Decorate your own art supplies case with stencils

Hi All,

It's getting to the time of year where I have a few short stay trips to complete. I always travel with my art supplies, but can never find a pencil case that I like - so why not make one!!! I was lucky enough to come by these canvas blank cases in spotlight (an Australian craft store), those of you cleverer than me can probably sew one yourself thought. With a bit of paint and some cools stencils - magic happened!!!

First of all, I gessoed the canvas blank pencil case. This makes it easier to stencil and add paints onto the surface without having to use loads of paint up. I chose to use white gesso - but any would work - you just need to seal the canvas. I would recommend leaving this to dry fully, but I'm impatient and I worked the background warm colours (mustard, blushing, raspberry, tangelo acrylic paint from Dina Wakley) into the damp gesso. This gave a soft look and blended the colours together as well. 

Next I grabbed out a load of mark making stencils (ATC #1 Mixup Missigman Art Marks, Kelp Forest, Random Circles, Circle line stencil mask )and went to town. I stencilled with the colours I used in the background, but as they were going over dry paint rather than damp white gesso, I got a brighter colour contrast. I also used malachite and sapphire paint to contrast the warm colours on the pouch. 

Finally I added some extra marks with posca paint pens and wrote my quote on the front. I used a cool grey alcohol marker to help push the lettering out with a drop shadow and added a white highlight as well. 

Here is a close up of the different patterns stencilled on the pouch and the lettering I added, as well as the stencils I used: 

Stencils - ATC #1 Mixup Missigman Art Marks, Kelp Forest, Random Circles, Circle line stencil mask, 

Have fun creating your own bags, pencil cases, clothing and more!!!

Happy Creating,

Niamh

@niamhbaly (IG/YouTube)

@niamhsartjournal (Facebook)

Guest Designer: Andrea Garvey

Hi, everyone! Andrea Garvey here! I'm so excited to be on the StencilGirl® Talk blog today!

Here's a look into one of my art journal spreads that I created with some of my favorite StencilGirl® products! I love StencilGirl® so much for its quality and variety of designs.

 

When I get ready to create in my art journal, I make sure all my supplies are nearby. Paints, papers, and stencils. I usually don't know how it will look initially, but I have an idea of the theme before I start. 

 

Flowers and bright colors are usually my "go-to," which makes me happiest when I look in my journals. I like to work in layers on canvases when I paint and work that way in my art journals. A lot of magic happens in the layers!

 

I have many different journals that I use, handmade and store-bought, but I especially love Ranger Dylusions journals because of the thickness of the paper – it handles all the wet media like paints and inks!

Materials + Stencils

I listed all the paints I used but feel free to use anything you have handy – any brand or color of acrylic paints will do!

 

Ranger Dylusions Creative Art Journal - Square

 

Acrylic Paints

Nova Blue Green

Nova Carbazole Dioxazine Violet

Nova Titanium White

Nova Cerulean Blue

Nova Fluorescent Magenta

Liquitex Professional Brilliant Blue

 

High Flow + Inks:

Golden Titanium White

Golden Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)

Golden Teal High Flow

Amsterdam Ink Turquoise Blue

(replace any of the high flow with inks)

 

Flower collage materials – magazines, catalogs and laser printouts from my garden photos.

 

Vellum paper

Art Paper scraps

Scissors

Tombow Mono adhesive tape

Uniball white pen

Posca Paint pens in a variety of sizes and colors

(I love pastel colors in 3m and 5m)

Stencil Brush - Royal Stencil 5/8 brush

Sponge Brushes

King Art Original Gold Brushes 

5/8" Angle Shader 

3/8" Angle Shader 

½" Flat 

 

Stencils by StencilGirl®:

Bouquet Greenery 

Tall Flowers 

Soulful Scribbles Dots Dash

Boro 

Travel Note Mini

 

Creating the background:

I love the color blue and thought adding some bright flowers and different StencilGirl® stencils among the layers would be fun!

 

I started this double-page spread with a couple of different blue inks (high flow fluid paints), mixing as I went with a sponge brush. Moving the brush haphazardly to create some interesting marks (this may get covered up, but I like the look of the brush strokes in different directions). 

