Izbzee

exploring DIY stencils-part 1

After doing a little designing recently, I decided to try a new "to me" technique of using a mini word stencil since I didn't have a stamp that would fit the current need....  and use some embossing ink and embossing powder to see if the results would work as I'd hoped.

 

THEY DID!

The stencil area is less than 1" square.  The lettering is about 1/4" high.  Arial Narrow was used for this test.  I like how it turned out.  

I used:
IkonArt Stencil materials 
Printer
SCAL 5 Pro
VersaMark Watermark Ink Refill
Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder (White)

A few water colored hearts (110 lb cardstock) were made earlier and thoroughly dry before this test.  

Design your word sentiments in the software.  I used SCAL 5 Pro.  I can resize the words as needed to fit the specific design I'm wanting to decorate.  In this case, I used a heart that was specific to a card I was creating for some friends. After creating each of the words and making sure that they fit the shape, print them on the printer film.  You don't have to reverse the images to print as long as the lettering is black.  

Create the stencils following the directions of print, expose, rinse and post expose lined out by the manufacturer of the stencil materials.  You'll find details here and here.

When you're ready to do the first stencil, choose a piece of material that is similar to what you will be using for your final product to do as a test.   You don't need to use a lot of the ink.  A single drop will last for about 5 individual stencil uses. 

To much pressure or too much ink will result in bleeding or non-crisp edges as shown below.  

An embossing buddy was not used for this sample, the speckled look was desired.  

One drawback - the ink doesn't clean up as normal paints or inks do.  So plan on making multiples and throwing away after multi-use.  The ink is "sticky" even after washing the stencil with some Dawn. 

One plus - Since the stencil is so small, you can use a small piece of the stencil material and reuse your master print over and over to create new stencils.   

 

February Tiered Tray

I had a lot of fun making a few things for this year's trays.  Even discovered a few things from the last few years we'd used on the Valentine tree in the past.  No tree this year -- there's no room for it!  

You'll find all the details for these makes on The Artistry, here.  

Digital paper, watercolor and twine decorate this wood piece.

Covered wood again -- love doing these book covers using the foil quill!  

Framed a mini vinyl piece.  The frame is lightweight because it's made from paper!  

Check out all the details here.  

Have a great day in your creative space today! Nurture your soul with color and fun!

From box card to Tiered Tray element

The Love Truck from Simply Crafty SVGs provided the perfect SVG for this project.  

It was easy to transform with just a few extra cuts using a craft knife or the knife in the SCAL 5 software and let your cutting machine do the rest.

Ink the pieces if desired for a little more texture and dimension.  Add some dimensional glaze to the side mirrors and the taillights.  Some wink of stella was also added to several of the hearts and the tailgate and bumper.  

Create the layers as shown in the assembly video.  Use foam tape to layer and give a little dimension as shown in the photos below.  

Take a peek at more of the fabulous Valentine files available on SimplyCraftySVGs.  You'll find most of them here.  (And they're on sale for 20% off thru Feb.6, 2022)  Happy Shopping!  

 

2 more additions to the indoor HOME sign

These were so fun to make and add a breath of color (and Spring) to the sign.  Perfect to use in March and April.  

I enjoyed learning a new (to me technique) using the SCAL5 Pro software and the Skycut cutter/plotter was spot on when it came to the print 2 cut images.  For all the details on how to make the circle mandala from a square one, check out the article now published on The Artistry.  

Anniversary Lantern

This file from Simply Crafty SVGs can be put together quickly.  To dress it up a bit, emboss the decorative panels and lantern using a scoreboard.  Add some printed vellum with a few of your favorite photos and to take it a bit further, add some leaves and "flowers" on twine and wrap around the lantern.  Be sure to add a tealight to the box for an extra special touch... and your lantern is ready to gift.  

 

 

 

 

on the Artistry

Take a peek at my latest article posted on the Artistry.  I'm so excited to share today.  

The  Gramophone file is from The Cutting Room Digital Designs store at Creative Fabrica.  The file has been adapted to feature a turntable that turns and a recordable Invite By Voice sound box.  

 

Snow Fun Banner

After putting away all the holiday decor, things were looking a little bare.  Even the snow has melted!  But, this fun banner was a great start to some wintery January crafting! 

All the details for creating this layered banner and the layered snowflake (using SCAL5 Pro) are at Creative Fabrica's The Artistry.

Winter sentiments

Winter made an all too brief appearance last week.  But the few inches of snow we did get were welcomed with lots of gratitude.  

I came across this sentiment set that was perfect to make some small planner and hot chocolate gift tags.   I really liked this set.  You'll find it at Katie Pertiet Designs.  

I wanted to print it it on Kraft and use a mini safety pin to attach it to the gift or slip into the rings on the planner.  

There are only 2 of these left.  They were fun to make!  

When the cold air hit -- and the furnace couldn't quite keep up, this one landed in the planner!

for this one, I used a tag shape found in the SCAL 5 library and the font is A Little Mixed up from Creative Fabrica.  I added a shadow layer, set that to cut and the rest of the tag is a Print 2 Cut.  It was fun.  It's printed on kraft -- and backed with a reverse cut.  And once again, the print 2 cut was spot on.  Love that camera feature on the Skycut!  

Happy Crafting!