Looking for this project and tutorial? This post has now moved to my website!
My post featuring this 3D Boho Fish shadowbox tutorial has moved! You can now find the entire article on my website.
Hi all! I'm up today on StencilGirl Talk with my quarterly blog column focused on paint and texture. This month I've taken inspiration from the fall season and made a mixed media panel with a tree bark-esque textured background, and fall leaves made from acrylic skins.
Of course, there's also a tutorial for both the background and the leaves, so make sure you head on over to check it out!
My tutorial from this blog hop with StencilGirl and Emerald Creek has moved! You can now find it on my website.
Make sure to head over to my website to see the tutorial in its new home, plus you can still see all of the other fabulous posts from my day on the blog hop here:
I've had requests to do online classes for quite a while now, and I'm thrilled to share that it's finally become reality! Today I'm releasing my first online class, "Boho Grunge," with StencilGirl on their StencilGirl Studio website.
This course will walk through the creation of a mixed media panel, done in my signature Boho Grunge style, from start to finish . I didn't have the project pre-planned other than to bring some likely options to the shoot, so you get to see the organic process as it really happens in my studio!
Here's the project that I make in this class - it's called "Crossroads."
In the workshop, I'll share the background technique that I used for this piece, as well as some stenciling tips, how I created the layers, and how I selected and assembled the elements of the focal point. I'll even show how I made different metals look the same and applied a faux rust effect! You can use these techniques to create a similar piece on your own, or apply them individually to your projects.
I'm very happy with how the class came out, and it was a lot of fun to film it... I hope you'll enjoy taking the workshop just as much! You can check out the introduction video and intros to each of the course chapters for free, or register now! I hope you'll join me!
My Block Printing for Mixed Media tips and tricks post has moved! Come find the article and video on my website.
I'm up today with my first quarterly column on the StencilGirl blog, focusing on paint and texture. Today I'm sharing a tutorial for this abstract mixed media piece called "Sands of Time."
I've used stencils along with a few different acrylic mediums and paints, collage, embossing powder, and a few other fun dimensional elements. Make sure to head over and check out the step-by-step tutorial and lots more photos!
Looking for the process overview post for this piece? It has moved to my website.
Head on over to my website to see this post in its new home, or check out my full list of tutorials.
I'm thrilled to share that I'm the Guest Ambassador this month for Relics & Artifacts! I've been a fan of Sandra's line since it first launched, so I was excited to have this opportunity to put together a project using a variety of the awesome products available. Here's what I made:
I used resin blanks, wood shapes, Bohemian jewels, Dresden trim, and one of Sandra's rubber stamp designs along with my Art Deco Bookplates stencil, sari yarn and a large Kuchi patch from the shop, and lots of paint and collage. Of course, there's a tutorial to go with it, so make sure you head over to the Relics & Artifacts blog to see my full post with lots more photos and step-by-step instructions.
If you're looking for my project and tutorial from this blog hop, it has moved to my website!
You can find the full post / tutorial on my site, or see all of my mixed media tutorials.
If you're looking for more from this hop, here are the rest of the posts for this day:
Mary Beth Shaw
Gwen Lafleur <-- you are here!
Mary C. Nasser
Debi Adams
Tina Walker
Kate Palmer
Cindy Wille
Natalie May
Pascale Bernard
Anat Weksler
Bertheas Peggy aka Nirvana
Elena Martynova
If you're looking for the original post with more photos and a tutorial for this piece, it has moved to my website.
You can get the entire post / tutorial on my website, or check out any of my mixed media tutorials.
If you missed them, you can still check out these four posts from the week our our Baked Texture blog hop, each with lots of amazing inspiration and fun techniques for you to try:
Just popping in to let you know that I'm up on StencilGirl Talk today with the March edition of Gwen's Gems. This month I'm showing how you can use a stencil to create a pattern for wire jewelry - see how I made this wire peacock feather pendant from start to finish!
Make sure you head over to StencilGirl Talk to see the tutorial. (PS... the necklace is now sold - thank you!)
Hi all, welcome to my stop on the blog hop with StencilGirl and etchall! For my project, I knew immediately what I wanted to do... about two years ago I'd taken an old multi-paned window that I'd found in an architectural salvage shop and painted it, then added some stenciled deli paper to the panes. At the time, I wished that I'd etched the glass instead, so when this project came up, I decided to go back and do what I'd originally wanted to do with that old window. Here's how it turned out!
