Make Stenciled Fall Leaves and Clear Art Journal Pages with Michelle Schenker

Hello Stencil and Art Journaling Fans,

My name is Michelle (@michelle.schenker.art on Instagram), and I am a mixed-media and watercolor artist who loves exploring nature and incorporating it into my art. So, it's probably no surprise that I would go in my backyard to pick up leaves to add to my art journal! 

StencilGirl® Stencil:

• Woodland Creatures #1 by Margaret Peot
• Woodland Creatures #2 by Margaret Peot
• Organic Zen Circles Stencil by Jamie Fingal
• Autumn Leaves by Lucy Duclos

Other Supplies:

• Art Journal
• Acrylic Paint (3-6 complementary colors)
• Makeup Sponge
• Mod Podge (I used Gloss, but you could use whatever finish you prefer)
• Paintbrush (to apply sealing medium)
• Drying Rack/Surface
• Clear Packing Tape
• Scissors

How To Stencil on Leaves:

Step 1:

Collect fresh, non-dried-out leaves. Select different tree types and leaf shapes. If any are changing colors for fall, those make great choices too, so long as they are still supple. Make sure you are ready to get to work within an hour or two of gathering your leaves.

Step 2:

Select your acrylic paint color palette. I went with fall colors, but you can choose whatever you like. I recommend using 3 to 6 colors. 

Step 3:

Choose the stencils you want to use. I used a variety of wildlife and geographic designs (listed and linked above). Apply paint with a sponge. Let dry.

Step 4:

Once dry, you can add a second design in another color over top, if you wish. I found a nice effect by applying a geographic design in a subtle background color and letting it dry. Then add a wildlife design over top in a high-contrast color. 

Step 5:

Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for each leaf on both sides.  Feel free to vary the colors or even the stencil design if you want a variation on the theme for each one. Let dry.

Step 6:

Once the leaves are dry on both sides, paint on a generous amount of Mod Podge or a Sealing Medium of your choice over both sides to seal in moisture (minimizes crinkly leaves and mold). Let dry on a rack so you can remove the leaves without them sticking to the surface.

Step 7:

Once all leaves are dry on both sides, it's time to move on to the journal portion of this project.  

How To Create a Clear Journal Page:

Step 8:

Open your art journal and select a page. Next, you will carefully tear or cut off all but 20% of the width from the spine (see blue markup in image below). You can discard the portion you removed or keep it for another project. 

Step 9:

Tear a piece of clear packing tape about 3 inches taller than your remaining art journal page. Place it behind the remaining page portion so the sticky side faces up toward you, with some on both the journal page and beyond. Then tear more pieces to approximately the same length and apply with the sticky side up again, overlapping the initial piece of tape by 1/4" or so. Continue this until you have just exceeded the width you want for your clear journal page (I normally like it just inside the width of my other journal pages). Try to avoid too many fingerprints on the tape that will become your journal page.

Watch this video to its finish to see the full process. It is extremely hard to see in photos since the tape is clear.

Step 10:

Carefully lay your stenciled leaves (must be dry) in the layout you desire on the sticky tape. You can also add words, glitter, etc., but keep in mind that the front and back of whatever you include will become a part of your journal. Once you are happy with the design, press it down firmly. 

Step 11:

Tear off more pieces of tape the same length as the original pieces and place them over your leaf design to seal it. Continue overlapping slightly, as you did in Step 9, until you reach the edge. It's okay to go past your intended page width with the tape, as you will cut it down in the next step. 

Step 12:

Cut your sealed page down to the size you wish it to be in your journal. 

How fun was that?!? And look what we just made together! If you decide to make any part of this project, please tag me on your social media posts (links below) - I'd love to see what you make! 

All the best,

Michelle Schenker

Michelle Schenker's website | Instagram | Facebook

Etsy | YouTube | Pinterest

Create a Dimensional Garden Labyrinth with Modeling Paste

Hi, my friends! I'm Consie Sindet and this is my first post for StencilGirl®. I'm a mixed media artist that loves playing with supplies, experimenting in my art journals, and delighting in sharing what I come up with!

I'm a big fan of being outdoors and walking a local labyrinth in my town. I find the experience to be very meditative. However, sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate! Today, I wanted to share with you how to create a finger labyrinth in your art journal so you can always "walk" the labyrinth anytime you want.

