Watercoloring With Stencils

 Hi Artzy friends -

I recently took an online class that was all about techniques with stencils and it inspired me to  get out my stencils and try some of them out.

I chose the Dare 2B Artzy Wacky Boxes stencil for this fun watercolor technique.

I began by taping a piece of watercolor paper to a hardboard to prevent warping. I sprayed the back of my stencil with Pixie Spray and adhered it my paper. Pixie Spray is a slightly tacky adhesive spray that holds your stencil down but does not rip your paper. There are many techniques that crafters use to hold their stencils in place but Pixie Spray is best here so you don't get too much water seeping under your stencil and ruining your design. 

I used Zig Clean Color Real Brush (Watercolor) Markers and drew an outline inside each of the openings in the stencil. (This is a very detailed stencil!) in shades of yellows, oranges, and pinks

I then lifted the stencil, and with a wet paintbrush, pulled the color in to cover each rectangular area.  I didn't love the dotted areas so I painted over those areas into rectangles as well. 

I was left with a panel that looked a little "mixed media" and a little retro - perfect for pairing with the Groovy Van stamps and dies!

I stamped and colored the van on watercolor paper with similar shades of the Zig markers that I used for the background, and I heat embossed the word "hippie." I also stamped the words "don't worry" and "be." I cut everything out and mounted it all on black cardstock and/or black foam. I offset the van on the foam to create a shadow effect.

I trimmed down my background panel and matted it on black cardstock. After assembling all of the parts of my card I added a few sparkly gems to finish it off. 

Dare 2b Artzy has several beautiful detailed stencils that are fun to try with many techniques. Don't be afraid to get Artzy with your supplies! 

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

Avra