Blog: Stencil Girl Products

Fall Fun: Stenciled Pumpkins

Kim and I had our playdate for October and of course…Pumpkins had to be the stars. I am so amazed by all the different shapes and sorts of pumpkins- I went a bit overboard and bought everything I could find- LOL. I think Kim laughed secretly about that.

We gathered some of my stamps, StencilGirl stencils, brushes and cosmetic sponges and off we went.

I decided I wanted to go with a gold and lime green theme and painted some of the pumpkins with gold.

Kim decided to go with a black and orange theme and she painted the acorn squash black before stenciling with a cosmetic sponge using orange paint on top. We held the stencil mostly in place by hand, since the pumpkins have a lot of uneven ridges.

We used a mixture of heavy body and soft body paints- for now real reason but using what we have.

on the squash above the paint didn’t stick very well- and it crackled a bit – a coat of gesso underneath would have prevented this …but at the end of the day…hey- let’s not go super crazy and I came to like the grungy look :)

We also had fantastic supervision by Niles – he just wanted to make sure we are doing it all right …I guess also if there was really no treat falling down the table …;)

That was an easy and fast and fun project and one that you can make as elaborate as you want- or as easy as we did.

Here are Kim’s geometric patterned pumpkins

and here is my gold and lime/teal green bunch.

Grab your stencils – decorate a pumpkin and get into the fall mood – I am ready for some pumpkin pie now…and I don’t even like pumpkin that much ;)



Hope you have a wonderful start into the fall so far!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Nice pumpkins and so wonderful of Niles to supervise.

    Reply

  • Carole Morrison

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    Well, aren’t these just the cutest things ever!!! A refreshing change from the usual “Jack-O-Lanterns”!!! Thanks, gals!! Super project!!!
    Carole from Chicago

    Reply

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Beeing Strangers

“How do you get back to being strangers with someone who has seen your soul I ask?”

I was just playing around in my art journal with my new Midtown ArtFoamies Set and some acrylic paint and spray paint. This was fun.

The background was pretty built up with paint that I had scrapped off into my journal during various painting sessions and at first it bothered me a bit that I got all those uneven and flaky areas- but now I like it :) All a matter of adjusting your mind ;)

Here are the supplies I used for this spread


Wishing you an amazing day!!!

Nat

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I just want … – Art Journal Spread

I just want to drink coffee, create stuff and sleep – oh yes ;) I loved creating this spread.

I started off with a simple blue background painted with acrylic paint and then added some orange and stamped and stenciled with my Chicago Foam Stamps and Stencil. Then I painted the girl (yes stop your horses, I painted a face- LOL) …and added some of my brand new Caran D’Ache NeoPastel Oil Pastels- OMG – I am in love – the colors are so amazing and they are like buttttahhh!

I seriously had to tell myself to stop adding more and more. I added some marks and scribbles with a white China Marker – I love that General China Markers are made right here in Jersey City.

Here are some of the supplies I used:


Nat

Comments (4)

  • Karen Bearse

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    The colors are really interesting and vibrant. Great job on the face and love the quote cause me too!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Karen! Right? Who doesn’t want to drink coffee, sleep and create all day ;)

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Love the face and the colors you used!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Sue! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

      Reply

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Powerful Vision – Art Journal Spread

When I close my eyes my vision is even more powerful.

In this art journal spread I played with different collage elements from photos I printed out, images I found in magazines, advertising and paintings by other artists.

I layered stamps and stencils and I love how everything came together.

Here is a little list of some of the supplies I used- some are affiliate links:


Have a wonderful day <3

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Tina Walker

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    I really love this Nat! The colors, the composition, the design! ♥

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Art is a Line Around Your Thoughts

This is an art journal spread entirely inspired by Gustav Klimt- the patterns and colors.

I love breaking up stenciled patterns with hand drawn patterns. I also loved playing with all the different shapes and doodles- it was a very relaxing page to create .

You also see I am still on a little Gold-Hype :) Here are the supplies I used in this spread -some links are affiliate links:

What are your favorite shapes to draw?

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Julie B

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    EEK! LOVE THIS! Absolutely love the layers, colors, texture, shapes and design. Love how the gold gesso pops the page. Thank you once again for the inspo!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      awe thank you so much, Julie! cannot wait to see all your go,d adventures :)

      Reply

  • Shelley Graham Turner

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    Loving your gold hype! The mix of gold and orange, with the black and white pops? YUMMY!

    Reply

  • Torsa Saha

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    It’s amazing!!

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Courage and Love – playing with Watercolor in my Art Journal

“Courage, like love, circles back around and finds us again. Love, like courage, only blooms there exists so many reasons to be afraid.” Tyler Knott Gregson

I had such a wonderful time creating the page and playing and trying new things. I tested the Daniel Smith Gold Iridescent Gesso, which the wonderful people at Daniel Smith gave me for that purpose at Creativation and applied it loosely to the art journal pages. The gesso was thinner then I expected but oh my oh my once it dried the load of gold pigment fully revealed itself. And I was in Love.

