“U2″ – a layout background created with stencils

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Sanna Lippert

Hi there, Sanna here again ! Thank you so much for your kind comments on my previous post beginning of May – they really made my day! As promised, here´s my second post for May. This time I wanted to play with stencils by creating a unique background for a layout.

I started by layering the “Aztec” stencil over a 30×30 inch piece of water color paper (taped it down with masking tape to keep it from moving) and then borrowed a white wax crayon from my kids . I covered the open spaces with wax crayon for a resist effect.

After that I flipped the mask around and stamped with an acrylic stamp (that was just big enough to fit into the open mask area) some stamp images onto the paper for more interest. When the ink dries, it looks much lighter.

Now I went on and sprayed a reasonably big amount of water onto the water color paper to make it wet. See how the wax keeps water from soaking into the paper?

Before adding spray inks I mixed them with water to create a lighter tone and then just went along and brushed the colors over the paper.

Since I added quite much water, the colors will need a while to soak into the paper, but I like the effect it creates, so I let it air dry.

After the paper is dry you can wipe over the page with a baby wipe to remove any residue ink from the wax areas. The parts that did not get totally covered with wax, will absorb color, so now you´ll see how carefully you have worked with the crayon .

You can leave the paper like this or add even more details and layers. I stamped around the edges with a background stamp to give them more interest..

..and then continued by adding even more layers with crackle paste.

I wanted to create a grey crackle paste, so I mixed some grey acrylic paint with the white paste.

Then just applied it over the “Tiny Circles” stencil with a palette knife. Depending on the medium you use, it might dry quite fast, so remember to carefully clean your stencil after using it, if you don´t want any residues left on your stencil (rinse with water)!

Next I mixed some yellow spray ink with the paste to create a light yellow tone. After that just applied it over the “Diamond” stencil and let it dry.

Now the background paper is done. You can go on adding media on it, if you like. You might notice that I added some white and black ink splatters in the end (just can´t seem to do anything without ink splatters lately..).

Finally just built up my layout by adding embellishments, stickers, stamping, rhinestones, chipboard and a photo.

Hope you have enjoyed this step-by-step! I sure have had a great time preparing these tutorials for you and playing with these stencils – thanks TCW & Jaime for having me here!!! See you around!!

Happy scrapping,
xoxo, Sanna

Easy stencil ideas for cards by Sanna

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Sanna Lippert

Hi everyone, Sanna here! When Jaime contacted me and asked if I would like to do a blogpost or two for the TCW blog, I was more than thrilled and immediately agreed. I love the TCW Stencils and have been using them quite intensively recently!! So my first post in May is about cards. I did four cards using the Mini Garden Gate, Quatrefoil, Kaleidoscope, Honeycomb, Tiny Circles and Mini Elevator Gate Stencils. So prepare for quite a long post …

Materials for the first card:

You will need: stencils, white cardstock, a card base, embossing ink pad, clear embossing powder, craft sheet, heat gun, ink pads and a pen.

1. Place a stencil over the white cardstock and press embossing ink over the mask into the paper. While you are at it, cover the whole paper up, so you can use the other images for later projects, if you like.

2. Remove the stencil, cover the embossed areas with clear (or white) embossing ink and heat them with the heat gun until the powder starts to melt (don´t burn your fingers!).

3. This is what everything looks like after you are finished heating the powder.

4. Now add ink over the images with an ink blending tool. I used Distress Inks (bundled sage, wild honey and worn lipstick) from Ranger Inc. You could also use a spray ink here too.

5. After inking, I outlined the stencil images with a black pen for more contrast, but you could also skip this phase, if you prefer the original look.

6. After that just use as much or as little of the embossed and inked paper for a card (or on a layout) and decorate/embellish to finish your project. I used a wide chevron washi tape to create a flower. Just first fold the washi in half and then fold it again lengthwise to create a flower. Fast and easy and adds nice contrast to the card.

Now for the second card. Since I had leftover pieces of that previously embossed paper, I used them for this quick project.

I punched butterflies out of the leftover pieces and layered them over each other and added a rhinestone on top. Then I used the “Tiny Circles” stencil, placed it on the card and dabbed some white acrylic paint with a sponge over it. This creates a really nice background for the colorful butterflies – I really like this stencil a lot! Finally just decorated and glued all together. Really fast and easy!

Materials for card number 3:

You will need: craft sheet, Mini Elevator Stencil, card base, embossing ink, embossing powders (white or like me holographic, cream, yellow and orange), heat gun and embellishments of your choice.

First place the stencil over the card and add embossing ink. Then take orange embossing powder and add a wide strip over the card. Dab off the residue, then add in the same manner yellow, cream and the lightest color. Next heat the powder with a heat gun. Now your ombré card base is done. You can create gorgeous backgrounds just by changing the colors and stencil patterns! You could now either outline the images or even add spray ink or stamp ink over the white areas, if you´d like to experiment more, but I wanted to leave the image as it is. Then just add the embellishments and your card is finished!

For the last card you will need:

Card base (I prepared the background with Distress Ink – scrattered straw – and a background stamp), “Honeycomb” stencil, twine, needle and a black pen. And later coloring pens – I used Copics.

First place the stencil over the card and outline the image with a waterproof black pen. Then grab your coloring pens and color the pattern. After that punch holes around the hexacon images to be able to stitch through the card with twine. Finish the card with a sentiment and embellishments. I used a hot air balloon stamp and a rub-on, then glued everything down with foam pads for a more dimensional effect.

I hope you have enjoyed the tutorials and got inspired by them! Thank you TCW and Jaime for having me here – looking forward to my next post later in May!! See you!

xoxo, Sanna

Martha Richardson & Pan Pastels

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Jaime

I love keeping an eye out for what Martha Richardson is up to. Here she is using a whole bunch of stencils (our Quatrefoil and our Diamonds).

