Stencils Techniques in Mixed Media and More

           Hi friends, Dr Sonia here with the first in a series of posts showcasing Stencils using various techniques and media.
           There is such an amazing range of Stencils at Crafters Corner that you can easily spend hours just choosing which ones to get and the whole lot can easily get added to your wishlist!

           These are some of the gorgeous stencils I used in this post [includes new gorgeous stencils from Carabelle Studio ,Scrapberry Stencils and an amazing layering stencil from Prima]

         Since you can use stencils with a huge range of products, in my DT posts I will try and cover techniques using the simplest of supplies as well as projects using a myriad array of exquisite media!

Media Used in this post

         Though like most crafters I do have a few stencils , I 've not really used stencils extensively so I spent a good 3 weeks researching and preparing for this DT series on Stencils and I am sooo thankful to Shalini for giving me hours of her time guiding me on sooo many products and techniques...A BIG "THANK YOU Shalini"!!
         I had only a meagre supply of mixed media materials till now and there were some extremely tempting products you just have to try while you play with stencils so I confess  I went shopping big time at Crafters Corner!
         And apart from all the fancy pastes, sprays ,powders and paints you can buy here are the 3 things which can literally change  your crafting with Stencils and mixed media from an  "I occasionally use " to "I love using "!

          These are rather inexpensive items and you may already be using them but I am sharing it since these are real life changers in my opinion and boy am I so glad I bought them recently!
The super useful funnel tray is so helpful when working with glitter, micro beads and embossing powder...no more hunting for a clean paper and being super careful while folding the paper and putting things back into tiny bottles!
         The plastic palette knife is awesome to apply pastes on stencils. I have tried all kinds of crazy stuff to apply texture media earlier and believe me this is one item you should have in your arsenal!
         The white tape is micropore [from my clinic]..why I love it so much compared to other adhesive tapes is that it has an optimum adhesiveness...which is not too sticky and is easily tearable by hand...fabulous to use to hold your stencil in place and also to mask off areas  while using fairly fluid media too. You can buy micropore in various sizes from a medical shop or hospital.

Mixed Media Altered Book

Using

Stencils :Scrapberry's Petals Stencil and Prima's Jamie Dougherty Stencil Anemone
Paints : Art Anthology Sorbet Dimensional Paint Peachy
Sprays : Art Anthology Sprays Juicy  and Concord
Texture Media : Dreamweaver's Matt Black Embossing Paste
Art Extravagance Crackle Paste
Ranger Texture Paste
Misc Media : Ranger Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter,Inka Gold

Embellishment Creation : Plaid Craft Molds

Adhesive : Ranger Multimedium Matt 

This diary I altered  in mixed media style is a rather special one as its where I jot down ideas for my DT blog posts and crafty experiments .

After a coating of Gesso,I used Ranger Multimedium Matt  Gel to glue down a layer of tissue paper , purposely making it bumpy in certain areas.

 Stencil + White Crackle Paste

           Used a gorgeous product called White crackle Texture paste on Scrapberry's Petals Pattern Stencil . Since my base was all bumpy...I didnt get a nice crisp stencilling but then it didnt matter for this particular project

After a few hours you get a lovely crackle effect...nice and easy!

  Stencil + White Crackle Paste + Art Anthology Sprays + Inka Gold

Since my background was white, to highlight the stencilled area I sprayed  Art Anthology Sprays Juicy and Concord   and also rubbed in some  Inka Gold into the cracks!

      Stuck down myriad  gessoed embellishments[ pearls, buttons, clay embellishments, broken jewelry] using Multi Medium matte and gave a light brushing with Art Anthology's Sorbet Peach paint...this new paint is like a gel  and is shimmery and beautiful

Inka Gold and  Sorbet Peach paint together looked awesome in the white background .

        The humble tissue paper is such an easy way to add texture to a project  and its texture can be highlighted so beautifully by rubbing on a little Inka Gold using your fingers.[Be sure to check out my friend Arjita's posts on Inka Gold here at Crafters Corner blog]

       I added the sentiment " Enjoy" on my diary cover as after all crafting is to be enjoyed and life too!!

The roses and leaves were made with air drying clay and  Plaid Craft Molds  , given a coat of gesso and a light brushing of Peach Sorbet paint.

The lovely resin flower was part of my very first DT package from Crafters Corner [glad I saved it for such a special project]

Love how the  rose made with air drying clay[ was made with yellow clay and gessoed] was glammed up with just a rubbing of the magical Inka Gold!

Stencil + Distress Ink

The design on the center of my book was made using the gorgeous Prima's Jamie Dougherty Stencil Anemone. This stencil is simply fascinating to use as it has 2 parts...a broad outline and a detailing element. Sponge on 1 or even several ombre shades of Distress Inks  on the flower outline

You can add a nice script  or musical note stamp on it or try some texture media techniques!
Layered Stencil + Distress Ink + Black Embossing Paste

Place the detailing design part of the stencil and apply a nice coat of Black Embossing paste.

