Stencils have long been used in crafting and for many of us they have become a staple in our crafting stash. They are easy to use and there is so much you can do with them. Before we dive into how to use these super crafty tools, let&#;s take a little look at how they come about and what they are.
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For many years, stencils have been used to print onto cloth, woodcuts, and even used to mass-produce prints. They were used to save time as the images would be the same without having to hand paint or write by hand. The word &#;stencil&#; means &#;outline of an image&#;. Stenciling is a method wherein a design is repeated through a cut-out shape. The history of stencils dates back as early as 30,000 BC to 9,000 BC where stenciling examples were found in Paleolithic cave paintings. From cutting shapes and holes out of bamboo and banana leaves to decorating Egyptian tombs, stenciling has evolved so much. The old stenciling technique led to the inception of stencils art and today you can find several ways to practice this art.
A stencil is a device that helps you apply a particular design onto a surface. The design can be in any form - letters, words, and patterns being the most popular. Stencils tend to work best onto a flat surface, and depending on the ink or paint you use, and can be used on metal, cardboard, or any other material.
There are two parts to a stencil: the spaces that allow the color to seep through to the material below are known as &#;islands&#;, and the areas that connect the stencil together are referred to as &#;bridges&#;.
As well as paper crafting, stencils pattern can be used to decorate your home in many ways. Stencil sets are perfect for adding a pop of color and interest to walls, floors, furniture, and even fabrics.
Simply take your chosen stencil kit and temporarily adhere it to the surface. A simple masking tape or repositionable adhesive spray will do. Depending on the surface, you may apply paint or ink through the surface using a brush or sponge. Remove the stencil to reveal your chosen design. You can use any color you wish to fit the decor of the room.
Many of Altenew&#;s stencil designs would work perfectly for this. If you want to start out small, try adding a design to a plant pot or small decor piece. To see how easy this is to do you can check out Sveta&#;s blog post here to see how she used stencils to create a super cute plant pot.
You could also use this fabulous design to add pretty floral designs to pillow covers, bedsheets, curtains, t-shirts, and many other fabrics.
Lettering stencils are a great crafting tool for children to use too. They can quickly and easily replicate intricate designs using stencils. Try using Altenew&#;s Alphabet Stencil with your little ones, we are sure they will love adding their names to their art or even creating a nameplate for their bedroom door.
Stencils art is broadly distinguished based on its purpose, stencil design, and the type of material used as a surface.
Kids and adults use stencils for craft at home to either create art, decorate a surface, or simply as a hobby. There is a wide variety of stencils to buy online including stencil leaves, alphabets, numbers, etc. that can be used for art and home decor.
Stencils for crafts are further categorized into different types as discussed here:
Most individuals who are interested in art stencils pursue this as a mere hobby. Stencils have long been used in paper crafting projects such as cardmaking, scrapbooking, journaling, and other mixed media art. Compared to stamps, stencils are relatively easier to use, especially for beginners. In card making and scrapbooking, all you need is your favorite stencils pattern, some ink sprays, mixed media inks, or embossing paste, and you&#;re good to go.
For those who are into quilting, there are a variety of quilting stencils readily available in crafts stores. Made of lightweight and opaque plastic, these types of stencils are great if you want to personalize your quilts. Depending on how dark or light the fabric is, you can either use a chalk pencil, a water-soluble pen, or a pounce pad.
Scrapbooking
It&#;s always fun to experiment with stencils when you do mixed media art or scrapbooking. With customized stencils, you can be as creative as you want with your scrapbook pages and cover. Fonts or alphabet stencils are also must-haves so you can write your favorite words, phrases, or quotes on your scrapbook page. Altenew has a wide range of stencils for sale for your scrapbooking projects.
Stand-Alone Stencils
These are ideal if you are new to the world of arts and crafts. Most crafters prefer a simple shape like stripes, cubes, dots, or flowers stencil as they are easy to work with. The design is simple yet stunning. As the name suggests, standalone stencils can be used on their own. If you&#;re looking to create a quick handmade card or paper crafting project, you can simply grab a stand-alone stencil and some ink sprays. You will have something classy and beautiful in no time.
