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Welcome! I’m Carolyn Dube – This colorful journey is all about the freedom of play!

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The Fine Print

Some of the links on this blog are affiliate links and I receive a small percentage. It doesn't cost you anything extra and helps keep all the free tutorials and videos coming! It's a win-win! The website is copyright Carolyn Dube, and that is kinda common sense since this is my site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Tips for Repeating a Stenciled Pattern

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You can cover any size area with a repeating pattern no matter the size of the stencil. But beware, you might create a background you love so much you don’t want to cover it up. At the end I’m sharing how I handle that challenge!

Start with anything. Any background you’ve got. Here I have layers of washi tape with all sorts of alcohol ink splats and colorful scribbles.

Start with your stencil in the middle of your page, wall, collage, whatever you’re stenciling. Why the middle even if it would line up so nicely on an edge?

That’s something that I learned when I was laying and grouting ceramic tile down on floors in our house. If you start in the middle, where most people will see it or notice imperfections, it’s line up and complete. Then you build out from there.

Should any imperfections happen, and they always do for me, they’re near the edges and less noticeable.

Another tip is to position the stencil where you want it, about 2-3 inches above the surface. Once you’re sure you know where you want it, then gently put it down in place.

The trick is to not slide the stencil but place it from above. This allows you work over damp paint and not smear things. Meaning you don’t have to wait for everything to be perfectly dry to go on to the next area.

I am absolutely in love with this background. So in love with it that I don’t want to cover any of it up. But I also know that it isn’t finished.

So what am I going to do? I’m going to enjoy it just the way it is for a while because I love looking at it. Part of the reason why art journal, why I make things, is for the enjoyment and if I’m enjoying that layer then by golly I’m going to take full advantage of that.

At some point down the road, I’ll open this journal up and I’ll decide that it’s time to put something on top of it, but I’m not going to put any pressure on myself- that would take away some of the joy!

I encourage you, if you’ve ever got an art journal page that you’re just absolutely in love with, you just can’t stop looking at it and you don’t want to add anything to it. Even if you know it’s not finished. Just enjoy the gift that it is.

This stencil is part of this month’s StencilClub set, that I was honored to create in collaboration with Mary Beth Shaw. Of all the perks of being a member of StencilClub, there’s one that I adore the most. The exclusive video each month by the stencil designer.

That means this month it’s Mary Beth Shaw and myself who created the exclusive members only video. You’ll get to see 2 different approaches and color schemes to using them with a gel plate!

You can find out all about StencilClub at StencilGirlProducts.com

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Adding Layers of Stenciling

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Stencils are a great way to add layers to your art journal, or any kind of art play. One of the reasons they are so great is because of the freedom you have to use all of it or only parts of it. And they’re very helpful when things don’t go as planned!

When adding the green, that design was almost completely stenciled, then only selective parts of it was used. The stencils that I’m using are ones I created in collaboration with Mary Beth Shaw for this month’s StencilClub set.

The next layer of stenciling was the pink with the 9 x12 flower stencil. That stencil was larger than the page and that didn’t matter one bit. I simply used partial bits of it .

That’s the cool thing about stencils, you can use all or some of it as you see fit in your play.

The butterfly stencil and mask helped make it easy to build up the layers as I had one O.O.P.S. after another, an Outstanding Opportunity Presenting Suddenly.

The yellow didn’t pop the way I planned. O.O.P.S. So in came the next layer, the orange using the mask. O.O.P.S. The orange was too orange.

So then another layer of yellow. Which led to the pink that defined the edges. Now it popped on the page. Dealing with all those O.O.P.S.ies was a lot easier thanks to the stencil/mask combo because they allowed me to quickly add the next layer and keep clear crisp edges.

The final touches for the page came from some scribble journaling with colored fountain pens.

All of the stencils that were used on this page are included in this month’s StencilClub. So that means on the 15th of this month it ships and that’s also the day the exclusive video made by the designing artist (or artists in this case) is released!

In the club member video, Mary Beth Shaw and I are using gel plates with the set. You get to see how differently we each make prints with them.

You can find out more about StencilClub over at StencilGirl Products and members mark your calendar for the 15th of the month! I can’t wait to see what you create with them!

Here are the supplies used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. For example, I’m an Amazon Associate & I earn from qualifying purchases. 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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Guest Post at StencilGirl Talk

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What do I do when I don’t know what to do? I’m sharing that along with the video showing how I made this reminder to hang on the wall not to take things so seriously. It’s all over in my guest post at StencilGirl Talk.

StencilGirl Talk is the blog for StencilGirl Products where they share all sorts of stenciling techniques and inspiration. And I’ve been a huge fan of them since I found them many years ago. I fell in love with their designs and the fast shipping before speedy shipping was trendy.

But what I’ve learned since then working with them as a designer has shown me another side of the company. It’s a true family business. Not a faceless corporation, but real people who continue to get excited about stencils and what you can create with them.

So if you like stencils, take a peek over at StencilGirlProducts.com, they’ve got a few. And by few I mean 1500+

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