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

Listen, Dream, Seek... Beautiful Minds Inspiration Collaboration

Hello friends! Today I am participating in a NEW project hosted by Tina Walker called the "Beautiful Minds Inspiration Collaboration" -- where a group of creatives use StencilGirl® Stencils to create works inspired by and honoring another artist.

My box of StencilGirl stencils is a myriad of graphic patterns, floral & fauna and a beautiful face by Andrea Matus DeMeng. I spread them all out and was immediately taken back to an artist who inspired me in high school -- James Rosenquist. 

James Rosenquist's wall-size paintings resemble collage - combining painting with photographic imagery. The fragmented compositions are mysterious and bold. I had the pleasure of meeting him in 1988 at an exhibition of his work at the FSU Gallery & Museum.

I was in high school at the time and as a blossoming artist his works really spoke to me. The artist James Rosenquist passed away a few years ago. I have a program book from the exhibit which I pulled out then and have been revisiting from time to time lately. Looking back, and learning more about him, I have found a lot of interesting parallels as to why this artist has intrigued my creative mind.

With this new collab challenge upon me, his painting "Pistil Packin' Ladies" has inspired my art journal page... of course it has purple! But honestly so many of his works in this fragmented series are so amazing, modern and a bit surreal.

Pistil Packin' Ladies, 1984. Oil on canvas. 

66" x 78" (167.6 x 198.1 cm). 

Art Enterprises, Ltd., courtesy of McCormick Gallery, Chicago.

My art journal has black pages. I coated the paper first with black gesso, then I built up layers starting with my darkest blue acrylic paint, building each layer up with a lighter color up to purples. This is about 6 or seven layers. It's hard to capture how the sheen of each color layer shows the depth and creates interest with faces peeking out here and there. None of the colors are pastel, though the light reflecting off paper makes it look that way.

Next I add in the florals on top with lighter colors of acrylic paint.

To make the color "POP" I pounced in colors of PanPastel. I love the contrast these have on top of the flat acrylic paint. I built up the richness of color by applying several layers of color.

I used blue to accent the words peeking out of the layers of foilage.

Continued to build up floral layers and color.

On a blank white cardstock, I smooshed some acrylic paint to make a quick background to use as base for stenciling a POP Art version of a ladies face. I added lips, eyes and remaining layers with PanPastel before slicing the image in the style of Rosenquist. 

I came back to stencil these three words on top with acrylic paint; 

outlined and accented with Jelly Roll glaze pens.

I used some 3M spray adhesive to mount lady to the book page -- 

piecing the wedges back together in a staggered fashion.

"Listen, Dream, Seek"

I really enjoyed how freeing it was to slice up the pieces and layer onto another work to give an abstract and fragmented look. CLICK HERE to jump over to see more of the creations made for the Beautiful Minds Inspiration StencilGirl® Collaboration.

Thanks for dropping by! What artist inspires you to create? xo Sb

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StencilGirl® Products used:

Cat Kerr:

"Seek - S496" -- https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-seek-cat-kerr-p/s496.htm

"Listen - S494" -- https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-listen-cat-kerr-p/s494.htm

"Dream - S493" -- https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-dream-cat-kerr-p/s493.htm

Cecilia Swatton:

"Longwood Florals Mask - L675 " -- https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-mask-longwood-florals-cecilia-swatton-p/l675.htm

"Longwood Florals Stencil - L676 " -- https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-longwood-florals-cecilia-swatton-p/l676.htm

"Mimosa 6 - S126" -- https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-mimosa-6-cecilia-swatton-p/s126.htm

Andrea Matus DeMeng:

"Pretty as a Peacock - S288" -- https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencil-portrait-pretty-face-andrea-matus-demeng-p/s288.htm

Kae Pea:

"Tribal Leaves Stencil - L213 " -- https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l213.htm

#Cre8time takes Flight...

Hello friends... Happy NEW YEAR! Today I resharing one of my favorite and most popular makes from last year.

