Description

---

With 20 clever step-by-step projects and a stunning gallery of inspirational stencil designs from leading artists, "Playing With Stencils"will leave you ready to stencil just about anything. You will design floor tiles stencils inspired by German paper-cutting, you will stencil furniture, shower curtains, a floor cloth, planters, a wall canvas, wallpaper, and even a cake. You will make paper dolls with clothing, stencil beautiful lace stationery, stencil custom yardage to use for simple upholstery projects or pillows, make a concert poster, and even stencil a faux rag rug Stencil art has been around for years, often used for home decorating and for simple crafts, but has gained current interest and cache due it's guerilla use as street art (often making a political statement), and has become a worldwide subculture. Stencil graffiti has given stencil art a new sheen of coolness. This book will show you how to incorporate that look into your work, your accessories, and your home. You ll become inspired to use stencils in your journaling, in collage, on fabric, on totes, and in art pieces designed to be hung on walls and you will know how to create fantastic custom designs.

About the Author

---

Beginning with not-so-traditional print making methods (hand cut stencils and a Japanese Gocco printmaking toy), mixed-media artist Amy Rice makes original, one-of-kind pieces by employing acrylic, gouache, ink and collage. Her canvases range from weathered wood panels and discarded objects to antique envelopes, age-worn love letters, and found journal pages yellowed with time. Amy s imagery, nostalgic and wistful, is largely biographical. She draws inspiration from childhood memories growing up on a Midwestern farm, the urban community in which she now lives, bicycles, street art, gardening, collective endeavors that challenge hierarchy, acts of compassion, downright silliness, and things with wings. Amy has exhibited her work in galleries throughout the United States, Canada and the U.K. She currently resides in Minneapolis, MN. Visit her online at http: //www.amyrice.com and http: //www.etsy.com/shop/amyriceart."

Praise For…

---

"Multimedia artist Rice explores the possibilities of stenciling in this collection of basic to intermediate-level projects. Rice shows crafters how to cut or burn custom stencils from their own artwork or photographs, then presents a variety of projects that showcase stenciling on materials ranging from fabric and wood to paper products and cake. Each project includes step-by-step illustrations with photographs, allowing novices to follow along with little difficulty.
Verdict This is a solid overview to the essentials of stencil-making and stenciling, and the variety of projects will appeal to crafters." - Library Journal

"The word 'stencil' is typically associated with Americana or fussy intricate patterns. Here, Rice changes our attitude with 20 projects. She excels at explaining the basics, beginning with the actual design of the project, and she provides step-by-step color photographs to augment her written instructions. Her aesthetic viewpoint does not depend on one era or one style. Rather, she delights in gathering inspiration from the world, including German paper cutting (scherenschnitte), twentieth-century rustic antiques, 'mod' and 'pop,' Victorian lace, and many others. There’s much to admire and choose from here, including shadowbox frames (with paper dolls inside), customer wallpaper, and a dancing-in-the-rain shower curtain. At the end, a rogue’s gallery—that is, 10 featured stencilers and their backgrounds, with samples of work—wrap up a motivating crafts book." - Booklist