What do you do when you have four Zoom calls in one day? How can you work on anything else? One idea is to work on a project that requires multiple breaks, e.g., drying time intervals.
That's what I did yesterday. :) I've had this idea for a while and never found time to implement it. I got my supplies together when I looked at my calendar and saw how many Zoom calls I had.
The fabric is from a pair of pants I used to wear. The elastic was worn out. I could have replaced it if I were a seamstress, but sewing is not my jam. I cut two rectangle pieces from one of the legs. I knew I would cover them with tape so I did not have to be exact with my measurements.
It was easy to remove the front covers of the journals. I used pliers to help bend the spiral binder. I roughed up the journal covers with a sandblock as they were very slick. After sanding, I wiped them with a damp cloth to remove all the debris. Both these journals are Strathmore Mixed Media.
Next, I added gesso (Utrecht) with a sponge and jumped on my first call. I didn't add much gesso to the center as I planned for the fabric to cover that area.
By the time that call finished, the journals were dry. I applied a flat acrylic paint (Golden SoFlat) for my base and then jumped on my second call.
After I got off that call, I used Elmer's glue to adhere the fabric, pulling it to lay flat. I laid down washi tape for a clean border, as well as hold the fabric down, and then jumped on my next call.
After that call was complete, I applied a coat of Liquitex gloss medium and varnish over each cover (the whole cover) and jumped on my last call for the day. After that call, I ate dinner and then came back to apply one more coat of varnish. After letting them dry overnight, I reassembled my journals first thing this morning. I just love how they turned out!
During the last week, I participated in a fun challenge with Ohn Mar Win.
The prompts were identified to challenge creators to see how extraordinary the ordinary can be. She encouraged us to find items from our homes to inspire our daily artwork - jars of food, worn-down shoes, or that tube of toothpaste that’s almost run out, as well as share stories about them.
She encouraged us to think about how we may feel like we just live ordinary lives, but actually, we all live very extraordinary lives if we practice a little gratitude.
The prompts and my artwork are below. To see all the lovely artwork and interesting stories, you can check out #ohnmar7 on Instagram.
BOTTLES & JARS
COOKIES & BISCUITS
KETTLES & JUGS
CLOTHES
TUBES
SHOES
LAMPS
Shout Out: to Ohn Mar for being a lovely host and creating a fun and engaging challenge!
Today I'm sharing new stencil designs that I've had to keep secret for several months - ohhh, that has been a challenge for me! :)
I am the artist for August’s StencilClub at StencilGirl Products! I am over the moon - where did that saying come from anyway?! I don't know, but it accurately describes my joy!!
I have a video on StencilGirl Talk today that shares how I got the inspiration for these designs.
StencilClub is a monthly subscription for exclusive designs that are revealed the first day of each month. It is like getting a present every single month! Members also get 20% off StencilGirl® stencils all the time.
Each month, you get:
One 9" x 12" EXCLUSIVE stencil, one 6" x 6" EXCLUSIVE stencil, and one 4" x 4" EXCLUSIVE stencil.
An EXCLUSIVE video for MEMBERS ONLY provided by the designing artist.
A downloadable PDF with basic instructions to go along with the video for that month.
Entrance into a SECRET Facebook group for MEMBERS ONLY! A place to share, inspire and talk all about stencils!
You are eligible to purchase ANY past month for the membership price.
Shout Out:MaryBeth Shaw. MaryBeth is a savvy business woman, talented artist, and has big heart! I am feeling grateful.
I Don't Have A Style. I Want Every Project to be a Surprise! I heard that quote from Bill Bensley. I immediately became a fan of Bill. I looked him up, saw his work, and heard him talk about his process. He captured something I've been struggling with - finding my style.
I am inspired by so many different things I see/experiences I have. Why do I have to pick one way to do my art? I have come to the realization that I don't have a singular style AND I don't have to have one. I heard Marie Forleo talking about how it's ok to have more than "one thing." She was talking to me, I know it. I have more than one favorite of everything! I have many goals and many interests in life. I don't want to be labeled by any one identity that I have - I have many identities and I embrace them all! I clearly understand that in order to achieve a goal, I do need to focus and work diligently towards it. I have lead several successful projects as a Project Manager. :) I am finding joy in coloring, drawing, painting, stamping, creating, sharing, being in a variety of art communities. How many Facebook Groups can one person join?!
So where I am going with this?