Layered Stencils
Layered stencils are a bit more difficult to use because it takes some additional practice and finesse. Make sure to adhere it correctly onto the surface using a painter&#;s tape, washi tape, or any repositionable adhesive. Using the right color combinations is also vital. Before adding another color, let the first color dry completely. This way the two colors won&#;t mix and the design will definitely pop off the page.
A great layered stencil to practice with is our Sweet Spring Stencil. This is a fan favorite and will always produce fantastic results. The beauty of layered stencils is that you can choose to use just one layer or use both. The designs you create will definitely be unique.
Learn More here!
Mask Stencils
Mask stencils are very handy when adding dimension to your design. Made out of a thinner material than regular stencils, you can easily stamp over them, or use them with your favorite coloring mediums. Altenew has a range of coordinating mask stencils that are designed to work perfectly with our stamp sets!
To use mask stencils, you need to position the positive cut pieces over their coordinating images with a bit of temporary adhesive, then stamp them over with another image. When you remove the stencil, it will look like the second image is behind the first. Easy peasy!
The beauty of stenciling is that anyone can do it! With the right tools and surface, you can start stenciling now. There is something naturally beautiful about the hand-painted finish of a stenciling project, whether it&#;s on paper, a wall, a canvas, or fabric. The one thing you need to take note of is that stenciling can be done on ALMOST every surface - except for rough, textured, and uneven ones. You will need a flat and smooth surface to apply a stencil design.
Paper is the most commonly used surface for art stencils. Paper crafting projects such as handmade cards, scrapbook pages, journals, and mixed media pages often incorporate stenciling. It is important to choose the correct stencil paper to avoid ruining your creation. Applying ink spray or embossing paste to a thin and flimsy printer paper will warp it. Cardstock is the best choice, particularly something that is between 50lb to 110lb. Typically, cardstock paper is thicker than a standard printer paper but it is thinner than cardboard. Watercolor paper is also a great choice for stencils art since it is around 140lb, high-quality, and designed to absorb watercolor without warping.
Stenciling an entire wall might seem like a daunting task, especially for art stencils beginners. It will take more time and effort compared to stenciling on paper (or any smaller surface), but it&#;s not impossible. When searching for stencils online it is advisable to look for larger ones. You can choose to use a 6&#; x 6&#; stencil but it will definitely take longer.
To apply stencils on your wall, follow these simple steps:
Working on a wall or any other hard surface is comparatively easier than working on fabric. This is definitely not ideal for stencil beginners. Working with fabric is problematic because the colors may seep through it and get mixed, ruining your stencils pattern. The smart way to use art stencils on fabric is to place a piece of cardboard beneath the fabric. This way, you don&#;t need to stress about the design getting ruined.
Clean the fabric before you tape your stencil on it, and apply multiple light coats instead of a few thick coats. Your fabric is less likely to get patchy with light coats. Make sure that you allow each coat to dry for at least 48 hours. This will ensure that the paint has completely dried off and the fabric is ready for another coat.
Canvas is a modern surface for stenciling. This is ideal if you have some old canvas lying around the house. Repurposing canvas by adding stencil designs to it is a fun and inexpensive crafting project that you can do alone or with family and friends. The process of stenciling on canvas is somewhat similar to how you do it on walls, with a couple of new steps.
A canvas allows you to play with multiple stencils in a single frame. For instance, along with customized stencils, you can also use stencil letters to write a message, a name, a word, or a quote, and make your artwork more personalized.
Check it out here!
Thanks to technology, stencil makers have come up with various techniques on how to make stencils. The raw materials used for making them depend on the manufacturing technique.
Ideally, the procedure of stencil making has three varieties:
Raw materials: Nickel, standard and fine grain stainless steel
This process is recommended only when you already have laser-cut apertures on your desktop. There are specific norms for apertures in the etch process. If you are unable to follow them, you are likely to ruin your scope of stencil making. The ideal size of the etched aperture is about 1 and a half multiplied by the thickness of the material.
This aperture size can be easily derived using a laser-cut stencil.
In the history of stencils, at some point, e-form or electroformed stencils were an ideal choice. However, with laser cutting coming into the picture, the preference order has changed. Moreover, these stencils are more expensive and take more time to yield output.
A modern stencils maker prefers this technique to produce unique designs and good quality stencils.
