Friday, July 29, 2011

Disappointed Stencils

I finally finished one of my projects. The others are 98% done, and I either don't have the time, the space, or the supplies necessary right now. The Huz and I are in the process of moving, so it's a bit crazy around here. Anyway, here's what I have been working on the past couple of days:


Sorry for the bad photo. Using my cell phone for pictures for now.

I used mod podge to attach Brother and Sister fabric to canvas. I then used a Show Offs stencil for the image, which I painted with Viridian Hue acrylics. 

I ran into some issues with this. First, anytime I glue or tape anything, dog hair inevitably ends up in it. So I mod podged the fabric before attaching it so I could cut it without frays, and got dog hair in it. It also dried somewhat wrinkly, so it's not entirely smooth on the canvas. Unless you get up close to it, though, you can't see the wrinkles or the dog hair. *phew* 

The other issue was the stencil. It wouldn't lie flat no matter what I did, so I couldn't get clean lines. I ruined a canvas on my first attempt (will be able to reuse it though). The second time around, I traced the stencil with pencil first and then painted everything by hand. The 176 coats required took FOREVER and is not as clean as a stencil would have been. Needless to say, I am not as satisfied as I should be, given the labor input and quality output.

I love the project idea though and think it makes for cool art. I'll definitely try it again in the future!

7 comments:

  1. Wow. That is so very pretty. Great job!

    I have TONS of issues with stencils and dog hair so I just embrace the imperfection. Stenciling onto canvas or fabric hasn't been successful for me at all (in a 'turned out perfect' sense), but I use painters tape or repositionable glue for hard surfaces (like MDF) with a lot of success. To be honest, I've given up using actual canvases all together.

    Every single project I make has dog hair embedded in the Mod Podge and paint. I call it "texture" LOL and consider it 'adding a little piece of my pup'.

    When I do stencil onto soft surfaces I usually end up outlining with a pencil and filling in. My hands shake a lot though so it takes forever.

    Sorry I'm not more help. For me, I try to remember that I'm not a machine in a factory and imperfections go hand-in-hand with homemade.

    Good luck with your future stencil projects.

    Warmly,
    Nicole

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  2. Well, I'm glad I am not the only one who has these problems :)

    Thanks for the reply! Guess I'll keep practicing :)

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  3. You go girl! I love this! Great colors and the patterns you chose are perfect! Hugs!

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  4. Thank you! I can't wait to hang it up in our new place :}

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  5. From here it looks fantastic!!!

    And I too, having a dog and 2 cats, have hair in every project....and bed...and clothes....and heck, if you don't find at least one stray hair in a meal around here you must be eating out. LOL

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  6. This turned out so cute! And don't worry about the imperfections at all. That is what makes it unique!

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  7. have you tried using a spray adhesive on the stencil to hold it down?

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