Hi there!! Today we have two giveaways and DIY Tropical Leaf Art.
I usually don’t reach out to work with many brands.  So when someone comes to me and actually has a product for review that has to do with home decor and is something I think you will absolutely enjoy, I get really excited.

Today’s review is a book titled Stencil Craft by Margaret Peot.  I’ve haven’t done much stenciling so I was eager to learn something new.  Margaret’s book had a wealth of information for creating stencil art using different materials and wonderful ideas for fashion, crafts, decor, and art.   She lays out all of the basics and then goes into different techniques with detailed step by step instructions and illustrations.   My favorite technique is Amalgam Compositions where she created a collage of layered stencil patterns for a beautiful abstract art piece.    

It gave me so many ideas for future wall art but  I decided to start with something simpler for my first project.

DIY Tropical Leaf Art

Using Margaret’s tutorial for creating a stencil for paper, I followed it has closely as I could. 

First, I free handed a leaf silhouette until I had something I liked.

I had to improvise for the next step because I couldn’t ask for clear or frosted sheets (per Margaret’s suggestion) in Japanese.  I walked out of the craft store with sticky back mylar.

So I cut out the leaf and traced it on the paper side of the mylar.

An exacto knife was the perfect tool to cut it out.

The 100 Yen store had the rest of the supplies I needed including paper, stencil brushes, and acrylic gouache paints.

To apply paint to paper, I used a medium size stencil brush, dabbed it dry in the paint and knocked off a little paint before I started dabbing it on the paper.

Using the dabbing technique with a dry brush leaves nice, clean lines.   I used a second color in some spots to add more interest.

After it dried for about a hour, it was ready for a vignette!

I love the summer feel of this tropical leaf and it looks great in our foyer.  I can’t wait to try more stencils.  It was actually easier than I thought it would be. Bonus, I can use this stencil on fabric since it has a sticky back.  I totally have a project planned for the future. Yay for inspiration!

Are you ready to try? Let’s do some giveaways!

The Giveaways

STENCIL CRAFT TOTE STENCILING KIT (this is a group giveaway hosted by 11 bloggers on this book tour)

The winner of the raffle will receive:

17″ x 15″ canvas tote hand printed with a stencil interpretation Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring
A signed copy of STENCIL CRAFT: TECHNIQUES FOR FASHION, ART AND HOME
1 blank 12″ x 12″ canvas tote
1 10″ x 14″ piece of stencil Mylar
1 sponge
2 stencil brushes
1 craft knife set
2 Metallic Lumiere Acrylic Paints, Indigo and Metallic Copper
a Rafflecopter giveaway