StencilGirl® Column | Create Themed Monoprints with StencilGirl® Stencils

Marsha Valk | StencilGirl® Column: Themed Monoprints

There’s a new column up on the StencilGirl® Talk blog!

In it, I share a video of me creating these monoprints inspired by the film ‘Isle of Dogs’, a Van Gogh exhibition and a couple of recent personal projects, using StencilGirl® Product stencils designed by Mary Beth Shaw, Nathalie Kalbach, Carol Wiebe, Daniella Woolf, Andrew Borloz and Rae Missigman.

Go to the StencilGirl® Talk Blog to read the column and to see the complete list of stencils, masks and materials used!

Have a wonderful week!

StencilGirl® Column | Creating Bangles with StencilGirl® Stencils

stencilgirl-columnist-marsha-valk-printmaking-with-stencils-banner

Have you seen my big news?! I’m now part of a fantastic team of StencilGirl® Columnists!!!

StencilGirl Columnists collage

Meet Debi Adams, Tina Walker, Kate Yetter, Janet Joehlin, Gwen Lafleur, Kiala Givehand, me, Anne Marie Fowler, Kristin Reese Williams, and Jennifer Armstrong!

Mary Beth Shaw created the StencilGirl® Columnist positions for professional and established artists and has paired up each selected Columnist with what she believes to be their mixed media specialty.

You can learn more about each Columnist and their speciality here on the StencilGirl® Talk blog: StencilGirl® Columnists

And whilst you are over there, you can read the first column! MY very first column!

Marsha Valk | StencilGirl® Column: Bangles

In it, I not only share how I transformed these plain wooden bangles but also my thought process and what inspired me.

Check it out here: Creating Bangles with StencilGirl® Stencils

Have a wonderful week!

Creative JumpStart 2018 | Are you ready to Jump?!

Yes!!!! I’m excited to announce that I’ll be participating as an artist in Nathalie Kalbach’s Creative JumpStart (CJS) again in 2018!!!

If you’re not familiar with CJS, this is the 7th (!) edition of a one-of-a-kind online event to kick your creativity into gear in January 2018.

It’s so much fun to participate! I always pick up new techniques, discover new materials, and of course connect with other artists and crafters.

Throughout January participants get access to 31 downloadable videos from 31 featured artists. I’m proud to be one of those artists, who Nathalie calls “JumpStarters”.

See for yourself:

Head on over to Nat’s site to sign up and for more details:

Creative JumpStart 2018 (affiliate link)

You get over 6 hours of unique content – for just $40 (USD) if you sign up by November 29 11:59 pm EST, 2017. Afterwards, it will be $45 (USD) until December 31st, 2017 before it goes to its regular sale price of $50 (USD).

So don’t wait too long: sign up here at Creative JumpStart 2018 (affiliate link)!

Please note that the links in this article are affiliate links. This means I receive a percentage of any sales generated by the link.

Creative JumpStart 2017 | Jump into Summer SALE


Are you looking for some Summertime inspiration? And did you miss out on Creative JumpStart 2017 in January?! Then you are in luck!

Nathalie Kalbach (aff. link) is running a 20% off sale on Creative JumpStart 2017 from June 16th 12:01 am EST – June 23rd 11:59 pm EST!

Sign up for only $40 (instead of the regular price of $50) and have an awesome resource for creative inspiration to last you all Summer long!

Having watched all the videos myself back in January, I can assure you that it’s a true treasure trove of stunning projects to watch come to life as well as countless techniques and fun ideas for you to try.

You’ll get 27 downloadable instructional mixed media videos by leading mixed media artists (+ me!) and access to the CJS2017 classroom and galleries until November 2017.

For more info go to Nathalie’s website (aff. link)!

Give yourself permission to JUMP this Summer!!!

Gelli Arts® | Colour Mixing

Marsha Valk | Gelli Arts®: Colour Mixing on the Gelli® Plate

There’s a new post up on the Gelli Arts® blog! And this time it’s about colour.

If you are struggling with unintentional mud coloured Gelli® prints, then I’ve got you covered.

But don’t worry if you already know all about colour theory and colour mixing. I’m sure you will still be able to find some inspiration in the video!

Check it out here!

PS. Remember that you can save 10% on your order with Gelli Arts® with my (affil.) discount code! It’s MarshaV

n*Studio | Return to the Light

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The n*Studio Creative Squad can’t wait for the days to get longer again. This month’s theme is Return to the Light and today it’s my turn on the n*Studio blog!

Here’s a sneak peek at my project in progress:

Marsha Valk | n*Studio Creative Squad: Return to the Light // DIY Votive Candle Holder

Check out what I created, including the step-by-step tutorial over on Nathalie’s blog.

And whilst you are over there, you might also want to check out the Creative JumpStart page, if you haven’t yet. Only 12 more days until we start with this one-of-a-kind creative online event!

Elizabeth Craft Designs | Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

Hi there! I’m over on the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog today, sharing this card inspired by a couple of pretty stained glass windows!

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

Creating this card was a bit like solving a jigsaw puzzle, so if you like to puzzle, then you’ll love creating this card!