BTW...I made a video of the process which you can find at the bottom of this post.

Let's start with the supplies:

Ceremonial Labyrinth stencil #2 by Cynthia Silveri: M228

Leafy Doodle Verge stencil/mask by Valerie Sjodin: S714

ATC Mixup Evan stencil by Jennifer Evans: L654

ATC Mixup Apter stencil by Seth Apter: L664

Watercolors

Makeup sponges

Modeling paste

Palette knife

Inktense pencils

White paint pen

The first thing I did was to create a background of mossy rocks to anchor my garden using a variety of green watercolors and a makeup sponge. The ATC Mixup Apter stencil by Seth Apter: L664 had a few different size circles that I could use to add a layered look to the page.

I then applied modeling paste with a palette knife to form my garden and labyrinth. I used the Leafy Doodle Verge stencil/mask by Valerie Sjodin: S714 to add the trees and foliage that I have at my actual labyrinth and the ATC Mixup Evan stencil by Jennifer Evans: L654 to add the garden on the bottom of the page to represent the flowers that grow in the surrounding woods. 

After I applied the paste through the Ceremonial Labyrinth stencil #2 by Cynthia Silveri: M228, I went back in to fill in the sections that were not covered by the bridges in the stencil. I wanted to have the walls as a single piece. Because I was adding the paste without a stencil, the finished texture had a wonderful rough stone feel about it!

A quick note: I don't as a rule clean my stencils except when using modeling paste. I did clean each of these stencils right after using them and allowed the modeling paste to dry with each layer on my page so I didn't pull up what I had already put down when I used the next stencil. 

Once all of the paste was dry, the next step was to add watercolor over all of the raised sections. I used a dry-ish brush to apply the paint. It is not really possible to drybrush with watercolor as you need moisture to get the paint to move! However, if you use as little water as possible, you can get the paint to catch on the modeling paste and not as much of the background paper. A light touch and layering works better than trying to get the color to cover all in one go.

After the watercolor had dried, I went in with my Inktense pencils to add more depth to all of the sections. Feel free to use watercolor pencils, water-soluble crayons, or any other supply you want to experiment with! I used the pencils to add shading to get all of the garden elements to really pop off the page. 

Most of the shading was done on the modeling paste itself. However, with the labyrinth, I wanted that to stand out the most. So, I shaded around the outside of the paste to really give it a raise stone wall look.

The final touches included a few highlights with a white paint pen on the flower petals and the labyrinth, and some splatters using the Indigo Inktense pencil. Now the labyrinth is ready to use whenever I need a meditative minute or two in my day!

I would love to see what you create using these stencils! You can tag me on Instagram and find me in the following spaces!

Website: AtopSerenityHill.com

Instagram: @consie_atopserenityhill

YouTube: @ConsieSindet

The Creative Playground membership

Introducing Vintage Gardens from Rae Missigman

As she so often does, Rae was greatly inspired after days of study and sketching in a botanical garden that boasts a rich history of the local flora. Learning that many of the plants and flowers she studied had ancient roots in neighborhood gardens, and drawn to the delicious assortment of shapes and sizes of both the floral and non-flowering beauties, Rae was prompted to create a peek inside the gardens of the past.

The Leafy Garden Mask was inspired by the abundance of rich green ferns, vines and ornamentals studied at a local botanical garden that Rae Missigman frequently visits near her home in Florida. The gardens enormous collection of non-flowering plants was the seed behind this leafy beauty.

This mask, paired with watercolor, creates lovely and fluid garden backgrounds. It would also be perfect for creating the peek-a-boo layers of a vintage garden. A gel plate and assorted mixed mediums make layering quick and easy. These stencils and masks would also be wonderful for use with inks, which when mixed with masks can create beautiful fluid lines and brilliantly unpredictable results.

The Vintage Camellia stencil and mask was inspired by the layers of ruffled petals, delicate stalk-like stamens and large glossy leaves of this antebellum age flower. Upon closer study, Rae found that each heavy bloom was a festival of intricate shapes that changed into something new with each rotation of the stem. 