The how-to for this couldn't be any easier. I took my window (or any glass surface,) and peeled off the old deli paper with a razor, then washed it. (One of the few times you will ever catch me washing windows. LOL.) When it was totally dry, I took the stencil adhesive spray and coated the back of my Decorative Curvy Ornament stencil as well as my Decorative 6-Petal Flower stencil, let the adhesive dry, and then placed them in the center of two of the window panes. From there, I just followed the instructions on the bottle of etching cream; I applied it with a squeegee tool, then scraped up the excess and put it back in the jar.
When the first two were done, I set a timer for 15 minutes and then rinsed them in the sink under running water, scrubbing lightly to get all of the etching cream off of the glass. I did leave the stencils in place until after I'd rinsed off the cream, as per the instructions. They started to loosen before that point, but it worked out just fine!
From there, I just repeated the process two more times; each time I dried and re-sprayed my stencils with adhesive since they'd been soaked in water during the previous step and I wanted to make sure they stuck well to the glass so I wouldn't get any seepage with the etching cream.
Voila! It took less than an hour to get rid of my unsatisfactory deli print stenciling and replace it with something that looks pretty darn professional!
It's hard to get good photos of the glass, but here you can see a bit of the close-up of each of the stencil designs after they'd been etched:
That's it! I hope you enjoyed seeing how I used the etchall products with my stencils to finish off this decorative window... now I just need to find the perfect place to display it.
Of course, now it's time for the best part of a blog hop - the giveaway!
GIVEAWAY
One lucky winner will receive an etchall® Glass Etching Bee-ginner Kit, reposition/reuse stencil spray
AND a $25 Gift Certificate to StencilGirl Products!
Enter to win by leaving a comment below, then be sure to visit the other blogs in the hop and comment to win.
The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to WIN!
One winner will be chosen at random from all blog comments.
(One comment per person per blog please.)
You have until Tuesday, March 20th at 11:59PM Central Time to leave your comments.
Winner will be announced on
StencilGirl's Facebook page and etchall’s Facebook page on Wednesday, March 21.
Here are the links to all of today's blog posts - make sure to visit and comment on each of them for your chance to win!
Mary Beth Shaw
Gwen Lafleur <-- you are here!
Mary C. Nasser
Debi Adams
Tina Walker
Cindi McGee
Nadine Carlier
Joe Rotella
Hi all - just popping in to let you know that it's time for Gwen's Gems again over on StencilGirl Talk! This month I'm sharing a pretty intuitive mixed media piece with a super textured and grungy background accented with pink, gold, and plenty of glam!
Head on over to StencilGirl Talk to see the full piece along with a tutorial.
Looking for the video tutorial and information on this piece? The original post has moved to my website.
You can see the full post, more versions of this project, and watch the tutorial video on my website. Or check out any of my mixed media tutorials.
Hi all, just popping in to let you know that I'm up today on StencilGirl Talk with the January edition of Gwen's Gems! This month I'm taking my collaged boho fish and making them 3D, using a stencil as a pattern.
There are lots more photos and details in the post, plus a tutorial to show how I did both the fish and the background! I hope you'll head over and check it out!
Hi all, just popping in to let you know that I'm up on the StencilGirl blog today with the December edition of Gwen's Gems. This month I experimented with using translucent elements in a mixed media piece, and I'm loving the results!
Here you can better see the translucent part of the piece:
Head on over to StencilGirl Talk to see more photos as well as a tutorial!
PS... in case you haven't heard, I'm also going to be an artist instructor in Creative JumpStart 2018! Join me and 30 other teachers to get a jump on your creative year with daily mixed media video lessons... it says $50 in the image below, but from now until December 31st, it's only $45 - that works out to just $1.45 per lesson, and you can download them to keep forever!
If you're looking for the original post and tutorial for this project, it has moved to my website.
The entire post and tutorial are over on my website, or you can check out all of my mixed media tutorials.
For the rest of the posts in this blog hop, you can still visit them here:
December 13:
December 14:
December 15:
Looking for my process overview for creating this sculpture or more photos of the finished piece? This post has moved to my website.
Head on over to see the whole post, or check out my full list of mixed media tutorials.
Hi all! Just popping in to let you know that I have a new project available over on StencilGirl Talk... this month I'm sharing a tutorial showing how I made this page in my art journal featuring my new Christmas Cardinal and Holly stencil.
Be sure to check out the full post for lots more photos and that tutorial I mentioned :)
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Looking for my blog hop post featuring tutorials a file folder art journal with stencils and Distress Oxide Inks? This post has moved to my website.
