I AM... StencilGirl® Affirmation/Tarot Deck Collaborative

Hello friends! It's a new week and I am excited for you to join me today for the reveal of a new StencilGirl® collaborative project, the "StencilGirl® Affirmation and Tarot Card Collaboration"... a project in which we were challenged to create an inspiration/tarot deck of cards using StencilGirl® Stencils.

This project is a bit different... one that is more reflective and introspective. For a while now I have been investing in refilling my creative well by following The Artist's Way and the accompanying work with a group of fellow creatives in an accountability cluster.

A bit about the process: For the cards I started out with a base black metallic cardstock that I stenciled with 2-3 layers of color using different Plaid FolkArt® Color Shift Acrylics. I have previously swatched all the colors on white, black and chipboard surfaces to see the resulting color magic. If you have these, they are really fun and make for some pretty cool unexpected effects.

On the backside I layered over the first layer with a combination of 3-4 colors of my favorite Ranger Distress Acrylic paint daubers, creating an ombre on my Gel-Press plate to stencil onto. The backgrounds are a result of combining the rubbed stencil and papers created from pulling the leftover after removing stencil. Nothing goes to waste! I mounted fronts to backs using spray adhesive and cut sheets down to create cards (cards are sizes to fit into a recycled altoid tin).

I also upcycled an altoid mint tin as a coordinating home for these cards on my desk.

I left adding the inscriptions to the end. I set out stenciling in letters with a liquid silver pen.

As luck would have it... the ink bled like crazy under the stencil.

Interestingly, this mess up actually looks pretty neat with how distressed it looks.

So I carried on... intentionally doing this on all of them.

I think this may have been kismet... a way of just enjoying the process, regardless the twists and turns.

This forced me to work slowly, adding many layers of marker and pen to fill in and make the letters stand out on the cards.

This project turned out to be very personal and emotional one. This project served as several of my artists' dates and was a free time to just "BE" and let each session evolve without any pressures to make an instructional.

Here are all of my cards before adding stenciled text inscriptions. The colored stencil background overlayed with a black stencil design.

I am sharing the first three of inscriptions here as they were part of the StencilGirl® stencil I used and started me off on a journey of what the rest should/would say.

Front and back side-by-side (sorry the scanner doesn't pick up the shimmer and shine of the metallic paint and pens).

"i am enough"

"i am me"

"i am brave"

All of the fronts are the same. To finish off, I created a chipboard template with a corner rounding punch to add a silver outline.

StencilGirl® Stencils Used on Front/Back of 18 cards:

Kerr L856 - ATC Mixup Stencil

https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-ATC-Mixup-Cat-Kerr-p/l856.htm

Evans L654 - ATC Mixup Evans Stencil

https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-ATC-Mixup-Evans-Jennifer-Evans-p/l654.htm

Kalbach L319 - Art Deco Wallpaper Stencil

https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-art-deco-paris-nathalie-kablach-p/l319.htm

StencilGirl® Stencils Used on Container Lid:

Shaw S730 - Brilliant Star Stencil

https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-Brilliant-Star-Mary-Beth-Shaw-p/s730.htm

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I hope you enjoyed this project. CLICK HERE to jump over to see the other cards made for the StencilGirl® Affirmation and Tarot Card Collaboration. 

Thanks for dropping by! Sb

My LOVE for Greencrafting SHINES for Week 2 of Anything But a Card Challenges No. 32

Good Morning Everyone! Today begins week two of Challenge Number 32 at Anything But a Card Challenges. CLICK HERE to jump over to the challenge intro and where to LINK UP your creations. Today my work is featured with a few of the other designers... CLICK HERE to check out the other design team projects today for some amazing inspiration!

The Challenge... Anything But a Card Challenge #32 - Tic...Tac...LOVE!! Our fabulous team of creatives put our heads together to put a visual twist on a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge. The concept is the same... take your pick of three in a row!

Please choose your Tic-Tac-Toe row
 to use as your creative mojo!
{either straight across, down or diagonal}

Choose your direction and follow
the key below for square descriptions:

1.) Red
2.) Recycling
3.) Glitter {can be loose or liquid type like Stickles}
4.) Bling it ON! {beads, gems, buttons, sequins and baubles - the sparkly bits}
5.) Heart
6.) Sprays and Mists
7.) Ribbons, Fibers and Trims... oh MY!
8.) Black
9.) Lace

Please share any current project you have created and JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. Please mention and LINK BACK to this challenge. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight February 22nd giving you 2 weeks to play along and ENJOY the creative process!

