Thursday, December 6, 2012

Welcome to the Stencil Test Drive...!!!




Hey there everyone!  Today is the official start of my friend Jessica Sporn's Stencil Test Drive - Yeayyy!!!  I've been playing with Jessica's Hebrew Calligraphy Stencil with Hamsa, which looks like this....

The text on this stencil is this beautiful blessing:
May God bless you and keep you
May God cause the divine light to shine upon you and be gracious to you
May God turn toward you, and grant you peace
(Numbers 6: 24-26)

Here's a little tutorial about how I used it in my Book of Days Journal:

I started with a heavy coat of red, orange and magenta acrylic paint, and then used gesso and a foam brush to stencil the design onto both pages...

 GASP!  How gorgeous is this design?!!!  The stencil is so beautiful I didn't even want to touch it at this point!  But alas, I did - ha.  Had to force myself to, cuz I had an idea...

 I wanted to create a sunset scene, so I cut a big circle out of cardstock, and used it to paint some gold acrylic over the top of the design...


Then I added some miscellaneous collage bits, and a quote I'd been thinking about; 
and this is my finished page...
This has become one of my favorite recent pages. I love the idea that god's blessing is there in the background, as encouragement.

I had some leftover paint on the stencil, so I grabbed a tag, splashed some orange paint on it, and then turned the stencil over, and rubbed the extra paint onto the tag by pressing on the back of the stencil with my fingers..

 You can't necessarily tell what the design is anymore, but what a beautiful background it makes!  This tag is all set to finish off with a quote or focal image!

I wanted to try using the stencil as more of a subtle background, so I made another page.  This one is also in my Book of Days.  It's a check-in on my word for 2012, which is "Peace."  After I created a background on this page, I added in just bits of the stencil here and there with blue paint...
 They are subtle, but add extra texture, which is just what I wanted; because I was planning to do a lot of writing on this page.  I also wrote the word peace with blue paint, and used some hand-carved stamps to make the hanging beads.

 Here's the finished page...
 I can already tell I am going to be using this stencil ALOT!  Journaling is such a spiritual thing for me, and having this blessing on any page would give it extra depth.  Plus, it's just such a beautiful design!

I hope I've given you some ideas for how to use the Hebrew Calligraphy stencil!  

Please check out Jessica's blog, and the other two Test Drivers, to see what they did with this stencil too! 

 Jessica Sporn Designs

A Colorful Journey (Carolyn Dube)

The Key to my Art (Judy Shea) 

If you'd like to purchase the stencil, click here to go to Stencil Girl Products!



Thanks so much for visiting!  I will see you again soon!


13 comments:

  1. You really showed the true versatility of this stencil in your projects--love that. Really love the journaling on your first piece. Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOW WOW WOW MICHELLE!! That first one is STUNNING, could just stare at the background for hours. I love what it says, beautiful!! Way to go on bringing out even more color and awesomeness to the page, REALLLLLLY LOVE THIS ONE!!

    The second one is so lovely, the word PEACE looks so good. You have such a gift for handwriting. I love the hanging circles on this, so pretty against the background. I'm glad you have art to turn to and get your thoughts out on paper. I'm sure your mom is smiling down on you and loving this page. HUGS FOR YOU!!

    I agree with Maria on the versatility!!
    Thanks so much for the sharing the process and for inspiring!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Holy SMOKES Michelle!!! I loveeeeeeeeeeeeee what you have done with her stencil!! WOW WOW WOW!!!! That is JUST AMAZING!!!! I loveeeeeeeeeeeee that first page best!! I am loving the quote and the scenery you created on top on the stencil and yet you can still see the design in the background!!! LOVING IT!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your pieces are stunning! I love how you did the "This is who I am" spread. The reds and gold are so rich with the stencil! Your tag- that was one of the best parts of playing with this stencil-even the "cleaning off of the stencil" left wonderful designs. I have traces of it all over my studio on tags & on the bases of journal pages.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Michelle. You really outdid yourself here. Just amazing work and using it more than once. So many uses, so little time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful ways to use your new stencil!!
    Thanks for the inspiration!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love these two journal pages, especially the sunset one and the message you incorporated. It's so rich and vibrant! You made such lovely use of this wonderful stencil!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Michelle - your post honestly made me cry tears of gratitude. I love the idea of having God's words in the background of your first spread as encouragement, and even more that they are underneath your beautiful journaling about Peace and your mom's passing. And that tag - delicious! Thank you, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. They are all quite beautiful and you have used this stencil in bold and subtle ways. Lovely. xox

    ReplyDelete
  10. Michelle, these pages are GORGEOUS! Love the different ways you've used the stencils, so bold and then so muted... just fantastic!!! The colors on the red/gold are awesome, too. Great pages!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thank you everyone for your kind words! I really appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Michelle! Your test drive is absolutely AMAZING!!!! Jessica should be so proud of what you did with her stencil! I love the pages so much!!!!! Your fist page is so inspirational and a wonderful tribute to your beloved mom!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Seriously amazing!! I will need that stencil! But I can't work it like you. You have such an incredible talent to get images and journaling down. Peace, my friend.

    ReplyDelete