(1) Just wanted to say that out load and share in case you may be going through some similar thoughts. I encourage you to check out Bill and Marie.
(2) I'm sharing the next direction I am talking my art - surface and pattern design! For almost a year, I've been taking classes, engaged in communities and peer groups, and getting some coaching from successful designers. So, in addition to posts with stamping, coloring and painting, I'll be sharing my patterns. Cocktails anyone?
This pattern started out with watercolor. I took a class in SkillShare [when you use that link, you get a free trial] with Ohn Mar Win. That lovely handmade palette is from Lilian May Studio.
I imported the images into Procreate on my iPad and created a repeating pattern. I learned how to do that in another SkillShare class, that one with Cat Coq. Yes, I am a SkillShare fan, maybe even a groupie. :) I am a Lifelong Learner! I know I still have a lot to learn and I am enjoying the whole process.
Shout Out: to all the generous people who share their art methods and encourage others
I don’t know what it is about faces! I just find joy in painting them 😊. One thing I heard from @janedavenport ...”let ‘s see who falls out.” Which was so freeing for me. I don’t have to get the exact face that’s in my mind,I can just enjoy the process! Woohoo! I am! Hehehe .
I laid down the face basic shape.
And, then just embraced the journey, through the ugly stages, boo-boos and adjustments - all of it!
Hello Beautiful and welcome! You have arrived at the StencilGirl® Creative Team’s Spectacular Squared-Off Swap Hop.
My piece of art work incorporates beautiful design papers created by some of my StencilGirl® creative sisters: Tina, Claudia, Katie, and Sunila&Aditi!
Before sharing the tutorial, let's talk about your chance to win!!
The more blogs you comment on the more chances you have a chance to win one of four $25 gift certificates for stencils from StencilGirl® Products. Comment by May 3, 2019. Winner notified by email May 6th.
Here are the original lovely design pieces I received.
I painted the piece in an art journal that I transformed form a large paperback booklet. I created the journal for a Jane Davenport workshop - Express Yourself. I've been doing my workshop homework in this journal, as well as my homework for another workshop I'm taking - Ady Almanza's Dark is beautiful painting workshop. Below is a painting I did on the cover (inspired by Ady).
This particular face started our as home work for Ady's class. I had previously created the outline.
As I thought about how to use the papers, her hair came to mind - a collage of the papers would give her hair texture, fabulous color and volume. I tore the four designs into smaller pieces and adhered them to my page. I love how the designs add interest and depth to her big hair.
After everything dried, I used color pencils to fill in gaps and used the background paint to remove the black outline.
Next, I sketched in her face with a white pencil and used acrylic paint to add in some highlights, fill in a base coat for her flower and clothing... and here we have "the ugly" stage - or should I say "one of."
After that, it was all about the details - buildings layers, adding highlights and shadows, and of course covering up what I didn't like and re-painting. 🙂So easy to do with acrylic/mixed media supplies.
This month's theme is "Artful Celebrations." When I think of "artful," which I looked up, it inspired me to create a piece of art inspired by Street Art.
This month's theme is "Gratitude." The Creative Team is sharing some diverse projects! I have a different way of thinking about gratitude. As I was creating this post, the scripture of the day was from James 1:2-3
Trials and temptations 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Do you like contrast? How do you use it? I really dig it and I'm learning to use it more. For this layout I worked on the outer edges with vibrant color left the center light. I used one of the brush word stencils I designed for StencilGirl®. I am just bubbling with joy and excitement as I'm typing this.
In my Jane Davenport 9x6" journal, I put a strip of journal tape to protect the seam from liquid. I then laid down a thin layer of gesso and let it dry overnight. I then stamped some of my hand-carved images in black.
Next I added areas of resist with a stencil (SC-01-2016 Shaw) and light molding past. NOTE: Be sure to clean your stencil and tools right away. I use a soft brush and warm soapy water get all the paste off.
Now to add color! I sprinkled colorbrusts and spritzed with water, allowing the colors to dry in between. I used a white paint pen to add some white lines. The flowers and bee (Stampin' Up! In Full Bloom -retired, can find used online) were stamped onto watercolor paper, sprinkled with clear embossing powder, and heat set. I then added sprinkles of the same colors that are in the background. After I spritzed water, I "kissed" the color rich piece of watercolor paper to a journal page down to pick up the excess color - that will make a lovely background for a future design. I used a brush to paint more yellow into the bees and added sparkle 3D paint to their wings. I then cut out the pieces.
