A Stenciled Mum Card for Mom

Hello and welcome! Today we start a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique challenge blog, and this time super talented Jenny is hosting our challenge. She calls it Stencilmania, and here's the description...

Stencils are such versatile tools - you can add colour through them, add texture and patterns with them, draw with them, emboss with them, print with them and so much more. So for this challenge we want you to get creative with your stencils, adding as many layers as you dare to create a vintage or shabby chic project to share with us all.

As always, the winner will earn a chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique challenge blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team. Please see the blog for details.

I do have to say, that after many failed stencil techniques, I finally just played at what I know best--monoprinting with stencils-- and came up with a layered card for my Mom and a second simple card to have on hand for a birthday. I have another monoprint card here.

Obviously, I decided to use my stencils on my background, but you'll learn I used them on some of my layers as well. Let's get started...

I put down some subtle color with Distress sprays on a piece of mixed media paper; this is quite heavy paper from my stash and can take a lot of wet product. I spritzed my paper quite heavily with water and dipped it into puddles of oversprays left on my glass mat from a previous spraying, drying between layers of color. I'm not one to waste my product. Not a great background, but it's going to get covered up with inks and oxide.

Next, I took one of the mini stencils from set 26 (Splash), and blended three inks in the same colors as the sprayed background. Distress blending brushes allow you to get the color exactly where you want it to go when using these intricate stencils. Use a different brush for each color family-greens, blues, reds, etc. (The photo above shows the completed stenciling after doing the two steps outlined below. I had to show it, because most of that wonderful monoprint technique got covered with ephemera in the end.)

You can see in the photo below, I sprayed the inky stencil with water and flipped it over onto the paper to make a monoprint. (The photo below is actually done on a second background (completed card pictured below), so the colors look different; I forgot to take a photo of this step when making this card.)

Then I blended more of the swirls with Wilted Violet Oxide to provide some depth.

To give a vintage look, I blended with Frayed Burlap ink, and eventually edged with Ground Espresso ink. (I did this with all the pieces.)

I didn't stop there with my stencils. I swiped Distress Embossing Dabber over the Grime Stencil on a Field Notes Ephemera panel and embossed with Weathered Wood Embossing Glaze. I blended this piece with Frayed Burlap after embossing, so the powder didn't stick to the ink. I was surprised by the variation in color from the glaze. I'm sure this is because I allowed the powder to slide over the embossing liquid by tipping the panel. Instead, I should have done the finger tip dance before dumping as Tim suggests in his video.  Since I only had the one piece of ephemera, I embraced it.

I really liked the color of the butterfly from the Botanical Layers pack, but I didn't think he was large enough for my card. To give him more of a presence, I layered him over a die cut  hexagon from the Stacked Tile set. I colored the die cut with Bundled Sage and Peeled Paint oxides and Evergreen Bough ink. I even used another stencil (Ornate mini stencil set 25) monoprint in the inky layers. Although the print isn't clearly seen, it adds to the depth of color.  

I chose the purple and lavender mums from the Botanical Layers pack because of the color (my Mom's favorite), but was thrilled to see how the petals echoed the pattern of the Splash stencil and, of course, the colors I chose for the background. (This was not planned.) A couple more pieces of ephemera, this time from the Keepsakes pack, and a panel of sanded Confections kraft stock finish off this simple card. I stamped the Tiny Text sentiment onto the tag ephemera in Archival. I made a stamping faux pas, but decided to embrace the imperfection and chalk it up to the vintage vibe. 

Here is the other card I made while I had the sprays,inks and stencils out. I really love the look of monoprints, but it gets even better when you layer more stencils over top!

I hope you can see just how easy it is to add stencils to your project to take it to the next level. For even more stencil inspiration from my talented teammates, head over to the challenge blog to see what they have made to inspire you. Then I hope you'll play along with us in this challenge! Happy crafting! Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Happy Birthday!

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Anything Goes

These products were used and can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Grime
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Mini Layering Stencils - Set 26
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Mini Layering Stencils - Set 25
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Mini Layering Stencils - Set 7
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Floral
Sizzix Chapter 1 Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Stacked Tiles, Hexagons
Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz L Die - Large Stems
Sizzix Chapter 1 Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Scribbly Butterflies
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamp Set - Tiny Text
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic Confections Kraft Stock
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera, Field Notes
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Pack, Keepsakes
Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain - Broken China, Evergreen Bough, Wilted Violet
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads - Broken China, Evergreen Bough, Wilted Violet, Frayed Burlap, Ground Espresso, Faded Jeans
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Archival Mini Ink Pads - Black Soot, Faded Jeans
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pads -Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Wilted Violet
Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Dabber
Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Glaze- Weathered Wood
Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte
Tim Holtz Distress Blending Brush
Botanical Layers