Create your own Stencils!

Create your own Stencils

Supplies:

Manila folders

or

Plaid Simply Stencil blank sheets

Can get them from Amazon $12.00 for 6 (8’x10”) sheets

and at Michael's as well.

Magazine/book pages with interesting patterns

Mod Podge

Black Sharpie pen

X-acto knife- sharp new blade

Light desk or bright window-optional

Scanner –optional , if you want to change the size of your images

Stencils are all the rage now in mixed media canvas art as 

well as art journals. I love what they add to your layering 

process. But they can be expensive and sometimes

the craft supply companies just don’t have the design that

you need or want for your particular project. Pre-cut basic

stencils are about $3.00 and up from Plaid and 

about $5.00-$20.00 for Martha Stewart brand stencils.

How about making your own? It really is quite easy and if you 

dedicate a few hours you can end up with a nice stash of

new and unique stencils. I find inspiration for designs from

magazines, newspapers, books as well as just free-hand drawing of

simple shapes.

I use both manila folders and blank stencils sheets.

You can also use the plastic packaging that comes

with a lot of the supplies you buy. It’s a good way

to “green” up your supplies.

This was a design that I found in an old spanish language
text book. I scanned it into my computer and then manipulated
the size and printed it out on the manila folder 
(cut to size to fit the printer). I could have traced the original
image but it was a bit bigger than I needed. Having a scanner
gives you that flexibility to change the size of your image,
but it is not necessary.

Using an X-acto knife with a new blade, cut your shapes out.

When you are finished cutting the stencil out, coat it with 2 layers

of Mod Podge on each side and let dry. This will give your stencil

durability and you will be able to clean it with baby wipes.

I had received a really cool post card from Australia 

from one of our Paper Traders members (thanks Jo M.)

and it had a wonderful hexagram pattern on it. I used

my Plaid blank stencil sheet and copied the design 

with my Sharpie pen. You will not need to coat

this with Mod Podge as they are made of plastic.

Here, I just free hand drew some fat squiggles on a manila

folder section; cut it out and coated it with the Mod Podge.

This wonderful design was from a local specialty newspaper

we have here in the South. Because the design was rather light,

I traced over it with the black Sharpie. I then used my light desk

and traced the design onto the blank stencil sheet. Using a 

light desk is not necessary unless you are tracing onto 

manila folders where it can be hard to see the design.

You can also tape your design onto a sunny window 

and trace it from there. Nature’s light desk!! 

My husband made my light desk from a 4 bottle wine 
box and a Fluorescent light fixture.

Sometimes, you can find some really unique designs but

the backgrounds may be dark and so the lines are hard

to see. If you trace over it with a white sharpie, you will

have no trouble seeing it through the blank stencil sheet.

Some samples of the designs used on blank art journal pages.

  

I really like the ghost print you get when you

flip the stencil over and press all the extra ink off.

In some cases, I like it better.

  

Also, if you own a die cut machine, it is very easy to

create stencils with your waste paper. Another way

to keep your art “green”.

Now that you can see how easy it is to create your own

stencils, we hope you will give this a try. You will be

on your way to creating unique journal pages that will

be as individual as you are.

Cathy C.