StencilGirl and Seth Apter Blog Hop

You know what I like about Seth Apter's stencils?

Lots of things really.....

but mainly the itty bitty parts,

the words,

the shapes, and

the versatility.

Those little parts - weird shapes, circles, squares, grids. Those parts are what I call "integrators". That probably isn't even a word, but I'm talking about design elements that can help pull your art together, be it a journal spread, a greeting card or a canvas. Tiny detail can work wonders to link up sections of the art and to help the piece flow.
And the Words, these are words for thinking people. The type of words that have a lot to say. Double meanings and prefixes and suffixes with lots of variety.
Here's a journal spread I recently completed using Seth's and also one of my new stencils.

Mary Beth Shaw journal spread with StencilGirl Products stencils.

 See Seth's new stencils on the StencilGirl Products WEBSITE:

We are having a give away too. But you probably knew that, didn't you? Just leave me a comment along with your email address. 

GIVEAWAY
$25 StencilGirl Gift Certificate to one lucky winner!

All comments left on the hop list participants posts will be entered. 

One comment per blog. 

Comments close on July 24th @ 11:59PM Central.

Blog Hop Order

StencilGirl Talk

Seth Apter

Mary Beth Shaw   

Mary C. Nasser     

Carolyn Dube

Gwen Lafleur

Kirsten Reed

Janet Joehlin

Maria McGuire

Seth has Rubber Stamps!!

Stamps by Seth Apter for Impression Obsession

Psssst, guess what? My friend Seth Apter has rubber stamps, woo hoo!!! I was lucky enough to receive a set from him, these beautiful constellation based deeply cut rubber stamps. You know I'm a stencil girl at heart but I always love a good stamp and I will have to say Seth's designs are so.....well.....Seth! Which means they are terrific and versatile. They work perfectly with his stencils too!

Using the stamp on vintage paper. 

Before using a rubber stamp on my work, I like to try stamping it on plain paper to see how it looks. In this case, I happened to have some vintage medical papers in my stash and I grabbed one. I LOVE how well these intricate stamps work. Sometimes I am kind of a doofus with a stamp, I think it is because I use stencils so much, but I was excited that these stamps looked perfect the very first time I used them.  

Collage part

So off and running I went........gluing the collage part into my journal.

Paint and Collage on journal page

I developed a ton of layers, paint, collage, repeat. The stamps added a lovely circular effect and you know how I love my circles. I felt like they created a nice sense of movement. And naturally I used some of Seth's stencils too.
To check out more about Seth, go to his blog, he is one of my favorite bloggers and provides regular content that I find quite interesting;

http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com
It you are interested in Seth's stamps, you can find them here, at Impression Obsession Rubber Stamps:

http://www.iostamps.com/

Final journal spread

Here is a list of the others participating on this blog hop, I can't wait to see what everyone made! 

Marjie Kemper http://marjiekemper.com/blog/

Linda Cain http://cain81art.blogspot.com

Pam Carriker http://pamcarriker.com/blog/

Brian Kasstle https://apaperbear.wordpress.com

Kim Henkel http://khenkel.blogspot.com

You can find Seth's stencils at StencilGirl Products, but you knew that, right?

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/category-s/1853.htm

Expressive Collage Webinar

Hey, did you know that I have a Webinar coming up?

Art Journal spread by Mary Beth Shaw

I am very excited to be talking with Crystal Neubauer's about her new book, The Art of Expressive Collage. It is a gorgeous book and Crystal and I go way back so you can be sure our discussion will be entertaining and hopefully informative. 

I want to clarify one thing - you do NOT need to be present to listen to the Webinar or see the Video. You can watch/listen any time as you will be furnished with the link. You could even listen over and over if you want. Just sayin'....

I absolutely love the art that I was inspired to make after reading Crystal's book - watch me make it on the video! Good stuff, great fun, you won't want to miss this!

Sign up here. 

New Stencils for my Birthday!!

I got to design some new stencils, woo hoo!! 

You might think I would design them all the time, owning the company and all, but my other obligations tend to get in the way.
The stencils I design are the ones that I want to use. I especially enjoy stencils that I call "the great integrators". These are ones I use when I have a background that maybe isn't hanging together exactly how I imagined. 

These are stencils that cure all woes. HAHAHA. That's a lot to ask from a stencil, eh?

Juxtapose stencil 6x6

Little Eddy stencil 4x4

MB Makes Marks stencil 6x6

Random Marks 4x4

And guess what? We are having a sale too. Cause it's my birthday. Here are the details:

Organization; it's a beautiful thing

As I prepare for "the move" I am organizing and have to say it makes me very happy.


Seeing all my paints in this container makes me want to paint. This bin will be the top layer of my rolling cart that will be right next to my studio table. I think it will be way more convenient than my current setup.


I have plans for these doors and this adorable little chest. Don't you love the colors?
Stay tuned as my journey continues.