Stenciled Panel

The green panel has several layers of stenciling.  I matted it onto a white panel with a border punch edge and embellished with die cut flowers, leaves and butterfly.  Dots of dimensional paint add the final touch.

Doily Time

I used a paper doily as a mask for this stenciling.  I added a punched border and butterflies and a die cut flower.  Satin ribbon completes the design except for the pearl dots which are dimensional paint

Green Dotted Circle

 And there's more stenciled backgrounds . . . this stencil I made by using a die cut.  The card back is flat and the text is inside the yellow mat which opens.  I cut the upper corner to match the tag and adhered yellow to the back  Design was complete with a punched flower and dots of dimensional paint.  Rather simple.

Celebrate

This is the second card I made for club.  This time I didn't actually eliminate the "e's" but covered them with little punched flowers.  I wasn't totally happy with it but couldn't figure out how to improve it either.

The background was one of my stenciled printed but I washed it with some gel stick color to eliminate some of the brightness.

"Celebrate" is actually stamped in black but the photo caught the glittery pen that I added to it. I added extra flowers and some die cut leaves.

I used a border punch on both mats, offsetting them a bit for a more lacey look.

It was an interesting challenge to replace letters with images.

Wish

You gotta love grunge to appreciate this card! and it started with the theme for stamp club this month which was to replace a stamped letter with an image.   I chose one of my printed deli papers but I added more designs (the hexagons and ink splatters) that were stenciled with ink.  I also added some ink to the top edge and let it run down the card and I added the black splatters by running my thumb across a toothbrush.

"Wish" was stamped and cut out and I hand cut the candle to replace the "I."  For a little glitz I added some sequins; the flame and letters have some glittery pen accents.

I tore the bottom edge of the card and adhered a contrasting color of cardstock to the card inside.  I thought it contrasted with the grungy design better than the original white cardstock.

Primative Look

A manila tag was completely covered with the stenciling using red and yellow paint.  Three different stencils were used--triangles, stripes and a chevron design.

To enhance the stenciling I traced the triangles with a black pen.  After the stamped mask image was put in place I added some silver pearls.  I stamped the mask, added some red colored pencil and a bit of glitter pen, cut it out and matted it with black. The tag is adhered directly to the card but the mask is popped up.

I stamped a leaf randomly on the card front and stenciled the chevron pattern using Versamark ink.

If I had seen that tag available commercially, I would have had no interest in it but since I was determined to use what I made, it became a challenge to put something together that worked.  It's good to give the brain and artistic muse a good challenge now and then.

Tagged Again

All that was stenciled or printed directly on this tag was the blue hexagon design.  It wasn't totally successful in that the embossing paste found its way under the stencil but that's part of the learning process and it was still useable.  I used white embossing paste, added blue embossing powder while it was wet and heated it after the paste was dry.  Research indicated that the embossing powder bubbles if it is heated while the paste is wet.   The other background color is the deli paper that I ripped up and adhered with matte medium.  I matted the tag with contrasting cardstock. and it is popped up with foam tape.

There was a circular design as part of the print which seemed ideal for some text that I hand wrote.  The flowers and leaves were die cut and I added some sparkly stickers, an arrow clip and a small ribbon bow.

I adhered printed deli wrap to the front of the card, cut the leading edge and added a punched border.

It was nice that I decided to try the stenciling and the gelli plate at the  time I also thought it would be good to again make some cards with tags.  It's a nice marriage.

Tag Card

It was fun to play with the printing but I actually put some of my printed materials to work!  All I did to the tag was ink the edges with black.  I added some die cut flowers that I folder embossed and I inked the ends of the petals.  The leaf is also die cut and inked.  I added some ribbon and music washi tape and it was ready to become the focal point.

For the background I stamped the leafy swirl onto deli paper and adhered it directly to the card front.  I cut the leading edge and lined it with a string of red after I added three strips of washi tape.

One of the qualities of this type of printing is that you'll never duplicate exactly anything you've previously done.  But variety is the spice of life.  The fun is in the surprising results.

Backgrounds, Tags

At the end of the first stenciling session I had this material to use in future projects. Not shown are pages in an art journal.  The translucent paper is deli wrap which is used to take more paint from the gelli plate after doing a print.  It can be applied to projects to build backgrounds or color using matte medium--and it's nice to get a second or third print from the plate.  The tags can be added to cards or journal pages.  Nice bounty from a couple hours of fun.

Gelli and Stencils, Oh My

There are a multitude of online recipes for making gelli plates and you can also buy them commercially prepared.  I opted to make a "permanent" plate by mixing 7 packets of unflavored gelatin into 1 cup alcohol mixed with 1/2 cup glycerine.  I added 1.5 cups boiling water, mixed it well and poured it into an 8" square pan and let it solidify.  It was easily removed from the pan for use.

And there's more than a multitude of stencils available in all kinds of designs and various ways to create your own.  Those shown are thin plastic and I've added painter's tape around to edges to increase the area to hold them in place when they are being used.  They are still easily washable.

By putting the basic supplies to use with the stencils and gelli plate you can create all sorts of backgrounds and entertain yourself for many hours.  Work near a sink if possible and have the baby wipes close at hand.

Nothing Ventured . . .

I've recently got caught up in using a gelli plate and stencils.  It's great messy fun and creates some artsy backgrounds for journal pages and cards.  I made my own gelli plate (more about that later) and I've even made a simple stencil or two (and purchased new ones).

Shown here are some basic supplies (minus the stencils and plate):    thick acrylic paint, (I figured with the three primary colors I could create any color my heart desired) embossing paste, low tack tape, sponges, color sprays, baby wipes and brayer.  I guess the phone is there because I did some YouTube research but I'd highly recommend keeping it a long ways away from your play area as the paint just sort of flies.

