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I stenciled all the wrong ways and loved it!

How to stencil all the wrong ways in an art journal and have fun doing it!What’s always been the hardest part of creating for me? Starting.  Especially when there is a blank page involved.  I used to be stopped by thoughts such as, “Will it be good enough?” or “I don’t have a good plan” or “I don’t have the right supplies” or “It won’t be good enough anyway”.

I still have all those thoughts but they don’t stop me anymore.  Kurt Vonnegut was right when he said, “To practice art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.”

For me, this  quote is all about giving myself permission to make something no matter if it is pretty or a hot mess.  Perfect isn’t important.  What is important is the  starting, the doing.  So that’s what I do now anytime I hear those thoughts.

In the video, you’ll see how I take that quote to heart. This starts out as one hot mess where I am doing it all the “wrong” ways, and it brought me such joy.

Watch How to deal with the blank page by stenciling all the wrong ways on YouTube.

Color Me Positive Art Journal Challenges

I am honored to be the featured artist this week at Colour Me Positive, a weekly journal challenge. Thank you Lisa! I love all the positivity and creativity happening there!

To get started,  I grabbed my Verbage stencil since verbs are all about doing. I stenciled all the “wrong” ways with the Dylusions paints- too much paint, going side to side instead of up and down, stenciling on top of wet paint.

I had a blast doing it!  Paint ran under the stencil. Colors smeared together. I can’t even read most of the words.  Who cares!How to stencil all the wrong ways in an art journal and have fun doing it!

Then I turned it into a giant hot mess with random marks with oil pastels. I could have stopped any time but I didn’t want to – it was just too much fun scribbling away!How to stencil all the wrong ways in an art journal and have fun doing it!

In that chaotic background, I saw a garden so I used a couple of masks.   The Bold Flower masks (that come with the stencil) and one of the butterfly masks that also come with my Butterfly Journeys stencil to create a garden. How to stencil all the wrong ways in an art journal and have fun doing it!

I even managed to temporarily clog the hard to clog fine liners. It wasn’t a problem at all because there is a little metal pin in the cap so that I can unclog it with that. Of course, I could also change how I was holding the fineliner…but that is a crazy thought!  If you’re new to fineliners I have a video about them here.

How to stencil all the wrong ways in an art journal and have fun doing it!

What started as a blank page taunting me became a total mess and then turned into a very colorful garden of play!  Next time you face that blank page, take Kurt Vonnegut’s advice and just start doing it!

How to stencil all the wrong ways in an art journal and have fun doing it!

Here are the supplies I used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and you are helping me keep this blog and my videos ad free! Thank you- I don’t like ads any more than you do!


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  • Claire Harrison June 30, 2016, 11:42 pm

    Carolyn so glad you are part of Colour me Positive. I love watching your video’s they inspire me to let go & try things. Your energy is so fantastic I love the bright bubbly you:)

  • Gerrie Johnnic July 1, 2016, 2:57 pm

    No matter how many times I watch you create I am thrilled and excited to see the outcome! Thanks for helping me be set free. hugs

  • Katlot July 2, 2016, 10:55 pm

    I am always amazed when you can mix colours and they look great, me, not so much! 🙂 I love the idea of using something found to create a different look. Really enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing them.

  • Corrine July 3, 2016, 6:08 pm

    Certainly is a colorful land you play in all the time. xox

  • Annette July 10, 2016, 8:34 pm

    Thanks, Carolyn! I always love seeing where your creative self takes you. -Annette

  • Lisa Slagle July 28, 2016, 10:00 pm

    Carolyn, the definition– for me — of color me positive!!! So excited to see you’re part of this!! You’re an inspiration!!!