Martha has used Pan Pastels (so delicious and rich) along with rubber stamps, gesso and collage. For complete instructions and step-by-step photos, click here.

Love Mou Saha

Posted on March 20, 2013 by Jaime

So when you see this Creating Keepsakes on the newsstand (or maybe it’s already in your hot little hand because you have a subscription?!?) know that Mou Saha did two wonderful tutorials inside featuring our stencils. I really love both projects! Must try!!

TCW292s Layered Tickets

: TCW315 Life Numbers

Chris Pozzi’s Sunshine Card

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Jaime

Who doesn’t love a little sunshine in the middle of Winter? (Okay you people in the southern hemisphere, don’t start boasting that you’re having a lovely Summer, thank-you-very-much!! We’re chilly and grey over here!!)

Chris Pozzi, from Scrap That Moment, made a lovely card using our Bricks stencil TCW191. For supplies list and step-by-step instructions, click here. Thanks Chris!!

Happy New Year Tammy Tutterow!!

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Jaime

At first I just saw this saying on a tag Tammy Tutterow made and I thought “YES! we all need to count our blessings”. Great thought for the new year.

And then I saw those little numbers and thought “hmmm?”

And then took a closer look and saw my little friend, Basketweave TCW210.

I know this is totally out of order as far as Tammy’s tutorial goes, sorry about that. I think I multitask too much that I end up doing first-things-last and last-things-first! Sorry. You’ll just have to go to Tammy’s blog and read it properly. But in the meantime, this is the beauty she created in the end.

Can’t wait to see you, Tammy!! And to remember that when I count my blessings, I’m blessed to count you among my many blessings.

Winter CHA 2013: Pie Chart & Confetti by Ronda Palazzari

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Ronda Palazzari

Hello again! It’s Ronda here to introduce you to the next of my new stencils coming out in January with The Crafter’s Workshop! Today i have two stencils to share with you today. The first is a pie chart stencil. On this stencil, I have developed a 8×8 pie chart with a stitched border. Both open spaces and whimsical graphic pieces that can be used in so many different ways. Here are a few examples using this stencil.

On this layout i used the stencil to cut out the photos of my sweet nephew. I used spray paint on the circles and sponged the chevrons on with paint onto the patterned paper.

On this art journaling page, I used the 12 x 12 stencil on the background with gesso to create texture. I also used a few more stencils to add into the shapes.

Here’s a look at the 12 x 12 stencil and the 6 x 6 on some tags.

The next stencil I want to introduce is called Confetti. I love this stencil for lots of reasons especially because you can add splatters to a page easily without worries of where they’ll end up. Use the stencil as a whole or small bits & pieces of it around your page for that artsy look. Here are a few samples using the Confetti stencils.

On this layout I used the 6 x 6 stencil to add bits & pieces of splatters and hearts on the background. I also used the kaleidoscope stencil to create texture.

On this art journal page, I used the 12 x 12 stencil along with the kaleidoscope & subway stencils on the background.

On this tag, I used the 12 x 12 stencil too. I love the bold heart and splatters.

I am looking forward to seeing all of your creations with these stencils.

Winter CHA 2013: Picture Perfect by Ronda Palazzari

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Ronda Palazzari

Hello again! It’s Ronda here to introduce you to the next of my new stencils coming out in January with The Crafter’s Workshop! Today I am sharing with you my Picture Perfect Stencil. I adore taking photographs, especially candids. I love capturing those unscripted moments of daily life that tells our stories. As this love grew so did my vintage camera collection which inspired this stencil. I sat down and drew out some of my favorites both vintage & modern.

Whether you love taking photographs or have photographs you love, this stencil is the perfect accompaniment. Here are a few examples I created using both the 12×12 and 6×6 stencils.

This art journal pages uses the 12×12 stencil on the background with some light modeling paste and gesso. I love how they are subtle but still tell my story.

This layout uses both the 12×12 and 6×6 stencils. I traced the stencil onto patterned paper and then layered it to create the embellishment on the left. I love the little camera on the right. it’s just the perfect size and looks so adorable on the yellow paper.

This tag uses the 12×12 stencil and watercolor crayons & pencils to create a beautiful watercolor effect.

I cannot wait to see your creations with my stencils.

Winter CHA 2013: Honeycomb by Ronda Palazzari

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Ronda Palazzari

Hello again! It’s Ronda here to introduce you to the next of my new stencils coming out in January with The Crafter’s Workshop! Today I am sharing with you my Honeycomb Stencil. As popular as the honeycomb motif is, I wanted to shake things up a bit. I added some dimension and tweaked the basic shape to create a whole new look. It makes for a graphic yet intricate background. And you know I love a good background. I also love to play with the trends.

My Honeycomb Stencil in both 12×12 and 6×6 sizes satisfies both! Here are a few samples using both the 12×12 and 6×6 stencils.

This Art journal page uses both the 12×12 and 6×6 stencils with lots of gesso, paints, stamps, and spray ink.

On this layout I used the 12 x 12 layout with some water soluble crayons and spray ink.

This tag uses the 6×6 stencil with water soluble crayons and a black pen.

I cannot wait to see your creations with my stencils. Want to see out more of my work, check out my blog.

Ali’s December Daily

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Jaime

Every December, Ali Edwards creates an album just for December. She highlights this process in her “December Daily” blog. This year she’s getting a lot simpler by using a 4×6 Album. And, lucky us, she used our TCW246 Swiss Dot stencil to create one of her transparency pages using cream colored acrylic paint.

You can click here to see all of her December Daily posts.

TCW246 Swiss Dot

And here is a video that walks you through an overview of her Foundation Pages:

December Daily 2012 from Ali Edwards on Vimeo.

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