StencilGirl® Coloring Book

Now is probably the time to start thinking about gifts for the festive season. And if you want to make some yourself it is getting quite urgent to start. This year we are all in need of some quiet time to relax, and coloring books (for both adults and children) are a great idea. Very easy to make too. You may even like them so much that you want one for yourself.

This is how I made mine:

1.      Grab a collection of papers. I used a variety of different sorts and sizes: watercolor and deli paper, mixed media paper and handmade sheets, as well as some black cardstock for the cover. You can use as many as you like. Fold the sheets (which can be large and small) in half using a bone folder.

2.      Get out your stencil collection and select the ones you like best. You can use just the one stencil for every page or you can combine several stencils together. StencilGirl® Products has many stencils that combine a wealth of pattern on one stencil. You could make a themed coloring book using for instance flowers, geometric shapes, travel etc. or you can go entirely random with stencils you love as I have done.

3.      With a permanent black marker make patterns on both sides of your pages (apart from one, where only one side needs to be marked). I used the following stencils: the large stencil from the May 2019 StencilClub, Versailles, the large stencil from the July 2017 Club, large stencil from the August 2013 Club, large stencil from the July 2019 Club, Wheel Spokes Set 2, large stencil from the Feb 2019 Club, large stencil from the March 2014 Club, large stencil from the August 2015 Club, Circles Overlapping Filled, Squares and Dots 9, stencil Doodle It Borders.

4.      For demonstration purposes (and because I fancied doing it so much!) I colored in the pages using a variety of markers. This is the time to use those wonderful supplies you bought full of enthusiasm and that have since lingered in the cupboard. I used a mix of Promarkers, Pitt Artist Pens, Sharpie poster paint markers, Sharpie permanent markers, Jane Davenport Mermaid Markers, Tomboy Brush Pens and Stabilo Soft Pencils.

5.      Make your cover. I used a piece of black cardstock that, once folded in half, was about ¼” larger on all sides than the largest folded page.

6.      Randomly spray the outside of the cover with sparkly and mica spray paints.

7.      Using stencil Unconnected Circles and a gold marker outline and then fill in the shapes from the stencil. Then outline with 3 different colors of metallic water-soluble pencils. Activate with a water brush.

8.      Glue on cut-out words and outline as in step 7.

9.      Bind the book in your preferred method. I used a long-arm stapler. Make sure that the sheet you made colored on only one side is the first and last page

10.  Glue the first and large pages to the back of the front and back cover respectively.

© Frieda Oxenham 2020. To see more of Frieda's work, please visit her BLOG.

Mini Wall Hanging by Belen Sotelo

Hi Stencilers, Belen Sotelo here. 

Today is CreativeTeam Tuesday and I'm going to share with you how I used a few of my favorite StencilGirl stencils, and a rectangle Gel Press petite plate to create a mini wall hanging that can easily slip into a 2 1/4 x 3 1/2 coin envelope. This is perfect for tucking into happy mail, slipping inside a greeting card, and even tying onto packages. 

To start out, I gathered an assortment of paint, a brayer, cardstock, my rectangle printing plate and the ATC Mixup Stencil. This is a fantastic stencil that can be left intact, as shown, or cut down to ATC size, so you can add them to your travel art set. 

I very lightly, brayered some paint onto my petite plate and stamped it onto white cardstock. You can do this as many times as you'd like. I stamped 6 rectangles, because that was the number of panels that I wanted in my wall hanging.

I repeated this process a few more times, using various colors of acrylic.

Each time, I brayered the paint onto my gel plate using an very light hand. I wasn't looking for an even solid coat of paint. The gaps is what allows your layers to come through and shine.

Now that I had built up some layers of color it was time to get my stencil on! Using white acrylic, I brayered over the ATC Mixup Stencil, removed the stencil and used my Gel Press plate much like a stamp.

I repeated this process on each of my 6 panels, being sure I varied the placement of the white blocks.

Once I had them all done, I used some black acrylic, another pattern from the ATC Mixup Stencil, Travel Note Mini, and the Repetition Stencil to make the other colors really pop.

To add even more visual interest, I added some stamping to each panel.

After stenciling and stamping comes mark making!

With my panels complete, it was time to trim them down to size.

 

To join them all together, I carefully laid them down onto two rows of media tape, leaving just the tiniest of gaps between each panel, so it would fold nicely. I ended up adding a third strip, right down the middle, but that's optional.

Since I was sending this to a friend and had planned to write her a message on the back, I wanted to give the back some color, but not make it too busy. I used the ATC Mixup Stencil and more of the lighter paint colors, with just a bit of  the darker fuchsia for this.

After giving myself some lines to write my greeting, I punched two holes and tied a small piece of sari ribbon, so that she could hang it in her studio.

For the envelope, again I used ATC Mixup, Travel Note Mini and the Repetition Stencil. I also decided to add some text stickers to the outside.

And since I had added those text stickers to my envelope, I thought my wall hanging needed a few as well. My mini wall hanging was now complete and ready to be sent off to its new home.

 

Thank you for joining me for Team Tuesday. I hope you've enjoyed my post and that I've managed to inspire you get out those stencils and play!

XO, Belen

Creating Unique Coloring Pages with Stencils

Hi! Jessica Sporn here, sharing how I created coloring pages by mixing and matching StencilGirl Stencils.

Here are the materials that I used to create the coloring pages, and my daughter used to start coloring them!

Mechanical Pencil

White Letter Sized Card Stock

Sharpie Fine Point Grip Pens

Faber Castell Pitt Pens

Tombow Dual Brush Markers

Sakura Gel Pens

For my first try at creating a coloring page, I started with Michelle Ward's Sphere's stencil, because of its wide open spaces.  I then filled in some of the open areas with other stencils that echoed Sphere's round lines.  Mary Beth Shaw's Calligraphy, the small Marrakesh repeat in Nathalie Kalbach's Elephant March, and Pam Carrier's Journal Texture stencils worked so well together.

As I got a little bolder, I combined my Jump for Joy stencil with Garden Flowers and Leaves Outlined.  Rather than using smaller stencils to fill the open areas, I doodled in them instead.

This one combines Flora Bowley's Bloom True Stencil and Mask with the Journal Texture stencil and my Lacy Lotus Repeat.    I used a ruler to create the lines inside the lotus, and different widths of pens to created heavier and lighter lines.

Here's a video to help you understand the methods to my madness!

You can also watch Creating Coloring Pages with Stencils on YouTube. 

I hope this post gave you some new ideas for how to mix and match your stencils.

This is a fun way to create "color your own" cards, books, and more.

I look forward to seeing what you create!

Birthday Cards Tutorial

Hi, everyone! Mary Nasser here today to show you what I did with the new Happy Birthday Icons stencil designed by Jessica Sporn!

I have a LOT of loved ones with spring birthdays...

Jessica Sporn's stencil to the rescue!

To begin, I used blue painter's tape to hold the stencil in place on my Mixed Media paper.

With the stencil taped to the paper, I added Sharpie Neon Markers to all the spaces of the stencil image.

Next, I removed the stencil and used a black Identi-Pen

to outline the colorful shapes and fill the negative spaces within the shapes.

The black makes the neon colors POP even more!

I repeated this process with several images from Jessica's stencil.

Using scissors, I cut each image from the sheets of paper.

I folded card stock in half, arranged the images onto the card stock,

then adhered them with Xyron adhesive dots (you could use a glue stick, too).

In no time at all, I had four bright and unique birthday cards...and had a lot of fun in the process, too!

Happy Stenciling and Happy Spring!

Mary C. Nasser

Mixed-Media Map Art

Stencils Used:

Happy Birthday Icons