Four Favourite Techniques using Stencils

Good morning

Today I have a quick post to share with you four of my favourite ways to use my stencils

There are dozens of ways to use stencils but these are the ones I enjoy and seem to use the most. I love adding texture and dimension to my projects.

I have made samplers to demonstrate these techniques. 

I cut a 12" x 12" piece of smooth white cardstock into 6" squares to use as my base. I will probably cut these up and use them on card projects in the future.

I clean my stencils as soon as I have finished each project because I do not want any of the product to dry on the stencil and make it harder to keep my stencil flat on future projects. 

To get a nice clean edge to your stencilling projects it is very important to make sure your stencil sits flat on your cardstock. 

I use a soft scrubbing brush and warm water in the sink to clean them. This could cause blockages in the plumbing if you are using your stencils continuously but I figure that for the number of time I use them I can probably get away with it. Time will tell I guess.

Starting from the left hand sample I have used Matisse Impasto Medium, which dries clear, and put that through my Kaisercraft "Textures" stencil. While the paste is still wet and in place I sprinkled Dress My Crafts Frosted Sugar Powder over it and pressed it into the medium using my brayer. The excess was tipped back into the bottle and the stencil removed. The Frosted Sugar Powder will not come off once the medium is dry as it has been firmly adhered. You could also use glitter, confetti and glass beads in the same way.

The second sample is using Colour Blast Colour Pastes through the same Kaisercraft stencil. The stencil is one of those that has 4 designs in the one 12" x 12" stencil.

This technique shows that you can use any paste with a stencil. Mostly I use Modelling Paste which I colour with acrylic paints to suit the project I am working on. Some other products that fit into the "Paste" category are Viva Inka Gold, Shimmerz Textures, Faber Castell Texture Luxe, Stencil Magic Paint Creme and BoBunny Glitter Paste, really anything that has a paste texture.

The third sample uses Deco Foil Transfer Gel Duo through Cadence MU-03 stencil.

I have applied the gel through the stencil and set it aside to dry. The gel goes on white and when it is dry it is clear. Once it is dry I laid Fab Foil, patterned side up, on top of the cardstock and ran my brayer over the foil to transfer the gold to the gel. There are lots of different colours and types of foil so the effects are unlimited really.

The final sample used Distress Oxide inks in Blueprint Sketch, Salty Ocean and Speckled Egg which I have applied through a Stencil Girl stencil using my blending brush. Once this had dried I stamped on top of the stencilling using StazOn Jet Black ink and a Kaszazz Stamp called "Reason Season Lifetime" before I removed the stencil. You could use any stamp here.

So there we have a few tips for using your stencils.

Here is the video that shows my process.

I hope you have found this informative and you try some of these techniques on your next project.

I would love to see or hear about your favourite stencil techniques. I love trying new things so leave me a comment.

Thanks for being here with me today

Till next time

Stay safe

Hugs

Julie