USING MY MINI STENCILS

Lavander stencils for Paper Pen and Plan

One of my favourite things to do in the studio is the designing and cutting of stencils, especially the mini stencils which Clare from Paper Pen and Plan asks me to cut to go in her monthly subscription boxes. These are 10 x 7cm so are quite small, but even so based on a brief from Clare I try to pack as much on there as possible. This month’s stencil is a lavander trio and as a bonus I also included the mask part too.

This afternoon I had a chance to play with this new stencil myself and I thought I’d share a few handy tips along the way. The first thing I like to do is extend the edges by adding some painters tape. I’ll also mask off parts of the stencil I don’t want to include with a bit of washi. The second way I like to use these small stencils is by using a finger dauber with ink. You can get a much better finish with one of these and, it makes the whole job so much easier and by pouncing rather than swirling it stops ink from spreading underneath.

This particular stencil is great for layering with several different colours to create more depth. I also used texture paste on a piece of card and dry brushed over some gold acrylic once it was dry. The texture paste picks up the paint beautifully.

Layered with Distress Inks

I don’t think this card needs much more to be honest. A few inky splatters and a delicate butterfly are enough.

Impasto paint

Impasto paint is very thick and works like texture paste using a knife. I decided to just add a small collage to the front with a splash of colour from some fabric.

Texture paste and gold acrylic paint

I love how the texture paste and gold worked out on the tag.

If you want to know more about the subscription boxes from Paper Pen and Plan go here to the Etsy shop. If you’re interested in having stencils designed and made by me then you can contact me here jaine@basementstudio.lu and I’ll give you a quote.

Next week I’ll show you how I used the other part of this stencil, the masks. That’s a whole other world of possibilities.

For now, have a lovely weekend

Jaine xx

New year, new projects

We’re well into 2021 by now and here in the studio I’m trying to focus on anything which takes attention away from the on going pandemic blues.

My morning forest walks with Cooper are helping immensely and give me time to reflect and imagine new projects and ideas.

These New Year cards are in the shop at the moment in packs of 3 and are the perfect way to stay in touch with people who you can’t see right now. You can find them here by following this link.

Last summer I made this cute little art journal from a pile of geli prints but since then it’s been on my shelf and admired but not added to. I’ve decided to put that right this year and add a quick collage or piece of artwork once a week. Being so small it’s the perfect place to create something quick and with the backgrounds already painted, less intimidating and satisfies a need for me to create art in some way. I recommend it to anyone, get out your stash, make a mini journal and keep a few scraps in a box for collage, add a sticker and it’s done!

Stencil production has resumed in the studio and these have gone out to Paper Pen and Plan to use in their monthly subscription boxes. If you fancy a mini bullet journal stencil why not visit Paper Pen and Plan on Etsy and sign up for the next box? Just follow this link.

rbt

Well that’s all for now, as it’s Wednesday I’m working on new things for the shop and right now I’m making memory albums for Valentine’s Day.

Have a great week

Jaine xx

Sunshine and Rainbows

Here we are at the beginning of April and because of the current situation, i.e. being on lockdown to stop the spread of this awful virus, every day has started to blur into the next. I’ve started to imagine it’s the weekend every day! We’ve had some fabulous sunny days which makes me so grateful to live where I do and have a garden in which to enjoy the sun. I know for a lot of people it’s really difficult right now!

People all over the world are making their own fun and creating a little happiness wherever they can. On social media I’ve seen lots of beautiful rainbows being displayed in windows everywhere, all sizes and formats. WOW! Embossing Powder must have had some amazing forward thinking as the new theme on their Facebook Fan page is Rainbow.

I created my rainbow from these beautiful colours from the Primary’s range, hand painting the brush stroke with the Mixed Media Embossing Brush from Seth Apter. I love how it turned out.

If you’d like to see more rainbow inspired creations or join the fun by designing your own colourful project, go to the WOW Embossing Powder Fans page on Facebook.

Have a good weekend and stay safe

Jaine xx

Pastel Love

I’m not sure the words ‘pastel’ and ‘love’ have been used much in my vocabulary but when I saw that the theme for the month at WOW! is Pastels, of course I had to embrace it.

I created these two projects, the second one up on the blog as a tutorial, and I think I can honestly say, pastels are my new love – well until the end of Easter anyway!

Catch up with the latest pastel creations and find out how I made the above decorated eggs by visting WOW! Embossing here.

Jaine x