Blog: Santa Fe Stencil

Potential is Scary – Art Journal

Potential is Scary

This art journal page came together in many stages. First I glued down collage paper like old letter pieces and parts of a pattern sheet I created a while ago (with my Mini Motifs and Triangle Love rubber stamp sets) using Gel Medium. I didn’t really know where this page was going to go – and so I just let each step inform the next. Hence the wildness of the page :)

Next I added some pink acrylic paint with a palette knife to tie the collage pieces together. I placed my Santa Fe Stencil on top and scraped some gesso over the stencil with a palette knife. It is raised but very thin, so it still works well in an art journal.

After it dried I used a water-soluble Derwent Pencil to sketch out the face. Instead of going over it with a brush, I used a Faber Castell white brush pen, creating a grayish, brushstroke-like effect. Later I went over it with a green acrylic pen as well. I then used a Posca marker for the journaling.

I finished up the page by stamping my Actually I Can rubber stamp.

This page reminded me how much I love playing with heavy body paints or gesso through stencils- and I definitely will visit this again. It is funny how play can sometimes remind you of techniques that you used to use a lot, that maybe you moved away from as you continued on your path and the next stage in your artmaking. If I pull out my earlier art journals I can definitely say for me it used to be all about actual texture in my journals.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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Stencilbop Challenge Prompts 27 & 28

Here is your recap for Stencilbop prompts 27 and 28:

August 27 – Cut

It’s so much fun to use Stencils as a cutting template in your art journal. 

For this art journal spread I used my Star Struck  Stencil and traced it into my journal.

Then I cut the openings out of the paper with a craft knife…

…and mounted one of the Suminagashi papers that I printed a while ago behind it.

I really like the simple look of this. 

August 28 – Collage

Collage is such a classic artmaking technique. I wanted to combine it with the use of stencils.

For this art journal spread I used some spraypaint through my Santa Fe stencil and then traced some of the elements of the stencil onto an old letter that I had found in an antique store. 

I cut the pattern elements out and applied them- sometimes offset with a glue stick to the spraypainted pattern. 

Another fun and easy way to use stencils. 

Here are some of the supplies I used for these prompts:

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Love the fussy cutting with that stencil. Looks great and perfect for a unique page in an art journal or on a project.

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The Stencilfied Journal – Prompt 20

My wonderful friend Tina Walker is at it again – she invited several people to join her Stencilfied Prompts. The prompts are music related and each week she is posting a song. You can be inspired by the lyrics, the video, the album cover or anything related and the only restriction is that you have to use StencilGirl Product Stencils. Here is my take on Prompt 20

This week’s prompt was Godspeed(Sweet Dreams) by The Dixie Chicks. I haven’t heard this song before and it is definitely not my thing, but that didn’t stop me from creating :)

I tripled up on pattern in the background with my Santa Fe stencil and my Santa Fe and Mini Santa Fe foam stamps. Some areas with spray paint, and some areas with acrylic paint and sponge. I like the play between the different scales.

I collaged in and painted and sketched over a magazine image and pulled in some lyrics with a fude pen. Even though the song wasn’t my type, I really like what I made when I got to work. You never know what will spark your creativity when you begin.

Here are some of the supplies that I used:


Nat

Comments (1)

  • Tina Walker

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    I really love this spread, especially since you’ve never heard the song before. ?

    Beautiful!

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The Stencilfied Journal – Prompt 12

My wonderful friend Tina Walker is at it again – she invited several people to join her Stencilfied Prompts. The prompts are music related and each week she is posting a song. You can be inspired by the lyrics, the video, the album cover or anything related and the only restriction is that you have to use StencilGirl Product Stencils. Here is my take on Prompt 12

This week’s prompt is “Jackson” Johnny Cash and June Carter. You gotta love Johnny Cash and June Carter …but hotter than a pepper sprout?

Are they hot too? LOL- anyway I spray painted over my Santa Fe Stencil as well as over my Flower Maze Stencil .

