Painting tip....Cleaning stencils...
thanks to Sharon
We have all left a stencil too long before attempting to clean it up... and have felt they were
a lost cause. But they are almost always salvageable, with a few little tricks.
Tip 1: Never use HOT water. This can cause the Mylar or plastic to buckle or stretch,
rendering the stencil useless.
Tip 2: Kitchen sponges (the ones with a soft scrubby side) are perfect for cleaning stencils.
Just take your time and take care with detailed or elaborate stencils. Don’t want to bend
those little bits.
Tip 3: I use a large piece of plate glass, or a ceramic tile, to lay the stencils on (in the sink)
The stencils will stick when wet and makes it easy to clean with out damaging the stencil.
Cleaners:
My faves....
DecoArt Brush Magic is an awesome stencil/brush/jewellery cleaner. I attach a spray
pump to the bottle to spray the stencil, it saves brush cleaner and works very well. Let it sit
for a minute or two and then lay it on a flat solid surface and gently scrub with a kitchen
sponge. Pat dry.
Gel hand sanitiser is awesome for classes and travel, inexpensive and very effective on
fresh paint. Rub some into the stencil and let sit for about 30 seconds. Lay flat on a solid
surface and Gently scrub with a kitchen sponge. Rinse with cool water. Pat dry.
Great for emergency brush cleaning too - just don’t use it too often.
Rubbing alcohol (sometimes sold as Isopropyl alcohol - Ed) is great in a pinch and cheap.
It is very very effective for removing fresh, dry or old paint. I spray it onto the stencil and let
it sit for just a few seconds. Lay it on a flat solid surface and then scrub gently with a kitchen
sponge.
Convention classes for 2020
After what seemed like a hundred hours discussion, we are pleased to be able to announce the
Prudy Vanier classes for our 2020 convention.
Day 1 - Friday - Butterfly painted over decoupaged map (the map will be British, not of US!).
Day 2 - Saturday - Two half-day sessions, focussing on techniques to develop your skills:
a) - Fruit
b) - Leaves
The techniques you learn will give you the skills to paint pictures of your own design with
fruits and leaves - a range of pattern packs will be on sale so that will give you the opportunity to
put the skills to good use.
*Please note: these two half day classes will be teaching techniques to paint fruit and leaves - you
will not be painting a complete project. Please ask if you need more information.
Day 3 - Sunday - White Lilies on canvas board.
Convention will be Friday 5/Saturday 6/Sunday 7 June 2020 at the Ibis Hotel, Rugby East (Crick).