Stamped Journal Pockets and Tags

How charming are these new stamps by Gwen Lafluer for PaperArtsy? She just released three new sets, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on EGL49, which has four oversized faux postage stamps and some smaller elements to coordinate with them.

I have been saving canceled postage stamps from my many trades with other artists, and also recently purchased a little paper punch that is shaped just like a postage stamp, right down to the serrated edges. Lately I have been smitten with making journal pockets, so I thought the stamped postage frames would look amazing on the pockets--and I was right! I tried them with an assortment of colored papers and inks and used the two I liked best for the pocket adornment.

For the journal page on the right, I used my punched papers and old stamps to create a background. 

Next, I used white embossing powder with the "POSTE VATICANE" stamp on black paper for the front of the pocket template. 

I stamped the sweet bird on watercolor paper and carefully added color with a fine brush dipped in watercolor. Then I cut it to the shape of the opening and glued the bird in place.

The journal page on the left has a background of sari silk from Gwen's website. I stamped a leafy floral from an older (but still fabulous!) set, EGL40, for the pocket background to coordinate with the sari silk. In the center of the pocket, I used the "INDIA POSTAGE" stamp in black on white cardstock. I carefully painted in the details with watercolor and Derwent watercolor pencils. The small figure in a festive hat was added separately and cut to fit the opening. At the very top I added some Japanese faux stamps and postal-inspired washi tape.

But, what good is a pocket unless you fill it? I decided some tags would fit nicely in the pockets, and experimented with the other stamps in set EGL49. You can find all kinds of gorgeous embellishments on Gwen's website to add to your tags or pockets. Check out the vintage embroidered Hmong star I used on the center of the yellow tag. 

I hope you enjoy using Gwen's new stamps as much as I did! If you want to try making your own journal pocket, below are some templates that can be printed on 8.5" x 11" paper. Have fun creating!

 

Investing in Myself

Digital surface design done in Adobe Illustrator based on a leaf shape that I constantly doodle.

Almost 50 years ago, I packed up my belongings and left a small upstate New York town and headed for the big city to pursue my dream of becoming a textile designer. I had found a fabulous program at FIT that zipped you through the textile program in a year if you already had a college degree. So, I learned how to draw and paint textile designs and put them in repeat. We had no computers. No color Xerox. No scanner that could enlarge or reduce a design. We had tracing paper, a T-square, and a ruler. It was probably the happiest year of my life.

One of my first textile designs, done in 1977, hand screen printed

After FIT, I took a job working for a small textile converter. Converters own the fabric and the screens or rollers that print the fabric, but not the factory. It was great fun. I got to travel a lot, meet all kinds of clothing manufacturers, and select hundreds of designs from freelance artists.

Scans of hand-painted artwork from my FIT portfolio (top) and from a 1980s fabric design (bottom). 

That all changed when I decided to stay home with my daughter until she was old enough to go to school. Right before she entered kindergarten, my husband said the magic words: "honey, you're the smartest person I know..." and asked me to help him with his newspaper business. I learned how to use a little mac computer, then took QuarkXPress so I could help with the newspaper layout design. I loved layout design and worked for his newspaper and then the NYC Health & Hospitals for many years.

"Roses in my Head" painting, used for fabric sold at Spoonflower.com.

By the time my daughter was in high school and I though about reentering the textile business, it had all changed. The garment center had shrunk; manufacturers were working overseas. My industry contacts had either gone out of business or gone digital. I started doing art quilting and mixed media work. I got a few things in books, magazines, and shows. I had some stencil designs accepted at StencilGirl Products, and kept busy making samples with them and artwork incorporating my stencils. But a little voice in my head said "I want to design fabrics."

"Dreaming of Fashion" art quilt, published in Quilting Arts magazine.

"Eye of Panic" art quilt, published in the books Quilts & Health, Quilts in the Attic, Machine Quilting Magazine and shown at Sacred Threads quilt show.

A couple years ago I took a free online course in using Adobe Illustrator for surface design. It was hard. It was confusing. I made a few designs. They were ok...not what I knew I wanted to produce, but passable.

Repeating pattern for surface design, done with Adobe Illustrator in 2022.

A few weeks ago I saw another freebie for Bonnie Christine's free week of instruction for Adobe Illustrator for surface design and gave it another try. BUTttttt, my computer died. I couldn't install Illustrator. It froze up. I wanted to cry. I watched all videos while waiting for my new computer to arrive, but I couldn't participate or practice. I did realize that the program didn't scare me as much as it used to. In my day job, I have been working in Adobe InDesign and Photoshop and this time, looking at Adobe Illustrator's tools and menus, it didn't seem so foreign or undoable. 