With the laser-cutting technique, you can produce more number of stencils within the given time frame. At times, they can be produced and shipped within 24 hours. Laser-cut stencils offer users a tighter grip and an accurate and clean end result. Artists, therefore, prefer these stencils sets over other alternatives. These are easy to use and clean as well.
Using a stencil is no rocket science, but there are a few dos and don&#;ts to follow in order to achieve a stunning result. It may look intimidating at first, especially with the variety of stencil art sets available in craft stores and online, but eventually, you&#;ll get the hang of it.
Discussed here are a few tips and hacks that can help you achieve the best results on your handmade creations, even if you&#;re still a stencil beginner.
Tip #1
This is a precautionary measure to save your art from getting ruined. Develop a habit of cleaning the surface before you start stenciling. Dirt, dust, loose paint, etc. can ruin your project so make sure you clean the surface thoroughly before starting.
Tip #2
Before you choose the stencil design that you want, make sure you get the correct stencil size. There is a wide variety of stencils online that you can purchase. However, it is crucial to always take note of the dimensions of your surface - whether it&#;s paper, a wall, or fabric - and then pick a stencil that fits. You don&#;t want to purchase a stencil that is larger than your surface. This will just ruin the design that you were going for. Using a smaller stencil should be fine but it will take you longer to finish your stencils art.
Tip #3
Imagine you are adding paint on your stencil and with a slight movement of your hand towards the right, your stencil shifts in that direction and ruins your painting. To avoid such instances, it is important to properly adhere your stencil to the surface using a masking tape, painter&#;s tape or any strong but temporary adhesive to secure it.
Check it out here!
Tip #4
There is no rule of thumb when it comes to the type of paint for stenciling. The most commonly used for walls, wood, furniture, or canvas is acrylic or latex paint. If you&#;re stenciling on paper or a thinner material such as cardboard or box, an ink spray, a mixed media ink, or an embossing paste would do. For fabric, you can use a chalk pencil or a pound pad.
Tip #5
You will need a good quality stencil brush or foam roller. A large brush for a tiny design is not recommended. So make sure your brush size fits your project.
Tip #6
Applying paint directly from the bottle or can can be difficult. To avoid unwanted spills, you can remove a significant amount of color on a paper plate or a plastic palette. This will save your artwork from random color spills or splatters.
Tip #7
Start with a light-hand for the first coat or layer. The intensity of your coat varies based on your surface. Fabrics need to be handled with care and work best with a few light-hand coats.
In case, you are using multiple colors for your design, allow the first color to dry completely, and then move on to the next color.
Tip #8
Once you have applied all the colors and they have dried, remove the stencil. Beginners often remove the stencil as soon as they apply the final coat. If the paint is still wet, it can bleed and drip, spoiling your design in the process. Remember, always let it completely dry!
Stencils make art easier and faster. Even for beginners, using stencils for craft can produce amazing results in no time. Whether you are pursuing it as a hobby, a stress-reliever, or something to help you personalize gifts and create home decor, stenciling is one of the most enjoyable things to do in your free time.
Here are a few more perks of using stencils:
With modern technology and the advent of the Internet, stenciling quickly gained popularity in the world of paper crafting, especially in card making. Instead of a wall or a bigger surface, card makers use a cardstock or paper to create their stencil art. Stencils became an instant hit in paper crafting because of their versatility, durability, and overall beauty. They&#;re also easy to use and are perfect for a variety of fun techniques.
Are you looking for a few ways and techniques to try with your stencils kit? Watch the video below and learn more about stencils for crafting and card making.
Stencils are not just fun and easy to use, they are also more affordable than other crafting tools such as watercolors, stamps, dies, etc. You don&#;t need to be a genius to start using art stencils too. You can start with a few basic designs and shapes, then move on to layered ones or more intricate stencil patterns. The more you practice, the more creative you can get. With proper care and storage, you can definitely reuse your stencils for a very long time.
If you&#;re still searching for stencils to buy online, check out this beautiful collection in our store.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website wall stencil for painting.
My love for a wallpapered accent wall is no secret around here. But when I calculated up the cost for a large feature wall in our family room, I decided to find a more budget-friendly option. And my solution? A wall stencil! Today, I want to show you how to stencil a wall with paint. With a bit of work and lots of patience, you can indeed get the same same effect as wallpaper, but for a lot less!