For putting the creations to use I managed to complete some greeting cards and will be showing those in the coming days.

Icy Cold

It took us six hours to drive from Bend to Portland OR thanks to a winter storm featuring falling snow and wind.  And it took as long to travel across the city as it took to get there with traffic moving at less than five miles an hour.  But I can be patient as long as we move forward. Drivers were cautious and courteous which makes it more pleasant and certainly much safer.  That was on February 6.  The following day brought more snow and then freezing rain and the city shut down. I'm wondering how it came to be that I've been in Portland for their last three ice storms.  hmmm The kids took this rare opportunity to go sledding, easily accomplished with hills in their neighborhood.  We cancelled our "girls" trip to Seattle to the American Girl Doll store and also cancelled our planned viewing of houses and just hunkered down for the duration.  Fortunately we timed it right for our travel back to Colorado and experienced only a bit of snowy winter weather.  Although the trip wasn't what we had anticipated, we had a good time and were relieved to reach our destinations safely.  Our house is still for sale.

AWOL

I missed a couple days for posting but for good reason.  We just returned home from Oregon and I had to upgrade the memory in my laptop.  The upgrade took 24 hours but seems to have been successful.  It's a great relief to have a fully-functioning computer again.  And now hopefully I can post daily.

This is my friend, Razor.  He was a pound puppy adopted by our daughter's family several years ago and lives in Oregon.  He likes his naps and a daily walk and is a delightful pet.

I'll get back to my usual type of postings tomorrow.  Thanks for bearing with me.

No Front Tab

This file folder card has no tab on the front.  I added patterned paper to the entire front and embellished with die cut hearts and flowers.  White satin ribbon and lace added some softness.

Friendly Hexagons

Usually I leave space between the hexagons so they have room to breathe but this time I put them right next to each other so they could be friends.  This card has a lot of sparkle because the dots on the light gray pieces are all glittery.

Tired of hexagons?  Hope not, because there are more coming.

Patterned Paper Front

I punched a tab on both the front and back of this valentine and adhered patterned paper all over the front.  The border is punched and topped with lace and satin ribbon (I'm seeing a theme here).  The ribbon has a glitzy edge to coordinate with the small foil hearts.  The hearts are die cut and the bow matches the ribbon on the lace.

Friendly Hexagons

Usually I leave space between the hexagons so they can breathe.  In this case I pushed them together so they could be good friends.  There's lots of sparkle in this design as the dots on the gray shapes are all glittery.

Tired of hexagons?  Hope not because there's more coming.

Stencil Background

A break from purple!  In addition to playing with my punch board, I've also been using some stencils with embossing paste.  In this case I mixed some Pearl Ex with translucent paste and stenciling the background hearts was a snap.  The hearts have some shimmer and shine and, of course, a bit of diension.  I simply added a die cut heart and satin ribbon.

Beautiful Paper

When you have limited supplies, a good way of dealing with it is to buy a package of patterned paper that you like and then get cardstock that coordinates.  My pack is Splendiferous by Recollections and some of the papers (like this one) have some sparkly dimension in the design.  This is just a section of the bottom border on one piece and while I hesitated to cut it, I figured if you have it, use it.  There's a second piece that I can leave whole.  I just added some die cut hearts--the purple ones glittered.  To coordinate with that I drew around the embossed edge of the big hearts with a stardust pen and used the same glitter on the tab.  The actual card has a nice sparkle that didn't translate in the photo.

Layers

Patterned paper is the highlight of this folder card which features a tab on the front and back.  I added some ribbon, a commercial flower, punched flower and die cut heart.

Hexagon Valentine

Remember the hexagon card shown on January 14 that was inspired by a book cover?  This is a valentine version.  The hearts and hexagons are all die cut.  For a little more interest I added glitter pen to the hearts.  Have you gotten the idea that I like ribbon, lace and hearts for valentines?

Vertical Orientation

This card is in the vertical position and features a tab on both the front and back.  The dots are from stenciling and I added patterned paper, ribbon, a die cut heart, and punched flowers.  What did I do before die cuts?  They add such a nice touch.

File Folder Pocket

I really like this version of the file folder cards.  The front is cut shorter and adhered at the edges to form a pocket.  The white piece slides out with the message.  I used sparkly patterned paper for the background and on the tabs.  The border is punched.

Not A Pocket

This file folder card looks like it has a pocket but it doesn't.  The front merely flips open at the bottom.  I embellished it with an inside liner, patterned paper, lace and punched flowers.

Valentine Time

I always look forward to making valentines.  And my "go to's" are lace, ribbon and hearts.  This year I went with a non-traditonal color scheme in the purple family and each card made use of an envelope punch board.  When I first heard of these boards, I wasn't really interested in using it for making envelopes, though it is well designed and easy.  When I discovered it could be used for file folder cards, boxes, bags, etc.  I was suddenly very intrested.

The cards can be quite versatile as to where the tabs are placed, the card orientation, etc.  I'll show some of the different things I came up with in the coming days.  This was has tabs on the card front and back as well as the pull-out card.  I covered the tabs with washi tape.  The sides of the card are adhered to form a pocket and I embellished with a die cut heart and flowers, lace and ribbon.

Super Bowl

This is Bronco country!

February Happiness

After January's posting of ten things to be happy about, I thought it was a good idea for every month.  So here's 10 things to be happy about in February (or any month of the year):





Lace in many patterns, sizes and colors
Valentines Day
Greeting cards
Slow cookers
Cameras that fit in the pocket
Homemade cookies
The increase in daylight hours
Automatic washers and dryers
Books (though rapidly disappearing)
Comfy sneakers