SOOOOO, I this weekend I invested in myself twice: 

1) I bought a really, really, really nice desktop computer with a huge screen and lots of memory ANNNND 

2) I "bit the bullet" and signed up for the very pricey Immersion course from Bonnie Christine.

I am taking a leap of faith and a lot of deep breaths, and am hoping that all the patterns and colors that I see inside my head can be channeled through my fingers, onto the keyboard, and into the design program. Fingers crossed that with my new equipment and new skills, I can finally make the fabric collections I have been dreaming about for years!

Dream: Stamped Paintbrush Doll

 

I'm a little kid at heart, and when I get new art supplies, its like Christmas and my birthday rolled into one! Upon opening my new package with Gwen Lafluer's stamp set EGL48, I pulled out my art journal, my black archival ink, and started experimenting. The patterns were inspired by henna tattoos, and there was such an interesting mix of images I hardly knew where to begin. There were animals, medallions, a flower, and some interesting soft and hard-edged geometrics. 

I tried using the long, thin "band-aid" shaped designs to make borders and frames for ATCs, with some of the other shapes as the central focus. 

The stamps also looked like they might make interesting mandalas, so I tried a few quick ones in my journal.

Here's a mandala that I added color to, using brush tipped markers:

My heart belongs to dolls, and I saw one of the shapes as a wing, one as a crown, and another as a sleeve, so I stamped a few doll doll ideas in my journal. (The final paintbrush doll was a combination of the two journal sketches.)

I had an idea, sketched in the photo above, of stamping on ribbon and having that create a fluttery skirt, but the ink blurred on the satin ribbon. Then I spied a well-worn, chunky old paintbrush in my supply cubby that called to me as I was creating, and I decided to make a paintbrush doll rather than make an articulated paper doll. I stamped various designs on cardstock and tissue paper, cut them out, and arranged them on the brush.

I painted the bright yellow plastic brush with a couple coats of creamy tan acrylic, and also painted watercolor paper to match. When all the paint dried, I stamped the various designs onto the papers, then cut them out. 

For the face, I used a vintage image from The Graphics Fairy, carefully cutting out the center of the large medallion so her face would peek through. The outside of the medallion suggests a halo or crown.

I wanted something extra between the bristles and the stamped pieces, and "auditioned" beads, fibers, Turkmen metal pieces, and buttons. While rummaging through my stash I found some small wooden letters, and used them to spell the word dream. I glued the letters onto a half-inch wide sheer pale gold ribbon. When the glue was dry, I carefully arranged the ribbon where the metal and bristles met and attached it by tying a little bow on the back on the brush.

Here's a closeup detail of the final doll. I fussy-cut the small floral, which fit perfectly between the triangular shapes and the bottom bar.

I hope this gives you lots of ideas about the many things that can be made using Gwen's new stamps! 

New Floral Stencils! Anemone and Milk Thistle

I'm pretty excited to show off my two latest stencils that are available starting today from StencilGirl Products! My new Anemone and Milk Thistle designs remind me of carefree days exploring the woods and fields around my childhood home, so I called them my Woodland Wanderings group. Sometimes I explored with my friends, sometimes alone. The exploring was not at all scientific, and seldom intentional unless we were picking berries or gathering wildflowers for a bouquet; we wandered around looking at everything that was growing, from tiny violets peeking out in the spring to dried thistles and bramble in the winter.

Although these weren't the exact things that grew in our woods and fields, they remind me of being a carefree kid and bring up happy memories--I hope they evoke joy for you too.

Here's my Anemone, SA 1014:

And here's a few things I made with it:

Allover surface design made with pan pastels.

Gothic arch covered with collage under stenciled anemone.

Distressed gothic arch shape with gold embossed anemone and stamped word.

Sepia anemones on vintage music sheet.

Black anemones over plaid scrapbook paper.

Here's my Milk Thistle, SA 1015:

Here's a few things I made with the thistle:

Sepia milk thistle on vintage music sheet.

Allover pattern of milk thistles done with pan pastels.

Vintage French image collage on gothic arch with black milk thistles.

Journal cover made of collaged turmeric teabags with white embossing and lace.