A huge &#;thank you&#; to Cutting Edge Stencils for providing the stenciling supplies for this project. I only work with brands and products I fully support and that make sense for my home, my family, and this blog. All opinions are 100% my own.
When we first laid eyes on our current rental&#;s living room, I instantly knew the fireplace wall would become some sort of feature wall. Not only is it the focal point of the entire room, but about 12&#; of the wall protrude forward about 8&#;, creating a pronounced bump-out that was literally begging for some sort of fun treatment.
In all honestly, my original plan was to cover the bump out in peel and stick wallpaper. It is my go-to product for accent walls, after all; and I could easily find several patterns that would make sense in this space.
But at 8&#; high and 12&#; feet wide, this single section of wall would have likely cost me ~$200. And having already tackled some really large wallpaper projects in this house, I was simply looking for a cheaper option that would provide the same design impact as wallpaper.
I&#;ve never stenciled a wall before, so I figured this was the perfect &#;small&#; project to learn! And sure enough&#;after (admittedly) quite a bit of effort&#;I was indeed able to achieve a phenomenal stenciled focal wall&#;but on the cheap!
Here is what you need to stencil a wall:
Both acrylic craft paint (yep, the kind you buy at the craft store in small bottles) or latex paint (like in cans from the hardware store) can successfully be used for wall stenciling.
Cutting Edge Stencils recommends that you use &#;flat&#; paint (base coat and stencil coat) for optimum adhesion, smooth finish, and minimal seepage. I used an Eggshell finish (for both colors) with little issue. That said, oil-based paints and spray paints are not recommended for interior wall stenciling projects.
The amount of paint required will very much depend on the size of your wall, as well as the particular stencil pattern you choose.
For the base coat, you will need however much paint is required to give your wall (at least) a single, good coat. For my 8&#; x 12&#; wall, I used not even a half gallon of Behr Marquee paint in Edgecomb Grey.
As you will learn further down in this post, the best way to avoid paint seepage is to use as little paint as possible. As such, you will likely not use much paint at all. In fact, I used the final remnants of a can of white paint I already had on hand.
If you&#;re buying new paint for this project, I would consider getting one or two sample sizes (8 oz) or a few acrylic bottles to start. You can always get more as needed.
If you&#;d like to watch how to stencil a wall, here is a 3-minute video of the entire process! Full picture/text instructions are below the video. (Video not loading for you? You can watch it HERE!)
Let me first break down this project for you from start-to-finish. Then at the bottom of this post, I&#;ll share aaaaaaall the stenciling tips and tricks I learned along the way!
Start by picking out your wall stencil design and which colors you will do it in.
One of the best parts of using a stencil instead of wallpaper is that you have so much more control over both the pattern and the colors. Countless stencil patterns now exist, ranging from florals and mandalas to geometrics and tiles. And since you can get paint in practically any color, you can really bring any vision to life.
With different floral wallpapers in the two adjoining rooms (the dining room and foyer), I wanted something understated, monochromatic, and geometric for this wall. This herringbone tile pattern caught my eye immediately for its simplicity; and I knew adding the white design over the beige wall color (also throughout the rest of the room) would provide just enough interest on this bump-out without competing with other patterns around the room.
With your stencil and paints in hand, the next step is to apply the base coat of paint to your wall(s). You will have to consider your particular stencil in order to figure out which color this should be. For this herringbone pattern, I wanted the &#;grout&#; lines to be white, so I needed to the wall color to be beige first.
NOTE: Whether you need one or two coats of your base color is up to you. If your stencil pattern will cover most of your base color, you can likely get away with a single coat. But if your stencil pattern shows most of the base color (like mine does), you may need two good coats of the base color before moving on.
With your base coat applied and fully dry, it&#;s time to start stenciling your wall! And to do that, you&#;re going to need to determine your initial placement.
Every wall and every pattern will call for something different. You may want to mark the center of your wall with a pencil (so that the entire pattern is centered), or you can choose to start in a corner (like I did).
Your initial stencil placement is the most important, as it will dictate how the rest of the pattern lays out. As such, take care to get it perfectly level. This clip-on level makes it so easy to place the stencil, but you can also hold up a small level against the plastic edge if needed.