See the full post along with all of the video tutorials on my website or check out my full list of mixed media tutorials.
You can also still see see these posts from this blog hop for even more inspiration:
October 18: Adirondack Alcohol Inks
October 19: Distress Oxide Ink Pads
Hi all, it's that time again... today I'm up on StencilGirl Talk with this month's edition of Gwen's Gems! For October, I used some of the things I learned in India about Kantha quilting to make some hand-stitched embellishments for a canvas handbag. I used some of my stencils as my patterns and embellished with Kuchi patches and sari appliques.
Make sure to head over and see the whole post for more photos and a tutorial!
Also as a reminder, if you're feeling inspired by all of the projects with Kuchi patches that are being shared this month, they're on sale in the shop for 15% off all through October!
Just use the coupon 15OffKuchiPatches when you check out to get 15% off! (It only includes patches specifically marked Kuchi, and doesn't include other Kuchi textiles or jewelry.)
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Welcome to the first ever blog hop for The Artist Tribe at Gwen Lafleur Studios! I'm so excited to see and share all of the fabulous projects from these talented ladies, and I hope you'll enjoy it just as much!
There are three posts today, and three tomorrow, and of course, there's a giveaway! But before we get to that, here's a summary of today's inspiring projects:
First up, we have Jackie Neal, who's sharing some beautiful diary style art journaling!
Here's what Jackie had to say about her project:
Next up in today's lineup, Lynda Shoup is sharing another fabulous project! Lynda took inspiration from a recent outing where prayer flags and beautifully carved paving stones helped bring everything together.
Lynda used some Turkmen jewelry parts, newspaper yarn, an image from the Enchanting Elephants downloadable collage cut-outs, and some hand-printed paper I sent to the team that's similar to the ones in my themed collage and embellishment packs to make her beautiful banner!
Last up for today... it's me! I'll show you how I used my stencils and some goodies from the shop to make a set of ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) for my latest swap.
Here are the cards - believe it or not, I made all of these in one sitting... it just took a few hours (which for me is pretty fast!)
Ready for a little tutorial? I started with an 11"x14" sheet of heavy weight paper, then I blended some Distress Oxide Inks onto the surface, spritzed with water, and dried it. I wanted to do two different colorways so that I would have some variety in the backgrounds for my cards.
Next, I pulled out my stencils and just started adding designs all over the background without much rhyme or reason. Here, I used two designs from my Art Deco stencil collection: Art Deco Sunburst Background, Art Deco Sun Medallion, then the Decorative Medallion stencil and Decorative 6-Petal Flower Screen, and from my Ornamental stencil collection, the Ornamental Peacock Feathers stencil, Ornamental Floral Screen, and Ornamental Embroidery. I stenciled all of those with Archival Inks - I wanted the slightly more soft and transparent look of inks for this, plus they give a nice, crisp image and no drying time.
With that done, I cut the sheet down into 2-1/2"x3-1/2" cards, then took paper scraps and adhered them along the bottom or side with matte medium.
Then I took different washi tapes and added those as another layer, sealing them with matte medium.
With the matte medium dry, I took some different Dresden trim border designs and added a small section on each card.
Next I cut out nine images from the collage sheets (these were provided as part of a kit for my swap group, but you can find similar designs in my Irresistible India downloadable collage cutouts.) I decided which backgrounds looked best with which images and then adhered them in place with matte medium.
After that it was time to embellish! For this, I mainly used different trims, jewels, and charms from various ATC kits for my swap group and glued those in place.
Finally, I used Sepia and Jet Black Archival Inks along the edge of each card, then finished them with a line of gold from a Pen-Touch paint pen.
That's it! The cards themselves are quite easy to make - the key is the background, which adds a lot of complexity and depth without a lot of work. Then you just add a few layers on top, and voila! Fun ATCs, all ready to trade!
Here are close-ups of each of the cards I made:
And of course, one final look at all of them together:
I hope you enjoyed my project today! Of course, wow it's time for the part everyone is waiting for... a GIVEAWAY!
One lucky winner will receive $20 Gift Card to the Shop at Gwen Lafleur Studios! All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on any or all of the blog posts during the hop - the more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to win! (One comment per person per blog please.)
You have until Sunday, October 1st at 11:59pm mountain time to leave your comments. The winner will be announced on the Gwen Lafleur Studios Facebook page on Monday, October 2nd.
Today's posts:
Make sure to come back again tomorrow to see the next three projects!
