Crafter's Workshop blog hop with Julie Balzer...

I am very excited today to be part of a blog hop using new Crafter's Workshop stencils by Julie Balzer! If you don't know of Julie, you are definitely missing out on some awesome artistic creativity - to say the least! Julie is the queen of misting, painting and creating FAN-tastic works of art. Here is a link to her blog. There is always something new and inspiring to see by Julie! She is truly one of a kind, and I feel so fortunate to be asked to participate in a hop showcasing her new stencils!

I received some of the 6x6 stencils and as a card maker, I wanted to show that these are great for cards! What I love is that you can use them over and over, so an endless supply of cards could be made with each stencil. Each style is available in 12x12" AND 6x6".

The first one I worked with is a mod looking one called Love Beads.

I sprayed over it with Graphite Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels and added a few stars and circles with cardstock! The sentiment is from Boy Basics: Game On by Papertrey Ink. I wanted my circles to look mod too, so I punched 2" circles, then punched out a 1" circle from it and layered them over a white cardstock circle. You could definitely make the background darker by adding more mist. I just did a light dusting here! (Red paper is Echo Park's new line called Season's Greetings.)

On the second card, I tried something different with the Summer stencil. Let me show you the card I'm referring to...

I was spraying over the stencil just playing around with it, adding yellow and pink mist over the top (below right), when a lot of the mist pooled up on the stencil and instead of washing it off, I flipped it over onto the cardstock (left side). This created a stamped look!

I decided I wanted the look on the left, but I wanted her hair to flip the other way. So I turned the stencil over (starting on the back) and used the same technique - first spraying the stencil with mist, letting the mist pool up, then flipping it over and laying it on the cardstock. Then pressed it down like I was stamping. (The sentiment here is from Sweet As Can Be.)

So...long story short...I discovered you can use the front OR the back to stencil with!

Here is one more card using the Screen stencil.

I actually made a Christmas card with it! I sprayed over the stencil with a green mist onto kraft cardstock. It started as a fall card, but since I had Christmas goodies on my desk, I went with that! I cut a snowflake out of white felt with a Papertrey Ink die called Damask Snowflakes, then added a few Echo Park chipboard pieces over the top. The sentiment here is from Christmas Blessings.

This background could be used for so many things!

And last, but not least, Henna Hands...

I chose two of the hands I liked the best and chalked over them with chalk! I added a sentiment from  Love Lives Here, a resin swirl by Melissa Frances and a purple twine from the Twinery. The effect with the chalk is very subtle and soft. (I would recommend sealing it after you are done if you use chalk, so it doesn't wipe off. The first hand starting wiping off while I was working on the second hand!)

Well, I hope you enjoyed these examples. Please visit a few more crafty girls for a variety of fun stencil ideas, and don't forget Julie's blog for a chance to win!

Ronda Palazzari

Tammy Tutterow

Jill Sprott

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer