It's been some time since I last posted, and I so much wish I was more consistent, but I guess better late than never.... I recently posted on Facebook that I temporarily set aside my Copic coloring to explore other mediums of making cards. I've had stencils for a while, but never really sat down and played around, but this time I got serious and discovered a while new creative outlet. I was in Puerto Rico in May visiting my family, and since I had brought several stencils for my sister, this is when we really fiddled around and we came out with several interesting images.
First of all, there are stencils made by several manufacturers, and just about every time I turn around, I discover more stencils and in such a variety. Like many of you, I was mostly familiar with Tim Holtz stencils, along with those by The Crafters Workshop (TCW). However, I recently came across stencils by mixed media artist Andy Skinner, and these are fabulous. Christy Tomlinson, Prima, and My Favorite Things are other brands, but I know there are many more out there, so if any of you know of other companies, please let me know, as I'm always looking for new designs.
I've literally been on a roll the last two weeks making cards using stencils and a little magic (what I like to call my personal touch LOL!).
The stencil used for the card below is Wildflower by Tim Holtz, and it's such a versatile design, that I made two cards using two different color schemes. Since I personally believe every living thing has a soul, I added the face stamp giving the image a look as if the flowers had come to life. The cool colors on the first card gives the image a subdued look, while the warm colors give off happy positive vibes.
The stencil I used for the cards below is another Tim Holtz design, called Flourish, and I decided to go with a Fashionista look, adding vintage silhouette stamps of ladies from the 1920's and 1930's.
The card shown at the top is special for me, as it evokes the 1960's Go-Go years of the Mod Era. I was 13 years old and I loved everything about this time, especially the fashions and the music. I used Tim Holtz' Rays stencil, and the dancer is a stencil by Andy Skinner, oddly titled Hippy Chic. The sentiment is from a stamp set by Hampton Art, and one of the best investments I have made, as they are so diverse and fit in with almost any card design.
The Hippy Chic set comes with two stencils, and I used it for this second Mod Era card. Actually, looking at it carefully, the model looks more from the 1980's because of her Jennifer Beals look from the movie Flashdance. The background stencil is called Cubist, and is from TCW.
For this card I used the same Hippy Chic stencil from the card at the top, but changed the background by using the Tim Holtz design called Stripes, and of course using different colors. I love these stencils and they can be used in so many ways.
Last but not least, I just had to try out this Palm Tree stencil from TCW.... the stencil also has a cutout of a sun, but I masked this as I did not want it to show. This is a perfect "hello, wish you were here" card LOL!
I hope you have enjoyed looking at my cards, and I hope I have inspired some of you to try using stencils to make cards... all I can say is that this is the way to go is you don't have too much time, but still want a card with pizazz!
Until next time.....
