Stencils and Paint, part two

Hello, Kirsten here, happy Wednesday.

 

I left you at the end of yesterday’s post with this simple background. Now it’s time to add something to it.

 

 

I chose the Sweetpea stencil by Glitz Craft & used Oregano Adirondack ink through it. The important thing to remember when you want to use inks over acrylic paint is that inks like Adirondacks & Distress inks will NOT be permanent. They can be removed with water, or a baby wipe, which is great if you make a mistake, or change your mind. If you want a permanent image use inks such as Archival, Stazon, or similar.
 

 

 

Next, I masked off all the foliage areas of the stencil with Woodware Stencil Tape & applied Blue Sapphire Sparkle Medium through the petal areas.
 

 

 

I wanted a slightly patchy effect, so I scraped off some of the SM & returned it to its pot, then set the card aside until the SM was dry.

 

 

To finish the card I made a chalkboard label with a sentiment stamp from a Penny Black set, white embossing powder, a white pen & tiny amounts of Summer Linen paint, added some adhesive pearls to the top right corner & some doodling with a black fine liner pen – this not only frames the card, but draws the eye in towards the centre.
 

 

 

That’s the card finished. I hope you like it & it inspires you to have a go with using paint with your stencils.
 

Before I go here are a few tips about cleaning your stencils. The method of cleaning depends on the medium you’ve used, so I’ll try to break it down into simple steps.

Inks such as Distress & Adirondacks will not dry on stencils, so you can leave the ink on as long as you want, it will still be wet. To remove the ink, use a baby wipe/paper towel & water/ clean cloth & water.
 
Inks such as Archival & Stazon will dry almost instantly on stencils. To remove them you need surgical spirit. I have found that after a while (I’m talking a number of days) you can remove some of the ink with a baby wipe, but the stencil will be permanently stained.
 
Embossing inks will stay wet & can be removed with baby wipes.
 
Acrylic paint will dry very quickly & will eventually stain the stencil slightly, but won’t damage it. You can either clean it as you go with a baby wipe, or keep a dish of water beside you & drop the stencils into it, then clean them at the sink later – DON’T pour lots of paint down the sink! If you use this method cleaning them with your fingers or a soft cloth should be enough to remove the paint, then dry the stencils with a separate cloth, or stand them somewhere to dry on their own.

If you use a baby wipe/cloth & water:

Place the stencil flat on your craft sheet.

Swipe the baby wipe over the stencil either towards you, or away from you. Don’t wipe in all directions, that increases the risk of catching the wipe/cloth in the open areas & tearing the plastic, thus ruining your stencil.
 
Remember to clean & dry BOTH sides. As you clean, the ink/paint etc. & the liquid from the baby wipe/water will seep underneath. When I dry my stencils I place them on a soft cloth, dry the top then flip it over & dry again.
 
Another option is a specific stencil cleaning tool like this one;

 

 I haven’t tried it yet, but it certainly looks interesting.

I hope I've answered any questions you might have had. If I've missed anything, feel free to ask me in the comments, or on the Lisa B Designs Facebook page. I'll do my best to answer you as soon as possible.

And that’s it from me for now. Keep the blog challenge in mind. Remember it runs until Saturday, April 5, so you’ve got plenty of time to take part if you find you’ve been inspired by any of the stencils blog posts.

                    


               

 

Until next time, happy crafting.
 

Kirsten