Lemurian Garden Stencil Debut!

One of my lifelong dreams has been seeing my own designs used in fabrics, wallpaper, clothing, packaging, paper goods, sheets other useful products. After finishing college with a degree that didn't really suit me, I went back to school and studied Textile and Surface Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. For about 10 years, I worked in the fashion industry as a print stylist, selecting designs, patterns and colors for a textile converter, and going to the mills to oversee the production quality. The company's look was different than my personal style, so I rarely produced my own designs. After my daughter was born, I shifted into layout design for magazines and newspapers. Still, in the back of my mind a little voice kept asking: "What about YOUR designs?" I often sketched ideas and doodled and imagined what my own designs would be.

Finally I had the opportunity to produce stencils for StencilGirl. Out of the hundreds of designs I had scribbled on sticky notes and doodled on the edges of notepads over the years, I selected five. They are all designs I doodle, sketch and draw over and over--shapes that have showed up in my paintings and drawings for many years. Realizing that they were all designs based in nature, I named the group Lemurian Garden, after a magical place that some believe was the Garden of Eden, located in the area where the Hawaiian Islands are now.

The five designs in the group are the Spiral, Leaf, Pansy, Tulip and Lily, and they work beautifully together, but also stand on their own individually.

Here's some samples of how the stencils look with various methods and colors. The earrings and necklace were stenciled onto shrinkydink film, then baked in the oven. Some are Intention Cards, some are journal pages. There's also a greeting card and handmade envelope as well as a little gift box.

LEAF

TULIP

SPIRAL

For the birthday card and envelope, I started with a piece of deli paper that had blobs of paint on it. My silicone mat had been covered with paint, and it looked really pretty, so I covered the mat with thin matte medium, placed deli paper over it, pressed out the excess with a credit card, and let it dry. I carefully peeled away the paper from the mat and was left with some pink., orange and green splotches. Next, I used black archival ink through the spiral stencil in a random, allover pattern until the paper was covered. Using an opened, flattened envelope as a template, I cut the envelope shape, folded it, and glued the sides. With the leftover bits, I used a folded 8" x 5" white index card to make the birthday card. I stamped "happy birthday" onto deli paper, then glued it in place with matte medium. 

Click HERE to see a short video on the making of the card and envelope.

PANSY

LILY

 And here's a few things I made using ALL the stencils together. I liked the pastel (on the left) so much that I scanned it and printed out paper from my inkjet printer, which I used for the limbs of the paper doll.

I'm so excited about the stencils, and can't stop using them. They are full of energy and life. I hope you enjoy using them as much as I do!

Dawn in the Garden

Years ago I began studying reiki and investigating alternative healing methods. One idea and image that stayed with me was the idea that energy is especially powerful at dawn and dusk. Meditating or doing reiki in a garden at either sunrise or sunset would not only have a calming and healing effect on the person, but would also help the plants grow better. The idea stayed in the back of my mind for a long time.

For my painting Dawn in the Garden, I started and stopped over a course of a few months. I did a background that was pretty, but I didn't quite know what to add to it to make it more interesting. I kept painting and adding more stencils (especially my favorite compass rose from Gwen's Ceramic Tiles club set) until eventually I was ready to add the foreground.

When I got a new shipment of StencilGirl® stencils, I knew that Carol Wiebe's Sacred Feminine angelic beings were just right for my foreground. I used black and sepia archival ink and a purple acrylic paint.

Of course the angels needed wings, so I added some Dresden wings and grunged them up with some ink.

When I lived in the country the little bunnies were always having a delicious dawn a dusk meal. They seemed to me perfect companions for the angelic beings.

First I cut them out of white paper and placed them around the canvas. I used a rabbit stencil from Tracie Lyn Huskamp. Then I sponged them on with white acrylic, but they were too sheer, so later I redid them using white crackle paint. I also added some vintage shoes from The Graphics Fairy.

I added a bunch of stencils in greens and yellows to suggest foliage, including one of my favorite stencils, Lacy Lotus by Jessica Sporn, and using circles from Carolyn Dube's Playtime StencilClub set, a sunrise/sunset with pinks, oranges and yellows.

 

I also added some grunged gold Dresden crowns with faux gems. I also used a black General's Scribe All pencil to add some shadows around the bunnies.

The figures weren't quite the colors I wanted, but fortunately, Gwen Lafluer's new Boho Blends worked perfectly to give the angelic figures some depth and shine. I used Wrought Iron on the far right figure, carefully masking over the shoes and bunnies with blue painter's tape.

 

 On the middle figure, the Cinnamon Boho Blend from the Spice Market trio was just right.

On the far left figure, the original purple was not working at all. I carefully placed the stencil back on the painting, added some VersaMark embossing ink, then sprinkled Lapis Lazuli embossing powder generously. I tapped off the excess powder, carefully poured it into the container, then zapped the figure with my heat gun.

What a huge difference! The figures were more harmonious, and had shine and depth.

The foreground still wasn't quite right, and I put the canvas away for a while. I wanted to add some flowers at the bottom of the canvas, but they just didn't come out right when I tried stenciling them with acrylic paint.

It dawned on me that some tiny flowers with the Paprika embossing powder would be just the perfect final touch! I used a flower stencil from Ann Butler's March club set for the flowers, then added a drop of gold Nuvo Drops for the centers.

Truthfully, I have never tested out the garden meditation theory...but I do aim to one day be a serene being gathering and giving energy in a garden of my own!

Reiki Pyramid Treasure Box

A few months ago Cloth, Paper, Scissors Magazine had a challenge called “Make Mine Mini”. You could make anything, but the one rule was that whatever you made could be no bigger than 4”. I decided to make a mini pyramid treasure box out of some purple stretch velour fabric that I had screen printed with gold acrylic paint. My screenprinting was done with Thermofax screens that Lynn Krawczyk made for me in her Esty Shop called Fibra Artysta. http://www.etsy.com/shop/FibraArtysta
On the outside of the box, I alternated a spiral leaf and an energy symbol. The leaf shape with a spiral inside it is my own design…it is something that I doodle a lot. I am not sure exactly what it means, but it seems to belong to me. The one that looks like a musical note is the reiki energy symbol. On the inside, there are four heart shapes that have a spiral design in them, which is also an original design. The purple color is the reiki healing color.

I glued the fabric to heavy cardboard that I had pre-cut to make the pyramid. After I glued it all together, I put 2 grommets in each triangle top and threaded a shimmery gold ribbon through to make the closure.

The pyramid is intended to be a safe place to keep little pieces of paper inside—things that are hoped for, dreamed of, and prayed for. It seems a quite magical, with the special symbols and the healing color, so I hope that the all dreams and wishes I write down and put inside will come true.