ARTplorations Stencil Sunday and September Mixed Media Challenge

Happy Stencil Sunday everyone..Smile.  Today I am sharing this altered Art Journal cover which I created for the September Mixed Media Challenge over at STAMPlorations...

While every Sunday is "Stencil Sunday" where the ARTplorations Mixed Media Design Team shares their stencil-inspired creations, the first Sunday of every month starts a brand new mixed media challenge over at the STAMPlorations blog where it is always "Anything Goes Except a Card".  You have to use some kind of stencil on your project and it cannot be a card, but those are pretty much the only rules.  We would love to see your mixed media projects linked up this month.  Every month the design team vote for their favorites and there are prizes to be won!  Go HERE for all the rules and how to details.

I like playing with the covers of my Art Journals because this is my private space where I allow myself to do whatever I feel like (smile).  The following photos reveal a bit of my process and one or two design tips... enjoy! 

Here are the products I will be using as I go through the process...

I started with a base of one coat of white gesso and some Nuance watercolor powders - sprinkle, spray with water & blot with paper towels...

I used the ARTplorations Large Feathers and Arrows stencil... and Yes, I cut it up in to smaller, more manageable pieces... it works so much better for me this way.

I selected two feather stencils and used several different mediums layered overtop of each other; the same feathers but different textures and colors.  I loved the end result!

I really like this texture paste that crackles when it dries. Did you notice how some of the watercolor pigment was leached up into the paste as it dried? I love this!

At this point I thought I was finished with my cover... but then as I was taking this photo I noticed my sprays in the background and thought... "I think I need some blues and greens"... But I didn't want too much color, just a hint to make the oranges pop...

so I sprayed a paper towel until it was wet with ink and then dabbed it onto my cover... the sprays were sucked right into the pastes but it also added a shimmer of color to the metallic feathers. I outlined my title using a Posca Paint Pen to make it pop and NOW it was done!

I do hope you enjoyed this photo tutorial and that it makes you want to create something of your own - which I would LOVE to see in our September Mixed Media Challenge.  And please do pop on over to the STAMPlorations Blog today to see what the rest of my design team mates created today to inspire. 

And finally, I would like to end today's post with this photo of the view from my studio window after the Husband (who shall now and forever be referred to as Mr. Awesome) spent the past few weeks removing about twenty 60-foot Fir trees to reveal this amazing view all the way down the river valley to the mountains on the Idaho border... Swoon!

As always thank you for popping in to see what I am up to and please do leave me a comment if you like what you are seeing!

Mixed Media Artist Lynne Mizera

for the STAMPlorations Mixed Media Design Team

 

STAMPlorations Products Used On This Project:

Stencil: Some Birds

Stencil: Feathers and Arrows - Large

Stencil: Fearless - Large