Thursday, April 5, 2012

Balzer Designs Stencil Hop - Spring 2012!!!

Hello hello hello! Welcome to the spring 2012 version of the Balzer Designs Stencil Hop!!!



I was absolutely giddy when Julie asked me to participate in her hops this year! I got to pick which stencils I wanted to use, and this one jumped out at me right away! It's called "Pomegranate," and it's made (like all of Julie's stencils) by Crafter's Workshop. They were kind enough to send me both the 12 x 12" and 6x6" versions...To me, this stencil looks like an EXPLOSION OF GROOVINESS! I couldn't wait to dive in and see where the vibe would take me - ha. Here's how my little pomegranate party went...


I got out my watercolor journal, the 12 x 12 stencil, and three of my fave Mr. Huey Mists (by Studio Calico): Custard, Heirloom Blue and Estate Green.

First, I sprayed with Custard...

I forgot to take a picture of this part (doh!), but my next step was to cover the design elements with some Glossy Accents and let it dry. If you're not familiar with glossy accents, it's a clear fluid epoxy, that goes on like glue, and dries hard. I wanted to create a resist.


After it was completely dry, I went back and sprayed the whole page with Heirloom Blue and Estate Green. I tend to be an oversprayer (ha), so I really saturated it...

Then I took a baby wipe and smeared the mist around, and I ended up with this! I just love how the resist let the design show through so nicely!


And here's the finished journal page...
I added some handpainted circles, an image from the web, typed journaling, and the title, which was done with acrylic paint over gesso.

Let me show you some other things I did to make the most of the stencil during the process...

After I first sprayed the stencil onto my journal page, there was still a ton of ink on it, so I got out my jumbo journal and turned the stencil over (ink side down) and rubbed over the top of the whole thing...

It left me with this coool abstract image! I just took a baby wipe and rubbed the edges of it to get the soft yellow around it. This will be the start of a journal page to come...

There was still some ink left on the stencil, so I turned it right side up and used my baby wipe again on an already painted journal page. This created the soft, greenish design on my blue page. This will be another future page...


For my second project I used the 6x6 version to create these flowers...It was super easy to do. I just pounced some fluid acrylic paint through some individual pieces of the stencil. (I masked them off with tape first.) Then I created the flowers by adding petals and stems with a Pitt Pen. The white petals were colored with a poster-paint sharpie, and the negative space in the middle was done with colored pencils.

Here's a closeup...

To see what beautiful things the other hopsters created, check out their blogs here...

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
Leslie Jenison
Paula Phillips
Michelle LaPoint Rydell (that's me!)

If you want more info about the Pomegranate Stencil by Crafter's workshop, click here!

Thanks so much to Julie for inviting me to participate in this hop! I had a blast! I will be participating in another one on April 26, so stay tuned for that! Yee ha!

40 comments:

Unknown said...

love the page you did with the stencil and the glossy accents for resist. I will have to give that a try. I haven't had much luck with anything I have used for resist. What a great quote! I often use my journal for inspiring quotes too!

SannaS said...

amazing pieces!!! fabulous inspiration!! =)
hugs, SannaS

Sherri said...

Oh I love what you did with this stencil! I would have never thought about using the glossy accents as a resist!

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Wowwwwwwwwwwwww!!! These pages are GORGEOUS Michelle! I loveeeeee how you used the mask to make those flowers!!

Kirsten Alicia said...

LOVE these!! The flower centres are very cool.

Glenda T. said...

I love your pages Michelle and I can see why Julie asked you to be on the blog hop - because you rock!!! I need to look into this resist you talked about, where do you get it as I would love to try it!!

Sassy said...

This is sweet! I have to try this!

crafty creations said...

Stunniung pages and just love the way you've used the stencil fpor the flowers

Harriet H said...

oh wow beautiful pages and love the flowers..... and of course all her stencils are a must have....

Anonymous said...

Michelle, your style and bright colors are wonderful. I especially like the page with the Janis quote...sweet!
sue_clarke@hotmail.com

Bev said...

Oh WOW! I'm so glad I've been following Julie's Blog, it brought me to you and your Beautiful Projects. I am Totally new to Stencils so am very Excited about this Blog Hop. In just the first day, I have learnt so much and you also provided so much Information in just one post. So looking Forward to the next Post.......Many, Many Thanks.

Rita said...

Awesome projects! I totally need this stencil now :-)

Rita said...

Awesome projects! I totally need this stencil now :-)

Dolores Raml said...

Love how you used the stencils, especially on the flowers. Great use of your leftover paints, I'll have to keep that in mind. Thanks for the inspiration.

Flo said...

The design on your page is really pretty but I have to say I love your flowers. The stencil makes a great center.

Lori Wostl said...

This just looks like FUN! Thanks for the ideas. Lori W at Art Camp for Women

milkcan said...

Awesome stuff! Your flowers have me swooning! Thanks for being a part of the blog hop!

vixen said...

Fantastic pages and inspiration :) love the idea of the pomegranit flower middles that's such a cool idea :)

Marit said...

Wow, you added a whole other dimension to stenceling by adding glossy accents! Love the results! That quote - by Janis - is one I have on a canvas sitting in my bedroom... the first thing I see when I wake up. A thing to hold on to, indeed!

Moongirl said...

Just gorgeous! I love the colors and love the idea of resisting.

Sheri said...

LOVE the pages! Love the colors. and very creative with the flowers.

StacyC said...

Wow, never thought of using glossy accents as a resist... Love how it turned out.... I know what I am going to do today... Thanks for the inspiration....

famillemarleau said...

Your projects are beautiful. Love your style. Thanks for sharing, Johanne L.

Marla said...

wow, beautiful projects!!! Thanks for the inspiration ^__^

Miriam Prantner said...

Love the idea of using glossy accents for resist. That page looks so neat! Great work!

Martha Richardson said...

Great pages, inspiration...love everything!!

arlsmom aka Lynda said...

wow...your projects are fabulous!!!

Bast said...

Those are just gorgeous! Those flowers are incredible! Thanx for sharing ;)

KimMJ
bast830@comcast.net

Melody (lacyquilter) said...

I love what you did with the stencil.

Kate Burroughs said...

Love the glossy Accents resist. Not sure I would be patient enough to wait for it to dry but it sure looks fabulous!

heidi said...

I just love your use of color!!

Carol McCready said...

Loved the way you used the stencil for the wildflowers.

Maja Rijkers said...

I love Julie's stencils and i love what you did with this one! Thanks for the inspiration.

dawn said...

WOW Michelle, your pages are gorgeous as ever. Love what you did with the stencil and the colors you used. I am soooo happy to have found your blog and be follwoing you on your amazing journey. Such a joy your work brings to me. Those flowers on book paper are the sweetest, I will have to do that. So happy you were on Julie's hop and looking forward to your next one.

Dara Lynn said...

I always enjoy your posts...process...outcome of your journey!!! Being new to art journaling -- I am grateful to watch and learn from the best:) Have a beautiful weekend Michelle

lizzie said...

love what you did with the pomegranate stencil. I just bought a bunch of these stencils but I did not see this one as i would have purchased it in both sizes. i love it.

jbonomo said...

Great ideas! Thank you for sharing.

Patricia Roebuck said...

Oh how cool, Michelle! CONGRATS! So well deserving. I just love Julie and how funny u picked that stencil, that was the very one that I fell in love with. Now to use it! Mathis is so cool and inspiring. Love the different effects and those flowers?! Genius!

sharon g said...

I especially like the first one. SO cool.

Susan said...

beautifull page! I really like your blog. A lot of inspiration