As my health has made itself my main priority, this has left me with a fraction of the time I used to devote to creating with abandon. Now when my muse comes out to play when she is fully rested and rejuvenated... I have found myself creating things with wings and making some fun stuff to accent my studio.

I've had this papier-maché torso lying around for more years than I'd care to admit - I used to have three and I passed two on to friends. I have to admit I was a bit unsure of what to create with this last one since I've had it so long. The possibilities are endless... so I decided to create an altered torso.

I've painted her up with spray paints and StencilGirl stencils and gave her some handmade resin tropical flair and WINGS!

I created several molds using Amazing Mold Putty: an Art Deco style vintage mirror, a hand-carved polymer clay palm leaf, and some interesting shaped shells. 

I selected three stencil designs: Art Deco Wallpaper Stencil L319; Tribal Leaves Stencil L213; and Mimosa 6 Stencil S126.

The first thing I did is put a border of clear packing tape around the edges of each stencil, on the front and backside, and burnishing with a bone folder. I remember hearing this trick from another artist and thought it was worth a try -- works for me!

First I added some color to the wood accents on the torso. I used Carbon Gray Varathane Wood Stain - it's easy to apply and dries quick. I never heard of gray wood stain... I happen to love this color and the color it achieved. I have an unfinished wood cabinet that is soon to be tackled with this lovely colored stain.

When this is dry I use some plastic wrap to cover the wooden parts to protect area from spray painting with stencils! I used a coating of Mod Podge Matte finish to seal the papier maché torso in preparation to accept a good layering of spray paint.

I have a bright gloss green and a bright blue which I sprayed alternating in no particular pattern.

After I had a nice base layer, I continued adding color spraying through the stencils. The shapes are organic and look like shadows peeking through palm branches at night.

While the paint is drying, I get on with casting my accent pieces. I brush the inside of each mold with Ocean Blue Alumidust and also mix some into a batch of Amazing Casting Resin. This resin turns an opaque white when cured and with the Alumidust mixed in, it will result in a pretty pale blue.

I always make sure to have extra molds on hand to pour any leftover resin so it doesn't go to waste. This is all of the molds poured with resin cured. I needed two of the mirrors so all the small bits are extras for the rainy-day project bin.

Look at the AMAZING detail in the front and back of each shell cast in resin. The overpour {flashing} tears away pretty easy while resin is still soft and any remaining can easily be trimmed away. I sanded edges with an emory board.

I gave a little shine and brightness to the resin pieces by brushing the high points with Tonic Nuvo Embellishment Mousse. This color is a nice pearly pale blue... perfect for beachy themed projects! 

I finished off by adding a section of recycled jewels around the neck to dangle the resin palm leaf and a faceted gem. I crossed the mirror shapes and wrapped with wire to form wings and secured with wrapping wire around the torso. I brushed a little of the spray paint onto the wire to blend it in to the background pattern. I'm so happy with how this looks that I left off the other two shell pieces I prepared {they won't go to waste -- stay tuned}! I hope you love my tropical winged torso as much as I do. She make's a beautiful beachy addition to my creative workspace.

This lady is making a trip to Phoenix, AZ to be on display in the Alumilite Corp./Amazing Casting Products Booth #2214 during Creativation January 20-22, 2018. I'll be demoing all three days, so if you are attending -- drop by and say "HI"!

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Thanks for dropping by and I'd love to hear what you're favorite make from 2017 is... leave a comment with a link!   xo Sb

Welcome to the #Cre8time Tropics...StencilGirl Products + Amazing Casting Products Bloghop Day 1

Hello friends! Today I am participating in a very special bloghop where the creative teams from Amazing Casting Products and StencilGirl Products have put their spin on projects using products from both lines.

I have to admit I was a bit unsure of what to create, there possibilities with the challenge at hand are endless... so I decided to create an altered torso. 

I've had this papier-maché torso lying around for more years than I'd care to admit {over 10} and it has nice wood accents. I'm painting her up with spray paints and StencilGirl stencils and gave her some handmade resin tropical flair and WINGS!