 

I usually work with multiple sponge brushes on the same page so that everything is not blended perfectly. When things start looking too blended in, I grab a new brush. I am using Amsterdam Turquoise Blue Ink, Golden Phthalo Green Shade High Flow, and Golden Teal High on this layer.

 

Tip: Sometimes, when I don't know what to art journal, I pre-make my backgrounds, and then they are ready to go for another time. Pick some colors you like, grab a few journals, and paint the first layer on a few pages. 

Next, I added in some Nova Dioxazine Violet to make some the blues even darker plus a touch of Golden High Flow White Titanium to create a gorgeous purple to paint over some areas as well.

I usually create rich backgrounds by working tone-on-tone for subtle effects. I used Liquitex Professional Brilliant Blue (a great substitution for Nova paints, especially for those who do not live in the States). Make sure you let the paint dry before moving to your next layer, which won't take long with acrylics.

I'm using Soulful Scribbles Dots Dash for my first stencil, and I am crazy about this stencil as you can cut it up (easier to handle) and have multiple stencils from a large one. I love mark-making, so this stencil is perfect for adding interesting shapes and lines.

 

I mixed up some light blue by adding Nova White Titanium, Brilliant Blue, and White Titanium high flow. More tone on tone! You don't want it to be too thin as it will get under the stencil.

 

I just used parts of the stencil and then repeated it in a few areas.

The second stencil I am using is Boro. I move my brush in a circular pattern with White Titanium Paint (not high flow). Another great stencil for mark-making!

And then I bring in some floral elements - I am using Bouquet Greenery. I love all of Wendy Brightbill's stencils – I am a huge fan of her art. Continuing to work tone-on-tone, I mixed up Nova Blue Green Paint with Nova Violet and High Flow White. I am using a regular brush for this stencil, and I love how dramatic this turned out!

Next, I made collage material from the stencils on different papers. I found an old children's book and a vellum roll in my basket, so I thought I'd try them to see how they look. Changing up colors to pink, I went with a Nova Florescent Magenta straight from the tub!

 

I am using Tall Flowers and Soulful Scribbles Dots Dash. The Tall Flowers remind me of English cottage garden flowers that I love.

I love to experiment on different art papers like vellum or parchment paper; it's so fun to rip and incorporate into my design. I cut close around the tall flowers on the children's book paper and then pulled the vellum into strips. All the collage work is adhered with a Tombow MONO Permanent Adhesive Applicator that I love. I find it not as messy as matte medium, and then I can also tuck in collage pieces underneath.

Magazine and Photo Flower Collage:

I always save gardening catalogs or magazines. My favorite is from Annie Annuals, a great nursery that I order from, and they ship all over the US!

I love to go through magazines and catalogs and find a bunch of flowers I like; even if I don't use them all, I will save them for a different project. I look for bright flowers in all different sizes with a similar angle. Or I take photos of the flowers I want and then get them printed at a local copy place on good stock laser prints (asks for bright premium paper, usually 32 lb. weight). I cut out a bunch at first before picking the final ones I will use.

 

I think about what I want for my next layer and the composition. I love to play around and not tape anything down yet; this helps me know if I need to add anything more to the background. After doing this exercise, I realized I had a big hole in the middle, and I thought one of my favorite stencils would be perfect here! 

Probably one of my most used stencils is Travel Note Mini. I love it so much! I mixed in some Brilliant Blue, Cerulean Blue and Dioxazine Violet and repeated the stencil in a few areas.

And then start adding to tape down all my different flower cutouts. I start with a few of the bigger ones. I love the Tombow tape - you can tuck in the smaller flowers along the edges. I work on both pages simultaneously to get a good balance and then go to the next size down flowers and continue.

 

I felt I needed a bit of green on my pages, so I added some leaves by cutting up some art paper. When I add on my flowers, I tape down about 4-5 and then really look before I start adding more to make sure my composition is looking good.

As I near the finish I realized I need to add in a few more flowers, plus I want to create some brighter areas. I found some old art paper scraps (I never throw these away). I added in some more flowers by cropping a couple over the edges.

It's all about balancing – so keep looking at your spread and see what's missing.

Last but not least, one of my favorite layers is adding details with paint pens and markers! I love white Signo Uniball pens, which are great for making small marks, and perfect for tiny details that could bring this page to life! I use this pen to pull out some of the stencils – it's very meditative and hard to stop.

