"Make A Chinoiserie Inspired Accordian House using Stencil Club Stencils 5/26 "In the Wind" by Dee Dee Catron

Some materials carry memory without asking for attention. Maple seed pods—the ones we called “helicopters” growing up—are like that. They drift, they spin, and they show up where you least expect them. Quiet, familiar, and just a little bit playful.

Chinoiserie Inspired Accordian House using "In the Wind" Stencils

This month’s StencilClub set, In The Wind, designed by Dee Dee Catron, captures that same sense of quiet movement. The designs are rooted in nature but feel lifted—suspended mid-air. There are delicate maple seed forms scattered in allover patterns, birds resting on wires in a moment of pause, and one stencil in particular that leans into something more decorative, more historical. A repeating composition of birds, leaves, and branches that immediately called to mind the elegance of Chinoiserie—that Western interpretation of Eastern motifs, filtered through imagination and ornament.

I’m Kim Hamburg, a mixed media collage artist, and when I saw that pattern, I didn’t think “print”—I thought wallpaper. Not the kind you roll onto drywall, but the kind you build slowly, page by page, layer by layer, until it becomes something you can hold.

The House That Unfolds

This project became an accordion book shaped like a row of houses—something that feels both architectural and intimate, like a street you’ve walked a hundred times.

To begin, I cut six pieces of 4x6" cardstock into simple house shapes. There’s no template here—just trim a triangle off each side of the top edge until it resembles a roofline. Imperfect is better. You can make as many houses as you like, depending on how long you want your book to stretch.

4" x 6''    Cut Paper Pieces

Cut Each Piece into a House Shape then Paint with Solid Color

Each house was painted with a beige chalk paint—a quiet, neutral ground. I wanted something that would echo aged walls, the kind that have absorbed years of light and shadow. Once dry, I used a lighter tone and a sponge (or foam) brush to apply the Chinoiserie-inspired stencil. Not perfectly. Not evenly. Just enough to suggest wallpaper that has lived a little.

Then came the contrast. Using black acrylic paint and a blending brush, I added the “birds on a wire” stencil—carefully placing it only along the top or bottom edges of each house. It acts as a visual anchor, a horizon line of sorts, holding the softness of the background in place.

Once everything dried, I edged each house lightly with black paint. This step is subtle but important—it defines the shape, gives it structure, and makes each piece feel finished.

Building the Book

The construction is where it all comes together—literally.

Linen Fabric Hinge (double sided tape)

I used double-stick tape (I used the Gorilla brand) and strips of linen fabric to hinge the houses together. Tape one side of the fabric to the back edge of a house, then attach the next house using the exposed adhesive. Repeat this process until all the houses are connected in a continuous accordion.

The fabric hinge gives the structure flexibility and durability, allowing the book to expand and contract with ease. It also introduces a softness—a tactile contrast to the painted surfaces.

The Story in the Details

Once assembled, the real work begins—the part that turns structure into story.

I collaged windows, fragments of imagery, and small details onto each house. A suggestion of life inside. A glimpse of narrative without explanation. I added marks—lines, scribbles, gestures that feel almost like handwriting, though they say nothing specific.

Adding Collage Elements like windows and doors

That’s the beauty of these accordion books: they’re endlessly adaptable. I’ve seen them filled with photographs, layered with fabric, even used as visual journals. Each page can hold its own moment, or contribute to a larger rhythm across the whole piece.

And like those maple “helicopters,” the work doesn’t land in one fixed place. It moves—through memory, through interpretation, through the viewer’s own experience.

All done!

Supplies

• May 2026 Stencil Club Stencil Set by Dee Dee Catron, "In The Wind"
• 4x6" cardstock (6 pieces, or more) 
• Scissors
• Double-stick tape (I used Gorilla brand)
• Scrap fabric (I used linen)
• Acrylic paint and/or chalk paint
• Blender brush and/or foam (sponge) brush
• Collage elements (vintage papers, imagery, ephemera)
• Glue

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In The Wind is available exclusively to StencilClub members who join by May 15, 2026, and will ship the day you join. Membership includes 25% off all regular collection stencils, a project and PDF from the featured artist, and an additional members-only project from me.

Follow Dee Dee Catron on Instagram @deedeecatron
Explore more at @stencilgirl_products and www.stencilgirlproducts.com
Join StencilClub here: www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencilclub

If you make your own version of this accordion house, I’d love to see where it takes you. Tag me on Instagram @gluepaperscissors_ and share your work—because every house, every page, every mark tells a different story.