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Hi all! Today I'm up over on StencilGirl Talk with the September edition of Gwen's Gems! This month I'm getting ready to travel, so I'm showing how I use my stencils to help prep my travel journal so it's all set to go on the road with me :)
Head on over to see lots more photos, as well as a little overview of how I used stencils to make the covers and decorate the inside pages of my journal. Enjoy!
Hi all! I'm up on StencilGirl Talk today with this month's edition of Gwen's Gems! This month I'm making a large mixed media panel featuring clay, collage, painting, and lots of stencils, of course!
Here's my project:
Make sure you head over for more photos and a tutorial!
(P.S. - for those who are interested, this piece is now available for sale on my website.)
Hi all! Welcome to my stop on our blog hop with StencilGirl and Colourcraft! I was so excited to get to try some new-to-me products with stencils; I was able to just play and experiment and have a lot of fun in the process!
For my project, I used the Brusho starter pack with 12 colors along with Aztec Lustres Craft Paints in Aquarmarine and Dark Blue. I also got to try a very cool medium - EXpandit 3D Expanding Fabric Medium - you can see how I used them all with StencilGirl stencils in the tutorial below, but first... here's the art journal spread that I made:
Ready for that tutorial?
I started with a spread in my handmade journal (my book is 11x11) and the elephant was actually a large patterned diecut that I bound into the book - it was fun to work that into the spread! I coated the pages and the elephant with gesso, then when it was dry I took out some of the turquoise Brusho crystals and sprinkled them on the background. I spritzed with water until it looked like they were dissolved.
There was a good amount of water, which made for a great vehicle to move the ink around the page and get a cool look in the background. I dried that layer, then repeated with purple and dried it again.
I pulled out my Aztec Lustres Craft Paints and used a paper towel to dab them around the page - it added a subtle difference in color and some shimmer.
With that layer dry, I took the EXpandit 3D Expandable Medium and mixed it on my palette with some Leaf Green Brusho crystals and then used a cheap bristle brush to stencil the mixture through my Ornamental Peacock Feathers stencil.
Then while it was still wet, I used my heat tool to do the magical expanding! I have no idea if this was what it was supposed to look like when I was done, but I really liked it - it feels like it's been flocked, and adds such cool texture to the background! (I think a thicker coat of the tinted medium would give you a more solid expanded surface, but I liked it this way.)
Next, I mixed up some orange Brusho crystals and airbrush medium in a glass dropper bottle and dropped tiny puddles around the page. I waited a minute - just until I could see the color underneath start to reactivate and come to the surface, then I used a paper towel to blot it back off. This is a fun reduction technique; it pulled out the blue / purple colors but left a bit of an orange stain, which looks pretty cool!
Next I used some white acrylic paint with my Ornamental Floral Screen stencil and randomly added some pattern to the background. I like white for this since it brightens up the page and unifies everything all at the same time.
With the background pretty much done, I moved on to the elephant inclusion. I used sepia and black Archival Inks to edge it on the outsides...
Then on the inside - when I opened up the diecut, I painted it with aquamarine Aztec Lustres Craft Paint, stenciled "TIME" from the Story Time stencil by Seth Apter and added the rest of the title with small alphabet stamps.
I decided that the title area needed something more, so I used my Art Deco Sunburst Background stencil and sepia ink to add a bit of pattern.
I had originally planned to do my journaling on the background of the spread, but after some trial and error I decided to add it as an outline around the elephant instead which I think worked really well. From there, I pulled my orange Brusho acrylic ink back out and added a few splatters, then let it dry.
To finish up the entire spread, I pulled out my washi tape - I love to use this to add just a little something to the edges of my pages.
I sealed the tape with a coat of matte medium, and voila! Completed art journal spread with fun new techniques and products.
Here you can see either side of the spread when the elephant is folded over:
Just a few close-ups so you can see some of the cool effects I got with the Colourcraft products...
That's it! I hope you enjoyed my project for today. Now, without further ado, it's time for the giveaway!
GIVEAWAY!
One lucky winner will receive both a $25 Gift Certificate to StencilGirl Products AND a $25 Gift Certificate to Colourcraft!
Visit the fabulous designers from both teams and comment for your chance to win! The more blogs you comment on, the more chances you have to WIN! (One comment per person per blog please.)
You have until Sunday, August 20th at 11:59PM Central Time to leave your comments.
The winner will be announced on StencilGirl's Facebook page and Colourcraft’s Facebook page on Monday, August 21st.
In case you missed it, here's the list of all of the blogs in this week's hop:
August 16
August 17
August 18
Looking for my post and tutorial from this blog hop with StencilGirl and Imagine Crafts? It has moved to my website.