I used also some older prints of mine …because hey …do birds know that pepper sprouts are hot? LOL – Questions over questions …told you I am a weirdo ;)

Here are the supplies I used:

Nat

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The Stencilfied Journal – Prompt 6

My wonderful friend Tina Walker is at it again – she invited several people to join her Stencilfied Prompts. The prompts are music related and each week she is posting a song. You can be inspired by the lyrics, the video, the album cover or anything related and the only restriction is that you have to use StencilGirl Product Stencils. Here is my take on Prompt 6:

This week’s prompt was Alanis Morissette – Thank You. That one was tough – neither do I like the song- LOL- nor did the lyrics really do it for me- but I found a small part of the lyrics and I pulled them out :)

I used my Santa Fe Stencil on top of a really messed up background. I sprayed in white over the Stencil and I love how it made the otherwise already dull looking colors pop again.

I love how crisp the spray painted stencils sets off the textured grungy background.

Here are some of the supplies I used for this spread


Nat

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Endless Summer – Tania Ahmed

  

It’s Tuesday my friends so that means another fabulous post from my Creative Squad! Today we have the lovely Tania Ahmed bringing us a fresh set of cards using my Santa Fe stencil and a layering technique that is awesome! You have to scroll down and check out her video showing exactly how she does it. This month we are also working with a new theme: Endless Summer – The days are long, the sun is shining, the air is soft… it must be summer! Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and save a summertime memory forever.

Summer is and has always been my favourite time of the year, I thrive in the warmth of the sunshine and I love being able to putter around in my garden on the days when I am home. I adore bright colours (if you haven’t already guessed, ha!) so when I read the briefing for this month, I had a play with Nat’s Santa Fe Stencil and some of my favourite PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Paints!

I love that you can layer the designs of the Santa Fe Stencil so create a new look. I love a stencil that does double duty like this one does. When I first discovered that you can do this technique with the Santa Fe stencil, I was practically “seal-clapping” with glee! Don’t you love it when you have mad ideas that work!?!

I applied the paint with a sponge through the stencil and then aligned the stencil design over my pattern to create a layered look. I experimented with different kinds of opaque and translucent paints to get different effects. Make sure to tape the stencil down so that it doesn’t move around too much.

When I had a few backgrounds prepared, I quickly made them into very simple cards and I used the offcuts from the patterns to create a fourth card using scraps layered diagonally. When in doubt, I do diagonal stripes like this and add a simple sentiment. It works like a charm every time!

I have created a video tutorial that you can see below and if you have any questions about this technique please do let me know.

Thank you for taking the time to take a peek at my project and I hope that you have a fabulous day!

Thank you Tania for sharing a fantastic way to get more out of the Santa Fe stencil! I love your cards! Here are some of the supplies that Tania used:



Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

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Nat

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My Fire Burns Bright – Shilpa Nagaonkar

  

Hello my friends during this busy holiday season! Today we have a lovely art journal spread from Creative Squad member Shilpa Nagaonkar. This will be Shilpa’s final project with the squad and we thank her for her brilliant work and we wish her all the best in 2018 and beyond! Today, Shilpa is using my Circle Drive and Van Vorst ArtFoamies and my Santa Fe stencil, along with this month’s theme – My Fire Burns Bright – Creativity is a passion that can come from deep within the heart and soul of the maker. Sometimes this fire gets ignited by an event or an influential person in our lives, and other times it can be ignited by a love for a material or just simply the enjoyment that comes from making. What makes your creative fire burn bright?

Hello Everyone,  Hope you are enjoying the beautiful art by the Creative Squad this month, we are making with the theme – “My Fire burns Bright”.  My everyday life has great impact on my creative journey. … and that keeps my fire bright. I have a journal page to share with you today, in which I have created an abstract city scape as I was thinking about my previous home. .. so here we go…

Here was my process:

To start with I applied various layers of acrylic paints in greens and blues.. I have used Dylusion paints here.

I stamped beautiful texture using Nathallie’s Circle Drive stamp set and blue acrylic paint, randomly on the surface.

Further I created stencil texture with Nathallie’s Santa Fe stencil and paints.

For creating my imaginary buildings, I adhered dictionary papers on card stock and colored them in pink and red acrylic colors. I stamped the beautiful Van Vorst design on it using Black Archival ink. Next I cut them into building shapes and adhered them on the page.

I used a white Gelli roll pen to add more details, I also wrote create, inspire and love with black pens to finish my journal page.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Thank you Shilpa – I just love this happy color combination and the mix of patterns! In addition to dictionary paper, Shilpa used the following supplies (some are affiliate links):



Play along with us too: I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

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Nat

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Thank you for the step by step tut Shilpa.
    Great and inspiring colors as well.

