Carry It: Stenciled Make-Up Pouch by Cheetarah

Hi Stencil Lover, hope you are enjoying the Carry It theme so far. I'm excited to show you the project I made for this theme. In my Mari Kondo clean up of my art room (which is still an ongoing process) I have found a make-up bag that was begging for a do-over, so I did just that and used some of my fave stencils at the moment. 

The is the pouch as it was in its previous form. Love the birds but the colors were not my thing and that's why I never used it. The pouch is made out of sturdy canvas so I took the risk of just using acrylic paint and see how it will hold up over time and use. 

First I gave the pouch a double coating of white Gesso. After that dried I added some colors. 

I used a mixture of turquoise, tangerine and gold to convey the sunset on a beautiful summer day. I really love walks in nature and this stencil at the moment has been my fave to use. 

This is Stencil/Mask L634 - Leafy Tree Arch by Valerie Sjodin. I have used a soft round brush to carefully apply the layers of color to the pouch. Both the front and the back have the same pattern. 

Then I took Carolyn Dube's uplifting words stencil and a dark blue paint color to add the sentiment "Be fearless" to the pouch. It's a reminder to myself really, because at the moment I am experiencing some changes in life that require me to look fear in the eye and be kind to myself in the process. 

And this is what it looks like carried around :) I absolutely love having this reminder with me and I hope it inspired you to "make up" something uplifting for yourself. 

Until the next project! Have a wonderful day!

Cheetarah

Sandee's Artful Celebrations: a meaningful "Meraki" table

Meraki is of Greek origin and means

"Leaving a piece of yourself (your soul, creativity, or love) in your work."

For my project today I visited the Blueridge Humane Society Thrift Store.

Our purchases and donations provide the organization with its principal source of income.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this unfinished little table sitting right outside their front door and quickly grabbed it up, the possibilities were unlimited and I was excited to get started. I even had a warm  chilly-ish day to get started, and as long as I was perched out in the sun and without our usual mountain winds, it was OK.

I kinda knew what I was going to create ( I say kinda cause I really never really know what I am going to do ) and gathered all my StencilGirl® stencils together and laid out my gameplan in my head.

 Do you do sketches before you start or are you like me or are you a

"fly by the seat of your pants" kinda girl like me?

On the top of the table I used:

Journal Words was designed by Traci Bautista

Military Style Stars stencil by June Pfaff Daley

 exclusive August 2017 StencilClub collection, "Second Star to the Right & Straight On 'til Morning" was designed by Mary Nasser 

I also used:

DecoArt Starlight varnish along with their acrylic paints

2 of my very own Rubbermoon stamps: Fairy Bright and Fairy Lovely

Tip:

Let your brushmarks give you extra depth by letting them work for you like I did here by using them to express the moon's radiance. Doesn't hurt either to use a varnish that has sparkles in it either to help give you that celestial ambiance.

On the legs of the table I used:

Sacred Feminine stencil by Carol Wiebe

Clouds & Stars stencil by Valerie Sjodin

I also used parts of the RubberMoon collage sheet and wrapped the edge of the table in their Signature washi tape.

Tip:

To help washi tape stick better to a surface let the paint be your friend. I laid down the tape right over freshly applied paint while it was still tacky and once it dries it really holds the tape securely to your project.

I created a time-lapse video too so you can get a sense of the order of things, although the word "order" should only be loosely used when describing me, lol

"If I could play and dream to inspire with wonder and to imagine my soul as an artist
and just breathe"

I hope you enjoyed my artful celebration with made with meraki 💙

Sandee

What's Old is New Again ... Upcycled Mimco Leather Pouch

Hey there Stencil Fan!

Today I am sharing a project I created as a Thank You gift for a friend of mine.

I took a trip to my local Thrift Shop and scouted around for a clutch or a small handbag that I could upcycle.

I stumbled across this 'knock off' Mimco leather pouch (mimco is an upmarket Australian Fashion Brand) and thought it was perfect!  Cost me a whole AU$3.00.

I started with a coat of clear and white gesso - just to give it a nice surface to build on.

Using a brayer, I added a light coat of grey and blue acrylic paint.

 

I used The Leafy Trees Arch mask by Valerie Sjodin and applied navy paint using a shaving brush on both sides.

I then used the Picasso's Words stencil designed by Carolyn Dube and layered it over the top a little.

I finished it off with some scribble words and done!

Here is a short process video for you.

I am looking forward to gifting this little pouch to my friend ... 

Natalie May

What was old is new again - Bullet Journal/Planner Cover Makeover - with Cheetarah

Hi everyone, it's Cheetarah here and I'm excited to be back on the blog to share a project I made under a new segment which is called "What is old is new again" in which the StencilGirl® Creative Team is asked to pick something up at their local thrift/ second-hand store and give it a new life.

I went to Het Warenhuis which is a thrift store where I live in Leiden, the Netherlands and browsed around when I found something that caught my eye... A discarded notebook cover what was probably used for IT-work segment course. Lately, I am slightly obsessed with notebook covers, I have a variety of those already, but saw real potential to turn this into a jazzed up cover for my Leuchtturm A5 planner. And So I bought it for 50cents(!) and went to work. 

So as you can see the cover went through quite a transformation!
I've filmed the process for you which you can see below: 

I really enjoyed giving this quite boring cover such a successful make-over.
Here are some close-up shots of the cover in use:



It currently holds my Emerald Leuchturm A 5 notebook / daily planner.

I added a transparent folder in the back for loose items and you can see the Einstein quote quite nicely through it. Also I thought it was fun to add this quote as it was a cover specifically for learning/work but now it's transformed to hold my thoughts and idea's which come forth out of my imagination :)

The front and the back of the cover, the swirl patters cane through so nicely with the help of Finnabair Opal Magic paints! And I love the depth the translucent Mettalique paints provided.

This statement on the inside pocket is such a powerful one and it reminds me to be present for all things I am doing and planning to in my life with the help of organizing it in my bullet journal& planner.

The StencilGirl® stencils I used are:

Diamond Dance by Terri Stegmiller

Pen & Ink by Leslie Riley

Uplifting Words by Carolyn Dube

Marbles 6 by Cecilia Swatton

Borderlines - StencilClub

Other products used: DecoArt Media black Gesso & Modeling Paste & Velvet Touch Sealer, Finnabair Opal Magic Paints in rose gold, violet gold, aqua rose, violet aqua, teal rose and green gold, Metalliques in Midnight Sky and Mermaid Teal, Jane Davenport Paint over pen, Permanent black fine liner, a mini foam roller, make up sponge, double sided tape and clear pocket from Avery.

Hope this inspired you to give your notebook cover a new look with the help of awesome StencilGirl® Stencils! Thanks so much for stopping and have an awesome day!

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