Fun with Stencils

Welcome to a new month and a new challenge with Scrap It Girl … Stencils and Masks. I love stencils and I wanted to try them with a variety of mediums, including paint, paste and ink.

I started by coloring a piece of white cardstock in a variety of Distress Ink colors.

Then I used a stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop and Distress Paint to add a bit of chicken wire.

(the blue came off of the stencil. I thought it was just stained, but it came off. I left it there as a little character.)

Next, I used another Crafter’s Workshop Stencil, along with Dreamweaver’s Glossy Black Embossing Paste to add a few weeds.

Then, I punched out a circle and used Distress Ink and a Wendy Vecchi stencil to add the word “Happy”.

I covered chipboard letters with Distress Paint. I used Removable Glue Dots to keep the letters in place while I painted.

Then I adhered the front to a card base, put on the letters and added a few bees from Little B.

It’s bold and it is very different from my usual creations. I am still not sure if I like it or not … what do you think?

Now it’s your turn … create a project with masks or stencils and post it to Scrap It Girl. You could win an amazing collection of prizes! Good luck!

 

Help! They’re Molting!

If you have never noticed a molting chicken, you are in for a treat. They look rather ridiculous as they lose feathers and slowly replace them.

I recorded the event this year on this spread for Linnie Blooms Designs.

For a closer look and to see how I created this page, click here.

 

Sneak Peek from Linnie Blooms

I was asked to be a guest designer for Linnie Blooms in December. I am so excited because this is a new manufacturer who creates fabric shapes, albums and other products perfect for mixed media art.

I wanted to see how Copic markers would work with the muslin cut outs, so I sacrificed one of the shapes as a demo piece.

 

First, I colored the entire shape with a Copic Sketch Marker. I was surprised at how well it colored … there were no streaks and the color blended nicely.

Next, I tried adding a second color. Blending the two colors wasn’t possible, but it colored over the original color well.

I used the Copic Blending Solution pen to create dots on the bird … it worked almost as well as it does on paper!

Finally, I used the air brushing system and a plastic stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop to airbrush a design. It turned out beautifully and none of my colors ran or got muddy.

I’ll be back on Dec. 9 and Dec. 30 to showcase my Guest Designer creations! I can’t wait.

It started with a little inspiration …

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary.

It is a special, and somewhat serious, day for us as we both celebrate our love for each other and remember the most important vow we have ever taken. My husband usually gets me a gift and a card and sometimes flowers. There is often great meaning behind everything he gets for me — yes, he actually looks up what the color of roses mean and what gifts are traditional on specific years. He really does put a lot of thought into it.

Anyhow, I wanted to make him something that let him know how special he is to me. Although CHA products slowed me down and I did not complete the project until yesterday evening, it did not diminish the thought behind the gift.

So, it all began with a little inspiration … this time in the form of some stickers from K & Co.

Although the stickers never actually ended up on my project, I pulled my colors and thoughts from them.

I used the Grand Rectangle Globeframe from Globecraft Memories as the base of my project, but I wanted to include more than just a photo, so I modified it a bit … Here is what I created:

(click on the photo for a larger view)

Basically, I took the back of the frame and the bottom mat and hinged them together. It looks like this inside …

The little “story” I wrote to go inside is filled with references to shipping and sailing. I used Distress Ink to tone down the white of the paper. The lighthouse paper is really old. I’m not sure who made it. The hearts are Piccolo parts I pulled out of card decor set and then enameled with Vintage Copper.

Here’s a look at how the hinges work …

I didn’t have any hinges, so I made these using the Tiny Tags & Tabs die from Tim Holtz/Sizzix. I cut them out of Grungepaper, since it is stronger and allows some flexibility.

Then, I used Piccolo Enamel Powders to cover the Grungepaper. I used Vintage Silver and then a hint of Mossy Glen to replicate algae in the water. I added a few brads so they would look more industrial and less like office supplies.

