"Break the Rules" T-shirt by Sue Plumb

Hello Stencil Lover! It's Sue Plumb here today to share my Creative Team project for our "Wearables" theme. I love these sort of themes that push me to create something different to what I would usually do. I am sure we all have lots of amazing stencils in our stash that can be used for purposes beyond our normal use, and creating an item that can be worn is definitely one for me. 

Having thought about this theme, my decision was to create something for my (almost) teenage daughter. When she isn't in her school uniform she tends to live in shorts or jeans and t-shirts. (A bit like me, really.) When I considered what item she would get the most use out of (because I am all about practicality) I decided to do a t-shirt. I knew I could also easily match my design to her personality.

So I began with a plain white t-shirt, placed a sheet of cardboard inside it, and then clipped the t-shirt around it. I then used my 2" wide paint brush and the dry brush method to apply two different colours of acrylic paint to the focal area of the shirt.

Once I had some background colour down, it was time to whip out my stencils. I chose the Not Calling You Back stencil designed by Andrea Matus deMeng. This stencil was inspired by Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall, and it was the sassy look she has that drew me to it immediately (and made it perfect for my daughter!) I used black StazOn ink and a sponge dauber to stencil the image onto the shirt.

I also wanted the shirt to feature some text, so I paired the image with the If You Break All the Rules You Miss All the Fun stencil by Carolyn Dube, which was from the StencilClub release back in August 2018. (The entire set was called The Playtime Collection and was an exclusive for StencilGirl Club members.) I used the same ink and technique as I did for the focal image.

Next it was time to liven up my design, with some additional background detail. I drew on the theme of Hollywood star, and chose the Military Style Star stencil by June Pfaff Daley to add some stars to my background. I used the same ink technique, but this time switched to a teal ink, so that they would coordinate with the paint colour I had used. 

For my next step, I pulled out a white Posca paint pen and used it to add a few highlights to the face and hair. Although they don't really show up in my photos here, it allowed me to colour over some of the paint on the background to help the image pop more from the background.

At this point I thought my design was slightly lacking something, and decided to add some extra background detail in a different colour (purple). I knew my daughter would like the addition of the purple, but I didn't want to add it in such a way as that it would overwhelm the focal point of the design, so I chose one of my all-time favourite stencils - Organized Chaos by Cat Kerr to add the random style dots in amongst the structured shapes of the stars. 

Now I was finally happy with my design and I knew my daughter would be too! It turned out to be the  perfect custom t-shirt for my girl. 

I hope I have inspired you to look at the stencils in your stash a bit differently to see what else you could create to make the best use of them. Sometimes it is fun to get out of our comfort zones, isn't it?

Thanks so much for stopping by today so I could share this with you.

Happy stencilling!

Embellish Your T-Shirts with StencilGirl® Stencils and Inktense Pencils!

Hello everyone my name is Debbie Anderson from Phoenix Arizona and sharing with you my technique for using Derwent Inktense pencils and blocks with StencilGirl® Stencils to decorate a t-shirt!

Materials Needed:

• StencilGirl® Stencils for this project I used 2 Stencils: Doodleit Borders and Normanand Running Horse
• Small Stencil Brush – mine was ¼ inch bristles
• Fabric Medium – I used Martha Stewart brand but any brand will do find this in your craft store in the fabric painting area
• Freezer Paper – 1 piece cut large enough to cover stenciled area of t-shirt
• Cardboard or T-shirt board
• T-shirt – Cotton in white
• Small plastic disposable cup for the stencil medium
• Iron and Ironing board or a towel to protect your counter
• Painters Tape or some low-tack tape
• Inktense pencils and blocks – the colors I used are:
• Pencils - #0900 Iris Blue, #0230 Golden Yellow, #0500 Chili Red
• Blocks- #1720 Tan, #1700 Mustard, #1800 Baked Earth, #2000 Bark

Note: I didn’t have any but if you use a spray temporary adhesive on the stencils it will help keep them in place while stenciling.

Turn the t-shirt inside out and take a piece of Freezer Paper (you can buy a roll at any grocery store).  Place the waxy side down on the inside front of the shirt where you will be stenciling and use an iron to fuse the paper to the shirt. This acts to stabilize the fabric a little so it slips around less when stenciling.

Turn the shirt right side out and place it on a cardboard t-shirt board or a piece of scrap cardboard cut from a box. You can purchase t-shirt boards at craft stores. Look in the fabric painting section. I taped the sleeves to the back to keep them out of the way.

For my design I started with the border, which is all done with Doodleit Borders

Measure out a 12-inch square on the front of the t-shirt and mark the corners with blue painter’s tape from the hardware store. This will help in placing the border.

