Stencil Butter Color Swatching Chart with Modeling Paste

Stencil Butter Color Swatching Chart with Modeling Paste by Renae Davis
Stencil Butter Color Swatching Chart with Modeling Paste by Renae Davis

Color swatching is a tool of the trade that is highly underrated…. and so is color mixing. I started a sketchbook last year of nothing but color swatches of all my pens, markers, paints, inks etc. and it has been a game changer for me when I do projects. (I even did my nail polish!)

But color mixing? There are even more possibilities than you know when you mix your mediums.

The Crafter’s Workshop provided me with some product to create this project. The opinions I share are solely my own.

I designed a printable chart just for this project (see the download link below). You will need a PDF reader to open this file. I’m only going to demonstrate with the two pages pictured above but I will explain the rest of the pages at the end of this post. Print these two pages on a moderately heavy WHITE paper such as card stock, mixed media paper or watercolor paper.

I also have a video tutorial linked down below to my YouTube channel with a short demonstration of how to mix and swatch the mediums being used.

first swatched row using TCW Stencil Butters
first swatched row using TCW Stencil Butters

I have designed this chart in order to color swatch all 10 current stencil butter colors

along with 10 different modeling paste colors.

The first blank horizontal row is for swatching the stencil butters straight from the jar. Feel free to do this row with a paint brush if you wish.

In order to mix the modeling paste with the stencil butters, I used a sheet of palette paper to mix on because its easier to use (and clean up) than a regular mixing palette or glass mat. An added bonus is that at the end of session I will have a big piece of paper that I can use as a background or collage fodder for another project.

Don’t have any palette paper? Use a sheet of wax paper or a craft mat.

I placed very small dots of TCW9065 Fuchsia Stencil Butter onto the palette paper in a column of 10 dots. For each of those dots, I placed an equal amount (1:1 ratio) of modeling paste coordinating with the chart onto of those dots. You do not need a lot- the squares are a little bigger than one inch space.

first swatched column using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes
first swatched column using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes

Mix each pair combination of butter and paste with a palette knife and then swatch the mixture onto the coordinating block. Repeat this process until one column is complete.

You will know that the combination is completely mixed when you see neither colors of the paste or the butter- there should be a completely new color.

*When mixing with black modeling paste, use the smallest amount as possible. The black is very overpowering and can drown out the color of the stencil butter.

first swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes
first swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes

Complete the same process of mixing butter and paste down the column until the page is complete.

Any leftover paste or butter can be swiped on a blank sheet of paper (picture on the left) and used for another project.

Remember to wipe your palette knife CLEAN before scooping out a different color of paste or butter.

closeup: first swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes
closeup: first swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes

Here is a closeup photo of the first swatched page.

second swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes
second swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes

Complete the same process for the second page of swatches.

closeup: second swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes
closeup: second swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes

Here is a closeup photo of the second swatched page.

closeup: second swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes
closeup: second swatched chart using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes
 both swatched charts using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes
both swatched charts using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes
YouTube video: Swatch charts using TCW Stencil Butters and Modeling Pastes

Here are all the colors swatched together side by side. Check out all the variety of metallic mixes just from mixing a few colors!

blank TCW stencil butter mixing chart
blank TCW stencil butter mixing chart

I also included two pages of stencil butter charts if you choose to mix the stencil butters with other mediums such as acrylic, crayons, watercolor, texture pastes or even the stencil butters themselves.

left: blank TCW modeling paste mixing chart // right: blank mixing chart
left: blank TCW modeling paste mixing chart // right: blank mixing chart

The page on the left is a mixing chart for the TCW modeling pastes that you can mix whatever medium you want…

The right side is just a blank chart for whatever you want to fill out and mix or swatch for yourself…

Hang them on your wall or store them in a binder—- however you choose to swatch!

Renae Davis, The Crafter’s Workshop Design Team Member

4 thoughts on “Stencil Butter Color Swatching Chart with Modeling Paste

  1. Good idea of the swatch book.. I do have a booklet with swatches in it.. like tiny squares of all the colors, but I think using a book for mixes will be even more interesting. The ‘butter’ colors are like acrylic paints?

  2. So beautiful – I must have 1 of each!! The possibilities are endless!! Just getting started & my projects are seeping under the stencils/masks … What mediums can you add to white modeling paste to get color? Does it have to be TCW Stencil Butter?

    1. Hey Amy, you can add almost any medium to white modeling paste to get color. The thing to pay attention to is that if you add too much of something more fluid, it will change the texture of the modeling paste, so start a little at a time. The other thing to remember is that white modeling paste is …well…white. So adding color to this white modeling paste will make your colors opaque and can be more pastel than true color. However, if you want to a modeling paste with true color and some opacity, try our Clear Modeling Paste. You can find that here https://www.tcwstencils.com/collections/mixed-media/products/tcw9008-clear-modeling-paste. Let us know if you have any other questions.
      Cheryl Boglioli
      TCW Design Team Coordinator

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