Top 10 Ways to Use Your Stencils: Getting Bang for Your Buck

When I started doing mixed media and art journaling about one year ago, I was intrigued by the vast array of wonderful products that I saw being used in the YouTube videos. I felt that I needed to have all of it. Of course, this is when my character trait of being practical kicked in, not to mention my budget. My question  then became ” which product could I get the most bang for my buck from?” For me to buy something , it needed to have multiple uses. It needed to be usable for creating small ATCs and larger journal pages. It needed to be usable in a variety of ways. In other words it  had to be versatile.

If you watched my videos you will have perhaps taken note of the large collection of stencils that I have. In fact, I’ve been offered the opportunity to send my stencils away for a “play date” with other artists both near and far. I have accumulated a lot of stencils because they give me the “bang for my buck” I demand from my purchases.

10 Ways to Use Your Stencils ( bought or homemade)

1.   Use acrylic paint with make up sponge or dabber through stencil.

2.    Spray homemade or purchased sprays through the  stencil . See this  in the second part of this homemade spray video.

3.  Flip over stencil after spraying with spray and place on paper for reverse print.

4.  After applying color onto a page with sprays or Inktense Blocks put on a stencil and remove color through the stencil with a baby wipe.  Click this link to see a video showing this

5.  After painting with acrylics- with paint still wet…put on stencil and wipe out paint through stencil with a baby wipe. You will have to act quickly before it dries.

6.  Put modelling paste or gesso ( white or colored) through stencil and add texture. Click on this link and go to around minute 18 to see this.

7.  Put gel medium through stencil. Tinting with color or clear. It t will act as a resist.

8.  Put stencil on page and trace with permanent pen. Doodle or Zentangle in shape. If large stencil of item for example a flower draw out onto gelli print or other paper and then cut out and collage flower.

9.  Use stencils with your gelli plate to make gelli prints. Put acrylic paint on gelli plate with brayer. Put on stencil. Put on paper and do first pull of a print. Take off stencil and get second pull. Use different stencils and get a layered gelli print. See video link listed on use number 10.

10.  Make diy texture plates to use when making gelli prints . See my video by clicking here

Bonus- whatever use remember you don’t have to use the stencil as it is. You can isolate a certain part by covering up parts you don’t want.Look at your stencils through new eyes and see if there is a part you can use . For example a star or flower in the middle of the stencil.

VISIT MY AMAZON STORE –

http://astore.amazon.com/creativekad05-20

I’ve done the work for you and organized my store by categories. Everything I chose is CreativeKady approved- I either own it OR want to own it.

Save time and go directly to the stencil category

Stencils       http://astore.amazon.com/creativekad05-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=2

If you have any other uses for stencils, please leave a comment telling us about it. Now go, get out your stencils and  use them in a new way.

Creative Kady

 

How to Effectively Use Black in Art Journaling: Techniques

This technique is a very simple, yet very effective and striking. Above you see the backs of the start of a pocket letter.

It started out as a piece of 11X14  piece of mixed media paper from Canson. I applied a layer of gesso to it. After drying I got out my Inktense Blocks and colored randomly with a multitude of colors. I sprayed with water and activated the ink from the Inktense Blocks with my fingers. I blended colors , adding more color until I got a background I liked.  I dipped a paper towel in any areas that got too wet or where water was pooling.

When dry I used the stencil Flower Medley  and taped it down in the corners so it wouldn’t move. I  applied black craft paint with a make up sponge. I start at  the top and work my way down, being careful not to have too much paint on the sponge so it wouldn’t leak under the stencil. I find applying two lighter layers of paint allows for more control. Lift off the stencil and dry. I have a tub of water and dishsoap handy to put stencils in so clean up is easier.  I cut the piece into 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches -the size of an ATC. I added designs and quotes to the other side specific to the person who received the pocket letter.

Here is the same technique used on an art journal page.

This art journal page was made using the same stencil technique. The only difference here is I spread acrylic paint in fall leaf colors onto the gessoed surface before I applied black paint through a leaf stencil from Plaid. After applying the black paint through the stencil I splattered gold acrylic paint and adhered a quote with gel medium.

I printed off the quote on paper that is thicker than regular copy paper, but copy paper will work. I colored the paper with Distress Ink Walnut Stain. I used liner brush to make the letters blacker and outlined the letters with my cheap dollar store gold gel pen.

Here is an ATC made using the same technique. I used Inktense Blocks here and Crafter’s Workshop Stencil ” Flower Frenzy”  and stamped it with a wooden script stamp. I outlined the flowers using Uniball Signo white gel pen.

As you can see the variations are endless. Give it a try. Use black through a stencil or mask. Be sure to come back and post the results.

CreativeKady

Using Inspiration Prompt Sticks: Just Bloom

 

This art journal was created using my Inspiration Prompt Sticks that I blogged about just the other day. http://wp.me/p6ASQH-4d   Here’s the link if you want to check it out .

For this art journal page I picked the following Inspiration Prompt Sticks

Red: Paint or Ink Medium: Use sprays    Purple: Texture: Use bubble wrap/punchinella

Green: Pattern: Use masking tape           Blue: Color or Theme: Use summer theme

Orange: Technique: Collage                       Yellow: Additional Details: Work with white space

First I applied Liquitex Gesso to the page. I do this because it primes the paper and prepares it to handle wet mediums. To be honest it also helps me get “into” the creative zone or buys time when I don’t know what to do. On this page it did all three.

I got out masking tape and using my dollar store find curvy ruler cut the edges to make curves. I applied this to the page. This will prevent any color from getting on whatever I cover. This hits two of my prompts, use masking tape and work with white space. Gotta love a two-fer.

