Clarity’s Blog Tutorial: How To Use A Stencil To Create A Groovi Pattern

Hello hello! Grace here.

I hope this finds you well?

As you have likely already heard, this weekend we’re having a celebration! Under normal circumstances many of you would be gathering in a town hall in Ditton, to participate in Clarity’s Open Days! But alas… we’re not quite there yet.

Better safe than sorry, we say! But you know us at Clarity… we can’t pass up the opportunity to gather online. It’s better than nothing! It’ll be fun. So we’re celebrating in a handful of ways that we know you’ll enjoy…

• Our 25% off blanket sale on the Clarity website – Friday to Monday at midnight! It’s already begun, go check it out!
• We’re sending gifts when you place an order for £30+ (paper flowers! Love them)
• Giveaways! SO MANY giveaways. Make sure to keep an eye on both Mum’s blog and this ‘ere ClarityMatters blog to enter each one for a chance to win big! There was a warm up giveaway yesterday, and there will be new ones appearing throughout the weekend! (there’s even one in this blog!)
• A 7pm Moment of Clarity Craftalong tonight! (you can find what you need here)
• And then… a Pyjama Party! Following the Craftalong, there will be a small break. Grab your pj’s and come back for another project!
• A Facebook coffee hang on Sunday morning at 10am with Barbara & Linda

So many great things!! And while we’re at it, we’ve decided to double up on our weekly Clarity Blog Tutorials. As well as our usual step-by-step project on Sunday… we’ve got the absolutely brilliant Jane Telford in the mix, to help kick off our #ClarityOpenDayFestival with a stunning new project!

There’s lots of learning to be had at these opens day, so as well as the Craftalongs… we want to share a little extra! I’ll hand you over to the lovely Jane…

---

Something a bit different from me today!

This one looks like quite a simple one but I would say it is suitable for a beginner with a bit of experience. If you are more experienced you could add more picot cutting to it or make a lacy edge. The choice is yours how far you take it!

I decided that I would use a stencil to get my main image so you don’t have the safety net of the Groovi when you are doing the initial embossing. Just go easy and try to keep your pressure as even as you can when tracing  round each shape in the stencil. Have a practice on some scrap to start with so you get the feel for it. 

Ingredients 

NDSC 14 Elephant Stencil (STE-AN-00270-77)
Groovi GO A6 Groovi Plate Mate (GRO-MA-40748-18)
Tina’s Doodle Flowers A6 Groovi Plate Set (GRO-FL-40806-02)
Nested Sq Picot Dies (ACC-DI-30666-66)
Nested Squares Picot Cut A4 Sq Groovi Plate (GRO-PA-41035-15)
Straight Basic Bold A5 Sq Groovi Piercing Grid (GRO-GG-40202-12)
Iris & Wisteria x 10 Groovi Duo Parchment Paper A4 (GRO-AC-40766-A4) 
Small Piece of Plain Parchment (GRO-AC-40024-XX)
8×8 Card Blank (ACC-CA-30620-88)
4 White Brads (PER-AC-70269-XX)
1mm Ball Tool (PER-TO-70012-XX)
1.5mm Ball Tool (PER-TO-70004-XX)
4.5mm Ball Tool (PER-TO-70015-XX)
6mm Ball Tool (PER-TO-70016-XX)
Pergamano Embossing Mat Excellent (PER-AC-70075-XX)
Shader Embossing Tool (PER-TO-70003-XX)
Sweet Dreams Designer Paper (ACC-CA-30442-88)
Perga Glue (PER-AC-70133-XX)
Sequins 

Method

Step 1. Using the deeper of the two tone parchment pack cut a square using the largest Square Picot die.

Step 2. Attach the parchment to the matching Groovi plate using Groovi tabs in the corners  and emboss the largest double line.

Step 3. Hold the parchment down with the Groovi guard and remove the tabs to emboss the corners.

Step 4. Use a small sticky note to mark the front and then position the parchment over the stencil and attach it using Groovi Tabs to the back of the parchment.

Step 5. Turn the stencil and attached parchment over and place on the black mat (or pink excellent mat if you prefer).

Step 6. Using a 1mm embossing tool carefully run this around each shape in the stencil being careful not to pierce the parchment. It is better to do several lighter lines than one heavy one. keep checking your pressure by looking at the front.

Step 7. Check all sections are complete.

Step 8. Leave the stencil in place and position different sections over the doodle flowers plates and emboss the pattern you can see. Do random sections using different patterns leaving some sections blank.

Step 9. On the sections without patterns fill some of them with embossed dots using the Straight bold grid leaving some blank.

Now remove the stencil.

Step 10. Emboss the leaf to look like he is holding it with his trunk.

Step 11. Emboss the stems and flowers in front of him and then the bird on the elephant’s back.

Step 12. Write the sentiment out on a sticky note then on a piece of plain parchment make a template.

Step 13. Attach the template to the reverse of the elephant image using a Groovi tab so it can flip back and forth. Use the template to position the letters of the sentiment the flip out of the way to emboss each letter in turn. Keep hold of the templates for future use.

Step 14. Do some white work in small areas of the design.

Step 15. Cut 1 cm off each side of the piece of designer paper then attach the parchment picture to it using white brads. 

Top Tip: To get your brads to sit really flat when you open them out press them open. On a firm surface use the flat end of a blending tool to push them flatter. Doing this helps when attaching to a card blank.

Step 16. Attach to an 8×8 card blank then add some sequins for that added sparkle.

And you’re all done!

---

WOW! What a beautiful card. Thank you so much for sharing your tips and tricks with us, Jane!

Everything is listed in one place over on the Clarity website HERE to make it easy to find everything that Jane has used – don’t forget, everything has 25% off as part of our Open Day Festival Event!

I might have to give this one a try myself! I LOVE elephants. My office here in Brooklyn has a slight elephant theme emerging, now that I turn around and pay attention…

‘Elephants have a positive symbolic meaning all over the world, and they are considered to be a symbol of good luck, power, success, wisdom, and experience. Because elephants are highly social animals, they are also regarded as a symbol of loyalty, companionship, and unity.’

I better buy some more elephant themed stuff!! We have a handful of lovely Elephant themed goods at Clarity, but I could do with making the theme official! Perhaps a handmade card framed on the wall will do the trick

Since this is such a fabulous card for those starting out, how about a giveaway?

Let me know in the comments below what YOUR favourite animal is and why (and don’t forget to tell me how brilliant Jane’s project is!) and I’ll enter you into a raffle to win the Groovi GO Starter Kit. I’ll pick two lucky winners, because why not?!

Make sure to tune in to our Moment of Clarity tonight at 7pm (UK time) and bring your PJ’s for the pyjama party afterwards! I know that’s where I want to be on a Friday night!

Also, if you fancy seeing your SHAC artwork showcases in my Saturday Share blog, post it to Clarity Worldwide with the hashtag ‘#SHACSHARE’

See you there!

Lotsa love, Grace & Jane xo

Clarity – The Home of Art, Craft and Well-Being.