Stencil Girl and Clearsnap Blog Hop

The talented designers at Clearsnap and StencilGirl have lined up several inspiring projects to share with you this week. I was elated to have the opportunity to play with some of StencilGirl’s beautiful stencils. Today I have a few projects to share which pair some of StencilGirl’s nature themed stencils (if you visit their site, you WILL swoon over all the designs) with luscious ColorBox Spritzers and SMOOCH Spritz from Clearsnap. The first project pairs the Doodle It Rose Stencil with sumptuous hues from Clearsnap, including a ColorBox® Spritzers in Pinkolicious, Smooch Spritz Pearlescent Accent Sprays, Wine Berry and a deep dark Smooch Spritz Pearlescent Accent Sprays, Majestic.

To achieve this mottled effect, I simply placed my stencil on heavyweight paper, in this case, Bristol Vellum – I like this stuff because it has a perfectly smooth surface. Then, with a foam brush, I pat gesso through the design, diluting it a bit with water here and there, but remembering to always keep the brush on the dry side – too wet and the gesso will migrate under your stencil.

The variations in dilution create the pretty mottling. Once the gesso had dried, I wet the surface with water to encourage blending of different colors and to prevent any spray marks. Then I added my beautiful colored mists, smearing them around with my finger – fun inky messy play! See below how the gesso acted as a very natural looking resist.

For the second card, I paired StencilGirl Fern Fronds with cooler hues from Clearsnap, including a ColorBox® Spritzers in Moody Blue and my all time fave blue, Smooch Spritz Pearlescent Accent Sprays, Sea Kiss.

While the stencil could easily be used to represent ferns, I chose this one because its shapes and patterns were just abstract enough to be used for other purposes, or simply for interesting texturezzzz! Using them with these blue mists and the gesso technique I shared on the Clearsnap blog in a recent video tutorial, the fronds transformed into tree boughs heavily laden with snow.

At least that’s what I saw. Nothing more peaceful than a landscape transformed by a snowfall, don’t you agree? Having lived on the West Coast for so long, I really miss the beauty of snow… But I don’t miss the shoveling lol!

For both projects, I felt a little metallic accent would go nicely, so I edged each mixed media piece with ColorBox Metallic Ink Pad, Full Size, Platinum from Clearsnap. I also wrapped with some silvery organza that I had on hand, burning it a little with my heat tool to create rippling, and securing with a simple brad. For my video tutorial on “Burning Your Fibers,” please visit my YouTube channel – if this is your first visit to my blog, I’d love for you to check out the multitudes of video tutorials I have to share there!

I hope you enjoyed my projects today! Of course, what kind of hop would this be without some yummy prizes up for grabs?

All comments left this week are eligible to win. Comments close Sunday, October 26th at 11:59 pm Central Time. The more you comment, the more chances you have to win! One comment per post, please.