≡ Menu

Carolyn Dube’s Stencils

Using Gel Prints for Ransom Alphabet Cards thumbnail

The Streets of San Francisco were a big part of the inspiration for this alphabet stencil and these cards.  Many moons ago, when watching reruns of the tv show starring Michael Douglas and Karl Malden, there was a kidnapping and the ransom note was individually cut up letters from the newspaper. The stereotypical ransom note [...]

The Gel Printed Matisse Grid with my Geometry Fail thumbnail

OOPS! The plan was to build the grid with 3 colors by having each color in each row and no color touching itself.  I thought it was a solid plan. It wasn’t, since after row #2, I was backed into a corner.  Okay, that sounds a bit dramatic but for a fleeting second that is [...]

Leftover Scraps Become Mixed Media Art thumbnail

This play came from that thing I wasn’t paying attention to, the scrap paper from cutting out hearts.  I liked the hearts I cut out, but I loved this paper so much so that this is what I used first!  The muse is rather tricky some days. https://youtu.be/i3R5e_IqelI Watch Leftover Scraps Become Mixed Media Art [...]

Paint Couture…Gel Printing Rainbow Sneakers thumbnail

Paint Couture…fun to make and fun to wear!  Turns out finding a rainbow colored pair of shoes isn’t as easy as you might think so I decided to make some rainbow shoes!  Clearly, I did not cobble them myself but simply painted a cheap pair of canvas sneakers. Even though you don’t see triangles all [...]

PanPastels, a Baby Wipe, and a Castle thumbnail

PanPastels are vibrantly full of pigment…and work wonderfully with baby wipes so I decided to build an art journal page of castle towers with them. Want to win the stencils used in this video?  One lucky reader will win all 7 of my new stencils.  Leave a comment on this blog post for a chance [...]

Crayon Rubbings, Stencils, and Watercolors thumbnail

Why do I love crayon rubbings? Is it the historical significance that brass rubbings played in medieval times?  Is it the memory of first grade making leaf rubbings? A little bit of those but the biggest reason is crayon rubbings are immediate gratification.  No waiting for anything to dry.  The only prep work is taking the [...]

Discovering What Can Happen thumbnail

Making a mess is all about discovering what can happen.  Sometimes, it’s more mess.  Sometimes, it’s something I love.  The fun is I never know which it will be when I start playing. This wood panel began with layers of texture.  No goal, no plan, no direction – just a mess of textures.  Those mica flakes [...]

O.O.P.S.!  I put way too much paint on my palette for my last project.  Not a mistake.  Not a fail.  It won’t be wasted because it is just an Outstanding Opportunity Presenting Suddenly for more play with stencils! I even turned this one into a free Spark of Art-spiration…so you can play too!  You can [...]

Gel Printing on the Wall thumbnail

Time for a little home renovation, mixed media style.  I bought 5 gallons of house paint in the colors of the rainbow, grabbed a Gel Press monoprinting plate and started printing right on the walls.  Yes, I did it directly on the wall.  Slapping it right against the wall makes the most wonderful thwap sound! [...]

When does the muse show up and inspire me? After I have started.  It’s as if starting is her invitation to join me so that means I need to start. No matter what it is, the important thing is to just start. I grabbed plain old cardboard from a shipping box as a place to start [...]