Before putting up your stencil for the first time, I also recommend placing strips of painter&#;s tape around the entire perimeter of the stencil.
Then with the level and tape pre-attached, you can stick it right to the wall once you determine the right spot.
With the stencil in place, use either a stencil brush or 4&#; roller to apply the thinnest application of paint possible.
One of the most important things to learn with stenciling (and you&#;ll learn it fast if you forget) is to use as little paint as possible every time you apply it to the stencil. The #1 reason you will end up with seepage under the stencil is because you use too much paint.
So whether you use a brush or roller, after you load it with paint, always then &#;offload&#; it by rolling/pouncing your tool to rid it of as much excess paint as possible.
To apply thin coats of paint, roll right over the stencil (with medium pressure) or use a &#;pouncing&#; motion with a stencil brush. Always avoid &#;brushing,&#; as that can also encourage paint under the edges of the stencil and muddy your design.
After you apply paint to all the &#;open&#; areas of your stencil, peel it up off the wall.
No, the paint doesn&#;t need to be dry; and yes, this can be a little scary. But go ahead&#;peel off the stencil to reveal your freshly-painted design underneath!
Every stencil will be made a little differently, but there will always be &#;registration marks&#; to help you line up the stencil for your next application. Yes, this typically means that you have to lay the stencil down over wet paint you just applied, but it&#;s okay! Line up the stencil with your previous application, double-check the levelness, and re-secure the stencil to the wall (using the same strips of tape).
Once in place, apply more paint as described above.
Continue working down the wall, matching up the stencil with the previously painted registration marks to create a continuous pattern. As you approach the floor/baseboards, stop. You&#;ll clean up the edges later on in the project.
Once you&#;ve completed a single vertical application all the way down the wall, move horizontally to start the next stretch. Just like before, line up the stencil with the previously painted design, secure it to the wall, and roll on more paint.
Continue working down in columns and then across the entire wall until most of the wall is covered in pattern.
Once the full wall is covered in pattern, you will now need to go back and re-visit all the edges (i.e., corners, ceiling, molding, and floor). Notice below that my initial application didn&#;t stretch all the way to ceiling, the baseboards, or along the mantel. To reach into these areas, you have a few options.
Cutting Edge Stencils provides a &#;ceiling&#; or &#;edge&#; stencil: a smaller, cut-down version that allows you to get into smaller areas. Use this smaller stencil exactly as you did the larger version in order to fill in these outer gaps.
However, depending on the pattern, even this smaller stencil may not get all the way to the edges. As your pattern requires, you may need to bend the larger stencil into corners/edges in order to create the continuous pattern.
TIP! Bending the rigid stencil can become quite difficult. I found switching to spray adhesive (to hold the stencil in place) and a stencil brush (to get into the smaller areas) better for the edges.
A word of warning here: stenciling the entire wall is a fairly speedy process; but filling in all the edges can take a lot of time since you have to match the pattern and work the stencil into tight spots&#;over and over and over. I recommend working in batches and taking breaks as you get tired/frustrated.
Before putting your stencils and paint away for good, you may need to stencil over any special features that are on your wall. For this particular wall, I also needed to stencil down the side of the bump out&#;
&#;as well as over our cord concealers.
Curious how we concealed the TV cords on this wall? See here: How to Hide TV Wires Above a Fireplace (When You Can&#;t Go Through the Wall)
In these instances, I found it helpful to cut the stencil down into even smaller sections so I could work on these tight areas. However, use caution when cutting apart your stencil, as you can disrupt the pattern or ruin its usability entirely. Only cut the stencil apart, as needed, at the very end of your project.
If you like pristine, clean paint projects&#;then stenciling a wall is likely not for you. Despite being as careful as possible and loading up my roller/brush with as little paint as possible, I still ended up with a fair amount of bleeding, spots, and mis-aligned pattern.
Thankfully, though, fixing this is as simple as using some leftover base coat paint!
Almost like using an eraser, simply dab some base coat paint over the messes to clean up mistakes and &#;sharpen the focus&#; on the entire pattern.
When faced with such a big wall, I was really thankful to have the foam roller. The paint really went on quickly, whereas using a stencil brush would have significantly increased how long each application took.
