Hi everyone, it's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today, and I'm here to share with you a simple stenciled art plaque created with very few products and very simple methods, in hopes to inspire those of you who are just beginning with mixed media and want to extend a bit beyond card making.
I chose to omit my gel printing plate for this project and focus on basic painting and stencilling techniques, because so many times I hear stampers say they cannot find a rhythm with their printing and they are discouraged in mixed media. Here on the PaperArtsy blog we hope to inspire every level of crafter and offer a wide variety of techniques. I hope you will see that simple techniques can lead to beautiful and detailed projects and be inspired to try these yourselves.
I envisioned a jagged edged layered plaque, so I decided to work with watercolor papers and tore them down to size using a ruler. For my base layer I wanted to make a nice earthy background. I used a stencil sponge and applied Fresco Chalk Acrylics in Toad Hall and Chocolate Pudding to my water misted panel. The mist helped avoid harsh lines in the paint. Next I sponged through PaperArtsy Stencil by Lin Brown (PS006) with more Chocolate Pudding. What a beautiful stencil!
For my middle layer, I wanted to go dark, so I sponged mostly Chocolate Pudding with my muddled brush, then used the flower center portion of PaperArtsy Stencil by Lin Brown (PS003) to create a polka dot effect with sponged Toad Hall. I am a huge fan of circles and dots and will definitely be using this stencil for more dotted effects in the future!
Here you can see just how these layers work together. I probably could have gone darker with this middle panel, but it worked out well regardless. In addition to creating contrast with my colorway, I almost always try to balance organic with geometric elements, such as leaves and circles. Contrast and balance are good themes to consider as you work. Ask yourself along the way if you are achieving this.
For my final layer I tried to lighten things and painted the panel with pure Toad Hall. I then used Grunge Paste through the flower grouping in PS003. After this was dry, I went back over the flower with my paint colors. The white Grunge Paste creates a bit of a halo effect, which I really like. You can see I added a few more stenciled dots to ground the image. Then I splashed all of my panels with watery Caramel.
I further roughed up all of my edges with a little sponged Walnut Stain ink and some messy stitching. I chose an assortment of fibres to use as a hanger, tied around a broken, mossy branch.
I picked a favorite sentiment from Lin Brown Stamp Set 5 (ELB05) and stamped it onto scrap inky paper and mounted onto the layered panel. This was the hardest part, choosing from all of the beautiful stamped phrases in this fabulous set.
To bring some additional texture and life to the piece, I rubbed over my flowers and the perimeter of the bottom panel with a glue stick, then adhered transfer foil. The subtle metallic shimmer catches the light beautifully and contrasts with the chalk finish of the Fresco paints.
Now, I'm known to use earth tones in my work, but I hope you can imagine these beautiful stencil patterns in your preferred colorway. What three colors come to your mind?
It's always so exciting to think of the transformation from plain white paper to a finished project, especially one you can hang in your home or use as a gift. Stencil work is a great way to add layers of color and pattern. Lin Brown, a classic stamp designer, has created such beautiful nature inspired stencil designs, many of which coordinate with her stamps, and I know you will find them a pleasure to work with. I hope these simple concepts have got your wheels turning for your next stenciled project. Make sure to tag @paperartsy so we can revel in its coolness!
xx, Autumn
