Stenciling with Julie Balzer

My friend Libelhina asked me which of Julie Balzer's stencils I bought on the weekend.  Strangely enough, stencils are one of the few art supplies I didn't have in my arsenal until recently but I've been coveting them for a long time.  I took Julie's class on Saturday and thought, wow, I love these things, I need more!  And after taking her class, I have a better idea how to use them, which is also important.

So, Libby, to answer your question, here are the ones I bought:

- the 6x6 inch "Leaf Frame":

I used the 12x 12 inch size to make this design (hmm, maybe I should have bought both sizes?):

I also bought the "Wonky Circles" design in the 12x12 size, shown here in the background with the leaf frame over top:

My absolute favourite is the "Flower Frame", I love, love, love it, had to have it!  Here's how Julie's stencil looked after we used it all day in class:

and here's how I used it on one of my journal pages:

As it happens, Julie's blog entry today is the first in a series she is calling "Stencil-a-Palooza". Not only is she going to show us the eighteen stencils she designed for The Crafters Workshop.com, she is showing various techniques and ideas for actually using the stencils and giving away freebies!  I just know you're going to want to click here and go check it out.  Today's blog features the "Trust Your Heart" stencil, which I also used (see below) and loved but didn't buy (yes, I have entered to win it from Julie!):