That said, when I got to the ceiling, baseboards, and mantel trim, the roller was too unwieldy. I really needed the precision and control of the stencil brush to adequately get into the tighter spots.
So my best advice is to have both application methods on hand, and feel free to move back-and-forth between the two as needed.
I was able to secure the stencil to my wall using painter&#;s tape for all the flat wall, full-stencil applications. It wasn&#;t until I got into the bends of the ceilings and edges of the mantel that tape just wasn&#;t holding the stencil flush-enough against the wall. For these areas, I switched the spray adhesive on the back of the stencil, which yielded much better results.
However, while the spray adhesive definitely held the stencil nice-and-tight to the wall, there are a few things to know about using spray adhesive on this project:
So while I was happy to have spray adhesive on hand for the end of this project, I wouldn&#;t personally use it as the primary method for holding the stencil on the wall.
I&#;ve already mentioned this a few times, but it&#;s SO worth reiterating. When stenciling, load up the roller/brush with as little paint as possible. Excess paint is the primary reason you&#;ll experience bleeding under the stencil, so just get in the habit of clearing your roller/brush of paint every single time. In this project, a little goes a really long way.
Even with using as little paint as possible, I was really surprised how &#;gunked up&#; the stencil became after about 10-15 applications. All the excess paint that stuck to the front of the stencil not only gathered along the open edges (allowing less paint to come through and create the pattern on the wall) but also caused the stencil to become quite heavy (and therefor, it pulled away from the wall during application).
If you find that the stencil is just becoming too wet/heavy with paint and is preventing you from getting a crisp application, it&#;s time to clean it (usually soap and water is sufficient). Although it can be a bit of a nuisance to have to stop and clean the stencil, you&#;ll get more frustrated at the imperfect results you&#;re getting from the heavy stencil.
NOTE: By the end of this single wall, my stencil had really started to lose it&#;s rigidity. Had I been doing a larger wall or full room, I would have liked to have a second/fresh stencil. If you plan on tackling a lot of wall space, consider buying more than one stencil.
I do not &#;demand&#; or even expect perfection in my DIY projects. My curtain hems aren&#;t always straight, my pillow covers don&#;t always fit right, and my wallpaper panels don&#;t always line up. But I was surprised how much the &#;imperfectness&#; of this project bothered me.
While the initial applications were fairly easy and clean; as the project wore on, I started to have quite a bit of smudging, bleeding, misalignment, etc. This was mostly due to 1) my stencil getting too heavy with paint, and 2) me getting tired. And I definitely had moments when I felt like I was just making a big ol&#; mess of our wall.
But then I&#;d take a step back and realize that all those little imperfections didn&#;t really detract from the overall impact of the wall. Sure, there are some bleeds, messed-up patterns, and inconsistent coverage&#;but as a whole, the wall looks complete and honestly: quite spectacular!
So if you find yourself stressing over the &#;messiness&#; of this project: take a deep breath and take a step back. I bet your wall looks amazing! (Plus, touch up paint really does make everything better!)
When I first embarked on this wall stencil project, I was focused on one thing: saving money. I wanted the wallpaper look without the wallpaper cost. And that is most certainly what I got. Since I used 100% leftover paint, this wall required just the cost of the stencil and supplies (about $50). But what I didn&#;t appreciate at the start&#;was that this cost-savings would come at the expense of my time.
Without a doubt, stenciling this wall took MUCH longer than hanging wallpaper panels would have. There was also added mess and clean-up that you mostly skip when applying wallpaper (at least the peel-and-stick kind). I had to re-visit this wall on four different occasions to complete it, mostly because of the mess of the paint and the complexity of the edges. I could only do so much until I just needed a break.
So while I do love that I was able to indeed get a &#;look for less,&#; I think it&#;s important to remember that when applying an amazing all-over pattern to a (large) wall, you have to decide what you want to spend: time or money.
Gold Sconces
In the end, this wall has seen quite the gratifying transformation, including a re-painted fireplace surround, a complicated cord concealing project, and new renter-friendly lighting, I&#;m so glad I gave this stencil project a try, as it&#;s another great &#;tool&#; in my renter-friendly toolbox. Yes, stenciling takes some work; but it also allows you to transform your walls in a pretty inexpensive and un-doable way!
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit decorative paint rollers for walls.