No Butterflies Mixed Media Tag with Stencil 1

Hello everyone!  I have a special extra posting for you today, and I get to play with a beautiful stencil from our April Sponsor ...

Yes, Stencil 1 makes some really fabulous stencils, not only individually, but also in sets.  I hope you will visit them and check out what they offer.

Stencils are so much fun and quite addictive.  Today, I want to share a quick and easy project using a postcard tag, stencils, paints, and inks.

I chose this postcard tag from Altered Pages and my Stencil 1 butterfly stencil.

Tear strips of paper and adhere to the back (blank side) of the tag with gel medium, let dry.

Add a wash of white gesso over the tag to tie the background together.

Spread Orchid Velvet Art Anthology dimensional paint with a spatula through the open butterfly stencil.  Let dry.

Can you see the dimension in this photo?  

Sponge white gesso through detail stencil and let dry.

Apply light blue oil pastel through the detail stencil and smudge over the butterfly with your finger.

Use a water brush to pick up color from the Mica Paint Palette and make washes of beautiful color.  Use an ultra fine mist sprayer to wet the tag and help the colors move and run, and use a heat tool to dry as you add more and more colors until you like the background.

Add stunning details to the image by applying a black Faber-Castell Big Brush Pen through the detail stencil and rub gently with your finger to spread the color before the pen ink dries.  This makes the color look less like pen work and more like a blended detail.

Here is a close up of the butterflies.  Notice the bubbles on them?  This was actually a happy accident, which occurred while I was drying the mica paints.  I liked it so much that I continued to make the Art Anthology paint bubble more for a fabulous effect.  What do you think?

Add black ink around the edges of the tag to frame the piece.

On a scrap piece of chipboard, stamp the phrase using a StazOn Black Ink Pad.  Cut the image in half, inking all edges of each piece with black ink, and adhere to the tag.  Add some jute string to the tag hole and you are done.

Altered Pages supplies used:
Postcard Tags
G45 Artisan Style 6x6 paper pad
StazOn Black Ink Pad
gel medium
white gesso
Mica Paint Palettes
Waterbrushes
Niji Oil Pastels
Art Anthology Dimensional Acrylic paints (Orchid Velvet)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pen  (Black)
Ultra Fine Mist Sprayer

Other supplies used:
Stencil 1 butterfly stencil
Jute string
Chipboard scrap
Spatula
Sponge

I hope I have left you with a bit of inspiration to play with stencils, paints and inks, and Altered Pages has lots of fun supplies for you in the store.  I will be back on Monday to share some more ideas with my butterfly stencils, and in the meantime, stop by the Altered Pages blog to see what the team is creating!

Have a wonderful creative weekend,
and make something you love!

Barbara