Make a Bird Cage Stencil

First I found an image I liked
(thank you Graphics Fairy).

Then I used Photoshop to posterize it
to remove small details and thicken
the lines and then I printed it.

I taped the print-out on some
stencil paper (I like using Yupo).

Then I used a black marker to
highlight the areas I would cut.

The cuts aren't perfect but I
like the hand-made appearance.

The end result works as both a positive or negative image. The left image was made using the normal stenciling technique. The right image was made by inking the stencil then rubbing a piece of paper over it (like a collagraph).

Houses are for People

Paste medium and a stencil were used to create this tag but it fought me every inch of the way!

The stencil was hand-made and the paste emphasized the space between the bars and gave it a funny dimension.

So I scraped off most of the paste and re-inked the bars by hand.

Thank goodness I coated both sides of the tag with gesso before I started, otherwise, it would never have held up to the abuse.

I plan to make another bird cage stencil (this one's worse for the wear) and I'll post the steps I take so you can see my approach.

I'm linking this tag to the Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp where the theme is Paste. The background is Idea-ology tissue paper and the birds were made with a stamp from Stamping Bella.

Sig and Gracie (in Print)

Have you heard that song by Pharrell Williams called Happy from the movie Despicable Me 2? It's nominated for an Oscar and topping the Billboard charts right now. It's a catchy tune that makes you feel happy when you hear it.

Well, that's how I feel today because I just received a magazine in the mail called Somerset Studio and the editors published my artwork in the Readers Expressions section of the March/April 2014 issue.

They regularly place calls for submissions and when the theme was "Le Cirque," I created Sig Sautelle and Gracie the Elephant and sent them in. If chosen, you receive a complimentary copy of their magazine. Here's a link to the current calls if you'd like to know more about it and maybe submit something of your own.