I have so many different sizes of Posca Pens, but I always seem to choose the same ones. I am crazy about the Pastel Posca Set in 3m or 5m. I always have a scrap piece of paper handy to press down and get the paint flowing. I love adding dots or outlining stencils in different paint pen colors!

This journal spread was so much fun to make – and that's the most important thing. Art journaling is all about having time to create a story or idea with all sorts of art supplies. For me, it's a meditative practice and one I like to do often!

Andrea has a Free mini class on this journal spread called Color Bloom, where you will see every layer and technique that she uses! Enjoy!

And she has also just released her new online art class, Bella Flora, featuring some of her favorite StencilGirl® stencils!

Andrea Garvey

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Pastel Painterly Pizzazz

Hi!  It's Nancy Curry back on the blog.  Last time I was here it was snowy and I was obsessed with b/w hearts, but now I've moved on to channeling the spring that is trying desperately to come.  I do a lot of floral paintings in several mediums and have taught floral painting a few times.  I get a lot of nervousness from people due to the wonky nature of flowers.  They get caught up in trajectory, perspective, shadows, etc.  I've been trying to come up with something that would ease them into creating so they could enjoy it. That's where the seed of this process came from. 

While I totally enjoy the crispness and beautiful imagery that stencil use allows, I sometimes like to push the envelope to enjoy a more painterly outcome.  Sure, you can use paint through the stencil for a perfect effect, but I really enjoy having an under layer of media that is just a guide that I can use or veer off on my own to create a painting.  Using soft pastel as the media base allows me to lose that crispness you would have with a painted underlayer, while mapping a guide for painterly strokes, mark-making, and even some spontaneity.  Along the way, I discovered the mixture of the softer, paint strokes with the harsher pastel strokes really gives me definition.  I'm sure I'll discover more as I journey.  For now, enjoy my recent meanderings.  

 

 

 

Pictured above are most of the materials I used in the video.  I hadn't planned to splatter so the white and black acrylic are not in the picture.  Soft pastels are readily available.  I purchased these from Amazon during the pandemic.  The watercolor paper was a brand called Fluid that comes in a block and the Liquitex products are also readily available online or in big box or art stores.  

As mentioned above, I added some spontaneity to the showcase video with the splatter and the thicker application of paint.  Below you will see the end result from that video. The one below was done before filming with the same colors but heavier use of the clear gesso in the petals so the colors are deeper and more vibrant. Both were made with Peony Blooms by Wendy Brightbill.  As you can see, your options produce varying results. 

 

From the video: splatter & layered paint

Earlier piece with more clear gesso and green variations.

I played around with some different stencils while I was familiarizing myself with this technique.  Two of my floral favorites are below. Jessica Sporn created the "Feeling Groovy" set for StencilClub members and the stencil I used was the 9" x 12" pictured here. This piece was almost exclusively done with clear gesso.  Club members can back order club stencils.  These are definitely keepers.  They worked well for this technique, but I also love them with alcohol inks.  

I also enjoyed playing with Wendy Brightbill's Bouquet Greenery.  There's a lot of negative space to work with so it made the process a little slower filling in the background, but I loved the vast pinkness of it.  

This has definitely been an interesting technique with varying results.  I can't wait to play more and see what else will play nicely with the soft pastels. I sealed all of them with Krylon UV Archival satin (personal choice) and am pleased with the final results.  Thanks for following along with me.  I love to take you all on adventures.  As always, I am happy to be here and certainly hope you'll continue to journey with me here and on my social media.  This page has links to it all.  I'll see you all soon!!!! 

xoxo

Nancy

StencilGirl® Stencils and Spackle by Jane Dunnewold

I’ve used spackle for a number of years. But not just any spackle. Fast ’N Final is a lightweight spackling product that is actually a kissing cousin to gel medium because it is acrylic based. It’s the only product you should use for this stenciling technique, unless you are planning to work on a very stiff substrate. Fast ’N Final is perfect for papers and fabrics that have been stabilized with a backing like craft felt.

As you can see in the picture, spackle is thick, about the consistency of very stiff icing! It spreads easily with a credit card, but I use a small squeegee that we sell on my website.