The words are added with paint. To make the words crisp, I used the "dry brush" technique - only I didn't use a brush, I used a round blending tool. I dabbed most of the paint off and then dabbed the color into each letter. After the paint dried, I used Sharpies to complete some of the open spaces on the letters and add a white shadow to the letters in the darker color.
I actually made the colorful background a few months ago and had it as a draft post waiting for something else to finish it...I didn't know what, but I felt it needed something more. Little did I know I would have the awesome opportunity to create brush word stencils for StencilGirl®! You just never know what wonderful things are in store for you... I encourage you to continue doing what you have a passion for and know there's a connection out there somewhere just for you...
Shout Out: to the talented woman on Youtube who inspired the techniques I used in this layout. It was a random mixed media video I saw and unfortunately I was not on my device so I do not have it my history. If anyone knows that video (she used butterflies, where I used flowers), kindly include the link in the comments below this post.
To celebrate, I'm giving away stencils with my new designs!
For a chance to win:
Leave a comment on this post and tell me how you would use the stencils in your artwork.
Leave the comment before June 21st noon USA Eastern time.
I'll pick 3 comments at random (2 USA, 1 outside USA) to receive one large and one small stencil.
Please be sure to include your email address.
I'll post the winners on my blog on June 22nd and also send email.
Enjoy reading through the comments to see all the creativity from around the world!
Now to tell you about the stencils and my artwork today!
I was inspired to create a brush alphabet and fun/positive words stencils because of how versatile letters are. Brush letters add flavor and style to any piece of art work. Letters can be used soft and subtle in the background, they can be used as elements in a focal point - they can be THE focal point! You can use the same letter over and over, or a group of letters that do not even spell a word, yet add interest to your art work. Plus, letters are just plain fun and part of our every day life!
Below is a two-page spread I created - can you feel her confidence!?
Before I get into the step-out tutorial, a video is available for you to see ideas and projects using the stencils.
Now for the step-out tutorial! In my Strathmore 400 Series mixed media journal I started with scribble writing using a Sakura clear gel pen. After it dried, I colored the two page layout with Distress Oxide Inks - direct to paper and also using a round blending tool. Since it was my first layer, I was not too concerned about how smooth or blended it was - just getting down some color.
Next I spritzed water to get that very cool effect that the Oxide inks make. I also used a baby wipe over my Brush Alphabet stencil (L645) to remove color and allow the letters to show through - this technique works best on darker colors.
For the next layer, I used Kristie's Diamond Dot stencil (L539) and a stencil brush to start adding depth and interest with the same three Oxide ink colors.
Added splatters with watered down Silks shimmer acrylic paint - staying with the same color choice.
At this point, I wanted to add some contrast. Using a darker shade in same color family that I already have on the background, I laid down some color. I chose Golden Turquois... so pretty! Before I added color, I added texture. I spritzed Distress Resist Spray in a couple areas through the Diamond Dot stencil (L539). I knew where I wanted my focal point, so I sprayed away from that area. NOTE: Be sure to spray inside a box or contained area and wash your stencil and any tools the spray touches with soap and water right away. The spray is a glue and will stick to everything it touches.
After the spray dried, I lightly stippled and swirled Turquois with a stencil brush over the resist spray. I also added color in other areas through the stencil. I brought in Golden Titan Buff and add a little more color with Oxide inks. I'm still following along in my color scheme.
Now to rough in my focal point - a face, Karen's Cool Attitude Large L613. I think she is fabulous - so confident! I used Golden Burnt Sienna - a darker color so I could easily see the image over my light backgroud. Since I had a lot of area to cover, I broke out my Smudgee to to apply the paint. I drew in a little face detail with a color pencil to envisioning her features and thinking about how I wanted to paint them in.
I started with her hair. To give it some texture, I combined Dylusions (thicker paint) black marble and Tourquois and used a paintbrush, picking up lots of paint and applied over the stenciled area. I filled in the gaps with Turquois. I added highlighted curls of black, Tourquois and Titan Buff with a little wooden stick.
Next I blocked in color in her face - not adding much detail yet, just getting mid tones and shadows in. I used Golden Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna for her skin tone.
I know what you're thinking...I covered up all the beautiful features of her face! No worries - one of the wonderful benefits of stencils is that you can lay the stencil back down in place and add back in her features. Please stay with me through the ugly stage! I'm trusting the process of building layers and imaging what could be...