I then got out Dylusions stencil called “Flower Medley” and sprayed three of my homemade Inktense Block sprays through the stencil. I used 600 Shiraz ( one of my favorites) 210 Cadmium Yellow and 720 Thistle. On my YouTube Channel I made a series of 7 ( yes 7) videos of uses of Inktense Blocks. No, I’m not paid by them, I just really like the versatility of Derwent’s Inktense Blocks.  Here’s the link to  the playlist that has all of them. The one dealing with sprays is Number 2. Do yourself a favor though, while there is a lot of information there, go through all of them. If you do you will  get the most out of this product.

After drying this I used both punchinella and bubble wrap and used it to make designs on the  page. I used similar colors of my craft paint. I have the Ceremcoat brand from my folkart days. I mixed butter yellow, tangerine and ivory for one color, butter yellow for the next and bright red. the red looks pinkish because of the colors from the sprays. I removed the masking tape at this time. Be careful and go slow so you don’t remove some of the paper. I used painter’s tape. You can buy special art tape, but I’ve never used anything but the painter’s tape. I get mine from Walmart.

 

Then I used my Bo Bunny Stamp to making the stitch-like border and a Recollections flower stamp randomly over page. I used my black StazOn  for both because I thought it needed a pop of black and, well because it was my only stamp pad at that time.

The daisy picture I had in my stash. I had cut it out from a magazine. I cut it in half and I adhered each half with mod podge. Feeling that the picture needed more definition. I used my Neo-color IIs to darken the flower and make it blend more into the page. While I used Neo-color IIs  I could have used my Inktense Blocks or Pencils. My decision to use my small set of Neo-color IIs was because I just got them from Amazon and I have a rule about using new things immediately. ( not kidding) . I shaded around the flower with black and brown. I used vermillion, orange and yellow on the flower itself.

I typed out the quote on my computer and chose the Scrap It Up font. I printed it on deli paper. See my YouTube channel for this video. After cutting this out I adhered it with Mod Podge Matte into the white space I had created with the masking tape.

I love this page and I know that I would never have created it without the process of using my Inspiration Prompt Sticks. They challenged and pushed me and I created better for it.

If you haven’t followed my blog yet, please do so on the right by entering your email. Two good things happen when you do this. One, you get an email when I post a new blog. ( right now I’m trying to blog each day, but after Christmas this will not continue. I will still post often, bringing you lots of ideas and inspiration. The second thing that will happen if you are an email follower is that periodically I will be sending out an exclusive “goody” . This time I’m letting you know it is happening, but after that I will just do it as a thank you for following.

Here’s an invitation to you all. Use the same prompts I used and post your page or ATC back on here. I’d love to see your creativity.

I just created a Facebook Group so there is a place to share what you create and can develop “creationships” with others on this creative journey. The group is called CreativeKady: All Things Mixed Media. Hope to see you there. 

CreativeKady

 

Wanted: Inspiration… Look Here

Lost your inpiration ?  Want   to challenge yourself?  Want to use your supplies ? Want to keep out of an art journaling rut?  Then this post will help you do just that.

Just after I started art journaling I decided to make myself a set of inspiration prompts. I had been watching a lot of YouTube Videos and was writing down different techniques and supplies that I saw being used and  that I wanted to try. I also saw several videos where people made  different kinds of prompt cards. I even watched one where the artist was selling hers.

I decided to make my own. First I made a set on the back of playing cards. But even as I was making them I realized that they needed to be organized into categories. So I switched geers mid inspiration deck and did just that.

I brainstormed as many prompts as I could. Then I looked over all the prompts and  decided to use 6 different categories: Paint or Ink Mediums, Texture, Pattern, Color and/or Theme, Techniques and Additional Details.

After typing them up I printed them off on deli paper. I bought tongue depressors at our local dollar store. I chose to buy the pre-colored ones to save myself a step.  I used Mod Podge Matte to adhere the prompts to the sticks. I put one on each side of the stick.

HOW DO I USE MY INSPIRATION STICKS 

Most often I pick a stick  of each color. Since there are prompts on each side I get to “pick” which one fits best. I allow myself to turn in only 1 stick and repick, but you can make your own rules about that. Now I have the basis of my new journal page. I’ve seen others on YouTube do them in the order they draw them. I don’t do that. I look over my series of prompts and start to pull the materials specified. Then I pick a prompt  to start with . The art journal page Where Flowers Bloom Angels Sing was created using prompt sticks in this way. Here’s the link to my YouTube video showing it.

Another way I use my Inspiration Sticks is when I’m stuck in the middle of a page and don’t know what to do. I grab a handful of sticks and look them over. Usually it doesn’t take long before I find one that is ” just right” and makes the page.

When I started the blog I wanted to find a way to “treat” my email followers with little “gifts” periodically . I will be mailing out a link to all  my present email followers that will give you the Word document where I’ve typed up all my categorized prompts. You will have to click on the link to get the document. Now depending on what kind of word processing programs you have, kinds of fonts  plus plus plus the formating I did may or may not come exactly Don’t panic or email me. All you will need to do is save it to your word program ( if you have Word, try to save it as a Word Document) and reformat it selecting fonts you have/like. You will also be able to delete those prompts that don’t work for you (materials you don’t have or even things you will never do) I promise I won’t take it personally . Start with what I send you and make it your own. 

Let me know how this works for you and how you made it your own. Also , would love to hear ways you use your Inpirational Prompt Sticks.

Tomorrow’s blog will be another art journal page  tutorial where I use the prompt sticks to guide me.

CreativeKady