How to Create Stunning Watercolor Floods with StencilGirl Stencils and Masks

Welcome back to the StencilGirlTalk Blog! My name is Jane Bellante, and I’m excited to share one of my favorite techniques with you: creating watercolor floods using the Chrysalis Stencil and Mask (L390) by Flora Bowley. This simple, playful method is perfect for creating beautiful backgrounds for your art projects.

Materials You'll Need

• Watercolor paper
• Water cup
• Spray bottle filled with water
• Watercolors (your choice of palette)
• Chrysalis Stencil and Mask (L390) by Flora Bowley
• Paintbrushes

Step 1: Prepare Your Paper

Begin by spraying your watercolor paper with water. This helps the paint flow beautifully across the surface. Choose your favorite colors and start laying them down loosely. For the first design, I used the stencil portion of the Chrysalis set. Don’t worry about precision—this is all about playful experimentation!

   

Step 2: Adding the Stencil

While the paint is still wet, place the stencil portion of the Chrysalis set onto your paper. Use a brush to fill in the stencil with your chosen colors. You can keep the application loose and watery to allow for natural blending and movement within the stencil shape. Once you’re satisfied, let the paper dry completely with the stencil on top.

Step 3: Experimenting with the Mask

For the mask portion, I experimented with a faux-rusty effect. First, lay down your colors as before, then place the mask onto the wet paint. Add more layers of color around the edges of the mask for extra depth. Spray with water to blend and soften the edges. When you’re happy with the coverage, let the paper dry with the mask on top.

Step 4: Adjusting Details After Drying

Once the paint is dry, remove the stencil or mask to reveal your design. If some areas lack definition or clarity, don’t worry! You can always reapply the stencil or mask and add more paint. For my stencil design, I deepened the tones around the stem to enhance visibility (for the stencil flood) while keeping the overall effect soft and vibrant. I also increased the rust tones (for the mask flood).  

Step 5: The Final Reveal

The most exciting step is revealing your finished watercolor floods! Carefully peel away the stencil or mask to uncover the design. If any areas feel too bold, you can easily adjust the colors—this is the beauty of working with watercolor. Add or subtract paint as needed until you’re happy with the final look.

You can watch the full video tutorial right here:

Why I Love Watercolor Floods

Watercolor floods are perfect for creating unique backgrounds for your projects. You can let them dry, store them in your paper stash, and use them whenever inspiration strikes. Their versatility allows you to revisit and modify them even after they’ve dried—perfect for evolving creative ideas!

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Give It a Try!

I hope this tutorial inspires you to experiment with StencilGirl stencils and masks to create your own watercolor floods. This technique is a wonderful way to play, explore, and let your creativity flow.

Thank you for joining me! You can find more of my work at janebellanteart.com.

Happy creating!

xoxo, 

Jane

Inner Dream Houses Stencils by New Designer Rakefet Hadar!

Welcome to StencilGirl Talk!

StencilGirl has a new stencil designer. Rakefet Hadar is a therapist, author, and artist from Israel.

The cluster of houses is Rakefet's most repetitive symbol and it appears in every [art journal] spread she creates.

This symbol is so meaningful and represents her inner child longing to find a home.

In her art, Rakefet deals with issues of the inner child and her need to find a nurturing environment, that allows for happiness and growth.

Eye and Houses Stencil, 9" x 12", L848

Rakefet's InnerDream Houses: Eye Stencil was inspired by her love of the inner eye and house symbols that represent the ongoing search for wholeness. She designed this stencil as a mandala of houses and around a big eye.

Watercolors

You can use the stencil as a whole or use house clusters to enrich your mixed media layers or use half of the stencil to create the focal point of an urban surrounding. This stencil can be used with India inks, acrylics, embossing powders, distress inks, markers, watercolors, and on gelly printing plates. The Inner Dream Houses: Eye Stencil is also great for doodling because you can stamp parts of the stencil and continue it in your own way. 

Tree and Houses Stencil, 12" x 9", L849

Rakefet's InnerDream Houses Tree Stencil was inspired by the connection between people to nature. There are lots of symbols that Rakefet uses in her work- the clusters of houses, the tree, the sun and moon, and the small figures. The tree is a portal to many parallel inner worlds.

The stencil was designed to allow multiple focal points in your art. You can use parts of it from any direction or you can use the entire design. 

