Thursday, February 4, 2021

Today's post is Part One of Two.  Part Two appears here on my blog tomorrow, and its focus will be Valentines.  But today's post presents projects I posted in my old blog back on 11-4-19.  Why?  Because these photos and directions are the "backstory" for tomorrow's post!

 Making loose-sheet prints with stencils is so much fun, it's easy for me to get carried away.  What's a gal to do with all these stencil-prints?

Well ... how about cutting some stencil-printed papers into pieces?  And call them scraps!

 







Above are some of my scraps; they're piled atop several pieces of sturdy cardstock, ready to start a journey toward new life!

Below, I've started to randomly glue scraps to a backing of sturdy cardstock.  I use a Pioneer brand embellishment gluestick.  After gluing each piece to the background, I roll over it with a rubber brayer to make sure it's completely flattened ....








The following 4 photos show cardstock-backed "scrap" collages, all ready to ignite ideas for new projects.  






























Below:  a close-up detail of one of these collages of scraps:








For my first project, I decide to audition stencils and masks of a specific type -- I want silhouette-like imagery with large open areas and few small details.








Auditioned stencils and masks above:  L to R, top row:  Small Thistles (6" x 6")Pair o' Parrots (6" x 6") and Hot Air Balloon Stencils and Masks (which come in two sizes.)  Middle right:  Osprey Wings (6" x 6") and Heron (6" x 6").  Bottom L to R:  Thistle (9" x 12") and Cats (6" x 6").

Below, I'm using a watercolor pencil to trace an outline inside the open shape of a mask from one of the two sets Hot Air Balloon Stencils and Masks.  For this first outlining, I'm using the larger of the two hot air balloon sets.








Next, I use the same watercolor pencil to trace around a mask from the same set -- but this time, I'm using the smaller of the two sizes that are available in my hot air balloon mask-and-stencil sets.





Note:  This mask (upper right, with a pencil tip resting on it) has been stained with orange acrylic paint from a previous project.




Now that this shape has been traced out in two sizes, I'm ready to cut out both images with fine-detail scissors --










Below you can see the two hot air balloon shapes, now cut out.  If a watercolor pencil leaves marks after the shape is cut out, they can be easily erased later with a water-dampened cotton swab.


















Above:  A close-up shot of these two shapes glued to a giftbag (the bag has been sprayed with a metallic gold watercolor in a mister spray bottle.)  Below:  the entire giftbag.







 


Now, I decide to trace another hot air balloon on the scrap-collaged paper, cut it out, and take advantage of its sturdy cardstock backing by making a three-dimensional greeting card.



  








The photo above shows my cut-out being auditioned on the front side of a greeting card blank cut from metallic bronze cardstock (from JAMPaper.com). On the upper right is a box of Glue Dots.  Upper left:  the roll of glue dots that I've taken out of the box.

Below, you can see the back of the cut-out and the glue dots I'm placing on it.  Its base of sturdy cardstock is really important in working toward a 3D finish.











The front view of the finished greeting card cover is below.












-- and here's a view from the side that shows the 3-D effect:


















Above:  When cutting out the heron that I'd traced onto the scrap-collage, I used an X-acto knife and cutting board instead of fine-detail scissors, because of the small-scale details of the heron's legs and feet.

After the heron got a ribbon around its neck -- again the cardstock backing was very helpful, giving me the sturdiness needed -- it went onto another giftbag that I'd previously sprayed with a metallic gold watercolor:











A close-up--










More giftbags and close-ups:


















































In the final photo above, you can see that I cut out a paper heart and added it to the cat ... couldn't help myself!

Plain paper giftbags are available here and elsewhere.

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