Hi Everyone, I wanted to share with you a video tutorial that I did for StencilGirl® showing how I made my Inky Bird magnets on Ampersand Encausticbords. I worked with Faber-Castell Pitt artist pens, Bombay India inks, walnut drawing ink, and of course a few of my favorite StencilGirl Stencils to make them. Although mine were finished with encaustic medium, wax is totally optional for this project. You can find the video and close up pictures on the StencilGirl Talk blog. I'd love it if you head on over there to check it out and let me know what you... Read more →

Hi Everyone, Just a quick note to let you know that the video for My Top 10 Studio Solutions is up on the StencilGirl® Talk blog. Click the link to see some of my favorite ways to put thrift store treasures to use. It includes my solution for storing Stencil Club sets in an art journal that's made from a thrift store staple. See you there. Hugs, Jill Read more →

Hi Everyone, Glad you could join me for another Gwen Lafleur Studios Artist Tribe project featuring Fall, my favorite time of year, and StencilGirl® Products stencils designed by Gwen and Seth Apter. I'm sharing a panoply of nature and found treasures from my stash in a FallScape inspired by Roxanne Evans Stout. I'm using a bulletin board mounted in a vintage frame to display my temporary collage. And I have to say, it's really freeing to work this way; knowing that you can switch items in and out it of a composition on a whim takes away all the pressure... Read more →

Hi Everyone, Today I’m bringing you my latest project for Gwen Lafleur's Artist Tribe. This time I'm working on an encaustic mixed media panel featuring a BoHo Chic Butterfly that I coaxed into revealing his Arty Impressionistic side. He's the smallest butterfly of three from Gwen's BoHo Butterflies Stencil and I just love him. I've chosen to capture him under luscious layers of encaustic wax, but you can use the super simple stencil technique I'm sharing later in this post to make a focal point for just about any type of mixed media project. It’s unfortunate that encaustic medium and... Read more →

Master TobiWan Kenobi on his Pet Mat Hi Everyone, Today I'm on the aStencilGirl® Talk blog with a new post for the Creative Team. This month's theme for the team is the Dog Days of Summer which just so happens to coincide nicely with my dog Tobiwan Kenobi's ninth birthday. I wanted to give him a special artsy present. So I did some on-line research to learn about how dogs interpret colors and designed a pet mat in his favorite colors. Join me on the StencilGirl Talk blog for the full post. In the meantime, please enjoy some of the... Read more →

Hi Everyone, Just a quick post to show you how easy it is to mix, match and layer the three new stencils in Gwen Lafleur's new Ceramic Tiles Collection being released as the July 2018 StencilClub set. StencilGirl® will be mailing them out to members on 7/15/18 so if you haven't yet joined, now is the opportune time for Gwen Lafleur fans to sign up. (Click on the same link to also see a list of all the perks.) It's the only way that you'll be able to complete your Stencil Collection of Gwen's designs. I've been a member myself... Read more →

Hi Everyone, I'm here with another post for Gwen Lafleur's Artist Tribe sharing a project I started a few weeks back at Gwen's Translucent Art Journal Workshop at The PaperCraft Clubhouse in Westbrook, CT. Gwen's classes are always full of exciting new ideas and innovative ways to add variety into your work. Every time I take a class with her I learn so many things. Her workshops always leave me inspired and ready to experiment. This workshop was no exception. In this post I'll walk you through my Translucent Art Journal and show you how I combined pressed flowers from... Read more →

Hi Everyone, I'm back with another Artist Tribe post for Gwen Lafleur Studios. This time I used two of Gwen's stencils from her Spring 2018 Collection to send the world a message on a rather large canvas bag that I scored at the L.L. Bean Outlet for 50% off. It felt nice to slow things down a bit and relax with a little stencil embroidery. I love L.L. Bean Canvas Bags. I use them to haul around all kinds of things from work supplies to art supplies. But by far, my most favorite things to carry in them are rocks.... Read more →

Hi Everyone, I'm so excited to share with you my first official post as a member of the StencilGirl® Creative team. I'm on the StencilGirl® Talk Blog today kicking off their new monthly feature, "What's old is new again" with a thrift shop treasure makeover. I even made a video for commemorate the event. Come shopping with me at my local Savers Store in Manchester, CT and see how I refresh a pair of $5.99 thrift store curtains with Terry Stegmiller's Straight Stems Stencil. Then I'll show you how I made my fabric collage medallions from cannibalized vintage clothing and... Read more →

Hi Everyone, Spring Blossoms - Mixed media art journal page using a tea bag by Jill McDowell I'm here today for Gwen Lafleur's Artist Tribe to share with you a touch of spring straight from the pages of my art journal. This one was inspired by the practice of forcing flowering branches to bloom early indoors. It combines my love of tea bags and my long time obsession with Blue Willow ginger jars and Flow Blue plates with two of my favorites stencils from Gwen's newly released Spring 2018 collection by StencilGirl. In springtime, stems of dogwood, quince, and spicebush... Read more →