StencilGirl Blog Hop: Spray it Again Sam!

This week we're having a super fun blog hop celebrating all of the cool techniques that you can find in Mary Beth Shaw's book, "Stencil Girl Mixed-Media Techniques for Making and Using Stencils."

This is a really great book, absolutely packed with great techniques and tutorials. This week, each member of the creative team is sharing a project inspired by one of the techniques in the book. I get to share my project based on the chapter "Spray it Again, Sam" (page 66) all about using spray paint with stencils. Yay! So fun!

So with that, here's the project I made - it's an upcycled cardboard "custom souvenir frame." You know how you go on vacation and the souvenir shops all have these expensive theme frames that you can buy? I decided to just make my own for photos from my trip to Monterey, CA in July.

Ready for a tutorial?

First, gather all your supplies... I picked out five stencils that I thought would work together and go with a beach theme. Then I picked out five colors of spray paint that would go together and also work with the theme. I took the cardboard I wanted to spray and also an art journal that I use to mop up extra paint and ink off of my stencils (here's an example of how I used one of these pages in my mop up journal.)

And here's a list of the stencils I used:

• Rafters Stencil by Mary Beth Shaw
• July 2014 9x12 Stencil Club Stencil by Mary Beth Shaw
• Eddy Rose Stencil by Mary Beth Shaw
• X & O Stencil by Andrew Borloz
• Sand Dollars Stencil by June Pfaff Daley

Next up, I get my setup ready to go outside on my back porch. I cut out a big piece of cardboard from a moving box I saved from my move in May. It works perfectly to protect the deck.

I have my book handy to mop up the extra paint, and plenty of room to spray and lay out my stencils as I use them. I started with Rafters by Mary Beth Shaw as my base layer with a nice orange-red spray. I put the bright colors in the base layers because I didn't want them to be too prominant in the final piece - just little pops of color and pattern showing through the other layers. (Because I'm very nearly incapable of doing anything too monochromatic!)

Spray, lift off carefully, and voila!

Then I put the stencil paint side down in my book and get most of the paint off, then set the stencil aside to dry. The paint dries fairly quickly, and I let each layer dry most of the way before going on. Some of them were a bit wet - I was playing beat the clock with the sunset. lol.

Then just go through and add each layer... I added them using the stencils in the order I listed above.

And you can see my progress in my journal as I add layers there too...
I moved the Eddy Rose stencil around as I was working to make sure I got plenty of coverage.

And more moving the stencil around to get the shapes I wanted... since this was the top layer, I placed them a bit more carefully, keeping in mind that I was going to cut out the center of the cardboard.
So that's the finished cardboard... and how cool are these new pages in my mop up journal? I can see some fun art journaling happening here in the near future...

So now it's time to make the frame. You'll want to make sure the paint is totally dry - no tackiness when you touch it. For the photo opening, I just traced a 5x8 index card with a white Stabilo pencil and then cut it out on a glass mat with an X-acto knife. I eyeballed placement - no complex measuring techniques. It's cardboard after all... my edges aren't straight and the opening isn't perfectly centered. And I'm totally okay with that. You can absolutely use a trimmer and a ruler if that bugs you - whatever fits your style.

Then I fancied things up a bit... first I took some washi tape that worked with my colors and theme and covered up the raw edges around the sides and in the opening.

Then, I got out my trusty dimensional paints - in this case Scribbles and Liquid Pearls, and added some detail and dimension to the sand dollars to make them stand out from the background and to just give it a little oomph.

Have I mentioned how much I love dimensional paints? Because I really do.

And here's the final for the front of my frame. I gave the whole thing a nice coat of gel medium to seal it.

You could stop here and just tape your photo to the back and put it up with some Command Strips or something, but I decided to really make it a frame and add a back and a table stand.

So here's how I did this part. Again, I didn't measure or make my cutting lines straight and pretty, but you could make it nicer. I just took one of my StencilGirl chipboard mailing envelopes and cut it apart. I took the back and starting from one of the corners, just left a corner and then cut straight up toward the center... the picture probably gives a good idea of what I mean:

I cut that off, and then took the front piece of the envelope. I put the white side with the label so that it would face in... I cut it just smaller than my cardboard frame, and at the top I cut out a circle as a finger access place so I could slide a photo in and out. I used my ATG gun to adhere the sides and bottom of this backing piece to the back side of my frame. Then I put some more adhesive on the top of my "stand" and positioned it by matching up the corners and then gluing down the top. Hold your finger on the top and then fold so that you have a stand. Hopefully that makes sense!

And that's my finished frame! I couldn't decide between two pictures of my niece and I together on the beach, so I printed them onto a single 5"x8" sheet and slid it into the frame. The backing holds it in place so there's no adhesive and I can swap it out if I want.