Next I used my Chicago 9×12 Stencil here and there dabbed some white watercolor ground through it – and then painted the bottom of the page also loosely with the ground. Watercolor ground is a primer like Gesso which creates a porous surface on which you can later apply watercolor. I am totally intrigued by this medium and also bought a clear version to further play later and mix up watercolor and acrylics more in my work. I let everything dry overnight as it was stated on the jar.

Then I stamped with my Stroll Through the Hood set 1 and Stroll Through the Hood Set 2  and archival ink and created a city scene. I used the cling stamps and layered them up, using only parts of buildings- and just had a fun time with them.

And then I played with watercolor and just had a good time. I love how the watercolors pop off the background and how the white watercolor ground and gold elements are making it sparkly. I also love the texture created with the watercolor ground.

I added the journaling with one of the ArtGraf Graphite and went over it with a wet brush again. I guess I have a new crush …on watercolors …oh brother ;)

Here are the supplies I worked with  – some links are affiliate links:


Do you have a new art supply /medium crush this year?

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Julie B

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    This is absolutely STUNNING! Just stunning! Thank you for sharing your process……love the watercolors with your stencils and stamps; love the gold throughout. Hmmm…..you have me very curious about this medium. Thank you!

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Don’t Stand Still – Art Journal

“It’s only cold if you are standing still!” – Let’s keep on moving :)

I painted the background with acrylic paint and then layered the New Orleans 9×12 Stencil onto it and moved it around using different colored spray paints. The New Orleans stencils were inspired by the beautiful wrought iron balconies, gates, and fences known as “Iron Lace” in and around the city of New Orleans. New Orleans was one of the cities I visited on my very first trip to the U.S. in 1994 – and I really have to go back – I loved it a lot.

I pushed back the background by scraping some gesso using an old gift card over certain areas of the spread and stenciled over those gesso-ed areas using the New Orleans 4×4 Stencil.

For the catalogue image that I pasted onto the spread I used markers and acrylic paints.

Which city have you been to once and really want to go back to?

Here are some of the supplies I used for the spread – some links are affiliate links


have a wonderful day!

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Julie

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    What lovely layers and great quote! thank you for the process….I have a page with too much gesso on it to push back the color. Laying down stencils over it is the perfect solution (I’m slapping my forehead as I can’t believe I did not think to do this LOL!) I love how the white marker makes the page & image pop (another “why didn’t I think of this). Thank you for the inspiration, as always.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Julie! Yeah- got and stencil over that spread- hope you share what you did!!! hugs, nat

      Reply

  • Sandi Miaskoff

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    This piece is beautiful. And the way you integrate pictures from different publications is awesome.
    I have a question about that, when you use a marker or paint on an image, does the paper warp?
    Keep ’em comin’. Sandi

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Sandi! As for the wrapping – When I use an acrylic marker, I don’t have any problems at all as the flow of paint is pretty low. As for using paint – I make sure to dry brush the paint on and use not super fluid paint. So with all that I so far never had a problem with the paper warp. It can wrap more likely when I apply it to the background – so I try to do that slow and make sure I apply the gel medium evenly. Hope that helps Sandi! have a wonderful weekend, nat

      Reply

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Breathing Dreams Like Air

Dreams, we all have them, or so I hope ;) I have a couple more dreams, right now a very easy one … SUMMER – LOL. Yeah- that is one dream, but of course I have a couple more.

I used my new Manhattan Stencils on this page with acrylic paint- the 9×12 and the 4×4 – different sizes, same pattern- BLISS.

I also used the Grunge XXX Stamp with acrylic paint, yup, that’s how I roll. Just make sure to clean the stamp right away so that you don’t ruin it. Baby Wipe is your friend!

Hope you like my pattern play and you are breathing dreams like air today.

Here is a short list of supplies- some links are affiliate links:


Nat

Comments (2)

  • jbonomo

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    Love that stencil and the Manhattan stamp too……but seriously, how did i miss the Mark Maker Stamps in class. That’s been on my wish list for awhile….guess I will have to go shopping once again.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much Julie – Yeah the Manhattan stencil and stamp are one of my faves – it feels to me super vibrant, just as Manhattan – LOL ! The Mark Maker stamps are out of stock but should be back in stock in a couple days again – I reordered them :)

      Reply

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Go ahead, underestimate me! – sassy Art Journal Spread ;)

I thought it was funny :) And I love Lupita Nyong’o and I wanted to use her image from a magazine.

I used my new Chicago Stencil and sprayed over it with acrylic spray paint.

I used different markers to paint over the magazine image. When I applied the magazine image, it crinkled up a bit, which I add to “oops, oh – good now it has some wrinkles and texture- good”

I added the journaling with a red and pink marker and traced the outside of the letters in black. I like the page- even though it is a pretty simple one in terms of layering

Here are the supplies I used – some links are affiliate links:


Wishing you a gorgeous day!!!!

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Julie B

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    Love this (and even better in person)……can’t wait for the stencil; love how clean the image from this stencil is with spray paint and the quote cracks me up. Thank you!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Julie! HA and now that you played with spray paint in my class…maybe you are on it yourself ;)

      Reply

  • LauraB

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    yaaaassss, Queen, yaaaaasssss!

    Reply

  • Barb Charlotte, NC

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    Very creative. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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