Now for the front …

The main background is created by applying layers and layers of Distress Stain in several colors: Chipped Sapphire, Broken China, Tumbled Glass, Peeled Paint and Picket Fence. I used spritzes of water and a heat gun and kept going until I thought it looked like the water. Then I spritzed a homemade mix of Perfect Pearls (Gold & Salty Ocean Reinker) in a few spots because sometimes water sparkles.

I wanted to add a fishing net, but I haven’t been able to locate one, so I improvised with the Chicken Wire Crafters Workshop template. I used the Piccolo Enamel Powder Adhesive through the template and then applied Vintage Copper Enamel Powder. It’s shiny, but I think it gives the feeling of a net.

The top mat I wanted to look like a ship, so I embossed it with a Tim Holtz/Sizzix bubble folder and then coated it with Vintage Silver Enamel Powder. Next, I added some Archival ink in black, did a little scraping with my fingernail and a bit of sanding, then some more powder and more ink until I got the look I was going for.

The middle layer, which I attached with Pop Dots, was painted black and then coated with a 50/50 mix of Glastique and water so it was a bit shiny — like the paint used in ships.

I added a few metal hardware parts (stolen from my husband’s tool box) and a metal star from a Bo Bunny accessory set that I thought resembled a starfish. The smaller gear is another Piccolo part, enameled in Temple Stone.

I added a couple more Piccolo gears (one in Brownstone) and a compass sticker (the only thing used from that pack of K & Co. stickers that inspired me) to the bottom corner. The keyhole was needed to balance the project, even though it has nothing to do with a ship. It’s from that same pack of accessories from Bo Bunny. I did add a bit of twine to it, since there is always rope on a ship.

And, my sense of humor forced me to add the little fish in the bottom corner. It, too, is a Piccolo part (enameled in 24K) as is the seaweed next to it (Mossy Glenn). I love to add a cute or unexpected element and what was better than a fish?

To tie it in, I enameled a brass washer (also stolen from my husband) in Vintage Silver to serve as a port-hole. I must warn you, if you enamel metal, be extremely careful when you touch it. It heats up and, depending on the metal, may take a long time to cool — 30 minutes after I heated this washer, it was still warm.

Enjoy the day on or off the water!

Technique Thursday: Crafters Workshop Templates

Technique Thursday is back … a little late, but better late than never, right?!

We took last week off because most of our customers were attending the Great Lakes Mega Meet, a scrapbooking convention in Novi, MI.

And, this week time just seemed to get the better of me, but never fear, I will be at Capture A Memory from 2-6 p.m. today sharing some things you can do with templates from The Crafters Workshop.

These templates have been around for years … I have some that are several years old … but my style has evolved in a way that I am using them now more than ever. As an added bonus, they are not expensive (about $5 for the smaller ones) and they are thin plastic, so they are easy to store. I keep them in their packaging and hang them on the side of my desk.

They come in a variety of styles and designs, but you will see some of my favorites here.

Naturally, you could take a pen or marker and trace the patterns, like any stencil. But, you can also use alcohol ink

or airbrush them with Copic Sketch markers

 

or color them with Distress Ink

or spritz them with Glimmer Mist or Perfect Pearls Mist or use embossing enamel

TIPS:

I use Removeable Glue Dots to help hold the template in place.

If you only want to use a portion of the stencil, use sticky notes or tape to seal off the area you don’t want to use.

Clean the stencils like you would normally with the product used … use hand sanitizer with a high-alcohol content to clean off alcohol inks or Copic markers. Use water to clean off Distress Ink. Use rubber stamp cleaner to clean off permanent inks. Just be careful to rub gently … some of the stencils have tiny parts that may get bent if you scrub too hard.

Don’t be afraid to layer them or go back over the image with rubber stamps for a vintage or shabby chic look.

Have fun!

I hope to see you today from 2-6 p.m. at Capture A Memory in Flint Township.