This stencil would be wonderful to use with watercolor paint to create soft ethereal florals, while the mask would be perfect for creating the peek-a-boo layers of a vintage garden. A gel plate and assorted mixed mediums make layering quick and easy. These stencils and masks would also be wonderful for use with inks, which when mixed with masks can create beautiful fluid lines and brilliantly unpredictable results.

The Vintage Tickseed stencil and mask was inspired by this delicate blooms jagged edged petals and seed like center. First drawn it’s variegated colors Rae soon learned that up close, this bloom curved it’s florets this way and that begging to be seen. Long sturdy stems supported more curved ball like buds that made the entire cluster of flowers a riot of color and lines.

This stencil would be wonderful to use with watercolor paint to create soft ethereal florals, while the mask would be perfect for creating the peek-a-boo layers of a vintage garden. A gel plate and assorted mixed mediums make layering quick and easy. These stencils and masks would also be wonderful for use with inks, which when mixed with masks can create beautiful fluid lines and brilliantly unpredictable results.

The Vintage Coneflower stencil and mask was inspired by the vibrant drooping petals of this endangered native wildflower. While it’s cascading petals are what attracts most flower lovers, Rae, fascinated by the disk florets at the center of this bloom, gave these bud like centers a special place on this stencil and mask, making it perfect for adding buds to all of your floral stenciling.

This stencil would be wonderful to use with watercolor paint to create soft ethereal florals, while the mask would be perfect for creating the peek-a-boo layers of a vintage garden. A gel plate and assorted mixed mediums make layering quick and easy. These stencils and masks would also be wonderful for use with inks, which when mixed with masks can create beautiful fluid lines and brilliantly unpredictable results.

Rae's stencils are available now at stencilgirlproducts.com

Lucie is Back with Some Great New Designs!

Autumn Leaves

Can you ever have too many leaves? This botanical stencil by Lucie Duclos features 12 whimsical leaves of different shapes and sizes. You can create an allover pattern with one or multiple leaves or pile up layers on a gelatin plate. Use them in your journal, as an accent in your mixed media artwork or to fussy cut loose leaves to add to your collages.

Sashiko Stitches

This stencil by Lucie Duclos is the perfect way to add a touch of stitching to your artwork without using a needle and thread. Featuring 6 different stitches, they are great at connecting different areas of your artwork the same way you would use stitches in patchwork. Traditionally, Sashiko was used to reinforce expensive clothes to make them last longer. With this stencil, you can add a touch of this wonderful tradition to enhance your artwork.

Shape Collection

This stencil by Lucie Duclos features a wonderful collection of shapes that you can combine in different configurations to create new shapes. Flip, overlap, or mirror, the possibilities are endless! The bold shapes have a mid-century modern block printing vibe and will add a whimsical touch to your artwork.

Lucie's stencils are available now at stencilgirlproducts.com

Get Back to Nature with Trish McKinney's New Stencil Designs!

Trish McKinney's 9"x12" Lacey Leaves & Leafy Weaves stencils are inspired by the beautiful natural texture and patterns of leaves as they grow older on the vine. These stencils can be used abstractly as texture and patterns in your art and also as literal elements to enhance realistic pieces. The bump out is an added plus to create solid leaf shapes to provide an added depth. These stencils pair wonderfully with all of Trish's Wisteria Collection and Branch Collection of stencil designs.

StencilGirl stencils are designed by artists for use in mixed-media, encaustic, fiber arts, paper crafts, and so much more! The 7 mil mylar stencils are thick enough to be durable and long lasting, yet they are thin enough to provide a seamless look in your art. Made in the USA.

Gloriously different floral stencils from 2 designers

Rosette stencil? You bet. Designed by Jennifer Evans 

 A Lemurian garden ATC stencil? Of course. Designed by Linda Edkins Wyatt.

Tutorials? Gladly provided for you by Jennifer and Linda.

Here's Jennifer to introduce her stencils:

Abstract Rosette Stencil, M329, 4" x 4"

Jennifer Evans adores flowers so her Abstract Nature set could not be without a stand-alone the Abstract Rosette Stencil. Perfect for when you want a loose flower or to tuck this mini stencil into your traveling art supplies. 