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

Here are the steps to create it:

 

1. Back one piece of Rich Black Soft Finish Cardstock with Clear Double Sided Adhesive. Use it to die-cut two outlines with the Pebbles die.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

2. Cut a rectangle of 4 x 5.25 inch Rich Black Soft Finish Cardstock. Adhere the Pebbles outlines to the card.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

I ‘found’ two hearts in the die-cut. I made sure those two hearts would take centre stage and then I filled the rest of the card with random parts of the Pebbles outline.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

3. Back several different colours of Shimmer Sheetz with Clear Double Sided Adhesive. I chose green, blue, yellow, silver and two shades of red for my card.

This project is perfect for using up Shimmer Sheetz scraps!

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

Die-cut the Shimmer Sheetz with the Pebbles die. You need to use the Metal Adaptor Plate or a Precision Base Plate to die-cut through Shimmer Sheetz.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

4. Piece the ‘stained glass’ together. Start by filling the ‘hearts’ with red shades and then fill the rest of the Pebbles outlines alternating colours.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

5. Ink the edges of the Pebbles outlines and the edges of the card with Black Soot Distress Ink. This makes the black even deeper, hides any visible white edges and it makes the Shimmer Sheetz stand out more.

After inking, carefully wipe any excess ink off the Shimmer Sheetz with a soft cloth.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

6. Take the 3.75 x 5 inch Fitted Rectangle and die-cut the stained glass card into a neat and tidy rectangle.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

7. Die-cut the slightly bigger 4 x 5,25 inch Stitched Rectangle out of Rich Black Soft Finish Cardstock and ink the edges with Black Soot Distress Ink.

Adhere the stained glass card on top of the Stitched Rectangle card with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape and then adhere them to a 4.12 x 5.5 inch folded note card, also cut from a sheet of Rich Black Soft Finish Cardstock.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Pebbles Stained Glass Hearts Card

I love how this card turned out. The supershiny Shimmer Sheetz really looks stunning against the black velvet texture of the cardstock.

What figures can you find in the Pebbles die? My husband told me he could see a cat!

Happy crafting!

Supplies: 

Elizabeth Craft Designs:
Fitted Rectangles
Stitched Rectangles
Pebbles
Shimmer Sheetz
Soft Finish Cardstock, Rich Black
Cuttlebug and Big Shot Metal Adaptor Plate
Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape – 3mm
Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape – 64mm

Other:
Black Soot Distress Ink (Ranger)
Ink blending tool
Craft mat

Elizabeth Craft Designs | Happy Easter Eggs Card

Hi there! I’m over on the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog today, sharing this clean and simple Easter Eggs card!

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

Have you heard? The new coloured Elizabeth Craft Designs Soft Finish Cardstock has arrived and… it’s so, so beautiful!!!

I had to create something with it right away, otherwise I might hoard it and I’ll end up only petting it every once in a while.

There are so many things I love about this cardstock, but to name just one: it has one coloured and one white side. This means you can do fun things with it, like using the coloured side to cast colourful shadows on a white card!

Steps to create this card:

1 | Precut a 4 x 6 inch double card from a sheet of 12 x 12 inch coloured Soft Finish Cardstock and a single card slightly smaller than 4 x 6 inches from white Soft Finish Cardstock.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

2 | Select 5 different colours of Soft Finish Cardstock. Use the smallest egg from the Easter Eggs set to die-cut 5 different coloured eggs, placing the tiny heart from the Hot Air Balloons set inside the egg die.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

3 | Take the white single card and hand letter your sentiment onto it with a black fineliner. Or you can use letter dies, alphabet stamps or a sentiment stamp and black ink!

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

4 | Add foam tape or foam dots to the coloured side of the Soft Finish Cardstock eggs. I recommend using a foam tape that’s at least 1/8 inch thick.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

5 | Remove the backing from the foam tape and adhere the eggs above the sentiment on the white card.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

6 | Machine stitch a border around the white card. Secure any loose threads with tape to the back of the card.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

7 | Adhere the white card to the front of the coloured double card using strips of Clear Double-Sided Adhesive Tape.

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

You can adapt this idea and use it on gift tags, scrapbook pages and cards for any occasion. Just change the dies and the sentiment and you’re good to go!

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

Marsha Valk | Elizabeth Craft Designs: Happy Easter Eggs Card

I can’t wait to see what you create with the new coloured Soft Finish Cardstock!

Happy crafting!

Supplies: 

Elizabeth Craft Designs:
Easter Eggs
Hot Air Balloons
Soft Finish Cardstock – White
Soft Finish Cardstock – Bluebelle
Soft Finish Cardstock – Spring Green
Soft Finish Cardstock – Sunflower
Soft Finish Cardstock – Bright Orange
Soft Finish Cardstock – Rosebud
Soft Finish Cardstock – Perfect Pink
Soft Finish Cardstock – Lavender
Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape – 6mm

Other:
Foam tape (minimum thickness 1/8 inch)
Sewing thread
Black fineliner (UniPin 0.3 mm)