How is it already September?! While thinking about the fact that fall is quickly approaching I decided to do a bullet journal page on all things Summer.

Summer Bullet Journal using stencil TCW654 Chica Doodle check out my full post about this journal over on my blog www.drawriot.com

Kids are back in school, days are getting shorter and the bright sunny memories of summer fun are already starting to fade into thoughts or spiced apple cider and fluffy sweaters. I decided since we have a few more weeks of summer left it would be a fun challenge to create a piece of work inspired by it. I looked through my stencils and thought it would also be fun to give myself an extra challenge to use only 1 stencil to create my finished work. Below is a step by step tutorial of my mixed media farewell to Summer!

Supplies:
Stencil: TCW654 Chica Doodle
Blick Acrylic Paint: Blue & Green
Round Gelli Plate
Gouache
Colored Pencils
Painted Ephemera
Micron Pen .03
White Gel Pen
Scissors
Pencil
Strathmore Printmaking paper

To start I used the green and blue acrylic Blick paint and printed a round swirly mono print onto Strathmore printmaking paper. While my print dried I sorted through my painted ephemera and selected 2 warm colors (red and orange) to use with my stencil.

tcw654 Chica Doodle, Gelli Plate, Acrylic Paint and Ephemera

I used the Chica Doodle stencil and my .03 Micron pen to trace out shapes, flowers and more onto the orange and red ephemera I selected then cut out all of the shapes.

Stenciled Painted Ephemera

Once all my pieces were traced and cut I arranged them onto my piece and moved them around until I found a composition that I thought worked well.

Final Ephemera Stencil Shapes

Next I glued down each of my pieces and got out my colored pencils and gouache.

Colored Pencils and Gouache

I selected the colored pencils I wanted to use and started in on the first layer of detail work on each of my pieces of ephemera.

Colored Pencil Detail Work

Next I used the TCW654 Chica Doodle, my .03 Micron and a white gel pen to add the next detail layer to my piece. I repeated the white dots across my circle to help the eye move through the piece.

White Gel Pan and Micron Pen Detail Layer

Gouache was up next so I used a round 3 brush to add a layer of my own personal doodle style to my piece. Gouache is one of my favorite mediums because its so versatile. You can get everything from a transparent watercolor look to an opaque matte acrylic look. It is easy to mix and the colors stay bright and vibrant!

Hand Painted Gouache Detail Layer

I sketched in a quote by Charles Bowden, “Summer is always the best of what might be” so I could decide where I wanted to place the words and the style I wanted to letter them in.

Pencil Sketch of my Hand Lettering

To finish my piece I inked in my hand lettering and erased my pencil sketch lines. I have included some close up detail shots below so you can see how all of the layers came together.

Final Piece with Inked in Hand Lettering

Final Piece Details 1

Final Piece Details 2

Final Piece Details 3

I love how this piece turned out! The TCW654 Chica Doodle was so versatile and had such a fun summer vibe. The ephemera, colored pencil and gouache came together to create a summery layer of joy that just jump off the page!

I would love to see your farewell to summer so be sure to share your creations on The Crafter’s Workshop Facebook page or by tagging The Crafter’s Workshop on Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest! Also tag me @Drawriot if you share on Instagram! Until next time, keep creating! ?

The Crafter’s Workshop provided me with some product to create this project. This post also contains affiliate links. The opinions I share are solely my own.

Tori Weyers
The Crafter’s Workshop Design Team Member