She how she paints wet on wet watercolor:

Inspired by her own Mid Century Modern Rocks and Leaves Stencil, Jennifer’s new Abstract Natural Sun Stencil was built off shapes you might find in a landscape, the sun, rocks, leaves, and linear elements.

Abstract Natural Sun Stencil, S870, 6" x6"

The Abstract Botanical Grid Stencil was designed by Jennifer Evans for versatility. The series of shapes and lines of the four quadrants may be stenciled, one with a flower, the rest with landscape textures, or you may choose to use the entire design in your art.

“Landscapes to me have a lot of horizontal and vertical lines so I wanted to give you lots of options to use within the same stencil,” Jennifer says.

Abstract Botanical Grid Stencil, S869, 6" x 6"

There are four strips in the Abstract Grid Stencil designed by Jennifer Evans. Each strip is wonderful for mixed media stenciling or you may choose a grouping of elements. The large triangular area is perfect for layering another stencil in your large art on canvas.

Abstract Grid Stencil, L850, 9" x 12"

NATURE TRIAD

Paint the Nature Triad

Additional Supplies:

• Substrate of Choice (I used 9”x12” Watercolor Paper, 140 lb. Cold Press)
• Acrylic Paint
• Plastic Card or Angled Palette Knife
• Water-Soluble Pencils (Jennifer used Derwent InkTense)
• Water-Soluble Pastels (Jennifer used Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Aquarelles)

1. Tone your substrate with the background color of choice. For the dark background, I used Golden Fluid Acrylic Payne’s Gray.
2. Begin stenciling areas of the grid. For the bottom 2/3rds, I used part of the 9”x12” Abstract Grid stencil. For the top 1/3, I used the bottom left quadrant of the 6”x6” Abstract Botanical Grid, the 4”x4” Abstract Rosette, and a portion of the right side of the 6”x6” Abstract Natural Sun. I used a combination of paints including white, warm gray, and light blue to frame the details of each stencil.
3. Add marks by scribbling and coloring with colored pencils and pastels. Introduce greens, blues, purples, and browns by imagining what each vignette would represent in nature. Scrape paint over some areas using a plastic card or palette knife. Don’t worry about whether you’re covering up some of the stenciling. Just have fun and layer color.
4. Allow drying time.
5. To gain definition in any areas of your grid, reposition stencils one at a time and trace openings with a pencil. In some areas, block in color with a topcoat of stenciling to bring back any solid shapes. Use a brush to paint in colorful accents.
6. Trim excess paper. My finished size is 9” wide by 10” high.

Blooming Violet Stencil, M332, 4" x 4"

This sweet Blooming Violet Stencil was developed by Linda Edkins Wyatt from a doodle, reminiscent of the wild violets that grew wild in her childhood yard; seeing them was one of Linda’s first joys of spring.

Blooming Violet is lovely for use with watercolor, in delicate shades of lavender and purple, but it also looks great in all shades of the rainbow.

Lemurian Leaves Stencil, S875, 6" x 6"

"I constantly doodle, and most often, the doodles are leaf shapes," Linda says. "I realized as I was using my first stencil collection, Lemurian Garden, that I lacked small leaves, so I gathered my doodles and created an assortment of leaves to fill the need. The Lemurian Leaves Stencil works with the florals in my new ATC Mix-Up, as well as the Lemurian Garden designs, but they also stand on their own. 

"With a pastel palette, they say Spring and Summer, but with deep greens and red accent, or done in blues with gold and silver, I can also visualize them used for holiday décor and greeting cards."

Linda has been making and trading ATCs for about 15 years, so creating the ATC Mixup was a natural idea.

The designs for her ATC Mixup Stencil sprang from her fabric designs, silkscreens, and hand-carved blocks; she also adapted some of her Lemurian Garden designs to ATC size. Each of the 9 bold or small and subtle motif stands on its own yet combines nicely with each other as well as any in her Lemurian Garden stencil collection. 

Use these designs for fabrics, wrapping paper, home decor, greeting cards, and art quilts. They would be right at home on an art journal page or, of course, as ATCs.

ATC Mixup Stencil - Wyatt, L852, 9" x 12"

Linda combined her new stencils on paper and created this cute book:

Discover all of the latest stencils at StencilGirlProducts.com.