I created several molds using Amazing Mold Putty: an Art Deco style vintage mirror, a hand-carved polymer clay palm leaf, and some interesting shaped shells.

For two of the shells, the details on the front were just as beautiful on the back. So I rubbed the cured mold with petroleum jelly {inner and outer edges}, and pressed another batch of Amazing Mold Putty onto the top of each, overlapping down around sides to create a two-part mold. **TIP** A mold-release is needed to do this as mold putty fuses to itself, so in this case petroleum jelly works perfectly.

I selected three StencilGirl Products designs: Art Deco Wallpaper Stencil L319; Tribal Leaves Stencil L213; and Mimosa 6 Stencil S126.

The first thing I did is put a border of clear packing tape around the edges of each stencil, on the front and backside, and burnishing with a bone folder. I remember hearing this trick from another artist and thought it was worth a try.

First I added some color to the wood accents on the torso. I used Carbon Gray Varathane Wood Stain - it's easy to apply and dries quick. I never heard of gray stain... I happen to love this color and the color it achieved. 

Some areas didn't take the stain too well and looked a bit spotchy {most likely due to wood glue in the composite shape} so I added a little more color with a white-wash from a paint pen, then brushing over with a grey acrylic glaze. That's more like it!!

When this is dry I use some plastic wrap to cover the wooden parts and get ready for some fun... spray painting with stencils! I used some Mod Podge Matte finish to seal the papier maché torso in preparation to accept a layering of spray paint.

I have a bright gloss green and a bright blue which I sprayed alternating in no particular pattern.

After I had a nice base layer, I continued adding color spraying through the stencils. The shapes are organic and look like shadows peeking through palm branches at night.

I brush the inside of each mold with Ocean Blue Alumidust and also mix some into a batch of Amazing Casting Resin. This resin turns an opaque white when cured and the Alumidust will give it a pale blue hue.

I always make sure to have extra molds on hand to pour any leftover resin so it doesn't go to waste. This is all of the molds poured with resin cured. I needed two of the mirrors so all the small bits are extras for the rainy-day project bin.

Look at the AMAZING detail in the front and back of each shell cast in resin. The overpour {flashing} tears away pretty easy while resin is still soft and any remaining can easily be trimmed away. I sanded edges with an emory board.

I gave a little shine and brightness to the resin pieces by brushing the high points with Tonic Nuvo Embellishment Mousse. This color is a nice pearly pale blue... perfect for beachy themed projects!

I finished off by adding a section of recycled jewels around the neck to dangle the resin palm leaf and a faceted gem. I crossed the mirror shapes and wrapped with wire to form wings and secured with wrapping wire around the torso. I brushed a little of the spray paint onto the wire to blend it in to the background pattern. I'm so happy with how this looks that I left off the other two shell pieces I prepared... in this case less is MORE! I hope you love my tropical winged torso as much as I do. She will be a beautiful addition to my creative workspace.

To see more AMAZING projects for the StencilGirl/Amazing Casting Products Blog Hop follow along at the links below!

Today's stops on the hop are as follows...

StencilGirl Talk Blog

Mary Beth Shaw

Tina Walker

Kristie Taylor

Susan Brown

Lyn Gill

One lucky winner will receive both a $25 Gift Certificate to StencilGirl Products - AND - a $25 Gift Certificate to Amazing Casting Products!

Visit the fabulous designers from both teams and comment for your chance to win!

The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to WIN!

(One comment per blog please.)

You have until Sunday, April 23rd at 11:59PM Central Time to leave your comments.

Winner will be announced on StencilGirl's Facebook page and Amazing Casting Products’s Facebook page on Monday, April 24th.

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Thanks for dropping by and I'd love to hear what you are creating with stencils! xo Sb

** This is a sponsored post. StencilGirl Products and Amazing Casting Products® have provided products for use in this project in exchange for my creative ideas, views and opinions. My ideas and opinions are my own.