 

I am all about greencrafting - so it's obvious that I would choose that option. I have an Altoid Tin sanded and ready to alter which would be a perfect place to stash those special little love notes! To start - I pounced on a variety of reds and black Ranger Alcohol inks to cover the printing on the box and giving a hammered metal texture to the box. I rubbed some metal hardware to match and attached as a closure and raised feet {feet are Ideology Hitch Fasteners}.

I taped my Heart Hands Mask from UmWowStudio down with blue painters tape to hold it down while fill in the stencil with PaperArtsy Grunge Paste. This stuff is fabulous!!! It gives me just the build up of relief with the stencil to transform my recycled box into something more sculptural.

When dry, I rubbed the raised Grunge Paste hands with Inka Gold Metallic Rub in Haematite {a beautiful steely-pewter grey}. I also went back with some black spray mist to fill in the crevices, buffed away and reapplied a second coat - giving a real metallic shine!

Then I needed some dimensional hearts! So I decided to experiment and play a little. I have this pot of Viva Decor Red Glitter-Paste which was the perfect shimmery color of red that will give contrast and "POP" on the box. I added some packing tape to the back of  the Heart Confetti Mask from UmWowStudio and burnished down with my bone folder. Then I dragged the glitter paste across the stencil using a recycled gift card {free tools are best}, and filled each heart with glittery goodness. The glitter-paste has little pearly beads in it so not only are the hearts red and shimmery, but they have a little dimension, too! I let this sit aside to dry all day while I was at work and that evening they were ready to pop out. Needless to say - I am still peeling the dried paste off of my stencil... though I have a million little glittery hearts for my crafting pleasure.

  

I have some pretty fiber wrapped chenille stems which I cut to wrap around the feet; then I twisted around some black fun fur for a finishing touch.

Using Diamond Glaze, I layered and adhered down my glittery hearts. Some are stacked two high, the center heart held in my metallic hands is four hearts stacked large to small.

A LOVE-ly Treasure Box...

Perfect to Hold Love Notes!

The finishing touch is a final coating of Amazing Clear Cast Resin {not pictured since it's hard to see and photograph} sealing this with a KISS and giving it a high gloss finish!

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Products used: Various Ranger Alcohol inks {including Cranberry, Currant, Red Pepper, and Pitch Black}; Ditto Glimmer Mist in Black; PaperArtsy Grunge Paste; Viva Decor Red Glitter-Paste; Heart Hands Mask from UmWowStudio, Heart Confetti Mask from UmWowStudio; Inka Gold Metallic Rub; Diamond Glaze Dimensional adhesive; misc brads from stash and Ideology Hitch Fasteners; black fun fur; fiber wrapped chenille stem; Amazing Clear Cast Resin and recycled Altoid Tin.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Shopping Our Stash Challenge #137 "Love Me Tender" CLICK HERE

Simon Says Stamp "Have a Heart" Challenge - CLICK HERE

Simon Says Stamp "Love Notes" Challenge - CLICK HERE

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Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you find a little time to play along. I look forward to seeing what you create {CLICK HERE to LINK UP your projects}.  :) Sb

Getting Inky with some GREENCRAFTING for the Viva Las VegaStamps! September Challenge

Dropping by today to share a project I have featured today at the Viva Las VegaStamps! Blog using their September's Challenge Inspiration Board. I am all about recycling and greencrafting so this is right up my alley... and I got to play with my stash of stamps, too! 

In gathering up goodies to create with I came across an Altoid tin... so this project is also inspiration for the current Viva Las VegaStamps! Altoid Tin Swap {CLICK HERE for swap details}. 

Please CLICK HERE to jump over and see the whole project.

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Supplies used: STAMPS - "Panda Eating" #963 and "Flower Background" #18369. Other supplies: white cardstock; recycled book pages and Altoid Tin; gesso; Staz-On Black ink; Miracle Tape; Ranger Distress Markers; Sakura of America Gelly Roll® Stardust® Glitter Pens; Sakura of America Souffle® 3-D Opaque; Ranger Distress Stains - Peeled Paint, Old Paper, and Antique Linen; water brush; Peeled Paint and Frayed Burlap Ranger Distress Inks; Cattails Chipboard from UmWowStudio; buttons; glitter; Diamond Glaze; and natural raffia.

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Thanks so much for dropping by. I invite you to play along with the monthly challenge - make a creation using the inspiration and your stash of VLVS! stamps... you could win RUBBER! CLICK HERE for challenge details. 

Thanks for dropping by. Have a great Labor Day! Sb :)