GGP Crusade No.19 – Stencils

April’s GPP Street Team Crusade this month is Stencils; what fun! how easy! fantastic results! Here’s what I did.

1. Decided on a large flower, which can be used as a stencil and mask/template. As I’m doing more altered book layouts, I need bigger images than I had been using. I created one petal, folded in half to get symmetry. I then used this one to create seven in total. I stuck these to the back of my cutting mat with on/off tape. Each petal is about 2″, the whole flower, just over 6″ across.

2. Using a recycled beauty product box (knew it would come in handy for something!) I traced the flower onto the plastic sheet with a Sharpie pen, then cut out with a craft knife (didn’t even know you could get a “Stencil burning tool” until Michelle told us!) This gave me a stencil and a template for each petal. I numbered each petal and template so I could line them up later, if need be (I AM an engineer, remember, lol)

3. To use the stencil for a layout, I used chalk ink and a sponge to lay down the bottom layer onto a prepared page. Using each template, I cut out text and music and an old engineering maths book (oooh) and sponged one side with the same chalk ink. As the templates have writing on them, it made it easier to line up the petals, so the text or music would be straight in the final design. Stuck the petals on with Xyron. Added text “Stillness”, which was the theme from this morning’s meditations, a border and petal highlights with a Tombow pen.

There, all done! I’m pleased with the outcome; quite tranquil. I might add that the reason I’ve got so much time to create and meditate at present, is that my company is out on strike, so I’ve had lots of time on my hands.

Hope you find some time to create, and be still!

Michelle

[Editors Note: For more uses of this flower stencil, see Disappearing Act – Sept 2011]