Trendy Tuesday – Stencils

Trendy Tuesday – Stencils
by Katherine Elliot

  Often a popular tool for DIY home decor crafts, stencils make great tools for colorful and unique backgrounds and textures on paper as well as other craft projects.  Many companies market their stencils in perfect sizes and trendy styles that are well suited for today”s paper crafts.  Let”s take a look at some of the latest examples that show off these fun tools so well…

“Hello There” Card by Tenia Nelson, image source Jazzy Paper Designs

There are several ways for you to use stencils on your projects.  Tenia”s card above shows an ink sponged stencil, Mamma Giraffe pattern from Just a Trace.  Her blog post has more images to show you exactly how she created her card, so as Tenia says, check it!

Sponged ink stencil in progress, image source Jazzy Paper Designs

Using spray ink with your stencils is another method you can use to create a vibrant background.  Linda Beeson”s card featured below used Clearsnap spray ink to create a trendy honeycomb stencil background.

Card by Linda Beeson, image source Papercutting Kind of Day

Single color stencils look great and can be quick to create, but multiple ink colors used with stencils can also be fun and easy to apply.  Unlike a background stamp that you would apply ink, stamp, then see your results, a stencil gives you the instant gratification of showing you results as your colorful creation takes shape.

Multi color stencil card, image source Ellen Hutson.comStencil and ink colors, image source Ellen Hutson.com

 Whether you plan to sponge, daub, brayer or spray ink for a stencil background, your first task will be to find the right image or pattern to match your project.  Several popular brands are up to the task of providing you many stencil options.  My Favorite Things just released several new stencils with many on trend patterns, including these large chevron stripes…

Card by Jodi Collins, image source Stamping a Latte

My Favorite Things Large Chevron Stripes Stencil

Hero Arts  offers some thick frosted mylar stencils that are sized to overlay easily on a regular A2 size card front.

Hero Arts Irregular Checkerboard Stencil, image source Simon Says Stamp

Dreamweaver Stencils offer a very large selection including many popular and frequently used images in several different sizes.  Use multiple stencils with markers or pens to create a patterned image uniquely your own, like the Dreamweaver stenciled butterfly shown here… Card featuring Dreamweaver Stencil, image source Papercraft Planet

Stencil pattern with pen, image source Papercraft Planet

 Stencils or masks, as they can be called, may be offered by many of your favorite brands to coordinate with their unique styles and other products.

Studio Calico mask, image source Two Peas in a Bucket

Scrapbook page by Jill Sprott,featuring Studio Calico mask, image source Two Peas in a Bucket Gallery 

Scrapbook page by Grace Wong, featuring The Crafters Workshop stencil, image source Callibee Scraps

The Crafters Workshop stencils, image source Help Me Ronda

The Crafters Workshop offers stencils featuring unique images as well as trendy patterns.  The Claudine Hellmuth Studio stencils shown below were just released early this year.

Claudine Hellmuth Studio stencils, image source Blue Moon Scrapbooking

Inked paper featuring floral Claudine Hellmuth stencil, image source Scrap Time

Prima Marketing is another brand with several stencil/masks that are perfect for scrapbookers as well as card makers.  Prima offers stencils in 6×6 as well as 12×12 inch sizes.  Check out even more inspiring methods on different ways to use stencils on Prima”s blog post here.

Scrapbook page featuring Prima Marketing stencil/mask, image source Prima Marketing blog

 Inks are most frequently used with stencils, but they are not the only medium or type of stenciling available.  Up the ante with your stencils by using an embroidery stencil from Amy Tangerine…

Amy Tangerine stencil, image source Two Peas in a Bucket

Scrapbook page featuring embroidery stencil, image source Orange Gearle

 For texture that really stands out or for special crafts or applications, use embossing paste with a stencil.

Embossing paste, image source Stencil with Style

  

Stencil jewelry using embossing paste, image source Globecraft & Piccolo

Here”s our mixed media project of the day featuring rich texture and stencil patterns…  Canvas by Mona Pendleton featuring fiber paste stencil image source Cupcake”s Creations, Doily stencil featured from My Favorite Things

Inky fingers, rejoice! I”m sure there is a stencil pattern available to keep your crafty fingers happy.

Enjoy and happy crafting, everyone!