A Tip : Dont scrape off the black embossing paste while the stencil is on your project as you can easily mess up things...let it be...after you lift your stencil off your surface...scrape the stencil clean using your palette knife and return excess paste to your jar and dont forget to quickly wash your stencil and knife

Isn't the gorgeous black creamy texture fabulous on the flat Distress Ink  background !

  Layered Stencil + Art Anthology Sorbet Paint

Now using the same stencil with a very very special luxury paint called Sorbet[ from Art Anthology]. Sorbet paints are light and fluffy and almost like a smooth gel...quite unlike any paint I have ever seen and it shimmers brilliantly in the light !

Sorbet paints maintain their peaks brilliantly so you will get entirely different looks  with a stencil depending on how you apply the paint.

 You can  smooth it on with a palette knife  and on drying you get an amazing shimmery design!

Looks good enough to eat doesnt it!!

   Layered Stencil + Art Anthology Sorbet + Black Embossing Paste

You can leave the sorbet painted design as it is or add more by layering on the detailing part of the stencil [ only after the sorbet layer is absolutely dry] and adding a texture paste. I went with Dreamweaver's black embossing paste again.

Isnt this simply gorgeous !!

Love how the matt black contrasts soo beautifully against the shimmering peach sorbet.

And here is one more view to show the shimmer and texture

Here is one more cool technique using the same stencil and Sorbet Peach paint.
Layered Stencil + Art Anthology Sorbet Paint+ Pouncing with Stencil Brush/Finger

For this technique its wonderful to have a stencil brush but if not you can just use your fingers too.Scoop up some Peach Sorbet with your palette knife and apply a nice coating and then pounce on it with a stencil brush or your fingers

    Layered Stencil + Art Anthology Sorbet Paint

Since sorbet is a dimensional paint you will get a super cool lacy effect !

And here is how it looks on my book cover

 Layered Stencil + Art Anthology Sorbet Paint + Texture Paste + Distress Glitter

And if you want to have more fun...stencil on the detailing with white texture paste and while the texture paste is still wet sprinkle on some distress glitter.

The combination of the shimmering Sorbet Paint , the texture paste and the glistening distress glitter is amazing!

and so that is how my Craft Diary got a mixed media alteration!

And now some Stencil techniques using simple products
Rainbow Mosaic Effect

Using

Stencils :Carabelle Studio Vitrail Stencil

Distress Inks  

Heat Embossing Supplies : Ranger Emboss It Dabber , Embossing Powders,UTEE

Spellbinders Curved Matting Basics A

       Stencilling can be simple as it goes too and I especially love the  Carabelle Studio Stencils which are one of the new brands of Stencils available at Crafters Corner .Their "Vitrail" glass effect stencil can be used to create such cool mosaic effects!

Stencil + Distress Inks  

Sponging Inks using Distress Ink Pads  onto stencils is such an easy and gratifying technique you can do to whip up a quick card or two!

You can stop there or go a step further and add some embossing powder.
 Stencil + Distress Inks  + Embossit Dabber/ Versamark + Embossing Powder

     Replace the stencil  and either swipe your Versamark Ink pad onto your stencilled card or dab with an Emboss-it dabber [ so convenient to use ], sprinkle embossing powder and heat!

In this card I used WOW clear sparkle embossing powder

Clear  Embossing Powders are especially cool to use over inked stencilled areas!

The effect over the Seedless Preserves Distress Inked area reminds me of grape jelly!!

Stencil + Distress Inks  + Versamark + UTEE

The 2nd rainbow mosaic card uses the same stencil, more Distress Ink colors and UTEE...it has such a lovely look like water on a mosaic of colors but try as I might I couldn't quite capture it on photo!
Perfect Pearls Butterfly Tag

Stencil : Carabelle Studio   Effet Bois

Distress Inks  

Perfect Pearls Pigment Powders, Perfect Medium

Heat Embossing Supplies :Ranger Super Fine Gold Embossing Powder

Stamps and Dies : Heartfelt creations  Botanical Wings Stamps and Dies

 Tags are such cool projects to experiment on various techniques and perfect for stencilling!

Sponge any brown shade of ink over the Effet Bois stencil

Admire your handiwork....then replace the stencil over the design and swipe the perfect medium over it in random areas....you dont want to cover the whole design as it can become overwhelming! Brush on perfect pearls and set with a mist of Lindy's pearlescent or water. I used 2 colors and loved the effect!

 Stamp , Heat Emboss and use Distress Inks  to quickly color a  Butterfly and add it to your Wood grain tag! Add a few flowers and pearls in matching colors

Perfect Pearls is such an easy way to add a lovely shine to your project!

I heat embossed the "FLY" alphas in the same gold embossing powder as the butterfly and layered it on a butterfly patterned ribbon.

Mixed Media Horror House

Using

Stencils : The Crafters Workshop Mini Tuscan Wall Stencil

Gesso,Embossing Powder

Dreamweaver's Matt Black Embossing Paste

Distress Crackle Paint Clear Rock Candy

Plaid Woodgrainer Tool
          When I get new craft supplies my daughter always likes to try them out.She is quite fascinated with the horror genre and chipped in to make this rather ghastly looking project which though not exactly to my taste does have some cool mixed media techniques!

     Black goes so well with the horror genre doesnt it but I didnt have any black gesso with me[ its on my next shopping list] so gave a coating of white gesso on a box lid .

 Then added gauze pieces around the margins and gave a generous painting of a mixture of olive green acrylic paint + gel medium[ to increase its fluidity and retard its drying time].

We used a cool  Woodgrainer Tool   from Plaid to create a ripple of textures on the surface .

 Used the TCW Mini Tuscan Wall Stencil with black Embossing paste to add an arch . Before the embossing paste dries ,sprinkle  embossing powder .

 When you are aiming for a messy look let the embossing powder remain in stray areas. Heat the embossing powder before the texture paste dries as then the texture paste bubbles up to create a cool bumpy uneven look!

If you are wondering what all the green stuff is...well its puffy paint which we heat embossed and puffed  out to glory!
Though I used some old puffy painthe, Crafters Corner has a huge yummy range of Puffy Paints
 And here is the end result!
Though not the most beautiful of projects it sure was fun going crazy with media while making it!

 After that stage I dont have any step by step as we went a bit crazy with paints and sprays and my hands were too messy to take photographs!
Sharing a few tips

 To highlight parts of a raised stencilled area : rub acrylic paint or Inka Gold using your fingers  .

To give a crackle effect:There are several ways of doing this but one of the most fun technique is brushing on Ranger's Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint.

• Paint on the crackle paint and leave to dry...dont be impatient and touch to see if its dry!!
• If you add a thick layer you get larger cracks as in the picture below 
• Large cracks can flake off and you can prevent that by sealing with Ranger's multi medium matt/ gloss.

 The bleeding chained heart is a bronze charm which was really put to the works using layers of paint!

 What I find especially fascinating about mixed media techniques using lots of layers is  that it is fun to see what layers get masked and what  elements show through in the end! The gauze we added right at the beginning  gave such a nice textured backdrop to the gold and red!

 Though a horror genre we added a few sparkling rhinestones for a subtle evil green sparkle!Hehe!

Stencilling with Gesso

        Though for most projects you would want a nice crisp stencilling if you are not really bothered about the crispness and are okay with a bit of a mess  you can use the humble gesso to stencil through your stencil.Using Gesso you can easily loose the lovely detailing of intricate stencils  but if you are aiming for a loose kind of look its great!

Stencil + Gesso + Embossing Powder

    When the Gesso is wet , you can sprinkle embossing powder on it and heat it...it bubbles up nicely and in the picture below you can see the cohesive look rather than the crisp clean look you can get with texture paste.

Altered Mixed Media Box with Masking Technique

Using Stencils :Scrapberry's Petals Stencil

Texture Media : Dreamweaver's Metallic Gold Embossing Paste
Paints : Folk Art Multi Surface Paints, Inka Gold
Decoupage Glue : Mod Podge, 
Decoupage Material : Napkins, 
Metal Charms
Dies : Cheery Lynn  Love die

I didnt want to end the post with a "horror" post so here is an altered packaging box [ yeah for those of you who dont know...I am an ENT Surgeon and that is a cough syrup brand !!]

My kiddo helped me to paint the box with the versatile creamy  Folk Art Multi Surface Paints   [ did you check out Rupa's posts and my  Intro post]

Decoupaged a tissue on to it and let it dry

I wanted only parts of the leafy stencil design to be stencilled. You can mask off parts of a stencil by using tape or take the easier , less accurate way out and add paper strips under your stencil to cordon off areas you dont want!

I used Dreamweaver's Metallic Gold embossing paste.

Again dont scrape off the paste while the stencil is on your project but lift it off and then scrape off the excess paste

It dries to a beautiful sheer gold effect...smooth and shiny!

Gold and Red are such a nice romantic color combination so that is the color scheme I went with

Both the Butterfly and the Time flies charms got a good rubbing with Inka Gold to make them look more vibrant and rich.

 I toned down the overall colors of the box slightly by splattering with white acrylic paint!

Love how smoothly the Gold embossing paste dries!

Phew......If you stayed with me till now....Thank you so much !!!
Hope I have inspired you to get out your stencils and start playing!!