For this demonstration I am using a large stencil from StencilGirl. This is a particularly good stencil to use because it has a lot of detail, but not a lot of large open areas with little bits that might not lay flat when I squeegee the spackle over the stencil. In general, small, overall patterns are easier to use than large open ones.

For example, in the picture of my StencilGirl expanded square “spider web” stencil, you can see how much the spackle smeared because the large areas were too open and had thin elements that didn’t stay flat when I pulled the squeegee. As much as I adore that stencil, it isn’t a good choice for this, although I could put down a flat layer of spackle and allow it to dry, and then add my stencil on top in paint later. Keep that tip in mind, if you have stencils you would like to use that aren’t a great choice for spackling applications.

Follow steps to make spackling through the stencil easier. The first pull of the squeegee across the stencil should be almost parallel to the surface, as you see in this picture. That helps spread the spackle out on the surface of the stencil.

Once the spackle is spread out on the stencil, hold the squeegee so it is at 90 degrees to the surface, as you see here. Pull the squeegee lightly across the surface to remove excess spackle that’s on top of the stencil. This ensures a complete and even image once the stencil is removed.

Peel the stencil back carefully to reveal the spackled pattern. I didn’t print the entire stencil on this project, because I was planning to work into the image and wanted it to be incomplete.

You can color the spackle with acrylic paint. The more paint you add the less depth you will get when you print the spackle. Add a little paint at a time, especially if you want a tint more than a deeper color.

Stir the spackle and the paint together to mix thoroughly. Print just as you did when using the white spackle. You can see how vivid the color is here, using just a little of the acrylic paint. Don’t worry, though. If the color is too strong or bright, you can always paint over the spackle when it dries, to knock the color back.

I’ve used spackled paper and cardboard pieces in many of the mixed media collages I make. Here are two examples of vase forms I’ve created, with raised patterns, thanks to the stencils. Before they are painted they look like milk glass as you can see in the picture.

Try putting spackle over gelli-plate printed papers and card stock. And remember, you can always paint over the spackle once it dries, because it is an acrylic product. So the coloring options are endless.

In this still life example, made with some of my botanical prints, and collaged with vintage silk embroidery and gold leaf, I used a stencil I cut myself, to apply spackle to the wall behind the vase of flowers. It adds dimension and another level of interest.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind if you would like to try Fast ’N Final with stencils of your own.

•         Remember to lean the squeegee toward the substrate to get the first layer positioned and then straighten the squeegee up to remove extra spackle that might prevent the print from being clean and crisp.

•         Always let spackle dry before coloring or altering.

•         Spackle can be sanded once it’s dry.

•         If you want to apply spackle to fabric, it must be stabilized with some sort of backing. It will chip or flake off if the fabric is too flexible. This is not a suitable process for clothing or fabric that is functional.

•         You cannot sew through spackle with a sewing machine as it will gum up the machine. However you CAN hand stitch it to add details or interest!

•         Never iron over spackle without using a pressing cloth or parchment paper as it could melt onto the iron and make a mess.

•         Clean up tools with water before the spackle dries, as it will ruin anything it dries on.

I was intrigued by the fabric piece that had the bright magenta spackle on it, but I really didn’t like the color. So I decided to try using Inktense blocks on top of the spackle. The trick is to spray the surface lightly with water first, so the color will blend easily.

I was pleased with how it looked so I decided to be daring and add some additional color.

Then I got a wild hair to add a portion of a doily I’d dyed previously. So I used Misty Fuse to fuse the doily to the background. The purple was pretty intense and the stencil pattern ended abruptly, so I got out the stencil and added more spackle.

Once the spackle dried, I added more color with the Inktense blocks to blend the elements together.

I had planned to add stitching to the doily's lace edge, and when I did, and flipped the piece around, it suddenly became a mountain or a cathedral! So I grabbed the lid from my vitamin bottle, and used it to add a circle. I colored in the “sun” with Inktense, and the piece was finally complete.

What I find most joyful in my own work is the spontaneity of discovery. I hope this essay grabs your imagination, and that you have some fun with this! Let us know how it turns out!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my blog post and found it inspiring. If you would like to see more of my work and be entered in a drawing for the artwork I created for the blog, sign up for my newsletter here! Shipping included. Looking forward to connecting with you!

Jane Dunnewold

Jane Dunnewold Studios