How To Make a Unique Stencil

Of course, the first thing you need to do is find something you want to turn into a stencil. In this case, I used part of an old French invoice. I blew it up on my scanner/printer, printed it, and then checked to make sure that all the closed shapes were marked so that I could make them still be attached to the stencil, like so.

This part is tedious but necessary. If you aren't careful you might just cut a complete and unwanted hole out of your stencil. (This is the voice of experience talking here!)

The first picture shows my stencil burner. You can pick one of these up at WalMart for around ten dollars--for a little bit more you can get a wood burner with lots of tips, including this tip, which isn't the one meant for stencils but which I prefer. Take a piece of glass and put your master underneath the glass and your stencil plastic on top. I attach each to the glass with a piece of tape so they don't shift while I'm burning the stencil.

In the third picture you can see the finished stencil. I use very thin plastic, a very hot burner, and move the burner around the outsides of each stroke. It took me a little bit of practice to get the right touch, so don't get frustrated.

The fourth picture shows the printed stencil. You can use spray paint, ink dabbers and ink pads, or stencil brushes--and don't you quilters forget that you can use these stencils on fabric, too, with fabric paint spray, acrylic paints, or stencil brushes with Shiva Oil Sticks...