Acrylic paint skins on deli paper (peeled off silicone splat-mat) with black milk thistle.

I also combined the two stencils:

Anemone and milk thistle surface design done with pan pastels.

Pastel acrylic colors on black paper using anemone and milk thistle.

Tropical-inspired surface design done in pastel acrylic paint colors, overlapping milk thistle and anemone stencils, plus posca paint pen accents.

Here, I combined the anemone with a small stencil that I call "ditsy floral" from the Wyatt ATC Mixup. I used acrylic paints for the leaves and flowers and sepia archival ink for the centers. I also used a few of the milk thistle leaves, then added some accents with posca paint pens. Wouldn't this make great wrapping paper? Or a summer dress?

Festive design using the anemone, milk thistle leaves, posca pen accents, and "ditsy floral" from my Wyatt ATC Mixup stencil.

I love to make greeting cards, so I couldn't resist trying a few with my new stencils. I used stamped words and posca paint pen accents. Look how different the middle one (happy birthday) and the one on the right (congratulations) are, yet they used the same milk thistle stencil!

I hope you enjoy using my new stencils as much as I do! They mix and match nicely with many of my stencils from previous collections. Check them all out here.

Cute and Quirky Paper Dolls!

 

This post originally ran on the StencilTalk Blog February 19, 2025.

You're neve too old to play with dolls! You can have fun making (and playing with) whimsical paper dolls like these that can be easily made with my Paper Doll Stencil S959.

I loved paper dolls as a child, but there were a couple things that drove me crazy: they were stuck in one pose forever, and the clothes had little tabs that usually ripped off or never worked quite right. With an interest in fabric design, fibers, portrait painting, and fashion, making dolls was a natural step in my art career.

I tried all kinds of sources to find just the perfect paper doll. Some were too tall and thin, some too adult, some to campy or retro, and some too small or plain. So, I finally decided to create my own stencil and design the body parts just the way I always wanted. 

Here is my paper doll stencil S959. Beside it are three faces: on the bottom, the original school photo (guess who?!) that was used to create the face stencil; in the middle, the face stenciled with black ink; and on the top, the face stenciled with black ink plus some purple and pink accents.

I made sure that the arms and legs and head were separate pieces so that once they were traced, cut, and put together with small brads, the parts would be moveable and poseable.

Over the years I have amassed quite a collection of doll parts. Some are from online sources, some are vintage paper doll pieces, some are faces cut from magazines, and some are portraits I have painted, then scanned, reduced to 2" high, and printed. For this group of dolls, I used the little girl on the stencil to create three very different faces. I also used a quirky blue moon face from ArtTeaLife and a kitten doll head from JLeelo. In addition to my own stencil design for the body shape, I used a 2.5" x 3.5" artist trading card and small number 5 shipping tag as bodies.

I often use up my paper scraps for the arms and legs, then mix and match them to create unusual dolls. However, for this batch of dolls, I wanted to create an allover pattern that could be cut up for many of the body parts. So, I decided to use my ATC Mixup stencil L852. That stencil is quite a good "bang for the buck" since it has 10 different designs on it. I used seven of the 10 designs to create an allover pattern. Here's how I did it: 

I set up my table with some of my favorite colors of acrylic paint, my stencil, cosmetic wedges, and a big piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper.

You may notice that I cut up my 9x12 ATC stencil. I live in a small apartment and my "studio" is a corner of my bedroom, so I don't have a lot of workspace or storage space. I find it easier to work with a small stencil, so I cut the pieces apart. After cutting, I used a few inches of clear packing tape along the edges to make them easier to handle, and also prevent accidental smudges. 

Here's the "before" picture of my ATC Mixup stencil:

I started by stenciling the tile design (bottom right) in aqua and the tulip (bottom center) in pink. I didn't measure or plan the design, I just went by eye and instinct.

Next, I added the lily (middle right on the ATC Mixup stencil) in green and the loose mum (bottom left) in yellow.

To unite the shapes and create an overall design, I added my small patterns: the "ditsy floral" (on the top right of the ATC Mixup) and the "dobbie" (top left) in purple and yellow to the space between the larger patterns. I also used both of the small patterns in white on top of the aqua, pink, and green to soften the look and make the pattern more complex.

This shows the nearly complete allover stenciled pattern as well as some of the stencils I used. 

Here's the finished design. It almost seemed a shame to cut it up, but I fortunately I can output it from my color printer whenever I want!