I like the raw look of the chipboard, so I left it. You could paint or even stencil that part too, if you want. I hope you enjoyed today's project and are feeling inspired to try some spray paints with your stencils! And be sure to check out Mary Beth's book for more ideas and projects to try.

Don’t have a copy of the book??

 

You can get yours HERE and if you order it from our website, Mary Beth will autograph it for you and send you the EXCLUSIVE bookmark stencil that only we at StencilGirl have to offer with the book!

Updated with the giveaway winner:

Congrats carolyndawn! She won Stencil Girl The Book with an exclusive bookmark stencil and (3) 6"x5" stencils designed by Mary Beth Shaw. 

Here's today's blog list for you to check out (go to StencilGirl Talk for all of the posts this week):

• StencilGirl Talk
• Carolyn Dube
• Gwen Lafleur (You are here!)
• Maria McGuire

 

Comments

[Mary C. Nasser]

What a beautiful frame and journal pages!
Love that you used a StencilGirl envelope for this!! :)
So clever!

[Jean Marmo]

Oh my goodness! I want to try this!

[Michael]

Wow. Talk about inspiring a person! This project rocks. I really want to start using spray paints. This frame came out looking better than any store bought frame. Great tutorial Gwen.

[Gill]

Fabulous - I love all the layers!

[Lisa DO]

What a great tutorial, and some of my favorite stencils too!

[Janet]

Great tutorial on making this frame! Great stencil layers...great end results. Thanks!

[esther]

great idea! i am inspired

[Jo Murray]

LOVE this layering of stencils. The final product is fabulous. MUST get my hands on this book.
jo.murray.art(at)gmail(dot com)

[auntie em (emily)]

Wonderful step by step tutorial on making the frame and getting the beautiful design on it. I like how it looks like enameling when it's finished.
Thank you for sharing! :)

[Cecilia Swatton]

These colors are gorgeous -- you've found ways to make each color bring out the best in every other color! You've done lots of work here and the results are totally worth it!

[Denise Huntington]

Gwen, you always knock your projects out of the park and this time you got two for the price of one! Love the frame and how you finished off the sprayed piece.

[Linda]

Love the dimension! Thanks for sharing...

[Mary Ann Gross]

Beautiful frame! This is great!

[Rebecca Buchanan]

This is such a clever idea. I, too, love the colors--the way the tape accents it all. Can't say enough good about this one. Definitely want to try it myself. Thank you!

[julie m]

oh my! this looks like fun. and the colors are just what i like. and i just took all my big cardboard boxes to recycling. but i am sure one of the cheap plastic tarps will work too.

[marylouh]

The frame is wonderful - so colorful and pretty.
thanks for the detailed instructions. Love the tip to mop up extra paint with other paper rather than just tossing it away.
thanks for sharing.

[Kate P]

Thanks for such an inspiring tutorial. I love the frame and really love the mop up pagees as well. Time to save up for some spray paints.

[Heather Thompson]

That is such a beautiful project, Love the detail. great share!!

heifer21 (at) hotmail (dot) com

[Mary Beth Shaw]

Your frame is gorgeous!! Love how all those layers of color peak through here and there. Lots of depth.

[GayeK]

OMG I just love the pop you got with the dimensional paint! Great depth with all the stencils, too!

[MaggieM]

Perfect frame! Many thanks for your easy tutorial-I can't wait to give it a try. Thank you so much for sharing your artistic talents and for offering the amazing giveaway:)

[Cath Sheard]

As a scrapbooker I just love seeing people display family photos - thank you for sharing this with us.

[Jackie P Neal]

Gwen, What a truly amazing and creative piece of art you have made!1 I love the frame and the picture of you and your daughter is sooo precious! Thanks so much for the tut!!

[Carolyn Dube]

Beyond wow Gwen! From plain cardboard to art! You are one of the most creative souls!

[Shari C.]

Such a great idea and love the frame colors! The tutorial is so helpful, and your art journal pages are fantastic as well!

[Cathy]

Great frame project! So many layers. and such a fun giveaway.

[Suztats]

this look slike something I could really get into. Love the layers.

[Martice Smith II]

Very sweet project! I'll try my hand at it, too! I just love the techniques involved and the layering is perfect. Thanks for sharing your process!

[Denise Spillane]

Love this idea. Great way to hold a special event photo. Also nice as a gift. Easy to mail. This hop has been so much fun!

[Amante del Papel]

is awesome!!! thanks for showing how do yo do!!!!
[email protected]

[Liz]

Gorgeous work! Love the finishing touches especially.