When I arrived many months ago for filming, the crew was pretty sure I was moving in for 6 months.  I had a van load of supplies to create these videos and still had that feeling I had forgotten something.  Good news- didn’t forget a thing!  And they were a wonderful group to work with- each and every one of them! Plus they trusted me with spray ink in a room with white walls.  They are brave brave souls!

During that trip, I filmed 4 videos/DVDs.  Here are previews of each one and little bit about them.

In the collaging DVD or video download, I am sharing what my process is for creating collages.  And you will see how I work with some incredibly ugly layers I’ve created and then make them more colorful.  I even enlist the help of Amy, my wonderful producer who bravely agrees to work blindfolded in this one…

Stencils are a tool to me just like a paint brush is a tool.  How you use that tool can give you different results. In the preview you can see how I finger paint with a stencil.  Of course, with all this wet paint, there is the risk of mud.  In the full video, I share how I avoid my colors all going to that color that scares me the most…mud!

You can purchase the Breaking the Rules, Beyond Stenciling Techniques here.

I love handmade journals but I just have a problem with patience.  My way around that is using a hardback book then adding a wire binding to create junk journals using all sorts of stuff.

I have bought supplies over the years and not used them all up.  But I love them all.   So I look for different ways I can use those same supplies.  This video is full of the ways I combine and mix my materials to get a new look!

What do you need to turn paper into metal?  VerDay paint!  This stuff is fantastic for creating a patina of old metal on anything you can paint. In the video you’ll see my explorations and how I turned the rusted paper into a quick card.

TenSecondsStudio sent several of these sets out for the StencilGirl team to play with and there’s a giveaway too!  You can find all the details at the end of this post.

I could have been precise and perfect with my stenciling, but I decided to go loose and messy as I experimented around using 3 stencils, Verbage, Circles Layer Me, and Squares Layer Me.

Today, I’m making a card and you know how I detest measuring so that means my cards are always a little off.  Frankly, even when I measure super carefully they are a little off so that’s why I don’t measure carefully.  But I do like the look of it lining up and I’m sharing my quick and easy way to line up the card and the paper I’m attaching.

The Almost Oops…I’ve never had an almost oops before that I can remember.  I thought it was going to be a very big oops…but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Watch Creating an aged patina look with VerDay paint and stencils on YouTube.

Here’s a close up of the brass with those wonderful bits of blue that appeared as the patina activated the wet paint.  I can’t wait to play around with this paper in my journal.

I’m not a professional wire artisan but I am an art adventurer.  That means I’ll jump in and do things I don’t know how to do and just to see what happens.  That is exactly what happened with the wire.  I have no idea if these are the “right” pliers and tools for this job.  I just know they are what I have so I’m using them.  My wire heart is a bit…imperfect…so that means it is perfect to me!

This is a blog hop, so there’s lots of inspiration for you and a giveaway too!  Leave a comment here to win  a 4-piece VerDay Kit of Reactive Metal Paint & Patina and a $25 StencilGirl Gift Certificate to one lucky winner!  Want more chances?  Leave a comment on each blog (but just one per blog) for more chances to win!  But hurry, it all ends on August 21st @ 11:59PM Central!

• StencilGirl Talk
• Carolyn Dube – you’re here
• Janet Joehlin
• Kirsten Reed