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The fun of building a playful neighborhood with stencils is there are no building codes to worry about! As I created this collection, I wondered what the HOA would say about these buildings. Bet you can guess why I called the collection There Goes the Neighborhood – now available at StencilGirlProducts.com.

In the video above I’m sharing 5 of my favorite ways to play with them including swapping out windows, reverse stenciling, creating abstract patterns with the windows and more!

What inspired these stencils? My fascination with buildings and of all the stories within their walls. Pun not intended, but there are stories in those stories! The stories of connection, of family, of friendship, of struggle, of growth, of changing times, all of it – past, present, and future.

Along with using the stencils and masks exactly as they are, you have options! Use just part of a building, overlap the buildings, use the windows as standalone elements, so many possibilities! The print below was made by layering the stencils and masks on a gel plate. If you’re curious about gel printing, you can find out more about it here.

These stencils and masks let you quickly build a neighborhood on a gel plate. I could have used a plain piece of paper to take the print, but went for one with colorful lines this time. Those lines were made with a dryer vent and you can see how in this video.

Another option is to add color and pattern to the buildings using stencils from your stash. Below I used Diamond Waves Small, Music Score, Corrugated Lines Small, and City Map Mask with the There Goes the Neighborhood collection Towers, Houses, and Warehouses.

What if you want to put different windows on a building? Easy peasy! In the video, I show you how to mix and match them.

Go abstract with the buildings. Create patterns by using only the windows.

Overlap one building to create a dreamy abstract vibe.

Combine part of a building with another stencil. Below I used one of the There Goes the Neighborhood houses with the vintage book leaves stencil

These stencils surprised me by how much I enjoyed using them on book text. Usually, I want to add copious amounts of color to my stenciling, but not with these on book text. Creating the positive and negative with a stencil is a snap, and in the video I share how to do it.

All the play with these stencils today has involved a gel plate in one way or another but that’s just one of the art mediums you can use with stencils. Watercolors, markers, crayons, spray paints, encaustic, fibers and embroidery, modeling paste, paints, pastels – any art supply you have in your stash can work with stencils!

You can find all of my stencil designs, including There Goes the Neighborhood at StencilGirlProducts.com and if you’d like to go deeper on gel printing with stencils, check out my online workshop, Stencil-rific Layers!

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It was horrible! All I wanted to do was read an article online and there were so many ads loading slowly and impossible to close pop up videos that I couldn’t actually get the information I needed without raising my blood pressure.

This is why I have never put ads on my website and use affiliate links instead to help offset the cost of running a website. Affiliate links are a win-win. They cost you nothing and I get a small percentage for referring you when you make a purchase.

The wild thing about affiliate links, like at Amazon or Dick Blick is, that they work even if you don’t buy art supplies. For example, let’s say you use this affiliate link to look at the art books I’m reading lately.. But perhaps you already have them so you keep shopping on Amazon to buy those vitamins you just ran out of.

Since you clicked on my affiliate link to start your shopping at Amazon, I’ll get a small percentage of the vitamins purchased or anything you buy that day. Even if it isn’t art supplies. So when you get vitamins or sandals or a smoke detector, you’ll be supporting the arts! Any artist who has affiliate links you can support this way!

With Amazon Prime Days coming up, you can support the artists you enjoy! If you’re so inclined to click on one of my affiliate links as you start shopping I’m sending you a great big THANK YOU! It really does make a difference and keeps my website completely ad free! 

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Why did I use black paint for this gel print? Why did I use a gel plate? Is there a reason why I chose to use watercolor crayons? Yes, there was a logical reason why I made the choices I did and I’m sharing it all with you!

When I’ve got a new stencil, especially one as fun as this one by Mary Beth Shaw, it’s logical that I want to play! There are lots of ways to play with a stencil, so why did I choose a gel plate?

Since I’m impatient and like to do things quickly, a gel plate was the most logical way to stencil. It’s the fastest way I know to stencil!

I love using old dictionary pages to make gel prints and you can use just about any paper to take a print. The only papers I stay away from are heavily coated papers like glossy inkjet photo paper. I could leave it just like this, or add a bit of color…

When I want to add color without any pressure to do it neatly, I grab watercolor crayons. All you do is scribble, draw, write, whatever you like with the crayon and then brush over it with water.

So why did I use black paint? I could have used any color but the gift of black paint is that it hides the places where I color outside the lines. That way I don’t have the pressure to do this precisely or neatly, but it will look like I did!

Since stenciling with a gel plate is so fast, I usually make more than one print. This is a great opportunity to play around with colors and variations! All of these were made with watercolor crayons. Notice how there are still crayons “lines” on some of the petals. That’s where I used more pressure when scribbling and drawing with the crayons.

This is just one way you can use stencils on a gel plate! If you’d like more ways to get more out of your stencils and deepen your understanding of layers on a gel plate, check out my online workshop Stencil-rific Layers

Here are the supplies used. Some of these links may be affiliate links which means I may get a small percentage and it doesn’t cost you anything extra! And you get a really good feeling knowing that you are helping keep the free tutorials coming!

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