Happy Saturday!

It’s a New Technique Blog today, and I am pretty chuffed with my first attempt at using paste through a stencil.

Sometimes, having no clue about a new medium can be advantage, because you just have to figure it out. 

The first attempt didn’t go so well. 

Paper too thin.

Too much Paste.

Fiddled with it too much. 

Bindit…

So the next time, I went with thicker card,

less paste, and I worked fast.

Result? Well, decided for yourselves

Since I knew it wouldn’t be perfect, I deliberately went with a stencil which could handle a few creases or patches: 

The washing line.

First things first. I went to my Gelli Plate card stash, for a good background for a picket fence and a washing line.

It was this one’s brother!

6×6 Little Gelli Plate
white square Gelli card

Acrylic paints

Bubble-wrap, Sequin waste.

Just one of those quite full pieces, 

to make the white paste stand out.

So here’s the Washing Line Stencil. Laundry first…

I did my homework, and decided to go with Grunge Paste. 

There are so many different brands out there. This is good.

I put some on a piece of copy paper and whipped it back and forth for a while with an old credit card. 

Then I smeared it through the stencil, from one side to the other. 

Stopped halfway, went to the paper to load some more and continued the sweep through. 

Went in and filled the birds.

I think the trick here is not to keep going over it again and again. But hey. I’m a novice with this stuff. This really is the first time I have used it in many years; I once used a Dreamweaver stencil with paste, back on the 90’s. Those are the beautiful metal ones which have been around forever. That was a different texture though.

Cool! Very smooth.

So I decided to rough it up a little, and get some texture in the clothes. Some folds.

Check out the difference. Smooth… but see the little scalpel nicks? 

By bending and manipulating the card while the paste was still malleable, still not set hard, I was able to change the smoothness.

I used a scalpel to make some seams and dents. I used my finger to drag the paste a little too, to get a sag in the trousers. 

I had plenty of time. 

It takes quite while to set hard. About 15 minutes.

When the laundry was hard, I loaded a little stencil brush with Black Adirondack, 

and started lightly dusting the clothes. 

The black ink catches in the creases and folds. 

Very realistic. But you have to know when to stop; otherwise it looks like the neighbour has had a bonfire!

Is there anything more frustrating than hanging your lily whites out to dry before you go to work, and Happy Harry next-door deciding to have a fire, while the wind’s blowing your way?! 

Step away, and check it out. Ready for the Picket fence?

 Position it, and

just like with the washing line, pull the paste through without fiddling too much. The thing is, by using the Washing Line Stencil, my thought was we could aim for smooth, and get good practice in, but still be able to use the work, because it actually looks cool if there are a few imperfections. I have gone in and added them, haven’t I!

Lift the stencil while the paste is still wet.

Again, I got lucky! 

So added a bit of grain to the picket fence with a scalpel 

and my forefinger.

Just as with the washing, dust the picket fence with black 

once it is dry.

I got brave then. 

Using a make-up sponge, I added some shade with Stonewashed and Denim Adirondacks around the fence.

Then I loaded a big Clarity Stencil Brush with 

Denim Adirondack and went round the edges.

But what I love is how real the laundry looks!

 If you overcook it with the black dusting, take a piece of kitchen towel, lick it – I mean, wet it lightly – and gently wipe over the raised parts, to get brilliant highlights. 

BEFORE LICKING WETTING and WIPING

AFTER LICKING WETTING and WIPING 

 The more you wet and wipe, the more of the soot from the next-door neighbour’s bonfire you can lift off again!

If only it were that easy!

 So there we have it:

A blustery day, brilliant for hanging the washing out. 

Hope you like it. I am delighted.

 Can’t wait to try something else with the Grunge Paste!

TV tomorrow morning.

Sunday, 2nd March 2014.

9am – 11am

Hope you can join us.

xxx

AND

 we decided to extend this Wednesday’s Special Offer until Sunday night.
Perfect Pearls Set with a FREE Houses Stencil.

much love