I taped around one of the square motifs from the center border, this will be placed in the 4 corners. I lined the stencil up with the taped corners and used a little more tape to hold the stencil in place. With a Number 12 stencil brush (1/4-inch bristle diameter) I poured out a small amount of fabric medium. Stencil the motif first with just some fabric medium.

You want the area moist as it makes applying the pencil color easier. Apply this just like you would paint don’t over-do it.

Then I used Inktense pencils to apply color. Just scribble in a little color. I used Iris Blue, Golden yellow and Chili Red.

Then go over the colored areas with the stencil brush again with just a little bit of fabric medium to blend out the color. Blot on paper towels to remove excess fabric medium. Clean the brush on paper towels between colors. Hold the stencil down as you work to keep it from shifting. Fabric will not have as crisp an image as paper will.

Move the stencil to the next corner and repeat until all four corners are done.

Next tape off the border motif on the right side of the stencil. I thought this looked like rope. I positioned it on the t-shirt and stenciled in between the corner motifs. Using the same method, first stencil with fabric medium then add the color. I used an Inktense block color is Baked Earth. Don’t worry if it looks scribbly, your final go-over with the stencil brush will smooth out the color. Use a circular scrubbing motion with the stencil brush held vertically. Finally go back over to smooth the color out. Move the stencil as needed to go around the square.

Here is the t-shirt with the finished border.

Make sure the fabric is dry before proceeding with the center portion.

For the focal design I used Normanand Running Horse

Center the stencil in the middle and use some painters tape to hold the stencil in place.

I followed the same steps go over the area to stencil with just fabric medium, add color with Inktense blocks, smooth out with just a touch more fabric medium on the brush. I used Baked Earth for the mane and Bark for the body.

Once you have all the open areas of the stencil colored, remove the stencil. I filled in the open areas on the horse body with more Baked Earth. Blend all over the horse with the stencil brush with a little bit of fabric medium. Don’t work it too much.

Let the horse dry. Once try to touch (it will depend on your humidity but it takes about 15 minutes here in Arizona). You can leave the design as is or you can add some background color and a shadow as I did. I just took a few of the brown Intkense blocks and added some light lines in the background to indicate ground and a little darker below the horse to indicate shadow. I blended the lines with a bit of fabric medium on the brush (mostly dry brush).

I added a dot of white acrylic paint (applied with a ball stylus) to bring out the eye on the horse.

After everything is dry you can remove the t-shirt from the board.  

The fabric medium will have set the paint into the shirt but just to be sure the colors are set I place a light cloth over stenciled area and use my iron to heat set the color in. No steam and use a cotton setting.

After heat-setting, remove the freezer paper. Any residue left on the shirt will come off in the wash.

You can wash your t-shirt in the regular wash and dry in the dryer. The color is set and does not fade even with many washings.

This technique will work on any cotton fabric. Stenciled kitchen towels would be a lovely gift!

Debbie Anderson

Instagram: debbieanderson8473

Facebook: www.facebook.com/debbie.anderson.940098

Three Projects with StencilGirl® Stencils and Guest Designer Priya Satish

At the outset, I would like to thank StencilGirl® for giving me this great opportunity to work as Guest Designer... a dream came true. I have made 3 projects with 3 different stencils from StencilGirl®. 

Project 1: T-Shirt Painting

For my t-shirt painting I chose to use Andrea Matus deMeng’s Arani, Goddess of Fire Stencil Large.

 I sponge dabbed Fevicryl Fabric Paint Black over the stencil onto the T-shirt. I work a lot on fabrics. This paint is permanent on Fabrics and does not fade or peel even after multiple washes. It just needs 7 days of curing time after which can be washed and ironed on the reverse side to make it permanent.

Project 2: Canvas Mixed Media 

For my second project, I  used Mary Beth Shaw’s Gears Stencil. I'm  fascinated with Steampunk Style designs. I love this stencil so much that I created every element of this project with only this stencil.
I have created a video of the process too so you can view all the techniques that I have used.
I generally love earthy tones and so I have used the same in my art work.

Project 3 - Art Journal
Art Journaling is my personal favorite. It helps me relax and feel positive and stay focused.

It’s about playing with stencils, stamps, colors, patterns, thoughts, elements and bringing out one's personality.

In journaling you can be neat, be messy, be clear or be weird be whatever you want to but ultimately it’s about being you.

Here are the steps I took:

First I marked the background with stamps from my stash and archival inks. 

Next, I added more layers to the background with Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, and Candied Apple through Maria McGuire’s Doodle It Geometric Landscape Stencil.

Then I chose some chippies from Expressions Craft and dyed with Fevicryl Acrylic Crimson Red.

I adhered the chippies to the journal page and added some liquid pearls White Opal.

Finally I added my sentiment.

Hope you liked my projects. Have a great day!!!

Priya Satish