After that layer dried, I smoothed out the color in her face with a mixture of the Yellow Orchre and Burnt Sienna , and also added some highlights and shadows. At this point, I thought she should have a scarf and I also decided to color her whole head of hair with texture. I'm just going with the flow of my mojo.
I also added words to melt into the background. Placement is so easy with stencils because you can see thorough the stencil to align!
For the impact words, I added a phrase from my These Jeans stencil (L647), coloring in with a Sharpie. I believe this is how we all should feel!
TIPS/Suggestions on using Alphabet/word stencils:
when applying paint, use a dry brush or dry sponge and dab off most of the paint to get crisp lines. If you want a different, more painterly look, use a slightly damp brush or sponge - totally up to you, go for the look you want.
press the stencil firmly to the surface and follow along the letters just as you would if you were writing the words with your handwriting - as with all stencils, be mindful of the tiny bridges that make the connections for the stencil.
use a thin paint brush or same color marker to connect the letters to each other to make them look seamless
if needed, smooth the letters with a thin paint brush or the same color marker
for words/phrases "in the center of an area," count the letters and start in the middle. I actually write them down so I don't get lost along the way. hehehe
for words ending at a specific place, start at the end of the word
I encourage you to take your time, just like with hand brush lettering
have fun!
Here's a photo of the supplies I used during my detail stage, in addition to the supplies I listed above:
Shout Outs: Sending a big THANK YOU and hug to Carol at StencilGirl® Products who is awesome! The background techniques were inspired by one of Vickki's wonderful videos.
Playing with faces today! Inspired by James Luke Burke. James and Steve did an awesome video on youtube talking about creativity. I'm using one of James' Face Base stamps and adding my drawing, coloring, and painting.
I made this piece without paintbrushes and I am digging all that texture!
To apply gesso and color, I used a hotel card key, a palette knife, and sponges. The hardest part was waiting in between layers. I outlined the little bird with a black Pitt artists pen and filled in color with a tooth pick. After I finished, walked away to let it dry. When I came back, I found my favorite part is the texture is my path - will never achieve that with a paintbrush. hehehe
Shout Out:Michelle Turbide, awesome teacher - she really made me think about my process of creating! This lovely scene was inspired by her lesson in Wanderlust 2018 this month.
Sharing a layout in my art journal that is full with depth and color. I started this layout during the 2017 StencilGirl & Friends Art Journal Affair retreat at Kristin's Place - Ephemera Paducah!
Ephemera Paducah is an art studio and workshop space located in Paducah, Kentucky.
I had so much fun in each teacher's class and the evening events!
Back to the journal page... I added a base of color and marks to the background in Traci's class. When I received my new paints and inks from her line I thought what better place to get to know them than on this layout. As I was playing on the page, my December StencilClub package arrived - designed by Seth! I used the large and medium stencils on the pages. I love to incorporate faces in my art work and am always inspired by Pam's artwork so of course, there are faces - the profile is from Seth's stencil. I created those cool sketchy, dimensional circles using a technique I learned from MaryBeth.
I really dig the way the acrylic paint and ink layer, resist, integrate and play. So cool!!
Allison and I had the most wonderful time #AtTheImprov with MaryBeth Shaw (MB), Seth Apter and a room full of talented artists!
MB, Allison, me, Seth
A couple years ago Allison and I attended a workshop with MaryBeth and Seth at Mary Beth's studio in St. Louis and had a great time. Please click here to see the photos. We had the opportunity to do it again this past weekend. We spent our days in MaryBeth's Studio and our evenings at the cutest hotel. Words cannot express all the awesome moments of the weekend. Sharing a few photos to show how special it was for me.
There were lots of demos with cool techniques from Seth & MB.
Seth getting a little help - some techniques need multiple hands!
Me and Mary Nasser (awesome artist AND wonderful teacher)!
Allison in her creative groove.
Allison's beautiful art pieces and collaged journal cover
One of my favorite new techniques - alcohol inks dripped on metal sheets - die cut by Seth.
My journal and two canvases. I asked for tips, techniques and input from MB and Seth!! Ohhh, how I enjoyed the whole process!
Another favorite technique I learned involved fiber paste and yes, I have ordered some. :) I made this real cool texture with the paste and a stencil and then dripped Golden fluid and high flow acrylics over it.
I caught Seth working on his own piece of beautiful art.
Here are my absolute favorite two pieces from the workshop!
