a big and bold pattern are magical for this way because they don’t need much more to become a beautiful page.

In my daily art journaling, I like to use mediums and techniques that dry fast. But I’ve become addicted to using watercolors, ecoline, and inks. And as you know those don’t really dry fast. That’s why I have become best friends with my heat gun. Seriously, I don’t know why it took me so long to love this tool. It makes my life so much easier because I don’t have hours to wait for my pages to dry, but I also like how it moves my fluid mediums. Every drop goes on its own adventure and it’s so mesmerizing to watch. So I believe that you can definitely use those pretty intense fluid mediums in your daily short art practice as long as your heat gun is there with you. 

Step 01

Stencil your preferred stencil on the page with acrylics.

Try to use a stencil that can be the focal point as well, or use a big and bold pattern.
Mark Making with Floral Embellishments by Jeanne Oliver

Step 02

Collage on the next page leaving some white space where the stenciling is done.

Step 03

Build up your page by using gesso and acrylics.

Apply the mediums with a pallet knife or a gift card helps to create thin layers that dry quickly.

Step 04

Play around with watercolors, ecoline, and inks.

Use a heat tool to dry it faster.

For the inks, I used Colour Blast ink in walnut.

Step 05

Make some marks using the same stencil as you used as a starting point.

Step 06

Finish off the page by adding some textures using collage materials and a quote.
And of course, ink splatters.

Page 3: Stencilling on transfer paper

I wasn't very familiar with this technique until recently. Here in the Netherlands deli, tissue, and tracing paper isn’t something you see in stores very often. But after I tried to trace a pattern for one of my sewing projects I got a lot of tracing paper scraps that I didn’t want to throw away. So I did what every art journaler would do, I found a way to use it in my art. And here’s the best part, same as for the other techniques that I showed you, you can make a bunch of these papers and use them later!

Another thing that I like is that when you glue these papers down with mod podge or gel medium is that they dry completely transparent. I have a very big love for using napkins in my art, and now I can basically make my own! These papers are great for layering, adding texture, and experimenting with colors. I would encourage you to make a bunch of these papers by using one stencil. You can play with different colors, make a gradient, or create your own pattern by using different pieces of the stencil. When you are done you’ll have your favorite stencil by hand and ready to go when you need them.

Step 01

Stencil on a piece of transfer, deli, or tissue paper.

Bouquet Greenery by Wendy Brightbill

Step 02

Build the foundation of the page by gluing done some collage.

Step 03

Use a pallet knife to add gesso and acrylics.

Step 04

Add more texture by layering teabags on top of the collage.

Step 05

Glue down your paper with mod podge or gel medium.

Step 06

Do I need to write this down? As always 

Finish off the page by adding some textures using collage materials and a quote.

And that's it three quick and fun ways to incorporate your favorite Stencilgirl® stencils in your daily art journal.

Thank you so much for reading my blog post. I hope that I have inspired you to create today! My name is Anouk, or Creanouk on social media, and I'm an all-around creative from the Netherlands. I love art journaling because I can put my heart and soul into it. You can find my work on Instagram and Youtube.

Love & Friendship - "You Can" Affirmation Journal by Claudia Neubacher

Hi, welcome and "Servus!" from Vienna!

Love and Friendship is this month's theme here on the StencilGirl Talk blog and I decided to create a little gift for a beloved friend of mine who needs some love and encouragement as she is going through hard times at the moment. 

I guess we all know how hard times can affect our self-esteem, especially when they have come to stay with us for a while. 

And what makes it worse is the fact that we are surrounded by the media who try to make us believe that we only have to do (and buy!) the right things to always be young, full of energy, healthy, powerful...and perfect. But that's not true. Sometimes we simply cannot control what happens to us - especially when we are taken down by health issues. But as society spreads this wrong belief of us all having full control over our bodies and lives (if we just try and work on it hard enough and do the right things), we tend to blame ourselves if recovery is slow - sometimes we even start to believe that it is our own fault that we have become ill! 

During the last half year or so I have been watching my friend lose all her energy and self-confidence while she has been suffering from a deep depression after a severe nervous breakdown. Been there, done that too - so I know how important it is to have friends that make us feel important and - most important! - not forgotten - even if we have become quiet and have taken a long time-out from being social.
I have also learned that it often helps to keep a journal in which to write down affirmative thoughts, about good moments and small goals we have already achieved on our way back to good health. So I decided to create a "You Can" journal for her that I will give to her when we next meet. 

The idea for this journal's design originated from several beautiful black and white prints from a gel plate printing session in which I used these StencilGirl® stencils:

- Dune Grass

- Ski Lift Works

- Curves

- Deconstructed Zinnia Mask and Stencil

- Wall of Words

- Playtime - Stencil Club Collection, August 2018

The 6''x6'' stencils are my favorite size for gel plate printing as I have a gelli plate of the exact size.

I started out with pulling some plain white and black sheets for backgrounds. I experimented with some other stencils as well, but wasn't content with the results of the prints - but I kept these and simply added a plain white or black layer on top. The result? Backgrounds that already have traces of patterns in them, which is perfect as this provides a lot of depth and interest.

A print done with the Ski Lift Works stencil finished up one of these sheets.

A black background print was used to pull a Zinnia print in white. I used DecoArt Americana Snow White (which is a wonderful liquid acrylic paint) and Lamp Black.

I let the left over white paint from the previous print dry on my Gelli Plate and then added a layer of Lamp Black and pulled another print.

That resulted in a ghost print of the lovely Deconstructed Zinnia. Not crisp enough to be used as a finished paper, but perfect for adding another layer with a different stencil...

...this time the Wall of Words!

And that led to another print that I did the same way as with the second Zinnia print. I simply added Lamp Black on top of the almost dried white paint from the previous print.

As you can see I used another print that I wasn't content with for this.

This time the white layer underneath only transferred partially to my print. So I added one more layer to that result...

For it, I used the fab oval masks from the August 2018 Stencil Club Collection this time.

I love that there's not just (boring) plain black visible with the oval shapes, but also the texture from the Wall of Words letters!

Once I had a lovely little collection of black and white prints I picked six and die cut the Wrapped Journal cover from heavy grey board.

The two spines were painted in Lamp Black DecoArt Americana paint on both sides.

Then I cut the papers to size to glue them to my journal cover.

I have done a short video of this next step. As you will see I have (of course and as always) messed up with one of the text covered prints and glued that on with the wrong side up....*sigh ;)

The journal was finished up by adding a little red heart that I cut from a stenciled paper scrap. I also wrote "YOU CAN" with a fine tip PITT Artist Pen using the Wall of Words stencil again.

The heart was traced with a white gel pen.

Time to insert the two bought notebooks. I changed plans and used some rough white string instead of the black elastic ribbon.

For the journal's closure, I poked a hole into the spine's center (right between the two notebooks) in which I threaded a red leather cord. A simple knot keeps the cord in place.

I made sure the leather cord would be long enough to be wrapped around the closed journal three times.

Another little red heart was added to the covers of the inserted notebooks.

A look on the inside:

I love how the red heart pops from the beautiful black and white background! I didn't go for a colorful design on purpose, because the journal should have a calming look and support an atmosphere of mindfulness. And the lovely Zinnia helps from keeping the black and white design look too sober.

Hugs and happy crafting! 

Claudia

xxx