A Season for Flowers -- with Generous Help from Sherry Canino!

It had been awhile since I'd used spray paint with stencils or masks.

Time to do it again!  For today's project, I chose one of the new releases of April 25 -- Mikki's Flowers Mask.

The first and third greeting cards below are near-twins; all three were made the same way.  The watercolor sprays gave me the muted, subtle finish that I'd been looking for.

The middle card below was actually my first.  But I was too heavy-handed on the spray paints with this one!  So, with decorative-edge scissors, I cut out the part that was salvageable; used a gluestick to mount it to a dark green background; and with that gluestick, added the combination to the cover of a greeting card blank (JAMPaper.com.)

Artist Sherry Canino did the art journal spreads below, using a 6" x 6" stencil of mine, Swatton Flowers Version 1.

Sherry also used Carolyn Dube's stencil The Dance of This Life.

You can spend more delightful time with Sherry here ... and here.

If visiting the Finger Lakes area of upstate NY, you can enjoy a visit to Sherry's store, Canino's Artistic Cafe -- 106 Metropolitan Park Drive, Liverpool, NY -- and take advantage of the workshops offered there.

Many thanks, Sherry, for letting me re-post your work here!

And a hearty thanks to everyone visiting this blog today!

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils, please check here.

More 3D Art -- with Janet Joehlin and LOOPY LADDERS Stencil

A few months ago, in a now-ended blog hop at StencilGirl Talk, Janet Joehlin used my 9" x 12" stencil Loopy Ladders in making this unique brush holder --

Following this link for StencilGirl Talk, you can read all about her process; she included step-by-step photos.

Loopy Ladders in its entirety looks like this --

For this project, Janet did what I often do -- she cut the stencil to make a strip of the right size to fit around her substrate.  Kudos to you, Janet!

Thanks for visiting here today!

To see the multiple pages of my stencils, please check here.

Please subscribe to StencilGirl Talk so you won't miss out on future blog hops; you may end up winning a prize!  


And/or you can keep current on all upcoming StencilGirl blog hops and their giveaways by checking here. 

Using EtchAll Products to Make 3D Artwork with Stencils!--Art by Debi Adams

A few months ago, in a now-ended blog hop, Nosegay Stencil (9" x 12") was one of the StencilGirl.com stencils used by artist Debi Adams, in making this gorgeous 3-dimensional artwork --

Debi's artwork here really showcases the beauty that can be achieved by using stencils for etching on glass!  Check out Etchall.com!   

 Thanks for visiting here today!

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils, please check here.

Please subscribe to StencilGirl Talk so you won't miss out on future blog hops; you may end up winning a prize!  


And/or you can keep current on all upcoming StencilGirl blog hops and their giveaways by checking here. 

MIKKI'S FLOWERS 6" x 6" Stencils

One idea leads to another; I've been on a roll with my new 6" x 6"stencil Mikki's Flowers.  New greeting cards are today's focus ....

The greeting card above shows a double-print.  First I covered an old encyclopedia page with translucent purple acrylic paint.  After that dried, I used Mikki's Flowers with a darker purple paint.  Following a little more drying time, I came back to use heavy-body white acrylic paint thru the same stencil.  Once that layer had dried, I used Pan Pastels to add color to the flowers and leaves.

For the card below, I used the same white paint and stencil to make a print atop an earlier print.  The earlier, green print had been made with another 6" x 6" stencil, Ski Lift Works.

Still using white paint and Mikki's Flowers, I made a print on an old blue monoprint.  This monoprint had a white area across the bottom; I wanted to experiment to see what it would look like to have the flower stems leading down into overall white.  After adding the monoprint to the greeting card, I decided to use glitter glue to add a wavy frame.

The greeting card above was made on a blue-to-green background paper.  After the white-painted stenciled print had dried, I used Pan Pastels to add color to the flowers.

The stencil Ski Lift Works looks like this--

Today's cards were made on greeting card blanks measuring 5 3/4" x 5 3/4".  These blanks came from JAMPaper.com, which also sells 6" x 6" envelopes.

When I first started using card blanks that worked well with my 6" x 6" stencils, white metallic card blanks of this size were available at JAMPaper.  All of their metallic blank cards (like the blue ones appearing in today's post) are beautiful, but white had been my favorite.

Now that JAMPaper no longer makes this size in white, I've decided to try white card blanks by lcipaper.com.  LCI offers two white blanks, one measuring about 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" -- a little too small to go with some of my stencils -- and 6 1/4" x 6 1/4".  They sell 6 1/2" x 6 1/2"envelopes for these cards.

Both types of cards require additional postage.  I use two first-class Forever stamps on each envelope; this does the trick.

