Center of Attention Product Spotlight - Stencils & Maya Mist

Today, members of the Baker's Dozen are featuring Crafter's Workshop Stencils and Maya Mist, available at Taylored Expressions! I can honestly say when Taylor told us about the stencils, I was wondering WHAT I was going to do with one. I haven't worked much with stencils and I never really had an interest. Now that I've played with this one, I am hooked! I chose the Daisy Cluster Template. There are still more things I want to try with these stencils, but I'm going to share 3 things with you today!

The first thing I tried was using the stencil and the Maya Mist together. I chose the Iridescent Pearl Maya Mist. I thought it would be a nice, neutral shade. It gives white or cream cardstock a shimmery look, which is beautiful! I found, as demonstrated on this first card, that it is stunning on dark cardstock! It really makes plain, dark cardstock look like a shimmery patterned cardstock. . .such a neat effect! I used the Trick or Sweet II set for this fairy card. I cut the piece of black cardstock, set the stencil over top of it (on scrap paper, of course) and sprayed the Iridescent Pearl Maya Mist over it. It adds such a nice extra (and sparkly) touch to any card!

The second thing I HAD to try with my stencil was embossing! As you know if you visit me regularly, my favorite kind of card is clean and simple. . .and embossed! :) I made a Cuttlebug sandwich with my stencil, just like I would if I were embossing with a Nestabilities die or Cuttlebug embossing folder, except I had to add a few pieces of cardstock to act as a shim since the stencils are so thin. On this card, I cut a 3" square piece of white cardstock, sprayed it with the Maya Mist and then ran it through the Cuttlebug. TIP: Spray the piece BEFORE putting it through the Cuttlebug and it will help to deepen the embossed impression since the paper will be a little wet. I attached the 3" square piece to the center of a plain white card base (4.25" square) and I DID NOT spray the card base with Maya Mist. I wanted the 3" embossed square to stand out more by being sparkly. I stamped a sentiment from the Faith and Hope set, cut and embossed it with a Ribbon Tags Trio Nestabilities die and tied black organdy ribbon around the ends and attached it to the card. This card reminds me a bit of our wedding thank yous from 9 years ago! I'm so excited to know that now I can make my own version! LOL I took a picture using a black background as well since I thought it was hard to see everything white on white!

The last thing that I tried with my stencil was inspired by wishing that I had darker colors of Maya Mist instead of just a neutral. So, I got out my Acrylic Paint Dauber in Lemonade! I masked the top and bottom end of my card base and placed my stencil on top of the non-masked section and tapped my paint dauber over the stencil. Once I let it dry, I embossed borders on either side of the "color" using a border embossing folder from the With Love Cuttlebug set. Lastly, I added a sentiment from the Sweet Celebration set. I just LOVE this card because not only is it a one layer, embossed card, but the paint adds such a neat texture and look to the card as well! Pairing that with the stencil really makes for a great effect!

So, now do you see why I'm hooked? The stencil is very easy to clean! Just soap and water! You'll want to be careful about "rubbing" it. I found that with my pattern, some of the flower edges would bend a little if I rubbed too hard, so dabbing is best! I can't wait to see what the other members of the Baker's Dozen came up with using these products!

Donna Baker

Jodi Collins

Karen Giron

Laura Fredrickson

Sharon Harnist

Taylor VanBruggen

For a limited time (October 16-17) Taylor will be offering a 15% discount on all Crafter's Workshop stencils and Maya Mist, so head on over and check them out!