STENCILS: Multiple Ideas and Creations from ONE Product

Hello, friends! It’s Savannah O’Gwynn from Savannahland2. I’m honored to be sharing some of my ideas using the Spellbinders Tulip Garden Collection by Simon Hurley.

#SAVfact: I have MORE ideas than I have time to create! Be sure to check out all 11 of my projects using the Tulip Garden Collection and all the tips and bonus ideas throughout this post!!

When I saw all of these products from the collection, I was drawn to the STENCILS! That’s typically NOT me!! I am a fussy cutter, patterned paper user, that loves loves loves to add layers and dimensions using stamps, dies, and embellishments. Stencils and ink blending actually scared me! However, after using these stencils for the majority of my projects, I think I’ve become a fan of using stencils on my cards🙃

Grab this beautiful collection and join me in using your stencils in a different ways!!

Stencils: TRADITIONAL

As a stencil newbie, I didn’t know where to start… so I went TRADITIONAL. Traditional for the tulip stencil would be bright colors that you would see in a garden. **NOTE: These stencils are GORGEOUS and LARGE! TIP: Don’t be afraid to cut your image into two pieces to create two cards! #twofers

 I became a stenciling pro and went down a rabbit hole of techniques and projects at this point! Here’s how it started- 3 modern cards.

 Stencils: TONE-ON-TONE

I love using traditional colors, but I wanted to amp it up (now that I’m a stenciling pro! LOL!). I went for one of the hardest designs I think I could have picked as a newbie- TONE-ON-TONE. The white ink on the white paper gives that subtle look of beauty and adds just the right amount of dimension to the card.

 Here are a few tips that I learned while creating a tone-on-tone card.

• TIP: If you don’t have a lot of ink colors that match for layers, use one ink color for the entire flower image.
• TIP: When using one ink color for an entire image, use different pressure (light and hard) to create the layered effect with the ink and stencil layers.
• TIP: This stencil has three layers for the flowers, as well as the leaves/stems-to create the look I have shown you here— use one layer of white ink on the first layer; two layers of white ink on the second layer; and then a gray ink with light pressure for the third layer. Be sure to let the inks dry between layers!
• TIP: I think the tone-on-tone idea could work for any colored cardstock and inks— try pink cardstock with pink ink! Or orange and orange! Yellow and yellow! The possibilities are endless!

Stencils: ART DECO, MOD MODERN, & TEXTURE MIX

I was inspired by some ART DECO and MOD MODERN flower art for the next two cards. I really like that the flowers and leaves didn’t have to be traditional and yet still would give the beauty of the flower! I feel like these flowers are almost MORE beautiful than traditional flowers😊

For this first card, I used the same tips and tricks from the tone-on-tone white flowers for the white flower design but added a blue-gray leaf. Such a pretty combo!

BONUS Idea: It was at this point that I realized I hadn’t used any TEXTURE with my stencils! So I took out my texture paste and continued with the Art Deco & Mod Modern theme for this bonus card. I decided a blue hue would be my leaf color for that modern look!

Here are a few tips I learned while working with texture paste and stencils:

• TIP: Texture always adds interest!! I added just a tiny bit of texture on the stamens for a few of my cards.
• TIP: Blend an ink, paint, or Lunar Paste to your white texture paste to create a subtle and custom color. *I used the Gold Rush with white texture paste for the stamens.
• TIP: Start with a THIN layer of texture paste for your stencil layers. To add more interest and dimension, try two THIN layers for some of the stencil layers.
• TIP: Be sure to let your texture layers dry before moving on to the next stencil layer— ask me how I know this:)

Stencils: VELLUM

Next, I pulled out my VELLUM paper and stenciled onto this— WOWZA! TIP: You can choose either side of the vellum paper for your project! One side will be muted and the other will be bold and the image will be reversed- so FUN! I went with the soft colors for this traditional card.

Stencils: DRAW & COLOR

I saw another image that inspired me with a flower that was drawn and colored in. Here’s how to DRAW (trace) & COLOR:

• Draw around (or trace) each image on each of the stencil layers using a thin marker (I used a 0.25 tip)
• Color each image using colored or watercolor pencils, markers, watercolor paints, regular paints, etc. **NOTE: You might notice that some of my drawn lines disappeared with my coloring- that’s ok:)

Stencils: PATTERNED PAPER

I’ve always known you can use PATTERNED PAPERS when using stencils, so I gave this technique a try! I love how this card turned out!! This patterned paper was the perfect match for these tulip stencils!

Stencils: KRAFT & EMBOSSING FOLDER

To be honest, I forgot there were MORE products in this collection than the stencils and sentiment dies! LOL! I decided to use the stencil and coordinating embossing folder on Kraft paper for this next card. I love how the Kraft paper muted the inks for a very pastel color combo! TIP: I found it easier to stencil first and then emboss the paper.

BONUS projects and TIPS: Just when you thought I was done… I remembered there were even MORE products in this collection than the stencils and embossing folders—- this collection includes some beautiful tulip and foliage dies, as well as the sentiment dies that you’ve seen on most of my projects! TIP: The key to preventing glue smearing everywhere when using these smaller sentiment diesis to apply the glue to the back and let it sit to get sticky (it doesn’t take long- maybe 20 seconds). EASY! No glue smearing!

For these cards, I kept with the Mod Modern theme, making the tulips the star of the show!

TIP: If you use your stencil layers so much and pieces of the stencil are bent or overused, just zap it with the heat gun for about 5 secs and lay a heavy object on top of it to flatten it back out!

Spellbinders Supplies:

WOWZA! I have so many MORE ideas and things to share with you using this new collection-ink blending highlights, stencil highlights and embossing folders, isolation of tulip heads, creating a bouquet, and MORE!!! I guess you will have to stop by my IG page for these ideas and projects!!! Thanks for making it this far in the post😉

THANK YOU, Spellbinders, for allowing me to share my creations and ideas with all of your friends and fans!

And THANK YOU so much for stopping by and checking out my stencil techniques, tips, and projects!! I hope you were inspired and try some of these ideas on your next creation. Please visit my Instagram page, Savannahland2 or my blog, Savannahland2, for even MORE crafty inspiration.