I haven't yet received my order from LCI but I look forward to trying these new-to-me cards; they are made from 150-lb. cardstock, which will be the heaviest I've ever used.  Long ago, when I used 5" x 7" cards, they were cut from 140-lb. watercolor paper.  I like working on heavy cardstock since it can take a lot of treatments, including 3-dimensional stencil-prints made with light modeling paste.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

To see the pages of my full line of StencilGirl stencils and masks, please go here. 

BUDS Stencil

Today, I've used the 9" x 12" stencil Buds to make a full-page print; my substrate was a sheet of "catch-all" painted paper...

... then, I cut out part of the print, using Fiskars decorative-edge scissors, and used it in a collage on the cover of this greeting card --

"Catch-all" paper is what I call sheets of newsprint that I use for removing excess acrylic paint from my brush, before placing the brush into water.  This minimizes the amount of acrylic paint that ends up being washed down the drain...which is bad for the environment.

I save my "catch-all" papers for use as backgrounds, as today's post shows.

Buds stencil, in its entirety, looks like this--

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

To see the multiple pages of my stencils, please check here.

PRAYER FLAGS (9" x 12") Stencil with OSPREY WINGS Stencil (6" x 6")

Two stencils were used in making this art on stretched canvas --

Background areas across the painting were created with Prayer Flags (9" x 12") ...

... and the focal area was developed with a mask I'd made using my 6" x 6" stencil Osprey Wings --

It's easy to make a temporary mask with a silhouette stencil like this one.  I simply placed the stencil atop a sheet of sturdy cardstock and, with a fine-tip pen, traced along the edges of the top Osprey above.  

To cut out the shape, I used fine-detail scissors by Fiskars.  However, for fine-detail work (such as the wing edges), some artists prefer using Exacto knives and cutting mats.

After cutting out my temporary mask, I created my focal point, placing it on the canvas and, with a Sofft Sponge, daubing acrylic paints around it.

Thanks for visiting here today!

To see the multiple pages of my stencils, please check here.

Artist Sherry Canino and FEATHERS 9 " x 12") Stencil

Sherry Canino, an artist with an art supply store in the Finger Lakes area of New York state --  https://squareup.com/market/caninos-artistic-cafe -- has created a multi-layered artwork using a number of stencils from StencilGirlProducts.com.  I'm happy that among those stencils, she included my 9"x12" stencil Feathers 9.  I love the way she used this stencil to create a triple image with a great interplay of values and complements!  This gal knows her way around the color wheel!

Many thanks to Sherry to allowing me to show this image here! 

If you're in Sherry's area, you're welcome to visit Canino's Artistic Cafe at 106 Metropolitan Park Drive, Liverpool, NY.  Liverpool is a community on the north shore of Onondaga Lake, offering a range of one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants, as well as scenic lakeshore trails.

Thanks for visiting my blog today.

To see the multiple pages of my StencilGirl stencils, please visit here.

Happy Pairings

Better together ...

My 6"X 6" stencil Swatton Links Stencil works beautifully with Pam Carriker's Journal Texture  stencils, which come in both 6" and 4" sizes.

My 9" x 12" stencil Twinship pairs nicely with another 9" x 12" stencil of mine, Facets.

Tiny Grid Boxes,a 4"x 4" stencil by Mary Beth Shaw, goes with the two Blueprints of Archeological Treasures by Carolyn Dube; it comes in sizes 9" x 12" as well as 6" x 6".

What I like about these near-"sets" of stencils is that when they're used together in one artwork, their "similarities-yet-differences" provide both unity and variety.

To pick out your own happy pairings, browse the StencilGirlProducts website -- have fun!

Lisa Dobry and QUEEN ANNE'S LACE Stencil

Artist Lisa Dobry used my 9" x 12" stencil Queen Anne's Lace in creating part of the background in her art below --

-- and Lisa has my hearty thanks for granting permission to re-post the artwork here in my blog.

During the summer a few years ago, I used the same stencil to make this sun-print ...

It wasn't a perfect print but I liked it anyway!  

The Queen Anne's Lace (9" x 12") stencil itself looks like this ...

Thank you for taking time to stop here today!

To see the multiple pages of my StencilGirl stencils, please visit here.

BLOOMING WHERE PLANTED (9" x 12" Stencil)

Today's post zeroes in on the largest of the three stencils contained in the 9" x 12" stencil Blooming Where Planted. 

Above:  the large stencil on the far left is the one I chose for making today's art samples.  (On the StencilGirl website, this image is rotated 90 degrees clockwise.  So there, today's chosen section  is at the top of the stencil.)

The above was created with the traditional daubing method, pushing heavy-body paint thru the stencil with a Sofft Sponge.

Today's second two prints, below, could have been created on a Gelli Plate.  But it happens that I printed them with a sponge brayer, loaded with heavy-body acrylic paint.

Thank you for taking time to visit here today!

To see the multiple pages of my StencilGirl stencils, please check here.