Watercolor

Student artwork:

By Orit Svirsky

By Orit Svirsky

Additional Stencil used: Finding My Tribe by Carolyn Dube.

By Anat Tavory

By Anat Tavory

You can read Rakefet's bio and purchase Inner Dream Houses Stencils here.

Mixed Media Pastiche - We Honor Each Other

Hello Friends,

Shel Cee writing to you today :)

Our newest challenge from the StencilGirl® Creative Team was to create mixed media pastiche art. Art made in a way that honors another artist. A fun and creative challenge for sure as we are always developing our own style each time we work. And always hoping and wondering if our personal style shows through in what we do. 

Peg and I discussed what we would like to do for this challenge and we decided that since we work as a duo for the team, we would make art pieces that imitated and honored each other. Peg and I have often collaborated in many different ways throughout the years. We have sent each other materials to create with to see what would happen. We have started an art piece and then sent it to the other person to finish. We have done journal pages in round-robin journals. Currently, we do a YouTube livestream show each week as a duo. However, our styles are not the same. We do not use the same color palette or always grab the same favorite tools. We might do the same prompt challenge at the same time on our show, and our pieces come out completely different! We think this is why we work well together. Not exactly opposite, but not exactly the same either. It is more interesting that way!

So, how do you figure out how to duplicate someone else's artistic style while also honoring it? My take on this idea started with thinking about a color palette. Peg and I constantly joke that I do not like brown as much as she does. Concurrently, she does not favor purple and that is my confessed favorite color. So to figure out Peg's color palette was my first thought. I chose colors I know she likes, brown, golds, green, teal, and a bit of shimmery copper. 

Next, I thought about what are her favorite StencilGirl stencils? Well, I actually know that her #1 go to favorite is the Stone and Mortar designs by MaryBeth Shaw. We both have that design in multiple sizes...it's awesome! I also know that Peg enjoys Seth Apter stencils and she is really in love with a recent StencilClub® design by Rae Missigman. So these were the stencil choices I made. 

Next came the thought of what are Peg's favorite tools or products. I knew for sure the gel plate. Who does not LOVE a gel plate. I also thought about alcohol inks and distress inks. Some of her most used products. Lastly, I looked at Peg's Instagram account photos to pick a theme or motif. I noticed she uses lots of natural elements and seems to enjoy drawing leaves and vines. So, my plan was set! And here is what I made in 'Peg style' on a 5X7 canvas panel. I think it fits right in with her art!

S375 - Stone and Mortar, Version 2 by Mary Beth Shaw 

L185 – Unfinished by Seth Apter

StencilClub Sept. 2020 Modern Botanicals by Rae Missigman 

If you would enjoy watching the process of Shel making this art piece:

Without any discussion or planning, Peg started her pastiche piece exactly the same way as Shel did. She wanted to work in a multi-step way and needed to create printed painterly paper to use for collage. Of course, our favorite way to do that is with a Gel Press Plate.

Once Peg has her pile of collage materials, she broke them down a bit and adds them into a box she can rifle through to find just the piece of color and texture she wants to glue down.

Peg says - Shel has a fantastic method for collage so I am going to utilize her method to create a collaged animal image. I don't even know how many journals, tags, and canvases she has created this way but all of them are stunning. She was doing an animal monthly and many of her abstract pieces are also collage.

Don't you love all that yummy texture created by the paint and stencils? So I use these papers to glue to a piece of deli paper that contains my initial sketch. You can male multiple layers because the deli wrap is easy to see through and trace your drawing. I don't spend much time on this but I want it to be the right size for the substrate.

So it is all glued and collaged with layers and final stenciling to create a cute purple kitty. for complete instruction, you can find the video process here:

StencilClubMash-Up June 2020 by Mary Beth Shaw & Valerie Sjodin

StencilClubMash-Up August 2014 by Mary Beth Shaw

Small and Large Triangles S425 by Andrew Borloz

ATCMixup #1 by Mary Beth Shaw L543

ATC Mixup by Mary Nasser L763

SoulfulScribbles Dots and Dashes L605 by Traci Bautista

Boro S705 by Kristin Williams

Sidewalk2 of Puerto Rico S782 by Mary Beth Shaw

I am always fascinated When Shel Cee starts to glue papers down. I am never quite sure where the process is going to take her. Anyway. I can see influences from all three of these artists in this piece. Seth's layering techniques show up in the background while Mary Beth's love of the geometric and stitching play a part too. I hope you give this process a try. It is a lot of fun! 