The one on the right is from a fun exercise the whole class participated in. We each got a piece of paper and put our name on the back, then we passed it around the room and every single person put some type of mark/stamp/stencil/drawing/etc... It's special because we each touched it. I'm putting mine in my journal!
The canvas on the left was used by Seth to show us attachment techniques - it has holes and a few splatters. After I add my contribution - color - to the piece, it will be a collaboration between Seth and me. LOL! A very special piece from the workshop!
The next several photos capture the theme of where we stayed, The Moonrise Hotel. The theme, decor and artwork was just so cool, and the food was delicious! Small warning - it is right next to a club and you'll hear lots of music, as well as you can hear your neighbors. That aside, we really enjoyed it! We knew it was going to be a fabulous weekend when we saw our room number - the street number of our first home.
My attempt at a selfie. Hehehe
Allison's selfie. Much better - in focus, includes entire faces, and she even added hearts!
Check out all the little things that make the hotel so cool...
Even the bathroom tissue was wrapped in cool artwork.
After I got home I hung up my artwork in my creative space (I keep looking at it and smiling).
On the first day, as we went around the room introducing ourselves, I wrote down each name. I just adhered the piece of paper in my journal from the first MB/Seth workshop, next to the names from the first class. I'll also put the class art piece in that journal. Ahhhhh, what a lovely, fun group.
Shout Out:Allison, MB, Seth, and all the lovely women I spent the weekend with - Thank you for a very special weekend in my life!
Lately, I've been hooked on watercoloring! I had a coupon and picked up Jane's watercolors and ohhhhh ... such luciousness (which I do not think is a 'word,' but fits)! I drew the images with a Copic multiliner and then filled in with color - my favorite part!
I recently saw that ColourArte's Twinkling H2Os will be available in a new formula packaged in watercolor pans. I thought that is a great way to organize them and decided to put all my current small pots into full pans. Well, first I tried half pans - they didn't fit, so I had to go full size. :) I spirtzed them with water and let them sit until they softened and I could transfer them to the pans. Some took longer to soften than others. I put the pans in the tin that I my QOR watercolors came in. The tin fits 63 full pans perfectly. A small piece of self-adhesive magnet on the bottom of each one helps to hold it in place. Saw that tip on one of the many, many... many helpful youtube videos I've seen.
The color chart I made has a thin line of black gesso. I wanted to capture how the H2Os look over black as well as show opacity. On the front of the tin, I dabbed white gesso. After it dried completely, I added the letters with Pitt Pens.
I started with a background that already had color laid down from when I cleaned paint brushes off from other projects. I used a variety of stencils, paint, and gesso to create layers of color and design. I printed the digi face I made in Procreate onto regular printer paper, cut it out and adhered it on the page with gel medium.
After it dried, I painted her hair a base color of dark blue, gray and purple. After that, dried I painted her face. I'll just mention, at this point I poured a glass of wine - nothing like wine and journaling. :) I used variety of art supplies for the details in her face. To add dimension to her curls, I used high flow black paint in a Fineline applicator and a paint pen.
During the months of November and December, I'm just coloring and coloring and coloring. Each day I'll post at least one image/design on my social media sites: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+. Most of the coloring will be with markers, but I will sprinkle in some other supplies as well! Ohhh, all the colors!! I hope you will be inspired to create something that makes you smile.
One of the reasons I love designing with digis is that you can make the image any size you want - well any size your printer will print out. :) I used one image in different sizes on greeting cards and in my art journal page.
I drew this lovely woman in Procreate on my iPad, inspired by beautiful photos and images I saw on the internet. I just googled head wraps and found hundreds of images.
I inserted the image into Microsoft Power Point, softened her lines, sized her and printed smaller images on cardstock for the greeting cards and a larger image on copy paper for the art journal page. I colored the smaller images with markers.
The greeting card backgrounds are from a variety - purchased design paper, alcohol ink backgrounds I made (click here to see my post for making the one included here), and gelli prints I made (click here to see how I make my gelli prints).
I used matte medium to adhere the larger image on a page in my journal. The background was created using layers of paint and Stencilgirl stencils...
All the Images and Text on this site are owned by the original creator, Trena Brannon. Please do not copy or use anything without asking permission. These projects and stories are shared for inspirational use only. Designs may not be copied for the purpose of publication or contest submissions. Thank you for your support!
I added a base of color and marks to the background in 