You can head over to my website to see the full post and tutorial, or check out all of my mixed media tutorials.
Don't forget to check out the rest of the inspiration from this blog hop - the other posts are all still available here:
July 19
July 20
July 21
Hi all! I'm up on StencilGirl Talk today with the July edition of Gwen's Gems. This month I used Aves Apoxie Clay and stencils to make a fun, decorative flower that you can use on an art journal cover, in mixed media projects, or add to home decor. You can even make a smaller version to create your own statement pendants to use in jewelry making!
Here's my flower:
Head on over to StencilGirl Talk for lots more photos and a full project tutorial. Enjoy!
Hi all! I'm over on StencilGirl Talk today with the June edition of Gwen's Gems. This month I'm using lots of stencils and even more molding paste to make a layered and textured cover for a new 9"x9" handmade art journal.
Head on over to the blog for more photos and a tutorial on how I made the cover! Enjoy!
Hi all! I've mentioned the classes I have coming up at Papercraft Clubhouse in Westbrook, CT, (in less than two weeks now!) but I thought I'd give a little more detail about each class and also share some videos I've put together that may help decide some of you who are on the fence about coming. Hopefully they'll also help those of you already signed up so that you have a better idea of what to expect, what I'll be providing, and what you'll want to bring to work on your projects.
Here we go!
First up, Friday morning (June 16th) I'm teaching my Mini Mixed Media Medallions class from 10am to 1pm. This class is $60, but it also includes 1/4 lb of Aves Apoxie Clay (normally $10) as well as a few other goodies I'll be supplying for you. (You can also click through to the class page where there are lots more pictures of the class samples, plus a full description and supply list. You can watch the video there as well.) The samples are very much in my style, but you can bring elements, colors, themes, etc... that are totally different and really make these medallions your own!
We'll use clay, beads, metal findings, and more to create 1-2 medallions during this fun and fast-paced class. For those who have taken my Mixed Media Shadow Boxes class, there are some similarities in how the projects start, but then we diverge quite a bit from that approach with how our foundation evolves into a medallion that can be used on a book cover, in a shadow box or assemblage piece, or as a piece of statement jewelry.
Here's a 9 minute video that shows you more about the samples and talks about class supplies and some of what you can expect from this workshop.
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Also on Friday 6/16/17, I'm teaching Boho Art Journaling from 2-5pm... this class is $55.
In this workshop, we'll learn a background technique to start our pages (or canvas - you can bring your own canvas or panel if you'd prefer that to working in a journal,) and then we'll use stamps, stencils, and some fun techniques to make boho style animals to go on our pages.
Here's a 7-ish minute video going over more about the class and what to bring with you.
Again, you can hop over to the class page for lots more photos of the class samples with the full description and supply list.
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Finally, on Saturday June 17th I'm teaching a full day class called Of Angels and Icons that runs from 10am-5pm with a one hour break for lunch. This class is $105 and includes the canvas, plus other supplies that I'll be bringing to share.
We'll create an 11x14 mixed media canvas inspired by Russian Icons and Mexican Folk Art (with my own spin, of course!) You can go in whatever direction you want - lots of opportunities to really customize this for your style. We'll build the background for our canvas (different techniques from Friday,) as well as working on wings and halos and creating the paper doll itself, then we'll pull it all together.
I've got a video for this one as well - also about 9 minutes, that will talk much more about the samples and supplies.
As always, you can check the class page on my website for lots more details as well as many more photos of the class samples.
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Spots are filling quickly for these classes (especially Saturday's class which only has a few openings left!) so if you're interested, give them a call at the Clubhouse to sign up! (860-399-4443 - note that they're closed on Mondays.)
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my Facebook page. Hope to see you there!
Hi all, I'm super excited to share that I'm a surprise guest instructor today in Nathalie Kalbach's FREE online class, Artful Adventures! We're celebrating the release of her new book and taking a Stroll through the Hood where we find inspiration based on fun prompts to help you look at your surroundings in a new way and interpret them in your art.
My prompt was "cracks" and I've put together a 20ish minute video tutorial showing you how I interpreted my inspiration for the day and turned it into a fun piece of abstract art.
Here's just a little peek at my project:
I don't do pure abstract pieces a lot, but I really had a lot of fun playing with different products and techniques for this one, including a few that might surprise you! Head on over and check it out! If you're not registered for the class, jump in and sign up - it's free! There's already a ton of great inspiration and lots of fabulous tutorials, with more to come. Hope you enjoy it!
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