To decide what part of the design I wanted to use for the central body shape, I moved my stencil around the paper until I found a section that would look good. Then, I carefully traced the lines of the body with a pencil, being careful to mark the little dots where the legs and arms would later join.

Here you can see my penciled outline of the body shape, with the tulip head centered in the middle of the chest. The dots are also there, where holes will be poked so the arms, legs, and head can be joined to the body with mini brads.

Above are some of the faces I created using the little girl's face on my paperdoll stencil. I used various inks and embossing powder, markers, paints, and chalk to achieve different looks. I also tried out some brads from The Eyelet Outlet that look like eyeglasses.

It is important to mark the little dots that are on the doll stencil's pieces--marking them carefully ensures that when you put the pieces together, they line up properly. After body parts are cut, poke a hole through the dots with an awl or darning needle. Then, connect the arms and legs to the body using mini brads. The brads come in many sizes, colors, and shapes. The brads allow the doll to be posed in many positions, which is way more fun than the old-fashioned paper dolls that were stuck in one position. 

The finished doll can be posed in any number of positions by rotating the body parts.

I had a lot of stenciled paper leftover, so I used some to make a doll with a shipping tag body. The face and shoes are from ArtTeaLife, arms from JLeelo, legs from Retro Café Art, and the butterfly hat is a stamp from Gwen Lafluer for PaperArtsy.

I had also used some randomly painted paper with black archival ink through my ATC Mixup stencil. Here's what I started with, and the doll I made using that paper. 

Here you can see the stencils from my ATC Mixup on the left, and the painted and stenciled paper on the right.

These are the stenciled pieces I considered using for my doll. I finally settled on the lily design for her body.

Above, the assorted body parts and other components I considered using for my doll.

The finished doll, complete with wings, a hat, and shoes.

Her face is from my stencil, but I added paint and posca markers to create a whimsical look. The wings are my ATC Mixup version of the Lemurian Leaf (center of the ATC Mixup stencil), done with gold embossing powder on black cardstock. I flipped the stencil over (carefully cleaning and drying the stencil after the first application of embossing ink so that there would be no accidental smudges) so the wings would be mirror images. I carefully cut around the black and gold leaves to create a wing shape. The hat and shoes are from The Graphics Fairy.

Next, I decided to make a folding ATC doll with some of my stenciled paper. Below are photos of the doll open, and folded up to 2.5" x 3.5". I used the stenciled allover pastel paper created with my ATC Mixup stencil, plus a few random stenciled arm and leg pieces from my stash. (I keep a tin of doll parts on my desk, and when I have small pretty scraps of paper, I cut doll body parts with them for future use.)

I added the face from my stencil, which was done in orange ink on a yellow cardstock, with white painted accents. The crown is a stamp by Gwen Lafluer, the wings are from Gwen's Boho Butterfly stencil, and the shoes are from The Graphics Fairy. I added the stamped word "dream" because she looked like a little girl with big dreams.

The folding ATC doll, open.

The folding ATC doll, closed.

If you have a pet, you'll love my last doll! I used a paperdoll cat face from J. Leelo, but you could also use a photo of your dog, cat, or other pet. I added a teacup from The Graphics Fairy as a hat.

While searching through my scrap bin, I found a stenciled shipping tag that I had intended to use as the cover for a small tag book. I never finished that book, but it called to me when I was looking for something to go with the cat face. I used an assortment of my ATC Mixup designs in coordinating pastel inks on both the front and back, so I cut body parts for the cat doll from both sides.

Here I am using a fat sewing needle to poke holes in the body so that the other parts can be joined to it using minibrads.

The cat doll is connected with tiny white heart-shaped mini brads.

I decided that the cat needed a skirt, so I "auditioned" some laces to make a little skirt. I cut the lace about twice as big as I needed, then gathered the top with a running stitch.

After gathering the lace, I glued the right side to the back and clipped it until dry. I arranged the gathers, then glued the other side and also clipped it until dry. Sometimes I put the skirt around the exact waist, sometimes I glue it at the bottom of the body. For the cat doll, I placed it just a little below the waist.

The finished cat doll, ready to dance and drink tea, and wearing her pretty lace skirt.

You're never too old to play with paper dolls, and it's also a great activity for children and teens. I hope you enjoy using my stencils, and have fun creating wonderful, whimsical, unique dolls of your own.

And here's the really great news: ALL my stencils are on sale for the next two weeks! Use the discount code LW20 for 20% off until March 4, 2025.