Techniques

Over the years I've painted a fair amount of baseball shirts in playrooms and bedrooms for children. Living in the Boston area, home of the Red Sox, that is the team shirt I am most often asked to paint.

There are two ways I do these shirts. The first is to lay an actual Red Sox shirt down on a large piece of heavy paper and trace the outline of the shirt. I then use some repositionable spray adhesive to mount the paper to the wall. I cut the shirt outline with an Exacto knife, right on the wall. The background color is rolled on and then I freehand all the details and shading.

Another option for doing these shirts is to use an overhead projector. Again, I use a large piece of heavy paper sprayed with the repositionable spray adhesive. I project the image onto the paper which is mounted on the wall and trace the entire image. I first cut out (directly on the wall) the outline of the shirt and remove. This is then roller stenciled. Once dry, the shirt cut out is replaced and the details on the shirt, such as lettering, buttons, stitches, etc. are individually cut out and stenciled. I highly recommend Linda Buckingham's book, Projection Stenciling to learn more about this easy technique.

This past weekend I had the pleasure to join forces with four other decorative artists and friends in my area for a play date. We have decided to meet once a month (give or take) to play with products and create some new samples to show our clients. This month we chose Faux Marquetry using Modellos from Melanie Royals Modello Marquetry Masking System. I had the privilege of taking Melanie's class last summer at the IDAL convention, which provided our group with a set of samples to use as our guide.

We all ordered the Modello Marquetry Sample Set online ahead of time and prepped our boards in our own studios. I also ordered the 10 jar sample size set of Stain and Seal that is offered through this site. The Modello kit comes with two 24"x24" designs and two 9 1/2" x 24" border designs. We each ordered one additional 12" x 12" Modello to be used on a cork tile. This was a great buy for 5 Modellos. We all loved the generous size of the 16 oz Stain and Seal jars and it was a treat to have 10 colors on hand to choose from.

With our various boards all prepped we were ready to go!

Here you see Denise Kilpatrick and Chris Smith working on some cork samples. Chris brought along some extra Modellos she had in her studio, so we threw those into the mix!

P.J. Goddard is doing a little "weeding" on her board.

Susan Siefer, who hosted this day long event at her studio, contemplates what color to try next.

The day was a lot of fun and we're all very pleased with the end results. This is a great way to share products, experience, fun and comradery!

I love the way all of our boards look lined up together! This is the Leafy Circles design:

Here you can see how we each used the Modern Blocks pattern:

Our two border designs:

And our cork tile designs:

I am looking forward to our next get together when we will be exploring textured finishes.

Last week, we ran a series about Craftsman Style stencils. I really enjoyed having a theme for the week. It allowed me to spend a little more time researching and discovering all of these wonderful stencils. Best of all, it generated some creative thinking on my part and how I will present these designs to my clients for future design options.

So, continuing with the "theme" idea, this week we will be focusing on "Embellished Stenciling". This is where you can really set yourself apart from your competition and "wow" your clients. Of course, if you are not a professional stenciler/decorative painter/faux finisher, but someone who enjoys taking on a project, you can "wow" yourself and be the envy of your friends!

Today's examples of Embellished Stenciling are provided Helen Morris of the Stencil Library and as you will see, they are quite inspirational! Thanks Helen!

I love these two examples from the Stencil Library's Chinoiserie Stencil line. Here you see the pattern done in a monochromatic palette above and a multicolor palette below, both with crystal embellishments.

This closer look at the Embellished Stenciling, reveals the different sized crystals Helen used.

Again, you see how a simple monochromatic stencil design is brought to life with the addition of the crystals. This Mandarin design is also from the Chinoiserie series.

Helen, as we all know, leaves no surface unadorned! Here we see how she added crystals to some gauze fabric panels on the left and a T Shirt on the right.

Recently, while working on some new sample boards in my studio, I discovered a wonderful product to create elegant stencil designs. Liquid Beadz™ are tiny beads mixed into an adhesive gel-like base, made by DecoArt. I’ve had a small one ounce container on my shelf for several months, just waiting for me to finally come up with a use for this product. The instructions on the jar/packaging say to use a palette knife to spread the Beadz, but for doing my sample, I found a small, plastic trowel or a credit card worked best.

For my sample board, I used Adicolor’s Desire’ Luxury Gold and silver Beadz. I think this would look fabulous in a Powder Room!

I like the idea of using a simple design such as this one or a small Fleur de Lis in an allover repeat pattern. Here you can see one full design and the remnants of 2 more designs as they would be repeated on a wall.

Beadz come in several colors and are currently on sale at 75% off on DecoArt’s website. I ordered every color to do some further experimenting. Beadz can be used on fabric, wood, or walls. My sample dried to a very hard and durable finish with no sealing.

Continuing our thread on Repositionable Art, the tips here will give you the information you need to create your own portable stenciling using an art waxer.

Tips for Using the Daige Procote Hand Waxer

by Maria LaMalfa

1. Plug the waxer in and let it heat for at least a half hour; an hour is better. Do not use the melted wax as a guide; the wax will melt long before the metal roller is warm enough to work properly. Make sure the well is filled with wax; if not add some wax sticks.
2. Cover work surface with paper and place artwork on top. Do not use newspaper because the ink will lift and may roll onto the back of your artwork.
3. When the waxer has warmed enough, roll it firmly and slowly over the back of the artwork. The orange rollers have a little "give" - make sure you press down as you roll to ensure an even flow of wax. The waxed surface should be 100% covered and the coat will look ridged and uneven. If not, try rolling more slowly or pressing down a little harder. If this doesn't work, check if you need to feed more wax into the unit - either way, let it sit another 10 minutes.
4. Make sure the edges have a good coating of wax.
5. When the artwork is completely waxed, feed some more wax sticks into the waxer before you unplug it. This will give you a head start for next time. If you don't, next time you will have to wait until the wax melts before you can lift the cover and put in more wax sticks.
6. Cover the waxed surface with kitchen-type waxed paper. This will protect the surface from picking up debris. Roll the artwork loosely to transport to work site.
7. Mark out where the artwork needs to be placed — use blue tape or watercolor pencil to outline the area. Position the artwork and press down with your hands to adhere. When you are sure it is in the correct position, use a rubber brayer to firmly roll over the whole surface. If there are any areas that are not staying down, such as an edge, try using an old credit card to press down. If this still does not work, you may need to melt a little bit of wax in a disposable container on low heat in a microwave, then apply to resistant edge with a brush.
8. Remove any stray wax marks with Candle Wax Remover, by Un-Do. Squirt a little into a rag and go over the unwanted wax. The wax will dissolve and be picked up by the rag. There is no need to rub the surface of the artwork — if you do, you might increase the sheen of the finish in that area. The Wax Remover will not harm a waterbased protective layer.