{Mixed Media Tutorial} Easy-To-Make and Pretty-To-Look-At Stencil Storage - by Lynne

Hello and happy April everyone... Lynne here today with my monthly mixed media tutorial and this post is all about how I store my stencils.

 

I create my own stencil books out of heavy cardboard (saved from products I have bought) and clear plastic scrapbook page protectors all  held together with a couple of metal rings from the dollar store.  And because I hang these books on my studio wall so they are within easy reach, there is the added advantage of them creating wall art in my creative space! (PS... yest that is me looking at you from my wall... Smile.)

I now have enough ARTploration stencils to warrant their own book so I decided to make a new one and to decorate it Lynne-style using the Broken Glass stencil and zentangle patterns.  Here is a close up of the finished product with all the steps in my creative process to follow:

because I decided to use 8"x8" scrapbook page protectors I started with two pieces of heavy scrap cardboard cut 9"x12" which I covered with two coats of heavy white gesso, front and back (paint first coat, let dry, paint second coat).  I then used the ARTplorations Broken glass stencil and traced the shapes onto my gesso'd cardboard using a waterproof black fine point Sharpie Marker... any waterproof pen will do.

Next, using my Peerless watercolors I painted the shapes in a rainbow of colors and I didn't worry too much about staying in the lines (as you can see).  I also created some shading by having darker and lighter colors in the triangles... this saves doing it after I filled in the spaces with zentangles.

Next I painted the frames around the triangles.  Notice how I used colors that were the compliments of the triangle shapes, because this makes those shapes stand out even more.  I did not worry too much about staying in the lines or even keeping the paint even because I know that the zentangle patterns I plan on drawing will cover all this up.

Once everything was  dry I began filling in those spaces with zentangle patterns using a waterproof black pen... my favorite is the Micron with a .3 and .5 tips...

Don't get caught up on trying to make each space filled with zentangle patterns perfect because it is the piece as a whole that makes it. No one is going to notice small imperfections in each triangle.

 Next I added some doodled borders and finished painting the outside of the front cover...

And finally I had fun with my lettering adding the title so it looked like it was behind those "glass frames"...

Here is what my stencils look like.... I added a piece of solid colored card stock to each page protector which allows me to better see the stencils and to use both sides of the page protector.  This book holds an amazing number of stencils, allows me to find them easily and most importantly put them away easily!

So that's it for this month... I hope you enjoyed my little lesson and it inspires you to play around with your stencils a bit more...

Lynne Mizera,

for the STAMPlorations Mixed Media Design Team

 

STAMPlorations products used on this project:

 

Broken Glass stencil

Other products used on this project:

Micron Black Pens

Sharpie Fine Point Pen

Art Basics Heavy Gesso

Peerless Watercolor paint chips