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Pattern Lovers – Michelle Rydell

  

Today we have a project from the Creative Squad! Michelle Rydell is sharing a really happy and colorful journal cover using my Santa Fe stencil and my Embroidery stamp set. This month’s theme is: Pattern Lovers Love Patterns: We admit it – sometimes we go a little crazy over cool patterns. We see them everywhere and whether it’s in the human-made stuff all around us or in the designs by Mother Nature, we love them all. So this month we’re playing with pattern and giving it the attention it deserves!

One thing I love just as much as art journaling, is making the journals to journal in!  When I heard that the theme for this month was Pattern Lovers I thought it would be perfect to do a journal cover!

I started by folding some 9 x 12” paper in half to form a 6” x 9” journal. I cut/tore a long piece of unprimed canvas 9” high to match the height of the journal.  Then I wrapped it around the papers to decide how long to make it.  I wanted enough to create a flap.

I primed the canvas on both sides with some white gesso.

I wanted the outside of the cover to be a progression of cool colors, so I used a makeup sponge to rub on some acrylic paint in lime green, turquoise and purple.

Then I sponged some teal over the whole thing with the Santa Fe stencil. I love how the blue creates a different effect depending on what color it is combined with…

I used white gesso to stamp the Cross Circle stamp (from the Embroidery set) randomly.

Then, I added the Grannies stamp with black for contrast.

As a final touch, a little pink was added with a paint pen to fill in some of the circles.

Then I flipped the canvas over to paint the inside. For high contrast I used warm colors to create a similar progression as a base.

Then, used the Running stamp with white gesso to create an all-over pattern, and the cover was done!

Here are some photos of the completed journal.  I made a slit in the flap and sewed a button to create a closure. I used a simple pamphlet stitch to sew in the signatures.  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Thank you Michelle for sharing your project with us! In addition to a button and some thread, Michelle used the following supplies (some are affiliate links):



Play along with us too! I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat

Comments (10)

  • Rita Montgomery

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    I love this idea. I can see doing some raw edge appliqueing or free motion quilting to the cover as well. Fantastic job. ~~rita

    Reply

    • Michelle Rydell

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      Ohhh, free motion quilting would be awesome! Thank you Rita!

      Reply

  • Donnalee

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    fabuloso!!!!!!!

    Reply

  • Julie Tucker

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    Wow wow wow!!! This is gorgeous! LOVING the colors and the textures!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply

  • Travis ArtJournalGuy

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    Very creative! I would never have thought to do something like this, but it seems easy to do. Thanks for sharing your process with us.

    Reply

  • Sherry Canino

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    How beautiful and I just love all the colors !!!❤️❤️❤️

    Reply

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Inspiration from Around the Globe

 

This Tuesday we’re taking a break from our Creative Squad (they will be back next week with a new theme to play with!) to bring you some super fun projects from around the world. As you may know, my stamps and stencil designs are available for purchase online and maybe even in your local craft store, so crafters and mixed media artists and art journalers from around the world are using them. I am always excited to see how YOU use my products in your own projects. I am even more excited to share some of the beautiful and creative examples of these projects with you today. Enjoy this inspiration from around the globe!

First we have a super fun idea from one of our Creative Squad members, Marsha Valk from the Netherlands, for an Easter-themed table runner. Although Easter was last month, this is still a fantastic way to use my stencils on a project that can dress up your table for any occasion. Marsha uses a whole slew of my stencils, including Buenos Aires, Santiago, Mesa Verde, Manhattan, Amsterdam, Toledo, and Chicago for a variety of cool patterns.

In honor of Spring, we have a gorgeous stenciled flower pot from Jean Dunning of Connecticut using my Santa Fe stencil. If you like this idea, stay tuned – we coincidentally have a similar project planned here at nStudio later this month ;)

Here’s an art journal page from Angie Winkler in Oklahoma using my Urban Scribble stamp set and my Chicago Positive Negative foam stamp set to create a beautiful urban sunset. I love the contrast and colors on this one, and the creative use of the Chicago stamps for the sky!

From the Netherlands, Jacqueline van Zuiden brings us a really cute gift for her new great nephew that all started with my Elephant foam stamp. It’s super happy and I love the message :)

Join us again next Tuesday for another great project from one of our Creative Squad members!  They will be working with a new theme for May.  And in the meantime, share with me what you’ve been working on with my stamps and stencils.  I would love to feature your project in an upcoming post!


Nat

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