Add the Beauty of Nature to your Art with these New Designs from Margaret Peot

Margaret has created 3 step by step tutorials for you using her new designs.  Be sure to scroll to the end and bookmark this page so you can reference it later. 

Backyard Birds - L975

Everyone has a favorite bird that comes to their backyard feeder. What’s yours? Here are nine of my favorites: Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Goldfinch, Junco, Eastern Bluebird, Tufted Titmouse, and the Ruby-Crested Kinglet. These can be used as a printed pattern, but I think they are most fun cut into nine individual bird stencils. Use them for ATCs or to add a bird to a landscape, to a journal, or to make cards or prints for family and friends.

Dandelions and Lilies - L976

A friend showed me a dandelion blossom gone to seed and asked, “Do you see  the end of a flower or a potential wish?” This stencil is inspired, like my Tall Flowers stencil and Marsh Flowers, by the flowers I grew up picking along the fence row in Ohio: mallow, flax, painted daisies, and dandelions. This makes a good border in a journal, a cheerful edge along a tablecloth, and is varied enough to make a tangled meadow painting.

Learn the steps Margaret took to make this below.

Dogwood Blossoms - L977

These Dogwood Blossoms are in full bloom on delicate branches with small spring leaves just starting. This stencil is inspired by the dogwood trees that have bloomed lavishly this spring in New York after being frozen out last year. I love the way the petals are shaped, and that the flowers face up towards the sky.

Learn the steps Margaret took to make this below.

Bees - L978

Bees as pollinators are so important in our lives. This stencil was inspired by seeing an open glass hive at the NY Botanical Garden’s Bee Festival. The stencil is a combination of different bees, as well as tiny flowers and graphic honeycomb-like designs. The bees can be used individually, or the stencil can be used to print an allover pattern on a tea towel or perhaps a gardener’s apron.

Learn the steps Margaret took to make this below.

Margaret's stencils are available now at stencilgirlproducts.com

The Tutorials

Dandelions and Lilies Tutorial 

I want to use the 9 x 12 Dandelions and Lilies stencil to create a painting that would look like the tangled meadow where I might have picked flowers as a kid. You can use these same techniques to create a moody journal page. I started by using ink, Ranger sprays and some spattered rubbing alcohol to make a textured background on a half-sheet of Rives BFK paper.

I added a paper horizon mask and sprayed a dark teal ink through the Dandelions and Lilies stencil, and let this dry.

Then I used semi-opaque Kuretake watercolors and a brush to add some colored flowers and foliage to the foreground.

I removed the horizon mask and added a couple more flowers to the foreground, and some more bright cream dandelion fluff here and there.

I drew into the painting with a Kuretake fine line pen and added iridescent green to finish the scene.

Dogwood Tutorial

I want to use the 9 x 12 Dogwood Blossom stencil to create a painting that would look like dogwood blossoms by streetlight—the way the flowers seem to glow in the night. I started by using ink and Ranger sprays to make a textured background on a half-sheet of Rives BFK paper.

Then I sprayed Ranger Distress Resist Spray through the Dogwood Blossom stencil, and let that dry.

After the Resist Spray dried, I sprayed it with a deep blue-black water based ink, and wiped the resist areas clean with a paper towel.

Using that same dark blue ink, I added some branches with a brush and the Dogwood Blossom stencil.

Then, I added some shadow branches and flowers with the dark blue ink spray.

Now for the fun part—adding the glowing white flowers! Using white and gold gouache, I added white and cream-colored flowers with gold centers to my nighttime scene

And some more flowers as well as a delicate branch.

Bees Tutorial

I wanted to use the 9x12 Bee stencil to create a stand-alone artwork. I started by using ink and Ranger sprays to make a textured background on a half-sheet of Rives BFK paper.

I cut a sunflower stencil with scissors and used it with Ranger Distress Resist Spray as well as a Ranger Spray Ink to lay in some sunflower blossom shapes. I unscrewed the top of the Resist spray and sprinkled some resist stuff across the surface of the paper, and let this dry before proceeding.

Using Kuretake watercolors, I added black, raw umber and gold through the Bee stencil.

And then with a small brush, painted some additional yellow and gold into the bee body stripes.

I decided to draw into the painting, using a Kuretake fine line pen to add detail to the sunflowers, as well as some vertical stems and leaves.

And then using a cerulean blue Prismacolor pencil, pushed and pulled the warm background of the bee painting.

I cut a little texture stencil to add some iridescent blue texture to the background, and also some gold texture to the sunflowers.