Thanks for the visit. Peg

 

Enter Valerie's Mid Century Modern Garden

Valerie Sjodin has new stencils and masks. Look! She decorated a home for bees with two of them! Mid Century Modern and the work of Rex Ray inspired Valerie to draw these elements for use as stencils.

Scroll down and watch the bee box video for spray paint inspiration.

Circles, Lines & Bubbles Mask, G028, 12" x 24"

Use this Organic Circles, Lines & Bubbles Mask to make marvelous journal edges and gel press prints, but it is large enough for furniture decorative applications.

Circles & Lines Large Mask, L800, 12" x 12"

The large Organic Circles and Lines Mask makes a great background, perfect to use with a gel plate, ink, and paint sprays.

Circle Bubbles Stencil Mask, 6" x 6", S794

This Circle Bubbles Stencil Mask is great for making borders and adding bubbles and dots to your journal pages, ATC cards and more.

Mid Century Modern Leaf Whimsy Border Scallop, 12" x 24", G030

Make your walls special with this whimsical stripe and scallop border. Customize it by adding leaf sprouts as desired. The leaf interior shapes can be snipped out for gel press printing. Leaf Whimsy Border Scallop makes it easy.

Mid Century Modern Motif Giant, 12" x 24", G029

Paint furniture, artwork, journals, and more with Mid Century Modern Motif. This whimsical stencil fits nicely on a large gel press and great for painting furniture and large journals, as a background or edges that can be cut to the stencil shape. The organic interior shapes can be snipped out for more gel press printing.

FLOWERS AS TILES:

Flower Tile Stencils and Masks in Small and Mini Versions

Garden Flowers Tile Stencils and Masks by Valerie Sjodin can be repeated our used singularly adding floral beauty to your artwork.

Check out all of Valerie's stencil designs.

Give the Winning Ticket: Stenciled Scratchers DIY

Salutations from Carol. I am glad you are here. Our current theme is Gift It or Grid It. This is mostly about the former, but you will spay a grid stencil in the pic below :)

Let's make some scratchers!



Scratcher Uses: 

• Make a co-worker smile.
• Brighten a friend's day. 
• Stuff in a stocking. 
• Add as a gift tag. 
• Use later as a bookmark or in an art journal.

Why?

• Easy-peasy!
• Kinda Zen to make a bunch all at once - I made 15 in a couple of hours.
• The sheer pleasure of giving.

You'll Need:

• Cardstock cut whatever size you want - Mine are 4" x4".
• Stencils - Seriously, just have a stack handy. I had a plan & then just tossed it.
• Washi Tape
• Pens
• Paints
• Scratcher Stickers - I ran across on Amazon - they come in metallics in different sizes and shapes - who knew?

DIY:

1. Stencil
2. Embellish (Mary Beth is so right when she says adding a little black can make it pop!)
3. Affix sticker.

Tips before you put the scratcher sticker on:

• Take a pic with your phone of the card once it is stenciled.
• Better yet, note the person who gets it on the back!

Actual Stencils in Photos:

Stay in Your Magic StencilClub Set by Nancy Curry (the small stencil)
Now is the Time Small by Carolyn Dube
Tribal Pattern Twirls by Andrew Borloz
Scalloped Border Small Mask by Valerie Sjodin
Trefoil Rieven Glyphs by Steven Skaggs
Night Sky by Leslie Riley
Mark Making by Traci Bautista

Other Stencils Used on the Scratchers:

Centered Circle Small Stencil by Mary Beth Shaw
Music Geek by Sandee Setliff
Twist Lattice by Lizzie Mayne
Rembrandt's Words by Carolyn Dube
Pi by Cat Kerr
Mary Beth's Private Collection 16.4 for StencilClub (the small stencil)
Borderlines StencilClub Set by Seth Apter (the small stencil)
Serendipity Florals by Jennifer Evans (the small stencil)
Circle Up StencilClub Set and Into the Woods club set by Suzi Dennis (the small stencil)

StencilClub sets are exclusive to Club Members. Members can order past sets.

My 3 Current Fave Scratchers:



Thanks for reading my post! I hope you get as much delight making scratchers as I did.

Carol Baxter