project completed and some tips

I'm so thrilled to have finished my little stencil project. I had this idea of combining three of my favorite projects: stenciling on fabric, painted matryoshka dolls (like my stone dolls), and embroidery hoop "frames" (remember these?). I'm pleased with the end result, but the road to complete these three dolls was filled with delays. Some of them based on time and my family needing some attention too, and some technical difficulties with printing that had me doing many steps over and over again. I've included some stenciling tips so you don't have to repeat my mistakes! Hopefully my obsession with freezer paper has rubbed off on you and you'll be trying it soon, if not already. When it works it's so satisfying and feels easy as pie. I had planned to hang this threesome in my daughters room, but my color choice had to change midway, so I wound up hanging them in my studio... I love looking at them and now I have an excuse to come up with a some new wall art for my little one.


Freezer paper stencil tips:
(in case you need a tutorial cick here)
1.make a small and easy pattern to test your fabric and paint
My little toadstool was a test to see how linen would take paint...

I was so pleased with the crisp lines, that I went ahead and cut a very complicated and intricate design for my stencil. I then proceeded to use a different brand (cheaper) of paint...not so smart...which leads me to

2.use only high quality textile paints for printing.
The paints on the left are economical but are too thick and don't take well to fabric. They muddy the details. The ones on the right are lovely, but you might not find a huge color selection at your local craft store, so get them here.


3. if you work hard on your design, scan it into your computer so that you can try again if you make a mistake
I'm so grateful that I had a copy of my drawing, because the original was worthless after my first failed attempt with the cheapo paint. I cut more freezer paper to size and printed directly onto it with an ink jet printer.

4. use tools after your paint has dried
I love using an old pair of tweezers for peeling off little pieces of paper and a toothpick for touch-ups. The stiff point of the tooth pick makes for clean and precise details.

It's so easy to get frustrated when things don't turn out as you had envisioned, but I work towards rolling with my mistakes and trying again . I had to make the small and medium doll TWICE! zencrafting has an absolutely wonderful post about the process of not getting discouraged during your creative process. I think I'll be reading it over and over again whenever I need some encouragement.

Stop back tomorrow for my second give- away!