Julia's February Stencil Release (aka Spring Has Sprung)!

Hi, everyone! Here are my newest stencils, freshly arriving on my partner Confection Couture Stencils' site today! And, as an extra bonus, it looks like spring may also be coming with them - it's almost 60°F here in St. Louis today!

• My In Bloom Dynamic Duos^TM Background Set (upper left),
• My In Bloom Dynamic Duos^TM Message and Frame Set (combined with the Duos^TM background set in the upper right),
• Confection Couture's Spring Basic Accent Stencil (lower right), and
• My Thank You Prettier Plaques^TM Set (the previously released one, lower left).

And, like last month, my Stencil of the Month Club members will receive both my In Bloom Dynamic Duos^TM Background Set and Confection Couture's Spring Basic Accent Stencil - a $22.99 value for only $14.99 (plus 15% off anything else on the Confection Couture site)! If you'd love to see similar savings on my stencils month after month, then just sign up for my Club here. If you're not sure about Club membership, you can still get a discount on both of these Duos^TM sets by taking advantage of the bundled deal on this page. (It never expires! Woo hoo!)

Now, let's take a closer look at those Duos^TM sets, and what each one includes . . .

In Bloom Dynamic Duos^TM Background Set (5 pieces)

These three stencils and two masking pieces can be combined in myriad ways. Just a few possibilities are shown in the photo below:

Now, for the . . .

In Bloom Dynamic Duos^TM Message and Frame Set (5 pieces)

Combining the messages and frames in this set with the elements in the background set is like April showers bringing a profusion of May flowers - your design possibilities grow like crazy! Okay, okay, that simile was a bit of a stretch, but hopefully you catch my drift! If not, below are a few photos that show several style variations, all achieved with the same basic pieces in these two sets.

Above, I used a mixture of AmeriMist Sky Blue and lots of Dinkydoodle White for the pale blue background. Then I used both AmeriMist Electric Green and Avocado for the leaves; Chefmaster Harvest Brown for the branches; both AmeriMist Deep Pink and Maroon for the roses; and a custom blend of Chefmaster Harvest Brown and AmeriMist Sky Blue and Royal Blue for the birds. The shadowing around the message was done with AmeriMist Maroon, and it was back to Chefmaster Harvest Brown for the messages and frames. In the yellow cookie to the right, I used just the top element on the foreground stencil (in the background set), whereas, in the other two cookies, I used just the bottom element with the bird, flipping it over to get birds facing in different directions.

In the top cookie pictured below, I've "enriched" the color palette by applying heavier coats, and more maroon to the big rose. I've also given the cookie a more vintage look by starting with tan background icing rather than stark white, and airbrushing the edges (aka "aging") with brown food coloring.



Softer colors look lovely too, as shown below, where I used gold in the background diamond pattern, a paler blue for the bird, and a less heavy-handed application of coloring elsewhere.

You can even go minimalist, if you like, by removing the diamond background pattern and using only the foreground rose-and-bird element and a message on the cookie, or just the two foreground rose elements . . .

So, hopefully by now, I've convinced you of the infinite possibilities!

If you're not sure how to create layered looks with multi-piece stencil sets, then please take a peek at this quickie video, compiled from still shots. It shows how I used BOTH Duos^TM sets to create one of the looks shown above.

For more in-depth instruction on this topic, please see my full-length narrated videos in this playlist on my YouTube channel. Please also note: While all of the cookies above are airbrushed, royal icing works well with these stencils too. However, if doing a layered look, royal icing can typically only be applied to the last layer in the last step.

• To purchase my Dynamic Duos^TM sets, click here.
• To join my Stencil of the Month Club, click here.
• To see my entire stencil line, including my Prettier Plaques^TM sets, click here.

Note: If you've got photos of cookies using my stencils that you'd like to be used on the Confection Couture site, please share your images on the Confection Couture Facebook page and mention that you'd like them to be considered for this purpose. Please also indicate how you want to be credited for your photos (name, link-backs, etc.) if they should be selected. Thank you!

If you have any technical questions about these stencils, please don't hesitate to email me at sweetlife@juliausher.com or to leave a comment below. Please, however, direct all ordering and Club questions to service@confectioncouturestencils.com. Thank you!