Paper Pursuits: Creative Stenciling–MFT February DT Creative Challenge

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Creative Stenciling–MFT February DT Creative Challenge

Hi, everyone! And welcome to MFT’s February Creative Challenge! The MFT Design Team Creative Challenge is a monthly feature where we are challenged to explore our creative side using a specific theme, product, or technique. This month, Creative Stenciling! Look forward to an assortment of creations from today's participating designers as we create projects using MFT Stencils. Be sure to check out the MFT Blog for a list of all the designers who have a project to share with you today.

Along with some others on the MFT design team, I recently took an online class on stenciling and learned some pretty cool techniques. I couldn’t decide which ones to use today so I did three different ones to share with you.

First up is one of my favorite ways to just add some subtle interest and texture when you don’t want something really bold that will take away from your focal element. Embossing paste or modeling paste is super easy to use and really adds dimension to your project. I used it right out of the jar today but you can color it with ink if you want to go that way.

First of all, I taped my MPD Scallops stencil down on top of some Sweet Tooth card stock and masked off the general area I wanted to stencil.

Then, with a palette knife, I spread the embossing paste over the stencil and onto my card stock.

I like to sweep it off at an angle so some of the openings only get a touch of paste, to add interest—in other words, don’t fill each opening completely. BUT, the great thing about this product is that if you don’t like what it looks like, just scrape it off with your palette knife and start over—as long as you haven’t colored it.

Then it’s just a matter of letting it dry and using it on your card. You can speed up the drying with a heat tool but be careful—embossing paste will bubble up if it gets too hot.

I then finished my card using some scraps of stamped paper I found in my stash—Grout Gray card stock stamped with Grout Gray ink and Striped Backgrounds, then stamped with a Black Licorice ink sentiment from Get Well Wishes and Sweet Tooth card stock stamped with Black Licorice ink and MPD Damask Designs. Then I added a Leaf-Filled Flourish Die-namics cut from Sour Apple card stock and an Upsy Daisy Die-namics flower cut from Orange Fizz card stock with a Chocolate Brown card stock center. I finished off with a few orange enamel dots.

The inside has another sentiment from Get Well Wishes.

*****

My second card shows how you can create your own patterned paper with stencils.

I used Stripes Stencil and some Distress ink to make this paper. I like how you can get subtle shading with Distress inks so I chose two colors to work with. I simply taped the stencil down on my craft sheet on top of some Sweet Tooth card stock and sponged one color on. Then I turned the card stock 90 degrees and sponged on the other color.

To complete the card, I trimmed my new patterned paper down and matted it with Black Licorice card stock to ground it. Then I stamped the sentiment, from LJD Blissful Butterflies, on Black Licorice card stock with Sweet Tooth pigment ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder and popped it up on foam. I stamped a butterfly from the same set on a LJD Blissful Butterflies Die-namics cut from Orange Fizz card stock with Black Licorice ink and popped it up on foam as well, on top of some black hemp cord loops.

The inside has another sentiment from the set.

*****

For my last card, I bubbled up the embossing paste on purpose.

I started with some Sweet Tooth card stock and MPD Damask Stencil. I only wanted to use the larger image so I masked off the rest and applied my embossing paste as usual.

This is what I had when I pulled off the stencil. Gorgeous just like this, right?

While it was still wet, I sprinkled on some silver embossing powder and heated it up. You’ll need to be careful to not burn it but you want to hold the heat on about as long as you do to emboss on paper and until you see the embossing paste bubble. You get incredible dimension with this technique and it almost looks like metal.

To complete my card, I matted it with silver metallic card stock and popped it up on a Black Licorice card stock base. I cut a Banner Greetings Die-namics from Black Licorice card stock and stamped the sentiment, from Banner Greetings, with Versamark, then heat embossed with silver embossing powder and popped it up on foam.

Another Banner Greetings image was stamped on the inside with Black Licorice ink.

And there you have it—three ways to use your MFT Stencils that you might not have considered. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Get Well Wishes	Striped Backgrounds	Damask Designs	Black Licorice Ink
Premium Dye Ink Pad Grout Gray	Sweet Tooth Card Stock	Orange Fizz Card Stock	Sour Apple Card Stock
Heavyweight Card Stock Grout Gray	Heavyweight Card Stock Chocolate Brown	Die-namics Leaf-Filled Flourish	Die-namics Upsy-Daisy
Stencil MPD Scallops

InLinkz.com

LJD Blissful Butterflies	Black Licorice Ink	Pigment Ink Pad Sweet Tooth	Sweet Tooth Card Stock
Orange Fizz Card Stock	Black Licorice Card Stock	Die-namics LJD Blissful Butterflies	Stencil Stripes